Proven Tips for Losing Fat
There's so much to know when it comes to shedding fat and looking your best. From Miami diets to liquid cleanses to wild contraptions sold on TV, it seems there are countless quick fix methods to meet your fitness goals. Well, here is a list of very simple yet effective proven tips to eliminate any frustration you've experienced to look and feel great.
Set your goals right
The first point that should be noted is that you shouldn't look at your efforts as reducing weight. Now, most people will likely drop pounds as they drop fat, but that's not always the case. In some cases, people may add muscle to their body, which weighs more than fat. So forget setting your goal on the scale and use your mirror to determine if you're realizing results. It's better to look great than to hit a number, isn't it?
Be consistent
There's a reason why people continually go back on diets. They simply don't work. A diet is usually an unrealistic eating plan with the expectation that it has a deadline. Well, look at your eating as a change in lifestyle. If you want to see life-long results, you have to make life-long changes. This doesn't mean you need to take on an extreme eating plan for life. It just means that you can eat well, but eat smart.
Eat a lot
No, this doesn't mean portion sizes. It refers to the number of meals you eat in a day. Think of it this way, if you eat only 2 to 3 times a day, your body isn't a fine tuned machine to run that food through your system (in other words, your metabolism). Eating smaller portioned meals more often throughout the day allows your metabolism to speed up, which is essentially the rate at which your body burns calories. The faster your body burns calories, the more fat you lose.
Balance your plate
Every meal should have a portion of protein, a portion of carbs and a portion of healthy fat. No, you don't need to give up carbs and fat, but make sure your carbs are complex carbs and that your fat is the healthy kind.
Drink lots
I wish I could say this means wine, but I'm sure you can guess we're talking about water. Drinking lots of water does wonders to speed up your metabolism and prevents you from feeling hungry. The standard recommendation is to drink eight glasses per day. This is a good target, but you should also let your thirst be your guide.
Lift weights
The biggest misconception for women is that if I lift weights, I'm going to gain big muscles. This is simply not the case. Do you ever wonder why men who lift really heavy weights don't look like the bodybuilders you see in magazines? Worried you'll look like one of those bodybuilding she-women. Well, I doubt you'll be taking the steroids they require to look like that. The truth is when you strength train, you will increase muscle, but not necessarily in size. Most importantly, muscle makes your body a fat burning furnace and is the most effective physical activity you can do to lose fat.
These are simple but proven and effective tips on realizing your fat-loss goals. The key is to continue to educate yourself on what you should eat and how you should exercise because this is a life-long effort.
Michelle Fiske
Regina Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant
http://www.missfitchick.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Fiske
Set your goals right
The first point that should be noted is that you shouldn't look at your efforts as reducing weight. Now, most people will likely drop pounds as they drop fat, but that's not always the case. In some cases, people may add muscle to their body, which weighs more than fat. So forget setting your goal on the scale and use your mirror to determine if you're realizing results. It's better to look great than to hit a number, isn't it?
Be consistent
There's a reason why people continually go back on diets. They simply don't work. A diet is usually an unrealistic eating plan with the expectation that it has a deadline. Well, look at your eating as a change in lifestyle. If you want to see life-long results, you have to make life-long changes. This doesn't mean you need to take on an extreme eating plan for life. It just means that you can eat well, but eat smart.
Eat a lot
No, this doesn't mean portion sizes. It refers to the number of meals you eat in a day. Think of it this way, if you eat only 2 to 3 times a day, your body isn't a fine tuned machine to run that food through your system (in other words, your metabolism). Eating smaller portioned meals more often throughout the day allows your metabolism to speed up, which is essentially the rate at which your body burns calories. The faster your body burns calories, the more fat you lose.
Balance your plate
Every meal should have a portion of protein, a portion of carbs and a portion of healthy fat. No, you don't need to give up carbs and fat, but make sure your carbs are complex carbs and that your fat is the healthy kind.
Drink lots
I wish I could say this means wine, but I'm sure you can guess we're talking about water. Drinking lots of water does wonders to speed up your metabolism and prevents you from feeling hungry. The standard recommendation is to drink eight glasses per day. This is a good target, but you should also let your thirst be your guide.
Lift weights
The biggest misconception for women is that if I lift weights, I'm going to gain big muscles. This is simply not the case. Do you ever wonder why men who lift really heavy weights don't look like the bodybuilders you see in magazines? Worried you'll look like one of those bodybuilding she-women. Well, I doubt you'll be taking the steroids they require to look like that. The truth is when you strength train, you will increase muscle, but not necessarily in size. Most importantly, muscle makes your body a fat burning furnace and is the most effective physical activity you can do to lose fat.
These are simple but proven and effective tips on realizing your fat-loss goals. The key is to continue to educate yourself on what you should eat and how you should exercise because this is a life-long effort.
Michelle Fiske
Regina Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant
http://www.missfitchick.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Fiske