Wellness Dietitian

We are all aware of the pressure society places on people to meet or to strive for perceived physical “perfection.” Although it’s common to read about women working on their figures or features, many men feel the same need to diet and to workout. A bulked-up physique has become a standard criteria for male attractiveness leading some men to take steroids and even to seek body-building cosmetic implants in their chests and arms. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, pectoral implant surgery was performed 409 times in 2006, an increase of 99 percent from the previous year.
Beginning in the 1980s societal perceptions of what makes the male physique attractive changed from the ideal of the trim, suave Hollywood stars of the 1940s to the ripped action heroes of the modern cinema. A sculpted, rugged chest is now seen as conveying strength, good health, power and virility. Most men, through hard work in the gym, can build that kind of chest. Others can’t and for them, pectoral implants are a rapidly attractive option at a cost of anywhere from $7,000 to $12,000 for the procedure.
The silicone implants themselves are made by Allied Biomedicals and cost approximately $1,600 per pair. There are two basic shape configurations and a range of five sizes. Unlike breast implants for women, pectoral devices have a semi-solid feel meant to mimic well-developed muscle. The implants have been on the market for approximately 20 years and similar prosthetics are available to shape and enlarge the biceps and triceps. (Although usually chosen as a personal augmentation, the implants are also routinely used to correct chest deformities and as such perform a reconstructive medical purpose as well as a cosmetic one.)
To place the pectoral implants, the surgeon makes an incision in the armpit that will subsequently be disguised by the underarm hair. Typically the cut is two to three inches in length, allowing the surgeon access to an area under the muscle that is free of both nerves and blood vessels. The implant is folded in half before being inserted and positioned between the pectoral muscles. After the incision is closed, recovery takes approximately two weeks with tolerable discomfort. Most patients report a heavy, stiff sensation that lasts a few days. Exercise and sports should be avoided for two to six weeks after the surgery and patients may need to get used to actually feeling the edge of the implants at the extreme edge of their range of motion.
Potential post-surgical complications include infection, which effects approximately 1 percent of patients. This may result in a need to remove the effected implant with a subsequent wait of six months before another implant can be positioned. If noticeable migration or displacement of an implant occurs, a second surgery will be required to reposition the device. A degree of chest bruising is to be expected and should disappear after two to three weeks. In about 1 percent of patients numbness may occur in the upper arm and it is possible to lose sensation in one or both nipples. This may be temporary or permanent. In some cases pockets of fluid may also form. If unabsorbed by the body, the fluid may need to be drained away.
Pectoral implants still represent a specialized niche in the field of cosmetic surgery and heretofore have been heavily associated with the gay community. Of the 11.5 million cosmetic procedures performed in 2006, 1 million were on men, with eyelid surgery, liposuction, and the removal of excess breast tissue leading the surgical list. Chest implants are, however, growing in popularity across the male population as a viable means of gaining the chiseled chest definition that society seems to demand of “manly” men today.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=785642

The groundbreaking study on fertility and diet, done by the Harvard School of Public Health, revealed five critical lifestyle and diet behaviors that impact both fertility and aging. The data comes from the Nurses’ Health Study. With the help of more than 18,000 women, this long-term project is designed to look at the effects of diet and lifestyle on overall health and wellness.
Over the last 30 years the dynamics of American life have changed. It used to be common for young couples to marry early and start families in their 20s. Today, job and career goals have taken greater precedence, so marriage and families are starting at a later stage in life. Combined with certain lifestyle and dietary changes over the last 30 years, fertility challenges are at an all time high. Less than 10 percent of women in their early 20s have infertility issues; unfortunately, 30 percent of women in their early 40s experience infertility issues.
The Nurses’ Health Study compared the diets, exercise habits and lifestyle choices of the participants. Their choices made a significant difference in their health and wellness. As I’ve pointed out in several of my articles:
Your choices have more to do with how you age than any other factor!
