Did you find yourself sweeter and kinder after Whole30 reintro?

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Walking in green spaces can reduce your stress levels and boost your mood, say researchers. 

 

Pilates, yoga and the classic treadmill get all the attention when it comes to popular ways to stay healthy. There is, however, a more unassuming workout that might not get the column inches, but has all the benefits: walking.

Certified fitness professional Jolynn Baca Jaekel explains: “What I love about walking is that anyone can do it at any age and any fitness level. Plus it is good for your heart, your head and your wallet.”

 

A recent report by the Ramblers and Macmillian Cancer Support entitled Walking Works  (PDF) details the health benefits of the humble walk. The report found that regular walking to fulfill the 150 minutes of moderate physical exercise every week recommended by the UK's chief medical officer could save 37,000 lives each year. It could also lead to nearly 300,000 fewer cases of type 2 diabetes.

 

In some cases walking can be more effective than running. Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, found that brisk walking reduces the risk of heart disease.  They observed participants aged between 18 and 80 over a six-year period and found that walking reduced the risk of heart disease by 9.3%, while running reduced it by 4.5%.

 

And there's even more good news: 30 minutes of brisk walking over five days could help you sleep easy, according to research by Oregon State University. A study by the university showed that walking helped participants sleep better  and feel more alert during the day.

 

Getting started

 

The recommended amount of exercise for adults is 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. That breaks down to 30 minutes of exercise over five days a week.

Even though 30 minutes is the ideal, Dr I-Min Lee, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, suggests starting with three shorter 10-minute walks each and slowly building up to the 30-minute walk  once you feel comfortable.

The sooner you get started the sooner you’ll notice the difference in your mind and body..

 

The mental health charity Mind found in their report Ecotherapy: The Green Agenda for Mental Health  that country walks can reduce depression and raise self-esteem. So ditch the smoggy congested route for a nearby park or green space when you head out for your 30-minute walk.

 

Written by Carlene Thomas-Bailey

 

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Change your routine

Once you’ve mastered the 30 minutes of exercise per day, changing your walking route is a great way to keep motivated. “It's always a good idea to keep changing your course so your body doesn't get too familiar with your workout. That's a surefire way to plateau,” says Jaekel. Here are some tips for keeping your walk varied:

• Walk up hills for a great glute workout. Or if you are exercising in a gym, increase the incline for a similar effect. Walking uphill uses more energy than walking along flat surfaces.

• Do speed walking sprints, using trees as your targets.

• Try a long, flat walk for endurance.

By tracking your walking you can assess how far you are going and start considering how much to increase your mileage by. But don’t overdo it, says Jaekel. “It's important to pay attention to how you feel after your longest walks. Is it safe to increase this week or should you wait?"

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Get social

The best thing about walking is that you can do it solo or with friends, and it doesn’t cost a thing. Websites such as Britain On Foot and theRamblers have dedicated walking groups set up all over the country. The Ramblers website even has a list of recommended walks that you can download and take with you. Walking For Health , England’s largest network of health walk schemes, organizes weekly walks across the country with volunteers leading the pack. Perfect for when summer shows up.

 

And being social doesn’t have to mean meeting new people. It can also mean bringing along a pet for your daily walk. 

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Why You Might Need A Break From That “Food You Can’t Live Without”

 

 Summer Innanen and Sarah Ramsden answer all of your health and nutrition questions. In this week’s episode, Summer and Sarah talk about why you might need a break from that ‘food you cannot live without’.

 

Is there one food that you cannot imagine living without? There are both psychological and physical reasons why we have an intense desire for certain foods. However, often the foods that we cannot imagine giving up, are the ones that we need to take a break from.

 

In this episode of S&STV, we talk about:

• How foods can contain chemical compounds that have an effect on your body making them more desirable.
• How a nutrient deficiency can lead you to crave a food.
• How your psychological relationship with that food can increase your desire for it.
• The connection between food intolerances, the adrenal glands and your desires for certain foods.
• Plus, how to determine if that food you cannot live without is problematic for you and whether you should try giving it up in your next Whole30.

