Weight Loss
Content
The issue of weight is as big as it's ever been. Throughout the world, there are many people who are struggling with this issue and are at a higher risk for many health problems. Some of these problems are only minor, like the common cold and achy knees and joints. Other health risks that overweight people are more susceptible to are very concerning, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
The road to weight loss is not an easy one. There will be times when you will simply want to give up. Besides from regular exercises and appropriate food selection, it is also important to have the discipline and dedication to stick to your diet program. Losing weight is a commitment that one must make in all areas of their life and it is likely a commitment that needs to be made over a long term to eliminate possibilities of the weight returning. Understand that a weight loss program is not a linear process. Your body weight may go up or down over a given period of time. Still, you should aim to have more pounds lost than gained. For every pound gained, your goal should be to lose two. In this way, you will progress and be closer to your desired weight. Here are our top 10 tips to get you closer to your desired weight:
1. Increase the non-soluble fiber variety of foods in your diet. Most
people think of fruits and vegetables when they think about fiber, but actually it is the fiber in wheat bran (choker) which weight loss specialists talk about when they want to suggest fiber. The fiber in fruits and vegetables, though quite useful, is in much lesser quantity. One can add 1 teaspoon of wheat bran per roti (chapati) or boil 1 teaspoon of wheat bran in milk (skimmed milk) and have it at night. 2. Drink hot water through out the day. One can drink 4 to 6 glasses of hot water through out the day to aid digestion and weight loss. Adding a pinch of fennel (saunf) or elaichi (cardamom) will make it easier to have the hot water and will also help you loose weight quickly. 3. Substitute roti (chapati) with dalia (porridge). Roti is refined wheat and dalia is unrefined wheat, if one eats vegetable dalia instead of roti for one meal, it goes a long way to cut down the weight. One can make vegetable dalia with chopped peas, onions, tomato, cauliflower and beans. It is not only sumptuous to look at but also very delicious. 4. Cut down on milk, curd and paneer as it is very kapha in nature and thereby may be fattening in winters. To increase the calcium intake include a teaspoon of flaxseed and half a teaspoon of black sesame seeds (kala til) in your diet.
5. Take half a teaspoon of amla (Indian gooseberry) powder with water
every morning on an empty stomach. Amla is excellent for improving the liver function which is important for metabolism. A weak or sluggish liver is ultimately responsible for fat accumulation. 6. Have raw carrots, tomatoes and radish (mooli). These raw foods also are rich in enzymes which provide the extra metabolizing power to the liver to help in fat breakdown. Cooking these vegetables decrease their nutritive value. 7. Light dinners are the key to weight loss. No other way is so effective as much as light dinners. When we say light dinners, it is basically means no cereals or pulses but only vegetables, soups and salads (especially for women). 8. Maintain a food diary. Food diary is one of the extremely important aspects of weight loss which is frequently neglected. 9. Avoid sugar completely if you can. One should also avoid the diet drinks as they are full of salt and other chemicals which hinder weight loss. 10. Finally, Dont be greedy, be patient. If you are giving input of 70% then you do not have the right to desire 150%, so your desires should match your efforts. You can and will Beat the Bulge! All it takes is a little determination and proper guidance. Good luck! Tags: Obesity, Diet, Motivation, Nutrition, Bran, Digestion, Dinner, Tips, Weight Loss
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/top-10-weight-loss-tips647117#ixzz1GryyIeuV
Just about everyone in the world, at sometime or other, are looking to find the best weight loss options to help them lose that extra dress size or that flabby beer belly. In an effort to find ways for shedding a few pounds within a minimum time possible effort, people either starve or opt for very strenuous physical exercises to achieve the goal of weight loss. They harass their exercise trainers to make them lose weight. They take up exercises to lose weight but promptly give up if they do not see the needle move! The problem with most people is that they dwell in either of the two extremes; all or nothing. Either they workout and diet like crazy, or they chuck the whole thing and go back to their old ways.
To begin with, there are two basic components to lose weight: diet and exercise. You can't take any shortcuts here; you can't do one without the other. But each component works differently for the two sexes. For Women For women needing to lose more than 15kg weight it is advisable to first eat the right diet for weight loss according to your constitution (vata, pitta or kapha) and then go for the right type of exercise. Let's break your regime in 3 Phases:
First Phase:
Cut down on foods which are preventing weight lose (which could be sugar, maida, too much wheat/rice) and combine it with weekly body massages (this will get the lymph channel moving) and steam (in summer). Also go for walks which are not too taxing.
Second Phase:
This will start once you have dropped 5-7 kilos. Shift from pure weight loss foods to normal diet. You can also include indulgences on a weekly basis which you are likely to do after achieving your target weight (indulgence could be pizza, sweets, icecreams). This will prevent you from over-eating once the target is achieved. Now step up the exercise. Do three days of brisk walking or cardiovascular and three days of stretching/yoga.
Final Phase:
Start on your life-long healthy eating plan which includes all the nutritionally good food which agrees with your body constitution and also include the weekly indulgences. In consultation with your instructor, tailor-make a program for your needs
For men
Principally men lose more on exercise than on diet program because of their body composition. But trying to escape a good diet regime is akin to a half-hearted program which is bound to fail! So following a sensible diet to fit the exercise schedule is very important.
Do's and Don'ts
• Do not attempt heavy diet and exercise together. It is most practical to begin with a strict diet regime coupled with basic walking (which shouldn't be strenuous). • Do not begin exercises with a short term goal in mind of just losing weight as stopping exercises after losing weight will bring it all back. • After losing weight, the only way to keep it off is to enhance your exercise program as one tends to break the regimented diet after achieving the goal. • Plan weight loss in phases where you may initially do more of disciplined diets and as you reach your target switch to more of exercises and less of discipline diets. Weight loss isn't an impossible undertaking when smart choices are put into action. A good mix of healthy eating and a bit of exercise can really help. The key to long-term results is combining smart choices and lifestyle changes. You can do it but you have to work at it and follow through. Remember, today is the very first day of the rest of your life. Make it a good day, a day of change and personal improvement. Tags: Motivation, Diet, Weight Regain, Nutrition, Health, Exercise, Solution, Obesity, Walking, Weight Loss
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/how-to-lose-15-20-kg-weight128357#ixzz1Gs1FCHbM
People who are going through the problem of an uncontrolled weight gain can only feel the discomfort, physical as well as mental. They feel shy to move out of their "shell" and they fear that they would not be able to carry on with a fitness program for a long time. But we can help those individuals who are going through the problem of obesity. We can offer them the maximum level of comfort by guiding them on their workouts. It should be the responsibility of every gym member and the trainer to see that the overweight persons are comfortably fitted into the atmosphere of the gym. The trainer should also focus on the health conditions of the obese people while they are initiating an exercise regimen. This is how overweight individuals can start off with a fitness program:
1. Seek Support
Your family members, friends, doctor and trainer can help you come out of your health and mental issues. If you are planning to start with a fitness program, then you should let your doctor know about it. He needs to examine your health conditions closely since you might be suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and shortness of breath. While enrolling in a gym, inform about your health conditions to your trainer. It is best to consult a trainer who is experienced in dealing with obese persons. You can also get yourself enrolled in a wellness center which is affiliated to a hospital. In these places, you can get the best workout options based on your health conditions. These are the places where you can opt for the low-impact classes like chair or water aerobics.
2. Try to Overcome Your Mental Barriers
People with obesity often find it difficult to adjust with any other normal guy. We all have fear of social rejections and this fear is a bit more intensified in overweight individuals. Some of the overweight individuals not only feel shy on their body shape, but they also show too much of concern on injuries and pains which might result during or after a workout. If you are overweight and if these factors are keeping you away from fitness programs then you should know that this would not be the picture tomorrow. For a better tomorrow, you have to come out of your mental convictions. Today's openness and courage would play their part tomorrow!
3. Get Ready with Your Accessories
• You should choose clothing which would support your body movements. Chafing is common in the leg and groin area. So wearing shorts with a loose T-shirt is recommended. • You should carefully choose your exercise shoes. Support plays an important part in your exercises and let the store staff make some recommendations for you. • You should keep on monitoring your weight, diet and exercises. Many smartphones are equipped with these applications and there are online tracking systems as well. You can also wear a pedometer. It can be a powerful reminder that every step counts, and soon you will be finding ways to add steps to your day.
