February puts us a month into the New Year and hopefully those of you on the path to a healthier lifestyle are trotting right along. For some of you, getting past the first month has proven to be difficult. Of the estimated 30 million people who begin an exercise program at the beginning of the year, 97% will stop by Feb. 1. Some of the reasons for this trend may be that people get discouraged when they don't see results fast enough, they do too much too soon or maybe fail from proper guidance. If, for what ever reason, you've gotten off your program, please take note.

Allow at least 3 to 6 weeks to see or feel any results. Your primary focus should be on decreasing body fat and increasing lean body mass. The Surgeon General has spoken with urgency on why we need to reduce body fat. If you read last month's article, we find that weight-related illnesses kill 300,000 Americans each year and an estimated 1,200 die daily. If this trend continues it will soon overtake the 430,000 deaths per year by tobacco. Please be aware of fad diets that promise weight loss such as 30 pounds in 30 days. Fat loss should occur at no more than 2 to 3 pounds per week. By increasing lean body mass, which is accomplished through resistance training you burn more calories while at rest. For every one pound increase in lean body mass, your resting metabolism increases by 30 to 50 calories. This means a modest gain of 5 pounds of lean body mass, which is very common in a person beginning training, will burn up to 250 more calories per day. If we do the math, that's 1,750 per week, 7,000 more calories burned per month. On the other hand, a person who loses those 5 pounds of lean body mass to aging or inactivity also burns up to 250 less calories per day. So if you've wondered off the path to health and fitness please be encouraged to get back on track.

Research has proven that a lot of diseases associated with premature aging and early death can be avoided by increasing physical activity. God created this wonderful temple that we call the human body. Don't let it go to waste.

May God bless you with vibrant health.