The first thing most people do when they want to lose weight is
diet, this alone however is not enough if you want unfailing weight
loss. Just changing your eating habits will not do, you must incorporate
some form of exercise in order to rid yourself of body fat. The facts
are that in order to lose 1lb of fat you need to spend 3,500 calories.
Therefore if you only cut down on your calorie intake you can see how it
would be almost impossible to lose weight on a consistent basis. You
will lose weight initially but then when the weight loss stops what
happens? Yes it's back to square one and the weight piles on again (and
more in most cases).
Exercise is our friend. Bold statement but it's true. If you have not exercised for a long time or you have a lot of weight to lose and exercise makes you quiver at the knees then think about this... Walk more, as easy as that! Walk more. You don't need to go rushing to the nearest shoe store for some running shoes or gym shoes; you can start anywhere and at any time. Walking is a cardiovascular exercise that you can increase on consistently. You may be surprised what it can lead to, for example I couldn't walk very far due to me being obese, but after only 6 months of walking (the first walk being ½ mile, about 15 minutes for me and I thought I would die) I walked a full 26 mile marathon for charity. What an achievement that was and the weight was coming off, as well as my body (all 48 years of it) toning up too.
You may have enjoyed some type of exercise before and would like to go back to that. If the only thing that has changed in your life since you last exercised is weight gain then you may be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to get back into shape. Always seek the advice of a professional or your doctor to ensure you are well enough to exercise, most likely they will be overjoyed that you have decided to 'move your body'.
Cardio
As walking is a cardiovascular exercise you should try and walk at a pace that gets your heart pumping, i.e. you can feel you're working but could still hold a conversation. The more times you can do this in a week the better, but aim for 5 decent walks of at least 30 minutes. If you find it hard to fit 5 walks or exercises into your daily life then be clever and organize your daily tasks around these. To be blunt it you can't find the time for these walks then make sure to find the time to be ill in the future. Sorry but true.
If you need to break your cardio workouts into chunks to fit around your life then you could do this by walking to the store instead of driving (if it's safe to do so), walking to school or work, walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. There is usually a way to get a walk in; after all unless you have a disability it's what as humans do daily. (Or should do daily).
If time is a real issue then break your exercise down into bite size chunks, e.g. do 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening or even boost your weight loss by doing an exercise DVD before your dinner, (bet that would make you eat a healthy dinner too). Play with the children in the garden, a bit of skipping would soon get your heart pumping, and think how happy the children would be to see you jump around with them. There are so many ways to incorporate exercise. Whatever it takes, you will be very pleased with the results.
Weights
Women tend to avoid weights thinking that lifting any type of weights will lead them to bulk out.
NOT SO, you would need to be pumping iron for hours a day and use drugs to do this. Lifting weights builds lean muscle tissue. It also steps up your metabolism, again helping you to slim and your metabolism continues to burn calories even when your body is at rest; now that I like. Another benefit or having lean muscle tissue is that it actually takes up less space that fat, this is why you become more streamlined and toned. Aim to do some simple weights 3 times a week. A model session is below.
Think about building a base by aiming to understanding the basics-lunges, squats, pushing, twisting and pulling. The exercise below should be done once from top to bottom and then repeated twice. Do this in the comfort of your own home as you do not need anything other than a sturdy floor. If you do not have a medicine ball or dumbbells use a couple of cans of beans, not a problem.
Once you feel your fitness level have increased then you should add more to the routine to challenge yourself.
Having spent many years feeling sluggish, I have to say that there is no better feeling than feeling fit and knowing that you're looking after yourself once and for all. For guidance on Healthy Eating versus Traditional Dieting, I strongly recommend you read the excellent review on the Am I Obese website; you can click to it in my Bio section below.
