It is not because you can't make commitments, there is too much happening in your life that affect your decisions. A complete lifestyle change over night is impossible for many. Like everything else in life, you have to take things in phases and work in moderation. You don't have to go overboard, make the changes work for you, at your pace, in your comfort zone. If you are not in sync in what you are dong you will not succeed.
Loosing weight
First think on many folks mind after the holidays is to loose weight. Loosing wait can be accomplish by a combination of diet and exercise. The mistake many make is dieting only, this is never a wise choice. Reducing or completely removing the types of food that have high calories only decreases the amount of energy that will be stored as fat. Exercise burns the stored fat, using the energy produced to tones the muscles thus firming the body which result in decrease mass.
You often worry what to eat, which diet plan really works. For me, High protein and veggie diet is my favorite choice. Food such as beans, fish, skinless chicken and vegetables are easy to prepare and can be tasty depending on your choice of herbs. Vegetables are really not a favorite choice because it is not as tasty as the other food choices. The reason is that vegetables are often eliminated from diet and you never give your taste buds the chance to develop the taste. I am sure you know of a food that your friends may find to be very delicious but you just feel is yucky. Their taste buds have adapted to liking that food but because you probably have never tasted it or never given yourself the time to appreciate the taste thus you would not like it. Veggies are similar, many people who savor the taste would agree that at first they never appreciate it but grew to love the taste. So phase in your vegetables, one day it will be all the healthy you crave.
It is important to count your calories and eat complete meals as to avoid snacking. Go online and do a calories check of some of some of the common foods in your super mart and keep a copy of the results in your kitchen. After a while you will know the calories present in each food item by heart. Mix and match your meals as you like keeping your daily meals within the range that will best suit your agenda. It is also important to know your Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR), it tells you how much calories you burn per day just by doing nothing. With your BMR you can calculate your Daily Caloric needs by using the below information:
- If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
- If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
- If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
- If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
- If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9
When skipping meals, you will tend to eat more at the subsequent meal resulting in a positive energy balance. For instance skipping breakfast would result in your body breaking down stored glycogen and fatty acids to maintain your blood glucose so as to fuel the brain and other tissues. Utilizing of store fat is good, but not sufficient enough to loose noticeable pounds. At lunch you would be twice as hungry thus eat more food that you would on a regular basis and this would result in extra energy being stored as fat. When skipping meals you also tend to snack more often and not pay attention to amount of calories being consumed.
Breakfast is the energy house, a healthy breakfast starts your day just right. My preference is a 'fruitful' breakfast. Diced banana (95kcal) and some strawberries (100g=28kcal) in 1 cup skim milk (86 kcal) averages less that 220 kcal. The same for a banana smoothie and a cup of tea. You should always have 2 protein bars at hand, one for a mid-morning snack and one for a mid afternoon snack. Grapes (1 cup =62kcal) or banana is also great choice for snacking. Lunch and dinner should be simple. Vegetables, beans, bake or grill meat in any combination would be fine. The idea is just to eat in moderation and minus the high carbohydrates and fats.Exercise
When we exercise we convert stored energy to generate fuel for muscles and to cool the body. An increase heart rate and excess sweating tells you you body is having a good work out. My favorite video instructor is Tracy Anderson, 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of transformation. If you don't think you have the motivation to do it on your own, join the gym. Many would start, few will finish. You have to find the motivation to make it possible. You have to maintain a weekly exercise regimen. Dieting helps you to shed the weight, exercises also do but importantly help to maintain your weight by burning the excess stored energies that daily meals may provide.
If you are concern about your weight you should be equally concern about what is going on within. Knowing your blood pressure, fasting blood sugar and lipid profile is recommended by most physicians. The conditions are usually affected by patients diet and physical practices and can be easily corrected by change in lifestyle. Make an appointment to visit your family physician and have your regular check-ups.
Staying healthy in 2013 is not as difficult as it may seem, wanting to means your are half way there, accomplishing the goal depends on you. A positive mind will always make it through, get motivated, get your calorie check, get tested.
