I read a survey report the other day that said 95% of all dieters regain their lost weight within one to five years.
Today we are surrounded by advice on what to eat from government guidelines, slimming clubs and magazines adorning the shelves of the supermarket. The slimming industry is worth over £2 billion per year.
Nutrition is very important. But, it is only part of the equation. In any programme to lose weight, lifestyle and exercise are equally important.
During the school holidays the other week I went for a walk around the country park. There were a few people out walking the dog and a couple of families braving the brief sunshine for a picnic. Where was everyone else ?
Exercise can have a tremendous effect on feeling better, and helping shift those ‘handles’. 70% of the energy we burn every day is just due to our metabolic rate. This, in turn, is mainly dependent upon our lean tissue mass. Simply put, a fitter and stronger person will burn more calories at rest – in addition to any exercise they do.
As we get older, we naturally lose muscle tissue and so it gets harder to shift those pounds, unless we do something about it.
Some diets can also actually have a negative effect upon our metabolic rate. Our bodies are very clever at adapting to different situations. The wrong diet can trick them going into a ‘starvation’ mode and our metabolism will actually slow down!
Only by improving your metabolic rate with exercise together with the correct diet can you change your body into a high performance fat burning machine – whatever your age.
