Weight Control: Exercise together with
Diet
Hard work is
often thought to be a form of exercise. It
is and it isn’t. One does burn calories
moving about, lugging supplies, standing,
and walking from one desk to another, but a
consistent program is needed to effect
weight loss.
Aerobics is a
form of exercise when muscles learn to use
oxygen efficiently. It involves rhythmic
muscle contraction sufficient to get the
heart rate up and sustain the level. That
level is approximated when one begins to
perspire. It also is attained when talking
more than a phrase at a time leaves one
breathless. The enzyme system within the
long muscles of our limbs is the factory
which burns calories to cause weight loss.
Muscles make
up almost half of our body weight. When we
build up muscle mass through aerobic
exercise and weight training, the
calories in the foods we eat are burned
supplying energy for muscles activity. The
more calories burned the more weight one
loses.
Exercise burns
carbohydrates and fats. The more we
exercise, the more fat is burned leaving us
more fit and thin. The metabolic enzymes are
in muscle, none in fat. Unfit people are
more fat and less muscle. Women with more
than 30% body fat, men with more than 20%
body fat, cannot burn calories well. Thus on
the same caloric intake, fat folks may gain
weight, while thin people may lose weight.
It’s all in the muscle mass!
Dieting alone
is not going to prove effective. One may
lose water weight, but sadly, also muscle
mass. Remember the less muscle mass, the
greater one must restrict calories to lose
weight.
It is best to
develop a program with one’s doctor, a
nutritionist, and start out with a fitness
instructor. Otherwise, join a local athletic
club or Saturday walking group and be
consistent in attendance.
Interestingly, once the
program starts working, new healthy habits
come more easy. It’s breaking through the
initial 5 pounds that is roughest. Once
successful, watch you start wearing those
high school outfits once again.
Bill Ziering
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