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Fitness & Exercise for Senior Citizens
Experts ‘Weigh In’ on Popular Diet and Exercise
Myths
Senior citizens increasingly turn to exercise,
healthy diet as keys to rejuvenation
 January 16, 2007 – Senior citizens are increasingly
turning to exercise and healthier diets in an attempt to regain the vim
and vigor of younger years. Many fail in this quest due to frustration,
which may be due to misconceptions and bad information that floats
around gyms, the Internet and even senior centers.
Julie Bender, a dietitian with Baylor University
Medical Center at Dallas, and Phil Tyne, director of the Baylor Tom
Landry Health and Wellness Center “weigh in” on the most popular diet
and exercise myths.
1. Stretching before exercise is crucial.
False. Some studies have suggested that stretching actually
increases muscles’ susceptibility to injury. They claim that by
stretching, our muscle fibers are lengthened and destabilized, making
them less prepared for the strain placed upon them by exercise. “You
might want to warm-up and stretch before a run, but if you are lifting
weights wait until after the workout to stretch the muscles,” adds Tyne.
2. You should never eat before a workout.
False. "Fuel" coming from food and fluids is required to
provide the energy for your muscles to work efficiently even if you are
doing an early morning workout. “Consider eating a small meal or snack
one to three hours prior to exercise. Load up your tank with premium
‘fuel’ and choose some fruit, yogurt, or whole wheat toast,” says
Bender.
3. Lifting weights will make women bulky.
False. “Most women’s bodies do not produce nearly enough
testosterone to become ‘bulky’ like those body builders on TV,” says
Tyne. If you do find yourself getting bigger then you would like simply
use less weight and higher repetitions.
4. Crunches will get rid of your belly fat.
False. “You can’t pick and choose areas where you’d like to
burn fat”, says Tyne. “In order to burn fat, you should create a workout
that includes both cardiovascular and strength training elements. This
will decrease your overall body fat content”.
5. Fat is bad for you, no matter what kind.
False. Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of “good
fats” out there that are essential to promoting good health and aid in
disease prevention. “They are the ones that occur naturally in foods
like avocados, nuts, and fish, as opposed to those that are
manufactured,” says Bender. "Including small amounts of these foods at
meal times can help you to feel full longer and therefore eat less.”
6. Restricting calories is the best way to lose
weight.
False. Both cutting back on calories and moving more will
help you lose weight and maintain lean muscle mass needed to boost
metabolism. However, often individuals think they must take drastic
measures to lose weight (ex. eating less than 1200 calories), but this
does not usually provide adequate fuel for the body and may slow
metabolism. “ Drastic measures rarely equal lasting results, so start
small and eliminate 100-300 calories consistently from your daily diet
and you will reap the reward,” says Bender.
7. As long as you eat healthy foods, you can eat
as much as you want.
False. A calorie, is a calorie. Although oatmeal is healthy,
if you have 4 cups of oatmeal, the calories add up. “Healthy or
otherwise, you still must be aware of portion sizes,” says Bender. "You
must limit your caloric intake in order to lose weight, however,
understanding how to ‘balance’ calorie intake throughout your day can
help you avoid feelings of deprivation, hunger and despair,” adds
Bender.
8. Exercise turns fat into muscle.
False. Fat and muscle tissue are composed of two entirely
different types of cells. “While you can lose one and replace it with
another, the two never “convert” into different forms,” says Tyne. “So
fat will never turn into muscle.”
9. Eating late at night will make you gain
weight.
False. “There are no ‘magic’ hours,” says Bender. “We
associate late night eating with weight gain because we usually consume
more calories at night. We do this because we usually deprive our bodies
of adequate calories the first half of the day. Start the day out with
breakfast and eat every 3-4 hours. Keep lunch the same size as dinner,
and you will be less likely to over-indulge at night, yet you can enjoy
a small late night snack without the fear of it sticking to your
middle,” explains Bender.
10. You have to sweat to have a good workout.
False. Tyne says “Sweating is not necessarily an indicator of
exertion—sweating is your body’s way of cooling itself.” It is possible
to burn a significant number of calories without breaking a sweat: try
taking a walk, or doing some light weight training or working out in a
swimming pool.
Editor's Note: For more information about
the Baylor Tom Landry Health and Wellness Center, visit
http://www.BaylorHealth.com.
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