Eat Less, Move More Trivia Quiz

Answer: See your health care provider

While all of these may be important, the most important task BEFORE beginning anything new with your body is to get a checkup from your health care provider. Honestly answer questions about your health history and current habits and medications. Tell your provider what type of plan you have, both for exercise and diet, and take their advice.

At the least, this checkup is to discover if you have any conditions that may limit what you eat or what you do for exercise.

Answer: 3500

Although many disagree, the Mayo Clinic and others stick to the formula that one pound of human fat contains 3500 calories. Their advice is to cut 500 calories a day from your diet, or burn an additional 500 calories through exercise, to lose one pound per week.

Answer: Twice a week

The ACSM recommends a minimum of stretching each major muscle group at least twice a week for 60 seconds per muscle group. The ACSM also now discounts some previous conventional wisdom about stretching: it is not required before all periods of exercise; it is not necessarily harmful to "bounce" during stretches; you do not have to hold a stretch for a long period of time.

Answer: True

Run or walk on the side of the road facing oncoming traffic. This allows you to see oncoming vehicles, move out of their way and keep and eye on them. Running with traffic is dangerous since you cannot see, or avoid, vehicles coming too close to you. When bicycling, however, you are required to ride WITH the traffic since the bicycle is a vehicle subject to traffic laws.

Answer: Fat

At 9 calories per gram, fat has the highest caloric density. Next, perhaps surprisingly, is alcohol at 7 calories. Protein and carbohydrate have 4 calories per gram. Reducing the amount of fat in your diet should have the biggest impact on your caloric intake.

Answer: Aerobic

"Aerobic" means "requiring oxygen"; this type of exercise is also referred to as "cardio", referring to the heart. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week. "Moderate" is defined as being 3-6 times the intensity (in terms of oxygen throughput) of resting.

Answer: No

The amount of calories consumed per day will determine whether you gain, lose or maintain weight (at a given level of activity). Although having more frequent, smaller meals may help with hunger and cravings, that alone will not affect your weight. Calorie use is simple math: if you consume less than you burn, you will lose weight; if you consume more, you will gain.

Answer: Shoes

The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society recommends that if you participate in a certain type of exercise or sport three times a week or more, you should buy shoes specific to that activity. Improper footwear can cause ankle strain and fractures, bunions and corns, and pain in the foot. Proper shoes lessen the impact of your step and sport-specific shoes can improve performance by, for instance, enabling quick changes in direction when playing racquet sports.

Answer: Water, carbohydrates, electrolytes

The body loses water, carbohydrates and electrolytes mainly through perspiration and urination. A person should be well-hydrated before exercise begins, replace the water, carbs and electrolytes lost during exercise, and rehydrate afterwards. Thirst is not a good indicator of dehydration, so you should anticipate fluid loss and have a plan to replace it soonest.

The best indicator of hydration level is the color and quantity of urine produced: hydrated people produce clear or light-colored urine; as dehydration progresses, the urine gets darker in color and less in volume.

Answer: Carbohydrate loading

Carbohydrate loading is most beneficial only for endurance athletes that participate in high-intensity exercise for 90 minutes or more. Other athletes generally won't benefit from carbo loading, which takes great care to be done right and does have some risks. For most athletes, it's sufficient for them to eat a diet where half or more of their calories come from carbs.