Success Stories

Why Wait For January To Reach Your New Years Resolution?

Lets face it, the idea of a successful New Years Resolution is almost seductive.  It’s a brand new year, the holidays are over, and because of a few too many parties, your jeans may be fitting a bit tighter than before.  But I have another idea, instead of starting your resolution on January 1st, set yourself up to complete your goal by January 1st.   Just think about it, you wake up January 1st ,  stumble into the bathroom to weight yourself  after a night of celebrating the New Year and you are at your goal weight!  How great would that feel?  What a great way to start the years?  What more could you accomplish with that type of momentum?   Really, there’s no reason to wait to have what you want, is there?  Why would you wait to get something you have been dreaming about?  Instead, take a step towards your dreams today and savor the results on New Years Day.

Lets do the math:  To loose one pound, you need to take in 3500 fewer calories than your body needs.  And the best way to do that is a combination of diet and exercise.  So if you’re goal is to loose ten pounds by January 1st,  you need to take in  35,000 calories less in three months.  Now, that may sound like a lot, but it is really quite workable.  That means you need to reduce your weekly calories by only 2,200 calories.  You could simply add a 30 minute Cardio Kickboxing workout three times each week and a 30-minute Pilates workout twice each week and only have to reduce your caloric intake by about 100 calories a day!  Or if you prefer to workout outside, add a brisk 35-minute walk each day and reduce your intake by about 100 calories a day – you are at your goal by January 1!

Now I know there are some of you who hate dieting, and I don’t blame you.  I love eating too.  And you can still loose weight without dieting – you simply have to move more.  Here is a list of great fat-burners.  Choose a variety of exercises to get the most bang for your buck:

• Step Aerobics:  Burns about 75 calories per 10 minutes of exercise.  To loose one pound, simply add in 10 or 11 40-minute Step workouts.
• Cardio Kickboxing:  Burns around 100 calories per 10 minutes of exercise.  To loose one pound, add in about 9 40-minute workouts.
• Low Impact Aerobics:  Just because it says “Low Impact” doesn’t mean its easy.  As with any form of exercise you get from it what you give it and this one is easy on the joints and a ton of fun, all the while burning around 70 calories every 10 minutes.
• Group Cycling:  This one can burn upwards of 125 calories every 10 minutes!!!  That means for every 7 Cycling Classes you take, you can loose a pound!
• Interval Training:  The beauty of this workout is it incorporates resistance training with cardiovascular exercise and can burn between 80 to 125 calories every 10 minutes.  And because the workout routine changes so frequently, the body never has a chance to adapt to the routine allowing for better results in less time.

By starting today, you can savor the results on New Years Day.  You can say to yourself “Well Done” while you put on your new (and smaller) pair of jeans.  Instead of starting a diet on January 1, start the New Year with a New You!

How To Choose The Right Exercise Video For You

If you truly want to exercise–you have many options: Walking, hiking, running, biking, swimming, strength training, group exercise workouts. But even the most dedicated exerciser can struggle to get their workout in when short on time. If you have a busy life due to family obligations or work commitments, or you live in a town were the closest health club is half an hour away, or you simply feel uncomfortable walking into a gym, you may consider trying exercise videos and working out at home. There are workouts for the beginner to the advanced, from Pilates and Yoga to Toning and Kickboxing. So finding the right video for you is relatively simple, but here are a few types when choosing your home exercise video:

1) It’s very important not to give in to all the hyped marketing surrounding many videos that may make unsubstantiated promises. In fact, any video that promises quick weight loss or instant results is probably unsafe and should be avoided.

2) Ask your friends what exercise videos they do. Or go to your local video store and rent a few workout videos to see which ones you like before investing $20 into one video.

3) Decide what you want to achieve: If you want to loose body fat, choose cardiovascular workouts (like Low-Impact, Step Aerobics, Cardio Dance, Kickboxing) over Pilates/Yoga workouts. While I truly believe a well-balanced workout routine includes Pilates, Yoga and strength training, at least initially, most of your workout time should not be devoted to this type of training.

(4) Honestly evaluate your current level and choose exercise videos appropriate for where you are today. By working out at your level, you will be able to get stronger and develop more endurance without putting your body at risk. Also, this creates a feeling of success, and as I always say, there is nothing more motivating than success.

5) The exercise video should give modifications for different fitness levels. For example, an aerobic video may show a high impact option, a medium impact option and a low impact option. Or a toning workout video may show how to increase or decrease the intensity of a shoulder exercise by changing the position of the hands.

6) Instead of spending around $20 per video, consider subscribing to an online exercise video website. There are several good ones out there. These types of websites offer a variety of exercise videos and add new workout videos every week for between $10 to $20 per month.

Whatever you do–make sure it works with your schedule and make sure you enjoy the workout. By choosing workouts you enjoy and naturally fit into your life, you are setting yourself up for success. The the more successful you are with your workouts–the more you will do them.

How to Lose Five pounds in Two Weeks

It may be a first date, your best friend’s wedding or just a secondary thought, but if you need to lose weight quickly then there are quite a few things you need to do – follow these simple yet effective tips and get yourself started on the new you. Losing five pounds in two weeks may sound impossible, but really isn’t. With the right amount and type of food and the right type of exercises you can lose those few pounds to fit into the favorite skinny jeans and still not feel weak or tired

Ideally the day you think of losing those five pounds, get yourself weighed and also check for the body fat if you can lay your hands on a body-fat scale. Write it on a bright colored slip of paper (this will be a good reminder especially if your fridge holds all types of reminders) along with your target weight, stick it up on the fridge. Then follow these steps and go from flab to fab in no time.

Diet

With all the hype and hoopla about dieting, the fact is our body is what we eat. So if you want to lose the extra flab, eat correctly. This definitely does not mean leaving out certain foods and eating more of only certain types. Irrespective of your well-thought and well-meant goals, your body always requires full nutrition. Plan a daily diet for the next two weeks and write it down. Ideally your daily diet should have two small meals, one snack, and two smoothies or juices. To beat the hunger-pangs include a good dose of salads and try to keep yourself busy, that way you will think of things other than food and weight-loss.

Exercises

As the aim is quick weight loss in short time, simple exercises like yoga or Tai-Chi may not be such a good idea. Instead plan a 30-minute fat burning cardio kickboxing or maybe even salsa aerobics, which can even be done at home with exercise videos. Do not exceed more than 3-4 days in a week to do this. At least one day in a week include a 15-minute fat burning cardio preferably outdoors like jogging or bicycling. Whether or not you are used to exercising, remember to warm up and cool down after each exercising session. This is very important to help the body heal itself.

A few exercises that can be done seeing workout videos that can help you loose weight quickly are

1. Step Aerobics – a single hour of step aerobics can help burn 800 calories.
2. Bicycling – an hour of bicycling helps burn 500 to 1000 calories
3. Elliptical burner – this excellent cardio workout builds stronger muscles, tones the abs and help burn about 600 calories in a single hour
4. Racquetball – again an excellent cardio which tones the thighs and legs burns 800 calories an hour
5. Swimming – tones the body as a whole and the up and down lengths in a medium sized pool can help burn 800 calories at least
6. Walking – yes it is the simplest of the exercises but a brisk walk of an hour can easily burn up to 360 calories. Modifications like walking uphill or sprinting can help burn more calories. Include this for the days when you are feeling low and uninspired to do the exercises and yet need to stick to your schedule

But if you don’t like traditional exercise, how about dancing to your favorite tunes while you blast your ipod!  What you need to do is move your body, and if you can keep moving by watching music videos and learning a few moves, go for it.  Stay active at least 30 minutes each day, break a sweat and watch your diet and before you know it, you will loose those five pounds you’ve been wanting to loose.

Sweat-Free Workouts That Will Help You Loose Weight

The effectiveness of the exercise is often measured in the increase of heart rate and the amount of perspiration one undergoes, yet exercises are not all about increasing the pumping of the heart or sweating it out at the gym. With the summer heat making your skin pores already work harder, it is really unfair to indulge in high intensity exercises that make you sweat more. This is even more so for people who hate exercises especially if it induces sweating and yet need to loose weight. The right word for you would be the low intensity workouts such as Tai chi which mixes stretching and meditation with a good dose of mild exercises.  But for those who don’t know Tai Chi, the following may be beneficial.

1. Walking

The simplest of all forms of exercises, you can even do this on a slow speed on your treadmill or better still take a walk with your spouse (or your dog if you have one) early in the morning or late in the evening every day for at least 45 minutes to one hour. Walking helps control your blood pressure, relaxes your body and mind and also manages your weight without so much as breaking a sweat.

2. Pilates

Pilates exercises combines the fine factors of gymnastics, yoga, dance and calisthenics and helps strengthen the core, improve overall posture and also help lengthen the body. Pilates as can be seen in the workout videos is not an aerobic workout and hence there is no sweating, it cannot be substituted for strength training exercises and it does not burn calories like cardio workouts. But it does target the abs and the back. Two of the common Pilates exercises are The Hundred and the Double Leg Stretch.

To do the basic “The Hundred” exercise, lie flat on your back, legs bent in a tabletop position (your shin and your ankles should be parallel to the floor), hands to the side of your body. Inhale. Now exhaling slowly lift your head up to your shoulder level, curling your upper spine (without lifting your shoulders off the floor), feel the pressure on your abs. Inhale and stay in this position for a few seconds. Exhale and deepen the pull on your abdominal muscles, extend your arms and legs. Inhale and exhale five short breaths (sniff in and puff out). Return to the start position. Repeat for 10 full breaths.

3. Yoga

The gentle stretches, bends and breathing of yoga can help regulate your hunger apart from various other benefits like suppleness of the body, regulation of breathing and heart beat. Even the most simple posture like the Swastikasana (sitting with cross-folded legs so that the sole of your leg is placed between the thigh and calf muscles) helps stretch and strengthen your thigh muscles without the least bit of sweating.

The best part of all the above exercises, as you can see in the exercise videos is they don’t need any special equipment, place or time and can be practically done anywhere and everywhere, the only criteria being an empty stomach.