The Pros and Cons of a Lemonade Diet

The lemonade diet also known as the lemon juice diet is a fad that really caught on among dieters and has become very popular. So is all the hype about the lemonade diet true and does it really make you lose weight fast?

The lemonade diet is a pretty harsh diet. You are only allowed to drink lemon juice for a period of 10 to 12 days. During this period, you are not allowed to consume any other food.

The recipe for the lemon juice is pretty simple. You will need to mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with honey or maple syrup. Then add 10 teaspoons of cayenne pepper and water.  You will have to make and consume about 12 glasses of this juice daily.

The purpose of the lemon juice diet is to detoxify the body and aid in fat loss. You might be wondering if this diet is safe or effective. After all, 10 days without food does seem dangerous and unhealthy. So, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of the lemonade diet.

One of the advantages of the lemonade diet is its detoxifying features. Since the lemon juice has detoxifying qualities, the body is able to detoxify itself effectively.

The disadvantage is that it’s not proven that the lemonade diet actually does any detoxification. The liver and kidneys are more than capable of detoxing a body without any harsh diets.

Another advantage of the lemonade diet is that those who go on it claim to lose weight quite fast. Since the diet is so restrictive and no fats or carbohydrates are being consumed, it is possible to lose a few pounds during this period.

The negative side to this is that the diet causes insulin spikes and obviously cannot be maintained for a long period. It causes cravings for food and once you’re off the diet and back to eating normal food, you will gain back the weight you lost and possibly a few pounds more. The diet due to its highly restrictive nature is stressful and you will experience irritation and anger easily.

There are several other negative possibilities with the lemonade diet. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the cons far outweigh the pros. The lemonade diet does more harm than good.

There is nothing like a sensible diet and regular exercise to keep you in good health. Fad diets like the lemonade diet, adversely affect your metabolism which drops since your body thinks that it’s on starvation mode and tries its best to hold on to the remaining fat.

Furthermore, the weight that you may have lost may just be water weight and not really fat. That makes the loss temporary and an illusion. Once you’re off the diet, the weight will pile back on and reality can be painful.

To summarise, the lemonade diet is not something that anyone should strongly consider as part of a long term weight loss solution. There is no substitute than good ‘ol exercise and a healthy diet plan.

The Importance of Keeping Your Heart Strong and Healthy

The heart is the most important organ in your body and there is absolutely no doubt about that. The heart is a muscle and just like any other muscle, it needs to be worked and kept healthy.

The unfortunate thing is that most people neglect to strengthen their hearts. Even avid gym goers, especially the guys who lift the heavy weights neglect to exercise their heart which is actually the most important muscle.

The heart can only be worked through cardiovascular exercise. You will need to be panting and gasping for air when you exercise for your heart to get a good workout and get stronger. Resistance training though beneficial has only limited benefits.

Cardio training is usually tiring, involves sweating profusely and generally is not fun. Being breathless at the end of an intense workout is your body’s way of saying that your heart got a good workout. The question is… Are you willing to endure the pain of an intense cardio workout?

This article hopes to convince you that the answer should be a strong yes.

A strong heart does not tire easily. You can go about your day actively and not feel drained or exhausted by the end of the day. You heart will be better able to handle life’s daily stresses. For example, if you are running late for work, you will be able to sprint to your office and make it just on time without feeling half dead by the time you reach. This is a simple example, but you get the idea.

A healthy and strong heart also beats at a lower rate when it’s resting. Overweight people have hearts that are overworked. That’s why you see them panting for small things like walking to the shop or climbing a flight of stairs. The heart is weak and not able to function well.

The heart is a miraculous organ and has the ability to heal and restore itself. It is never too late to train your heart. Daily exercise will show improvements within about 3 weeks because the heart is a very responsive muscle.

Many out of shape people who start walking or jogging daily are able to report improvements in their stamina and recovery. The heart craves exercise and responds very well. It’s much easier to build stamina than it is to build muscle. Yet, this is neglected because it’s tiring and you can’t show off a strong heart the way you can flash a big bicep.

Even a heart that has been affected by heart disease can be healed and helped through exercise and a healthy diet.

A 15 minute workout with just you and a skipping rope will be wonderful. The beauty about working out your heart is that it does not require hours of hard training. A short 15 minute heart pounding workout three times a week will keep your heart in great shape and working well. Of course, if you can afford more time, that would be great and will keep your heart in tip top shape.

Finally, common sense will indicate that other than exercise, you should avoid smoking, sleep well, have a diet rich in fiber, avoid excessive consumption of alcohol and see your doctor every now and then to check up on your health. If you do all this, you will have a strong and healthy heart that will keep going for a long time.

