Workout Techniques To Smash Through Any Plateau

Workout Techniques To Smash Through Any Plateau

Suffering from a weight loss plateau? If so, chances are you are mighty frustrated by this point – and possibly even considering giving up altogether.

But, before you do, it’s vital that you think about a few of the simple yet highly effective things that you could be doing instead to get through this plateau and back onto greater success.

There’s no sense tossing away all the hard work you’ve put in when by making a few adjustments, you can accelerate your progress forward.

Let’s have a quick peak at a few of the top workout techniques that you should try out if you’re stuck in that dreaded weight loss plateau.

Introduce Interval Training

The first and probably most effective way to bust through a plateau is to introduce interval training. If you’ve been slugging it out on the treadmill, bike, or elliptical, doing moderate paced sessions for what seems like hours on end, this has got to change.

These types of workouts are just not going to produce the high level of results you’re after so really should be avoided in the first place.

Instead, try out interval training. Substitute periods of very high intensity work with periods of lower intense workout for 30-60 second intervals. Repeat this 6-10 times and add a five minute warm up and cool-down.

Do that two to three times per week and watch your results soar.

Change Weight Lifting Formats

Next, also consider changing around your strength training program. If you’ve been using free weights for quite some time, think about switching it up and using weight machines instead.

Or, try kettlebell training.

There are so many different ways that you can go about putting together a strength and conditioning program for yourself, so there’s no reason to ever allow your body to adapt.

Even just changing some of the exercises you’re doing around can be enough to totally renew the program and get you seeing faster results.

Take A Week Off

Finally, last but not least, consider taking a week off your workout program. As odd as it may seem, sometimes rest is the key.

If you’ve been pushing hard for a very long time, chances are your body is quite exhausted and could use the break. Give it some rest and as soon as you come back and start training again, don’t be surprised if results start moving along far more quickly.

Plus, this will also help to re-energize your mind and help enhance your motivational level as well, both of which can be excellent for keeping you going with your program.

The important thing to remember about busting through a plateau is to avoid getting too frustrated and instead to think rationally. Try making a few changes here and there and see what results come about.

Usually all it takes is just one or two small adjustments and you’ll be back on track again, seeing great results.  

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Why You Should Toss Your Scale Today

Why You Should Toss Your Scale Today

If you’re on the quest for successful fat loss, one of the best things that you could do right now, contrary to what most people believe, is chuck your scale.

“But how will you know if you’re progressing?” you might think.  The truth of the matter is that there is really no reason to have a body weight scale in your house.

Let’s go over why this is and present you with some smarter strategies for faster success.

The Problem With The Scale

The big issue that occurs with the scale is the fact that the scale will not account for fat or muscle mass lost, or will it take into account you gaining water.

If you eat a high salt meal the night before, it’s highly likely and probably that you could be two to three pounds heavier the next day.

Did you gain body fat?

Definitely not.

Your body is just retaining water from the extra sodium you took in.  Most people don’t realize this, thus it instantly causes disappointment and frustration to set in, which then may lead them to pack their diet in entirely.

Additionally, if you’ve been working out hard and gain lean muscle tissue, this could make your scale weight go up, which you would then view as a negative thing. But really, it’s a very positive thing.

More lean muscle mass means a firmer, fitter body, plus a higher metabolic rate. It’s really a win-win, yet few people would celebrate the scale going up.

The Better Approaches

So what’s the better approach? How can you measure your progress if you aren’t using a body weight scale?

The first great strategy is to simply use the mirror. Let the mirror be your guide.

Do you look leaner? Look more defined? Can you see your waist size decreasing? If so, these are all great indications of progress.  Chances are, you will be moving in the right direction.

In addition to this, you might also consider getting your body fat test taken. This is the true way to measure your progress as your body fat will represent how much actual body fat you have on your body – which is what you want to decrease.

It gives the complete picture of what’s going on so that you know that your body fat is in fact changing.

Finally, the last method to use is the clothes trick. If you’re losing body fat, chances are your clothes will fit looser, even if you are gaining muscle mass since muscle tissue is such dense tissue altogether.

If you are now fitting into jeans you never used to, this is a very good sign and you should keep on doing what you’re doing because you’re on path to success.

So there you have the main things to consider about the scale. It really doesn’t work in your favor in any way, so choose otherwise.  Use a different measurement and you’ll likely have more success because of it.  

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Why Weight Loss Plateaus Occur

Why Weight Loss Plateaus Occur

If you’re on a fat loss plan and have been doing your workouts religiously while following an intense diet program, you are likely hoping for nothing but the best of success.

So when you see your results start to slow down, you may seriously begin to wonder what’s up and get frustrated over the fact that you just don’t seem to be getting results.

What gives? You were making excellent progress and now you are hardly moving forward at all.

It’s frustrating to say the least.

If this is the situation at hand, you are definitely in what’s known as a weight loss plateau.

Let’s take a look at what weight loss plateaus are and why they occur.

