Excuse me, may I have some motivation please?

If you look at your muscles as the engine of a car, then the more muscle mass you have then the bigger the engine size. Regular exercise will gradually increase the efficiency of your engine. Mostly though, it is important to challenge your body by increasing and varying your exercise intensity. Sometimes walk for less time but quicker for instance. This will get your heart rate up so you will get a "training effect" from your exercise earlier in your walk/jog. Also try walking at different times to encourage your body to maintain energy throughout the day. My favourite is to simply do things more "hastily" Put a little zip into your daily routine, but remember to pace yourself - don't try and do too much too soon. The problem with all of this though is the big one: Motivation It is very difficult to keep up the motivation when you don't see any immediate benefits from your efforts. Our bodies are lazy, that's one of the reasons why we put on weight when our calorific intake exceeds our expenditure, and it takes a little while to persuade them to start giving up fat - or for it to actually show. Heart rate monitors are excellent for motivating us to combat weight gain and it's inherent complications just by showing us we're doing good. You don't have to set yourself marathon targets, a simple "more is better" approach to exercise is a great way to start. Plus you will find you actually feel better pretty quickly, and that is what will motivate you. You may end up surprising yourself how well you can do. From Paul Dev

Love to Hate (Exercise)

Honda had a great advertising campaign a few years ago - "Love to Hate" Lets all get together and hate smelly diesel engines.

Well I have high cholesterol, and have to watch my blood pressure, I get regular headaches, have no energy, suffer from depression, I am over weight, nearly 50, and never exercise. I hate vegetables, and love chips. Oh, and I've just given up smoking - which I loved even though it was disgusting and foul and I stank and felt (happily) terrible.

So I bought a step counter. I hate my step counter. It measures how much exercise I do with a target of 21 "exercise units" a week. An exercise unit seems to be about 15 - 20 minutes walking or activity.

The thing is - I have set my sites, in my mind's eye, on looking like a 49 and a half year old Clint Eastwood by the summer, so I have a good stone or more to lose and a lot of effort to put in on the physique, but watching fat camp the other day on TV I realised that its going to have to hurt a bit, I'm going to have to feel the burn, make some effort. There seems to be definite pain, or at least mild discomfort, involved if I really want to make any worthwhile progress, not just towards looking completely unlike I do now, but doing what I quite urgently need to do to protect and improve my health.

So, I've just been for a walk, I walked as fast as I could, tried to jog up the steps, wore less layers so I needed to warm up a bit, (I've become a sissy too as I get older; hat, scarf, gloves, hmm looks a bit chiller out there today excuses) and whilst walking I thought about all of this.

And I forgot to take my ******* step counter.

Blood Pressure - Common Questions

I saw this on the Omron web site - very useful.

Q: What exactly is blood pressure?

The heart creates pressure in order to pump blood around the body. The level of this blood can vary depending on the heart's rate of work and the resistance in the blood vessels.

Q: What are the symptoms of high blood pressure?

The trouble with high blood pressure is that usually, there are no symptoms. The best idea is to ask your doctor for a check-up, or use a personal blood pressure monitor.

Q: What are the long term risks of high blood pressure?

Without treatment, high blood pressure can lead to numerous health problems including heart attacks, circulatory problems and kidney failure. It is also one of the most common causes of strokes.

Q: What causes high blood pressure?

Many things, often linked to modern living. Among the most common are obesity, over-indulgence in alcohol, smoking, lack of exercise and the stress of modern life, although high blood pressure can also be hereditary.

Q: What can I do to lower my blood pressure?

Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit, fresh vegetables, potatoes and rice. Avoid animal fats and use less salt. Try to drink less alcohol and exercise more. If you smoke, stop. If needed, your doctor will also prescribe suitable medication.

Q: How accurate are personal blood pressure monitors, and how often should they be used?

Extremely accurate, assuming they have been correctly calibrated and clinically validated. Always check this before buying. Normally, blood pressure should be monitored twice a week.