Are you ready to start a fitness routine? Try the following tips to make getting off on the right foot easier.

Check In: If it???s been awhile since you???ve been active, be sure to check in with your doctor. He or she can help you make a plan for an activity that???s a good match for your current physical abilities and explain when and how to recognize when it???s time to increase the intensity. Even five minutes a day is a good start. It???s more important to do it than to overdo it.

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Tags: exercise, exercise program, fitness, fitness routine, get moving, lifestyle, metabolism, muscle, weight loss

You may have heard of a recent British study that asked the question, ???Can you exercise too much???? It???s an interesting topic and ??? like anything else ??? yes, it appears even exercise, when taken to the extreme, can be too much of a good thing.

In the study. researchers found that super-athletic men in their 50s who had exercised strenuously all their lives (we???re talking about former Olympic athletes and ultra-marathon types) actually seemed to have heart damage as a result.

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Tags: body composition, body image, exercise, fitness, metabolism, muscle, weight loss

Want to lose weight without hunger and keep it off? Protein makes it possible.

Numerous studies have shown that making sure protein intake remains high when cutting calories for weight loss can help prevent muscle loss (which keeps metabolism high), satiate hunger, and reduce cravings and binges. Low-calorie, high-protein plans also encourage the body to tap fat stores rather than muscle to get by on fewer calories, making maintaining weight loss easier over time as well.

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Tags: appetite, body composition, body fat, hunger, metabolism, muscle, protein, weight gain, weight loss

Many popular fad diet plans recommend fasting or eating little except cabbage soup, juice, or some other liquid for several days as a way to jump-start weight loss. But do they work?

Hardly, and here’s why. Not so very long ago, humans lived in a feast or famine world. Food was difficult to come by, and sometimes was not available at all. To ensure survival, the human body coped with these cycles by going into starvation mode when calories were few and far between.

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Tags: appetite, binge eating, body composition, body fat, fad diet, fast, fasting, lifestyle, medical weight loss, metabolism, muscle, quick weight loss, weight gain, weight loss

Thinking of starting a new fitness program? Unsure how to make the fitness habit stick? Here’s the advice I give my patients about getting and staying active.

First of all, check in with your doctor. Depending on your current fitness level, health conditions, physical limitations, and other factors, certain fitness routines or exercising too aggressively might be dangerous. So check in with your doctor before you start a new fitness plan.

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Tags: BMI, body composition, body fat, exercise, fitness, healthy habits, lifestyle, metabolism, muscle, weight loss

Do you know what percentage of your weight is fat, muscle, bone, or water?

It’s called body composition, and it’s something we pay very close attention to on The Center for Medical Weight Loss program. In fact, it’s one of the first things we determine when someone starts the program, and it’s something we track closely every step of the way. Why? Weight loss is about a lot more than the numbers on the scale. By taking a bigger picture approach we can help make sure it’s fat that people are losing, not water weight or muscle.

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Tags: body composition, fat, medical weight loss, metabolism, muscle