The Best Fat Burning Workouts

Losing weight and burning fat requires time, effort and sacrifice. It goes without saying that you will only lose weight in a healthy way if you combine the right exercises with a proper diet and keep up the regimen with consistency and purpose.

This article will focus on the exercise aspect of your weight loss program. You will need to do the correct exercises to burn as much fat as possible. If you’re not maximising your workouts, you’ll not burn fat fast.

This will demotivate you and make your fat loss journey a struggle. Like a hamster spinning a wheel, you’ll be doing a lot but not getting anywhere. Observe the tips below and watch the fat melt off your body in record time.

The key to losing fat quickly is combining cardio with resistance training. The reason most people don’t reach their fat burning potential is because they only do one and not the other.

Cardio refers to cardiovascular activity and it is the cornerstone to weight loss. Walking, running, swimming, cycling, rowing and skating are examples of cardio activities. Basically, any exercise that raises your heart rate for a continuous period of time can be considered a cardio activity.

The more intense your cardio workout, the more calories you will burn and if your diet is good, you will burn off more fat. Cardio activities should last for 30-60 minutes. It should never go on for more than an hour at a time.

There is often strong debate about whether one should engage in fast cardio or slow cardio. Another hot topic is if you should do cardio on an empty stomach.

The best advice I can give you is this. Cardio at any time is good but you will burn fat faster if you do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. However, do it at a moderate pace. If your cardio is too strenuous, you’ll burn precious muscle.

It’s always advisable to alternate between slow and fast cardio on different days to spice up your training and keep your body guessing.

The next part of your workouts should be resistance training. That means working out with weights, resistance bands or other muscle building apparatus.

The heavier the weights, the more calories you burn and the faster you drop those pounds. Your body burns more calories when it has more muscle.

Women often feel that working out with weights will give them a masculine body. This is a common misconception. Weight training will tone up their thighs, butt and give their body a fit, feminine shape.

Building muscle is not easy and most men themselves, struggle with it. So, women can rest assured that resistance training will make them fit and fab without turning them into the Hulk.

Resistance training should last for about 30 to 45 minutes. That should be sufficient to raise your metabolic rate and make you a fat burning machine. The goal here is to burn fat, improve your muscle tone and raise your metabolism.

Both cardio and resistance training must be combined for you to have the best fat burning workouts.

For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you could do weight training. On the other days, cardio would be your choice.Or you may wish to work out with weights for about 30 minutes and follow it up with a 30 minute run.

This would be an excellent workout. Combine both and you will have workouts that will burn the most stubborn fat in no time at all.

Is It Difficult To Lose Weight?

If you look at the ads for diet pills or the weird contraptions being sold on those late night infomercials, you’ll probably think it is easy to shed those pounds. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Losing weight is one of the hardest things to do. This probably explains why so many people give up on their fitness goals or break their New Year’s fitness resolutions.

Losing weight is a long, tough road paved with sweat and in some cases tears. The concepts of weight loss are pretty straightforward. Consume less calories than you expend. Combine cardio and resistance workouts. Eat healthy. Avoid the fatty foods and so on so forth.

So, what makes it so difficult?

Implementation. It’s applying these concepts that is so difficult. Eating less requires sacrifice. Most people are into the habit of eating whatever their hearts desire. Cakes, ice cream, pizza and all the other comfort foods make people happy. Giving up these high calorie foods means sacrificing short term happiness and nobody likes that.

Furthermore, eating poorly is a habit. So, by attempting to eat right, you’ll be breaking a bad habit. This is extremely difficult. Most habits are hard to break.

To make matters worse, exercise is required to burn fat. Often for periods of 30 to 60 minutes. This involves sweating, panting, gasping and pain. Exercise is not exactly fun for those who are fat or obese. They are not used to it. Once exercise becomes a part of your life, you’ll do it more willingly but even then, it’ll take motivation.

Not only is it painful to sacrifice your favourite foods but now you have to torture yourself with exercise daily. It’s a double whammy. Sacrifice and effort. It’s so much easier to gain weight. Just sit on the couch, watch tv and eat whatever you want , whenever you want.

It doesn’t take effort to gain weight. In fact, gaining weight is not only easy but it’s fast. This is the third annoying fact.

Why?

Because it takes a much longer time to lose fat that it does to gain it. This is the main reason that most people give up.

They do not see the results fast enough. An hour of intense exercise only burns about 400 to 500 calories. One slice of pizza contains about 300 calories. Eat two slices and you have cancelled your workout.

Can you imagine that? 1 hour of sweat and hard work gone with just two slices of pizza. That’s enough to break most people’s hearts.

