If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know it can be a difficult process. But, there are ways to make it easier. Understanding exactly what you need to do to lose weight is your first step and these resources will help you learn about the basic steps to lose weight, how to set realistic goals and simple tips for making healthy lifestyle changes.
You already know how to lose weight. At it’s simplest, weight loss is a matter of balance, losing weight may seem complicated, but it really comes down to this: take in few calories than your body burns everyday.
Exercising and eating healthy is the healthiest way to do that, right? But, successful weight loss doesn’t start with your body–it starts with your mind and the understanding that our bodies are amazing complex machines.
In this fast-past world of ‘Bigger is Better’ and ‘Super-Size My Meal’… many tend make poor meal choices, lack discipline, and rarely consider the consequences of the types of foods we fuel our bodies with.
Discipline is a part of successful weight loss and just another way of saying self-control. Think of how you practice self-control in the other parts of your life. Each day you fulfill your obligations to work and family, even when you’d rather just lie in bed and sleep late. That takes discipline. The same can be true of exercise and eating habits. Of course, it’s easy to make yourself go to work because there are consequences if you don’t–you won’t make as much money or you could lose your job. But if you don’t workout or eat healthy, the consequences aren’t as immediate, are they? Try these ideas to get more disciplined with exercise and eating:
Regular exercise, in combination with a reduced-calorie diet, can promote fat loss. However, the real value of regular physical activity is that it will help you keep weight off once you’ve lost it, or prevent you from gaining unwanted fat in the first place!
To lose body fat, you must simply burn more calories than you take in. Many people try sit-ups and leg lifts to target certain areas of the body. This may improve specific muscle endurance, but doesn’t selectively reduce fat. Your body has its own genetic pattern which determines where you deposit extra fat and how you respond to diet and activity changes. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends exercising 200-300 minutes/week for effective weight loss and the prevention of weight regain (for example, 40-60 mins, 5 days/wk). At the same time, individuals seeking to lose weight should reduce their overall calorie intake by 500-1000 calories and reduce fat intake to less than 30% of total calories. For weight control, the National Institute of Medicine recommends a program of moderate intensity exercise (for example, walking 4 mph), 60 mins/session, 5 days/wk.
Cardiovascular exercise is a great choice for burning calories and fat, no matter where the fat is on your body. Cardiovascular exercise elevates your metabolism during the activity, requires lots of energy and makes you a more effective fat-burner. Cardiovascular exercise activities include:
* Brisk walking or Jogging
* Group fitness classes
* Elliptical training
* Field sports such like Soccer, Basketball and other high movement sports
Any activity that uses large muscle groups in continuous motion for 20-30 minutes will improve your stamina. The more muscles involved and the harder you exercise the more calories you burn!
How do I get started?
If you’re new to exercise, start slowly. Begin with a 10-15 minute workout and add a minute or two each week. Limit increases in time or distance to about 10% weekly. This may feel slow, but you are setting the stage for more vigorous or high-volume activity. Although you may not be burning that many calories now, you’ll avoid the “too much, too soon” injury trap. This is particularly important if you’re carrying extra weight which can put undue stress on your joints. Gradually add a form of interval training: Exercise briskly for a 1-2 minutes, then exercise easily until you catch your breath, then briskly, then easily and so on. Each week, try to add a few more minutes of challenging intervals.
If you have previous muscle or joint injuries (for example: back pain, knee problems) ask your doctor to refer you to a physical therapist who can give you strengthening and stretching exercises related to your injury. This will help protect weakened joints and muscles from re-injury.
How hard do you have to exercise to burn up body fat? The harder the intensity of exercise, the more calories are burned by the body. However, when starting a new exercise program, it’s unwise and unsafe to exercise at high intensities. That’s why a low to moderate pace is recommended for beginners. You’ll just need to exercise longer to burn up the calories. Make your pace as brisk as you can handle. When you have established a good routine, try to add intervals of higher intensity effort into your workout – or just stick with it! Over time, the regularity of your exercise program is even more important than intensity level. Remember, keep exercise up and you’ll keep weight off!
Variety and enjoyment are the keys to exercise adherence. To lose fat you’ll want to incorporate more than one type of activity into your life and find things you enjoy for many different reasons. This will help you avoid overuse injuries, keep exercise fun and give you a menu of activity choices depending on your mood, schedule and weather.
Can strength training help me lose weight?
YES! Strength training 2-3 times/week can build or maintain muscle, the type of body tissue associated with a speedy metabolism and high activity patterns. People with healthy levels of muscle burn more calories all day long! Initially, you may actually gain a little muscle weight through strength training, but that will help you lose unwanted fat. Strength training can be done at home or at the gym. Ask a fitness professional to show you correct technique for about 10 total exercises for your legs, arms and trunk. Start off with light weights, but after 4 weeks, try to work against more challenging resistance. Lifting weights increases your strength to help you engage in calorie-burning activities without injury. Strength training can also slow down muscle loss related to inactivity and aging.
Just how much weight should I expect to lose by exercising?
Exercise is most effective for fat loss when combined with a program of reduced calorie and fat intake. With exercise alone, your fat loss will be slow and steady, determined by the intensity and volume of exercise you perform each week. A fat loss of no more than 1-2 lbs/week is recommended for most people. The faster you lose weight, the more likely you will be to gain it back. If you lose 2-4 pounds of fat every month through realistic lifestyle changes, you will be 24-48 pounds lighter at the end of a year! And remember that no matter how you lose your extra fat, regular physical activity is critical for preventing weight regain.
If you’d like a little help losing weight, why not take a look at your food? There are actually foods that promote weight loss that can make your weight loss efforts more effective. These foods help fill us up, fight cravings, and even burn fat. So if you’re serious about losing weight, try to incorporate these foods and drinks into your daily diet.
List of weight loss foods and their benefits:
• Vegetables – they consists Vitamins and minerals that are essential to sustain life. Vegetables also preserve from constipation and support your digestive system in good condition.
• Whole grain bread – this type of bread is healthy and you can include 2 slices of it in your daily diet.
• Oatmeal – consist of good (slow) carbohydrates, gives you energy for a long period, so you have the chance to spend it. Recent studies show that eating one bowl of oatmeal per day lower the bad cholesterol (there are two types of cholesterol – bad and good).
• Lean meat – it contains mainly protein, which is important food to sustain your muscles. Usually weight loss is related to fat loss, not to muscle loss, that’s why eating lean meat is a must for your weight loss diet. Meat must be prepared baked, on barbeque or boiled. Fried meat is not good for your diet and also most of the fried foods are not healthy.
• Fish – it contains protein and omega 3 fatty acids which are very important in supporting heart and people at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Nuts – especially eaten raw. Nuts contain fat from the good type, good proportion of carbohydrates and protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Most of the nuts contain potassium, research shows that potassium can reduce the risk of hypertension.
Water is an important factor in any weight loss program. Drinking water helps banish fluid retention and fills you up to help fight overeating at meals. According to the American Dietetic Association, people who drink water before each meal actually save an average of 75 calories per meal. Water flushes the kidneys so that they work at their optimum level. This keeps the liver free to metabolize fat, which keeps our metabolism in perfect working order. Drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of filtered water each day for best results. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water each day.
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