Wait, isn’t this supposed to be a book about eating clean? Well, yes. But eating clean and being active go hand in hand—and if you want to get serious about getting lean and feeling great, you’ve got to commit to both. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you need to turn into a gym rat or a triathlete! You just need to commit to building movement into your day—every day. Which, sure, might sound daunting now. But once you start reaping the feel-good (and get-lean) benefits of regular physical activity, you’ll start to wonder how you ever got along without it. C’mon—let’s take that first step!
Maybe you try to exercise a few days a week when you have the time or if you’re feeling up to it. Or maybe the last time you exercised voluntarily was during high school gym class. Either way, you’re hardly alone: Two-thirds of American adults don’t get the recommended 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. And more than one-quarter of us aren’t active at all.1
Of course, there are a million reasons not to exercise. (I don’t have the time! I can’t afford a membership to that swanky gym! Working out is boring! I hate getting sweaty!) But here’s the truth: If you want to lose weight and keep it off, movement has to be a regular part of your life. You don’t have to devote hours to training for a marathon. You don’t have to spend tons of your hard-earned cash on a deluxe gym membership, fancy sneakers, or designer workout clothes. You don’t have to participate in an activity that you think is boring, uncomfortable, or just plain awful. You don’t even have to get all that sweaty.
But you do have to move. Sure, you probably could lose weight through diet alone. But it wouldn’t be much fun. Without burning those extra calories through exercise, you’d have to watch what you ate really, really carefully. Your portions would have to be smaller, so you’d be more likely to feel hungry between meals. And you wouldn’t have much room for an afternoon snack, much less the occasional treat like a glass of wine or your favorite ice cream. Not so great, right?
There’s more. Active folks tend to have more lean muscle mass than couch potatoes do, and muscle plays an important role in keeping your metabolism fired up. But most importantly, being active supports a clean lifestyle as a whole. When you exercise, your body pumps out feel-good endorphins that boost your energy and mood and lower your stress levels. Expending all that extra energy throughout the day also means that you’ll likely sleep better at night. In short, exercise helps you feel better overall. And the better you feel, the more likely you are to want to eat clean and make other choices that promote your overall health and well-being.
Remember, being active can—and should!—be fun. The key is finding forms of exercise that you can enjoy doing instead of ones that feel like work. Often, that means aligning your workout with another pleasurable activity, which can make it more tolerable even at a time when you’re not feeling particularly enthusiastic. Think bicycling while you listen to your favorite music or podcast, taking an aerobics class with your friends, or walking—and bonding—with your dog. And you know what else? Every bit of movement counts. Give yourself an extra boost by taking steps to build more movement into your everyday activities. Whether you’re taking another lap around the mall before heading home or carrying in those heavy grocery bags yourself instead of asking your kid to do it, those short bouts of exercise can add up to a seriously healthier—and leaner—body.
If eating clean is all about making better choices without actually having to follow a traditional, rule-crazy diet, moving clean is all about living an active lifestyle without having to follow a rigid workout plan. Yup, that’s right! There’s no law saying you have to slog it out on the treadmill or elliptical; navigate those clunky, confusing weight machines; or even step foot inside a gym. The only thing you have to do is make sure you build physical activity into your day—every day. Don’t worry; even if you’re brand new to exercise or totally strapped for time, it’s easier than you think.
Notes from a Clean Eater
“Before, my daily steps used to add up to 2,500. Now, I’m walking 8,000 to 10,000 steps!” —Almarie K.
What counts as a workout versus a leisurely stroll? And how long do you need to be active each day in order to support your weight-loss efforts? Here’s exactly what you need to know in order to exercise effectively.
• Move daily. Aim to be active at least 6 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each day. If you can squeeze in 45 minutes or an hour, that’s even better! The more you move, the more benefits you’ll reap with regards to your weight—and your health.
• Find something fun. When it comes to exercise, consistency is key. So pick an activity that’s worth looking forward to! Whether it’s walking briskly through the park, taking a dance class, or playing tennis with your pals, it won’t feel like work if you’re having a good time. Just plain don’t enjoy being active? Okay—find something that you can at least tolerate.
