The brain is the body's command center. This is true both from an unaware autonomic sense and from a conscious, willful sense. From that central place, instructions flow to our bodies to keep us functioning and to purposely move around in our environment.
Within the confines of our minds, we also have the ability to tell ourselves that something is possible or impossible. Sometimes things truly are impossible to do but other times our own thinking makes it that way.
I once tutored basic math to college students. When I encountered people who were having trouble understanding negative numbers I was surprised. Yet, if a person could balance a check book, they could understand negative numbers.
However, until the analogy was drawn, these people had difficulty actually performing calculations with negative numbers. What previously seemed impossible, gradually became possible. It was with expanding knowledge and experience that they were able to grow mathematically.
Isn't it much the same with almost everything else too? I bet you have plenty of examples of subjects or topics that seemed daunting at first until you began to learn more about them. After a certain point of gaining knowledge and experience some subjects probably became second nature to you. You may have even begun to wonder how other people, didn't 'get it'.
If you have ever had the pleasure of tutoring or teaching someone else, you catch a glimpse of the learning process from a second party viewpoint. It's a beautiful thing to watch someone learn and grow. It can also be rewarding to know that you had something to do with it.
Imagine that weight loss is much the same. Could it be that it is just a lack of experience and understanding that creates a barrier for you or someone you love?
What is the key to breaking down that barrier? Experience and knowledge is the answer. Study, read up on weight loss, and experiment with what works and what does not work. Over time, you will be able to wade through the confusion and find the results you are seeking. The only other ingredient is the will to keep going until you find the answer.
The first step is to get worthwhile information about what works and what does not work. Has there ever really been many subjects that could be completely covered from only one text book or point of view?
The question becomes, "who's information should I trust"? When you are just starting out on your quest to lose weight that can be a daunting inquiry.
May I suggest avoiding fad diets that begin with a fast for 'cleansing purposes'? These diets tend to violate long term and sound weight loss principles for the sake of short term results. This is different from caloric restriction. Caloric restriction has its place, but you can restrict calories and still eat.
The idea of cleansing or detox does have a place, but it is not for long term, more permanent weight loss results. It can get you short term results though. Who wants to fast every time he wants to shed a few pounds?
Determination, motivation and ever expanding knowledge may be the ticket to getting you to your weight loss goals. The good news is that you know it is physically possible to lose weight in most cases because others have done it. That leaves the final factor to be solved within the space between one's own ears. You can do it, just go for it!
This article is for information purposes only and is not intended to provide advice. Consult with your physician before dieting or taking up exercise.
Grab Your $9 Simple [http://www.weightlosssimpleplan.com]Weight Loss Guide or Your Free [http://www.weightlosssimpleplan.com/freereport]Weight Loss Report! David Snape is the author of: Weight Loss: A Simple Guide to Losing Weight and Keeping it Off!
Showing posts with label weightloss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weightloss. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
6 Essential Keys to Fat Loss Success
Essential Key One: You must change your mindset
You must think positive. If the only thoughts that go through your mind are about being fat or having to lose weight, your thoughts will transform into reality. You also have to set specific goals. You must write them down and review them everyday. You should envision yourself when you reach this goal living in the body of your dreams. The power of the mind is amazing. Use it to your advantage.
Each night, write down what actions you did over the course of the day that led you closer to your goal. Also, write down what actions you will do the next day that will help take you one step closer. Make sure you do this every night and review it again in the morning. After a few weeks you will have a complete lifestyle map that will let you know how you complied with your program and how it has helped you.
Essential Key Two: You must have a network of support
If you are to truly change your body, you will have to have people you love help you. It is very hard to accomplish your fat loss goals if the ones around you are pulling you in the wrong direction. Let everyone you currently spend large amounts of time with know that you have set a goal and you intend to reach it. When you are struggling, they will help.
If there are certain people in your life now that are not supportive, cut them loose. If you have expressed to them how important it is to reach your goal and they are still sabotaging your efforts, then they are not truly your friends.
Find some people close to you that have similar goals and interests. If you have questions, it is very important to have someone to turn to that has been in your situation. It is also very empowering to be able to help someone out when they are struggling and in need of help.
Essential Key Three: You must change your nutrition habits.
There are three things you will need to change in order to efficiently lose fat. If you change these things, you will melt fat like never before. You have to eat breakfast. I know this has been repeated over and over but it cannot be overstated. The first meal of the day replenishes nutrients used during your sleep as well as crank up your fat burning “furnace” for the rest of the day.