4. Begin with "Tiny Steps"
• If you are an overweight individual, you do not have to make a start by running several miles! Your aim is not to become the "Biggest Loser". Rather, take a few steps to cover a small distance in your neighborhood daily. Gradually increase the time so that you can walk 30 minutes comfortably three or four times a week. If you don't have full 30 minutes to walk, then break the 30 minutes down into several shorter walks, for example, three 10minute walking sessions. The key is to be consistent. • After you feel that you are gradually getting habituated with your daily walking activity, consider joining a gym. It is not essential to workout for 6 days a week. Rather, you should focus on visiting the gym three times a week at the initial stage. Later as your fitness level increases, you can increase the number of your weekly workout sessions to five. • You cannot think of running immediately after you start off with a fitness plan. This is because your heavy weight is already putting a lot of pressure on your joints and running might cause your knee joints to suffer injuries. Just opt for a brisk walk followed by a few minutes of light jogging on soft grasses. • Speed is not an essential requirement in your walking sessions. You can be an average walker, but you should be able to cover the targeted distance. • Both strength training and cardio exercises should be part of your workout session with more focus on cardio in the beginning. Cardio exercises like walking, elliptical, stationary bike and water aerobics will help you lose weight, whereas strength training will add strength to your muscles. When doing strength training without a trainer, use weight machines instead of free weights to reduce your chances of injury. • Consider working out on a recumbent bike or a recumbent stepper (exercises done lying down) as these provide sufficient support to the back, knees and hip joints. Just remember that "patience is a virtue" and "Rome was not built in a day". Thus, you need to be highly patient to see noticeable results. And don't compare yourself with other persons. They might be fit enough to start off quickly with high-impact exercises. But you need to wait for some time before your trainer permits you to do so. Once you show the courage to get enrolled in a gym, you come on the way to become the "Biggest Winner'. Tags: Motivation, Weight Loss, Tips, Fitness, Exercise, Obesity
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/exercise-tips-for-overweightindividuals-74475514#ixzz1Gs1fVKuD
There is no question that people want a healthier and better looking body. But sometimes having a gym membership is just too much money. And adding to that, the lack of time to exercise means it is an utter waste of money. But hanging out on your sofa watching the "idiot box" doesn't mean you have to be a couch potato.
An average person comes home at the end of the day, eat their meal and turns on the television. When you are watching TV, it is often tempting to reach for a bag of chips or namkeens. This labels you a 'Couch Potato'. Watching TV can be one of the worst things for your body. But it doesn't have to be. There are numerous simple yet effective exercises you can do in front of the Television. Here are a few to get you started:
1. Spot Jogging: The easiest way to get a workout is to start jogging in
place. Choose your favorite TV show and jog during the commercials. There are usually 15 minutes of commercials in an hour on TV. This means you can end up jogging for about half an hour while watching TV for 2 hours. To go a little easy, you can even try walking in place. 2. Dancing: Dancing is the best form of cardio. Listen to your favorite music show and break a move. It is a fun and an energetic way to get a workout. You can easily burn 130-150 calories while dancing for just half an hour. 3. Invest in exercise machines: If you can afford machines like treadmills, rowers, stationary bikes, stair steppers, you can get a great workout by exercising in front of the TV. 4. Exercise ball: Instead of sitting on a chair, use an exercise ball. It challenges core muscles for a proper workout and you can do all of that while you watch television. 5. Squat: See how many squats you can do during a 3 or 4 minute commercial break by sitting down then popping right back up to a standing position. This is a good exercise for your legs and buttocks. Stand so that your feet are about shoulder-width apart and put your hands on your hips. Keeping your back perfectly straight and looking straight ahead, bend your knees slowly as if you were going to sit back in a chair. Return to the standing position. 6. Jumping Jacks: 5 to 10 minutes a day of jumping jack workout is a great way to get your heart pumping and they also allow you to focus somewhat on watching TV. Jumping jack (also commonly known as a star jump) is an exercise performed by jumping to a position with the legs spread wide and
the hands touching overhead and then returning to a position with the feet together and the arms at the sides. 7. Belly exercises: While sitting on the couch or sofa, just stiffen the abs muscles. By doing 20-30 repetitions of this simple exercise, you're strengthening your abdominal muscles. 8. Step up: Try to simulate the exercise of walking up stairs using a low platform. This gives your lower body a great workout, while getting your heart pumping. Just step up with one foot and then the other, then step back down with one foot and then the other. Increase the pace for a higher intensity workout. 9. Toe Exercises: Sit barefoot on the couch and simply lift your toes while keeping your heels firmly on the ground. Hold for a count of five and repeat. It is a great simple exercise for your calves. To stretch the thigh muscle, raise the knee of one leg to the chest and hold for a count five. Repeat with the opposite leg. 10. Push-ups: Commercial breaks during a show is a great opportunity to do push-ups, sit-ups or other exercises that take your eyes from the TV. Push-ups hit the chest, shoulder and tricep areas, building core strength and overall power. If you are a beginner, you can do these against the wall and when you have built enough strength, you can switch to floor push-ups. 11. Kicks and punches: Add in some random kicks and punches and keep your feet moving at the same time. Sometime any activity is a good activity. Cool down and have a glass of water when you are done. You see, watching TV doesn't mean you have to be a couch potato. You can get a great workout and have fun at the same time! Tags: Watching TV, Motivation, Tips, Fitness, Exercise
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/11-ways-to-exercise-while-watchingtv-42381683#ixzz1Gs2D91YY
Walking is one of the important milestones which come by the first birthday and since then various changes and modifications take place on the gait pattern (the way you walk). Other than being a means of locomotion, walking is also a good form of low impact, less intense aerobic exercise. Most of us make certain mistakes while walking, which can have an unwanted impact on our health. It is very important to opt for correct techniques of walking to get the maximum benefits without any injury.
