How much exercise is too much?
While some people find it hard to allocate 20 minutes of their time to exercise, it’s hard to believe that there are people whose lives are exercise oriented. This can occur due to unrealistic weight loss program or the desire to remain in shape. But how much exercise is too much? Sure regular exercise is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle, even though it is beneficial, extreme exercise can cause severe health problems. Especially when you are burning more calories than you take in. Some people are compelled to burn the excessive calories they take on (which should be encouraged to a certain degree) and others struggle with guilt or anxiety when they didn’t go out and try to work off what they feel as extra calories (in most cases, there’s really no extra calories)
The scary thing about compulsive exercise is that it creeps in slowly, after each exercise you feel good afterward about the calories you think (or supposedly) you burn. The desire to loose weight grew stronger slowly leading to over exercise. It might sound weird but this is an addiction, you might think "how can anyone ever be addicted to exercise?”
Before you get up at 5am in the morning to jog with your injured knee, ask yourself, if this could be a compulsive behavior. 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week is enough to prevent diabetes and other heart problems.
Near my previous apartment there was this path that leads into a park, I use to jog along that path when I feel the need to exercise...lol.
Anyway there was this one particular jogger, who I accidentally bumped into because he was a bit disoriented while sprinting along. He got angry and said a few words before jogging off. I was a bit shocked but just let it go, at first I was really impressed by the speed he is running at. It is really impressive how he seemed to be doing a 100m race. The next day on my way to class I saw him jogging and it was 9am in the morning.
I came home at 6pm and I saw him again, I was really impressed with him since I was trying hard to tone up my body but the mere thought of jogging nearly killed me. You could say he inspired me to jog for the next few weeks. Unknown to me that he jogged almost the whole day. I then decided to sit outside my apartment and try to see if I can catch his jogging schedule. So here goes, 6am, 9am, 1pm, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm...I kept bumping into him on my way to school, from school, out grocery shopping, studying at a cafe shop and finally when I go out for a jog. At first I came to a conclusion that he must be mentally ill. Now I know it’s really not that, just suffering from compulsive exercise behavior.
Compulsive exercise can make you susceptible to injuries and illnesses. Some people get depressed, mood swings or loss of self-esteem. The physical signs are loss of appetite, insomnia, fatigue and the inability to maintain what use to be a normal workout. These symptoms could be related to exhaustion or a change in body chemicals.
What most people need to do is set reasonable and realistic goals for health and fitness, taking into account physical factors as well as body type and mass.
Before you start drawing up your exercise plan, set a goal that is realistic and reachable. And like all things in life, everything takes time. And think and ask yourself this "Do you organize exercise around your life or your life around exercise?"
Which is better: Breakfast or doughnuts?
Breakfast is the first chance the body has to refuel its glucose levels, also known as blood sugar, after eight to 12 hours without a meal or snack. Glucose is essential for the brain and is the main energy source. Blood glucose also helps fuel the muscles needed for physical activity throughout the day. Breakfast skippers usually feel tired, irritable and restless in the morning.
Which is better: Breakfast or doughnuts?
Breakfast is the first chance the body has to refuel its glucose levels, also known as blood sugar, after eight to 12 hours without a meal or snack. Glucose is essential for the brain and is the main energy source. Blood glucose also helps fuel the muscles needed for physical activity throughout the day. Breakfast skippers usually feel tired, irritable and restless in the morning.
Eating breakfast is also important when trying to reach personal weight loss goals. One explanation for this is skipping breakfast causes the brain to crave high calorie food. When you eat breakfast, it curbs hunger and prevents binge eating through out the day. This explains why people crave doughnut (or other high calorie snack) while working on an empty stomach. Doughnuts provide all the sugar that your brain is craving. This would certainly get your metabolism going and help you resist vending machine urges at the office for a couple of hours. Another possible benefit of the doughnut over no breakfast at all is allowing you to feel your healthy eating plan isnt so restrictive. This could help you mentally to stay on track.
So is doughnut better than breakfast? No, but its better than No Breakfast at all, one way to avoid doughnut over breakfast is to have several quick and healthy breakfast food to go at hand.
So is doughnut better than breakfast? No, but its better than No Breakfast at all, one way to avoid doughnut over breakfast is to have several quick and healthy breakfast food to go at hand.
