Exercise In Your Life

Ok, let’s start the discussion by busting a myth or two along the way. Contrary to popular belief sneaking in a little housework during commercial breaks doesn’t count as exercise. It won’t be enough to lose the excess pounds you gained over the years.

For exercise to be of any long-term benefit you have to raise your heart rate for at least 30 minutes at a time for at least 3 or more times per week.

Would you believe that some people don’t consider walking around the neighborhood or up several flights of stairs as significant exercise? It may be low impact but it is better than doing no exercise at all and whether you realize it or not still burns calories.

When you think of exercise what images do you conjure in your mind?

Is it of sweaty bodies squeezed into a tiny spaces jumping to pounding music? Exercise doesn’t have to be torture; it can be enjoyable especially if shared with your family or friends. Exercise can be going for a walk, chasing after your children, mowing and raking the lawn.

Anything that gets your heart rate up for an extended period of time is considered exercise.

Exercise And Its Far Reaching Benefits

Exercise, why even do it? Whether you like it or not it’s the only way we can burn the excess stores of energy we have accumulated over the years, otherwise known as fat. Our body has stored the fat but thankfully our bodies can rid itself of the fat too and in order to do that, we’ve got to move. It’s the only way our lean muscle tissue can grab the surrounding fat to burn as energy.

Long after your exercise session, whether it is walking, running, swimming, biking, etc., your metabolism continues to burn calories even when you are at rest. The effects of exercise can be experienced long after the actual exercise itself. This is evident in that you sweat a little easier which means your body is behaving like a fat burning furnace, any exercise you do after that point just turbo charges the exercise you’ve already done and burns extra calories.

                                        Exercise has so many benefits:

Exercise prolongs your life and keeps your heart healthy. Don’t forget that the heart is a muscle and needs exercise too. That’s why you should resist taking the easy way by starting a diet or going to those spas that claim you can lose weight by doing nothing other than sweating. Sure you lose inches but they find their way like a magnet back onto your body with the next glass of water you drink. Resist gimmicks, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Exercise, get your heart rate going, it’s the best thing you can do for yourself and your heart will thank you for it.

Exercise also releases your body's natural “feel good” chemicals known as endorphins (a combination of the words endogenous and morphine), which naturally relieve stress. Endorphins are thought to be as powerful as morphine yet they are not addictive and are produced naturally within the body. They are also the body’s natural pain relief.

Exercise has so many additional benefits including increased agility and stamina, improved memory and reaction time, increased bone density, keeps your arteries supple and flexible for blood to flow through. Exercise also reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke as well as creating a stronger immune system and deeper, restful sleep.

Exercise helps you to live longer, people who do 30 to 60 minutes of exercise 3 or more times per week will generally live longer than those who don’t.

I don’t know about you but that builds a pretty strong case in favor of exercise.

Types Of Exercise

Exercise in your home.

Exercise doesn’t have to mean buying expensive gym memberships or exercise equipment.

All you have to think of is what you can do to start burning more calories than you are today.

Here are some daily calorie burning activities you can do along with the value of calories burned associated with it.

Note – before embarking on any exercise program it is highly recommended that you first consult your physician to assess your current physical state.

Note – these are the average figures for a 185-pound individual, results will vary according to weight. If you are a little heavier you will burn more calories than the figures presented below. These figures are based upon 60 minutes of activity.

• Ironing – 189 calories
• Washing dishes – 189 calories
• Cooking – 222 calories
• Carpentry – 300 calories
• Lawn raking – 333 calories
• Mopping – 377 calories
• Housework– 390 calories
• Gardening – 455 calories
• Wood Chopping – 511 calories
• Furniture rearranging – 555

Exercise, as you can see, comes in many forms. Not only are there practical and useful applications but you also get the added benefit of it improving your health.

However if you are serious about losing weight you have to step up your efforts a little more, these everyday household activities are great for getting exercise but as you know in order to lose even a pound of fat you need to lose 3,500 calories. It would take a lot of furniture moving and gardening for you to get to that point.

To get to the stage where you will lose weight on a consistent basis you need to add extra exercise to your routine.

Let’s start small because these are activities that can boost your level of fat burning that little bit extra.

These activities aren’t too strenuous but can help the weight come off faster.
                                                       
                                          Light Exercise

This is achievable for most people no matter what your fitness level and will kick your weight loss up a notch.


Note – these are the average figures for a 185-pound individual, results will vary according to weight. If you are a little heavier you will burn more calories than the figures presented below. These figures are based upon 60 minutes of activity.

