Is there any more of a dirty word then "Exercise" in our society today? If you want to make a room part faster then the red sea all you have to do is make mention of the evil E word. Although it is true that you can lose a decent amount of weight without ever having to exercise, you won't be doing your overall well-being any favors. Studies prove that exercise in conjunction with dieting increases your health as well as decreases your body fat faster then just dieting alone. So why is it that most people refuse to exercise? Don't get me wrong, there are a large percentage of people out there who have tried exercising but they were misguided and ended up doing a lot of work for little return. Other then the fact that finding and understanding a new exercise program has gotten as complicated as programming your VCR used to be I think the other main reason is that most of us just can't find the time. Well all that's about to change. What if I asked you to devote 50 minutes a day to exercise and in a month's time I promised you a noticeable improvement in your health and your appearance. Some of you may not feel you can devote 50 minutes at this time and may feel that it is a lot of time, but when you consider the average person both works and sleeps 8 hours a day and watches on average 6 hours of TV per day, does 50 minutes still sound like an overwhelming number to you? I don't think so!
There are only two forms of exercise you need to do to lose weight and keep your body in great shape. They are aerobic also know as cardiovascular training and anaerobic training such as resistance training. Let's first take a look at aerobic training. The best time to do aerobic training is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. The reason for this is the fact that, instead of using the food you've ingested throughout the day, your body is forced to use stored fat as the fuel for the workout. A huge mistake people make is performing too taxing a workout for their fat burning cardio. The key is time not effort. Studies show that your body will not start to use fat deposits until you have reached the 25-30 minute mark of your cardio session. The other aspect of this is that if you go too fast, instead of burning fat, you'll be using glycogen found in the muscles to fuel your workout. So what would I prescribe? A thirty minute walk, whether it be on a treadmill or outdoors done at a pace where you are slightly out of breath when trying to carry a conversation. That's it, that's all! Do this 5 times a week first thing in the morning and your cardio is taken care of.
As I stated before, the second part of the equation is the strength training. This doesn't have to be overly complicated and for the most part I like to keep it short. On 3 days of the week you will be using weights but in a much different manner than you're used to. Pick an activity you like to do, such as jogging or skipping. Now pick 3 resistance exercises to do. The 3 that I recommend are free weight squats, dead lifts and clean and jerks. Now you set a timer for 20 minutes. You start the workout by either jogging or skipping for 1 minute straight and when that minute elapses you proceed to do 10 squats followed by running or skipping again. After your next session of running or skipping for a minute you would complete 10 dead lifts and then jog or skip and proceed with 10 clean and jerks. After you do that 3 times you would start over again until the 20 minute timer goes off. You would do this 3 times a week and try to beat the amount of cycles you did in the previous week. This little game will not only keep you motivated but will also let you know the progress you are making.
Now that you know what it takes to get it great shape and lose weight with exercising what are you waiting for?
So here's the question: Can somone really lose weight simply by adjusting their diet? So many people feel that they do not have the time to exercise, or feel they lack the energy to exercise, or just plain don't want to. It would be great if all they had to do was take some pill or eat some specific diet and the weight would go away, right?
Now, my problem is that when I think of, or advise someone on, weight loss, I automatically throw in adjectives like "healthy" and "permanent". I'm not really in touch with the concept of using a diet to lose a few pounds to get back into last year's clothes or to look good at the high school reunion. I tend to think of losing weight as a step to the point where you achieve your weight loss goal and enter the realm of weight management. At this point, you are living a healthy lifestyle of combined physical activity and proper nutrition and are able to enjoy life to the max...for a good many years to come!
"Yeah, Don, that's great, but I'm one of the first group of people you talked about. I just want to lose weight and don't want to mess with exercise. Heck, man, I'm so overweight and pooped all the time that just thinking about exercise scares me. Just tell me what diet pill to take or diet to follow so that I can get my weight down, look good, feel good about myself, and enjoy life like you say!"
Well, there are people who want to be rich but who don't want to "mess with" saving, or making wise purchasing decisions, or working hard, either. Whatever we really want in life usually has some sort of price tag attached, and, as the saying goes, we usually, "get what we paid for".