Losing weight is a slow process. You will need to be on the right diet for quite some time. Depending on the amount of weight you need to lose, it could be a diet that you have to keep up for months. During this time, you will need to exercise as often as you can and not slip up on your diet.

A long, difficult process, to say the least. As difficult as it may be, you should stay on the path and not give up. You will reach your goal if you persist.
Once you have lost the fat and reached your desired goal you will feel a sense of achievement and happiness that no comfort meal can give you. The daily exercise and training will have you looking fit and feeling good. All the sacrifices will be worth it.

Is Going On a Detox Diet Plan a Good Idea?

The theory behind a detox diet plan is that our bodies and organs accumulate toxins through years of eating the wrong foods, breathing in polluted and drinking water which have chemicals in them. By going on a detox diet, we’ll be able to flush out the nasty toxins and rid our body of them.

Is this theory valid?

Unfortunately, it is. There are several negative effects of having toxins build up in our body. Skin that ages faster, cellulite, headaches, constant fatigue and aches are all symptoms of toxic build up in your body.

Therefore, it is an excellent idea to go on a detox diet plan for a few days before embarking on a weight loss program. The fat in your body is filled with toxins. Fat binds the toxins in your body to keep you safe.

Once you go on a detox diet, you’ll flush your body of toxins and it will be much easier to burn the fat. A detox diet plan can last for 3 days up to 7 days. A detox plan is not meant to be long term and it’s not meant for fat loss. It’s to detoxify your body.

So what is a detox diet plan like?

Before going on a detox diet plan, you should be aware that not all plans are created equal. Some are too strict and torturous to the point that they are not advisable. You need to do due diligence and see if the plan you are embarking on is sensible and not unbearable.

There are several examples of detox diets.

One method is to only consume 1 particular type of fruit for a period of 3 days. You are not allowed to eat anything else but that one fruit. You will also need to drink copious amounts of water with some lemon juice squeezed into it.

During a detox diet, it is advised that you only consume distilled water. You will have to drink about 64 ounces a day.

There are several detox diets that can be found online using Google search. Listing out all the detox plans is beyond the scope of this article. However, what I wish to impress upon you is that detox diets are good for you.

Embark on a simple 3 day program and enjoy the benefits of a healthier body. If a detox diet plan seems too harsh, you may wish to slowly detoxify yourself over a long period of time. You will eat only single ingredient foods such as broccoli, chicken breast, carrots, etc.

These are foods that are not processed and don’t have preservatives added to them. Steam your food and eat while hot. The less salt and artificial seasoning you use, the better. The theory behind this is simple.

If you stop overloading your body with toxins from bad food choices, over time your body will automatically cleanse itself of toxins. This is a less trying method and easier to follow.

You will need to change your eating habits and constantly think about how to eat healthy. In the beginning, this will not be easy. But with time, it will come naturally and the results will amaze you. You will feel so good that you will adopt healthy eating for life.

Is Excess Weight Hurting Your Knees?

It is a well-known fact that being overweight or obese brings a lot of health problems. Diabetes, high blood pressure, blood clots, high cholesterol, etc are all common problems in people experience obesity.

However, what many folks do not realise is that pain in the joints such as your back, hips and knees are also health problems due to obesity. Since, it’s the joints and bones that hurt, people assume that it’s an unrelated condition. This is probably not true.

Excess weight on a body puts tremendous pressure on the joints. Even being a few pounds overweight can cause your knees to hurt. If you’re 15 pounds overweight, there is a force of 45 pounds on your knee joints when you walk. Over time, your knees will not be able to handle the torture anymore.

Since the knees are close to the ground, they experience more pressure than your shoulder joints. That is the reason why doctors are seeing many cases of knee and ankle problems nowadays due to the rise in obesity.

In the beginning, your joints are strong and can handle the pressure from the excess weight. Over time, the ligaments get worn out and the knees will start experiencing pain. This is a slow process which is why most people don’t realise it till it’s too late. Once the knees have weakened and given out, that’s when they feel pain and it feels like they developed a knee problem overnight.

Overweight people are more prone to spraining their ankles, twisting their knee, tearing their cartilage or having joints suffer from inflammation. This is due to the amount of stress placed on the joints.

So what can you do if you are overweight and have knee pain?

The first step will be to make changes in your diet. You want to be eating healthy and you want to be eating less. This step alone will help you shed some weight.

Since your knees hurt, you’ll want to engage in exercise that is low impact in nature. Yoga is an excellent choice. Swimming is great too.
Next up, it will be good to do some exercises to strengthen your knees. Half squats, lunges and general stretching are great. Bear in mind that you do not exercise through pain. Stop if it hurts. Pain is not gain here.

