It's All About Exercise and Health » weight loss

Lose Weight By Walking

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 21:17:51 +0000

When we were approaching our first birthday walking was exciting and we were very proud of our achievements regarding walking. Somehow as we aged walking and other forms of exercise became a dirty word to those of us who are in need of losing a few pounds. The truth is that if you need to lose weight walking just may be an easy and entertaining way to lose weight. Yes, there is such as thing as walking your way to losing weight.

Here are a few tips that may help you if you decide to walk your way to weight loss:

When it comes to losing weight by walking, distance is more important than time. It is more important that you walked a mile versus not walking at all and not at all how long it took you to achieve the feat. You do need to understand how many calories you burn while walking if you have a particular weight loss goal in mind. If you want to burn off two pounds a week, you will need to walk long enough to burn off 3500 calories in a week if you are a person who weighs 160 pounds and you walk at a rate of two miles per hour, you will burn 105 calories in that hour. A good goal is to walk about 6 hours a week. If you carry weights while you walk, you will burn more calories. You can carry a backpack with weight in it to make this easier on you. Walking will not only help you to lose weight you can also tone leg muscles and feel happier too.

Outdoor walking is not the only way to lose weight you can also walk indoors on a treadmill at a gym or around an indoor track. Outdoor walking is more entertaining because as you walk you can look at neighborhood houses and lawn, greet neighbors, explore community parks and hiking and bike trails and really get to know your neighborhood. A treadmill has advantages too like not having to deal with inclement weather, stray dogs or bikes. The other advantage of a treadmill is that you can keep track of the number of miles you walk, and your speed.

Knowing this information may be helpful when it comes to tracking your weight loss progress and setting new goals (how many more miles would you need to walk for an additional pound a week etc.)

Walking does not require special equipment and just about any physically able person can do this exercise and lose weight as long as they walk consistently. Walking can become a habit that is enjoyable if you allow yourself to form that habit (usually two weeks). You may find that after two weeks you actually look forward to your walks.

If you walk in the morning you can elevate your metabolism throughout your day, which will benefit your weight loss goal the most. Walking at night will not raise your daily metabolism so it does not have the same weight loss benefit. So, if weight loss is why you walk, then it is best to plan to walk in the morning.

Pregnancy weight – Practical tips get rid of that much abhorred pregnancy weight

admin — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:06:42 +0000

It is a great feeling to get pregnant. One tends to feel overjoyed, give into a lot of cravings and gain weight too. The bundle of joy comes with a lot of excitement and a promise of new life ahead with full of happiness. However, one of the most difficult phases for a woman to deal with is the losing of pregnancy weight. The body shape goes berserk after the delivery of a baby and one tends to feel depressed. It is quite difficult to lose Pregnancy weight, especially after indulging into a lot of goodies during the whole nine months. One surely needs to make quite an attempt to get rid of all that has been accumulated during pregnancy.
If you too are finding it hard to lose Pregnancy weight like a lot of other women across the globe, don’t feel disheartened. Here are some practical tips to help you lose Pregnancy weight. These are sure shot tips coming straight from the experts.
a) Visit your health care practitioner:
When considering to lose Pregnancy weight, you need to first visit a medical expert. He or she is the best person to judge your body type and present condition after delivering the baby. A heart-to-heart discussion and consultation is a must.
b) Commitment and discipline:
You need to practice self discipline and 100 percent commitment towards losing Pregnancy weight. Go with the diet plan and exercise regime. Be consistent with your Pregnancy weight loss program.
c) Breast feed:
This is the best and most important thing to do then trying to lose Pregnancy weight. Women tend to lose Pregnancy weight quickly via breast feeding their children. You can burn about 500 calories per feeding.
d) Diet:
You need to pay special and careful attention to your diet after pregnancy. Eat a lot of fresh fruits, lean meet, vegetables, whole grain foods and healthy and nutrition’s shacks such as corn, wheat crackers and nuts and raisins. Consume a protein rice diet. Eliminate fat and fast food from your diet regime completely.
e) Drink water:
You must focus on drinking at least ten to twelve 8 ounce glasses of water on a daily basis. Eliminate soft drinks, alcohol and soda based drinks form your diet. Opt for herbal teas or lemon drink instead.
f) Monitor your weight:
Keep a regular check on your weight after pregnancy. This will motivate you towards your goal further.
g) Being active is the key:
Once you have delivered the baby, start exercising and get active. You can initiate with some light physical activates to help you lose fats. Don’t push too hard. It would be wise to consult a health care practitioners what kind of exercises will be apt for your body type.
h) Walk:
Walk as much as possible. Try to reach a nearby store on your feet. This will keep you active.
i) Join a gym:
This will be a superb option as where will be instructors to take care of your body and suggest exercises required and opt for your body type.

