♠ Posted by Unknown in Weight Loss Diet
When it comes to living a long and healthy
life, there are two necessary ingredients: diet and fitness. While some believe
that they are one thing all together, nothing could be further from the truth.
It is quite possible to have a perfectly healthy diet with deplorable fitness
habits. It is equally possible to be very physically fit with less than savory
eating habits.
There’s a clever little line in the Jimmy
Buffet song “Fruitcakes” when his ‘lady’ is lamenting:
“I treat my body like a temple
You
treat yours like a tent”
I can’t help but think of this line
whenever I think about all the people around the world who are going on these
garbage in, garbage out diet plans hoping to achieve the weight loss success of
those who are endorsing these products.
To be completely honest, it is possible to
shed pounds through diet alone. It is difficult but possible. 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 consume a high fat low substance diet
our bodies are going to lack the fuel required to burn the fat. At the same
time if we aren’t providing our bodies with the tools it needs to build muscle
it doesn’t matter how many weights we lift.
When it comes to diet and fitness, the best
results are achieved when they work together rather than separately. Use your
fitness routine to burn excess calories and use your diet in order to properly
provide your body the nutrients and fuel 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
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. Dieting alone does not build
muscle and that is something you will do well to remember 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 important that you keep this in mind
throughout the weight loss process. Do not measure your progress by the scales
alone or you will achieve misleading results. The problem is that far too many
people do just this and get frustrated and give up when they are actually
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. Measure 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
routine you are also enabling your body to burn off any extra calories you may
have consumed 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 normal in the evening. This isn’t something that should happen often but
an occasional 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 those 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 achieve the best possible results.
