People have a hundred and one reasons why they don’t start working to get fitter today – most of which are not valid, including not having enough time, a common excuse. Everyone can find the time to exercise and eat right. It is just the motivation to get moving has to be greater than the excuses not to.
Usually some event, like a health scare, happens that creates the desire to start getting fit. But in the process, you’ll see these other benefits:
Lose weight
To lose one pound of weight in a week, you have to burn 3,500 more calories than you eat in that week. Most people get in trouble with their weight because they are eating far too many calories for the number of calories they burn. Excess calories are stored as fat.
If you break that 3,500 calories per week down into a daily amount – 500 calories – it is more manageable. Eat 250 fewer calories per day and burn off 250 more calories by doing some exercise. Skip the latte in the morning or the can of pop loaded with sugar and you probably reduced your calorie count by at least 250. Walk at 3.5 mph for an hour and you burn 298 calories. There is your 500 + calorie deficit with just those two small changes.
Strengthen your bones
As you age, you start to lose bone density at the rate of 10% by age 50 and if sedentary, another 10% each 10 years thereafter. By including some weight training into your exercise program, you can help slow bone loss as you grow older.
Tone up muscles
With toned muscles, not only will you look better, but your balance will be better and you’ll maintain flexibility in your joints. Weight training can help build muscle which will then help you burn more calories even at rest. And if you burn more calories, you’ll have an easier time maintaining your weight.
Reduce your risk for certain diseases
Your risk to develop heart disease, Type II diabetes and some types of cancers, including colon and breast, increases significantly if you are overweight and out of shape. As your Body Mass Index increases, so does your risk of a heart attack or stroke due to narrowed or blocked arteries.
And if your heart has to work harder to pump blood through narrowed passages, it increases your blood pressure, which causes health issues of its own.
If you already have Type II diabetes and you are overweight, the effects of diabetes will diminish (or in many cases go away entirely) if you lose weight. At the very least you’ll have to take less medication. Best case scenario is you can get off medication altogether.
You can make a change in your fitness level. But you have to start today; tomorrow may be too late.
