Junk food is addictive, and this addiction works on the same neurochemical pathways in your brain that do drugs, alcohol and gambling.

You want to know what else works on those same neurological pathways? The good feelings you get from exercise. What this means is that people who exercise a lot can get that same feel-good “fix” from exercise as they do from eating crap.

When your need for a rush is satisfied via strenuous effort rather than food, that’s a good thing.

So how do you get there?

EXERCISE MUST BE DONE MINDFULLY TO CONTROL FOOD INTAKE

The key to success is to do this in a mindful way. There are cases of people who actually gain weight when they start an exercise program (and I’m not talking about building muscle) because they adopt a “reward mentality” that I mentioned earlier.

The key with exercise is the way you visualise what it does for you. You’ve got to go way beyond seeing it as just a calorie burner because, again, that’s just about the least important thing it does until you get up into hardcore territory – then it can start making a significant contribution to weight loss and weight management. The vast majority of the population is never going to burn a ton of calories via exercise. Weight loss will always mostly be a dietary issue.

So, instead of seeing exercise as something that allows you to be rewarded with eating junk, you must view it as something that gives you the power to resist such garbage. What’s more, you can cross over to the good side and visualise it as something that makes you crave healthier foods to fuel your new, high-performance lifestyle.

There’s a lot of chemical interactions taking place in your brain that help the above come to fruition, but you’ve got to think it to make it happen. It’s a mixture of physiology, with your body starting to send you signals about what healthy foods you should be eating, and psychology, which involves some positive self-talk and self-hypnosis even about convincing yourself that you’re ready to handle giving up the crap and embracing good food.

ARE YOU WORKING UP AN APPETITE?

But what about working up an appetite? Doesn’t exercise cause you to eat more?

This is a myth that is in desperate need of busting. Yes, there are some critics of exercise who say that exercising will “work up an appetite” and cause you to actually gain weight.

It sounds good as a hypothesis. If you exercise really hard then you are going to want to eat more to fuel that exercise, right? That axiom about working up an appetite has been around for a long time, hasn’t it?

There is also the fact that stress can lead to eating, and exercise is proven to reduce stress, creating an environment better for making healthy food choices.

To get your brain in the right head space, contact Transform Personal Training, your personal trainer in Chicago.

The most common challenge that people face now is how to incorporate fitness into their lives. They know they have to do something to get in shape but they really don’t know how. It can be discouraging because of the abundance of information out there. So much that it can be overwhelming to know where to begin.

The trainers at Transform Personal Training have listed these 5 simple steps you could follow to help you get started:

There are a lot of great ways to develop a successful fitness regimen. A great way is to seek help from Transform Personal Training which can provide you with the some of the best personal trainers in Chicago.

Our trainers will advise you on the best way to become fitter and remember they are the experts. A personal trainer knows the information that your require and it is sensible to listen to their advice.

They will not set up a fitness regime that is so strenuous that it will kill you on day one. A personal trainer will help you build up your strength and stamina by developing a sensible program of exercise. To develop a sensible fitness program we need to consider four crucial factors.
1. Aerobic exercise is a form of exercise which is low in its intensity but lengthy in its duration. Put simply, this means not too hard but goes on a long time such as walking, swimming and aerobics on your own or in aerobic workout classes.

2. Another way of getting fitter is to use weights which is known as resistance training. You start this with low weights and build up the weight as your fitness builds up. Remember, be sensible and don’t over do it as you can damage your body easily with unsupervised weight training.

3. You could take up a fitness regime involving flexibility exercises such as yoga. Remember though you still need to eat a properly balanced diet of sensible foods as part of your fitness program.

4. Getting fitter can be easy, just do easy exercises a little at a time and then do it properly and intensively. To get fit quick though, consider being advised by a fitness trainer. They will help you find out what is best for you.

Books and web sites can give you guidance as to how to get fitter and this is what a personal trainer will do, but a book or a web site cannot tailor the advice to you and your circumstances.

A personal trainer can, and will, do this. Another thing they can do is  to motivate you in order that you can develop your own fitness regime. Becoming fitter takes time and time is something that many of us are short of in today’s modern world. Just remember that you need to keep working at a fitness regime to develop a better level of fitness. Fitness is not something you can buy at the supermarket. In order to become fitter you just need to take things steady at first but there has to be a first, you have to start somewhere.

Start small and build up to a more developed program.  Your personal trainer in Chicago from Transform Personal Training can help you along the way.

If truth be told, most of us want to be a lot fitter than we are. It is something we should all be aiming for, a better level of fitness.

So, where do you start? A quick internet search reveals too many pages to provide a good and reliable source of information, and there is a great deal of information provided on the TV channels, books, newspapers and countless fitness DVDs. To be honest there will always be something out there that will help, or maybe you can take a little information from each one to build your own fitness regime. Better idea, find a personal trainer to guide you on your quest for fitness.

Being fitter equals less body fat as this is something that is burnt off during exercise. You could just diet to become slimmer but your chances of losing weight will be much greater if you exercise as well.

A fitter person has a lower heart rate which improves your well being and as you will be breathing harder during exercise this will increase your lung function so you will enable your body to absorb more oxygen to feed your brain and muscles.

If you have hypertension, being fitter can help to lower this and can positively affect both diastolic and systolic levels. This has helped people suffering from hypertension especially those taking medications since one of the side effects of those meds has been to lower the heart rate.

A lower heart rate means less oxygen circulating round the body, and less oxygen means less brain food. This explains why some days, these people have been slightly confused and somewhat forgetful. Raising your overall fitness level and working out can help in this condition.

Being fitter can also have a positive effect on cholesterol levels, reducing LDL cholesterol, (which is good), yet helping to raise the HDL level, (which is also good). Greater fitness can also help your heart and lower the chance of having a stroke.

Your stamina and strength can significantly increase when you start working out and this is even more important to people as you get a little older. Aging can have great effects on how your body works so it is crucial that you keep on moving and stay active.

Your personal trainer in Chicago from Transform Personal Training will help you become fitter and healthier so you can start enjoying your life again. Don’t waste another day worrying about your health or saying ‘I’ll start tomorrow’ because there is no better time than NOW. Give us a call to see how we can not only help you get into better shape but also improve the overall quality of your life.

Fitness can be a very enjoyable and fulfilling activity that anyone can enjoy. However, for a beginner, that piece of equipment or that exercise can be very intimidating to figure out. So, what should a novice do to learn how to use it properly? The best personal trainer in Chicago for YOU may just be here at Transform Personal Training and can guide you as you start your journey towards a fitter you. Here are some tips on staying fit in AND out of the gym:

1. Learning to dance is a great way to get more exercise into your life. Dancers are known for having some of the fittest bodies in the world and this is not by coincidence. Dancing requires incredible core strength, as well as, the stamina to get through a tough routine.

Even if you will never be a professional dancer, learning to dance is a fun way to incorporate physical fitness into your free time, as well as a fun way to meet new people.

2. Aerobic exercises are not the only way to burn calories. Strength training is an important part of a healthy exercise regime. Lifting weights, using resistance bands and similar activities help build muscle, which pound for pound burns more calories than fat. Plus, proper strength training gives you a lean and fit look.

3. Count calories. Knowing exactly how much you eat each day is important, because it helps you monitor whether you are likely to gain or lose weight. The combination of burning calories while exercising and closely watching your calorie intake will produce quick, major results.

A personal trainer can help you with creating a meal plan that keeps you in line with your calorie intake.

4. Body weight exercises with no equipment are great ways to get and STAY fit especially when on the road. Learn to increase or decrease the difficulty with slight modification and you are set. Diamond push ups are just one type of push up modification that can be done to achieve greater fitness results than standard ones. To do them, simply place your hands on the floor and create a diamond shape. Then do push ups as you normally would. The closer your hands are to each other when in the diamond configuration, the harder it is to do.

5. It is vital to start a new exercise program slowly to avoid physical injury. Most injuries typically occur by working out too much or without properly warming up. Begin your workout by stretching to get the muscles conditioned and ready. Increase the intensity of your workout by 10 percent each week.

Now, you should be able to see why fitness can be such an enjoyable activity to participate in. There is so much fun and so many benefits that can be gained as one tries to improve their health and body. With these tips in mind and the help of your personal trainer in Chicago from Transform Personal Training, you can start creating your own fitness plan with ease!