Simplify Your Plan
Many dieters and, specifically, women tend to try to make major overhauls when they decide to lose weight. They will set their goal to drink more water, eat perfectly, take spin class 5x a week at dawn, delete soda from their diet and go Vegan all at the same time. Women are natural multi-taskers but by the time you come up with the plan your brain is on overdrive before you have even started. Not to mention your mental anguish when you don't execute your Pulitzer Prize winning plan to perfection. Just give yourself a break and start simple. You will create momentum and you will see results.
So...just pick a few tips that seem do-able and incorporate them into your life. Walk at lunch and eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Simple. Once these are incorporated into your lifestyle then pick a few more and repeat. The point is to succeed at gradual, focused and lasting change.
Lift Weights
Only about 17% of women lift weights or do strength training. Big mistake. Excercise TV trainer Holly Perkins says you should put cardio on the back burner and make strength training 60% of your routine. What most women do not realize is that strength training reves metabolism and burns big calories too. You will also get an increased after burn - high intensity strength training can actually help you burn extra calories for hours after your workout.
If you are self conscientious about lifting weights read 5 Factor Fitness by Harley Pasternak. He makes weight lifting easy, fun and manageable. Believe it or not, weight lifting is easier to do at home than you may think and it does not require a costly gym membership either.
Now muscle does weigh more but it is more compact so you will be smaller overall. This tip is especially great for creating momentum since a body satisfaction survey by the University of Houston reports that strength training increases body satisfaction. And couldn't we all use a little more of that? Especially considering satisfaction and happiness with our selves starts a cycle of wanting to do even more for ourselves.
Don't Over Think
Or, as Nike would say, just do it. Action is one of the biggest factors in your weight loss success. Hands down. Every minute you spend planning is a minute you are not active. Now that you have simplified your plan (Tip 1) take action. Sometimes, I get caught up in this one too...what am I going to wear to workout? where I am going to run? what will I set for my target heart rate? what time does that class start? Who's teaching it? What are their credentials? (better loook it up on line - oh no, I am 5 minutes late, maybe tomorrow), on and on...Just stop yourself and take action.
Eat Real Food
While it is important to keep track of how many calories you eat, do not lose sight of the big picture. Believe it or not, I once met someone who would not eat any thing that did not have a label. Why? Because she didn't know how many calories that item contained. No fruit, no vegetable, nothing without a label. Just eat regular food, people! In fact, it may be better for you if you take the opposite approach and eat more items that are not labeled. Nuts, fruits, vegetables are all fat fighting friends known as super foods. Check out more Super foods that are natural fat burners and give you loads of energy. Find out how goji berries can be your new secret weapon if you suddenly find yourself hungry.
Grunt
I know this is probably the last tip you want to hear. Grunt and groan. But the focus here is that if you are grunting and groaning it is because you have probably just up'd the intensity of your workout. If it makes you feel better you can remember this...the contestants on the Biggest Loser grunt alot and we all know about the results they get! Most women do the steady as you go routine but you will burn more overall calories with short, all out stints interspersed with periods at a slower pace. A study at McMaster University noted that cyclists who did 15 minutes of interval training three times a week were as fit as those who biked at a more moderate speed for an hour five days a week. So, there you have it...grunting is not only an easy weight loss tip, it is a time saving tip as well! Enjoy!
