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Weight Loss

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Weight Loss

If you’ve tried just about everything to get rid of that excess, unwanted body fat, and you’re still not happy with the results – Don’t give up!

Have you noticed that traditionally winter is the time of year that we tend to put on a few extra kilos, a little extra padding around the girth, generally the result of going into partial hibernation with a pack of Tim Tams and a video. Sounds nice and cosy, but think of the potential problems it causes us when we dust off the bathing suit in anticipation of warmer weather.

So let’s make a stand and implement a plan of attack so that we’re miles ahead when summer hits. And remember it doesn’t take long for that warm weather to creep up on us. So what exactly do we need to do in order to ensure that our exercise, diet, supplementation and ultimately our bodies are all in GREAT SHAPE?

Goal Setting

Setting a goal is an integral part to success. Creating a visual image is the first step. Next establish a target weight, or measurements that you wish to achieve.

This gives you a guide to monitor your progress. It’s difficult to remain motivated and achieve something if you cannot identify whether you are making progress and achieving results. Always write down your goals and decide on a date that you wish to achieve your goals by. Remember success in life can be attributed to setting a goal and then striving to achieve it!

Once you’ve created a mindset of exactly what it is that you want to get from your training, it’s important to establish a plan of action. By this I mean set out some guidelines for how you are going to achieve success. Utilizing a training diary to set out a training regime and monitoring results is an excellent way for maintaining motivation.

Another way to keep motivated and interested in training is to vary the routine. There are many ways this can be accomplished. So if you are struggling, then all you need to do is ask.

Anticipate Hurdles

The best way to prepare for any obstacle that may present itself and inhibit your ability to succeed is to plan ahead, and try to forecast any problems. If we’re heading into winter it can be more difficult to get outdoors to exercise in the cold weather.

Often this is due to a mindset that we create for ourselves by looking for excuses. Winter nights/or mornings, with the dew on the grass and the fresh air can be very invigorating. Buy yourself some gloves, a warm jacket and a beanie. Winter walks are fantastic as long as you’re properly equipped.


Create A Support Base

Another suggestion is to find a training partner, or train in a group. The responsibility of training with others will generate a necessity to meet at the gym, or make a designated walk/running time. A partner will provide good company, support and motivation to help you reach your goals.

Understand What Your Body’s Needs Are

It’s not too difficult to find countless numbers of books or magazines that have all sorts of fad diets and recipes. No wonder it can be confusing. Well, let’s get one thing straight. From here on we’re going to eliminate the word “diet” from our vocabulary.

Diet generally refers to a set eating plan over a specific period of time. This can be great to loose some weight for a period of time, but more often it leads to additional weight gain when the diet ceases. It’s ok to set time frames for incremental goals or target weights, but remember if you fall back into bad eating patterns you’ll end up back where you started. For example, when you reach your target weight, you need to reassess where you want to go after achieving that goal.

Let’s look at our goal again – a toned, healthy body and a new level of self-confidence, that we carry around with us permanently. For this to happen we need a healthy eating plan that we enjoy and one that is manageable in our lifestyle.

So rather than following someone else’s eating habits, isn’t it about time that you create your own food plan to achieve success using some simple principles that you understand?
Preferred Energy Sources For Your Body in order are

1. Carbohydrates
2. Fats
3. Protein

Give Your Body The Food It Needs To Perform At It’s Optimum

Your body’s requirements for food are not dissimilar to your car’s need for petrol. If you’re going for a drive in the country, the first thing you do is check the petrol gauge to ensure that you have sufficient petrol in the tank to get you to your destination. Now if you’re driving home after going to the supermarket and you’re putting the car in the garage for the evening, it doesn’t matter too much if the car is almost out of petrol.

If you’re going to undertake a strenuous exercise session, (like going for a drive in the country) you need to ensure that you provide your body with the necessary petrol before hand. In a nutshell, your body will not have adequate energy to perform at optimum levels during exercise sessions if you haven’t provided it with enough carbohydrates (the bodies number one preference for energy) to get you through your training.

Related Post: Petrol For Your Day’s Activities

Eat the Correct Foods at the Correct Times

Many people make the mistake of finishing their exercise session and then cooking a low fat pasta or risotto. This may seem ok, but it’s like putting the car in the garage with a full tank of petrol. The carbohydrates you consume late in the day or after training may not be utilized for energy before retiring, and will be stored as excess body fat.

Sit down for a second and think about what times during the day you are most active, and then consider what is the best time of the day for you to consume carbohydrates (energy foods). You should be aiming to go to bed in the evening with minimal carbohydrates in your system.  That way, they will not be converted to fat and stored due to your inactivity whilst sleeping.

If you’re denying your body of food and nutrients regularly, your body has a protective mechanism that slows your metabolism down in order to keep your body going until the next ‘fuel-up’.

Hardly what you want if you’re looking at kick-starting your metabolism to transform you into a fat-burning furnace! Don’t be afraid to eat – if you’re eating the right foods.

When you retire for the evening with a low level of carbohydrates, your body is forced to utilize fats as a secondary energy source. This means that while you are sleeping your body will be tapping into stored excess fat that we want to say goodbye to.

Remember carbohydrates are not your enemy. You simply need to have the right carbohydrates at the right time of the day.

Carbohydrates are essential to enable your body to achieve a high metabolic or fat burning rate. Our bodies possess protective mechanisms that cause your metabolism to slow down in starvation or low calorie periods and this is why you don’t keep weight off when you starve yourself in an attempt to ‘slim down’.

By following a structured eating and training program like this, you are fueling your body with the correct nutrients at the correct times of the day. Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. It is important to fuel your body for sustained energy throughout the day and allow yourself to train with an increased intensity for peak performance. Carbohydrate levels should taper off towards the end of the day to minimize the prospects of excess carbohydrates being converted and stored as fat tissue when you retire for the evening.

Don’t be afraid to eat – if you’re eating the “right” foods.

With today’s average diet, you cannot be assured that you’re getting all the necessary nutrients, let alone in the required amounts. In a perfect world it would be nice to think that our daily diet provides us with all the necessary nutrients, but in actual fact, the widespread use of pesticides and hormones in modern agriculture and the way foods are processed, can seriously decrease the nutritional content.

Active people have a higher demand for various nutrients and quantities of these nutrients, compared to non-active people. Even if you ‘assume’ your daily diet provides sufficient amounts to meet the recommended daily intake (RDI), that amount may still not be enough. People who exercise regularly often need to exceed the RDI for the various nutrients. Knowing all of this and knowing that the modern diet cannot guarantee you’ll get everything you need, supplementation is an excellent way to fine tune your nutrition without the need to eat large amounts of food and extra calories.

Adequate protein intake is essential following training to promote muscle repair, maintenance and recovery. Without an adequate and constant supply of protein to the muscles you will restrict your recuperative abilities and ultimately your training results.

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