Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Exercise adds more fun to life!


The psychological benefits of exercise are important to the weight conscious person. Exercise reduces stress and relieves tensions that might otherwise lead to overeating. Exercise builds physical fitness which in turn builds self-confidence, enhanced self-image, and a positive outlook. When you start to feel good about yourself, you are more likely to want to make other positive changes in your lifestyle that will help keep your weight under control.

In addition, exercise can be fun, provide recreation and offer opportunities for companionship. The exhilaration and emotional release of participating in sports or other activities are a boost to mental and physical health. Pent-up anxieties and frustrations seem to disappear when you're concentrating on returning a serve, sinking a putt or going another mile! Start today. Join a tennis league or go out and buy those running shoes you know you'll use!

Start your fitness journal. Make today Day 1 in your journey.
Start getting in shape fast and add more fun to your life now!

Tips to Keep You Going

* Adopt a specific plan and write it down.
* Keep setting realistic goals as you go along, and remind yourself of them often.
* Keep a log to record your progress and make sure to keep it up-to-date.
* Include weight and/or percent body fat measures in your log. Extra pounds can easily creep back.
* Upgrade your fitness program as you progress.
* Enlist the support and company of your family and friends.
* Update others on your successes.
* Avoid injuries by pacing yourself and including a warmup and cool down period as part of every workout. Stretch slowly! Stretching helps build healthy muscles!
* Reward yourself periodically for a job well done!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Simple steps will have you getting in shape fast!


Your Eight Week Summer Slim down! Get Started!


A balanced diet is a key part of any weight control plan. A diet high in complex carbohydrates and moderate in protein and fat is a good complement to a healthy exercise program. Your diet should include enough calories to satisfy your daily nutrient requirements and include the proper number of servings per day from the "basic four food groups": vegetables and fruits (4 servings), breads and cereals (4 servings), milk and milk products (2 - 4 depending on age) and meats and fish (2).

Adding 15 minutes of moderate exercise, say walking one mile, to your daily schedule will use up 100 extra calories per day. (Your body uses approximately 100 calories of energy to walk one mile, depending on your body weight.) Maintaining this schedule would result in an extra 700 calories per week used up, or a loss of about 10 pounds in one year, assuming your food intake stays the same. To look at energy balance another way, just one extra slice of bread or one extra soft drink a day – or any other food that contains approximately 100 calories – can add up to ten extra pounds in a year if the amount of physical activity you do does not increase.

The solution is simple. Skip on the soda and the sugar laden, empty calories. Start eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise. The quickest way to lose weight is with daily exercise and eating healthy!

A good cardio - or aerobic - workout at least four or five days a week will have you on the road to getting in shape fast.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Today is a great day to start getting in shape fast

Happy Earth Day! While we, hopefully give some thought to this beautiful planet we live on, maybe today is just the right day to start taking care of ourselves in addition to the earth.

It doesn’t matter what age you are when you begin to exercise, or how long you may have been inactive.Exercise will always improve your physical condition. Exercise improves flexibility, strength, and endurance. It is important to begin any exercise program slowly and build up gradually.

Remember, it may take a few months to get back into good shape - depending on how long you’ve been inactive and your current physical condition. Just keep at it. Exercise a little every day. Keep eating healthy foods and soon you’ll look and feel great!

Stick with it, and you will see results!

Some tips for getting started.

Warming Up

Preparing the body for exercise is important for people at any age and all fitness levels. A warm-up period should begin with slow, rhythmic activities such as walking or jogging in place.

Gradually increase the intensity until your pulse rate, respiration rate and body temperature are elevated, which is usually about the time that you break a light sweat. Do some easy stretching exercises before moving on to the strength and endurance activities.

Once you begin your daily exercise routine, keep these points in mind to get the best results:

* Always drink water before, during and after your exercise session.
* Make exercising a part of your daily routine. You may want to set a regular time to exercise each day and invite a friend to join you.
* Start gradually, about 5 to 10 minutes at first.
* Increase the amount of exercise each day, up to about 30 to 60 minutes.
* Breathe deeply and evenly during and between exercises. Don’t hold your breath.
* Rest whenever it is necessary.
* Keep a daily written record of your progress. Track your progress. Celebrate your success!
* Exercise to lively music, TV, or with friends for added enjoyment.

