Diet and Exercise

Diet and Exercise

Diet and exercise is a huge topic in today's society. Whether we want to admit it or not; America is a fat country. I chose to do my project on this topic. Instead of trying one of those diets that everyone thinks work, I came across some information. "Proper diet and exercise are the mainstays for a healthy lifestyle, although many Americans turn to costly fad diets and exercise programs that fail to provide weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. The basic tenets to gradual weight loss and good health include developing healthy eating habits and increasing daily physical activity(Diet and Exercise Tips)." My goal was to start working out and to watch what I was eating. This lifestyle change was perfect for me. I chose this topic because I felt I needed to start doing something with myself. I was sick of sitting around doing nothing all day. Working out and watching what I eat made me feel a lot better about myself. I began to see some changes after starting to work out. I began to notice a weight loss, and I also felt as if I was gaining muscle from the lifting I've been doing.

I started looking up the different ways of losing weight, and came up with a big list. I would have never guessed how many things there are to do just to lose a few pounds. The things that I chose to do for my project were running, lifting, and to watch what I eat. My plan was to try to do at least one thing each day. I wanted to go to the gym on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays, which worked out really good considering I don't have school on those days. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I would run on the treadmill. I started off running 10 15 minutes, and then gradually worked my way up to almost 30 minutes. Also, everyday for lunch I would have a salad. I didn't like the idea of eating a salad for lunch everyday at all. I was used to going to Arby's in between classes and eating. However. after a few days of eating the salads I didn't have a problem with it.

The thing I was really excited about, was that I was going to start lifting again. I stopped lifting after my senior year in football, and I always wanted to get back into it, but never did. This project pushed me to start doing things I was lazy to do before. Before I began my lifting, I searched the internet for different types of workout plans. I wanted a workout that would allow me to gain muscle mass and burn calories at the same time. Once I found my workout I began hitting the gym 3 times a week. Each day I would do different types of lifts. The things I worked on were chest, biceps, triceps, back, shoulders, and legs. I found out that lifting is a good way to burn calories. While you are lifting, you are losing calories while gaining muscle. Some people get real upset when they are lifting and trying to lose weight at the same time. They run and lift for hours and hours and do not see a weight change. There is a reason behind this. If a person is lifting and running at the same time, they are going to gain muscle mass. It turns out that muscle weighs more than fat, which means people may not be losing weight, but at least they are getting rid of the fat. Also, I learned that, "Strict adherence to perfect form is absolutely crucial with any strength or weight lifting program"(How to Lift Weights and Lose Weight). It's weird, but if a person using perfect form while lifting, they are more likely to lose weight easier.

Losing weight takes a lot of work. I knew that if I wanted to lose some weight I would have to watch the amount of calories I was eating. Through online research I found that, "Your body stores the excess calories that you consume as body fat. So if you want to reduce your body fat, you need either to consume fewer calories, or burn more energy"(Running to Lose Weight). I began watching the amount of calories I was consuming each day, which would allow the weight to come off a lot easier.

While researching, there were numerous times when I would come across the dangerous ways of losing weight. It's sick how so many people are willing to hurt themselves just to lose a little bit of weight. Instead of going to the gym for an hour, people are willing to starve themselves. This is called anorexia and is a popular disease for teens. Also, bulimia is another harmful way to lose weight. I cannot see how a person can eat a portion of food, and then without even thinking about it, go to the bathroom and throw it right back up. It doesn't make any sense to me at all. People would be so much more healthy if they would just listen to advice from people who know what they are talking about. There are many more ways to losing weight without hurting yourself, than there are harmful ways.

Before beginning this new lifestyle, I thought for sure that I