Healthy weight lossHealthy weight loss can be justified as a means to keep ourselves fit and going. Being lean and trim even becomes sometimes necessary for confirming to certain standards in certain professions and sports or in fact for simply building our confidence. But what we need to find is how we can achieve weight loss without damaging our overall health and well being? Weight loss can be defined as activities taken up to reduce the total weight of the body through reduction of fat or adipose tissue for improving fitness, health and appearance. Now in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness this may be a reasonably balanced definition. But the fact is that when we take up activities and workout plans in the direction of weight loss then we are not only going to shed fats but we are also going lose lot of fluid, mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissues of the body. This is not healthy and this can be dangerous to the body. So the aim of healthy weight loss should be to tone and bring the body into shape by shedding the fats from the unwanted and stubborn areas like the buns, thighs abdomen and the back of the legs and simultaneously gain muscle mass for a fit feminine body which is strong and beautiful. Healthy weight loss can be therapeutically beneficial for overweight or obese persons as it decreases the likelihood of developing diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and osteoarthritis and certain types of cancer. Further adding required lean body mass through strength training can help in prevention of diseases like Osteoporosis which is a common disease faced by old women across the world.
Before engaging in healthy weight loss activities it is necessary for us to understand the basic principle of weight loss i.e., the actual changes that is taking place during the weight loss process. The whole principle of weight loss can be understood through the mechanism of energy balance in the body. Body needs energy for carrying out work whether at physical or mental level as viewed externally or for working of cells, tissues, organs and body parts as seen from an internal perspective. This energy for the body comes from the food and nutritional supplements that we take from outside. Any extra energy the body gets from these food and nutritional sources is stored as muscles and fats. The overweight or obese condition occurs when the body continuously stores the extra energy that it gets in the form of fats in the bun, abdomen, thigh and the back side of the legs. This extra energy develops because of our unhealthy food habits and sedentary life style without much activity or physical excretion. The other extreme situation is where a person looses all the fluids, fats, muscles, connective tissues and minerals in the bones because of starvation and lack of energy from outside. Here the body starts burning its own reserve energy source when it does not get energy requirements from outside. Being underweight is associated with health risks such as difficulty fighting off infection, osteoporosis, decreased muscle strength, trouble regulating body temperature and even increased risk of death. As we can see both the conditions that is being extremely obese and overweight and on the other hand becoming underweight by losing the body lean mass can be dangerous for the overall health and well being of the individual.
The goal of healthy weight loss for women should be to avoid the situation of being obese or overweight by losing the extra stored fat in our body in regions like the abdomen, buns, thighs and the back side of the legs and simultaneously obtain a perfectly feminine figure which is strong and beautiful through gaining lean body mass. The lean body mass gain can be obtained through bodybuilding and weight training program which will help in gain adequate muscles, connective tissues and bone mass while the shedding of fat can be achieved through cardio exercises. The most important thing to remember is that apart from the workout plan that we are going to implement it is highly necessary to have a balanced and nutritious diet program for energy and for providing building blocks to builds a healthy feminine body which is beautiful and strong.
Healthy weight loss: Weight loss guidelines for the workout program
Coming to the topic regarding the actual workout regimen that can be planned for healthy weight loss, we need to understand the requirement of a wholesome program rather than doing things here and there. Let’s look at tips on how we can plan a workout regimen which is wholesome and which is beneficial for our total self including the physical body and our mind. Training with weights is especially beneficial for building muscles and lean body mass. Running hills and climbing stairs can act as good cardio exercises.
A healthy weight loss workout regimen which becomes monotonous is not of much help for either losing fats or gaining muscles. Once the body gets accustomed to a particular exercise regimen then the metabolism actually slows down. So to keep the metabolic rate on a high pedestal it is always desirable to increase the intensity of the workout regimen in a systematic and periodic manner. This is applicable for both Cardio and weight training exercises.
With increasing intensity of Cardio you will increase the rate of fat loss and with increasing the intensity of weight training you will actually increase the addition of new muscles in the body. Always look out for avenues of keeping your body active even during the so called inactive stages. In this regard a good example is the time when you spend sitting in front of the work desk. By replacing your work chair with a fitness ball you can work on your buns and still loose fat without actively doing anything.
Once you have made it a mission in your life to keep yourself fit then your healthy weight loss workout regimen should become an integral part of your life. Then the goal should be not only to shed fat on an immediate basis but also to keep fit in the long run by adding the required lean body mass and preventing any new fat accumulation in the body.
