Workout Motivation for 2019

Are you one of the many people who start a fitness and nutrition program in January year after year? Is your goal to lose weight or just look better, but by mid to late January the only things you have lost are your enthusiasm and motivation? Instead of focusing on short term goals such as dropping a few pounds or fitting into skinny jeans, maybe a change in perspective would lead to more long-term consistency. Perhaps focusing on the biggest goal of health, staying alive longer, can provide some extra drive to stay on track.

For some who stay on course, their motivations have evolved to more long-term goals than beginners. Continually improving baseline performance and just increasing personal ability have become primary drives. Push more weight. Increase speed. Improve endurance. These can become primary factors and are benefits as themselves. Yet, we should not overlook the possibilities that may lie further out. Let’s not forget, your physical activity may be slowing the aging process and extending longevity.

It has become widely known that those who get at least a minimum amount of exercise tend to outlive those that don’t. In Western cultures, and increasingly in others, the leading causes of death are lifestyle related. Diet and exercise are the major factors in cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, many cancers, and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease. Burning more calories and increasing lean body mass can greatly affect body composition and function, greatly reducing the risk of these maladies.

Improving your cardio health of course strengthens your heart and lungs, helping to give you better stamina and endurance. A stronger heart pumps blood more efficiently, improving the delivery of blood and nutrients throughout the body. Aerobic activity can also cause a boost to the immune system, which can gradually decline as we age. There is research that suggests that aerobic activity also has a beneficial effect on brain function and can help fight depression by the release of endorphins. Most commonly known, aerobic exercise burns calories and helps increase good cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

In addition, strength training can be very beneficial as we age for improving quality of life. It helps with remaining independent and functional, slowing or even stopping the muscle degeneration process. It reduces the risk of many age-related injuries, as bone density and strength is improved. Mobility and performance are maintained with the strength to move about freely and continue to bear heavier loads. The gained strength could even directly save your life or the lives of others in emergency situations.

So as the new year begins, many people will begin an exercise program focusing on short term goals and benefits. Many of those same people will quit after a short period of time, because they experience discomfort in the beginning without seeing immediate improvements. It may be more fruitful for them to visualize their program from the beginning as a lifelong endeavor to keep the body healthy and functional, rather than immediate results. Just keeping their program regular and consistent may yield better long-term benefits over becoming super fit in the short term.

Watch Your Calories: The Real Secret to Weight Loss

What is the real secret to losing or gaining weight? People restrict themselves to certain cuisines, particular food groups, ban high fat, high carb, and specific foods. Despite the countless number of diets people attempt, the answer is really not so complicated. Barring certain medical conditions, you simply have to burn more calories than you consume to lose, and consume more than you burn to gain.

How Much Should You Eat?

You first have to determine your daily calorie needs. This is the amount of calories you need to eat to maintain a particular weight. First determine your target weight; the ideal weight you are trying to reach.

Your target weight times 10 = Base Calories

Ex. Target Weight 170 lbs times 10 = 1700 calories

Your Base Calories are the calories your body needs for daily functioning. Next adjust this by your activity level.

Activity Level:
Sedentary: Base Calories times .20
Moderately Active: Base Calories times .40
Active: Base Calories times .50

Add your Base Calories and Activity Level

Ex. Base Calories 1700 times .40 (moderate) = 680 calories
1700 + 680 = 2380 Target Calories

Digestion: Surprisingly, your body uses some energy just digesting your food, so finally, add another 10% for digestion and absorbing nutrients.

Ex. Target Calories 2380 times .10 = 238
2380 + 238 = 2618 Total Daily Calories

So to shoot for a weight of 170 lbs. you should be eating about 2618 calories a day.

 

Track Your Daily Food

Write down everything you eat over several days in a notebook or food journal. That means everything, including drinks and snacks. Keep track of the number of calories from reading the package labels or use a nutrition chart. Compare this to your total calorie goal to get an ideal of where to make adjustments. You can often exchange higher calorie foods for fruits and vegetables to cut calories while increasing nutrition.

Limit Your Portions

How many servings in a package can be a stumbling point for many people. Most calories listed on the package are for one serving, while the package often contains two or more servings.

Gain or Lose Weight

One pound equals about 3500 calories. So by cutting 500 food calories a day or burning an extra 500 calories a day with exercise you can lose a safe pound a week. Of course, by adding an extra 500 calories a day you can also gain about a pound a week.

So remember, with all the diets out there, it's more about how much you eat then the kinds of food you eat. Be sure to make healthy choices for what you do eat, at the very least the USDA  daily food plan. Knowing how many calories your body needs, how many calories the food you eat contains, and making healthy choices are the key to finding the balance for controlling your weight.