I have recently lost a little weight, which on me looks like a lot of weight. My 5’2” frame makes 5 lbs look like 15 lbs.

After the initial weight loss, I decided that I wanted to join a fitness boot camp to better my physical fitness. I am generally a pretty active person, but my activity is a result of house and yard work, not working out. I wanted to increase my fitness to tone my body and improve my health.

Earlier in November, there was a newcomer to the boot camp who was a slim young woman who clearly had no weight to lose. A fellow boot camper jokingly asked her why she was at boot camp, as she clearly wasn’t there for weight loss.

This got me thinking about all of the reasons why fitness is such a positive thing in our lives. Everyone should be striving to be fit, whether or not they are overweight.

Physical Health

Being fit is one step toward being healthier. Fitness improves the functions of many of our organs, increases our metabolism in the long term, and helps stave off diseases and illnesses.

It’s true that fitness can help with weight control, and being overweight can cause high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and many other diseases.

Reducing the Signs of Aging

Fitness also reduces the signs of aging. It reduces the hormones that cause wrinkles and other signs of aging, and the reduction of these hormones slows the aging process.

As we age, our metabolism slows as well. Fitness increases resting metabolism, which is helpful for weight control as we age, which can become more difficult.

Mental Health

So many studies lend themselves toward the fact that exercise greatly improves mental health. It can battle depression, and has long-term effects on the hormones that affect your brain.

Exercise reduces stress immediately, and fitness in the long term reduces your chance of mental illness.

Exercise releases hormones which make us happier, which causes a much more positive outlook on life. A workout a day keeps the brain doctor away.

Protection

If you are ever caught in a bad situation, your ability to protect yourself will rely on your physical fitness.

Having peace of mind knowing that you’ll be able to fight back and that you’re strong enough to protect yourself is so important.

While it seems far-fetched, we have also had our fair share of natural disasters in the world, and fitness improves your chances of getting yourself to safety.

Keeping Up

Physically, it’s nice to be able to keep up with the younger generation. Whether you are a parent, a grandparent, or work with kids, you know that they have a ton of energy and are not held back.

When my nieces come over, I love being able to play tag with them in the yard or wrestle with my kid cousins.

My mom has always been fit, and she has always been able to keep up with my energy level. As a result, we can bond over hikes instead of just sit-down activities.

Appearance

Many people only work toward physical fitness for appearance purposes. I’d be remiss if I left this one out, because it is important to so many people.

A strong body is a more appealing body, and physical fitness improves more than just weight and muscle tone. It improves blood flow making your skin look more youthful and bright. Exercise releases hormones that makes your hair shinier, and your eyes brighter.

It’s important to be physically fit even if you aren’t trying to lose weight. What do you do to remain fit? Why is it important in your life?