Beginner's Fitness Programs

What is the secret of healthy weight loss? Simple: a healthy lifestyle! Unfortunately, most of us are totally out of tune from a healthy lifestyle, and cannot define it clearly. If you don’t know what it is, you cannot achieve it.

Before you even start thinking about losing weight, it is nice to know where you stand. Are you really overweight? Some people are actually underweight, but they find a flab under the arm, and think they are fat. No, they are not fat, but they are bit out of shape. If you are one of them, it is better to concentrate on gaining muscles rather than losing weight.

If you know you are overweight, how much overweight? If you are slightly overweight, you can get back in a normal weight without dieting, but if you are in an obese range, you may need more drastic measures.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of the measures many people use. It is not a golden standard, but gives a simple criteria at a glance. Look at the chart. First, convert your height into inches. Then find your height on the bottom axis. Next, find your weight in pounds on the vertical axis. Then find a cross point on the chart. If the cross point is in the green area, you are in the normal weight range, if you are above the area, you are overweight, and if you are under, underweight.

Again this is a rough estimate. If you are a very muscular person like a professional football player, you could be in the obese range, but still very fit. For most of us, however, this is a good criteria.

After determining where you are, you need to make a plan to shed extra pound. Two things you must do: reduce calorie intake, and increase calorie expenditure; in other words, eat less and workout more! Unfortunately (or fortunately), if you do just one of them, your weight loss usually fails in the long run. If you do just a diet, you may lose weight in the beginning, but most people gain back the weight they lost, and may gain more. Check the article below Exercise prevents weight regain after dieting for more details. If you just workout, again, it won’t work, since the workout makes you hungrier and many people eat more than they used to eat. Consequently, their body weight stays the same. Of course, if I need to choose one, I will choose the latter, as you get the benefit for your heart and strengthen your muscles and bones. In fact, for many slightly overweight people this could be a good option if your health is the major concern.

How to reduce intake of calories safely? While reducing the calories, you need to keep the nutrition balance right, but this is difficult. Probably you gained weight because your nutritional balance was not quite right. You really need to know what you are eating. Read Healthy diet for your healthy life page to set up your own diet. If you don’t have time, but don’t mind spending money, there is another way. Use weight control meal service such as that of Weight Watcher (c). Their meal is well balanced, tasty, and the calories are well counted. I am not saying that you should use their service, but as it is one option. I still recommend that you know what you are eating, and how to change it so that you have control over your body.

As for the expenditure, you need to move your body more. Many people think, workout in a gym is the only way to spend more calories, but there are far more things you can do outside of the gym. For example, if you sit straight and keep good posture, you use more calories, and it is good for your body and mind. If you use stairs instead of an elevator, you can use more calories and strengthen your legs. If you breathe deeper, you use more calories, and supply more oxygen to your brain. All these use very small amount of calories every time you do it, but it will accumulate. After 6 months of doing just a few extra things, you may end up to use calories equivalent to 3 lb of body fat. So think about what you can do to add an extra body movement in your daily life.

You also need to consider mental health. Don’t think of weight loss as a negative step in your life, but as a positive step to improving your life. The negative thoughts make you fat! You really need to enjoy the process of improving your life. If you don’t, it won’t last. Check Fitness Motivation section for more discussion.

If you found that you werein the high obesity range in BMI chart, before you do anything else, you should consult your primary care doctor about the weight loss. It may not be safe to do weight loss yourself, and you probably need supervision of professional people. Your primary doctor may be able to do that, or she/he will introduce you to someone else.

Articles

• Exercise is vital to healthy weight loss
• Exercise prevents weight regain after dieting
• Fat? Not Me!— The First Step to Losing Weight Is to Admit You Are Overweight
• Healthy Weight Loss Tips: Back To Low Fat Diet
• Do You Want An Easy And Healthy Way To Lose Weight? Chew Gum
• In The Low Heart Disease Risk Category
• Why Do Ice Cream Makes Over East?
• Healthy Weight Loss Tips: Create A Mental Calorie Budget
• Caution: High Fat, Protein Diet
• Six Small Meals to Lose Weight?
• A Good Night Sleep
• The Best Diet
• Easy Tips For Dieters