4 Myths and plenty of truths about running

When it comes to running, there are plenty of truths: It improves your health. It can help you lose weight. It can even make you happier. But there’s a lot of misconceptions attached to running floating out there, too. Here, we bust some of the sport’s major myths—and offer even more reasons to call yourself a runner.

The Myth: “Running is bad for my knees!”

The Truth: Sure, your entire body—including your knees—takes a pounding with every step you run. But studies show that running actually strengthens your knees and other joints, and improves your bone health. “Running is not bad for you,” insists Ryan Bolton, a running coach with Training Bible in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “We were all physically made to run.”

To prevent damage to your knees or anywhere else on your body, first start with the right pair of shoes. Not sure which sneaks to select? Head to your local running specialty store for a gait analysis, which will reveal the type of shoe that has the right combination of cushion and support for you.

Then, gently ease into running by alternating between walking and jogging, gradually decreasing the time you walk. Bottom line? To avoid completely shocking your system, give your body time to adjust to running before you really start pounding the pavement.

The Myth: “I’m going to lose a ton of weight as soon as I start running.”

The Truth: While running can be one of the most effective ways to lose weight, you’re not necessarily going to see instant results. And there’s a variety of reasons why, ranging from your approach to running (long, slow runs may keep your metabolism static) to the fact that high-intensity exercise can increase appetite—so just be wary that you’re not eating more than you burn when trying to lose weight.

The simplest way to see results from running? Stop looking at the scale.

“Scales don’t differentiate between fat, muscle, water retention, or the clothes you’re wearing,” says Shannon Downey, a health and fitness expert in Chicago, Ill. “If you feel good, have more energy, and notice that your clothes fit better, you’ll know [the running] is working.”

The Myth: “I don’t need to do any other type of exercise if I run.”

The Truth: Wouldn’t life be so simple if all we had to do was lace up our shoes and head out the door? While running provides a total body workout, it’s not the end-all-be-all when it comes to exercise. That’s why we have cross-training—or non-running exercises like cycling, swimming, or even a Zumba class.

“For the best results, it’s important to mix three forms of training: higher intensity interval training to help raise your metabolism; strength training to build lean muscle, which burns fat; and steady-state cardio training to burn extra calories at lower intensities,” explains Brett Hoebel, a professional trainer in Los Angeles. “Choosing one different cross-training exercise a day can target all three areas.”

Besides that, a regular cross-training routine can help you prevent injuries and bust boredom—both of which may come along with running only. So supplement your running with some cross-training, and you’ll be a better (and stronger) runner for it.

The Myth: “I’m not skinny or young enough to start running.”

The Truth: Anybody can be a runner. Just head out to a local road race and you’ll see people of all ages and body sizes streaming by. Or take a look at runners like Fauja Singh, the Indian-born Brit who retired from running last year at the age of 101—after taking up marathons at the age of 89. And 39-year-old professional runner Blake Russell, a mom of two, who became the second-oldest woman to snag an American marathon title with her win at the 2015 U.S. marathon championships in Los Angeles. So what’s your excuse again?

While it can be super scary to start up a running routine as an adult, it’s completely doable—even if you don’t consider yourself to have an “ideal” runner’s body.

As writer John “The Penguin” Bingham wrote: “If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or if you’ve been running for 20 years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.”

So what are you waiting for? Just run already.

Compulsive Eating

Compulsive eating is your diets biggest enemy

How does it start?

In some cases, people simply overeat out of mindless habit, like always sitting down with a bag of chips in front of the TV at night. But often times, it’s the result of underlying emotional problems. Having a negative body image can play a big role. Most compulsive eaters don't even know they're doing it. A bag of chips at night while reading or watching TV. A container of ice cream while watching a movie. 

For many people, compulsive overeating is part of a cycle that starts with a restrictive diet. May calls it the “eat, repent, repeat” cycle. You might begin a diet because you feel bad about your weight or size but find that it’s too hard to stick to -- especially if you use food as a coping tool. Eventually, you hit a breaking point and binge on “forbidden” foods, and then the guilt and shame set in, and the restrictions begin again.

The cycle can be hard to break. “Even people who say they’re not on a diet often have ingrained ideas about ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods,” says Marsha Hudnall, president of Green Mountain at Fox Run in Vermont, a center for women who struggle with overeating. “But when you have a substance that is naturally appealing and soothing and comforting, and you make it off-limits, it just becomes more attractive.”

Can people be “addicted” to food?

In recent years, food addiction has become a popular idea among some scientists. Those researchers say that certain foods high in fat, sugar, and salt are addictive, causing changes in the brain similar to those made by drugs. Studies in animals have shown that rats that binge on sugar, for example, can develop signs of dependency.

