photo credit: emples

When you are trying to lose weight it is information and knowledge that will set you free. You need to know all the pitfalls that are out there and you need to be aware of every little trick that can help you on your journey. You also need to know how to stop it from coming back. This post is your ultimate guide to losing weight for good. I hope it helps you.

The low down

This post has a lot of information to digest so I have broken it down into some sections so you can read a little bit and then come back to it. I urge you not to skip anything though as each part is as important as the last. The sections include:

• Preparing to lose weight, becoming the warrior
• Proper food and drinks
• Exercising for smart weight loss
• Maintaining the weight
• Tips to help you on your way

Start at the beginning and work your way through. And if you fall off the weight loss track as the weeks and months go by you can always head back here for more information or to get your priorities set nicely again.

Preparing to lose weight, becoming the warrior

photo credit: live-showtime

The first thing I want to talk about in this post is the fact that you need the right mental attitude. If you approach weight loss with anything less than a warrior mentality you are going to fail. Simple. The most important part of losing weight is the warrior mentality.

Goals that mean something
Sit down somewhere quiet and think of why you want to lose weight. Try to come up with at least five really solid reasons that mean something to you. It might be that you want to live longer in order to accomplish some goal. Whatever the motivations try to make sure it is something that has an affect on you deeply. You are going to need these reasons on those days where you don’t feel like getting up and going to the gym.

Role models that do something
The next thing you need to do is find a role model that helps inspire you. This could be someone you know or someone that you don’t know but respect. Many men choose people like Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali. These are great athletes who represent discipline and mental toughness. Find your role model and look up some information about them. Perhaps even read their biography. This will give you the inspiration you need to stop you from becoming weak in the mind.

Proper food and drinks

photo credit: negotiable_me

Now that you have sorted out your mental preparation we need to get on to the most important thing of your weight loss journey. Your diet. Without the proper food and drinks it is impossible to succeed on this journey. You see, women need to be calorie perfect because, unlike men, we do not have testosterone to help us along the way. If our diet falters then our weight loss will as well. Get your diet right if you are serious about losing weight and keeping it off.

The mathematics of weight loss
The sad part about weight loss is that it is mostly, in the long term, about maths. You see, if you want to lose weight you need to be burning more calories than you take in. If you have excess calories in your diet they are going to be converted into fat stores. And the thing that most women don’t realize is that over a number of years those calories add up. Take a look:

If you have a can of Coke with lunch everyday of the week you are taking in 155 calories x seven days a week. That is 1085 calories a week. Now, there are 3500 calories per pound of body fat. So, if you take in 1085 calories from one can of Coke per day in three weeks you have added a pound of fat. That is 17 pounds per year. Just from your daily Coke.

Now, don’t panic. Weight loss is more complicated than that. It is not that black and white. The point of the above example is to show you how important your diet is going to be over the course of your life. Every little thing you take in each day will add up to extra pounds.

Eating well vs running
The most important thing you need to realize after seeing that mathematical example is that eating well is so so so much easier than running and burning the calories. All you have to do is leave the can of Coke in the fridge and you have effectively burned 155 calories from your diet. That is a good 20 minutes on the treadmill. Now, when you do go to the treadmill, you are going to be burning other calories and that means you are going to lose weight a lot faster than if you had that Coke with lunch. Remember this: eating well is so much easier than running.

Foods to avoid for long term success
Weight loss is really about discovering what foods you need to avoid. It is the things you remove from your diet that will make the difference, not the things you add. And the main thing to remember here is that you need to remove unnatural foods that are made up of empty calories. Let me explain what empty calories are.

read more »

photo credit: lululemon athletica

A lot of women choose walking as their preferred method of weight loss. It is low impact, easy to do and quite relaxing. But how long do you actually have to walk for in order to burn fat and lose weight? In this post I am going to give you a few ideas.

Does walking burn fat at all?

The first question we need to ask is one that might shock a lot of people. Does walking actually burn fat at all? Can you lose weight by just walking? Some people say yes, others say no. And in fact, there is no hard and fast answer. It depends on how fast you walk, how often you do it, what time of the day you walk and whether you do it on a regular basis. To be honest, there are better ways of burning fat. But if you are just starting a weight loss program and need to build up to something more intense then walking is a great thing to do.

