Exercise & Weight Control

Before you start an exercise program or routine, a thorough medical history and evaluation are recommended so you and your doctor can identify limitations on certain exercise movements. It is highly recommended that you receive proper instructions for performing these exercises before beginning your exercise routine or program. Anaerobic exercise is not recommended for some people with certain heart or orthopedic conditions. Discuss this with your doctor.

Types of Exercise

Types of Exercise

The two basic types of exercise include:

  • Aerobic exercise: any activity involving large muscles, done for an extended period of time. Aerobic exercise is done primarily for cardiovascular fitness and weight loss.
  • Anaerobic exercise: any activity that does not require oxygen for completion of movement. Usually refers to resistance training. Anaerobic exercise is done primarily for increased muscle mass and toning.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise has three important parts:

  • Warm-up – three to five minutes of exercise at a lower intensity (for example: speed or grad for treadmill) to warm up your muscles and slowly increase your heart rate
  • Conditioning – aerobic exercise conducted for a specific duration (e.g. 30-45 minutes) in which the target heart rate is achieved and maintained.
  • Cool-down – three to five minutes of exercise at a lower intensity to bring down your heart rate and lessen risk of injury
  • Mode — The type of activity you choose to do. Activities should include those that work the large muscles, such as walking, jogging, swimming, aerobic dance, or cycling. There are many types of exercise you can do. Find an activity you enjoy and will tolerate long term. Recommended: any activity that you enjoy.
  • Intensity — How hard you work for the duration of the activity. Recommended target heart rate: 60% to 80% of your predicted maximum heart rate. (Predicted maximum heart rate = 220 minus your age).

For example: a 45-year old person’s maximum heart rate would be 220-45 or 175; the target heart rate range (60%-80% of maximum heart rate) would be from 105-140 beats per minute. Another way to determine the intensity of your activity is the Rated Perceived Exertion Scale (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/rpe-scale-heart-health) (RPE).

Those with heart disease should discuss exercise with their physician. Some heart conditions may require a modified or supervised exercise program. Medications may have an effect on heart rate; therefore if you are taking any cardiac or blood pressure medications, ask your doctor if they have any impact on your target heart rate.

  • Duration – Length of time of the activity. Recommended: 30 to 60 minutes, depending on your goals.
  • Frequency – The number of days per week that you exercise. Recommended: three to seven days per week, depending on your goals.

The American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines call for a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic physical activity performed at moderate intensity (60%-80% maximum heart rate), either in one continuous period or in intervals of at least 20-minutes duration on most — preferably all — days of the week. This is the amount called for to reduce the risk of coronary disease. It is equivalent to briskly walking at least 1.5 miles per day or raking leaves for half an hour. For weight control, you may need to increase the amount of time you exercise to burn more calories.

Anaerobic Exercise

Anaerobic exercise involves using free weights or machines to build muscle mass and tone.

  • Mode – The activity that you choose to work a particular muscle group.
  • Intensity – The amount of weight you lift during a set.
  • Repetition – A complete movement of a particular exercise.
  • Sets – A group of repetitions. For toning, 12 to 20 repetitions with lighter weights are usually recommended. In contrast, fewer repetitions (such as 8 to 12) with heavier weights are performed to build muscle mass.
  • Recovery – The amount of time you rest in between sets. The recovery ranges from 0 to 180 seconds.
  • Frequency – The number of days per week that you perform strengthening exercises. Strengthening exercises should be performed with a day or two of rest in between workouts.

Set Goals

Exercise advertisements often target simplified exercise routines and spot reduction. Some exercise advertisements sell the belief that one machine will work your entire body and give you the results you need. Some machines are good for cardiovascular conditioning; however, they may not be good for other reasons, such as joint or balance limitations. To establish a proper exercise routine, you need to follow a few basic guidelines.

Before you start an exercise program or routine, a thorough medical history and evaluation are recommended so you and your doctor can identify limitations on certain exercise movements. It is highly recommended that you receive proper instructions for performing these exercises before beginning your exercise routine or program. Anaerobic exercise is not recommended for some people with certain heart or orthopedic conditions. Discuss this with your doctor.

Set goals

A complete exercise program requires three components:

  1. Stretching – to enhance flexibility of your joints and limit injury
  2. Aerobic or conditioning – to help you lose weight and improve cardiovascular fitness
  3. Anaerobic exercise or toning – to help you build or tone muscles

When setting goals, it is important to design a program that you can do in a schedule that you will definitely keep. Look at your calendar and schedule in your exercise sessions. You do not have to do all three components of the exercise program every day, but to lose weight the most important component will be aerobic conditioning. If you need to start by exercising in 10-minute increments, that’s OK. Every week or so, your goal will be to increase the amount of time you exercise until you are exercising at least 30 minutes per session.

Track Success

Exercise advertisements often target simplified exercise routines and spot reduction. Some exercise advertisements sell the belief that one machine will work your entire body and give you the results you need. Some machines are good for cardiovascular conditioning; however, they may not be good for other reasons, such as joint or balance limitations. To establish a proper exercise routine, you need to follow a few basic guidelines.

