Monday, September 17, 2012

Balancing Exercise and Healthy Eating

If you are like most people it is easier to exercise or eat right, not both. This is one of the main reasons we find it hard to lose weight. Exercising and eating healthy are both part of the equation. I personally find it easier to exercise than eat healthy. Unfortunately, this part is a big problem for me, because eating healthy is 60% of the equation and 40% is physical activity. If you are the person who finds it easier to eat healthy rather than exercise you are off to a great start. How do we balance this for successful weight loss?
Successful weight loss requires at least 5 days a week of healthy eating and physical activity. As we all know there are seven days in a week. To tackle our shortfalls we need to choose at least 3 days to start working out or eating healthy for starters.
If you are the one who has trouble exercising, my suggestion is start off walking for at least 30 minutes 3 times a week. This is one of the easiest and cheapest forms of physical activity. You walk somewhere everyday, either to your car, up the stairs in your home, down the hall of your job, we all walk is my point. Walking for exercise requires continuous movement for 30 minutes or more. Walking burns calories and improves your overall cardiovascular health.
Now if you chose walking as your form of activity you need to walk at a steady pace. If you can you should move your arms while you are walking to get the maximum calorie burn. All you need do is find 30 minutes a day for walking and work yourself up to 5 days. If you choose another form of physical activity such as running, jogging, video tapes, swimming, or joining a gym that is even better. Once you feel comfortable with your 3 days a week, move your routine up to 4 -5 days or increase your workout duration from 45 to 60 minutes each day.
Healthy eating is the largest part of the equation. We want to apply the same 3 day rule, which is to eat healthy at least 3 days and work our selves up to more days. It takes a greater amount of effort to eat right. Eating healthy means paying attention to what is going in your mouth as well as portion sizes. If you work packing your lunch everyday will keep you from the fast food restaurants. You will save money and you will have more control of what you are eating. One thing to remember regarding healthy eating is fruits and vegetables is King! Eat as many as you like. Lean meats and beans are excellent protein choices. Poultry and fish are also good sources of food. Experiment on those 3 days a week with some new healthy recipes you may find a new favorite.

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