You will also need to eat more frequently throughout the day. The “3 squares a day” mantra is one of the worst things you can do to your body while trying to lose fat. Your energy levels will be very erratic and it will cause you to binge eat, thus ruining most of your hard fought efforts through 95% of the rest of your program.
You must balance fat, protein, starchy carbs and fibrous carbs. Your plate should be very colorful ensuring you are getting enough vitamins, minerals and fiber as well as protein and essential fats.
Essential Key Four: You must train with resistance
In order to efficiently burn fat you will need to increase or stabilize muscle mass. Muscle mass is what revs up your metabolism allowing you to burn calories while you are not in the gym. This can be achieved through resistance training. Your training will have to be intense and heavy. Stick with the basics: Squats, Pull-ups, Pushups and Hip extension movements. It does no good to lift lighter weights for more reps when you are trying to burn fat.
You should always train using circuits. Don’t do isolated body part training; it is a thing of the past. It is time consuming and frankly, circuit training is far superior. After you perform one exercise for a certain movement, you will do another exercise for a different movement. Both exercises should include movements which are opposite in function. You will find that you are working much harder yet spending much less time working out.
Resistance train every other day. If you are training correctly with circuits, you can elevate your metabolism for approximately 38 hours after training. Your day off will allow you to recover from your previous workout and you will train again before your metabolism drops to normal levels. This will ensure maximum fat loss.
Essential Key Five: You must do cardiovascular training
Cut down on the slow cardio sessions. Replace them with high intensity interval training. You can pick from cardio machines, running fast paced sprints, or multiple complex movements. Perform 15 to 60 seconds of very hard work followed by 45 to 90 seconds of rest. Repeat these intervals for 15 -25 minutes. 25 minutes is the absolute longest time for cardio training using intervals. If you can do longer periods than that, you are not working hard enough. Again, you will spend less time working and burn more calories as a result.
For more accelerated fat loss, you may supplement longer, slow paced cardio session a few times per week. Note that I said supplement. By no means should this be the staple of your fat loss program. It is meant only to burn a few extra calories on days you are resting.
The big picture becomes trying to burn more calories when you are not in the gym. If you are focusing all of your efforts on burning a large number of calories while you are working out in the gym, you might as well start paying rent. That is where you will need to live.
Essential Key Six: You must make the following keys a way of life
It is very hard to maintain a lean sculpted body once you achieve it. In order to ensure that your efforts are not wasted, you will need to make each of these keys a way of life. It is said to take 21 days to form a habit. The first three weeks are critical to your success.
To make these keys habits, you will have to do a lot of planning. You should always know what you are eating for the next day. Have your meals planned and prepared before it is time to eat. Also, for the first 3 weeks, schedule appointments for your workouts and always follow through with them. They will need to be the priority.
Don’t skip a meal; don’t skip a workout. Always take it one day at a time. Focus all of your efforts on your next meal and your next workout. String good days together, they become a week. String good weeks together, they become a month. Months become years and you are finally living the life of your dreams.
While these keys will ensure that your fat loss goals are met, they all have very specific requirements, which I will reveal deeper in later articles.
Trey Eckerman is a reknown fitness coach specializing in accelerated fat loss programs. He has written and supervised fat loss programs for numerous individuals ranging from former highly competitive athletes to previously sedentary beginners.
Trey Eckerman is a renown fitness coach specializing in accelerated fat loss programs. He has written and supervised fat loss programs for numerous individuals ranging from former highly competitive athletes to previously sedentary beginners. He is the owner of http://www.playitfitness.com a website that is geared to help people reach their fat loss and other fitness goals. He also owns Right at Home Fitness [http://www.rightathomefitness.com]http://www.rightathomefitness.com, a national fitness coaching company specializing in fitness programs in clients' homes.
You must think positive. If the only thoughts that go through your mind are about being fat or having to lose weight, your thoughts will transform into reality. You also have to set specific goals. You must write them down and review them everyday. You should envision yourself when you reach this goal living in the body of your dreams. The power of the mind is amazing. Use it to your advantage.
Each night, write down what actions you did over the course of the day that led you closer to your goal. Also, write down what actions you will do the next day that will help take you one step closer. Make sure you do this every night and review it again in the morning. After a few weeks you will have a complete lifestyle map that will let you know how you complied with your program and how it has helped you.
Essential Key Two: You must have a network of support
If you are to truly change your body, you will have to have people you love help you. It is very hard to accomplish your fat loss goals if the ones around you are pulling you in the wrong direction. Let everyone you currently spend large amounts of time with know that you have set a goal and you intend to reach it. When you are struggling, they will help.