The beauty of the Nurses’ Health Study is that it also confirms this statement. You and your choices are the single biggest factor in determining your biological age, health and wellness. Let’s see what the researchers found and then apply this to your goal to slow down the aging process.
Five Critical Lifestyle and Diet Behaviors
The Harvard School researchers found that fertility problems affect one in six couples. Ovulation disorders have been identified in up to 30 percent of infertility issues. The women who followed these five critical lifestyle and diet behaviors were approximately 80 percent less likely to have infertility from ovulation disorders than women who followed none of the behaviors.
According to Jorge Chavarro, one of the lead authors of this study:
We analyzed what happens if you follow one, two, three, four, or more different factors. What we found was that, as women started following more of these recommendations, their risk of infertility dropped substantially for every one of the dietary and lifestyle strategies undertaken. In fact, we found a sixfold difference in ovulatory infertility risk between women following five or more low-risk dietary and lifestyle habits and those following none.
Here are the five critical lifestyle and diet behaviors that had the greatest impact on fertility issues.
Carbohydrates – Slow verses Fast!
Twenty years ago the U.S. government’s food pyramid was built on carbohydrates. With the advent of the Atkins and South Beach diets, carbohydrates were thrown out the window and replaced by protein. At least by the general public! This focus on carbohydrates verses protein triggered new research into the role carbohydrates play in a healthy diet.
The new research shows that carbohydrates have a major impact on heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and digestive health. The Nurses’ Health Study shows that the type of carbohydrate impacts fertility. Eating easily digested carbohydrates (simple carbohydrates or what is now referred to as fast carbs) increases the chance of ovulatory infertility. Choosing slowly digested carbohydrates (complex carbohydrates or what is now referred to as slow carbs) that are rich in fiber can improve fertility.
Additional research has shown that a diet rich in slow carbs and fiber prior to pregnancy helps to prevent gestational diabetes; a common problem for pregnant women and their babies. Why? Because carbohydrates are the main nutrient that determines your blood sugar and insulin levels! When they rise too high they disrupt the finely tuned balance of hormones necessary for reproduction.
The absorption speed of carbohydrates has given rise to the Glycemic Index. This index is a measurement of how quickly carbohydrates are turned into blood sugar. The higher the index the faster they’re turned into blood sugar. Combine this with your total carbohydrate intake and you have the Glycemic Load. The researchers found that women with the highest glycemic load were 92 percent more likely to have ovulatory infertility. This means that eating more slow carbs with fiber improves fertility.
KEY OBSERVATION – Since fast carbs disrupt the finely tuned balanced of hormones needed for reproduction, just think how they may affect other hormonal issues!
Fats – Natural verses Artificial!
It has long been know by midwives, doctors, and fertility researchers that body fat and energy stores affect reproduction. Women who don’t have enough stored energy (code word for fat) have trouble ovulating or may even stop menstruating altogether. Women with too much stored fat also have difficulty conceiving. What the researchers wanted to find out was whether dietary fats had an influence on ovulation and reproduction.
Two important pieces of information emerged from the Nurses’ Health Study. The intake of saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and cholesterol wasn’t connected with ovulatory infertility. The study suggested fat intake may actually improve the menstrual cycle. However, trans fats were a completely different story.
Trans fats were shown to be a powerful deterrent to both ovulation and conception. Trans fats are artificial fats. The study clearly showed that the greater the trans fat intake, the greater the likelihood of developing ovulatory infertility. The effect showed up even when the trans fat intake was as low as four grams per day. Four grams of trans fat would be the equivalent of two tablespoons of stick margarine, one medium order of french fries or one doughnut.
KEY OBSERVATION – There has been a big push to eliminate trans fats from both processed and fast foods. Your elimination of trans fats from your diet and replacing them with natural fats will go a long way to improving your overall health and wellness!
Protein – Animal or Plant!
