Usually on my birthday I look in the mirror in the and see that my middle age spread is another year older and another inch wider and I start to think about loosing some weight and getting in shape. Most People first think about starting a diet.  Although it is true that most of us could afford to cut back on some junk food is also true that diet alone is not the best long term solution. Regular exercise as part of our daily lives is as important as diet when trying to loose weight and keep it off.



Most people think of a large man in a gray sweat suit plugging away on a treadmill when they associate exercise and weight lose.  The reality is that strength training is better then cardiovascular exercise to help take off the pounds and keep them off for the long term.



Unlike fat, muscle burns calories - on average every pound of muscle burns 35 calories a day.  As we grow older and more inactive we start to lose muscle mass.  The average inactive adult will loose about half a pound of muscle every year and this is one of the main causes of middle age spread; we keep eating like we did when we were 21 years old when our bodies actually require fewer calories. At age 30 most people need almost 200 fewer calories a day then we did when we were 20.  Each pound of fat is about equal to 3500 calories so with an extra 200 calories a day it does not take long to add 10 to 20 pounds to our waists!



Dieting and cardio exercise can actually reduce our muscle massl.  Low-calorie diets that are are popular today will result in 1 pound of muscle being lost for every 3 pounds of fat.  This will make it more likely that when the diet is over that we will gain the weight back.  Using your home gym to maintain and build muscle mass will speed weight lose and help keep it off. 



The goal is not to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. You will see these benefits with weight training for 30 minutes three or four times a week.  Ideally this can also be combined with some cardiovascular exercise as well to work on total fitness.  The result will be a slimmer, fitter you without the need to watch everything that you eat.  In fact some studies have shown that with a proper exercise routine it is possible to loose weight while increasing your daily caloric intake!



Setting up a proper diet and exercise routine will result in long term health benefits that will be with you for the rest of your life.  It is the key to stopping the yo-yo affect that so many of us face when we diet.

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