Get yourself a pair of good shoes that has good support. Keep your clothing loose and comfortable. Try and move around the house as much as possible. Walk more, do more chores, take the stairs, etc. The more active you are, the more calories you burn and the faster you lose weight.

Once you have lost a chunk of weight, the pressure on your knee joints will be greatly lessened. You will definitely feel less pain. It would be a good idea to engage the services of a physiotherapist to help you ease the pain. They’ll tell you what is wrong and what needs to be done to alleviate the pain.

Knee pain can be avoided by maintaining a healthy weight. Prevention is better than cure. Live an active and healthy life and you’ll keep all these problems at bay.

How to Keep Your Workouts Challenging and Interesting

It’s crucial to constantly challenge yourself and keep your workouts fun and exciting. Losing weight, getting muscular or fit takes time. If you’re doing the same training daily over a few weeks, you’re going to get bored very quickly and will not look forward to exercising.

Once that happens, it’s all downhill and a matter of time before you quit exercising and give up on your fitness goals.

This article will list 10 ways you can inject excitement and variety into your training sessions. They can be applied to cardio, weight training and most exercises.

1. Combine exercises with other activities. I had an obese client in her mid-forties. She loved spending time in front of the tv. I helped her to position the television in her house in front of the treadmill. She had to walk for an hour on the treadmill thrice a day. Morning, noon and night. She willingly did it and watched tv at the same time. She barely noticed the time fly. Get creative with your workouts.

2. Try new things. If you run all the time, try cycling. Or maybe swim laps at the pool. If you run a certain route every day, change the route. The new scenery will be a welcome sight.

3. If you go to the gym, try visiting another gym. New people to look at. I know that you’re going to a gym to work out, but it doesn’t hurt to see and meet new people before or after your training.

4. Listen to music that gets your blood pumping. It could be techno, rave, epic soundtracks, etc. Listen to whatever gets you going. Put your player on shuffle mode so u don’t listen to the same songs in the same order every time. Change songs every so often.

5. Join classes. Maybe sign up for a Latin dancing class or kickboxing. Joining others for exercise can be fun and interesting. You may even wish to go for Karate classes. Those are excellent because not only will you burn calories but you will be learning a very useful skill.

6. Have a training partner. Find someone who is not lazy to accompany for your workouts. Both of you will motivate and push each other to new personal achievements. Competition is always fun.

7. Keep records of your training and always try and improve on your past results. If you run 3 miles, try and shave off a minute from your timing. You are always striving to beat your personal best. This tip alone can keep you motivated for years.

8. Use social media to show off. There are several apps for your smartphone that can track your training and progress. Many of these apps allow you to log in through Facebook and post your results. If you like showing off, this will be fun. It will also motivate you to do your best.

9. You may also surf online for videos or training programmes. There are several excellent DVDs such as Insanity or Taebo that can be watched and followed at home. “Insanity” is truly excellent and will shred the fat from your body.

10. Finally, you may look through fitness magazines for new workouts. I’ve noticed that nowadays whenever a movie comes out with a buff actor in it, they tend to publish his workouts in magazines. The idea is that you will be able to sculpt a similar body by following his workout. I’ve seen the Spartan workout for the movie 300, Ryan Reynold’s workouts for the Green Lantern and quite a few others too. Interesting stuff.

So, go ahead and give these techniques a try.

Add some variety and challenge to your training and you will not only constantly keep your body guessing but you will smash through plateaus and stay motivated till you reach your fitness goals.

Are Diet Pills Safe and Effective?

This is a very common question and there are 2 reasons why it is even asked in the first place.

The first reason is that the problem of obesity is getting uncontrollable. More and more adults all over the world are getting fatter and unhealthier. There is no easier or nicer way to say it.

The second reason is that many people are looking for a fast solution to their weight problems. We live in a world of quick fixes, mobile phones, microwaveable meals and instant gratification.

So, of course there must be a pill that you can swallow that will magically make your fat disappear, right?

Wrong. The hard truth is there isn’t any diet pill on the market that can make you lose weight quickly.

Most people gain weight naturally by eating too much and exercising too little. Common sense will dictate that losing weight will have to take place naturally too with more exercise and by eating less.

You may wonder about the diet pill commercials and glowing testimonials from success stories. It all seems so promising and tempting.
Let’s examine the first part of the question – Are diet pills safe?

The answer is that it’s anyone’s guess. The diet pill companies will state that they have conducted tests and it all seems just fine and the side effects are minimal. They may throw in words like ‘clinically proven’ and ‘approved’.

