Have you ever found yourself promising to hit the gym in the morning, only to change your mind when the alarm goes off because you lack the motivation? While this is a common experience, it doesn’t mean you should give up entirely on your fitness journey. It’s crucial to recognize that staying active and maintaining a balanced diet are vital for long-term health and well-being. Prevention is always better than cure.
The more you understand how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better equipped you are to personalize a nutrition and exercise plan that suits you. By nourishing your body with wholesome food, increasing physical activity, and exercising at an appropriate intensity, you are signaling your body to efficiently burn stored fuel, i.e., fat, for energy.
In simpler terms, adopting healthy eating habits and regular exercise results in a faster metabolism, which boosts your energy levels throughout the day and allows you to engage in physical activities with greater ease.
Exercise serves as a consistent message to your body, asking for improvements in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity, overall fitness, and health. Every time you work out, your body responds by enhancing its ability to burn fat round-the-clock. Exercise doesn’t have to be excessively intense, but it does need to be consistent.
Health professionals recommend incorporating regular cardiovascular exercise four times a week, with each session lasting 20 to 30 minutes. Additionally, engage in resistance training four times a week, allocating 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced approach provides a dual benefit—cardiovascular exercise burns fat and increases oxygen delivery, while resistance training builds lean muscle mass and burns more calories over time.
Here’s a sample exercise program that may suit your needs:
1. Warm-up: Spend seven to eight minutes on light aerobic activities to increase blood flow, lubricate your tendons and joints, and warm up your body.
2. Resistance Training: Target all major muscle groups. Perform one to two sets of each exercise with a 45-second rest between sets.
3. Aerobic Exercise: Choose two activities you enjoy, such as jogging, rowing, biking, or cross-country skiing, based on your lifestyle. Complete 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five minutes.
4. Stretching: Conclude your exercise session with stretching exercises, deep breathing, relaxation techniques, and meditation.
When embarking on an exercise program, it’s important to have realistic expectations. Depending on your initial fitness level, you can anticipate the following changes in the early stages:
- Within one to eight weeks: Experience an improved sense of well-being and increased energy levels.
- From two to six months: Notice a reduction in size and inches, as you become leaner. Your clothes will start fitting more loosely, indicating the loss of fat and the gain of muscle.
- After six months: Begin losing weight more rapidly.
Committing to exercise multiple times a week is a great start, but don’t stop there. It’s equally important to make changes to your diet and eating habits, according to Zwiefel. Instead of complex calorie counting or nutrient calculations, consider following these straightforward guidelines:
- Consume several small meals throughout the day (ideally four), along with a couple of small snacks.
- Ensure each meal is well-balanced, including palm-sized portions of lean proteins (such as lean meats, fish, egg whites, and dairy products), fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates (like whole-wheat bread, pasta, wild rice, and multigrain cereal), and fist-sized portions of vegetables and fruits.
- Limit your fat intake to what is necessary for flavor.
- Stay hydrated by drinking at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water per day.
