The 20/20 Diet (21 page)

y breaking

a sweat during your marathon session. What if I told you that new exer-

cise theories suggest that you may be able to burn the same amount of

calories with less time trudging away at the gym if you worked in some

short bursts of high intensity? Well, get ready to be outraged (in the best possible way). Low-intensity, super-long sessions may be your opportune

time for getting through a huge stack of magazines or watching your

favorite TV shows, but there may be a way to get more out of your work-

out than catching up on the latest
Real Housewives
drama.

The truth is, some scientists believ
BOOKS,

e that “long and slow” is not the

best fat-burning formula. New theories regarding how the body burns

off sugar and fat (both are forms of energy) suggest that when you get

yourself into a high-intensity zone for short periods of time (“bursts”), you ratchet up your body’s fat burning significantly. Translation: this

type of exercise could help you accomplish more in less time.

So, let’s get efficient.

Current Physical Activity Quiz

First, y

STREET

ou need to identify your starting point, because it will determine

how you will work yourself into the exercise plan. Answer the following
questions honestly:

On average, how many hours per day do you spend in the seated

positi
BIRD

on? (Take into account your commute, your work, mealtimes,

watching TV or movies, etc.)

a. 6 or more hours

b. 3–5 hours

c. 1–2 hours

130 | The 20/20 Diet

Given the choice, if you had to get from the first to the third floor of a building, would you be more likely to:

a. Take an elevator, no matter what. (Aren’t stairs just for an

emergency?)

b. Take the stairs only if I’m rushed and the elevator wasn’t fast

enough.

c. Take the stairs, regardless of how quickly I need t
INC.

o get there.

When you drive to a destination such as the mall or a grocery store,

do you:

a. Circle the lot until I can park as close to the entrance as possible.

b. Park as closely to the entrance as possible, but don’t spend a lot

of time looking for a close spot.

c. Park far away so I can get in some extra walking.

When you’re doing light activity su
BOOKS,

ch as vacuuming or raking the

yard, how do you feel?

a. Quickly worn out; I need to take breaks every few minutes.

b. Able to do the task, but my heart rate goes up and I breathe

pretty hard.

c. Strong and energized.

How often do you complete at least 20 minutes of purposeful exercise

that makes yo

STREET

u work up a sweat?

a. 1 day per week or less

b. 2–4 days per week

c. 5–7 days per week

After an average day of being awake for at least 12 hours, how do you

feel?

BIRD

a. Exhausted; ready to flip on the TV or crash into bed.

b. Pretty tired, but able to stay awake for a couple hours of TV

time.

c. Vibrant, awake, and ready for more!

The 30-Second Burn Burst Exercise Program | 131

How would your heart rate be affected if you did 10 jumping jacks?

a. My heart would probably beat right out of my chest.

b. It would beat fast and take a few minutes to slow back down.

c. It would speed up a little, but not much.

What is your preferred method of relaxation or stress relief?

a. Lying on the couch or in bed reading, watching TV
INC.

, etc.

b. Mild activity such as gentle stretching, light gardening, etc.

c. More strenuous activity such as going for a bike ride, jog,

walk, etc.

Scoring

For every question that you answered “a,” give yourself 0 points, for

every “b” answer give yourself 2 points, and for every “c” answer, give

yourself 4 points.

0 to 10: Sedentary

If your score is this low, you should no
BOOKS,

t start out with the Burn Burst

Exercise Program. Instead, you need to make it your immediate goal

to start walking more. Walk around the room when you’re on the

phone, park farther away from the entrance to buildings, walk in cir-

cles around the living room while watching TV. Wherever, however,

and whenever you possibly can, get on your feet and move around.

11 to 20: Mildly A STREET

ctive

If you’re in this range, you are already making certain efforts to incorporate physical activity into your life, and I’m going to ask you to

step it up a few notches. You should ease into the program below, but

be extremely cognizant of your perceived exertion, which I’ll explain

shortly. Do not try to go from 0 to 60, but build slowly on the base

you h
BIRD

ave already begun to form.

21 to 32: Active

This range indicates that you likely already understand the impor-

tance of movement in your daily life. But now we will push you even

harder and use the latest research to maximize your results. Closely

132 | The 20/20 Diet

monitor your progress on this plan, and have an open mind as you

engage in a new way of getting exercise.

Seek Your Doctor’s Permission

Regardless of your current physical activity level, I am t
INC.

elling you

in no uncertain terms that you need to discuss this exercise pro-

gram with your doctor before you start it. This is not an option;

it’s required.

If you have any preexisting conditions that could be affected or

exacerbated by activity, or if you’ve been extremely sedentary for

a long time, then you need to take certain steps before you even

attempt this program. If you don’t, you might be setting yourself

up for a cardiac event such as a heart attack.

This isn’t just some throwawaBOOKS,

y disclaimer. If your cardio-

vascular system is healthy, then exercise can help maintain

your health. But if it’s not, then heed your doctor’s advice.

Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)

Before we get int
STREET

o the specifics of this innovative form of exercise, I

want you to start tuning in to your body. So many people just trudge

their way through their day (or their life), barely aware of their sur-

roundings, much less of the cues their own bodies are giving them.

But when you really wake up, pay attention, and start listening, you’ll

be a
BIRD

mazed how many messages your body is trying to send you.