• Make a rock-solid plan. Each week, look at your schedule and figure out how you’ll meet your movement quota. Will you walk before work? Meet your friend for kickboxing class in the evening? Whatever you decide, put it on your calendar. When you treat exercise like an appointment, you’re less likely to skip out.
• Amp up the intensity. Your workout doesn’t have to leave you panting or sweating buckets. (Though if you want to do something intense, get your doctor’s okay and go for it!) But it does need to be vigorous enough to get your heart rate up. To find your sweet spot, just use the talk test: You should be able to carry on a light conversation but be a little too winded to be able to sing a song. At that level of intensity, your body will start to feel a bit warmer, and your breathing rate will begin to increase.
• Break things up. Can’t fit in a full workout in one fell swoop? No problem. A few chunks of activity can be just as effective as one long sweat session, so feel free to spread your exercise out over the course of your day. Just try to work in at least 20 minutes at a time. Aiming for this amount will help you burn more calories and—just as important—will lead to better blood sugar control. After about 20 minutes of movement, your cells start working more efficiently to pull extra sugar from your blood to transform it into usable energy instead of letting it turn into fat. Amazingly, this effect can last for up to 24 hours.
We’re talking about walking! A quarter of people who lose weight and keep it off rely on this simple activity for their daily exercise. And if you’re new to being active or you just want to keep things simple, walking is a fantastic tool for achieving your weight-loss goals and improving your overall health.
Of course, easy doesn’t mean that you don’t have to put in any effort. (You do. Remember the talk test?) Instead, it means that it’s easy to do. No matter what your current fitness level, you can start walking—even if you’ve never exercised before in your life. And you don’t need any fancy equipment or a gym membership to get started. All you have to do is put on some comfortable clothes and sneakers, swing open the front door, and put one foot in front of the other. That’s all there is to it. As long as you’re keeping a brisk pace for at least 20 minutes, you’re doing walking right.
You can walk when it’s warm or cold, when it’s sunny or rainy (just bring an umbrella!), and when it’s morning, afternoon, or evening. An a.m. walk is a great way to ramp up your energy for the day ahead, while an after-lunch walk can combat the dreaded midday slump. As for walking after dinner? When it comes to decompressing after a long day, it beats watching TV on the couch by a landslide. Try it—you’ll see. And remember, if you’d rather walk indoors, you can do that, too. Stock up on a few different walking workout DVDs, or take laps around the mall. If it gets you walking, it works.
Notes from a Clean Eater
“I try to walk outside no matter what the weather is like. I’ll take a big umbrella sometimes. But if I get wet, it’s not a big deal.”—Kathy C.
The best time to exercise is what-ever time works for you. But for a lot of us, that time might be first thing in the morning. Research shows that a.m. exercisers tend to be more consistent than p.m. exercisers—in part because they run into fewer workout-derailing scheduling conflicts. What’s more, you’ll start your day on an energized, productive foot because exercise floods your system with feel-good endorphins. So set that alarm and give it a try. When 5:30 p.m. comes and the inevitable late-day meeting or unexpected dinner invitation comes through, you’ll be so glad you did.
Maybe you already have a habit of walking regularly, and you want to take things up a notch in order to accelerate your weight loss. That’s great! Ramping up the intensity of your workout is a smart move, and it doesn’t have to get complicated. Here are two ways you can start feeling the burn.
1. Add in some intervals. Injecting brief periods of intense effort into your regular walks (or runs, swims, bike rides, or other types of cardio) kicks your metabolism up to a slightly higher rate—and the boost can last for hours. As a result, you keep on burning more calories even after your exercise session is over. Talk about more bang for your buck!
Not sure how to introduce intervals into your routine? If you’re a walker and you typically exercise for 30 minutes, sprinkle in a 30-second burst of jogging every 5 minutes. As you become more fit, you can increase the length of your intervals to a full minute and decrease the walking segments to 4 minutes. For the biggest metabolism boost, the interval portion needs to be challenging, so go all out! If you’re breathing very hard by the end, you’re doing it right.
For some people, the beauty of walking is that it doesn’t feel like a formal workout. But what if you want to add a little more structure to your strolls? Bring along a wristwatch or stopwatch, and try alternating walking with other get-fit moves, like:
•Walking lunges
•Pushups or modified pushups
•Jumping jacks
For more ideas, look up our favorite walking workouts at bazilians.com/ECSLdiet/extras.
