Information And Advice To Help People To Lose Weight

If you are looking into ways of how you can become fitter or how you can lose weight, this article may be of interest to you. It gives information and advice to help people to successfully lose weight and more importantly to keep this weight off in the long term.

I have had many issues with my own weight and have tried many different weight loss programs and diets. I have lost weight but then after only a short period of time, I would put all of the weight back on again.

A few years ago, I decided to try to reduce the amount I weighed yet again, but was determined that this time the fat would stay off. I had read many books on the subject of fitness and dieting and decided to follow some of the advice which I had learnt.

I wrote down all of the reasons I was trying to lose the excess fat. This is very important as it would be a constant reminder of what I am attempting to achieve and also about why I amattempting to achieve it. It would give me a huge motivation to stick to my weight loss plan. I would advise anybody who is also looking to lose weight to write a similar list as it proved to be very beneficial to me.

On my list I wrote about how I wanted to look and feel stronger and fitter. This I believed would help my self-confidence and self-esteem which were always fairly low. I had had enough of feeling ashamed of my weight and fat belly. I wanted to walk down the street feeling proud and assured.

I wanted to lose weight to avoid all the health problems that being obese can cause, as people become older. I am not sure about you but I rarely see a fat person who is in their seventies or eighties. I am hoping to live until a ripe old age and enjoy my retirement.

Next on my list was about the clothes I wear. Basically I am not able to buy the clothes I really want to as they do not really suit a person of my build. I often look at other people and amimpressed with their clothes but then realise that they are a lot of thinner than I am. The clothes may look impressive on them but would not look the same if I wore them.

I also wanted to lose weight in order for me to look more attractive to members of the opposite sex. Being overweight I am sure has a bearing as to why I have not exactly been a stud in my life, well it is my excuse anyway.

The last reason on my list was about my general level of fitness. I love playing football and was a regular in the school football team. That was years ago, when ever I had played recently before writing this list, I had been out of breath after only about fifteen minutes. This was quite a shock for me and made playing the game far less fun and enjoyable. I wrote about how I would love to regain my fitness so that I could participate in this and other sports.

Once I had written my list, I would then read it on regular occasions and it would help me to keep motivated. I am not saying it was an easy road, however I eventually managed to obtain a weight that I was happy with. I am pleased to let you know that I have also been successful in keeping the weight off this time around.

In conclusion, if you are thinking about or hoping to lose some weight, I would recommend you to write a list of reasons why you are doing it. Keep these ideas in mind and if you start to be tempted by that fatty food, quickly read your list to remind you why you should ignore your temptations. Good luck.

Lemonade Diet Recipe – Useful Diet Or Quick Fix?

The lemonade diet recipe is said to have originated in the 1970s when a book written by Stanley Burroughs suggested that fasting and drinking citric fruit juice could be used as a way to remove toxins from the body. This was never intended to be used as a diet as such, simply a short term cleansing of the body. Unfortunately in common with other fad diets it has developed a dedicated following who suggest it can be safely used on a regular basis and as part of an ongoing diet routine.

The lemonade diet, in common with other similar citric juice diets, consists of surviving for a set number of days on various combinations of fruit juice or syrup or cayenne pepper, and numerous other variations on the same theme. The common denominator in these diets is the theory that drinking citric juice, in particular lemons or grapefruit, will dissolve or burn the excess fat from the body. The reality of this is perhaps questionable, but certainly there will be some weight loss as a result of eating (or drinking) one single thing over a continuous period to the detriment of all other nutrients and food groups. In particular this diet encourages fasting which will certainly produce weight loss, but at what cost?

All weight loss is not necessarily healthy weight loss. In many cases diets such as the lemonade diet recipe will simply cause the body to store the fat and use the muscles as food if this regime is sustained for any length of time. There is a place for such detoxification routines, but only as a short term solution to lose a limited amount of weight, for at most a few days. It certainly should never be sustained or used as part of a long term dieting or weight loss plan, in particular it should never be undertaken by those vulnerable to illness or health problems, such as the elderly, children or pregnant women.

