Starting a Fat Loss Program? - Don't Try to Eat Fat Free

If you have decided to go on a fat loss program then there are some things you need to know about why fats are a requirement in your daily eating plan and how there going to spell success or failure in you meeting your goals.

There seems to be a myth out there that say's the first thing that you must avoid doing if you want to lose body fat is eating fat, well there is nothing further from the truth and it really makes me wonder where they could have come up with that type of nonsense if they really understood how the body works.

Assuming that we are going to keep our daily consumption at 30% or less of our total intake of calories at the end of the day, let's take a look at the type of fats available and determine how they work for the body and why they are so important for normal body functions.

All of the fats are equal when it comes to the amount of calories they contain in one gram, which is 9, but there is a difference in how each affects the body and your health. The body needs fats in order to stay healthy so we need to keep them in our eating regiment.

Monounsaturated fats are the healthiest type and have been shown to lower your LDL cholesterol which is the bad type and raise the good HDL cholesterol. Olive oil is one of the best sources of getting this healthy fat and I might point out that olive oil helps you feel full for a longer period of time. I also like to use natural peanut butter which contains nothing but peanuts and salt.

Polyunsaturated fats are known to lower LDL cholesterol, but also lower HDL. So you don't want as much of this fat as you would the monounsaturated. You must be somewhat careful when choosing this particular oil so read labels. Polyunsaturated fats are sometimes hydrogenated to make margarines and you don't want to eat anything that says partially hydrogenated on the label.

Saturated fats are at the bottom of the list as for daily intake but are still needed for proper bodily functions so you want to keep the amount that you consume to 10% or less of your total daily fat intake. Too much of this type of fat is known to raise your total cholesterol level and cause coronary heart disease but at the same time they are responsible for proper functioning of certain organs as well as improving the body's use of omega-3 fatty acids.

The omega-3 fatty acids which are found in fish help keep your heart healthy and lower your bad LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. They have been shown to help protect you from diabetes and depression.

Your body does need fats in order to stay healthy. Fats supply the building blocks for the manufacturing of hormones and carry the fat soluble vitamins A, E, K and D throughout the body. To get all the benefit from our food we need a macronutrient mix of protein, carbohydrates and fat. You can play around with the ratio of each but it must contain all three if you want to reach your goal.

By: James R. Donaldson

Weight Loss and Dieting Secrets - What You DON'T Want to Know!

Some of you will not like what I have to say, even though it is the truth. And that may be where the problem of American’s health problems lies. No one wants to give you the truth. My responsibility as a high profile fitness expert lies not in if you like me, or even if you buy my e books. My responsibility lies in giving you straight talk with no sugar coating it.

You want quick fixes to your health problem that has taken years to develop. You get it by purchasing gimmicks that promise you fast results. You fall for it, and at the end of the day you are more frustrated than ever. Why? Because you are denying the root of your problems.

I have counseled thousands of people over my twenty year tenure as a Hollywood personal trainer, health club consultant and best selling author. And in all my travels, the answers to people’s problems with weight come down to one thing: choose to change or stay the same!

My approach with people is either you pay a price now and start exercising and eating better or you will pay a bigger price down the road with some health problem. I am really tired of dancing around and trying to pat people on the back and say, “It’s OK you can do it.” When all the while, most I know are in the least bit serious about their health, and have no idea what they are in for down the road.

If you are on the fence of whether or not to start an exercise and weight loss plan, I suggest you either become hot or cold. None of this luke warm stuff. You, America is on the verge of a health crisis. The longer you wait the more of chance you have of having a disease.

You also have a matter of choice on all these gimmicks out there. Don’t waste your money on products that are not long lasting and do not teach you anything. I know you want fast results but you will just waste your money. Let me remind you, until you deal with your approach to weight loss the other is pie in the sky.

Here are the keys to weight loss:

1. Determine HOW you are motivated!

You may think know how you are, but you obviously do not.

2. Determine the REASONS behind the unwanted behaviors.

You are not losing weight or keeping it off because you have some false belief behind the behavior. Figure it out of stay the way you are.

Develop a great support system

Swallow your pride and ask for help!

Eat for fuel not for taste

Quit being lazy and pre plan your meals or stay overweight!

Keep being active.

Get off the couch or stay having low energy and feeling terrible.

There really are no secrets to weight loss. However, the key to it is something you may not want to know or hear. I am a straight shooter, you will get no fluff with me. You either accept the fact that it is going to take hard work and no quick fixes or else take the heat. The other alternative is to let me help you!

By: Greg Ryan

Hollywood Weight Loss Secrets - Five Things to Avoid!

As an employee of famous fitness star Kathy Smith, personal trainer of many movie stars, and best selling author, it came to my attention of a few things that prevented Hollywood types from losing the weight they wanted. Here they are;

“Exercise Resistance” or ER means a conscious or unconscious block against participating in a regular active program. Studies show that some people have barriers built up from past experiences that give them a negative mindset toward exercise and food. In many cases, this prevents a person from starting or following through on an exercise program.

RESENTMENT

I thought the golden years were supposed to be filled with relaxing things to do, not more activities I usually put off before?

Not wanting to exercise is one thing, but resenting exercising can be paralyzing. There are only a small percentage of people that truly like to exercise. And most do it for a sport or profession. That’s usually not true for the average person.

Building up resentment toward exercise goes much deeper than just not liking the effort it takes to do it. Resentment brings out a rebellious attitude in us.

“It is down right maddening that our bodies are aging and we can not do what we used to do!”

Every say or think that? We feel it and we see it happening right in front of our eyes. Inside, we are like children. We stomp our feet, cross our arms and say, “You can’t tell me what to do; I’ll show you.”

The sooner you accept the fact that exercise is going to have to be a part of the rest of your life, the more likely you will start — the more likely you will continue exercising. Resentment is usually fueled by his cousins: Denial, Pride and Laziness. The best thing to do is never let them play together. Resentment is a form of pride.

FAILURE

Why should I start exercising? I will not follow through—never have. It will be just another failure of mine.

The only failure is not starting. Success is not measured in numbers. It is measured in your growth through the process. Just because your track record may show some ups and downs has no bearing on your future efforts. Plus, your self-worth is not based on how many times you started an exercise program. Fear of failure is an excuse to never try.

PERFECTION

Why am I not doing this the way I know I can do this? I might as well not do it at all if I cannot do it right.

If you think for one second that you are going to be perfect in sticking to a plan, forget it. It’s not possible for anyone. The truth is you will never be perfect. Once you reach a goal, you will have another one. It’s a repetitive cycle, like running on a treadmill that will never stop. Perfectionism is an illusion.

COMPARISONS

Why does Jane look like she does and I have to work so hard at it. It does not seem fair!”

Life just isn’t fair, is it? For some, it seems effortless to look thin and feel healthy. These people may even do the exact workout plan as you and get totally different results than you do. For you, it is a constant trip to the dentist’s office. You dread it. You know it’s going to hurt, and it may even cost a lot in the end. You are right that it’s not fair, but that’s life. You need to get beyond this. Comparing yourself to others and your past is a losing battle.

EXPECTATIONS

Why is it so hard to balance my fitness goals and lifestyle?

Unless you have such paralyzing health problems that you can’t move, there is NO reason in the world not to get some form of exercise. However, you have to be smart about it and you have to be realistic in what you choose to do.

If your expectations are too high, you set yourself up for failure and then begin comparing yourself to others. In some cases, ER sets in before you even start. This is hurtful. Setting expectations that are too high is self-defeating before you even start.

Here is what I told them and I will tell you the same -

One out of three of you will break a bone. Half of you are on the verge of obesity and diabetes. A third of you will suffer a heart attack. Half of you will end up in a nursing home. And most of you are not living a life filled with confidence, good sleeping patterns, high energy or happiness. Why now? You tell me…why not now?

Do the math! Numbers do not lie. You either accept the road less traveled or you face the consequences. It’s just that simple. This may resemble a scare tactic, but the bottom line is this is your reality. If you think for one second you are exempt, above reproach, or just relying on luck or faith, think again. Your best defense is a good offense.

Why now? Resenting the need to exercise is a waste of energy. Never starting because you are afraid of failure is a copout. Striving to exercise perfectly is a bit unrealistic for anyone. Comparing your present condition with how you used to be is a losing battle. And setting expectations so high that your lifestyle prevents you from accomplishing anything is a “bad attitude ready to happen.”

Why now? Because these are all just plain excuses. The bottom line is, you will pay the doctor eventually if you allow any of the excuses to get the best of you. Exercising and eating right is the best thing you can do for your mind, body, and your heart. It will take work, but the benefits are priceless.

By: Greg Ryan

Teenage Bodybuilding - Getting Big At An Early Age

Bodybuilding is not something to today's world as more people are into such activities in large groups. It has been considered to be something which attracts people of all ages and sexes. Teenage bodybuilding is something which is rising up nowadays. These kids start up with muscle building soon after they enter the sixteen to eighteen age groups. In such young age they try to grab the attention of by passers. To encourage them there are several teenage bodybuilding competitions held up by several organizations.

Teenagers also get inspired by celebrities and great personalities such as Jay Cutler, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mohammed Ali and the list goes on if you are to name people. Many of them started their career with the fittest body during their teenage thus proving to be the best follow up possible for the rising community.

The exercises recommended for teenage bodybuilding is a little different from the others as it should not involve over weight as it might put the person in trouble. Before starting up with any exercise, the teenager who is going to get indulged should ensure the strength of his body so that he can withstand the weight exercises which are to be practiced to build up great body. Some of the weighing exercises include push ups, pull ups, hyperextensions, chin ups and dips.

There are four different and primary concepts which underlie the teenage bodybuilding program. They consist of bodybuilding supplementation, nutrition, the real value of weight lifting and finally the complete recovery. These are the same concepts followed by an adult bodybuilder.

Two stages are included in teenage bodybuilding namely, the bulk up stage and the contest preparation. The former stage lets the person gain both muscle as well as body weight to make themselves stand unique wherever they are. The later stage is the second phase concentrates on concerts and at this point more importance is given to more muscles. If you are in the need for a real definition of your muscles, you need to reduce body fat by following suggested diet for the proper development of body.

Individuals indulged in teenage bodybuilding should be very careful about the food ingested by them everyday. The daily meal should comprise of something which would increase the muscle of the body bringing it in real shape and appropriate shape. At a certain stage, the person is also asked to eat five to six meals per day, but by avoiding foods rich in fats.

Protein could be included in the diet for stimulating muscle development. Depending on bodybuilding supplements could also benefit the teenage bodybuilding individual.

By: John B Stevens

Weight Loss Efficiency - 10 Ways To Make The Most Out Of Your Gym Workout!

My name is Greg Ryan. I am a high profile fitness expert, champion bodybuilder and best selling author. However, I didn’t start out as one. I had to learn through class rooms and experience. There are no better teachers than exercising on the floors of all those health clubs I visited for so many years.

I had no clue how to workout properly, how many reps, sets, minutes on a treadmill or foods to eat. But, I learned through trial and error. It amazes me how I have kept going consistently all these years coming from a non disciplined background. Here are ten things that have helped me lose weight more efficiently during each visit and have helped me keep going for twenty years straight:

1. Treat your time in the gym as your quiet time for YOU!

2. Set a time frame each time you work out. Walk out if you are not finished!

3. Never do the same workout more than twice in a row. Maybe just change the order of a piece of equipment up.

4. Monitor your heart rate EVERY time you exercise your heart.

5. Never be afraid to ask for help.

6. Do not waste much time between exercises.

7. Focus on the benefits and how you will feel afterwards rather than the discomfort during your workout.

8. Realize you will not be at your best each and every time.

9. Learn to listen to your body more than your mind.

10. Journal, journal, and journal.

Now let me give you my magic secret to being successful in losing weight, gaining muscle, or just general fitness: consistency + variety + efficiency = results all the time! Each day you workout out, remember; it’s about the big picture. It’s about sticking to it for the long haul. It’s about being sold out!

By: Greg Ryan

Lose Weight and Burn Fat with One Simple Eating Principle

Fifteen years ago the doctor’s suggested that we eat pasta as a good healthy food. They also thought we would possibly lose some weight by doing so. Now we are eighteen percent fatter. Why?

While pasta is not a bad food, we have altered our eating habits slightly. If you completed a food log for a week, you would see that your plate would consist of at least half being in one food group. Most of our diets are lopsided. This eventually slows down the digestive process. When people like me ask you to eat a balanced diet what does it mean? It could mean different things. I call balancing your foods, synergizing your food groups. Synergize means; the action of two or more forces.

When is a car easier to turn the wheel? When you are sitting still or when you are going down the road? Yes, moving down the road. When you eat different types of food they feed off the others. This means the digestive system works more efficiently, thus steering the car much easier.

Here are some eating suggestions to allow your body to synergize your food into fuel instead of fat:

1. Try not to eat breads with pastas.

2. Put carbohydrates, good fats, veggies, and proteins on your plate each time.

3. Wine and pastas are killers.

4. Never eat more than half your plate in complex carbohydrates or sugars.

5. Fish and veggies are good combinations.

6. One glass of wine at a time

The general rule is to mix it up on your plate. If the plate is lopsided the tires on your fat burning machine will go flat. Foods work well together, not by themselves.

By: Greg Ryan

Weight Loss Advice - What Makes a GREAT Personal Trainer?

If you are trying to lose weight you may find from time to time you need some encouragement, guidance and accountability. You can find this in friends, but on occasion you will need some extra help by seeking the advice of a personal trainer. The challenge lies in finding a good one. But what does a good personal trainer look like?

My name is Greg Ryan, and for the last twenty years I have managed, trained and consulted thousands of personal trainers. I personal have over 50,000 hours of paid training sessions under my belt. So when I say to you there is a difference between a personal trainer and Great personal trainer, I mean it. For me, it is very easy to point out a good one. For you it will not be. Here are a few things you need to look for when finding a good personal trainer:

I. Professionalism: Any trainer worth his/her salt will treat the profession seriously. I call this the “sold out” attitude. You can usually tell if they are just part timers or not.

A. Neatly dressed: If they look like a slob, then I would try to avoid them – no matter how much they know.

B. Business Policies: If they try to make pricing deals with you or have no cancellation policies or business practices watch out. Trainers must take their profession serious.

C. On Time: If a trainer is late, he does not care about you.

D. Honesty: If a trainer thinks they know everything, be careful. II: Education:

A. A trainer with a PhD. Is not always necessary, however credible certifications at the very least is must.

B. Well rounded knowledge: The good personal trainers are the ones with exercise, nutrition and human behavior experience.

C. Personal Trainers should always continue their education.

III. People Skills

A. In some cases this could make or break your success with a personal trainer.

B. If they have a large ego – avoid them as much as you can.

C. Being a good personal trainer is more about motivating people than anything.

D. A good personal trainer does not have to be a hard body; however, they must continually practice what they teach.

These credentials in my opinion are just the tip of the iceberg. Finding a good personal trainer is not that easy. With the growing demand for trainers, it makes it difficult for the consumer to distinguish good from mediocre. In reality there are only about ten percent that fit these guidelines. But, maybe I have high standards. It is your health and all.

Who ever you decide to guide you must have great people skills, a well rounded education, and professionalism are all a must. If you have a hard tine deciding contact me, I’ll guide you through the process.

By: Greg Ryan

Weight Loss for Life - How to Overcome Speed Bumps!

Yesterday evening my computer hard drive crashed. Resulting in the loss of at least six months worth of hard work. By not thinking ahead, it will most likely cost me one thousand dollars to recovery all the data. What is the price worth to you for priceless information?

I took a break this morning from thinking about my loss and went to Lowe’s hardware store to pick up some items I needed to remodel my office. Driving through the parking lot afterwards the speed bumps seemed much larger. Why? The reason is; I had a plan, a destination and a purpose going in, coming out I did not. Going in, my mind was on what I needed to do in order to get the job finished. I was concentrating on the task at hand. Driving away I did not have that sense of urgency so I noticed my surroundings more and what I was experiencing.

