| |
| |
|
Weight Loss Information |
|
|
|
The Practical Way to Lose Fat
Today's society is about speed. We no longer have to wait for the oven to warm our food because we have microwaves ready to do the work in less time. Breaking news events don't travel by telegraph across the great oceans; they are transmitted instantly with live video over the Internet or bounced from the array of satellites that float in constant, geosynchronous orbit. It comes as no surprise that supplement sales are on the rise as we continue to seek out quick, convenient ways to lose fat - fast! Losing fat is not difficult. I have been coaching clients to break through plateaus and send their fat cells running for cover for years now. So why does this continue to be an elusive goal for so many people, who "struggle" just to lose a few inches? We can address this by creating a practical guide to lose fat. Is this a special diet that will have the pounds melting off? No. Is it a secret workout program that causes you to burn fat while you sleep? Nope, not that, either - your body already does it. So what on earth can we share? There is a secret, over 2,000 years old, that was leaked to the general public by the father of medicine, Hippocrates. Somewhere along the way, it was lost again. Let's bring it back to light. It goes like this: "If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health." Sound almost too good to be true, doesn't it? The problem is that in our efforts to find something - fast - we tend to resort to equations and formulas that should magically spit out the right number of calories, or eliminate entire food groups like sugars or carbohydrates in our quest to make our fat cells cry (what some people call "sweat.") The triathlete will benefit by reducing fat and increasing muscle. It's not so much your weight that may slow you down, it's the percentage of that weight that comes from fat! So how do you target the love handles and saddle bags without losing your guns or wheels, as biceps and thigh muscles are affectionately termed in the bodybuilding world? 1. Move more, eat more. Whoa - wait a second! We all understand the idea behind moving more. That means burning more calories. But eat more? You thought it was eat less, didn't you? The truth is that you must eat more - more intelligently. You must eat more nutrient-dense foods. In turn, you will consume fewer calories. Less calories does not mean less nutrition, when done correctly. Even engineered foods (shakes, bars, and sports drinks) contain little nutritional value for the calories that go with them. There is nothing that beats nature's own packaging - fruit, vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and so on. If you want to remain satisfied and full, try consuming over 50% of your calories from fresh fruit and vegetables. Your calories automatically go down, while your intake of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients goes up. The idea is to consume foods as close to their natural state as possible. This means you'll do most of your shopping on the outer edge, or perimeter, of the grocery store, where the meats, eggs, and fresh produce exists, rather in the middle, where everything comes in boxes, bags, and cans. Want some nutrition-packed snacks? Try dates or figs with raw cashews. Roasting nuts may damage some of the healthy fats. You'll notice that roasted or cooked nuts are addictive, while raw nuts are not. Can't take the blandness? Buy roasted, lightly salted and raw nuts, then mix the two together for a compromise. Afraid of the fats? Don't be. These come loaded with fiber, protein, and carbohydrates, along with a healthy dose of fatty acids. My personal favorite is celery sticks with all-natural peanut butter. 2. Make Your Muscles Resist! As your calories decrease, there is a chance you may lose muscle mass. Avoid this by making your muscles resist. Your muscles don't know the difference between gravity or any other form of resistance. The way to keep them active and toned is to engage in weight bearing activity. While the majority of your training will be focused on endurance, don't neglect the power of strength training. Strength training will improve your bone density, build lean muscle mass or preserve it while you are trimming the fat, and provide explosive power when you need that kick during your competition. It also helps maintain joint integrity and strength, which is necessary to combat the repeat-use syndrome many runners develop in their ankles, knees, and hips. Because your goal is not to stand on stage in a bodybuilding competition, but instead an endurance goal, keep your workouts to two or three short, intense training sessions - 20 or 30 minutes each - every week. Get in, give it 100%, and then recover and focus on the rest of your training. Stretch thoroughly - check out our stretching guide at: http://www.naturalphysiques.com/cms/index.php?itemid=159 There is an added benefit as well - resistance training burns calories for hours after you are finished, and studies show the combination of resistance training and aerobics burns more fat than aerobics alone. 3. Slow and Steady Want a recipe for disaster? Try doing too much, too soon. Most people grasp this concept with training, so why do they fall short when it comes to nutrition? Think "better," not "perfect" when changing your nutrition habits. You want to crash? Go on a diet. You want to change? Transform your lifestyle. Small changes over time tend to last longer than quick-fixes like fad diets or magic bullet pills and supplements. As an example, if you currently drink soda, don't go cold turkey and jump straight to water. Most will find themselves chomping at the bit for something cold and fizzy! Instead, make a gradual transition. First, switch to diet soft drinks. After you are used to the change, try sparkling mineral water with a lemon or lime. Finally, transition to water. Make small changes, get used to them, and you will be well on your way to trim, fit body. Conclusion If you are like most people, you did not suddenly gain fat overnight. It was a gradual transition. So why should you expect losing the weight to be any faster? Take it slow. A pound of weight per week is a good rule of thumb for permanent fat loss. Anything faster may be too restrictive and could be lean mass (even muscle) instead of simply fat weight. Perhaps the most useful tool for losing fat isn't a nutrition guide or workout program after all - it is a trait. Patience is by far the most powerful tool to lose fat and keep it off. Jeremy Likness is an International Health Coach and motivational speaker. After losing 65 pounds of fat, he discovered his true vision to coach thousands around the world to better health. A Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Performance Nutrition, Jeremy is the author of the internationally-selling e-Book, Lose Fat, Not Faith and the companion 5-CD set. Jeremy has been published in major online publications including Tom Venuto's Fitness Renaissance and Bodybuilding.com. Jeremy's approach is unique because he focuses on fitness from the inside out. Visit Jeremy online at Natural Physiques.
