Reasons Your Not Losing Weight

You're doing everything right and your diet isn't working. You're not eating a lot, but you're still gaining weight. Is it your fault? Are you doing something wrong? Did you choose the wrong weight loss plan?  Are you simply meant to be overweight?  The answer to all of those questions is probably no.

No matter what diet you're on, no matter which weight loss expert you follow or workout program you practice, the secret to weight loss success is finding the right energy balance.

You've got to burn more calories than you consume. But it's more complicated than it sounds, because there are many factors that affect both your energy input (calories consumed) and your energy output (calories burned). 

Reasons that Your Diet Isn't Working

There are many factors that affect your daily calorie intake.  Any of them could be the reason that you can't lose weight.  Most likely, the problem is a combination of several factors.  Evaluate each of them to see where you can make adjustments.

• Hunger  Is your diet starving you. That's not the way to lose your body fat.
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• Boredom  Many people snack from boredom, especially at night. Healthy snacks are good, but never snack at night. Those calories will go straight to your fat cells.

• Low-fat pitfalls  Foods that are high in fat contain more calories.  But many times these foods are more satisfying than low-fat foods that are high in sugar.  So what's the better choice? You can find low-fat, low-cal foods like non-fat Greek yogurt, but it's still a good idea not to eat at night. Usually I get hungry at night because I didn't eat enough protein during the day. I'll do Yoga at night and the urge will pass and I forget about it.

• Meal frequency Eating more often may help you to avoid binge eating at mealtime, but eating more often also increases your chances to consume too many calories.  If you eat 2-3 large meals during the day and snack often because you're hungry, try 4-5 smaller, calorie-controlled meals.  On the other hand, if you have a meal every three hours and you're not losing weight, you may be eating too often. I like the 5 meal a day plan, I don't get hungry if I eat every three hours, but you have to control the calories. I try and stay to about 300 calories per meal. You can do an internet search "300 calorie meals" and you'll find dozens of chioces.
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• Stress  Many of us manage emotions with food. Food provides comfort, often gives us a sense of control and is a source of enjoyment.  But those comfort calories add up. If you suspect that emotional eating is derailing your diet, consider healthy alternatives to reduce stress. Take yoga, or any physical exercise you can do for 30 minutes.
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• Fatigue  What do you do when your body begins to lag in the afternoon?  I don't know about you, but I head to the kitchen.  It's natural to look for energy (i.e. calories) when you need a quick pick-me-up. The problem is that when your activity level lags, the worse thing you can do is consume more calories.  Before you grab your late afternoon snack, ask yourself if you are responding to hunger or fatigue. If you're tired, take a 15-minute nap! If your at work, drink hot tea or coffee.

• Portion size  Almost all of us make portion size mistakes all day long.  If your diet isn't working think about keeping a food log, record all your food and drinks. Most people are making the same mistakes, They think they consume less calories than they really do.

Food choices When trying to lose body fat, make your calories count. Don't eat empty calories. Most of the time we consume empty calories in our drinks. Stop drinking anything that contains calories and stick to eating foods with high amounts of nutrition.

Workouts that are too hard  Believe it or not, but your workout might be the reason that you're not losing weight.  Some programs like CrossFit could actually be harmful to your weight loss program if it causes you to take too much time off or worse, causes injury.  Try to get some physical activity every day.  That means you should schedule easy and moderate workouts along with the high-intensity fat burners.

