Planning A Successful Diet And Exercise Routine
Planning A Successful Diet And Exercise Routine
Why You Can’t Just Start Exercising and Dieting
One of the biggest mistakes that many people make when trying to lose weight or build muscle, is to approach the objective as something isolated and separate from the rest of their lifestyle.
Too many people think that they can start getting into better shape, simply by changing their diet or by starting to train for X number of hours a day.
What’s wrong with this? It doesn’t take into account any of the challenges that led to you becoming out of shape in the first place and it neglects to account for the obstacles you will continue to face.
Why Aren’t You in Shape?
When it comes to working out, people will spend a lot of time and even money looking for the perfect training program. This is ignoring the fact that they aren’t already doing any exercise – despite being perfectly aware that doing some press ups at the end of the day would probably be good for them.
They want to get into shape and yet they’re not already doing anything to get there. Why is that? It’s not the lack of program – it’s the lack of energy. And most likely that lack of energy is in turn linked to a number of other things, such as their diet and perhaps their sleep.
More often than not though, that lack of energy is to do with stress. It’s because they’re coming home every day from a hard day at work that leaves them feeling harassed, energyless and potentially depressed.
Likewise, we’re stressed, tired and rushed because we have so many other commitments. These include things like clubs and activities, taking the kids to school, making food and cleaning the house…
How a Complete Lifestyle Change Helps
With all this in mind then, it’s not enough to just try and add 5 40 minute workouts to your week, that just won’t work! Instead, you should focus on your whole lifestyle to put yourself in a position where you do have the energy and the time to make these big changes.
That means focussing on getting home from work quicker and on being less stressed while you are working. It also means improving your sleep by learning to switch off and by maintaining a more comfortable sleeping environment.
It even means dressing better so you feel more confident at work and thus more energized when you get home.
To get into shape it’s not enough to change one thing. Everything must change.
Easy Weight Loss Tips
Easy Weight Loss Tips.
In the past 30 years the number of people who suffer from being overweight and obesity has grown significantly. The weight loss industry is growing to meet the demand, but the number of people who are overweight only continues to grow.
What’s the problem?
Here’s the bottom line. The real way that people can lose weight and keep it off is not related to a fad diet, eating only cabbage or plugging into some electrical stimulation program that promises to work off the fat and make you a lean, mean calorie burning machine.
Instead, the real way that real people lose weight is to do the work of living a healthy lifestyle. Here are 10 of the most important tips you can follow to lose all the weight you want.
1. Sleep
Often overlooked, sleep is important to your overall health and weight loss efforts for a number of reasons. Many people will eat more if they are tired in an effort to stay awake. The behavior is subconscious and most are never aware that they were doing it! Sleep reduces your stress and your cortisol levels, a hormone which can encourage the body to put on more fat. When you are sleep deprived you are also more likely to give in to temptations.
2. Water
A simple 8 glasses of water per day (8 ounces each) will also help your body to flush toxins and burn calories and fat more efficiently. Just a 1 percent dehydration can reduce your performance at tasks that require analytical skills, like math, and you will percieve that you are hungry instead of thirsty. If you feel hungry, the first thing to do is drink 8 -10 ounces of water and wait a few minutes. You just may have been thirsty!
3. Exercise
Excercise is important to any weight loss program because it helps your body to burn calories. However, don’t be gung-ho at first or you’ll be so sore the next day that you’ll drop your exercise routine. If you’ve never done a fitness program work up to walking for 30 minutes everyday and move on from there.
4. Calories
Each calorie might be burned differently in your body, but don’t be fooled into thinking that they don’t count. I don’t care if the calories you eat are all carbs, all fat or all protein (depending upon which camp of nutritional experts you ascribe to) if you eat many more calories than you burn off everyday you’ll gain weight. Try www.myfitnesspal.com to help track your nutritional intake, set goals and produce reports about your eating habits.
5. Fat vs carbs
There are some who still believe that eating a low fat diet is the way to better health and lower weight. However, all you are doing is increasing the amount of carbs you eat to make up for the calories lost. Carbs will increase your cravings, spike your blood sugar and increase the amount of triglycerides your body produces. Try increasing the amount of GOOD fats you eat, from nuts, seeds and fatty fish or avocados. You’ll feel more full for longer periods and lose your cravings for sugar and sweets.
6. Change Your Environment
Just like smokers must leave an environment that triggers their desire to light up or an alcoholic shouldn’t go into a bar, so you should change your environment and leave behind the places and friends who trigger your desire for high calorie foods or multiple snacking during the day.
