How Much Exercise Does it Take to Burn Off Halloween Candy?

 

In the big picture of weight loss it is not what do on the occasional holiday that determines our weight - it is the week in week out eating and drinking habits that determine our weight and level of bodyfat.   That being said if you are not careful you can eat/drink a ton of calories in one day which turns into weeks of too many calories during the holidays starting with Halloween.

The key is to plan and know what you are eating!   Candy can be confusing because of all the different snack sizes that are so prevalent during Halloween.  It is very easy to assume because you are eating snack size candy that it is not that bad, and this is true if you are not eating many pieces!    Before you eat candy see how many calories you are eating – it takes less than a minute to google calorie, sugar, and fat content for just about any common Halloween Candy.

Here are some examples:

Nestle’s Crunch Bar (60 calories) - 6 minutes of brisk aerobic exercise to burn off!

Kit Kat Bar (70 calories) - 8 minutes of brisk aerobic exercise to burn off!

Four Snickers Mini Bars (170 calories) - 18 minutes of high intensity exercise to burn off!

 Full Size Twix Bar (80 calories) - 6 minutes of continuous kettlebell swings to burn off!

 4.2 Oz Candy Corn (450 calories) - 4 – 5 miles of walking to burn off!

 2 Peanut Butter Cups (210 Calories) - 2 miles of running to burn off!

So eating a little candy is no big deal, BUT if you are not watching how many pieces/containers you eat you can quickly rack up a ton of calories that would take more than an hour of vigorous exercise to burn off!

Plan your candy intake and know what you are going to eat and enjoy it!   The other key is have candy after a meal so you are not really hungry – candy and hunger make for a really bad combination!

Is Diet Soda Really Worse For You Than Regular Soda?

 

A study looked at this question and was all over the media.  What did the study conclude?  It concluded that drinking 2 or more sodas per day (of any type of soda) was associated with a 17% increase in mortality.  Further the study concluded that regular (non-diet) soda drinkers were 8% more likely to die at follow-up than those that consumed less than one glass per day.

Those people that drank two or more artificially sweetened sodas were 26% more likely to die at follow up than those who drank less than one diet soda per day.   Seems pretty simple right – clearly diet soda is WAY worse than regular soda and all soda is bad, but is that really the story?

When we look at the study itself in more detail the picture is not so clear!   First of all, the study involved giving people ONE questionnaire on their average daily soda intake at the beginning of a 16-year study.   This is a big problem because self-reported intake is notoriously inaccurate and assuming that people kept their soda intake fixed for 16 years is a whopper of an assumption as well.

Another problem is that the study cannot account for what are known as “confounding variables” meaning things like smoking and alcohol use or other unhealthy behaviors.  The study attempted to “guess” at the levels of these unhealthy behaviors by using statistics, but the fact is that no one knows who did what in the observational study.     

This is a big problem because it may in fact be the case that most people drinking soda were engaged in unhealthy behaviors like smoking, high alcohol consumption, and/or lack of activity.   So, it could be that people who drink sodas tend to have more unhealthy behaviors and the increased death rates may have nothing to do with soda!

Last but not least lets take a look at “absolute risk” rather than relative risk which is ALWAYS important.  Here is how that works.  In the study out of 225,543 people who reported less than a glass per month of artificially sweetened beverages at baseline, there were 21,032 deaths at follow-up.  In other words, 9.3% died.  For the 6,292 people that reportedly drank two or more glasses of Artificially Sweetened Beverages per day at baseline, there were 737 deaths at follow-up.  So in this group 11.7% died.

This works out to a RELATIVE risk increase of 26% calculated as follows: subtracting the lower death rate of 9.3% from the higher death rate of 11.7% (11.7% - 9.3% =  2.4%).   Then dividing the 2.4% absolute difference by 9.3% (2.4% divided by 9.3%= 26% difference in RELATIVE risk).

Sounds like a big deal right?   Not so fast – lets take a look at the ABSOLUTE risk or raw numbers.  The absolute risk is the difference between 11.7% of the heavy soft drinkers died vs 9.3% of those who drank less than one per day.   As above 11.7% - 9.3% is 2.4%.   So the ABSOLUTE risk is only 2.4%.   Pretty insignificant isn’t it?

So long story short soda should probably be treated like other lifestyle issues – in moderation!  By the way calories DO count and sugar has real calories, but diet soda does not.  Is this a license to drink lots of diet soda – NO!

Your Genes are NOT your Destiny!

 

We all see that specific genes from our parents produce specific characteristics such as eye color, hair color, and height.  Based on this experience many people believe that our genes determine our destiny, but is that really true?  The short answer is an emphatic NO!  While there are genetically determined characteristics that are fixed from birth, gene expression is actually quite variable and changes based on your lifestyle.

The process of gene expression is what determines which genes are actually expressed by cells in your body.  The key to gene expression is epigenetics which consists of physiological mechanisms that silence or activate genes, and encompass processes which alter gene function without changing the sequence of nucleotide base pairs of our DNA.  There are many such physiological processes which are activated by changes in our environment caused by many factors including exercise, diet, medications, sunlight, smoking, meditation, etc.  

