The importance of movement

So far we talked a lot about what to eat, when to eat, water consumption, timing, etc. What hasn’t been emphasized enough is how important it is to do sports when you would like to lose weight. You can have a perfect menu line, can pay attention to drink enough water and have enough sleep, can take care of precise timings, but if you do not wake up and start to move, we can say it’s almost vain!

WHAT kind of sport to do?

Before you start doing any sports, make sure you are healthy and in a good physical condition to bear extra physical burden.

Many people swear for cardio type of movement, e.g. running, hiking, cycling, aerobics, spinning, using cardio machines in the gym, etc. This is a good start, as in the beginning it helps a lot to sweat, and hence burn fat and lose extra calories and weight. However, after a while, if you do only cardio, you will notice that your weight stagnates. This is because our body needs to build muscles to be able to continue burning fat. And for that, you will need to strengthen your muscles, to build them. You can do that by any fitness training, special body-building aerobics, simply going to the gym or any other sports that aims at developing muscles. So, all in all, the best is if you combine cardio and muscle building.

HOW OFTEN?

Before answering this question, ask yourself how quickly you would like to get rid of extra weight. The best frequency is said to be on a daily basis (at least half an hour). The other end of the recommended spectrum is 3 times a week (at least one hour). If you do a workout less frequently than that, it is also worth something, but will bring a much slower result.

Some factors to pay attention to

• Eating before: make sure you eat a little portion of carb that absorbs slowly before you start the excercise (especially if you have blood sugar problems) – e.g. some wholegrain biscuits or a few pieces of nuts. This will give you strength to carry out the excercise. On the other hand make sure you do not overwhelm your body with a lot of food, otherwise you won’t feel well.
• Eating after: when you finished the excercise, eat a bite of carb that absorbs quickly, e.g. an apple, but make sure you eat only a little portion and within 20 minutes (within this time frame your body basically burns it without a trace). This will stabilize your blood sugar level. Also, make sure your dinner is light, e.g. a slice of lean meat and salad.
• Heartbeat: make sure you keep your heartbeat at a fast (but bearable) rate for at least half an hour altogether (even if you have to have a short rest).
• When does it start to be effective? Any movement is said to become effective when you start to sweat. Try to keep up the work for at least for half an hour from that moment.
• Drink enough water: or, as a nice alternative, Bolero. Make sure you keep yourself hydrated before, during and after the workout. Bolero has a pre-workout energy drink with Vitamin B6 & B12 and 80mg caffeine to give you the energy to move and a post-workout sports drink with all types of electrolytes to assist a quick muscle recovery and the essential hydration.

An extra tip

• Don’t think only in terms of going to the gym / training / running, etc. Expand your scope of movement! You can walk to school or to your workplace, use the stairs instead of the elevator, ride your bike instead of sitting into your car, etc. Be creative, move as much as you can.