What's the easiest way to lose weight?

This is a question I get asked very often. One certainty is that their is no healthy way of losing weight fast. Weight loss should be achieved by a steady reduction of 1 to 2 pounds per week. The way to do this is with a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise. Firstly, don't get hung up on weight loss. The aim should be to reduce body fat, which in turn will reduce your weight. From here on in I will only refer to fat loss and not weight loss.

So what is the easiest way to lose body fat and do I have to count calories?

There is no easy answer to these questions. It really depends upon your current circumstances. I tend to put people who want to lose body fat in two categories.

1. People who want to get fit and reduce body fat due to an unhealthy lifestyle.
2. People who are already fit, participate in exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet but want to lose that last few stubborn pounds of body fat to achieve a great toned physique.

I would approach people from each group in a different way and give the following advice.

If you fall into category 1, then I wouldn't advise counting calories, unless you want food issues to totally dominate and take over your life. You are obviously at a point where you realise that your current lifestyle needs to change and that you seriously need to lose body fat before it starts to drastically effect your health.
In your situation, their are probably a lot of changes that can be made to your diet and lifestyle that will have a major impact on fat loss. You need to take a long hard look at your eating and lifestyle habits. A good way to do this is to keep a diary for at least 7 days. Keep an accurate record of everything you eat and the activity you do. The next step, is to look at areas where you can improve. For example; Do you really need that piece of cake just before you go to bed? Is it really necessary to have 3 teaspoons of sugar in you tea? Could I have walked to the shops instead of driving? Identifying areas where you can make small changes will go along way to helping you to lose fat and get fitter.

How can I tell I'm losing body fat?
The simplest way to monitor fat loss is to take measurements of the areas of your body that are holding the most fat. Waist, hips, thighs, chest etc. This will give you a good indication of progress. The other way is to measure your Body Mass Index. Click the link below to go to a simple calculator for doing this. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/.

Do I really need to exercise?
If you seriously want to lose body fat then regular exercise is a must. Simply by being more active and exercising you will use more calories. This along with a healthy diet will help burn body fat. The key to exercise is to make sure you do an activity you enjoy. Despite the benefits many people find exercise too much like hard work and abandon it before making a serious commitment. There are many reasons for this. Most people who start exercise try to do too much too soon. If you haven't done any serious exercise for a long time then you need to ease into it gently. Any increase in activity, be it only 10 minutes per day is an improvement on what you were doing before. So start slow and build up.

If you fall into category 2, I don't need to tell you to eat healthy and take exercise because you are already doing it, which is great. However, if you are asking the question, 'What's the easiest way to lose weight?' I'm assuming that you are still holding on to a few excess pounds of fat. Getting rid of this is probably just a case of making small changes to your current diet and exercise routine. The last few pounds is always the most difficult to get rid of. This is really frustrating if you are spending hours per week in the gym and trying your best to eat healthily. Think about this statement. 'If you do what you have always done, you will always get what you've got!' Unfortunately, human beings are naturally creatures of habit. Most people I work with in this situation are doing the same or similar exercise routine they have always done and are eating the same diet and let's face it making the same mistakes. Your body is the master adapter and will very quickly adapt to what ever you throw at it. So the key here is to keep it guessing. Often just making small changes to your normal routine and diet will give great results for fat loss. Making changes will kick start your metabolism and help you to lose body fat.
In this situation, then counting calories is more relevant. It's necessary to know how many calories you can eat during the day. I often find that most people in this situation are eating a maintenance diet (enough calories to maintain weight) or too little calories, in which case their metabolism has hit rock bottom and their body is doing everything it can to hold on to that last little bit of fat.
First find out how many calories you need in a day. Then create a calorie deficit of about 500 from your maintenance allowance. Second, change your workout routine. If you have always done aerobic exercise, try adding some resistance training into your workout or vice versa. If you already do both, try some variations of other aerobic activities or resistance exercises.

We can learn a great deal about fat loss from body builders. Body builders are constantly tweaking and changing there work out routines and diet and are masters at reducing body fat when it is needed to do so. A great book that explains the principles and methods used by natural body builders to achieve such low body fat levels is call Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle by Tom Venuto.
Don't be put off by the title, the principles and methods used can be applied by anyone. Whether you are a beginner or seasoned pro, Toms book has helped thousands of everyday people achieve their fat loss goals.

10 Fitness Tips for October

1. Replace a coffee break with a brisk 10-minute walk. Ask a friend to go with you.

2.The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that training with weights (resistance training) can help patients fight disease if performed in a controlled and correct manner. A reasonable program of resistance exercises can help the heart to lower the risk factors related with heart disease.
Read more online at http://circres.ahajournals.org/

3.Some of the benefits of exercise for Asthma suffers
a.Builds muscular strength & endurance for respiratory muscles
b.Increases effectiveness in extracting oxygen therefore increasing the body’s work capability
c.De-sensitises the airways in relation to triggers, which results in less aggravations
d.Reduces reliance on medication

4.The recommended advice is 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day to remain healthy. Only 27% of the population are eating at least 3 portions.

