By Valerie Solomon, Busy Mom Gets Fit

Sometimes there are weeks where it seems that although my conversations are with different people, they have the same recurring theme. Last week was this way, so I knew it must be a topic worth discussing.

Choosing to Eat Better and Exercise to Simply be Healthy

In my little fitness world, there are 3 types of people:

1. Those who start exercise and diet to LOOK GOOD

2. Those who start exercise and diet to GET HEALTHY

3. Those who are not motivated by EITHER yet

If you are in that first group, there are going to be days when you just aren’t motivated to build a body.

If you are in that second group, there may be days that you forget that important reason of why you started.

If you are in the 3rd group, you’ve just got to start. You have to.

We want to look good. But really, that is trivial. It’s second. It’s just a detail to the much bigger picture. At times in your life when you are unmotivated, remember that the biggest reason for exercise and eating well is your HEALTH!

Look up your family tree. If you are like most, someone you care about has given you a real clear picture of your genetics when you don’t take care of yourself. You know what smoking, eating too much, lack of exercise, etc. will do to a body and quality of life.

People love you. People in your life deserve the best you. A you with energy. A you that’s not limiting yourself by being unhealthy.

Remember this tough love quote the next time you catch yourself saying you don’t feel like it:

To say you are unmotivated to exercise or eat well is not cute or funny. It’s sad.

Ultimately, your kids, family, and friends don’t care if you have a firm rear. They care if you feel good, are healthy, and they care that you are around for as long as possible.

Need a little motivation to get started?

There are countless scholarly articles online stating the huge health benefits of just losing a small amount of weight and just doing SOME physical activity.

Health Benefits of Even Moderate Exercise and Weightloss

· Losing as little as 10 percent of body weight, or sometimes even less, has a disproportionately positive effect in improving health.

· Small weight losses significantly reduce the risk of a wide range of illnesses that have been linked to obesity, from heart disease and diabetes to some kinds of cancer.

· In one national study, for example, patients who lost a mere 7 percent of their total body weight reduced their risk for diabetes by 58 percent. A study in Finland found the same benefit with only a 5 percent weight loss. Similar improvements have been documented for hypertension and even sleep apnea.

· Over the past two decades, research has shown that exercise reduces the risk of heart attack, helps control weight, decreases inflammation, lowers the risk of developing diabetes and certain cancers, increases the chances of survival after a heart attack, lifts mood, slows the decline of sexual performance and prolongs independent living in the very old.

· The body loses muscle mass with age, and the heart, being mostly muscle, isn’t spared. (A 70-year-old man has roughly 30 percent fewer heart muscle cells than a man in his 20s.) Exercise slows the process.