Exercise Tips
If you’ve been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, that means that you likely have too much fat around your waist, high blood triglycerides, low HDL (good cholesterol), high blood pressure and high blood sugar.
* Try Aerobic Exercises – Aerobic exercises get the blood pumping and cause you to breathe more heavily. Doing this kind of exercise improves your lung capacity, increases your metabolism, and can improve blood sugar levels. Some examples of this type of exercise include jumping rope, rebounding, jogging, dancing, and fast walking.
* Add in Some Interval Training – This is a good way to add some intensity to your moderate workout. All you do is slow down and speed up during intervals. So, if you’re walking fast, then speed up for sixty seconds, that is interval training. It’s great for pushing yourself a little harder in short bursts, so it seems more effortless.
* Don’t Forget the Resistance – Adding in some form of resistance to your workouts can also increase the efficacy of the work. Angle weights, resistance bands, and even running in water can help increase the challenge and the good effects of the workout.
* Exercise 150 Minutes Per Week Moderately – Keep in mind that you don’t even need to do much exercise to get the results you want. Only 150 minutes a week at a minimum is needed to improve your health. When you break that down to seven days, it isn’t that much time and is less than 30 minutes a day of exercise.
* You Really Only Need 10 Minutes – The truth is, each time you get up to move, you only need to do it for 10 minutes at a time to reap the benefits. If all you do is get up and do jumping jacks for 10 minutes every four hours or so, you’ll vastly improve your health.
* Don’t Underestimate the Power of Walking – Don’t make exercise difficult. You don’t need to run and you don’t need special equipment. Get a good pair of shoes and then walk. Walking is the simplest form of exercise that “most” people can do.
* Add Exercise with Little Tricks – Each day you can add in some exercise to your day with these tricks. Park at the end of every parking lot, take the stairs instead of the elevator and choose active things to do rather than sedentary. Save movies and sitting around for bad weather days and get moving the rest of the time.
* Make It Fun – Exercise does not have to be bad. It can be fun too. Dancing, swimming, and playing various games like volleyball or tennis are all good ways to get moving more at a moderate level to help fight metabolic syndrome.
Exercising is going to help you reverse your metabolic syndrome condition because it will help you lose weight, improve cardiovascular health, and motivate you to eat better. The great thing is that it really doesn’t take as much exercise as you may have thought. 150 minutes a week can be broken up into 10-minute blocks throughout the week to ensure you get it done. Be sure to add a healthy diet into the mix to make the exercise work even better to improve your health.
Diet Tips
When you are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, your health care professional will likely prescribe some lifestyle changes. They may also prescribe medication such as low-dose aspirin to help with blockages and cholesterol-reducing meds to lower your risk of heart attack and stroke.
If you want to avoid medications and reverse metabolic syndrome, you can try changing your diet. However, do listen to your doctor about recommendations depending on the seriousness of your situation.
* Eat a Low-Fat Diet – You don’t need to eat fake food to eat low fat. Many foods are naturally low in fat. Choose food that is low in fat the way it’s naturally made, and you’ll avoid dangerous hydrogenated fats and processed fake fat.
* Fill Your Plate with Veggies – The first thing you should put on your plate as the main course is the veggies. Fill half the plate with veggies. Most veggies can be eaten in large quantities due to their low calorie content and high nutritional components. The most important veggies are leafy greens which are particularly high in nutrients.
* Drink Your Water – It’s hard to overstate the importance of drinking fresh, filtered water every single day. Most people need between 12 and 15 cups of water a day. However, it’s important to know how much you need. Start with the recommended daily amount to see how you feel.
* Eat Lean Protein but Not Too Much – Most people think you need much more protein than you do. Most food has protein, but you only need about 46 to 56 grams of protein per day unless you’re weight lifting or recovering from surgery.
* Avoid Processed Food – The real killer for most people isn’t protein, and it’s not fruit and veggies – it’s processed food. This includes sugar and most products that have been made for you (such as chips) but also so-called healthy options like some cereal and other snacks people often say are healthy.
* Add More Beans and Lentils – Legumes are very good for you and are very nutrient-rich, while also being low in fat. You cannot eat enough beans. There are so many varieties of beans and lentils that you could eat them daily and never repeat for a year. They’re also very inexpensive so if you’re on a budget, consider eating more beans and lentils.
* Eat Whole Grains Daily – Unprocessed whole grains are going to help fill your body with fiber, which helps remove fat from your arteries. Whole grains like oats, wild rice, and quinoa are good choices.
* Make Meat a Condiment – Most meat is high in fat even if they say certain cuts aren’t. Most are also high in what is called trans-fat. You may be shocked to note that chicken is not lower in unhealthy fat than lean beef. Instead of worrying about that, though, make meat a condiment so that it adds flavor instead of being the main course.
* Eat Low on the Glycemic Scale – People who have metabolic syndrome tend to have blood sugar issues. Eating food that is low on the glycemic scale can help you avoid problems with your blood sugar and enable you to eat fruit and berries still.
Since about a third of all adults in the USA are thought to have metabolic syndrome, eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise is the best thing you can do for your life. If you don’t have health issues yet, you can avoid getting them. If you do have health issues, you really can reverse a lot of disease with diet.