2. Start strength training. While your heart and other organs demand fuel around the clock, there’s little you can do to increase their metabolic needs. However, your muscles—which also require constant feeding—are changeable. Make them bigger, and they will demand more calories day and night. (Not to mention that they’ll give you a leaner, more sculpted shape.)
Happily, you don’t need tons of time or a gym membership to strength train effectively. With the right moves and a basic set of dumbbells, you can work all of your major muscle groups in the time it takes for you to watch your favorite sitcom. Perform strength-training exercises two or three times a week, and your muscles will soon turn into furnaces that burn up extra calories before your body can convert them into fat. Find our effective, easy-to-follow 30-minute routine at bazilians.com/ECSLdiet/extras.)
This is the number of calories burned per week by individuals who successfully lose weight and keep it off. Sounds like a lot, right? But the number is actually much more manageable than it seems. When you break it down, 2,800 calories a week equals . . .
• 400 to 500 calories per day
• or 4 to 5 miles per day
• or 10,000 steps per day
Pedometers and other wearables count the number of steps you take throughout the day to estimate how much distance you’ve covered. Some also come with a stopwatch to literally clock the amount of time you spend exercising. You don’t need these devices to exercise, but they can make it easier to figure out whether you’re meeting your daily movement goals. Plus, a tracker can deliver a major motivational boost: You’ll likely find yourself trying to beat yesterday’s step count or sneak in another half mile. If you opt to use one, here are a few tips for making the most of it.
• Pick a step goal. For general health, aim to work up to 10,000 steps per day. In order to lose weight or maintain your weight loss, you may need to bump it up to 12,000 to 15,000 steps per day.
• Work your way up. If you’re new to exercising, taking 10,000 steps per day might seem daunting. That’s okay! Can you manage 3,000 or 5,000 steps? Once that feels good, try adding in another 1,000 steps. Every time you increase your step goal, you’re getting a little bit more fit.
• Track daily. For the most accurate picture of your overall movement, wear your pedometer or tracker every day. Put it in a prominent spot that makes putting it on first thing in the morning easy to remember—next to your alarm clock or near your toothbrush are both good choices. Don’t think you’ll remember to don your device? Use a step counting app on your smartphone, instead. Findings show that they’re just as accurate as other trackers,2 and chances are, you always have yours with you.
Short on time? Intervals may be a great exercise option for you, too. Since they’re more intense than a longer, moderately paced workout, intervals help you burn more calories in a shorter period of time—while still reaping all of the health benefits that come with cardiovascular exercise. If you normally walk at a brisk pace for 45 minutes or an hour, try doing just 30 minutes of interval walking.
Moving clean is about more than just exercising for 30 or 60 minutes a day. In order to live a truly active lifestyle, it’s important to find ways to weave more movement into all aspects of your day. For instance, taking the steps instead of the elevator. Or visiting your coworker’s office to talk about a project instead of sending an e-mail or instant message. Or walking into the coffee shop instead of cruising through the drive-thru. See how many opportunities there are to sneak in some extra steps?
We get it. You might be thinking, I already did my workout. Why do I need to worry about getting even more activity? For starters, because every little bit of movement counts. Parking at the far end of the lot on one grocery shopping trip or skipping the escalator at the mall might not burn many calories on its own. But over the course of a day, a week, a month, or even more, all of that extra effort adds up—and it can help support your efforts to get leaner. On the other hand, spending hours and hours sitting can send your body into Fat Storage Land. It can zap your energy, too—which only encourages you to spend more time in your chair or on the couch.
Most of us sit while we work. We sit while we drive to work or to the store. And we sit at home while we eat, watch TV, and scroll through our phones. Problem is, all of that sitting can be pretty harmful to your health—even if you’re a regular exerciser.
Just how bad is keeping your keister in a chair all day? In terms of your heart and lung health, 2 hours of sedentary behavior (sitting, driving, or working on your computer) is as bad for you as 20 minutes of exercise is good for you, according to Mayo Clinic Proceedings research.3 Too much time on your tuckus is also associated with a higher risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and even cancer.4
What is it about sitting that’s so bad for you? One line of thought is that when you’re sitting all day long, your muscles produce fewer fat-burning enzymes, which can raise your blood sugar. Another theory is that your body becomes so accustomed to sitting that your muscles don’t work as well when you try to do other activities, which hurts your posture and your ability to exercise. Are you jumping out of your seat yet?