Americans like their protein. Beef is still the first choice followed by chicken, pork and then fish. Beans are a distant fifth. Too bad! Beans are an excellent source of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. According to the Nurses’ Health Study, the women who got their protein from plant sources rather then from animals took a big step toward improved fertility. The following will show you how significant this was:
* Adding one serving a day of red meat, chicken or turkey correlated with a 33 percent increase in ovulatory infertility.
* Adding one serving a day of fish or eggs didn’t influence ovulatory infertility.
* Adding one serving a day of beans, peas, tofu or soybeans predicted a modest protection against ovulatory infertility.
* Swapping 25 grams of animal protein with 25 grams of plant protein resulted in a 50 percent improvement in ovulatory fertility.
KEY OBSERVATION – Animal protein doesn’t just adversely affect fertility. Current research shows that it has a direct influence on cancer!
Body Weight – Your BMI!Like it or not your weight has an impact on fertility. Weighing too little or weighing too much can interfere with ovulation. Additionally, the dangers of being overweight or underweight can also extend to the woman’s baby. The Nurses’ Health Study showed a strong connection between weight and fertility. To help quantify this, the researchers used Body Mass Indexes (BMI) to help provide some guidelines.
Women with BMIs that ranged from 20 to 24 improved their chances for fertility. In fact, the authors of this study call this range the Fertility Zone. If you are not in the Fertility Zone don’t fret. For those who are too lean, then gaining 5 to 10 pounds can help improve your fertility. For those overweight, losing 5 to 10 percent of your weight can also improve your fertility.
KEY OBSERVATION – Weight doesn’t just affect women. Overweight men aren’t as fertile as normal weight men. Excess weight lowers testosterone levels and hinders sperm production!
Exercise – Is It Important?
The answer is YES! Inactivity saps the body of its ability to respond to insulin and makes you less efficient in absorbing blood sugar. Physical activity and exercise work to improve the body’s use of insulin. It also helps you become more efficient in absorbing blood sugar and then utilizing it rather than storing it as fat. The Nurses’ Health Study showed that exercise can be a boon for fertility.
It’s always important to check with your physician or health care provider before you start an exercise program. Once you have the OK, then it’s important to get at least 30 minutes per day. Your exercise program should include aerobic activities, strength training and stretching. If at all possible try to incorporate your exercise into daily living such as:
* Park the car at the far end of the lot and walk the distance to the front door.
* If you need to go to the 2nd or 3rd floor take the stairs instead of the elevator.
* Carry your grocery bags to the car instead of using the shopping cart.
* Wash and wipe down your own car. Save your car wash fee and tip so you can invest in a home gym or treadmill.
KEY OBSERVATION – Exercise not only improves fertility but also improves how you look and feel about yourself. This translates to improved health and wellness and will reduce your biological age!
Summary
Walter Willett, the senior author of the Harvard School of Public Health study had this to say:
The key message of this paper is that making the right dietary choices and including the right amount of physical activity in your daily life may make a large difference in your probability of becoming fertile if you are experiencing problems with ovulation.
The same could also be said if you are experiencing health and wellness problems. Taking the information gleaned from the Nurses’ Health Study and applying them to the aging process, you have the following key points:
1. Eating more slow carbs or complex carbohydrates with fiber will improve your health and wellness. A positive improvement in the following health issues could be seen: better blood sugar control for diabetics, better hormonal balance in women, and improved testosterone levels in men.
2. Eliminate trans fats from your diet. Replacing them with heart healthy fats like omega-3s will go a long way to improving your cardiovascular system.
3. Animal protein increases your risk for disease. Replacing animal protein with chicken is a good step. Replacing animal protein with fish is a better step. Replacing animal protein with plant protein is your best step for reducing disease, especially cancer and Alzheimer’s.
4. Get a handle on your body weight. Find out your BMI. Work towards a healthy BMI if you’re not already there.
5. Exercise can help you see improvements in weight management, cardiovascular health, greater energy and improved stamina.