Here are the most common walking mistakes to be avoided:
1. Overstriding: Stride length, in simple words, refers to the length of each
step taken while walking, running or jogging. We all have our own characteristic stride length. When you try to walk faster than your standard speed, you might try to increase your stride length because of which you might develop poor posture and hurt your back. Therefore instead of taking bigger steps, go for shorter and quicker ones! 2. Wrong Foot Gear: Choosing the wrong footwear will not only make your walk uncomfortable, but it will also make you prone to injury. Your walking shoes should be lightweight and should have a flexible sole to allow good freedom of motion by permitting your foot to roll through each step from heel to toe. Choose those shoes that fit you! If you walk for 30 minutes or more, then choose shoes larger than your dress shoes as your feet may swell when you walk for a long period of time. Prolonged walking with tight shoes can cause pain and cramping while loose shoes can make "push-off" (application of pressure for the purpose of moving) difficult. 3. Wrong Clothing: Improper clothing can interfere with your thermoregulation (the ability of your body to keep its temperature within certain boundaries even if the temperature of the surrounding environment is pretty different) and can eventually affect your walking efficiency. Choose clothing according to environmental conditions. For example, in a hot climate, wear fabrics like climacool or coolmax which will allow the sweat to evaporate away from the body. Wearing dark clothing while walking at night can make you susceptible to accidents. For safety purpose, wear reflector stripes or night glow badges.
4. Foot Slap: Foot slap occurs when at heel strike (i.e., when the heel makes
contact with the floor), the forefoot slaps the ground (which means that you land flat footed) instead of rolling through from heel to toe. This can lead to pain in your shins. Foot slap can be due to weak dorsiflexors i.e. weak shins, heavy shoes, stiff shoes (inflexible sole) etc. In order to avoid foot slap, wear lightweight shoes with a flexible sole and low heel. Strengthen your shin by performing toe raises. To perform toe raises, stand on the ledge of a step with your heels hanging over the edge. Now, dip the heels down, then raise them high. Repeat 10 times. This is a simple, yet an effective way of strengthening your shins. You can also do heel walking (walking slowing, with small stride length, on your heels with your toes raised as high as possible) for 20 to 30 seconds to strengthen your shins. 5. Lack of Arm Swing: Normally while walking, arm swinging occurs in order to counterbalance the leg motion. Arm swinging can also aid in gaining the momentum, thereby helping you to walk at a faster speed. Lack of arm swing can put a lot of stress on your back. So, make sure to swing your arms back and forth opposite to the direction of leg motion. 6. Incorrect Posture: Improper postures like head down, leaning forward etc. are very commonly observed and these can lead to problems like neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain and breathing difficulty. So whenever you intend to walk, stand straight and feel like being tall! Do not arch your back. Pull your stomach in, keep your buttocks tight and maintain the natural curves of the spine to prevent undue stress. 7. Overtraining: The zeal to burn calories in order to lose weight makes many people to walk beyond their capacity. They soon begin to feel tired and irritable, and pains and aches start popping up their ugly heads. Under such a situation, it is better to take a break and to refresh yourself. You must listen to your body and wait for it to recover. This is the best possible way to get ready for the next walking session! Walking is a fun and it is a form of recreation during moments of leisure. You might take a great deal of interest in this form of physical activity, but wrong postures and incorrect walking techniques can nullify your efforts. You might also suffer from injuries which can act as obstacles for your fitness routine. So, adopting the correct techniques of walking is very essential in order to continue with your regular walks! Tags: Tips, Mistakes, Walking, Exercise, Fitness
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/7-common-walking-mistakes-youshould-avoid-106794760#ixzz1Gs2eCRBK