Take a look at the clock. How long have you been sitting here reading? If it’s been more than 30 minutes, put down your book, stand up, and take a movement break. Stretch your arms and legs, walk to the kitchen for a glass of water, or head outside to grab the mail. We’ll still be here when you get back!
Okay, so you’ll make a mental note to take the stairs more often instead of the elevator or escalator. And you’ll try to park as far away from the supermarket or the drugstore as you can. (Fine—as long as it’s not raining.) But aside from those oft-repeated tips, what else can you realistically do? Moving more throughout the day might seem tough if your job has you chained to a desk or if you live in a neighborhood that’s within walking distance of, well, nothing. But you can do it—and chances are, making the extra effort to move will leave you feeling great. Here are some ideas to get you started.
WHEN YOU’RE AT HOME . . .
• Be an inefficient cleaner. Sure, putting things away in one big haul is the fastest way to tidy up, but making several smaller trips nets you way more steps. (And you won’t end up dropping stuff all over the floor!)
• Axe the TV ads. When you’re watching the tube, get off the couch and take a lap around the house every time there’s a commercial break. They’re boring anyway, so why sit there watching them?
• Go find your family members. Do you usually make a habit of yelling for your spouse or kids from the other side of the house? Swap the shouting for walking over to talk to them, instead. Bonus: You may never again have to hear anyone bellow, “Whaaaaat?!”
• Adopt an audiobook habit. If reading is your favorite type of downtime, trade your hard copy for an audiobook. Download it to your smartphone and listen while you walk the dog, tend the garden, or cook dinner.
• Pretend your cell phone is a landline. Leave it in a central location, like the kitchen, and turn the ringer way up. Whenever you hear a ping, you’ll have to get up to grab the phone. What a throwback, right?
WHEN YOU’RE AT WORK . . .
• Walk and talk. When you’re on the phone, pace around instead of sitting at your desk. Rather than drafting a lengthy e-mail to your coworker, head over to her office and talk in person. Got a meeting? Suggest that the gang go for a walk instead of gathering around the conference room table.
• Set an alarm. It’s easy to go hours without getting up when you’re buried in projects or e-mails, so set an alarm on your phone or computer to go off every half hour. When it goes off, walk or stretch for a full 2 minutes before sitting back down.
• Be the picker upper. When your gang places an order for coffee or lunch, give the intern or delivery guy a break and offer to go fetch the stuff yourself.
• Hack a standing workstation. March in place while you file paperwork, sit on an exercise ball instead of an office chair, or do squats while you brainstorm or dictate notes. Have the resources to make some bigger changes? Consider investing in a treadmill and securing a tray to the front where you can put your laptop and phone while you work. (Just walk slowly—think 1.0 to 2.0 mph, max—so you are active, productive, and safe at the same time!)
• Trash your wastebasket. When you have to throw something out, get up and toss it in a common area trash can.
WHEN YOU’RE ON THE GO . . .
• Stroll the supermarket. Take a lap around the perimeter of the store before you start filling your cart.
• Do a power pickup. Walk to pick your kids up from school instead of driving, if you can. If you have to drive, get out and greet them with a big hug instead of waiting for them in the car.
• Walk off your wait times. Have time to kill before the doctor, dentist, or hairstylist is ready for you? Head outside for a walk instead of waiting in the reception area, and ask for a call or text when it’s time to come in.
• Get off at another stop. If you travel by bus or train, hop off a couple of stops early and walk the rest of the way to your destination.
• Give yourself permission to window shop. Go ahead—take a detour to check out what’s new at your favorite store. If you find something you love, decide that you’ll reward yourself after you lose X number of pounds.
Not every bit of exercise has to come in the form of pulling on your sweats and lacing up your sneakers. These active hobbies are all big calorie burners, too.
• Playing Frisbee: 221 calories per hour
• Kayaking: 340 calories per hour
• Gardening: 390 calories per hour
• Hiking: Up to 400 calories per hour
• Dancing: 595 calories per hour
• Inline skating: 816 calories per hour5
The idea of exercising might conjure up notions of energy bars and protein shakes. After all, don’t you need extra energy to fuel all of that movement?
