It so happens that we all enjoy seeing results of our work as soon as possible. The work we do in order to lose is no different. We want to see some kind of progress shortly after we start working out and maintaining healthy diet. The good news is that there is a simple, reliable way to see the results of your work relatively quickly - get a digital weight scale. A quality digital scale will show you your weight loss progress in precise measurement of 1 or 1/2 a pound.
Thus, if you weight yourself, lets say, once per week, seeing a drop of 1/2 - 1 pound per week will be a very encouraging news for you and it will further motivate you to work harder and stick with your routine.
I do not like endorsing particular brands, but when it comes to scales, quality matters and Tanita make excellent, precision digital scales. Get one and start monitoring your progress weekly, records your measurements and watch how you drop those pounds of fat.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Your Biggest Weight Loss Enemy
What do you think is the most vicious enemy of losing excess weight for most people? Is it your local McDonald's or a donut shop? Perhaps these venues make people indulge into the guilty culinary pleasures more often than they otherwise would, but... are fast food restaurants really responsible for people's excess weight? Hardly!
There is another, much greater and a much more fundamental cause for gaining weight. Are you ready to hear what it is? - it's BOREDOM.
Boredom is often mentioned as a cause of many problems including depression, anxiety or simply a bad mood. However, boredom is rarely discussed as a leading cause of obesity, but it clearly is.
The main reason that people of all ages and walks of life overeat is because they find themselves too often and for periods of time that are too long without being engaged in an interesting, social activity outside of their home that will keep their mind and their body away from food. Browsing internet, watching TV, playing video games and reading a book are all fun activities, but whenever we engage into any of those "from the comfort of your own home" hobbies, we tend to make many roundtrips to our fridge or even worse - to the snack bar in our kitchen. It so happened that it's more fun to browse our favorite sites or to watch a movie while eating popcorn or chips and consuming thousands of empty calories without even noticing it.
Thus, if you are serious about losing excess weight and maintaining a healthy body size, you absolutely must, must, must get involved in one or more social activities during your free time. Make it fun, make it something different - enroll in a dancing class, take a martial arts course, take a class at a local community college in something you have been interested in for a while but didn't have the opportunity to learn before, volunteer at a local hospital a few hours a week, or join a running / rock climbing / walking club. You would be surprised at the extent of the positive changes that including just one extra social activity will have in your life. It is likely to make you feel much better about yourself and help you raise your self esteem by allowing you to learn a skill which you can be proud of. Being part of a social / sports group will also bring new social / professional networking opportunities that would not have been available to you otherwise. Finally, being away from home and interacting with people will keep you away from being bored and your mind off of that bad stuff you would be binging on had you been home for all those hours.
There is another, much greater and a much more fundamental cause for gaining weight. Are you ready to hear what it is? - it's BOREDOM.
Boredom is often mentioned as a cause of many problems including depression, anxiety or simply a bad mood. However, boredom is rarely discussed as a leading cause of obesity, but it clearly is.
The main reason that people of all ages and walks of life overeat is because they find themselves too often and for periods of time that are too long without being engaged in an interesting, social activity outside of their home that will keep their mind and their body away from food. Browsing internet, watching TV, playing video games and reading a book are all fun activities, but whenever we engage into any of those "from the comfort of your own home" hobbies, we tend to make many roundtrips to our fridge or even worse - to the snack bar in our kitchen. It so happened that it's more fun to browse our favorite sites or to watch a movie while eating popcorn or chips and consuming thousands of empty calories without even noticing it.
Thus, if you are serious about losing excess weight and maintaining a healthy body size, you absolutely must, must, must get involved in one or more social activities during your free time. Make it fun, make it something different - enroll in a dancing class, take a martial arts course, take a class at a local community college in something you have been interested in for a while but didn't have the opportunity to learn before, volunteer at a local hospital a few hours a week, or join a running / rock climbing / walking club. You would be surprised at the extent of the positive changes that including just one extra social activity will have in your life. It is likely to make you feel much better about yourself and help you raise your self esteem by allowing you to learn a skill which you can be proud of. Being part of a social / sports group will also bring new social / professional networking opportunities that would not have been available to you otherwise. Finally, being away from home and interacting with people will keep you away from being bored and your mind off of that bad stuff you would be binging on had you been home for all those hours.
The best exercise for losing weight!
Both, scientific research and my extensive observation and study prove beyond any doubt that the best kind of exercises, which consistently makes people lose weight faster and more effectively, combines a simultaneous intensive cardio work-out and intensive resistance training which involves a large group of different body parts. This kind of combination of physical activities causes that essential all-encompassing stress on a body that makes your metabolism skyrocket not only during the time you work out but for hours or even for days later.
Although all forms of exercise contribute to increased metabolism and burning fat, the most common exercise - light jogging and lifting weights - are the most ineffective ways of losing weight because they are lacking the above essential elements of an effective weight loss work-out: they are lacking the "all encompassing intensity" - the activity that will put physical stress on different parts of the body simultaneously. Light jogging at a comfortable speed doesn't put serious stress on any part of human body. Simple weight lifting may put great stress but only on one set of muscles, and thus - the essential "all encompassing" part of the work-out is compromised.
One, incredibly effective exercise for weight loss that proves to bring amazing results over and over is climbing stairs. And by "stairs" I surely don't mean that little machine that moves underneath your feet at a gym; I am talking about real stairs - a long set of stairs and much preferrably outdoor stairs. Climbing / running upstairs is a great exercise because it is both a very intense cardio work-out and it also engages several of your major muscle groups - legs, lower back and upper back.
If you want to lose weight and you are serious about achieving your goal, I suggest that you explore your locality, drive around and find a hill or some kind of elevated landmark which has a stair access. The longer the set of stairs is the better.
A 20-minute intense stair skipping in the morning before work / school that can be done in sets of five minutes with 1-2 minutes rest will jump start your metabolism and will raise it to levels that very few other exercises can. As you get in a better shape, you can challenge yourself in all kinds of ways by using that same set of stairs. You got try reaching the top faster, or making your breaks between the sets shorter, or you could make it hard to go up by carrying a backpack or a set of dumbbells in your hands as you go up which will engage yet another group of your muscles and will make your work-out even more intense.
There are two huge advantages to this exercise:
First, it's much more fun to go up the stairs in a nice area outdoors, enjoy fresh air, and see all the different things around you than being stuck at a stuffy gym and pumping steel or stairs while standing in one place and impatiently waiting until it's time to go. And if you enjoy your work out more, you are likely to do it for longer and thus achieve better results.
Secondly, it's hard to find a more intense exercise that would combine both - muscle work and cardio work and that will be as effective when it comes to raising metabolism and burning fat as climing stairs.
So, go - drive around and find one or more stair routes and start using them tomorrow to your great benefit and let me know how it goes!
Arkady Itkin
Although all forms of exercise contribute to increased metabolism and burning fat, the most common exercise - light jogging and lifting weights - are the most ineffective ways of losing weight because they are lacking the above essential elements of an effective weight loss work-out: they are lacking the "all encompassing intensity" - the activity that will put physical stress on different parts of the body simultaneously. Light jogging at a comfortable speed doesn't put serious stress on any part of human body. Simple weight lifting may put great stress but only on one set of muscles, and thus - the essential "all encompassing" part of the work-out is compromised.
One, incredibly effective exercise for weight loss that proves to bring amazing results over and over is climbing stairs. And by "stairs" I surely don't mean that little machine that moves underneath your feet at a gym; I am talking about real stairs - a long set of stairs and much preferrably outdoor stairs. Climbing / running upstairs is a great exercise because it is both a very intense cardio work-out and it also engages several of your major muscle groups - legs, lower back and upper back.
If you want to lose weight and you are serious about achieving your goal, I suggest that you explore your locality, drive around and find a hill or some kind of elevated landmark which has a stair access. The longer the set of stairs is the better.
A 20-minute intense stair skipping in the morning before work / school that can be done in sets of five minutes with 1-2 minutes rest will jump start your metabolism and will raise it to levels that very few other exercises can. As you get in a better shape, you can challenge yourself in all kinds of ways by using that same set of stairs. You got try reaching the top faster, or making your breaks between the sets shorter, or you could make it hard to go up by carrying a backpack or a set of dumbbells in your hands as you go up which will engage yet another group of your muscles and will make your work-out even more intense.
There are two huge advantages to this exercise:
First, it's much more fun to go up the stairs in a nice area outdoors, enjoy fresh air, and see all the different things around you than being stuck at a stuffy gym and pumping steel or stairs while standing in one place and impatiently waiting until it's time to go. And if you enjoy your work out more, you are likely to do it for longer and thus achieve better results.
Secondly, it's hard to find a more intense exercise that would combine both - muscle work and cardio work and that will be as effective when it comes to raising metabolism and burning fat as climing stairs.
So, go - drive around and find one or more stair routes and start using them tomorrow to your great benefit and let me know how it goes!
Arkady Itkin
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