I’ve been briefly touching on this in the previous blog posts due to its importance and major role in weight loss and weight maintenance once the desired weight has been achieved, hence, the need to further elaborate on the need for it.
Regular physical activity is very important for every individual as this enhances loss of body fat and encourages lean muscles which use up more energy to perform basic body functions even while resting. Many of us rarely do more than SIT, stand and sleep. We sit at our desks in the office for an average of 6 to 9 hours a day, attending to issues on our desks, brainstorming or being briefed at meetings, sending mails and “facebooking” LOL etc while the body obviously expends more energy during physical activities than at rest.
An important point to note is that Duration and Regular performance rather than Intensity are the keys to the success of this approach to weight loss and maintenance.
How do I go about increasing my Physical activity?
There are various ways of increasing ones Physical activities daily and these includes:-
1. Taking the stairs rather than the Elevator
2. Packing your car a little bit farther than your point of destination in order to walk a longer distance.
3. Walking the distance to a colleague’s desk to deliver a message rather than using the intercom.
4. Engaging yourself in conscious exercise:- The most important key here is to engage in something you really enjoy doing as this will encourage you to continue over time e.g. Joining a dance club or school will be more beneficial to someone who enjoys dancing than joining a gym to slave it out on the treadmill. Such individual will look forward to returning to learn new dance steps and to generally have fun, so if you’ve been longing to know how to dance Salsa or Tango join a class and have fun as you lose the extra weight. Also, joining the neighbourhood/Office Football/ Basket ball team to practice and play each week will be more beneficial to a sport fan and can also be combined with Gym activities. You can even start the neighbourhood team if none is in existence and you do not have to be a professional to start or join an already existing team, you end up combining the health benefit of exercise with having fun.
An individual who weighs 68kg will expend the following amount of energy if he/she does the following activities for 1 hour
Activity Energy expended inkilocalorie/hour
Sleeping 80
Lying at ease 89
Eating (Sitting) 93
Writing (Sitting) 118
Light Aerobics 204
Walking (2.5 MPH) 204
Cleaning (Male) 236
Golf 244
Cleaning (Female) 253
Walking (3.5MPH) 299
Swimming (0.25MPH) 299
Jogging –slow 476
Football- touch 476
Jogging – medium 612
Basketball – vigorous 680
Running/Jogging (10MPH) 897
Reference *Wardlaw 1999
Other Benefits of Increased Physical Activities includes:
- Raising HDL in the Body: Research has showed that HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) which are usually refered to as “good Cholesterols” can be raised by about 5mg/dl with at least 45 minutes of exercise four times a week.
- It stretches the muscles and strengthens the bones which reduces risk of injuries.
- Increased physical activity boosts overall self esteem.
A man I hold in high esteem once said (about 2000 years ago) that “bodily exercise profits little, so if in that day and age such could be deduced then I advice you (including yours truly) to get off that couch/seat and get moving.
No comments:
Post a Comment