We Have Reasons To Stay Fit

Modern life takes a lot out of us. We seem to be pre-occupied with many tasks but a lot of things we do is so different from the days of our grandparents' or even our parents' day. Our daily lives do not demand a lot of physical activity from us although we move about a lot.

For example, most people now own cars and they rely on them to travel from one place to another. And modern technology has turned more and more people to sit in front of their computers for long hours. These and many other reasons of modern-day activities have made it hard for people to find the time to start exercising.

But exercise they must...if they want to stay fit and healthy.

But people have excuses...



They will tell it's pretty tough to really get started because the pressures of home and family life can also mean it feels as if there's little time left to fit in exercise.

But remember, it's worth thinking about what you can gain from regular exercise and making even a partial improvement to your fitness. Here are some reasons to ponder on:

• Physical inactivity: If you don't exercise you dramatically increase your risk of dying from a heart attack because there's a greater risk factor for coronary heart disease. Conversely, exercise means a healthier heart because it reduces several cardiovascular risks, including high blood pressure
  
  
• Your mental health will get a boost by being physically active and it will help you to manage stress, anxiety and even depression better
  
  
• Regular exercise can help you achieve and maintain an ideal weight, which can be important in managing many health conditions, or may just make you feel happier about your appearance
  
  
• All exercise helps strengthen bones and muscles to some degree, but weight-bearing exercise, such as running, is especially good in promoting bone density and protecting against osteoporosis, which affects men as well as women
  
  
• Different exercises help with all sorts of health niggles, such as digestion, poor posture and sleeplessness, and physical activity can be beneficial for a range of medical conditions, from diabetes to lower back pain.

Positive reasons to stay fit

When you are "as fit as a fiddle" life will be more enjoyable. You will be more ready to meet new people, discover new interests and generally feel better, but if you need to be scared into doing more exercise, consider the following:

• Based on current trends a third of the male population will be obese by 2010, according to a 2006 UK health report
  
  
• Obesity in adults rose by nearly 40 per cent between 2003 and 2006.
  
  
• It's worrying for youngsters as well - by 2010, it's predicted 22 per cent of girls and 19 per cent of boys between the ages of two and 15 will be obese, with girls under 11 at particular risk
  
  
• Obesity will be a major contributory factor to heart disease
  
  
• Coronary heart disease (CHD) is still the leading cause of death in the UK, accounting for about a fifth of all deaths, according to the Office for National Statistics.
  
  
• About a third of deaths caused by CHD are among people aged under 75

It's not a promising picture to see if people neglect efforts to keep fit by exercising. Are you planning to have regular exercise so you can stay fit and enjoy a fullfilling lifestyle?

What Everybody Ought To Know - About Hypnosis and Weight Loss

Photo credit: Alan Cleaver

By Valerie Slaughter

What the heck does hypnosis have to do with weight loss? Do images of a night club act come to mind? Someone "barking like a dog" on stage and doing whatever the magician (hypnosist) says?

Whatever your impression of hypnosis may be, you may be surprised to learn that as an alternative treatment for everything from pain to stop smoking to weight loss, hypnosis is being used in medical institutions to help manage these conditions.

According to Jean Fain, a psychologist who uses hypnosis at Harvard Medical School's Cambridge Hospital, "The country is getting fatter and fatter, so different weight loss methods are getting more attention."

O.K.. how does hypnosis work? First, you must remember that no one can make you do something that is against your will. Alternatively, hypnosis can help you master your own states of awareness and can affect your own bodily functions and psychologial responses.

According to Gary Montgomery, president of the Society of Psychological Hypnosis and Division of American Psychological Association, the hypnotic state is defined as a state of focused concentration, much like being so absorbed in a good book that the outside world seems to fade away. During this state, you become more open to suggestions.

Much like the way televsision plays upon your need for food and to lose weight. Constantly repeating the theme of looking thin, being wealthy. popular and fit, drives their message into your subconscious while you are watching the television.

Proof of this effect can be seen when you sit in front of your television and start munching and are unaware, until later, how much you had eaten. This is a hypnotic state! Or what about sitting at a red light? So, when you are in a "trance" or deep concentration, you are unusally responsive to a suggestion or image.

How many times have you watched television and an ad for a hamburger comes on and you then become hungry? Or after watching an ad for a weight loss product, you start to feel guilty for your weight. This combination of consumption of junk food and dieting creates guilt and, believe it or not, excess weight.

Hypnosis can help you create your own defense against this constant bombardment of television, newspaper and radio ads. By learning the technique of positive self-hypnosis, you may actually counter all of this negative feedback.

About the Author: Valerie Slaughter, a veteran marathoner herself, runs a beginner marathon website and is the author of "You Want to Do What!?" Website URL http://healthandfitnessnut.wordpress.com