Do I Really Need to Exercise?

Do I Really Need to Exercise to be Healthy?

Many people struggle to fit exercise into their schedule. But, is it really that important to a health plan if you are eating right and taking care of yourself in other ways?

The short answer is…yes!

Exercise is a powerful tool that can often be overlooked, especially if you are following a quick fix weight loss diet that, spoiler alert, will often melt your muscle away as quickly as your fat.

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things that you can do for your health.

As we age our muscle mass declines. By the age of 50 this decline can be up to 10% in 10 years.

Why is this a problem?

Muscle is our main metabolic tissue. Muscle loss as we age is the most significant contributor to declining metabolism as we age. In short, we lose muscle and more easily gain fat. The result is increased risk of osteoporosis, decreased balance and increased risk of falls, changes in blood sugar control, increased cholesterol, and a decrease in your ability to enjoy every day activity.

A combination of  resistance exercise and aerobic exercise can reduce your health risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and arthritis.

It is challenging to see these long term health benefits unfold as we are exercise. So, what are the immediate benefits of exercise?

Exercise improves mental health in just one session! It can improve sleep, reduce risk of depression and anxiety and even improve learning, thinking, memory and judgement.

Nothing impacts our overall health as much as exercise! In just 150 minutes a week (30 mins, 5 days per week) you can make a significant impact! A health plan that doesn’t include some movement is not a good health plan!

What holds most people back?

The main problem with exercise is that people make it unachievable. You do not have to go to the gym for an hour every day to improve your health!

Here are some tips on where to start:

START SMALL- Researchers found that increasing your daily step count by 1000 steps per day improved health outcomes.

Add in some resistance exercise- whether you are going to a gym or doing push-ups in your bedroom at home, your exercise routine will benefit from improving your strength.

Find exercise that you enjoy- try a variety of different things to find what is right for you

Find some company- finding someone to do exercise with or to be accountable can help you to stay consistent.

Your Naturopathic doctor can ensure that your exercise program is efficacious for you and that you build on this as you age. Exercise and improving muscle mass is an important part of the picture, but it is not the whole story. At Health Over All, our programs address diet as well as other important factors like hormones and stress in order to ensure that you are able to meet your short term and long term health goals. Contact us to book your free alignment call to hear more about our holistic health programs.

Book your free Alignment Call HERE to find out how you can work with us.

In health,

Dr. Lisa Maddalena, ND