Lose It To Win It Weekly Success Tip Week 8
FITT Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type of Activity When you put a lot of effort into increasing physical activity, you want results! Whether you are a beginner or have experience, FITT will help you build your physical activity program. By following FITT, you are striving to manage your weight and improve your health. FREQUENCY How often are you active? Everyone: Be active 5 or more days of the week. Start slowly and gradually increase your physical activity. Beginners: Start with 2 3 days of aerobic activity (activity that increases your heart rate). Gradually increase to at least 5 days/week. Experienced: Continue with aerobic activity 5+ days/week. Add in 2 days (Tuesday, Thursday) of strength training. INTENSITY How hard are your heart and muscles working? Everyone (including Beginners): Always warm-up, cool-down, and stretch. Be active at a moderate intensity (like a brisk walk or gardening). Be active at a rate that allows you to talk. Slow down if you have trouble breathing or if you can t catch your breath. You should stretch after aerobic or strength training. A stretch should never be painful. Some discomfort is normal. You want to feel a slight pull of the muscle. Experienced: Build intensity for aerobic exercise by increasing speed (fast/sprint walk for 30 seconds followed by 1 minute brisk walk) and/or incline/resistance (hills on treadmill, greater workload on bike). Increase intensity for strength training by adding weight or only resting 30 seconds between sets.
TIME How long are you active? TYPE What are you doing? Everyone: Try to stay active for at least 10 minutes without stopping. Remember, some activity is better than no activity. It is okay to build up to 10 minutes. Aim for a total of at least 30 minutes of activity throughout the day. For weight loss, increase this to 60 minutes per day. Set a goal for the week based on total minutes of physical activity. Increase the length of time you are active before increasing the intensity of the activity. There are no time goals for strength training. You should stretch after aerobic or strength activity. For muscles that were used, hold each stretch for 15 30 seconds. Repeating stretches will increase flexibility. Everyone: o All types of physical activity are important...so mix it up. o Aerobic walking, bicycling, dancing, swimming, mowing the lawn. o Strength carrying wood, lifting dumbbells. o Flexibility seated stretches, yoga. DEFINITIONS Aerobic activity is when the body s large muscles move together and your heart beats faster than usual. This type of activity burns the most calories and promotes weight loss. Examples include aerobics, swimming, running, walking, kickboxing, dancing, and cycling. Strengthening activity is when the body s muscles work against a force or weight. Examples include elastic bands, weights, or body weight. Flexibility lengthens a muscle while increasing range of motion. Examples include self-stretch, yoga, Pilates, and chair stretching routines. Lifestyle activity occurs during normal, everyday activity such as vacuuming, walking the dog, mowing the lawn, participating in a walking meeting at work, or dancing.
Behavior change is the key to managing your weight. Changing too many things at once can be difficult and stressful. It may be better to change one or even two things at a time. Here are strategies to help you change your behavior over the long-term: Decide how important it is for you to change. Why are you making the change? What will it mean for you when you have made the change? Decide how confident you are to change. Do you have the skills and support you need to help you make a change? If not, where can you go for help? Set short-term SMART goals that are: Specific: what will you do? Measurable: how much and how will you know when you get there? Action-oriented: commit to do it! Realistic: make a goal you know you can meet. Time-based: when will you meet your goal? Give yourself a deadline. Learn how to support yourself to make a change. Use the materials given to you by your MOVE! team. Find out about community resources. Rally support from family and friends.
Expect setbacks and learn how to overcome them. Setbacks are common. Recall the reasons why you are making this important change. You may have set an unrealistic goal. Put the setback behind you. Set a more realistic goal and start again. Reward yourself when you have reached a goal. Do something fun and special for yourself. Be creative. Avoid tempting situations and places that make you lose control, like all-you-can-eat restaurants.
Eating Right with Less Added Sugars Sugar is found naturally in some foods and drinks, like fruit and milk, but it is also added to many of them. Added sugars give these items a sweet taste. Most Americans get too many calories from added sugars and over time this may affect their weight and health. Many people think of desserts as the main source of added sugars, but there are many foods and drinks that contain them. For example, sweetened drinks like regular soft drinks, some fruit drinks, and energy drinks are all sources of added sugars. Snack foods, like crackers, and even ready-to-eat foods, like pizza and pasta sauces, can be made with added sugars. People may also add sugar to what they eat and drink, like sprinkling sugar over cereal or pouring flavored creamer in coffee. How to Limit Sources of Added Sugars Soon you ll be able to determine the amount of added sugars by looking at the Nutrition Facts label. For right now, the best place to find this information is in the ingredients list. The ingredients that appear first are in the largest amount. Be sure to look for foods and drinks that don t have sugar (or some other sweetener) listed as the first ingredient. Other examples of sweeteners and sources of added sugars include: brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, molasses, sucrose, white granulated sugar. But there are others, too. Sources of added sugars often lack nutrients we need for good health. Whereas foods and drinks that contain natural sources of sugar provide nutrients, like vitamins and minerals. For example, fruits like strawberries are a great source of vitamin C, and milk provides vitamins A and D and calcium.
It s not necessary to avoid all sources of added sugars. The problem is that many of us include too many sources of added sugars or eat and drink larger amounts than is recommended. When this happens there is less room for more nutritious foods and drinks. So in the future, if you have a taste for something sweet try eating some fruit first. When you re thirsty reach for milk or water. Other ways to reduce sources of added sugars include: making or buying healthier versions of baked goods, including foods and drinks with added sugars less often, and eating or drinking smaller amounts. Tips on how to reduce sources of added sugars Sweeten low-fat plain yogurt with fresh, frozen, or canned (in its own juice) fruit in place of fruit-flavored yogurt. Add cinnamon and dried fruit to plain cooked oats instead of using instant flavored oatmeal. Substitute 100% fruit juice for fruit punch and other fruit-flavored drinks. Switch from sweetened to unsweetened applesauce. Drink plain low-fat milk instead of chocolate milk. Use jams and jellies with no sugar added. Enjoy a homemade smoothie with frozen fruit, low-fat milk, and yogurt in place of ice cream. Quench your thirst with water, low-fat milk, or 100% fruit or vegetable juice instead of sweetened beverages, like energy, soft and sports drinks. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend less than 10% of our calories come from added sugars. To find out how many calories you are getting from added sugar, you can track your foods and drinks using the United States Department of Agriculture s (USDA) SuperTracker. Visit www.choosemyplate.gov for more information. For a referral to a registered dietitian nutritionist and for additional food and nutrition information visit www.eatright.org. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Academy is committed to improving the health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. This tip sheet is provided by: