Not Losing Weight? Vary Your Exercise and Eat More Protein

Finally.  We don't have to run for an hour.  We just have to do it fast.

Experts now say it's the quality, not the quantity of exercise, that counts.

Researchers at Skidmore College report the clear benefits of an exercise regimen that includes resistance exercise, interval sprint exercise, stretching (including yoga or pilates), and endurance exercise. Add moderate amounts of protein regularly throughout your day, and you’ll be well on your way toward decreasing total and abdominal fat, increasing lean body mass, and achieving optimal levels for blood pressure, blood glucose, and insulin.

I took this to heart recently.  I used to run five miles at a 15-minute mile pace.  Over time I cut it down to about 32 minutes for a three-mile run.  I feel so much healthier -- and my heart beats so fast, I know I'm exercising.  No one says, "Oh, I saw you out for a walk the other day," anymore.

In fact, one man told me to slow down.  And this was even before I broke my wrist in a fall last winter!

In the study, one group was sedentary, another was called on to perform intense resistance training four times per week, and the third followed a regimen that included resistance exercise, interval sprint exercise, stretching led by a yoga instructor, and endurance exercise.

When the trial ended, researchers found that those who had followed the multidimensional regimen showed the greatest health improvements, including the greatest reductions in body weight, total and abdominal fat mass, waist circumference, and blood glucose. In addition, this group experienced the greatest increase in percentage of lean body mass.

All groups actually showed improvements, even those who maintained a sedentary lifestyle during the period and simply ate the assigned daily regimen of 60 grams of whey protein. That finding supports an earlier study that found increasing the amount of protein in one’s diet to as much as 35 percent will tend to decrease total and abdominal fat.

It’s very difficult to just lift weights, or only do the treadmill or the elliptical machine and be healthy,” says one of the scientists involved in the project. ”Your exercise regimen needs to encompass as much of what makes you a fully integrated living person as possible.”



“It’s not about simply doing more exercise,” he continues. “It’s about doing the appropriate range of exercises and activities that most effectively promote health and fitness.” 




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