It may surprise you to learn that for most people, the answer is no. Sure, athletes who train for hours on end certainly need more food to supply their muscles with adequate energy and to avoid zonking out on the field. But for the average person, 30 minutes or even an hour of moderate exercise probably isn’t enough to justify an extra snack before or after a workout. Especially when you’re trying to lose weight. Even though your 30-minute jog or hour of brisk walking felt like tons of hard work, it only takes an extra fruit-and-yogurt smoothie or whole wheat bagel with peanut butter to undo all of that effort. That’s not to say that your everyday workout isn’t good enough—it is, and you should be proud of the fact that you put in the effort. But most of the time, it likely isn’t enough to justify eating extra food. (If you regularly do longer or more intense workouts, consider consulting with a sports nutritionist. Together, you can fine-tune your meals and snacks to fuel your performance and reach your weight-loss goals.)
Still, it can be tough to forget the pre- or postwork-out snack advice that most of us have heard over and over. And depending on what time you exercise, you might feel legitimately hungry when it comes time to start moving. But with a little extra planning, you can be active at any time of day without feeling too hungry.
Think of your workout as pleasure instead of business, and your urge to snack just might subside. In one study from Cornell University, people who saw their walk as formal exercise took more than twice as much candy postworkout compared to those who saw their walk as a leisurely, scenic stroll. In a second study, those who perceived their walk as exercise instead of fun opted for a dessert of chocolate pudding and soda instead of applesauce—and took in 42 percent more calories.6 The next time you’re tempted to grab a bite as you slip on your sneakers, try looking at your daily activity in a different light. A simple shift in mind-set could make a major difference. Have fun!
• If you exercise in the morning . . . If you tend to be hungry when working out first thing in the a.m., split breakfast into two mini-meals. You can literally eat half of your breakfast before exercising and have the rest after your shower, or you can eat two snack-size breakfasts. Half a slice of toast with peanut butter and sliced banana or half of a fruit-and-protein smoothie are both good options. Not interested in food when you wake up? No problem. Just exercise first and eat breakfast afterwards. You don’t need any extra fuel.
• If you exercise after work . . . Save your afternoon snack, and eat it an hour or so before your workout. You’ll get the energy you need to make it through your exercise (and showering and getting dinner on the table), but since you’re having a planned snack that you would have eaten anyway, you’re not actually taking in any extra calories that you don’t need.
One more thing: Remember to always home in on your true hunger level. For many of us, it’s common for exercise to act as a trigger for snacking—whether our stomachs are rumbling or not. So try to forget about what you think you should be doing or what you feel like you might deserve as a reward for exercising, and just think about how you actually feel. If you’re eating three clean meals and two or three clean snacks per day, you should be pretty satisfied!
Whether you’re walking around your neighborhood for 30 minutes or going all-out during an hour-long spin class, hydration is an essential part of healthy exercise. You need to get the right amount of water to replace the water you lose from sweat while you’re active in order to feel energized and perform your best. Skip your regular sips, and you’re more likely to feel fatigued, get muscle cramps, and even feel dizzy. (And there’s no need for sports drinks. They’re high in calories and sugar that you don’t need. Plus, plain old water is nature’s perfect source of hydration!)
So how much water do you need? A good rule of thumb is to drink water throughout the day, sip 6 to 12 ounces about 15 minutes before you start working out, and rehydrate with another 2 to 3 cups of water after you’re done.
Putting It All Together
1 Move more, period! Being active helps you burn more calories, have more energy, and make healthier choices overall—which helps you lose more weight.
2 Make it a habit. Consistency is key, so find ways to be active every day—even if you don’t have time for a full workout.
3 Have fun! You’re more likely to stick with an activity that you enjoy than you are one that feels like drudgery. As long as it gets your heart rate up and you do it for at least 20 minutes, it counts!
4 Add more activity into the rest of your day. Being sedentary is bad for your health—even if you exercise. Plus, being more active throughout your day can help you burn extra calories and boost your energy.
5 Skip the extra snacks. Pre- and postworkout snacks aren’t usually necessary, and they can slow your weight loss.