Before you start an exercise program | Types of exercise | Should you see a doctor first | Recommended weight ranges | Strategies for losing weight

Before you start an exercise program
Your body needs to exercise to stay in top shape. Exercise is like a lubricant for your joints and muscles. It keeps you flexible and resistant to injury. Regular exercise that gets your heart up to an optimal "beats per minute" target can also help lower your risk of heart disease.

Exercise will also help you maintain your weight at just the right range for your body size. On a psychological level, exercise can reduce depression as it helps your body produce endorphins which are the body's own painkillers. Runners, for example, are very familiar with "runner's high" where they enjoy a temporary euphoria from their running.

If you've been inactive for awhile, move gradually into your exercise program so you don't strain muscles or put too great a load on your heart early on. Begin by exercising two or three days a week for five to 10 minutes at a time.
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Types of exercise
Aerobic exercise involves endurance training to build heart fitness. Running, swimming, biking, skiing and singles tennis are examples of aerobic activities. During aerobic exercise, your heart works harder to pump blood throughout the body and your lungs breathe deeply to bring in more oxygen.

Weight bearing exercise, where you lift weights, builds muscle mass. These type of exercises have also been shown to build bone density, which helps prevent osteoporosis, a condition causing bones to become porous and brittle. Osteoporosis may affect women as they pass 50 years of age. Isometric exercises are somewhat like weight-bearing exercises except that instead of lifting a weight, you push against another object to create resistance.

The ideal exercise program would be one in which your heart stays pumping at its optimal "beats per minute" target for at least 20 minutes, three times a week. Even if you can't do the ideal, any exercise is beneficial to you.
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Should you see a doctor first?
Many people can work themselves back into shape on their own. Some need to consult a physician before getting started.The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that the following people should visit their doctor before undertaking an exercise program:

• Men over 40 years old and women over 50.
• People with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, lung disease, arthritis, or any another condition that may be affected by exercise.
• Heavy smokers.
• The overweight and physically inactive.
• Men and women who become breathless after climbing a flight of stairs.

Your doctor may recommend a stress test, which will measure the strength of your heart as you exercise in the doctor's office, if you:

• Smoke
• Are 45 years or older
• Have a family history of heart disease, or have an elevated cholesterol level
• Have any unexplained shortness of breath and chest pain.

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Recommended weight ranges

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Strategies for losing weight
Weight management can be complex and there are many different theories - and diets - that relate to weight. Generally speaking, it's better to manage one's weight by balancing good foods with a regular exercise program. Otherwise, one can focus on reducing food intake alone, which can rob the body of the needed energy to do exercise, which is beneficial to the heart, muscles and joints. A healthy person should exercise regularly and eat balanced meals. Trying to "starve" yourself down to a target weight is often non-productive because the body's own protective mechanisms take over and lower your metabolism. This creates a scenario where the body needs less and less food to survive, so a person can find they are gaining weight as they eat less. The ideal is to speed up your metabolism so you can eat balanced meals without gaining weight. That can be done by eating frequent, but smaller meals.

If you are exercising regularly, but still not achieving your target weight, consider the tips below, or consult your doctor.

1. Instead of trying to starve yourself, eat three meals a day. This will help kill the urge to snack on trash foods like potato chips. When you do eat your regular meal, eat a reasonable portion. Remember, it can take your brain 20 minutes to receive a signal from your stomach that it is full, so eat somewhat slowly.
2. No fatty foods. While it is not good to skip lunch so you can binge at dinner, it is equally non-productive to horse down a double cheeseburger at lunch with fries and a shake. Consider low-fat alternatives like chicken (without the skin). Even better, consider eating fruit for lunch or a salad.
3. Watch your portions. Okay, so you are off the hamburgers in favor of chicken. But how MANY chickens are you eating? Keep a WRITTEN food log that notes what you are eating, and the size of the portions, e.g. one chicken breast or three.
4. Don't eat to combat boredom, tension or anxiety. Some people who quit smoking have to wrestle with weight because they substitute one oral fix (food) for another (cigarettes). Others consume a bag of potato chips at their desk over the course of an afternoon to whittle away the time. If you must have something in your mouth, try gum, carrots or celery.

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