It would be much better to consult your doctor and discuss how to lose weight in a healthy manner, your doctor will probably insist the key to losing weight is not extreme fasting diets such as the lemonade diet recipe, or the Cayenne Pepper And Water Diet, or any other of the many fad diets, but a healthy balanced approach combined with lots of exercise.

Unfortunately many people are only too happy to believe that instant weight loss can be achieved using the latest diet fads, and with no ill effects. The healthy way to lose weight has not changed however, and requires exercise combined with careful control over the food you eat and the quantity you consume.

7 Steps on How to Prevent Diabetes

Diabetes is more prevalent than ever and 95% of cases diagnosed are type 2 diabetes.

Although for some the development of diabetes is inevitable, perhaps due to heriditery and other factors, for the vast majority it can be prevented by taking these 7 simple steps…

Before diabetes type 2 becomes fully developed you go through a stage known as pre-diabetes. This is where you start to show some of the symptoms, which if ignored, can lead to full blown diabetes.

Make these 7 action points part of your daily routine and you could stop this disease happening to you:

1) If you are overweight you risk developing diabetes. Reduce the amount of food on your plate so you gradually eat less and start to lose weight. Drink a glass of plain water or a sugar-free drink before your meal to take the edge of any hunger pains.

2) Reduce the amount of fat you are eating; grill or bake foods instead of frying; use low-fat spreads and reduced fat meals.

3) Check the Glycemic Index of the food you are eating – knowing what each food contains helps maintain your blood-sugars, which in turn can prevent the full onset of diabetes.

4) Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. If you keep a bottle of water with you and sip frequently you’ll be surprised how much you do drink throughout the day.

5) If you are feeling peckish choose a healthy snack rather than a chocolate bar.

6) Use skimmed rather than full-fat milk in hot drinks.

7) Exercise is good for health. But if you are not use to exercise then start in moderation. 15 minutes gentle walking each day will ease you into a regular exercising pattern.

All of these action points are also the ones that diabetics are advised to take – if you take them now you might possibly prevent irreparable damage to your health.

Lo Carb Diets Can Assist You Rapid Weight Loss

Lo carb diets are the newest dieting trend, and seem to be effective. Here are some tips for following a balanced lo carb diet:

Eat more fruit and vegetables, aiming for at least five portions a day. Include fruit at breakfast and salad at lunch. Reduce the amount of salt by eating less processed food, such as ready meals, and adding a smaller amount of salt to food. Eat a varied diet. Change your shopping list every week to help keep you out of unhealthy food ruts and make eating more enjoyable. Eat regular meals – although it doesn’t matter when you eat your food, a consistent schedule helps most people to control their diet and their weight. Control your portion sizes so that over time, if not necessarily every day, the amount of energy you consume matches your level of activity. Try to be more physically active. Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week. Activity helps to regulate your appetite, and means that you can eat more without gaining weight. Drink alcohol only within sensible limits: not more than 14 units per week for women, and no more than three in any one day, and not more than 21 units per week for men, and no more than four in any one day.

The current most popular fad diet is the Lo Carb or Atkins diet. It restricts carbohydrate rich foods, thereby restricting total daily calories. Phase One of the four in the Atkins Diet consists of between 1400 to 1500 total daily calories. The average adult female consumes around 2200 calories daily and the average adult male consumes around 2800 calories daily. Almost any adult will lose weight if they consume 800 to 1300 fewer calories daily. Phase One of the Atkins Diet also restricts carbohydrate intake to only 20 grams of net carbohydrates daily. The definition of net carbohydrates is total grams of carbohydrates per serving minus dietary fibre per serving. Dietary fibre is the non-digestible remains of plant products found in beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Carbohydrates are the bodys preferred fuel source. In the near future there will be a recommended dietary allowance, or R.D.A., for carbohydrates of 130 grams daily. 130 grams of carbohydrates our body needs daily is for the proper functioning of the central nervous system and production of red blood cells. Only during Phase Four of the Atkins Diet are participants allowed up to 120 grams of net carbohydrate daily. Low carbohydrate diets are nothing new, they have been around since the 1860s and the Atkins Diet first came out in the early 1970s.