But the idea of food addiction is controversial. For one thing, the standard treatment for addiction is abstinence, and that’s not possible with food. Also, “dieting is a very strong component of the binge eating cycle,” May says. “From that standpoint, it’s counterproductive to label certain foods as negative.”

There’s no doubt that eating can stimulate the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain, Hudnall says. “But that doesn’t make food an addictive substance. There’s evidence that it’s actually the behavior -- the restrict/binge cycle -- that causes the signs of dependency, not the food itself,” she says. Some researchers have even stated that the term “eating addiction” is a more accurate term than “food addiction.”

Personally, I think it's more about the "feel good" feelings you get from comfort food. Comfort food is a calorie problem for dieters. It's not really comfort food unless it's high in calories. Not from sugar but from carbs. Popcorn with lots of butter doesn't really contain any sugar but it has lots of carbs. Chips has little sugar but lots of carbs. So the point is that watching calories will help you control carbs. It's not only the sweet things that contain calories. Read the labels and remember if your trying to lose weight, 1500 calories is about right for the average person. A little less for a women. You can adjust that number depending on your size and activity level. 

Weight Loss Program Can Work For You

Weight loss programs can help a person when they don't have a clue how to start. I personally never was able to stick with a program, but that was 20 years ago when these programs were not very flexible and didn't give you much choice in the foods you ate. But today things are much different and the novice who hasn't  had any luck in the past with these programs might find one that will work for them.

Finding a weight loss program can be quite a challenge. It takes time, mental toughness and support to change lifetime habits. But it's a process you must learn in order to succeed. Regardless of which of the many weight loss programs you decide to join, you alone are the one who has the power to lose your excess weight.

We are flooded with success stories every day on television and in newspapers, magazines and tabloids, all of them about people who have lost their excess weight and kept it off with a new miraculous weight loss program.

Diets and weight loss programs are generally more flexible now than they once were. The meals are attractive and can often be prepared in a matter of minutes. Low-fat and low-calorie foods are on shelves everywhere.

You will probably need to learn new, wiser eating skills. You will want a weight loss program that gives you some control, rather than imposing one rigid system. Look for one that offers a variety of different eating plans, so you can choose the one that's best for you.

Keep in mind, too, that your weight loss program will most likely include some physical exercises. Look at the exercising aspect of your program as fun and recreation and not as a form of sweaty work.

If you are willing to take the few simple steps that lie between you and fitness, you will soon begin to feel better, and the improvement will reflect in every part of your life. These are the new weight loss programs of today. The new programs are designed to get you healthy and as you get healthy and feel healthy the weight will come off.

A rule of thumb that I follow when making recommendations, is not to spend a lot of money and don't sign-up for a long-term program. Weight Watchers is a good program for beginners but you want to "pay by the week" until you're sure this is for you. The people who always drop-out of programs that require going to a gym or somewhere for a meeting is that over time you always find a reason not to go. People drop out because their lives are busy and over time other things take priority. Choice a plan wisely or do it on your own.

Over a couple of decades, I lost my excess body fat by changing my diet. I did it on my own, just like I quit smoking. Make up your mind that you want to be thin and you can do it.

Look on my Home Page and click on the Tab "Diet". If you stick to that program you will lose weight. The pyramid give you numerous food choices every day, stick to the pyramid, and only drink what it says. I did push it a little, with tea and coffee but I drank them black. Wine very little and lots of water. It worked for me and you can eat all you want if it's on the pyramid.

Get my new e-book on weight loss at smashwords.com. Type "getting to a healthy weight" in the search field and check it out.

Is Breakfast Important?

There's many different opinions about the value of breakfast, but for kids everyone seems to agree that kids need to eat breakfast before school. Breakfast for school kids can actually increase their IQ. These are not my words, in 2013 a study was done with Chinese kindergartens and the study found that the students that ate breakfast had higher IQ's.

Will breakfast for adults do the same thing? I doubt that, but I do know that those adults who eat breakfast snack less throughout the day. So why is that important? Eating snacks especially in the morning starts a cycle of more snacking throughout the day which translates to over-eating. It is true that those adults who eat a high-protein breakfast (13gm of protein minimum ) are thinner and healthier.

So why is that, you might ask? What science says is that eating protein will start your metabolism burning calories and the earlier you start burning calories the more calories you'll burn that day. The same thing goes for exercise. Exercise will wake up your sleeping metabolism and start the process of burning calories. So the earlier in the day you exercise the more calories you'll burn that day.

Do you see where I'm going with this. I wrote last week about running and how running is one of the best ways to lose weight. Why is that, you might ask? O.K., running will quick start your metabolism and start you burning calories, but more important a high intensity workout like running will keep your metabolism burning calories longer than passive exercise. Hence, the morning run. For many years I thought that runners would run in the morning because it was cooler and morning exercise wakes you up and helps prepare you for the day ahead, who knew that runner would actually be burning more calories by running in the morning.

