Lose Weight with Excercise

Why Exercise?

Regular physical activity is an absolute necessity when it comes to long-term weight loss success.

Dieting can cause muscle mass to be lost, while exercise increases it. Exercise and healthy eating will help you lose more weight than dieting alone since muscle burns more calories than fat. Because exercise speeds up your metabolism, you can cut fewer calories from your diet and still lose weight with regular moderate exercise.

The key to starting -- and sticking to -- a fitness regimen is choosing activities that you enjoy and look forward to. Long-term success also requires planning; the exercise habit doesn't form by accident.

Benefits of Exercise

The risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and many other health problems is lessened with regular physical activity. Some conditions, such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes, have a direct link to a sedentary lifestyle.

Regular exercise also brings more immediate benefits: It improves resistance to infections, joint flexibility, emotional well-being, energy and stress levels, and digestion. With continued, regular exercise, you will find that you will move easier, feel stronger, have better posture, and experience less chronic pain (if any at all).

Choose an Exercise

Walking
Walking is the ideal exercise for those of us with weight issues. Even if you're significantly overweight or obese, you can walk for weight loss. Begin today by simply walking to the end of your block, or even just to your mailbox and back. More people tend to stick with walking in the long run than any other form of exercise.

Invest in Equipment
Shop local thrift shops, classifieds, yard sales, and second-hand fitness stores. Stick with tried-and-true exercise equipment, such as exercise bikes or treadmills; resist the call of novelty equipment such as an "ab fat blaster." A step, resistance bands, or a set of hand weights, are also good investments for beginners.

Join a Gym
Gyms offer a wide variety of exercise methods, including cardio machines such as step machines, low-impact aerobic classes, weight-lifting, indoor cycling classes, kickboxing and step aerobics classes.

At Home
Options for working out indoors at homeinclude exercise videos or DVDs, doing exercises such as squats or push-ups, dancing, using a stationary bike, and using a step.

Before You Begin
The Surgeon General recommends that women over 50, men over 40, and those who have been sedentary for a long time see a doctor before beginning to exercise.

It's very important to start out slowly, particularly if you have been inactive for a while. If you do too much, too soon, you not only increase your risk of injury, you're more likely to get burnt-out. And that can lead you to give up exercise altogether.

Get Started

Why not start today? Aim for just 10 minutes of walking. Those 10 minutes can eventually become three 10-minute sessions a day; in time you will be able to work up to 30 consecutive minutes. Gradually increasing the duration will help your body become conditioned to regular exercise.

In time you can set a bigger goal, such as three 30- or 60-minute workouts, three days a week. (The World Health Organization currently recommends an hour of moderate activity most days of the week to maintain a healthy body weight.)

Remember, the most important part is to schedule your work out -- and then, just do it -- even if it's just that first 10-minute walk. That 10 minutes will make a difference!

--- I'm proud to say that I'm good at this, keeping myself moving! I actually bought myself a mini stair stepper so I can keep my butt moving even while I'm watching my favorite tv program with my family. I even do it twice a day, 30 minutes each time! Isn't that fun and cool at the same time?