Month: January 2020

These days, you’ll find apple cider vinegar in everything from probiotic drinks to gummy supplements. The murky vinegar may make your eyes water, but it’s pretty much the golden child of the health and wellness world, with ACV drinkers praising it for promoting digestion, keeping blood sugar in check — and everything in between.

In addition to a healthy debate amongst experts about apple cider vinegar’s potential health benefits, there’s plenty of controversy out there about how to actually take the stuff — particularly whether you should drink ACV on an empty stomach. 

A BIT OF ACV BACKGROUND 

First and foremost, despite apple cider vinegar’s reputation as a health and wellness cure-all, it (like any other ‘superfood’) isn’t a quick fix. However, though no single food can magically transform your health, ACV seemingly offers some legitimate health benefits.

First, many studies suggest ACV can have an impact on blood sugar. Specifically, research suggests consuming the fruity vinegar alongside a meal may dampen its effect on blood sugar. ACV fans — and some research including on large Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry study — link this effect with increased weight loss, though results appear to be modest. Plus, because ACV contains healthy bacteria (a result of its fermentation process), it can support gut health in people with digestive issues or inflammation, or who’ve taken antibiotics. 

Meanwhile, though early research in mice and rats suggests ACV can support healthy cholesterol and triglycerides, few studies exist to suggest these benefits hold true in humans. 

DRINKING ACV ON AN EMPTY STOMACH: YAY OR NAY? 

Given that ACV offers some potential health perks, it’s generally a harmless addition to a healthy diet — as long as you ingest it carefully.

First of all, shots of apple cider vinegar are an all-around no-go. Vinegar is highly acidic and quite concentrated. Studies and case reports have linked this to tooth enamel erosion, decreased potassium levels, throat burns and delayed stomach emptying.

Is ACV’s acidity harmful for an empty stomach, though? Not necessarily. Since your stomach acid has a low pH of 1.5–3.5, apple cider vinegar’s pH of 2–3 most likely won’t cause any damage to your stomach lining. 

However, if you have a history of acid reflux, consuming ACV on an empty stomach can exacerbate the issue. Either way, no research suggests you get any extra benefit from taking ACV straight-up or on an empty stomach. 

THE BEST WAY TO TAKE ACV 

If you enjoy taking AVC on an empty stomach — and don’t experience and indigestion or reflux symptoms as a result, go for it. Just dilute it with water or in a smoothie so you at least get some extra hydration.

Otherwise, there are plenty of other ways to add ACV to your daily routine. Vinegars work well in salad dressings, marinades and sauces. (The acid really helps bring out the flavors in other foods.) ACV can now be taken in a capsule supplement which many people find much easier to use with or without meals.  (Call our office at 908-279-7740 for more info on ACV capsules)

Enjoy the flavor and prefer to sip your way to benefits? ACV also works well in kombuchas, teas and switchels (vinegar-based drinks). Stir a tablespoon or two into at least 8 ounces of liquid to help the vinegar go down easier. 

We’ve all felt it at one time or another: That trembling, shaky feeling in your muscles when your workout gets tough, or you’ve been holding a pose (like a plank) for too long.

Why do our muscles shake? And should we be worried when it happens?

We’ll come to the first question in a moment, but to answer the second question, muscle shakes during exercise aren’t something you need to worry about — unless it persists outside of the gym. If your muscles are shaking when you are not working out, I strongly suggest you see your doctor. But if your shakes are limited to your workout sessions, rest assured there are three common — and perfectly normal — causes for them.

Reason #1: Fatigue

One of the most common reasons for muscle shakes is fatigue. To understand how fatigue plays a role, we first need to look at what goes on inside your body when your muscles contract.

Contracting a muscle seems simple on the surface, but there’s actually a lot of activity going on inside your body to make that action possible. Anytime you contract your muscles, your nervous system sends chemical messengers to the target muscle (or muscles) via nerve cells known as motor neurons, which tell the muscle fibers to contract.

But all the muscle fibers in a given muscle or muscle group don’t contract at the same time. Instead, your fibers divvy up the work — some fibers work while the others rest, and then they swap places. Your body is going to signal or activate the right amount of fibers for what you’re asking those fibers to do. So, the longer you hold a position, there will be a series of fibers that were initially activated that will need to relax, and new fibers will be activated.

The longer you perform a movement or hold a position, the more fatigued your fibers become, and the less efficient your muscle contractions. The result: shakiness. When this happens, it may be time to scale back the intensity or call it quits. The good news is, as you get stronger and fitter, your muscle fibers become more fatigue-resistant, and you may not get the shakes as quickly as you did before.

Reason #2: Dehydration

Dehydration negatively impacts your exercise performance in many ways, and it doesn’t take much to see the effects. In fact, losing as little as 1–2% of your body mass via sweat can reduce your exercise capacity, according to a study in the Journal of Athletic Training.

When it comes to your muscles, dehydration slows the flow of blood, and it’s your blood that’s responsible for transporting key nutrients (like electrolytes) to your working muscles. When your muscles don’t receive adequate blood flow or nutrients, they can’t work as efficiently, making them more prone to quakes. To prevent dehydration-induced muscle shakes, aim to drink 11–13 8-ounce glasses of water per day and be sure to sip water during exercise — especially if you’re working out in the heat.

Reason #3: New Exercise

Muscles may simply shake when they’re learning a new movement pattern. Remember those nerve cells that communicate with your muscles and tell them when to contract? Well, your body learns how to send those signals at the right time and to the right place through repetition. “Your body has to learn the right pathway of communication to support that movement.

For example, if you’re performing jumping jacks or pushups and your muscles aren’t familiar with those movements just yet, you may feel shaky and uncoordinated at first. But as you practice those movements more and more, your body becomes more efficient at sending and receiving signals, and the shakiness eventually stops.

Bottom Line

Don’t be deterred by shaky muscles. Progress slowly with new exercises to give your body the chance to learn that movement pattern and build the right pathways. 

A consistent walking routine can be an excellent way to get rid of excess belly fat and tone your body. But if you’ve reached a weight loss plateau, don’t worry. From simply strolling leisurely to omitting strength training, these common walking mistakes can easily be fixed to help you reach your weight loss goals: 

Mistake #1: You’re Never Varying Intensity 

While walking at a leisurely pace is better than no exercise at all, research shows walking at a brisk pace is the best for torching calories and weight loss. If you find it hard to up the pace, try doing so for shorter intervals of 1–2 minutes, with a minute of recovery in between. This interval-style workout can help rev your metabolism and break through a weight loss plateau. 

Mistake #2: You’re Always Taking the Same Route 

If you stick to the same route, over time your body adapts and it won’t be as challenging. To boost weight-loss (and keep things exciting) change your scenery a couple days a week. This could be a beach, urban hike, or even a new park.  Not only will you feel mentally refreshed, but different terrain also engages different muscle groups to burn more calories. 

Mistake #3: You’re Not Strength Training 

Strength training is a key part of weight-loss since it helps build muscle which burns more calories at rest compared to fat. Whether it’s with simple body weight exercises or using equipment like kettle balls, strength training can help you build the core, glute and hip strength needed to walk further and faster. It can also help prevent injury, which means you’ll reach your goals sooner. 

Mistake #4: You’re Not Using Proper Form 

Poor walking technique slows your pace, causing you to tire more quickly, and potentially results in injury. Since this can affect how far and long you are able to walk (or keep you from walking altogether), working on improving your form is essential to losing weight. Pay attention to the following on your next walk: 

• Stride Length: A lot of walkers over stride. If your steps are too long, your speed can suffer, and more stress is placed on your joints. To check your stride length, lift a foot and lean forward. Where the foot naturally falls is where you should be striking the ground. Shorter steps increase your cadence and make it easier to walk faster. 
• Arm Swing: Swinging your arms helps you get more power and propels your forward motion 
• Standing Tall: Slouching as you get tired is a common problem when walking. While you might need to strengthen your core to make it happen, work on keeping your back straight and your head up. 

Mistake #5: You’re Not Focusing on Proper Nutrition 

A hard walking workout can sometimes make you feel hungrier than normal. While you want to fuel your walks with smart snacks, it’s important to attention to your overall diet, too, to make sure you’re in a calorie deficit for weight loss. Calorie counting Apps like MyFitnessPal app is a great way to track your food intake and keep you motivated to reach your goals. 