7. Reduce Stress
Many people are stress eaters and will eat to reduce their level of stress or when they are celebrating. Learn some techniques to reduce your stress. You’ll also reduce the amount of cortisol your body produces. This hormone secreted by the Adrenal glands on top of the kidneys will produce more body fat.
8. Get up during the day
Even if you spend an hour a day working out, you will continue to be at higher risk for weight gain and heart conditions when you spend your day sitting behind a desk. Put a timer on your computer and get up every 15 minutes to stretch, walk a bit and get the blood moving. It will keep your body burning calories too.
9. Be accountable
Find a friend or relative who is making the same positive lifestyle changes you are and team up. Life is easier when you have someone to call when you dont’ want to walk or that chocolate cake is calling you.
10 Be realistic and consistent
It can be hard to be realistic when everyone you see is model thin and each diet promises you instant results. Just remember that it took more than 2 weeks to put the weight on and it will take more than 2 weeks to take it off. Work consistently at changing your lifestyle choices and recognize that little changes can make big differences in the long run.
RESOURCES
CNN Health: 11 Simple Weight Loss Tips
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/04/health/easy-weight-lo
ss-tips/
USA Today: Our 25 Best Weight Loss Tips from over the years
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/yourlife/fitness/weight-loss-challenge/2011-01-03-WLCbesttips03_ST_N.htm?csp=34
Womans Day: Our Best 75 Weight Loss Tips
http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/diet-weight-loss/weight-loss-tips#slide-1
Cosmopolitan: The 10 Best Weight Loss tips ever
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/health/10-best-weight-loss-tips-ever-0809
Chris Pirillo: 50 Weight Loss Tips
http://chris.pirillo.com/50-weight-loss-tips/
Exercise Programs For Weight Loss
Exercise Programs For Weight Loss
Trying to lose weight and to get into shape can be a real battle for some people. In addition to dieting to lose weight, it is a good idea to start a weight loss exercise program.
The key element to finding a good weight loss training exercise program is to find something you enjoy. If you hate jog, then why put yourself through that? Find out what you enjoy doing as far as exercise and stick to it.
The first thing you should do before you start an exercise program is to check with your doctor. You should always make sure that you are healthy enough to start an exercise program.
The next step when you start an exercise program is to set small goals for yourself. Goal setting takes a monumental task and breaks it down into smaller, more manageable tasks. If you want to lose a total of thirty pounds, break this down into a smaller goal of losing two pounds per week.
When doing any type of weight loss training exercise program it is important that you warm up first. Warming up your muscles by doing stretching exercises prior to your main workouts will help you avoid injury. Warm muscles are much more flexible and less prone to strains.
Keep plenty of water on hand when you are exercising. It is critical that you keep your body hydrated while working out. Drinking plenty of water will help flush out any toxins that are released from your body by exercising. Staying hydrated will also keep your muscles from becoming unbearably sore the day after working out.
It is a good idea to switch exercises between cardio exercises and weight training exercises. Switching between the two will give your body the maximum workout. It will allow you to lose weight faster and build lean muscle.
If you become tired while exercising, take a break. It is easier to injure yourself when you are tired. If you are trying to lose weight and get into shape, the last thing you need is an injury.
Some people find that they do better in groups of people. If this sounds like you, join a gym or an exercise club. There are many member only clubs that can help you lose weight and get into shape. When you are working out with other people, it can motivate you and make you accountable for how successful you will be.
Weight loss by exercising is one of the best ways to lose weight. You not only will feel better because of the exercise, you will start to build muscle mass and look a lot better.
When you are trying to lose weight, don’t depend on diet alone to do it for you. It is critical that you make a total lifestyle change and incorporate exercise into your daily routine.
RESOURCES
BodyBuilding.com: What is the Best Fat Loss Workout
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw12.htm
Active: Fitness
http://beta.active.com/fitness
MAyoClinic: Exercise for Weight Loss and Calorie Burn
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/SM00109
Muscle and Strength: Workout Routines
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/main.html
FitDay: Lose Weight in 8
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/lose-weight-in-8-a-sample-8-week-workout-schedule.html
Your Body’s Daily Nutrient Needs
Nutrients your body needs on a daily basis
Every human needs a certain amount of nutrients each day. There is a lot of controversy on exactly how much of each type of nutrients you need such as proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins and minerals. There are some really great charts put out by various organizations such as the CDC, centers for disease control, and other government entities. The best thing you can do for yourself is to ensure that you’re eating plenty of veggies, fruits, and whole natural foods as unprocessed as possible, in every color of the rainbow.
