Every step counts–even if you’re “healthy”

Believe it or not, I actually get quite a few questions from readers who consider themselves “healthy.” They don’t have to lose weight, they don’t have diabetes, or heart disease, or other concerns. So they wonder if the New Hamptons Health Miracle is for them.

Of course the short answer is, YES. All aspects of my New Hamptons Health Miracle will help anyone maintain a long, healthy life. Even if you don’t have any health concerns now, you certainly want to stay that way for the long haul. So why not do it by enjoying the most delicious and fun way of eating there is?

And if you’re lucky enough to have to worry about losing too much weight, go ahead and “indulge” in a few more healthy carbs until you find a comfortable balance.

And the same holds true for exercise. Just because you may consider yourself “fit” and “healthy”…cutting back even a little could chip away at your success faster than you realize.

Regular bursts of exercise keep the body working like it should. Even something as simple as a short daily walk can help keep blood vessels healthy and control blood sugar spikes–even if you don’t have diabetes.

In fact, researchers recently examined the effects of inactivity on healthy young adults. Results were published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. The study involved college students who were used to walking a good 10,000 steps or more a day and exercised regularly. (Remember those days?)

For the first three days of the study, the kids followed their usual pattern. They wore pedometers to track their steps. And glucose monitors to track blood sugar spikes. And, each kid kept a food diary so we’d know exactly what they ate. On average, they logged about 13,000 steps per day during those first three days and exercised about 30 minutes each day.

Then, researchers asked them to cut their daily steps by at least half. That’s right, take it easy. Stop walking so much! Quit walking to the local café for lunch. Get lunch delivered to your dorm. Act like an average American for three days.

The kids did as they were told. After three days of simply hanging out, researchers checked their numbers. The average step count went down to about 4,300 each day.

And during this “down-time”…

• Their blood sugar spiked significantly higher after meals.
• Their peaks were 26% higher, compared to when they exercised more.
• Even worse–the spikes grew slightly higher every day.
• All purely the result of all that inactivity.

So if you already walk or exercise regularly, congratulations on a hard job well done. Just be sure not to stop!

But if you haven’t already, get up and get walking. Even when I’m saddled at the computer on my writing deadlines, I head over to my clinic’s gym for a little aerobic workout. If I’m at home, I’ll head out for a walk or run on the beach. Sometimes, I simply jog in place.

Think of it this way–regular exercise is a life or death decision. Every minute, every hour, counts.