A new decade has arrived and with New Year’s resolutions made for 2020, discipline, willpower, motivation — are all great to have when you’re focusing on building healthy habits, but they don’t come out of nowhere. Although you might feel an initial rush of willpower when you start on a path of better nutrition and exercise, it’s vital to build your reserves of self-control mechanisms for all those many moments when your discipline might be tested.

The more adapted you become to tapping into discipline, the more your mind will adjust to the new setpoints. That much like your body begins to crave movement once you find a fitness regimen you love; your mind will start to want the buzz that comes from developing self-control.

In the same way you’re training your body to adapt to any new exercise, you should give yourself time to focus on developing consistency when it comes to self-control. That means recognizing all the ways it could be sabotaged. I suggest keeping a journal of the times your self-control feels lowest, so you can recognize the effects of saboteurs like these:

1. MULTITASKING

When you multitask and take on numerous work and home responsibilities — especially common around the holidays — you may experience a major surge in cortisol, the hormone that helps you handle stressful situations.

That’s helpful in the short term, but if it becomes your everyday life, that elevated cortisol starts to derail your self-control. With cortisol switched on all the time, the body responds by keeping your blood glucose levels elevated to try and handle the stress. That leads to a cascade of effects, including loss of muscle mass because your body is tapping into your muscles for the glucose. There also tends to be an increase in body fat, especially in the belly area.

2. CLUTTERED SPACES

Messy kitchens can do a major number on your self-control, according to a study on snacking behavior that placed participants in either cluttered kitchen areas or tidy ones, and let them eat as many cookies, crackers and carrots as they wanted.

Those in the messy space ate far more cookies than the clean-kitchen group did, suggesting there may be a correlation between clutter and high-calorie snacking. The researchers noted a chaotic environment can create a vulnerability to making unhealthy food choices, but that mindset matters as well. If you’re really committed to eating healthy, you probably will, but why put the strain on your self-control mechanisms? A little de-cluttering can go a long way toward keeping you on track with less effort.

3. SLEEP DEPRIVATION

If there’s one habit to change when it comes to increasing your self-control, it’s sleep.

There have been several studies noting lack of sleep is linked over eating and weight gain, mainly because sleep problems — too little of it, inconsistent sleep schedules and waking up often — mess with hormones that are directly related to eating. Your circadian rhythms inform your hunger and digestion. Poor sleep can throw those signals out of whack. What many people find is that if they focus on creating good, consistent sleep habits, it’s easier for other healthy choices to come more easily, like eating better food and exercising regularly.

4. WORRY ABOUT EATING THE “RIGHT WAY”

Taking on a new approach to eating can be a crucial first step toward your goals, whether those involve weight loss, addressing a chronic health issue or simply trying to get on a healthier path. But numerous experts note that using a discipline-only strategy doesn’t have great results.

People tend to do well at first and can thrive when they change their eating habits. But when it feels restrictive, or like you’re depriving yourself, and you need to rely on willpower to power through your meals, that’s when you see increased food cravings and struggling. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother; it just means you may need to be more flexible in your way of eating and figure out what works best for you. Some people do well on a keto diet, for example, because they love the structure. Others need to build in more treats or to plan for high-calorie meals. Take time to contemplate what’s worked best for you in the past, and what approach is the least taxing on your self-control.

5. OVERLY AMBITIOUS GOALS

Why do so many jubilant New Year’s resolutions sputter out so quickly? According to some estimates, self-improvement and losing weight are the top two resolutions, but only about 8% of people reach their goals.

There are two main factors for the self-control sabotage; failure to create a set of realistic goals and a lack of a plan to reach them.

Getting to your goals is about progress. It’s fine to have one big milestone to reach, but that can’t be all you have. Without smaller, realistic goals that follow a certain timeline, you’re going to find your self-control fading quickly. Set a timeframe for that large goal — for example, losing 100 pounds in two years or working up to walking 5 miles in the next six months — and then working backward to create mini-goals that can keep you on track and help you celebrate your wins. That provides a boost to your self-control rather than maxing it out.

BUILD YOUR OWN SELF-CONTROL MUSCLES

Self-control and discipline sometimes get a bad rap because they sound like restrictive, painful strategies, but they can actually be freeing when you build them up over time.

Think of self-control as a muscle group instead of related to punishment or something negative. You develop it gradually and then you begin to see results that are truly beneficial and help you meet your goals over time. Happy New Year!