Exercising To Maximize Weight Loss Over Forty
by Roy Gutierrez
(USA)
by fitcoach
You remember a time when dropping a few pounds was just a matter of eating less and jogging a few miles daily. It was not difficult, all you did was tell yourself you wanted to look better for some event on your social calendar about thirty days away. If you applied a little discipline and structure over a period of time the weight would come off. At the time you were only in your mid to late teens or maybe in your twenties. Now you are a mature adult over forty. Is it just as easy to drop those few extra pounds or more twenty years later?
Now at this stage of your life it may be more challenging to take the weight off. This is likely due to how you are current living apart from naturally occurring changes in your body as you age or your genetics. Do you find yourself sitting more? You sit when you are driving to work. You sit at your desk. You sit when you are driving home. You eat more high calorie processed foods to save time. Grocery shopping and preparing your meals can be very time consuming, unless you plan ahead. When you are in a hurry you skip some meals. You skip eating breakfast often. So apart from your age and your genetics it seems your lifestyle has changed considerably. Your eating habits and activity level could use an overhaul.
Many adults in America do not exercise enough to utilize the calories they consume on a daily basis. This could lead to many health issues. This can also impact how you feel and how you look. Your ability to function physically can be severely diminished if you have too much excess fat on your body. For women especially, self-esteem issues regarding their body image can result from carrying too much body fat on their belly, hips and thighs. Starting an exercise program specific to these issues is of great positive significance to your overall health and well being.
At the start of your exercise program, it is advisable to start out slowly. First you need to make sure you will not place too much of an overload on your cardiovascular system. Be sure to get your doctor to give you an idea of what type of condition your heart is in. If you can walk for ten minutes without stopping go to twenty then eventually thirty and so on over a period of a few weeks. Slowly build up to an hour daily. Pick a form of exercise you enjoy such as dancing, swimming or bike riding. Just keep in mind the same progressive increase in the duration of the exercise applies.
Approximately six to eight weeks later, add in some basic strength training exercises. If you do not know how to perform strength exercises you can always hire a trainer or get an exercise video. As you are developing your exercise base you should also focus on learning about proper nutrition. The idea is to eat for nourishment and energy. You can still have your treats but keep it on the low end of your food list if it is high in fat, sugar and salt. In other words eat more wholesome natural foods, stay away from foods which can be easily stored as excess fat on your body.
Presumably at forty years of age you are middle aged, provided you will live to be eighty. There is no need to exercise aggressively. The goal is to be consistent with your exercise. Compliment your exercise efforts by eating accordingly to expedite the loss of excess body fat.
If you are doing everything to build up your heart, bones, muscles, improve your posture and energy you will actually be increasing your natural life span. Burning off unwanted fat will be incidental to improving your health and longevity so that even at eighty years of age you will still look and function as if you were much younger.
About the Author
Roy Gutierrez is a Certified Personal Trainer and Online Fitness Coach. His clients can get fit, win cash prizes and get free tips on weight loss and fitness at http://www.stayfitcoaching.com/
