TO LOSE WEIGHT MORE EXERCISE IS THE KEY

8 MOTIVATIONAL TIPS Compiled by Jodi Stolove

"For the sake of your health as well as your weight, exercise should become as routine a part of your life as brushing your teeth."

1. Exercise is an appetite suppressant, sometimes delaying the return of hunger for hours.

2. Exercise triggers the release in the brain of natural tranquilizing chemicals called endorphins, resulting in the relief of tension or depression that may prompt you to overeat.

3. Exercise builds up muscle tissue which burns calories at a higher rate than body fat. This makes it possible to eat more without gaining or to lose more rapidly without changing caloric intake.

4. Because muscle tissue takes up less space than the same weight of fat, active people look thinner than their sedentary counterpart who weigh the same. So even if you do not lose any weight, exercise will make you trimmer.

5. For up to 15 hours after exercise the body continues to burn calories at a higher rate than it would have without exercise. In other words, exercise raises the body's idling speed for hours after exercise is over.

6. Fat is lost from the body almost exclusively by being burned in muscles. The only way you are ever going to lose fat is if your muscles burn it as fuel. In other words, you need to exercise!

7. Consistent aerobic exercise reduces body fat, lowers blood concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides, increases levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, may reduce high blood pressure and lower blood sugar levels.

8. Remember the 3 A's - Accessible, Available, and paid in Advance! Make sure the fitness program you choose is pratical and convenient. Do things you enjoy. Variety is both physically and psychologically advantageous.

Fitness Q & A by Jodi Stolove, Fitness Expert

QUESTION: I make up my mind to start exercising, I make a plan of what I'm going to do, and then I have trouble sticking to my plan. In fact, often I do a lot of exercise for a week or two and then I can't seem to motivate myself to do anything at all. How can I keep this from happening and stay motivated to exercise?

ANSWER: I talk to many people who describe the same pattern you do. They come to me all psyched up! They describe to me what they intend to do. "I think I should do 1 hour of exercise first thing everyday!" Then they try sticking to their plan for a few days, maybe even a week or two, and then they "burn out". Especially when this pattern occurs every time you have the good intention to exercise, this becomes a self-defeating losing battle. Sound familiar?

Here's how to break this losing pattern:

Set yourself up to win.  Begin making exercise a part of your life by setting small, attainable exercise goals. A goal such as, "1 hour of exercise first thing everyday" is too big of a goal. It is unrealistic and unattainable and therefore, self-defeating. Set smaller goals. It is always better to exceed your goal and set yourself up to win, than to fall short of your goal and set yourself up to fail.

Ease into exercise.  Remember, some is better than none at all. If you overdo exercise you obscure the reward of exercise with pain. Painful muscle soreness or fatigue is your body's way of telling you you are doing too much, too soon!

Listen to your body.  Start slowly and respect your body's signals. Find the best time of day for your body to feel like exercising. Do what feels comfortable at the time. Some days your energy is better than others.

Let exercise be a present you give yourself.  Reframe the way you look at exercise. Rather than "making yourself exercise", let exercise be a "want to" rather than a "should" or "have to". Often what we tell ourselves about something affects our attitude and feeling around it. When you release exercise from being a "have to" to "a should" it can begin to assume a different part in your life. Exercise is time you take for yourself, for your health and vitality.

Replace the word "exercise" with "play".  Exercise is recreation. Let exercise activities become a part of your leisure time. Find things you enjoy, that you like to do, that feel good to your body. Try Chair Dancing® as a fun and playful way to exercise.

Make exercise social time.  Have an exercise buddy to help keep up the motivation and commitment.

Make exercise convenient.  Put on exercise shoes and clothes and start doing it! Or, sit down on your chair in any shoes and clothing and start Chair Dancing®. Getting going is the hard part. Just doing it may be just what you need to get started.

Don't Be a Couch Potato!