The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest
his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the
cause and prevention of disease. Thomas Edison
To pave the way to a healthy pregnancy, start your nine months
right by keeping fit. Get into the habit of exercising moderately
to inure your body to exertion. You'll find that you're apt to feel
much better and would be more likely to weather the strains of pregnancy
and childbirth than someone who's sedentary and out of shape.
If
you want to reduce your body fat, focus on increasing the amount
of exercise you get rather than decreasing your food intake. A recent
national study was done using two groups of sedentary men, one group
in their 20's and the other over age 65. A lot was learned from
this accumulated data and it is interesting to note that there was
a significant relationship between lack of physical activity and
fat. Not surprisingly, the most sedentary men had the most body
fat.
These studies have also indicated that the governments current recomended
daily allowance for calories does not correlate with the body's
actual energy needs. For example, although 2400 calories have been
calculated for older men, they in fact burned an average of 2800
calories daily.
The leading experts now recommend that people who want to lose weight
start increasing their physical activity. Just being more active
in general (such as climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator,
moving around instead of sitting still, sitting up instead of lying
down as well as showing some excitement and enthusiasm instead of
boredom), are things that more effec tively burns calories and reduces
body fat. Everyone seems to have lost sight of the value of being
active. Consider this, a half-hour aerobic workout accounts for
far less energy expenditure than our minute-to-minute movement in
the office or at home.
Millions of Americans are trying to lose weight, spending approximate§ly
$30 billion a year on diet programs and products, often they do
lose some weight. But, if you check with the same people five years
later, you will find that nearly all have regained whatever weight
they lost. A national panel recently sought data to determine if
any commercial diet program could prove long-term success. Not a
single program could do so.
Being seriously overweight and particularly obesity predisposes
individuals to a number of diseases and serious health problems,
and it's now a known fact that when caloric intake is excessive,
some of the excess frequently is saturated fat.
People
who diet without exercising often get fatter with time. Although
your weight may initially drop while dieting, such weight loss consists
mostly of water and muscle. When the weight returns, it comes back
as fat. To avoid getting fatter over time, increase your metabolism
by exercising regularly.
Walking is one of the best exercises for strengthening bones, controlling
weight, toning the leg muscles, maintaining good posture and improving
positive self-concept.
To lose weight, it's more important to walk for time than speed.
Walking at a moderate pace yields longer workouts with less soreness
- leading t more miles and more fat worked off on a regular basis.
High intensity walks on alternate days help condition one's system.
But in a walking, weight-loss program, you are not requried to walk
an hour every day as some people would have you believe.
When it comes to good health and weight loss, exercise and diet
are inter-related. Exercising without maintaining a balanced diet
is no more beneficial than dieting whle remaining inactive.
Want to learn more?
"So You Have Actively Trying To Get Pregnant" will teach you exactly what food, diet and exercise is needed for a healthy and quick pregnancy
