When starting a new exercise program its important to have goals, for many the goal was probably to lose a spare tire or Two for the summer holidays. The holiday period is now coming to an end and a lot of these dieters will be forgetting about their wobbly bits and hiding them under big baggie jumpers until January or next summer. The problem with this style of fat loss is when you come back to trying to lose the fat you’ll probably have more than you did before, why?
Crash dieting usually involves cutting calories and eating lettuce leaves, when you check the scales and discover you have lost weight its not just fat you lost its muscle too. Muscle actually helps burn fat the more of it you have the faster your metabolism will be.
What you need to keep at your target weight is sensible nutrition and a regular exercise program that you can stick to long term, start off slowly maybe just by walking. By developing and using some muscle you’ll increase your metabolic rate and notice more long lasting results. A lot of women are put off exercise especially weight training because they believe it will give them big unfeminine muscle, women don’t have enough testosterone in their bodies to build big muscle.
If your more accustomed to exercise you could try some circuit training 2 or 3 times a week but remember you need to commit to something you can stick with long term. Exercise also offers many other health benefits besides weight loss.
What other benefits does exercise offer
More energy believe it or not regular exercise will give you more energy, not straight away but once you have been at it a while you will notice your extra vitality. Exercise will help you sleep better. It also benefits your immune system a bit of resistance training will improve muscle tone and body appearance, posture and prevent sagging skin if you have lost a lot of weight.
Sustainable Dieting
Making simple changes to your diet can help you achieve more sustainable weight loss than crash dieting, cutting down on sugary drinks is a great way to shed a few calories. Research does show replacing these drinks with the low calorie versions is not a good idea, the low calorie (diet) brands make your body crave sugar. Its better to just try and cut down to One can of the full sugar version now and then. Cutting back on your Alcohol consumption will also help you lose fat, alcohols full of empty calories, your wallet and liver could also benefit.
You could also try replacing white bread with wholemeal bread, wholemeal bread contains fewer calories and more fiber than white bread. There is lots of very simple alterations you can make to your diet to keep your fat loss more sustainable.