Walking For Easy Weight Loss Exercise

Almost anyone anywhere can benefit from walking for exercise. You may see in the news that people are getting bigger and bigger, and some of these people are so obese that they cannot exercise in the traditional way. A good start for them is Walking.

No matter what the reason for this overweight problem, there is always a way out. A lifestyle change is usually necessary. Some may even feel it has become hopeless, but there is usually plenty of help much closer than they could have imagined.

Walking for exercise is so simple almost anyone can do it. If you have problems walking from your house to your mailbox, you can still lose weight. You simply start out by walking to your mailbox and back.

The next day, you go a few steps more. As the days go by, you add a little more to your walk. Soon you’ll find that walking for exercise was something that you should have been doing a long time ago.

You may start walking faster and change your pace every few minutes to make it more interesting.

You don’t need to buy expensive equipment to do it, and you can do it any time you can find the free time. Walking is a habit you will truly enjoy once you have cultivated it.

I would recommend walking for exercise for anyone, young or old. If you have children, you should start them walking when they are young. Build the habit early.

Don't tell them that they are walking for exercise, make it fun. Take the walks with them and spend quality time together. See your neighborhood from a different perspective.

If you live in a bad neighborhood, or at the top of a high-rise building in the middle of the city, it might be harder for you to go outside and walk. You may want to walk the stairwells once in a while.

No matter what the environment, there are still places you can walk somewhere during each day. If there’s a park nearby, you can take your children there for a leisurely walk.

Walking for exercise is so much easier when you have great scenery and interesting conversation to go along with you.

If you do your walking by yourself, go out by yourself a CD player or mp3 player so you have some easy listening, or motivating talk programs.

The key is to enjoy your walks and look forward to making it a regular part of your day.

See you next time.

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Reasons To Exercise

I just thought this would be interesting to those who are on the fence about whether to exercise or not. Check out these benefits!

Why Do We Exercise?
By Tracie Johanson

In this article we're going to focus on REASONS TO EXERCISE. Even though most of us know that regular exercise is "good for us", we may not be able to give the specific reasons WHY exercise is good for us.

First and foremost, before we start the list, let's just admit right up front that the main reason we exercise is to look better. Hey, there's no shame in that! Perhaps we want to look better for our spouse, or maybe we want to get into shape because we're looking for a spouse! Whatever the reason, our desire to look good is a major motivator.

Many of us want to look better.....for ourselves! When we engage in regular resistance and aerobic exercise, it changes our appearance for the better. Less fat, toned muscle, healthier skin, a bigger smile, and more "pep in our step" are all great reasons to exercise.

In addition to just looking better there are some real physical benefits to regular exercise!! So for those of us who are working out to just look great, consider these reasons to exercise a bonus:

* 1. Strengthens muscles
* 2. Strengthens bone
* 3. Strengthens ligaments
* 4. Strengthens tendons
* 5. Strengthens immune system
* 6. Improves muscle tone
* 7. Improves endurance
* 8. Improves strength
* 9. Improves self esteem
* 10. Improves confidence
* 11. Improves balance
* 12. Improves physical appearance
* 13. Improves physical performance
* 14. Improves glucose tolerance
* 15. Improves circulation
* 16. Improves memory
* 17. Lower risk of heart disease
* 18. Lower risk of diabetes
* 19. Lower risk of cancer
* 20. Lower blood pressure
* 21. Lower cholesterol
* 22. Lower risk of stroke
* 23. Lower risk of osteoporosis
* 24. Lower risk of osteoarthritis
* 25. Lower requirements for medication
* 26. Lower risk of injury
* 27. Lower bodyfat
* 28. Helps with sleep disorders
* 29. Reduces post-operative complications
* 30. Reduces frequency of illness
* 31. Prevent Alzheimer's disease
* 32. Prevents muscle loss
* 33. Increases metabolism
* 34. Eases symptoms of menopause
* 35. Healthier pregnancy
* 36. Fewer problems with childbirth
* 37. Reduces ovulation problems

Moderate weight loss - of fat, not muscle - and a healthy and active lifestyle (NOT dieting) have been found to lower health risks and medical problems in 90 percent of overweight patients. In addition to the exercise benefits listed above, fit people are eight times less likely to die from cancer than the unfit, and 53 percent less likely to die from other diseases. Fit people are also eight times less likely to die from heart disease.

