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Winning the Weight Loss Race
EXERCISE
Look at all the great things exercise does for you: At least 30 minutes of exercise every day will not only help you to lose weight - and help you to maintain a healthy weight - but it will also help you:
- Strengthen your heart and lungs.
- Increase the level of HDL (good) cholesterol in your blood that helps you get rid of the LDL (bad) cholesterol.
- Lower an elevated blood pressure.
- Prevent adult-onset diabetes.
- Keep your bones strong.
- Strengthen and tone your muscles.
- Improve your productivity and energy levels.
- Reduce stress.
- Reduce feelings of depression.
- Feel in control of your life.
| Be F.I.T.T. To be "F.I.T. to a T," use the following guidlines: - Frequency
- every day.- Intensity - you should feel slightly short of breath (no gasping).
- Time
- 30 to 60 minutes.
- Type of exercise
- whatever you enjoy that will give you an aerobic workout (walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, low-impact aerobics routines).
The best time to exercise is before a meal. Exercise should become as much a habit as eating or sleeping - which is why you have to enjoy it. |
Not only does exercise help curb appetites, but it also can help speed up metabolism.
That means extra calories are burned for a while after you've stopped exercising. Muscle tissue burns more calories per hour than fat tissue, so the more muscle you add to your body, the more calories you'll burn - even when you're busy doing nothing at all.Think of your body as a 'savings and loan.'
The much maligned calorie is merely a way of measuring the potential heat (energy) in the food we eat. Where food is concerned, our bodies are not unlike the corner Savings and Loan. If we deposit more calories into our bodies than are needed on a daily basis to pay "energy bills," an automatic savings account will be set up for us - called fat. If daily deposits of calories are constantly used to pay off our body's energy bills, no savings plan (fat) will be started. And if we don't make enough deposits into our body's "account," funds will be overdrawn and we'll lose weight. Generally, a deposit of 3,500 calories will add one pound of fat to your body's savings account.
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| Exercise Guidlines - Get your doctor's OK
if you're over 35 or sedentary, or if you have any health problems.
Take the "slow and steady" approach. It took you years to get out of shape; give yourself time to get back into shape. Get at least 30 minutes of brisk exercise (preferably nonstop) every day. | Stretch it out Why stretch?
Stretching increases your range of motion and helps prevent injuries. It makes you more flexible, which makes you more coordinated. Stretching tips Don't stretch too far and don't bounce. Stretch slowly, then hold it in a comfortable position.Exhale as you stretch; breathe slowly and naturally.It's best to stretch after a workout when muscles are "warm." |
Fitness Resources:
Toning Exercises
National Strength and Conditioning Association
Association of Women's Fitness
National Association for Health and Fitness
National Center on Physical Fitness Activity and Disability
National Institute for Fitness and Sport
The American College of Sports Medicine
Resource: "How to Win the Weight-Loss Race"--315-1--Quick Read Booklet. Information provided exclusively for use on this site, courtesy of HOPE Publications, www.HOPEPublications.com. Material is copyrighted by the Hope Heart Institute, Seattle, Washington, a heart research institute. Material may not be used without written permission.
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