Is Your Regular Exercise Regularly Irregular?

Have you ever seen a rusted car lying in a garage which hasn’t been used for years? To revive its engine, the mechanic might have a tough time. Our body works on similar mechanism. To keep it functional, all the body parts need to be used otherwise you too might struggle to revive your body engine! Only food intake will not keep you active. You need to be active through exercises, some sports or work-outs. Your fitness would depend on how regularly regular your activities are! 

Exercising not only keeps your body flexible, but makes you feel emotionally good. There are sports like basketball, swimming, soccer, table tennis which require quick reflexive actions thereby making your mind alert and keeping your organs agile. Such sports also strengthen your muscles, improve blood circulation, enhance the fluid movement which is very necessary for joints and bones, reduce the risks of diseases and most importantly make you sweat, where the excessive salts and wastes are thrown out of your body.

For those who can’t indulge themselves in sports in particular can always go for walking, jogging, running or cycling. They are some of the simplest and yet so effective exercises to shape your body lose calories and control weight. I personally enjoy morning walks with the cool breeze keeping me fresh the whole day. The entire day seems so long and there is so much you can do through out the day without feeling tired. 

Exercises are to be performed correctly and also with proper breathing considering your age, any existing chronic ailment or some kind of disability. It helps you prevent the recurrence of pain especially back, thighs, legs, hips, lowers blood pressure, reduces cholesterol levels, burns out excess calories, and controls sugar levels. Any kind of physical activity will benefit you in your daily routine and eventually set a positive effect in long-term.

Eating Behaviors & Weight Gain

People on weight loss diets often find themselves on a rebound – a perfectly good diet goes for a toss. You may not actually need a diet plan – what you need is an eating behavior insight.

What is eating behavior?
Eating behavior is all about the way we relate to food. Another popular work life related behavior is “I have no time to eat” – what with the pressure of work”. An eating behavior develops and arises from subconscious thoughts that precede or accompany the eating occasion. We try to define or eating behavior relating it to the way we are.

How do I recognize eating behaviors?
Eating behaviors are thoughts and feelings that bring about an emotional payoff. They are deeply embedded in our minds and the act of eating certain foods, or events trigger these in a subconscious way. For example people with weight issues display periods of great control along with periods of indulgence as a way of dieting. Others set themselves up for an evening time ‘good food’ after a hard day’s work. Yet another way is to make the weekends count. It’s the typical fasting-feasting way of eating.

Another demonstration of an eating behavior is when food is used to bond. How can I say ‘no’? Quite often emotions of anger, fear, anxiety, shame and sadness, trigger a compelling desire to eat. Most eating behaviors create a self perpetuating cycle leading to weight rebound. We shouldn’t blame ourselves for failed diets – it’s a feedback to us that food requires sensitive approach.

How do these behaviors lead to weight gain?
If we accept emotions have an influential role in what and how we eat – we should accept that this is where weight gain begins. During a day at office we drink 3-4 cups of tea or coffee – subconscious reasoning is either stress busting, courtesy, or bonding with workmates – while at home it’s just the breakfast cup. So we eat when hungry and when we are not. A full milk cup of coffee or tea packs about 120 calories so you can calculate your calorie intake from 3-4 cups and 5 days a week. If we look into daily routines we should find many such ‘non-hungry episodes’.

How can you improve your eating behaviors?
You need to make a complete shift from mere diet plans to focusing on eating behavior. In a sense, it is essential to move away from the commonsensical way of doing weight loss – which is why it is a new approach. You need to learn to see the mind-body split that pleases the mind but distresses the body. Simple changes in the way we think can change behavior. For example shifting the mind from ‘why am I fat’ to ‘how did I get so fat’ moves our thinking to new possibilities instead of resigned acceptance. Looking at new behaviors in a warm and sensitive partnership that settle comfortably with the mind is the key-stone for sustainable for weight loss.