The vast majority of people are under the misconception that the best exercise method to burn excess fat and speed up their metabolism is to regularly do 30 to 40 minutes of low intensity aerobic exercise, at least 3 times a week. They also believe that more is definitely better and that if you can get to the gym every day of the week for a 40 minute jog on the treadmill you will be well on your way to your desired perfect physique.
Many fitness professionals continue to recommend that by doing moderately paced aerobic exercise, getting your heart rate to a target range and keeping it there for 40 minutes, several times a week, you will burn your excess fat, increase your metabolism and increase cardiovascular efficiency.
I personally think that, unless you are extremely dedicated by nature, this type of repetitive exercise is more likely to lead to a situation where you get bored, dread going to the gym and give up your weight loss efforts totally. I know I did when I tried this route to lose fat and gain my perfect physique!
Yes, if you have the dedication, looking at a wall while jogging and getting nowhere on a treadmill or stair climber will indeed burn some calories and improve your cardiovascular system. But just doing this type of low intensity exercise on its own won't achieve the results you desire, and if you follow the advice given to do this as often as possible, who of us would have the time to complete any other type of exercise!!
While the benefits of burning calories and better cardiovascular system efficiency derived from low intensity aerobic exercise sound great, this form of exercise done in isolation can actually be counterproductive to your weight loss goals.
Doing repeated sessions of moderately paced aerobic exercise causes your body to use the fat you have stored to provide energy while you jog. This action fools your body into thinking it needs to store more fat ready for the next session...
Your cardiovascular efficiency will improve as your body gets used to doing frequent long duration easy workouts. But as your heart and lungs get used to working at a low level sustained rate, they can also lose their capacity to handle any additional stresses as you never actually push or challenge them to go beyond what has become the norm. This can actually lead to a host of other health problems.
I am not saying that you should never do any low level aerobic exercises, you should of course, but only as part of a complete fitness program and not as your main exercise regime.
The fastest way to lose fat
The quickest, most efficient way to burn body fat, get your metabolism into top gear and improve overall health is to gain lean muscle and the easiest way to achieve this is through resistance training.
I'm not talking about working out to the extent where you end up looking like a pumped up Arnie, just proper resistance training to build and tone lean muscle and gain overall body strength.
Even if you don't change your diet to aid with your weight loss efforts, which you should, you will need some of the calories you are eating to "feed" your new muscle and this will lead to a calorie deficit in your body and you will quickly start to burn your stored fat deposits.
With resistance training you will stimulate your body into creating an ongoing muscle repair and growth process which will call upon your stored body fat for energy, not just while you are working-out, you will still get these fat burning benefits while you are sitting around and sleeping in your bed.
|
Most Americans grew up on a three meal a day eating habit. Most Americans are also overweight. Makes you wonder about the relationship of our eating habit and our weight situation.
Research has shown that eating the same amount of healthy food but spreading it out over five meals per day can help you lose fat.
Many diabetics eat five or more meals (or snacks) daily in order to help them maintain their proper blood glucose levels and achieve or maintain a healthy weight. (I might add that diabetics must also take their medications daily as prescribed by their doctor to help maintain their proper blood glucose levels.)
You might be interested in our real life example of eating more often.
Our son was taken to a babysitter when he was three months old and he remained there until he started first grade. The babysitters own son was close in age but he had diabetes.
The diabetic child ate meals at least five times daily, four of which was during the day when my son was present. When the diabetic child would eat, of course, our son also ate as you can well imagine. These were healthy food meals but the portions were smaller as they were eating more frequently.
Today our son is thirty-four years old and still eats multiple smaller meals every day, out of habit. He also has always been lean and still is to this day. He never gorged or overate and has not gained fat or weight. He also has not developed a sweet tooth yet and eats very little desserts, cola's or sugar type foods in general.
You may be wondering what can I do now? Here is a brief overview to help you better understand how eating smaller meals more often throughout the day can help you lose fat and maybe get you interested in starting your diet.
Eliminate sugar beverages and sweets including regular soda, all fruit juices (orange, apple, grapefruit, cranberry, etc.
Eat regular meals every day. Eat something within one hour of getting up, eat smaller, more frequent meals spread throughout the day and try to eat at least every four hours.
Eat a variety of foods at each meal and try to include at least three food groups with each meal. As an example, meat, vegetable and grain or fruit, grain and dairy or meat, fruit and dairy.
Eat smaller amounts of food at each meal to achieve or maintain a healthy weight.
|
These following so called "special foods" will make your body burn a lot more calories during their digesting process. As you may be well aware, the more calories you burn off, the faster you slim down!
As we grow older, our metabolic rate decelerates substantially! Ever wondered how come lots of people put weight on during their middle age? That is caused by the metabolic rate which decreases; thus unable to burn as much fat as he used to during younger age. Consuming these 'particular' foods is a great way of boosting your metabolic rate!