Before you start an exercise program or routine, a thorough medical history and evaluation are recommended so you and your doctor can identify limitations on certain exercise movements. It is highly recommended that you receive proper instructions for performing these exercises before beginning your exercise routine or program. Anaerobic exercise is not recommended for some people with certain heart or orthopedic conditions. Discuss this with your doctor.

Keep track of your success

There are several ways to monitor your success:

  • Improvement in endurance – keep an exercise diary. Note changes in how your feel with your exercise, such as: being able to go farther, having to increase the intensity of the activity to achieve your target heart rate, feeling less short of breath, etc.
  • More room in your clothes – you should feel better in your clothes. They should fit better or you may notice they are getting bigger (you are getting smaller!).
  • Keeping measurements – Keeping records of your weight or inches may be helpful to track your success. However, some people get discouraged if they do not see big changes. While your fat level may be decreasing, you may be increasing in lean body mass. Since muscle weighs more than fat, it may appear that you are not losing weight, but maybe even gaining weight. Use other measurements for success instead of weight loss such as toner legs and arms, decreases in waist, hip or arm measurements, increased energy levels or improvements in your overall health.

What is a body composition test?

A body composition test is a way to determine your current percentage of body fat. It is also a way to track progress during your exercise program. A body composition test is more accurate in determining your ideal body weight. The ideal range for females is 18 to 26% body fat. The ideal range for males is 12 to 17% body fat.

When to Call the Doctor

Exercise advertisements often target simplified exercise routines and spot reduction. Some exercise advertisements sell the belief that one machine will work your entire body and give you the results you need. Some machines are good for cardiovascular conditioning; however, they may not be good for other reasons, such as joint or balance limitations. To establish a proper exercise routine, you need to follow a few basic guidelines.

Before you start an exercise program or routine, a thorough medical history and evaluation are recommended so you and your doctor can identify limitations on certain exercise movements. It is highly recommended that you receive proper instructions for performing these exercises before beginning your exercise routine or program. Anaerobic exercise is not recommended for some people with certain heart or orthopedic conditions. Discuss this with your doctor.

When to call the doctor

If you have any of the following symptoms while exercising, stop the activity and rest. If the symptoms do not go away, call your doctor:

  • Heart palpitations (feeling of “skipped” heart beat or irregular heart beat)
  • Chest pain
  • Increased shortness of breath
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness
  • Pressure or pain in your chest, neck, arm, jaw or shoulder
  • Weakness
  • Unexplained weight gain or swelling (Call your doctor right away)

 

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5 Genes That Make It Hard to Lose Weight, and What You Can Do To Combat Them

Do you ever feel like you exercise and eat well, but don’t see positive results? I feel you. I’ve been there! The problem may be with your genes. As scientists look into weight-loss genes, they have found that people with variations of certain genes are more prone to put on weight than others. I know, because I have nearly all of the bad variants! Thankfully, all is not lost: Small tweaks may make your genes work for you, rather than against you.

To date, scientists have discovered seventy-five gene alterations that increase the likelihood of obesity. These genes are usually involved in how the body breaks down food, stores fat, and sends signals to let you know you’re no longer hungry. Variations to these genes are known as polymorphisms.

As a result of genetic variation, two people could eat the same exact diet but put on vastly different amounts of weight. One theory is that people who gain more weight from eating the same amount of calories do so because it was once an evolutionary advantage. Thousands of years ago, food was often scarce, so being able to gain weight from very few calories could have meant the difference between life and death. Now, food is easy to come by. Still, these “thrifty-genes” persist in some people’s genomes.

Lifestyle Effects on Genes

The good news is that even if you have these genetic polymorphism, you can work to combat them with lifestyle practices.  This is because DNA sequences are not the only way that can alter gene expression, rather, epigenetics also plays a role – meaning your lifestyle affects how genes turn on or off.  Here is a list of the five key genes involved with weight gain, and some lifestyle habits that you can implement in order to combat their effects.

1) Food Intake: FTO

One of the most studied obesity genes is FTO (dubbed “Fatso”), which stands for Fat Mass and Obesity Associated. FTO seems to act as a “nutrient sensor,” affecting the amount of food a person wants to eat, and their hunger. Therefore, variations in the gene that encodes for FTO could affect the ability of FTO to regulate food intake and lower satiety. Scientists have found that people with certain variations in this gene have a higher BMI.

What to do?

Increased exercise could counteract the effects of the polymorphism of FTO. For example, the Amish have a high incidence of FTO—yet very few are obese. Why? Because each day, they labor on their farms for two hours or more. The hard physical labor keeps FTO from expressing obesity, making the Amish exemplify how an environmental trigger can modify gene expression. The good news is that you don’t necessarily need four hours of hard physical labor. Many of patients with this gene variant consistently exercise for 30 minutes, five days per week, and it keeps the gene turned off.

