THE BEST AND MOST COMFORTABLE WAY TO LOOK GOOD

THE BEST AND MOST COMFORTABLE WAY TO LOOK GOOD IN YOUR FABULOUS OUTFIT IS NOT WEARING “BODY MAGIC” OR “WAIST TRAINER”, ITS TO EXERCISE AND LOOSE THAT EXTRA WEIGHT...

Managing weight is not just about eating less and exercising more. What you eat has just as big an impact on shedding pounds and getting toned as how much you eat, and maybe more. Simply reducing portion sizes, if you’re not careful, can sometimes just make you lose muscle instead of fat, and do little to help your overall health and fitness. Follow these general rules in creating your weight-management nutrition plan: Reduce carbs, but don’t cut them out completely. Carbs are essential for energy, especially during physical activity, and carb-starving your body will simply make you lose muscle mass. Likewise, consume fats in moderation. Your body needs certain fats to maintain your nervous system and to absorb vitamins, among other functions. Focus on fruits and vegetables. They provide the nutrients your body needs without the excess calories. Make sure to stay hydrated. If you’re feeling hungry, try drinking water first; we sometimes trick ourselves into eating when we’re only thirsty.  WEIGHT LOSS TIPS FOR WOMEN: 1. Consult a medical professional and the appropriate exercise/fitness professional. Yeah, yeah, yeah… you heard it all before. No really. Exercise is actually a form of a stress response for the body. Everybody tells you that exercise is healthy and how many health benefits you will get from exercising. Yes you will but it also increases heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and a number of stress hormones take over your body. Don’t be a casualty. You do need to know if there is anything which could contradict any form of exercise so you can choose the best weight loss exercise or workout to suit your needs. In addition to a medical professional, the appropriate fitness professional should be able to advise you on a workout, and show you the correct techniques for exercises. I am sure you want to enjoy it and skip heart attacks and injuries. 2. Pace yourself and work on your own level. Maybe you have read about this super high intensity – fat burning army style workout and you want to try it out. No doubt you will get there, but if you never done any exercise in your life then be prepared to be hit by a tone a bricks. Your body is not used to work and as a result your muscles will ache, you will feel sick and maybe be able to only move your finger without being in pain. The solution? Pace yourself through exercising. Start by walking around the block 2 – 3 times a day instead of running a marathon, or go swimming for 30min; basically do small and light workouts and build on them in time. You may be thinking that you hardly burn any calories this way, but believe me you do. If your muscles are not used to be doing a lot, walking around the block is hard work for them. Moreover, working on your own level and ability will minimise the risk of injuries. 3. Pace yourself and work on your own level. Maybe you have read about this super high intensity – fat burning army style workout and you want to try it out. No doubt you will get there, but if you never done any exercise in your life then be prepared to be hit by a tone a bricks. Your body is not used to work and as a result your muscles will ache, you will feel sick and maybe be able to only move your finger without being in pain. The solution? Pace yourself through exercising. Start by walking around the block 2 – 3 times a day instead of running a marathon, or go swimming for 30min; basically do small and light workouts and build on them in time. You may be thinking that you hardly burn any calories this way, but believe me you do. If your muscles are not used to be doing a lot, walking around the block is hard work for them. Moreover, working on your own level and ability will minimise the risk of injuries. 4.  Break the workout in 2 sessions. Breaking the workout into 2 sessions per day can help in increasing your metabolism. In other words you could be potentially burning more calories. You don’t have to increase the amount of time or exercises you do in a day or do your usual workout twice. Just cut it in half and do one half in the morning and one half in the evening. For example if you go running for an hour a day, go 30min in the morning and 30min in the afternoon/evening. If you do use the gym and going twice per day is not feasible then do a slightly shorter workout in the gym and go for a brisk walk for your 2nd daily workout. One thing you need to be careful is not to overload your body too much. When doing 2 workouts it is easy to fall in the trap of adding more exercises or more time. Too much exercising can place a lot of stress in the body and you could be having the opposite results. 