Diet, Exercise, and Consistency

ByTyson Downs

CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS When was the last time that you obtained something that was of value without hard work? My guess is that it rarely if ever has happened. I have heard more times than I care to count the phrase: I've tried everything to lose weight, and it just won't come off. What I want to say to them this is: 'Okay, tell me the last 100 actions you've taken to lose weight' (really the goal should be to lose FAT, but I digress). A common response would be, 'well, I haven't done a hundred things'. 'Okay, tell me the last 50'. 'Well, I haven't done 50'. 'Okay the last 25'. At this point, the point has been made, and they see where I'm going with it. The thing is, they haven't done 100 things, 50 things, 25 things, or even 5 things usually! Here's what most people have done:

1) Started a 'diet'. When I say 'diet' there was no structured plan, they didn't have a breakdown of macro's (carbs/fats/protein), and rarely do they even have a caloric goal. They just try to 'eat less'.

2) They set a goal to lose X lbs. (I'm not a big fan of this, and I'll go into why in a different article).

3) They go to the gym, walk on the treadmill for a half hour, try and work on a machine or two and head home.

4) The weekend comes along, and they fall off the wagon, and gorge, and when it comes time to weigh themselves, they haven't loss any weight. DIETS DON'T WORK they say! I CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT! In actuality all that has been done is they have developed poor habits, and frustrated themselves because they didn't have a plan. They have also convinced themselves that diets don't work, and they can't lose weight.

Here's the deal, the absolute most important piece of a body transformation is this:
CONSISTENCY. Consistently following a properly calculated diet, consistently following a properly laid out exercise program which entails resistance training and typically cardio (however depending on your goals, cardio may or may not be necessary, resistance training though ALWAYS is). I don't mean to beat up on those that have tried to lose fat and failed, I commend them for trying. I think it is great they have taken the initiative that is the first step. Heck, I was there myself a few years back. I would go to the gym five days a week, during the week my diet was on point, but the weekend came, and I would indulge a little here, a lot there, and guess what happened? I didn't get the results I wanted. I convinced myself that I couldn't lose the weight and get the body I wanted because I was cursed, or my body just didn't want to lose it or that I had poor genetics. Now, I know how full of garbage that is, and I was in complete denial. At one point, I decided enough is enough.

If somebody else can get ripped, so can I. So guess what happened? Over the next 14 weeks I went from 18% bodyfat down to 7.1% bodyfat. I didn't miss a single gym session. I didn't half-ass a single gym session; I didn't stray from my diet once. I wrote down everything I ate. I hit my calories and macros. In a word I was CONSISTENT and guess what happened? I got results! I don't say this to toot my own horn. I say it to impress upon you the importance of being CONSISTENT. It is frustrating that it took me 32 years to realize this ever important principle, but I'm just thankful I was able to figure it out. So I ask each of you this:

Can you honestly say to yourself that you are giving it 100%? Both with your diet and in the gym? I'll let you think about that for a bit. My next article will discuss HOW to design a diet & workout program. Till then, train hard, & stick to your diet.

Ty Downs
***ISSA CERTIFIED FITNESS TRAINER***
http://www.tydownsfitness.com

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Tyson Downs

Email Address:SubscribeHealth and Fitness Article FeedFind More ArticlesSearchSimilar ArticlesSeated Rotation for Abs - A Perfect Resistance Training Exercise to Tone Your Abdominal MusclesThe Three Pillars of Weight Loss SuccessWeight Loss Facts and Fallacies - Are You in the Dark About the Best Ways to Improve Your Fitness?How To Lose Weight Fast - The Weight Loss Triangle1 Day to Transformation! 7 Sample Methods For Immediate Cheap Weight Loss Benefits! Must Read!The Five Biggest Weight Loss and Fitness MythsWhy Your Weight Loss Diet Failed and How to SucceedSecrets to Choosing the Right Weight Loss and Exercise PlanDiet is 90% of Your Body Transformation ProcessCan I Lose My Weight With a Resistance Training Routine Alone?Recent ArticlesBotox and Our Fascination With YouthLiposuction - What Is It?Subjects You Must Know To Work In Medical Billing and CodingWhat Is a Leaky Gut?Getting a Sports Physical FastA Career in Health Care Is a Dream Job in Today's EconomyBuying a Hearing Aid: What You Should Be Aware OfCan a Hearing Aid Help You?Buying a Hearing Aid: When to Exercise CautionWays to Help Open Wounds Heal FasterSubmitted On April 18, 2012. Viewed 3 times. Word count: 688.

