For many people, a weight-loss plan begins and ends with deprivation dieting. To them this is what you do every time you get sick of the excess fat hanging off your body. But this inevitably backfires because: 1) Such diets are virtually impossible to maintain 2) They lower your metabolic rate (the rate you burn fuel) 3) They work against the very health and fitness improvements that are needed to keep the fat from returning. If you really want to get into better shape you really need to focus your efforts on getting healthy first. Lets repeat that idea you need to get healthy to lose body fat not lose body fat in the hope you will get healthy. In a nutshell you need to eat in a healthy balanced manner to support an active strength and fitness oriented lifestyle. The better you feel and your body feels the easier it is to get off the couch and go to the gym to exercise. It is hard to sit still and do nothing when you are strong and fit. Energy levels are so much higher which makes it easy to keep the body fat under control long term. These two components good nutrition coupled with good strength and fitness can help you in other ways to make your weight loss efforts so much easier. Your body's hormones come into play to give you a helping hand to promote body fat loss. An out of control appetite comes from high levels of insulin a result of a diet of refined foods, refined sugars and carbohydrates. When you exercise, you lower your insulin levels, you become more insulin sensitive, and the cravings go away and the appetite is much easier to manage. People that are strong and fit have lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone that can trigger overeating and cause your body to store fat more readily) and higher levels of growth hormone (which builds muscle and increases your metabolism (your body's engine). This increased muscle tissue and a higher metabolism lead to more weight loss and better health and fitness, which in turn lowers stress-hormone levels and leads to even more toned muscle tissue. So, this beneficial circle is at work to make your weight loss goals so much easier. And even more good news: As you increase your strength and fitness, hormone fluctuations will become less dramatic and less likely to cause you to overeat or abandon your exercise routine. How? Excess adipose (fat) tissue, which stores fat, also produces estrogen to further store more fat. So as you lose fat, your estrogen levels decline. Also maintaining healthy levels of body fat helps improve energy levels by keeping your thyroid function stable. (Too much or too little body fat can tip the hormonal scales in your disfavor making your battle with excess fat so much harder or even impossible.) Although there will be changes in the hormone levels in your body to help you some of the most important changes you will experience as your fitness improves are the ones you don't see. Like the boost in self confidence that comes from being present in your body. You will enjoy the sense of strength you feel in your muscles as they become stronger and the increased desire to move your body actively for the sheer joy of it. And of course the pride that comes from making real progress toward a truly meaningful goal. These are subtle changes that have a huge impact on the way you feel the way you look - and the way you live.
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