Simple Steps - Awesome Weight Loss

They can conquer who believe they can.....

Is losing weight a goal of yours? Now that the Holidays are but a pleasant memory - you can more easily focus your efforts on shedding those extra pounds. With Valentines day just weeks away - why not make a pact with yourself to develop one new healthy habit before the hearts and chocolates start flying.

Try any of the following ideas to help you start getting in your best shape ever - and shedding those extra pounds -


Start every day with a healthy, protein packed breakfast. Eggs and oatmeal or whole wheat toast will help you burn more calories throughout the day. Or try some protein packed greek yogurt with a half cup of blueberries.


Now that you have some protein to fuel your fat-burners - get out and exercise.

Do you get enough exercise? Really vigorous, heart pumping exercise?

Just a little daily exercise offers the following benefits:

Helps you enjoy way more energy.
Keeps your body firm and flexible.
Keep your bones and muscles strong.
Keep your heart and lungs healthy.
Can vastly improve your sex life!
Controls high blood sugar, especially if you lose weight.
Exercise even reduces stress.
Help you feel better about yourself and enjoy greater self esteem!
Relieves boredom or depression.

The upside is clear - exercise more and you enjoy a better quality of life at any age! It's never too soon or too late to start a daily exercise program.

Picture of Audrina Patridge at Listal

Eat more fruits and veggies. Rich in healthy vitamins and fiber - fruit and veggies are critical to any weight-loss plan.


Are you eating healthy foods or - like so many of us - settling for convenient fast foods? ( Or maybe one could say fat foods! )

Do you smoke? Just quit - take whatever steps you can to stop. A growing number of employers actually pay their people to quit! You get the biggest benefit though - a healthier heart and lungs.

Do you drink enough water? Cut out all soda and stick with water!


If you want to look - and feel - years younger, take a long look at your habits and see what you might change to improve.

Speeding Up Your Weight Loss

Are you exercising regularly and find yourself not losing weight? Or maybe your weight loss is a little slower than you'd like? You might want to add more strength training to your fitness program.

Many fitness buffs use weight training every other day to keep their body toned and firm. You don't have to press 250 pounds or look like the esteemed Governor of California to benefit from using weights. You can even lose more weight and enjoy a chiseled, more muscular look without ever stepping foot in a gym! Simply use your own weight – like you do when you do the classic push-up!

Muscle has enormous fat-burning capacity, even when your body is at rest. Building only five pounds of muscle can help you to burn 150 to 250 extra calories per day!

If you want to use weights as a part of your strength training program you might want to consider the following tips to keep yourself safe. If you've been out of the habit of daily exercise for a long while you might want to start with an OK from your doctor.

If you are new to using weights or gym equipment, get some expert advice from a friend or someone who has more experience than you. Building Muscle takes time – be patient and don't expect immediate results! You'll feel the difference soon enough. Before too long others will notice how good you look!

5 Tips to get you rolling:

1) Always warm up and stretch the muscles you will be working. Your muscles need time to adjust to demands before you start.
2) Don’t try to lift too much weight too soon (gradual and progressive resistance is much better).
3) Take time to cool down after exercise. Walk around for a few minutes, (this lowers your heart rate and boosts flexibility).
4) Always make time to stretch after you exercise (this can help you prevent injuries).
5) Avoid energy bars and sports drinks during moderate workouts. Unless you are working out for two hours a day or more, you’re consuming calories your body doesn’t really need.

You really can exercise and lose weight fast! Add some strength training to your fitness plan. Do push-ups, squats and pull-ups during half time. Join the thousands of slim and trim fitness lovers who use an Indoor Rowing Machine

You'll feel better and look better!

A New You

Would you like to have more energy? Maybe have more fun and worry a little less? ( Or even a whole lot less? ) Do you ever feel like you're not getting anywhere - or maybe your goals and dreams are simply never going to happen? Are you wanting to shed some unwanted extra pounds? Maybe you'd simply like to change your life for the better?

The good news is, you can overcome whatever challenges come your way! You can emerge from your current situation even better than before! You can enjoy life more. You can lose those extra pounds. You can start having fun again and feel years younger. You can overcome your obstacle(s). Whatever life brings your way - use it to build a better life for yourself and your family or loved ones!