Bottom line! The recommendations of The Fertility Diet will improve a women’s fertility and positively impact a person’s overall health and wellness. The enjoyable side benefit is that they also improve the sexual health of men and women. Until next time, may we both age youthfully!
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=786838

Why Cutting Exercises Are a Fat Loss Myth
High repetition sets do not get you cut.
This is a myth, and there’s a much better way to sculpt your body, get ripped, and finally achieve the elusive 6-pack.
But again, let me repeat, you won’t succeed with high-repetition sets using light weights. And don’t even worry about the “pump”, but that’s another article for another day.
To get ripped, its all about nutrition and intensity. We want to be able to see our well-earned muscles and our 6-pack abs.
And that’s why we get lured into the belief of the cutting exercises. Because it causes a burn in our muscles, we generally think, hey, this must be burning fat. But it’s not! It’s just a fatiguing sensation.
If you are using a high-rep, cutting program, I doubt you are getting the results you want. You don’t need to be in the gym too long.
There is a better way to burn fat. A faster way. And a smarter way. It doesn’t involve “toning” workouts or “Cutting exercises”. What you need to do for fat loss, and getting cut, is to focus on the same exercises that helped you build muscle in the first place.
So forget the pec-dec, and stick with dumbell presses. Say goodbye to leg extensions, and keep using squats and lunges. Next up is the shocker! We don’t need long slow cardio workouts either!
Instead, we’ll use interval training to burn fat and boost our metabolism in less than half the time as a normal cardio workout. Only 20 minutes of interval training done 3 times per week resulted in weight loss in one Australian study.
On the other hand, three 40-minute cardio sessions did not cause any weight loss in the same study. Shocking results, but it just goes to show you the power of intensity.
You need to stick with the intensity for both lifting and “cardio” to get maximum results. That means saying goodbye to light weights and high reps and long slow cardio. Goodbye, nice to know you! Okay, so what is going to bring you the results and “cut” body you want?
First, you need the proper dietary changes to promote muscle gains and body fat reductions. Nutrition is the most important factor for fat burning and getting cut.
If your nutrition sucks, and you eat fast food or skip meals, you are in big trouble. There is no workout good enough to overcome bad nutrition. Next, focus on multi-muscle strength exercises and finish with interval training to burn more calories out of the gym.
Basic exercises such as squats, pushes, rows, and pulls done for 3-4 sets of 8 repetitions. If you did a squat, a press, and a row in each workout, and then did intervals, you’d get ripped if your nutrition was good. Keep it incredibly simple, but intense.
Forget about slow boring cardio. You need to do short burst exercise instead. That’s all you need for a better body, ripped abs, and a cut physique.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=786890

I think you will be surprised to know the answer is not sit-ups, crunches, or any of the other traditional ab exercises we have all been taught work. These ab workouts just do not raise your metabolism enough to create any real fat loss.
As an athlete and trainer I am often asked what are the best exercises and/or workouts for shedding stomach fat and getting true six pack abs. The brutal truth of the matter is that most people, who have a fat stomach, are looking for that miracle exercise that will strip the fat off quickly and easily, and I am sorry to say, that magical miracle exercise just does not exist, and yes, it does take a lot of effort.
Bottom line is if you want to lose your fat stomach, you are probably going about it the wrong way. You will not lose your gut by doing traditional ab workouts.
You must stop wasting your time focusing on traditional ab exercises to lose fat from your stomach.
The name of the game for abdominal fat loss is to concentrate on full body workouts that will set your metabolism fire. Focus on exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts, clean and presses, snatches, presses and pulls, mountain climbers, sprinting, etc.
Please keep in mind, I do recommend core and ab exercises as a part of any workout routine, I just do not focus the workout on ab exercises, particularly for fat loss.
The next aspect of abdominal fat loss is the most important aspect, and that is nutrition. Yes, eating right is critical. When it comes to fat loss, it has been said that only 20% of the formula is the exercise part, 80% is eating right.