• Non-exercise activity level.  If your fat-burning Tabata workout exhausts you to the point that you spend the rest of the day on the couch, then you are not benefiting from NEAT.  Non-exercise activity thermogenesis can account for up to 2000 calories burned per day.  Make sure you keep moving all day long. Take the stairs, carry your own groceries, stand while you chat on the phone.  It all adds up. 
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• Stress-induced laziness.  Some people react to stress by moving.  But others take to the couch in times of trouble.  If you are going through a difficult time, give yourself permission to rest.  But try to incorporate easy workouts with a friend to gain support and stay active. 
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• Fatigue. The simple act of dieting can cause stress and fatigue. Even if your weight loss program is not at fault, daily exhaustion is likely to hinder your workouts and your NEAT.  Learn how to sleep better for weight loss. Take simple steps like charging your phone in the kitchen or changing the lighting in your bedroom to get a better night's sleep.
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• Physical factors.  Medical conditions, like thyroid disease, can affect your daily caloric expenditure.  Factors such as age and genetics also play a role in the number of calories you burn.  Talk to your doctor about factors that affect your metabolism. Sometimes there are things you can do to give it a boost. 
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• Body composition.  Muscle burns more calories than fat.  To increase your calorie burn all day, boost your lean muscle mass.  Eat enough protein to fuel your weekends and build strong muscle. Then complete regular strength training workouts at home or at the gym to get lean and buff.
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• Your job. Occupations that require you to sit at a desk will decrease your daily energy output. You're not likely to change jobs to lose weight, but you may be able to make simple changes in your office to increase your daily caloric burn.  Stand while you type, try asking your boss for a stand-up desk, skip the elevator and walk the stairs, turn sit-down meetings into walking meetings.  Some companies are even installing treadmill desks to help workers increase their daily activity level and improve health.
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• Exercise habits.  The way you schedule your workouts can make a difference in the number of calories you burn during each one.  For example, if you schedule a long run on a day after a tough boot camp workout, you may be too tired during the run to gain a real benefit.  Create a balanced exercise program to burn calories with consistent but reasonable workouts.
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• Exercise-induced eating.  Believe it or not, one of the most common mistakes that dieters make is eating too much and justifying the episode with exercise.  Heavy exercise programs will actually stimulate your appetite. So you justify that big lunch because you did a big workout. Workouts don't burn that many calories. On average a big workout will burn about 300 calories, the same as a small lunch. 

Is My Diet Doomed to Fail?

Trying to find the reason your diet isn't working can be painful.  But if one of these factors is contributing to your weight loss woes, you need to address it if you want to slim down.  Get creative and try different tweaks. Everyone can lose weight, you have to find the right way for you.

If you have loved some weight but stopped losing, you probably have to adjust your calories again. As you lose you require less calories, so every 10 pounds or so that you lose drop the number of calories your eating by 100 and see if that works.

Losing body fat should be your goal. Read up on weight loss and losing body fat. It doesn’t cost money to lose weight. The internet is full of free information.

But the quickest way and cheapest way is to buy an ebook online and get everything you need in one short read. I have two ebooks on Amazon:

How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight

Getting To A Healthy Weight

Check out one of them, I think you can find all the info you need and plenty of tips on how I lost my body fat. 

Look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find these e-books. These books give you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my books at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,

 iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Is Your Workout Working?

Swimming Success: Try a Pool Workout

From WebMD

Swimming is a spectacular cardio workout that builds endurance, flexibility, and strength. Water provides constant resistance -- about 12% to 14% more than you get on land -- so your muscles get a major workout. It also keeps you cool, so you can exercise longer without getting tired or overheated. Buoyancy means no pounding or jarring.

Most strokes target multiple muscles at once. Kicking fires up your legs. “Even the push off the wall is a strengthening exercise. It works the lower legs really well,” says competitive swimmer and certified trainer Kim Evans. Want a stronger core? Focus on the breaststroke or butterfly. Looking for upper body strength? Try freestyle or the backstroke.

To score big gains, try to swim at least twice a week and follow these tips from Evans:

Think turtle, not hare. Swimming is hard, especially in the beginning. “Going slow is fine,” Evans says. It’s better to nail down your form before bumping up your speed or distance.

Try to swim one length of the pool (with good form). Then work up to two, three, and so on, Evans says. “When you can do about 200 meters or eight lengths without stopping, then you can move on to different speeds.”

Try work-rest intervals. Swim for a few minutes or a few laps, then rest and repeat. Shoot for a total workout of 45 to 60 minutes or 1,500 to 2,000 meters.

Perfect your form. The better your form, the easier it is to swim. The happy result: You’ll last longer.

Try to relax your body. If you tighten up, you’ll sink too low in the water. Keep your hips up near the surface. Streamline your stroke and be efficient in the water. Focus on lengthening each stroke. Reach out and grab the water, then pull it past you.

