Diet and Exercise - Secrets Of Good Health

A balanced diet and physical activity are the two time-tested secrets of good health. If you are overweight and want to shed some pounds, regular exercise has repeatedly proven itself as the most effective way to achieve permanent weight loss. Though dieting can often help you reach your weight loss goals quicker and more drastically, you will eventually gain back all of the weight lost during your diets once you get back into your old eating habits. Rather than entering the cycle of yo-yo dieting and rapid gains and losses, it is much more sensible and healthy to gradually change your eating habits, and to embark on a fun and consistent exercise program.

For years, a low-fat or low-calorie diet was considered the only cure for obesity. However, these diets tended to increase your appetite. Now, it's been determined that a low-carb diet is more practical and effective. Low-carb diets are low in carbohydrates and higher in proteins, fats
and oils. You appetite remains under control because fatty foods satisfy the cravings most people have. By eating a diet higher in fat actually increases weight loss faster than if you were fasting. You should avoid trans-fats and only eat fats such as olive oil and flax seed oil

A low-carb diet is high in fat and protein. No diet should be attempted without physical activity. Being active does not mean working yourself to exhaustion. Any type of physical activity is sufficient, especially if you were a couch potato. Little changes like adding fifteen minutes
of exercise a daily can have a positive effect. Being motivated is one of the biggest problems dieters have. Once you begin to see the changes in your body, you'll be motivated to spend more time exercising.

Before starting a weight loss exercise program, you should first consult with your doctor to assess your cardiovascular health to insure that your body can take the strain of
exercise. Let the doctor decide how much you should do and how much is too much.

If you are considering starting an excise program for the first time, you might want to think about joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer. Free classes of aerobics and stair-stepping are usually offered to their members. Some gyms also offer yoga and kickboxing.

It is important to remember when exercising that you should focus on getting healthy more than the numbers on your scale. Many people gain a little weight when they first begin an exercise program because they are building muscle. As a rule, muscle weighs more than fat. As you gain muscle you'll start burning more calories and fat. So even if you choose not to diet and only exercise, you can still loose weight. It is also important to eat well balanced healthy
meals to sustain you through your workout sessions.