Exercise is fundamental to losing weight. Without exercise your body cannot burn calories but that isn't the only benefit we get from exercise. Here are several benefits of exercise you may not have thought of:
Exercise gets our hearts pumping and that keeps us healthy. Our heart is a muscle and needs exercise on a regular basis to stay in shape.
Exercise, when done consistently, has been proven to reduce the stress levels in our bodies. When you exercise your brain releases chemicals that make you feel good and that is a powerful tool to help you reach your goals.
Exercise is responsible for benefits we are not even aware of such as improving memory, increasing bone density, increased flexibility and a general increase in the quality of your life.
Exercise has been linked to a longer life so exercise and enjoy every day.
Exercise strengthens your immune system. Exercise promotes a good night's sleep. It has been proven that sleeping undisturbed through the night is an important key to losing weight.
Exercise will increase your strength and endurance.
The benefits of exercise are numerous and exercise is an important part of a healthy life. Science and medicine now realize just how important exercise is in keeping us healthy and allowing us to live longer. Take advantage of every opportunity to get out and move, go for a walk, rake your yard, or even do some stretching exercises. When you begin to exercise your body will respond because that is how it has learned to survive for millions of years. Your body wants to work efficiently so give it every opportunity to fulfill its mission, so exercise, eat right, and enjoy life.
Exercise: Do It At Home
You can create an effective exercise plan to do at home and not have to go to a gym. It doesn't have to be a world class exercise workout because our goal is to burn 500 calories more than we consume. That being the case, what should the exercise plan be?
Believe it or not household chores have actually been given a calorie burning value. The following list is based on one hour of activity for a 190 lb. person.
Working on your car - 259 calories
Do carpentry work around your home - 302
Heavy housework (vigorous) - 388
Light housework - 302
Laundry - 216
Preparing meals - 216
Working in your gardening - 431
Moving or rearranging furniture - 518
Yard work – 345
You can see that every day activities provide you with the opportunity to burn calories. Look at it this way, your yard will be immaculate, your house will be spotless, and you will be in great shape!
With the activities listed above you could probably burn off some calories but not enough to make the 500 calorie deficit mark. That means you need to increase your activity level so that you can reach your calorie burning and weight loss goals. It is important that you gradually increase the amount and the intensity of your exercise.
If you haven't done any exercise in years you have to start slow and take the time to let you and your body adjust to the new activities. If you have exercised in the recent past you still need to give your body time to adjust to any increase in your activity level. The worst outcome is that you rush your exercise level and injure yourself. That means you cannot do any activity and you are now in jeopardy of putting on weight while your injury heals.
Before you begin any exercise program be sure to see your personal physician and get their approval and consent.
Here is a list of activities you can do to increase the level of activity. The calorie amounts are based on doing the activity for one hour.
Let's start with light exercise.
A bike ride - 345
Stretching - 345
Yard work - 474
Jumping rope (slow) - 690
Shoveling snow - 518
Treadmill - 518
Light exercise is easy to incorporate into your life and you will see huge benefits from doing light exercise every day.
After you have been doing light exercise and you feel you are in better physical condition you can move onto the following moderate level exercises.
All the following exercises can be done in your home and the calorie numbers are based on one hour of activity.
Low impact aerobics - 431
High impact aerobics – 604
Riding your bike (12-14 mph) – 690
Riding a stationary bike (moderate effort) – 604
Golfing and carrying your clubs – 474
Hiking over moderate terrain – 518
Jogging – 604
Jumping rope (moderate) – 863
Jogging (11 minute mile) – 776
Rollerblading – 604
Swimming – 518
Rowing machine (light effort) – 819
Basketball – 388
Push-ups and sit-ups - 690
One of the best casual activities is probably a brisk walk.
You can burn 345 calories if you take a longer walk.
You should not attempt these exercises without the permission of your physician.
To take your exercise to the next level here are the heavy exercises. These exercises will get your heart pumping, your calorie burning through the roof and the pounds dropping off.
Many of the activities are the same as the light and medium exercises but you just use a higher energy level.
Biking (16-19 mph steady pace for one hour). You burn over 1000 calories for every hour you ride your bike at a good speed.
Canoeing (over 6 mph) - 1035
Running (6 minute mile) - 1380
Ice hockey - 690
Jumping rope (fast) - 1035
Cross-country skiing - between 600 and 1400 calories depending on effort
Squash - 1035
Swimming (from treading water to the butterfly stroke) - 500 to 950
Finding An Exercise Program That Is Right For You This is where your lifestyle can collide with your new plan. You are so busy that you might find it difficult to find one hour of free time to exercise. The hard cold fact is that you will not be able to lose weight unless you are able to exercise. You must make the commitment to set aside the time and provide yourself with the opportunity to reach all your weight loss goals.
Keep in mind that you don't have to exercise to the point where you are gasping for breath, but the more intense the exertion the more calories you burn and the faster you reach your goals. Everything you do during your day counts as calorie burning activity. If you do these activities with a little more exertion and use more energy you will get closer and closer to your 500 calories deficit goal.
Here are a couple of suggestions to help you find the time to exercise every day.
Walk past the elevator and take the stairs. It will not be easy but after you do this for a week or two it will get easier. You will feel great and you will know you are burning those calories. You might even get to the point where you walk past your floor and then come back down, and then you know you have made enormous progress.
This one is definitely difficult but not for the reasons you think. Here it is, get up one hour earlier and go for a long brisk walk. Because you got up earlier you will eat earlier. This means that your metabolism gets the fuel it needs and you are ready to burn calories. Just think, it is still early in the day and you are on your way to reach your calorie deficit goals.
When you do housework, scrub a little harder and vacuum a little quicker.
Try walking faster when you mow the lawn. Everything counts and everything adds up.
Join a local sport club. Try basketball, or go to aerobics, try to find an activity you can do for several hours over the course of the week. If you do this you are heading straight to the winners circle for weight loss.
This might be too expensive, but buy or rent a piece of home exercise equipment. If you buy it make sure you use it, you won't lose any weight just watching the equipment gather dust. If you enjoy reading at night then get on your treadmill and read while you walk.
Remember that any exercise helps you reach your goals. Find the time in your schedule and try to exercise three times a week. Regular exercise will get you to your weight loss goals quicker.
The benefits of regular exercise go beyond losing weight. Anyone who had a sedentary lifestyle must begin to move and work up to an exercise routine. It is a matter of life or death.
What Are Your Diets Plan Options?
You probably have been overwhelmed by the number of diet plans that promise
"Lose 10lbs. in 10 days'. These plans do not offer you a plan you can use for the rest of your life. What they offer is a quick fix that will get the weight off but if you use those plans the weight will come roaring back as soon as you stop the diet.
That doesn't mean that all diet plans are bad it just means that some make promises that are unreasonable and not life changing.
I am sure you are familiar with all the 'Big' names in the diet world, plans like Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, NutriSystem and so many more. I bet you have been thinking that somewhere out there is the diet plan for you. Well, in this section I will be discussing the different diet plans and at the very end I will tell you what my plan is. So let's get going.