subject: Diet And Fitness Secrets To A Long Life [print this page] When it comes to living a long and healthy life, there are two indispensable elements: diet and fitness. Diet and fitness goes hand in hand, but they are not the same. Much like a coin having heads and tails. Inseparable but separate to acheiving a long and healthy life. It is quite likely to have a entirely well balanced diet with terrible fitness habits. It is likewise likely to be incredibly physically healthy with less than savory eating routine.
You can lose weight by simply going on a diet.. Especially if you are eating natural fat burning foods. It may not be easy, but it is possible. It is quite normal to be physically in shape with some extra fats in some areas of your body. To a large degree we are what we eat. If we eat a high fat low substance diet, our bodies are going to lack the fuel required to burn the fat. And our bodies will not be able to build muscle if we do not give it the proper foods it needs to do it.
Optimum results are achieved when diet and fitness work together. Employ your fitness routine to burn excess calories and use your diet in order to properly provide your body the nutrients and energy it needs to build muscle. I've heard many times in my life that a pound of muscle weighs less than a pound of fat. While this is not true at all, a pound is a pound regardless; a pound of muscle takes up smaller room on the body than a pound of fat. Pound for pound, I would much rather my body be composed of muscle than fat. Dieting by itself will not build muscle and that is something you can do well to bear in mind in your efforts.
You should also realize that as you are building muscle you may be shedding inches while not showing a great deal of progress on the scale. It is very essential that you keep this in mind throughout the weight loss process. Do not gauge your progress by the scales alone or you will achieve misleading results. The problem is that far too many individuals do just that and get frustrated and give up when they are in fact making progress. Do not allow yourself to be a victim of the scales. Look in the mirror, try on your tight pants, and measure your waistline, especially if you are aiming for that six pack abs. Evaluate your success by how you feel after climbing a flight of stairs not by how many pounds fell of the scale this week.
By incorporating fitness into your diet program you are also enabling your body to burn off any extra calories you may have consumed throughout the day. This means that if you want to have a small 'cheat' during your day, you can make up for it by burning a few more calories than usual in the evening. This is not something that should occur often but an infrequent occurrence isn't going to make or break your diet.
You should also look at dieting and fitness as a ball and glove type of relationship. While you can play ball without the glove, it seems to work so much better if you have both. Diet and fitness when combined can create fantastic weight loss results for individuals who take them both seriously. The thing to remember is that neither works as well alone and neither will work unless you are willing to do the work. You must make this a priority in your life in order to accomplish the best possible results.
