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Just as there are diet plateaus, you can hit the wall with exercise, too — no longer seeing results from your efforts and then losing motivation. According to the experts at the American Council on Exercise, a plateau is often a sign that your body has adapted to the specific workout you’re doing and needs a new stimulus to move to the next level. So the first step is to shake up your routine. For instance, if you’ve been steadily walking on a flat treadmill, add an incline. If you walk outdoors, switch to hiking. Also, engage other muscles by alternating with another type of cardio workout than your norm. However, make sure that cardio isn’t the only type of fitness activity you’re doing. If you haven’t stepped up to strength training, it’s time to tackle it. Keep in mind that lifting weights isn’t your only option — you can train with weightless resistance bands or even your own bodyweight (think push-ups and chin-ups). But if it’s your weight training routine that’s stalled, it could be time to switch to heavier weights, more complex lifts or even higher-tension resistance bands. As counterintuitive as it might sound, too much training can backfire and prevent progression. Also, be sure that you’re allowing enough recovery time between strength training sessions. That means at least two days, the time… read on >

Mom was right when she said no swimming for an hour after lunch. Even though it takes energy to work out, it’s important that exercise doesn’t interfere with digestion. Like Goldilocks, you need just the right amount of food. Eat too much and you might feel sluggish rather than energized. Eat too little, and you may not have the stamina to work out effectively. Experts suggest that your pre-workout fueling be personalized to your needs, such as how long your workout will be and whether you’re restricting calories to lose weight. Timing is also very important. If you’ve eaten a full meal, you should wait 3 to 4 hours before exercising. Remember that a healthy meal includes carbs such as whole grains or legumes, non-starchy vegetables, fruit, lean protein like chicken, tofu or fish, and some healthy fat. If you’re trying to lose weight, fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit and a quarter each with lean protein and whole grains or legumes rather than white potatoes or pasta. Fueling Timetable: If eating a large meal: Eat at least 3 to 4 hours before exercise. If eating a small meal: Eat 2 to 3 hours before exercise. If eating a snack: Eat 1 hour before exercise. Of course, it’s not always possible to perfectly time meals to exercise, especially if you train first thing… read on >

People seeking more satisfaction in their later years might find sex is the spice of life, new research suggests. For the study, researchers analyzed survey data from nearly 6,900 older adults, average age 65, in England. The investigators found that those who said they’d had any type of sexual activity in the previous 12 months had higher life enjoyment scores than those who weren’t sexually active. Among women, kissing, petting and fondling more often, as well as feeling emotionally close to their partner during sex, was associated with a higher enjoyment of life. But there was not a significant association between sexual intercourse and enjoyment of life. Among men, satisfaction with their sex life and how often they had sexual intercourse was associated with greater enjoyment of life. “The findings of our study suggest that it may be beneficial for physicians to query geriatric patients about their sexual activity and offer help for sexual difficulties, such as problems with erections, as sexual activity helps older people live more fulfilling lives,” said study co-leader Lee Smith. He is a reader in exercise medicine at Anglia Ruskin University in England. “Previous research has suggested that frequent sexual intercourse is associated with a range of benefits for psychological and physiological well-being, such as improved quality of life and mental health, and lower risk of certain cancers and fatal… read on >

Whether it’s the stress of choosing the right gift, drinking and eating too much, or fighting with relatives about politics, the holidays can be hard on your heart. In fact, new research from Sweden found the odds of a heart attack jump nearly 40 percent on Christmas Eve. “Traditional holidays were associated with increased risk of heart attack. The risk overall during Christmas/New Year’s was 15 percent higher than a regular December day,” said study senior author Dr. David Erlinge. He’s the head of the office of cardiology at Skane University Hospital in Lund. Erlinge noted that the 15-year study of more than 300,000 heart attack patients suggested that the risk was highest at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve. But the study did not prove that the holiday actually caused heart attack risk to rise, only that there seemed to be an association. In Sweden, Christmas Eve is the most important day of the holidays, and is typically celebrated with immediate family, the researchers noted. The festivities continue on Christmas Day and again on Boxing Day, Dec. 26. New Year’s Eve in Sweden is usually spent with friends. As in the United States, the holiday generally involves eating heavily and drinking alcohol to excess. The study found that the risk of heart attack wasn’t higher on New Year’s Eve, but it did go up by… read on >

(HealthDay News) — The holidays are typically full of tempting meals and desserts. The downside is the resulting weight gain. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sugests how to keep holiday weight gain at bay: Stay active. Walk often and park far from store entrances. Take a few extra laps around the mall, or start your work day by taking the stairs. Eat healthier foods. You can indulge now and then, but eat small portions and balance fattier, sugary fare with healthier options. Don’t arrive at a party hungry, which may lead to overeating. Plan activities that don’t focus on food.

Walking is not only a great first exercise, it can also be a forever exercise. Here are some ideas to show you how to take it to the next level. Making walking more of a challenge enables you to burn more calories and raise your working heart rate. You can do this by working out on a treadmill with an incline setting and wearing a weighted vest. You can start with either one to scale up or combine both ideas for a greater challenge. According to the American Council on Exercise, wearing a weighted vest is a great option if you’re relatively new to exercise because it won’t feel as difficult as ramping up your speed, for instance. If you choose a vest that weighs about 15 percent of your bodyweight, you can burn 12 percent more calories when walking at 2.5 miles per hour — an easy pace. You can achieve a slightly higher calorie burn by wearing a vest that’s just 10 percent of your bodyweight if you walk on a treadmill at that speed and at an incline with a 5 or 10 percent grade. To ease into the combined approach, walk for 5 minutes at a flat or 0 grade, then 5 minutes at 5 percent grade, followed by 5 minutes at 10 percent grade. Finish up by going back to… read on >

Watching your cholesterol has gotten easier. Nutrition experts now agree that foods high in cholesterol, like shrimp, don’t have the impact on blood cholesterol that was once thought. So depending on your current cholesterol count, you may not have to curtail your intake of many formerly forbidden foods. Even better news — some foods can bring down your cholesterol level. Since that’s only one of their benefits, consider adding them all to your overall diet. Walnuts have healthy unsaturated fats that help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol — that’s the unhealthy type. Almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios are good choices, too. The magic in beans and oats is soluble fiber, which helps flush cholesterol out of your system before it can do harm. Enjoy hot or cold oat cereals and experiment with beans in place of meat at lunch and dinner. Avocados are rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids and can also help lower LDL. Use slices instead of mayo on sandwiches and dip raw veggies rather than chips into fresh guacamole. Many plant foods naturally contain sterols and stanols, substances that fight off cholesterol, and some foods are now fortified with them. Eating 2 to 3 grams of sterols and stanols a day can lower LDL by 10 to 15 percent, and lower heart disease risk by 20 percent when you also follow a heart-healthy diet,… read on >

You’d think vitamin deficiencies would be rare in the United States, but many people are running low on vitamin D, and it’s a serious health threat. Being short on vitamin D not only affects bone density, it’s also been linked to conditions such as heart disease, mental decline, some types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and type 2 diabetes. The problem is twofold: Not knowing how much vitamin D you really need, and how to get it. While 600 to 800 International Units (IUs) is the recommended daily amount, it can take more than that to bring you up to a healthy level and maintain it once you have a deficit. The body can make vitamin D through sun exposure, but there are many variables, from time of day and the season to your location and your skin color. People with pale skin make vitamin D more quickly than those with darker skin. While there is concern about skin cancer risk, under the right conditions, exposing arms and legs (and your torso when possible) for only a few minutes two to three times a week allows the skin to produce enough vitamin D. Very few foods naturally contain D. Many others are fortified with it, but it’s usually only 100 IUs per serving, making it unlikely that you’ll get even the daily minimum just… read on >

(HealthDay News) — The holiday season can be difficult to navigate if you have diabetes. But with proper planning you can stay healthy, the American Diabetes Association says. The ADA offers this advice: Focus on timing. If your meal will be later than usual, eat a snack before to keep your blood sugar where it needs to be. Stay active during the holiday season, to compensate for overeating. Eat healthier versions of holiday foods. Keep portion sizes small. Eat lots of vegetables.

When a baby starts sniffling and sneezing, the type of bacteria in their nose may predict how long the cold will last, a new study finds. Babies with a wide variety of bacteria in the nose recover faster from their first cold than those with less variety, the researchers said. “It’s well known that different types of bacteria live in our gut. The respiratory tract is also home to a wide variety of bacteria,” said study author Roland Neumann, of University Children’s Hospital of Basel, Switzerland. “We are beginning to understand that the types and numbers of these bacteria, what we refer to as the microbiota, can influence our respiratory health,” he added. For the study, the researchers took nose swabs from 183 babies as soon as they developed symptoms of their first cold, and again three weeks later. On average, the babies’ cold symptoms lasted about two weeks. Babies whose symptoms lasted three weeks or longer had less variety of bacteria in their noses. Also, their nose bacteria was more likely to be dominated by the Moraxellaceae or Streptococcaceae families. Some of those bacteria are known to be linked with respiratory disease. The study was published Dec. 2 in the journal ERJ Open Research. The findings could help improve understanding of the role respiratory tract bacteria plays in infections and long-term conditions such as… read on >

Weekly Gravy

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Surmounting That Fitness Plateau

The Right Way to Fuel Up Before Workouts

Intimacy: The Elusive Fountain of Youth?

Holidays Hike Heart Attack Risk

Health Tip: Celebrate a Healthier Holiday

Increase the Calories You Burn When Walking

Some Foods Can Be Cholesterol Fighters

Could You Be Short on Vitamin D?

Health Tip: Manage Diabetes During the Holidays

Nose Holds Clues to Baby’s First Cold