Exercise Equipment

Everyone talks about getting into shape and getting more physically fit; some finally take action. Marketing and media reports have convinced the public that to get fit, you must buy something, usually something expensive, and there is a lot of hype, falsehoods, confusion, and outright lying about what to take to get fit. Be wary of any fitness advice from anyone who is trying to sell you something. Here are some truths backed up by independent research.

Exercise is not for weight control

Exercise has a lot of benefits, such as increased strength, endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular health, relaxation, mental acuteness, and simply enjoyment. However, it is not an effective way to control weight. While it is true that increased physical activity burns more calories, there is a major problem with using it for weight control. If you stop exercising for whatever reason, such as injury, illness, time constraints, weather, or simply laziness, you will gain back any weight lost as a result of the exercise.

There are about 3500 calories in a pound of fat. Running at a 6 mph pace burns about 800 calories per hour for a 150 person. That means it takes about 4.5 hours of running to burn off a pound of fat. Say you have a regular cheeseburger, fries, and soft drink for lunch each day, that meal is about 800 calories. By eating a more healthy meal of say 400 calories, you save 400 calories. If you do this each day for lunch for about 9 days, you will have eliminated about 3500 calories. Which takes less time and effort, running 4.5 miles or eating a healthy lunch for 9 days? In addition, you can lose weight this way even with injury, illness, or time constraints, etc.