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April 6, 2009

How To Break Through The Toughest Plateau By Christopher Guerriero

1. Get clear on your ultimate weight-loss goal.

Be sure that your weight-loss goal is realistic and that your expected rate of weight loss is reasonable. If you are on a heath enhancing, nutritionally rich weight loss program you can expect to loss one to two pounds a week.

Each body has its own ideal weight and size. Don't compare yourself to anyone else, but listen to your body and notice what feels best for you. A simple way to approximate your ideal weight is by referring to the Body Mass Index chart found at www.Body-Mass-Calculator.com

2. Go high-protein, medium to low carbs.

Unless you're eating enough protein to maintain your lean muscle mass, you are likely to have lost weight already from both your fat stores and muscle. Women need to eat approximately 100grams of protein a day and men 150 grams in order to preserve their muscle tissue during a weight loss program. If you have lost some muscle during your weight loss program so far you need to focus on protein so your body can build and/or maintain muscle, which requires more calories to sustain, which in turn, kick starts your weight loss again.

3. Add resistance training to your program.

A wonderful way to boost your metabolism and break through to the next level of weight loss is by incorporating aerobic exercise into your program, such as 30 minutes of walking three to four times a week. (If you are 35 years or older, or haven't exercised regularly, begin with 10 to 15 minutes two to three times a week.) In addition, resistance training (weight training with free weights or machines) several times a week can help increase muscle strength and density, which in turn allows you to burn more calories faster.

Studies show that weight training can increase the rate at which your metabolism burns calories almost overnight by five to 10 percent. Working out can increase your metabolism for up to 21 hours after an intense workout. An excellent workout program can be found in The 2 Day Workout - which is a book that details a basic workout that can be followed 2 days per week, yet get you faster results than most of the 4 - 5 day per week workouts. Get your copy of The 2 Day Workout here.

4. Look out for hidden carbohydrates.

If your weight loss progress seems slow, look out for carbohydrates that might be sneaking their way unnoticed into your diet. Sugar can lurk in the most unexpected places such as ketchup, salad dressings, teriyaki and barbecue sauces. Watch out too for cornstarch, sugar or milk solids in many processed foods such as gravies, or sauces on frozen vegetables.

Be careful of "low-fat" foods where flavor is enhanced by sugar and other carbohydrates. Try keeping a diet journal for a couple of days of EVERYTHING you eat and drink. You may quickly discover the hidden carbs that are keeping your weight-loss progress stuck and be able to eliminate them and move past your plateau.

5. Take the "refinement" out of your diet.

Try eliminating all refined sugar and refined grains (like white flour products) from your diet. This includes white bread, pastries, pasta, white rice, white flour crackers, sugar-coated breakfast cereals, cookies and cake. This simple step can encourage a huge weight-loss breakthrough and leave you feeling more healthy and energized in the process.

6. Don't go hungry.

Cutting back on how often you eat can have a negative impact on your diet plateau. Many studies show that small, frequent meals are more satisfying and produce better weight-loss results than the same number of calories consumed in three large meals. Take advantage of healthy snacking and crunch on fresh slices of raw vegetables like celery, peppers, and cucumber when you're hungry.

7. Drink to burn.

It's vitally important to replenish your fluids by drinking plenty of water on your weight loss program. An inadequate supply of water in itself can slow down your weight-loss. Carry water with you wherever you go throughout the day. For additional weight-management benefits, add a high quality "greens drink" to your water to help keep your metabolism healthy. Keeping well hydrated not only helps you burn fat efficiently, it also helps control hunger.

8. Keep your incentive strong.

Remember the determination you felt when you first began your weight-loss program? Remember the excitement of watching the pounds drop one by one? Go back to whatever your initial motivation was and see whether it still works for you. It may have been the desire to lose weight for a particular event or to regain your figure after pregnancy.

You may have been motivated by poor health or by the shock of just how much weight you had gained. See whether the same motivation still has juice for you. If not, choose a new one. Keep a picture of yourself looking great (or bad!) on your refrigerator as a daily reminder of where you are heading.