This chart is a very general guideline, you should consult your physician or healthcare practitioner to be sure about your particular needs. Your needs can be determined by special blood tests which check the levels of the nutrients in your blood. It is recommended, if you’re concerned to get one blood test per year to check your levels. Once you know your levels you can adjust your dietary intake accordingly.
In general every woman needs adequate amounts of calcium, iron, and folic acid. The actual amount is dependent upon the person’s individual weight, caloric intake and health issues. Most women need about 18 milligrams per day of Iron, and 400 micrograms of folic acid, and about 1000 mg of calcium. It is also important to take or expose yourself to vitamin D each day. Despite rumors you can get adequate amounts of these vitamins and minerals easily, whether you’re a vegan or a carnivore. Just learn the nutrient amounts in the foods you ingest and use a nutrition calculator such as CRON-O-Meter or FitDay.org’s nutrition calculator to ensure that you’re meeting your goals. Remember that goals can also be met on a weekly basis over time and don’t always have to be daily.
Men need to also ensure that they meet their requirements each day too but on different levels of women’s. It’s important for men to also check with their doctor to ensure they’re getting the essential nutrients that they need over time. Most of the time, people who eat a variety of healthy whole foods and enough dark green leafy veggies, will meet their nutrition requirements over time. But in some cases, such as with vitamin B 12, both men and women can have issues with processing the vitamin and may need supplementation. This is because our soil is depleted of these vitamins today, but for the most part you should be able to get the vitamins and minerals from your diet.
Check with your doctor before you ingest high doses of any supplement as it could be dangerous. Instead, seek to get most of your needs met through your diet. A good way to ensure you’re getting enough fruits and veggies is to incorporate either a green juice or green smoothie into your diet once a day. A good recipe is below:
| Morning Green Pineapple Upside Down Cake Smoothie | DirectionsPut all in blender in order. Blend in high speed blender on high until ice is gone. Enjoy.
Variations: Substitute pineapple with any other fruit. Replace coconut water with soy free, gluten free, sugar free almond milk for a creamier consistency. Add more ice for thicker milk shake like smoothie! |
The First Step Of Any Weight Loss Program
Do you know the first step before starting any weight loss program?
So, you’ve found the perfect weight loss program for yourself and you’re ready to get started! Congratulations! Assuming you’ve chosen a realistic and healthy way to get control of your weight and your health the process should be successful. However, there are a few things you should always do before embarking on any new regime, especially if you already have underlying health issues.
Ask your doctor — Let your doctor know that you’re going to start a new lifestyle. Do this to inform the doctor but also to ensure that your choice is a good one for you. Everyone is different and has different nutritional requirements. This is especially true if you are using any medications such as diabetes meds or blood pressure meds. If you’ve picked a healthy way to lose weight such as adding in more fruits and veggies, eliminating processed foods and counting calories you’ll find that your doctor will be very supportive.
Set Goals — Now that you have your doctor’s approval it’s time to set some reasonable goals. Remember that when you set a goal it needs to be challenging but possible. It’s also important to write down your goals in a substantial way. Don’t just write, “I want to lose weight.” Instead, write down exactly how much weight you want to lose in total, then move backwards on the calendar to figure out how much you’ll need to lose monthly and weekly to reach your goal. Then also write down how you’ll reach that goal. By filling in your calendar with exactly what you’ll do you’re automatically creating a step by step guide to get you to your goal!
Assess Yourself — You can’t set good goals without knowing where you stand today. Much like setting your monthly financial budget you’re going to need to find out where you stand right now compared to where you want to be. It’s a good idea to write down the numbers so that you can periodically check to see that you’re being successful. You don’t need to do anything too fancy, just write down in a notebook (or use your computer) to track your current measurements and weight. Then once a month or so check your progress and write it down so that you can track what is happening. It’s a good idea to also take a picture of yourself so that you can see for yourself how it’s all working for you. Oftentimes our minds don’t catch up to the change in our body without seeing it.
Plan for Success — Don’t forget to plan each week’s meals in advance. Have plans in place for parties, socializing, and guests. The thing is, you’re doing this for life, not for a certain time until you lose weight. Instead, this is your new life so plan in “cheats” that fit into your new healthy lifestyle instead of depriving yourself. If you know your best friend is getting married in a couple of months, save up calories and plan for enjoying that day, otherwise you’ll fall off the wagon and punish yourself with more bad choices.