ATKINS DIET AND EXERCISE

Research has shown excess weight is a serious health problem for many Americans. Obesity in America is almost reaching the epidemic stage.  Being overweight consistently increases your risk for developing a number of serious illnesses including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure.  The Atkins weight management approach takes a "healthy perspective," incorporating low carbohydrate healthy foods, balanced with nutritional supplements and aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

The benefits are exercise are profound.  Your aerobic exercise will strengthen your cardiovascular system while the anaerobic or strength training will improve your muscle tone and joint health.  Overall, your general health and mental health will improve and your body metabolism will increase.

You expend energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. Thus your Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories you'd burn if you were inactive all day.  Activity and especially exercise increase your metabolic rate or metabolism.  Research has shown that your basic metabolic rate will increase up to 24 hours after exercise is completed.  This is a superb method of losing weight.  For example, you ride your bike 6 miles and burn 250 calories doing so.  Then, for the next 24 hours, you continue to burn more calories even if you did nothing because your metabolism has increased.  This is a 2 for the price of one proposition and is greatly encouraged because your metabolism slows down with age.  As you age, you will notice your weight will be harder to maintain even though you are eating at the same levels as before.  This is because your metabolism has decreased and needs to be kick started with exercise.