Have you ever had difficulty losing weight, staying focused on your eating plan and all you could think about was the big obstacle in your way or the pizza you so desperately thought you needed to have? The more you thought about them the bigger the speed bump became, the hungrier to got.

You and I are always going to have set backs in our quest to lose weight and feel better. How we look at them matters most however. Speed bumps will come, some in forms of losing our data on a computer, gaining a few pounds or even wanting to just give up. And yes, you could and no one would know. I could stop writing articles on weight loss and say, “What’s the use, all my hard work has been lost, no one will know?” But, NO! We get right back on the horse, we stick with what matters most to us and our health and we move forward. We take the speed bumps as they come, we understand they are there for a reason and we go over them as hard as they may be. Here are a few suggestions on overcoming speed bumps:

1. Write down your exercise and fitness goals for life.

2. Write out a contingency plan for when you encounter a speed bump.

3. Continue to focus on the big picture or your main goal.

4. Get some one to be able to talk to and support you during the speed bump times.

5. Understand you will have rough times.

By: Greg Ryan

Weight Loss for Good - The 80/20 Rule!

Have you ever thought, "I just can not seem to get motivated anymore to workout. I just don’t understand why I have not lost a pound in two months. My bench press is going down and not up, how can this be?"

We have all experienced time periods where all the hard work, dedication and even desperation does not seem to be enough to jump start us. We focus so much on what we are not doing we begin to lose sight of main reason for exercising in the first place. Before you know it you start entertaining the idea of quitting.

ALl of us have heard of the eighty – twenty rule in life. This is where our lives are built on twenty percent of our efforts. The remaining eighty percent seems too be pushed along by the other twenty percent. When it comes to our weight loss and fitness goals lets look at the same percentages in another light. How about the eight twenty rule in our attitudes?

When I first started exercising and bodybuilding over twenty years ago I knew absolutely nothing about fitness, food or where my future was headed. However, what I did believe was that if I kept consistent, something had to change. With that attitude came a hope for the future and an understanding that good days would be followed by some bad ones.

It is unrealistic for you and me to think that every day in the gym and at the table will be great? We will be tempted to eat badly and we will be discouraged to go workout from time to time. This is reality. However, understanding that in the long run if you have more good days than bad, things will be work out good for you. This mindset is the key longevity. Here are some ideas on how to follow the 80/20 rule:

1. Write out in detail your yearly goal.
2. Get an accountability partner.
3. Focus on internal health vs. external.
4. Focus on the feeling not the work.

Best of luck and remember it’s about the BIG picture!

By: Greg Ryan

Weight Loss Problems? - Why The Gastric Bypass Surgery Does Not Stick!

Gastric bypass surgeries are temporary physical fixes to a long term head problem! If you think the surgery is a cure all, think again. The crazy thing is people are gaining weight on purpose so they can be qualified to even be considered for the surgery. How sick is that?

My Aunt had gastric bypass surgery last year. She was so excited about her new body that she was going to get after the surgery. She just could not wait for her new life to begin. This was an answer to her prayers. So she thought!

Up until then, my aunt had not exercised a day in her life. Never followed a sensible eating plan, nor did she want to. By the looks of it, none of my family had ever sacrificed anything in the way of food. The doctor’s had boosted her up; her children were totally delusional about their mom's weight and danced around the issue so much my aunt was in total denial. And guess what? True to form, she gained the weight back in eight months. Why?

The answer is; you can not build a house on a foundation made of sand. If you do not deal with what is underneath the surface in your emotional behavior toward your eating and exercise, you will go right back to the beginning, no matter what you take out or do to your body. Surgery or no surgery, there is no cure all for being overweight. Well, there is but do you want to hear it? Here it is:

1. Decide how you are motivated.

2. Determine your underlying reasons for your eating and exercise behaviors or lack of.

3. Develop the best support system for you.

4. Deal with the emotions behind your food patterns.

5. Dedicate yourself to an exercise program.

Ok, maybe the surgery works in the short run. And maybe that will buy you some time and gives you some inspiration to start exercising and eating better. However, it is not means to the end! It does not do any good for your head, maybe your stomach. If you do decide to have the surgery, please understand that with out deep changes in your thought process the gastric bypass surgery will not stick.

By: Greg Ryan

Weight Loss Frustration's? Slippery Slopes - One Fall And Down You May Go!

If you have ever been snow skiing you know that one wrong move, one glance away or one split second of lost focus may get you in a heap of trouble. The hard part comes trying to stop the slide down the slope. It doesn’t take much and the next thing you know, you have hit the bottom only to look up and find yourself wishing you had it to do over again, this time much different and with more focus and preparation.

Have you ever made one slip in your workout program and down you went? Doesn’t seem like much at the time, but that’s all it takes to get the snowball rolling. You make one little excuse not to exercise, you have one day off the wagon of your eating program and wham! Down you go, slipping and sliding all the way until you bottom out and want to quit. And some of you do quit. All you are looking for is one permission slip, one little fall on a hill and that’s it. To hard, not worth the effort why bother any more?

Or you may be the type that says, “Well one time is not bad, I’ll do it tomorrow. Then tomorrow comes and you have some other stupid reason not to exercise. Before you know it, again, you’re looking up at that hill thinking, “How did I get here?”

Your best defensive in preventing a fall is to not give yourself a permission slip to fall. As far as you should be concerned there is no permission slips handed out. There are no options, there are no slippery slopes. You have signed up, you have purchased a lift ticket for the rest of your life to exercise and eat right. Yes, there will be days that you will fall short of a goal, but that doesn’t mean you give yourself permission to do so. Yes, there are days when you need to take a day off physically and mentally those days are necessary, however, making an excuse is much different.

I see it almost daily. People will come up with some reason not to, and some sound really legitimate, then that leads to another and another until they have stopped for good.

I encourage you and challenge you to always be on guard. Once you start down that slippery slope of making excuses not to workout that day, may be the beginning of a long hike back up the mountain.

By: Greg Ryan

Exercise, Diet and Weight Loss - When Do Your Desires Turn into Lifestyle Habits?

Just one more day I can do this, I told myself in the beginning. When I awoke the next morning, I said it again, “Just one more day I can do this.” I knew in my heart that if I kept a one day at a time attitude something had to happen with my body and my mind.

I see so many people quit their exercise and diet programs for the lamest of reasons. And you know when they do it? The day before something happens. (So it seems) You have to give yourself a fighting chance. First of all, your body is not convinced in the first month or so that you are even serious about your health. Based on your past you have a lot of proven to do. It’s not until the second and third months that your body decides to take you serious and release some of those fat storages.

So what do you do? You keep on keeping on until you start to miss the feeling that goes along after a good workout. Sure you have a desire to be healthy in the beginning but it has yet to form to be a part of your life. You have to miss it when you don’t exercise. Maybe not the pain, but the feeling! This is when your desires turn into habits! I call this, “The point of no return.”

Here are a few tips on how to get to the point of no return:

• Have no expectations for at least three months from starting.

• Set initial goals to feel better and have higher energy.

• Don’t resent having to exercise.

• Put exercise sessions into your day planner.

• Give yourself no room for excuses.

• Get an accountability partner!

Just one more day, just let me have enough energy for today that’s all I ask. I will worry about tomorrow later.

By: Greg Ryan

New Year's Fitness Resolutions - How to SET Them? Part 2

Keep the ball rolling!

In order for you to not waste time and energy it is important for you to keep the momentum going. You can do this by pre-planning your goals. You have already somewhat done so by setting seasonal goals. What happens sometimes is there is a let down between goals, once you have achieved one.

Have you ever felt depressed after reaching a goal or accomplishing something? Striving for something gives a sense of empowerment? When I won my first bodybuilding contest I had not planned on doing it again. After the contest with all the celebration going on around me, I felt sad and didn’t understand why.

How could I feel sad in a time like this? Well, this particular journey and quest that each day for five years I woke up looking forward to was no longer. Now what do I look forward too? Nothing, I said. So I felt sad. I very valuable lesson learned on goal setting.