For freestyle and the backstroke, rotate your body as you stretch out your arm. For the breaststroke and butterfly, use a fluid motion and engage your core.

Get the right gear. Here are some accessories you might find handy for your swim workout:

Essentials

Goggles They protect your eyes and make seeing underwater easier. They don’t have to be expensive. Just be sure they fit snugly and don’t leak.

Swimsuit Save the bikini or swim trunks for the beach. When swimming for fitness, wear a suit that’s comfortable and designed for swimming.

Extras

Kickboard Try a kickboard to stay afloat as you focus on your legs or your breathing.

Pull buoy Place a pull buoy between your legs to stay afloat while targeting your upper body.

Fins Wearing fins can help you perfect the flick at the end of your kick and work your legs harder.

Losing body fat should be your goal. Read up on weight loss and losing body fat. It doesn’t cost money to lose weight. The internet is full of free information.

But the quickest way and cheapest way is to buy an ebook online and get everything you need in one short read. I have two ebooks on Amazon:

How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight

Getting To A Healthy Weight

Check out one of them, I think you can find all the info you need and plenty of tips on how I lost my body fat. 

Look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find these e-books. These books give you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my books at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,

 iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Is Sugar Bad For The Brain?

5.3 million Americans currently have Alzheimer's disease, and that number is projected to sharply increase as our population ages. As we look at various ways to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, including mild cognitive impairment, one of the many areas that has been studied frequently is that of sugar.

We Americans, in general, love our sugar. But is it possible that sugar increases our likelihood of developing dementia?

Research on Sugar and Cognitive Functioning

There's an already established link between type 2 diabetes and the development of dementia. But how does sugar affect people who don't have diabetes?

Multiple studies have been conducted on how sugar, or more specifically, glucose levels in our blood, impact cognition. A few of them include the following:

• In 2008, the journal Neuroepidemiology published research that measured the fasting insulin levels of more than 1,400 middle-aged women who did not have diabetes. Beginning 10 years later, the researchers measured the cognitive ability of these women over the next four years. They found that the women who had higher insulin levels in mid-life were more likely to experience cognitive decline later in life.
• In 2013, the journal Neurology reported on a study where researchers again found that higher blood sugar levels were associated with significantly poorer performance on cognitive tests measuring delayed recall, memory, and learning. This study involved 141 participants with an average age of 63 years old, none of whom had diabetes.

• An article published in 2013 in the Physiology and Behavior journal described research involving 98 participants without diabetes. The scientists measured each person's cognition by using the Stroop test, which is widely considered to be an accurate measure of the brain's executive functioning ability. The results indicated that participants with an inability to regulate their glucose levels achieved lower scores on the Stroop test, indicating decreased cognitive ability. The researchers stated, "Our results indicate that even mild hyperglycemia in the non-diabetic range is associated with attentional processing difficulties in a sample of younger adults." 

How About Sugar Intake?

The British Journal of Nutrition in 2011 outlined a study that sought to determine if sugar intake (not blood glucose levels) affects cognitive functioning. 737 people without diabetes, ages 45 to 75, were involved in this study, which was part of the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study conducted from 2004-2009. The participants' cognition was measured by a variety of tests including the Stroop test, clock-drawing test, digit span test, and verbal fluency tests. These results were compared to the amount of sugar ingested by each person. The researchers found that in general, higher levels of sugar intake were correlated with lower cognitive scores.

Effect on the Brain

Not only does research show a connection between cognitive functioning and blood sugar levels, it also has demonstrated a correlation with actual brain size and structure. A study reported in Neurology found that higher blood glucose levels in people without diabetes were correlated with brain atrophy (shrinkage) in the hippocampal areas and the amygdala.

White sugar or refined sugar is the problem and it should be avoided like the plague. 

Losing body fat should be your goal. Read up on weight loss and losing body fat. It doesn’t cost money to lose weight. The internet is full of free information.

But the quickest way and cheapest way is to buy an ebook online and get everything you need in one short read. I have two ebooks on Amazon:

How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight

Getting To A Healthy Weight

Check out one of them, I think you can find all the info you need and plenty of tips on how I lost my body fat. 