However, the long term side effects are not known. The slimming pills you take today may have effects 30 years down the road. Nobody knows what they are because the studies have not gone on for that long. All results are based on findings in the short term.

My personal philosophy on diet pills is that you cannot hope to lose weight by eating something else.

Now let’s examine if diet pills are effective.

The answer to this is yes and no.

In the short term, diet pills may prove highly effective. There are several types of diet pills. Some claim to bind fat so that you can excrete the fat. Others attempt to suppress your appetite so that you eat less. Then there are pills that boast of their ability to raise you metabolic rate.

Now, what you need to realise is that these pills may do what they claim to do. The glowing testimonials from slim happy people may have a sliver of truth in them.

But, in the long run, all these pills will fail for one simple reason. You cannot be on these pills forever. The moment you stop your appetite suppressing pills, your appetite will be back with a vengeance and you will eat more and gain even more weight.

The same applies to any other pill. Once you stop, you’ll regain all your old weight and possibly more. No diet pill manufacturer will recommend that you be on their pills forever. It is often stated on diet pill bottles that the pills should be used together with a sensible diet and regular exercise.

If that is the case, why even bother with pills?

The only way to ever lose fat successfully and keep it at bay will be to eat properly and exercise as consistently as possible. This will not only keep you strong, fit and healthy but will be easier on your wallet too.

8 Important Foods for Weight Loss

Losing weight can be a slow, tiring process. Anybody who has embarked on a weight loss program can testify that it really was not that much fun. We are constantly looking for ways and means to give ourselves an edge and burn that extra bit of fat.

There is a way to burn extra fat just by eating. Now that’s a dream come true. The catch is that you must eat these power foods and not junk food. Furthermore, you need to maintain a calorie deficit diet while eating these fat burning foods.

You do not have to eat all the foods in a day. Just one or two different types each day. Now let’s look at the power foods you should be consuming.

1. Oatmeal – It is considered a “slow release” carbohydrate. When consumed about 3 hours before you work out, it will help you to burn more fat. Slow release carbohydrates are low GI foods. What that means is that these foods do not spike your blood sugar levels causing an insulin release unlike white bread or white rice. That makes them ideal for fat loss.

2. Apples – An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Guess what? It keeps the fat at bay too. Apples are high in fiber and not only prevent weight gain but also encourages your body to lose fat.

3. Mushrooms – Not only are they delicious but they are very satisfying too. Many dieters replace meats with Portobello mushrooms because they are just as yummy but have much fewer calories.

4. Soup – It is a great idea to start your meal with a bowl of vegetable soup. Drinking soup before a meal makes you feel more full and you have less tendency to overeat. Soup generally contain 20% fewer calories than a normal meal.

5. Desserts – Yes you read it right! Desserts. However, you may only indulge in the low calorie kind. Constantly being on a diet is no fun and takes a toll on you emotionally and mentally. Having a low calorie dessert will make you feel better and happier.

Countless people make the mistake of denying themselves sweet food and indulgences totally. When they do that, the body craves for such pleasures. Sooner or later, their will gives in and they end up stuffing their faces with cake or ice cream.

Therefore, eating a low calorie dessert occasionally will prevent this disaster from happening.

6. Hot peppers – Eating hot peppers half an hour before your meal has been shown to reduce your appetite and make you feel less famished. You will end up consuming less calories.

7. Almonds – They are a great addition to your diet. Chewing almonds will curb hunger pangs. They are also tasty, nutritious and have many health benefits.

8. Eggs – Definitely an important part of any diet. High in protein and very nutritious. Eggs have been proven to help people burn more fat and feel full for a longer period of time

By consuming these power foods, you will be giving yourself an extra edge to fight the fat. Try and include them in your diet whenever possible.
Not only will you shed the pounds, but you’ll also enjoy the health benefits that come from consuming these healthy foods.

7 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Keep Going

A survey once showed that the number 1 resolution that most people make on New Year’s Day is to lose weight or get fit. The survey also went on to show that this very same resolution was the one most often broken by end January or February.

So why are people not able to keep at it? Where did the initial excitement go? Why have they wasted money on an expensive gym membership but stopped going?

The answer is motivation.

In the beginning, there is the initial excitement of starting something new. The future seems happy with a healthy, toned body.

However, once the excitement dies down, and people realise that results are not coming fast, they lose interest and it all becomes mundane and even unpleasant.

I’ve listed 7 ways to motivate you to keep on keeping on. When the going gets tough, these tips will keep you going. When you don’t see the results as fast as you want, these methods will give you the patience and persistence to forge ahead.

