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Are You Satisfied With What You See In The Mirror? ........................... 3
The Weight Loss Cycle - A Never Ending Battle. .................................... 4
Benefits of Exercise ................................................................................... 6
Salt and Sodium ....................................................................................... 10
Fad Diets .................................................................................................. 14
Hydration ................................................................................................. 16
Strength Training ..................................................................................... 18
Muscles and Rest ..................................................................................... 21
Are You Satisfied With What You See In The Mirror?
Do you see a potbelly, sagging butt, or other signs that you are losing
the muscle tone that made you proud of that image when you were
younger?
As we age, gravity starts to take its toll on our bodies. The effects of
gravity, the lack of exercise, those over-size portions, the sweets and
late night snacks all add up to change our bodies in ways that are not
flattering.
As adults we don’t get as much exercise as we did as children when we
ran and played all day long. To reclaim the body of our youth, we need
to figure out how to achieve the balance again between diet and
exercise to regain our ‘sexy selves’.
Those extra pounds show in ways that make us self-conscience about
being seen naked. We prefer to have the lights off, or to be dressed at
all times.
It’s time to regain that body that made you proud to prance around
nude!
The Weight Loss Cycle - A Never Ending Battle.
You start losing weight, get
close to your goal, maybe
even get to your goal and
then it happens…
As soon as you stop dieting,
you start gaining again!
This cycle can be maddening! It doesn’t last and it doesn’t give you
the results you were looking for.
Finding the balance between diet and exercise that lets you lose
weight is easy enough when every diet system spells this part out for
you. Finding the balance of diet and exercise to maintain your weight
loss is another story.
Do you really have to diet for the rest of your life? Or, is there some
“secret” to maintaining your new body?
It’s important to understand what self-preservation means for your
body. It means that your metabolism is sitting there watching to make
sure that your body has what it needs to survive. If not, the
metabolism’s job is to make changes to make sure you survive.
If there is not a supply of food to generate the energy that you need,
the metabolism will slow down to keep from burning off what reserves
you do have. A steady supply of food satisfies the “starvation” signal
and allows the metabolism to run at full speed.
Eating small, frequent meals – and eating the proper foods – will keep
your metabolism at full speed, helping you to easily maintain your
weight.
Another benefit is that it will also help you to avoid overeating and
binge eating because you will not experience the pangs of hunger that
are common with the restricted 3 meal-a-day diet. When you eat this
way, your body works better. The best part is that you will look and
feel better.
Your mood will be more stable as well because the natural chemicals in
your body will remain balanced. You will reduce or avoid the risk of
some nasty illnesses, such as high-blood pressure and diabetes.
Benefits of Exercise
A workout is a good way to relieve stress. Whether your stress is from
daily life or from studying, exercise is a great stress reliever. Also, the
better condition you are in, the more clearly you will be able to think.
Your body will be more prepared to respond to new challenges
decreasing the risk of injury. And, you will be better able to fight
illness and disease.
Choosing an exercise routine that’s right for you is the most important
step. It will be the key to your success.
Decide what your goal is and what types of exercises or how much you
can reasonably do. Check with your doctor to be sure that you have no
restrictions before you begin, especially if it’s been a while since you
have exercised.
If you choose a workout that is too difficult, or one that you don’t have
the time for, it’s reasonable to expect that you will get discouraged
and quit. It’s very important to choose a routine that fits into your
schedule and equally important that you enjoy it.
http://www.f4xworkout.net/
This is a set of goals that you should follow for your workout:
Be realistic.
Set small, achievable goals for yourself.
Challenge yourself to reach each goal.
Stay focused.
Work on reaching your next goal, not the total weight loss.
Be persistent, but allow for missed goals, it happens.
DON’T GIVE UP!!
Losing weight and getting fit is a process. Any change in your lifestyle
habits takes time.
Fitting exercise into your schedule can be a challenge. Finding a
routine that suits your schedule means deciding when and where you
will exercise.
If you don’t have the time, energy or the money to workout at the
local gym, there is nothing wrong with working out at home. Even if
the local gym is an option for you, you may prefer to be at home.
Nothing is set in stone. If you want to use the local gym, check into a
trial membership. This will give you the opportunity to actually see
how it will fit into your schedule. You’ll also get a chance to try out the
personal trainer they have on staff and the array of equipment that is
available to you.
Your workout routine should be enjoyable and not too strenuous to
start. Fitting a complete routine into the time that you have available
is also important.
It is easy to get discouraged with a routine that’s too hard. This can
also leave you stiff and sore from strain and fatigue. Pace yourself
when you get started. Each muscle that hasn’t worked in a while is
going to be one that you will feel later.
An important part of any workout is to get your heart rate up.
Exercising this way will boost your metabolism and burn more calories.