The road to weight loss is not an easy one. There will be times when you will simply want to give up. Besides from regular exercises and appropriate food selection, it is also important to have the discipline and dedication to stick to your diet program. Losing weight is a commitment that one must make in all areas of their life and it is likely a commitment that needs to be made over a long term to eliminate possibilities of the weight returning. Understand that a weight loss program is not a linear process. Your body weight may go up or down over a given period of time. Still, you should aim to have more pounds lost than gained. For every pound gained, your goal should be to lose two. In this way, you will progress and be closer to your desired weight. Here are our top 10 tips to get you closer to your desired weight:
1. Increase the non-soluble fiber variety of foods in your diet. Most
people think of fruits and vegetables when they think about fiber, but actually it is the fiber in wheat bran (choker) which weight loss specialists talk about when they want to suggest fiber. The fiber in fruits and vegetables, though quite useful, is in much lesser quantity. One can add 1 teaspoon of wheat bran per roti (chapati) or boil 1 teaspoon of wheat bran in milk (skimmed milk) and have it at night. 2. Drink hot water through out the day. One can drink 4 to 6 glasses of hot water through out the day to aid digestion and weight loss. Adding a pinch of fennel (saunf) or elaichi (cardamom) will make it easier to have the hot water and will also help you loose weight quickly. 3. Substitute roti (chapati) with dalia (porridge). Roti is refined wheat and dalia is unrefined wheat, if one eats vegetable dalia instead of roti for one meal, it goes a long way to cut down the weight. One can make vegetable dalia with chopped peas, onions, tomato, cauliflower and beans. It is not only sumptuous to look at but also very delicious. 4. Cut down on milk, curd and paneer as it is very kapha in nature and thereby may be fattening in winters. To increase the calcium intake include a teaspoon of flaxseed and half a teaspoon of black sesame seeds (kala til) in your diet.
5. Take half a teaspoon of amla (Indian gooseberry) powder with water
every morning on an empty stomach. Amla is excellent for improving the liver function which is important for metabolism. A weak or sluggish liver is ultimately responsible for fat accumulation. 6. Have raw carrots, tomatoes and radish (mooli). These raw foods also are rich in enzymes which provide the extra metabolizing power to the liver to help in fat breakdown. Cooking these vegetables decrease their nutritive value. 7. Light dinners are the key to weight loss. No other way is so effective as much as light dinners. When we say light dinners, it is basically means no cereals or pulses but only vegetables, soups and salads (especially for women). 8. Maintain a food diary. Food diary is one of the extremely important aspects of weight loss which is frequently neglected. 9. Avoid sugar completely if you can. One should also avoid the diet drinks as they are full of salt and other chemicals which hinder weight loss. 10. Finally, Dont be greedy, be patient. If you are giving input of 70% then you do not have the right to desire 150%, so your desires should match your efforts. You can and will Beat the Bulge! All it takes is a little determination and proper guidance. Good luck! Tags: Obesity, Diet, Motivation, Nutrition, Bran, Digestion, Dinner, Tips, Weight Loss
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/top-10-weight-loss-tips647117#ixzz1GryyIeuV
Just about everyone in the world, at sometime or other, are looking to find the best weight loss options to help them lose that extra dress size or that flabby beer belly. In an effort to find ways for shedding a few pounds within a minimum time possible effort, people either starve or opt for very strenuous physical exercises to achieve the goal of weight loss. They harass their exercise trainers to make them lose weight. They take up exercises to lose weight but promptly give up if they do not see the needle move! The problem with most people is that they dwell in either of the two extremes; all or nothing. Either they workout and diet like crazy, or they chuck the whole thing and go back to their old ways.
To begin with, there are two basic components to lose weight: diet and exercise. You can't take any shortcuts here; you can't do one without the other. But each component works differently for the two sexes. For Women For women needing to lose more than 15kg weight it is advisable to first eat the right diet for weight loss according to your constitution (vata, pitta or kapha) and then go for the right type of exercise. Let's break your regime in 3 Phases:
First Phase:
Cut down on foods which are preventing weight lose (which could be sugar, maida, too much wheat/rice) and combine it with weekly body massages (this will get the lymph channel moving) and steam (in summer). Also go for walks which are not too taxing.