So the next time we're tempted to just sit back and watch television instead of exercising, let's remember that there are a lot of reasons to drop the remote and get moving!

* Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace.

* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on www.letspickupthepace.com should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.

Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women, focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Old Habits Die Hard - Hard Enough To Feel The Pain

Old Habits Die Hard - Hard Enough To Feel The Pain

Why is it so tough to quit something that is bad, usually it is something that is soooo good too?

You know what I mean; chocolate, alcohol, laziness, even what you eat for breakfast.

We all have habitual actions that we often feel a little embarrassed by, such as buying a chocolate bar and a can of coke every time you go to the petrol station to fill the car up...

That one used to be one of my worse habits, I just knew it was not good for me, but I just couldn't quit it. It was like I was on auto pilot.

Do you get home from work, immediately turn on the TV instead of doing your workout?

Do you go out on a Friday and Saturday night, just because it is the weekend, and then spend the rest of the weekend in bed regretting your excesses?

One of the biggest challenges as a fitness professional is to get my clients to change their eating habits so that it compliments their training efforts. One common hang up relates to breakfast, getting them to stop eating cereal based breakfasts is like putting a heroine addict through cold turkey!

The problem is our bad habits can cause us a myriad of health problems, such as weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, a weak immune system, and poor structural health. All of which cause a great deal of misery.

Brain researchers at MIT in the US have discovered that once a poor habit is established, certain neural patterns are created in the brain which ingrain the habit to becoming almost completely automatic.

We just don't even think about the action, we just do it. These patterns can be erased just as readily as they are created in the first place, BUT the patterns can be rekindled much quicker the next time round.

Obvious stuff really, when you think about how many people relapse back into a smoking habit, or poor nutritional habits.

Breaking habits can be tough though.

The fear of social alienation if you stop smoking (where will you get the office gossip from, if you are not smoking with your co-workers!). Not going out on a Friday night can cause a similar fear.

Not having that glass of wine with your evening meal each night, it has become so ingrained that you would feel uncomfortable if only water was available.

Thankfully there are solutions to these problems, and it is not just down to will power. Pattern breaking is simply a matter of becoming more conscious of each action that you take. A simple example:

Do you drive the same route to work each and every day? I bet on many days the journey to work does not even register, it is just like you are on auto pilot. You have no idea of how many cars cut you up, or even if you indicated at the right moments, or even indicated at all!

Breaking this habit is a simple act of deciding to take a different route to work. I have about 5 different routes to the gym and have actually gone further out of my way, just to get in a new route, it keeps me focused.

For the more serious issue of eating and drinking habits, simply get into the habit of stopping just before you consume something and make a judgment on the quality of the item you are about to eat or drink. I use a 3 point grade A, B or C type foods.

A's are your good clean foods like fresh fruit and veg, meat, fish and water plus some diary items like eggs too.

B's are not so good, slightly processed products including breads, pasta, cereal based products

C's are the junk food, including sodas, highly processed items like cakes, chips, burgers, pizzas etc.

This simple process makes me more conscious of my food choices, allowing me to make better choices and ones that compliment my exercise habits.

One other common poor habit is laziness or procrastination from exercise, this is because you may associate exercise with hard work, pain, or you have low self efficacy. To break this habit you may find it useful to find a purpose for actually doing your workouts...

Getting involved in a sport may just give the reason you need to start doing your workouts.

