By Matt Swartz, co-owner NWA Adventure Boot Camp for Women
So you’ve been working out now five days a week, for about a month. It’s time to step on everyone’s enemy, THE SCALE!!! As you finally get up the courage to take that dreaded step, the enemy tells you that you have ONLY dropped one pound in body weight. You ask in a very upset tone, “How on earth is that possible? I have been working out an hour each day, five days a week, for an entire month. What am I doing wrong?” The answer is not what you are doing wrong. The answer is what am I not doing?
Bodies are like cars. At a young age, you only need to worry about filling up with gas (cheapest stuff) and an oil change every 5,000 miles. As the car ages, you start to fill it up with the good gas (in hopes of better performance), and oil changes are now every three thousand miles. You also have to worry about the transmission fluid, brake pads, fuel injection cleaner, rotating the tires, spark plugs, and a good battery. Just like cars, the body needs more attention as it ages. At a young age, you can get away with eating what you want and exercising when you want to. As we get older, more attention needs to be paid to what we eat and how often we exercise.
Diet PLUS exercise is the healthiest and most effective way to lose weight and shed body fat. In turn, you will feel better, look better, and live longer because of this healthy combination. If getting in shape was as easy as popping a few pills and watching your favorite TLC TV show, we would have a very fit society. As you are probably aware, it’s not that simple. Getting in shape takes time and effort, but IT IS POSSIBLE!!!
The most basic rule for weight loss is, burn more calories than you consume. For the largest amount of weight loss possible, you either need to burn more calories each day, or consume fewer calories. When trying to lose weight, many feel that they are doing enough by just exercising or by just dieting. The truth is your best results will come when you combine the two.
Another analogy might be in the form of making a certain amount of money, working full time as compared to part time. If that amount of money is $100,000, and your full time salary is $1,000/week, it will take you 100 weeks to earn $100,000. However, if your part time salary is $500/week, it will take you twice as long, or 200 weeks to earn $100,000. You will still earn the money, but it will take you twice the time. Weight loss works in the same manner. Over time exercising or dieting will yield results, but doing them together (working full time) will speed up the process.
As a human being, you are constantly judged. More often than not you’ll be judged on face-value. Getting into shape can help boost your confidence. Even better – when you have a healthy diet and exercise, you’ll feel great!
So how do you go about losing that excess weight and increasing your fitness and health? There are plenty of sites that will tell you what to eat, or what exercises to do, but a great tip they often neglect to mention is – get some weight loss support.
So when it comes to your car or your body, making sure it’s running properly is essential. Just filling up with the cheapest gas and an oil change every 5,000 miles won’t cut it on an aging car. Not eating healthy and exercising only when you feel like it won’t work for your body, either. Combining the two (diet and exercise) will bring the results you’re looking for. Every day you put off getting healthy, you risk having “car trouble” (health problems) in your near future. Stay healthy, be FIT, and live longer.
A great weight loss support team is right here in Northwest Arkansas: NWA Adventure Boot Camp. Matt and his wife, Katie, can provide you with a great workout program, but also provide customized meal plans to optimize your results. Boot Camp helps women of all sizes and ages get into shape or stay in shape. To find out more about fitness boot camp, visit www.nwarkbootcamp.com for information and a schedule of classes. For more information, call Katie at 479-789-4889. To read about Motherlode Mama Shannon’s experience with Boot Camp, click HERE.