As another old saying has it, anything we feel is worth doing should be worth doing well.
To get back to the weight loss without exercise issue, let's look at a couple of facts.
1. Diets do not work as far as permanent or healthy weight loss is concerned.
2. Permanent, healthy weight loss is commonly achieved through a combination of exercise and proper nutrition.
3. While there are diet products and supplements which can enhance the effects of any weight loss program, they very seldom do the trick by themselves for most people.
Let's start with that last one.
Start by reading the labels or advertising literature of most diet pills and other weight loss supplements. Somewhere you will usually find a statement that will say something like "when used with regular exercise and a sensible nutrition program". To put it another way, maybe taking that diet pill or supplement will HELP with weight loss IF it is taken in conjunction with some other weight loss program.
At the moment, the Alli diet and fat loss pill, is the only federally apporved weight loss pill. The manufacturers of even this "successful" weight loss product let you know that you should be doing taking additional steps to experience effective weight loss. Testing of that pill, one of the most effective available, show that weight loss with the pill alone will be minimal unless it is used with a program of regular exercise and proper nutrition.
Let's face it. If there WAS one diet pill that you could take and then sit around watching TV, eating ice cream, and drinking beer...AND still lose weight and be healthy, there would not be so many different diet pills claiming to do the trick!
Okay, I started with the last fact, so let's jump around and deal with the first fact next.
Diets per se do not work for permanent, healthy weight loss.
When you suddenly decrease the calories you regularly have been feeding your body, it senses a starvation situation (built in survival trait) and lowers its basic metabolic rate. In other words, it adjusts itself to function with fewer calories. This could be a good deal except for one problem. When you go back to your old eating habits, eating the same amount of calories will store more fat on your body than it used to.
This is the reason that going on and off diets is very likely to cause weight gain, rather than weight loss! It's called yo-yo dieting.
Also, an extreme reduction in nutriton also means an accompanying extreme reduction in vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fats (needed for life), phytonutrients, and other nutritional factors normally required for health, energy, and long life. You can lose wieght but in the process endanger health and lower the energy available to live life with joy.
Just to throw in another monkey wrench, once your body has adapted to its new diet and adjusted its basic metaolism, the weight loss will cease. This will usually occur after only a few pounds of fat have been lost. To lose still more weight, you will again need to decrease your food intake even more, or perhaps decide it's not worth it and take a look at the second fact I listed.
Test after test and study after study has demonstrated beyond a doubt that the most effective weight loss program is one that includes regular, moderate exercise and healthy eating and living habits. The exercise does NOT have to be extreme, although overall results will usually be directly related to the amount of effort expended.
Most of us are NOT going to wind up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Cory Everson unless we exercise and eat like they do!
However; regular, moderate exercise can burn calories and build lean muscle tissue which will continue to use up excess calories and burn fat even when we are not exercising. It will raise energy levels, make daily life easier, help elevate mood and fight depression, and will help protect us against a host of degenerative diseases. It has been shown to delay and mitigate the effects of aging, and has been shown a potent protector against many conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and many forms of cancer.
Healthy eating does not necessarily mean "dieting". Chankging a few eating habits, improving our food selections, and paying close attention to portion sizes constitutes healthy eating...including that great American pastime...snacking!
I used the term "healthy eating and living" because such things as getting the proper amount of sleep, having fun, and having friends can also contribute to health in general and weight loss in particular.
Is weight loss without exercise possible?
Sure! Millions of people throughout history have gotten very thin before they starved to death!
Millions more have simply combined exercise with healthy eating and living habits to experience permanent, healthy weight loss and have enjoyed a long and happy life as a result.
Both Michael Russell & Donovan Baldwin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Michael Russell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Celebrities, Dieting and Diabetes Treatment. Michael RussellYour Independent guide to . Michael Russell's top article generates over 2240000 views. to your Favourites.
Donovan Baldwin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Women, Health and Bodybuilding Supplements. Donovan Baldwin is a central Texas writer. He is also a University of West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. His interests include nature, the environment, health, fitness, yoga, and weight l. Donovan Baldwin's top article generates over 1220000 views. to your Favourites.