Give yourself some time and develop a positive attitude. This will help you lose Pregnancy weight soon!

Tips on Loosing Weight on a Busy Schedule

admin — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:57:17 +0000

For many people loosing weight may seem to be a daunting task because of their busy schedule. Nowadays every one of us is so engrossed in our day to day life that we often either don’t get sufficient time or simply there is no willingness due to mental as well as physical fatigue. As a result loosing weight goes out of question, no matter how conscious we may have about our health and weight.
In today’s world full of hustle and bustle where they need to work for extended hours and sometimes need to travel extensively to reach office and back home along with running errands at home, shedding those few extra pounds may take a back seat. As a result they become fatter and fatter everyday and enter into an unhealthy lifestyle. Often due to lack of knowledge and expertise they even don’t know that they can stay fit and fine even in their busy schedule and hectic lifestyle. All it takes to be a little conscious about their health and nothing else.
Most of them are not even aware of the fact that with a right action plan in place along with a little willingness to loose weight can take them to the new heights of a healthy lifestyle, where they not only will look better, smarter and younger but would stay fit forever. Sooner than ever they would be able to gain that old shape again.
We are giving some time tested and proven tips here that can be very helpful irrespective of age, sex and physical leave:
Walk an extra mile: Walking a few extra blocks can make a huge difference in your decision of loosing weight. One can park their car a few blocks away or get down from the bus a few stop earlier so that he or she can walk some extra miles in order to loose weight. They may also go for an early morning walk for 15-20 minutes or do a little exercise even in their home.
Ban soda, drink water: Aerated drinks like cold drinks and soda are full of empty calories, which are often too difficult to digest, add to your calories and in turn add to your weight. In order to have flavored drinks, one can add lemon or orange to water and stop the carving felling for sodas. This would surely boost the process of losing weight in a lazy way.
Be active: Try to engage yourself in some physical activity, like using bicycle to reach your neighborhood or surroundings, using a bike instead of a car, washing your car or bike during weekends. Apart from that you should not use elevators and if possible should use stairs. In addition to that you should do some gardening work yourself instead of relying on a paid gardener. Believe it or not, these small activities in your daily life would surely help you loose weight gradually.
Use low calorie and low carb food: Save yourself from eating tempting and unhealthy food like finger chips or pizza or for that matter burger. Whenever you need to eat you should have low calorie food and low carb food. Eat healthy food like lots of fruits, vegetable salads, soup or steamed vegetables. This would help you a lot in loosing weight.
Last but not the least, be dedicated and believe in self: Though we have mentioned a few simple tips above but one of the most important tips is to believe in self and be committed, otherwise nothing would work perfectly. We do understand that it’s not easy to change everything (habits, routine, needs, wants and even desires) overnight, but one thing at a time in a slow and study way. Most of the time you need not to go gyms and health parlors to stay fit but all you need to take care of is changing the way you live, think and react to your normal day routine.

How to Lose Belly Fat on a Busy Schedule

admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:19:55 +0000

The good news is that when you start to lose weight, it’s most likely that you will lose it more proportionately from the abdominal region. In fact there is a 99% chance that when you lose weight, it will be in the stomach area first, before you lose weight anywhere else, and then it will be a loss in weight in the upper area of your body that comes next.
Visceral fat, or fat tucked inside your waistline is easier to lose than the fat under your skin, especially in people who are really fat! That is good news; the more weight you need to lose, the faster you are likely to lose the fat around your belly. So people who are very overweight will see quicker results in their belly area once they actually start losing the weight.
Whole Grains and Loss of Belly Fat
A calorie controlled diet which included whole grains was able to trim the extra fat around the waistline of obese subjects.
A study was done where the participants ate whole grains and an additional 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 3 servings of low-fat dairy products, and 2 servings of lean poultry, meat or fish, lost more weight in the abdomen than those participants who ate the same diet but with refined grains instead of whole grains.
Diets rich in whole grains reduce refined carbohydrates and change glucose and insulin response making it easier to reduce stored fat.
Refined foods such as white bread trigger several events in your body specifically by:
• Elevating your blood sugar
• Increasing your Insulin
• Depositing Fat in your body
However eating whole grain rich, high fiber diets help improve your insulin sensitivity levels which in turn help the blood glucose in your body to be more efficiently used, in turn lowering your blood glucose levels and reducing fat deposits.
If you are in a rush to lose weight and you don’t have time to exercise, add whole grain foods to your daily diet and do away with the fat on your abdomen.

