Category: Weight Loss and Exercise

When to Replace Your Walking Shoes — A Guide

Asking yourself,  “when should I get new walking shoes?” You’re not alone! This is a common question for new and regular exercisers alike.

You might be surprised to hear that athletic shoes are only built to last for 350-500 miles. It’s often hard to tell from just looking at them if it’s time for a new pair. While walkers can usually get good support past the 500 mile mark, many people judge replacement time by how the shoe looks, and wait too long to replace  them.

Walking shoes wear out over a period of months. Your body adapts to the subtle wear and tear, and you may not feel that they need to be replaced until the aches and pains start up. Once you feel achy, it’s way past time to replace your walking shoes. When pain shows up, you are at risk of injury — so the best strategy is to say goodbye to your old shoes before the aches and pains rear their ugly head!

Five Helpful Guidelines to Know When to Replace Your Walking Shoes

1)  If you walk 30 minutes per day or an average of 3-4 hours per week, replace your shoes every six months.

2)  If you walk 60 minutes per day, replace them every three months.

This may seem excessive because to the eye they look so new. I’ve replaced shoes that looked brand new, but they were completely worn out!  It’s best to look at athletic shoes as fitness equipment that should be kept up to date for safety purposes. Then you won’t feel like you are overindulging when you replace them frequently.

3)  More casual about your walking? Check the bottom of the shoes. If the tread is worn anywhere, it’s most likely time to get a new pair.

4)  Terrain matters. If you walk mostly indoors on a treadmill, there is less wear and tear on the shoe and you can probably get a little extra mileage out of them. If you walk outdoors, you will want to follow the guidelines listed above.

5)  Are you light on your feet? People with a strong rear heel strike will get less mileage out of their shoes than someone who walks softly. If you know you have a strong stride, you will want to follow the standard guidelines listed above as well.

Just remember — if you are replacing your walking shoes often, you know you are getting lots of exercise!

Have a question or a comment?  Please leave them for me below in the comment section.  I love to hear from you!

To your health and fitness!

Jennifer

 

 

How do You Stay Healthy With Leisure Time Activities?

Keep Active with Leisure Time Activity!

 

Want to know a simple way to stay active in your spare time — and burn extra calories without it feeling like a “chore?” It’s easy! Increase your leisure time activity!

Leisure time physical activity is generally considered any exercise, sport or recreational activity that is not job related; is not a household task; and is not fulfilling a transportation need.

Currently, the average adult in the United States spends 90% of their leisure time sitting.  While that statistic sounds a bit scary, it’s very simple to stay active and not fall under the “average.”

Increasing leisure time activity not only helps you stay active — it can help you with your weight loss efforts, and can positively impact heart health and longevity.

Six Ways to Increase Your Leisure Time Activity:

 

1)  Find something you like!  No amount of coaxing, coaching, or fancy accountability programs will motivate you to stick to something in your leisure time that you are not interested in.

Choose activities you enjoy and that rejuvenate you.  Some examples include: playing with your kids, walking your dog, hiking with friends, walking by the water, cycling or strolling through a botanical garden. These can all be considered leisure time activities.

2)  Turn off the screen!  Pay attention to how many hours you spend watching TV and/or surfing on the internet.  Try turning off the screen for one day on the weekend.  Use that time for physically active recreation.

Sometimes it’s difficult to unplug for a whole day.  If that’s the case, decide how much time you need for your task, set a timer, and log off when you’re done.  Then, go do something more physically active.

3)  Exercise with purpose!  Local walks/runs for charities are great leisure activities that also raise money for your favorite causes.

4)  Ditch the car.  Take advantage of any opportunity to leave your car parked and walk.

5)  Track your progress!  Step counters are a great way to measure an increase in activity.  Seeing the effects of walking to the movies, throwing the ball with your kids, or taking the dog to the park will inspire you to keep it up.  Whether you are athletic or not, a monitor can also motivate you to be competitive with yourself — which can lead to an increase in activity.

6)  Try something new.  Have a desire to try a new activity?  Commit to trying it one time.  Who knows? You may hit the jackpot and find something you want to keep up regularly.

Some examples would be horseback riding, a golf lesson, visiting the museum, hiking in a park you haven’t been to and having a picnic, or strolling at a mall you’ve never been to.

No matter what you choose, keep it fun.  It is leisure time after all!

Here’s to staying active!

Jennifer

 

 

If I Skip Meals Will I Lose Weight?

Woman is Hungry Dieting

Does your new year’s resolution have you tempted to skip meals to lose weight? If so, you’re not alone. It’s very common for people to experiment by skipping meals to accelerate their weight loss — especially in January after the holiday festivities!

It’s no secret that you must cut and/0r burn calories to lose weight. And, while skipping meals may produce quick weight loss in the beginning, the reality is, the long term results of a “starvation” type diet can be devastating.

Four Reasons not to skip meals!

1)  Slows down your metabolism. When you skip meals, your body goes into “starvation” mode. This causes the body to slow the metabolism for survival and use less calories throughout the day. That’s the last thing you want when you are trying to lose weight!

2)  Unsustainable! Skipping meals to lose weight does not create habits that will help maintain your weight loss for good. It actually does the opposite. Once you’ve lost the weight and begin eating normally again, you will most likely gain all of the weight back. In many cases more than you started with!

3)  Harmful to your health! Skipping meals deprives your body of the fuel it needs to operate properly. It affects your blood sugar, which will cloud your thinking and cause fatigue. People who skip meals are usually robbing their body of essential nutrients and can experience a weakened immune system as well as other negative side effects.

4)  Causes Overeating! When you allow yourself to get overly hungry, you are more likely to overeat and/or binge. This will cause you to consume more calories than you normally would in one sitting, sabotaging all of your efforts to cut back.

Lose weight the smart way!

1)  Knowledge is key! Start by figuring out how many calories you need to cut out in order to reach your goal. Use an app like loseit to calculate what you consume versus how much you burn. Once you determine the deficit, you can decide each day what changes you want to make.

2)  Make a plan! The best way to lose weight permanently is to create a healthy eating plan and an exercise routine you can stick to.

A healthy (balanced) eating plan is usually a combination of three larger meals (aka breakfast, lunch, and dinner) with two snacks in between. Depending on what time you eat dinner, an evening snack may be needed as well. Don’t go to bed hungry!

Here’s an example of a balanced approach to a healthy eating plan:

  • Breakfast 400 calories
  • Snack 200 calories
  • Lunch 400 calories
  • Snack 200 calories
  • Dinner 400 calories
  • Total calories 1600.
This is for sample purposes. You’ll want to calculate your own total. You may discover you need more than 1600 calories depending on how active you are or how much exercise you plan on doing.

Skipping meals may seen enticing in the beginning, but long term success comes from a more balanced approach.  Besides, a balanced approach should sound a whole lot more fun and realistic to you than being hungry all the time.

Please let me know if you have any questions by commenting below! I am here to help you succeed!

Blessings!

Jennifer