Currently the diet industry rakes in around £20 million a year! This can be from diet books, DVDs, gyms, classes and fad diet plans. However, with obesity still on the increase in the UK, it's clear that a lot of those millions are wasted. So, what's the solution?
Well, I think that good old fashioned exercise can help you shift those excess pounds and get your body in tip top shape, inside and out! Firstly, if you haven't exercised for years don't rush into, as you'll do yourself more damage than good. Start small and aim to increase your fitness gradually.
It's a fact that the healthiest way to lose weight is neither crash diets, nor bursts of exercise; the body likes slow changes in terms of both. So, if a few hours of sweating hard at the gym doesn't take your fancy, don't worry, as experts suggest that a healthy amount of exercise would be around 30 minutes each day. This can be achieved in short 10-minute bursts, such as walking the dog, or getting off a few bus stops early!
Reasons To Increase Your Exercise
- Increasing your exercise will not only help you to achieve weight loss goals, but it will also burn off those excess calories and clear your system, as well as making you feel great!
- Being physically active can boost good mental health to help you manage stress, anxiety and even depression
- Exercise promotes a healthy heart, as it reduces several cardiovascular risks, including high blood pressure
- A variety in your exercise helps with digestion, poor posture and sleeplessness and physical activities can also benefit a range of medical conditions, from diabetes to back pain
- It will help to maintain a healthy ideal weight and increase your self-esteem
- Exercise attracts exercise! Once your energy levels start to rise, you'll begin to feel more energetic, therefore enjoying being more active. Also, exercisers find themselves less tempted to touch junk food.
- Exercise not only improves your physical appearance on the outside, but it will also increase your circulation and lymphatic drainage, to rid of unwanted toxins within the body
Five Simple Steps
During each day look out for new ways to exercise, or note down what other actives you would like to try. Here are our five steps to exercise…
- Make The Effort- take the stairs instead of the lift, walk up escalators, or even walk to the shops instead of taking the car.
- Stretch Your Legs- try walking for 10 minutes during your lunch break, instead of that second coffee.
- Park and Walk- if you do need to drive to work, try parking a little further and adding extra walking on to your journey.
- Crunch in Bed- try 10 stomach crunches in bed before you get up. Each day aim to increase until you finally reach 100!
- Warm Up- always stretch and warm up before any exercise, otherwise you may feel very achy and stiff the next day!
Finally, if you need some motivation, here's some food for thought:
- According to a 2006 Department of Health Report, by 2010 a third of men will be obese
- Worryingly it is predicted that by 2010 22% of girls and 19% of boys between the ages of two and 15 will be obese
- Between 2003 and 2006, obesity in adults rose by nearly 40%
- Obesity is responsible for 9,000 premature deaths each year in the UK, and is a major contributing factor to heart disease
