Losing weight can be tough. You may start out with the best of intentions – a new healthy diet and an exercise program – then bam! You get tired or stressed and fall off the weight loss wagon. There are a simpler ways to lose weight and get thin but you have to have the follow-through, no matter what kind of day you might have had.

1.  Keep a food diary – Give yourself a few weeks to write everything down that you consume each day from a piece of gum to that cup of hot tea before bedtime. Add up the calories, cholesterol and fat content each day and you will be simply amazed that you actually consume that much. This should motivate you to revamp your diet and make more health conscious food choices.

2.  Set goals – This is where many people fail in their diets. They do not set goals and then become exasperated when they are not successful losing weight. Well, how can you slim down if you really do not know what your goals are each day? Brainstorm and decide what you hope to accomplish and then write out a game plan to get it done.

3.   Get enough sleep and rest – If you do not catch enough zzz’s each night, you are more likely to nosh on inappropriate snacks to keep awake the next day and likely too tired to even consider working out. Lack of sleep causes your body to store fat while getting enough sleep and rest allows your body to work efficiently to burn it.

4.  Exercise – Let’s face it. Diet alone is not going to help you become thin. You need physical activity to help you burn calories and fat. Exercise increases your metabolism, so get moving.

5.  Substitutions – Diet plans can feel so constricting that you often end up cheating with your favorite foods. However, most foods can be prepared with healthier ingredient substitutions, even the famous heart attack on a plate – Fettuccine Alfredo!

And some people say ‘size doesn’t matter’…I beg to differ. But, portion size isn’t the only thing that registers on the ‘avoid me’ list from various restaurants. According to a great book called Restaurant Confidential by Michael Jacobson and Jayne Hurley, here are the 5 best and 5 worst restaurant meals.

5 Best

Au Bon Pain Bagel with preserves and yogurt with berries
Wendy’s Grilled Chicken sandwich
Subway ‘7 under 6’ sub and baked potato chips
The Olive Garden Giardino and Minestrone Soup
Denny’s Slim Slam (egg beaters, ham, and two hotcakes with fruit toppings)

5 Worst
Each of these has more than 1,000 calories and 1 ½ days worth of saturated fat.

Prime rib, Caesar salad and loaded baked potato
Fettucine Alfredo, salad with dressing and half an order of garlic bread
Burger King Double Whopper with Cheese, king fries and king Coca Cola Classic
Fried seafood combo with fries, coleslaw and two biscuits
BBQ baby back ribs, French fries and coleslaw

Most people are aware of the benefits of an exercise program. In case you’ve forgotten or just need a reminder, here are a few ways exercise can benefit you.

-has favorable effects on fats in the blood
-better handling of blood sugar
-improved breathing
-better endurance
-improved balance
-greater strength
-stronger bones
-improved sense of well-being
-clearer thinking
-better sleep

There may not be as many fitness and exercise programs as there are diet programs, but there is a very wide variety to choose from. How does one decide which is best for them?

Here are some questions you can ask to help you decide.

Can the program hurt you based on your current health status, i.e., heart condition, diabetes?

Do you need to take any drugs or supplements with this program?

Who is behind the program? Can I trust their advice for my health and wellness?

Is anyone available to help me if I have questions while on this program?

What is the total cost involved?

What kinds of results in weight loss are ‘typical’ with clients on this program?
There are so many factors which can help you decide the best program for your needs as well as ones that interest you. Some are tailored to people of a certain fitness level whether it is complete beginner or someone ready to push their limits. For some people, low intensity workouts are more appropriate while high intensity is perfect for another group. Once you learn as much as you can about your current level of fitness, you’ll be able to decide the best program for you.

Many trainers today talk about performing intervals. This may be in reference to strength training or cardio workouts. The strict definition of interval training is athletic training which alternates between two different activities, such as walking and jogging, or between two different rates of speed. Most fitness experts refer to the using different rates of speed within one cardio workout to supercharge your system and burn more calories.

Cardiovascular activities are those that are sustained for a long enough period of time to evoke the aerobic energy system (5 or more minutes), but aren’t performed at an intensity level greater than 85% of max. heart rate capacity. You have probably seen that chart on your gym wall which says to stay within 60-85% of your max heart rate.

Now, many trainers are saying it is better to use a strategy of high intensity which means to go beyond these levels in an effort to burn more calories. So, here’s the big question along with a surprising answer…

Does the body burn more fat at higher or lower intensities?

The body does burn a higher percentage of calories from fat stores doing less intense (60-65 % MHR) work.  However, it burns a greater amount of calories at highly intense (80-85% MHR) work. So, do you want to burn more fat or more calories?

Here is an interesting study performed on a 130lb. woman:

                                                         Low Intensity            High Intensity
                                                         (60-65% MHR)          (80-85% MHR)

Total Calories Burned
Per Minute                                                      4.86                     6.86

Fat Calories Burned
Per Minute                                                     2.43                      2.7

Total Calories Burned
Per 30 min.                                                    146                       206

Fat Calories Burned
Per 30 min.                                                     73                        82

Percentage of Calories
From Fat                                                        50%                    39.85%

I have always favored higher intensity cardio training because it makes sense to me to burn more calories overall in order to reach my goal quicker. However, high intensity training is more taxing to the body and she be used sparingly as opposed to an every day approach.

So many articles and programs are written around the goal of reducing 5 pounds of fat. For some people, this is all the fat they need to lose to meet their goal. For others, it is just the start of a long process especially if you have 30 or 40 pounds (or more) of fat to lose. Regardless of your specific goals, it is important to understand what a difference a loss of fat can actually mean for your body.

Take a look at the picture on the right. This is a replica of 5 pounds of fat on your body. It’s disgusting, right? Notice the texture and the volume. Now, think about how different you might look if that was removed from your stomach, your thighs or even your butt. Would you look or feel any different?

5 pounds can make a huge difference in your appearance and in your energy levels!

Here’s my top 3 ways to lead a massive meltdown on fat.

1. Approach every exercise session with intent, purpose and a stated level of intensity. Make sure you have a specific goal for that session and for every session that follows.  For example, I will be doing a circuit style strength training session that will last 30 minutes and I will make sure and exert a level of intensity between 7 and 8.

2. Make a decision and a commitment on your intended eating plan. Which plan you choose matters less than your commitment to a precise plan and adhering to it completely. There are so many eating plans to choose from. I could make a list of 50 or so without even thinking…Jenny Craig, NutriSystems, Cookie Diet, Body for Life, The Zone, etc. Some are healthier than others and some are probably more effective than others. However, it has been proven time and time again that a person committed to a less than perfect plan is far more productive than a person with no plan whatsoever. By the way, ‘I’m going to eat less’ is not a plan.

3. Assign some level of accountability to yourself or someone else on your behalf. There are different forms of accountability that work for different people. Some dieters like to tell a friend or family members for support. Others like to use a journal to record their exercise and eating behaviors. Some dieters use a trainer to meet each week. Again, the actual type of accountability is less important than the fat that you are holding yourself to your commitment.

Isn’t it time you got started on those 5 pounds?

You do crunches until you can’t stand the thought of another one.  You’ve even bought one those ab machines advertised on television, but you have yet to get those hard as a rock, killer abs.  What are you doing wrong?  Experts say your problem may be two-fold.  To have hard as rock abs, you have to exercise effectively, but in order to see them you also have to lose abdominal fat.

Effective Abdominal Exercises

Recent study by the American Council of Exercise tested thirteen common abdominal exercises, including those using the Torso Track, Ab Rocker, and Ab Roller.  Muscle activity was recorded while 12 subjects engaged in the thirteen exercises.  Researchers were looking to see which exercises used the abdominal muscles (including the obliques) the most, but they were also looking to see which exercise engaged the hip flexors.  When the hip flexors and other muscles besides the abdominals are engaged too much, it means the abdominal exercise is not as effective.

Researchers found that the most effective exercise for the rectus abdominus (the main abdominal muscle) is the bicycle maneuver, while the most effective movement for the obliques (the side muscles of the abdomen) uses the captain’s chair.  The bicycle maneuver came in second for working the obliques.   The Torso Track was slightly more effective than the traditional crunch, but most people complained it hurt their back.  The Ab Roller was barely more efficient than the crunch, while the Ab Rocker was significantly less effective than the crunch. Read the rest of this entry »

Stomach fat is the bane of many people’s existence, particularly if you are dieting and cannot seem to burn it off. In addition, there is the added burden that your risk for heart disease increases with every tiny bit of fat you add to your midsection. However, if you knew there was a food you could eat that could help you lose as much as 10 pounds around your stomach in three months or less, would you eat it? Read the rest of this entry »

There are a number of things to consider which will help make your weight loss program easier and quicker including; the time of day you eat, how often, what you eat and of course the physical activity and intensity you chose in your workouts.

To keep things simple it’s easier to remember that one pound lost per week is the equivalent to about 3,500 calories which breaks down to losing 500 calories a day, every day whether through dieting, exercise or both. Too many people are consuming large amounts of unhealthy food because they enjoy eating but there is no need to force-feed yourself just because you enjoy certain foods. It doesn’t have to mean you can never have your favorites, just be reasonable about how much and how often you allow yourself to indulge in them. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s fairly well known and accepted that exercise has tremendous benefits for the human body, but researchers are learning it has great benefits in the treatment of depression as well.

A study in 1990 analyzed and summarized 80 studies of depression and the effect exercise has on relieving it. The results showed that exercise worked to alleviate depression almost immediately and the results were long lasting. An interesting note is that those people who were the unhealthiest, both physically and psychologically, were the ones who enjoyed the greatest benefit from exercising. Read the rest of this entry »