Main Page> Miscellaneous> Frequently Asked Questions Have a question you want answered? E-mail me at bestrong_ca@yahoo.com Q: I'm trying to cut back on what I eat, but it's not really helping me lose weight. What can I do? If you want to lose weight you need to exercise (see my beginner's exercise program) and eat properly. Eating properly means eating nutritious foods and trying to keep yourself from feeling hungry or full. Q: I've heard that you can do a heart rate test to make sure that you are working out at the proper intensity. How is this done? People like to monitor their heart rate to ensure that they are pushing themselves hard enough (but not too hard) when doing cardio activity such as jogging or walking. To monitor your heart rate you can buy a heart rate monitor or take your own heart rate. To take your own heart rate, place your index and middle finger at the side of your throat just under your chin where you can feel your pulse. Starting at 0, count the number of beats you feel for exactly 10 seconds. Now look at the chart below. Find your approximate age then look at the second column to determine how many beats should be counted in 10 seconds. If you are a beginner, you should be at the lower end of the scale and if you are more advanced you should aim to be at the higher end. So, for example, a 22 year old beginner should count a little more than 20 heart beats in 10 seconds, whereas a more advance 22 year old should count almost 30 beats in 10 seconds. Age Heart Beats in 10 seconds 20 20-30 30 19-29 40 18-27 50 17-25 60 16-24 You can take your heart rate about half way through your workout to determine how hard you are working. If your heart rate is too low, increase the intensity of your workout, if your heart rate is too high, decrease the intensity. Take another heart rate check towards the end of your workout to ensure that you adjusted your workout accordingly. Q: I'd like to begin an exercise program, but I don't want to lift weight and get "big". Is it ok to not do weights? Weight training is important. It helps keep you strong and prevents you from bone loss as you get older. If you're a woman, you don't have to worry about getting "big". Women arn't designed to become very muscular unless they train very hard. Q: I have almost no fat in my diet, yet I'm not losing any weight. Help!!!! Just because you arn't eating any fat doesn't mean you can't get fat. When you eat foods that are high in carbohydrates, such as bread or pasta, insulin is sent into the bloodstream to lower your blood-sugar level. When your blood sugar level drops below a certain point you start to feel tired. So eating a meal that is essentially made up of carbohydrates (especially if it has a high glycemic index), such as a large bowl of pasta and tomato sauce, will cause you to fatigue much more quickly than if you ate a more balanced meal, such as pasta and meat sauce. Putting a lot of glucose into the bloodstream all at once (caused by eating a meal high in carbs) also does not allow the body to put all of the energy you just ate to good use. Once the body has used up all of the glucose it needs, the insulin that was released will take the excess sugar from the bloodstream and store it in your fat cells. So just because there was virtually no fat in your high carbohydrate meal does not mean that it won't be stored as fat in your body. So a few hours ago, you ate a high carbohydrate meal and now you are feeling tired and hungry. This is because your body let all of the carbs into the blood stream at a quick rate. The body didn't need to use all of these carbs for energy right away, so it stored them as fat for future use. Even though your body just stored all those carbs as fat a few hours ago, it is hungry now since the brain has no access to that stored fat, so you eat again. The best way to prevent this cycle is to eat small balanced meals 4-5 times a day. Since the meal is balanced with carbs, fat, and protein, the body is better able to work to use all of the energy you just gave it without storing much as fat. Have a question you want answered? E-mail me at bestrong_ca@yahoo.com