Healthy Weight Awareness

Articles

Jan 1

January 1st is synonymous with New Year’s Resolutions. “New Year, New You” in bright, playful fonts encourage you to become the best version of yourself each year. As different companies seek to grab your attention in hopes of helping you meet the weight loss goals you’ve set for yourself, one area that can derail your progress is establishing the time to exercise. On top of work and family demands, it's challenging to build a new habit that also happens to fit snugly into our already-packed agendas. What if we were able to change your perspective on physical fitness? What if you didn’t have to commit to a gym, fill your refrigerator with low-calorie, heart-healthy meals organized into smaller portions that leave you unsatisfied and more likely to break the habit?

We’ve got some facts to help motivate you to change your habits and some guidance to help you implement those changes for the long haul — leading to a healthier life overall. After all, it isn’t about appearances; it’s about how you feel so you can live the life you want to. Did you know, more than 50% of Americans do not get enough physical activity during their leisure time to stave off health conditions that occur as a result of low physical activity? As of 2021, 41.9% of Americans are considered overweight. That’s almost half of our population, and includes our children!

Simple Habit Adjustments

As adults, our habits and decisions are picked up by the little people in our lives, and will ultimately become their habits. Not 100% of the time, but more often than not, children tend to do as they see and not do as they’re instructed. A simple swap to make could be incorporating more readily available fruits in lieu of high fructose fruit snacks or sodium-packed, deep-fried chips. This change alone can help your digestive system process the nutrients your body needs to operate. Keeping fruits that are in season will ensure a colorful rotation and avoid the boredom associated with eating the same foods week after week.

Eat the Rainbow

Eating a balanced diet incorporates the colors of the rainbow, boosting your energy levels at a cellular level because each fruit or vegetable provides different phytonutrients your body needs to function. Supportive programs, like MyFitnessPal and Noom, are meal-tracking apps that help you see your daily intake, helping you modify your decisions on a day-by-day basis. They also have built-in motivators and communities to help you stay on track and regain control if you’ve slipped here and there.

There’s No Wrong Way to Move Your Body

Incorporating exercise and general fitness into your daily life may be the most challenging obstacle to maintaining a healthy weight. We’re inundated with peer pressure via gym advertisements or ads claiming we need to spend copious amounts of money to reach our fitness goals, and that’s the only way to make it happen, but that isn’t the case. YouTube is full of budding fitness gurus ready to walk you through bodyweight exercises and strength training routines you can do from home with little to no equipment handy. Neighborhood stores like Target and Walmart have a small selection of workout equipment to help you get started, but you could also check Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for used equipment.

If you have a long-term injury or disability, physical therapy might be an option for you, and it may be covered by your insurance provider.

Adopting new habits can be a struggle if you do not establish a routine. Scheduling time for exercise will help you prioritize your health. Waking up half an hour earlier so you can take a 20-minute walk is beneficial in more areas than one. In fact, studies have shown that a quick 20-minute walk can boost your mood, improve the quality of your sleep, strengthen muscles, improve mental clarity, and encourage you to make healthier decisions throughout your day.

Involve Your Community

Enlisting support can keep you motivated, too. Reaching out to friends and family will help you stay on track during get-togethers and celebratory events. Virtual organizations like MeetUp introduce you to members of your community with similar goals or interests. Encouraging your partner to develop healthier habits will not only make it easier for you to hit your goals but will help you both remain accountable throughout your journey. Surprisingly, we don’t need to be peak-performing athletes to decrease our chances of health-related issues resulting from a lack of physical activity. Finding 150 minutes within your week to exercise can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke — the two leading causes of death in the United States. Two-and-a-half hours a week of moderate to intense exercise will also reduce your risk of developing Type II Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, colon cancer, breast cancer, and bone density loss. This breaks down to roughly 30 minutes of activity, five days per week.

Aerobic vs Anaerobic Exercise

Alternating between aerobic and anaerobic exercises will keep your body guessing, which improves your body’s response to stress and other external factors, and helps you to avoid plateaus. Aerobic exercises include activities such as running, walking, swimming, cycling, or jumping rope. Aerobic exercise improves the heart and lungs by lowering your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) AKA the “bad” cholesterol, and increasing your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) AKA the “good” cholesterol. This could result in less buildup of plaque in your arteries, promoting better blood flow and decreasing your risk of a heart attack. Anaerobic exercises include activities such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, pilates, weight lifting, and circuit training. The most important benefit of anaerobic training is retaining your muscle mass. As we age, our muscle mass diminishes, leaving us in a weakened state overall. The weaker we are, the more prone to accidents and breaks we become. Weight training, even if it’s only 5 lbs, can make a big difference in your physique.

All in all, developing a program that works for you and fits your lifestyle is going to put you on the path to success. The professionals at Tilton’s Therapy are ready and willing to help you meet your goals and incorporate healthy practices into your daily life regardless of your starting point.