Top 10 Reasons Why Fitness Matters

What exactly is ‘physical fitness’ and why is it so important to anybody at

any age?

Technically, fitness could be defined as ‘a condition or state of being that

helps you look, feel and do your best’.

But what that really boils down to is being fit means you have the strength, the energy, and the ability to do all of the things you love – and not just exercise and physical activities.

Fitness leads to

overall good health and well-being. How fit you are determines

how well your heart pumps, your lungs’ ability to provide oxygen to your organs, and how well your immune system works to combat sickness and disease. Fitness even influences your cognitive abilities and your emotional states.

 Fit people look better and feel better both emotionally and physically.

So, in no particular order, here are Henry’s Top Ten Reasons WhyFitness Matters:

1. More Energy

When you are fit and in good shape you will feel more energetic. So, even after a

long day at work, you will have the energy to spend quality time with family and

friends instead of simply crashing in front of the television!

2. Less Pain and Injuries

By maintaining a high level of fitness, especially as you get older, you significantly lessen the risk of injury, and muscle and bone related ailments.

3. Less Risk of Metabolic Diseases

 Staying fit means you are far less prone to metabolic diseases and syndromes such as diabetes and, of course, obesity. You are also at less risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

4. Improved Self-esteem

Increasing your level of fitness you will look and feel your best and have the confidence to take on whatever the day may throw at you. You also just might get a few spontaneous comments about how you look, which is always a nice

ego boost!

5. Get Happy

Working out can actually make you happier, not only because you will feel

good about the new you, but because exercise has been shown to release endorphins –or the brain’s ‘feel good’ chemicals.

6. Better Sleep

Regular exercise and being fit improves sleep, which improves overall health.

7. Increased Strength and Stamina

Being fit means every task will be that much easier. Carrying groceries, walking up stairs and lifting objects, are just a few of the dozens of everyday

tasks you will perform better when you improve your level of fitness.

8. Setting A Good Example

Making fitness a priority in your life sets a good example for those around you – especially your kids.

9. New Activities

Living a fit lifestyle opens you up to new activities to help you stay in shape and

ones you may not have been able to do before you were in shape. Swimming, hiking, playing tennis, rock climbing, hang gliding, scuba diving – you name it, the list is endless.

10. Improved Love Life

Not only will being in shape make you potentially more attractive to the opposite sex, studies have shown that fitness and exercise can actually improve libido!

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The 7 Worst Diet and Fitness

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Myths serve a purpose. At least the ‘traditional’ kind do. There were lessons to be learned from the classic Greek and Roman myths, and still are, despite the fact that today we know they are nothing more than fanciful stories.

The problem with diet  and fitness myths; however, is that they get passed around so much, and even appear in print and on the internet, that people start to accept them as truth. And nothing can get in the way of your weight loss and fitness goals more

than not being able to separate fact from fiction – except maybe an angry Minotaur! So here, in no particular order, are Henry the Health Hound’s 7 Worst Diet and Fitness Myths – BUSTED!

 

1 Dieting and Working Out Turns Fat Into Muscle

Muscle and fat are two completely different kinds of tissue in your body. You can no more turn fat into muscle than you can turn straw into gold. Think of it this way: muscle is like your body’s engine and gears, and it takes energy

to run the machine. Fat can be one source of that energy so, when you work out, you build muscle and reduce fat by consuming that energy. Conversely, when you laze around and eat, your body stores fat rather than using it for energy, and your muscles degrade from not being used. But in either case one does not and cannot turn into the other.

2  All Carbs a re Bad - PERIOD

A lot of dieters, and even some trainers and nutritionists insist that ‘all carbs are bad’. The truth is, your muscles crave carbs. In fact, carbohydrates are the main source of fuel used by the body to function properly; not only physically but

mentally as well. Without carbs, you would not have the strength and stamina to work out, and even if you did, you would likely be disappointed in the results. There

are good carbs and bad carbs though, so the trick is to learn to tell the difference. Fruits, veggies and whole grains are good carbs. Anything ‘white’ as in breads, rice and pastas are bad carbs. Of course alcohol, soda, sweets and other  junk are all bad carbs; however, even certain bad carbs can be good under certain circumstances because they are absorbed by the body quickly and burned slowly. This is why marathon runners will often load up on pasta.

