Have you thought about starting an exercise program but haven’t done it yet? Here are 7 REALLY GOOD reasons to get started today!

Reason #1: To Melt Fat Away

The most coveted side effect of exercise is, of course, fat burn. The combination of a challenging exercise routine and a balanced meal plan is the best-known way to lose fat. Here’s what losing fat feels like:

• Your pants become loose
• People around you begin to say that you look great
• A glance at yourself in the mirror makes you smile
• Your energy levels soar
• You feel amazing

Reason #2: To Alleviate Pain

Regular exercise is a great way to alleviate chronic muscle and joint pain. Persistent back pain can be lessened by strengthening your core, and you’ll protect yourself against injury. It amazes people when the chronic pain that they’ve lived with for years (as well as being a reason they were hesitant to workout) begins to fade after starting a regular exercise program.

Reason #3: To Increase Lean Tissue

More muscle is good for many reasons. You see, muscle burns FIVE TIMES more calories each day than fatty tissue. When you exercise your body composition will change to contain more lean tissue, thus resulting in extra calories burned while you sleep. What could be better than that?

Reason #4: To Stay Young

Tim D. Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College in London, led a study on the effects of exercise on aging. The results were astounding. They found that exercise appears to slow the shriveling of the protective tips on bundles of genes inside cells (called telomeres), which means a slowing of the aging process.

Here’s the study in a nutshell:

• Telomeres cap the ends of chromosomes and every time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter.
• Once a telomere gets too short, that cell can no longer divide.
• Aging occurs as more and more cells reach the end of their telomeres and die. This results in weakened muscles, skin wrinkles, loss of eyesight and hearing, organ failure and slowed mental functioning.
• The study analyzed the telomeres from the white bloods cells of twins over a 10-year period. Telomere length was used as a marker for the rate of biological aging.
• It was found that the length of telomeres was directly related to that twin’s activity level. "There was a gradient," Spector said. "As the amount of exercise increased, the telomere length increased."
• People who did 100 minutes of weekly exercise had telomeres that looked like those from someone about 5-6 years younger than those who did 16 minutes of exercise each week.
• People who did 3 hours of vigorous exercise each week had telomeres that looked like those from someone about 9 years younger.

Reason #5: To Prevent or Control Type 2 Diabetes

Regular exercise helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. This is something that people with type 2 diabetes, or at risk for type 2 diabetes, gain substantial benefits from.

Exercise improves the body’s use of insulin, and the related weight loss improves insulin sensitivity. Of course patients with type 2 diabetes need to follow guidelines from their doctor before starting an exercise program.

Reason #6: To Lower Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels

Exercise has shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels for these two reasons:

1. Weak Heart Muscles pump little blood with lots of effort. By exercising you strengthen your heart muscles and train them to pump more blood with less effort. The stronger your heart is the less pressure will be exerted on your arteries.
2. Exercise Increases HDL levels in some people—this means a decrease in your risk for heart disease. Other heart disease risk factors such as weight, diabetes and high blood pressure all show improvement with regular exercise.

Reason #7: To Feel Great

The first thing that clients tell me after starting an exercise program is how much better they feel. Most didn’t even realize how bad they felt. It is easy to get used to feeling sluggish, achy and unmotivated. Exercise boosts your energy levels and makes you feel amazing.

What are you waiting for? Lace up your shoes and get moving!

Do you have a goal for each workout?

To get the most out of your exercise time, make each session goal-oriented.

Decide how many miles you’ll run, how many reps you’ll do or how much you’ll increase the weight you're using before your workout begins. Then do it.

Set clear goals, write them down, and keep a record of your workouts. There’s nothing quite like being able to read exactly where you want to be, where you currently are, and where you’ve come from.

​Today I have a brand new take on tuna salad for your tasting enjoyment. While most tuna salad recipes use mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt to create the desired creamy consistency, this recipe does something completely different. We are using hummus! And not just any hummus: white bean hummus.

Nutritionally these Creamy Tuna Lettuce Boats are exactly the type of meal that you should be eating in order to see noticeable improvements in your shape. Tuna is a lean protein that provides essential macronutrients to help your muscles develop and recover from your workouts.

To boost the fiber content we are adding some finely chopped celery, red onion and parsley in addition to whole grain mustard. Resist the urge to spread this divine tuna salad over toast and give it a try over crunchy butter lettuce leaves instead. Enjoy!

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What you need
Serves 6

15oz canned tuna, packed in water
½ cup white bean hummus
½ cup celery, finely minced
2 Tablespoons red onion, finely minced
2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
2 heads butter lettuce

Instructions

1. Drain the tuna and flake into a large bowl. Mix in the hummus, celery, onion, mustard and parsley.

2. Serve scoops of the tuna mixture on butter lettuce leaves. Enjoy!

Nutritional Analysis

One serving equals: 144 calories, 4g fat, 8g carbohydrate, 1g sugar, 209mg sodium, 3g fiber, and 18g protein.

Motivate your friends, family and co-workers! Use the “refer a friend” link below to forward this newsletter to your friends, family, and coworkers.