3 Simple Steps To Stay In Shape

Do you have an ache in your lower back, a tight, pulling feeling in your neck and your shoulders up in your ears? If so, then you are not alone. Nowadays I probably spend more than 10 hours seated and could feel my waistline expanding by minute.

This kind of sedentary lifestyle means your back and stomach muscles become severely underused. It means you body is heading for a disaster and you need to stand up, get active ( 30 minutes a day for a adult) and learn to maintain good posture.

How to stay in shape and feel more energised? A good place to start is to do something about the neglected areas of your health regime. When you are out of shape, it’s very possible that you are over eating. You don’t exercise. You don’t sleep well. Or all of the above.

1. Sleep well

Most people skip sleep all week and then play catch up at the weekends. That’ll not only knock out your body clock but also make you fell lethargic and even sleepier when you do wake up. For effective sleep, aim for seven solid hours a night. To aid your sleep have a warm bath to make you feel drowsy. Lower the room temperature. A cool environment improves sleep. Avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, diet drinks and some pain killers) five hours before bed and don’t go to bed hungry. Also don’t eat a heavy meal two hours before bed, as this will cause a restless night.

2. Eat well

Be aware of how much you eat and what you eat. These two things alone determine your weight gain. Not all foods are made the same. Generally it’s the food that tastes good usually packs the most on the calorie front. keep a food diary and note where your weak spots lie. This will not only help you to be honest about what you eat but will also help you to create a healthier food plan to nourish your body.

Eat like a healthy person and don’t go with mad diets. Healthy people don’t police what goes into their mouths, feel guilty when they eat something “bad” and skip meals because they want to lose weight. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are not. Don’t over eat. When you tend to over-eat, stop. Find something else to do that takes your mind off eating. If you’re truly having a bad day, and food is the only remedy to make your better, give in to it in a small way. Then move on!

3. Exercise often

Sadly, for many people, myself included, the idea of exericse is more abhorrent than a diet. That’s why people start diets everyday and people only tend to start exercising either at New year or when the beach season comes. This is down to one simple reason: in order to exercise you need to take action, which means you actually need to move. Whereas diet, you can literally just do nothing. Both equal weight loss but studies show that people who exercise win in the long run.

That’s because exercisers:

• Have more self-esteem and confidence because their bodies feel stronger.
• Have leaner bodies than people who diet because muscle takes up a third of the space of fat
• Keep weight off for longer than dieters
• Feel great in genera, as exercise releases feel good endorphins

How to keep exercising and stay in shape then?

First of all, you need to stay motivated. Find a sport or activity that suits you and inspires you, as well as getting you results. Create a realistic vision of how you’d like to stay in shape in the long run.

Make exercise a habit. Keep doing it every day or at lease 3 – 4 times a week. All you need is 30 minutes a day. When tempted to break your habit, remind yourself your are only sabotaging yourself. Every time you break it means you have to start all over again!

Of course life doesn’t run smoothly for anyone and it doesn’t take much to give us an excuse to break down. When there are times you have a setback, remember to jump back on the wagon and keep going.

You have to see exercise and activity as part of your life to. Get use to moving and your can stay in shape effortlessly.