The Way to Wellness

It's time to start a healthy life!

How many times have you gone to sleep at night, swearing you'll go
to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight
hours later because when you get up, you don't feel like exercising?

While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn't mean you should
drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit. What people
need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical
for long-term health and wellness -- and that an ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure. The more you know about how your body
responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a
nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you. When you eat well,
increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper
intensity, you are informing your body that you want to burn a
substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more
efficiently for energy. In other words, proper eating habits plus
exercise equals fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy
throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less
effort.

The true purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the
body asking for improvement in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity
and overall fitness and health. Each time you exercise, your body
responds by upgrading its capabilities to burn fat throughout the day
and night, Exercise doesn't have to be intense to work for you, but
it does need to be consistent.

I recommend engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times
per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training
four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced
approach provides a one-two punch, incorporating aerobic exercise to
burn fat and deliver more oxygen, and resistance training to increase
lean body mass and burn more calories around the block.

Here's a sample exercise program that may work for you:

* Warm Up -- seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity intended
to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm-up your tendons and
joints.

* Resistance Training -- Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets
of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets.

* Aerobic Exercise -- Pick two favorite activities, they could be
jogging, rowing, biking or cross-country skiing, whatever fits your
lifestyle. Perform 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue
with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five
minutes.

* Stretching -- Wrap up your exercise session by stretching, breathing
deeply, relaxing and meditating.

When starting an exercise program, it is important to have realistic
expectations. Depending on your initial fitness level, you should expect
the following changes early on.

* From one to eight weeks -- Feel better and have more energy.

* From two to six months -- Lose clothing size and inches while becoming
leaner. Clothes begin to fit more loosely. You are gaining muscle and
losing fat.

* After six months -- Start losing weight quite rapidly.

Once you make the commitment to exercise several times a week, don't
stop there. You should also change your diet and/or eating habits.
Counting calories or calculating grams and percentages for certain
nutrients is impractical. Instead, I suggest these easy-to-follow
guidelines:

* Eat several small meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks
throughout the day.
* Make sure every meal is balanced -- incorporate palm-sized proteins like
lean meats, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of
complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread and pasta, wild rice,
multigrain cereal and potatoes, and fist-sized portions of vegetables and
fruits.
* Limit your fat intake to only what's necessary for adequate flavor.
* Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water throughout the day.
* Take a multi-vitamin each day to ensure you are getting all the vitamins
and minerals your body needs.
* Enjoy life.