Snacking and momentum

Psychologically it's easy for us to get out of the pattern of being active and into the pattern of being inactive. When we do that, we no longer 'see' ourselves as being an active person so we take the lifts, park as close as possible and sit down to watch TV.

Our bodies too, lose energy and forget how to be active so we sit and drive more. These tips below to ''exercise snacking'' reminds our brains and bodies that we are designed to move. Because we start to do little snacks here and there, we get into a pattern of movement. This slowly becomes normal and eventually our first reaction becomes to move, not sit.

Circuit Busters

The best way to rev up your fitness is to slip in simple cardio circuits of 5-30 minutes. Research shows that, if you are starting out, you can get the same benefit from doing three 10 minute cardio bursts in a day as doing one 30 minute session.

The Advert blast

Here's a 5 minute cardio blast to do during a TV ad:

• As soon as the first advert hits the screen, jump up and pump your hands up in air 10 times 
• then do 30 knee raises (alternate each leg, 15 on each) 
• 15 squats with your legs out wide 
• 10 lunges (5 on each leg. Step the leg out in a big step in front of you them back to standing for one rep) 
• repeat till the adverts stop 

The Quickie

Here's a 10 minute quickie to fit in when you're short on time:

Find a flight of stairs and

• Walk up and down 2 times smoothly and gently then, 
• At the bottom, do 30 Step Ups (step up on your right, bring your left up and step down). Lead with the right 15 times then the left then, 
• Walk up and down the stairs 2 times at a faster pace then, 
• At the bottom, place your right foot on top of the 2nd step. Keep your weight on the right foot and bring your left foot to touch the right then quickly back to the floor. Do 10 on each leg. 
• (you're working thighs, butt, abs, back and arms here)
• Finish with walking up and down 2 times smoothly and gently

The 'I'll only be stuck in traffic so I might as well get fit' blast (about 20 - 25 minutes) 

Here's a circuit that you'd spend big money to get in a gym, but to you, this week only, it's free! Do it with a friend. Pick your pace, start slow and build up if you feel like it.

• Find a park, car park or playground and start by powerwalking or jogging 3 laps
• Head for a bench and do 10 step ups on each leg
• Do 1 lap round at pace
• Back to the bench for 15 dips
• Do 1 lap at pace 
• At the bench do 15 press ups (flat, with your hands on the bench or feet on the bench for extra load)
• Do 1 lap at pace 
• Feet up on the bench for 20 crunches 
• 1 lap at pace 
• Last one! Find an overhanging bar or branch and try to crank out a chin up or 5 - Do 2 laps at pace getting faster as you go round till the 'sprint' finish

Don't stop, gently warm down by walking 3 - 5 laps till your breathing's back to normal (don't stop till it is)

Bad fats versus good fats

One of our challengers from The Healthy Lifestyle Challenge recently asked a health professional what the reasoning was behind why rice bran oil and canola oil shouldn't be used in cooking and eating.

The response?

The quick answer is that they have been damaged in the processing and refining process, and should be avoided.

For more information about good fats and bad fats visit www.frot.co.nz

Ideas for work lunches

Thinking about what to make for lunch during work can be tough. We've come up with a few suggestions.



Try 2 minute wraps

Get pita bread or Turkish bread, slap on some hummus, rip off some lettuce, grate on a bit of some parmesan or tasty cheese, roll up and wrap in foil or lunch paper.

For variations, cook extra potatoes and kumaras at dinner and mash onto the wrap with black pepper. Or put orange slices with kumara and sunflower seeds.

2 minutes to make, 5 minutes to eat - that's fast food!

Reaching for cakes?

You'll be looking for these because you're hungry. Not because you neeeed a muffin!

Eat an apple on the way to the cafe or have a glass of water. You'll get to the cake section without the hunger pang that drives cravings plus you'll save some fat in your day and about $20 in your week.

Get drowsy in the afternoons?

This is due to 2 major factors. Dehydration and low blood sugar. Sugar gives you a rush of energy but after it's gone you feel drowsy and sleepy. If you have been downing coffee and tea in the morning you'll be dehydrated too which makes you even sleepier.

To combat this;
• For every coffee have a glass of water
• Make your lunches salad and fruit based
• Throw in some mixed grain bread and good protein

Try
• Wholemeal crackers and fruit
• Crackers, humus and salad or
• 5 Grain bread open sandwiches (Bean sprouts, tomatoes, lettuce and tuna piled on top of 1 piece of wholemeal bread)

A meal like this feels lighter in your stomach, is full of water to keep you awake and empties nutrients into your blood stream slowly, so no sugar slump.

This week's shopping list

Here's this weeks shopping list for your work lunches that work for you not against you.

Lettuce
Go fancy, try the different types available, they all have different tastes and textures.

Carrots
Great lunch snacks, full of water, vitamins and better than chewing gum for cleaning teeth.

Tins of tuna
These come in flavours like basil and tomato, lemon and chilli. They are in small tins with peel back lids so you can fork it straight on to a cracker.

Tomatoes
Large, juicy and great for layering on crackers. Eat them as a fruit when they get sweet at Summer.

Bean sprouts
Cheap, full of nutrients and water and come in their own container.

Crackers
Buy big wholemeal crackers. Large enough to carry a decent amount of goodies and low on extra fat. Keep an eye on the salt content.

Wraps
Try Turkish breads, wholemeal pitas or wholemeal bagels

The benefits of water

Here's some facts you might not have known about water.



- One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs

- Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue

- Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers

- A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen

- Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

Tips from a chiropractor, Jeremy Gilbert

Local chiro, Jeremy Gilbert of Lifestyle Chiropractic, visited us today and told us the importance of our nervous system in our health and wellbeing.



He left with us some tips for practising a healthy life:

- If you are sitting at your computer for longer then 30 minutes get up and stretch / move. Your head is about the weight of a bowling ball. Keep this in mind when sitting at the computer, ie head forward, stresses the neck and upper back.

- Same with driving - break the trip up with a stretch break. Great for keeping alert.

- Bending, twisting and lifting is the hardest strain you can put on your back. Be mindful when about to do this for long periods of time.

- It's usually the unforeseen / unpredictable activity that can catch you out. Eg lifting something small or twisting the wrong way.

- Sneezing, they move through your body at great speed and force. Don't block them at the nose, we sneeze to clear dust etc from sinuses. Better out than in!

- Have good posture, keep your spine straight when you can. Slouching is bad for the back and the nerves they look after.

- Easy chairs for longer than a few hours can take a toll on the back. Moving about can prevent back problems.

- Gardening, ie prolonged bending is hard work on the lower back. Straighten up every 20 minutes or so.

- When lifting, bend your knees, ''don't bend your back like a crane''. Get help if you can.

- If in doubt get your back checked out!

While you were exercising...

We were recently recommended this series of podcasts to accompany you while you exercise.



Named, Couch to 5k, they are designed to get you up off the couch (not that we're assuming you spend all your time on the couch!) and running 5km or for 30 minutes in no time!

There are nine podcasts in total which feature good music and instructions on when to run and when to walk.

To add the podcasts, which are in mp3 format to your iPod, firstly save the files to your computer. Then open iTunes and under “File”, go to “Add File to Library”. Browse for the file and add it. Then in iTunes add the file to your iPod.

You may want to do this @ home. Thanks Simone Knight for recommending them.