So how long do I have to walk?

So how long do you actually have to walk if you want to burn fat? Well the answer is not as pretty as you’d hoped for. A recent scientific study of over 34,000 women shows that if you want to lose weight and maintain it you need to exercise around an hour a day, every day. That is very different from the current recommendations of half an hour four times a week.

Are you serious?
Yes, the study is deadly serious. But to be honest I am struggling with it. I know scores of women who lose weight exercising less than that. But the question to ask is whether they maintain that weight. Losing weight is easy, maintaining your new levels is not.

Conclusion

An hour a day of walking is what is needed if you want to lose weight and maintain it. There really are no quick fixes when it comes to weight loss. It is hard work, dedication and a lot of sweat.

photo credit: lululemon athletica

So you’re struggling to lose weight. You are one of the millions of women around the world who just can’t seem to burn fat. Well, all is not lost. There is hope. Here are a few things you can do if you want to start burning fat quickly and in a way that lasts for the long term.

1. Train with weights
So many women avoid weight training for fear that it will make them bulky. It won’t. Weight training is an essential component of losing weight. It elevates your heart rate and, contrary to popular belief, burns a lot of calories. If you are not weight training in a regular way then you are not setting yourself up for success.

2. Mix high intensity and low intensity
If you are struggling to lose weight I am betting that you do a long run each time you workout. Or perhaps you spend 40 minutes on the exercise bike. That’s good but you could be doing more. High intensity workouts are far more effective at burning fat because they keep your heart rate up after your exercise session has finished. This means you will be burning calories well into the day.

3. Change your workout every two weeks
The human body is adaptable. It becomes used to certain things and develops resistance to it. Exercise is no different. The body becomes accustomed to the strain you put it under and for this reason you need to start changing your workout at least every two weeks. Try weight training and then doing cardio, mixing the two up and then doing different exercises in different orders. Try new classes and keep the body guessing.

What about you?
Do you have any tips that you would give to women who are struggling to lose weight? Has anything worked for you? Leave a comment.

photo credit: hectorir

I often get asked by my friends which piece of equipment burns the most fat and as such is the best for weight loss. Is it the treadmill, the exercise bike or the cross trainer? In this post I am going to tell you which one it is and why.

Which is the best for weight loss? Treadmill, bike or cross trainer?

If you spend hours every week doing cardio training trying to lose weight then you obviously want to know which one is the most effective. I know many women who get quite anxious about this issue; they have only 30 minutes per day and don’t want to waste their time.

The answer is extremely simple: they are all good. It depends on how you use them.

Let me explain. You could sit on the exercise bike for an hour a day just barely spinning the wheels and not burn a whole lot of fat. Then the next day you could jump on the treadmill and do sprints for 10 minutes and burn a heck of a lot more of calories than you did on the bike. Does this mean the treadmill is better? No. It just means you used it properly.

The best machine
The best machine is actually the one that you like the best. It is the one that you can push yourself on without getting injured or bored. I like the cross trainer the best because I have an old knee injury that flares up on the treadmill and the bike. So this is the best machine for me because I can push myself without getting injured.

What if you trained equally on all?
Now we have a difficult situation. What if you trained equally hard on each machine? Which one then would be the best for weight loss?

It would be a toss up between the cross trainer and the treadmill. Why? Well the cross trainer is good because it involves both the arms and the legs. You can get a full body workout by focusing on both. The treadmill, on the other hand, is extremely good because it is high impact. I don’t care what anyone says, running is the most difficult of all gym cardio, especially when you up the speed and the incline.

If you are injury free and looking to burn the most amount of fat I would mix up between the treadmill and the cross trainer. Make sure you use lots of sprinting, inclines and so on to maximize the amount of calories that you burn.

Conclusion

Really, the best cardio equipment is the one that you work hardest on. High intensity exercise is the best way to lose weight so make sure you push yourself more and more each time.