What A Weight Loss Plateau Is

First let’s take a look at what a weight loss plateau is.  Simple stated, a weight loss plateau is any point in time when you’re following a reduced calorie diet program and workout where your weight loss comes to a halt.

Basically, just as the situation described, what you were doing was working but now it’s not. It might almost feel like your body is trying to fight you.

Often, you’ll be miserable, you’ll be hungry, and you’ll be so irritated that your friends and family may not want to be around you.

You are not a happy dieter – that is for sure.

Why Weight Loss Plateaus Occur

So what causes a weight loss plateau to occur in the first place? Understanding this can give you insight so you know how to resolve it.

The primary reason why weight loss plateaus occur is because your body begins to adapt. Your body does not want to be on a diet plan.  In fact, your body loves excess body fat – to it, it means that should a famine occur, you have plenty of resources to stay alive.  It’s not exactly willing to part with your body fat tissue.

But yet, here you are, giving it less food than it wants and basically forcing it to starve. As such, it takes measures against you.

It’s going to cause your metabolism to slow down so now you’re burning fewer calories each day. Since you’re consuming fewer calories, it tries to match this consumption so no further weight loss will occur.

When this happens, that’s when you reach the weight loss plateau. Now you’re hardly eating any food and your body weight is staying constant. Your body has now adapted.

So to bust through the plateau, you’re going to have to shock your body with something new so that its’ no longer adapted. When you do that, that’s when you’ll finally be able to start seeing results again.

There are ways to do this on both the diet as well as the workout front, so it must be a comprehensive approach when really trying to tear through that plateau in record time.

So there you have the main factors to know about a weight loss plateau. As frustrating as they may be, you can get out of them if you use smart strategies and a sound approach.  

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Why Stretching Is Important For Workout Success

Why Stretching Is Important For Workout Success

If there’s one thing that many people neglect when it comes to their workout plan, stretching is it.  They devote a high amount of time and energy to performing their cardio and resistance training, but as soon as that’s finished, they’re getting out of the gym as quickly as possible – they have a life to lead!

But, if you’re skipping the stretching component of the workout, you’re really missing out on a number of key benefits that it provides.

Let’s take a quick peak at the main reasons why stretching is so important to workout success.

It Enhances Your Range Of Motion

The very first reason why stretching is a must is because it’s going to help to enhance your range of motion so that you can move throughout your exercises better.  If you want to see the full benefits that any exercise has to offer, it’s important that you work the muscles through the full movement pattern.

It would be like performing a squat but only going partially the way down.  If you really want to see maximum benefits, you must go as low as possible as this is when the glutes will really be called into play.

If you’re very inflexible though, this will be next to impossible therefore you won’t see the benefits you could be.

We do tend to lose range of motion with age, so if you aren’t stretching, it’s only going to get worse from here on in.

It Keeps You Injury Free

The next important reason to add stretching to your routine is because it keeps you injury free.  If you’re not stretching after a workout, your muscles are going to be tight and tense and any force that acts upon them could end up pulling or straining a ligament.

Those who are more flexible often find they do suffer injuries a lot less frequently as they are quite limber and able to accommodate to forces acting on them.

An injury will quickly sideline you from all workouts and really hinder your progress – in fact, it’ll put a temporary stop to all progress entirely.

It Reduces Post-Workout Muscle Soreness

Finally, the last reason why you must be sure to add some stretching to your routine is because it will help to control post-workout muscle soreness.

Stretching is going to help remove the lactic acid build-up from the muscle tissues that’s responsible for that high level of pain and discomfort you often experience the next morning when getting out of bed, so by stretching at the end of the session, you can curtail this.

Stretching will allow the muscle fibers to relax and lengthen so that you don’t feel quite so tense and sore later on.

So as you can see, stretching is really a must-do for success.  It only takes ten minutes total at the end of your workout but this is some of the best ten minutes you could spend if you want to see success.  Get in the habit of doing it now and you’ll never think twice about skipping it again.  

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What To Look For In A Workout Buddy

What To Look For In A Workout Buddy

As you get geared up to start your workout routine, one thing that you must do is take into account the benefits of having a workout partner.  Having someone there alongside you is great for motivational purposes and will also help to keep you on track and using the right form.

Workout buddies are a very powerful way to stay committed so if your motivation often lags behind and that’s why you fall off your program, you’ll definitely want to get yourself one.

But, as you go about the search for a workout buddy, it’s important that you keep a few things in mind so you can make sure that you and that workout buddy are a good match.

Just like dating, you don’t want to be workout buddies with someone who isn’t right for you.  Let’s look at what you want to know.

Assess Your Skill Level

The very first thing to look at is the skill level of you and your potential workout buddy.  While it’s highly motivating to workout with someone more fit and in better shape than you, it may not be quite as rewarding on their end.

Likewise, if you’re much more advanced than the person you have in mind, you may find that you start to get frustrated during the session as you want to advance quicker than they’re able to.

