Best Fitness Blog

... By Karli Taylor

I hope you are sitting down for this one: After the age of 20, if you do not add activity to your day or cut calories, you will gain approximately one pound each year.

Now that I’ve gotten your attention, what if I told you that you don’t have to do anything drastic to keep that weight from creeping up on you? Feel better? Keep reading.

If you walked an average of 150 extra steps every single day, you will avoid that weight gain. That is the equivalent of walking for 3 minutes that you would normally be sitting. You can accomplish this simply by pacing your office or home while on the phone or parking a little bit further away from the front door or your office or grocery store.

Can’t find extra time during your average day to sneak in a few steps? You can accomplish the same thing by going to the gym for 30 minutes 10 times a year- yes- a year!

Now, let’s say you don’t just want to maintain your weight, but you’d like to lose a pound every year as you age. All you have to do is double those numbers and enjoy the benefits of virtually reversing the aging process!

The bottom line is simple: weight gain happens slowly over time. SO slowly, that sometimes we don’t see it until it’s too late and we have gained 20-30 pounds. Start being conscious of the amount of activity you do each day, and this sneaky weight gain will never impact your lifestyle!

Social Wellness ... by Karli Taylor

Here's some good news- would you believe it if I told you that just by reading this blog every week, you have an advantage when it comes to weight loss and being healthy?  

Now don't get too excited, I'm not about to tell you that if you sit in front of the computer all day that you will lose weight, but I will tell you that by researching health and wellness and networking with other active people or with others having similar health goals, you will be more likely to stay on your own wagon.

Research shows that your social circle plays a huge part in not only your weight gain or loss, but also in keeping your internal health age from skyrocketing. To increase your accountability here online and make this work for you even more- participate in these discussions. Interject some opinions, ask some questions- someone else is probably wondering the same things!

In addition to participating in online communities, socialize with people who have similar goals. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that unhealthy friends may increase your odds of gaining weight by over 50%!! People tend to match each others behavior, so if your unhealthy friend orders a fatty meal, you will feel more comfortable doing so. Makes sense right?

Eat out with friends who are more health conscious- but keep the number down below 5. A recent study found that people who lunched with more than 4 friends averaged 150 calories more per meal than those who stuck to smaller groups!

We as humans are social creatures- we can use that to increase our health and wellness by creating our own health network comprised of our friends, family, coworkers and sites like this where we can talk about our health goals.