5. Do resistance exercise. It is often advocated that people burn calories and fat with aerobic exercise and is better for weight loss. The idea is that during moderate intensity aerobic exercise the body burns a combination of glycogen (sugar) and fat whereas with resistance exercise the body burns mostly glycogen. However, studies indicate that in terms of post training results resistance exercise tends to increase metabolic rate and fat burning. One of the reasons is that resistance/weight training increases the body’s muscle mass which is one of the main factors of increasing metabolic rate during rest. The effect of exercise in using fat and energy (and therefore aiding in weight loss) is not only in terms of how many calories we burn while we exercise but also how many calories we burn once we stopped. Therefore, for best results do add some resistance exercises in your workout. One important fitness tip: Make sure you warm up. A 5-10min warm up with light aerobic exercises is fine. A lot of people use the treadmill or elliptical to warm up. Don’t skip the warm up and go straight into lifting weights as you could damage your muscles and incur injuries 6. Do resistance exercise first and aerobic exercise second. We worked out above that it is good to add resistance exercises in your workout. Now plan your workout in that you start with the resistance part and finish with the aerobic exercise. With resistance exercise the body will be using mostly glycogen (sugar stores) for energy. When coming to do the aerobic part most of the glycogen will have been used and therefore the body will be mobilising your fat stores to fuel the exercise. Needless to say you will be potentially be burning a lot more fat. 7. You burn what you eat. A common conception used in advising people is eating carbs before exercise and protein after. The principle for that is that carbs will give you the energy to fuel the exercise and protein is beneficial for muscle building post exercise. Well if you are going to run a marathon you do need to be stocked up with your carbs as you will need the energy. However, for the average daily workout if you pack yourself before exercising with loads of carbs all you will be burning during exercise is sugar. Yes the post exercise fat burning effect does count as well, but if you want to optimise the fat you are using, then avoid overloading yourself with loads of carbs before exercising. If your diet in general includes a moderate amount of carbohydrates anyway, then that should provide sufficient energy for exercise. Some studies also suggest supplementing with protein before exercise. This is suggested to aid in increasing muscle mass. However, I tend to say that if your diet includes a moderate amount of protein (see also protein diet tips) then that should be sufficient. In addition, not all protein supplements, powders, shake and so on are off good quality, and choosing the ‘best’ can be a mind field. 8. Have a coffee. Coffee increases the sympathetic nervous activity in the body and in result it can increase the metabolic rate and fat mobilisation. Studies also suggest that it can improve performance during exercise. As a result having a cup of coffee before exercise could potentially help in burning more calories and quite importantly more fat. The intensity and kind of exercise will affect which fuel your body will use more off; look at fitness tips for women 6 and 9 as well. Be aware: Stimulating the sympathetic nervous system also results in increasing heart rate and having a few stress hormones floating around. Exercise can have the same effect as mentioned earlier, so be aware. Do not drink too much coffee (or a very strong one) as what you don’t want is effects such as palpitations, anxiety etc. If you are sensitive to coffee or if you have any conditions (example high blood pressure) which may be made worst don’t use coffee or consult a medical professional before you do. 9. Alternate the intensity. Alternating the intensity of exercise can help in using the different energy systems of the body and also different muscle fibres. Alternating the intensity means exercising in high intensity then low intensity then high again and so on. Example run fast for 5min then walk for 5min then run again etc. The theory behind it is that you use mainly glycogen during high intensity then mobilizing fat as a fuel during low intensity. Some studies suggest that this exercise intensity alternation can increase the amount of fat you burn and potentially can increase the amount of calories you use. 10. Have a rest day. Last but not least, have a rest once a week. How can rest optimise weight loss? Well muscles recuperate and grow (adapt to the overload of exercise) during rest. To be perfectly honest for all the structures and systems of the body (tendons, nerves, ligaments, cardiopulmonary etc) to adapt to exercise, need rest. If you overload the body and its structures with too much exercise you could potentially get the opposite result. In addition it would increase the risk of injuries and illness. A day’s rest will help your body to recover and make any adaptations to exercise. This way you can enjoy all the benefits and gains of exercise which extend beyond than just losing weight. Follow the above 10 fitness tips for women and you are on your way to a healthier body and mind. See also weight loss tips for women for 12 more weight loss tips. WEIGHT LOSS TIPS FOR MEN:  Although you usually hear about women complaining about their bodies and weight, many men are also concerned with their weight too.  Here are some tips that men can follow to help them lose weight: Be careful what you eat Men like to eat;  Not that woman don’t, but you don’t usually see as many women pigging out on food as much as men.  It is ok to splurge every once in a while, but constantly eating high fat and high calorie food is a great way to gain weight. So, try to make most of the foods you eat be healthy and unprocessed.  Don’t be embarrassed to eat a salad.  