Most nutrition experts agree that to be successful in weight loss a person needs to keep the weight off for 5 years. Over 90% of people who take weight off through a fad diet like the Atkins Diet gain the weight back in less than one year. Participants on the Atkins Diet lose between 10 to 12 pounds in the first several weeks but this is only water loss, not fat. One pound of fat contains 3500 calories. Therefore to lose 10 pounds of fat in several weeks you would need to consume 35,000 fewer calories or burn 35,000 calories more through exercise. Neither is likely to happen.

So, the best way to lose weight and become more healthy is to eat a balanced diet. Dont cut out all your carbs, but dont go overboard with them either. In addition to eating well, exercise in a proportional amount to what you are eating. Exercising too much is as bad as exercising too little.

Lose Weight by Eating Breakfast and Drinking Milk

Did you know that dieting and weight loss are two of the most common resolutions or goals by many people but usually results to failure? Dont give up yet. Stay committed and read through.

If your eally want to lose weight, forget the fad diets and eat breakfast and drink milk. Starting each day with milk and cereal may be the success for achieving a healthy weight.

Many people don’t realize to eat breakfast but to skip entire morning tastes, either because youre in rush or lazy, or just want to reduce weight. Considerable number of people finish with a soft drink or a cup of coffee as their morning meal. Chances are this is going to have an opposite effect on you because skipping meals almost always leads to overeating at lunchtime. This is especially true with breakfast, because you’ve just been asleep for 7 or 8 hours and your body needs to recover from this brief period of starvation.

Studies show that people who regularly eat breakfast, particularly cereal with low fat or fat-free milk, tend to be leaner compared to those who skip the morning meal or eat other options. Also, breakfast eaters are more likely to have long-term success in maintaining a reasonable weight. There is a finding that a cereal and milk breakfast is a habit common to successfulweight loss maintainers.

Combine that with studies drinking 24 ounces of milk a day with healthy weight loss, and you’ve got a strategy that may lead to lost pounds. Multiple studies have shown that people who drink milk and get adequate amounts of calcium in their diets tend to weigh less than their peers who don’t drink milk. A diet deficient in calcium has a higher risk for being overweight.

Weight Control by Eating Eggs

Eating eggs for breakfast can reduce hunger and caloric intake by more than 400 calories, both at lunchtime and over the next 24 hours. As a result, eggs are useful in helping overweight people reduce their energy intakes, a prerequisite of losing weight. This is great news if youre trying to lose weight as it means you may find it easier to cut calories without feeling hungry. In fact, you could expect to lose up to 2lb. a month, simply by eating eggs for breakfast!

Eggs are packed with various nutrients but contain just 85 calories each. Theres also no limit to the number of eggs you can eat in a week contrary to popular belief.

Other studies found that protein-based breakfasts improved weight loss better than carbohydrate-focused breakfasts. The better effects are increased when its combined with exercise.

Should I avoid eating certain foods for the sake of weight loss?

Forget about avoiding eating a certain food that you like to eat – that’s a dieters mentality and it doesn’t help you lose weight. It just makes you obsessed about food and eating. Instead, if you are really hungry, then eat, and stop as soon as youre satisfied. Just dont eat until youre totally full! So, if you’re hungry during breakfast, then eat. If you’re not hungry during lunch or dinner, then have a smaller meal.

Keep in mind that you should not eat too many sweet foods. No matter what time you eat sweets, if it’s more energy than your body can use, it will be stored, meaning excess kilos.

Fad diets wont work and only provide short-term results. Instead, always enjoy a wide variety of healthy foods and be physically active. Fad dieting is a hindrance that you don’t need in your life.

Things to Remember:

* Eating breakfast increases your metabolism and burns more kilojoules during the day, which can help you lose weight.
* Protein-based breakfasts improved weight loss better than carbohydrate-focused breakfasts.
* Eggs are great protein-rich breakfast, complete with zinc, iron and vitamins like A, B, D, E and B12. Long ago, people thought that eating many eggs contributed to health risks. This is not true and its already proven that they dont contribute to high cholesterol or heart disease.
* Dont be afraid to eat a reasonable portion of your favorite dessert or snack food every now and then.
* Try to eat steamed vegetables and drink soup in the morning. Did you know that this is common in Japan? It may take some time getting used to, but the benefits are: reduced fat and added nutrients from the vegetables.