We can slowly integrate the healthy weight loss workout regimen as our integral part of life by keeping fitness equipments like the dumb bells and fitness balls in every room of the house. Further it would be also beneficial to replace day to day activities which contribute to sedentary lifestyle. Watching television is one area which needs urgent attention. Replace the habit of watching television as much as possible with other active and beneficial pass times like walking and gardening.
When we have seriously decided to have a healthy weight loss program for ourselves then it is always wise to seek professional help. Joining a sport team or a fitness class, hiring a professional trainee and experimenting with alternative workout regimens like martial arts, tai chi and yoga can be the various options that are available for us.
A complete work out plan for a healthy weight loss program needs the combination of weight training and cardio. Weight training will help you build lean body mass through adding up of muscles, connective tissues and bone mass whereas cardio will help you to shed fats in your stubborn areas through increasing your metabolic rate and thus rapidly burning calories. So when you are doing weight training with cardio it is better to start with weight training first as it is the body building activity where as cardio is a breaking down activity. Another major point to remember is to exercises for the whole body rather than a specific part like the legs or arms. This is applicable for both weight training as well as cardio. When you do exercises with your whole body in mind then you are actually helping your body gain muscles and other beneficial tissue throughout your body and you are also helping your body loose fat evenly from all parts of the body. This balance is required for maintaining overall health and well being and also for avoiding any chances of injury.
It is also important to keep yourself busy in between two workout sessions and any avenue for physical activity should be seen as an opportunity. For example you can take stairs instead of lifts, you can park your car as far as possible from your office and take a walk to your office and you can get off from a bus one stop earlier and walk back to your destination. If you have decided to combine weight training with cardio then it is important to take professional advice and plan a circuit program with cardio and weight training. A circuit program will give proper sequence for your activities to achieve optimum results.
Gaining as much knowledge about what you are doing is going to enhance your confidence in the things that you are doing as part of your healthy weight loss program. Therefore read as many healthy weight loss books that you can possibly read. Reading is good habit also as you are still burning some calories by making your brain work. To prevent a plateau affect it is advisable to keep your workout program variable and flexible under a progressive plan. As you progress in your workout plan you need to make things more strenuous and tougher in a gradual way. Adding more resistance to your workout by increasing weights during weight training is a possible example. Similarly through various other means it is necessary to increase the challenge in your workout plan.
It is very-very important to have adequate rest in between all the activities that you do in a day for healthy weight loss. Otherwise you can become the victim of extreme fatigue and end up damaging your overall health and well being. It’s absolutely fine and ok to take days off and relax a bit occasionally. You can even have a go at your favourite food in these days when you are taking off. The only caution is to not make it a very frequently occurring habit. But be very clear on the fact that rest is essential on daily basis and never compromise on the daily quota of your rest and sleep.
You can make your cardio exercises exciting and stimulating by combining it with up-beat music. These days you can easily get a complete DVD with dance steps and the music which you can use to do your cardio at your home. On the other hand you can also join fitness institutes for a more live experience with your cardio as well as your overall healthy weight loss plan.
For a complete body exercise it is important that you mix up various activities in your healthy weight loss exercise regimen. This is especially true for weight training. Don’t get bogged down by isolation exercises and fancy gym machines which just concentrate only on one particular body part. Instead of that go for big “compound weight” training exercises involving the squats, bench press, chin up, dip, military press and deadlifts. Free weights are better than fancy gym machines for good results. If after some time you get bored by weight training don’t despair and completely abandon it. Instead you participate in local sporting activities like football, basketball, athletics and bodybuilding contests if any. The mantra is to mix it up in a scientific manner. This will add variety in your life and you can happily come back to your weight training after a brief gap.
Weighing your weight can be an inaccurate measure to find how you are doing as the amount of fluid you take, the food you take and the time when you weigh yourself among other things can bring variation in your measurements. Instead use a tape to measure the fat that you have lost from your stubborn areas like the abdomen, the buns, the thighs and the back of your legs. Also remember to not get confused with what is fat in your body and what are the muscles that are part of your body. Both are completely different tissues and you can easily make out the difference through naked eyes.
Some people concentrate on just one part of the body thinking that they can reduce the fat in that part of the body by just concentrating there. This is far from true. Fat comes out of your body not just from one section or a spot but from the whole of your body. Therefore you cannot think of “spot reduction” of fat. You need sustained all round body action to remove fat from all the parts of your body. We must also remember that fats and muscles are completely different tissues. Losing fats is healthy but losing muscles from the body is dangerous for the body. Therefore it is always essential to combine bodybuilding exercises along with fat reduction exercises. Further spas and massages can also help in the addition of new muscles faster.
Exercise and training as part of the healthy weight loss program is good for the body but not when some part of the body is injured or strained. Never ever train through injuries or when muscles are sore. It is better to completely get recovered and then initiate your program once gain. Take medical advice in these circumstances. Nothing can replace sound medical advice in these critical circumstances. If you have sore muscles after your daily exercises then stretch them a bit and if you feel things are serious immediately consult your doctor.
Whether cardio or weight training exercises, it is always better to progress to high intensity exercises in a step by step manner. High intensity exercises give benefit for longer hours even stretching to 24 hours. They also keep the heart rate up as well as the metabolic rate up. Consult your doctor before you take up the heavy duty stuff either cardio or weight training. Remember the formula that if you use up around 3500 calories then it is equivalent to one pound of fat. Your work regimen is incomplete without a proper diet plan. Pay very serious attention to your diet plan. It needs to perfectly match and go in tandem with your work out plan. Take professional advice in regard to your healthy weight loss program.
Healthy weight loss: Weight loss guidelines in regard to the timing of exercises and diet intake
It is also important to plan your healthy weight loss program in such a way that it has maximum beneficial action with minimum hazard and danger to the body. In this regard it is important to understand about the timing of the exercises or weight loss activities that we are undertaking and how to synchronize it with the timing and quantity of food that we are taking. In the morning it would be beneficial to start with low intensity workouts before you take your breakfast. Cardio exercises which burn fats are best to be done after you have eaten something. In the night after dinner you can think about again doing some light cardio exercises to burn out some calories rapidly and facilitate good digestion and metabolism of food before going to bed. Digestion and metabolism of food is slow during sleep and therefore cardio exercises after dinner can actually be very healthy for a good sleep without stomach upsets and indigestion problems. Further remember not to eat between two hours of dinner as it can kill the normal appetite as well as create indigestion problems.
If you have decided to have a workout program with multiple sessions in a day then remember to keep yourself active in between two workout sessions. This will keep the body in switch on mode to your workout regimen. Further be careful about your workout sessions. Never attempt to increase your workout session to more than one hour at a stretch. Up to one hour it is fine but not more than that in one stretch.
We are normally accustomed to a three meal pattern in a day that includes a heavy breakfast, followed by a heavy lunch and then a heavy dinner. This kind of eating habit can actually lead to lot of weight gain as in one sitting we consume far more food than that is required for the body. The solution is to eat more number of times but less quantity in each eating session. You can increase the eating session from three to six in a day with a two hourly gap between each session. Now after some planning and adjustment you can definitely fit into this schedule. Remember to add lots of fruits, vegetables and naturally grown food articles in your overall eating plan. Also supplement lot of protein snacks in your meal plan. This will be good for your muscles and lean body mass. Replace a smaller meal or two with liquid food. Liquid food will provide the necessary fluid intake also. Further cut off the processed food and junk food items to the maximum. Use utensils like small bowls to eat your food rather than plain plates. This will condition you mind to think that you are eating more food even though the quantity is actually less. The bowl shape actually creates an illusion of more.
Further to avoid junk food and readymade food from the market it is advisable to go outside your home after a light snack or meal as per your eating plan. This will dampen the attraction for the food in the outside eateries and food joints. A good and controlled diet as part of your healthy weight loss plan requires a lot of work. It will also require your time for recording the type of food you are eating and measuring the calories that you end up consuming in a day and in a week. Further remember one point clearly and that is we eat to live and not live to eat. Never use food as emotional crutch. It has been seen that people tend to consume more food when they are depressed or stressed out. Consciously you can avoid falling in this trap by strictly monitoring your food intake and keeping yourself continuously busy in creative activities throughout the day. One of the biggest mistake people do is skipping meals thinking that this will help them to reduce fat and weight. This is a big myth because after each skipping of meals the next meal that we are going to take will be that much heavier. Further we completely derail the metabolic system of the body which is actually required to burn calories. The alternative to this is to have meals at correct times and have more number of sessions for food intake with less amount of food intake per session. This keeps your metabolic system active and with your continuous workout program this will in fact help you to burn more calories.
Healthy weight loss: Weight loss guidelines for a team workout
Healthy weight loss programs can sometime become very boring and lonely if you do it alone. You can also rapidly lose your confidence in these circumstances. Further getting up in the morning and starting your day with workouts can be very challenging and demanding. Therefore it is always better to get into your weight loss program and workout plans with others. A team affect can motivate you beat the inertia and the low moments that naturally creep into our psyche sometimes. Find a friend or a neighbour to train with in the mornings.
If you are new to the program find somebody who is more experienced than you and who is relatively fitter than you. This will help you push yourself to achieve more and it will help you to get some valuable advice and motivation from your partner. Better to avoid another novice like you if you are beginner. Both of you can end up negatively motivating each other.
To add variety and thrill select different people as your partner for different activities of your weight training program. Train with different people at different times in a week and schedule the whole thing to avoid confusion. Another strategy to motivate yourself can be to train with someone you don’t like to do an activity with, say a cardio program or a sport. You may dislike being with that person because you may find that that person is better than you in the said activity. But when you train with such a person then you are going to become more competitive and motivated to be like the other person and even beat that person in what you are doing.
Remember that the circle of your friends really matter in terms of the direction that your life takes at any moment of time. If you choose to remain with highly motivated people who are go getters and achievers then you also become just like them and on the other hand if you select your friends to be junkies then you also become another junky. Don’t ever hang around with “junk food friends” if you are on a mission to life a healthy and fit life. They will negatively motivate you and derail your complete training and exercise program. The most important thing is to gain the confidence of your work mates and your family in achieving your goals with your fitness program. Their moral support and support in any other ways can help you remain motivated and committed to your healthy weight loss program.
Healthy weight loss: Weight loss guidelines in regard to the importance of water
As any weight loss program leads to loss of lot of fluid from the body, it is necessary for us to drink water and lots of water continuously throughout the day. Fluid balance of the body can be only maintained by supplementing enough fluid from outside in the form of water for whatever fluid that is lost during the weight loss activities. It is advisable to consume a glass of water before every snack or meal. In Chinese medicine water is considered as calorie burner especially hot water. You can try having hot water or cold water as both will burn the calories. The need is to recognize the continuous supplementation of water as much possible and whenever possible as part of your healthy weight loss program.
Healthy weight loss: Weight loss guidelines for things that we should avoid in our diet and food.
Diet and food are the most important aspects of any healthy weight loss program. If careful monitoring of the food that we take is not done then we can go absolutely go wrong with our weight loss program. It can have dangerous health consequences also. Underweight is a condition which can be as harmful as being overweight and obese.
Now let’s focus on what we should avoid in our diet and food to make the healthy weight loss program a lifelong success story. To start with avoid food articles which are made up of complex carbohydrates. Refined sugar is also big no. Reduce the consummation of fats especially saturated fats and avoid consuming fats with carbohydrates in the same meal. Certain drinks like coffee should be avoided as coffee is notorious for disturbing our natural diet habits.
Have more of fish and eggs are fine especially the white part of the eggs. Red meat is not good. On the other hand if you want to consume meat anyways then have lean red meat which can be even better than chicken. Avoid binge eating and late night parting. Alcohol and alcoholic drinks like bear is not good. Cigarettes are very bad for health and can reduce your stamina to a great extent by chocking your lungs with smoke.
Avoid the quick fix fat reducing solutions available in the market whether it be a diuretic or some other wonder pill available in the market. Diuretics are actually only removing the essential fluids from your body and they don’t do anything about the accumulated fat. Wonder pills either kill your appetite and disturb the body system or prevent new fat absorption. They don’t do anything on the accumulated fat in the body. It is important to know what is good for your body and what is bad and therefore consulting professionals and reading as much as possible can help you understand and plan what you need to put into your mouth and what you should not as part of your healthy weight loss program.
We are all human beings and we carve for our favourite food now and then even if they are harmful. Here what has to be done is planning and fitting in stuff which you want to eat at least occasionally. This include junk foods, ice creams and aerated drinks. Measure the calories that you are going to gain from their occasional consumption and how you are going to burn them way the next day. One bowl of ice cream today night can increase your workout at the treadmill by 15 minutes the next day. The important point is to make it a conscious decision to not allow your occasional carvings to become a habit otherwise it can become disastrous for your healthy weight loss program.
