The scale can only give you a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity. That’s it. When you’re trying to get healthy, the scale can be your biggest enemy or the scariest monster under your bed – literally, if you keep yours there like I did. The numbers on that display can dictate whether you’ll feel good or bad about yourself on Weigh-in Day. I used to step on my scale once a week with a shiver of trepidation. Would it bring good or bad news? Could I have a piece of toast for dinner or was it going to be plain chicken and broccoli again?
Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be your life just because you want to get a bit more in shape. When you get to know the science behind the numbers on the scale, you’ll start to see it as no more than one of many helpful tools in your fitness toolbox.
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γνῶθι σεαυτόν A healthy lifestyle isn’t always easy to pursue. Exercising and eating well can be expensive, time-consuming, and tiring. Worst of all, it’s pretty frustrating when you dedicate your time and energy to it, only to see small or no improvement.
Ideally, you’d hire a professional to do the heavy lifting (not literally, I’m afraid) and pick the best programme and diet for you. In truth, many of us lack the funds for a personal trainer and have to resort to random workout programmes and nutrition plans that either overwhelm us or prove fruitless. A few lucky individuals may find the perfect physical activity and diet, but a lot more simply decide “this fitness thing” isn’t for them after all. Nothing can substitute in-depth professional knowledge, but a basic understanding of your strengths and weaknesses can give you the tools to assess whether a certain fitness class or food choice will give you the results you’re looking for. Although each body is unique, some of us share common physical characteristics, such as a propension to store more fat or more muscle mass. Taking these elements into account along with similarities between bone structures, scientists have defined three body types or somatotypes: the ectomorph, the endomorph, and the mesomorph. No one is 100% one type, but rather a combination of all three, with one of them being predominant. For this reason, the science behind somatotypes can’t provide a perfect analysis of your own individual body. Nevertheless, understanding your somatotype can be a great starting point to select a workout programme and a diet you’ll want to stick to instead of a “too much pain and no gain” one you’ll abandon the next day. Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. We all know what a fad diet is. It promises quick results for [insert health benefit of choice, usually weight loss], but it proves impractical for any human being to follow in the long-term. We try it, we crash and burn, we give up. That’s why you’ll never hear anyone say, “This cabbage soup diet is ace, innit?”
In recent years, experts have conducted more and more research studies to prove that fad diets don’t work. Many fitness professionals today look back in horror at their early years, when they were obsessed with the likes of Paleo or the Atkins diet. What we don’t hear about as often is a less obvious craze, which affects our lives just as much. I call this phenomenon “fad fitness”. |
Nikias TomasielloWelcome to my blog. I’m an online fitness coach with a passion for bodybuilding, fantasy, and bread. Want to work with me? Check out my services!Archives
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