5.Weight training could be the key to fat loss. A study at Ball State University in the US found that people who participated in a regular weight-training program (combined with aerobic exercise and diet) experienced weight loss due almost entirely of body fat. Where as people participating in purely aerobic exercise (and diet) experienced a weight loss due to a combination of lean muscle and body fat.

6.If your muscles cramp during exercise it could be that you are not properly hydrated. Make sure that you drink enough water before exercise and always have a drink on hand whilst working out. If you are doing long CV workouts it’s a good idea to have an isotonic sports drink to replace electrolytes lost during exercise.

7.Remember, if you are new to exercise or thinking of getting started, then start slowly and build up. Any exercise that is above and beyond your normal level of activity can be seen as a positive step, even if it’s only 10 minutes.

8.If you don’t relish the thought of joining a gym, then why not get started at home. Get yourself a set of dumbbells, a stability ball and an exercise mat and you get started right away. Do your aerobic exercise outside by walking, jogging or cycling. 30 minutes a day is all you need to get started.

9.People who want to get fit generally fall into 3 categories;
a.Improve quality of life or health
b.Improve physical appearance
c.Training for a specific activity
Which category do you fall into? It’s important for you to realise why you want to improve your fitness.

10.Green Tea helps to encourage the immune system to fight disease, but research shows that White Tea extract can actually destroy organisms that cause disease.

Walking for Fitness

Ask yourself this question, ‘Why do you want to get fit?’ There are so many advantages to improving your overall fitness it’s hard to think why anyone would not want to do it. When we refer to ‘fitness’ in general everyday terms we are normally talking about aerobic fitness, the fitness of our heart and lungs. Our heart is a muscle and like any other muscle it will get stronger the more we exercise it. Our lungs will become more efficient by increasing the functional capacity.

If you are looking to start fitness then walking is a great way to get started.
Lets look at some facts & health benefits of walking for fitness.

· Walking at a brisk pace of 2 to 4 mph can burn between on average 200 to 400 calories per hour
· Walking is aerobic so it will exercise your heart
· Walking can be done almost anywhere and requires no specialist equipment in most circumstances
· Reduces the risk of serious diseases such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression and high cholesterol
· Reduction in body fat due to an increase in metabolic rate
· Enhanced sense of well-being
· Helps improve balance and co-ordination
· Helps to strengthen leg muscles and core abdominals for better posture

One of the best things about walking is that it is easy to fit around your current lifestyle without making any drastic changes. If you just allow yourself at little bit extra time each day you will be able to fit your walk in to your daily routine.

· Go for a 30 minute walk in your lunch break
· Park the car or get off the bus at 20 to 30 minute walking distance from your place of work
· Walk to the shops instead of driving
· Go out for walks at the weekend to local beauty spots and enjoy the fresh air

If you are going to start walking to improve your fitness, then it’s important to do it at an intensity that will benefit you. You need to walk at brisk pace so that increases your heart rate and breathing rate sufficiently for them to be getting exercise. If you are breathing harder than normal, you are getting slightly hot and sweaty, but you can hold a normal conversation in reasonable comfort then you are walking at the right intensity. This should be around 60% of your maximum heart rate, otherwise known as the ‘fat burning zone.’
To be getting any real fitness benefits from your walking then you should be walking at least once a day for ideally 30 to 45 minutes. To progress your fitness, try walking at different speeds. Increase the time and or the distance that you walk. Also, try walking on different terrains, such as hills and surfaces like the beach for example. You could also try interval training, by increasing and decreasing your pace throughout your walk. This will vary your heart and breathing rates adding an extra variable to your training. This also helps to reduce boredom. Adding these variables will help to increase your overall fitness by preventing your body adapting to the same routine. This keeps your body guessing and that’s the key to increasing fitness.
As with any physical activity, it’s highly important that you prepare correctly. Always warm up before you significantly increase the pace. You can warm up by walking at a gentle pace for the first 5 minutes and then perform some light stretching. The stretching might not be convenient on your walk to and from work or to the local shops, but the 5-minute warm up most definitely is. It’s also advisable to incorporate a 5-minute cool down at the end of the walk. This could be achieved by decreasing the pace during the last 5 minutes. Stretching thoroughly afterwards is very important to help maintain flexibility and prevent injury.
When going out for a long walk take into consideration your route, wear suitable clothing and footwear. Make sure you know where you are going and how long it’s going to take you. If you are going off road into the wilderness, take the necessary survival equipment, a map, food, drink and mobile phone and let someone know where you are going. Common sense really! Always take some water or a drink with you incase of de-hydration especially in hot weather. If you are going in rough terrain, such as the mountains, then it’s highly advisable to get some sturdy footwear like walking boots and correct all-weather clothing.
Whilst keeping fit is important, it’s also important to do something you enjoy doing. If you don’t enjoy walking then find something else you do like. The principles of getting fitter and keeping fit are the same no matter what activity you do. To keep yourself motivated follow this simple advice;
· Do something you enjoy
· Set yourself a goal so you know where you are heading
· Get a training partner
· Monitor your progress
· Join a club or group
· Set yourself a routine and stick with it
· Reward your success
· One you reached one goal, set another
· Variety is the spice of life, try something different
So now you have all you need to get started. Make a plan and just do it. Good luck.
The idea for this article was derived from ‘Tips on Walking’ at http://www.netfit.co.uk/walking-web.htm

