Nutrition Frenzy

You can quickly crank up your fat-burning furnace if you follow a simple plan.

Whatever you do for exercise — walk, run, bike — just throw in a few short spurts of high-intensity effort. It could boost your fat-burn rate by 36 percent in a couple of weeks!

Turn Up the Burn
Although sustained, moderate exercise does have its fat-burning benefits, new research suggests interval training may be best. When moderately active women did a 60-minute cycling workout — but instead of peddling the whole time, they did 4-minute bursts of high-speed peddling followed by 2-minute rests — they bumped up the fat-burning power of their workouts significantly, after just 14 days.

Love to walk like I do? Follow this routine:

6 Steps to the Perfect Walking Program

1. Think: Every Day, No Excuses
You must make walking a priority every day. And that’s walking — not gardening, or house cleaning, or hitting golf balls. You can do those things, too, but they can’t take the place of your daily walk. Use a calendar to keep track of your walks. Find a walking buddy to report to on the RealAge message boards.

2. Think: Small
Walk just a few minutes a day if that’s all you can do right now. Then, increase by 1 or 2 minutes every few days. And go slow at first. You’ll still burn the same number of calories as a smaller person walking faster, because your body is carrying a bigger load. And walking slowly can reduce stress on the knees by up to 25%. Once you’ve built up your stamina, aim for 30 minutes every day (you can break it into three 10-minute walks if you like). Before you finish 2 weeks of walking, though, invest in a good pair of walking shoes.

3.Think: Warm-Up
Warm-ups prepare your body, physically and psychologically, for the upcoming workout. For walking, a slower walk is the warm-up. Do so for several minutes. Exactly how long depends on your age. As you become chronologically older, your body reacts more slowly to stimuli. You will know you are warmed up when you start to feel a little warmer and your heart beats a little faster.

4. Think: Pleasant
For most people, strenuous exercise is no fun. If you work so hard that you do not enjoy it, you will probably stop. So cut yourself some slack and keep the pace enjoyable. This will save you from overuse injuries, too. If you feel pain, do your body a favor and listen.

5. Think: Crank It Up (Gradually)
Once you’ve been walking for a while, and you’re feeling good and enjoying more energy and stamina, increase your activity — go faster or farther. But do not increase it more than 10% in any week, no matter how good you feel.

6. Think: Stretch, Stretch, Stretch
Great health without stretching is like trying to look good without combing your hair — it ain’t gonna happen. Set aside 2 or 3 minutes to stretch when you’re done walking. Stretching the muscles you just used allows them to be ready for the next time you want to use them. It’s not clear if stretching decreases soreness afterward, but it definitely improves and maintains joint range of motion.