To clear the air about how to lose stomach fat
Stop wasting time on traditional ab exercises and all those absolutely worthless abdominal machines you see advertised on TV. Instead get to the gym and go to work doing high intensity full body exercises in combination with a healthy diet.
Go to http://www.quickrippedabs.com and pick up a free fat loss report and metabolic rate calculator.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=789412

Parenthood is an exciting time to play with your kids, take them places, and teach them all your knowledge, as long as you don’t teach them to be overweight. It is also a difficult time to balance schedules, push your career forward and get a good night’s sleep. We spend less time on ourselves which makes the weight creep up. Moms have a battle with weight gain soon after giving birth but Dads also feel the pressure to stay busy with work while still providing quality time with their families.
How did life get so complicated and why does it interfere with weight loss efforts? A short list would include:
Lack of time to exercise
Childcare issues interfering with exercise
Lack of financial resources to purchase gym memberships or home equipment
Resuming exercise after a long time off can be painful and discouraging
Time spent shuffling kids back and forth from school and activities
Less time to shop and prepare healthy meals while more time is spent in the drive thru
Kids are picky eaters and nutrition information is confusing
Work schedules are more demanding
Stress prevents weight loss due to hormonal and immune system disruptions
More errands, yard work, and fix it jobs
Lack of energy when all of the day’s chores are finally finished
Busy parents often feel depressed when they think about their poor health yet feel guilty thinking they might neglect their children if they take time for themselves.
If these situations sound familiar, it is very common to feel overwhelmed enough to push weight loss goals on to the back burner. The usual grocery store gossip doesn’t help either. How often do parents hear their peers tell them their age is a factor and it is so much harder to lose weight after children come along? Because parents want to be good examples for their children the internet becomes great problem solver.
Busy parents need a weight loss tool that is not complicated and takes very little time to organize. The internet can be a great help by immediately taking away some of the financial and time constraints listed above. Health education available online is a time saver compared to driving to classes or doctors’ offices which takes time away from family. Anonymous support on internet discussion boards can prevent embarrassment for those who are shy about their weight loss struggles. Real people can share their real experiences a few minutes each day encouraging participants to stay focused.
The rewards will benefit the entire family giving children healthier, energized and enthusiastic parents. A few searches on the internet with the right keywords will guide busy parents to the type of website that meets their needs. The Numbers Don’t Lie Diet is one program from a mother’s point of view who experienced a weight problem when her first child was born. With a common sense approach tracking progress on the internet puts weight loss success at your fingertips making any busy parent an EZLoser.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=789838

We are becoming a nation of overweight people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported the rate of adult obesity has doubled between 1980 and 2002. Overweight and obesity in Americans has been a mounting problem for nearly 25 years and continues to worsen with a growing number of obese or overweight children and young adults.
Some of the risks of obesity and overweight are:
1. heart disease 2. stroke 3. hypertension 4. diabetes 5. cancer 6. arthritis
Dropping the extra pounds and keeping it off would prevent and control these diseases.
By incorporating some simple lifestyle changes, you can achieve a healthy weight loss that would provide long-term and lasting results. You just need to make a commitment to healthy weight loss and set realistic goals.
Here are some tips for healthy weight loss:
1. Don’t “Diet.”
The key to healthy weight loss is don’t “diet.” When we think of “diet” we think of starving ourselves and barely eating. Although you may lose weight for the short term by doing this, it won’t last long. It’s like running a car on an empty gas tank, your body can’t tolerate not having enough fuel to run on. It will protect itself by turning to starvation mode and will slow down the burning of calories. That means whatever calories you do take in, it will be stored instead of burned thereby causing weight gain instead of weight loss.
2. Eat Breakfast.
Another key to healthy weight loss is to eat breakfast. Having a healthy meal in the morning helps you jump-start your metabolism. The food you eat after you wake up will be used to burn fat all day long.
