Weight loss Zone Blog

As the New Year quickly approaches, one of the resolutions topping lists again this year will be to lose weight and get fit. So many folks will start out gung-ho, completely devoted to the fitness cause, yet fizzle out before spring approaches. What is the key to being successful in a weight loss journey? Noone should make a life-altering decision without research, thought and preparation. Losing weight and becoming fit is just that a change of lifestyle. Set a starting date and use the time prior to prepare yourself!

1) Start planning your weight loss strategy several weeks in advance. Research various diets and exercise programs. Join online support groups. Decide which plans YOU can adhere to and have this decision made prior to your start date. You’ll want to begin collecting recipes and building a support team of friends with similar weight loss goals. Pick up a few fitness magazines and start flipping through them to determine which ones you find motivational. A few popular women’s magazines to try are: Fitness, Shape and Oxygen.

2) Choose your goals, but make them attainable. A fixation completely on scale weight is not necessarily the best strategy. You’ve heard it time and time again and it is true: muscle weighs more than fat! Focus on measurements, body fat percentage, clothing size or even an athletic goal. Set mini-goals as well it’s much easier to stay motivated as you are reaching each individual goal than waiting to reach one distant goal. Be sure to allow non-food rewards as you reach each goal, and put these in writing to remind you what you are working towards. Treat yourself to a manicure/pedicure, massage, new lingerie, slinky dress or other perks.

3) Document your “Before” self. Have a friend or spouse help you take your beginning measurements. At a minimum, measure chest, waist, upper arm and upper thigh. Be sure to note your body fat percentage as well. Most gyms will perform this measurement for a small fee and it is vital to track your body fat for a more accurate portrayal of your true progress. Take photos of yourself in a swimsuit or sports bra and shorts. These will be extremely important to compare along the way and show just how much progress you are truly making!

4) Find the perfect body and plaster it everywhere! Perhaps you have a photo of you from your youth. Maybe there is a fitness model that has the shape you’d like to have. Again, be realistic about the body you choose, but once you find a body type that fits your desires, post pictures all around you as reminders. Tear out a magazine ad and tape it to the refrigerator. Find that pre-baby picture of you in a bikini and post it on your computer monitor. Use these as constant reminders of what you are trying to accomplish.

5) Join a gym or pick up the necessary equipment to workout at home. Joining a gym can be strong motivation to stay on track with your fitness plan for several reasons. The most obvious is that you have to watch that monthly fee come out of your checking account for at least a year in most cases! If you are going to be paying for it, you might as well use it, right? There are such a variety of exercise opportunities at a fitness center that you will be less likely to become bored. Most offer free weights, weight machines, aerobic classes, and a variety of cardio machines, at a minimum. Many also offer personal training instruction and swimming pools. Over time, you will probably form friendships that will help motivate you to continue working out regularly.

6) Accustom yourself to writing down everything that you eat, good or bad. You may be telling yourself that you really aren’t eating “that” bad, but can’t figure out why your weight loss is slow or non-existent. Pick up an inexpensive food scale and begin weighing and measuring your portions. Quite often, looking at it on paper, you can pinpoint your problem times and trigger foods. There are many sites online that offer food journaling, including FitDay.com.

7) Begin weaning yourself from your bad habits early. Living a healthy lifestyle will most likely be enough of a shock that you will not want to “go cold turkey” with all the changes at once. Use the weeks prior to your goal date to begin making subtle changes. If you are a heavy soda or coffee drinker, begin cutting back one or two a day, then as you adjust, cut out another, etc. If you are a chocolate fanatic, begin cutting back or perhaps replacing with sugar-free items. Teach yourself to eat five or six smaller meals throughout the day instead of the normal three large ones. This will help keep your blood sugar stable, preventing cravings and deterring binge eating.

Most importantly, take this time to prepare yourself mentally. Use the weeks leading up to your starting date to make sure you are emotionally ready. Look at it as the last opportunity to eat certain foods without guilt. A healthy and fit lifestyle change is not going to be easy, but it will be less difficult if you have convinced yourself mentally that you are prepared and that you will be successful.

Dawn Lloyd is the mother of three children and owner/editor of several family-related sites including http://www.PersonalFitnessZone.com. Please visit her site for weight loss and fitness information, tips and support.

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Introduction:

Walking at a continuous pace not only boost your energy level, but also reduces your weight. Walking should be aimed at particular distance or duration covered to maintain the proper health and control weight.

Walking is one of the best exercises to control weight and to burn excess calories if good methods of walking are practiced.

Walking styles:

It is always necessary to maintain good walking style to get the maximum benefits of this exercise and at the same time minimizing any health risk. The following walking styles should be maintained for obtaining the benefits.

Try to be as straight as possible including back while walking.

Your arms should be swing in front and back straight at a maximum angle of 90 degree centigrade with the body.

Take more steps per minute instead of taking longer steps.

Walking should be maintained in a straight line as possible and try to keep your foot very close.

Try to breath deeply.

You should start walking slowly in initial days and should increase the speed and miles gradually as you proceed, keeping in mind your body’s response to these exercises.

Losing weight and fitness level:

Being overweight can cause a decreased level of fitness. Burning extra calories by walking will not only make you slim and trim but also increase your overall fitness level. A lack in exercise always tries the decrease in efficiency of muscle and energy levels.

Trainer’s advice for Walking:

Heart rate is one of the factors for burning calories and thus controls weight loss. Higher the heart rate, higher calories will be burn and thus walking will be more effective for you, but at the same time you should also consult to an expert trainer, physiotherapist or physician for maintaining a specific heart rate. Ageing may cause some reduction in efficiency and pump ability of heart and a 20 years young male can achieve a maximum heart rate of 200 beats per minute and the same person at the age of 40 may achieve a maximum heart rate of 180 only. Your trainer may advice you to attain not more than 60 % of the maximum heart rate, if you observe any difficulty you should consult to the trainer or the physician.

Program for Walking:

Make a simple program for walking.

Start with a few minutes in initial days and gradually increase the duration.

For achieving effective results of the walking you should continue walking for a minimum of 30 minutes daily or at least 5 to 6 days of a week.

If your conditions allow you to walk briskly, walk as much as you can. In case you observe any symptoms of breathlessness, vomiting, dizziness or any unusual symptoms, you should contact to your doctor.

Before walking do exercise for stretching of the body parts such as arms, head, shoulder, ankles, stomach, back etc, for a few minutes.

If you get tired during walking, you should gradually slow down your speed.

Too much of brisk walk can cause breathlessness in some of the people.

You should adhere to your walking schedule daily and try to convert your walk in three time zones, first slow walking for 4-5 minutes, second brisk walking and third slow walking for 4-5 minutes.

The first and third time zones are for warm up and clod down zones. Brisk walking should be gradually increased from 405 minutes in initial week to 25-30 minutes after 8-10 weeks.

Nancy Smith loves walking, lawncare, and tracking each step with her Omron pedometer. Check out her diet blog today if you want to read about her latest adventures.

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