It's time to start living healthy:
your 7-day program
How many times have you gone to bed at night vowing to hit the gym in the morning, only to change your mind eight hours later because when you get up, you don't really feel like working out?
While it can happen to the best of us, it doesn't mean you should drop the ball completely when it comes to staying fit. People need to realize that staying active and eating right are essential to long-term health and well-being—and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle, the better you can tailor a nutrition and exercise plan that's right for you. When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity and by exercising at the right intensity, you are telling your body that you want to burn a significant amount of fuel. This means more efficient fat burning for energy.
In other words, good eating habits plus exercise equals a fast metabolism, which in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.
The real purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the body asking for improvements in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity, and overall fitness and health. Every time you exercise, your body responds by improving its ability to burn fat throughout the day and night. Exercise doesn't have to be intense to work for you, but it does have to be consistent.
I recommend engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced approach provides a
a one-two punch, including aerobic exercise to burn fat and deliver more oxygen and resistance training to increase muscle mass and burn more calories around the block.
Here is a sample exercise program that might work for you:
* Warm Up – seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity designed to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm up your tendons and joints.
* Resistance Training - Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets.
* Aerobic exercise -- Choose two favorite activities, it can be jogging, rowing, cycling or cross-country skiing, depending on what suits your lifestyle. Do 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and follow up with 10 minutes
second activity. Cool during the last five minutes.
* Stretching - Wrap your workout with stretching, deep breathing, relaxation and meditation.
It's important to have realistic expectations when starting an exercise program. Depending on your initial fitness, you should expect the following changes soon.
* From one to eight weeks - Feel better and have more energy.
* From two to six months -- Lose weight and lose weight. Clothes begin to fall more loosely. You gain muscle and lose fat.
* After six months -- Start losing weight fairly quickly.
Once you commit to exercising a few times a week, don't stop there. You should also change your diet and/or eating habits,” says Zwiefel. Counting calories or counting grams and percentages for certain nutrients is
impractical. Instead, I suggest these easy-to-follow instructions:
* Eat several small meals (optimally four) and several small snacks throughout the day
* Make sure every meal is balanced – include palm-sized portions of protein such as lean meat, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates such as wholemeal bread and pasta, wild rice, multi-grain cereals and potatoes and fist-sized servings of vegetables
fruit
* Limit fat intake to only what is necessary for adequate flavor
* Drink at least eight 8-oz. glass of water throughout the day
* I also recommend that you take a multivitamin every day to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
I think that's all I can think of so far. I should thank my friend Dr. Without him, I could not write this article or maintain my sanity.
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