3. Eat small, healthy meals frequently.
Instead of three big meals a day, five to six small healthy meals per day would aid in healthy weight loss. Eating more frequently, and in small servings, can prevent overeating. Eating frequently also increases your metabolism and makes calories burn faster. You’ll also find that you’re not as ravenously hungry when you space your meals out into five or six small meals a day.
4. Decide on a healthy weight loss goal and make a commitment to reach it.
A realistic and healthy weight loss goal can be reached if you make a commitment to reach it. You know it is virtually impossible for you to lose 40 pounds in 2 weeks so why even think about trying to do it. Be realistic about the amount of weight that is possible to lose within a given time period. Make a decision that you want to eat healthy to stay healthy for the rest of your life.
Not all weight loss plans or programs are right for everyone. You need to decide on a healthy weight loss plan or program that you can live with and stick to it.
5. Drink lots of water.
Your body needs water to burn fat, flush out the impurities, and keep your cells hydrated and healthy. About 60% of our body is made up of water so water is an important factor in healthy weight loss. Try to get in 8-12 cups of water a day to keep hydrated, more if you lose a lot of water through exercise (i.e., sweating).
6. Eat less refined sugar and carbohydrates.
Instead of consuming sugar-laden doughnuts, cakes, soft drinks, etc., plan to include lots of fruits and vegetables, some whole-grain bread, rice or pasta, and lean meat and protein rich-foods in your meals for healthy weight loss. Sweet treats such as soda, candy and pastries should be once-in-a-while indulgences only.
7. Monitor your fat intake for healthy weight loss.
Fat is not the culprit to being overweight. You need some healthy fat to help keep your weight at the proper level. Plan to include healthy fats such as walnuts, almonds, olives, peanuts and canola oil. Tuna, salmon and mackerel have omega-3 fats which are good for the heart.
8. Move Your Body.
Incorporate exercise into your daily routine for healthy weight loss. Walk, instead of drive, to your destination if you are only going a few blocks from home. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go out and do something you enjoy like jogging, cycling or skating. Find ways to actively use your body to perform day-to-day activities or chores at home if you are too lazy to go to the gym or take exercise classes. The more you move, the easier it will be to achieve a healthy weight loss. If you do this regularly, you won’t even notice that you are shedding pounds performing mundane activities.
It doesn’t matter how much weight you plan or need to lose. What is important is that you set realistic goals for yourself and commit to achieving healthy weight loss.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=789846

Gyms today have become very popular owing to the great physical and psychological benefits they offer to people. However, one should be cautious while choosing a gym.
Only a few people can afford to buy the expensive fitness equipment such as multi station treadmills, stair steppers and stretching bars that are found in gyms.
Today most hi-tech gyms offer a variety of exercise activities ranging from racquetball and tennis courts to Olympic sized swimming pools, saunas, spas, rock climbing and even jai lai courts that are in vogue these days. Jai Lai is a Spanish high intensity racquetball game that is played with a curved racquet.
It isn’t possible to enjoy all these facilities from home unless one is very wealthy. Another advantage of going to the gym is that you can seek professional advice from the experienced fitness professionals and trainers. They can guide you during weight training sessions as well as offer useful dietary information and health tips.
Even members of the gym can be extremely knowledgeable. Those who are particular about maintaining optimal health and remaining fit and trim often make the time to hit the gym so don’t be surprised to find doctors, nutritionists and aerobics instructors among the clientele.
Another reason why gyms are a good option is because they provide you with an opportunity to socialize and exercise together with friends or in groups so that the exercise routine doesn’t seem monotonous. This helps to build social contacts and encourage oneself to exercise on a daily basis.
There are however certain drawbacks of attending gyms as well. The biggest disadvantage is that gym membership is quite expensive. One can pay per session, per month or on a yearly basis. Paying per session usually works out to be rather expensive but can be a good option for people who are just visiting the city.
