By Susan Carey
If you really want to achieve optimal health, you have got to get a move on, at least a couple of times per week. There is little argument in the scientific community regarding exercise complementary role to diet in the prevention of numerous diseases and chronic conditions. Simple walking on a regular basis can help prevent osteoporosis in some women, and some form of cardiovascular exercise helps to strengthen the heart muscle and many of your other muscles for the long haul ahead. Keeping active in the here and now helps ensure that you will be able to remain active when you are older.
How do diet and exercise work together to promote health? If you are exercising, but eating a high-fat diet, plaque can still develop in your arteries, and you are still at risk for numerous types of cancers. Conversely, if you take the step to cut your fat, you are still taking in a couple thousand calories per day. If your daily exercise consists of walking from the car into the office in the morning, you are not burning off too many of those calories. You may lose a few pounds, but you won't want to keep yourself on such a restrictive diet, and you may find yourself slipping. Eventually, you will probably gain all that weight back, losing your grip on better health. What's more, as we age, our metabolism slows, meaning that your body will be using even fewer of those calories if you don't do anything to work them off.
We know that not all of us are cut out for the health club scene and not all of us are gifted athletes. This matters very little, as there are many more physical activities in life than hitting the basketball court. For those who want to include exercise in their lifestyle but don't want to train for a triathlon, walking is a sensible alternative. A thirty-minute walk every day or a one-hour walk three or four times per week will cover about eight miles and, more important, improve muscle tone and burn up about 1,000 calories. Add a low-fat vegetarian diet to that, and you have got a start at a formidable plan to be healthy.
The only way you will stick with an exercise program is to find something that you like doing. If you like to jog every morning, by all means do it. But if you'd like something more low impact, you don't have to look very far to find it. Do you like to dance? Do you like to play tag with your children or take your dog on long walks around the neighborhood? Once you get into an enjoyable routine of exercise, it will be something that you look forward to on a daily basis. And weight loss won't be the only indication that your body is undergoing a change. You will look better, you'll feel better, and you will probably be able to handle the stresses of your day better. Exercise is not only healthful for the body, but it is also therapeutic for the mind.
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