The best case scenario is that you’re at the same skill level, and then obviously working towards the same goal.

It’s going to be best if both of you are focused on fat loss as then your workouts will be very similar already.

Determine Common Workout Time Preferences

The second thing that you absolutely must do is confirm that you are able to get together at a time that works for both of you.

If your potential partner likes to workout when the sun rises and you can hardly crawl out of bed without a cup of coffee at your side, there may be trouble ahead.

If you’re going to have a workout buddy, you must make sure that the workout buddy is going to show up on time for each of your workouts.  Otherwise you’ll just get doubly frustrated as they’re not present and it feels like too much work to even schedule a session in.

Check For Personality Match

Assessing for a good personality match is important as well.  Are you someone who likes to push really hard during your workouts, moving quickly from set to set with little to no rest?

Or do you prefer to take your time and go at it using a slower pace so you can socialize and enjoy the process?

If you’re someone who likes the fast paced, down-to-business style of workouts and you pair up with a workout buddy who wants to chat between sets, you will be beyond frustrated in no time.

Your workout styles must match each other or one person is never going to feel fulfilled from your sessions together.  This is also going to play a key role in the type of program you choose as well as those intense personalities tend to gravity to more intensive programs, so it will determine whether you’re even using a similar workout approach also.

So there you have the key things to note about choosing a workout buddy.  When chosen correctly, this will definitely have a good impact on your success and allow you to stick with that workout long-term. 

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Top Diet Trends To Jump On This Year

Top Diet Trends To Jump On This Year

With the New Year now underway, many of you may be looking at little things that you can do to improve the nutrition of your diet.  Constantly staying on the lookout for the latest research regarding what works and what doesn’t when it comes to your diet is important if you hope to see success.

Recently a study put out by Pollock Communications listed a few key points that you should keep in mind. If you can start to incorporate these into your very own diet program, you should see progress coming your way.

Think Green

The first trend is to think all natural. The more natural you can make your diet, the better says dieticians of this research group.  Much focus in today’s world will be placed on eating foods that come in their completely natural state while turning away from all the processed foods that line the supermarket shelves.

Use Herbs More Often

The second trend that you’ll see being mentioned more often in 2012 is using spices to add flavor to your foods rather than condiments and sauces.  Many spices have their own unique benefits as well, so this further adds to the benefits you’ll receive from having them in your diet plan.

Just be on the lookout for high-sodium spices and make sure that you stay away from this variety.

Focus On Micronutrients

Micronutrients will be another large focus for many people moving into the coming year.  Rather than strictly looking at how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats you’re consuming, more people will be looking at fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

More awareness is being raised about just how important these nutrients are to form a healthy diet so people are starting to make sure that their diet doesn’t have any weak spots where nutritional density is low.

Seasonal Produce Is Big

More focus is also going to be placed on all the seasonal fruits and vegetables that you can buy.  Far too many people are getting in the habit of consuming the same foods day in and day out and this is having a very negative impact on their nutritional standing.

Start experimenting with new options when you see them at the supermarket.

Use MyPlate As A Guide

The old food guide is now being replaced by a new guide – the MyPlate guide, which has a brand new set-up to consider for your food consumption.  With this set-up, you’ll be having half your plate divided between protein sand grains, with the other half consisting of vegetables and fruits.  Dairy will be a small serving on the side to add extra protein and calcium.

This much smaller dedication to grain products is going to help to combat diabetes along with many other negative health conditions associated with a very large carb intake.

So there you have the primary points to consider as you move into 2012. Follow these and you can feel confident your diet will be better because of them. 

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Tips To Avoid Burnout

Tips To Avoid Burnout

As you move along with your weight loss diet plan, one of the most frustrating things that you might come to experience at times is burnout.  You’ve been following the plan, eating your scheduled meals as you should and frankly, you’re sick and tired of it.

You want a break.  You want to finally give in to your cravings and experiment with new foods that you haven’t tried before.  You want dessert!

What do you do when you’re at a point of burnout and uncertain if you’re going to be able to continue?  By using the following helpful tips, you can combat burnout head on so that you can stick with your diet and carry on to see the success that you’re after.

Let’s look at what you should know.

Re-Evaluate Your Approach

First things first, in some cases the cause of burnout is simply because the plan isn’t structured properly.  Are you taking in sufficient calories? Are your carbs too low that you have energy lows at all times?

A poorly planned diet will lead to burnout because you’ll feel miserable on it.  If this is the case and you’re experiencing burnout after a very short time following the diet, you should assess to see if these factors could in fact be coming into play.

If they are, it may be time to try an alternate approach.

Incorporate New Healthy Foods Into The Plan

The next thing to do to avoid burnout is to try and incorporate new foods into the plan that are healthy.  Who says you have to eat the same thing day in and day out? There are plenty of healthy recipes that you can use that will fulfill your diet and satisfy your taste buds.

