A lot of us live our lives like penned animals. Built to move, too often we put ourselves in a cage. We have bodies designed for racing across the savannas, but we live a lifestyle designed for migrating from the bed to the breakfast table; to the car seat; to the office chair; to the restaurant booth; to the living room couch and back to the bed.
It was not always this way. Not long ago in the United States, a man who worked on a farm did the equivalent of 15 miles of jogging every day; and his wife did the equivalent of 7 miles of jogging.
Today, our daily obligations of work and home keep us tied to our chairs, and if we want exercise, we have to seek it out.
In fact, health experts insist that obesity problem is probably caused at least as much by lack of physical activity as by eating too much. Hence, it is important that people need to move around.
However, that does not mean that a lap or two around the old high school track will offset a daily dose of donuts. Exercise alone is not very efficient, experts say. They contend that if you just exercise and do not change your diet, you may be able to prevent weight gain or even lose a few pounds for a while.
Nevertheless, it is not something that you are likely to sustain unless exercise is part of an overall program. The more regularly you exercise, the easier it is to maintain your weight. Here is what to do every day to make sure that you get the exercise you need.
1. Get quality Zzzs.
Make sure that you get adequate sleep. Good sleep habits are conducive to exercise, experts point out. If you feel worn out during the day, you are less likely to get much physical activity during the day.
In addition, there is evidence that people who are tired tend to eat more, using food as a substance for the rest they need.
2. Walk the walk.
It is probably the easiest exercise program of all. In fact, it may be all you ever have to do, according to some professional advices of some health experts.
Gradually build up to at least 30 minutes of brisk walking five times a week. Brisk walks themselves have health and psychological benefits that are well worth the while.
3. Walk the treadmill.
When the weather is bad, you might not feel like going outdoors. But if you have a treadmill in the television room, you can catch up on your favorite shows while you are doing your daily good turn for your weight-maintenance plan.
Most of us watch television anyway, and indoor exercise equipment enables anyone to turn a sedentary activity into a healthy walk.
4. Seize the time.
Excuses aside, lack of time is certainly a limiting factor in most lifestyles. That is why health experts suggest a basic guideline for incorporating exercise into your schedule.
Get as much exercise as you can that feels good without letting it interfere with your work or family life. If you need to, remind yourself that you are preventing many health problems when you prevent weight gain; and keeping your health is a gift to your family as well as yourself.
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Weight Loss Plan: The Goal to Go For
Since excess weight puts you at risk for many health problems, you may need to set some weight loss plans to help avoid those risks and prevent disease.
But what should be your long-term goal? And what short-term goals should you set to help you get there? You have a better chance of attaining your goals if you make sure that the weight loss plans that you will use are sensible and reasonable right at the beginning.
Here are some guidelines from the experts in choosing weight loss plans and goals.
1. Be realistic
Most people’s long-term weight loss plans are more ambitious than they have to be.
For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and your long-term plan is to weigh 120, even if you have not weighed 120 since you were 16 and now you are 45, that is not a realistic weight loss goal.
Your body mass index or BMI is a good indicator of whether or not you need to shed of pounds. The ideal BMI range, according to the national Institutes of Health, is between 19 and 24.9. If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, you are considered overweight. Any number above 30 is in the obesity range.
From this point of view, you will need a sensible weight loss plan that will correspond to the required BMI based on your height, because this is the primary factor that will affect your BMI.
2. Set appropriate objectives
Using a weight loss plan just for vanity’s sake is psychologically less helpful than losing weight to improve health.
You have made a big step forward if you decide to undergo a weight loss plan that includes exercise and eating right so that you will feel better and have more energy to do something positive in your life.
3. Focus on doing, not losing
Rather than saying that you are going to lose a pound this week, say how much you are going to exercise this week. This would definitely make up of a sensible weight loss plan.
Keep in mind that your weight within a span of a week is not completely in your control, but your behavior is.
4. Build bit by bit
Short-term weight loss plans should not be “pie-in-the-sky.” This means that when you have never exercised at all, your best weight loss plan for this week should be based on finding three different one-mile routes that you can walk next week.
5. Keep up the self-encouragement
An all-or-nothing attitude only sets you up to fail. Learn to evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fall short of some goals, just look ahead to next week. You do not need to have a perfect record.
After all, self-encouragement should definitely be a part of your weight loss plans. Otherwise, you will just fail in the end.
6. Use measurable measures
Saying that you are going to be more positive this week or that you are going to really get serious this week is not a goal that you can measure and should not be a part of your weight loss plan.
This is another reason why you should incorporate exercise on your weight loss plan and focus on it. You should be able to count up the minutes of exercise in order to be successful in your plan.
The bottom line is, people should make weight loss plans that will only remain as it is, just a plan. They have to put it into action by incorporating goals that will motivate them to succeed.
But what should be your long-term goal? And what short-term goals should you set to help you get there? You have a better chance of attaining your goals if you make sure that the weight loss plans that you will use are sensible and reasonable right at the beginning.
Here are some guidelines from the experts in choosing weight loss plans and goals.
1. Be realistic
Most people’s long-term weight loss plans are more ambitious than they have to be.
For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and your long-term plan is to weigh 120, even if you have not weighed 120 since you were 16 and now you are 45, that is not a realistic weight loss goal.
Your body mass index or BMI is a good indicator of whether or not you need to shed of pounds. The ideal BMI range, according to the national Institutes of Health, is between 19 and 24.9. If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, you are considered overweight. Any number above 30 is in the obesity range.
From this point of view, you will need a sensible weight loss plan that will correspond to the required BMI based on your height, because this is the primary factor that will affect your BMI.