The most commonly used membership is per month but this too can range anywhere between 30 to 300 dollars depending on the facilities offered by a particular gym. Sometimes gyms offer a trial work out period free of charge to attract prospective members.
Another problem is motivating oneself to actually go to the gym. In today’s fats faced society people lead such busy lives that they seldom have the time to goto the gym leave along exercise.
Gym equipment can at times seem rather unappealing if they are messy. Although most gym members are courteous enough to wipe the equipment after using it, nevertheless is important to look for a gym where the staff are alert enough to ensure that members keep the equipment clean.
Therefore one must weigh all the pros and cons and then decide whether they would like to join a gym or not. It is always recommended that one tries out a few gyms on a trial basis before finally committing themselves to becoming members of a specific one in the long term.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=790099

Your initial answer to why you should exercise would probably be because you want to lose weight, look good, and feel better about yourself. While this is a common goal, there are far more benefits from exercising which go beyond looking good.
The human body is a mechanism that is constructed for exercise. The fact is that your body is constructed for rigorous exercise. Your body will continue to adapt over periods of time to the stresses that exercising will place on it. This will result in you getting stronger and fitter beyond what you may even think possible at the present time.
Weight loss is a great side effect of a good exercise programme. Other major benefits will include:
An increase in life expectancy due to the numerous health benefits that exercise will provide.
Exercising will reduce the risks of various cancers, heart diseases, and osteoporosis.
Exercise will increase your metabolic rate, allowing you to burn calories more effectively.
Exercise lowers the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes.
Exercising increases your energy levels and your ability to do things for longer without getting tired.
Exercising strengthens your heart so it doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood through your body.
Exercising increases your lung capacity leading to greater oxygen intake. The more oxygen you can get into your body the more energetic you will feel.
Exercising increases your confidence and gives you a much better self image.
Exercising gives you the ability to be able to cope better with stress, anxiety, or depression.
Regular exercise helps you to sleep better.
As you can see there are many benefits to be gained from exercise apart from weight loss. Now if you put all these benefits together what have you got?
You have a stronger, fitter, healthier, and more energetic person who not only looks good but feels good. This is how most people want to be but very few people actually achieve this goal.
The hardest part of any exercise programme is taking the first step. People that have become used to a lifestyle based on little or no exercise and a diet of poor nutrition have become comfortable with that lifestyle.
They probably know that it is not a healthy lifestyle and a part of them wants to make changes. The problem is because people have been living in a certain way for a certain period of time, that lifestyle has become a habit. A habit that is often very difficult to change.
Often when people try to make changes they want and expect to see results very quickly. Your body is not constructed to change very quickly, so when people don’t see the results that they want, they usually tend to give up. Mentally and physically it just isn’t possible to treat your body in a certain way for a long period of time, and then expect it to adapt to something new in just a few weeks or months.
If you change your diet by making a large reduction in calories and start working out in the gym four or five times a week, you are setting yourself up for failure. You are trying to make your body do something which is alien to it and something it is not used to.
The results that such a change would bring would include sore muscles that would ache every time you moved, cravings for the foods that you are trying to give up, and your mind constantly screaming at you telling you that it is too hard. This will eventually result in you giving up with the thought that you are not capable of doing it.
You must remember that if you have not exercised in a long time, you must ease yourself into it slowly. You must allow your body the time it will need to adapt to the changes that you are trying to make.
You must also think about your perceptions of society. Forget all the images you see in magazines and television adverts of fit men and women showing of their 6 packs and lean bodies. Most of these people have great genetics, and have been exercising for a long time to get their bodies into the shape that they are in.
Then there are the celebrities who some people aspire to mimic. These celebrities have the money to hire personal trainers, they have the money to equip their homes with top class gym equipment, and they have the opportunity to feed themselves with the best food money can buy. If all this fails they then have the money to pay to have the fat sucked out of them through medical procedures.
You and these people have nothing in common. These people live in a different world to the rest of us, a world that you cannot hope to compete in. your focus should be on what you can do about yourself, and what you can do to improve yourself. Don’t feel bad because you can’t do 50 push ups and a 100 sit ups.