Start experimenting.  Make it a ritual every Sunday night to prepare a new dish.  This will give you something to look forward to so the week doesn’t seem so dreary eating the same thing over and over.

Assess If A Cheat Meal Is In Order

Another factor to consider is actually giving in and having a cheat meal.  When planning properly, cheat meals can definitely be incorporated into a successful diet.  You really can eat foods you crave and continue to lose weight if you plan it wisely.

A single cheat meal could really mean the difference between sticking with your diet or not for many people, so factor this in.

Cheat meal provide much psychological relief as well, which is something you definitely need when facing burnout.

Remind Yourself Of Your Goals And The Benefits Of The Diet

Finally, the last way to beat burnout is to remind yourself of the benefits you’ll get from the diet.  Think back to how you really felt when you weren’t eating healthfully.  Chances are you didn’t feel that great.

Do you really want to go back to that? If you stop and think about it, you’ll realize you don’t and that can help propel you forward.

So there you have a few important points to keep in mind at all times.  Burnout is common so don’t feel like a failure if you’re experiencing it but instead, use a proactive strategy to overcome it.

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Sneaky Tricks To Outsmart Your Body And See Faster Success

Sneaky Tricks To Outsmart Your Body And See Faster Success

If you’ve been going about your workout and diet program for a while now, seeing so-so results, but wondering why you just aren’t getting that remarkable level of fat loss you crave, it may be time to do an assessment of your approach.

There are certain things that you can do as you go about your diet and workout that will really increase the chances that you see faster results, but that few people ever make use of.  If you aren’t taking all things into account, you could be missing out on small parts of the picture that will really have that dramatic influence on how you progress at the end of the day.

Let’s take a bit of time right now to go over some of the top sneaky tricks that you should be using to outsmart your body and see faster fat loss.

Add A Cheat Day

The very first thing that you can do to quickly outsmart your body is to add a cheat day into the mix. The reason this works is simply because of the fact that a cheat day will give your body the impression that it’s coming off your diet, thus it will speed up its daily calorie burn for the few days following.

This additional boost can often be enough to get fat loss moving along at a faster rate, so if you do this any time you feel like your progress is getting sluggish, then it may just save the day.

Just do be aware of sluggish progress and your desire to just eat the foods you want.  Don’t let yourself use the cheat day as an excuse, doing it far more often than you know you should.

Use More Than One Mode Of Exercise

Next, to change up things on the workout part of the equation and outsmart your body, make sure that you never do the same mode of exercise two days in a row.

For example, if you’re going to do a session on the treadmill one day, do a session on the elliptical the next.

Hitting the gym? Go to the pool the day after.

Adding more variety like this makes sure that your body is never going to adapt and instead, continually keeps responding day after day.

Diet In Two Week Stages

 Finally, in addition to tossing in the odd cheat meal here and there, consider using a two week diet plan. This is one of the best ways to outsmart your body because just as your body is getting used to the process of dieting, you come off the plan and give it a break.

This goes a long way towards preventing the adaptations that often take place when dieting, that could leave you head first into a plateau.

Diet for two weeks, and then take one week off. Repeat the cycle as many times as necessary until you reach your goal weight.

So there you have some quick and simple ways to outsmart your body. Use these and watch your success skyrocket.  

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How To Maintain A Healthy Relationship With Food While Dieting

How To Maintain A Healthy Relationship With Food While Dieting

If you’re on a fat loss diet plan, there may be a chance that you could come to ‘fear’ certain foods after so long.  You’ve been conditioned to know which foods are ‘good’ and which foods are ‘bad’ and do everything you can to stay away from the bad ones and only eat the good ones.

The big problem with this good and bad thinking however is that it forms a negative association in your mind regarding certain foods in the diet.  If you’re not careful, this could lead to eating disorders over time, which are very serious and could require extensive treatment to overcome.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the important things that you should remember that will help you maintain a more positive relationship with food while dieting.

Think In Terms Of Healthy Or Not Healthy

The very first thing that you should be doing to maintain a healthy relationship with food is think in terms of healthy or not healthy rather than good or bad.  This shifts the perspective and allows you to focus on the health benefits that certain foods provide, which is a much healthier association.

Try filling your diet with the most nutritious foods that you can, not because they are low in calories but because they will do the most for you from a nutritional point of view.

Plan For Cheat Meals

Next, another thing that you should be doing is planning some cheat meals into your program. Cheat meals are great because they give you psychological relief from strict diets and help you see that eating a food that’s ‘off’ your diet list won’t automatically make you gain all the fat you’ve lost right back.

This is key for maintaining that healthy relationship with food.  Cheat meals should be scheduled once every week or two for maximum benefits.  More frequently may not be a good idea as it could hinder progress, but making sure to get them in every so often is important.

Periodically Take Diet Breaks

Finally, the last thing to keep in mind is that you should periodically add some diet breaks as well.  This is key for helping you learn your new maintenance calorie intake so you don’t start thinking that you must maintain a very low calorie intake in order to succeed with keeping the weight off.