Lose Weight Permanently Without Dieting

How To Lose Weight And Keep Fat Off Forever Without Strict Diet

How many times have you heard a friend say, “I am on a diet”? Then what happens is your friend would lose some weight for a while before putting them all back on again.
I’ll bet you have also seen someone say that “Cardio is the best for losing weight”. This person would then religiously pound the treadmill but results are agonizingly slow. Soon, he gives up and gains back all the weight he had lost, and sometimes even gaining some extra kilos!

Ah, so you thought you’ve finally found the answer to permanent weight loss. You went on a strict diet and ran your heart out. You dropped kilos real quickly. But somehow, something is wrong when you look into the mirror in your birthday suit. Yes you have lost some weight, but somehow your body shape isn’t as flattering as you would like it to be. And then suddenly, you hit a plateau.

No matter how strict your diet and cardio workouts are, your weight just simply refuses to drop any further. Then horrors of horrors, you actually start to gain some weight! You get disillusioned because with the unrewarding program and soon you succumb to ‘guilt food’ more often, and the weight comes right back up once again. The program fails and you blame it on your bad genes. Why???

Here’s why. Firstly, take a good look at the title of this article. It’s to “Fend Off Fats” and not “lose weight”. My point is, by merely losing weight, you will also lose some muscle mass in the process. By losing muscles, you will lose body tone and thus your metabolism rate for burning calories will slow down. Therefore, you have got to build muscles while losing fats. You may even gain some weight because muscles are heavier than fats.

To lose fats and keep them off permanently, you have to combine healthy eating habits, incorporate cardio exercises and lift weights to build muscles. For every kg of muscles you pack, you will burn an extra 70-100 calories per day even without doing anything. Can you imagine the benefits of building up 5kg of extra muscles? You will be burning 350 to 500 extra calories a day even if you just laze around. You’ll be burning a Big Mac everyday! To further illustrate my point, 1 kg = about 7,700 calories, thus if you burn 500 calories a day because of the extra muscles you have, you will be burning off about 1 kg every 2 weeks simply because of your higher metabolism rate!

You’ll also look good, healthy and well-toned too! Is it any wonder why body builders eat so much but do not put on fat as easily?

Everyone knows that intensive cardio and strict diets cause you to lose muscle mass along with fats. So while you will lose some weight at the beginning, you will look like, well, just a smaller version of you without any muscle tone. That’s not what we want is it?

So, as you lose more and more muscles, your metabolism begins to slow down. On top of that, your body will start conserving fats and ‘eat’ your muscles for energy because it is reacting to your strict diet. What happens then is that you will hit a plateau and no matter what you do, you will not reduce anymore weight and your fats will start creeping up again. This, in a nutshell, is the ‘yo-yo’ dieting effect that we hear so much about.

Losing fats is simple. And notice that I said ‘simple’ but did not say that it is ‘easy’. My pointers will be simple to understand, but the execution will take determination and discipline on your part. It is a lifestyle change to keep the fats off permanently and you will be glad you did because you will get used to the changes in only a few weeks. By then, it will become a cultivated habit for you, especially when you are rewarded with a fitter, healthier, hunkier you, together with a glowing complexion to boot!

Here is how you do it. Simply, losing fats just means you must burn more calories than you consume. Period.

Lift weights with compound exercises – Forget those puny biceps curls and tricep push downs. Go for big muscle groups like legs, back and chest routines. Why? Because you are working with bigger parts with more mass, and that means more body parts are working, translating into more calories being expended. If you are fit, do giant sets (4 or more exercises or sets with no rest in between sets or exercises).

Here’s an example. Do only one set of each exercise with no rest in between the exercises. Choose a weight of about 60%-70% of what you normally lift and go for at least 25 reps. Do more if you can or until your muscles are fatigued, then stop. Leave the gym. The whole routine should not take you more than 40 minutes.