It’s obvious that you are not going to manage that if your lifestyle been one of little or no activity for a number of years. It doesn’t matter what you can do today. The point is that once you start doing something you will begin to improve and continue doing so on a weekly basis. It will only be a matter of time before you can manage to do 50 push ups and a 100 sit ups.
The thing is not to give up. Keep doing your exercises and keep adding a bit more over periods of time and the improvements will come. The improvements cannot fail to come, simply because your body is an entity that is made to adapt. This is a biological fact which cannot be denied.
Many people think that they are too old to begin exercising. This idea is one of the biggest myths that you will ever hear. Age is no barrier to exercise, no matter how old you are you are capable of making improvements.
The only difference between a 25 year old an a 50 year old will be the types of exercises that each can do. A 50 year olds body may have had more wear and tear than a 25 year old. There may be joint problems or certain aches and pains that will not allow the 50 year old to perform the same exercises that a 25 year old can do.
However this doesn’t need to be an obstacle because all that a 50 year old can do is to pick exercises that will avoid putting excessive strain on weaker areas. There are hundreds and hundreds of ways to get fitter; it is just a question of finding what is going to suit you.
When you are young you can get away with putting your body through an unhealthy lifestyle to a certain degree. Your body will be able to cope with almost anything that you throw at it because your muscles and your organs are still young and strong.
When you start getting older you naturally begin to lose muscle as each year goes by. Your muscles and tissues became less pliable, your metabolism slows down, and you are more prone to putting on weight. However there are ways to combat this deterioration through diet and exercise.
When many people reach their forties they often think that physically their best years are behind them, and begin to wind down. Thoughts of ‘I’m too old to exercise now’ or ‘I can’t do the things that I used to’ begin to fester. So they begin to take things easy, begin to gain weight, become weaker, lose flexibility and lose their fitness in general.
The fact is that it’s even more important to exercise when you are older. Naturally your body begins to slow down and you stop doing anything that may help you to reverse the situation. Exercising and having a good diet can slow down this deterioration to a large degree. Today there are people in their sixties and seventies who are still running marathons and keeping themselves alert, active, and fit.
It doesn’t make any difference as to who you are or how old you are, the fact remains that eating well and exercising can substantially improve the quality of your life.
At the end of the day you have two choices:
The first choice is to begin exercising and become more active. Don’t worry about what you are capable of at this moment. It doesn’t matter, the real point is to make a start and that if you keep going you will get better and better. The longer you continue exercising the fitter you will get and the more weight you will lose. That will be the consequences of choice number one.
The second choice is to do nothing and stay as you are. The only problem with this choice is that you will not stay as you are for long. You will gradually get worse, you will continue to put on weight, and you will continue to lose your health. The heavier and unhealthier you get, the harder your heart will have to work to keep you alive. On top of all this your self image and confidence will continue to erode. There is more than a strong possibility that you will be forced to take all sorts of medication when you are in your forties or fifties. Medication for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol levels and various other ailments.
Your skeletal frame will have been weakened because of all the weight you have had to carry for all those years. Your joints would have worn away resulting in constant pain. All these problems will restrict you in what you can or cannot do.
This may come across as a shock tactic as to what may happen if you don’t lose weight. Make no mistake; many of the problems that have been mentioned will be unavoidable if lifestyle changes are not made.
If you think that this situation sounds bad, think again, it can be worse. There will be many people who will not even reach their fifties. Cancer and heart diseases are rife in people with weight related problems. If by chance people survive cancers and heart attacks, many are left weak and often have to live on permanent medication. The quality of life that people in these situations will have is blatantly obvious. These are the consequences of choice number two.
These are the two choices open to you and ultimately the decision as to which choice you make will be yours. It will all depend on what you want for yourself; also think of what the impact of your choice will be on the people that are close to you.
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