Often what occurs is that as you progress on the diet, your metabolism slows down so you start decreasing your calorie intake further to spark more fat loss, but over time, this leads to a very low calorie intake.

Before you know it you’re scared of eating more again for fear all the weight will come rushing back on.

Diet breaks will not only help to reset your metabolism but also teach you that you can eat more food and still maintain your body weight.

So there you have the most important things to note about maintaining a healthy relationship with food while dieting. For your psychological health, this is a must.  

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The Most Common Reasons People Gain Weight: Stop Making These Mistakes

The Most Common Reasons People Gain Weight: Stop Making These Mistakes

If you’re interested in experiencing fast fat loss, it’s vital that you come to learn some of the biggest mistakes that many people make as they go about their plan and often completely steer them right off track.

It’s easy to overlook the smallest of things that could in fact be having a big impact on your overall progress, so by discovering what you must watch out for, you’re one step ahead of the game.

Let’s have a look at the most common mistakes that cause weight gain in others, so you can be sure they don’t hinder your results.

Neglecting To Plan

The first and most important reason why people gain weight is because they simply don’t have a plan in place.  It’s an absolute must that you know precisely what you will be eating at every point in the day if you want to see the greatest success with this goal.

If you can come up with a plan and follow it, you know precisely how many calories you are taking in and can adjust this based on your real world results.

If you have no plan then you’re leaving weight loss up to chance.  If you don’t plan for meals away from home and bring appropriate food items with you, you’re counting on the fact that you’ll be able to find something healthy while out and about.

More often than not this is not the case.

Plan to succeed and you will.

Neglecting To Account ALL Calories

The second big problem is neglecting to factor all calories.  You know how it goes, ‘Oh, but I was standing when I ate that, so it doesn’t count’.

Yes, it does.  If you want to succeed with weight loss, everything will count.  Beverages included.  Don’t forget to tally up those 300-500 calorie smoothies or gourmet coffee that you down each day as well.

If you aren’t including these, you won’t see weight loss and will question why you aren’t moving forward. It’s due to the high intake of these beverages.

Neglecting To Factor In Individual Preferences

Another mistake to avoid is neglecting your individual preferences.  Try and avoid going on a diet that you hate. If you do this, you’re setting yourself up to fail from day one.

Yes, you will have to make some changes and may have to give up the junk food that you do enjoy, but if you can’t stand the thought of cutting out carbs or using a low fat diet plan, don’t.  There are plenty of diet approaches that can work well so you should easily be able to find one that you will enjoy.

Dieting really doesn’t have to be as torturous as so many people make it out to be if they just invest in some quality research finding the right plan for themselves.

Neglecting Physical Activity

Finally, last but not least, make sure that you don’t neglect physical activity.  It’s very important that you stay active all the time as this will help you maintain a higher metabolism and help to give you more freedom with your diet.

One mistake is thinking that only diet matters.  While it’s true that diet is the most important factor for losing weight, it’s the exercise that goes along with it that allows you to really change the way your body looks while you lose weight.

If you want a complete transformation, adding the workouts will be a must.

So there you have the top mistakes that some people make as they go about their weight loss journey.  Do you see yourself in any of these? 

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Making Smart Alcohol Choices

Making Smart Alcohol Choices

If you’re on a fat loss diet program, alcohol is something that you should be strictly limiting.  Not only is alcohol very calorie dense coming in at seven calories per gram, but it’s also going to put an immediate halt to all fat loss progress going on when you consume it.

Not to mention the fact that when you indulge in a few drinks your will power to stick with your diet will also go down, therefore it could cause you to start eating foods that you shouldn’t.

That said, not everyone can cut out drinking from time to time as it is something that’s heavily linked to normal socialization, so if you feel like drinking isn’t something that you can give the boot to, at the very least it’s helpful to know which drink choices you should be choosing.

Let’s have a look at the top considerations.

The Good

Straight Liquor With Seltzer Water

The very first choice that you should consider is one ounce of your favourite liquor with simple seltzer water or plain water.  This will contain only around 70 calories per drink, so is a much lighter option.

If you can alternate this with one glass of plain water, all the better.

White Wine

If wine is your thing, the good news is that this is also a relatively lower calorie choice as well.  Most wines range from 90-150 calories per glass depending on the variety, so if you keep your total number of glasses down, it doesn’t have to destroy your diet plan.

Like the above, it’s always a good idea to alternate one alcohol drink with one non.

Light Beer

Light beer is another choice that you may want to consider.  If you’re a big fan of beer but don’t like what it does to your weight, light beer is almost half the calories so will be much less devastating to your diet plan.

Light beer is also lower in total carbohydrates, so that’s definitely a plus as well.

The Bad

Creamy Liquors

Now we move on to the less than optimal choices.  Creamy liquors are one drink to beware of as they contain alcohol, fat, and sugar in one, so will really be a doozy as far as sticking with your diet is concerned.