1. Write down why you want to lose weight, get fit, build muscle, etc. Define a strong why. Keep asking why until you get to the real truth. Why do you want to lose weight? Because you want to fit into the bikini. Why? So you look good at the beach? Why must you look good at the beach? So, your boyfriend admires your sexy figure and thinks you’re hot. THAT is the why. To be admired and desired. Keep digging till you get to the truth.

2. Find a training partner so that each of you can encourage each other when one of you is down. 

3. Subscribe to YouTube channels that have videos on exercise motivation. Watch these videos. Or, like pages on Facebook that are dedicated to workout motivation. Use all these to motivate yourself daily. Keep up the excitement.

4. Do NOT stop. If your schedule was very busy on a certain day and you do not have time for a one hour workout, do not just skip it and feel guilty. Do a quick 10 minutes of push-ups or sit-ups. Or maybe skipping for 15 minutes. A quick workout that leaves you gasping for air. It will make you feel better and you’d have burnt a few calories too.

5. Recognising a slip up but carrying on. Many people slip up on their diets and once they do, they just give up on it and eat whatever they want. Understand that all of us slip up once in a while but it’s not over. Tell yourself that it’s ok and you will not make a similar mistake again. Just because you gave in to temptation and had a slice of pizza does not mean you should finish the whole pizza.

6. Change your workouts often. Keep your body guessing and it’ll be interesting for you too. Do not let your training become monotonous and predictable.

7. Listen to music while training. It beats listening to your panting and gasping. Change your music often too. Music that is upbeat, catchy and with fast beats.

All of us go through periods when we are feeling down or just not in the mood. It is perfectly normal. The key point to note is that if you’re not in the mood for a long workout, just do a short one.

Never stop and never give up. Read your “why” that you wrote before, whenever you just feel like quitting. Remember your “why”, and then get back on track.

5 Weight Loss Tips That Work Miracles

Losing weight can be a tough job. Getting your diet right and exercising regularly is something that just about everyone knows. Are there any other tips that may help you lose just that little bit more weight?

After all, we want to lose the weight fast and see results as soon as possible. There are 5 tips listed below to help give you that extra edge. To help motivate you, to burn that extra little bit of stubborn and to keep the pounds dropping.

1. Measure your food quantity

If your diet plan says eat 50 grams of carbs, stick to it and weigh your food. Eating 500 grams of carbs instead of only 50 will sabotage your weight loss plan

2. Keep a diary or journal to track your progress

Write down why you want to lose weight. Find out the real reason and your heart’s innermost desires. This reason will keep you motivated when results are disappointing or you are on the verge of giving up.

Success is never linear. You will zig-zag your way to success. For example, you may lose 2 pounds in 1 week and maybe gain a half pound the next week, and drop another 3 pounds the following week. It’s normal and happens to the best of us.

However, in the one week where you gain that half pound despite your best efforts, you may be so demoralised that you just want to give up. That is when you will open your journal to remind you of why you started and where you want to go.

3. Give yourself a cheat day every now and then

Every 5 or 6 days, have a cheat day where you eat all that you want. Don’t hold yourself back. Eat the chips, pizza, nachos, drink the soda, satisfy your cravings like you’ve never done before. Do not worry about gaining weight.

When you have a cheat day, you’ll be doing 2 things. First, you will be boosting your metabolic rate and starting the fat burning process on a more rapid pace. Your body will be shocked and reactivated. Secondly, you will experience a break and happiness. It is stressful to be on a diet for long periods.

4. Weigh yourself only once a week

It is horrible and depressing to weigh yourself every day to see if you have lost weight. Just set one day a week to weigh yourself. As tempting as it may be, do not weigh yourself at any other time.

Imagine working out like mad on day 1 and after 2 days not seeing any changes on the scale. It may seem like all the suffering was not worth it. This is very demotivating. So, just weigh yourself once and wait 7 days for the next weigh in.

5. Eat good fats

Yes, you read that right. You need to eat fats to lose fats. The catch here is that you need to eat good fats and in the right amounts. Almonds and avocados are good sources of good fats. So, is olive oil.

These are just a few tips that you can use to accelerate your fat loss. Always stay motivated, keep going and you will reach your desired fitness goals.

5 Reasons Why You Are Not Losing Weight

There are many people who follow their diets, do the exercises, track their progress and count their calories and yet do not seem to be losing any weight. This is highly demoralising and depressing to them.

There are a few reasons why you may not be shedding those pounds and seeing the scale change. I’ve listed 5 possible reasons that are most common.

1. You are eating more calories equal to or more than you expend. Often times when people exercise, they overestimate how many calories they have burned. Just because their workout is exhausting, they assume that they burnt a ton of calories. They then go on to give in to temptations and sneak in a snack or consume alcohol.