Exercise is our friend. Bold statement but it's true. If you have not exercised for a long time or you have a lot of weight to lose and exercise makes you quiver at the knees then think about this... Walk more, as easy as that! Walk more. You don't need to go rushing to the nearest shoe store for some running shoes or gym shoes; you can start anywhere and at any time. Walking is a cardiovascular exercise that you can increase on consistently. You may be surprised what it can lead to, for example I couldn't walk very far due to me being obese, but after only 6 months of walking (the first walk being ½ mile, about 15 minutes for me and I thought I would die) I walked a full 26 mile marathon for charity. What an achievement that was and the weight was coming off, as well as my body (all 48 years of it) toning up too.
You may have enjoyed some type of exercise before and would like to go back to that. If the only thing that has changed in your life since you last exercised is weight gain then you may be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to get back into shape. Always seek the advice of a professional or your doctor to ensure you are well enough to exercise, most likely they will be overjoyed that you have decided to 'move your body'.
Cardio
As walking is a cardiovascular exercise you should try and walk at a pace that gets your heart pumping, i.e. you can feel you're working but could still hold a conversation. The more times you can do this in a week the better, but aim for 5 decent walks of at least 30 minutes. If you find it hard to fit 5 walks or exercises into your daily life then be clever and organize your daily tasks around these. To be blunt it you can't find the time for these walks then make sure to find the time to be ill in the future. Sorry but true.
If you need to break your cardio workouts into chunks to fit around your life then you could do this by walking to the store instead of driving (if it's safe to do so), walking to school or work, walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. There is usually a way to get a walk in; after all unless you have a disability it's what as humans do daily. (Or should do daily).
If time is a real issue then break your exercise down into bite size chunks, e.g. do 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening or even boost your weight loss by doing an exercise DVD before your dinner, (bet that would make you eat a healthy dinner too). Play with the children in the garden, a bit of skipping would soon get your heart pumping, and think how happy the children would be to see you jump around with them. There are so many ways to incorporate exercise. Whatever it takes, you will be very pleased with the results.
Weights
Women tend to avoid weights thinking that lifting any type of weights will lead them to bulk out.
NOT SO, you would need to be pumping iron for hours a day and use drugs to do this. Lifting weights builds lean muscle tissue. It also steps up your metabolism, again helping you to slim and your metabolism continues to burn calories even when your body is at rest; now that I like. Another benefit or having lean muscle tissue is that it actually takes up less space that fat, this is why you become more streamlined and toned. Aim to do some simple weights 3 times a week. A model session is below.
Think about building a base by aiming to understanding the basics-lunges, squats, pushing, twisting and pulling. The exercise below should be done once from top to bottom and then repeated twice. Do this in the comfort of your own home as you do not need anything other than a sturdy floor. If you do not have a medicine ball or dumbbells use a couple of cans of beans, not a problem.
- Squats - 10 to 20 repetitions
- Leg lunges - 8 on each leg
- Pushups from your knees 10 to 15 repetitions
- Assisted Pull ups - 10 repetitions
- Medicine ball or dumbbells - 10 repetitions per side
Once you feel your fitness level have increased then you should add more to the routine to challenge yourself.
Having spent many years feeling sluggish, I have to say that there is no better feeling than feeling fit and knowing that you're looking after yourself once and for all. For guidance on Healthy Eating versus Traditional Dieting, I strongly recommend you read the excellent review on the Am I Obese website; you can click to it in my Bio section below.
Sarah B Wallace recommends reading the excellent article on
Healthy Eating [http://www.amiobese.info] in the Am I Obese website.
Sarah is a partner of the 'Feed My Mind' website. Feed My Mind
is a place where you will find inspiration and direction to move out of
your comfort zone and get on with getting on. Crammed with resources
that will enable you to take the first all important step to achieving
whatever it is you want to achieve. THE LAW OF DIMINISHING INTENT - ALL
good intentions MUST be acted upon with extreme urgency, strike while
the irons hot and make HUGE differences in your life. Be sure to visit
our site after checking out the link on Healthy Eating above.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sarah_B_Wallace/981428
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