Second Phase:
This will start once you have dropped 5-7 kilos. Shift from pure weight loss foods to normal diet. You can also include indulgences on a weekly basis which you are likely to do after achieving your target weight (indulgence could be pizza, sweets, icecreams). This will prevent you from over-eating once the target is achieved. Now step up the exercise. Do three days of brisk walking or cardiovascular and three days of stretching/yoga.
Final Phase:
Start on your life-long healthy eating plan which includes all the nutritionally good food which agrees with your body constitution and also include the weekly indulgences. In consultation with your instructor, tailor-make a program for your needs
For men
Principally men lose more on exercise than on diet program because of their body composition. But trying to escape a good diet regime is akin to a half-hearted program which is bound to fail! So following a sensible diet to fit the exercise schedule is very important.
Do's and Don'ts
• Do not attempt heavy diet and exercise together. It is most practical to begin with a strict diet regime coupled with basic walking (which shouldn't be strenuous). • Do not begin exercises with a short term goal in mind of just losing weight as stopping exercises after losing weight will bring it all back. • After losing weight, the only way to keep it off is to enhance your exercise program as one tends to break the regimented diet after achieving the goal. • Plan weight loss in phases where you may initially do more of disciplined diets and as you reach your target switch to more of exercises and less of discipline diets. Weight loss isn't an impossible undertaking when smart choices are put into action. A good mix of healthy eating and a bit of exercise can really help. The key to long-term results is combining smart choices and lifestyle changes. You can do it but you have to work at it and follow through. Remember, today is the very first day of the rest of your life. Make it a good day, a day of change and personal improvement. Tags: Motivation, Diet, Weight Regain, Nutrition, Health, Exercise, Solution, Obesity, Walking, Weight Loss
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/how-to-lose-15-20-kg-weight128357#ixzz1Gs1FCHbM
People who are going through the problem of an uncontrolled weight gain can only feel the discomfort, physical as well as mental. They feel shy to move out of their "shell" and they fear that they would not be able to carry on with a fitness program for a long time. But we can help those individuals who are going through the problem of obesity. We can offer them the maximum level of comfort by guiding them on their workouts. It should be the responsibility of every gym member and the trainer to see that the overweight persons are comfortably fitted into the atmosphere of the gym. The trainer should also focus on the health conditions of the obese people while they are initiating an exercise regimen. This is how overweight individuals can start off with a fitness program:
1. Seek Support
Your family members, friends, doctor and trainer can help you come out of your health and mental issues. If you are planning to start with a fitness program, then you should let your doctor know about it. He needs to examine your health conditions closely since you might be suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and shortness of breath. While enrolling in a gym, inform about your health conditions to your trainer. It is best to consult a trainer who is experienced in dealing with obese persons. You can also get yourself enrolled in a wellness center which is affiliated to a hospital. In these places, you can get the best workout options based on your health conditions. These are the places where you can opt for the low-impact classes like chair or water aerobics.
2. Try to Overcome Your Mental Barriers
People with obesity often find it difficult to adjust with any other normal guy. We all have fear of social rejections and this fear is a bit more intensified in overweight individuals. Some of the overweight individuals not only feel shy on their body shape, but they also show too much of concern on injuries and pains which might result during or after a workout. If you are overweight and if these factors are keeping you away from fitness programs then you should know that this would not be the picture tomorrow. For a better tomorrow, you have to come out of your mental convictions. Today's openness and courage would play their part tomorrow!
3. Get Ready with Your Accessories
• You should choose clothing which would support your body movements. Chafing is common in the leg and groin area. So wearing shorts with a loose T-shirt is recommended. • You should carefully choose your exercise shoes. Support plays an important part in your exercises and let the store staff make some recommendations for you. • You should keep on monitoring your weight, diet and exercises. Many smartphones are equipped with these applications and there are online tracking systems as well. You can also wear a pedometer. It can be a powerful reminder that every step counts, and soon you will be finding ways to add steps to your day.