In other words, as you come up on reaching one, start thinking and strategizing how you are going to attain the next seasonal goal. However, do not lose sight of the present one. That is your main focus.

My point is to keep the momentum moving by staying ahead of the game by planning your path ahead of time. This saves a lot of time and energy. It is a lot easier steering a car while it is already moving rather than turning it in a parking lot sitting still. Set the yearly goal to give you the ultimate carrot to strive for. Then the seasonal goals should be set as steps to the yearly goal. Once the seasonal goal is met the momentum immediately shifts to the next.

Good luck and keep your goals rolling!

By: Greg Ryan

New Year's Fitness Resolutions - How to Set Them? Part 1

Mind Setting

If this year is going to be any different you are going to have to think differently. However, your success now depends not on your past, but how you approach your future.

I did not plan on becoming a champion bodybuilder much less did I think that twenty years later I would be still consistently exercising on a daily basis. However, this is what I did know way back when; I new deep down that one day at a time was all I could believe in. Then the next day, then the next, if only I could hang on one more day?

I just knew that if I kept going something had to happen to my body and to my mind. The exercising just had to pay off. Guess what? One day, out of the blue it did, Don’t be the one who quits one day to early- persevere, be determined and set your mind to a long healthy, happy life.

Goal Setting

First set a goal for the year. Most people go out of the gate real fast, look around and don’t know either where they came from or what direction they are headed in. It is vital that you not just set goals, but you always keep the big picture in mind.

Big Picture Goals

No matter what goals you set for yourself, or who you are, you need to keep one thing in mind; you have got to be in this for the long haul. Deep inside you have to have just a little bit of hope for tomorrow, some good people around you even if it is temporary, and motives that come from your heart.

Stop right here and read not one more word, if you are not going to be in this for the rest of your life. The reality is this; you will not just be able to reach a goal and stop exercising or eat what ever you would like. It does not work that way.

It will never be a perfect situation for you. In order for you to get through the little things you have to keep the big picture in mind all the time. What does the big picture look like to you? Does it look like a perfect body or does it look like a better quality of life? The bigger picture is for LIFE!

Yearly Goals

Most people can not handle more than one big goal a year. When you set it is specific. (Write them down)

Seasonal Goals

Once you’re the main goal is established you can now work backwards with seasonal goals. These are small incremental goals, usually in three month segments. Be sure to make them progressive as the months go by, building up to your main year end goal. (Write them down)

Weekly Goals

Some people have a hard time even thinking in three month segments. It’s all you can do to get through the week. If this is the case, that’s ok! Set a weekly goal. Do what ever it takes to get there. (I have to set goals and write down my times to take breaks and have lunch. So, don’t think you are unusual because you have to have daily or weekly goals.)

Realistic Goals

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to set an unrealistic goal. In some cases your responsibilities in life may not allow you to set lofty goals. You may have to take a step back and set smaller ones in order to attain them at this point in your life.

It is much smarter to set realistic goals, attain them and get to your destination in a longer time frame than to try to shoot for the stars, miss and never reach your full potential.

Good luck and stay focused!

By: Greg Ryan

Cure Your Back Pain Now

Who wants to see his chiropractor twice a week and pay hundreds of dollars to get his back adjusted? Waking up in the morning and with one wrong movement you feel that back pain. Everything from now on will be accompanied by sharp pain strikes. You will not be able to put your clothes and shoos on, every breath you take hearts up to a point where you so desperate you find your self scratching your back against the wall.

You have to cancel every thing and rush to your chiropractor with the urge to fix that sorrowing back. I totally understand where you are coming from. I have been in your shoes and applaud you for doing the research in an attempt to treat your back pain yourself. My back problems have been so severe at times that I have been unable to tie my own shoes for weeks at a time. I know what it's like to be in constant agony and how good it feels when the pain ends and you finally feel like yourself again.

People with pain back will simply do anything do relief that pain. They will naturally choose to fix it but the pain will come back again. What they need to do is to understand the cause of the pains fix them to loose the pain for good and not treat the symptoms which will keep coming back. Truth is, the easiest and most effective methods can be done right in the comfort of your own home, often times in ten minutes or less.

I have spent the last years in a search to find what can be done to get rid of this pain once and for all. I have read books, traveled to doctors, interviewed people who suffered from back pains, etc. And finally I have understand the root to my problem and then I was ready to target it in order to end suffer.

The solution - If you are not doing the right things to loosen up the tight muscles in your lower back and legs you're only addressing the symptoms of the problem. And that's a fact. But you need to know exactly how to perform that task.

By: Karl Ross

Back Pain Treatment for Everyone

There are a host of people today that suffer from back pain. This can cause a great deal of associated problems for those sufferers. This pain runs the gamut from a slight aches and pains to extremely painstaking to the extent that a person may alienate themselves from their friends, family and even their employers. Lack of sleep and attention span is often associated with serious conditions. This could be the derivative of an injury that lasts only a few days before healing or it could be a far more serious condition that could be fatal eventually. A person in pain from this should consult medical experts if it lasts more than a few days.

The treatment for back pain will depend on the root cause of it happens to be. The patient suffering from this condition may have to undergo an extensive series of tests to get to the root of the problem. The series of tests might mean a lot amount of money and time spent before all of the tests are complete. Some people who suffer from it find it difficult to ascertain to the root of the problem whereas the symptoms could be from different conditions. These people might become very discouraged because of their condition.

This condition can be a very aggravating condition. Fortunately, it can be prevented through proper back exercises, which target not only your back but also your stomach, thighs and hips, making your body stronger and more pliable.

The majority of people who have these injuries or back pains are advised to keep in good physical condition by following simple appropriate exercises or recreational activities like swimming, running and walking.

Cure of Back Pain Might Come from Different Sources

This might be a symptom of lung or ovarian cancer. These conditions are very serious and possibly fatal. The successful treatment of these diseases will depend on early detection of the root bring on of the pain. If a cancer is the cause of the pain, the treatment will undoubtedly be provided by a group of licensed medical practitioners including physicians and nurses. The treatment for this pain might establish years of follow up treatment to keep this illness in check. A patient that survives these conditions may have a difficult time trying to fight the infirmity.

Other conditions that cause back pain might not be so serious, however that does not mean that they are easy to overcome. At times, those suffering from this might wish they would die so the pain would subside. The root of this could be from the condition of the spine. Problems with the spine might require surgery by a licensed surgeon. This pain might be from a condition that could be relieved throughout the services of a chiropractor or acupuncturist. These treatments have been shown to have positive effects for the treatment of this condition. Anyone suffering from this might need to consult with one of these specialists.

Alternative medicine improves and gains wider acceptance all the time even for back pain. Consequently, alternative medical treatment has become widely available These treatments although relatively new to the medical scene are sometimes the most effective means for the treatments. Acupuncturists practice their skills around the country to help those afflicted by back pain. Patients who have discovered relief from this through acupuncture are the best sources of enlightenment on this treatment. Chiropractors help patients relieve their pain by manipulating the spine. These treatments have been effective for back pain cure. One alternative treatments have been tested with good results.

By: Jerry Cahill

Weight Loss 101 - Eating On An HCG Diet

"If you are interested in losing weight with HCG hormone therapy, it is important that you also follow a special diet as well. By combining a low calorie diet with your hormone therapy, you will be able to obtain the greatest benefits from this weight loss program.

Reducing Your Caloric Intake

In order to follow the HCG diet correctly, you will need to reduce your caloric intake to just 500 calories per day. Obviously, you would be able to lose weight with a 500 calorie diet even if you weren't getting HCG hormone treatments. If you cut back to this many calories without the help of HCG, however, you will likely lose muscle as well as fat. Obviously, this isn't healthy and will not result in a toned body.

HCG helps to prevent the loss of muscle as you reduce our caloric intake. In addition, HCG makes it easier for you to cut back to this many calories because it acts as an appetite suppressant. During the first few days of the program, you might experience mild hunger after reducing your food consumption. By the second week, however, most people find small servings of food to be quite satisfying. This is partially because the HCG helps to release calories from your stored fat and these calories then circulate throughout your body. In addition, your hypothalamus makes adjustments to your metabolic rate, which helps you feel full faster.