• An hour’s worth of Yoga stretching – 350 calories
• A relaxing bike ride for one hour – 350 calories
• Running around with your children – 350 calories
• Lawn mowing – 366 calories
• Basketball (shooting hoops) – 377 calories
• Pilates – 433 calories
• Walking (4 miles per hour) – 433 calories
• Game of golf – 480 calories
• Snow shovelling – 511 calories
• Walking up stairs – 577 calories
• Stationary bike – 588 calories
• Walking on a treadmill or jogging – 588 calories
• Low intensity jump rope – 700 calories

Light exercise is fantastic because it can be easily incorporated into our daily lives and will be the exercise most people, especially when starting off on a weight loss program, will be able to do.

Once the weight starts to come off and you gain a little more confidence you no doubt will be able to introduce more rigorous exercise into your regime. When you feel your fitness level increasing you might want to try some moderate exercise.

                                         Moderate Exercise

Here are some examples of moderate exercise. Again these figures are representative of a 185-pound person. If you weigh more than this your calorie expenditure will be much higher. These figures are based upon 60 minutes of activity.

• Low impact Aerobics – 431 calories
• Hiking – 499 calories
• Swimming (moderate) – 511 calories
• Hiking (medium terrain) – 520 calories
• Jogging – 588 calories
• Step Aerobics – 588 calories
• Basketball officiating – 588 calories
• Jogging – 600 calories
• Rollerblading – 600 calories
• Repelling – 677 calories
• Game of Ice hockey – 700 calories
• Press-ups/sit-ups – 700 calories
• Mountain Biking – 710 calories
• Running (5 miles per hour) – 710 calories
• Ski Machine – 810 calories
• Rowing machine (minimal effort) – 820 calories
• Jump rope (moderate effort) – 860 calories

If you want to take your weight loss to newfound levels you can introduce more intense exercise to your routine known as heavy exercise. Not only will it build more fat stripping lean muscle tissue but it will make your body both inside and out stronger than ever.

Proceed with caution – these are advanced exercises and you should consult your doctor before even attempting them. Do not jump into these activities without first having built up your strength with the low and medium impact exercises above first. Not only can this damage your health but it will hurt your chances of weight loss as a result of any sustained injury.

                                        Heavy Exercise


These exercises are the same as above but with the difference of increased intensity level.

Remember that if you have been sedentary for quite some time, you need to build up to these activities by trying the lower intensity alternatives first.

Again these figures are representative of a 185-pound person. If you weigh more than this your calorie expenditure will be much higher.
These figures are based upon 60 minutes of activity.

• Step Aerobics (high impact) – 888 calories
• Rock Climbing – 921 calories
• Basketball Full Court – 921 calories
• Bikram Yoga – 950 calories
• Elliptical Trainer – 955 calories
• Swimming (butterfly stroke) – 1,000 calories
• Handball – 1,010 calories
• A game of Squash – 1,040 calories
• Canoeing (above 6 mph) – 1,040 calories
• Jumping rope (high impact) – 1,040 calories
• Cross-country skiing (high impact) around 1,400 calories.
• Running (12 miles per hour) – 1,876 calories

Finding An Exercise Program That Is Right For You

There will only ever be 24 hours in a day and how we use those will have a huge impact on our weight loss success.

I know it’s not easy. With the crazy pace of our lives in the 21st century we are finding ourselves busier than we ever have before at any other time in history and as a result, we may find it difficult to incorporate exercise into our hectic schedules.

The reality will always be that if you want to have any success with your weight loss you have to be able to exercise and make it part of your new lifestyle.

But just because you will be adding exercise to your daily routine doesn’t mean that you have to join a gym unless you really want to.

Even just watching a little less television and opting instead to go for a
brisk walk can contribute to your weight loss. Playing with the kids and exerting yourself a little more will burn extra calories. Finding the
balance that’s right for you and the exercises that you can work into your lifestyle without turning your whole life upside down is the key to your success.

If it proves very difficult for you to find the time during your day to exercise then simply take the times that you undertake any kind of physical activity and amp it up just a fraction more to burn the extra
calories.

Use the time you play with the kids to increase activity levels. Instead of just playing with them why not bike ride with them or throw a ball around at the same time? You still get to spend quality time with the added benefit of ditching extra calories.

Get active, sign up for a sport whether it’s tennis, football, baseball, swimming or aerobics. This is a great way to lose weight and have fun at the same time and while making new friends (what a great way to
get support). Even making the time to do this once per week can
contribute to your overall weight loss.

If you work in an office building why not opt to take the stairs? To build up your fitness you may even wish to go past your own level. Not only is this a great way of increasing your fitness level but it’s also fantastic for incorporating into your daily schedule so you in essence made it part of your new lifestyle change without having to make too great a sacrifice. Before you know it, it will have become such an integral part of your life that you won’t be able to do without it.

Try renting exercise equipment for home. This will allow you to use the equipment for a while and see if you like it and if the equipment is helping lose body fat.

When renting exercise equipment you can advance to more challenging and sophisticated equipment the more your fitness increases and you’re not stuck with the same thing each day.

By renting you can continually upgrade and take advantage of the latest cutting edge equipment. The beauty of exercise equipment is that you get to exercise anywhere you want and why not take the opportunity to do an hour long workout during your favorite show, that way you get to enjoy the show while doing something beneficial for yourself. Don’t forget though as with anything in life you only get out what you put in. So if you’re going to go to the trouble of renting a piece of equipment, you have to use it.

Not enough hours in the day? We can’t create extra time however we can use more wisely the time that we do have. Why not try jumpstarting your day an hour earlier by doing some exercise? Why not walk the dog? Why not do an hour on the treadmill or an hour of yoga or Pilates? Not only do you kick start your metabolism into action but you will continue to burn calories long throughout your day as a result of your early morning exercise efforts.

Any activities that you do such as housecleaning or vacuuming, sweeping or mowing the lawn, why not put more effort and intensity into it? This can make an impact on your weight loss efforts just by doing a little more.

Any form of exercise is good and the more you do it and increase the intensity level the more fat you will burn. Aim to start with three times per week then increase from there and you will notice the results. Not only will your energy levels increase but you will also notice your body changing and your clothes fitting looser on your body.

Remember that exercise is not just for the here and now; it’s a lifestyle change for life. Beyond just wanting to look good you are prolonging your life in the process and the benefits far outweigh sacrificing a little down time. Your health and life are worth it.

Your Personal Weight Loss Plan

You really don’t need a set meal plan that is going to make you feel as though you are on a diet because let’s face it; it’s the dieting that got you here in the first place.

I want this to be the last program you will ever need and to do that you need to remember that diets don’t work. They only supply a temporary quick fix. What you need is a lifelong lifestyle change to get rid of the weight and to keep it off for good this time.  You won’t be told the portion sizes other than to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day that leave you feeling satisfied, not full.

So in order to do that, I won’t be giving you all of the 5 meals you must eat each and every day. This is where you start honing your own survival skills and exercise your own judgment because you know
yourself better than anyone else, better than I ever could. I don’t know about you, when I see set meal plans it screams diet, deprivation and restriction. My mind is already working against it and it won’t take long until my body finally does.

What I will tell you and as you and I have both discovered along this journey is that you must eat well and exercise for it to have any significant change on your body.

We have spoken about having to lose 3,500 calories overall per week
 to lose one pound of fat. To do this you need to lose at least 500 extra calories per day and from the exercises above you can see how easy it can be. It doesn’t have to be torturous exercise but something
as simple as walking the dog, playing with the kids or going for a bike ride. You also know that if you want to step up your efforts that little bit extra simply increases your level of intensity to burn even more calories.

If you want to lose 2 pounds per week, double your workout time or your intensity level. There are plenty of activities you can do to lose that amount of calories such as jump rope, high intensity treadmill, jogging or even swimming (swimming, which is low impact on your joints).

How you go about this is in your hands. You have to find the starting level comfortable for you then work your way from there. Always remember to build muscle you have to feed muscle. Extra muscle tissue strips that fat right out of your system and burns it off for energy so it’s important that you get a good balanced diet.

When it comes to eating never consume more than 20 grams of fat in a day. This way you are not burdening your body with unnecessary extra calories to burn off.

Consume smaller meals and take notice of the way you eat. Eat slower than you normally would. Focus on how you chew your food, take notice of how much food is on your plate so that it doesn’t seem to vaporize before your eyes leaving you wanting second helpings. Eating slower gives your brain an accurate measure of fullness as it takes 30 minutes for your brain to register that you are full.

Make an effort to exercise at least 3 times per week any additional exercise will only increase calories burned contributing to your overall weight loss.

Don’t eliminate entire food groups, ensure you eat a balanced diet with a mixture of good fat and complex carbohydrates. You need carbs for energy in order to lose the weight and you need a certain amount of good fats for normal body functioning. It’s ok to have the occasional bad fat treat just remember the amount of exercise you’ll have to do to burn it off.

Exercise As Part Of Your Weight Loss Plan

You know that exercise is extremely important and you know that the only way to shift the fat that has accumulated on your body is to burn it through exercise. If you want long lasting success with your weight
loss plan and really want to lose fat then you need to do at least 30 minutes of exercise 3 times per week to see results.

More than 3 times per week if you want to see even more significant results and double your weight loss.

Expend more calories than you eat. Double your length of exercise and intensity to lose two pounds per week instead of one.

To really get the full benefit of exercise workout for longer than 15 minutes. This is so that you can give your heart muscle exercise but also because within the first 10 to 15 minutes you are only burning sugar from the muscles. The fat is a little more stubborn and comes after the 30-minute mark, go figure.

Don’t forget that exercise can be anything. It has to be realistically incorporated into your lifestyle because at the end of the day, that is what’s going to ultimately work for you. This can be anything ranging from housework to joining the local tennis club. You have to find what works for you.
                                     
Here are some tips to get the most out of your exercise:

Don’t forget to consult your physician before embarking on any weight loss program. Work your way up gradually to the more physically demanding exercises rather than jumping straight into them.

Do something you enjoy, chances are you’ll stick with it longer and it won’t feel like exercise. This could be brisk walking in the park with your dog or a friend while using it as catch up time and getting your daily exercise dose. Use your time wisely, find other activities you could be doing rather than sitting and watching television and if you have to catch your favorite program why not grab an hour of exercise on the treadmill at the same time? You could even record it or TiVo it.

Make exercise a priority, remember this is a lifestyle choice. To undo all the negative habits that were formed throughout your life you have to counteract them with positive ones. Exercise is definitely a high priority on that list. Set your exercise goals, re-evaluate them every month then aim to increase your duration and intensity once your fitness level improves.

Eating Plan

We have discussed which foods you should limit in your diet and which foods you should get more of. We talked about polyunsaturated and mono saturated fats and simple and complex carbohydrates and how you need a balance of everything. Monitoring your fat and calorie intake coupled with exercise will be instrumental in your weight loss.

As you have already calculated your target body mass index and your target weight you can now determine how much weight you will need to lose in order to achieve that goal. As was mentioned earlier, always start with an end in mind, that way you can work gradually toward
 your weight loss goal.

You become empowered when you know how much weight you need to lose, how many calories you need to consume and how many you need to burn. Your body really is a machine that consumes and expends energy, once you figure that out your weight loss will be completely within your grasp.

For example you wouldn’t consume 4,000 calories if you were only going to do 500 calories worth of exercising would you? Once you burn close to what you eat you will start to see the weight shift. To see the weight melt off you need to burn more than you consume.

Don’t be tempted to miss meals, this will only hinder your metabolism and derail your weight loss efforts. Skipping meals makes you tired and lethargic and your body will rebel by making you eat high calorie foods to gain back those missing pounds so don’t trigger your body’s defenses, lose weight in alignment with your body.

There you have it, all of the tools and resources you need to lose the weight that has been clinging to your body. This is not a diet but a lifestyle which is the only way to lose the weight once and for all
permanently.

Let the last diet you will ever be on be the one before you found this.You are not force fed meal plans or times to eat. You can govern yourself, you have enough information to make informed decisions and you are exercising that over what you eat because you are now accountable to yourself. You owe it to yourself.

I have just armed you with the information you need to be eating the right kinds of fats and carbs and how much exercise you have to do if you really want to change your life this time. You decide based upon this information, what combinations of foods you would like to eat because no one approach will work for everyone, it wouldn’t be realistic and would be seen as just another diet if I were to do that to you.

You are going to take stock of what you eat in the real world, you’re just doing it sooner rather than later. Most people coming off set meal plan diets don’t know how to eat in the real world and end up falling back into old habits; this is because they never addressed their eating habits and why they gained the weight in the first place. They were trying to fix the symptoms of the weight rather than to get to the root cause of the problem which is more than just the issue of the weight itself.

To Achieve Your Weight Loss Goal…

Know your target weight and determine how much you need to lose. Break your goals down to weekly weight loss amounts and work one pound at a time towards your goal, it may seem pale in
comparison to those Biggest Loser contestants but yours is realistic and achievable in the time that you can devote. Don’t think you’re going to lose 100 pounds in one month because it will mostly be water and precious muscle and to shift that kind of mass in such a short time frame will no doubt damage your body in the process.


Slow wins the race. That’s how the weight came on, so don’t think you can lose 10 years worth of weight in one month. I promise it will come off quicker than it went on. Stick with it.


Prioritize your weight loss. Sacrifice something you can do without such as watching television or playing video games. It’s important that you make that time for yourself if you want to see results.


Keep track of your calories and how much you’re eating. Buy yourself a little notebook and jot down all of the things you eat in a day. Look at the food packaging and determine how many calories you consumed. Also watch out for how much sugar and sodium you are taking into your body. Unless they are unprocessed and raw, most cereals will have high hidden sugar content in the form of fructose which is fruit sugar to give cereal its sweet taste.


Fructose although a fruit sugar can still be stored as fat if not
burned off as energy. You must be aware of this because this is where hidden calories are coming from. Be mindful and aware of what you are eating, and find the things you can do without in your current diet such as food high in fat and sugars. Look for added sugars and added juices on your food packaging.


See where you can start reducing calories from your diet. As
soon as you have figured out how many calories you are currently consuming compared to how many calories you are burning you can get started. This can easily be achieved by cutting out extra fatty junk foods and reducing your food portions.


Look at your current schedule to see where you can start
scheduling in some exercise. Are you able to squeeze in an easy walk for at least 30 minutes? Can you go for a bike ride with the kids?
It doesn’t matter where your fitness level is currently at, you will only get stronger from this point on.


Be consistent, this is now your lifestyle. It takes a while to replace old habits with new ones and your health will improve and you’ll feel better than you have in a long time. Don’t cheat because the only person you’re cheating is yourself. Stay focused on your goal; remember your reasons for wanting to lose the weight in the first place and the weight will drop off. (This is why your purpose is so important).

Re-evaluate where you’re progress is every 30 days. You will gain more energy, more strength as the weight falls off and as you do you will be able to increase your exercise intensity and duration.
                                                             
                                                 Conclusion:


Never give up until you reach your goal.

How long should you give it? A week, a month? How long should you give yourself before you are well and your blood pressure and body is out of danger?

As long as it takes because this isn’t a temporary fix, this is for keeps.

Remember the appealing factor about crash diets is that they have a time limit, lose 20 pounds in one week. This makes you feel that you can tolerate the craziness for a short period of time yet we are under the illusion that we can still keep the weight off when we return to our old eating habits.

Slow wins the race you are in for as long as it takes. This is not a crash diet with an unrealistic timeframe. This is you; your weight loss, your life and your journey will be different from the next person.

This change is for good and the beauty about that is the results won’t go away. You will permanently keep the weight off because this is how you will live for the rest of your life. Not only that but you will have reduced your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke and are on your way to living the full life that you deserve.

No matter what weight you have to get down to, you’re going to keep going until you arrive at your goal however long that may be. If you are 300 pounds it will take a little longer to get to your goal weight then if you were 200 pounds. But it’s only a small price to pay compared to the quality of life you will gain in return.

The fact that you will be able to live life again where your weight may have previously restricted you is priceless. You will be around longer for your family and to watch them grow up. So in answer to your question, How long should the process takes?….the answer is "simply as long as it takes".

You didn’t get this way overnight so it will take a little bit of time to undo it, but not nearly as long as it took to get that way in the first place. Remember what you gain in return far outweighs the little sacrifices, any day.
                                                                   
                                                      Recap:

1. Weigh yourself to determine your current weight

2. Determine your ideal weight from the calculation, find out how much you should weigh, (available from the resources below)

3. Determine how much weight you need to lose by subtracting your ideal weight from your current weight

4. Take your measurements

5. You need to lose 3,500 calories per week to lose one pound


6. Choose foods from the Food Pyramid and from the food table that will give you a 250 calorie deficit per day (consume 250 calories less per day) (available from the resources below)

7. Choose low impact exercises you can do now that will burn 250 calories per day (available from the resources below) And there you have it; you’ll be well on your way to losing one pound
per week and consequently 50 pounds per year, which is incredible. You can do it!

Valuable Resources Of Interest:
You have at your fingertips valuable information designed to aide you with your weight loss. The Internet is a rich source of information that you can access anywhere in the world. This is also part and parcel of being empowered with information so that you can make better informed decisions for yourself.

Because information changes at the speed of light you will have access
to the latest cutting edge information when it comes to hand.

Here are some helpful resources you may find useful.

BMI
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Great for estimating your Body Mass Index to determine where your
weight lies for your height and for determining which category you fall
into, whether your are overweight or obese.

Ideal Weight

http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.html

This enables you to determine the ideal weight you should be for
maximum health and how much weight you need to lose.

Updated Food Pyramid

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource

To get the ultimate balance in your diet find out the portions and amounts you should be eating from each food group for optimum health.

Healthy weight calculation:

http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/healthieryou/html/chapter4.html#definition

Calorie burning exercises:

http://www.healthstatus.com/cgi-bin/calc/calculator.cgi

The number of calories in everyday foods:

http://www.weightlossforall.com/number-of-calories-in-food.html

http://www.fitwatch.com/caloriecounter.html

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/calories/calories.html

Insulin Resistance, how to undo the effects:

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/insulinresistance/