This boost will extend hours beyond your workout, burning even more
calories and increasing your weight loss far more than just eating the
right foods.
Checking with your doctor is always a good idea before you start any
new exercise routine or diet. Your doctor is in the best position to
evaluate your physical condition. They may also have some good
advice on types of activity for you to start with.
Physical activity helps build your immune system, strengthen your
body and relieve stress. If you have not been physically active, you
will want to start out slowly.
Walking gives you a great workout. When you walk at a brisk pace it
will get your heart rate up and give you many more benefits than a
leisurely stroll.
Get the most out of your workout by getting your heart rate up for
about two hours each week. It does not have to be all at once and
you may get more benefits by breaking it up throughout the day with
10 or 20 minute workouts.
Your strength and endurance will increase with regular exercise. As
your fitness improves, you will be able to increase the amount of time
that you work out.
Salt and Sodium
Salt is about 40% sodium which has been linked to many diseases and
health issues. Most of us get more sodium than our bodies need
through the foods we eat each day.
Salt is found in ALL processed foods and even in a large number of the
drinks that we consume every day. Checking the Sodium content on
food labels will surprise all but the savviest of shoppers.
If your tap water is provided by the city, chances are that amount of
sodium in the tap water is already well beyond the recommended daily
amount. Adding salt is the most preferred method to soften water.
Using a water filter does nothing to remove this. Salt is extremely
soluble in water and carries through all but the most sophisticated
filters that are specifically designed to remove salts. These filters are
extremely expensive and are not available in a home model.
In the case of city water, drinking or even cooking with your tap water
supplies you with enough sodium that any small amount that you add
at the table puts you even further over your limit. This is in addition to
any sodium that has been added to processed and canned foods.
Diet foods are about the worst thing that you can eat for sodium
content. Salt is added to make up for the lack of flavor caused by
removing the fat from foods.
The addition of too much table salt can be detrimental to your overall
health. If you are trying to reduce your salt intake or are on a salt
restricted diet, you can keep your daily amount of sodium below the
recommendations.
Read the labels at the grocery store and choose foods that are
low in sodium and others that are high in potassium.
Cook without adding salt, use garlic or another aromatic spice
before cooking to tease your taste buds.
You can cut back slowly on your salt intake or use a substitute
spice to help adjust your taste buds.
Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
Use bottled spring water for everything from cooking and
drinking to ice cubes.
Cooking your own meals will help improve your health and save you
money. Put leftovers into plastic meal trays and freeze for your own
homemade, healthy “frozen dinners”. These are great for those nights
that you don’t feel like cooking.
Planning your own menu and experimenting with cooking can be time
consuming, and sometimes, it can even be a costly mistake. There
may be some spice combinations that you really do not enjoy, and
others that you may think are great on everything.
Cooking this way will also likely increase the number of foods that you
enjoy.
Choose fruits and vegetables that are in season.
Use healthy ingredients.
Stock your spice cabinet, and then experiment with tastes based
on the recommendations on the labels.
Shop local sales. Compare prices, ask for price matching and use
coupons.
Try new foods.
Cook enough for a couple of meals for “frozen dinners”.
Create an entirely new meal with the leftovers.
Look for salt-free recipes for the sauces that you enjoy.
Visit Myplate.gov for an assortment of dietary information. The
information available includes “Healthy Eating Tips”, recipes,
cookbooks and menus. There are recommendations for the amount of
exercise that we should get at each age, and many other resources.
Fad Diets
Fad diets are called that for a very good reason. They are usually
meant to produce quick results but are not a good long-term diet.
If you want to cleanse your system or lose 5 pounds in a week, some
will deliver. Even those fad diets that deliver a few pounds quickly
cannot replace a good balanced diet combined with an exercise routine
for maintaining weight control and good health.
Many men, women and children will start using one of the popular diet
plans, meals or pills they are constantly being bombarded with at the
store and on television. Many of these methods are expensive and
people don’t usually stick with them. Most of the weight loss is from
excess fluids and body waste.
Rapid weight loss can be detrimental to your health. It can deprive
your body of important vitamins and minerals and slow down your
metabolism.
The only sure way to maintain a healthy weight and good physical
fitness is through a balanced diet and exercise plan. Maintaining a
good fitness program could even add years to your life!
In order to eat a balance diet, you don’t need to deprive yourself of
your favorite things or starve. In fact you shouldn’t do either. Simply
adding a few ingredients and eating in moderation can provide
surprising results.
Depriving yourself of your favorite foods is no good. This leads to over
indulging and is not a healthy way to eat any food.
Instead of starving yourself, or depriving yourself, your goal is to eat
well. If you want a candy bar or a slice of cake, have it. Just don’t
have a piece that’s big enough to be a meal, and don’t have it
everyday. Moderation is the key in “cheats”. Eat enough to satisfy your
sweet tooth, but not enough to totally ruin your diet.
