Modern day lifestyle with its fast and processed foods, and the tendency to drink more alcohol than we should, has led to an epidemic of obesity. But there is one other factor that many people tend to overlook, and that is lack of exercise. Because many of us tend to live our lives in the fast lane, dashing hither and thither at 100 miles an hour, we just don’t have time to exercise. But it’s something that we should be making time for!

The obesity crisis and the publicity that it has received has driven many people over to the diet culture. It is well known that eating a well-balanced, low-fat diet will help us to prevent putting weight on. But in order to lose weight effectively, diet itself is not really enough. You also need to develop an exercise regime, and in terms of weight loss, the best form of exercise is cardiovascular.

Improving Your Metabolic Rate

Many exercises are designed to improve your muscles and sculpt your body. Cardiovascular exercise is primarily targeted at increasing your body’s metabolic rate. Your metabolism dictates the rate at which your body burns off fat. By increasing this rate, you also increase the amount of fat you can shed.

So if you think about it you could starve yourself to lose weight, or you could train your body to burn more fat naturally. Think about it, t is almost like you are losing weight while doing nothing at all. Who does not want that?

Sleeping-off Fat

Cardiovascular exercise is aimed at the circulatory system. In other words it targets your heart, your lungs, and your blood vessels. By increasing the fitness of these body parts, your body will become much more efficient, which not only means that you will become fitter, but it also means that you will have a higher resistance to heart attack and/or stroke. But the great thing about cardio is that it not only elevates your metabolic rate, but all the time that you maintain your exercise regime, your metabolism will function at a higher rate, even while you are asleep. In other words, your body will be burning fat when you sleep!

The Secret to Health and Fitness

Cardiovascular exercises include walking, running, cycling, and swimming. In fact, doing one or more of these sizes for as little as 20 minutes every day will raise your metabolic rate. It does not have to be overly strenuous. Doing regular cardio, and following a low fat diet will help to keep you fit and healthy.