Exercise to Control Your Weight

There are many benefits to maintaining a healthy weight for your body size and height. The safest and healthiest way to lose involves regular exercise and a nutritious diet. Managing your weight is one way to improve a number of health problems like diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

Exercise can increase blood flow, promote healthy heart function and increase your mood level. There is no such thing as one size fits all solution when it comes to staying healthy, but regular exercise is as close as it gets.

Remember to take things slow. If you take a measured approach you will have a better chance of reaching your goal. If you try to lose weight by fasting alone, you face the risk of adverse health effects. A gradual pace is also more likely to become a lifestyle habit, rather than a passing fad.

Whether you want to drop a few pounds quickly or you are trying to make a lifestyle change, the most successful path will come from healthy habits. Below are some tips and exercise ideas to help you lose weight and feel great.

Measure Your Progress

Setting goals and measuring your progress is an important step. People who do this are less likely to deviate from their plans. Seeing all your progress is also a great tool for motivation. This keeps your eye on the prize and you can see how far you’ve come. Having a set schedule is a good idea. There are tons of apps, workout charts or calendars that can help you keep track of your workouts and your diet. Make a schedule and stick to it. If you are having trouble getting started, ask your doctor where to begin.

Eat a Nutritious Diet

Try and look at your diet as part of your exercise plan. Eating well and exercising is a sure fire way to lose weight. It’s simple mathematics, as long as you burn more calories than you are consuming, than you will lose weight. There are many calorie counting apps that can help you keep track of everything you eat.

If you don’t want to use an app, consider getting a pocket notebook and keeping a food journal. Having a daily journal can help you approximate the amount of calories you eat and how many you burn.

Don’t try to lose too much weight at once. Fasting and exercising may help you drop pounds quickly, but it is very dangerous. You also need to make sure your body has the right nutrients to function. Losing weight this way is commonly called yoyo dieting. People who achieve results like typically aren’t able to keep the weight off.

Exercise Ideas

Cardiovascular exercise is the number one way to lose weight. It’s also good to focus on strength training, but cardio is going to help you kick those extra pounds to the curb more than anything. Walking, jogging, rowing and swimming are all good choices.

If you can handle a more intense style of exercise, performing Tabata style interval exercises to supplement your regular walk or swim can supercharge your metabolism. Always ask your doctor first before you try this. This kind of exercise can be intense. Tabata’s are high intense interval style exercises.

Traditionally, with Tabatas you are outputting maximum effort and resting for half as long as you work for each interval. If you can’t exercise hard for health reasons, there are endless light impact variations of these exercises.

Following is an example of an 8 round Tabata set lasting a total of 4 minutes, with 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off for each round. You won’t need any equipment, just enough space to move your body and plenty of water handy.

·       Round 1: Partial Squats for 20 seconds, 10 second rest

·       Round 2: Planks for 20 seconds, 10 second rest

·       Round 3: Sit ups for 20 seconds, 10 second rest

·       Round 4: Jumping Jacks for 20 seconds, 10 second rest

·       Round 5: Partial Squats for 20 seconds, 10 second rest

·       Round 6: Planks for 20 seconds, 10 second rest

·       Round 7: Sit ups for 20 seconds, 10 second rest

·       Round 8: Jumping Jacks for 20 seconds, end of set

Don’t forget that peer pressure can be a powerful form of motivation. If you can partner up with your friends or join an exercise group, you will be giving yourself a much better chance of success. Consider taking a regular yoga class or joining a hiking group. The most important thing is to get moving.

To lose weight with exercise you should make sure that you are doing in a healthy way. You can work out hard if your health permits it, but ease into your workouts, especially if you aren’t used to strenuous activity.

Your health care provider will work with you to determine which course of treatments suits you best. Total Home Health can connect you with experienced health care experts who are ready to help you live a long, healthy and fulfilling life. Join Total Home Health today to get the benefits of all of our resources.