Dieting is good, we are what we eat, after all. It’s safe to admit that people take dieting very seriously, to the point that they embrace any diet widely publicized with the promise to give them their dream body. It’s very true that we are what we eat, if you have any doubts, compare a junkie with one who watches what they eat. I don’t want to generalize; we all know that Rihanna had a beautiful body for a long time without working out, while there are those who have been following their diet faithfully, with no visible results in terms of weight loss. We also know that to achieve an ideal body we have to incorporate our dieting with a workable workout, ask Khloe Kardashian how to get a revenge body.

Exercise is underrated, but is very important. We know of several campaigns aimed at empowering women to embrace whatever body shape and size they have, but this should not be at the expense of your health. Big is beautiful, only when it’s big and fit, not big and lousy. Let us look at the advantages of working out:

Mood Elevation.

Feeling stressed? Take a jog. Feeling low? Take a walk. Got dumped? Join a gym. Working out elevates our moods, literally. Research has been conducted to understand the correlation between working out and feeling good, and it has in fact been realized that working out triggers the production of our bodies’ feel good hormones, the endorphins.  Endorphins are the body’s opiate. Endorphins are very addictive and this could explain why just like any drug addiction, working out is very addictive. Runners’ high is real. Ask any athlete. Some research indicates that the mood-elevating effects from exercise can last up to 24 hours post-workout.

People who work out also look amazing, physically. The most beautiful people I the world are very fit, physically. What better way do you have to improve your self-esteem other than to work out and look fabulous?

Yoga is also good as it enables us meditate, have deep cleansing relaxation poses while enhancing our flexibility. How can you be moody after working out? It’s almost impossible.

Managing Depression

Yoga is one recommendation for patients suffering for depression. It relaxes you while reducing the tension caused by stress. One way to deal with depression is to go outdoors, however tired you are.  Amygdala is the part of the brain believed to be responsible for stress, fear and anxiety. However stressed you are, stir yourself up and so out, for a jog, run, or even yoga.

Working out also produces so many feel good hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine which are very effective in treating depression. Research also shows that being outdoor also improves our moods while reducing tension.

Improved attention span.

I met a fitness trainer in one of my evening jogs and she was quick to ask why I preferred jogging in the evening. I quickly told her that I am not a morning person. She then advised me that, that is exactly why I should work out in the morning. Research shows that working out in the morning, even for ten minutes, jumpstarts our day improving our concentration of the rest of the day while making us alert if you are not a morning person then you should actually be working out in the morning and see how it goes.

Your attention span will significantly be boosted allowing you to multitask while avoiding distractions.

Working out improves blood flow, especially in the brain, hence making us more focused and able to multi task. It is important that we put on our running shoes immediately we wake up in order to jump start our day.

Creativity

People who work out are more creative; research. I believe the connection has got something to do with blood flow in our brains. For instance, you are stuck with an assignment and cannot think, take a walk. The taking a walk in itself may not trigger your creativity, but being outdoor seeing different things not only reduces pent up tension, creating space in our brain,  but it also enables us to think. Most creatives are aware that taking a sabbatical break away from humanity, running the trail and all is what they may need to trigger another masterpiece.

Improving memory retention.

Research shows that cardio exercises directly helps improve memory retention in individuals. Working out in moderation, for instance, cycling actually helps our brains retain more information. When preparing for your exams its better if you engage in moderate cardio workouts, High Insanity Workouts actually makes us feel strained nd may result in the opposite. As you prepare for your exams or very important presentation cycling may just be the trick you need in order to remember more.

The brain has different compartments including the hippocampus, which governs declarative and episodic memory as well as recognition memory.

Combats Cognitive Decline.

Old age comes with many complications some neurotic like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. The good news is, as we work out, it’s not just our bodies becoming flexible, can you believe our brains also get flexible and resets now and then allowing it to store new information?

Neurons usually die as we age making it difficult to retain new information. In fact, most people start losing memory.  Cognitive decline can be combated or slowed down altogether when we exercise. Working out facilitates neurogenesis which is the production of neurons making us harp and upbeat even in our old age.

Reduces risk of chronic illness

Let’s be honest, the moment your doctor diagnoses you with high blood pressure, he includes working out in your treatment plan. While most ailments are caused by germs, bacteria and viruses, we have control of some ailments, like obesity. Some of these ailments come as a result of weight related complications. It’s almost impossible to be obese when you work out diligently and eat right. When we work out we regulate the sugar retained in the body as sugar can also be burned s energy, this in turn reduces the risk of diabetes. Sweating also reduces the blood insulin significantly, and this not only reduces the chances of getting high blood pressure, it makes us flexible.

Being a couch potato can cause death. Did you know tat? But getting physically active actually enhances cardiovascular fitness.

Enhances Weight Loss

The easiest way to be obese is by lying on the couch the whole day watching Netflix. While we may try to diet our excess fat off, we can hardly sustain it without exercise. The math is simple; we should burn the calories we consume so that they don’t settle in as fat.

The beauty of high intensity workout is that it increases metabolism up to 48 hours later. A 20 minute workout doesn’t end at 20 minutes, your body will still be burning out excess calories several hours later, and you will definitely lose weight. Critics however say it’s impossible to work out a bad diet. Well, while a good work out should be accompanied by a good diet; we cannot ignore the fact that a junkie working out looks way better than a junkie who isn’t.

Fortifies our bone structure

Osteoporosis, a gradual weakening of the bones due to a loss of bone density notoriously comes in our old age as we become less active physically. In our youthful days, it’s important to do cardiovascular work outs to increase the density of our bones. Well, any exercise can actually increase the density of our bones hence it better if we do something, than nothing. The result are not immediate, but we would be more active than our peers who never worked out I their youthful ages.

Reduces Insomnia

Good news to those struggling to catch some sleep, exercise actually makes us sleep better. It’s literally that, you use energy working out, the body will have to find a way to recuperate and heal, and this it usually does this in sleep. Falling asleep won’t be a problem after an intense workout, waking up will. If you work out in the evening, ensure you set your alarm clock!

Happy workout.