Use the summer heat to burn more calories! | Dr. Katalenas' Tips & Resources for Happy Healthy Children

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From Spain With Love





Many times I tried to analyze why I feel more energized, lighter and healthier while on
vacation in Spain. My conclusion always goes to the fact that, while on vacation, I am
more relaxed and I have more time to be active. This time I am paying attention; I have
been here for one week and the level of activity is superior to the one I have in Texas. It
is not by choice, but just a result of differences in life style, local habits and lack of all the
commodities we take for granted in America.
We must face it. We, in the United States, have created a very comfortable way of
life that makes our work and daily activities easier, but at the same time it takes away
from energy consumption. We use private transportation all the way to the entrance
of the store and we get upset when we have to park far away from the door. We have
drive-thru pharmacies, banks, restaurants and dry cleaners, and at home we can afford
to keep the thermostat as close as possible to ideal temperature. We try very hard
to avoid sweating in the summer and shivering in the winter, two body reactions to
changes in temperature that waste energy and, therefore, help maintain a healthy weight.
My family here has set habits that they repeat daily, rain or shine. In the morning I must
walk to town to pick up a loaf of fresh French bread and the newspaper. The walk is most
pleasant and it takes barely ten minutes, but the way back home means climbing up a
steep road that is hardly noticeable on the way down. Taking the car? Forget it! There
is no place to park near destination. I tried, believe me, but I ended up walking the same
distance. When it rains, or if I have to make a quick stop at he grocery stop, carrying the
bags and the umbrella up the hill makes it even more interesting.
Food must be prepared fresh and from scratch on a daily basis. Sometimes I can get away
with leftovers, but we try to prepare small amounts and the leftover situation does not
occur very often. Since we eat fish almost daily, we buy what we are going to prepare for
the day, which means we must visit the market often.
Sometimes I pick up the ingredients for lunch on my way to the bakery/newspaper trip
in the morning, but if the grocery list is larger we take the car to go to the store, which
involves finding a parking spot, carrying bags, loading and unloading and walking
several sets of stairs with bags on both hands. Nobody seems to pay attention to the
amount of energy spent only on preparing meals destined to generate energy. My spoiled
body noticed right away; it has been one week and I am just starting to get used to it.
Energy Intake = Energy Expenditure.
This is a very important equation we must keep in mind if we want to avoid fat
accumulation. When we consume too much energy in the form of food and we don’t
spend enough energy, in the form of exercise, we accumulate the excess energy in the
form of body fat. As simple as that.
Countries with less incidence of obesity don’t posses any information not available
to us. They simply have habits that are maintained daily. They are also capable of
going through changes in environmental temperature without touching the thermostat.
Here are some tips to gear our body towards energy consumption during the Texas
summer:
-
Maintain the indoor temperature no lower to 80 degrees in the summer.
Wear lighter clothing and allow some degree of sweating to eliminate toxins.
-
Take advantage of the summer heat of Texas. Go for a 30-minute walk in the
evening. The heat adds to the energy expenditure and the ½ hour walk outdoors is
equivalent to 1-hour walk on a treadmill.
-
Spend 1 hour gardening on the weekend: cutting the grass, pulling weeds,
planting, watering, etc.
-
Once a week, walk to a near-by destination. My favorite is walking home
from work (3 miles), but I sometimes walk to HEB or to the video store.
Try this plan for just one week, drinking plenty of water before and after exercise. Then
tell me how you feel. I can guaranty and increase in energy level and well being, even
when, during the firs few days, you are more aware of the pain imposed by the change in
body habits.
We must create a certain degree of discomfort in order to generate energy.
Just do it.
Marta Katalenas M.D.

Many times I have tried to analyze why I feel more energized, lighter and healthier while on vacation in Spain. My conclusion is that, while on vacation, I am more relaxed and I have more time to be active. This time I am paying attention; I have been here for one week and the level of activity is superior to the level I have in Texas. It is not by choice, but a result in the differences in life style, local habits and lack of all the commodities we take for granted in America.

We must face it. We, in the United States, have created a very comfortable way of life that makes our work and daily activities easier, but at the same time it takes away from energy consumption. We use private transportation all the way to the entrance of the store and we get upset when we have to park far away from the door. We have drive-thru pharmacies, banks, restaurants and dry cleaners, and at home we can afford to keep the thermostat as close as possible to ideal temperature. We try very hard to avoid sweating in the summer and shivering in the winter, two body reactions to changes in temperature that expend energy and, therefore, help maintain a healthy weight.

My family here in Spain has set habits that they repeat daily, rain or shine. In the morning I must walk to town to pick up a loaf of fresh French bread and the newspaper. The walk is most pleasant and it takes barely ten minutes, but the way back home means climbing up a steep road that is hardly noticeable on the way down. Taking the car? Forget it! There is no place to park near the destination. I tried, believe me, but I ended up walking the same distance. When it rains, or if I have to make a quick stop at the grocery store, carrying the bags and the umbrella up the hill makes it even more interesting.

Food must be prepared fresh and from scratch on a daily basis. Sometimes I can get away with leftovers, but we try to prepare small amounts and we rarely have leftovers. Since we eat fish almost daily, we buy what we are going to prepare for the day, which means we must visit the market often.

Sometimes I pick up the ingredients for lunch on my way to the bakery/newspaper trip in the morning, but if the grocery list is larger we take the car to go to the store, which involves finding a parking spot, carrying bags, loading and unloading and walking several sets of stairs with bags on both hands. Nobody seems to pay attention to the amount of energy spent just to prepare meals destined to generate energy. My spoiled body noticed right away; it has been one week and I am just starting to get used to it.

Energy Intake = Energy Expenditure.

This is a very important equation we must keep in mind if we want to avoid fat accumulation. When we consume too much energy in the form of food and we don’t expend enough energy, in the form of exercise, we accumulate the excess energy in the form of body fat. As simple as that.

Countries with less incidence of obesity don’t posses information that is not available to us. They simply have habits that are maintained daily. They are also capable of going through changes in environmental temperature without touching the thermostat.

Here are some tips to gear our body towards energy consumption during the Texas summer:

  • Maintain the indoor temperature no lower than 80 degrees in the summer.
  • Wear lighter clothing and allow some degree of sweating to eliminate toxins.
  • Take advantage of the Texas summer heat. Go for a 30-minute walk in the evening. The heat adds to the energy expenditure and the ½ hour walk outdoors is equivalent to 1-hour walk on a treadmill.
  • Spend 1 hour gardening on the weekend: cutting the grass, pulling weeds, planting, watering, etc.
  • Once a week, walk to a near-by destination. My favorite is walking home from work (3 miles), but I sometimes walk to HEB or to the video store.

Try this plan for just one week, drinking plenty of water before and after exercise. Then tell me how you feel. I can guaranty an increase in energy level and well being, even when, during the first few days, you are more aware of the discomfort imposed by the change in body habits.

We must create a certain degree of discomfort in order to generate energy.

Just do it.

Marta Katalenas M.D.

About Dr. Marta Katalenas M.D.

Dr. Marta Katalenas M.D.

Dr. Marta Katalenas is a Board Certified Pediatrician and owns the Pediatric Center of Round Rock located in Round Rock, Texas. Dr. Katalenas is a professional speaker and is available to speak on childhood obesity and healthy eating topics. She is also the author of the upcoming book "From Scratch", a guide to healthy cooking and eating for busy families.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 28, 2010 at 10:14 am and is filed under Healthy Eating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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