After thoroughly warming up, start with squats, then dip, bench press, barbell row and military press. Sounds simple? Not so. You will be huffing, puffing and sweating profusely. What is achieved? You will have combined a cardio workout with a lifting workout and your metabolism will burn for the next several hours. Do this 3 times a week with at least a day’s rest in between lifting days.

After 4-8 weeks, change the sequence of the exercises. So if you usually squat first, then squat last. Then after another 4-8 weeks, change some of the exercises, like substituting squats with dead lift, or bar bell rows with lat pull down. This is to shock your muscles so that they continue to adapt and grow.

For cardio, go for a run first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you are jogging at normal speed, sustain the jog for at least 45 minutes. If you are running at 65% to 80% of your maximum heart rate (you will be panting and unable to sing or complete a sentence while running), then 20-30 minutes will be enough. Anything more than that may cause muscle break down. You may intersperse the speed with slower jogs in between to catch your breath. Do these 5-6 times a week.

Eating habits? Just eat less of what you normally eat. For example if you have 2 slices of bread with 2 eggs in the morning, now take just one slice and an egg. Just eat half of what you eat but eat more regularly. Have 5 to 6 meals a day if you can. This is to feed your body frequently so that it will not go into starvation mode and start to conserve fats. At the same time, it will boost metabolism because your body burns calories while digesting the food. Chuck away all soft drinks, sugared drinks and stop adding sugar into your coffee and tea. Just by abstaining from sugary drinks, you may already have gotten rid yourself of 200 calories per day. Drink plenty of water instead and double the amount if you can.

Oh, by the way, all work and no play makes Jack a dull (and very tired) boy. Do choose a day to relax a week. No exercise on that day. Indulge in your favorite food if you must. Hey, pat yourself on the back and reward yourself for passing another grueling week. After all, your body needs to recover too.

As you reach your fat loss goals and you are happy with your muscular development, you can then take things a little easier. Hit the gym less frequently, have shorter runs and even relax a little in your diet. Because of your greater musculature, your body is now a fat-burning machine. You have earned that luxury.

Simple? Sure. But do you have the determination enough to lose those fats and keep them off permanently? Who said you must go on a strict diet to lose weight and keep the fat off forever? It’s your call folks!

Lose Weight With Living Foods

Losing Weight Is As Easy As 1,2,3,4 with Dr. Fitness and the Fat Guy

This week’s four tips include suggestions in each of the four elements you need to work on in order to achieve your health, fitness, wellness and weight loss goals: (eating right, exercise, support and accountability).

1. Good Eating Tip
Next time you order pizza for yourself or your kids ask for half the cheese. Youll barely notice any taste loss. But what you will lose is tons of calories and a whole lot of grams of saturated fats. Pizzas doesnt have to be left off weekly menu anymore.

2. Making Exercise Safe and Fun
In order to lose weight you have to become more active. Most people do anything to avoid moving their bodies. And society is an accomplice. You can pick up food, a prescription, your clothes and your kid without leaving your car. In President Bushs new Healthier US initiative (http://www.healthierus.gov) he suggests walking for 30 minutes each day. Even if you have to break it up into 10-15 minute chunks. Not only will you burn 200-300 calories, you can walk with your family and increase your quality time as well. Move family time away from the TV and onto the street.

3. Maintaining Your Support System
If youre the type of person who feels guilty about things, great news. You can use that emotion to help you lose weight. Heres how. Exercise with a partner. But before you start make a pact that you will not let the other person down and you will pick them up should they start losing interest. Its much easier to let yourself down then another person. You wont do it, because youll feel guilty if you do.

4. Accountability Tools
A food diary is a great way to keep track of what you eating and when. Keep track of what you consume on an hourly basis throughout the day. If you do this for 2 weeks you will see exactly where those extra calories (and thereby those extra pounds) are coming from. Also, dont forget to keep track of what youre drinking.

10 Great Hair Care Tips

If you watch the tabloids, you know that even the stars have bad hair days. It just seems that when the professional stylists are out of the picture, it is inherently human to have a less than glamorous mane. But you can do your part to stay ahead of the battle by following these great tips for hair care.

