A good aerobics workout makes you stronger and improves mental clarity. Unfortunately, many people live a sedentary lifestyle that does little to improve overall physical well-being and often they don’t find the time or energy to start exercising.

While aerobics is one of the best way to get in some exercise it should be remembered that aerobics alone will not do you much for your health if your lifestyle is filled with stress, a poor diet and habits that promote illness rather than health.

Before any exercise can begin, you need to know the current state of your health and just how much exercise is good for you. A checkup with your doctor will determine how ready you are to start on an exercise program. Likely, you will need to change your diet first as will power alone is simply not enough for many overweight people to start exercising. Your doctor and dietitian can help you set up an exercise program that is right for you.

Once you have the approval from your doctor, the next step is by taking a daily walk. If you are overweight or obese, you can begin by walking to the street corner or around the block. If you feel stronger, you can take an extended 20 minute walk. Whichever method you choose, move your arms as you walk. Moving your arms while you walk gets blood flowing to the shoulders and arms. Once you’re used to walking, you can increase your pace to the point that you begin to perspire. If walking isn’t for you, try Tai Chi or do exercise in a pool, both of which are easy on the joints and can give you a good workout.

Once walking has become routine, you can bicycle.It provides great cardiovascular exercise as it provides more challenges as you must pedal uphill as well as down. If you happen to live close to your job, you can save yourself the cost of fuel and wear and tear on your car by biking to work.

The winter months don’t allow for much walking or cycling. Ice, snow and the cold is enough to keep anyone indoors, but you can continue your exercise regimen by investing in a treadmill or a stationary bike.

The whole point behind aerobics is to exercise your heart muscle. The heart rate of a fit person beats slower than someone who is out of shape. A resting heart rate is a good indication of how easier it is for you to get sick. Healthy people rarely have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, nor are they susceptible to many of today’s modern diseases.

For optimal health, you can combine a daily routine of aerobics along with weight lifting. Aerobics primarily exercises the heart while weight lifting increases body strength, endurance and flexibility.

Once you make a start at exercise, you’ll find it more pleasurable than you thought and you will stick with your routine once you start to see the results of a better physique and a happier you.

The author is a freelance writer who has had several articles published at Helium, Suite 101 and his blog on Word Press. Currently he lives in Ottawa, Canada and promotes an affiliate business where anyone can buy and sell products, ebooks and more. Click here to get more information

by A. Lawrence

Eat Less Fat
This may be the least confusing and least complicated way to start gaining control over your weight. It’s not just the calories, it’s also the fat. A lot of fat in your diet can mean a lot a fat on your body. Reduce the amount of fat in your diet and you are likely to shed pounds. How do you reduce fat intake? First, you read the labels on the foods you eat. You want to focus, for the time being, not on the number of calories but on the fat content (number of grams of FAT) listed on the label. Per serving.

Start by limiting your total daily fat intake to a maximum of 40 grams of fat. Total. Daily.

Here’s a little simple thing that will show you how much weight producing extra fat you’ve been eating. Add up the total number of grams of fat in everything you eat during a full day. Make sure you take into account the amount per serving. Example: the label on a pouch of microwaveable buttered popcorn states fat content = 10g (grams). Not bad, right? Wrong! Up above that the label states “per serving” and the number of servings per bag is 3. That means if you eat the whole bag (easy to do if you’re hungry) you are eating 3 servings, at 10 grams of fat per each serving. You are taking in 30 grams of fat!

HINT:

1 fast-food burger (without fries) can contain up to 30 grams of fat

regular salad dressing alone can give you up to 30 grams of fat
(depending on how much you use)

2-3 scoops of regular ice cream can contain up to 30 grams of fat

cookies, candy and other snacks can contain lots of fat grams
(if you eat a lot of it).

The above info about fat can help you see where a major problem is and help you lose weight gained by too much fat intake. Read those labels carefully; they can be tricky!

Limit yourself to no more than 40 grams of fat a day total. Later on, you might wish to reduce that to 30 grams or even 20 grams of fat per day to help you lose more weight and/or maintain your weight loss.

Start by substituting low-fat or no-fat foods (read those labels carefully!) for high-fat foods. Don’t worry, your taste buds will soon adapt.

Food Is Fuel

Biologically, your body needs food to function. It burns the food and turns it into fuel. That’s it. Your body actually needs the fuel, not the food. Food is really only a fuel source. Sorry, it sounds unromantic but it’s true. Food is NOT a substitute for love, unhappiness, loneliness, etc. Start thinking about food in a different way. Food is fuel. Like gas for your car. Stop having a romance with your food. If you are overweight food is not your friend, it’s your enemy.

Do not live for food, food is not your life purpose.

2 Easy Exercises

Start exercising. Forget the gym for the moment. The single best exercise is the “push-away”. When you’ve satisfied not your appetite but your body’s need for fuel … push away from the table. Push-aways. The second easy exercise is walking. If you are physically able to do it, start with just 1 mile a day. Every day. Takes about 20 minutes or less. In a short time you just may see a remarkable difference in how you feel. And how you look.

Snacking

Here’s where many people get into trouble. You get the munchies, a craving. During the day or the evening. You grab something to snack on. The problem is that what you grab may be a few donuts or bag of Oreo’s or a half-gallon of ice cream and maybe before you realize it you’ve gobbled the whole thing. And, poof, there’s that extra 30-40 grams of fat a day, there’s that extra 5 or more pounds a month. When you go food shopping don’t buy those kinds of fatty snacks anymore. Don’t keep them in the house. This may sound horrible to you now but, instead, have a banana or an apple or some oatmeal or some low fat ice cream. Without the whipped cream or the chocolate syrup!

Preventing Weight Gain

Here’s a simple diet rule I invented and have personally used for over 25 years. My ironclad rule is that I will not, repeat … will NOT … buy a larger size pair of pants. No matter what. And I don’t buy pants with elastic waistbands or pants that stretch. That means when I start gaining some weight (and yes, I do) my pants get too tight and it becomes very uncomfortable, even painful. That leaves me with only 2 choices; be very uncomfortable – all day, every day – or lose a few pounds. I lose the pounds. And I have been able to maintain a proper weight for my size. This rule gives you a good control technique for managing weight gain and also prevents creeping weight gain; that sneaky 5 lbs a month which in a few short months becomes a weight gain of 20 lbs and in a year can add a serious 60 lbs or more.

Want to lose weight? Want to feel better, look better and be better? Start slow, start simple, start here. Now go get undressed and look at yourself in a full length mirror. If you don’t like what you see try the above 5 free quick & easy diet tips and gain control of your weight … and your life.

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