Exercise For Overweight
December 18th, 2008 Posted by: admin
Get fit to burn fat. When you compare the pound-shedding benefits of diet to the benefits of exercise, the clear winner is exercise. That’s what University of Chicago researchers found when they studied 23 obese women who agreed to follow one of three programs: a low-fat diet, a low-carbohydrate diet, or daily aerobic exercise with no diet restrictions. After 12 weeks, the exercisers lost significantly more weight and more fat than those in the other groups.
In addition to burning calories, exercise boosts your BMR, so you keep burning more calories even when you’re not exercising. Exercise also spurs weight loss because it elevates mood, reduces stress, and improves self-esteem.
Finally, regular exercise helps keep you on the dietary straight and narrow. That’s what University of Chicago researchers discovered in another study: 30 women were enrolled in a 12-week weight loss program. All were placed on a restricted-calorie diet. In addition, some took a 45-minute aerobics class three times a week. The exercisers were significantly more likely to stay on the diet.
How much exercise do you need to lose weight and keep it off? The experts generally recommend a total of 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Take a walk. Among its many benefits, walking helps control weight. “If you’ve been physically inactive, walking is one of the best ways to start exercising,” Dr. Kolotkin says. “There’s nothing to learn, no clothes to buy or gym to join, and it’s fun, so you keep doing it.”
“Walk as little as 1 mile a day (15 to 20 minutes of effort), and in a year, you lose about 10 pounds of fat;” says Marcia Stefanick, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the Stanford University Center for Research in Disease Prevention.
Break it up. There’s no need to set aside a half-hour to an hour for your workout. Studies show that exercising in chunks-say, 10 minutes here and there over the course of a day-can be just as effective.
Fidget away the weight. Married women often note that their husbands seem to gain less weight even if both spouses are eating the same foods and getting the same amounts of exercise. Why is it that women seem to gain weight so much more easily?
James Levine, M.D., an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, may have found the answer: A lot of men can’t sit still. They’re always shifting and squirming. Actions like climbing stairs, carrying objects, even fidgeting seem to help control weight gain.
Related Links
http://in.youtube.com/
http://news.yahoo.com/