For example, the Hunger and Fullness Scale has shown you to

discern when you are
physically
hungry and when it’s just fake hunger, conjured by your mind in response to some kind of trigger. You’ve

learned about the physical symptoms you experience when you truly

need food, such as a growling stomach or light-headedness. Similarly,

The 30-Second Burn Burst Exercise Program | 133

Get Movin’ Now!

The World Health Organization and the Surgeon General rec-

ommend that adults get a minimum of 150 weekly minutes of

moderate-intensity physical activity (e.g., walking, dancing, light

swimming) or 75 weekly minutes of vigorous activity (e
INC.

.g., run-

ning, cycling, fast swimming). If you do this you’ll experience

some health benefits, but for even better results and weight loss,

the recommendation is to shoot for 300 minutes of moderate-

intensity activity or 150 minutes of vigorous activity per week.

But if you’re currently living a sedentary lifestyle, all that activ-

ity probably sounds overwhelming and unrealistic. Well, before you

decide it’s out of the question, here’s some good news. A study in the

journal
Preventive Medicine
showed that sedentary adults who complete short bouts of light to moderate p
BOOKS,

hysical activity (such as walk-

ing briskly around the block) for just six minutes at a time, five times per day, can experience similarly significant improvements in their

overall physical fitness as people who complete one, continuous bout

of exercise. You know the old joke about how to eat an elephant? One

bite at a time. It’s the same with exercise. You don’t have to do it al

at once, especial y when you’re first starting out.

I’d like you to bec
STREET

ome acutely aware of another set of indications, or

signs, that your body is giving you on a daily basis, and these have to

do with your physical exertion.

There’s been quite a bit of discussion in the exercise community

about whether a heart rate monitor gives you any more of an advan-

tage t
BIRD

han simply self-monitoring your “rate of perceived exertion”

(RPE). Basically, your RPE is your built-in system for judging your

own physical output. I’m talking about heavy breathing, rapid heart

rate, sweat, a feeling of fatigue in major muscle groups, and so on.

Your mind perceives how much you’re moving, whether you’re sitting

as still as a statue on the couch or running full out on a treadmill.

134 | The 20/20 Diet

Below is a version of an RPE scale that I have adapted from the

Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion and expanded upon so that you can

rate your level of energy expenditure without any extra gear like a

heart monitor. This is meant to help you understand when you are

“exercising” and when you are seriously
exercising
.

Judging Your Perceived Exertion

0
No movement; sitting still; neutral.

INC.

1
Extremely light exertion: Almost no sign of energy expenditure.

2
Light exertion: Very comfortable, no detectible increase in heart rate or respiration.

3
Mild exertion: Feeling slightly warm, a slight increase in

breathing.

4
Medium exertion: Hear

BOOKS,

t rate and respiration both noticeably

higher.

5
Moderate exertion: Starting to sweat, breathing pretty hard, but still able to carry on a conversation.

6
Significant exertion: Sweating steadily, breathing is steady but hurried. Talking is getting slightly harder but is still possible.

7
Medium/high exertion: Feeling hot all over, sweat is dripping

and sho

STREET

wing through your clothes. You can maintain this level

for a while, though. Your body is not screaming for you to stop.

8
Hard exertion: Starting to feel uncomfortable, but you feel like you can go for a few more minutes like this.

9
Intense exertion: You don’t feel like you can maintain this level very long. You can get out a couple words if you have to, but

BIRD

definitely not a conversation.

10
Extremely intense exertion: Very heavy breathing, heart rate is extremely high, and you cannot speak. The hardest you’ve ever

pushed yourself physically—so much so that you can’t keep it up

another second.

The 30-Second Burn Burst Exercise Program | 135

Keep in mind that you may not experience the same signals of

exertion as someone else. For instance, a marathon runner would

likely be at a 1 or 2 when walking briskly, while someone who isn’t

in shape would be at a 5 or 6 when walking at the same pace. That’s

why this is an ideal method to determine
your
exertion, because it’s tailor-made to you and it will change and evolve as you increase your

level of daily physical activity.

When I first started doing the high-intensity exercis
INC.

e bursts you

will soon read about, I found out very quickly that you don’t just go

from 0 to 10 in one swift shake of your tail feathers. It takes serious

labor to work your way up this scale. So, when you start to learn about

the burn bursts in this program, keep in mind that your 30-second

clock doesn’t start ticking until you’ve reached an 8 or 9 on the RPE

scale, and it may take you a couple minutes to get up there.

For me, the best way to apply this exercise regimen is on a stationary

bicycle. I just keep increasing that resista
BOOKS,

nce so it gets harder and harder

to pedal and I can get into my high-intensity range. Boy, I’ll tell you

Anaerobic and Aerobic Exercise

You’ve probably heard of aerobic exercise. Now we often refer

to it as “cardio,” but you might remember the days of aerobics

classes. Essentiall
STREET

y, aerobic activity occurs in the presence of oxy-

gen, and it uses both glucose and fat for fuel. Anaerobic exer-

cise, however, does not need oxygen—instead, it uses glycogen,

which is the sugar stored in your muscles, as its fuel. This type of

activity builds muscle tissue, which we know to be metabolically

active and excellent at burning fat. When you perform the type of

hig
BIRD

h-intensity interval training I’m suggesting in this chapter, the

30-second bursts are considered anaerobic activity.

So, which type of exercise is best for burning off fat and cal-