Top 10 Reasons Not to Diet

Top 10 Reasons Not to Diet

Are you carrying a little extra weight around the middle?  Maybe you’ve got more than just a little weight problem maybe it’s a rather large one and you need to get rid of the fat for health reasons.  Rest assured that you’re not alone! 
When you are overweight, it’s a serious issue.  Carrying extra weight can make you more susceptible to heart problems, diabetes, stroke, and various types of cancer.  It can also affect your body image as well thus causing problems with your self-esteem. 

1.  Diets don’t work. Dieters don’t lose weight in a lasting way. 
Dieting causes short-term weight loss, continuing no more than six months, followed by
weight regain. Often more weight is gained than was lost. (Studies show people who diet
are more likely to become overweight than those who eat normally.)

2.  Dieting can cause lasting injury and death. 
Sudden death from heart arrhythmia or electrolyte imbalance is a real risk. Each year dieting is related to severe health damage and deaths in the United States.

3.  Dieting disrupts normal body processes.
Rapid weight loss puts the body into a stressful, defensive state. The body tries to protect itself against weight loss by lowering metabolism, heart rate, temperature and sexual function. In addition, there is a drop in intellectual, emotional and social activity.

4.  Dieting causes weight cycling (yo-yoing up and down). 
Research shows higher death rates are associated with weight cycling.

5.  Dieters often feel tired, lightheaded, and have difficulty concentrating. 
They may lack essential nutrients, including high quality iron, zinc, protein and sufficient calories.

6.  Dieting leads to binge eating, disordered and chaotic eating. 
Dieting disrupts normal eating. Dieters override inner signals of hunger and satiety, so they may no longer know when they are hungry or when they are full, and eat accordingly.

7.  Dieting is the primary precursor to eating disorders. 
Many experts believe the increasingly high rate of eating disorders in the U.S. is due, at least in part, to the high percentage of people who are dieting and restricting food.

8.  Dieting causes food preoccupation. 
People who diet spend more time thinking about food and eating. This 'drive to eat'when food is limited is believed to be a natural survival trait defending against starvation.

9.  Dieting diminishes women, and increasingly men and children. 
Dieting focuses attention on appearance, rather than self-worth, talent and personal fulfillment. And unfortunately, dieting mothers become role models for dieting children.

10. Dieters put their lives on hold, 'waiting to be thin.'
Instead of playing the anticipation game, accept yourself and others. You’re okay, just as you are. Move on to healthy living live actively, eat well, feel good about yourself  and let weight come off as a result, or not. You deserve the best, right now.

Top Ten Reasons to Exercise

Top Ten Reasons to Exercise

#1. Feel more energized  
When engaging in physical activity, the blood vessels that go to your muscles dilate, causing an increase in blood flow and oxygen to the working muscles. This, along with a temporary increase in your metabolic rate, causes you to feel more energized. This “burst of energy” not only occurs during exercise, but also after you exercise. For example, working out in the morning or afternoon will cause you to feel energized throughout the day. Even if you are an evening exerciser, you will still burn just as many calories and feel better!

#2. Burn more calories at rest
Cardiovascular and resistance exercises are equally important when it comes to making a workout plan and burning calories. Doing cardiovascular work such as running, walking, or biking results in a temporary rise in your metabolic rate. Thus, compared to being in a resting state, you will burn more calories per minute when performing cardiovascular work.Furthermore, by doing resistance exercises such as weight machines or free-weights, you will increase your muscle mass. Muscle burns far more calories at rest than fat does, so by becoming more muscular, you are increasing your resting metabolic rate.

#3. Improve overall appearance  
Not only can exercise help you feel better, but it will help you look better as well. Along with eating a healthy diet and utilizing effective stress management, you can look your best by becoming toned and defined. However, you need to remember that genetics play a major part in what we look like. For example, a person can be a healthy eater, exercise daily, be a non-smoker and a non-drinker, and STILL have high cholesterol because it is in their genetic makeup. The same goes for how a person looks. Some individuals are born into a family with genetically larger “frames.”  These people are sometimes called “big boned.”  If your parents happen to be short and small-framed, more than likely you will be, too. There is little we can change about our genetics, but we can make healthy and happy choices with the bodies we have.

#4. Be able to withstand stress
Recent research has shown exercise to be a stress reliever. There are many reasons to explain why. One includes the fact that exercise increases the hormone epinephrine, another name for adrenaline. This hormone is responsible for an increase in blood flow, which carries more oxygen to the brain, thus making you more alert. Being more alert and aware of your surroundings helps you to deal with stress effectively. Also,exercise stimulates the release of other hormones called endorphins, or the “feel good hormones.” These help to improve mood and feelings. Many people find that they feel better after a stressful day if they exercise.

#5. Decrease risk of illness
Exercise builds up and improves circulation of our white blood cells, which we need to fend off harmful bacteria that cause us to get sick. This helps to prevent us from getting sick. owever, after we become ill, our improved circulation due to regular exercise can help us become well again.

#6. Speed up recovery from injury or surgery
By exercising daily and living a healthy lifestyle, your body can better repair itself from damage done by injury or surgery. When you increase muscle tissue and white blood cells by exercising, your body is better able to reduce inflammation that occurs from injury and surgery.

#7. Keep focused
Being able to stayed focus when engaged in everyday life activities is very important in order for your day to go as planned. By exercising regularly and eating healthfully, blood flow is improved and your hormones are at optimum levels, thus increasing your ability to concentrate.

#8. Build up cardiovascular endurance
Everyone knows that if you study hard for a test, you will more than likely do well. The same concept applies when we say we are “getting into shape.” You have to build up your cardiovascular system through endurance activity in order to have an efficient circulatory system. Regular physical activity not only strengthens your heart muscle and improves your blood’s oxygen carrying capacity, but also improves your breathing and muscular contractions.

#9. Improve flexibility
By stretching before and after exercise your muscles become more elastic, improving your overall range of motion or flexibility. Another way to improve flexibility is to engage in a yoga or Pilates class.

#10. Increase lean body mass 
Increasing lean mass is important because it reduces your body fat and increases your metabolic rate. If you perform cardiovascular exercise most days of the week and resistance exercises 2-4 days of the week, you will increase muscle mass while decreasing fat mass!