Following these tips can help you break through even the most severe plateau -if you find that you absolutely can't do it alone, then I'd be glad to help you - check out my Coaching Program
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Christopher Guerriero is Founder and CEO of The National Metabolic and Longevity Research Center, where he has devoted more than 15 years to studying people who have successfully mastered their metabolism. Christopher is the author of several books, including the world wide best-seller "Maximize Your Metabolism". Take a moment to learn about Christopher's Healthy Living Weight Loss Audio program.

*brought to you by FitnessAndHealthAdvice.com

April 3, 2009

Enough Already! Stop Coming Up With 'New' Weight Loss Programs By Christopher Guerriero

How an abundance of 'great weight loss ideas' almost ruined my life and how to stop Information Overload from ruining yours!

Great weight loss techniques are completely worthless.

That's a true statement 99.7% of the time.

Great weight loss techniques are a scam on oneself.

That's also a true statement 99.7% of the time.

Great weight loss techniques NEVER make you thin, lean, healthy, or sexy!

Also a true statement 99.7% of the time.

Great weight loss techniques waste your time, and get you really frustrated..

Again, a true statement 99.7% of the time.

Great weight loss techniques almost ruined my life and my business.

I stopped it - As soon as I saw this horrifying trend in the industry years ago, I stopped testing our new technique after new technique on my clients.

You might think that makes me sound like a quitter - but let me explain how this simple 'step back' allowed my clients to all take 10 steps forward towards their goals.

I define Information Overload as: A condition whereby weight loss techniques come to you in such abundance that you have trouble keeping up with all of them.

When you turn on the television you see them, when you listen to the radio you hear about them, when you enter a store you see signs for them, and they're all "new", and they all proclaim to have finally found a revolutionary combination of exercises, or diets, or nutrients, or some other new gadget that promises you the body of a model or of a bodybuilder if you just buy one bottle of pills or one new system, etc, etc, etc...

For 15 years, my staff and I tested all the new products we came across, trying to determine what worked and what didn't.

When we found a technique that worked, we tested it and tested it and tested it again to make sure that it worked every time it was used by someone.

But there was one common denominator - everything that worked, everything that was actually getting people great results, was already known to man.

Not many of the "new" techniques were actually working.

Every few days. Another technique came across my desk that was supposed to make people thin and healthy. It was amazing.

People trying to lose weight were caught up on Information Overload. They were literally paralyzed because they had too much information. they literally had no idea how or where to get started, and when they did start, they changed direction every time they came across another 'miracle weight loss technique'.

It's a vicious cycle that continues today.

Does any of this sound familiar?

To many, you know this scenario all to well. All to well.

Having loads of information, at first, is thought to be a good thing by most. Years later, when you've done nothing you realize this fact...

Information Overload is an enemy. One that if not controlled will hold hostage your goals and dreams.

There's only one way out.

Decide on 1 tried and true weight loss program that 'does it' for you.

And open fire on the enemy with your only weapon.

Take Action.

Massive action.

It's the step that changed my life and the lives of my clients around the world.
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Christopher Guerriero is Founder and CEO of The National Metabolic and Longevity Research Center, where he has devoted more than 15 years to studying people who have successfully mastered their metabolism. Christopher is the author of several books, including the world wide best-seller "Maximize Your Metabolism". Take a moment to learn about Christopher's Healthy Living Weight Loss Audio program.

*brought to you by FitnessAndHealthAdvice.com

April 1, 2009

Want Better Calves? By Jon Benson

Three words: Negative Calf Raises. Yep, that's a bit contradictory. But let me tell you -- I can hardly walk today and I did these suckers two days ago.

Take a dumbbell that's about 1/3 your bodyweight. Find a platform that is high enough so you can get a good stretch on your calf muscles. Warm up for a few sets... then do just two sets of "negative raises". Holding the dumbbell on your right side, raise with both calves and then lower SLOWLY with the right calf. As slow as you can. Then repeat.

This is a 6-10 rep exercise at best. After that you do the other side. And after that, you are beat! But your calves will shape up faster than ever.
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Jon Benson is a nutrition and fitness counselor and best-selling author. His latest book "7 Minute Muscle" documents the latest research on brevity training and how you can get more results in far less time in the gym. Read more at http://myworkout.notlong.com

*brought to you by FitnessandHealthAdvice.com