Do we get enough exercise from our daily activities?

I was scanning the Internet the other day and I came across this really interesting article on a US health & fitness club site. 24 Hour Fitness is a large chain of health and fitness clubs that spread right across the US. If you are interested to have a look at other articles they have on the site you can visit them at
http://www.24hourfitness.com/FitnessArticles.do
What really interested me about the article is that it captures the state of the western world today and the fact that time saving devices are causing us to do little or no exercise in our daily routines. The situation is now the same in the UK as it is the US. Most of the population does little vigorous exercise at work or even during leisure time. Where as 30 or even 20 years ago, more people were doing physical jobs, fewer people had cars and there were less labour saving devices available, which meant that we had no option but to do more physical activity. Even our leisure time today is often spent in a sedentary way. People have more choice on the TV. Kids are playing football on a game console rather than kicking a ball around in the street.

Our overall fitness and health can be improved by including some low to moderate intensity activities into our lives on a daily basis. Everyday simple activities can have both short and long-term health benefits. Walking to the shops, mowing the lawn, climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Also, household chores, such as cleaning, ironing and vacuuming etc. All these activities help to raise your heart and breathing rate improving your heart and lung fitness.

However, you can achieve a greater level of aerobic fitness by introducing regular vigorous exercise activities like swimming, circuit training, brisk walking, running or cycling. Performed 3 to 4 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each session at a high enough intensity will make a considerable difference to your aerobic fitness. Doing activities like these on a regular basis will help to reduce the risk of serious illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and many others.

A statement in the article I particularly like is, “You don’t have to train like a marathon runner to become more physically fit! Any activity that gets you moving around, even if it’s just for a few minutes each day is better than none at all. The trick is to at least get started. Start by taking a 10 to 15 minute walk during your lunch break.”

This is so true. A lot of people today have a poor vision of exercise from PE lessons at high school. They think you have to train like Rocky to see any results. Exercise doesn’t have to be hard. It’s as hard as you make it and you have the ability to be the best you can be. It’s important to push yourself a little so you make the necessary progress. But let’s face it, if you do nothing at the moment that 15-minute walk at lunch is going to do you the world of good.

There are so many benefits to regular exercise. You will feel and look better. Exercise helps you to relax and cope with stress. It improves your self-image and helps you to make new friends. Exercise also helps weight loss by increasing your metabolism, so you burn more calories at rest. It builds and tones muscle, which improves, posture and will help you to cope better with day-to-day activities.

Did you know that you have to burn 3,500 calories to lose 1lb of body fat? Before you can seriously start to lose weight you have to know how many calories you burn in an average day, this is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and this is the amount of calories your body will use just to function normally. A good BMR calculator can be found at http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/. It doesn’t take into account any additional daily physical activity. A rough guide would be adding on another 25% of your BMR to get an idea of your daily caloric needs. For example, if your BMR is 1800 calories per day, then your approximate daily calorie needs would be around 2250. This is a very rough guide. It will vary by the amount of physical activity that you do. Some people will need more or less calories than others.
Each type of physical activity burns a number of calories. So for example, if you carry on eating the same number of calories per day, but add a brisk 30-minute walk everyday, by the end of the year potentially you could lose around 16lbs in weight. The more vigorous the activity the more calories you burn. But increasing the duration is often more efficient than increasing the intensity.
Combine an increase in activity with a healthy balanced reduction in calorie intake and you can achieve the results much sooner.

Take this into consideration; Consider the benefits of a well-conditioned heart: In 1 minute with 45 to 50 beats, the heart of a well-conditioned person pumps the same amount of blood as an inactive person's heart pumps in 70 to 75 beats. Compared to the well-conditioned heart, the average heart pumps up to 36,000 more times per day, 13 million more times per year.

Isn’t it worth getting fit?

If you want to read the full article on line click on the link below,
http://www.24hourfitness.com/FitnessArticles.do