Tag Archives: fitness

Managing your weight

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obese-women4001

The number of people in the United Kingdom who are overweight or obese is starting to spiral out of control. Current statistics suggest that over 50% of British adults are overweight and many of these are at risk of becoming obese.

With a population becoming increasingly overweight the risks of heart disease, diabetes and other long term health complications are reaching scary heights.

Weight loss programmes range from diet based schemes like weight watchers, to self help books such as Dr Atkins diet to those that combine diet and exercise classes like Rosemary Conley’s eat yourself slim diet.

What are the risks associated with being overweight

As mentioned, being overweight can have a serious impact on our health. Some of the risks associated with obesity include

  • Heart Disease
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Cholesterol problems (leading to heart disease)
  • Stroke
  • Type 2 Diabetes (the kind you develop rather than are born with)
  • Cancers (prostate, gallbladder, colorectal, breast, endometrial and kidney)
  • Sleep Apnea (Snoring and difficulty breathing while sleeping)
  • Reproductive problems (irregular periods, increased birth defects, especially neural tube defects, and an increased risk of death of the mother and baby).

What diets are out there currently?

Currently, there are a huge abundance of ‘fad’ diets on the market. Very often these diets give us short term results and in the long term, many people actually put on more weight. The reason these fad diets work initially is because they make us dramatically cut the calories we consume so therefore we will naturally lose weight.

The problem with ‘fad’ diets is that they usually aren’t easy to maintain. As soon as you go back to your normal life, the weight generally goes back on.

The key to losing weight and keeping it off is to make the appropriate lifestyle changes and to stick to them. A diet low in fatty, processed foods and high in fruit and vegetables helps us maintain a healthy physique.

What role does exercise have in weight management?

When you exercise you burn calories. The more vigorous exercise you do, the more calories you burn and the more weight you lose. Current recommendations suggest that we should aim to do five thirty minute sessions of exercise per week. Ideally, we should aim to combine cardiovascular exercises like swimming, which help heart health, with weight-baring exercises such as squats or running which help to build strong joints.

Exercise, is not only key to weight management, other benefits include:

  • It helps you manage your mood – exercise triggers brain chemicals that make you feel good. Regular exercise is encouraged to combat depression.
  • You’ll feel more energetic
  • You’ll sleep better
  • If you do exercise with friends it can even be fun.

Maintaining a healthy weight helps ward off many serious illnesses. Just making a few small lifestyle changes involving diet and exercise can dramatically improve our health in the future.

 

The 8 quickest way to get into the exercise habit

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As well as being a great way to stay fit and healthy, exercise also has many other benefits, both mental and physical. Burning off those excess calories by going for a run or a dance or heading to the gym can help you to look and feel better. You may find it easier to relax and you may sleep better at night.

With so many positive benefits it seems strange that we all find it so hard to keep motivated with our fitness goals. We often have many excuses for not exercising and it is often the easier choice to sit in and watch TV than to go out and release those feel good endorphins.

So how can you get into the exercise habit?

1. Exercise with friends – not only is this a great way to get fit, it’s also a great opportunity to catch up with your friends and hear all their news. Keeping fit with a friend also means that you’re not just accountable to yourself. If you don’t exercise you’re not only letting down yourself, you’re letting down your friend too.

2. Vary the exercises that you do – In order to maintain a regular exercise routine you need to make it fun and enjoyable. One way to do this is to vary the types of exercises that you do. You could go to a dance class on a Monday, a spinning class on a Tuesday, a run with a friend on a Wednesday and swimming on a Thursday. Keep things fresh and do what you enjoy most.

3. Make exercise an important part of your life – Try telling yourself that doing exercise is part of your job or part of your day-to-day routine. This way you won’t avoid doing it and will keep a commitment to yourself. If ‘better offers’ come up, remember what your priorities are.

4. Develop a fitness plan – With the help of a personal trainer or health and fitness expert, develop an exercise plan for yourself that helps you achieve your health goals. Having a plan is also a great way to keep on track of your progress.

5. Set yourself fitness goals – Setting yourself a fitness challenge, such as competing in a 10k running race or doing a triathlon, can help to give you focus when you exercise. Knowing that you have a deadline to be fit is a great motivator and one that keeps many people on track with their fitness regimes.

6. Tell people about your fitness goals – By telling others about your fitness goals you are putting pressure on yourself to continue to train hard. Knowing that other people will now have an expectation of you will help to motivate you!

7. Exercise at a time that suits you best – there’s no point deciding to exercise first thing in the morning before work if you know you are a night owl. For some exercising before work keeps them focused all day, for others an after work gym session helps them forget about the stresses of the day.

8. Focus on your achievements and successes – when you do achieve something you are proud of, it’s important to make it a big deal and to realize how far you’ve come. Use it as a further motivator for your next fitness challenge.

Try some of these tips to get yourself fit again and soon you will be enjoying the benefits of being active like looking good and feeling great.

Back to the gym

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gymgear

Have you ever found yourself sitting in front of the TV with a cup of tea thinking about going to the gym? Do you ever get the motivation to actually go?

A few years ago I was an avid gym user. I was there 6 nights a week for at least an hour at a time. I had clear goals and targets. I was very focused.

Then things changed.

I don’t know what exactly happened but I started to notice that I was skipping the gym on occasional nights. The more times I skipped, the easier it was to skip the next night too. Very soon I was barely going to the gym or doing any exercise at all.

What I have learned over the years is that I really do need something to focus on in order to stay motivated. Many of us are the same.

Without clear targets I can come up with a million excuses why I shouldn’t go to the gym on any particular night- it’s too late, my favourite TV show is on, the gym will be really busy, I don’t feel well, I could go on…

What is it that motivates you to get off the sofa and hit the gym?

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