How to Make Exercise Work for You

(CC) Lululemon Athletica

First, We Should Probably Rethink That Word “Work”

Surveys indicate that more Americans are taking up exercise programs to lose weight these days, but then, surveys indicate a lot of things that turn out to be less than accurate. I wonder about the accuracy of this one because the whole tide of research has been running against the concept of using exercise to shed one’s extra pounds. For openers, we’ve determined that meaningful weight reduction is only possible by limiting one’s caloric intake; exercise is basically just an aid in maintaining a lesser weight, not so much in getting there.

And, while exercise indeed burns calories, most of us engage in it at moderate levels of exertion and duration — which, it turns out, just makes us hungrier than normal, with the general result that we counterbalance, or even outweigh, the calories burned with extra calories consumed. As a consequence, for some of us the net result of working out is an actual increase in weight.

This is doubly unfortunate. First, it has made our weight goal even harder to achieve, leaving many of us so disappointed that we’re liable to quit exercising altogether. And if anything, that just makes things worse, since insufficient physical activity is unhealthy in a number of ways having nothing to do with weight.

The challenge becomes one of making exercise pay off for you, which is different from trying to make exercise the answer to your weight problem. Start with the appetite issue. Exercise is going to make you hungry, period, but it’s how you deal with that hunger that matters. Rule No. 1 is to avoid consuming anything that promises to give you “the extra energy you’ll need.” They actually give you far more. Energy bars and beverages are saturated with sugar, and designed to provide enough oomph to keep you working at an intense level for at least 90 minutes. They deliver calories in the range of 150 to 350 per serving, which is major overkill unless you’re a serious athlete.

For that matter, try not to eat anything just before your workout; food triggers hormonal activity that actually reduces your rate of fat burn. The ideal schedule would have you exercising the first thing in the morning, after an overnight fast, since the body turns to its own fat for burning when it has no recently acquired fuel to work with. If you exercise later in the day, try to make it two to four hours after you’ve eaten anything; to carry you through your mini-fast, pack away some unrefined carbs at the start, in the form of oatmeal or other whole grain cereal and/or some raw vegetables.

Beyond the immediate matter of hunger, there is the more long-term drawback to exercise, which is literally that: we view it as a long-term prospect, something we will have to engage in resolutely for God only knows how long to achieve our goals of a healthy weight or improved appearance or general robust fitness. Increasingly, psychologists are finding that the long view is unsustainable for most people, and recommending that if you want to keep people exercising, promote the benefits that it yields in the present, right now. The more immediate the rewards, the more they motivate you.

If your waistline isn’t visibly decreasing or your muscle tone perceivably improved, so what? Focus on the way that you feel better about yourself, more in control and self-motivated, when you’ve finished your run or swim or workout. Focus on how exercise leaves you feeling less stressed right now, today, and not on how it may help you avoid a heart attack 20 years from now. Focus on how the gym or fitness center can be a temporary haven from responsibilities and the daily grind, not as preventive medicine for some hypothetical future ailment.

Focus on whatever friendships, camaraderies, or positive interactions have resulted from activities that get you out of the house and into the world on a regular basis. Focus not on what physical exertion is doing, or not doing, for your weight, but what it does for your mood. Focus on the fact that however many unhealthy habits you may have, at least you have this one truly and vitally healthy one.

Essentially, don’t view exercise as something you’re doing for your health, but something you’re doing for yourself. Going to your workout shouldn’t feel like going to a doctor’s office. It should feel like going to a dance.

(By Robert S. Wieder for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News):

Ed. note: Enjoyed this post? Click the “Like” button below and be sure to “Like” the CalorieLab Facebook page.

How to Make Exercise Work for You is a post from: CalorieLab - Health News & Information Blog

Source: http://calorielab.com/news/2012/09/07/how-to-make-exercise-work-for-you/

hcg complete diet almased synergy diet grapefruit diet plan bee pollen diet fbf diet