I started bodybuilding at the age of twelve and continued most of my life until life got in the way. I was in a bad car wreck that I let knock me down and I ended up sitting around drinking beer and doing next to nothing. I went from a lean 220 at 6'3" to almost 300 lbs in about a year and a half. I finally realized I had to do something about it and I went on a fast for three weeks to give me a jump start and started walking daily. Now three months later I am at 235 and walking five miles a day, getting close!

Why did I just tell you all that? Because I wanted you to know it can happen to anybody, the key is you have to get back up and be active. I know it can be tough to find the time, but what would you rather do get an hour less sleep and live longer or have a long sleep real soon, like forever? We all have the same twenty four hours, so find the time.

According to research in the United States way more than half of the population is considered overweight or even obese. This is not just, "heavy", this is pure fat! It also means that all of these people are either having heart problems or will soon have. It is basis physiology folks, the heavier you are the harder your heart as to work and if you have all that fat around it that doesn't help. You are also much more likely to have high cholesterol which also puts you at a higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. It's all about the belly! Even if the rest of your body is normal, if you have a big stomach you are at an increased risk for heart disease.

The good news is that you can reverse it and by reducing your waist measurement and lowering your body weight you can substantially reduce the heart disease risk. I recommend that you do more than just diet. You need to diet and exercise, not only will it help you get the weight off faster but it will also keep your ticker healthy and you will feel better. People who participate in a regular exercise program have a fifty percent lower chance of having a heart attack.

Regular exercise will help you maintain your weight, lower cholesterol, and blood pressure plus it will help reduce your resting heart rate. This is the best thing you can do for your heart and you can start out easy. If you can't walk but a few minutes, just start there and increase it gradually. Your heart will thank you for it.