What Does it Take to be Lean and Healthy?

What does it take to be lean and healthy?  If you have been reading my blog, you should know the answer to this, but it never ceases to amaze me how many people do not know the answer to this question.
 

If your arms are looking fat to you, doing toning exercise for your arms will not get rid of the fat.  The fat is there most likely because you are eating unhealthy foods, or too much food, and or, not doing your cardiovascular training on a regular bases to keep your body fat in check.

As I have said before, you can not do "spot reducing" exercises to rid yourself of fat.  If your stomach has too much fat on it, doing crunches will not get rid of it.  You will be strengthening your abdominal muscle, but it will still be covered with a layer of fat unless you choose to eat healthy, choose healthy portions, and do regular cardiovascular exercise.

Eating healthy is the biggest part of being lean and in shape.  There are people who seem to be able to eat anything and never get fat, but that does not mean that they are healthy just because they are not fat looking.  I have body fat tested people that did not look fat, but they tested out at 30% body fat, which is considered clinically obese.  You can be fat on the inside, as well as the outside, especially if you have little muscle on your body.

Some people have a faster metabolism that enables them to eat a lot more food, and even seem to get away with eating a lot of junk food.  Sooner or later this kind of diet will prove to be unhealthy for these individuals due to the lack of nutrients and over abundance of simple carbs in their diet.   We tend to always judge skinny people as being healthy, but that is not always true.  Skinny people can be nutrient deficient just as fat people can be.

So let me say this one more time!  In order to have a healthy, lean, toned, body, you need to eat a healthy diet of predominantly natures food, do cardiovascular exercise five to seven days a week, strength train a minimum of three days a week, stretch daily, and include a meditation somewhere during your day.

That is the recipe for a healthy body, mind, and spirit.  If you practiced this for ninety days, you would see such a difference in how you look, and more importantly, how you feel.  Feeling good is really the motivator for doing this work, and the side effect is that you will look great too.

So if you are doing bicep curls to get the fat off your arms, but still eating junk, think again.  If you are doing abdominal exercises to get the fat off your stomach, but are still eating donuts, think again.  You must incorporate all of the components of being healthy to truly become a whole healthy self.  Once you make it a lifestyle, you will never go back to your old ways again.  Feeling good will help remind you of that!

Till Monday,
Queenie