Let’s talk about looking 10 years younger. You can have a body and a face that look ten years younger. One of our members told us her energy level quadrupled, that’s four times the energy level she felt before. Her self-esteem went up and she felt so much better, and that’s exciting, but here’s specifically what she said. “Every muscle in my body is longer and leaner. I feel like I look like a dancer. I feel like my muscles are sculpted because of the exercise I participate in, and because of the weights that I lift, and the resistance exercises that I do. I’ve even noticed that my neck is firmer. My facial muscles are even firmer, and I believe I look ten years younger. Friends have actually asked me if I’ve had a facelift, and what I’m doing is exercising.”
Another miraculous thing that comes from exercising is an overall happier personality. Another of our Thin & Healthy’s Total Solution members told us she felt completely sluggish. She would always hit the snooze button in the morning because she didn’t want to get out of bed, so she’d hit it again and again because she just didn’t want to get up. She had reached a point where she wasn’t excited about life anymore. After she began exercising regularly, she jumps out of bed in the morning, excited to greet the day. She can’t wait to take things on. She’s not huffing and puffing when she does something. She loves being with her kids, taking care of them, taking care of her husband and her home. Now she feels almost giddy, with her husband, she’s enjoying her children, and she’s enjoying what she does for a living, which is being a homemaker. She told us she was flat out happier. Exercise absolutely gets rid of stress.
Another member told us she no longer has pain in her legs. We’ve talked about the reason for that, but she said stress is so much easier to handle. She used to get irritated and aggravated when things would go on in her life. She felt anxiety, she felt fear, she felt worry, and these things all culminated into stress that she didn’t know how to deal with. She caught herself reacting more than responding. Since her workout, she finds herself taking things more in stride and looking at things differently. She credits exercise for that taking place.
Exercise can also ignite one’s marriage. One member said in giggles, “My husband keeps coming into the room and peeking when I’m getting ready for bed at night.” A fire has been returned to their marriage.
Exercising can help you be a better parent or grandparent. Exercising definitely helps you breathe easier. Exercising helps you sleep more soundly and need less hours. One of our members told us all of these things. She said, “I used to wake up constantly throughout the night and I didn’t sleep well. I was in an advanced stage of depression. I didn’t want to do much of anything. I had nothing but sad and negative thoughts. After exercising for only a short time, I sleep much more soundly and I find I need less sleep. I find myself with a higher confidence level and I’m smiling most of the time.” She didn’t go to counseling; she just started exercising. She also told us she couldn’t keep up with her grandkids because she was always tired and didn’t want to play with them when they wanted to play. Now she’s breathing easier and she’s out in the backyard running around with them, all because of exercise.
Everyone who exercises reports more energy. Everyone we’ve talked to, every bit of research we’ve done says the energy level skyrockets. So many have reported overcoming depression, certainly being able to manage it better. The production of that endorphin in your mind comes from exercising.
Debilitating diseases can be controlled. We talked about diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cardiovascular disease. It’s been reported in the Journal of Neuroscience that research conducted at the Sulk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California found that regular exercise builds replacement brain cells in elderly mice. You might say, “That’s good for the mice, Donna, but what does that do for me?” The research determined that the mice who ran two miles a day on the wheel developed an edge in brainpower over their sedentary counterparts in as little as one month.
William Thies, Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs for the Chicago-based Alzheimer’s Association knows this study suggests that people with brain-destroying diseases like Alzheimer’s might be able to build replacement brain cells as a result of daily workouts. When exercise takes place and blood flow increases, miraculous things will occur in your life.
Do you know that people who exercise make more money? In the July 2005 issue of Economics and Human Biology, a 15-year study correlating the relationship between weight and wealth found that, in general, men and women who are of healthy weight have significantly greater worth than those who are overweight or obese. The correlation was strong between people who lost more money and those who had a higher BMI, and as BMI went down, wealth went up. That’s a magical and miraculous thing. It seems that when we exercise regularly, we make more money. You may say, “How is that possible?” It isn’t rocket science. As you build exercise into your day, you are scheduling something that’s good for you, you’re practicing self-discipline, you’re involving yourself in something positive, you’re doing personal and professional building, and that carries over into other parts of your life as well. To make more, begin exercising!
These are amazing things that occur and I could go on and on, but you’re probably thinking what I’m thinking right now, that there’s just nothing bad about exercise. It can only affect your life positively. In future articles we’ll look at how one can really make it a permanent part of their life and what all the choices are and how to know what’s bets for you.