The Importance of Staying Fit

When age catches up with us and we cut a sorry figure, losing all confidence, the mantra of staying fit has more sweetness than anything else. Anything that promises to keep you young and youthful catches your fancy and you shell out your shillings without second thought. When the world is fed on global feast and more and more delectable food, often fat laden foods tickle our palate, who could blame us if our waistlines started expanding? More than that, our lifestyle has changed tremendously.

The pleasure of driving a sedan has made us forget that we were given legs to travel distances. We have become slaves of comforts provided by modern technology. Everything comes to us these days at the click of a mouse. We have become couched potatoes. Inactivity has become a habit in that we don't mind sitting idle for hours wasting energy and life. This becomes a bane when we hit our middle ages. Youth is always brimming with activity. Your metabolic rate is always at a fast pace and fat has no place on your body. The greatest physical decline happens between the age group of thirty and forty.

During this phase our metabolism slows down dramatically, we lose muscle mass, bones lose flexibility and density and for the saddest part the amount of body fat increases. A slower metabolism is one the biggest reasons for the physical decline. The other being our inactivity, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We have long forgotten the art of walking, cooking healthy meals at home, and regular exercise. As we are after comforts it is so easy to slip into the habit of idleness. Simple exercises on a regular basis can keep you fit. Aerobic activities like swimming, cycling, running are good to do away stress and anxiety. Mild to moderate depression can also be dispelled by following simple exercise programs.

Regular aerobics accelerate the metabolic rate and this in turn will burn those extra calories which would otherwise get deposited as fat. Always remember that you really are what you eat. So instead of falling for all that is junk stick to a balanced diet. A dietary allowance of at least twenty five grams of fiber should also be included daily. Remember that rock hard abs and bulging muscles do not determine your fitness. Just sweeping around the courtyard, wiping the kitchen floor and washing linen can help you rather than keeping idle. Yoga also can help you to keep fit and relieve you of stress.