Rather than simply working out to lose weight, why not make your workouts more focused towards a sport, so that you improve your speed, agility, flexibility, balance and strength. You may just find that the side benefit is that you'll lose that weight after all.

One of my current clients came to me a few months ago with really poor motivation, the habit to workout just wasn't working. It was becoming a real struggle to get to the gym to do the workouts.

I simply asked her one question - has there ever been a sport that you thought would be just so cool to do? Immediately I saw a spark of excitement in her face, she told me she always wanted to do rock climbing, but never had the belief that she could do it. Fantastic we had just found her motivation.

Two weeks later after the change of focus and some adjustment to her routines, she joined a local club and got right back into the workout habit. 30 days later she had dropped a dress size and was really enjoying her time in the gym, plus doing great with the climbing too!

So you see habits can be broken down, simply by recognizing the patterns, then making a conscious decision to do or try something else. Yes it is NOT easy, but don't you think your life would be fuller, richer, more interesting if you didn't spend so much time on autopilot?

So start right now, decide what different route you are going to take to work tomorrow, stop yourself before consuming anything and really SEE what you are eating, and start making better exercise habits by changing the focus to an outcome that really excites you!

The best of luck

by Tim Goodwin

Tim is a fitness professional specialising in help the busiest people achieve more with their amateur sporting interests, and at the same time ridding them of excess body fat.

Based in Luxembourg, Tim writes about general fitness for keeping in shape, sports training for non professional sports people, goal achievement strategies and many other topics.

Visit http://www.getfit.lu/success.html to get a free 18 page report "How to lose weight even when you are really busy" containing a full 4 week program which you can start today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Goodwin

Exercise Does Not Have To be Complicated. Just Move And Burn Those Calories!

A Few Simple Ways to Burn Your Calories

It is not always necessary to run 15 miles each day to burn some real calories. It may be tiring as well as boring doing the same thing every morning. A better idea is to engage oneself in physical activity each and every week.

This way you will be able to create a solid base to ensure that you can build a successful exercise program. The following simple exercises can be included as a part of that program.

It is important to know how the calories are burned during an activity. It depends on both the weight of the person, as well as the intensity. The following are estimates for the number of calories burned for an average 150 pound person during an hour of activity.

If you are walking briskly, expect to burn about 300 calories.

Basketball is a great way to spend calories. You can burn well over 450 calories in an hour.

If you have to clean your house, why not do it with optimism? Light cleaning consumes about 240 calories an hour.

Do you have a green thumb? Yes, gardening uses about 324 calories!

Golfing on the weekends is a favorite pastime of many. 385 calories are burned if you carry your clubs! Forefront!

Put a stationary bike in front of the television. You’ll be burning 380 calories an hour while you catch up on the latest news.

Are you a fan of the aerobics class at the local gym? Great if you are, because this activity uses 405 calories for just an hour of sweating.

Also, that elliptical trainer can burn an amazing 630 an hour!!

Even ping-pong has healthy benefits! This activity uses 280 calories per hour.

Apart from the above ways of burning calories, there are some other activities doing which we start burning calories unknowingly. Like a mother or a person with children knows that chasing after these little ones can burn calories. The number probably depends on just how wild that kid is, but that can certainly count.

Hey, if nothing else, even sleeping burns calories. You’ll be using up 45 for just an hour! But that’s not an excuse to take a nap! Actually being active as much as you can is the master key to weight loss success as well as leading a healthy life.

No dieting or medicine can cover up the requirement of physical activity or exercise if you are considering a healthy lifestyle or a good shape of your body.

Burn those extra calories. Follow the simple ways to bring positive change in your life style to ensure a healthy life and beautiful body and mind. You can make it a success, as we say where there is a will, there is a way.

by Isabel Hayek

The author, Isabel Hayek, addresses health and fitness related issues. If you wish to seek help for your fitness related problems, you can log on to http://www.adipexpower.com for more information and advice.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Isabel_Hayek