Best Recommendation for Walkers
Keep walking stronger and longer by avoiding common problems

Avoid Shin Pain Foot Roll: Standing with your feet almost together, roll up onto your toes, hold for 2 seconds, and roll back down. Then roll onto the outsides of your feet, hold for 2 seconds, and roll back down. Next roll onto your heels with toes off the ground, hold for 2 seconds, and roll back down. Do this sequence 10 times before every walk.

Avoid Lower-Back Pain: Lie with your knees bent and arms across your chest. Contracting your abs, lift your head, neck, and upper back off the ground. Think of pulling your rib cage toward your pelvis as you roll up. Hold for a second and then slowly lower. Do 10 repetitions to the center, 10 twisting to the right (pictured), 10 twisting to the left, and 10 more to the center. Perform the sequence four to six times a week.

Avoid Knee Pain Straight-Leg Raise: Sit on the ground with your left leg extended in front of you, right leg bent, and right foot flat on the ground. Place your hands behind you and sit up straight. With your left foot flexed, contract your left thigh and raise your leg 6 to 12 inches off the ground. Hold for 5 seconds and then lower. Do 10 lifts, then switch sides. Perform the sequence two to four times a week.

Avoid Leg Aches Hip and Calf Stretch: Standing with your feet together, step your right foot in front of you about 3 to 4 feet so both feet are pointing forward. Bend your right knee so it is just above but not in front of your right foot. Keep your left leg straight and your left heel on the ground to feel a stretch in your left calf. Flatten your lower back and tuck your pelvis so you also feel a stretch in the front of your left hip. Hold for four to seven slow, deep breaths, release, and repeat on the other side. Stretch each leg two times after every walk.

Avoid Upper-Back Tension Upper-Body Stretch: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and raise your right arm overhead, bending your elbow so your right hand is behind your head. Place your left hand on your right elbow and gently pull your elbow to the left, allowing your upper body to bend slightly to the left. Hold for four to seven slow, deep breaths, release, and repeat on the other side. Stretch each side two times after every walk.

Breakfast and your health

Date updated: January 20, 2007
Content provided by Harvard Health Publications

Your mother was right (again): It is important to start your day with a good breakfast.. Why is breakfast so important, and how can you plan a meal that is enjoyable, convenient, and healthful?

Morning metabolism

A lapse of 10 or 12 hours between dinner and breakfast is hardly a famine, but it’s enough to put your metabolism into a fasting, energy-mobilizing mode. Your first meal of the day will help flip the switch back to energy storage, so it’s important to do it right.

Patterns, not perfection

Breakfast is the best time to get complex carbohydrates and fiber. In fact, if you don’t start out right at breakfast, you’ll find it hard, even impossible, to get the fiber you need.

Cereal: The heart of the matter

Cereal is the key to a healthful breakfast, but only if you choose the right one. Unfortunately, most cereals are made from refined grains and many are laced with extra sugar. Look for a cereal that provides at least 6 grams of fiber per portion; 10–12 grams would be even better, but you’ll still need lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds later in the day to meet your target of 25–30 grams.
Fiber and flavor are the main criteria for a cereal, but other factors may influence your choice. An ideal cereal should have almost no fat; that rules out many “healthy” granola-based brands. Sugar adds calories at the expense of health; pick a cereal with less than 10 grams of sugar per serving.
Bananas, berries, or even apple slices can go a long way toward turning your cereal into a treat — and fruit will add valuable vitamins and minerals.

Beverages

You need milk on your cereal, and a glass of low- or nonfat milk is also fine for breakfast. Citrus fruits and juices will add vitamin C and other nutrients. Coffee or tea? Your preference rules. Caffeinated beverages are perfectly okay unless you experience unpleasant side effects such as heartburn, palpitations, or headaches.

Other grains

Bread and toast are American breakfast traditions. If you like them, choose whole wheat or pumpernickel bread, which have a low glycemic index. Bran muffins are tricky; some are high in fat, and most provide only a few grams of fiber. Bagels are low in fat (unless you cover them with cream cheese) but very low in fiber. All in all, there’s nothing wrong with any of these baked goods — unless they displace your breakfast cereal.

Spreads

Breakfast spreads present opportunities as well as perils. Avoid the regular use of butter (saturated fat) and stick margarine (trans fat). Honey and jam have no fat but are too sugary for daily use in large amounts. Soft margarine from a tub is acceptable, but plant stanol margarines such as Benecol and Take Control are even better, since regular use will help lower LDL cholesterol levels.

Fruit

The best diets include at least two to four portions of fruit a day. Breakfast presents a great opportunity to take the first step toward that goal. Pick the fruits you like best; there are no bad choices.

Not recommended

There is room for debate about eggs but little debate about some of the other foods Americans eat for breakfast. Doughnuts, croissants, waffles, and fried potatoes have too much fat. Processed meats, including bacon, ham, and sausage, have too much fat and salt. And the McBreakfasts at your nearby fast-food drive-in have too much of everything (except, of course, fiber).

Breakfast and your belly

Many people assume that skipping meals will help them lose weight. It’s not true, particularly if the missed meal is breakfast. For example, a study of 16,452 American adults found that breakfast eaters were leaner than breakfast skippers — and people who ate cereal for breakfast were leaner than those who ate meat or eggs. A study of 2,831 young adults agreed, finding that people who ate breakfast regularly were only half as likely to be obese as those who usually skipped it. And a smaller Massachusetts study reported that skipping breakfast was associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of obesity. Not surprisingly, eating breakfast at home was more beneficial than eating out.

Start right

If breakfast isn’t “the most important meal of the day,” it is a very important start to a healthful day. Numerous claims to the contrary, a good breakfast probably won’t boost your mental skills, but it can help you lose weight. And if you eat a high-fiber cereal, breakfast will reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, especially if you add nonfat milk and fruit.
Above all, perhaps, a good breakfast is an ideal way to start changing to a healthful diet. The food choices are simple, and you can measure your progress quite easily. Experiment until you find a healthful breakfast you can really enjoy. And if you eat right and stay healthy, you can afford to “cheat” from time to time . If nostalgia is your thing, go for oatmeal.