Everyone knows how tough it is to lose weight. The weight-loss industry is a multibillion dollar business, and for good reason. Virtually half of the United States today is considered to be overweight. So if you find yourself needing to drop a few pounds you are definitely not alone. If you are considering starting a diet that you will want to pay close attention to some of the common mistakes people make so that you can avoid them and get the most from your efforts.
Mistake #1 - Trying to lose weight too quickly
The single biggest mistake most people make when it comes to weight loss is trying to lose weight too quickly. It is simply unreasonable to think that weight which took you months or years to gain will come off in a matter of a few weeks.
Realistically, maintaining a weight loss of approximately 1 pound per week is what most experts advise. The reason for this is that the body is less likely to hold onto its fat stores if the weight comes off slowly and steadily. The body has a very sophisticated ability to recognize when it has entered a starvation mode and will do everything he can to hold on to weight so that it can survive. The take away here is that you need to focus on your weight loss over the long run and not just a matter of a few weeks.
Mistake #2 - Eating the wrong types of foods and/or too much food
Junk food is everywhere in our society. It is so easy to eat unhealthy, highly processed foods since they are readily available and taste very good. The problem is that these types of foods are often not very good at keeping you full and also have poor nutritional value. Instead, you should concentrate on eating healthy natural foods in reasonable portion sizes. Although this process will take some time, you should make it a top priority.
Mistake # 3 – Getting too little exercise
Learning to change your eating habits is key to long-term weight loss, but equally as important is the practice of getting regular exercise. Without exercising on a regular basis you will have to continue will be less is your weight goes down. It is not only better for you in the long run to exercise daily but also will give you some leeway in terms of calories. Exercise is not a free pass to eat whatever you want but within reason you can get away with the occasional treat if you are a regular exerciser.
Continue reading the article...
Showing posts with label Gain Muscle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gain Muscle. Show all posts
How to Lose Weight Healthily and Keep Fats Off Permanently
September 20, 2009 0 comments
Burn The Fats And Keep Them Off Permanently!
How many times have you heard a friend say, "I am on a diet"? Then what happens is your friend would lose some weight for a while before putting them all back on again.
I'll bet you have also heard someone said that "Cardio exercise is the best way for losing weight". This person would then religiously pound the treadmill but results are agonizingly slow. Soon, he gives up and gains back all the weight he had lost, and sometimes even gaining some extra kilos!
Ah, so you thought you've finally found the answer to permanent weight loss. You went on a strict diet and ran your heart out. Yes, you dropped kilos real quickly. But somehow, something is wrong when you look into the mirror in your birthday suit.
Yes you have lost some weight, but somehow your body shape isn't as flattering as you would like it to be. And then suddenly, you hit a plateau. No matter how strict your diet and cardio workouts are, your weight just simply refuses to drop any further. Then horrors of horrors, your kilograms actually started piling on! You get disillusioned with the unrewarding program and soon you succumbed, gave up and blame it on your bad genes. Sounds familiar? Why???
Here's why. Firstly, the heading of the article said "Burn The Fats" and not "Lose Weight". My point is, by merely losing weight, you will also lose some muscle mass in the process. By losing muscles, you will lose body tone and thus your metabolism for burning calories will slow down correspondingly. Therefore, you have got to maintain or even build muscles while losing fats. You may even gain some weight because muscles are heavier than fats. See the paradox?
To lose fats and keep them off permanently, you have to combine healthy eating habits, incorporate cardio exercises and lift weights to build muscles. For every kg of muscles you pack, you will burn an extra 70-100 calories per day even without doing anything. Can you imagine the benefits of building up 5kg of extra muscles? You will be burning 350 to 500 extra calories a day even if you just laze around. You'll be burning a Big Mac everyday! To further illustrate my point, 1 kg = about 7,700 calories, thus if you burn 500 calories a day because of the extra muscles you have, you will be burning off about 1 kg every 2 weeks simply because of your higher metabolism rate! You'll also look good, healthy and well-toned too! Is it any wonder why body builders eat so much but do not put on fats as easily?
Everyone knows that intensive cardio and strict diets cause you to lose muscle mass along with fats. So while you will lose some weight at the beginning, you will look like, well, just a smaller version of you without any muscle tone. That's not what we want isn't it?
As you lose more and more muscles, your metabolism plummets. On top of that, your body will start conserving fats and 'eat' your muscles for energy because it is reacting to your strict diet and is now in the "famine" mode. What happens then is that you will hit a plateau and no matter what you do, you will not reduce anymore weight and your fats will start creeping up again. This, in a nutshell, is the 'yo-yo' dieting effect that we hear so much about.
Losing fats is simple. And notice that I said 'simple' but did not say that it is 'easy'. My pointers will be simple to understand, but the execution will take determination and discipline on your part. It is a lifestyle change to keep the fats off permanently and you will be glad you did because you will get used to the changes in only a few weeks. By then, it will become a cultivated habit for you, especially when you are rewarded with a fitter, healthier, hunkier and sexier you, together with a glowing complexion to boot!
Here is how you do it. Simply, losing fat just means you must burn more calories than you consume. Period.
Lift weights with compound exercises. Forget those puny biceps and triceps curls. Go for big muscle groups like legs, back and chest routines. Why? Because you are working with bigger parts with more mass, and that means more body muscles are working, translating into more calories being expended. If you are fit, do giant sets (4 or more exercises or sets with no rest in between sets or exercise).
Here's an example. Lift only one set of each exercise with no rest in between the exercises. Choose a weight of about 60%-70% of what you normally lift and go for at least 25 reps. Lift more if you can or until your muscles are fatigued, then stop. Leave the gym. The whole routine should not take you more than 40 minutes. But remember to warm up thoroughly and cool down with some light movements and stretching.
After thoroughly warming up, start with squats, then dip, bench press, barbell row and military press. Sounds simple? Not so. You will be huffing, puffing and sweating profusely. What is achieved? You will have combined a cardio workout with a weightlifting workout and your metabolism will burn for the next several hours. Do this 3 times a week with at least a day's rest in between lifting days.
After 4-8 weeks, change the sequence of the exercises. So if you usually squat first, then squat last. Then after another 4-8 weeks, change some of the exercises, like substituting squats with dead lift, or bar bell rows with lat pull down. This is to shock your muscles so that they continue to adapt and grow.
For cardio, go for a run first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you are jogging at normal speed, sustain the jog for at least 45 minutes. If you are running at 65% to 80% of your maximum heart rate (you will be panting and unable to sing or complete a sentence while running), then 20-30 minutes will be enough. Anything more than that may cause muscle break down. You may intersperse the speed with slower jogs in between to catch your breath. Do these 5-6 times a week.
Eating habits? Just eat less of what you normally eat. For example if you have 2 slices of bread with 2 eggs in the morning, now take just one slice and an egg. Just eat half of what you eat but eat more regularly. Have 5 to 6 meals a day if you can. This is to feed your body frequently so that it will not go into starvation mode and start to conserve fats. At the same time, it will boost metabolism because your body burns calories while digesting the food. Chuck away all soft drinks, sugared drinks and stop adding sugar into your coffee and tea. Just by abstaining from sugary drinks, you may already have gotten rid yourself of 200 calories per day. Drink plenty of water instead and double the amount if you can.
Oh, by the way, all work and no play make Jack a dull tired boy and an exhausted Jill. Do choose a day to relax a week. No exercise on that day. Indulge in your favorite food if you must. Hey, pat yourself on the back and reward yourself for passing another grueling week. After all, your body needs to recover too.
As you reach your fat loss goals and you are happy with your muscular development, you can then take things a little easier. Hit the gym less frequently, have shorter runs and even relax a little in your diet. Because of your greater musculature, your body is now a fat-burning machine. You have earned that luxury.
Simple? Sure. But do you have the determination enough to lose those fats and keep them off permanently? It's your call folks! Continue reading the article...
How many times have you heard a friend say, "I am on a diet"? Then what happens is your friend would lose some weight for a while before putting them all back on again.
I'll bet you have also heard someone said that "Cardio exercise is the best way for losing weight". This person would then religiously pound the treadmill but results are agonizingly slow. Soon, he gives up and gains back all the weight he had lost, and sometimes even gaining some extra kilos!