Meet your challenges head on and use them to build more strength and a better life. If you're like me and you've been laid off. Seize this time as an opportunity to build a new, better you! Get out and find some new interests. Get some exercise. ( Lots of exercise will help ward off the blues and keep you mentally sharp! ) Try something new!

Forget the past and start making a plan to move or get to where you want to be. The past is over. We can't reverse the misfortunes caused by economic forces out of our control. Whatever happened yesterday or last week is over. Last year's mistakes and meltdowns are in the history books. Learn from and then forget the past. Why bother fretting over those situations we can't control?

Choose instead to focus on where you want to be. Take this opportunity to do some self evaluation and decide what you'd really like to do with the rest of your life. Make a plan. Then set out taking steps to reach your new goal(s).

Any plan you decide upon will happen much sooner if you set out with a written goal and plan. People just like you and I who reach their goals or attain great measures of success more often than not have their goals written down on paper.

Why not start today. Make better health and fitness a key part of your future! You really can fell and look years younger when you enjoy a variety of healthy pursuits. Play as many sports as you would like to. Try a new sport or anything that gets your body moving! Stretch your mind and your body enjoying new interests.

Tennis is great fun at any age.

Yoga has, for centuries, helped millions of healthy people maintain healthier minds and bodies!

Swimming is easy on your joints and still gives you a great workout!

Your options are nearly endless. Find better balance throughout your life enjoying a healthy variety of interests. Head out to your local library and learn something totally new. Try a new recipe - and enjoy the time making your meal with someone you love!

If you find yourself in a bit of a fitness rut or aren't seeing the results you hoped for try these easy body slimming tips to help you tone up and start getting back into better shape!

Pick up the Pace - Start Getting in Shape Fast!

Are you stuck in a rut. Does your exercise routine ever get boring? Would you like to lose a few more pounds - fast?

Instead of doing only moderate-level activities, replace some with vigorous aerobic activities that will make your heart beat even faster. Adding vigorous activities provides benefits in less activity time. In general, 15 minutes of vigorous activity provides the same benefits as 30 minutes of moderate activity.

Have you been walking for 30 minutes 5 days a week? On 2 days, try jogging instead of walking for 15 minutes each time. Keep on walking for 30 minutes on the other 3 days.

Would you like to have stronger muscles? If you have been doing strength training 2 days a week, try adding an extra day. Mix it up! Adding some new and different exercises to your workout can help you get results quicker!

You can do all moderate activities, all vigorous activities, or some of each. You should always start with moderate activities and then add vigorous activities little by little.

To mix it up, you can try 30 minutes of biking fast to and from your job 3 days a week. Then play softball for 60 minutes 1 day. Then lift weights for 2 days.

You've mixed vigorous aerobic activity (biking fast) with moderate aerobic activity (softball) and activities for stronger muscles (weights).

With vigorous activities, you get similar health benefits in half the time it takes you with moderate ones.

Remember to also do strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week.
Adding more time

For the quickest results, try to double your weekly exercise and fitness time. Work to be active 5 or more hours each week for even more lasting health benefits.

If you've been in a rut or aren't seeing the results you hoped for try some easy and effective body slimming tips to help you tone up and start getting in shape fast!

Body Slimming Tips

How hard can it be to get rid of belly fat? Sitting at a desk for 8 hours each day all too often results in some belly fat. What you eat is another critical component of the size of our stomachs. The good news is - you can enjoy eating healthy foods, exercise and lose weight fast!

A certain amount of body fat is necessary for everyone. Experts say that percent body fat for women should be about 20 percent, 15 percent for men. Women with more than 30 percent fat and men with more than 25 percent fat are considered obese.

How much of your weight is fat can be assessed by a variety of methods including underwater (hydrostatic) weighing, skinfold thickness measurements and circumference measurements. Each requires a specially trained person to administer the test and perform the correct calculations. From the numbers obtained, a body fat percentage is determined. Assessing body composition has an advantage over the standard height-weight tables because it can help distinguish between "overweight" and "overfat."

An easy self-test you can do is to pinch the thickness of the fat folds at your waist and abdomen. If you can pinch an inch or more of fat (make sure no muscle is included) chances are you have too much body fat.

If you exercise frequently you will increase lean body mass and chip away at your overall fat level. Depending on the amount of fat loss, this can result in a loss of inches without a loss of weight, since muscle weighs more than fat. The proper combination of diet and exercise will help you shed both body fat and overall weight. Try these simple body slimming tips to help you get started!