If there are certain people in your life now that are not supportive, cut them loose. If you have expressed to them how important it is to reach your goal and they are still sabotaging your efforts, then they are not truly your friends.
Find some people close to you that have similar goals and interests. If you have questions, it is very important to have someone to turn to that has been in your situation. It is also very empowering to be able to help someone out when they are struggling and in need of help.
Essential Key Three: You must change your nutrition habits.
There are three things you will need to change in order to efficiently lose fat. If you change these things, you will melt fat like never before. You have to eat breakfast. I know this has been repeated over and over but it cannot be overstated. The first meal of the day replenishes nutrients used during your sleep as well as crank up your fat burning “furnace” for the rest of the day.
You will also need to eat more frequently throughout the day. The “3 squares a day” mantra is one of the worst things you can do to your body while trying to lose fat. Your energy levels will be very erratic and it will cause you to binge eat, thus ruining most of your hard fought efforts through 95% of the rest of your program.
You must balance fat, protein, starchy carbs and fibrous carbs. Your plate should be very colorful ensuring you are getting enough vitamins, minerals and fiber as well as protein and essential fats.
Essential Key Four: You must train with resistance
In order to efficiently burn fat you will need to increase or stabilize muscle mass. Muscle mass is what revs up your metabolism allowing you to burn calories while you are not in the gym. This can be achieved through resistance training. Your training will have to be intense and heavy. Stick with the basics: Squats, Pull-ups, Pushups and Hip extension movements. It does no good to lift lighter weights for more reps when you are trying to burn fat.
You should always train using circuits. Don’t do isolated body part training; it is a thing of the past. It is time consuming and frankly, circuit training is far superior. After you perform one exercise for a certain movement, you will do another exercise for a different movement. Both exercises should include movements which are opposite in function. You will find that you are working much harder yet spending much less time working out.
Resistance train every other day. If you are training correctly with circuits, you can elevate your metabolism for approximately 38 hours after training. Your day off will allow you to recover from your previous workout and you will train again before your metabolism drops to normal levels. This will ensure maximum fat loss.
Essential Key Five: You must do cardiovascular training
Cut down on the slow cardio sessions. Replace them with high intensity interval training. You can pick from cardio machines, running fast paced sprints, or multiple complex movements. Perform 15 to 60 seconds of very hard work followed by 45 to 90 seconds of rest. Repeat these intervals for 15 -25 minutes. 25 minutes is the absolute longest time for cardio training using intervals. If you can do longer periods than that, you are not working hard enough. Again, you will spend less time working and burn more calories as a result.
For more accelerated fat loss, you may supplement longer, slow paced cardio session a few times per week. Note that I said supplement. By no means should this be the staple of your fat loss program. It is meant only to burn a few extra calories on days you are resting.
The big picture becomes trying to burn more calories when you are not in the gym. If you are focusing all of your efforts on burning a large number of calories while you are working out in the gym, you might as well start paying rent. That is where you will need to live.
Essential Key Six: You must make the following keys a way of life
It is very hard to maintain a lean sculpted body once you achieve it. In order to ensure that your efforts are not wasted, you will need to make each of these keys a way of life. It is said to take 21 days to form a habit. The first three weeks are critical to your success.
To make these keys habits, you will have to do a lot of planning. You should always know what you are eating for the next day. Have your meals planned and prepared before it is time to eat. Also, for the first 3 weeks, schedule appointments for your workouts and always follow through with them. They will need to be the priority.
Don’t skip a meal; don’t skip a workout. Always take it one day at a time. Focus all of your efforts on your next meal and your next workout. String good days together, they become a week. String good weeks together, they become a month. Months become years and you are finally living the life of your dreams.
While these keys will ensure that your fat loss goals are met, they all have very specific requirements, which I will reveal deeper in later articles.
Trey Eckerman is a reknown fitness coach specializing in accelerated fat loss programs. He has written and supervised fat loss programs for numerous individuals ranging from former highly competitive athletes to previously sedentary beginners.
Trey Eckerman is a renown fitness coach specializing in accelerated fat loss programs. He has written and supervised fat loss programs for numerous individuals ranging from former highly competitive athletes to previously sedentary beginners. He is the owner of http://www.playitfitness.com a website that is geared to help people reach their fat loss and other fitness goals. He also owns Right at Home Fitness [http://www.rightathomefitness.com]http://www.rightathomefitness.com, a national fitness coaching company specializing in fitness programs in clients' homes.
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