2. Set appropriate objectives
Using a weight loss plan just for vanity’s sake is psychologically less helpful than losing weight to improve health.
You have made a big step forward if you decide to undergo a weight loss plan that includes exercise and eating right so that you will feel better and have more energy to do something positive in your life.
3. Focus on doing, not losing
Rather than saying that you are going to lose a pound this week, say how much you are going to exercise this week. This would definitely make up of a sensible weight loss plan.
Keep in mind that your weight within a span of a week is not completely in your control, but your behavior is.
4. Build bit by bit
Short-term weight loss plans should not be “pie-in-the-sky.” This means that when you have never exercised at all, your best weight loss plan for this week should be based on finding three different one-mile routes that you can walk next week.
5. Keep up the self-encouragement
An all-or-nothing attitude only sets you up to fail. Learn to evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fall short of some goals, just look ahead to next week. You do not need to have a perfect record.
After all, self-encouragement should definitely be a part of your weight loss plans. Otherwise, you will just fail in the end.
6. Use measurable measures
Saying that you are going to be more positive this week or that you are going to really get serious this week is not a goal that you can measure and should not be a part of your weight loss plan.
This is another reason why you should incorporate exercise on your weight loss plan and focus on it. You should be able to count up the minutes of exercise in order to be successful in your plan.
The bottom line is, people should make weight loss plans that will only remain as it is, just a plan. They have to put it into action by incorporating goals that will motivate them to succeed.
Program your Weight Loss in as Easy as a Week
The idea of the program is to be able for you to develop a consistent approach to weight loss as well as a healthy endurance when exercising. The program’s objective is to get rid of the excesses in your body, the excess fat. Not the healthy and lean muscle tissues and body fluids.
The program first requires your focus and dedication, so therefore you need to be prepared in both mind and – of course – body. It is highly advised that you first visit your doctor for a check-up before embarking on any weight loss program.
It is important that when starting on any weight loss program, one should be positive enough to work for the results. Some people get impatient easily but long term effects are assured as long as one sticks to the weight loss plan at hand.
Stretch, stretch and stretch some more. Before actually doing those exercises and working out those muscles, a little stretching is needed in order to avoid any injury or soreness in your body.
It is also not advisable for anyone to try too hard. Everything should be done in moderation. Find the level of exercise and training that suits you. It should be enough for you to be comfortable in but not too convenient that it will not be much of a challenge.
The first week
The first day of the program involves a long and steady walk in a little over twenty minutes. After the walk, follow it up with a good stretch. This takes so little of your time for the first day. In less than an hour you have taken that first step to a weight loss program that could work to your advantage.
By the second day, it is good to focus on an upper body workout. This maintains your strength to be able to go through the whole program for the week. On the third day, a brisk walk or jog for ten minutes is in order. For beginners, a lower body workout should be done in the evening.
In the fourth day, a good rest is in order, as well as a good stretch. This lag time should be used wisely though to sort out any negatives in your mindset. The fifth day starts with a good ten minute walk. Exercise the lower body in four sessions of workouts, follow this up with another ten minute walk, and another four sessions of lower body workout.
The sixth day should be spent on a low impact exercise such as swimming. To avoid boredom, do not be afraid to try something new. The last day of the week is a time to solicit the support of the people you care about. Spend time with them or get them to be with you in your long walk. Again, follow up your walk with a light upper body workout.
This is just the beginning though. If by this first week you are able to stick to the program, you have a great chance to further boost your weight loss and stay with the plan until you achieve your desired result. Try as much as possible to be unlike the people who give up easily just because they could not see the result they want at the time they want – like this moment, today, now! Patience is a virtue. The same way it took your body time to gain all that weight, think about it as the time your body will have to exert just to get rid of it.
The program first requires your focus and dedication, so therefore you need to be prepared in both mind and – of course – body. It is highly advised that you first visit your doctor for a check-up before embarking on any weight loss program.
It is important that when starting on any weight loss program, one should be positive enough to work for the results. Some people get impatient easily but long term effects are assured as long as one sticks to the weight loss plan at hand.
Stretch, stretch and stretch some more. Before actually doing those exercises and working out those muscles, a little stretching is needed in order to avoid any injury or soreness in your body.
It is also not advisable for anyone to try too hard. Everything should be done in moderation. Find the level of exercise and training that suits you. It should be enough for you to be comfortable in but not too convenient that it will not be much of a challenge.
The first week
The first day of the program involves a long and steady walk in a little over twenty minutes. After the walk, follow it up with a good stretch. This takes so little of your time for the first day. In less than an hour you have taken that first step to a weight loss program that could work to your advantage.
By the second day, it is good to focus on an upper body workout. This maintains your strength to be able to go through the whole program for the week. On the third day, a brisk walk or jog for ten minutes is in order. For beginners, a lower body workout should be done in the evening.
In the fourth day, a good rest is in order, as well as a good stretch. This lag time should be used wisely though to sort out any negatives in your mindset. The fifth day starts with a good ten minute walk. Exercise the lower body in four sessions of workouts, follow this up with another ten minute walk, and another four sessions of lower body workout.
The sixth day should be spent on a low impact exercise such as swimming. To avoid boredom, do not be afraid to try something new. The last day of the week is a time to solicit the support of the people you care about. Spend time with them or get them to be with you in your long walk. Again, follow up your walk with a light upper body workout.
This is just the beginning though. If by this first week you are able to stick to the program, you have a great chance to further boost your weight loss and stay with the plan until you achieve your desired result. Try as much as possible to be unlike the people who give up easily just because they could not see the result they want at the time they want – like this moment, today, now! Patience is a virtue. The same way it took your body time to gain all that weight, think about it as the time your body will have to exert just to get rid of it.
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