A brisk walk can do the same thing, it's just that running will accomplish the same thing in less time. I wrote in that post last week that beginner can still run, they just have to start slow. 10 minutes a day, to start. Walk for 2 minutes, then run for 20 seconds, then walk for 2 minutes, then run for 20 seconds and so on. If your out of breath at the end your going to fast. This is meant to condition your body for the next step. After a couple of weeks and you've increased the pace, you need to increase to 20 minutes a day. with 30 second intervals of running. Remember if your out of breath your running to fast. The next step would be to increase to 30 minutes a day and after you get use to that you would increase the time running and decrease the time walking. Check out the post on Running. If you forget I'll re-post two posts I wrote about running.

Breakfast is also important for running or any early morning exercise. You need fuel to work-out. A small amount of carbs before and protein after. If that sounds to difficult and time-consuming think about high-protein shakes. My wife makes a high-protein shake every morning. Actually she puts the drink together at night and puts it in the frig. In the morning she puts it together, puts it on the blender and in 2 minutes she's out the door with the drink in hand. People who are pressed for time in the morning have no excuse now. There's several different recipes for shakes but basically its Greek Yogurt and fruit with a protein powder added. You can find recipes on the internet.

Why Talk About Running?

Running is probably the best exercise I know for losing weight. Many overweight people, especially middle age men remembering their youth will start running again trying to recapture that body they once had back in school. Well I found out a while ago that I'm not going to recapture my youth but I can run to lose weight. Running is inexpensive and there's no gym membership involved, just a good pair of running shoes. Also you don't have to spend half a day at the gym to lose weight. You can run for half an hour and your done for the day.

Whether you’re running for the first time, or for the first time in a long time, you want to kick things off slowly. Before you lace up your shoes and hit the pavement, try this smart advice to get into the race safely.

"If you’re huffing and puffing at the end of a run, you’ve overdone it." -- running expert Jeff Galloway gives advice on how to begin.

Start with your diet. To fuel a run, keep well-hydrated by drinking at least 8 ounces of nonalcoholic liquid eight times a day and eating a small, sugar-boosting snack 30 minutes before you head out, says former Olympic runner Jeff Galloway, a columnist for Runner's World and author of Women's Complete Guide to Running, which he co-wrote with his wife, Barbara. He suggests half of an energy bar or a sports drink. 

Find a buddy. Running can be a great way to stay in shape and keep connected with friends. "Women tend to respond better to running in groups," Galloway says. "It helps keep them motivated."

Pace yourself. Galloway cautions newbies not to get overly enthusiastic early on. “Men tend to get injuries from overdoing it," he says. "Men who have not done any real exercise in 20 years and suddenly decide to run like they did in high school -- that's a formula for disaster."

The Walk-Run Ratio
Galloway, who works with runners of all ages and levels, teaches a technique that lets the body ease into its new type of motion. Beginning runners, he says, should run for 5 to 10 seconds out of every minute, walking the rest of each minute. Gradually, the walk/run ratio will shift as your muscles strengthen and your joints adjust.

Even in the beginning, when the bulk of your run time is spent walking, you’re still getting a good workout. "Walking is the best cross-training," Galloway says. "And a lot of people progress to marathons in just 6 months." I never made it Marathon, but I ran 5 miles a day and that's a good workout and after you get use to running you will pick up speed and running 5 miles is easily done in 30 minutes, as a matter of fact after spending months running I could run 10 miles in 30 minutes. I wasn't exceptional just average.

Running Rules
Here are a few of Galloway's tips to keep you on the run and off the injured list.

Go for gain, not pain . "Follow the huff-and-puff rule: If you’re huffing and puffing at the end of a run, you’ve overdone it," says Galloway, who advises a slow and easy approach to running. "The bottom line: You need to monitor your aches and pains."

Avoid runner's lows. Done incorrectly, running can cause a lot of discomfort and even injury, Galloway says. "People get discouraged and feel they’re not designed for running. Really, they just need to correct their walk/run ratio [until it feels right]." 

Stretching is an important part of running without injury. Check-out my next post.

Naturally, if your under Doctor's care or are extremely heavy you should see a doctor before starting any strenuous exercise program. Running, if not done right, can be hard on your heart and other parts of your body. Be sure your healthy enough to run before you start a program like this.

Partner up to exercise

Great article from WedMd. Most people who quit exercising are doing it alone. You can always find an excuse for not workout if your alone. Workout partners usually stick with it. 

Partners Can Team Up to Get Healthy
You and your  partner may be best friends, but are you allies when it comes to getting in shape, eating well, and living a healthy lifestyle?

