61. Use music to motivate
Exercise is one of the major factors to keep the weight off permanently. Everyone gets burned out with their exercise plan from time to time. Music serves to take your mind off of the fact you are exercising. It’ll distract you from your fatigue and possible muscle soreness. Working out will become more pleasurable than simple monotonous movements. There is no one specific musical genre best combined with exercise; that clearly depends on your personal taste. Some great ideas, though, for something upbeat include salsa, country, big band, disco, or even funk. Pick songs you can sing along to, or that have a great rhythm.
62. Cross train for great results
A great training method to add variety into your cardio routines is to use cross training. Cross training allow you to switch between multiple forms of exercise in one session. This keeps your routine fun and also burns extra calories by adding more intense styles of cardio exercises. A sample cross training cardio routine may include 15 minutes jogging on the treadmill, followed immediately by 15 minutes on the elliptical training machine and then followed immediately by 15 minutes of stationary cycling. This cardio workout consists of 3 different exercises and last a total of 45 minutes in length. You can decrease or increase each time interval to fit your fitness level. You want to start out with the most intensive exercise first and end with the least intensive exercise.
63. Avoid spot reducing
Spot reducing involves training an area of your body exclusively to reduce body fat levels from that specific area. Popular spot reducing areas include the stomach (abs) and the hips, thigh and buttocks. Many people think by doing hundreds of sit-ups, they can lose their belly fat and get a six pack of defined abdominals. Spot reducing is a myth and does not work. Fat gets stored on our bodies in a certain order which is determined by gender and genetics. Men typically store excess fat in the abdominal region and women store fat in the hips and thighs. When someone loses weight and decreases their overall body fat levels, the decrease of fat comes from all over the body and does not specifically decrease in one central area. The best way to lose body fat and tone up an area like the abs or thighs is to burn calories with cardio training and use strength training to build up lean muscle to tone the area you’re focused on.
64. Make small changes every week
Making small changes is very important for engraining healthy habits and behaviors into your life. If you start out with very drastic changes with a goal of losing tons of weight very quickly, you will be destined to fail. Big changes will most likely shock your system and you may become mentally burned out very quickly because of the difficulty to adhere to the rigid program. By making small changes every week, you will be much more likely to stick with the minor modifications to your diet or exercise program and continue to build on this solid foundation over the course of time. Small dietary changes may include removing the mayonnaise and cheese from your sandwiches or choosing a healthier dressing on your salads. These small changes can reduce hundreds of calories from your daily caloric intake and it only takes a 500 calorie deficit per day (below your BMR) to lose 1 pound of body fat per week. A small exercise change may be to go outside for a 1 mile walk every other day. This is a great way to begin so you can build up to several miles per week and burn excess calories, tone your legs and increase your energy levels!
65. Focus on 500 calories per day
To lose body fat safely and keep it off, focus on creating a 500 calorie deficit per day (below your BMR). Over the course of a week, this equals out to 3,500 calories or 1 pound. The best way to hit this 500 number every day is to create a 250 calorie deficit through your diet and another 250 calorie deficit through cardio exercise. Remember, you want to fuel your body with high nutrient foods and keep your metabolism “stoked” throughout the day. The worst thing you can do is limit your food intake too severely which will cause your body to go into starvation mode and hold onto your body fat reserves.
You are reading part 13 of the ShapeFit’s Amazing Weight Loss Tips eBook
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