Monday, July 28, 2008

Which Exercise is Best for Healthy Weight Loss?

The seemingly logical answer to that question is that aerobic activities such as jogging, swimming or cycling burn the most calories and therefore must be the most effective for healthy weight loss. But while aerobic activity is important, combining it with strength training truly produces the best results.

How Aerobic Exercise Promotes Healthy Weight Loss
Aerobic or cardiovascular activity is any activity that uses the large muscles of the body in movements that are continuous and rhythmical. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), an individual should participate in this type of activity for at least 30 minutes per day, 5 times per week at a moderate intensity. If you want to get the same benefit in less time, the ACSM says to increase the intensity to vigorous, and 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week will do it.

For most efficient fat burning to occur during cardiovascular activity, work out in your Target Heart Rate (THR) zone, which is between 60 and 90 percent of your maximum heart rate. Performing aerobic activities in your THR will best ensure you achieve healthy weight loss.

How Strength Training Promotes Healthy Weight Loss
After aerobic activity, your metabolism is elevated for anywhere between a few minutes to a few hours depending on the intensity of your workout. That means you're burning calories at a higher rate than you normally do. With strength or resistance training, however, you build lean muscle mass, which permanently increases your metabolism. You burn more calories whether at work or rest. The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolic rate and therefore the quicker you can reach your goals.

The ACSM recommends between 8 and 10 strength training exercises of 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise at least twice per week.

How Having Fun Helps Promotes Healthy Weight Loss
Exercise tips for healthy weight loss underscore the combination of cardiovascular training with regular strength training to get optimal results. Remember, too, that if you don't enjoy it, it's not likely you'll continue doing it. None of us want to lose weight only to regain it shortly thereafter. A healthy lifestyle leads to lasting results, and adopting that lifestyle is much more easily achieved when it's fun.

Ways you can increase the fun factor in your exercise routine include having family join in, taking it outdoors to enjoy the scenery, good music, joining classes to make it more of a social event and changing up your routine (also important to avoid fitness plateaus). And remember, if you don't enjoy it, don't do it! Find something else.

Finally, we can't let a discussion of healthy weight loss go by without some mention of the fact that weight loss as a goal in itself can be counterproductive. Even if we're trying to better manage PCOS or type 2 diabetes or some other reason that legitimately has to do with our health, focusing on getting healthy, and living healthfully, holds much greater promise for achieving our goals.
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Since 1973, Green Mountain at Fox Run has developed and refined a life-changing program exclusively for women seeking permanent strategies for healthy weight loss and health. More than just another weight loss retreat and spa, Green Mountain combines proven science with what works in the real world, to offer an innovative non-diet lifestyle program. Our core weight loss program offers an integrated curriculum of practical, liveable techniques that helps women take charge of their eating, their bodies and their health. Unlike health spas or adult weight loss camps, our approach is not focused on just losing weight but on how to keep it off for a lifetime. Our participants' long-term weight loss success is among the highest of any program, as documented in peer-reviewed scientific literature. Learn more about our fitness and healthy weight loss retreat.

About the Author

Currently Green Mountain at Fox Run's Health and Fitness Specialist and Personal Trainer, Samantha Rowland's passion is helping all women enrolled in the weight loss program feel physically capable and empowered by teaching a wide range of exercise and fitness classes.

Friday, July 18, 2008

A Weight Loss program can become easier with a friend

Losing weight can be an especially difficult thing to do. When you first start out the program is fresh and new and your motivation is high. But as the time goes on you can lose steam and begin to cheat on your program. If you have a friend to go through the program with you there is an increased chance of success.
Accountability is one of the major reasons that having a friend go through a weight loss program with you will work to your advantage. On days when you feel like not working out you have a friend to push you to continue your exercise routine. When you have cravings for food that is not on your diet you can talk to someone who is on the diet with you. The partnership will push each member to success in the diet and you will all see your weight loss increase.


One stumbling block in a partnership diet is that each member has to stay focused to pick up the slack when the other person falters. If both people lack the drive then you need to either find a new partner or figure ways to keep each other motivated. One good way to motivate each other is to share successes with others. Tell people how well the weight loss team is doing. Another way to stay motivated is to alternate days of picking exercises or creating meals to motivate you or your partner in weight loss.

About the Author

Andrew P Schirmacher Jr

Weight Loss is not an easy thing to do. It is necessary to maintain your proper weight for health benefits, increasing your ability to do more things and the inner joy you will get. I have begun a program that you may want to learn more about or just find some friends to talk to. Follow along with me as I go through my weight loss program at www.andrewschirmacher.com


Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A Plateful of Valuable Weight Loss Tips

I don't know about you but I think that in today's world too much pressure is put on people to be thin. We see it every day on the television and magazine covers. The media has made the weight issue so important. What do you do in order to control your weight? Are you trying to keep one of the many diets available? Or probably you have your own workout regime at the local gym. No matter what exactly you do to keep in good shape, at least you are giving it all up. Unfortunately, many Americans have given up on their figure and now their weight issue is becoming bigger and bigger. I suppose you understand that once you give up on your figure, it all goes down hill. At the beginning you are size 9 and that's fine with you. Then you realize you've gained a few pounds but it is not a big deal. Soon your size number is 12 and then it turns to size 16. If you constantly keep avoiding the problem the size could go up and up. Nowadays it is very stupid to disregard your figure having in mind all the weightloss tips you can get. Have you tried searching the Internet for useful weightloss tips?

In the past finding some good weightloss tips was quite a difficult task. There were many gurus not knowing what they were babbling about. Have you seen one of those machines people would stand on with the giant belt? I will always remember the day when I first saw it on an old advertisement. This machine actually giggled the person's mid section all over the place. What do you think this can accomplish? Were people so blind that they actually believed the fat could be shaken off? We are lucky today as we are well aware of how things work. We know which weightloss tips are valid and which are useless. If you think that diet pills will help you reduce your weight you are wrong. The only thing they will do is to pull the water from your figure. But you don't want to get rid of the water, do you? Your problem is fat. In case you are looking for some good weightloss tips and dietary supplements then I would suggest you conducted an online research.

Do you need decent weightloss tips? Don't give up if you haven't succeeded to find the ideal weightloss regime for yourself yet. Do some browsing and you will see that there are hundreds of solutions available. Here are some weightloss tips as follow: always maintain a balanced and healthy diet including fresh vegetables, organic meats and drink plenty of water. The key to weightloss is eating reasonable portions and exercising on a regular basis. For further weightloss assistance and more useful tips you can open google.com and conduct a search with the key words "weightloss tips".
Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning weight loss. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting Weight Loss Tips

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About the author
Morgan Hamilton
Morgan Hamilton has worked as a licensed Financial Advisor and specializes in helping individuals properly manage their credit. ...