By Drs. Michael Roizen
and Mehmet Oz
Special to The Examiner We know that you’re busier than a starlet at The Ivy. But you can still get the CD for your friend’s birthday made, the dishes and laundry done, the squeak in your car looked at, AND eat healthy meals and get physical activity. These multitaskers help you do it all throughout your day … and de-stress, too.
Cut your workout short. But make it harder. Guys who did four to six go-for-broke 30-second sprints on a bike got the same gains in muscle fitness as those who went for 90 to 120 minutes at a moderate pace. In a different study, the same type of sprints improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, meaning it decreased their risk for unhealthy blood sugar and, eventually, diabetes. Total calorie burn was a puny 250, so you’ll still need longer workouts if you’re looking to torch fat. But for your health, short, fast intervals will get you somewhere.
Slim down while you wait for coffee. OK, you can’t lose five pounds just standing in line, but you can work on the good posture that will make you look like you’ve dropped a few. Tomorrow, instead of eavesdropping on other customers, focus on proper posture: Back straight, butt in, chest out, shoulders back, head high, jaw aligned, making sure your top and bottom teeth aren’t touching each other. Feel good? Practice this every day (sitting and standing), and you’ll be amazed at the changes in how you look and feel.
When you get to the counter, consider getting green tea. Odds are increasingly good that this brew helps to cut your risk of cancer, keep your blood pressure healthy, protect your memory and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Smarten your commute. While Americans spend more than 100 hours per year commuting and Canadians spend a whopping 275, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Commuting can provide important transition time between work and home, and it can be the perfect time to practice de-stress strategies. Start by unclenching your jaw and loosening your white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. Then see if you can identify the true source of your stress so that you don’t lash out at traffic, your kids or the computer that doesn’t boot up fast enough when you get home.
Better yet, get your workout and your commute done at the same time by riding your bike or walking to work and back. Like that’ll work on a cold Canadian day? OK — commute with a buddy, and both stop at the gym.
Make a to-do list. Takes a minute; saves you far more than that. Creating a clear game plan for what you want to (realistically) accomplish helps you attack your day so you don’t get bogged down in unimportant details that eat up your time. The payoff: less stress and more time to enjoy the coffee you just poured.
Create a new elevator ritual. If you can’t take the stairs, use elevator time to lower your stress, which also happens to lower your risk of accidents, infections and arterial aging (not to mention dramatically drop the risk of your biting off the head of the next person who talks to you). Simply use the time between floors to take stress-busting deep breaths: take about five counts to inhale and seven to exhale from your belly.
Wake up and firm up. Rescue yourself from a midmeeting snooze by working on your abdominal strength. Just suck your belly button in tight. Then squeeze your butt as if you’re trying to pull on a pair of too-tight jeans, while pretending your head is being pulled toward the ceiling by a string. Hold that position. Nobody will know anything other than that you look far more alert than they do.
Demand great entertainment. Don’t fizz out in front of the TV unless what you’re watching really warrants your attention. Turning it off 10 minutes into something that’s just not trying hard enough gives you 20 extra minutes to walk or to pull some healthy recipes from the Web, to put together a new playlist for your walk or even to shop for a smaller belt online. Or yes, make time for between-the-sheets fun. C’mon — it doesn’t take that much time, and definitely facilitates a healthy relationship, which makes everything go more smoothly when you’re not in bed.
The YOU Docs, Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz, are authors of “YOU: Being Beautiful — The Owner’s Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty.” To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to realage.com, the docs’ online home.