Remember that the goal is to keep the body fueled and to keep hunger
away. This helps to eat much more reasonable portions and keeps
your metabolism running well.
For a good resistance program that includes a healthy diet, check out
something like The F4X System.
Hydration
Why It’s Important To Drink Plenty Of Water And Ways To Make Sure You Do
The human body is over 50% water. A person can live for weeks
without food but only a few days without water. Performance and
abilities are affected when the body loses only 1% of its water. At
15% loss, the situation can become critical and organs can even begin
to fail.
It is generally a good rule of thumb to drink about a gallon of water
each day. Water helps your body get rid of the toxins in your system.
Many toxins are stored in body fat and as you burn off that fat the
toxins are released into your system. Water will help your body filter
them and flush them out.
We know that it’s not healthy to sit in one position for extended
periods of time. Drinking plenty of water will require you to take
bathroom breaks. Getting up and moving gets your blood pumping,
flooding your body and brain with fresh oxygen. Using the bathroom
releases the toxins.
Drinking cold water will cause your body to burn energy just by
warming it up to body temperature so it can be used efficiently.
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/propertyyou.html
Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
Department of the Interior/USGS
Strength Training
Strength training exercises are used in physical therapy offices around
the world. Every day men and women of all ages and abilities benefit
from this type of therapy.
It builds strength in the muscles and in their support systems. You do
not need a lot of expensive equipment or run for miles to benefit from
it.
The core of strength training is resistance. Resistance training consists
of exposing the muscles to a little more than they are used to then
increasing the resistance as the muscle gets stronger.
A strength training routine will deliberately target specific muscle
groups. These types of exercises are done with slow deliberate
movement to achieve maximum results. With this type of training,
you can actually feel the specific muscle responding to the resistance.
There are around 650 muscles in the human body. Each muscle and
its support system are vital for our movement and livelihood. Even
the heart and lungs are muscles and can be strengthened with a well
rounded exercise routine and a balanced diet.
Strength training focuses on building muscle. Muscle burns more
calories than fat. It will also strengthen bones, improve balance and
coordination and increase endurance. These types of exercise should
be included in a well-rounded exercise program.
Strength training can be done by lifting weights or using some type of
resistance. A very popular type of resistance equipment is rubber
bands. These are available in different tensions that help build muscle
slowly and efficiently. An important part of any training program is to
expose the muscle to slightly increased challenges with more
repetitions or greater resistance.
During exercise it is important to focus on good posture and breathing.
This will help strengthen your back and stomach, reduce your risk of
injury and increase your stamina.
Dumbbells are another popular strength training tool. These are
popular with home gyms because they can be easily used and stored
at home. They also lend themselves to a wider variety of exercises in
the least amount of space.
Resistance training is easily achieved by timing your lifting vs.
lowering motions. It works the muscles more quickly, decreasing the
amount of time required to get a good workout.
This is a set of “Power Block Elite” dumbbells. They can grow with your
workout since they are adjustable from 5 to 90 pounds depending on
the model that you are interested in. Storage is easy since you don’t
need a large stand for an array of weights. They are a little pricey but
are much more convenient to have around the house.
With 44 reviews and 4 ½ stars on the 50 lb set, this item is worth a
look.
Power Block Elite at Amazon
Muscles and The Need For Rest
There are about 650 muscles in the human body. The result of
exercising a muscle is mild damage to the muscle.
During the rest and recovery period is when the muscle will repair this
damage and make it stronger. The best results will be achieved with a
combination of increased resistance and rest. You just need to work
different muscle groups every day. Give the muscle a day or two to
recover then get right back at it.
The muscles in your entire body should be prepared for the challenge
of exercise with a warm up routine. This will wake up your system by
increasing oxygen and blood flow.
It’s an important part of any workout routine to rest the muscles
before working them again. This gives the body the needed time to
repair the damage done during the workout. This repair is also the
step that encourages muscle growth.
This means that you should not work the same muscle group 2 days in
a row. It does not mean that you cannot continue to work out on the
odd days.
If you over do your workout and end up very sore, give that muscle
group a few days to recover. When you return to working this muscle
group, lighten the workout so the damage caused is not as severe.
The goal in working out is to lose weight and / or firm up the muscles.
Overworking any muscle group is bound to slow down your progress
since you will not want to strain sore muscles. This could mean extra
days off and possibly a reason not to return to working out at all.
To learn more about muscle growth, visit the Mueller Center at:
http://www.muellercenter.rpi.edu/musclegrowth.php
Credits:
Cover Image: debsch
Inside Image: julosstock
Power Block Elite: Amazon.com