The Diet Plan

There have been some changes made to the basic diet plan recommended to those on the HCG diet, but the original diet plan is as follows:

• Eat nothing for breakfast. You may drink tea or coffee, but it cannot include sugar and you can only have up to one tablespoon full of milk within a 24 hour period. You may use Stevia or Saccharin.

• Lunch consists of 100 grams of either veal, chicken breast, beef, lobster, fresh white fish, shrimp, or crab. All fat must be removed before cooing the meat and it must be weighed while in its raw state. It must be cooked through grilling or boiling and without any added fat. This meat is to be accompanied by one vegetable. You can choose from the following vegetables:

o Asparagus
o Beet-greens
o Cabbage
o Celery
o Chard
o Chicory
o Cucumbers
o Fennel
o Green salad
o Onions
o Red radishes
o Spinach
o Tomatoes

Lunch also consists of one piece of Melba toast or one grissino breadstick as well as an orange, an apple, one half of a grapefruit, or a handful of strawberries.

• Dinner is the same as lunch, though you are encouraged to mix and match the meats, vegetables, and fruit you choose for each meal.

Other diet plans have been introduced since the original, namely those that revolve around eating all organic foods. Therefore, it would be a good idea to read about other diet plans in order to determine which one you think will be best for you."

By: Marion Goldsmith

How Does Calorie Cycling Help Me Lose Weight?

A brand new way to lose weight has been hitting airwaves all over the United States.

This diet, called "calorie cycling", allows people to effectively lose large amounts of weight in short periods of time. But before you dismiss it as a fad diet, read on.

This way of eating teaches people to switch up the amount of calories that they eat day-to-day. By doing this, their body can never figure out how many calories are coming to it (as is often the case with low calorie or low carbohydrate diets), and therefore it can't adjust... or plateau.

The diet actually enforces cheat days and says that it wouldn't be successful without it.

Rachel Rofe, calorie cycling expert, explains that our bodies are used to this way of eating. During the cavemen era, our ancestors would have to go hungry for days at a time. Whenever they got the opportunity to eat, they would binge in order to stay satisfied until the next time they had the opportunity to eat.

Cheat days are similar to the days that our ancestors fasted. Because the metabolism never expects these days, it can never adjust to a certain way of eating, and the body is literally forced to continue dropping unwanted pounds.

Because people get to have these cheat days where they can literally eat anything they want, psychologists heartily recommend this diet. They love that dieters don't need to feel deprived of malnourished. Doctors love it because it's a natural way to lose weight without people having to deprive themselves of nutrients, food groups, or even "bad" food.

By: Rachel Jenkins

How to Lose Weight Fast

There are all sorts of short term things you can do to quickly drop some pounds but they are not feasible for the long term, of course. But the best way to lose weight quickly and for good is to eat small meals several times per day.

Do not have a set time to eat a meal. In other words if you have a regimental routine of eating, say every nine o'clock you eat breakfast, two o'clock lunch etc. Your body becomes used to this routine and always expect the fat for storage.

When you eat regularly, and at different times in small portions, your body does not store fat. It knows there is food right around the corner and does not store fat by thinking there is a famine. If you where to eat a food that contained 60 calories but our body uses 90 calories to digest that food then you will actually be 30 calories better off than before you ate the food. This is therefore a negative calorie.

Most food of course contain more calories than you would use to digest it and this is where the program comes in as they provide you with the full guide of the foods which will help the weight loss diet to work. The big question of course though is whether it actually works.

Using moderate weights does not result in huge muscle mass, but it increases the body metabolism, firms the body and gives a slim look. Aerobic exercises can enhance your heart beat rate and breathing. Most people employ just the cardio side of losing weight. Which it is not bad but it more works the heart and lungs. You must incorporate a muscle workout of some kind. This is missing factor with so many.

Skip fake foods and supplements, and eat real.

To make your healthy transformation easier, the first step is to change your thinking. Look at the whole picture. Sure, you may want to drop a few pounds of extra fat, but is that all? Do you want healthy, supple skin? How about more energy for doing fun activities? Would you like to enjoy gorgeous shiny hair? How about fewer bouts of influenza, constipation, or indigestion? What you put into your body directly effects how well or poorly it functions. Nutrients from supplements are generally not as complete as the nutrients found in foods, and supplements contain only the ones that have already been discovered by scientists.

Focus on adding more nutritious foods to your diet, and don't dwell on depriving yourself of less nutritious, calorie rich foods.

By: Reg Ofori

The One Real Formula for Weight Loss

How To Lose Weight Rationally

Is there just one real formula for weight loss? Not everyone wants to believe it, but your body weight is really the result of a mathematical formula. When you eat the same number of calories per day as your body burns, then your weight stays the same. Eat more than you burn and you gain weight. Eat less than you burn and you lose weight.

That's really all you need to know about losing weight. Or is it? What about all the diet plans that ask you to count points or grams of carbohydrate or grams of fat? What about the plans that say calories don't count? What about the plans that say they can "fool" your metabolism into violating the formula?

Well, the plans that use points or grams are really just giving you an alternate way of counting calories. There may be certain metabolic advantages to low carb plans, but in truth the jury is still out. As for the plans that try to trick your body into giving up weight some other way, all I can say is "You can't fool Mother Nature," at least not for very long.

Your body's food intake and energy expenditure works very much like a budget. When you earn more than you spend, you accumulate savings. When you spend more than you earn, you accumulate debt. In your financial budget savings are what you want, but in your calorie budget you're looking for a calorie debt or deficit if you want to lose weight. Just remember that weight loss equals calorie deficit, and you won't go wrong.

I'm about to go all mathematical on you, but please stay with me at least for the rest of this paragraph, because there is hope. If you don't want to bother with some arithmetic and a couple of formulas, go ahead and skip to the bottom of this article where I'll tell you about an automated alternative. But if you're interested in the details, keep going.

Here's the formula in mathematical terms:

(Calories Consumed) - (Calories Burned) = (Calorie Deficit if negative) or (Calorie Excess if positive)

Here are a couple of examples to make this clear.

Say you eat 2400 calories per day and you burn 2200. You have:

2400 - 2200 = 200

Since 200 is a positive number, you have an excess of 200 calories that day. If you keep it up, you'll gain weight.

Or say you eat the same 2400 calories but you burn 2700. Then you have:

2400 - 2700 = -300

This time the result is a negative number, -300, which means you have a deficit of 300 calories that day. If you keep it up you'll lose weight.

This raises some obvious questions, doesn't it? One, how much weight will I gain or lose? And two, how do I know how many calories I'm burning each day?

Very good questions. In the rest of this article I'll answer them and give some of the implications.

First, what's the relationship between the calories and the poundage? Approximately this: 3500 calories equals one pound. That's the rule of thumb. So if you could have a consistent calorie deficit of 500 calories per day, on the average you would lose weight at the rate of one pound per week (since 500 x 7 days = 3500 calories).

Notice that I said "on the average." That's because your weight does fluctuate from hour to hour and from day to day. It fluctuates generally within a three-to-five pound range due primarily to changes in water retention and to how full your stomach, bladder and bowel are at any given moment. So don't judge your results by a few isolated weigh-ins. Instead watch the trend over a period of weeks.

If instead of one pound a week you want to lose two pounds a week, you need to create a deficit of 1000 calories per day (since 1000 x 7 days = 7000 calories). That's a lot for most people. Unless you're extremely active (an athlete or a physical laborer) it will be very difficult to create a larger deficit and lose weight any faster.

Okay, now for the second question. How many calories are you burning? This is more difficult because the only way to get a really precise answer is to live inside a sealed chamber in a laboratory. But we do have some formulas that give an approximate answer based on averages. These are the best estimates available, but your mileage may vary. You really have to experiment on your own body to see.

These formulas have two parts. First you calculate your BMR, or basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories you would burn if you did nothing but lie in bed all day. Then you multiply by a factor that represents how active you are (compared to lying in bed all day). That gives your approximate MR, or metabolic rate.