Look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find these e-books. These books give you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my books at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,

 iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Not Exercising Is Just As Bad As Smoking

New studies show how bad immobility can be. Some people just don't believe working out is necessary. "My grandmother lived to 92 and I never saw her do any exercise." I hear that a lot. I understand but people from that generation lived a hard life. Physical demands on even the housewife were pretty tuff. There was no dishwashers, no washing machines just a tub and a ringer. Before World War II a lot of families didn't have hot water,  the only heat was a coal burning furnace. Homes had no TV's until the 50's and no supermarkets. A housewife worked about 16 hours a day. Most men worked some type of blue collar job. 

The reason I bring up this hard life that those people had from that World War I generation is because they were much healthier because they were much more active than people today. They were actually more active then and healthier than their children. We have to workout today because today we work with our minds and do little physical work compared to our grandparents. Read the short article below 

When you see someone smoking, you might question “Why would you do that to yourself when you know it could kill you?” Do you react the same way when you know someone doesn’t exercise? You should.
When I was at a recent medical conference, one of the presenters reminded the audience that research has shown physical inactivity to be as deadly as smoking. I was shocked at this when I first heard it a couple of years ago, but I think I was just as shocked hearing it the second time. My guess is you are too. It’s hard to imagine being inactive could be comparable to smoking, but it is.
You wouldn’t dream of smoking (and if you do smoke, you’re likely trying to quit), so why poison yourself with inactivity? But many of us do. Nearly 80% of us don’t get the recommended amount of exercise. Many experts agree the inactivity epidemic is more concerning than the obesity epidemic.
The benefits of exercise are numerous and irrefutable. It helps prevent heart disease, diabetes, breast and colon cancer, dementia, depression, and more. If you exercise, chances are you’ll live a longer, healthier life. Period.
What’s so powerful about exercise? Take heart disease, for example. Heart disease is associated with inflammation in the body. Exercise is a natural inflammation fighter. When you move, your muscles send out anti-inflammatory chemicals.
Also, every time you get up and move, your blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides improve. When you sit down, they get worse. It’s just about moving more.
If you’re not active now, I’m sure it sounds overwhelming to start an exercise program. The good news is you can see health benefits with even a small amount of activity. Even taking a daily 5-minute walk around the office will improve your health. Slowly build up from there.
Ultimately, you want your goal to be 30 minutes at least 5 days a week of moderate exercise. We’re talking about a brisk walk– hard enough that you can talk comfortably but not able to sing. But take your time getting there. Throw in resistance exercises a couple of days a week, and you’re on track.
If you’ve tried exercise before and didn’t lose weight, don’t be discouraged. You are still getting health benefits even if you’re not shedding weight. If you’re overweight but active and fit, you can expect to live as long and healthy as someone who is normal weight and fit. Even if you’re obese, being active helps you live a longer, healthier life than a normal weight person who isn’t active.
Think you’re too old for it to matter? Hardly. Regardless of your age, getting active has enormous benefits even in your 80s and beyond. We’re not just talking about living longer, but living better with a higher quality of life.
As British-American anthropologist, Ashley Montagu once said, “The idea is to die young as late as possible.” Stay fit and healthy as long as you can.

Ask Questions Before You Start An Exercise Program

Good post by HealthDay and this author.

Beginners who want to start an exercise program read all this hype about weight loss; buy what I'm selling or use the machine for an hour a day and you to can lose 20 pounds a month. Don't believe all the hype; remember they are trying to make money off of you. 

If you don't do the right exercise for you, you won't lose weight. And if you're doing too much that can cause different problems. If you don't have a doctor to talk with, try a physical therapist. You want to talk with someone who has no financial gain either way.

Anyone who is starting to exercise for the first time in a long time and has 20 pounds or more to lose needs to talk to a doctor first. Strenuous training can injure your heart and that would be permanent. Read the post below and be prepared when you see a doctor.

So you're ready to get fit. Now what? Start by discussing some important issues with your doctor.

The American Council on Exercise advises that you discuss:

• How active do you want to be and how vigorously do you want to exercise?
• Have you been diagnosed with a heart condition?
• Have you fallen or lost your balance at least twice within the last year?
• Do you ever have chest pain during exercise or have irregular or slow heartbeat at rest?
• Do you take any medication for a heart condition or blood pressure problems?
• Do you have pain during exercise or problems with your bones or joints that are affected by exercise?
• Do you have wounds on your feet that don't heal?
• Have you had unexplained weight loss in the last six months?

-- Diana Kohnle

There are different ways to exercise and some ways are good for weight loss and others are good for your heart. Cardio is great for the heart and blood pressure but it doesn't burn much fat.

If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog posts.

Gettingtoahealthyweight.wordpress.com

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com

E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of websites looking for the material you want.

My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.

My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com.  Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.

Why Is The Fat Around Your Waist So Dangerous

First of all, the fat around your waist is a different kind of fat. Second, only a 1 or 2-inch layer will cover your abdominal muscles and the rest will build up inside the muscle layer around your liver and heart slowing down the functions of those organs. Not good. The Liver has over 100 body functions and is the safeguard to the blood stream. It has to process everything that enters the bloodstream. A slow working liver is a major problem for your health.

Fatty liver is a condition in which the cells of the liver accumulate abnormally increased amounts of fat. Although excessive consumption of alcohol is a very common cause of fatty liver (alcoholic fatty liver), there is another form of fatty liver, termed nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), in which alcohol has been excluded as a cause. In nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, other recognized causes of fatty liver that are less common causes than alcohol also are excluded.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a manifestation of an abnormality of metabolism within the liver. The liver is an important organ in the metabolism (handling) of fat. The liver makes and exports fat to other parts of the body. It also removes fat from the blood that has been released by other tissues in the body, for example, by fat cells, or absorbed from the food we eat. In nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the handling of fat by liver cells is disturbed. Increased amounts of fat are removed from the blood and/or are produced by liver cells, and not enough is disposed of or exported by the cells. As a result, fat accumulates in the liver. The brain and the heart seem more important but the Liver is important because it protects your blood and it's the quality of your blood that keeps the heart and brain working well.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is classified as either fatty liver (sometimes referred to as isolated fatty liver or IFL) or steatohepatitis (NASH). In both isolated fatty liver and NASH there is an abnormal amount of fat in the liver cells, but, in addition, in NASH there is inflammation within the liver, and, as a result, the liver cells are damaged, they die, and are replaced by scar tissue. Liver disease is very serious, you only have one liver. The liver is the largest interior organ and has the most work to do. 

Why is nonalcoholic fatty liver disease important?

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is important for several reasons. First, it is a common disease, and is increasing in prevalence. Second, NASH is an important cause of serious liver disease, leading to cirrhosis and the complications of cirrhosis--liver failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, and liver cancer. Third, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with other very common and serious non-liver diseases, perhaps the most important being cardiovascular disease that leads to heart disease and strokes. Fatty liver probably is not the cause of these other diseases, but is a manifestation of an underlying cause that the diseases share. Fatty liver, therefore, is a clue to the presence of these other serious diseases which need to be addressed.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver facts

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD) is the accumulation of abnormal amounts of fat within the liver.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can be divided into isolated fatty liver in which there is only accumulation of fat, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in which there is fat, inflammation, and damage to liver cells.
NASH progresses to scarring and ultimately to cirrhosis, with all the complications of cirrhosis, for example, gastrointestinal bleeding, liver failure, and liver cancer.
The development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is intimately associated with and is probably caused by obesity and diabetes.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is considered a manifestation of the metabolic syndrome.
The symptoms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are primarily those of the complications of cirrhosis in patients with NASH; isolated fatty liver infrequently causes symptoms and usually is discovered incidentally. The complications of cirrhosis include:
Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding
Mental changes (encephalopathy)
accumulation of fluid (ascites, edema)
Liver cancer
The differentiation of isolated fatty liver from NASH usually requires a liver biopsy.
The most promising treatments for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are diet, exercise, weight loss, and
possibly bariatric surgery.