For many people, the answer is no, say psychology professors Thomas Bradbury, PhD, and Benjamin Karney, PhD,  co-authors of the recent book Love Me Slender: How Smart Couples Team Up to Lose Weight, Exercise More, and Stay Healthy Together. Having a partner gives you a reason to workout, It will keep you motivated. Your chances of staying with your workout routine is 5 times greater if you have a partner. People who workout alone will easily find reasons not to workout.

Over the past 2 decades the professors videotaped thousands of young married couples to study how couples communicate. They found that many important conversations revolved around health. "Often we'd see couples in which both partners wanted to get healthier, but they just weren't getting traction," Bradbury says.

But some couples do make it work, he says. Here's what they do (and don't do) to achieve a healthy lifestyle together:

DO model healthy living. "Switch to nonfat milk, for example, or order the chicken sandwich instead of the hamburger," Bradbury says. "Small things that we see modeled in our relationship start to become the norm."

DON'T simply make suggestions if your partner struggles with their weight. Focus your energy on understanding the problem. "Sometimes the most effective thing to do is say something like, 'Tell me what's behind your need to lose weight,'" Bradbury says.

DO think long term. Good health takes work, so discuss the rewards to be reaped in years to come, like playing with your grandkids. Bradbury says, "Tell your partner, 'I want to be with you for a long, long time.' That can be a powerful message. And chocolate cake every day isn't consistent with that."

DON'T criticize. Instead, encourage. Notice when your spouse or partner orders a salad or takes a walk. That will help them stay optimistic.

DO return to healthy activities you did as a younger couple, like taking walks together or playing tennis. "Incorporate those kinds of health-promoting activities into your identity as a couple again," Bradbury says.

WebMD Magazine.

Reconsider Yoga

If you've ruled out yoga for physical reasons, it might be time to reconsider.

This is a great article for anyone who thinks it's too late for them. It's never too late.

If you think you're not the yoga type, think again. Just about anyone can do it, and it's not about bending yourself into a pretzel.

For men and women of all shapes, sizes, and abilities, yoga builds strength and balance. It's also a great way to ease stress.

"In a gym, you're really pushing yourself to go further when you're working out. In yoga, it's the opposite. The poses encourage all the range of motion that the body is designed to do," says Megan Dunne Krouse, a yoga instructor in Chicago.

                

When Megan Garcia signed up for yoga at Smith College, she felt intimidated because she was the only overweight person in the class. She stuck with it, though, and noticed she started gaining strength, plus feeling and sleeping better, too.

Now she is a plus-sized model and Kripalu-certified yoga instructor who teaches in New York and specializes in teaching yoga to people of all shapes and sizes.

Garcia found that yoga changed her in unexpected ways.

"Before I started doing yoga, I really lived life from the neck up," she says. "After yoga, I began to really feel at home in my skin. If I didn't have yoga, I can't imagine feeling so good in my body. Yoga has made it comfortable for me to sit on the floor, to twist, to bend. It grounds me in my body."

RaeAnn Banker, who owns River Yoga in Lahaska, PA, started taking yoga classes on her 42nd birthday as a present to herself.

"I was overweight, and since my mother was morbidly obese, I knew I better do something or I was going to end up just like her," Banker says.

"It took several months of driving by the yoga center before I got up the courage to go in. But once I started, I loved the classes. I was the weakest student in the class, but I kept going," Banker says. "I ended up losing 35 pounds over the next 2 years and becoming a yoga teacher. Yoga literally changed my life."

"Yoga doesn't discriminate," he says. "Yoga will make you feel good. Yoga, at its root, is about bringing more awareness to action and to movement. The more you get in your body, the more connected you are to the world."

Tips for Trying Yoga

Check with your doctor before starting yoga or any new exercise program. And keep these pointers in mind:

• Choose a style of yoga that suits you. Not all yoga classes are alike. Some are more vigorous than others; others may emphasize meditation.
• Find a teacher you like. Classes that are billed as "intro" or "beginner" can attract a wide range of skill levels. You can sign up for a private one-on-one session customized to your needs.
• Go at your own pace. You can modify yoga poses using blocks, straps, and other tools so that you don't overstretch. Ask your instructor for help and for modifications that suit your needs.
• Listen to your body. If you're forcing yourself into a position that's painful, that's a signal to stop.
• Don't compare yourself to others. It's not about being as flexible as everyone else -- or as the people you see in yoga magazines who have been practicing for years. And always remember, there's room for you, too.

WebMD Feature

If you decided to join a class don't do it blindly. Find a group about your age and a class with other beginners. Yoga can make the aches and pains go away. Like anything else it will take time. But even Retirement Homes have Yoga class for their residents.