Visalia Times Delta Get Fit Column on May 26, 2008
A Few Easy Changes Can Make Fitness a Part of Your Life
Summer is quickly approaching, time to get that body summertime ready. We have all herd that motivational (or shall I say marketing) line around this time of year. A lot of us make getting in shape or losing weight a summer time goal or a new year’s resolution. There is nothing wrong with motivation for weight loss, but the key to fitness is to embrace a healthy lifestyle all year round. Most of us never make the quest for a healthy, fit body a part of our daily lives. Instead it is just a passing fad that keeps us motivated for a short period of time. Here are seven sure fire tips to help you lose weight and get fit with minimal effort, and you won’t have to turn into a fitness enthusiast either.
1. Take a brisk 15-30 minute walk 3-5 days a week you will burn an extra 100-250 calories a walk. If you keep yourself in a negative calorie ratio meaning you burn more calories then you consume, assuming you are only walking you should lose a pound every week.
2. Go for a Hike in the sequoias, enjoy the great outdoors, it’s only and hour away. You will burn and extra 200-400 calories, and have a great time.
3. Stop drinking regular soda. A regular cola has 143 calories, instead swap out all beverages with extra calories, and only drink calorie free drinks. I.E. water, crystal light, and tea.
4. Eat breakfast it has been proven in recent studies that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gets your metabolism going, and supports digestive function.
5. Stop dieting! Instead start by cutting your portion sizes in half. If you are watching what you eat and cutting down on your calorie intake give yourself one cheat day to eat what you have been depriving yourself of, in moderation. This serves two benefits one is most of us have great will power for about 6 days before we go of the deep end, and two spiking your calories for one day keeps your metabolism guessing and restarts your fat burning when you cut your calories back again.
6. Start resistance training a minimum of two days a week. This will increase your lean muscle mass, and help you to burn more calories in a resting state. You will burn an estimated 30-50 calories per pound of muscle.
7. Find something you enjoy doing, and do it often. It could be golf if you walk the course, tennis, walking the dog, playing basketball, or playing tag with your kids, the possibilities are endless.
There you have it seven tips to get into great shape with minimal effort. Getting into great shape and keeping your results requires a life change. Take these seven tips and start applying them to your life today, end the vicious cycle of starting a fitness program and quitting or losing weight and gaining it back. Most of us know how to gain weight and lose weight, but we do not know how to maintain our ideal weight. The only way to do this is to make health and fitness a daily part of our lives, don’t make looking and feeling good be a passing fad. Even if you just apply two or three of these tips for starters you will notice a huge difference in the way that you look and feel.
Written by Andy Salazar, owner of Empower Fitness Training in Visalia, CA
For Additional Information about the services of Empower Fitness Training visit. www.empowerfitnesstraining.com