3 Crunches and Ab Machines Will Give You a Six-Pack

You can pretty much dismiss any ab machine or device sold on late night TV that promises to bust belly-fat and build six-pack abs, as a myth. But a lot of people also think doing this kind of workout on legitimate machines in a gym will turn that spare tyre into a washboard! This goes back to myth Number One. You can’t turn fat into

muscle. Working out will help you burn fat, but you cannot pick and choose

where it will do so. Crunches will help strengthen the muscles around your midsection and improve your posture, but you won’t be able to see your

abdominal muscles until you reduce your overall percentage of body fat.

4 Five Fruits A Day

This is one of my favourites. I constantly run into people that think eating five servings of fruit a day is an antidote to eating burgers, fries and other junk. It isn’t. Yes, it

is a good idea to eat five servings of fruit a day, but not on top of other junk! The recommendation is meant to be taken as a substitute for high fat and high starch foods.

5 Fat Free is A-OK

Speaking of high fat foods, this is another one of my favourites. People think as long as a food is ‘fat free’ it’s a diet food, and will not mak you put on weight. The food marketing industry loves to play on this and proudly emblazons bags of marshmallows and jelly beans as ‘fat free’. Yes, maybe they are, but they are loaded with sugar

– and will wreak havoc on any diet!

6 If You’re Not Sweating, You’re not Working Out

I hear gym rats say all the time, if you are not working up a sweat you are not

burning any calories. That is just not true. Sweating is the way your body cools itself, not how it burns calories.

You can be active, healthy and burn plenty of calories by doing simple exercises like walking or light weight training and never break a sweat!

 7 Woman Will Look Like Men if They Strength Train

This is a terrible myth that keeps many women from strength training.

They’re afraid that if they strength train by weightlifting, they will look like men. No way! The truth is weightlifting and strength training is the surest way for men and women to burn fat, build lean muscle, and boost resting metabolism.

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the best advices: Food Fiction

 Eggs are Bad for You

We’ve all been told ordering breakfast sunny side up really isn’t so sunny – for our hearts, at least. After all, eggs are one of the richest sources of artery-clogging cholesterol, so they must increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, right? Wrong. According to the famous Framingham Study, it was found that egg consumption was unrelated to blood cholesterol levels or to coronary heart disease. Another investigation published in the Nutrition Bulletin argued that viewing eggs solely in

terms of their dietary cholesterol is to ignore their potential benefits, primarily in areas of

weight loss. Yet another study from the New England Journal of Medicine found an

88-year-old man who had been eating 25 eggs a day for 15 years. Would you believe it,his plasma cholesterol level was normal.

It looks like we’re free to keep scrambling, frying and boiling our favorite henhouse delights.

Avoid Eating at Night or You’ll Gain Weight

Close the pantry, lock the fridge and for heaven’s sake, don’t open the bread box. After 9 o’clock, your metabolism slows down, and you know what that means; the kitchen is off limits! In theory, it makes sense that you’ll gain more during those hours of little activity, but the reality is just not so. Contrary to claims, your body doesn’t process food differently at different times of the day.

Oregon Health and Science University studied night-eating in rhesus monkeys (which are easily relatable to humans), discovering that the late-night snackers were no more likely to gain weight than those who chose to eat during the day. Similarly, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases insists it’s the amount of calories you consume, not the time of day, which affects weight.

In that case, bring on the midnight munchies!

You Must Drink Eight, 8-Ounce Glasses of Water Each Day

You would have to carry around a gallonsized water jug to meet this goal, save for one problem; this number seems to have fallen from the sky. Our bodies do need plenty of water, and depending on your activity level, this 8x8 recommendation may not be far off.

However, according to one investigation done by the American Journal of Physiology, it seems as though this 64 ounces a day

suggestion came from thin air. After a thorough investigation of electronic data, old literature and consultations with several “fluid” nutritionist specialists, “No scientific studies were found in support of 8x8.”

Sorry, H20, it’s nothing personal.

Nutrition Labels are Exact and Accurate

Are you a tireless calorie counter? Well, put down the calculator, because your tallying days are at an end.

Like all things in life, nothing is perfect, nutrition labels included. The FDA allows manufacturers a fairly wide margin of error

on labeling – information can be off by up to 20 percent without fault. That’s the difference between your favorite frozen dinner claiming to contain 500 calories, when it really has 600. Even more startling is that many labels don’t fall within the “legal” range. The Journal of the American Medical Association found that, on average, packaged foods contain 8 percent more calories than their label suggests. For restaurant meals? That number jumps to 18 percent.

We have to wonder, why bother counting at all?

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