In our
eat-and-run, massive-portion-sized culture, maintaining a healthy weight can be
tough. Losing weight on the other hand can be tougher. If you have tried and
failed before, you may believe that diets don’t work for you. The truth is you
are probably right. Most diets don’t work, at least not in the long term.
However there are a number of small but powerful ways to avoid common dieting
pitfalls and weight loss mistakes, achieve a lasting weight loss success and to
develop a healthier relationship with food.
A. Find a Balanced Nutrition Plan
First off,
to achieve your ideal body weight, it is important to understand the following:
How to keep a good energy balance & how to burn calories with exercises as
well as how to maintain a lean muscle mass in the process. Start by understanding
your body and striving to find the best balance for yourself. We are different
and what works for one may not necessarily work for the other. Still, getting
the golden balance is not like finding some kind of a thumb rule to stick with.
Regardless of your fitness
target(s), appropriate nutrition is the backbone. Proper nutrition is actually
what fuels fitness. Seen this elsewhere? Well, it is an unavoidable on your
list of fitness tips. It is advisable to always insist on a balanced diet.
These entails a good balance mix of carbohydrates, vegetables, vitamins,
proteins, complex proteins and fats such as chicken and fish among others.
B. Find a Balanced Exercise Regime
Other than nutrition, the following
are some fitness tips on exercises. The first about the latter is setting
realistic and achievable goals. What happens when you don’t set a target you
can meet is you may as well stop. You can try a 30 or 20 minute work-out on any
two weekdays and a weekend for a start and proceed. The magic in a low start is
progress, to slowly adjust your work out.
Some of us prefer exercise
partners. Others go through the programs with their spouses. The fitness tip
here for any pair or group is to be on the same page, in terms of intensity of
exercises and rate of various aspects of the program. Again, fault is found of
the male gender to often prefer more intensity. For instance, they always want to
run a bit faster or at the gym, carry more weight compared to their lady
partners. Hey! Don’t discourage her. It is advisable to practice what you’re
both comfortable with.
C. Find an Exercise Routine You Enjoy
Optimizing calorie intake is the primary focus of a healthy
nutrition plan. This does not state however that you must avoid completely
foods with calories. A good nutrition plan includes regular exercising. The
health benefits associated with exercise are vast and definitely worth your
commitment. Exercising provides a way to burn extra calories in the body. To
achieve your ideal body weight thus involves finding the balance between your
eating and exercising habits.
Ideally
your exercise regime should make you feel good when you participate. It does
not have to create a sense of dread or push your body too hard to the point of
injury. Scientific researches actually show that the more you try to make
yourself do something you don't find pleasure in, the more you are bound to
fail in it. On the other hand, if the discontent comes from your body not
getting used to the regime then before abandoning it all together, adjust it
and give it a few more weeks.
D. Still Exercise, But Avoid Routine
Doing the same thing every day is
not only boring; human beings naturally dread routine. Hitting the gym may have
been one of the basic fitness tips you already know, it may be getting you
somewhere but doing it every day is definitely what you don’t need. You should be
able to head out, and or try a new thing. How about take a ride around the
house or hit the track for a change? How about try one of the new weight loss
trends like water sports, surfing, or yoga for instance?
Interestingly on our fitness tips
list is a big NO to being the morning or evening guy. Simple, any time of the
day be it morning, evening, or noon is great. The idea is to schedule for when
ones’ energy is highest. So feel your body particularly for a healthy fitness
program, and be attentive to when your body is most accommodative of the
exercises.
E. Keep a Positive Mental Commitment
The
other healthy weight loss nutrition tip is the fact that the idea to achieve a
certain body weight actually begins and exists in the mind. It all starts there
and despite great results and good progress, the mind has the final say as to
whether it is satisfied with the body or not. The problem with this is, if the
mind keeps criticizing your body then achieving your goal is hindered. Better,
you should have an athlete mentality and believe in your body’s ability to
break a world record.
F. Avoid Weighing Yourself Every Day
One more
weight loss tip is that while it is important to know your progress, your body
is not worth the pressure. It is normal to weigh yourself regularly but totally
unreasonable to do that every day, not even justifiable to do that every week.
The problem with weighing yourself that often is that unless you have another
source of motivation, your body can easily self-sabotage and blow away with it
your dreams to achieve your ideal body weight. Again, according to the experts,
it is good to actually give your body enough time to gain the weight.
And the last one is the general
rule to always go for a piece of fresh fruit each time you feel a strong urge
to take sugar, to slice a piece of lemon or mango in the freezer and add a
little nut butter to it rather than give in to the incessant temptation to take
the chocolate cake that is right beside it.
Otherwise,
perhaps
next time I will ask you to forget these
fad diets and the agonizing workouts and together we will look at something
more interesting; losing weight with yoga. According to Daily Mail, Yoga can be a
fantastic way to achieve and maintain the body you want. And what’s more?
Scientific research has been showing links between weight loss and yoga. But
until then, chao!! Catch up later.
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Useful Reference Links
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/
