Walk is a 4-Letter Word!

I was lucky enough to do a fabulous training this week that explained some activity fundamentals.  It's all "stuff" we kinda know, but this training really clarified some aspects of physiology making it "simply understandable".  

So here is what we know and the simple clarifications that make them even more compelling...
Metabolism:
Energy or Calories Burned  (energy and calorie are interchangeable words).
Sedentary Behavior is Dangerous:
Sedentary behavior is a major factor in compromising our health and can directly associated with dangers of death from cardiovascular disease, some cancers and other diseases.
Sedentary behavior is commonly defined as sitting in front of screens, sleeping or laying on the sofa.  (Remember Andy Capp and Flo)?  
Sedentary behavior are activities that do not require any muscle recruitment and that do not raise the heart rate higher than its rate when at rest.
~~~The bad news is that even if you take a 30 minute walk every day (or do some other "burst" of activity) and then plonk yourself down in front of a screen for the balance of the day (8 hours in the office or in the den in front of the TV) and don't move again, that is ALSO defined as sedentary behavior.  (I know , huh???).  But it's easily fixed by getting up and moving around for at least 5 minutes every hour.
~~~The good news is that light housework duties and daily activity, whilst not calorie burning or considered weight-loss benefitting activity, can take you out of sedentary behavior category into that of "Light Activity".   Doing so can assist your overall health.  Light activities include walking, standing to cook and wash dishes, folding laundry and light housework such as dusting and polishing, they're not considered sedentary behavior because they do, in fact, require muscles to be activated.
~~~Bad news again, just simply not being sedentary is insufficient to assist with weight loss, but it is a great start to assisting with burning the calories we consume.  There are multiple ways the body uses energy...
3 Ways Calories are burned:
     a.  Resting Metabolism: energy is needed to keep all the systems of the body working.  We burn 65-75% of daily calories this way.
     b.  Calories Used to Process Foods:  our body uses energy to break down food we eat into calories and nutrients (digestive process), to allow us to benefit from that food.  We burn approximately 10% of our daily calories this way.
     c.  Physical Activity:  The balance of the calories we burn each day are burned by moving more, everything from walking, playing sports, swimming, jogging, housework, yard work ... you get it!
This third category is the one that we have control over - raising the level of physical activity burns more energy and affects weight management.  So, as you see, we need to add more moving to increase the amount of calories the body uses on a daily basis because - and here is the nub of it all... 
Providing Fewer Calories than the Body Requires Daily, Causes Weight Loss:

I've read that a person (dependent on gender, age, height, weight and level of activity) requires somewhere between 1200 and 2000 calories a day to maintain weight and health.  So, it becomes clear that altering the available pool of calories available, by reducing intake of food and spending more in the form of activity, will require the body to draw on the reserves that we carry in the form of fat deposits causing weight loss.  (I know you know this)!

Another time I'll blog in detail about the difference between Aerobic, Resistance and Stretching activity, all you should know for now is that they all offer different benefits and all are necessary for what we are doing:

Aerobic includes (but isn't limited to):  exercises that raise the heart rate when doing them, such as walking, stair climbing and jogging.

Resistance includes (but isn't limited to): exercises that use gravity and your weight (or some other external weights) to "taughten" or tighten muscles, such as crunches, sit-ups, squats and light weight lifting.  These type of exercises may increase the strength & size of skeletal muscles.  They may also help your core, improve balance and reduce the incidence of low back pain and other postural imbalances.

Stretching includes exercises that assist with your flexibility to reduce injury and improve your overall exercise performance.  

Find SOMETHING to do that you enjoy and make it part of your every day - you wouldn't not brush you teeth every day, right?  Ever thought why that is the case ..... ??  So put your moving more in the same category as your staying healthy through healthy "toilette" habits.

This week in the meeting we're discussing "Surviving BBQ" and we'll brainstorm how to navigate summer foods.

Recipe of the week - I promised this recipe to a few people this week.  It's always a hit when you bring it to the party:

Watermelon and Feta Salad

The original version of this salad is attributed to Nigella Lawson, a great cook and a sometime host on the FOOD Network.  The first time I encountered it, I have to say, I was a little weary because the ingredients just don't seem to sit together.  I was wrong - it is refreshing and fabulous and has become a summer staple in my home.  Here is a lightened-up version of Nigella's original.  Enjoy!

PointsPlus Value:  3 per serving

Servings:               4

Ingredients

~ 4 cups watermelon, chopped into 1" cubes

~ 3 or 4 slices of red onion rings, separate the layers

~ 2 oz fat-free feta cheese crumbles or diced into small (1/4") dice

~ 8 pitted Kalamata olives cut into halves or quarters

~ 12 or 14 leaves of fresh mint; torn into strips not cut with a blade

~ 12 or 14 sprigs of flat leaf parsley; "picked", meaning remove the stalks and leave the leaves intact

~ 3 or 4 Tbsp lime juice

~ 1 Tbsp olive oil

~ Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

I like to "build the salad" by first mixing the oil and lime juice in a medium sized bowl, tossing the watermelon in the liquid and then arranging it onto a flatish platter or oval dish.  After that, just sprinkle the rest of the ingredients on top so that you get the contrasts of color and textures evenly dotted around the dish.  Don't make too far in advance and serve at room temperature.

You'll be able to save any leftovers for a day, but it doesn't keep all that well so make just enough for what you need.  You can, however, cut the watermelon into cubes and prep the other ingredients ahead of time and save them in the fridge "undressed" to put the salad together as you need it.

The Items of the Week this Week
in the Meeting Room are:

Oil Sprayer (Mister)   usually $11.95  on sale this week ONLY for $8.95
Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons   usually $19.95  on sale this week ONLY for $14.95
Electronic Food Scale   usually $39.95  on sale this week ONLY for $29.95

Weight Watchers is open throughout the upcoming Holiday week except for Wed July 4.
You are invited to, nay, encouraged to visit another meeting if your meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

See you this week in the meeting!