Several drugs have been studied in the treatment of NASH. There is little evidence that any drug is effective in slowing the disease progression of NASH.
Many diseases are associated with NASH and are part of the metabolic syndrome. These diseases should be screened for and treated, for example, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia and diabetes.
Isolated fatty liver rarely progresses to NASH or cirrhosis.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, including NASH affects young children as well.
NASH will become the number one reason for liver transplantation unless effective and safe treatments are found.

Most overweight people don't take "being overweight" seriously. Thousands even 10's of thousands of people die every year from illnesses and diseases caused by being overweight. But it's more than just your weight, it's really about the amount of body fat you carry around. Some people with excess body fat aren't really overweight. The definition of overweight to the medical community is your percentage of body fat. If the percentage of fat is too high, you're overweight. 

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books.

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.
My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.

Gym Memberships Are Good For Improving Overall Health

If you're on the fence about joining a gym, consider this: Health club members exercise more and have better heart health, according to a new study.

I'm adding my two cents here. This is based on the theory that "if you buy it you'll use it". And that is true, but most people that buy memberships quit before the end of the first year. So, in my experience, if you going to spend the money be sure you're going to use it. The drop out rate is huge. But don't get turned off. Most of those people got the memberships as a gift and never really took it seriously. You can't become slim and trim just by going to the gym and it takes a few weeks for some of us to figure that out. The following post is from HealthDay and emphasizes the over health benefits of a gym membership for those how are regular members.

Researchers from Iowa State University found men and women who have a gym membership get more aerobic and strength-training activity than those who don't. 

"It's not surprising that people with a gym membership work out more, but the difference in our results is pretty dramatic," said study corresponding author Duck-chul Lee, an assistant professor of kinesiology.

"Gym members were 14 times more aerobically active than non-members and 10 times more likely to meet muscle-strengthening guidelines, regardless of their age and weight," Lee said in a university news release. 

U.S. health officials recommend that adults get 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week.

Adults should also incorporate two days of weight lifting or other muscle-strengthening activities into their weekly routine. Muscle mass burns more energy and lowers the risk of obesity, the study authors explained.

Only half of all Americans meet the guidelines for aerobic activity, and only about 20 percent get the preferred amount of strength training, the study authors noted.

For the study, the researchers looked at data on more than 400 people, half of whom had a gym membership.

They found that 75 percent of the gym members met both aerobic and strength-training guidelines. But the same was true for only 18 percent of non-members.

Most of the people with a gym membership exceeded exercise recommendations, spending at least 300 minutes running, biking or engaging in some other cardio workout each week, according to the study.

Overall, the researchers noted health club members got nearly six more hours of physical activity a week than non-members.

Those with gym memberships also had:

• lower odds of being obese, 
• smaller waistlines (about 1.5 inches smaller for men and women), 
• lower resting heart rate, 
• greater heart strength, lung function, blood circulation and muscle mass (what's known as cardiorespiratory fitness). 

"Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for individuals in the U.S. As our paper shows, a health club membership is associated with more favorable cardiovascular health," said study co-author Elizabeth Schroeder.

Only 18 percent of Americans have a gym membership, the researchers pointed out. They said their findings suggest that incentives to boost health club membership could be beneficial.

"By joining a quality fitness facility, a new exerciser will be around like-minded people and have access to professionals who can help them be successful," said study co-author Warren Franke, a professor of kinesiology.

"Access to quality exercise equipment, social support and even the financial commitment may help spur someone to continue exercising. Not all facilities are the same, so it's important to find the 'right' fit," said Franke. 

The study was published recently in the journal PLOS ONE.

-- Mary Elizabeth Dallas

I want to add a few words. It's true that when you pay for a gym membership you are more likely to use it, but most people that buy a one year membership quit before one year. They give-up because they aren't losing weight.

So why is that? Weight loss or losing body fat is 80% diet and only 20% exercise. Exercise will build muscle that will burn more fat but it doesn't mean you will lose weight. Weight loss is about eating food that help you lose weight and exercise helps you burn more calories, so together you will become a stronger, healthier person with less body fat. But it won't happen overnight; if you stick to a healthy low-calorie diet, and exercise 3 or 4 days a week you can see results in a few months.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my ebooks. 

There are two Ebooks. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new Ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.