I heard an amusing comment this week by a lady on a weight loss diet – ‘I really want to lose weight, but I have no motivation to exercise’. As I heard this, I thought to myself, surely wanting to lose weight would be a good enough motivation to exercise.

Being the beginning of a new year, many of us are attempting to kick start a healthier lifestyle. But it is funny how we will pick just one area of health to focus on or make time for. It’s usually either diet or exercise, but it is rarely both. Why? Surely where the one goes the other should follow. A diet alone is only going to get you so far; it won’t be long until your weight/health hits a plateau, and the same goes for an exercise regime with no diet to follow. Maybe we should be less obsessed with perfecting one area of health (which usually ends up in failure), and rather aim to do our best to make small changes in multiple areas. We do not need to pull out all the literature to prove that a balanced and healthy lifestyle carries more benefits than an unbalanced, stressful lifestyle with an organic diet.

Points to remember when embarking on a weight-loss program this year:

 * When weight loss is achieved by diet alone, a large percentage of that weight lost is due to water loss, mainly from lean tissue.

* When exercise in included in a weight-loss program, one should begin to see an improvement in body composition (increased lean body weight) due to an increase in muscle mass and decrease in body fat.

* Dieting alone reduces one’s basil metabolic rate (BMR), exercise however helps counteract this drop in BMR. After exercising, one’s BMR will remain raised for an extended period of time (allowing the body to burn more calories).

* Moderate exercise can act as an appetite suppressant for some.

* Those who exercise during and after their weight loss goals are achieved, are more likely to maintain their weight loss than those who do not exercise.

* Muscle tissue is the main consumer of fat calories in the human body; so the greater one’s muscle mass, the greater one’s ability to burn fat.

* Trying to gain a 6-pack by spending hours in the gym is pointless; if this regime is not complemented with a low GL, low fat, calorie restricted diet.

 On top of dieting and exercise, we all know the other golden rules of achieving a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Stop smoking. Drink less alcohol. Make time for recreation and relaxation. Get enough sleep. Drink more water. Manage stress. The list can go on and on. We all know the basic rules. And we all know which ones apply to us. So why don’t we stop making them our new years resolutions year after year, and instead just get on with it and make the changes! Once you do, you will never look back. Make 2011 your year to LIVE LIFE WELL.

 About the author: Taryn Kohne is a qualified Nutritional Therapist, who has a passion for food and healthy eating. Taryn runs her own small business, Healing Meals, making nutritious, allergen-free meals for those wanting to live a healthier life. For more information you can contact her on tarynkonhe@gmail.com