Few words in the English language conjure up as much dread as EXERCISE.

Alas, when the word exercise comes up, the excuses come out!

Many people claim to "not have the time."  Yet they can tell you what happened on Criminal Minds or NCIS each week.

Others say that they “feel self-conscious at a gym,” yet there are DVDs and equipment you can use at home. 

The sad thing is, most excuse-makers also happen to be overweight, sick and medicated.

If I've just described you, listen up.  It's time you acknowledged regular exercise is not optional if you want anything that even resembles health and a normal bodyweight.

Let’s first look at…

The awesome world of regular exercise

Everyone knows that exercise burns calories and that means those excess pounds come sliding off (and stay off).

But that's just the beginning!

Here are 6 other awesome reasons to get moving:

1- Heart health

Not only does exercise help improve your circulation, but it also strengthens all your muscles, including your most important one--your heart.

That can help lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol and help prevent against heart attack and stroke.

Sounds a lot better to me than taking dangerous statins and hypertension drugs.

2- Joint pain relief

The stronger the muscles are around your joints, the more pressure they take off the joints--great news for anyone with joint pain and stiffness, arthritis or fibromyalgia.

As a matter of fact, in a Tufts University study, arthritis patients who did strength-training exercise reported a 43 percent decrease in pain!

So if you're popping pain pills or anti-inflammatories on a regular basis, you could feel a whole lot better if you just get moving.

3- Squeaky clean on the inside

Your lymphatic system is your "inner vacuum."  It's an amazing filtration system in your body designed to pull out and eliminate wastes around your cells.

One of the ways it “dumps out your inner trash” is through your sweat.

Therefore, if you say you "don't like to sweat" as your excuse not to exercise, you are likely harboring a whole lot of cell wastes and garbage inside of you.  (This can give you horrible BO, by the way.) 

Unlike your circulatory system, your lymphatic system doesn’t have a “pump” like your heart to keep lymph flowing around and cleaning you.

So YOU must be the pump with regular exercise.

4- Natural depression and anxiety relief

Exercise encourages the release of feel-good neurotransmitters and endorphins in your body.

They're Nature's anti-depressants and they have absolutely NO side effects!

Plus for those of you with anxiety, the increase in body temperature and release of stress during exercise can have a calming effect on your mood.

5- Stress relief

Exercise is far and away the most effective stress-reliever. 

Stress is an underlying factor in most sickness and disease because it hampers your immune system functioning. 

6- A healthier gut

Two recent studies out of Finland have shown that doing endurance exercise (bicycling) three times per week can help improve your gut health!

The researchers noted a decrease in proteobacteria (gut bacteria that can cause inflammation) and an increase in beneficial bacteria called Akkermansia, which is associated with a stronger metabolism!

Where do I start?

Now that you see that exercise is SO much more than just burning calories, you may be overwhelmed and not know quite where to start. 

First of all, it's important to get your doctor’s OK, especially if the couch and you have been BFFs for quite some time.

Then here are 4 tips to help ensure your success:

1) Improve your digestion

Many people claim to not have energy to exercise, but what they don't realize is that their energy level is a direct result of their how good (or bad!) their digestion is.

Nothing your body does demands more energy than digestion.  So if yours is not going along so well, your body is using up lots of energy just to get the job done…and that can mean very little remaining for you!

The best ways to promote good digestion are to eat meals that your body can more easily break down and make sure you have enough enzymes for the job.

The Great Taste No Pain system can show you how to structure easier to digest meals that taste positively fantastic!

When you eat meals that can be broken down more efficiently by your stomach and intestines, your system doesn't need to use up as much energy for digestion.

That can mean lots more energy for YOU!

Having enough enzymes is crucial too.

Unfortunately, people who have a poor diet history may have diminished their body’s ability to produce adequate enzymes for digestion because their bodies have expended so many trying to break down highly processed foods for so long.

If you suspect you have an enzyme challenge, Digestizol Max can give your body the boost it needs.

Digestizol Max’s complete blend of 15 enzymes helps your body tackle whatever you’ve eaten and encourage smooth, efficient digestion.

2) Boost your energy

Vitamin B12 is crucial player in your metabolism that generates your body's energy from fats and carbohydrates.

Unfortunately, it's also a very common deficiency--especially with vegetarians, people who use antacids, people who have had gastric surgery and the elderly.   And when you’re low in B12, trust me, you’ll be dragging.

To ensure that you have enough of this vital nutrient, a vitamin B12 supplement like Hydroxaden 2.5 is just what you need.

Hydroxaden 2.5 is a convenient vitamin B12 spray that gives you the 2.5 mg of B12 suggested by many health experts.  Just five sprays under your tongue each day is all it takes.

3) Start smart

One of the most common reasons people don't stick with an exercise program is they go gung-ho in the beginning, get hurt, then quit.

Start slowly and build up.  Remember, whether it takes you 16 minutes or 6 minutes, a mile is still a mile.  

4) Make it fun

Here are some proven ways to make exercise more fun:

• Pick an activity you like or will at least tolerate.
• Get a buddy. You're more likely to stick with exercise if you have someone else counting on you to show up.    
• Join an exercise class. You’ll meet people in the same boat as you and make new friends.
• Multi-task. If it's TV you love, watch TV while you're on the treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical.  
• Play your favorite music to motivate you.

Open up YOUR whole new world

Once you begin moving your body, a whole new world can open up for you...a world where you can feel (and look) better than you have in YEARS!

Don't procrastinate any longer.  Don't be a sick, overweight, medicated excuse-maker. 

Nothing is more important than your health.

Start now.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia