Nutrition and Exercise are Key to Fitness

When it comes to living a long and healthy life, there are two necessary ingredients: diet and exercise. While some believe that they are one and the same thing, nothing may be further from reality. It is entirely possible to have a perfectly healthy diet with deplorable fitness habits. It is, equally, possible to be especially physically fit with less than wholesome eating practices.

I can’t help but consider people around the world who are going on these garbage in, garbage out nutritional regimes hoping to achieve the weight loss milestones of those who are endorsing these products.

To be completely honest, it is feasible to shed pounds through diet alone. It is not easy but doable. It is also possible to be physically fit and have a few extra pounds hanging around. To a large degree we are what we eat. If we pack away a high fat low substance nutritional regime our bodies are going to lack the fuel needed to burn the fat. Conversely, if we aren’t providing our bodies with the tools it needs to create muscle it doesn’t make a difference how many weights we lift.

When it comes to diet and fitness, the best results are achieved when they work as one rather than alone. Use your fitness workout to burn excess calories and use your diet in order to properly provide your body the nutrients and fuel it needs to create 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 accurate at all, a pound of muscle occupies less space on the body than a pound of fat. Pound for pound, I would much rather mine be composed of muscle than fat. Eating habits alone do not build muscle and that is something you will do well to consider in your efforts.

You should also understand that as you are building muscle you may be losing inches while not showing a great deal of progress on the scale. It is extremely critical that you keep this in your thoughts throughout the weight loss process. Do not rate your progress by the scales alone or you will achieve misleading results. The problem is that far too many people do just this, get frustrated, and give up when they are actually making progress. Do not permit yourself to be a victim of the scales. Look in the mirror, try on your tight clothing, and measure your waistline. Gauge your success by how you feel after climbing a flight of stairs, not by how many pounds fell off the scale this week!

By including fitness into your diet standards you are also allowing your body to burn off any extra calories you may have eaten during 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 customary in the evening. This isn’t something that should occur often but an occasional amount isn’t going to make or break your diet.

You could also look at dieting and fitness as a ball and glove type of affiliation. While you can play ball without the glove, it seems to work so much better if you have both the ball and glove. Diet and fitness, when combined, can create extraordinary weight loss outcomes for those who take them both seriously. The thing to remember is that neither works as well alone, and that neither will work unless you are willing to put in the effort. You must make this a priority in your life in order to achieve the best possible results!

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