MLA Style Citation:
Downs, Tyson".".18 Apr. 2012EzineArticles.com.25 Apr. 2012 .APA Style Citation:
Downs, T. (2012, April 18). . Retrieved April 25, 2012, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Diet,-­Exercise,-­and-­Consistency&id=7010939Chicago Style Citation:
Downs, Tyson "." EzineArticles.com. http://ezinearticles.com/?Diet,-­Exercise,-­and-­Consistency&id=7010939EzineArticles.com© 2012 EzineArticles.com
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Buying a Hearing Aid: When to Exercise Caution

ByAnders Abadie

Buying a hearing aid is one of the most positive steps you can take when diagnosed with auditory loss. When done under the guidance of a professional audiologist and with the help of a center devoted to their customers, the purchase can be smooth and satisfying. When you venture out on your own, however, it's easy to get caught up in a lot of stuff that has little to do with improving your ability to hear and more to do with making someone their share of profit. When it comes to health care, your improvement should be more important than making an extra buck or two. Here are some things you may face and why you should exercise caution when shopping.

Pressure Sales

Pressure sales have no place in selling a hearing aid, yet you'll find it just as readily as you would in any other area. Perhaps even more so since you can't just run up to a big box store and pick up a medical-grade assistive listening device. You'll need to use a licensed center, and these may very well be staffed with sales people working on commission, i.e., pressure. If you're the type of person who is susceptible to these kinds of tactics, simply walk out when you start feeling them. You can always buy whatever you need online or from another dealer. You may also want to let the salespeople know that you won't be buying anything on that day and are rather just getting your feet wet by browsing and learning. That may convince them to turn down the pressure.

Tricks and Gimmicks

Be very wary when it comes to the common gimmicks and sales tactics stores use when they try to sell you a hearing aid. These tactics may include factory sales, trade-ins, and other discounts that are really just layers of mumbo-jumbo designed to make the customer feel as though they are getting a great deal. These dealers have their profit built into the sale and it doesn't change from customer to customer. Be especially wary of trade-in offers, as there is certainly no used hearing aid market. This is just another gimmick to get you in the door. Make a note of some models and prices supposedly priced to sell and check online to see what others are selling them at. You'll probably find similar or lower prices without much trouble.

Mixed Messages

If you have been told one thing about your auditory loss by a doctor and you're being told something else by a hearing aid salesman, you're probably going to want to trust your doctor. Keep this in mind if a salesperson or "technician" starts telling you that your audiologist is wrong.

A Southwestern Virginia hearing aid retailer should be trustworthy and compassionate. For a highly professional center, go to http://www.miracle-ear-swvirginia.com.

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Anders Abadie

Email Address:SubscribeHealth and Fitness Article FeedFind More ArticlesSearchSimilar ArticlesHearing Center - Taking Care of Your Listening AidRecent ArticlesBotox and Our Fascination With YouthLiposuction - What Is It?Subjects You Must Know To Work In Medical Billing and CodingWhat Is a Leaky Gut?Getting a Sports Physical FastA Career in Health Care Is a Dream Job in Today's EconomyBuying a Hearing Aid: What You Should Be Aware OfCan a Hearing Aid Help You?Diet, Exercise, and ConsistencyWays to Help Open Wounds Heal FasterSubmitted On April 23, 2012. Viewed 1 time. Word count: 453.

MLA Style Citation:
Abadie, Anders".".23 Apr. 2012EzineArticles.com.25 Apr. 2012 .APA Style Citation:
Abadie, A. (2012, April 23). . Retrieved April 25, 2012, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Buying-­a-­Hearing-­Aid:-­When-­to-­Exercise-­Caution&id=7020010Chicago Style Citation:
Abadie, Anders "." EzineArticles.com. http://ezinearticles.com/?Buying-­a-­Hearing-­Aid:-­When-­to-­Exercise-­Caution&id=7020010EzineArticles.com© 2012 EzineArticles.com
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Women Risk Metabolic Syndrome Through Lack Of Exercise

5 (2 votes)

Article Opinions: 1 posts
The results of a national US study suggest that women are at greater risk for developing metabolic syndrome than men because they are less likely to do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. It found that although regular physical activity is linked to better health in both sexes, it appears to make a bigger difference for women.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of poor health indicators, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and too much weight around the middle, that increases the risk for chronic diseases such as stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis, Oregon, write about their findings in an study published online on 31 March in the journal Preventive Medicine.

Bradley Cardinal, professor of social psychology of physical activity at OSU and Paul Loprinzi, a student in his lab, initially set out to investigate links between physical activity, depression and metabolic syndrome, and found a difference between the sexes.

Loprinzi, who is now assistant professor of exercise science at Bellarmine University, in Louisville, Kentucky, told the media this week:

"The results indicate that regular physical activity participation was associated with positive health outcomes for both men and women; however, there was a greater strength of association for women."