4. Begin with "Tiny Steps"
• If you are an overweight individual, you do not have to make a start by running several miles! Your aim is not to become the "Biggest Loser". Rather, take a few steps to cover a small distance in your neighborhood daily. Gradually increase the time so that you can walk 30 minutes comfortably three or four times a week. If you don't have full 30 minutes to walk, then break the 30 minutes down into several shorter walks, for example, three 10minute walking sessions. The key is to be consistent. • After you feel that you are gradually getting habituated with your daily walking activity, consider joining a gym. It is not essential to workout for 6 days a week. Rather, you should focus on visiting the gym three times a week at the initial stage. Later as your fitness level increases, you can increase the number of your weekly workout sessions to five. • You cannot think of running immediately after you start off with a fitness plan. This is because your heavy weight is already putting a lot of pressure on your joints and running might cause your knee joints to suffer injuries. Just opt for a brisk walk followed by a few minutes of light jogging on soft grasses. • Speed is not an essential requirement in your walking sessions. You can be an average walker, but you should be able to cover the targeted distance. • Both strength training and cardio exercises should be part of your workout session with more focus on cardio in the beginning. Cardio exercises like walking, elliptical, stationary bike and water aerobics will help you lose weight, whereas strength training will add strength to your muscles. When doing strength training without a trainer, use weight machines instead of free weights to reduce your chances of injury. • Consider working out on a recumbent bike or a recumbent stepper (exercises done lying down) as these provide sufficient support to the back, knees and hip joints. Just remember that "patience is a virtue" and "Rome was not built in a day". Thus, you need to be highly patient to see noticeable results. And don't compare yourself with other persons. They might be fit enough to start off quickly with high-impact exercises. But you need to wait for some time before your trainer permits you to do so. Once you show the courage to get enrolled in a gym, you come on the way to become the "Biggest Winner'. Tags: Motivation, Weight Loss, Tips, Fitness, Exercise, Obesity
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/exercise-tips-for-overweightindividuals-74475514#ixzz1Gs1fVKuD
There is no question that people want a healthier and better looking body. But sometimes having a gym membership is just too much money. And adding to that, the lack of time to exercise means it is an utter waste of money. But hanging out on your sofa watching the "idiot box" doesn't mean you have to be a couch potato.
An average person comes home at the end of the day, eat their meal and turns on the television. When you are watching TV, it is often tempting to reach for a bag of chips or namkeens. This labels you a 'Couch Potato'. Watching TV can be one of the worst things for your body. But it doesn't have to be. There are numerous simple yet effective exercises you can do in front of the Television. Here are a few to get you started:
1. Spot Jogging: The easiest way to get a workout is to start jogging in
place. Choose your favorite TV show and jog during the commercials. There are usually 15 minutes of commercials in an hour on TV. This means you can end up jogging for about half an hour while watching TV for 2 hours. To go a little easy, you can even try walking in place. 2. Dancing: Dancing is the best form of cardio. Listen to your favorite music show and break a move. It is a fun and an energetic way to get a workout. You can easily burn 130-150 calories while dancing for just half an hour. 3. Invest in exercise machines: If you can afford machines like treadmills, rowers, stationary bikes, stair steppers, you can get a great workout by exercising in front of the TV. 4. Exercise ball: Instead of sitting on a chair, use an exercise ball. It challenges core muscles for a proper workout and you can do all of that while you watch television. 5. Squat: See how many squats you can do during a 3 or 4 minute commercial break by sitting down then popping right back up to a standing position. This is a good exercise for your legs and buttocks. Stand so that your feet are about shoulder-width apart and put your hands on your hips. Keeping your back perfectly straight and looking straight ahead, bend your knees slowly as if you were going to sit back in a chair. Return to the standing position. 6. Jumping Jacks: 5 to 10 minutes a day of jumping jack workout is a great way to get your heart pumping and they also allow you to focus somewhat on watching TV. Jumping jack (also commonly known as a star jump) is an exercise performed by jumping to a position with the legs spread wide and
the hands touching overhead and then returning to a position with the feet together and the arms at the sides. 7. Belly exercises: While sitting on the couch or sofa, just stiffen the abs muscles. By doing 20-30 repetitions of this simple exercise, you're strengthening your abdominal muscles. 8. Step up: Try to simulate the exercise of walking up stairs using a low platform. This gives your lower body a great workout, while getting your heart pumping. Just step up with one foot and then the other, then step back down with one foot and then the other. Increase the pace for a higher intensity workout. 9. Toe Exercises: Sit barefoot on the couch and simply lift your toes while keeping your heels firmly on the ground. Hold for a count of five and repeat. It is a great simple exercise for your calves. To stretch the thigh muscle, raise the knee of one leg to the chest and hold for a count five. Repeat with the opposite leg. 10. Push-ups: Commercial breaks during a show is a great opportunity to do push-ups, sit-ups or other exercises that take your eyes from the TV. Push-ups hit the chest, shoulder and tricep areas, building core strength and overall power. If you are a beginner, you can do these against the wall and when you have built enough strength, you can switch to floor push-ups. 11. Kicks and punches: Add in some random kicks and punches and keep your feet moving at the same time. Sometime any activity is a good activity. Cool down and have a glass of water when you are done. You see, watching TV doesn't mean you have to be a couch potato. You can get a great workout and have fun at the same time! Tags: Watching TV, Motivation, Tips, Fitness, Exercise
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/11-ways-to-exercise-while-watchingtv-42381683#ixzz1Gs2D91YY
Walking is one of the important milestones which come by the first birthday and since then various changes and modifications take place on the gait pattern (the way you walk). Other than being a means of locomotion, walking is also a good form of low impact, less intense aerobic exercise. Most of us make certain mistakes while walking, which can have an unwanted impact on our health. It is very important to opt for correct techniques of walking to get the maximum benefits without any injury.
Here are the most common walking mistakes to be avoided:
1. Overstriding: Stride length, in simple words, refers to the length of each
step taken while walking, running or jogging. We all have our own characteristic stride length. When you try to walk faster than your standard speed, you might try to increase your stride length because of which you might develop poor posture and hurt your back. Therefore instead of taking bigger steps, go for shorter and quicker ones! 2. Wrong Foot Gear: Choosing the wrong footwear will not only make your walk uncomfortable, but it will also make you prone to injury. Your walking shoes should be lightweight and should have a flexible sole to allow good freedom of motion by permitting your foot to roll through each step from heel to toe. Choose those shoes that fit you! If you walk for 30 minutes or more, then choose shoes larger than your dress shoes as your feet may swell when you walk for a long period of time. Prolonged walking with tight shoes can cause pain and cramping while loose shoes can make "push-off" (application of pressure for the purpose of moving) difficult. 3. Wrong Clothing: Improper clothing can interfere with your thermoregulation (the ability of your body to keep its temperature within certain boundaries even if the temperature of the surrounding environment is pretty different) and can eventually affect your walking efficiency. Choose clothing according to environmental conditions. For example, in a hot climate, wear fabrics like climacool or coolmax which will allow the sweat to evaporate away from the body. Wearing dark clothing while walking at night can make you susceptible to accidents. For safety purpose, wear reflector stripes or night glow badges.
4. Foot Slap: Foot slap occurs when at heel strike (i.e., when the heel makes
contact with the floor), the forefoot slaps the ground (which means that you land flat footed) instead of rolling through from heel to toe. This can lead to pain in your shins. Foot slap can be due to weak dorsiflexors i.e. weak shins, heavy shoes, stiff shoes (inflexible sole) etc. In order to avoid foot slap, wear lightweight shoes with a flexible sole and low heel. Strengthen your shin by performing toe raises. To perform toe raises, stand on the ledge of a step with your heels hanging over the edge. Now, dip the heels down, then raise them high. Repeat 10 times. This is a simple, yet an effective way of strengthening your shins. You can also do heel walking (walking slowing, with small stride length, on your heels with your toes raised as high as possible) for 20 to 30 seconds to strengthen your shins. 5. Lack of Arm Swing: Normally while walking, arm swinging occurs in order to counterbalance the leg motion. Arm swinging can also aid in gaining the momentum, thereby helping you to walk at a faster speed. Lack of arm swing can put a lot of stress on your back. So, make sure to swing your arms back and forth opposite to the direction of leg motion. 6. Incorrect Posture: Improper postures like head down, leaning forward etc. are very commonly observed and these can lead to problems like neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain and breathing difficulty. So whenever you intend to walk, stand straight and feel like being tall! Do not arch your back. Pull your stomach in, keep your buttocks tight and maintain the natural curves of the spine to prevent undue stress. 7. Overtraining: The zeal to burn calories in order to lose weight makes many people to walk beyond their capacity. They soon begin to feel tired and irritable, and pains and aches start popping up their ugly heads. Under such a situation, it is better to take a break and to refresh yourself. You must listen to your body and wait for it to recover. This is the best possible way to get ready for the next walking session! Walking is a fun and it is a form of recreation during moments of leisure. You might take a great deal of interest in this form of physical activity, but wrong postures and incorrect walking techniques can nullify your efforts. You might also suffer from injuries which can act as obstacles for your fitness routine. So, adopting the correct techniques of walking is very essential in order to continue with your regular walks! Tags: Tips, Mistakes, Walking, Exercise, Fitness
Read more: http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/7-common-walking-mistakes-youshould-avoid-106794760#ixzz1Gs2eCRBK
