Could a cure for depression be found in the weight room? Data from a study published in JAMA Psychiatry (2018; 75 [6], 566–76) points to that conclusion. The meta-analysis of 33 clinical trials, featuring 1,877 participants, found a link between resistance training (RET) and a reduction in depressive symptoms. While this study did not try to determine precisely how weight training might affect depression, Brett Gordon, MS, study author and postgraduate researcher for the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick, Ireland, offered some suggestions: “Cognitive and psychological mechanisms [could] include the expectancy of improved mental health following exercise, social interaction and social support, and improved cognitive control. Neurobiological theories involve systems that [influence] both how depression develops and how exercise affects the brain.” The study also found that improvements occurred regardless of training volume, a detail Gordon believes could be investigated further. “Although a lack of consistent reporting limited our ability to more thoroughly examine features of the exercise stimulus, this finding is consistent with previous research examining the effect of RET on anxiety,” he says. “Future trials are needed to explore the optimal RET routine for improving depressive symptoms.”
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Do you have a sweet tooth? Or sweet teeth? The fact is, our cravings are often linked to emotional stress that leads us to “stress eat”. Maybe you struggle with occasional sweet cravings, or you have a sugar addiction. Either way, I can attest to the fact that overcoming a sugar addiction is possible. The amount of sugar I used to consume was astounding. I would literally wake up craving soda and candy for breakfast, and then I would eat and drink my soda and cany throughout the day, even after dinner, and all the way until my bedtime. This did not include other snacks, desserts, and other sugar-laden products. The Sugar Addiction Cycle
The amount of sugar that American consume per day is at a dangerous high. Americans consume an average of about 22 teaspoons in total. What we fail to realize is that sugar is found in nearly every item at a grocery store: sodas, drinks, desserts, cereals, processed foods, bars, and just about everything! So it goes that one of the fastest ways to lose weight is to cut your sugar intake. You an actually starve disease growth by cutting out sugar from your diet. This leads us to the question: How much sugar should we consume per day? None. I would like to invite you to go on a sugar fast. Choose a time period in which you can dedicate this for. For example, it may not be a good idea to start this sugar fast when you’re going on vacation with family, or during holidays, as you may be more inclined to take part of sweets. The good news is, the cycle can be broken. Stop the Cycle Begin by eliminating conventional candy, sweets, desserts, sodas, sugary beverages, and processed foods, and try to make your own at home. I recommend using fruit puree as a natural sweetener during your sugar fast. By incorporating nutritional food, exercise, water, sunshine, adequate rest, and a positive mind trusting in God, you can transform your health and your life! If you’re wondering what happens after the sugar fast, and whether you’ll be able to eat anything sweet again, we’ve got that covered! Below are alternatives that should still be used sparingly: Healthier Alternatives for Sweetness
Transitional Sweeteners These are great to use when transitioning from refined sugars and corn syrup. Although, it should be used sparingly, mostly when using it for baked goods for special occasions.
You Won’t Feel Bitter, but Better Did you know that one of those most effective ways to curb sugar cravings is to consume something bitter? It might be a bittersweet truth, but it’s worth it! Why does it work? Bitter foods contain the hormones PYY and GLP-1. These hormones control our appetite, which in turns helps control our cravings and food intake. With that said, it also shuts down the part of our brain that causes us to crave sugar. How sweet is that? The bitter components also slow sugar absorption in our bodies which helps to regulate blood sugar levels. If that wasn’t enough, bitters also relieve heartburn, support healthy liver function, provide a gentle detox, and supports healthy skin! For me, the best way to consume bitters is by drinking the tea of the leaf, root, or peel. You can also take an organic herbal supplement in the form of a liquid tincture. Be sure to consult with your physician first if you are taking any medicine. Some medications and herbs have counteractive interactions.
Here is one of my favorite ways to combine bitters for consumption: Ingredients:
Tools:
To use: Mix a few drops into sparkling or regular water. You can also place it directly on the tongue 15 minutes before eating your meal. This can be taken when you feel a sugar crave coming on. In addition to consuming bitters to decrease your sugar cravings, it’s important to remove environmental triggers as much as possible, such as keeping sugary foods in your pantry and spending too much time in the candy aisle. Here are our tips on avoiding the sugar addiction cycle and obtaining a healthier life:
With patience, perseverance, willingness, and knowledge, it is possible to be free of this addictive cycle of cravings! As someone trying to get back into fitness, you have to be realistic with yourself. If you’re forty years old, thirty pounds over your goal weight, and haven’t touched a weight since you lifted in high school for football, you might want to start off slow. Progress slowly to avoid injuries and so you don’t burn yourself out. If you’ve been intensely training and feel completely dead, maybe you should take a week to recover so you don’t end up overtraining and moving backward. If you’re feeling energized but experiencing some joint pain or tautness, you might want to take some extra time to address the discomfort before jumping back into training. Making sure you’re in tune with your body is important in staying healthy. Don’t let your ego put you at risk for potential injury. In other words, don’t try to be so impressive at the gym that you push your body beyond its limits. A fitness-related injury could be something small like a strain that could set you back a couple of days to a week or something much more serious like a complete tear. The former could interrupt your fitness routine, and the latter could affect your training for the rest of your life. Make it a priority to always think about the long term. It’s better to stop one rep short of your limit or even take some time off to address an issue than to sustain a major injury that sets you back for weeks or even months. This is why assessing where you are at and how your body feels should be the number one priority when considering what to do next in fitness. How’s my mind? Are you still enjoying what you are doing or do you dread training every day? If you’re enjoying your training, keep on keeping on. If thinking of your next workout brings back a feeling of dread, something needs to change. If you dread your workout because you’re tired after a long day of work, try starting off your day with the workout instead. If you hate working out because it takes so long and you usually workout for two hours, it’s possible to get in a very beneficial workout in half that time. If you just don’t enjoy the style of training you are doing, then find something you do enjoy! If you can only get yourself to workout once a week doing that, it would be better to challenge yourself and be more consistent doing the ten to twelve rep range with cardio you enjoy. Remember, it’s better to do an okay training routine consistently than a perfect training routine inconsistently. If you’re not doing something you enjoy, you’ll be less likely to give it your all and be consistent. How’s my progress? If what you’ve been doing has been working and you’re still making good progress, then nothing needs to change. If you feel like your progress is starting to slow down or has come to a standstill, you should switch it up. In fact, it’s generally recommended to add some variety to your workout every three to four weeks. That’s how long it typically takes for your body to get used to working out, making progress, and making proper adaptations. Anything after that tends to have slower progress. If you are a powerlifter and have been training only five sets of 1-3 reps, try doing three sets of ten. It might not be what the books say is best for your progress, but you will see the most improvement in the things you do the least. Do a couple of weeks of this, and then go back to your regular training to see if you’ve improved. Always keep in mind that there is no single right answer to what you should do next. Each person has a different goal, different injuries and restrictions, different enjoyments of different styles of training, and bodies that respond differently to different styles of training. Just because one person achieved great results training a certain way doesn’t mean you’ll get those same results. Just because someone didn’t achieve great results training a certain way doesn’t mean you can’t achieve great results with that style of training. “What’s next?” takes a lot of practice to answer. You have to try new things and learn what works and what doesn’t work for you. As long as you ask yourself these questions, you can at least be guided in the right direction. |
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