They feel that it’s ok to stray from their diet because their training will compensate for their dietary slip up. All these slip ups add up and you may easily eat more calories than you have burnt. Not a good thing.

2. You are only relying on exercise to work wonders for you. It’s a strange thing but most folks find it easier to exercise rather than control their diet. They prefer to keep their diet unchanged and just rely on exercise to burn the fat off. This will really hinder their progress.

Burning calories through exercise is difficult. A really intense workout for an hour may burn 400 to 500 calories. However, you could consume 500 calories in about 20 minutes just by eating pizza.

Imagine eating whatever you wish throughout the day and expecting an hour of training to burn off those calories. It’s just not going to happen. You must watch your diet and consume your calories wisely and ensure that it’s at a deficit.

3. You’re doing the wrong kind of exercises. There is a very common misconception that doing sit-ups will burn your abdominal fat. Nothing could be further from the truth. To burn fat, you must engage in cardio training at least 3 times a week. Cardiovascular activities are your best bet for fat burning.

You may do weight training on days that you do not do cardio to have an all rounded training program. You’ll also maintain muscle tone and raise your metabolic rate. However, the bulk of your training should revolve around cardio activities.

4. You are basing your progress on your weighing scale

It is common for people to burn fat and gain muscle at the same time. Since muscle is denser than fat, it takes up less space. This explains why many people say that their clothes are getting loose but the numbers on the scale have not changed.

What has happened is that they have burnt a pound of fat but the body gained a pound of muscle. So, the scale will show the same number despite the person having become leaner and stronger.

It would be a good idea to use measuring tape to measure the different parts of your body and track those measurements. Alternatively, you may rely on the mirror. If you look better and leaner as the days pass by, then you don’t have to worry about the numbers on the weighing scale

5. Finally, one reason that you may not be losing weight is the possibility that you might be having a medical problem. Thyroid problems, medical disorders or other health issues may be impeding your progress.

It is recommended that you consult a doctor to find out what is wrong. In many cases, medication will help solve the problems and you will lose weight successfully after that.

These are a few of the most common reasons for you not losing weight. Self-reflection and analysis of your diet and training will show you what you are doing that’s hampering your weight loss. Correct your mistakes and you will lose the excess weight effectively.

4 Ways to Exercise Despite A Busy Schedule

The most common excuse given by those who do not exercise is that they are busy and lack time. They say that their hectic jobs, family commitments and life in general get in their way when it comes to exercising.

Is this really true?

To a certain extent, the answer is yes. There is no doubt that some people may have demanding jobs. Over and above that, they may have to send their kids to school or other classes, etc. So how do you squeeze in time to work out?

Follow the 4 tips below and you should do just fine.

1. Wake up earlier.
There is no arguing that sleep is essential to good health. However, if you could go to bed just 30 minutes earlier and wake up 30 minutes earlier, you’d have time for a quick workout.

A 20 minute intense cardio workout will have you burning fat for the next 10 hours. That’s how effective it is. You’ll burn fat throughout the day and your metabolic rate will be elevated. You’ll also feel more refreshed and energetic.

After a few months of this, you will have lost weight and be in great shape. You will sleep better and even require less rest since your sleep will be better.

2. Reducing time spent on media activities

Most people enjoy majoring in minor things. By cutting down your time spent on media activities, you will find that you have more than enough time to squeeze in that much required work out.

What are media activities? I’ll give you a few examples. Watching tv, reading the newspapers which in most cases are only full of depressing events, surfing the internet aimlessly, watching videos on YouTube for hours, constantly surfing on Facebook and checking up on what others are up to, etc.

All these eat up your time. Go for that exercise session and work out hard. When you are resting and panting, then you may take out your smart phone and log into Facebook. Do what matters first.

3. Try and include exercise as part of your daily routine

If you live within running distance to your workplace, go ahead and run to work.

If it’s within cycling distance, get a bicycle and cycle back and forth to work and home. You will burn calories, save money on fuel and protect the earth.
If your office is on the 20th floor, take the stairs. Run up the stairs if you’re feeling motivated. Every bit of movement counts when it comes to burning calories.

4. Use daily chores to burn calories

If you have to do the dishes, vacuum or mop the floor, mow the lawn, wash the car, etc set a timer and see how fast you can complete the job. The faster you do your chores, the more calories you will burn by raising your heart rate.

Burning extra calories and exercising can be done even if you are on a tight schedule. You have an obligation to yourself to take care of your health. Nothing is more important than your health. Health is a crown on a well man’s head that no one can see but a sick man. Keep fit and live well.

