Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 Get Regular Exercise Our bodies require regular physical activity. It is an essential aspect to the human existence and it improves the quality of life. The human body is a uniquely constructed organism. The average human body contains over 75 trillion cells, but many life forms exist as single cells that perform all the functions necessary for independent existence. In an effort to improve our quality of life we must make a conscious decision to incorporate a physical fitness program into our lifestyle. This decision requires a lifelong commitment of time and effort and it cannot be taken lightly. Exercise must become one of those things that you do without question, like bathing and brushing your teeth. Unless you are convinced of the benefits of fitness and the risks of being unfit, you will not succeed. However, patience is essential. Pace your self and don't try to do too much too soon, and don't quit before you have a chance to experience the rewards of a higher level of fitness. You can't recover in a few days or weeks what you have lost in years of sedentary living, but you can get it back if you are persistent. If you're committed, exercise in combination with a sensible diet can help provide an overall sense of well-being and can even help prevent chronic illness, disability and premature death. Remember that the prize is well worth the price. Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical Activity and Weight Management The key to weight control is keeping energy intake (food) and energy output (physical activity) in balance. When you consume only as many calories as your body needs, your weight will usually remain stable. If you take in more calories than your body needs, you will put on excess fat. If you use up more energy than you take in you will burn excess fat. Exercise plays an important role in weight control by increasing energy output, calling on stored calories for extra fuel. Recent studies show that not only does exercise increase metabolism during a workout, but it causes your metabolism to remain elevated for a period of time after exercising, allowing you to burn more calories. How much exercise is needed to make a difference in your weight depends on the amount and type of activity, and on how much you eat. Aerobic exercise burns body fat. A medium-sized adult would have to walk more than 30 miles to burn up 3,500 calories, the equivalent of one pound of fat. Although that may seem like a lot, you don't have to walk the 30 miles all at once. Walking a mile a day for 30 days will achieve the same result, providing you don't increase your food intake to cancel out the effects of walking. If you consume 100 calories a day more than your body needs, you will gain approximately 10 pounds in year. You could take that weight off, or keep it off, by doing 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. The combination of exercise and diet offers the most flexible and effective approach to weight control. Since muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue, and exercise develops muscle to a certain degree, your bathroom scale is not a good indication of whether or not you are "fat." Individuals with ample muscle, with relatively little body fat, invariably are "overweight" according to standard weight charts. If you are doing a regular program of strength training, your muscles will increase in weight, and possibly your overall weight will increase. Body composition is a better indicator of your condition than body weight. Lack of physical activity causes muscles to get soft, and if food intake is not decreased, added body weight is almost always fat. People that had an active lifestyle, who continue to eat as they always have after settling into sedentary lifestyles, tend to suffer from "creeping obesity." Stick with the Program The key to a lifetime of fitness is consistency. Here are some tips to help you make exercise a habit. It's a good idea to choose more than one type of exercise to give your body a thorough workout and to prevent boredom. Also, you might want to choose one indoor exercise and one outdoor activity to allow for changes in your schedule or for inclement weather. Not many people live in a climate that's temperate year-round. Don't let the weather extremes interfere with your exercise routine. Be prepared to make some minor adjustments. Activity Calories burned per hour
Source: American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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