Eat less of refined stuff including manmade food. Opt instead for organic food and unprocessed food. Don’t go out to eat as much as possible. Cook healthy would at home and enjoy the flavour and taste of homemade food. Never sacrifice your health for quick fix solutions offering to reduce fat in a short time. Remember that there is no way other than the hard way for a successful healthy weight loss program.
Healthy weight loss: Weight loss guidelines for things that we should take as part of our diet
Now let’s have a glance at things that are healthy for our diet and healthy weight loss program. Without doubt our diet intake should contain a variety of food and nutritional supplements to balance all the requirement of our body. The food and nutritional supplements which can be considered as beneficial and almost essential include fruits, vegetables, protein foods like soya, meat, fish, eggs, milk, multivitamins and cod liver oil supplements.
Eating fresh leafy green vegetables is definitely healthy as it provides lot of macronutrients and micronutrients that are required by our body. Similar is the case of fresh fruits and fresh juices. It would be always better to replace a snack by a whole fruit meal at least once a day. Healthy drinks include fresh fruit juices and green tea. Green tea can help prevent the formation of dangerous free radicals in your body which can be damaging to the cells and tissues. Green tea can do this function because of its antioxidant properties. When we are talking of drinks how we can forget our best fluid drink. Yes I am talking about plain water and lots of plain water. Drink as much water as possible as part of your healthy weight loss program. It will only benefit you.
Apart from fresh fruit juice your vegetables can be also taken in a fluid form. Making a vegetable soup and replacing it for a snack can be good for health. This can be done at least 2-3 times during a week. It is beneficial to plan at least 6 food intakes sessions in a day. Each session can be kept with a gap to 2 hours. As we increase the number of sessions of food intake, naturally the amount of food intake in these sessions will drastically fall. Put lot of vegetables, fruits and natural food as part of these sessions. Don’t forget to include food articles which provide lot of proteins.
It is advisable to pre-cook as many number of meals as possible so that you can smoothly adhere to your six sessions of food intake in a day either at work or at home. As I had said before, we are human and we naturally carve for some of our favourite foods which may not be that healthy for us in the first place. Taking these food articles once in a while is okay. The key is to keep a tab on these food articles. Plan some “cheat days” when you can think about taking your favourite food without any guilt. But make sure that it does not become a habit and also see that you have that extra workout the next day to burn the “extra calorie” that you had taken the previous day. This will ensure that your healthy weight loss program is on track.
Avoid as much as possible taking food from outside. If you really want to go outside once in a while then plan to take food at restaurants which offer lot of salads, lean meat and fish. Chilli and spicy food can be good in moderation as it speeds up our metabolism rate and that burning sensation is a hint of that. Another fluid drink which is highly beneficial is milk. It is always good for us whatever age we are. So let’s not cut on milk as an excuse for losing weight. There are many other things that can be removed from our diet rather than milk.
Healthy weight loss: Weight loss guidelines for self motivation
Finally I have to say that is your own motivation and will power that will ensure the success of your healthy weight loss program. To make the weight loss program to become a natural and integral part of your life you need to develop extraordinary inner strength. Remember that we might face low tides and low moments but it would be the burning desire to succeed that will push us forward.
Make your healthy weight loss program and fitness regimen as part of a larger purpose in your life and then things will become easy for you. Take things slowly and in a sustained manner. Write down about your dreams and convert them into workable goals in a scheduled and progressive manner. Have long term goals and short term goals. Remember that your long term and short term goals should be highly interconnected. Your short term goals should lead you to your larger goals in life. In that way the transition and progress will be so easy that you will not even notice the change. Measure the success and failures of your goals and suggest yourself what needs to be done to convert failures in to future success. Further make sure to consolidate even a small success into bigger successful story.
Have a positive approach to life. Take to outdoor and feel the sun, moon and the nature. Don’t worry too much about your healthy weight loss program. Let it integrate into your life and become a natural part of your subconscious and then it will become very easy for you to progress forward. Meet people and leaders who motivate you, watch programs in T.V which are positive and motivating and read books about past leaders who have worked their way through the toughest of circumstances.
Remember to get into situations where you have lot of partners as part of your healthy weight loss and fitness program. Have a personal trainer who is professionally qualified and who is experienced. Also be part of good fitness institute which guides you properly through your fitness program. Finally don’t depend on excuses in your life. Excuses will lower your goals and finally derail your program. Find solutions to problems and implement those solutions to see the ground results. Don’t ever stagnate. Just move ahead.
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