4 Methods to Smash Through a Weight Loss Plateau

Weight loss is easiest in the beginning. Whenever you embark on a weight loss program, you will find yourself losing the first few pounds pretty easily without much effort.

However, as you keep training and observing a healthy diet, you will notice to your dismay that it’s getting more and more difficult to lose the pounds. The day you dread may finally arrive where despite whatever you do, your body will just not shed the fat.

This is known as hitting a weight loss plateau. It can be exasperating because you are putting in the work and sacrifices but not seeing any benefits.

Use the 4 tips below to smash through your weight loss plateau and go to the next level.

1. Time to change things up. If you have been doing the same workouts for months, it’s time to change it all up. If you’re doing cardio for 30 minutes, change it to 90 minutes.

If you do slow cardio, change it to fast cardio on interval training. Vary your activities. Cycle instead of swim. Or hit the rowing machine at the gym.
The key is to keep your body guessing. Change the times you work out. Change the durations. Change whatever you can. These changes will shock your body and get it working again to adapt.

2. Assuming that you are eating at a calorie deficit, it would be a good idea to eat different foods. Throw in a cheat day every 5 days and eat whatever you want.

This will shock your body and boost your metabolic rate. Then go back on a calorie deficit for another 5 days. Your body will never know what is coming. The key is to be unpredictable.

However, ensure that you are always on a calorie deficit.

3. Rest well. Very often, people make the mistake of training too hard and not resting enough. All the exercise has caused their body to burn out.  Give yourself a 3 day rest with no exercise but maintain your calorie deficit diet.

If you do hard cardio daily, maybe it’s time to give your nervous system a break and switch to low cardio for a week. I’ve personally seen many cases where clients were so burnt out through hard training, that when they rested for a few days, they lost even more weight than usual.

4. Drink lots of water. Your body need oxygen and water to metabolise fat. Consume adequate amounts of water to flush out toxins and metabolise the fat.
By staying well hydrated, you will be able to perform better during training, recover faster and your immune system will be stronger.

You’ll also be less hungry. There are many occasions where people mistake thirst for hunger and eat food when what their body really needs is water. So, make it a point to drink water whenever you can but be sensible and don’t overdo it.

If you follow the abovementioned advice during a plateau phase, you will most probably be able to come out of it soon and get back on the fat burning track. Be patient and stay motivated.

2 Secret Methods for Easy Weight Loss

Anybody who has been struggling to lose weight will testify that burning fat is anything but easy. After a week of slogging it out at the gym, they may lose half a pound. It can be very disappointing. 

This article will give you 2 secret methods that will help you to lose weight without too much torture. Of course, you will need to do the harder workouts and watch your diet too but these 2 methods will help you lose more weight.

Secret 1 – Go for a 30 minute brisk walk every morning when you wake

In the morning when you just wake up, your stomach is empty and your body’s glycogen levels are low. When you engage in cardio activity in this fasted state, your body immediately starts burning your fat as a source of fuel.

At any other time, your body will burn the food that you ate for energy.  So, by walking on an empty stomach, you will burn the fat immediately.

The secret here is to walk at a moderate pace. It has to be brisk but not too fast. You should be able to hold a conversation and not be panting. At the same time, your brisk walk should raise your heart rate.

Do this daily for 2 weeks and you should see your weight dropping. It goes without saying that your diet must be sensible.

Secret 2 – The power of intermittent fasting

This technique is not talked about much because many people are not even aware of it. In a day there are 24 hours but you will only eat during an 8 hour window.

First, you will need to calculate your calorie requirements for the day. You can do this by visiting this website http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Check and see how many calories you need to consume to achieve fat loss. Once you have that number, you will know exactly how much you should be eating.

Now, assuming you wake up at 7am, you will want to start eating as late as possible. Contrary to popular belief, breakfast is not the most important meal of the day.

I understand that this may be a shocker but if you will give this method a try, the results will speak for themselves.

Back to the example, if you wake up at 7am, you may wish to have your first meal at 11am. From the time you start your first meal, you have an 8 hour eating window. That means, you should have your final meal for the day by 7pm(eight hours later).

Within this 8 hour window, you must consume all your required calories for the day. This would be the number you got earlier.

So, you will still be getting all your nutrition and calories for the day but you can only eat within the 8 hour window. What this does is that it gives your body 16 hours to digest the food and burn fat during this time. 

In the beginning, getting used to this way of eating may be difficult and inconvenient. However, once you figure out the arrangements and get used to eating in this manner, you will be stunned by how fast you shed the pounds.

This is one of the most powerful and effective methods of losing weight. Give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprised.