The Secret Link Between Weight Loss Health and Fitness
We don’t need statistics to know that most Americans are overweight. We can clearly see that. While there are many theories about the explosion in obesity, such as a viruses and genetics, we all know deep down that we can’t put more calories into our body than we eat. And, our body can’t get rid of more calories than we burn. Nor can our body hold on to calories we’ve burnt.
Basically, if you burn more calories than you eat, you’ll lose weight regardless of other factors. Of course, before you start operating your body at a net calorie deficit, you should consult your doctor about the safety of the exercise and nutrition program you are planning to undertake. Your doctor may have concerns about your current state of health, your medications, or other unforeseen issues, which should all be addressed before beginning a fitness and weight loss program.
The good news is that if you do have a slow metabolism, you should be able to eat much more cheaply than your peers and still get adequate calories. The bad news is that if you decide to eat more than your body needs, which is very easy to do with a slow metabolism, you will gain weight.
This is the main reason why starvation diets generally lead to weight gain. They cause your metabolism to be more efficient with the foods you eat and store this energy in the form of fat so that you will have plenty of energy the next time you have to go without food. As the metabolism slows, you have to eat even less food to maintain a negative balance of calories.
This is why long-term weight loss is based on a healthy lifestyle rather than a diet. You must eat plenty of food to maintain your metabolism, yet not eat such caloric dense foods that you get a positive calorie balance in your body.
The only way to really keep your metabolism burning at or above its current levels after you have experienced a few days of negative calorie balance is to demand more energy usage from your body. In other words, fitness and weight loss go hand in hand because you must exercise your body to force it to keep its metabolism up when it would rather decrease metabolism to reduce the calorie deficit.
As a byproduct of combining fitness and weight loss, you are likely to achieve improvements in the function of your circulatory and respiratory systems. And, you may achieve even greater benefits in your digestive function. You may even notice you are more flexible than before and suffer less daily, nagging pains.
Overall health improvements are quickly seen for those with diabetes or high blood pressure when they combine fitness and weight loss. In fact, if you have diabetes when you begin a fitness and weight loss program, it is not unusual to have to be closely monitored by your doctor because your body will not need as much insulin injected to control sugar levels because you will be burning that sugar off quickly.
Of course fitness and weight loss programs can improve more than just your physical health. They can increase your mental acuity, mental alertness, and self-esteem. If you want to achieve your fitness and weight loss at an even faster rate, you can increase the intensity of your exercise routine under your doctor’s guidance. Your doctor will help you figure out a target heart rate range that you can work towards with your workouts. It isn’t that hard to get fit. As most health scientists have concluded, you only need about 30 minutes of exercise daily to achieve optimal health.
Don’t overdo the exercise. And, don’t bother with exercises that you have no interest in doing every day. Many people risk their health by starting up too fast instead of slowly progressing. Others pick exercise programs they can’t stick to because they don’t enjoy them.
In fact, for those more than slightly overweight, it is recommended that only low impact exercises be undertaken. All of that extra weight can do a lot of joint damage when you get it pounding around. Walking
The goal of your fitness and weight loss program should be to improve your life experience. So, avoid things that will damage that experience and take part in those things that will improve that experience. Besides, when you enjoy a fitness and weight loss program, you not only improve your enjoyment of that event but you increase your capacity to enjoy life.
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