1. Use a professional conditioner that is formulated for your specific hair type. While you can skimp a little on the shampoo, a good, professional conditioner is a must have. Look for products in salons that are customized for your hair type. For instance: If you have color or a perm, choose a conditioner that is for chemically processed hair. And stay away from those all-in-one shampoo and conditioner combos.

2. Choose a cut tailored to your face and body shape. The number one mistake that people make when choosing a new hairstyle is to pick a style based on popularity rather than how it will enhance their features. Always choose a new cut based on how it will enhance or detract from your facial features and build. If you have broad shoulders, choose a full-bodied cut over a close cropped head hugging doo.

3.Dont forget your UV protectants. Just as your skin gets damaged by wind and sun, so does your hair. To combat this, look for finishing products such as mousses, gels and sprays that block UV rays.

4. Keep your appointments. Did you know that your hair will split faster than it will grow? You need to get a trim every 6 to 8 weeks, even if its just a micro trim. A good hairdresser makes them good because they know what to leave on the head, not take off.

5. Leave chemicals to the professionals. There is a reason why beauticians need to go to school to learn how to handle chemicals and hair processes. You can do irreparable damage with these products even if the package says that its way easy. And even if you dont make your hair fall out, you could end up looking like a clown and paying a stylist big bucks to fix your mess. (Note: Most stylists charge double the rate for corrective color than they do for normal color processes)

6. Get color for interest and body. Every cut needs a little bit of color to make it truly breathtaking. No matter whether your taste is subtle or dramatic, you can add interest and volume to your tresses with a color process. Highlights, lowlights, all over color, gray coverage, you name it, its all good for your look.

7. Do weekly conditioning treatments. Even if your hair is extremely healthy, it is constantly on the attack from wind, sun, cold and heat. During the summer months, your hair is battered even more when it absorbs chlorine and other chemicals from your pool.

8. Get an ionic ceramic flat iron. Instead of frying your hair with a conventional metal plated flat iron. Straighten your tresses, add shine and infuse moisture with one of the a negative ionic flat irons. We personally use T3 irons for all our work.

9. Choose your styling products wisely. Avoid products that leave build-up on your hair. If you see white gunk, that means that your product is not water-soluble and may be coating your hair shaft. Build-up causes limpness, breakage and inability to curl not to mention the white flakes.

10. Did you know that if you use a towel after your shower to dry your hair you are causing split ends and adding static electricity to your hair. Dont rub the towel back and forth over your hair, scrunch the towel around your hair like your would scrunch crackers in your soup.

While all of these tips wont make you look like youve hired a personal hairdresser, they will help you look the very best that you can each and every day. When it comes to hair care, remember that you wear your hair everyday. Now isnt it worth the time, effort and money that it takes to keep it looking spectacular?

Losing weight is all about what you gain

Many people have thought about losing weight over the years, but often seem to fall short of an actual attempt to do it. The reason why so many people think about it so much is because deep down, they know that having that extra poundage is not at all good for them. The problem is, just knowing that being overweight is bad is not enough to really push many people to do something about it. Much like wanting to quit smoking, knowing it is bad for you dont induce people to quit doing it. However, if you were to find some really good reasons to quit smoking, like your doctor told you if you dont quit, you will lose a lung next year, that might make you act and just do it.

Well, losing weight is just like quitting smoking, the more good reasons you have to do it, the more likely you are to act on it and make it happen. If you have something driving your motivation aside from just knowing it is bad for you, you are also more likely to maintain your weight loss goal once you reach it.

First and foremost, losing weight means getting healthier. When you lose those extra pounds you greatly reduce the risk or heart disease, stroke, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and joint stress, all conditions associated with being overweight. When you reduce these risks, it means you can have a much better chance of being around to see your children grow up and being around to enjoy your grandchildren. That alone is reason enough to get that weight down.

