Reader comments
Exercising your way to happiness: Physical activity could help ease stress

If walking counts as exercise, I exercise 7 days a week!

Who doesn't walk?

Why is this article encouraging walking as opposed to other forms of healthier activity?

I love to walk. It makes me forget about all me problems and move on with my life.

It's something almost everyone can do, to the level of their ability. I have joint problems, and budget problems, but I can go out and do a brisk walk for 30 minutes to an hour, although I can't jog, and don't have the money for the gym.

It is encouraging to hear that the old fashioned value of exercise is being promoted by this newspaper. Modern media has increasingly promoted laziness, sloth, and gluttony for far too long. It is no wonder that modern society is seeing increasing levels of depression, violence, and marital problems. If our society is to remain strong, we must return to the values that made this Country great: moderation, temperance, and self-control.

I read a study several years ago that said that it's the duration of the exercise, rather than the exertion level, that matters most. It also said that 45 minutes of brisk walking was as good for your body as 45 minutes of running. I took that to heart, because walking was something I knew I could stick with.

I can't tell you what a difference it has made in my life. I walk six days a week for about 45-50 minutes. I lost 35 pounds and have kept it off, I rarely, if ever, get sick, and my general healthiness now that I'm in my 40's is much better overall than when I was younger. I attribute much of that to walking.

The problem is people take a short walk and then think they can eat more. The only way to get the pounds off is to stop eating. Fasting is the best way to do this. LDS people do this once a month. Try it once a week and watch the weight go down. I lost 60 pounds in about a year. I have been fasting one day a week for 5 years now. Sure a walk is great, but if I did not fast once a week I would still be 60 pounds over weight. The fast is simple, on my fast day I drink only water, tea and coffee(no sugar or milk). That is it. And I do not eat anything until the next morning. It is a little difficult the first few times you do it but then it gets easy. The other 6 days a week I eat anything I want and as much as I want. The most difficult part of this diet was having to listen to everyone tell me it would not work and that my metabolism would shut down. I don't miss the 60 pounds.

Just one more point on fasting, it is for life. You can't just do it for a few months. You will need to do it for the rest of your life. This diet works because you are 100 percent satisfied 6 days a week. The first time you do this diet you will drop 5 to 10 pound in one day, but most of that is water loss. The truth is you will drop about one pound a week. More at first and then it levels off as you get close to the weight you need to be. The trick to this diet is you don't diet the 6 days that you do eat or you will not want to do it the rest of your life. You need to feel satisfied 6 days. After 6 days you almost look forward to the fast day. I know a lot of people will say this diet is not healthy. But ask yourself, is it healthy to be 60+ pounds overweight? If you start this diet this week you will drop about 30+ pounds by the end of the year. If you are diabetic talk with Dr. first.

Blood sugars drop on those who are diabetic or insulin resistant while fasting, and then you have a worse situation. But - walking is not taking a stroll. One needs to get the heart rate up, sweat a little, and put some effort into it. Exercise releases endorphines - the happy hormones - and makes you feel better. It's hard to start at first, but get a buddy (friend, dog, whatever) to be a companion with you on the journey, and you will find that if you are committed to a buddy, you are committed to the program.

Is the Fast being discussed a 24 hour fast?

The fasting is more than 24 hours because you go to bed on an empty stomach. (that is the hard part). So the clock starts ticking after your last meal the night before the fast to the point of your next meal the morning after the fast. It is more like 32 hours total.

I suspect that Utah's relatively low obesity rate may have a lot to do with the fact that we are the youngest state by a wide margin. We are younger and thus less farther along on the road to obesity on average than the populations of other states.
If we did comparisons by age group I have a feeling we wouldn't be looking so good.

Our bodies are not built to fast. If this works for you, great, but it is not healthy. Better to keep your blood sugars at an even level, no big spikes or drops. Best way to do that is small meals every 3 to 4 hours, fruits, veggies, lean protein, whole grains (white is not your friend as in white flour, rice, or sugar). Stay away from processed foods. Drink water -- cut out soda. Walking is a great exercise as it has the highest compliance rate of any physical activity and pretty much everybody can do it! Try to get in a 30 minute walk every day.

Re: Dubious statistic....

Good point. I haven't wondered about that a lot. I see obese adults everywhere in this state but it consistently is ranked one of the fittest.

i'd love to see the stats that you describe.

We are built to fast. We convert excess calories to high energy density fat and store it in our bodies in order to cope with times of famine. Our bodies have an elaborate metabolic process to convert to primarily consuming stored fat in times of famine.
Much of our weight problem has to do with round the clock, round the calendar abundance combined with our instincts to store energy for times of scarcity.

Alan Deutschman in his book, "Change or Die" provides compelling evidence that when we're given the choice of changing our behavior in the face of death, most of us choose death (well, we don't make the necessary changes). He says that the typical model of having people change is through the 3 F's- Facts, Force and Fear. They don't work. Instead, he offers the 3 R's of change - Relate, Repeat, Reframe. It would take too much space for me to elaborate.

My partner, Dr. Frank and I, through our website, offer different perspectives on midlife coping strategies in relationship to happiness.

Eat stop Eat,don't allow the media to tell you what ,how or how much to eat. The media has their gready hands in everything. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE. How much did Da Vinci eat very little but it was well balanced .He made miracles and invented devices still used today. Free ebook Eat Stop Eat.com

I don't think you can find too many people that have felt hunger for more than an hour in the USA. If 6 small meals a day is better than 3 big meals, then perhaps 25 very small meals a day is better than 6? The people that I have seen eat this way just keep on gaining weight. Again, you have everyone telling you that fasting is not good for you. This if just false. I bet these health experts were around when Jesus was fasting for 40 days. They would tell Jesus stuff like: "Jusus, look at you, you need to eat! You are so thin! Eat a few locust, (six times a day) you will just gain weight when you start eating again, your metabolism will shut down and you will be so fat!"
Such a simple way to drop the pounds, just don't eat one day a week. I have several friends doing this and it is working for them as good as it worked for me. People will go get gastric surgery before trying a simple diet like this. Compare the risk of gastric surgery to fasting?
Try it, you won't die.

I wish I could buy a 50 lb. bag of some scientifically formulated stuff that would meet all my nutritional needs if I just ate 3 cups a day with some water. What to eat and how much has become a far, far, far too complicated subject.

Hippocrates said it best:

"If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health."
- Hippocrates

i'm so glad i've recently started walking with my dog daily. he gets so excited when i get home from work and i can tell he can't wait until we go out. with him following me around and moving toward the door, how can i resist?