Often these are mixed with milk as well, so while the milk is healthy, it will add extra calories.  Most creamy liquors will come in around 120 calories per ounce, so it will add up quickly.

Frozen Beverages

Frozen slushy beverages are also something to be very careful about. These can easily contain upwards of 400 calories once everything is added in and will do a real number on your waistline.

They contain far too much sugar as well, which will be very bad if you’re trying to prevent a hangover.  The combination of so much sugar plus alcohol entering the body is a sure-fire recipe for body fat gain.  The sugar will spike the insulin levels and since there is no carbohydrate oxidation taking place (as the body will be 100% focused on burning off the alcohol calories), this means that sugar will move right into body fat stores.

Cocktails

Finally, the last beverages to avoid are any fancy cocktail like drinks.  These also contain higher amounts of sugar and will often contain more than one different type of alcohol as well.

Most come in at around 300 calories or more, so will put a big dent in your diet if you have two or three that evening.

So be sure that you keep these points in mind if you do plan to drink on your diet.  Alcohol does tend to hinder your progress so you really must make a choice as to what is most important to you – weight loss success or indulging in your favourite drinks.  

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Maintenance Tips: Succeed With Keeping Weight Off

 

Maintenance Tips: Succeed With Keeping Weight Off

One of the most important things that you must do after you’ve finished your fat loss plan is move into successful maintenance.  Really, a diet is not successful unless it allows you to keep the weight off that you’ve lost for good.  Otherwise, you just found a temporary fix to a long-term problem.

Many people do often struggle with maintenance which is why they find themselves back in the diet seat shortly after they come off their diet plan.

Fortunately, with a few key tricks you can succeed with maintaining your new body and enjoy all the hard work that you put in.

Let’s have a quick peak at some of the top maintenance tips to remember.

Keep A Tight Weight Range

The very first thing that successful maintainers do is set a narrow weight range that they will allow themselves to fluctuate between.  For instance, if your goal weight is 125 pounds, you might only let yourself get up to 128 before you start taking action.

Remember, it’s far easier to shed 3 pounds of weight gained with a few simple diet modifications than it is to shed 20 that you’ve let yourself gain back.

As soon as you see yourself creeping upwards, take action and tighten up your diet or a week.  It’ll be gone in no time.

Diet During The Week

The second thing that you might consider to help you with maintenance is to maintain a lower calorie intake during the week.  What this does is creates a mini-calorie deficit that you can then use during the weekend when you are more social and the chances of you consuming more calories are greater.

Since most people do struggle with the weekends a lot more than weekdays, this gives you some leeway for going out to social functions or just treating yourself to something that you desire.

Maintain Your Exercise Levels

Another key thing for successful maintenance is making sure that you maintain your exercise levels.  Exercise is one of the biggest factors that will predict long-term weight maintenance so stick with that workout program.

This will help you maintain a higher metabolic rate overall to prevent fat gain and also help you maintain lean muscle mass, which naturally burns more calories all day long.

Indulge Once Per Day

Finally, if you decide that you do need to treat yourself on any given day, make sure that you limit yourself to just one treat per day. If you let yourself get too out of control and are treating here and there all day long, it will add up to weight gain.

If you’re craving chocolate, have a small piece, enjoy it, and then put the box away.  A 100 calorie treat really won’t have much influence on your weight but six or seven of them will.  Remember that and you’ll keep yourself in check.

So there you have the top things to note for successful maintenance.  If you work hard at it and make sure you keep yourself accountable, you can maintain your new body for years to come. 

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How Weight Loss Hypnosis Assists Fat Loss

How Weight Loss Hypnosis Assists Fat Loss

If you’re someone who is really struggling with your diet plan and just can’t seem to see the results you’re after, one thing that you may be considering trying is weight loss hypnosis. You may have heard many great things about this from others and now be wondering if perhaps it could be the thing that helps you get through your dietary hurdles.

So what’s the truth about weight loss hypnosis?

Can it really help you lose weight?

By understanding how this works in the first place, you can get a better grasp on the answer to this question.

Fixing Bad Behaviors

The first way that weight loss hypnosis can potentially help you is by allowing you to rid some of the bad behaviors you’re doing that are causing you to become overweight.

For example, if you are a big night time eater and this is what’s causing the bulk of your weight gain, hypnosis may be able to get you to stop this night time eating, resolving the situation.

If you aren’t taking in all those excess calories in the evening hours, this may make it incredibly easy to stay the course on your diet.

Learning Proper Behaviors

Secondly, another great way in which weight loss hypnosis will help you out is that it will help you learn better behaviors as well. For example, if you absolutely dislike exercising right now, hypnosis may help you reshape your believes and make it a more favorable experience. If you then go on to do regular workout sessions because of this, that will obviously make it easier to see the weight loss results that you desire.