2) Fat metabolism: PPARG

Another gene affecting weight gain is the one that encodes for PPARG, a protein involved in fat metabolism. When activated, PPARG creates fat cells and helps with the uptake of dietary fats from your blood. Too much activation of PPARG can cause weight gain and increase the risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Obese individuals have much higher amounts of this protein in their fat tissue. Individuals with no PPARG have less fat tissue in their limbs and gluteal area.  In addition, studies have shown that post-menopausal women who have a PPARG polymorphism gain more weight than those who don’t.

What to do?
When individuals with the PPARG polymorphism eat more unsaturated fats than saturated fats, they gain more fat tissue and have a higher BMI. By contrast, when they eat more saturated fats than unsaturated fats, the opposite is true—they are leaner. So here again we see how an environmental (meaning non-genetic) factor such as nutrition can trigger a gene and affect people’s weight.

3) Fat breakdown: ADRB2

The adrenergic beta-2 surface receptor gene (ADRB2) codes for a protein that plays an important role in the breakdown of fat. When the hormone epinephrine is released, it can bind to ADRB2 in order to increase energy by breaking down fat molecules. Certain variations are associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome in women, a cluster of risk factors that herald a six-fold risk of diabetes mellitus and two-fold risk of cardiovascular disease. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome is higher in middle-aged women than middle-aged men, as well as greater cardiovascular risk. (As a side note, this gene also plays a role in asthma, and response to asthma inhalers.) While more research still needs to be performed to understand its exact mechanism, it seems this gene could be another promising target for understanding the link between genetics and weight gain.

What to do?   

I personally have the polymorphism of this gene, which gives me an increased risk of abdominal obesity. I have about double the difficulty with weight loss compared with people without this polymorphism because my fat mobilization and signal transduction for mobilizing fatty tissue is impaired. All the more reason to eat and exercise efficiently!

4) Efficient Functioning with Methylation (2 Genes): PGC1-alpha and Tfam

Methylation is a chemical process that helps your body to work optimally. Without a healthy rate of methylation, you are at risk for lower metabolism. Methylation is another example of an epigenetic effect in that it doesn’t alter its DNA sequence. Instead, it adds chemical groups to the genes PGC1-alpha and Tfam. In doing so, it changes the rate at which these genes are converted into protein and are involved in creating mitochondria, the powerhouse, energy-creating center of your cells. In these genes, methylation correlates with increased rates of obesity. 

What to do?

Environmental factors such as age, sex, race, exercise, and diet can all produce epigenetic effects and change the amount of methylation in your body. While you obviously don’t have control over your age, race, and gender, here again you can make sure to live a lifestyle of optimal eating and exercise in order to try to combat suboptimal methylation in your body.

You Have the Power

Your genes can make losing weight more difficult—but not impossible. While researchers are still working on understanding the relationship between nutrition and genetics, much is currently known about how other factors like hormones and the microbiome affect weight loss. By living a lifestyle which triggers your body to work best, you can make up for a less-than-ideal genotype.

 

By 

Being a Better Consumer

Over the past several years my family has been touched by the dreaded “C” diagnosis. Yes that is cancer. Both my mother in law and mother have been diagnosed with colon cancer. It’s amazing how once you hear that someone close to you has been given a diagnosis like this you’re prospective on things changes. For example both these women were told that there cancer was not caused by flawed genetics, but that the likely cause was environmental. So since then I have spent more time investigating environmental causes of cancer.

What I have found is that many of the products we use contain chemicals that are not only harsh on germs but harsh on our bodies. For example look at this list of chemicals that are in the leading spray room freshener.

  • 1,3-Dichloro-2-propanol – Linked to cancer
  • Methyl pyrrolidone – Proven toxic to reproduction and development
  • Gerinoil – Irritates skin, eyes and lungs
  • Hexyl cinnamal – Is an allergen
  • Propulene glycol – Causes cancer, causes allergies and is toxic to the immune system
  • Ethyl acetate – Linked to neurotoxicity.
  • Alcohol denatured – Known to cause organ system toxicity.
  • Ethylhexanol – Irritates skin, eyes and lungs and is toxic to reproduction and developmental systems.
  • Linalool – Is an immunotoxin

These are all in one of the most popular air fresheners used in almost every household. Now let’s combine it with all the other chemicals that we use on a weekly basis in our homes. It’s no wonder that we so many people suffer from diseases such as cancer.

It’s important as consumers that we investigate the products that we purchase for not only effectiveness but also for the safety for our bodies and our environment. The choices that we make on a daily basis will dictate how successfully we go through the aging process.

During my research into this area I found that there are several companies out there that have products that are bore more environmental and human friendly. In some cases the cost was the same as leading brands at the local grocery store or even cheaper. If you have any more interest on this subject matter or want to discover where you can buy healthier products please send me an email at drimhoff@back2basicschiropractic.com.

 

 

by Dr. Imhoff, DC