Beach, fun and sun! Or is it? Summer is finally here, but was this past year different from the year before? Are you ready to strut your stuff in your fabulous new suit that accentuates your curves, or are you still working towards obtaining your desired figure? Remember, whatever your situation, exercise is the main ingredient to looking and feeling your best this summer.

There are many reasons to exercise. Consider the top 7 reasons why!

Reason #1: To Get Rid of the Fat

The top reason to exercise is to burn fat. With a healthy lifestyle including a well balanced meal plan and exercise you will have the power it takes to lose weight and experience:

- looser pants! YAY!
- Compliments from those around you! YAY!
- Self-esteem and confidence! YAY!
- An increase in energy level! YAY!
- An attitude that is ready to live! YAY!

Reason #2: To Reduce Pain

If you are suffering from chronic muscle and joint pain there isn't a better way to
alleviate the pain. Simply strengthening your core will lessen persistent back pain. With a regular exercise program you will be simply amazed at the reduction in pain.

Reason #3: To Increase Lean Tissue

Increasing body muscle is good for many reasons. To begin, for one pound of fat the body only burns nine calories, however, one pound of muscle burns 30- 50 calories each day. A very strong reason to turn that fatty tissue into muscle!

With exercise, your body tissue becomes leans thus burning more calories even while you sleep! Is that not a good?

Reason #4: To Stay Youthful

A study at King's College in London led by Tim D. Spector, a professor genetic epidemiology showed simply amazing results on the effects of exercise and aging. The study showed that regular exercising may actually help the body to fight the aging process.

Here is a recap of the study:

- Chromosomes are capped by Telomeres. The Telomeres get shorter each time a cell divides.

- Cell division stops once a Telomere gets too short.

- Cells begin to die when the reach the end of their telomeres and die, and aging occurs.
The effects of aging include weakened muscles, skin wrinkles, loss of eyesight and hearing, organ failure and slowed metal functioning.

- Twins were used in the study to analyze the Telomeres from the white blood cells over 10- year period. The marker used for the rate of biological aging was Telomere.

- Telomeres were found to be directly related to the activity level of the twins. As the twins increased the amount of exercise the length of the Telomere increased.

- Those who engaged in 100 minutes of weekly exercise appeared to look five to six years younger than those who engaged in 16 minutes of exercise each week.

- For those that engaged in three hours of vigorous exercise each week, their Telomeres appeared to look about nine years younger.

Reason #5: To Prevent or Control Type 2 Diabetes

Blood sugar levels helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. For those with type 2 diabetes or at risk for type 2 diabetes, exercise can help to prevent and control the condition.

The body's use of insulin improves with exercise and related weight loss improves insulin
sensitivity. It is necessary, however, for those with type 2 diabetes to get guidelines from their physician before engaging in an exercise program.

Reason #6: To Lower Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels

There are two reasons that exercise has shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which are:

- A weakened heart takes a lot of effort to pump just a small amount of blood. By exercising you can strengthen the heart muscles, thus, training them to pump more blood will less of an effort. The stronger your heart is the less effort it will take to pump the blood and less pressure will be exerted on the arteries.

- Exercise decreases the risk of heart disease due to increasing the levels of HDL in some people. Other ailments such as diabetes and high blood pressure show sign of improvement with regular exercise.

Reason #7: To Feel Great

One of the first things I hear from clients is how much better they feel after beginning an
exercise program.

Many of my clients did not even realize how poorly they were actually performing prior to engaging in a regular exercise plan. Exercise boosts your energy levels and makes you feel absolutely amazing.

Working with a qualified fitness professional is the fastest and easiest way to guarantee weight loss and to meet your fitness goals. You will be guided through your workouts and instructed with proper technique and shown strategies that will expedite your results.

To get started today, call or email and lets start a program that will take the guesswork out of fitness and get results!

Don't sit and ponder! Pick up the phone and get the motivation you need!

Your Reason:

There are a number of reasons to exercise. Perhaps you want to make an effort to start a health smart lifestyle. Or perhaps, you want to lose pounds to fit into a smaller pant size. Or maybe you want to increase your energy level.

Whatever the reason, it is the right decision. Remind yourself daily, not to fall off track.
Each day you will see and feel a difference and each day will bring you closer to a life reconditioning that will have you at your best!

With summer here there isn't a better time to indulge in the fresh berries and wonderful greens of the summer. Enjoy this wonderful mango berry toss below:

Orange-Yogurt Dressing

1/3 Cup vanilla or plain yogurt- fat free
1 tablespoon of thawed frozen orange juice concentrate
1 teaspoon of honey

Salad

6 cups of mixed salad greens bite size
1 cup sliced strawberries, raspberries or blackberries
1 peeled and pitted mango cut into one inch pieces

Mix the ingredients for the Orange Yogurt dressing together.

Toss salad ingredients and serve with the dressing!