Another reason you might want to consider for losing weight is that you will feel better. As you begin to lose some of those extra pounds, you will start to notice your energy levels increasing. Being overweight by 20 pounds is like putting a 20 pound sack of potatoes on your shoulders all day. Extra body fat is nothing more than an extra burden to carry around with you everyday, so the extra weight drains your energy. For this reason, overweight people tend to be less active and this promotes more fat to collect up on them. As this continues, they become even less active and so this becomes a vicious cycle leading to obesity.

As a nice little side benefit, losing weight will make you look better, and who doesnt want to look better? Each and every one of us has a vision of what we want to look like. Most people are not completely satisfied with the way they look. They will always find something they dont like about themselves and wish they could change and for people who are overweight; this can be a great motivator to lose weight. A recent study done concluded that as early as age 5, girls who had higher body weights had lower self esteem than girls with normal body weight.

When a person loses weight, what are almost always the responses of other people who know that person? You hear things like; you look good; youve lost weight havent you? And think about how you would feel when youve lost enough weight to be able to fit into that dress or that pair of pants you wore back in high school. Now keep in mind, looking better is a great reason to lose weight but it should not be the only one.

When you have at least a few good, valid reasons to want to lose weight, it will be a lot easier to motivate yourself to get started and stay with it. Lets face it, your health, well being and self esteem are very good reasons to get rid of those extra pounds and keep them off for good.

Womens exercise: The 5 Rs Principle

This week, my gym is flooded with new faces. It’s that post-New Years craze that sends everyone to the gyms to try and fulfill that elusive but always primary goal of the New Year: lose weight and get into shape. I watched one new member make her way around through the jungle of strength training equipment last night. She moved from machine to machine doing one set here, two sets there, five repetitions here, twenty there. No rhyme or reason to it, no paper and pencil in hand, it just appeared another random attempt at a workout. What if there was a simple, straightforward way of taking a workout and figuring out exactly what should be in it? There is it’s called the 5 Rs principle.

The 5 Rs Principle can help beginning exercisers figure out what exactly goes into an effective workout. Each `R’focuses on an important element of an exercise routine that forces the beginner to look at their workouts in a holistic fashion.

RANGE of motion

Range of motion refers to how the capability of a joint to move through a prescribed set of movements. In order for a beginner to see results, each exercise should be performed from a fully stretched position of the muscle to a fully contracted position. An example: I see a lot of beginners (and people who have been around the gym long enough to know better) load up the EZ-curl bar for preacher curls and perform the exercise only lowering the bar halfway down on the eccentric portion of the exercise. Not only can this cause injury to the bicep muscle, it also doesn’t work the muscle the best way possible and limits the results of the exercise.

You’ll hear the term `range of motion’ often in reference to joint health and mobility. This is no exception in the gym. Your joints are supported by large and small muscles. In order to optimize your joint health, all the muscles surrounding the joints must be worked as well.

RESISTANCE

When you’re just starting to lift weights, how much weight to use is a huge issue. It’s unfortunate that many personal trainers will tell women to use a lighter weight so that they will “tone up” and not get bulky. This is probably the biggest myth in all of weight lifting? women who lift heavy weights will not get bulky. Don’t believe anyone who tells you this! Choose a weight that allows you to complete the exercise without sacrificing proper form but that is heavy enough that you cannot possibly perform another repetition at the end of your prescribed set of repetitions.

REPETITIONS

Another huge variable for beginning exercisers is how many repetitions to perform. Performing certain repetitions will indeed produce highly specific results. In general, low repetitions (3-8) produce greater absolute strength, medium repetitions (10-20) produce anaerobic strength endurance, and high repetitions (20-40) produce aerobic strength endurance.

Now, an ideal beginner routine will probably include sets of medium repetitions, just to allow the exerciser to learn to perform the exercise correctly, with proper form and technique and to allow her to experiment with experiencing muscle fatigue at 12-15 repetitions. As she progresses, she can experiment with different set/rep schemes customized to individual goals.

An important note is that in order to achieve the results desired from performing a certain number of repetitions is that muscular failure must be achieved within the repetition ranges above. Muscular failure means that you can’t possibly push out one more repetition no matter how hard you’re trying to do it.

