Diet And Exercise Go Hand In Hand

by Dennis Townsend, Contributing Writer

We hear it all the time from our doctors, " you are healthy but you could stand to lose a few pounds," which tells us that while we feel good, chances are, we are overweight. If you take a look at one of those charts that shows what you’re suppose to weigh at a particular height, many of us can describe ourselves as obese. And let’s face it, if you are more than 50 pounds over the standard weight for your height, you fit the definition of fat according to the chart.

And for some of us, if we are fortunate enough to get down to that "target" weight, we feel noticeably weak for some reason. We all have different densities in bone structure and therefore while the chart says you should weigh 200 pounds you would feel comfortable at 220 pounds. You are the perfect judge of how well you feel and you should relay that to your physician. I am not a doctor and I can only use myself as an example, so make sure you voice your concerns with your primary care physician.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about obese children and the campaign to get them to be active 60 minutes a day which is a good thing. A child’s metabolism burns calories at a far higher rate than adults and therefore the 60 minutes of active play could be all that is needed to keep your child at a good weight. Of course a proper diet is also essential and for far too long we have allowed our children to consume massive quantities of junk food if you’ll excuse my use of "conehead" analogy.

It may be quite difficult to deprogram your child from junk food and reprogram them to a healthy diet, but it can be done if you make it a family mission. And if your health allows it, you too can join your child in that target session of 60 minutes of activity a day. Eating healthy and being active together not only provides the benefits for which it was intended, but it also allows family bonding which so many families have lost in this digital world we now live in.

And there’s one more thing that you might be interested in, and that’s learning to make the most of your mornings. That means eat a healthy breakfast everyday not only because it’s the most important meal of the day, but studies have shown that when you eat a real fortified breakfast, it will boost your energy level a lot more than them so called "breakfast bars." Remember, you are the best judge of how you feel and what you think is healthy for you and your family and diet and exercise is something you can control.

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