1. Green Tea:
If you like to drink regular tea, substitute it with green tea! Regular tea is not bad, but green tea is great! It contains fat burning chemicals which will assist you with fat loss. It's no wonder that a lot of the weight loss supplements available in the market contain green tea! Additionally, green tea is a powerful antioxidant.
2. Peanut butter:
Peanut butter is a great substitute for butter. Contrary to butter, which contains high levels of fat, peanut butter is loaded in protein and fiber, both of which will assist you with weight loss. While protein helps you burn fat by building up lean muscle mass, fiber helps in restraining your appetite for a while. Try to buy the natural brands.
Peanut butter constitutes an excellent breakfast when combined with wholegrain bread!
3. Almonds:
Almonds are one of the most nutritious of all nuts. An ounce contains 12% of the daily allowance of protein. Almonds are low in saturated fat (bad fat) and contain many other protective nutrients - calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer.
Almonds boost the metabolic rate helping you burn fat! Add almonds in your breakfast oatmeal and you have a great nutritious meal that will sustain you for hours!
4. Beans:
Beans are the perfect food for a fat-restricted diet as they contain only 2-3% fat. You may never have to count calories again! Beans help to reduce cholesterol, are high in protein and fiber, provide essential B Vitamins and Iron, bring you good health, help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity.
Chick peas, lentils, black, red and white beans, kidney beans, lima beans etc... Make yourself a salad with a variety of them, add tiny pieces of your favorite veggies and you get another excellent meal at a very low cost.
P.S. Need To Quickly, Easily and Effectively Shed some Pounds? Shock Your Body By Using A Diet Which You Have Never Tried Before. Learn The 10 Rules Of Fat Loss and Lose 9 lbs. Every 11 days with the Fat Loss 4 Idiots weight loss program. Read my full review of this program here.
Rachel Cheney is a medical nurse with over 20 years experience. She became interested in the weight loss and fitness fields after successfully shedding 70 pounds. Rachel began publishing articles some time ago in an effort to help others better understand their bodies needs. Why eating the right foods and exercising are a must for shedding extra pounds and maintaining target weights. To help you live happy and healthy for a long time.
|
Are you always trying to lose weight? Do you want to lose your belly fat? Are you eating less and less but are getting bigger and heavier? If your answer is yes to one or all of these questions, than you need to read this article.
There is so much incorrect information out there. They are telling people to eat 600 calorie diets, workout in the gym 2 hours a day and give up real food and instead drink the latest and greatest weight loss shake.
There is no magic in losing weight. It takes effort and a detailed plan. By the way exercise is usually a must unless you are morbidly obese.
Weight Loss Plan
1. You must eat within the first 60 minutes of waking up. If you don't your body switches into starvation mode and the food you eat for the rest of the day will usually be stored as fat.
2. Eat every 3 hours thereafter. You should eat three main meals and fit in 2 snacks consisting of vegetables. If you prefer to eat some type of snack bar just make sure that they are not more than 100 calories and do not contain more than 1gm of sugar. Your main meals should be 2 to 4 ounces of lean meat, chicken or fish, 2 cups of vegetables and a healthy fat like olive oil.
3. Try to stop eating 3 hours before you go to bed.
4. For exercise you should do 60 minutes of cardio every day if your Doctor says it is ok.
5. Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.
6. Avoid white sugar.
7. Work with a Medical Weight Loss Doctor if possible.
So there you have it a very simple but extremely effective program for losing weight.
|
What do foods have to do with diets?? Well.. there are some of us that eat to live while others live to eat. The second half of us that live to eat always are the ones facing weight issues and obesity. Are you one of them too? You may even have been on a hard work out and diet control plan, and...if there results are still not there, read on about some of the foods that can help you lose weight.
In general, your body requires a wide array of foods to survive; from fats to carbohydrates, everything is essential for your body to function properly. If you suddenly cut down fats and sugars, the results may be shocking rather than pleasing. The below mentioned tips will help with your weight management and keep you healthy at the same time.
Water: Scientific evidence points to the fact that hunger is a state where the body is in need of water. Of course, this does not suggest that you should switch your diet entirely to fluids and drinking only water. Doctors suggest that you drink water through the day with your meals and in between your meals. Drinking water also helps the body remove harmful toxins and as a side benefit it helps the texture of your skin.
Fruits: Eating fresh fruits in between meals is one of the best choices you could ever make. Fruits are natural energizers and help to satisfy your hunger cravings. If there are no fruits available, fresh fruits juices are the other good option. For instance, citrus fruits like oranges, grapes, pineapple, sweet lime and lemons refreshment you and charge you up.
Roasted Meats: Consuming roasted meats is always a better alternative to eating fried foods - this and includes fish as well as red meats. Roasting eliminates much of the fats and leaves you with a relatively fat free meat.
Nuts: Nuts are categorized as rich foods, which can help minimize munching in between meals. If you normally feel starved before your main meals, try eating a few nuts (raw preferably) 15 minutes before hand. Then, when you do have your lunch or dinner, you will feel less hurried and will enjoy the food rather than just woofing it down.
|
