Controlling what you eat is not the only way to lower your weight. Fortunately, we have exercise to help us burn some fat and keep us healthy. Lack of exercise is considered a health risk. Exercise makes your body function better. It decreases body fat, bad cholesterol, and increases good cholesterol. Exercise lowers cholesterol, helps you relax and sleep better. For people with diabetes, it helps keep blood sugar under control. In addition to the many physical advantages, exercise boosts your self-esteem, mood and self- confidence.
Most people have good intentions to exercise when trying to lose weight. However, they rapidly abandon the exercise routine because of a lack of commitment. Some people are not physically oriented and will easily find excuses to avoid exercise. Others are born to love sports, dancing, or any other physical activity.
Like other things in life, exercise requires some planning. You need time to shower, doing the actual exercise, and if you go to a gym, you will need to consider driving time. Because of this, you must plan your exercise time carefully and include it in your agenda. Not only that, you must respect that time allocation as you do with the time you reserve for going to a theater. If you are planning to do your exercise 3 times a week, try to set your schedule on the same days and at the same time. For instance, walking Monday/Wednesday/Friday for 30 minutes at a scheduled time. This will make it easier to establish a basic routine.
If in addition you want to exercise more days it will be an accomplishment that will definitely improve your health. If you miss one day occasionally don’t worry. When on a trip, you may miss a few days. The most important, though, is to go back to your routine as soon as possible, so it is part of your lifestyle.
One significant aspect of exercise is to observe the benefits it does to your body. Keep a record on how you feel, sleep, and your mood whenever you exercise. Does it make you feel better and more relaxed? Do you notice yourself more apt to tolerate stress and frustrations? How do you feel when you don’t exercise? Is stress building up? Is it difficult to fall sleep? Try exercise before you think on taking a pill to calm you down, or before you decide to eat “comfort foods”. Give your body a chance to remain healthy by using your intelligence and common sense. And remember, it helps you control your weight.
On the practical side let us use an example to illustrate how exercise helps you lose weight. Suppose you must lose 10 pounds. You will need to subtract 500 calories from your daily intake to lose 1 pound weekly. If you do an exercise that uses up 200 calories for a half hour daily, you will only need to subtract 300 calories from your daily intake. This is a much healthier approach to weight loss than just relying on calorie restriction. You will be able to enjoy more foods in the form of a snack or bigger portions, or use those calories for a small dessert. To get information on many aspects of exercise log on the American Council on Exercise at www.acefitness.com and the American College of Sports Medicine at www.acsm.org.