Exercise plays an important role in achieving and maintaining ideal weight and body composition. At Diet Center, we recognize exercise as a key component of lifestyle change and improved health. Diet Center Programs highly encourage exercise and an active lifestyle. Combining exercise with dieting allows you to lose fat while helping to keep valuable muscle mass. Exercise also helps prevent regaining lost weight.
Experts suggest that a balanced fitness program combining both aerobic and strength training can help provide the safest and most permanent weight loss. Research points to exercise as a direct benefit to the heart. It can lower blood levels of LDL cholesterol (the artery damaging kind), and raise blood levels of HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol). These benefits can be achieved without becoming an “exercise nut.” Just beginning a regular walking program can help.
Exercise also improves circulation to the heart, can help lower blood pressure, helps keep blood sugar levels at a more even keel and can help to reduce stress levels. Even if you don’t lose pounds by exercising, it can help you lose body fat, inches and sizes.
Without regular exercise, we lose almost one-half pound of muscle every year. So, even we weigh the same at age 40 as we did at age 20, we probably have 10 pounds more fat!
Follow the Fitness Beat
As part of Diet Center’s emphasis on moderate exercise as a valuable component of weight loss and health, we offer a series of Fitness Walking Tapes at the beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Each tape includes warm up and cool down exercises and walking music keyed to a specific number of beats per minute pace. It’s easy, fun, and encourages everyone to, “Follow the beat and walk your way to fitness, fun and increased energy!”