All of your lifestyle choices play into your risk of disease through epigenetics.  Nearly all cancers, respiratory illnesses, autoimmune disorders, and cardiovascular diseases are controlled through epigenetic changes.  Simply put – genes load the gun but the environment (your lifestyle) pulls the trigger!

Most disease-causing gene expression is activated by epigenetic factors meaning you CAN control it!   In fact, the Centers for Disease Control states that genetics account for only 10% of diseases.

Transgenerational Inheritance of Epigenetic Change

Amazingly epigenetic changes that occur in one generation can be passed down to future generations.  For example, it is known that changes in fertility initially caused by chemical exposure cause epigenetic changes to be handed down to the next generation.  This is also true of traumatic experiences.   

Characteristics of parents' sensory environment that occur before conception can remodel the sensory nervous system and neuroanatomy in future conceived generations.  An example of this is the fact that descendants of holocaust survivors show abnormal stress hormone levels which put them at greater risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Lifestyle Choices Count for You AND the next Generations

Realize that the air we breathe, the food we eat, the thoughts we allow, the toxins to which we are exposed, our activity levels, and the experiences we undergo may be passed on to our descendants.  Our genes are not our destiny – the choices we make are!

How to Prevent Sleep Issues from the Fall Time Change

 

It’s that time of year again – time to fall back and set our clocks back one hour.  Resetting clocks in devices is simple.  Unfortunately, your body clock is not nearly as easy to reprogram.  This comes with some serious health consequences.  An hour time shift does not seem like a lot, but your body runs on a tight schedule and this one-hour change throws us off.

Scientists have documented that the shift to daylight saving time in the spring, when we lose an hour of sleep, is linked to an a much higher rate of attacks and car accidents.  Although we gain an hour to sleep – the change throws off the sleep cycle and that is where all the problems come from.

Over the last 20 years, scientists have documented that, in addition to the master clock in our brains, every cell in our body has a circadian rhythm and time-keeping mechanism. The body and cell’s circadian rhythm help regulate important functions such as sleep and metabolism. And increasingly, there's evidence that when our habits — such as when we eat and sleep — are out of sync with our internal clocks, it can harm us.

When we disrupt our routines with erratic sleep or eating habits, it can increase the risk of metabolic disease. For instance, overnight shift workers are at much higher risk of developing diabetes and obesity. Research also shows that kids who don't have set bedtimes and mealtimes are also more likely to become overweight.

As days get shorter with less daylight, it's easy to fall into bad habits, and regulating light exposure is key to regulating circadian rhythm.    

Maximize Exposure to Bright Light During the Day

Maximize your exposure to daylight in the morning hours since it gets dark so early in the evening.   This simple step is every bit as powerful as avoiding blue light at night.   Ideally get outside immediately upon waking – just five minutes of outside light can do the trick!    

Outdoor sunlight is about 1500 lux on a cloudy and 100,000 lux on a sunny day while indoor lighting typically maxes out at 500 lux!    Bright OVERHEAD light is the primary signal to shut-down melatonin production and wake up.    

If it is too cold to go outside consider buying a 10,000-lux UV free light – ideally one that you can set to shine down on your face from above you.    

Minimize Evening and Nighttime Light

Exposure to light and electromagnetic fields from computers, phones, tablets, and T.V.’s all act as a stimulant, so it is important to minimize nighttime light exposure and blue light exposure in particular.  Blue light comes from artificial lighting.   Blue wavelengths – which are beneficial during daylight hours because they boost attention, reaction times, and mood – are disruptive at night.   Energy efficient lighting is packed with blue light as are our electronics.

Turn off lights or dim them as much as possible.   If you must use a computer or your phone install blue light filtering programs on both that will adjust the amount of blue light emitted by your computer, phone, and tablets.    Flux – https://justgetflux.com is a free program for your laptop or tablet and the Twilight app for your phone.   Both allow you to set times and adjust blue light output of your devices automatically based on time of day! 

You can also buy blue blocking glasses to use in the evening.   This may seem gimmicky but there is very well-done research supporting the effectiveness of reducing blue light in the evening through these and other measures!

For night-time bathroom trips use a red-light nightlight as redlight does NOT disrupt sleep which is why you see it used by the military on ships and submarines!

Avoid Alcohol!

Alcohol intake is extremely disruptive to sleep and for many just eliminating it results in much higher sleep quality within a week. Consider cutting down or completely eliminating alcohol intake particularly during the work week!

Stop all food and beverage by 8pm!

Ideally stop all food and beverage intake 3 hours before bed – late food intake can create digestive issues and late beverage intake can force bathroom trips disrupting your sleep.

Stay on a consistent sleep/wake cycle!

Get up and go to bed at the same time each day – this trains the body and mind.   It is NOT a good idea to sleep in on weekends – this just disrupts your circadian rhythm.

Minimize Caffeine intake after 10am!

There are slow and fast caffeine metabolizers and if you are a slow metabolizer it is critical to stop any and all caffeine intake by 10am!   

Exercise!

Yes – it’s true – for many a consistent exercise habit will dramatically improve sleep quality and duration!

Finish your morning shower with a cold shower!

While this may seem unpleasant at first cold showers dramatically ramp up the secretion of norepinephrine which is the brains primary stimulant.  See this blogpost for the many benefits of cold showers:  http://workoutanytime.blogspot.com/2022/04/can-cold-showers-improve-exercise.html