Do you want to improve the
quality of your life? Do you want to look and feel better than you have
in years – maybe better than you ever have before? Do you want
to protect yourself from disease and injury? And do you want to live
a longer, more vital life?
I'm confident that you answered YES! to each of those questions, just
as the hundreds of individuals I've counseled, coached, and trained
in my career as a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and Rehabilitation
Specialist.
I'm now going to reveal to you the 16 essential strategies that have
enabled my clients to achieve the health and fitness goals they always
wanted!
16 Essential Weight Loss and Fitness Strategies
1. In the beginning, your fitness program should not be overly aggressive.
One of the biggest problems people encounter when starting a fitness
program is rapidly depleted motivation after only a few weeks due to
an overly ambitious fitness program. Attempting to do too much too fast
is worse than doing nothing at all! Because then you feel like exercise
is too hard and it’s just not for you.
Start out slow, maybe just shooting for 1 or 2 workouts a week. Once
you have successfully added that to your normal routine, then attempt
to slowly add to your fitness program. Plus, most people don't need
to exercise more than 3-4 times a week. That doesn't mean you can't
exercise more; it’s just not necessary.
2. Always have a detailed plan! In order to reach your health and fitness
goals, you must have a road map to follow. I can't stress this enough.
If you are unsure of how to put together a fitness plan, or if you're
uncertain of the effectiveness of the one you have, I highly recommend
you consult a professional fitness trainer. With a well thought out
plan you are much more likely to be successful!
3. Set realistic, attainable goals. You must have tangible, quantifiable,
short and long-term goals so you can measure and assess your progress.
Too many people have totally unrealistic expectations of what to expect
from an exercise and nutrition program. The best way for you to understand
what is realistic and attainable is to talk with a fitness professional
– not to buy into the “hype” of infomercials and diet
and fitness products that are blatantly misleading.
4. Keep a journal! This is one of the most important things you can
do. If you're not tracking what you're doing, how will you know what
worked? There are quite a few great exercise and nutrition logs I've
come across. You should keep track of all your exercise and also each
day’s food intake.
There’s a company called NutraBiotics that makes a great 90-day
journal that can be used to track strength training, cardiovascular
exercise, and daily nutrition. If you would like more information on
this journal, please feel free to call me at 240-731-3724.
5. You must be accountable! Set exercise appointments with yourself
if you're not working with a personal fitness trainer. Use your appointment
book to set aside times for exercise, just like you do for meetings
or events. don't let things get in the way. Nothing is more important
than your health! If you don't have your health you can't effectively
do anything. I often have mothers tell me that they can't find time
to exercise because they have to take care of their children. I have
4 daughters myself, and a baby on the way, so I know exactly how hard
it is. Whatever your situation is, making the commitment to exercise
and your health IS possible, and very important. Plus, it sets a great
example for the children!
6. Remember the benefits of exercise. Being physically fit affects every
aspect of your life: you sleep better, eat better, love better, overcome
stress better, work better, communicate better, and live better! Remember
how good it feels to finish a workout, and how great it feels to meet
your goals!
7. Exercise safely and correctly. So much time is wasted doing, at best,
unproductive exercise, or at worst, dangerous exercise. Educate yourself
on how to exercise correctly. The best way to do that is to hire a personal
fitness trainer. It could be for just a few sessions to learn the basics,
or it could be for a few months to learn everything. It’s completely
up to you. But statistics prove that those who understand how to exercise
correctly get better, faster results. And that’s what you want,
right?
8. Enjoy your exercise! For example, if you hate doing strength training,
try to find ways to make it more enjoyable. Circuit training might be
a more fun and exciting way to fit this important part of fitness into
your program. The key is you should enjoy it, and if you don't you need
to look for other exercises or activities to replace whatever it is
you don't enjoy.
If you don't enjoy it, how do you expect to stick with it?
9. Make time to stretch! It has so much benefit and takes very little
time. So many people suffer from various aches and pains of which most
can be eliminated by basic stretches! Try to spend at least 5 minutes
after each workout stretching.
10. Don't think you need to exercise 5 days a week! I touched on this
earlier. Many people feel they're getting fat because they're not exercising.
Totally not the case! Exercise is not the answer! It’s all in
your eating habits. However, exercise can aid in burning body fat, plus
there are numerous health benefits. Think of exercise as a bonus.
How many people do you know who exercise 3-5 times per week, but still
fail to meet their weight loss and fitness goals? I've met hundreds!
First look at your eating habits, such as: when you eat, what you eat,
how much you eat, where you eat, and how often you eat.
11. Never skip breakfast, or any meal! If you want to maximize your
fitness or fat-loss efforts you've got to eat breakfast! So many people
skip breakfast, and it’s the worst thing you could ever do when
it comes to fat-loss. Skipping meals throws your blood sugar all out
of whack and it sets you up to store your next meal as fat, almost guaranteed!
12. Eat fat to lose fat. Healthy fats are necessary to your body for
numerous reasons: regulating hormonal production, improving immune function,
lowering total cholesterol, and providing the basics for healthy hair,
nails, and skin.
The key is to eat the right types of fats. The “good’ fats
are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like olive oil, canola
oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and avocados, to name a few. The
“bad” fats are partially hydrogenated oils, and trans fats.
Most processed foods contain large amounts of these bad fats.
13. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. Yes, I know that you have probably
heard this one over and over again. But there’s a reason for that
– it’s that important! The recommended daily intake of water
is 8 glasses, or 64 oz. You should even be drinking even more if you
are active or exercise regularly.
And no, soda, juice, coffee, and tea don't count! Nearly every chemical
process place in your body, takes place in water! Proper blood flow
and digestion are both affected by how much water you drink, and poor
blood flow and digestion can be linked to numerous health conditions.
14. Stabilize your blood sugar! If you want to burn fat and prevent
your body from putting it back on, you must stabilize your blood sugar.
In order to do this you need to eat small, balanced meals or snacks
every 2-3 hours.
Fasting, skipping meals, and overly restrictive diets will enable you
to lose weight – in the short run. The weight you lose is primarily
water weight and muscle tissue, and in the long run has opposite effect
of what you want. When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively
thinks it’s being starved and shifts into a protective mode by
slowing down the metabolism and storing nearly all calories as body
fat. Plus, losing muscle tissue is the last thing you want to do. Muscle
burns calories, even while you sleep. You should be focused on increasing,
or at least maintaining muscle tissue.
15. Focus on increasing muscle tissue. As I mentioned previously, muscle
burns calories, so if you want to increase your metabolism, you have
to increase your muscle. The best way to do that is with progressive
strength training. That doesn't mean you have to join a gym, buy expensive
fitness equipment, or follow some bodybuilding workout program; it simply
means you need to challenge your muscles! You can do that at home in
just 15-20 minutes, 2-3 times a week.
16. Get the help of an expert! Obviously, meeting your health and fitness
goals is important to you, so why not eliminate the guesswork and start
seeing the results you have always wanted? With the help of a qualified
professional you can!
If your car breaks down, where do you take it? Mechanic, right? How
about if you have a cavity? Dentist. So why is it that so many people
attempt to solve their health and fitness problems without consulting
an expert? I don't know exactly, but I encourage you to make the investment
in yourself- in your life- by hiring a professional to educate you and
help you meet your goals.
So there you have it. The 16 essential strategies for an effective weight
loss and fitness program that will have you looking and feeling great!
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Jesse Cannone is a certified personal trainer and author of the best-selling
fitness ebook, Burn
Fat FAST. Be sure to sign up for his free email course
as it is full of powerful weight loss and fitness tips that are guaranteed
to help you get the results you want.
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