Exercise and the ideal diet build great health.....Try it!

     The benefits of exercise have been known to us forever but yet the average American leads a sedentary lifestyle.  When was the last time you worked out a good half hour to an hour and broke a sweat?  It is important to know that sustained aerobic exercise of 1/2 hour to 1 hour causes blood volume pumped from the heart to the aorta to increase several times over normal resting conditions.  Blood transports nutrients and oxygen to the interstitial tissue fluid (The fluid found in the intercellular spaces composed of water, amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, coenzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, salts, and cellular products. It bathes and surrounds the cells of the body, and provides a means of delivering materials to the cells, intercellular communication, and removal of metabolic waste.).  The blood and lymph transport metabolic waste and toxins to the eliminating channels.  During exercise the accelerated oxygenation improves cellular metabolism.  The higher the body temperature mobilizes waste by-products for the accelerated elimination.  Because both blood and lymph circulation are greatly increased during exercise toxic build up is reversed.  So to put it simply the best thing you can do for yourself is to break a sweat exercising daily for at least 20 minutes, eat the ideal diet of live nutritious food to rid your body of fat, toxins and cellulite.

     Something to keep in mind is that without sustained, strenuous sweating, subcutaneous fat of the dermis and epidermis are bathed so poorly that elimination of toxins is nil.  Only aerobics will increase the blood volume enough to keep these cells free from toxic build up.  This is evident by the unhealthy appearance of fat, cellulite and various skin symptoms such as acne and psoriasis.  Exercise is work but it is worth it.  Eating fresh fruits and vegetables are not enough.  If we really want to be healthy and lose weight we must earn it by working for it!    We must get enough rest to avoid weakening our bodies and get enough exercise to avoid toxins building up in our blood.  You will have to experiment and discover the types of exercise you can really enjoy and do daily and then make a commitment.  Exercise does so much for for our bodies than removing toxins and aiding us to lose unwanted pounds.  It also  helps when we are over stressed.  When we don't exercise all our muscles, organs, glands, circulatory and respiratory systems weaken and suffer physiological impairment.  Our nerve energy runs low, we have trouble with elimination of waste, toxins build up and disease sets in.

     The good news is all this can be avoided simply by adopting an exercise routine with stretching, aerobics and weight training at least three times a week for an 1/2 hour to an hour.  All three forms of exercise I mentioned above  build agility, coordination, muscle tone, poise and a healthy glow called "Exercise High".  Make sure when doing aerobics you get the "training effects" by reaching your target heart rate.  You must stimulate your heart not to its maximum but  between 65 and 85 percent of its maximum.  For example for me at age 46 my maximum heart rate would be 175, my target heart rate at 75% would be 131 with a goal of 70% to 80% which would translate to 123-149 beats per minute.  As you get older this number drops.

     The problem with most exercise programs is that people do not stick with them.  We join health clubs, purchase lifetime memberships and quit after going only a few weeks or months.  This is unfortunate because exercise only works if it is done for the long haul.  I believe the reason we quit is because we don't know what to do exactly so we don't see results and we get board quickly and we quit.  This is why "New Years Resolutions" never stick.  It has to be a choice for a lifetime not for a short time.  What does it take to make a lifetime commitment to exercise?  It takes a program that is natural, pleasant, safe, convenient, practical, economical and easy to do anytime and anywhere.   What would that be?  Walking!  Jogging is hard on your body and is the cause of many injuries.  Aerobic walking if done correctly can give you a cardiovascular conditioning rated higher than many professional athletes.

     We discussed our set points in the last blog so now we're going to learn how to lower them through exercise.  For aerobic activity you must use large muscle rhythmic activity such as swimming, brisk walking, bicycling and so on.  The key is getting your heart rate to your target heart rate and keeping it there for at least  min.  As with any exercise always do a warm up and a cool down so you do injure yourself.  To lower your set point you will have to exercise at least three times a week for at least  minutes.  Note it may take an hour a day every day for a month to make a sticky set point budge.  Start at  minutes and work up to the ideal one hour for the best results.  If you have been living a sedentary lifestyle this could take some time to attain but make it your goal.  You don't want to jump right in at an hour a workout or more and exhaust yourself and cause burn out.  That is not the goal here.  We want something we can do for a lifetime.  The other factor in lowering your set point is the intensity that you exercise.  this may be done at a moderate level.  It is said that moderate exercise, practiced regularly, produces the best results for most people.  This will first use up the blood sugar in the blood system and then to fuel the body fat is pulled out of fat storage and that is exactly what we want.  Don't over do it!

     Do your best to enjoy your workouts, make it fun!  Do a variety of exercises, mix it up, keep it fun.  Always warm up and cool down, rest when you need to but for only about a minute.  Drink plenty of water and keep hydrated. Vary the pace and intensity as needed so that you can increase  your time to an hour.  Do several sets of reps instead of one set.  Do supersets which is 2 or 3 different exercises in a row without a rest.  Visualize a new thinner, healthier you while you exercise.  Exercise with a friend or family member to keep you motivated, on track and challenged.  Keep a record of your starting weight, measurements and  take pride in your accomplishments.  Remember pick a day to stay in bed and do nothing but rest.

     Also when exercising you have to know and understand the lymphatic system and the role it plays in health.  Your lymph vessels are similar to a tree.  The trunk is the chest and the branches go into the arms and up into the neck and head the roots go down into the legs and feet.  So what does the lymphatic system do and how does it differ from our circulatory system?  Our circulatory system is a  closed circuit that blood travels carrying nutrients and  oxygen to the 75 trillion cells throughout the body and waste including carbon dioxide is carried away from the cells for elimination.  The lymph system picks up the waste that the circulatory system was not designed to handle.  The lymph system is not a closed system like the circulatory system.  It originates in the countless spaces between the cells.  The lymphatic system ends by dumping its contents into 2 major veins:  the Thoracic Duct and the Subclavian Vein.  Even though both systems are continually circulating fluids throughout the body they are independent of each other.  This is also a reason to have an lymphatic massage. The fluid in the circulatory system is blood and the fluid in the lymphatic system is lymph.  It is important to have a strong circulation of the lymph so that toxins wont build up causing disease. 

     In conclusion the wonderful psychology of regular exercise is vast.  It provides a strengthened respiratory and cardiovascular system, improved elimination of toxins from the body, blood vessels and muscles strengthen, it develops a more positive attitude and enhances the overall quality of life, it improves mental clarity and intellectual capabilities, it improves your will power to stick with your new lifestyle, it is a powerful rejuvenator, it improves your inner functioning on a cellular level and your looks which brings about better self esteem, it improves your mobility, it adds to your emotional calm and stability allowing you to handle stressful situations better, you are less likely to have to spend money on doctors visits for health and mental reasons as you will be healthier and not depressed, you will have high energy that can be used to fulfill your most meaningful, altruistic goals in life, your sex life will improve and last but not least taking time each day to exercise is an empowering message to yourself that you are in control of your own life!  You will know when your program is working when you fall asleep deeply and quickly each night and wake ready to go each morning and maintain high energy throughout the day and become pleasantly fatigued at its end.

     I hope you enjoyed this blog and will join me for the continuation in the next blog on emotional balance/nurturing relationships and the ideal diet.  I hope this was not to technical and you were able to grasp the information I have laid out and that it helps you with your weight and health problems.

Yours in health, happiness and freedom,

Cherise