Using fitness profiles to manage weight and health

Fitness Profile

Introduction have found that most individuals manage their external appearance, especially their weight, in order to be considered physically attractive by whatever cultural standards that are accepted in a positive manner. This entails that a large number of people strive to manage their appearance through some type of weight control because in our society being thin is more widely thought of as acceptable and therefore rewarded more than obesity. This trend has been a major part of our contemporary global postindustrial society. The problem is that most people do not really know how to manage their diets, exercise and lifestyles in a way that is conducive to weight control and those who do know how to do it charge very large fees on those who do not. This report aims to present a simple approach to weight control including the specific approach of a fitness profile being used to shape ideal weight control opportunities.

Weight Management

Far too often one sees a weight management program that promises to control one's diet but never once mentions the role that exercise plays in human body weight control. Exercise is a key aspect and helps control our weight by helping us burn excess calories that are otherwise stored in the body as fat. Our body weight is basically regulated by the number of calories a person takes in through food consumption and the number of calories that are used through physical and mental excursion. Therefore, everything a person eats contains calories and everything a person physically or mentally does uses calories. Ironically, this includes sleeping, breathing, and digesting food. But these involuntary processes are not enough to utilize all of the excess calories we consume which therefore requires each person to adopt some type of physical activity in addition to expel those extra calories.

Without regular exercise, it is technically impossible for a healthy individual to effectively mange their weight. Other aspects of exercise and weight management are the beneficial side affects such as the body's ability to more effectively handle disease management as well as the increased longevity for the body and mind. In other words, dieting is not enough to increase or to improve one's overall health; exercise is a mandatory aspect in weight management. The good thing about exercise in a typical weight management scenario is that it really does not matter what type of physical activity is performed. Thus, activities such as sports, planned exercise, household chores, yard work and gardening or simply walking a family dog can all qualify if done on a regular basis.

There have been many proven scientific studies that clearly show that even some of the most out of shape and inactive individuals can gain significant health and weight related benefits by simply adding an accumulate 30 minutes or more of physical activity per day into their routine. These many studies also concur that regular physical activity combined with healthy eating habits are the most efficient manner for living a healthy life style and controlling one's weight. This includes individuals trying to lose, gain or maintain some ideal weight. With that being said, the key point is to first include a process that balances the calories a person takes in and secondly to promote a process for burning off excess calories. This is the most efficient and time tested process for achieving any desired weight.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this report discussed the notion of weight management through the proper maintenance of calories. As demonstrated in one of the grossest movies I have ever seen called "Super Size Me," if an individual takes in too many calories and the body does not have an opportunity to rid itself of those extra calories, obesity is sure to follow. This is a problem in our society because most individuals manage their external appearance like their weight to be considered physically attractive based on the cultural standards of our society. The problem is that the majority of the people who are obese simply do not understand the simple process needed to manage their weight. All it takes is a good diet and some basic exercise. Everyone does not need to be Lance Armstrong, they simply need to incorporate enough activity into their lifestyle that burns off more calories than they eat.

Fitness Profile

The Fitness Profile helps record fitness goals, measurements, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and percent body fat as well as other fitness related expectations. This is often a blue print for a person to reach a certain goal or target weight, according to how many pounds the person expects to lose or gain in small intervals as well as in the big picture. The fitness profile includes but is not limited to:

Personal Profile - This section identifies a person's nutritional needs based on sex, age, height, weight, and activity level. The person would provide a profile of him or herself and maintain this section in some software or on a journal of some type. From this information, it is easy to go to the internet and find out daily Recommended Dietary Allowances based on standards set by the National Academy of Sciences, American Dietetic Association, the FDA and more. Once the information is obtained, the personal profile would be used to calculate individual recommended daily values.

Nutrient Intake - This area should be monitored in a fitness profile to later compare personal consumption to the Recommended Daily Values. This also helps one choose foods that are or have specific nutrients. By recording meal totals from Breakfast, Snacks, Lunch, and Dinner, one can calculate the calories, fats, carbohydrates, Sodium, and Vitamins and nutrients for an entire day.

Exercise - for weight control, strength training and cardiovascular fitness must be record including the basic daily activities such as cleaning so that a record can be maintained of all process for burning excess calories

Menus - it is vital that any fitness profile consider a balanced diet of foods from the five major Food Groups and directs the process for calorie planning.

Activity: Recording the calories burned from weekly activities and exercise.

Plan

Diet

Breakfast - OJ, Oatmeal and Fruit like cantaloupe or berries

Lunch - Water, Salad or Soup such as tomato or other low calorie recipe with lots of vegetables

Dinner - Multi-vitamin, Water, salad

Exercise

Get a small notebook to record all exercises for each day and the amount of time spent. The objective is to exercise every other day for up to 20-30 minutes per day with a 5-10 minute warm-up and cool-down (stretching or walking).

MONDAY - Warm up: 5-10 minutes with stretching

Exercise: At least 15 minutes, walking only

Cool-down: 5-10 minutes, stretching

WEDNESDAY - Warm-up: 5-10 minutes, do stretching,

Exercise: Alternate walking and running for 20 minutes. (Walk for 10 minutes, run for 1 minute, walk for 3 minutes, run for 1 minute, and so on...)

Cool-down 5-10 minutes

FRIDAY - Warm-up: 5-10 minutes stretching

Exercise: Alternate walking and running for 20 minutes with increased intervals of running. (Walk 5 minutes, run for 2 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, run for 2 minutes, and so on...)

Cool-down: 5-10 minutes