Here we go. The formulas for basal metabolic rate are:

For men, BMR = 66.4730 + (6.2507 x W) + (12.7084 x H) - (6.7550 x A)

For women, BMR = 655.0955 + (4.347 x W) + (4.698 x H) - (4.6756 x A)

Where BMR = basal metabolic rate (energy production) per 24 hours at complete rest in calories, W = weight in pounds, H = height in inches, and A = age in years.

That gives your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Then you apply one of these factors to account for your activity level and compute your metabolic rate (MR), the calories burned per day:

1. If you get little or no exercise: MR = BMR x 1.2

2. If you get light exercise 1-3 days/week: MR = BMR x 1.375

3. If you get moderate exercise 3-5 days/week: MR = BMR x 1.55

4. If you get hard exercise 6-7 days a week: MR = BMR x 1.725

5. If you get very hard exercise or have a very physical job: MR = BMR x 1.9

Let's do a couple of examples to be sure there's no confusion. Suppose you're a woman, age 34, 5 foot 4 inches tall, 128 pounds, getting moderate exercise. Here's the calculation. (Remember that 5 foot 4 equals 64 inches.)

BMR = 655.0955 + (4.347 x 128) + (4.698 x 64) - (4.6756 x 34)
BMR = 655.0955 + 556.416 + 300.672 - 158.9704
BMR = 1353.2131
MR = BMR x 1.55
MR = 2097 calories per day

Now we'll do one for a man, age 55, 5 foot 10 inches, 180 pounds, getting light exercise:

BMR = 66.4730 + (6.2507 x 180) + (12.7084 x 70) - (6.7550 x 55)
BMR = 66.4730 + 1125.126 + 889.588 - 371.525
BMR = 1709.937
MR = BMR x 1.375
MR = 2351 calories per day

Now, putting it all together, for our hypothetical man who's burning 2351 calories per day at his present weight and activity level, if he wants to lose weight at the rate of 1-1/2 pounds per week, he would need to create a calorie deficit of 5250 per week (that's 3500 x 1.5) or 750 per day. So he would need to consume 1601 calories per day (2351 - 750) consistently in order to lose at that rate.

Notice one interesting fact. If this man wants to eat more than 1601 calories a day and still lose weight at the rate of 1-1/2 pounds per week, he can raise his activity level to moderate from light. That changes his MR from 2351 to 2650. So he can eat about 300 more calories per day at this higher level of activity, and he'll still lose weight at the same rate.

By: Gerry Hears

Don't Waste Time Exercising - Getting More Out Of Exercising Less

How much better is your health and level of fitness from a year ago? Will this year be another year of episodic commitment to exercise with little or no change in your well being? It does not have to be that way. For those who just can't seem to find the time or who can't seem to stick to an exercise program there is an exercise program that will produce positive changes, you can stick to it, and it does not require hours in the gym.

Start by finding out what is the least amount of exercise that will produce the most change instead of seeing how much exercise you can withstand. Add to that modest dietary changes and engage in recreational activities you enjoy. This is formula anyone can follow. For the most change in all aspects of fitness in the least time spent exercising nothing compares to a method of strength training called High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) - non-stop strength training, absolutely no rest between exercises. People of any age can do this; in fact those who are older have the most to gain. A knowledgeable trainer will know what the proper amount of intensity is for each individual and when to increase that intensity.

A properly designed HIIT program performed once or twice a week for 20 to 30 minutes will produce continuing improvements in strength, muscle, tone, flexibility, resistance to injury, bone density, resting metabolism, and cardiovascular condition. No other exercise regime addresses all those aspects of fitness simultaneously - none. The key is to get adequate recovery between each session, and you will improve each week. Most people opt for once a week when they see that once a week produces consistent improvement. As long as you are improving each week you will get to where you need to be. These improvements in your fitness will enable you to engage in those recreational activities you enjoy and other more vigorous activities longer, and this too will redound positively to your health. You will feel better.

People of any level of fitness can benefit. Below are two examples of people at opposite ends of the fitness spectrum who train using high intensity interval training:

Laurence has been a competitive tri-athlete for more than 20 years. His performances have always been good, but now he is getting better. A few years back he participated in the New York City Triathlon. He did well but did not win his age group. Three years later at the age of age 49, he finished 24th overall in the New York City Triathlon with over 3000 participants. As the oldest in his age group, 45 to 49, he finished first beating the nearest competitor more than five minutes.

Most importantly he beat his time by a wide margin from the last time he participated in the NYC Triathlon three years earlier.

He attributes a large part of his success to this unique strength training program. He has been doing it once a week for five years now. He is still improving in strength, and his times in triathlons are coming down. The strength increases from the program have enabled him to spend considerably less time in the pool and on his bike.

Marcus at age 72 could play just nine holes, and the next day he was too rundown to play again. He began training 30 minutes once a week. A year later he was playing 18 holes, and the next day he'd play 18 holes again. He was hitting the ball farther and enjoying golf again. Perhaps most importantly of all, he received the added health benefits of walking those additional 27 holes.

One need not be a prisoner of physical limitations, and one can live well without requiring hours each week engaged in monotonous exercise. Significant strength increases occur exercising as little as once or twice a week IF it's the right exercise program with the right trainer. A personal trainer with experience in this type of training will enable you to eliminate the trial and error of trying to find what works and can help you avoid injuries.

Nobody is put in a nursing home for being out of breath; it is generally because they are too weak to carry out daily living activities, and then they fall and hurt themselves. Positive life changes don't require hours in the gym; do just enough to cause a change then come back and do it again in a week. With such a program you'll more likely to stick to it and in a year you will be a changed person. Mickey Mantle once said, "If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself". Is it worth spending less than an hour a week exercising to increase your quality of life?

By: John C. Kelly

Fat Loss Fast? It Works! Part 1

There are some many dieting programs in the market and one is befuddled which is the right one to choose from. I have tried so many and almost gave up until I tried Fat Loss 4 Idiots. Finally it worked on me.

I have tried the following commonsense Fat Loss Fast tips which has helped me to lose some weight but not as effective as the Fat Loss 4 Idiots program. For those who want to start somewhere, here are some tips gleaned over the years to share with you.

Food Diary:

Start your diet program with a food diary. Record everything you eat, what you were doing at the time, and how you felt. That tells you about yourself, your temptation, the emotional states that encourage you to snack and may help you lose once you see how much you eat. Write it in a simple pad but you must keep detailed records, in order to guarantee your success.

Low Carbohydrate Diet:

Instead of eating the forbidden piece of candy, brush your teeth. If you're about to cheat, allow yourself a treat, but make sure it's a low carb treat. More and more grocers are carrying low carb foods. If you happen to live in a small community or rural area, there are also tons of great online Low Carb Marts. Try Netrition.com.

Set Attainable Goals:

When hunger hits, wait 10 minutes before eating and see if it passes. Even I have tried auto-suggestion to myself that I want fat loss fast, I set attainable goals. I said, "I want to lose 5 pounds a month." instead of "I want to lose 50 pounds."

Avoid Colas and Fizzy Drinks:

At all costs, avoid sugar. Highly sweetened foods tend to make you crave for more. Stay away from sweetened bottle drinks, especially sodas. All colas and fizzy drinks are sweetened with sugar. Sugar means calories. If you must drink soda, take diet sodas.

Drink Water:

Drink six to eight glasses of water a day. Taken before meals, it dulls the appetite by giving you that "full feeling." Our body needs plenty of water so give in to water. Not only water flush out toxins, you will feel generally healthier and fitter. And the best thing about water, it contains no calories.

You have a choice. Try out the above tips or use a proven program that has saved my self-image and increase my confidence. I lost 8lbs in 11 days.

Try Fat Loss 4 Idiots:

If you want a more structured method to follow, a kind regimented plan to tell you what to eat to achieve your goal, then you should try the proven Fat Loss 4 Idiots program.

