Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer vacation -- a season of potato salad, ice cream and, if you're not careful, unwanted weight gain.
But it is possible to avoid packing on the pounds. Just hop on the scale every day, researchers suggest.
The new study included 111 U.S. adults, who weighed themselves every day from mid-November 2017 to early January 2018 and received feedback on their weight changes.
The participants either maintained or lost weight during that end-of-year holiday season. A "control group" of adults who did not do daily self-weighing gained weight, according to the study
ed in the June issue of the journal Obesity.
Other than being told to try to maintain their weight, the self-weighers received no instructions on how to achieve that goal. That meant they had to decide for themselves how to manage their weight.
"Maybe they exercise a little bit more the next day (after seeing a weight increase) or they watch what they are eating more carefully," study author Jamie Cooper said in a journal news release. "The subjects self-select how they are going to modify their behavior, which can be effective because we know that interventions are not one-size-fits-all."
Cooper is an associate professor of foods and nutrition at the University of Georgia, in Athens.
The study findings support something known as discrepancy theories of self-regulation, according to study co-author Michelle vanDellen, an associate professor of psychology.
"People are really sensitive to discrepancies or differences between their current selves and their standard or goal," vanDellen said in the news release. "When they see that discrepancy, it tends to lead to behavioral change. Daily self-weighing ends up doing that for people in a really clear way."
Other research has shown that pounds piled on during the holidays may linger and contribute to yearly weight gain, Cooper noted. Overweight and obese people are likely to gain the most during the holiday season.
"Vacations and holidays are probably the two times of year people are most susceptible to weight gain in a very short period of time," Cooper said. "The holidays can actually have a big impact on someone's long-term health."
But it is possible to avoid packing on the pounds. Just hop on the scale every day, researchers suggest.
The new study included 111 U.S. adults, who weighed themselves every day from mid-November 2017 to early January 2018 and received feedback on their weight changes.
The participants either maintained or lost weight during that end-of-year holiday season. A "control group" of adults who did not do daily self-weighing gained weight, according to the study
ed in the June issue of the journal Obesity.
Other than being told to try to maintain their weight, the self-weighers received no instructions on how to achieve that goal. That meant they had to decide for themselves how to manage their weight.
"Maybe they exercise a little bit more the next day (after seeing a weight increase) or they watch what they are eating more carefully," study author Jamie Cooper said in a journal news release. "The subjects self-select how they are going to modify their behavior, which can be effective because we know that interventions are not one-size-fits-all."
Cooper is an associate professor of foods and nutrition at the University of Georgia, in Athens.
The study findings support something known as discrepancy theories of self-regulation, according to study co-author Michelle vanDellen, an associate professor of psychology.
"People are really sensitive to discrepancies or differences between their current selves and their standard or goal," vanDellen said in the news release. "When they see that discrepancy, it tends to lead to behavioral change. Daily self-weighing ends up doing that for people in a really clear way."
Other research has shown that pounds piled on during the holidays may linger and contribute to yearly weight gain, Cooper noted. Overweight and obese people are likely to gain the most during the holiday season.
"Vacations and holidays are probably the two times of year people are most susceptible to weight gain in a very short period of time," Cooper said. "The holidays can actually have a big impact on someone's long-term health."
The biceps, the very visible muscles in the front of the upper arms, are a target in every comprehensive strength-training regimen, but what exercise is the most effective?
ReplyDeleteTo answer that question, the American Council on Exercise asked scientists from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to evaluate eight popular biceps exercises.
Popular Biceps Strength-Training Exercises
Barbell curl
Cable curl
Chin-up
Concentration curl
EZ curl with wide grip
EZ curl with narrow grip
Incline curl
Preacher curl
At the very top of the list for effectiveness is the concentration curl, because it best isolates the biceps. Most of the other popular exercises also target other muscles, such as those in the shoulder called deltoids. But because the upper arm is pressed against the leg in concentration curls, the biceps is engaged the most.
To do this curl, sit on a flat bench with a dumbbell in front of you. Legs are apart, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. For the starting position, hold the weight in your right arm, arm extended toward the floor, palm up. Press the back of the upper arm against the top of your inner right thigh. Now, with control, use only your forearm to curl the weight toward your biceps as you contract that muscle. Bring the weight up to shoulder level, leading with the outside of your hand rather than your thumb for a better contraction. Hold briefly, then -- always with control -- lower the weight to the start position, and repeat. Build up to three sets of 12 to 15 reps each. Once you've finished all the sets with your right hand, repeat with the left.
If you'd like to add more biceps exercises to your routine, the next two in order of effectiveness are the cable curl and chin-ups, with the rest of those on the list very close behind.