The key is getting started. There are natural and healthy ways to lose weight fast. And daily exercise is the quickest way to lose weight. Take your time. If you’re new to this whole exercise thing - don’t worry - you can soon be enjoying a much healthier lifestyle - at any age. Enjoy your journey!

Start today! Start building muscles and getting in shape fast. Soon you will look great and feel great! Take some time for yourself. You deserve to feel good. Have more energy. A better outlook. Be a little selfish and make some time just for you.

Happy Earth Day!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Have fun while you're getting in shape fast


Have fun and enjoy physical activities with your friends. Pick a sport or exercise you enjoy doing together. The friendships you develop while playing are the longest lasting and healthiest friendships you're likely to have.

Be adventurous - try new sports, games and other activities as well as new foods. You'll grow stronger, play longer, and look and feel better! Enjoy you healthy choices. Life is far too short. Why not have as much fun as you can? And stay healthy while you're at it.

Make today the start of your new, healthier life. Start exercising more and getting in shape fast. You'll feel great and look great! Have fun with your loved ones while you exercise and play more. Take your family out and enjoy a healthy meal together. The quickest way to lose weight includes two basic habits - more exercise and healthy eating. Enjoy both of these with friends and family!

Set realistic goals - don't try changing too much at once. Keep track of your progress. Celebrate when you reach your goals. Burn those pants that are now too big. Take your loved one out for a night of dancing!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

How to naturally lose weight fast


Many of us wonder how to naturally lose weight fast. No diet pills. No fad diets. Just a solid, time honored and realistic plan, please. You don't need pills. Fad diets might help in the short term. That's great. Long term natural weight loss requires a better - healthier approach!

Nutrition and fitness experts agree - your diet has a big impact on your exercise performance. You need to consume enough of the proper nutrients which give you the energy to maintain a healthy body weight and provide the energy you need for your activity level. Eating healthy reduces your risk of getting a chronic disease. Active people need more carbohydrate and protein than those who choose a more sedentary, less active lifestyle. If you exercise regularly - you'll need to watch your diet and avoid restricting your fat intake too much. Everyone needs to consume some fat. Try to consume the healthy fats like those found in avocados, walnuts and salmon. Drink lots of water and replace those fluids lost during exercise.

In order to remain physically active while dieting, your diet needs to provide adequate carbohydrate for glycogen replacement and enough protein for the maintenance and repair of lean tissue. Don't worry about skimping too much. You need to fuel your muscle growth. Building muscles helps you burn more calories long after your workout is over!

Compared to your less active counterparts, your diet requires additional fluid to cover sweat losses, energy to fuel physical activity, protein for building and repair of muscle tissue, and carbohydrate for the replacement of muscle glycogen. In some cases the need for other nutrients also increases (e.g., B-complex, antioxidant vitamins, iron). As more energy is used during exercise, you need to fuel your body with the proper nutrients.

As your energy requirements increase, your goal should be to consume more nutrient-dense carbohydrate-based food groups (e.g., whole grain breads and cereals, vegetables, and fruits) and lean protein sources (e.g., lean meats, fish, poultry, dairy, legumes). Your aim should be to increase energy intake to maintain weight using nutrient-dense foods. Healthy foods that provide vitamins and minerals. Try to avoid high-fat and sugar based foods.

Timing of your meals is also important. Eating sensibly before you exercise assures that there is enough energy to fuel your workout, while eating after exercise will help refuel your body. A healthy post-exercise meal helps you replace muscle glycogen and repair muscle tissue damage. Keep eating right and building those muscles. You'll be on your way to lose weight naturally. Burn more calories faster and shed those excess pounds.

Keep eating healthy and you'll have the energy you need to exercise and start getting in shape fast.