The most important thing about any diet program that you want to embark on is how am I sure that this works for me. I have no time to lose. Well it has a high probability of success and I am one of them. It works for me. It is based on a 11-day what-to-eat food program that you choose from according to what you like to eat and not on some 'yukky' foods that you must eat in order to lose the fats. The beautiful part is no starving is needed. Most programs are based on reducing calories. In the beginning, you win the battle. After you succeeded, you gain back the weight and you are back to square one. With its Fat Loss 4 Idiots's track record of success of more than 90%, it's worth the try.

By: Jo Johnson

Setting Goals To Achieve Weight Loss Quick And Easily

No matter what you do in life, you will reach your objective a whole lot faster if you set goals for yourself. This helps us to develop a plan. Everything you do worthwhile in life, is easier to do when you have a clear, concise, plan. Achieving weight loss quick and easily is no different. You must have a plan. You must be careful though that you don't set goals that are unrealistic.

To set unattainable goals is to set yourself up for failure. A plan and goals are terrific. But unreachable goals are a sure path to failure. To experience weight loss quick and easily, you must be careful of what you think of as "quick" or "easy". Anything in life that is worth doing is usually not easy. But, on the other hand, you can make things alot harder than they really are with an attitude of failure. Don't create an attitude of failure by setting unrealistic goals of losing weight at some unbelievable rate. It took a long time for us to get in the shape we're in. It may take quite some time to get in the shape that we would like to be in.

So then, weight loss quick and easily could be considered a "frame of mind". The weight will come off if our diet is effective. And it will come off easily if we have the right frame of mind. If we stay determined, and let nature take it's course, we will succeed. Our bodies will do what is needed to achieve weight loss at a good rate of speed, if we are doing what we need to do mentally to keep our eye on the goal that we should be setting. The goal to be in the best shape we can be in, in a realistic amount of time.

Everyone of us, who is overweight, would like to experience weight loss quick and easily. The idea that we need to get through our thick skulls is that, 'it took a long time for us to get this way, and it may take a little longer than we would like to turn our weight problem around'.

By all means, set goals for losing weight. But, don't be unrealistic. Don't let us think that we are going to experience weight loss quick and easy without effort on our part. Nothing in life worth having is easy, and the things we would like to achieve will need to take time.

To Your Success,

Dr. Doug
(not a real doctor, just a smart guy)!

Taking the Easy Approach to Weight Loss and Fitness

Why is it that some people have no trouble adopting and adhering to a fitness program while other people have so much trouble even getting started on one. The reasons are many but one thing that everyone who has a fitness regimen has in common with each other is that they all had a beginning. People aren't born in great physical shape and neither were they born with a physical fitness regimen either.

The truth of the mater, is that if you were to stop someone that you saw doing their fitness regimen you would most likely find that many of them struggled in the beginning just like you do. What they did though, is that they didn't give up and kept going back until they found something that works. Exercise and fitness regimens are difficult to adhere to in the beginning, because that is the most difficult time.

In the beginning of an exercise regimen your body is objecting by giving you pain. You have yet to see actual results and frankly it isn't really much fun to spend an hour in the evening working out when you are used to spending that hour relaxing in front of the TV. One trick that works is to take small steps when you are beginning an exercise regimen. Make it a ten minute work out and only do it every third day.

You may find that in time you begin to enjoy the way that exercising makes you feel and the ten minutes will begin to stretch into half hour workouts. Once you get a system going then start to take a look at your eating habits. Things like ice cream and any other sweet oily goodies have so many calories in them and in time you won't even miss them once they are eliminated from your diet.

By: Antonious Frederickson

Target Heart Rate for Burning Fat

Because of the way your body uses energy, working out at a certain heart rate allows you to burn fat faster. As a result, dieters need to get their heart rate to stay in this zone so that they can burn fat as quickly as possible. In addition, by staying in this zone you get the maximum benefit of your time and effort.

Because of these factors, health experts have come up with a recommended heart rates for performing your exercise. This recommendation is based on your maximum heart rate. The measurement obtained varies based on age, level of fitness and gender. However, test exist to help you accurately determine this value. But, because of the complexity of the test, most recommendations are based on estimates.

A widely used estimate for maximum value based on averages of large populations is 220 - age. This equation is generally accepted for both men and women. However, a common equation that is used for women is 226 - age. This probably has to do with the fact that women have higher resting heart rates than men.

This is a good place to start for those who are in relatively good health. However, for those who are more physically fit, your maximum will be higher. Likewise, for those who are very overweight or it has been a while since you've exercise, it's advisable for you to use a smaller maximum value. It should go without saying that it's always smart to get a checkup before starting an exercise program.

Once your maximum rate is determined, you can now determine your fat burning zone. Health experts recommend that you should train between 55% and 85 percent of your maximum. For those who are just beginning or are at a low fitness level, stay in the low end of the zone, 55% to 65%. Those who are in the high fitness level will want to work out at the high end of the zone.

By: John C White

Fitness Goals

Your training as a bodybuilder will be satisfying if you remember that a good start to the training begins outside of the gym. After you get the OK from your doctor to start your new workout, take a few moments to ponder about what you hope to carry out and give yourself a time line. That is right, you need to set goals to see results. The most talented bodybuilders on the planet all keep records of their fitness objectives and accomplishments, because this is a way to keep you motivated on a daily basis, even through the holiday season.

Write your goals in a fitness record that you keep in your gym bag. Documenting every goal makes them genuine, instead of just a plain hope for the future. Be rational, or you will be certainly dispirited when you do not have a six-pack in three days or see well-defined leg muscles in a week. In short amounts of time, focus on feeling healthier and then stay on track to achieve your long-term goals. Always set deadlines for achieving your goals, or else you will not stay dedicated. Many bodybuilders and their coaches recommend setting small weekly goals. As you achieve these week by week, you will see that you are also making headway towards you larger goals. Having a timeline will make you feel guilty when you skip a workout or eat fatty foods-your fitness journal will keep you motivated. This is also a good place to record the weights you use and reps you do every day so that you can intensify your workout every time you head to the gym for more training. If you find in your records that you have seemed to hit a plateau, then you know it is time to take more rest days between your workouts to let your muscles rebuild.

There are many people who can help you achieve your goals. First, your doctor may be able to help you plan a safe beginning workout for your fitness level. From there, you can ask the advice of friends who are also bodybuilders, or you can go as far as hiring a personal trainer or coach. This is especially beneficial for bodybuilders whose ultimate goal is to compete. A trainer will not only help you plan your workout, but will also push you to reach your goals. Another person who can be motivating is a workout partner. If you have a friend who is on the same fitness level, go to the gym together and help each other achieve goals. This is also a safer exercise option, since you can spot one another with heavier weights.

Even if you do not complete some of your goals by your deadlines, do not get discouraged. Evaluate the development you have made and your habits, and then either strengthen your workout and eat a healthier diet or loosen up your goals a bit. Bodybuilding is a hobby that takes a lot of sweat and by setting goals, you will see progress.

By: Chuck Cox

Exercises to Lose Lower Back Fat

Most people divide their back into the lower back and the upper back. Some people want to lose lower back fat while other people desire to get rid of their upper back fat.

Because it's very difficult to spot reduce fat from a particular body part, targeted strength exercises can do little do reduce your lower back fat. However, they can tone it and improve its appearance immensely. They can also make you more limber and alleviate back pain. That's why it's important to incorporate targeted exercises in your quest to lose lower back fat.

Here are some exercises which can help you to eliminate lower back fat:

• Back extension:
  • Start: lie on the floor facing down with both hands at your side.
  • Finish: Raise your head and upper back from the floor until you create a comfortable arch in your back. Hold this position for 3-7 seconds and lower your head and upper body back to the floor.
• Straight Arms & Legs Lift:
  • Start: Lie on a mat face down and stretch both hands in a V shape over your head. Stretch both legs on the floor in a slight V shape as well
  • Finish: Raise your head, both arms, and both legs slightly off the floor until your balanced on your midsection. Hold this position for a few seconds and lower yourself back to the mat.
• Diagonal arm and leg lift
  • Start: The same as the straight arms and legs lift.
  • Finish: Raise your right arm and left leg slightly off the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds. Lower yourself back to the mat. Switch sides.
• Stability ball back extension
  • Start: Lie curled face down on a stability ball with both feet on the floor and your your pelvis and lower abdomen touching the ball. Place both hands at the back of your head.
  • Finish: Raise your upper body without shifting your feet until your back is straight. Don't arch your back further than a straight position. Lower yourself back to the starting position.

