Health Topics for Exercise and Fitness

Smoking Cessation

Exercise and weight control

Do you want to be successful in controlling your weight? Then eat low-fat foods and burn more calories by exercising. The body burns calories 24 hours a day. Any activity burns more calories than sleeping or sitting. Exercise burns the most calories. Losing fat is a slow process that requires appropriate habits for both dieting and exercise.

Overweight people burn fewer calories than fit people. They have lower metabolisms. Their bodies are less efficient at burning calories and more efficient at storing them. Fit people burn extra calories before they store any as fat in the body. Exercise changes metabolism. Regular exercise allows overweight people to lose fat and control their weight.

There are some important questions to ask when you add exercise to your lifestyle: Which activity, how often, how hard, and how long? The most effective workout program includes both aerobic exercise and strength training. The combination yields faster fat loss at any age as your body burns fat for fuel. Aerobic exercise increases metabolism. Strength training, or weight training, builds muscle. Your heart rate, speed, strength, and metabolism all improve as you get fitter and trimmer.

The phrase "No pain, no gain" is not true. Avoid intense pain. Do not try to whip yourself into shape in just a few weeks, because it does not work. It takes months to achieve permanent fat loss in a healthy way. Quick weight loss through dieting alone is not just fat loss. It is really a combination of water, muscle, and fat loss. The bathroom scale cannot tell the difference. This is why it is important to adopt regular physical exercise into your daily lifestyle. It takes time to achieve your weight loss and fitness goals, and maintaining them is a lifelong process.

Get a medical checkup before you start any exercise program. If you are a beginner, consider working with a certified exercise leader. He or she will prescribe a proper workout program for your health condition and teach you to exercise safely.

Choose physical and exercise activities that you enjoy and that are readily accessible.

Last Reviewed: 2005

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

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