Get Fit, Get in Shape and Stay Healthy

Are you putting on weight or having difficulty losing weight?
Can you slip into a revealing outfit without feeling self-conscious?
Can you run upstairs without becoming breathless?
Do you have sufficient energy to engage in physical activities?

Losing weight and getting fit are not rocket science. There is no mystery to either. If you can get yourself eating the right type of foods and become just a bit more active, you can start along the road to becoming a much fitter and healthier person.

When you eat more calories than you burn off, your body will store the extra calories as fat. If you continue to add body fat, over time you will become overweight, or obese, and be at risk of a number of weight-related medical conditions.

A useful way to assess your current weight is to measure it with the Body Mass Index (BMI). Calculated using your height and weight, BMI estimates your level of body fat. It is a good guide as to whether you could be at risk of weight-related disease, and whether you should take some positive steps to reduce your weight.

You can check your Body Mass Index here at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

So, how do you start to get fit, get in shape and stay healthy?

To function properly, your body needs the following:

  • Food – of the right type, in sufficient quantity, and without overeating
  • Water – to keep hydrated and to flush out unwanted toxins
  • Exercise – so that the heart and muscles stay strong and healthy
  • Sleep – to recover from the rigors of the day, and time to repair and renew itself whilst resting

These are the basics for all of us. Successful weight loss and getting fit are achieved through eating a healthy balanced diet, and giving your body what it needs, as shown above.

What most people who are overweight need more than anything else is to incorporate some lifestyle changes into their daily routines. A healthier and balanced diet and some form of daily exercise are essential.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stop eating your favorite food; neither does it compel you to engage in complicated exercise regimes or tough workouts. But you will need to eat more nutritious foods. Foods that contains the vitamins and minerals that actively help your body work at its best.

And you will need to do something physical to get your heart and body working harder.

Whether you just want to lose a few pounds or need to shed a few stones of weight, what you should do is take some positive action, stick with it, and to be realistic about what is achievable. Becoming overweight or unfit don’t happen over-night, neither do they go away that quickly.

Exercise should be fun. It doesn’t have to be daunting. You don’t need to be an ‘athletic’ type and you don’t have to work out at something you don’t really want to do. But you must engage in some form of physical action to get yourself more active day to day.

Exercise is beneficial to your body, no matter what age you are.

Regular exercise will:

  • Help prevent weight gain
  • Increase your heart rate. Keep your blood flowing and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
  • Increase the supply of oxygen to your whole body
  • Help strengthen the heart muscle and make it more efficient
  • Strengthen muscles and increase their efficiency
  • Build the strength of muscles surrounding joints
  • Stimulate the secretion of digestive juices making the digestive system more efficient
  • Improve elimination
  • Reduce joint stiffness that comes with ageing
  • Increase your energy levels

Exercise will make you feel better, give you more energy and could help you live longer.

You can exercise at home, in a gym, in some form of sport, or in the great outdoors. There is a wide range of choice. But at some stage you are going to have to burn more calories than you are eating, if you wish to get your weight under control, get fit, get in shape and stay healthy.

There is no better reason to pursue a healthy diet, and to achieve personal fitness, than for your own good health and sense of wellbeing. If you are overweight you will know better than most, the risks and potential consequences of carrying too much extra weight. These risks don’t always seem so pressing, until we reach a personal crossroads in our lives, and it is then that important changes need to be made.

Eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle can evolve over many years into a routine that takes time and willpower to overcome. A change of mind-set is needed – a realistic understanding of how long it can take to shed excess weight and fat, and of the necessary changes to be introduced into your daily routines to achieve this.

Many people who change their diet or start a fitness exercise program, give up far too quickly, and before the benefits become apparent. They become frustrated at their perceived lack of progress, and tired of the sacrifices they have imposed on themselves, when their slimming regime fails to achieve overnight success.

The key is to achieve progressive weight loss over time, whilst keeping your body well nourished, and then to keep the weight off, as your fitness levels improve. You need a healthy diet, more physical activity and the willpower and discipline to see it through.

How to lose weight and get in shape is straightforward enough.

In summary

  • Include nutritious food in your diet
  • Don’t consume more calories than you burn off
  • Exercise regularly
  • Get a good night’s sleep

We intend to show you how you can lose weight and get fit in a way that will lead you to a happier and healthier lifestyle.

You might still be asking – What is the best way to lose weight? Why should people exercise? Why is nutrition important? What does a healthy diet consist of?

These and many other questions will be covered within this Diet and Fitness Guide as we show you how to get fit, get in shape and stay healthy.

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