Loprinzi said 30 minutes of exercise a day reduces a person's risk for depression, high cholesterol and developing metabolic syndrome.

Cardinal said:

"It's pretty striking what happens to you if you don't meet that 30 minutes a day of activity."

"Women in our sample had better health behavior - they were much less likely to smoke for instance, but the lack of activity still puts them at risk," he added.

For their study, Loprinzi and Cardinal looked at nationally representative data from 1,146 men and women who took part in the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

To record their daily physical activity, the men and women had been fitted with accelerometers. This is considered to be a more accurate and objective measure of daily exercise than for example self-reports via questionnaires.

The results showed that women on average were getting only about 18 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per day, whereas men were on average getting 30 minutes.

They showed that just over one in three women had metabolic syndrome, and one in five had symptoms of depression.

Depression is not just about mental health, it is also linked to physical health. Cardinal said there is evidence that depression can put people at higher risk of accumulating abdominal fat and developing insulin resistance, both risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

But doing exercise reduces depression, said Cardinal:

"So the key message here is to get that 30 minutes of exercise every day because it reduces a great deal of risk factors," he urged.

The study did not look into the reasons why women aren't getting enough daily physical activity, but the authors said previous studies have pointed to habits that begin quite early in life.

Cardinal said there is evidence that when their children are around the age of 5 or 6, parents tend to let boys play and be outdoors more than girls, out of concern for their safety.

Loprinzi said this behavior extends into adulthood, and also overall confidence could play a part, adding that studies suggest compared to men, women are not so sure they can overcome their barriers to exercise, and for example, often cite child-rearing as a reason they don't have enough time to exercise.

Loprinzi and Cardinal are about to publish a study that may help women with these difficulties. It shows that you don't have to do all your 30 minutes in one go, you can do short spurts of activity, that add up to 30 minutes over the day. Even taking the stairs instead of the elevator can make a difference, or walking up and down while talking on the phone.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Women Who Lack Exercise At Greater Risk Of Developing Metabolic Syndrome

4.5 (2 votes)

A national study shows that women are less likely than men to get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day, resulting in greater odds of developing metabolic syndrome - a risky and increasingly prevalent condition related to obesity.

Metabolic syndrome is a name for a group of risk factors - including high cholesterol, high blood pressure and extra weight around the middle part of the body - which occur together and increase the risk for coronary disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes. The researchers initially were interested in the correlation between physical activity, depression and metabolic syndrome, and ended up finding a gender difference.

The study, now online in the journal Preventive Medicine, was conducted at Oregon State University by Paul Loprinzi and Bradley Cardinal, professor of social psychology of physical activity at OSU. Loprinzi is now an assistant professor of exercise science at Bellarmine University. He conducted the research when he was a student in Cardinal's lab at OSU.

"The results indicate that regular physical activity participation was associated with positive health outcomes for both men and women; however, there was a greater strength of association for women," Loprinzi said.

Looking at more than 1,000 men and women from a nationally represented sample, the researchers found that women were getting only about 18 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise daily, compared to men who, on average, were getting 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise daily.

"Those who get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day are less likely to be depressed, less likely to have high cholesterol and less likely to have metabolic syndrome," Loprinzi said.

Loprinzi and Cardinal's study is unique in part because it is the first to use an "objective" measure of physical activity - in this case participants were outfitted with accelerometers that measured daily activity. In their study, slightly more than one in three women had metabolic syndrome, and one in five had symptoms of depression.

"It's pretty striking what happens to you if you don't meet that 30 minutes a day of activity," Cardinal said. "Women in our sample had better health behavior - they were much less likely to smoke for instance, but the lack of activity still puts them at risk."

Cardinal said depression puts people at more risk of abdominal fat and insulin resistance, and both are risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

"Physical activity has been shown to reduce depression," he said. "So the key message here is to get that 30 minutes of exercise every day because it reduces a great deal of risk factors."

While their study does not address why women were not getting enough exercise, the authors said research shows that physical activity patterns often begin in childhood.

"Research has shown that around ages 5 or 6 these patterns begin," Cardinal said. "Parents tend to be more concerned with the safety of girls, and have more restrictive practices around outdoor time and playtime than with boys."

Loprinzi said this pattern tends to continue into adulthood, and that overall confidence may be a factor.

"Some evidence indicates that women, compared to men, have less confidence in their ability to overcome their exercise-related barriers," Loprinzi said, adding that women also often cite a lack of time to exercise due to child-rearing.

The researchers have a study coming out that may help those time-challenged women. Loprinzi said he and Cardinal found that adults can still enhance their health by accumulating physical activity in short periods throughout the day, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or pacing while talking on the phone.