 

 

 

 

 

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STEP TWO: REINTRODUCTION

The reintroduction portion of the Whole30 is critical to the learning experience. Over the next ten days, you’ll slowly, carefully, systematically reintroduce some of the off-plan foods you’ve been missing, and evaluate how they make you feel in the context of a healthier relationship with food, metabolism, digestive tract, and immune system. 

 

The Reintroduction Plan

You’ll reintroduce “less healthy” foods back into your diet one group at a time, while keeping the rest of your diet as Whole30-clean as possible. Think about it like a scientific trial, where your Whole30 is the control and the one food group you are trying to evaluate is the experimental group.

 

This means you’ll have to plan carefully, and not combine major food groups during your reintroduction period. For example, don’t eat a slice of toast with peanut butter, because how will you know whether it was the peanuts or the bread that made your joints ache? Do your best to reintroduce each designated food group (as outlined below) alone on your reintroduction day.

Yes, you’ll likely get some added sugar in many of your “experimental” foods—that’s really hard to avoid.If you do choose a reintroduction food with lots of sugar—say, a Starbucks grande Caramel Frappuccino (with a whopping 64 grams!) with whole milk—you’ll have to deal with the dairy  + sugar consequences all at once. Chances are, however, you’ll know intuitively what to attribute to which ingredient—digestive issues are generally dairy-driven, while energy fluctuations, cravings, and mood swings are probably sugar-related. However, some side effects, like skin breakouts, may be the result of the sugar, or the dairy, or the combination of both.

We encourage you to continue to increase your awareness of how the foods you eat are affecting you even after your Whole30 and reintroduction are over. By paying attention every time you eat a non-Whole30 food in the months to come, you can learn even more about how your body reacts to certain foods or ingredients—and continue to make more informed decisions about which foods you deem are truly “worth it.”

 

Reminder: If you don’t miss a particular food or drink that you know makes you less healthy, don’t bother to reintroduce it. Not missing tofu, black beans, cottage cheese, or brown rice? With evidence pointing towards these foods making you less healthy, there’s no reason whatsoever to add them back into your diet. Only reintroduce those foods that you suspect you’ll really want to include back into your diet once in a while, and leave the rest happily behind.

 

Sample Schedule

 

Here is a sample 10-day reintroduction schedule. Feel free to alter your particular food choices to suit your needs.

Day 1: Evaluate legumes, while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30 compliant. Try some peanut butter on your green apple with breakfast, a bowl of miso soup at lunch, and a side of black beans with dinner, while paying attention to how you feel. Then, go back to the Whole30 for the next two days, and see how things go. Pay attention, evaluate and decide how, how often and how much to incorporate legumes into your regular diet—if at all.

 

Day 4: Evaluate non-gluten grains*, while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30 compliant.  Eat a serving of white rice, some corn tortilla chips, and a slice of gluten-free bread, while paying attention to how you feel. Then, return to the Whole30 for the next two days, and see how things go. Pay attention, evaluate and decide how, how often and how much to incorporate non-gluten grains into your regular diet—if at all. *Corn, rice, certified gluten-free oats, quinoa, etc.

 

Day 7: Evaluate dairy, while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30 compliant. Have yogurt in the morning, some cheese in the afternoon, and ice cream after dinner, while paying attention to how you feel. Then, return to the Whole30 for the next two days, and see how things go. Pay attention, evaluate and decide how, how often and how much to incorporate dairy into your regular diet—if at all.

 

Day 10: Evaluate gluten-containing grains*, while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30 compliant.  Gluten is such nasty stuff that we want to break it out from the other grains, so you can evaluate it all by itself. Over the course of your day, eat a muffin, two slices of whole wheat bread, and a side of whole wheat pasta, while paying attention to how you feel. Then, return to the Whole30 for the next two days, and see how things go. Pay attention, evaluate and decide how, how often and how much to incorporate gluten grains into your regular diet—if at all. *Anything made from wheat, rye, or barley.

 

Take Action!

 

Complete your Whole30 reintroduction

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Heading out over the open highway...driving your own vehicle.