Likewise, with food intake, it can help you learn to like certain foods over others (healthier choices over unhealthy for instance), making it easier to stay on track with your diet plan.

Gaining Self Esteem

Finally, the last way that weight loss hypnosis may help you out and get you seeing faster fat loss success is that it may help you increase your level of self-esteem and confidence in being able to do the program itself.

Some people tend to get into a funk where their self-confidence is very low and they just don’t believe that they have what it takes to lose weight.

When you believe this however, it almost becomes a sell fulfilling prophecy, so that in itself can hold you back.

When you believe that you can see the weight loss results you desire however, the opposite occurs. You’ll try harder and likely be met with more success, which then just means you move forward faster than you were before.

All in all, if you’re someone who is ready to still put in the time and effort to work hard towards your weight loss goals but who just needs a bit of help staying committed and breaking bad habits, then weight loss hypnosis will likely be a good way for you to increase your chances of success.  

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How To Deal With An Injury

How To Deal With An Injury

There’s no question that one of the most frustrating times is when you suffer an injury. You were highly motivated with your program, giving it your all each and every session and then out of nowhere, you become injured.

Now you’re sidelined, frustrated, and feel like all that hard work is flying right out the window.

How do you deal?

Fortunately, an injury doesn’t have to mean a terribly large set-back if you know how to approach it properly.

Let’s look at some key things that you should be doing now that you’re in this situation. Remember that prevention is always the best strategy so maintaining proper form during your workouts is a must. If you do that, you can avoid this situation altogether.

But since you’re here now, let’s look at what you should do.

Consider An Altered Workout

The very first thing that you should do is assess whether you may still be able to continue with portions of your workout that are unaffected by your injury.  For example, if it’s knee paint hat you’re experiencing, this doesn’t mean that you have to forgo your upper body workouts.

You should still try and get those in on a regular basis as this will help to keep your metabolism high and prevent muscle mass loss.

Try and make the most of what you can do and you’ll feel a lot less frustrated about the whole situation.

Increase Your Knowledge Base

If you are in fact going to be completely sidelined for whatever reason, then it’s time to turn your focus elsewhere.  To prevent getting too down about the scenario, use this time to enhance your knowledge base and learn some new workout facts to help you improve further.

Research up on the latest workout techniques and diet programs that you can implement in your routine to take your progress even further.

Knowledge is power when it comes to weight loss progress so use the downtime wisely.

Focus On Your Diet

Another important thing to do at this point is cut back on your diet plan slightly.  Since you won’t be hitting the gym as often, you won’t be burning off as many calories as you normally do.  To prevent weight gain from occurring, knock your calorie intake back by 200-400 per day according to how long and hard your workout sessions were.

Diet is really the most important factor for weight loss success anyway, so if you get this right then weight gain shouldn’t be a concern.

Perform Healing Activities

Finally, make sure to stay up on any exercises that you’ve been prescribed by physical therapists to get past this injury.  Some people get into such a slump that they don’t even want to do that, but if you want to make a speedy recovery, it’s really necessary.

Do whatever you are supposed to that will enable you to get back into the gym sooner so that you can start training hard again.

So there you have the important things to note about dealing with an injury. If you maintain a positive mindset through this then it really doesn’t have to impact you in a negative way and you can still progress further along the road to weight loss success.  

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Exercising While Detoxing: What You Need To Know

Exercising While Detoxing: What You Need To Know

If you’re gearing up to begin a detox diet plan, one thing that you do need to be careful and aware over is how much exercise you’re doing.  Exercising when you’re using a very low calorie intake is going to set you up for some problems as the body simply doesn’t have enough fuel to complete each session.

While you may be able to get through the first one or two days perfectly fine, after that, you’ll be facing some problems.

So what should you be doing with your exercise while on that detox diet approach? Let’s go over the most important things to remember.

Cut Back On Duration

The very first thing that you must do is make sure that you are watching the total duration of any sessions that you plan to perform.  Aim to limit your cardio workouts to just 20 minutes maximum and for the time being while on your detox diet, strength training should be kept low as well.

One set of each major lift so that you are hitting each muscle group in the body will be sufficient to retain lean muscle mass and make sure that you keep your strength where it needs to be.

Limit The Intensity

The second thing that you should be thinking about as you go about your workouts is that the intensity needs to be lower.  Don’t attempt interval training at this time.  It will simply be too much for your body to handle.

Instead, consider moderate, steady state cardio training.  While you may have heard in the past this is the most non-effective variety for fat loss to occur, it’s what you need to do right now. It’s all your body will be capable of handling at this point in time.

Consider Relaxation Focused Workouts

Finally, the last thing that you should be thinking about is the possibility of shifting your workouts away from the ‘everyday’ and instead using just strictly relaxation focused workout sessions.

This could include a lengthy stretching session, some yoga, pilates, or anything else that keeps your total intensity down and puts you in a relaxed frame of mind.

