Fit in the City - Leigh Ann Root
What is the hold up?
Why do people keep putting off taking care of themselves? Please someone explain this to me. E-mail me your excuse, I'm beyond curious! (www.gettwisted@twistedfitness.com) At the homeshow last week, less than half of the people I spoke with participated in exercise. I just got back from a fitness conference in Las Vegas, where I did a lot of people watching, and I can tell you, a majority of the people in the airports and other public areas probably do not exercise regularly either. It's no different here or there. Sedentary lifestyles are at an all time high and out of control. And even more shocking, a large amount of people at the fitness trade show in Vegas aren't regulars at working out either. Selling magical equipment that they're not even using themselves! Very interesting and very ironic. This is totally my observation, but I think I'm making a pretty fair assumption, especially since national statistics on obesity in adults and children has never been higher! I don't want people in my community to be just another statistic, we're better than that! So, what exactly is it that people are waiting for? Time is ticking and their time is becoming shorter and shorter each day without being active in some way. Is it's the infamous magic pill people are waiting for? I know many of you don't want to hear this, but there will never be a magic pill to make you healthy. It's just not possible. Sure there are quick fix remedies that you'll try, but the results will be short lived, I guarantee. Real health is about taking action, taking control of your physical and mental health, a pill cannot do that!
Is it that people are just afraid of good old fashioned hard work? It's true, you must work hard to see lasting results. Nothing good comes easy. It takes discipline, sacrifice, and dedication. Quality traits of winners. You know what they say, move it or lose it! True. I would also say, move it and lose it, the extra pounds, that is!
Are people so use to the instant gratification that runs our society, where everything happens at the push of a button? How rewarding is it to push that button? Think about the times where people just put in an honest hard day of work. A day that didn't involve a meeting to have another meeting to have another meeting about working! Where they weren't searching for the easy way because that wasn't respected nearly as much as just working hard. How convenient have our lives really become for our bodies? The society we live in has made it easy for people to balloon to weights rarely seen in my grandmother's day. Nowadays, all that's required of some is to roll out of bed, crawl to the computer, and pick up the phone to have some food delivered. How many calories do you think they're burning during those taxing chores? I can't imagine very many.
Just last week someone asked me, if they cut one thing out of their diet, say soda, could they lose their belly. Certainly cutting out a high calorie item with absolutely no nutritional value is helpful, but it won't get rid of fat. The only way, again, the ONLY WAY to lose body fat is to work it off while in oxygen. Translation; Get your rear end off the couch and move it around for a period of time. This is how we lose body fat, you cannot diet away fat. When people do diet, they will lose weight because weight loss is simple; calories in versus calories expended. That mean burn more than you take in. But fat is a long term energy source, helpful in case starvation sets in, so a body will hold onto it and burn other things, like muscle, in order to survive. Now, if people don't exercise, what is left after dieting is fat and fewer muscle than when their dieting began. Since muscle is more efficient, more weight is gained after the diet because their body is now comprised of more fat, less muscle. Their body is now less efficient. One pound of muscle burns about 35 calories during the day, doing nothing, while one pound of fat burns about 3 calories, doing nothing. You do the math! I know everyone has either seen it happen to someone they know or experienced it themselves; Weight lost success, only to be followed by even more weight gained once the dieting is over. This wouldn't happen if people would just exercise while eating properly. All things in moderation not deprivation!
Are people just lazy? Is this why? I think dieting takes up a lot more time and energy, myself. Exercise, to me, is actually the easy way out! By working out regularly you strengthen your heart, lungs and bones, build muscle, slow down aging, increase energy, decreases stress, and do not require medicine to stay alive.
So, please tell me again why it is you don't exercise? And don't give me the lame excuse of time! I've heard that one so many times, I want to scream! Make the time. To get started all you need is twenty minutes a day. That's out of 24 hours each day. Seems like a small chunk of time when you really think about it, especially with all the rewards that come along with taking control of your body. Exercise doesn't take time out of your life, it puts life into your time! And I don't want to hear that it's too hard either. What isn't. Suck it up. Oxygen, that is, and get moving. I can't imagine life with an extra 20 pounds or more on your body is particularly easy either. Why not engage in some physical activity and make all your days easier? Oh yea, you're not too old, too young, too big or too small either! Exercise is for everyone, equal opportunity across the board! Have I convinced you yet?
And as a final reminder, this is your life, your only life, so make the most of it by making the most of yourself. I'm not talking about fitting into a bikini or becoming a body builder, I'm talking about taking general care of yourself, so you can lead an extraordinary life. A life without the need for medication and without the obstacles that extra weight can bring into an already complicated life. If this column has inspired you at all to get moving, e-mail me your success story instead of your excuse!
