Jogging Your Way to a Healthy Body

by Gillian Markson | More from this Blogger

04 May 2006 02:10 PM

Jogging can be done almost anytime and anywhere. It is great for the mind, body and spirit, and is a fantastic way to lose weight. In fact, jogging helps the human body burn more calories than almost any other cardiovascular exercise. It has several other advantages as well.

Because jogging is such a great cardiovascular exercise, there is no question that it strengthens your heart. With a regular routine, jogging helps reduce the risk of heart attack and heart disease. It also helps to lower your blood pressure.

Not only does jogging strengthen your heart, it also improves your muscle tone and increases your overall strength. This aspect of jogging helps people avoid osteoporosis because it prevents muscle and bone loss. Jogging also builds strong muscle around the joints, and increases stability and flexibility, which is a huge benefit to those with arthritis. Jogging does more than improve your body. It also improves your mind and spirit, which, too, are important to your overall health. Stress can cause people to eat more-especially more unhealthy foods. Emotional eating is a big factor in weight gain. Often, people go for a jog to clear their head or to think. Jogging also leads to less tension, depression and fatigue. Now that you realize the wonderful rewards jogging has on every aspect of your being, there are other things to know. As always, what you eat is important too. You should never jog so that you can eat more. Instead, you should eat to jog. Your body needs energy and fuel to jog. Even if you want to lose weight, you should still eat about 2,000 calories per day.

That stated, as a jogger, your body needs foods that energize you. Carbohydrates provide energy. Rather than eat several carbohydrates at once, however, you should eat a small amount at various times throughout the day, especially before you go jogging. Healthy carbohydrates, like those found in fruits and vegetables, should make up at least half of your daily intake. Joggers should also eat a lot of protein. Protein builds muscles and tendons. It also repairs broken down muscles and helps regulate hormones. To get enough protein each day, a jogger should eat lean meat (approximately 5 ounces), soy (about 2-3 servings) and dairy products (3 servings) that are low in fat. Joggers do, however, need a certain amount of good fat in their diets. While you should consume low fat dairy products, your overall diet should not be low in fat. Foods high in fat help your body feel full. Therefore, it is important to eat a diet high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

With all the benefits it has to offer, jogging is a great-and quick-way to lose weight. It is also a sure way to improve your health overall. So don't be left in the dust. Grab your jogging shoes and get your jog on!

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