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Tips for the month: January '08

To follow, very shortly!

** ALL ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS **

The Weight Loss Secret

The key to the weight loss secret is calories in (what you eat) vs calories out (burned through exercise). In simple terms this means eat fewer calories and work out harder and you will lose body fat. If you have a BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) of 1900 calories and you are consuming 2100 calories a day, you will likely gain weight as you are taking in more calories than your body can burn - 200 more calories to be exact!

A pound of fat contains approximately 3,500 calories. Therefore, to lose a pound of fat you must either:

  • work very hard to burn 3,500 extra calories a week
  • eat 3,500 calories less a week, or
  • do both; namely, burn extra calories AND eat fewer calories.

Once you have lost your weight make sure you maintain your fit and healthy lifestyle with our tips.

Exercise

  • Quality not quantity matters.
  • Train hard during your sessions (speed intervals incline on the treadmill) and you will burn more fat and calories throughout the rest of the day.
  • Aim for 3-5 hours of total exercise a week.
  • Try to be physically active every day. Even if you take a 30 min. walk. It's ok to do 2 bouts of exercise in one day. e.g.. 30 minutes in the morning and 30 in the evening.
  • Do a cardio workout (treadmill, elliptical, bike, row) 3-5 times a week.
  • Interval train every other week (alternate between bouts of high-intensity exercise (1 min.) and bouts of low-intensity exercise (1-4 min.)
  • Do muscle toning/ resistance training 3-5 times a week.
  • Interject constant variety into your routine so your body does not become "immune" to exercises when they are preformed over, and over again. Keep your body "off-guard." Try Supersets and Giant Sets.
  • If you get off track with your fitness routine, don’t give up all your hard work; just get right back to it as soon as you can.
  • Keep a journal of your workouts or write them on a calendar daily so you and others may see it and get motivated.

Nutrition

  • Take a multivitamin/ mineral tablet. For example, Herbalife has quality nutritional and weight loss products. For details write to us (under Contact Us utilize the form).
  • Eat 3 heart healthy meals and 2 healthy snacks every day. 1 snack could be a protein shake.
  • Eat complex carbohydrates (colorful fruits and veggies, oatmeal, beans, lentils, brown rice, whole-grain breads, pasta and cereals). Use soy meat substitutes, egg white and legumes to get your protein requirements.
  • Use non-fat/low-fat dairy products.
  • Eat fiber to stay thin and healthy and keep weight gain at bay (examples: beans, peas, lentils, vegetables, Bran cereals, bulgur, baked potato with skin, figs, dates, almonds).
  • Drink green tea.
  • Read "Eat to Win by the 21st Century" by Robert Haas. This great book outlines The MediterrAsian Diet that has been proven to work for centuries in hundreds of millions of people.

Remember

Weigh yourself daily if maintaining weight loss or trying to lose weight. It will keep you in check. It is easy to put weight on but harder to take it off.

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