Whatever you do in these exercises, should you begin to experience back pain, stop immediately. And remember, these exercises are an addition to an overall diet and exercise program which will will reduce your overall body fat and your lower back fat in the process, they are not the only measure. Incorporate them into your regular workouts. They will do wonders to the health and appearance of your lower back.

By: John Davenport

Hate to Exercise? Try Being Active Instead

Before we moved to New England, my husband and I lived in State College, PA. We were friends with a very nice couple, Joe and Irene. We used to go walking with them in the hills of central PA. These walks could be quite strenuous, but always fun, and, good exercise.

Don't even suggest to Joe and Irene they were going to be going on a difficult hike, though-they might bite your head off. They would tell you they absolutely hated hiking and refused to consider going on one. While they never used the work "hiking," they would sometimes walk for an entire day.

Why is it that these particular words were so important to them? They felt that "hiking" implied fancy expensive waterproof mountain boots, hydration packs, trekking poles and freeze dried food. All they wanted to do was take some water and a few snack and be off for the day.

I always think of this couple when I talk to clients about exercise. For some reason, to many people the word ""exercise implies buying a membership to an expensive club, going to a fancy store and buying the athletic garb to wear on the machines. Don't forget the headband to catch the sweat and, of course, the most expensive vitamin/mineral flavored water.

The concept of regular exercise is quite daunting for many people. It implies hours each day and dollars most people can't afford. It creates pictures of people climbing up and down (in place) on machines in the club windows-you know you've seen them as you walk down the street.

If you are one of those club members I see as I walk past the fitness center, and you truly enjoy what your are doing, I applaud you. It may even be that I am jealous of you. I certainly encourage folks with the resources to go ahead and join. But only if this is what you really want to do, not what you think you ought to do.

For the others, however, I try to find a happy medium. Instead of the word "exercise," I start with the phrase "increasing your activity"." To me, a body in motion as opposed to a body at rest is being active. Using those large muscle groups, like the ones found in your legs, takes a lot of energy, and that energy is what burns calories. The longer you use those muscles, the more calories you burn.

Let me tell you, my preferred activity is simply walking. While it may eventually require a more expensive sneaker (or "walking shoes" as they are called), a regular sturdy sneaker or shoe is fine for beginning a walking program. I encourage my clients to start walking 5 minutes, 3 times a week. Usually they say "but that's nothing." Of course I then ask "so what's stopping you?"

Once they do this for two weeks, I suggest increasing the time to 10 minutes, 3 times a week. Then, every two weeks, adding five minutes until they are walking 30-40 minutes three times a week-and lastly, adding an additional day, so they are walking a total of 40-45 minutes 4 times a week. This doesn't have to be at one time, especially if you don't have that large a block of free time. Studies suggest that walking 10 minutes 3-4 times a day may be just as beneficial as a single 45 minute walk. Use the "talk-don't whistle" formula for measuring intensity. This means if you can whistle while you are walking, your pace is too slow. If you can't talk while you're walking, your pace is too fast.

So, whether you are a hiker or a walker, a club member or a solitary biker, remember, words don't matter-staying active does.

By: Leeann Simons

Getting Rid of Belly Fat

Fat around the belly is really harmful. While many realize that fat is bad, most don't realize that stomach fat is the worst. Having an apple shaped body where most of the fat is in the gut area is worse than having a pear shaped body where it is distributed among the thighs, hips and buttocks.

There are many things one can do to reduce it. Determining what you like and do not like is very important if you want to lose belly fat the natural way.

In order to get rid of it you have to lose fat from all over your body. You cannot just lose it from your stomach area alone. Let's talk about things you can do to lower fat.

• Walking and running are two simple things to do in your quest to getting rid of belly fat. Start small and work your way up. And remember to be patient.
• Practicing yoga is very beneficial in a lot of ways. You stretch your muscles and you tone your body.
• Build muscles to burn fat no matter what you are doing. It is an established fact that muscles burn more energy than fat.
• Any form of physical activity counts in the attempt to spend more energy. Even a chore like cleaning your house helps.
• Restaurants portions have gotten really big. When you eat out, split your portion into half. Eat half and take the rest home for a later meal. This way you got two meals for the price of one and you reduced the intake into your body. Always make sure that you take plenty of water with your meals.
• Eliminate or reduce stress and you will eliminate or reduce many physical symptoms in your body. More and more it is becoming evident that stress is harmful to the body in many ways. Yes even in you have a large gut.

It is tempting to try to lose fat as fast as possible. And in order to do this you may try to develop habits that will not help you. Be patient and you will be rewarded. Some things to avoid are listed here.

• Skipping breakfast can be one of the most harmful habits you can develop. While you may think that you are reducing the calorie intake what you are really doing is messing with your body's digestive system. And it will take you longer to lose fat.
• Do not eat just before you go to sleep. Make sure to eat a few hours prior to going to sleep. If you really have to eat just before sleeping, then make it something really small and really light.

There are specific exercises which will help you work on building your stomach muscles. Once you lose the gut fat, your tummy muscles will show. Some exercises you can do are listed here.

• Doing some crunches everyday will help you strengthen those stomach muscles. They are easy to do and work great.
• The air bicycle exercise is another one that works well to strengthen muscles in the ab area. Do a few crunches and follow it with a few cycle pedaling motion.
• You can do the leg lowering exercise to work on the lower stomach muscles. Lie flat on your back. Raise your legs to a ninety degree angle. Start lowering them very slowly. You should feel the heat in your lower abs.

By: Corey Witts

A Combination of Exercise and Diet

When it comes to eating and fitness, we need to pay more attention to ourselves. We all want to be fit and lose weight; you can only achieve that on your own terms. One of the questions most asked is 'how can I lose my stomach or get abs?' perhaps you should know that it cannot be accomplished on just working out, it also takes proper diet. If you don't like the word diet perhaps you can modify your calorie intake. (A good calorie low- carbohydrate diet) exercise and cardiovascular are essential. (So forget about having rice and beans).

To gain weight one would intake more calories, less calories to maintain mass, this makes perfect sense since you need to eat more to gain. (A round about figure estimated 10 calories per pound of lean weight.) That means if you weigh 213 pounds with 12% body fat, your diet would be based on a 2000 calorie diet. Getting cut up is not the healthiest way to maintain all year round or for long periods.

Even if you are eager to lose weight fast, (don't jump into a low calorie diet immediately) you should not let yourself go hungry or starve. Your body will feel threatened and your system will automatically start storing fat. What this means is that if you decide to cheat one day or consume an extra calorie while on maintenance it will be stored as body fat. Body fat severely increases.

Make changes gradually so that your body accepts and adapts to new ways, in the long run you'll be happy, Also carbohydrates increase sugar cravings, so avoid these cycles of yo- yo dieting, restrict your carbohydrates slowly, this will aid in your sugar intake.

Protein should be approximately 1 to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight, protein intake is always important. Protein is essential to a nitrogen balance, protein aids in any repairs or damaged caused by training and cardiovascular and it also avoids muscle from being burned. Fats should be increased to make up for the carbohydrate loss, fat can be used as the alternative for your fuel energy, fats form cholesterol needed to make testosterone and vitamin D. (eat celery) Vegetables contain 80% of water and plenty of fiber, so add these calories to your diet and consume less dense food calories. Don't avoid fats and drink at least 10 8ounce glasses of water per day or more. We are made of 60% water, the more water you drink the less body fat you maintain. So drink, drink and drink. (drink water instead of cafe latte).

When you increase your cardiovascular or exercise you burn more calories than you normally would, it is extremely important that you combine the two, for optimal results be sure to exercise and eat right.

Author, Cice Rivera http://www.cicerivera.com