Want to shape up? Become a new and better you!
How many people do you know that made a New Years Resolution to better their health, go to the gym more, eat more vegetables, or stop eating fast food. How many people have already given up?! I bet more than half, and if they have not given up yet they may be coming close!
I don't mean to be a nay sayer or a negative Nancy, but it is true! Every year people start declaring resolutions without any plan or actual commitment to these positive changes. I, for one, am a big supported of resolutions, because they are truly a way for people to actively try to improve their lives! That sounds AMAZING!
Well if losing weight and looking hotter than hell is not enough motivation to get your booty moving, I don't know what is! BUT I do know that research has shown that regular physical activity may be "THE best preventive drug we have" for many health problems. Well that is good news :). Our country is so focused on our health care system, prescription drugs, and fixing our health once it has already gone to shiza! Excuse my language <3 PREVENTIVE medicine is where it is at! Take care of your body now so that you do not have "fix" your body later.
Studies have shown that consistent exercise can help to control weight (duhhh), but also helps reduce the risk of early death, lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, cognitive decline, and depression! Not only can you help yourself NOT get sick or depressed but if you just workout everyday for as little as 30 minutes you can IMPROVE your sleep, mood, concentration and memory!
Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician at New York city's Hospital for Special Surgery and the author of The Exercise Cure states, that exercise "works from tip to toe, and it prevents and in some cases treats the most common diseases we see in America. […] Exercise is the best preventive drug we have, and everybody needs to take that medicine." Not only exercise, but CLEAN eating is imperative to our healthy futures.
A physician and director of preventive medicine research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge agrees! Timothy Church states "Exercise strengthens the entire human machine - the heart, the brain, the blood vessels, the bones, the muscles. The most important thing you can do for your long-term health is lead and active life."
And who would know better about the importance of an active lifestyle than Tony Horton himself! Tony Horton is the creator and star of the P90X DVD series - Power90, P90X, P90X2, P90X3. These 90 day programs have been changing the lives of people all over the world! Physical activity is a mental and emotional game changer, Tony Horton adds "I can't tell you how many people are off their meds because they exercise regularly. Fit, healthier people are more productive, happier folks."
Can you believe that only 21% of adults in America meet the government's recommendations for muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise?! But that is according to recent federal data, who knows how accurate that is! The National Cancer Institute used motion sensors in their studies to find that fewer than 5% of adults in the USA get at least 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity physical activity! No wonder heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.1
To clarify what the governments recommendations are: at least 2.5 hours a week of moderate intensity aerobic activity such as a brisk walk, one hour and 15 minutes A WEEK of vigorous intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging. << crazy!
Everyone has a different reason to be motivated to exercise, but most people need to jump on a plan or a program that will keep them accountable, something that they can stick to!
Often people "care too much about the mirror, scale and tape measure, and when they don't change at the speed they anticipate, they quit. They expect tremendous results in an unrealistic amount of time. I talk about consistency, purpose and a plan. If you are consisted with your exercise, you'll thrive. If you want to thrive, you must be consistent, and you have to have a plan. Surround yourself with like-minded people. I am someone who exercises with someone else most of the time. There is someone in the room who challenges me, whose company I enjoy."
- Tony Horton
Do your best and forget the rest! If each day you try a little harder and stick to your program or plan, it will not become easier, BUT YOU will get BETTER!! 2 weeks into working out (and undoing my workout with a poor diet) I would give up because I didn't have rocking' abs yet!! 3 years later, after quitting time and time again, I have FINALLY found my niche and my groove.
If your resolution this year is to shape up and get fit, both exercise and diet need to be a part of the equation to success.
Metzl says his food message is simple. "If it occurs in nature, eat it, and if it doesn't expire until 2020, don't eat it. Try to eat food that is naturally occurring as best you can - vegetables, grains, proteins."
Tony claims "Keep food simple and natural! Food should come from the farm not from the factory. Too many people are reaching into bags and boxes for quick, easy calories. They're addicted to fat, sugar, and chemicals."
SO are you going to take control of your life NOW? Or are you going to wait until you are fat, sick and nearly dead to run to the pharmacists and grab all your prescriptions so that you can barely live? The choice is yours, the POWER is yours.
"The two things you control are what you eat and whether you decide to exercise. Those two things will change your life."
Original post >> http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/29/exercise-health-new-year/4042055/
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