FITNESS SNACKING
Sadly, ‘fitness snacking’ does not involve walking slowly on a treadmill while munching on a chicken leg.
I was hovering over my plate at my nephew’s bar mitzvah a few weeks back, trying to decide which mini brunch item would disappear first into the gaping vortex of my mouth. There were so many — it was hard to decide.
My cousin, a fitness instructor with the energy of a rabid squirrel, broke my concentration by showing me a favourite fitness app on her phone. I think it might have had something to do with working my core. Maybe. I’d like to tell you I spent more time paying attention to the app that could better my health, and less time focused on the party sandwiches and poached salmon dotting the edges of my plate, but I can’t. I mean, there were mini knishes, too. Come on.
My cousin is well-meaning, of course. And sure, the timing wasn’t great. But when it comes to Jewish family gatherings, it’s hard to find a time when food isn’t central to the activity, which means that every time I see her, I’m stuffing my face. Take from that what you will.
“You don’t need to plan for a full hour workout,” she explained enthusiastically. “If you can sneak away for just 15 minutes during your workday, that’s a great start.”
I knew she was right. As I reached for a cube of cheese, I thought about how hard it would be to leave my office for 15 minutes during the workday. I should be able to do that, I thought, popping
another cube into my mouth. I’m totally going to get healthy. Great pep talk! Thanks!
Of course, reality is a whole other beast. Because I did head to work the next day with a gym bag containing my running shoes and a change of clothes. And yes, I did spend 10 minutes changing into running gear, 30 minutes “running” (if you include stopping on Markland to take photos of the prop army vehicles that would be part of a “Handmaid’s Tale” shoot and texting them to
William), five minutes leaned over, trying to stop hyperventilating and another 15 minutes getting cleaned up and changed back into work clothes. All of a sudden, my quickie 15 minutes became an hour. And I needed a nap. And some cheese. And I spent the rest of the day wondering whether or not I stank.
But the idea of working short exercise breaks into our daily routines, like the one my cousin encouraged, is a trend the L.A. Times refers to as “fitness snacking.”
Sadly, it does not involve walking slowly on a treadmill while munching on a chicken leg (obviously what I thought when I first came across the term). “Fitness snacking,” the newspaper suggests, can help us get through the busy holiday season when time is tight and the shortbread is plentiful.
“Indeed, while the government advises a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week (five 30-minute workouts) for Americans, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (three 25-minute sessions) as well as two days a week of strength exercises, that effort can be whittled down into little bursts throughout the day. You could start with sets of pushups or mountain climbers upon rising, take a brisk 15-minute walk to lunch, and end with an after-dinner walk and squats while brushing your teeth before bed,” reports the L.A. Times.
The story goes on to say that a 2014 study found short bursts of exercise before each meal were more effective at controlling blood sugar levels than one 30minute exercise session per day. And that as little as 10 minutes of light exercise helped improve the brain’s memory and function.
And while moderate exercise has been proven to achieve better results than light exercise, any exercise is better than no exercise. Right? So, walking for 10 minutes is better than not walking for 10 minutes. Which, I guess, is what this all boils down to — any exercise at all is better than sitting still and eating cheese.
So that’s what I did the next day. When I had a quiet moment, I stood up, walked out of my office and onto the street. And I walked. And I walked. All the way to the Nations grocery store, where I picked up some sushi for lunch.
What? It’s healthy!