Here I am once again trying to push a healthy lifestyle on all of you readers! Sometime I feel as though I'm constantly sending out the same old message. But I will continue to do so, as the majority of our population hasn't "bought into it" yet. It doesn't matter what your age, size, or gender is, you should be exercising and eating right. These are equal opportunity activities! You're only exempt if you have a medical condition that prohibits you to participate. Although eating right goes for EVERYONE regardless! It's not brain surgery or rocket science, it's common sense. There are no magic bullets, pieces of equipment or diets that will do it for you. You must become accountable for yourself. You must put forth an effort and the rewards and results will follow, guaranteed. There's no cheating or short cuts to being healthy, it's a way to live your life. It may take some people longer than others to achieve a healthy balance in their lives. Put in the time, so you have more time! More quality time in your life and a longer time to live! It's been said; Exercise doesn't take time out of your life, it puts life into your time. I couldn't agree more!
I regularly talk to new people in the gym and there is still many misconceptions when it comes to exercise and eating. I want to address that. People often think one of two ways.
First, they think by exercising, they have a license to eat anything and everything they want. This will reduce the effectiveness of their workouts. At the very least they'll break even, which for some, is perfectly fine. The other way people think, is that they must begin cutting down on their calories dramatically when they begin to exercise. This will also defeat the purpose! People shouldn't eat less when working out, just eat less junk. When a person is exercising, their body begins requiring more fuel, which means more food. So, when exercising people cut down on their food intake, unfortunately, they slow down their metabolism, the rate at which your body burns food. This is because they're asking more of their body when they exercise and they don't have the fuel available. Their body begins burning food at a slower rate to survive. On the other hand, consistent exercise (not going more than two days without physical activity) will increase your metabolism. So you can see how someone wouldn't get ahead if they exercised regularly and cut their food intake too much. The reason why metabolism slows down when people eat less is because the body is efficient at adapting. It will go into "starvation-mode" and will begin to burn food at a snail's pace, in order to stay alive. Over time if someone continues eating too few calories and the body is requiring more, the body will also hold onto fat (a long term energy source) versus muscle. This is why many people who only diet lose muscle, gain fat, slow their metabolism down, become tired, and in the end, gain back all the weight they originally lost, plus some! Another argument against dieting, is the fact that you cannot "diet-away" fat. You must burn fat and the only way in which to do this is to exercise in oxygen, cardiovascular activity. This means moving the body and strengthening the heart; Walking, biking, running, aerobic classes, etc. Other than fat loss, cardiovascular conditioning will also lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reduce stress, help you sleep better. If this was available in pill form, you would all buy it, I'm sure! The other good news about moving your body in this manner is there are no adverse side effects!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, you can't spot reduce either. You cannot do specific exercises to target a certain area and expect to see change unless you do something about the layer of fat that covers those toned muscles. Machines and exercises are great for strengthening and sculpting muscles but not for losing the fat that lays on top of them. You must get your heart pumping. Yes, sweat a little!
These facts are all worth repeating until people "get it". The weight loss industry is trying to sell people a dream not a reality. They make their money by selling gadgets, pill and diets. If people do not invest time in their health they will not succeed. This does not mean the time it takes to open your checkbook! Living a healthy lifestyle is a choice, not something you buy. It is a conscious decision to take control over your physical and mental health on a daily basis. You don't just get healthy and stop. You live the life. You realize that you, like all of us, are a work in progress. No one is perfect or done when they become fit.
I'm not sure what inspires people to get off the couch, away from the television, or to change their unhealthy behaviors. I do know that it is different for everyone. Real change happens over time, it's on-going.
I'm impressed every day by the people I see who have made healthy decisions to change their lives for the better. They're the people who are smiling, inside and out. They're the ones who are excited to start each new day. They're the one's whose kids are looking up to them. They're the reasons I do what I do! They give me hope that some day a majority of our population will be respecting their bodies and not destroying them. In the meantime, congrats to the people who have unlocked their doors to a better way to live, you keep me inspired! Keep up the good work!
