Fitness And Dieting Tips

When it comes to living a healthy and long life, there are two necessary ingredients: fitness and diet. While some believe that they are one thing all together, nothing could be further from the truth. It is quite possible to have a perfectly healthy diet with deplorable fitness habits. It is equally possible to be very physically fit with less than savory eating habits.

There’s a clever little line in the Jimmy Buffet song “Fruitcakes” when his ‘lady’ is lamenting:

“I treat my body like a temple
You treat yours like a tent”

I can’t help but think of this line whenever I think about all the people around the world who are going on these garbage in, garbage out diet plans hoping to achieve the weight loss success of those who are endorsing these products.

It's possible to shed kilos through diet alone. It is difficult but possible. It is also possible to be physically fit and have a few extra kilos hanging around. To a large degree we are what we eat. If we consume a high fat low substance diet our bodies are going to lack the fuel required to burn the fat. At the same time if we are not providing our bodies with the tools it need to build muscle it does not matter how many weights we lift.

When it comes to fitness and diet, the best results are achieved when they work together rather than separately. Use your fitness routine to burn excess calories and use your diet in order to properly provide your body the fuel and nutrients it needs to build muscle. I have heard many times in my life that a kilo of muscle weighs less than a kilo of fat. While this is not true at all, a kilo is a kilo regardless.  A kilo of muscle occupies less space on the body than a kilo of fat. I would much rather mine be composed of muscle than fat. Dieting alone does not build muscle and that is something you will do well to remember in your efforts.

You should also realize that as you are building muscle you may be shedding inches while not showing a great deal of progress on the scale. It is very important that you keep this in mind throughout the weight loss process. Do not measure your progress by the scales alone or you will achieve misleading results. The problem is that far too many people do just this and get frustrated and give up when they are actually making progress. Do not allow yourself to be a victim of the scales. Look in the mirror, try on your tight pants, and measure your waistline. Measure your success by how you feel after climbing a flight of stairs not by how many kilos fell of the scale this week.

By incorporating fitness into your diet routine you are also enabling your body to burn off any extra calories you may have consumed during the day. This means that if you want to have a small ‘cheat’ during your day, you can make up for it by burning a few more calories than normal in the evening. This is not something that should happen often, but every now and then as a reward is not going to break your diet.

You should also look at fitness and dieting as a ball and glove type of relationship. While you can play ball without the glove, it  works so much better when you have both. Fitness and dieting when combined can create fantastic weight loss results for those who take them both seriously. The thing to remember is that neither works as well alone and neither will work unless you are willing to do the work. You must make this a priority in your life in order to achieve the best possible results.