These forms of activities will still keep you active but won’t tax the body like an intense cardio or weight lifting workout would, which is precisely what you’re looking for right now.

So there you have the primary points to keep in mind regarding your workouts while detoxing.  If you are detoxing properly, you should only have to carry out the detox for about one week total before resuming a more standard diet plan, so even if you choose to take the week off exercise entirely, it’s really not going to have that large of a negative influence on your progress.

More importantly is that you focus on eating right and taking in as many fresh fruits and vegetable as possible during this time to really see the full effects of what the detox has to offer.  

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Dieting Over 50: Is There A Difference?

Dieting Over 50: Is There A Difference?

If you’re someone who’s beyond the age of 50 who is looking to lose some body fat, you might start to wonder if there should be a difference in the approach you use versus the approach of someone who is younger.

After all, your body is different now than when you were in your twenties, so it only stands to reason that you may need to use a different type of diet.

So what differences should someone over 50 take note of? What alternations will best help you see success?

Let’s go over the main things that you should know so that you can get right on track to progress.

Alterations To Your Calorie Intake

The very first thing that you will likely want to do is use a slightly lower calorie intake at this point in your life.  Now, there is the common saying that the metabolism naturally slows with age.  While this is true, it’s not for the reason many people believe.

The primary reason why your metabolism will decrease as you get older is because you’re losing lean muscle tissue.  If you’re someone who has been active for the last 20 years, then you likely don’t need to use a reduced calorie intake as you will have more lean muscle tissue.

If you haven’t been exercising though, then a slightly lower calorie diet is in order.  Try starting at around 10 or 11 calories per pound of body weight.

At this point in your life you may not be quite as physically active overall either as you were when you were younger, so that will also factor into your total daily calorie burn.

Accounting For Nutritional Deficiencies

Another adjustment that you should make is accounting for nutritional deficiencies.  Those who are older will want to really make sure that they are taking in enough calcium, iron, and B vitamins.

This will help ensure that they maintain strong bones and high energy levels.  In addition to that, make sure that you’re taking in a very high quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables daily on whatever diet you choose as these will help to protect against some of the common diseases that can develop as the years go on.

Adding Extra Protein

Finally, the last thing that you should adjust on your diet protocol is your protein intake.  Many older individuals are not getting enough protein total, so it’s important that you bump up your intake.

Additionally, since you aren’t quite as active as you were when you were younger, having more protein in the diet will help to further safeguard against lean muscle tissue loss, so will help to keep your metabolism higher long term.

Remember to add plenty of low fat dairy sources of protein in particular such as Greek yogurt, skim milk, and low-fat cottage cheese as these are both high in protein and high in calcium, so will really help you along your way.

So there you have everything that you need to know about dieting past 50.  While the general approach should still be quite similar, making these few additional changes would be well worth your while.  

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Diet Tricks To Beat A Weight Loss Plateau

Diet Tricks To Beat A Weight Loss Plateau

If you’re on a diet program and have recently noticed that the weight you were losing has seemed to have slowed and it seems like it’s been forever since you’ve shed a few pounds, it might be time to consider that you are stuck in a diet plateau.

Many people will face a diet plateau at some point or another as they do tend to be incredibly common along the weight loss journey. This is especially the case if you’ve been using a lower calorie diet for an extended period of time as the body will be fighting hard to help keep you from starving to death.

But, if you approach the plateau in the proper manner, you should be able to bust through it relatively easily and get back on track to maximum success.

Let’s go over a few of the smart diet tricks that you can use to bust through any plateau you face.

Zig-Zag Your Calorie Intake

The very first thing that you should do is zig-zag your calorie intake.  What this does is essentially tricks your body. At first it may have thought it caught on to you and slowed its metabolic rate down to the amount of food that you were eating.

But, if you then add a much higher calorie day into the mix, you confuse it. Now it’s getting more fuel, so it may start to speed up again to compensate for this.

Your body does try and maintain homeostasis as best as possible, so it will speed up and slow down with just three to five days of intense dieting.

By having some low and some high calorie days throughout the week, you never give it this consecutive period where receiving the same amount of fuel, day after day.

Eat More Variety

The second dietary strategy that you can use to bust through a plateau is to try and consume as much variety as you possibly can. Don’t gravitate to the same three foods over and over again.

Mix it up, as long as they stay healthy.

While this won’t have an incredibly huge impact on your progress, it still can make a difference and every little bit will add up.

Add A Two To Four Day Diet Break

Finally, if you’ve been dieting intensely for quite some time, it may just be time to consider a two to four day diet break.

Sometimes a one day high calorie day isn’t enough to get things kick-started again and you instead need to elevate calories and keep them there for a longer period of time.

A short break off your diet and eating at maintenance levels can be just the thing to get you out of the plateau and on track again.

So next time you feel like your progress is moving slower than it should, consider these strategies. Using them should get you moving forward again so that you don’t end up any more frustrated than you already are.  

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