Healthiest You Ever

“Our research shows that people may have a better outcome losing weight if they increase their intake of lean protein.”

Proteins, which are made up of amino acids, work within the body as primary building blocks for all tissues and cells, including your muscles. Their secondary function is to provide energy after your carbohydrate resources have been depleted—thereby boosting your metabolism! One gram of protein equals 4 calories and it can be found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and legumes (beans and peas). While legumes are low in fat and high in fiber, animal sources of protein can be higher in unwanted fats yet also provide necessary amino acids, so you may want to alternate the two for maximum benefit.

Your body has to work twice as hard to digest protein as carbohydrates or fats, which means your metabolism has to work harder, too. Also, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when people ate more protein and cut down on fat, they reduced their calorie intake by 441 calories a day. In fact, experts think that eating protein actually enhances the effect of leptin, a hormone that helps the body feel full. When you choose protein, reach for the healthier choices, such as fish, skinless chicken, lean pork, tofu, nuts, beans, eggs, and low-fat dairy products, with the occasional lean red meat.

“Muscular strength is essential for a high level of performance in many sports and activities. There are many other health factors that come along with strength training as well. Strong muscles help keep joints strong, making them less susceptible to sprains, strains, and other injuries.”

The formal definition of muscular strength is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to generate maximal force. The test for determining your maximum strength is referred to as the one-repetition maximum, or the 1-RM. To determine your 1-RM, select a weight that you know you can lift or press at least once. After a proper warm-up, perform a few repetitions. If you are successful, add some more weight and try again. Repeat this until you are unable to move the weight more than one repetition. The weight you are able to do only one repetition with is considered your 1-RM and is a measurement of your muscular strength. Record this number in a journal, and upon the completion of thirty days of training repeat this test and see how much your strength has improved.

DEVELOPING MAXIMUM STRENGTH

In general, exercises with so much resistance that you are unable to exceed a minimum of twelve repetitions are the kinds of exercises that build muscular strength. Power lifters, at one extreme, often work with weights that are heavy enough to limit their sets to four or fewer reps, and they often perform six to ten sets. This type of training effectively develops the greatest potential for maximum strength.

“I read Freud’s Introductory Lectures in Psychoanalysis in basically one sitting. I decided to enroll in medical school. It was almost like a conversion experience.”

Lectures offer incredible opportunities to learn, to acquire new interests, stay current, and improve your conversational skills. Pick topics that you know nothing about—like neuroscience, archeology, quantum physics, ancient history, hieroglyphics, etc.—and charge up your brain cells by straining to understand. The more complex the subject matter, the more it generates new thoughts and gets your brainwaves sparking. Many universities, libraries, and organizations offer free lectures and local newspapers or news channel websites are great resources for finding them. When you find something that sounds intriguing, call a few friends and invite them to come along. That way you can have a stimulating conversation afterward. Or, if you go alone, strike up conversations and make new friends.

• “Consciousness, Creativity, and the Brain, presented by filmmaker David Lynch”

“As you age, you lose range of motion, and your muscles lose flexibility. Failing to stretch is inviting disaster.”

You can do more harm than good if you do your stretching the wrong way. Here are stretch principles that will be of benefit to you as you intensify your endurance-building workouts.

• Stretch daily. If necessary, take ten minutes off one of your workouts to make time for stretching. It’s that important.

• Be careful about stretching outside in very cold weather. For example, when there’s snow on the ground, take extra time to warm up before you try to stretch.

• Exhale as you stretch the muscle. This practice allows the spine to increase flexion, which enhances the effectiveness of the stretch.

• Focus on problem areas and stretch the tighter side more if there is an imbalance.

• Bounce when stretching. You should maintain a constant tension on the muscle. Bouncing can cause injury.

• Push to keep stretching when it hurts to do so. At most, the tension in the muscle should be mild discomfort. It should never hurt.

• Stretch cold muscles. Always warm up before stretching. This can be done with as little as a ten-minute walk or five-minute jog. You risk injury when you try to stretch cold muscles.

• Forget to stretch opposing muscle groups. Stretching one side but not the other can lead to imbalances that cause injuries.

“Dance is bigger than the physical body. When you extend your arm, it doesn’t stop at the end of your fingers, because you’re dancing bigger than that; you’re dancing spirit.”

Dance is a fabulous way to increase flexibility. Most dance classes focus on stretching and increasing flexibility because dancing itself requires you to move your body in new and unusual ways—unless you’re already a ballet dancer or professional dancer. Luckily, many dance studios and gyms offer dance classes for beginner adults, and the classes are not competitive in nature. Everyone generally comes to have fun, learn something new, and limber up his or her body.

No matter what form of dance you take (ballet, jazz, ballroom, hip hop, modern, or other), the instructor should lead you in stretching exercises that target all the main muscle groups in your body. As we’ve already emphasized in Week Three, stretching is one of the most important things you can do to increase your overall flexibility, and repeat stretching will lead to greater flexibility over time.

“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.”

Book lovers adore bookstores. They also enjoy a cup of good coffee or tea while they read. It’s no accident that while many book shops have added refreshment areas where you can purchase a cup of your favorite coffee or tea, coffee houses also sell newspapers and, in some cases, books that the shop is promoting. So, if books are your thing, head off for a delightful afternoon of reading and sipping at a local bookstore. Get to know others who share your passion for literature. It’s a good thing to widen your circle of friends. Happiness is doing what you love with others who love doing the things you do.

WHILE YOU’RE THERE, READ THE CLASSICS

Reading is great for brain health, particularly if you focus on works that challenge you. The latest potboiler may be a fun read, but it’s probably as mentally challenging as a Dick and Jane primer. You can give your brain a workout by reading a literary classic you’ve always meant to tackle or by reading a nonfiction book on a topic you’re interested in but know nothing about. Read carefully, with memory and recall in mind. To help you assimilate this new information, discuss it with friends.

“A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never quite sure.”

To make your home a less stressful, more tranquil place, one of the easiest things you can do is to simplify. Spend some time in each room of your home and list all the things you do in each room. What are the functions of the room? What is impeding that function? And what would make each room simpler, its functions simpler?

Simplify your cleaning chores by creating a system for getting everything done a little bit each day. Simplify your shopping by buying in bulk and by planning your menu a week in advance. You can simplify the way your home works and consequently reduce your stress while in your home in many ways. Many excellent books, magazines, and websites are devoted to simple living. See the resource list at the end of this book for further reading. Here are some more simplicity tips for your home:

• Wear your clothes a little longer (unless they get stained) to cut down on laundry.

• Get rid of or pack away household items that complicate your life without giving you very much back—ornate items that require constant dusting, house plants that require constant watering, dishes you can’t put in the dishwasher, clothes you have to have dry-cleaned.

• Hire a student or a neighboring teenager to mow the lawn, rake the leaves, run errands, or baby-sit. Consider hiring a housecleaning service.