10 Reasons To Exercise...Beyond Weight Loss

Being engaged in physical activity is an important part of your health and longevity. Many of you have family and friends that depend on you! Do not only yourself but them a favor by taking  a little time each day to help improve your risk of disease! Although the list could go on forever, below are 10 reasons to exercise!

1. Increased energy levels
2. Decreased bloop pressure
3. Decreased risk of chronic disease such as diabetes, cancer, and dementia
4. Increased immune function
5. Decreased body fat
6. Develops strong bones
7. Improves sleep
8. Decreases risk of arthritis
9. Reduces anxiety
10. It's FUN!

Here are some exercise ideas to help you get active:

Take a fitness class through your local gym or Parks and Rec Dept

Enjoy the outdoors - walking, hiking, biking

Wii - Just Dance or other active video game

In home fitness DVDs

Walk the mall or other large stores

*** Find a friend or family member to help keep you accountable! Remember consistency is key! 

I cannot stress the importance of living an active lifestyle. Many people are not proactive and just think they will deal with issues as they arise. Exercise and healthful eating are the 2 things that you can do to prevent many chronic diseases. STAND UP for your health and get moving! 

STRESS

Have you even noticed that when you are really stressed it can be hard to lose weight? Why is that? As if you need one more thing to worry about!

                    

When we are stressed our bodies send out hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that trigger the fight-or-flight response mechanism. Automatically our heart rate increases, the liver pumps out glucose (carb) for extra energy, and blood flow is slowed down to areas of the body such as our digestive system.  This is great if you really do need to fight or run away. The only problem at this time is that we are usually just sitting and fretting about all our problems. Thus, the extra energy (glucose) that was pumped out of the liver is not being used. Instead, it is being stored as fat. So in theory, although the last thing we want to do when stressed is exercise, the best thing to do when going through a stressful time is to move your body!

If you are needing more insight on how to manage your stress: check out this link below!
http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm