Can exercise reduce your risk of getting sick during this cold and flu season?

The weather outside is frightful, and all is not so delightful – amid all of the sneezing, sniffling and coughing, it is only a matter of time before you come down with that nasty cold, right?

Not if you are a regular exerciser!

We know that exercise can help relieve stress (which can lower the body’s ability to ward off infection). But exercise has also been shown to more directly assist in the prevention of the common cold.

One research team found that more active people can more easily resist the common cold. The study, published in the August 2002 journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Medicine, confirmed what had long been assumed: consistent exercise can reduce the risk of catching a cold. After studying over 500 healthy men and women, the more active people average one cold (23% less than the average) over the course of the year long study, and they reduced their overall risk of catching a cold by 32%.

And it can reduce the duration of it if you do catch the dreading cold.

Another study, conducted by David Nieman of Appalachian State University, found that with women who had colds but still walked regularly had symptoms that lasted five days or less, while women who did not walk suffered through seven days of symptoms.

If you are sick, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends:

> Mild to moderate exercise only if your symptoms are from “the neck up”

> Taking a minimum of two weeks off from intensive training if you have more severe symptoms such as fever

> Reducing the level of intensity of your usual workouts until you have completely recovered

Exercise seems to stimulate immune cells that attack cold infections. While the heightened immunity stimulation lasts only about 1-3 hours, a regular workout routine may continue to increase immunity enough to lower overall risk and duration of colds. Don’t go overboard though, overtraining can suppress the immune system and actually make you more susceptible to getting sick. So use those sick days to squeeze in an extra workout, not to stay at home in bed suffering from that nasty cold that has going around the office.

SOURCES:
“Exercise may reduce risk of colds.” TB & Outbreaks Week; September 17, 2002, NewsRx.com.
“Statement on Exercise and the Common Cold.” Rose, Verna L. American Family Physician; June 1, 1998, Vol. 57 Issue 11.
“Exercise, Immunity, and Susceptibility to Infection.” Physician and Sportsmedicine: Exercise is Medicine; June 1999, Vol. 27, No. 6.

If I stop working out, will my muscles turn to fat?

Today I thought I'd share with you some answers to questions I am most commonly asked at the gym..

Q: If I stop working out, will my muscles turn to fat?

A: No. Fat is not muscle, and muscle is not fat, so muscle cannot turn into fat. You can lose muscle when you stop working out, and since muscle burns about 10 times more calories at rest than fat does, the less muscle you have, the fewer calories you are burning. Excess calories = weight gain, so even if you are eating the same amount of food (or less), it is likely you’ll notice an increase in your body fat when you stop working out regularly, but this doesn’t mean the muscle itself has turned to fat. But there’s no reason to panic, you can safely take three to four weeks off before losing any major muscle.


Q: I’m at the gym 6 or 7 days a week. I saw great results the first few months but now body has stopped changing, I’m actually gaining weight! I can’t possibly workout more - any suggestions?

A: Stop working out! You’ve reached a plateau in your current program – hitting a plateau is like the body’s equivalent of hitting the snooze button. When you continue you do the same workout for months on end, your body stops working so hard to perform it. Sometimes taking a week or two off from the gym is what your body needs to jumpstart your results. When you do head back to the gym, remember: the only way to bring about change is to change! Aim to switch up your program every 4-6 weeks.

Small changes = Big Results

Did you know that the average American drinks more than 53 gallons of carbonated soft drinks a year? Think about it: if you did nothing else but substitute 20 oz. of soda with water or a diet soda, everyday, you could lose 26 pounds this year alone!

Diet and exercise. Have I lost you yet? What happened when you read those words? Did you recoil in pain? Many of us link those two words to other dreaded words like work, pain and deprivation. It doesn’t have to be that difficult! One of the most important things I stress to my clients is that making small changes can mean big results over time. No, it isn’t a quick fix, and no, you won’t lose 10 pounds over night, but by creating changes that are realistic and managable, you are so much more likely to maintain these habits and lasting benefits such as weight loss, increased energy and an overall better quality of life!

Just check out how many pounds you could lose this year if you made one or more of these minor changes everyday:

Instead of: 1 slice chocolate cake
Try: 1 oz. dark chocolate
Calories saved: 500
# lbs. lost (in a year): 52

Instead of: 20 oz. of soda
Try: Water! (or, if you must, diet soda)
Calories saved: 250
# lbs. lost (in a year): 26

Instead of: 1 cup of Alfredo Sauce
Try: 1 cup of Marinara sauce
Calories saved: 160
# lbs. lost (in a year): 16

Instead of: Ground Beef
Try: Ground turkey breast
Calories saved: 100
# lbs. lost (in a year): 10

These aren’t turn my life upside down, start a cleansing fast, go to the gym for hours on end changes. Don’t make it harder than it is. Just decide one small thing that you can do to get you closer to your goal, and start today!