MORE RESOURCES:
Weight-Loss - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Seven Secrets of Weight Loss When embarking on a weight loss program people will almost always focus on just one or two of the seven necessary components needed to achieve their goal. In order to maximize ones weight loss results they must combine all seven components. Fat Is A Self-Inflicted Disease I just came back from three days in Las Vegas. What an eye-opener!The biggest, most lavish buffets in the world attract the biggest, most expansive people. Weight Loss Fads that Dont Work No matter what the reason, successful weight loss and healthy weight management depend on sensible goals and expectations. If you set sensible goals for yourself, chances are you'll be more likely to meet them and have a better chance of keeping the weight off. Possible Pitfalls There are as many reasons you've given yourself to eat as there are minutes in a day. Storm clouds do it for me. Understanding the Glycemic Index Things get so confusing when it comes to understanding what foods are high on the glycemic index scale and what effects your blood sugar production. I have focused a lot of my diet around eating lower glycemic index foods, but more importantly understanding that even when you eat high glycemic foods you can help reduce the blood sugar impact, by eating a combination of both high and low glycemic index foods together, that overall helps slow down the insulin production in your body. 11 Steps to Guarantee Weight Loss and Fitness Success 1. Persistence!Violate this step and you'll never achieve permanent results. Low Carb Diets - Are They For You? The revolution is here. Weight Loss as we know it has changed forever because of one diet. The Best Carbs For Low Carbers With the popularity of low carb diets such as Atkins, The Zone, and South Beach, more and more people are becoming aware of the bad effects to the body of too much carbohydrate consumption. As people try to cut down on their carb intake, it should be noted that not all carbs are created equal. When Dieting Should You Weigh Yourself Every Day? How to Break the Weighing HabitFace it, if you weigh yourself more than once a day, you are a serious scale addict, and if you let the number on the scale affect how you feel, and whether it's going to be a good day, you are probably a bit too involved with that appliance. Danger, danger! Step away from the scale!The scale simply cannot tell the difference between muscle and fat, and while fat is bulky and lumpy, muscle is sleek and shapely. Weight Loss: Secrets To Losing Weight Without Much Efforts Are you overweight?Most people are afraid to admit they are.It may not be a crime to be overweight, but it can be harmful to your health and life, if you fail to take action to reduce your weight. Dieting 101 - For Those Who Want to Start But Dont Know Where to Begin Okay, so you've read some of these articles, done your homework and now you're finally ready to begin a diet and exercise program. But you still have this one same nagging question in the back of your mind. Remembering The Titanic: Top Ten Weight Loss Mistakes Others Make But We Can Avoid Patrick Henry once said, "I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I have no way of judging the future but by the past. How to Buy Chocolate Then Forget to Eat It Some Say I'm Strange. I Prefer to Think of Myself as Resourceful If you'd like to learn how to obtain quality chocolate, put it in a drawer and forget it's there, learn to use EFT and NLP techniques to conquer your emotional eating. The Myth of Fast Weight Loss You will be surprised to find out how many people are actually looking for a fast weight loss program. Why fast? Well, first of all, most of us are impatient. Weight Loss Issues - Can You Be Cellulite Free? One thing I really must say at the outset of this article is, that if you were to ask the majority of men to define cellulite they would most probably be completely baffled.Then after you explained it to them in detail and told them that you suffered from it, more likely than not the reaction would be to look at you as if you were slightly mad, shrug their shoulders and say that they had actually never noticed it. The Health Effects of Being Overweight Both men and women around the world are becoming fatter and it's partly because of our modern lifestyle, too much fatty food and too little exercise. Some people say, 'Why should it matter if I'm overweight as long as I feel okay?' But being overweight does matter because it increases the risk of health problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. Weight Loss Through the Right Natural Food At its most basic, dieting is about burning more calories than you take in. It's simple mathematics. Why Did I Do That? How to Deal with a Lapse in Your Weight Loss Efforts A bad day or even a bad week is not enough to "break your diet" unless you let it get you down. It's what you eat over the long run that counts. Lose Weight NOW! - The Truth or Consequences Diet? If you knew when you were going to die, would you really want to know? If you knew when you were going to lose your life, would you do anything different? If you had a choice of living longer or living a better quality of life, which would you choose, longer or better?People say, "if only" they had known they were going to have this happen to me, they would have done things differently. IF ONLY?I had not stressed so much about life. After WLS: How To Avoid Mourning The Loss of Food A frequent question brand-new gastric bypass patients ask is "How do you deal with the loss of food?"In the first few weeks out of surgery when patients can only eat is Jell-O or protein shakes or broth patients frequently report grieving for food. After all, food is a beloved friend of the morbidly obese.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