REST

In general, your body needs between two to four minutes of rest between sets to prepare itself to perform another set at maximum capacity. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine (PC) are used by your muscle cells to contract during a weight lifting exercise. Your body needs time to regenerate these two compounds before it is ready to go again.

Unless you’re trying to develop all-out absolute strength by performing low repetitions with very heavy weight, you’re probably not going to need to wait that long between sets. Most beginners will be working within a medium repetition range and therefore do not need to wait that long between sets. One to two minutes is fine.

RECOVERY

You will not see faster or better results by working the same muscle groups day after day. As important as hard work is, recovery between workouts is even more important. Beginners should work the same muscle groups no more than two times per week, with at least forty- eight hours break between sessions. As an exerciser becomes more advanced, she will probably cut back to working each muscle group once every seven days or so.

5 Helpful Things to Do to Start Your Personal Fitness

5 Helpful Things to Do to Start Your Personal Fitness Program

The most common challenge that people I talk to face is how to incorporate fitness into their lives. They know they have to do something to get in shape but they really dont know how. It can be discouraging because of the abundance of information out there. So much that you may not know where to begin.

Our society has so many food choices that it is easy to pack on the extra pounds. Also our day to day jobs are less physical as they where 100 years ago so we have more sedentary life styles. We know there are benefits involved when we exercise and cleaning up or diet. However, most of us know dont know how or where to start.

So where do we begin? Or is the question: How do we begin?

The very first thing you need do is go to your doctor and get the approval to start exercising.Your doctor may also provide some helpful tips as well.

After you get the OK from your doctor, try these 5 things to help you get started:

Make the Choice to Start Exercising and Eating Right

Making the decision to do something provides a form of commitment you made to your self. Deciding that you need to change behavior creates new possibilities. When you say to your self I need to get in shape, it means something. You should be answering these questions in your mind: When can I work out? What exercises do I need to do? What foods should I be eating? Make your self think about the commitment you just made. Only then you can let go of the past and take steps to move forward.

Write Down What You Do

You need a reference that is realistic towards your weekly activity. Write down everything you do during the week. This should include work hours, commuting hours, nights spent with your spouse, your childs activities and anything else you can think of that you do. You should also include what you do on weekends. You should make a list for each day of the week. Heres why..

Some people set lofty goals like working out for 2 hours a day. This can be due to an old saying, More is Better. However, this is not the case. Knowing your schedule will help you set realistic goals and help you find a few hours a week to start exercising. Youll have a visual perspective on what you can and cant do with your routine.

Research and Get Information

Most people do not have enough information before they start a work out program. So how do we get the information we need? The good news is we live in the information age. Take advantage of your favorite search engine and learn a little bit about fitness and nutrition. However, do not go overboard and lose focus. Find a source of information you like and take notes. Find the simplest and easiest workouts and nutrition tips. Dont over load yourself with information.

If you have the money, hire a personal trainer for a few sessions to help you get started. Hiring a personal trainer is a great way to get started because you have made a commitment to meet someone to workout. Your goal is to have the trainer show you the basics on exercise and eating healthier. It may also be safer to learn how to perform the exercises (especially if you have not exercised for a while).

Create a Simple Plan and Set Realistic Goals

Keep it Simple! Following a simple plan while on a hectic schedule is much easier than following an elaborate plan. You should have a plan of which days you want to work out and one goal to change your eating habits for the next few weeks. For example, I will work out for a half an hour for 3 days this week. I will eat a little less each meal. Simple is success.

Execute Your Plan

Now that you have a plan, all you need to do is follow it. This is another big step. You should look at your plan every day upon waking. You need be mentally prepared for the great day ahead of you. Having your daily schedule in hand will help you achieve your goals for the day. When you complete your workout for the day, highlight it or cross it off your list. It will show you that you accomplished something for yourself. No matter what you must execute. This will be the hardest (and most rewarding) step.

I hope these things help you get started on a new life of physical fitness. Life is filled with making decisions, knowing your commitments, getting information, planning and execution. Try these approaches for yourself and you will see that having your own workout and nutrition program is not as far fetched or complicated as you think.