And, when you are hanging out with the guys, you can splurge and eat the huge burger and fries or pizza that you would normally eat. See also: How many calories to lose weight Learn how to cook Many men know how to cook.  But, there are also many who don’t, and never bothered to learn.  This causes them to hit the drive through on their way home from work and very likely, get something that is very high in calories and fat.  Learning how to cook can prevent that.  And, learning how to cook doesn’t mean that you have to cook gourmet meals for yourself. It also doesn’t mean preheating the oven for a frozen pizza or mozzarella sticks.  Just learning how to sauté some vegetables or make pasta or rice would be a good start.  It is much better to eat whole foods and avoid frozen, processed foods when cooking at home. See also How to cook healthier meals Don’t lift too much A lot of men have a goal of hypertrophy, or increased muscle mass, when they are working out.  Often times, they will be looking for quick results, so will lift too much, which can cause them to injure themselves.  This can actually make it so they can’t work out for a while, or at least until their injury is healed. The recommended amount to lift with a goal of hypertrophy is 70-85% or your 1RM, or one repetition maximum.  One repetition maximum is the maximum amount that you can lift and do one repetition for an exercise.  For example, if you can do one repetition of a bicep curl with 50 pound weights, you should lift between 35 and 42 pounds for a goal of hypertrophy. Charge up your workout This goes for anyone.  If you are constantly doing the same workout every day, you are eventually going to plateau.  To fix that problem, you need to constantly be changing your workout.  You should try different exercises to work each muscle.  You need to increase the weight once the one you are using becomes too heavy.  You should also increase the reps or sets that you are doing. Changing your cardio is important too because if you are always running 5 miles as your cardio workout, it may get boring, but your body is also going to get used to it.  You might want to try biking, spin, kickboxing, or even walking. Don’t snack at night Mindless eating is what causes many people to either gain weight, or prevents them from losing weight. Most people do this when they are watching TV at night.  Some people may even eat just as many calories that they have eaten for the whole day while they are snacking at night.  So, if you make a rule that you aren’t allowed to eat anything after dinner, or even just allow yourself to have one healthy snack, it may make a huge difference. Watch what you are drinking A lot of men like to drink beer.  And, the heavier the beer, or the higher the alcohol content, usually the better it tastes.  But, that also means that it most likely contains a lot more calories.  When you are out having a few drinks with your friends, the calories can add up.  Let’s say that the 12 oz beer you are drinking has 180 calories in it, and you drink 5 of them.  That’s an extra 720 calories! Follow a workout program that works for you You shouldn’t just be doing cardio to lose weight, and you shouldn’t just lift weights to gain muscle.  You need to incorporate both into a workout program, and also need to include some flexibility training.  It is very important to warm up and cool down every time you work out, and stretching should be part of that.  This can help prevent injury. A lot of people aren’t sure what they should be doing.   It might even be a good idea to invest in a personal trainer if you can afford it, or sometimes you can even get a free session when you join a gym. Follow a well balanced diet This may be obvious, but a lot of people don’t know what they should be eating.  Of course it is best to avoid fast food and processed or frozen food.  You should try to include a lot of fruits and vegetables in your diet.  Also, try to avoid white bread or other white flour products and try to eat whole grains such as whole wheat pasta and bread or brown rice.  Also, try to eat lean meats. Although you might want to eat hot dogs and hamburgers as your source of protein, try to include some baked fish or chicken a few times a week also as these are lower in fat and calories, and are much better for you.  Also, try to eat healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado, and coconut oil instead of butter. Watch the sodium Many people aren’t aware of how much salt they are using, and eating too much salt can cause you to retain water, which may prevent you from losing weight.  It will cause you to feel bloated if you eat too much salt.  So, be very careful when salting your food.  Avoiding frozen, canned, or packaged foods can also help cut down on the amount of sodium you are including in your diet. Drink lower calorie beverages Many people aren’t aware of the calories that are in the beverages that they are drinking.  You don’t want to drink your calories.  Drinking higher calorie beverages can really add a lot of calories to your total calorie count for the day.  You probably already know that soda has a lot of calories in it.  But, some juices also contain a lot of calories. Energy drinks can be high in calories.  Milk is always a good choice since it is high in protein and has important vitamins and minerals in it.  Try drinking lower fat or fat free milk though.  Water is of course the best choice.