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Healthy Diet Plans >>  Diet and Weight Loss >>  Exercise and weight loss
Exercise and weight loss

    
Obesity is a very widespread concern all over the world and the fact that there are a few countries that have even termed it as a pandemic only serves to prove that very point. While the most obvious initial negatives of being overweight or obese is purely aesthetic, a lot of affected individuals are oblivious of the severe medical complications that are developing within their bodies. Unfortunately, the symptoms of many of these complications only come to the fore when the condition is more or less out of control. Serious condition like heart and respiratory illnesses should not be taken lightly as they can be lethal when ignored while another very common problem that obese individuals suffer from is the intense pain that develops in the joints and muscles as a direct result of the excess weight that they are required to carry. When attempting to lose the additional weight, it helps to understand and know the various factors that influence its development in the first place.
While some people can blame genetics and hereditary as the root cause of the condition, most people will find that the root cause of the condition is actually a tendency to overeat as well as a distinct lack of physical exercise. Because of the high paced lives that most of us live in today’s world, indulging in the tasty fast foods that are easily available are a matter of great convenience. However, most of these fast foods contain what are known as empty calories that do nothing more for the body other than add on to the layers of fat – thereby causing obesity.  

‘Calories’ is a term that is often bandied about during health and weight related conversations and, unfortunately, are largely misunderstood. Most people are misinformed that calories are the real cause of obesity and are constituents of food that should be kept to a bare minimum. The truth is, however, that calories are a very important part of your dietary intake as they are the primary building blocks for the energy created by the body. The problem arises when an individual consumes foods that have an excessive amount of calories – excessive being in relation to what the body’s requirement is at. The extra calories are then converted into fat cells and stored in the fatty tissues of the body. The empty calories that are present in fast foods like burgers and hot dogs are called so because they provide no nutritional value and cannot be converted into energy by the body – thereby causing them to be only converted into fat cells that are stored in the tissues of the body.

Exercise and weight loss go hand in hand and undertaking any of the many recommended exercise plans will help you lose a significant amount of weight as long as it is coupled with the right kind of nutrition. Losing weight does not happen over night so exercising fast will not prompt immediate weight loss. The key is primarily in endurance and the amount of exercise you perform over a longer period of time. Understanding some basic principles of an exercise program and weight loss will help you achieve surprising results when it comes to ones weight. For example, in order to lose one pound of fat, one needs to burn approximately about 3500 calories in addition to what you currently burn as part of your daily activities. Understanding the various factors that play a role in weight loss such as your metabolism as well as your activity levels and the calories you consume on a daily basis will all help you achieve the desired results much faster and with more purpose.

Submitted on September 23, 2010