Ah, so you thought you've finally found the answer to permanent weight loss. You went on a strict diet and ran your heart out. Yes, you dropped kilos real quickly. But somehow, something is wrong when you look into the mirror in your birthday suit.
Yes you have lost some weight, but somehow your body shape isn't as flattering as you would like it to be. And then suddenly, you hit a plateau. No matter how strict your diet and cardio workouts are, your weight just simply refuses to drop any further. Then horrors of horrors, your kilograms actually started piling on! You get disillusioned with the unrewarding program and soon you succumbed, gave up and blame it on your bad genes. Sounds familiar? Why???
Here's why. Firstly, the heading of the article said "Burn The Fats" and not "Lose Weight". My point is, by merely losing weight, you will also lose some muscle mass in the process. By losing muscles, you will lose body tone and thus your metabolism for burning calories will slow down correspondingly. Therefore, you have got to maintain or even build muscles while losing fats. You may even gain some weight because muscles are heavier than fats. See the paradox?
To lose fats and keep them off permanently, you have to combine healthy eating habits, incorporate cardio exercises and lift weights to build muscles. For every kg of muscles you pack, you will burn an extra 70-100 calories per day even without doing anything. Can you imagine the benefits of building up 5kg of extra muscles? You will be burning 350 to 500 extra calories a day even if you just laze around. You'll be burning a Big Mac everyday! To further illustrate my point, 1 kg = about 7,700 calories, thus if you burn 500 calories a day because of the extra muscles you have, you will be burning off about 1 kg every 2 weeks simply because of your higher metabolism rate! You'll also look good, healthy and well-toned too! Is it any wonder why body builders eat so much but do not put on fats as easily?
Everyone knows that intensive cardio and strict diets cause you to lose muscle mass along with fats. So while you will lose some weight at the beginning, you will look like, well, just a smaller version of you without any muscle tone. That's not what we want isn't it?
As you lose more and more muscles, your metabolism plummets. On top of that, your body will start conserving fats and 'eat' your muscles for energy because it is reacting to your strict diet and is now in the "famine" mode. What happens then is that you will hit a plateau and no matter what you do, you will not reduce anymore weight and your fats will start creeping up again. This, in a nutshell, is the 'yo-yo' dieting effect that we hear so much about.
Losing fats is simple. And notice that I said 'simple' but did not say that it is 'easy'. My pointers will be simple to understand, but the execution will take determination and discipline on your part. It is a lifestyle change to keep the fats off permanently and you will be glad you did because you will get used to the changes in only a few weeks. By then, it will become a cultivated habit for you, especially when you are rewarded with a fitter, healthier, hunkier and sexier you, together with a glowing complexion to boot!
Here is how you do it. Simply, losing fat just means you must burn more calories than you consume. Period.
Lift weights with compound exercises. Forget those puny biceps and triceps curls. Go for big muscle groups like legs, back and chest routines. Why? Because you are working with bigger parts with more mass, and that means more body muscles are working, translating into more calories being expended. If you are fit, do giant sets (4 or more exercises or sets with no rest in between sets or exercise).
Here's an example. Lift only one set of each exercise with no rest in between the exercises. Choose a weight of about 60%-70% of what you normally lift and go for at least 25 reps. Lift more if you can or until your muscles are fatigued, then stop. Leave the gym. The whole routine should not take you more than 40 minutes. But remember to warm up thoroughly and cool down with some light movements and stretching.
After thoroughly warming up, start with squats, then dip, bench press, barbell row and military press. Sounds simple? Not so. You will be huffing, puffing and sweating profusely. What is achieved? You will have combined a cardio workout with a weightlifting workout and your metabolism will burn for the next several hours. Do this 3 times a week with at least a day's rest in between lifting days.
After 4-8 weeks, change the sequence of the exercises. So if you usually squat first, then squat last. Then after another 4-8 weeks, change some of the exercises, like substituting squats with dead lift, or bar bell rows with lat pull down. This is to shock your muscles so that they continue to adapt and grow.
For cardio, go for a run first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you are jogging at normal speed, sustain the jog for at least 45 minutes. If you are running at 65% to 80% of your maximum heart rate (you will be panting and unable to sing or complete a sentence while running), then 20-30 minutes will be enough. Anything more than that may cause muscle break down. You may intersperse the speed with slower jogs in between to catch your breath. Do these 5-6 times a week.
Eating habits? Just eat less of what you normally eat. For example if you have 2 slices of bread with 2 eggs in the morning, now take just one slice and an egg. Just eat half of what you eat but eat more regularly. Have 5 to 6 meals a day if you can. This is to feed your body frequently so that it will not go into starvation mode and start to conserve fats. At the same time, it will boost metabolism because your body burns calories while digesting the food. Chuck away all soft drinks, sugared drinks and stop adding sugar into your coffee and tea. Just by abstaining from sugary drinks, you may already have gotten rid yourself of 200 calories per day. Drink plenty of water instead and double the amount if you can.
Oh, by the way, all work and no play make Jack a dull tired boy and an exhausted Jill. Do choose a day to relax a week. No exercise on that day. Indulge in your favorite food if you must. Hey, pat yourself on the back and reward yourself for passing another grueling week. After all, your body needs to recover too.
As you reach your fat loss goals and you are happy with your muscular development, you can then take things a little easier. Hit the gym less frequently, have shorter runs and even relax a little in your diet. Because of your greater musculature, your body is now a fat-burning machine. You have earned that luxury.
Simple? Sure. But do you have the determination enough to lose those fats and keep them off permanently? It's your call folks! Continue reading the article...
Bar-Barians, Reverse Disease With Vitamin C, and Milk Nutrition
August 27, 2009 0 comments
by: CALEB LEE
“How Much You Pull-Up?”
That’s definitely not something you hear every day! Most guys just want to know “How much ya bench?” … and … despite what Jabba the Bench has to say, I don’t think it’s the measure of a man.
Rusty put up a really good post on the Bar-Barians, a group of guys who do all types of bodyweight training and really focus on doing a lot of work on “pull up bars”. Check it out here … and … I plan on doing the qualification amount of pulls, pushes, dips and muscle ups later this year (once I get my first powerlifting meet out of the way)
You Can Reverse Disease With Vitamin C?
Dr. Al Sears writes about how Vitamin C is good for you … how it can help reverse diseases … and how much you should take.
Yup! You can even greatly slash your risk of ever getting heart disease by stocking up on the Vitamin C!
How Good is Milk? And Milk Substitutes?
As always, my friends over at fitnessspotlight.com have written a great post on milk and milk substitutes covering all the pros and cons of them … and … their complete nutritional profiles.
BONUS: you get a recipe to make home-made almond milk! Can’t beat that :) Check it out now! Continue reading the article...
Whey Protein – Weight Training Necessity
August 17, 2009 0 commentsHitting the weights
When it comes to weight training, whether we want to lose the few excess pounds or gain enough muscle to look good walking around shirtless, some of us take it to the next level by taking in high protein supplements, whether they are amino acid capsules, creatine or your typical whey protein.
What's it for?
Whey protein, for those of you who don’t know, is a supplement which contains high amounts of protein per serving. Often served as a shake or milk drink, whey protein is helpful in building muscle mass, muscle recovery or simply to aid in gaining weight.
Though it may serve a variety of purposes, it all comes down to how you are training and what your weight goals are. However, whey protein serving advices vary. You may ask from your personal trainer to help you determine how many times you should take it in a day. Manufacturers will also have different serving suggestions such as once before working out, once after working out and sometimes before you sleep. Whatever the advice may be, make sure it helps you achieve your goals in a quicker and more efficient way.
Where can I get advice?
Professional trainers and weightlifters take in a variety of supplements to accomplish a huge figure and there can be no better people to give testament to sports nutrition products than those who use it or huge supporters of the product.
But whey protein can be a little painful in the pocket, as most products come in 14 servings or 30 servings (based on a one per day daily intake). I use whey protein 30 minutes to 1 hour after I workout since this is the peak time that muscles are recovering. I rarely take them before sleeping since muscle tends to grow when you sleep.
A piece of advice: determine your weight goals first before trying out any supplement or sports nutrition products. Continue reading the article...
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