by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: July 20, 2010

You may want to believe that you’re doing enough exercise, but if you’re failing to exercise at least half an hour more-or-less every day then you’re not. It may be convenient to tell yourself that you’re a reasonably active person, as that way you don’t have to face the fact you’re actually quite lazy! If you want to control your weight and avoid developing some serious health problems as you get older you may want to think again. Exercise might seem like a real hassle, but the physical benefits of doing it make the blood, sweat and tears worth it in the end.

One of the advantages of keeping active is that you are able to consume more calories without worrying about weight gain. Indeed, you may have decided to start doing exercise because you were watching your weight creep up and thought that it was about time you did something to alter the situation.

Many people begin a fitness program because they hope to lose weight and so you’re not alone if this is your sole motivation for getting active. Of course, if you exercise on a regular basis and reduce your calorie intake you should achieve the results you’re after reasonably quickly. Not only will you shed the pounds, so that you’re slimmer; you will also be toned, rather than having excess skin everywhere.

Losing weight can benefit your health, anyway, although this is mainly because to lose weight sensibly you have to adopt a healthier lifestyle. By exercising regularly you reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke; you are less likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and to develop heart disease, diabetes, cancer and osteoarthritis. By keeping active you therefore have an opportunity to live a longer, healthier life, which is important as you don’t want to approach old age with so many ailments that you lose count of them!

It may be hard to appreciate these benefits immediately, as you cannot see them, but nevertheless you do actually feel healthier after embracing a more active lifestyle, as you can actually tell you’re getting fitter.

When you first start out you may have struggled to walk a mile or two without gasping for breath, but after a couple of months you will no doubt have increased the distance you cover and your pace without puffing and panting. If this is the case then you’re obviously doing something right, which should signify to you that it’s well worth keeping up with your new fitness regime.

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