1) Cardiovascular Exercises ? Do your cardio exercises frequently. These can be any exercises that work up your heart rate to the extent that you are huffing and puffing for at least 20 ? 30 minutes. Do your cardio exercises 5-6 times a week if you want to reduce weight or 2-3 times a week for weight maintenance. Cardio exercises will help you lose body fat fast.
2) Build Muscles ? Muscles burn calories even when you are not doing anything but resting. The more muscle mass you have the more calories you will burn a day and in the course of over a period of time, the calories you burnt will add up very substantially. Building muscle mass is one sure way of losing body fat forever.
3) Eat Carbs Early ? Take your meals with carbs earlier in the day and cut down on carbs on later meals. This is to prevent unused carbs from turning into body fat when you sleep and to regulate insulin level. Avoid high glycemic carbs to achieve your reducing weight objective.
4) Don't be too afraid of fats ? The fats in your diet that are bad for you are saturated and trans fat. So replace these bad fats with unsaturated fat and essential fatty acids (EFAs) and these good fats will keep your body fat and fat related diseases down. But do take your fats in moderation as after all, they are still calorie laden.
5) Complex Carbs ? Choose your carbs. Avoid starchy and refined carbs such as pasta, pizza, white rice and white bread. Replace them complex carbs such as brown rice, brown bread and high fiber carbs like green leafy vegetables.
6) Food Portion ? Decide how much you want to eat at each meal and then keep to it and do not eat anymore when that portion is consumed. Eat slowly to let your body signal to your brain that you are full. This usually takes about 20 minutes. Extra food means extra and calories mean extra body fat if the food is not converted to energy. So with less calories consumed, you will not gain extra body fat but steadily reduce your weight. But never skip meals or starve if you want to reduce weight healthily.
7) Avoid Canned Or Boxed Food ? These food are usually high in trans fat, sodium, sugar and simple carbs all of which will help you to gain weight and body fat.
8) Eat Often ? By eating often, say at every 3 hourly intervals, your body will think that food is abundant and therefore less likely to store body fat for emergency such as a famine. But do bear in mind to keep the portion small so as not to consume more calories than you expand.
9) Get 8 Hours Sleep ? Research after research has shown that people with less sleep are more prone to being fat.
10) Do Not Skip Meals ? Skipping meals will slow your metabolism and forcing your body to use your muscles for energy instead of your body fat. This is a vicious cycle, the less muscle you have, the more your metabolism slows down.
There you are. By following this step by step guide, not only will you reduce weight but will lose your body fat forever.
How well do you sleep?
I've noticed that one of the challenges for many people in their fitness endeavors is getting enough quality sleep each night. In case you didn't already know, the quality and quantity of your sleep each night is VERY important to maintaining an optimal hormonal balance within your body and keeping your metabolism as high as possible. Obviously, this all translates into a leaner you, if you are sleeping well regularly.
On the other hand, if you never seem to get enough sleep, or don't sleep well enough to give your body the rest and recuperation it needs, you can count on the fact that this lack of sleep is making you fatter! That's right, the lack of quality sleep creates a fat-storing hormonal mess inside your body. The fact is, the stats show that most people don't get enough sleep regularly, and also don't sleep as soundly as they should.
Aside from sleeping disorders, most people simply don't get enough sleep because they have a hard time shutting down their minds at night, which leaves them lying there in bed tossing and turning with thoughts about the stresses of their daily lives shooting through their heads. Does this happen to you?
This has actually been a problem for me personally, but I've started to gain control of this with a few secrets I've learned, and now I can usually fall asleep pretty fast each night. Here are some of the tricks I've used to fall asleep easier each night. Some of these you've probably heard before, but others may be new ideas for you.
1. Try not to exercise intensely within about 2 hours or so of your normal bedtime. However, getting regular daily exercise at any other time of the day will help tire you out so that you can fall asleep easier once bed time comes.
2. Don't try to go to sleep hungry. Contrary to popular belief, just because you eat after 6 or 7 pm does not mean it's going to be instantly deposited as blubbery body fat. As a matter of fact, a lot of very lean people that I know eat small meals right before they go to bed each night. A light healthy snack 30-90 minutes before you hit the pillows will help satisfy your hunger and help you fall asleep easier.
3. Avoid stimulants like caffeine any time after late-afternoon.
4. Try chamomile tea and/or mint tea an hour or two before bed time. These generally have a relaxing effect and can help you calm down at night. I recently found a tea product called "bed time tea", which combines chamomile and mint in the tea bags. I add in just a little touch of raw honey too and this combo really seems to relax me.
5. Try ground nutmeg in capsules an hour or two before bed. Nutmeg is supposed to also have a calming effect on the body. What I've done is buy a couple rounds of whole nutmeg and use a strong coffee grinder to grind them into powder. Then I fill empty capsules with the nutmeg and take a couple each night. Two whole nutmeg rounds will fill a couple dozen capsules, so I store them in a ziplock in the fridge. I'm not totally sure if this helps or not, but it certainly can't hurt, and nutmeg is at least a good source of antioxidants too!
6. Try to clear your mind of daily stresses and things you need to do. This has been my biggest obstacle to overcome in order to fall asleep at night. One thing that helps is to use a note pad to write down what I need to do the next day. That helps me clear my mind and reassure that I won't forget anything, so that I can relax. Instead of thinking about my day, or what I need to do tomorrow, I simply wipe my mind clean, and think about a relaxing place that I enjoy, like a tropical beach, or lying on a hammock in the breeze somewhere. If I can keep my mind on something relaxing like this, and not my daily worries, I fall asleep like a champ!
I know there are many other strategies that people use to help fall asleep, but I figured I'd just give you a few of the tricks that have helped me out with conquering this. Whatever you do, please try to keep it natural... taking sleep aid drugs will almost always have adverse side effects.
So do yourself a favor and pull the plug on the late-night talk shows or late-night Seinfeld re-runs (although that Kramer does crack me up!), and try to get to sleep a little earlier from now on. Clear your mind, relax, and enjoy some good quality sleep that will keep your body leaner and have you feeling more energy filled during each day. Good luck!
Mike Geary has sinced written about articles on various topics from Abdominal, Family Concerns and Fitness. Michael Geary (CPT) is a recognized International Fitness Expert, contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Magazine, author of the internationally-selling book, The Truth about Six-Pack Abs ?2004-2006, and owner of one of the top. Mike Geary's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.