The Friday Wrap Up

Can you believe another week is coming to an end? We’re always so focused at moving forward we forget that we can learn so much from looking at how far we’ve come. As another week comes to a close, take a moment with me and just check in with yourself: how was this week? Ask yourself a few questions (and answer them!):

What did you learn about yourself this week? For example: I am capable of more than I thought – I took a yoga class this week and I stayed the entire hour!

What did you learn about your program? For example: I learned that going to the gym 5 days a week is not realistic with my hectic schedule right now. I only made it three days this week.

What did you accomplish?

What can you do differently next week?

Answering these questions honestly gives you an opportunity to really evaluate what is working, and what could be made even better, in order to keep you on the road to success - in all areas of your life. Because while all we have is the present, our future sometimes depends a whole lot on the past.

Are you living in a cage or a Rat Park?

I was just reading an article in this month’s issue of O Magazine* where Martha Beck talks of an experiment run by psychologist Bruce Alexander in the 1970s on lab rats to determine which ones become addicted to drugs, and which don’t. His theory was that rats who lived in cages would most certainly become hooked because of their miserable existence. To test his theory, he created what he called “Rat Park” – a 200 sq. foot piece of rodent heaven – complete with balls, cans, greenery - everything a rat could want. He then offered a morphine solution to the rats living in Rat Park and those living in the traditional cage set up. Not surprisingly, the rats in cages became morphine junkies, and those living in the “Rat Park” had no problem refusing it.

So what do morphine addicted rats have to do with getting in shape? For most of us, EVERYTHING! Think about it: how many times do you use food as a drug? I know I am guilty of it: I eat when I am stressed, sad, disappointed, you name it. Chocolate has helped me numb myself during many a rough time. When I read this article, it really struck a chord with me. I thought back to all the times I was struggling to get in shape, or lose some weight – those were the times I was living in a cage. As soon as I began living in my own version of a “Rat Park”, staying healthy and in shape was easy. Life feels good today, and so does my body. Exercising is something I get to do, not something I have to do. I want to eat healthy because I need all the energy I can get to keep working on these projects I am passionate about. OK, so I am sounding a little like Pollyanna now, but you get my drift (and I do still have a little chocolate- everyday- in fact. But I now consider it a celebration, not an escape).

Picture your own Rat Park. What or who is in it? What would it take to make it a reality for you? What would happen if you focused on building (and living) your dream instead of watching the numbers on the scale?

I’d wager to bet your smile would be a lot bigger and your pants a lot looser.

*Excerpted from “Lisa K.’s Diet Diary” from the January 2007 Issue of O Magazine

Learning from our mistakes

“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” – James Joyce

I think we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. I am sure by now a lot of you are finding that those New Year's Resolutions are getting harder and harder to maintain.

If you fall off the wagon look at why, what happened? Find the formula and then change it. If in laws visiting + work stress = a box of cookies, don’t beat yourself up about it! First, acknowledge what happened. Then, look at why that box of cookies was suddenly so irresistible. Um, can you say stress? What could you have done to help relieve some stress before you got to that breaking point? Brainstorm. Think now about some possible solutions to this obstacle before it comes up again.

Taking action, not dwelling on our past mistakes, is how we get closer to our goals. Because the very definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result – you aren’t insane now, are you?

I love Mondays!

OK gang – it’s Monday! As much as most of us dread Monday, I actually enjoy it. It’s the start of a new, fresh week full of opportunity. Before you let this week get away from you, why not take some time today and schedule in the things that are absolute ‘musts’ for you to accomplish this week (say, a few workouts?). Scheduling yourself in a few appointments to do some healthy things for yourself is a great way to make your health a priority and noting it at the beginning of your week can actually make it possible (and even easy!) to fit it into your busy week.

Not sure where to start? Why not try scheduling in at least five of the following:
A massage
A walk with a friend
A yoga class
30-minute cardio session
15-minute strength workout
A bike ride
A check up with your doctor
Shopping for fruits & veggies at a local market
A session with a personal trainer

You get the idea – get creative about what you’ll do, just make it anything that will get you excited about your week, your health and living this week to the fullest!

Here’s to Mondays!