If you eat more calories than your body needs to perform your day's activities, the extra calories are stored as fat. If you do not take in enough calories to meet your body's energy needs, your body will go to the stored fat to make up the difference. (Exercise helps ensure that stored fat, rather than muscle tissue, is used to meet your energy needs.) If you eat just about the same amount of calories to meet your body's energy needs, your weight will stay the same.

So if your desk job has your tummy growing a little - get up and get some exercise. Work out on your Elliptical Trainer before heading out for work. Many fitness enthusiasts love their early morning exercise time. It tends to leave you feeling more energized for the rest of the day!

You don't have to spend a fortune joining the local health club. Get some simple and inexpensive home fitness equipment and exercise at home whenever you feel like it!

Enjoy Life More - Tips for Better Fitness

Getting in shape and staying fit should be fun and enjoyable! Fitness can be a whole lot of fun - something we look forward to! Why not share your fun with others - like your family and friends! You can walk together, play tennis, run with the dogs, play ball with your children. Make fitness an integral part of your lives so that its never a chore.

But that doesn't mean its not hard to devote the time to it that we'd like to.

It seems there are more demands on our time than ever. Many of us - just like you, can find it challenging to work fitness into our schedules. And I'm as guilty as anyone of putting it off until tomorrow. What's the secret? There really is no secret to staying fit. But there are a lot of misconceptions about what it takes including that physical activity takes too much time. Even a little is better than none. You don't need lots of time; just take advantage of the opportunities you have.

Or, Make Time for Better Fitness! Write it down in your planner and stick to your plan. Devote some time each day to fitness fun with your family or loved ones! It doesn't have to be anything fancy. A bike ride with the little ones or a nice long walk with a favorite friend will do wonders for your spirits - and your waistline!

Being active not only helps you feel good physically, but it gives you time to yourself to sort through your schedule and prepare for the pressures of your day. The better you feel about yourself, the more productive you can be — at work and at play."

No one would argue the value of fitness to overall health. But "being fit" means different things to different people. To the professional athlete, physical conditioning is the vital link to staying in the game. To most people, its more a matter of meeting the demands of everyday life without getting worn out or overly tired. Fitness helps you handle that occasional curve-ball life seems to throw your way.

The health benefits of physical fitness are both physical and mental. You'll reduce your risk for many diseases, while helping to increase longevity. You can improve your self-esteem and your ability to manage stress. You'll have a better outlook on life! Try these 10 tips for better fitness.

Some people say "life is short" - so why not make the best of it? Have as much fun as you can! If you've been out of shape or inactive for a while here are some easy and effective body slimming tips to help you tone up and start getting in shape!

Looking to be more fit then you were in 2008? Let Bodybuilding.com provide everything from workout plans to nutritional supplements.

Building Healthy Muscles

Stretching plays a vital role in keeping muscles and joints strong and pliable so they are less susceptible to injury. That's why it's such an important part of warming up before physical activity and cooling down after.

Spending a few minutes a day doing slow, deliberate stretches can also help you manage stress more effectively giving you a chance to momentarily shut off outside stressors, and focus, physically and mentally, on your activity.

A good routine should work each of the major muscle groups, and needn't take long. Five to 10 minutes is all you need. Try these Rules to Stretch By before you begin:


* Warm up first: warm muscles, tendons, and ligaments are more flexible and stretch more easily; stretching cold muscles can cause tears.

* Stretches should always be gradual and gentle.

* Hold each stretch in a static position for 10 to 20 seconds, allowing the muscle to lengthen slowly.

* Do not bounce; bouncing actually causes muscle fibers to shorten, not lengthen.

* Stretch only to the point of resistance; if the stretch hurts, you're pushing too hard.

* Don't rush through your stretching routine. Take your time - use it to prepare yourself mentally and physically for your workout. Visualize your success. See yourself in a smaller size! Or reaching that finish line.


Who needs the frustration from getting involved in an activity you enjoy, only to injure yourself and be forced into rehab? Although some injuries may be unavoidable, proper conditioning and attention to the details of warm-ups, cool-downs, and stretching will help keep your muscles healthy!

If losing weight is one of your goals - try these easy body slimming tips.