I'm sure you're wondering why the heck I am talking about losing weight without exercise as a former personal trainer, and someone who's running the 21 Day Get Moving Challenge right now. Sound familiar? About 70 percent of the over-50 population in America is overweight, with about a third classified as obese. Health complications from obesity cost the United States $190 billion in medical expenses each year. Obesity also shortens lives: An Oxford University study found that an obese person's life span is three to 10 years shorter than that of someone of average weight, about the same loss of life associated with smoking.
Over-exercising can actually cause adverse health-effects. Someone who goes from zero physical activity to two hours at the gym, four times a week is at risk for serious injury. A pulled muscle, a torn tendon, broken bone, or any number of things can happen if you push yourself too hard too fast. Then, instead of moving forward with your exercise routine, you'll be facing weeks of healing time, which can be discouraging if you set specific goals for yourself. Gretchen Reynolds' The First 20 Minutes is a great starter guide to healthy exercising.
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