Weight loss-Effective techniques to burn fat at lightning speed

admin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:52:31 +0000

Want, to gain that perfect figure? If yes, you need to focus on burning the fat existing in your body at a faster pace. There are a lot of techniques that can help you burn fat at the speed of light. Here are some super effective techniques to help you burn the much abhorred fat in no time:
a) Premeal snack:
If you are going out for a work out, make sure you eat a low carbohydrate protein bar exactly ninety minutes before you start the workout. This will let you exercise for a long time and also provide you the required energy to work harder. This way, you can lose more amount of calories. Remember that the ninety minute mark is very important. In case, you have the energy bar just near your workout, your performance will be affected.
b) Breathe the right way:
It is very important to focus on breathing through your nose. Inhale and exhale through your nose and not your mouth. This will help you in stabilizing the rate of your heart. The act will also increase your endurance just as a pre-workout snack would do. The whole act will let you work out for a longer time and urn more amounts of calories. The whole act may seem to be unnatural but you will be able to fit in within a few workouts.
c) Cardio towards the last:
It is very important to get into strength training prior to doing any sort of cardio vascular task. This is because your body would require about 15 long minutes to warm up and start burning fat. You can do a bike ride after warming up your body with some weight. This makes sure that your body will burn fat on your entire bike riding session.
d) Focus on variety:
Most people tend to focus on indulging in the same type of workout every time they hit the gym. This tends to stop burning the calories because your body get used to a certain type of workout. Hence, it is very necessary to focus on varied types of exercises such as jogging one day, swimming the next and biking the day after.
e) Don’t slouch:
Most people tend to slump over the handlebars on stationary bike. This disturbs oxygen intake of the body and also retards fat burning process. Handles are not meant to support you. They just facilitate your balance.
f) Intervals:
You need to train in intervals especially if you are new. Try hitting the treadmill for 2 minutes at 7mph, then 2 minutes at 5mph and again 7mph. The whole session would end 20 minutes. This is really helpful to build up your stamina.
g) Light weight:
Adding light weights to your workout schedule can do wonders to burn your calories. You need to focus on bicep curls, overhead presses while holding weights of 2-3 pounds. This is very helpful in building muscle tone and helps you shed more fat during your cardio workout as compared to when you are not using weights.

Fab abs – Effective and practical tips to get six pack abs

admin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:46:58 +0000

The six pack abs fad has taken most youngsters and even adults . to work well for itEvery one is looking forward to have a wonderful six pack abs. No wonder a lot of workout parlors, gyms and diet programs have come up for people who want to specifically focus on obtaining the much coveted six pack abs.
The main goal towards obtaining six pack abs should be directed towards losing fat at the stomach area. Once the fat is gone, the target will become easy.
There are several important facts one require to know regarding developing a six-pack. These things include following a proper diet and following correct exercise regime.
Some people tend to focus on long and slow distance running and others love to indulge in more than a hundreds of crunches and powerful exercises specifically designed for strengthening abdominal muscles.
However, these are just some myths associated to development of six pack abs. the fact is that one requires to focus on a lot of repetitive cardio exercises to lose fat. The best thing to do is to indulge in short but effective exercises that tend to raise your heart rate at a faster pace.
Another thing to keep in mind is to never give into the temptation to have ‘fat burners’ or ‘certain food supplements’. These may sound attractive and also show some effects in the beginning but these certainly tend to harm the body in the long run.
Another big myth is that people require to spend their hard earned money on so-called abdominal gadgets available on the market. Remember that you don’t require to get any ab-belt or abrocket to get a six pack ab. All you require to do is to build a great amount of stamina to work out religiously.

Tips to get the much desired six-pack abs
a) Don’t focus on cutting too much fat:
You need to cut down on too much of fat to get those perfect six pack abs. All you require to do is to eat healthy fats such as fish, olive oil, nuts and avocados.
b) Calcium rich diet:
You need to emphasize on dairy products that are low on fat and high in calcium such as low fat cheese and toned milk.
c) Water:
Drink a lot of water to achieve your target. The experts recommend to drink at least 10-12 8-ounce glasses of water on a daily basis.
d) No carbonated drinks:
If you are serious about getting fab abs, then say no to carbonated beverages. These will provide you nothing but empty calories.
e) Vegetables:
Focus on replacing starch with veggies. Cut down on pasta, potatoes and rice.
f) Evening meal:
You evening meal should be the lightest. Don’t skip your meals during the day.
g) Creatine:
Take help of creatine to pump up your muscles and burn a lot of calories. At least five grams a day is recommended for people who workout at least six days a week.

Getting six pack abs is not difficult if you focus on above mentioned tips.

Some Time Tested FREE Tips for Staying Fit at Your Home

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:46:34 +0000

Most people believe in joining big clubs and expensive gyms to get that proper body and shape but most of the times they fail to visit their gyms due to their busy and hectic schedule. A large number of people think that it is not possible to achieve a good body and shape without spending a huge sum of money on getting memberships for big gyms and purchasing expensive equipments and diets. But believe me it is often a myth than reality as it doesn’t necessarily mean to spend large money to get perfect body and shape.
There are many things that you can do right at your home and without spending even a single penny on anything. In addition to that most of them aren’t too tough for common people like you and me and anyone can do them even in their busy schedule. First of all you need to refresh your “life page” like your PC when you have got sudden problems, like freezing and hanging of your PC suddenly. To begin with, you need to bear in your mind that in order to look great you should feel great too. Always make some routine for eating, sleeping, and waking up in the morning. Believe me if you can prioritize your schedule for your normal day activities almost half of your health and wealth problems are solved automatically.

There are many simple exercise that you can do right at your home, without spending anything at any time of the day when you have some free time, like some light exercises for abdominals, arms and legs. Experts firmly believe that 90% of our health problems start from our own abdominal which we always pamper and don’t allow moving it a little. Perhaps, it our abdominal only which if in poor shape can spoil the entire body shape and if it is not healthy then can invite tons of problems.

In many Eastern countries people believe in relaxation exercises and different breathing and abdominal exercises which are very useful in keeping our body, mind and soul. Apart from that some simple exercises can help you achieve a good abdominal shape as abdominal muscles are some of the easiest muscles in a human body that doesn’t require any special equipments and machines. Literally without any equipments and machinery you can achieve a great shape, like crunches and sit-ups along with leg lifts and rotations in the air. All you need to do is to just laying on the ground with some mat or bed sheet under your back to make yourself comfortable.

It is always advisable to do some light jump-ups and stretching and bending movements to warm up your body a little before you take on these exercises. When you lay on the floor just raise your legs 90 degree to your body in the air, spend some time balancing your body weight by putting your hands around your hips and then slowly moving them backside towards your head. After that you can bring your legs back again on the perpendicular position and then back on the ground in a straight laying position. Repeat these steps for 5-10 minutes. It would help in improving your abdominal, back, hips shape along with other abdominal related problems like indigestion, acidity and gastric problems. Similarly, you can do some simple exercises and movements for your arms and legs to keep them in a good health and shape.

Great Tips for Exercise and Losing Weight

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 02:37:37 +0000

Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, improve your
cardiovascular health or to simply maintain your current fitness schedule your enemy is TIME. While the modern world has given all of us everything it unfortunately lacks on time. Generally, people are so engrossed in their normal day to day life that they don’t get sufficient time and energy to perform some light exercise and movements.
However, due to increased health awareness around the world, most of us want to stay in shape and like to exercise, but the problem is we are so busy we don’t find the time to actually go out and walk or exercise. But that shouldn’t be an excuse for not exercising, so we need to fit an exercise program to our busy schedule.
So how do we balance a career, relationships, errands, and family into our workout schedule?
Here are 5 points to consider when you are trying to fit a consistent exercise plan into your busy and hectic lifestyle:
Commit Yourself to a Specific Schedule
Take time to write out your exercise schedule just as you would for a to-do list, for example, of your groceries. If your exercise plan becomes part of your routine schedule then it will automatically become part of your daily duties, and no longer a chore. Make sure you have 3 days in the week set aside for your exercise routine, anything less than 3 days would not be enough. If you want to succeed in making this work you have to write it down in your planner.
Weekends
Utilize the weekend and take advantage of the fact that you only need 3-5 days a week to pull of this workout plan. Weekends are less hectic for some of us, as so we can count on making an exercise routine for that time. If you workout one day on the weekend then you will only need a minimum of two days during the work week to fulfill your 3 day minimum mandatory workout schedule.
High Priority Workouts
Although sometimes you will need to cancel the scheduled workout, you must be vigilant in making your workout become part of your most important priority. Think of it as an asset to long lasting health. Do not bump off your 3 days a week workout schedule, instead try to post-pone that coffee break or social lunch on the day you have your workout. Make your workout be your priority.
Enrollment of Others
Try to get the support of your family and friends in this task. Delegate your responsibilities to them so that they can assist you to meet your fitness and weight loss commitment. At times you may even have to restructure your schedule so as to make it fit your workout. You can even form a buddy system to help you maintain your workout schedule as you move forward.
Don’t be Too-Tough on Yourself
There will be times, no matter who you are, in your workout program that you will just not be able to keep it up, so remember not to beat yourself up. Remember that consistency is the operating word. If you start to slack off, get back on your horse and start over.
All the best!