The truth about finding your ideal weight and fitness levels

This is a guest page by Sachin.

Everybody has an ideal weight. This is the weight where you feel better, and your stamina seems endless. Ironically, everyone hits their ideal weight at some time- and usually adds or loses weight from that point. There’s a quick way to get fit, however, and it’s swimming. With some good exercise, and patience, your faithful swimming pool heater and some patience can find your right weight for you.

Swimming as exercise
There’s a very good reason for swimming being a standard training practice for professional athletes. Swimming exercises every muscle group, and does it with the support of water, which offsets the effects of gravity. The water, above all warm water, also helps the muscles and tendons expand and relax after exercise. Even if you’re not a good swimmer, you’ll find that swimming has an almost instant effect on your fitness.

The “fitness effect”, which is best known to non-athletes as that sudden unfamiliar feeling of good health after doing the right exercises, is one of the primary catalysts for real weight improvement. The body is pretty practical, and will act in its own best interests. Doing something that makes you feel great tends do encourage doing more of the same, and getting more adventurous. It’s almost subconscious, but it works very well as a motivator.

It’s so effective, in fact that even the most determined non-athletes will pick up exercises on that basis. They’ll look forward to that game of tennis, football, or whatever, but swimming is practically addictive. The relief from gravity is a true stimulant, and for both the over and under weight, it’s a pleasant experience.

Exercises for weight management
The best basic exercises are almost effortless, and they provide a huge amount of aerobic value. Some sports are also excellent for the valuable stop/start movements that build endurance. They’re calorie burners, but they build muscle and tone all over the body, and they can drastically improve oxygenation, which is critical to basic health.

• Walking
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Yoga
• Tai Chi (Qigong)
• Squash

Important: All these exercises must be done in realistic stages. Start simply, and build within your tolerance. Never mind the hype, go for the quality in terms of feeling good, not exhausted. Exercise can reduce your energy reserves if you overdo it, and that’s not the idea.

The truth about finding your best weight
You’ll notice that feeling fit also affects your appetite, sometimes very noticeably. If you’re underweight, you tend to go for protein foods. If you’re overweight, you start to appreciate fresh foods, particularly vegetables, for their very useful food values for muscle development. You’ll also find you’re enjoying some foods a lot more, and your diet therefore alters.

This is the real truth. Your body, which is now wide awake and active, is telling you what it likes. Your weight will adjust over time, and you’ll find if you’re going over or under weight, you’ll correct yourself. You now know what’s your right weight.

Get your swimming pool chlorinator cranked up, dive in, and start having a ball!