Tag: lose weight

Burn Baby, Burn

Jun 04, 2014

Weight lifting is one of the most popular exercise forms. Weight lifting was earlier taken up by body builders. However, today anyone looking to lose fat and build up a toned and structured body should add it to their workout. Weight lifting is a great way to burn lots of calories.

Adding weight lifting to your regular exercise routine will help you burn some serious calories. If you are looking for a leaner, more muscular physique, you need to lift weights. Strength training is a fantastic way to burn calories. This type of training uses more muscles at any given time than other forms of training. When you use more muscles it requires your body to use up more energy. Although cardio burns calories throughout the exercise, building muscle through weight lifting burns fat during the exercise, and long after the exercise has been completed.

Muscles burn about 10 times the calories per pound than fat does. Weight lifting increases your metabolic rate and burns calories effectively. It also helps to check the calorie count even when the muscles go through the repair process when you are not working out. If you want to lose over all body fat then weight lifting programs are the best options. Weight lifting speeds up the process of calorie loss.

In addition, weight training is essential for keeping the weight off once you have reached your goal weight. Many research studies have shown that the participants who lost weight through a combination of exercise and caloric restriction were better able to keep weight off over the long term versus those that only undertook caloric restriction.

When you start to workout with weights, never workout any more than 4 days per week. Your body is put through a tremendous amount of stress when you are lifting weights. Anything more than this could be opening yourself up to muscle fatigue, muscle strains and injuries. You get the most of your gains on your rest day. If you are new to weight training, be sure not to focus so much on the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat, so as you are gaining muscle and losing fat, the scale may not tell the whole story.

Unfortunately, as we age we lose muscle and gain fat. We lose about 20% of our muscle mass after 30 years of age. The only way to retain our muscle mass is with weight lifting. When you increase your muscle mass you burn more calories. Your metabolic rate will remain elevated longer and you will burn more calories with less effort. Weight lifting will help you lose weight faster.

Meet with a personal trainer to get you on the right program of weight training for you to reach your workout and weight loss goals. A trainer will teach you the proper exercises and form so that you don’t injure yourself during your workout.

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Shedding Holiday Weight

Jan 17, 2014

How to Shed Holiday Weight GainThe holiday season has come and gone. Many San Jose residents have “Shedding Holiday Weight” as a top priority on their to-do lists now.  It’s time to work on losing those extra pounds gained from all the parties, holiday treats and family gatherings. With the abundance of rich foods at holiday time, it is no wonder that so many people suffer from holiday weight gain (yep, even your friendly San Jose boot camp coach can fall victim to holiday treats!).

The extra pounds you may have packed on during the holidays can make the prospect of losing weight seem like an overwhelming task. The good news is that by taking the time to plan out a post-holiday strategy that will work for you, shedding holiday weight won’t be as difficult as you think.

Post Holiday Weight Loss Tips

  1. Set a goal. What would you like to achieve in the next 6 weeks?  Is is attainable?  Measurable?  Get your goals down on paper and post them where you’ll see them every day.
  2. Put together a routine.  Get yourself back into the habit of regular exercise.  Write out a schedule of when you’ll exercise and stick to it.  Grab a workout buddy if you need more accountability.
  3. Eat breakfast!  Having a good breakfast with protein and produce (think scrambled eggs and spinach) is important in order to set yourself up to feel full and energized for your day.  Ditch the sugary cereals and flour-based bread products.  Stick with protein and produce as your first meal of the day.
  4. Eat often.  Make your meals a little smaller, and eat 4-6 times per day.  This will keep you energized and feeling full, and it will also keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day.
  5. Limit alcohol and other calorie filled, non-nutritive beverages.  Now, don’t shoot the messenger, and please note that I didn’t say eliminate.  Simply limit them ;-).
  6. Get outside!  We’re fortunate to live in an area with wonderful weather pretty much year-round.  On the weekends, soak up a little sun and vitamin D with a walk, a hike or sprints around your local high school track.  A little sunshine and fresh air will do your mood good.

If you’d like our professional fitness boot camp coaches to be your accountability partner, please give us a call at 408-265-1540 or click below to request a one-week free trial at a lifeSport Fitness boot camp in San Jose Campbell or Los Gatos:

I want a free one-week trial at lifeSport Fitness bootcamp!

 

Weight Loss After The Holidays

Jan 19, 2013

The first time you jump on the scale after the holidays, it might be a particularly traumatizing experience. Weight has a way of creeping up on you at this time of the year. You might even be one of those who is afraid to look at the number on the scale. Yes, I know, it’s time for a killer weight loss strategy!

As you may know from reading my blog, I’m NOT a quick weight loss advocate.  I believe in the slow and steady lifestyle approach.  However, I know those holiday pounds on your hips or in your belly don’t feel good.  So let’s talk about a few quick and easy strategies to get the weight loss effort moving in the right direction.

 

For a start, consider limiting or cutting out alcohol until you get back down to your desired weight. Alcohol is just empty calories (and a lot of them) and I’d rather have you concentrate on EATING calories instead DRINKING them. If you really can’t do without your beloved alcohol, consider pouring less of it and having it less often.

After the holidays, it’s common to feel incredibly bloated. Often times this is due to a higher refined carbohydrate intake and/or water retention.  The fix for this? Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, and cut back on refined and processed grain products (like bread, cookies, cakes, pies, etc). This will help you drop excess water weight, and you can replace the non-nutritious flour-based products with vegetables and fruits.

One of the reasons for weight gain over holidays is many of us over-indulge on rich treats and we eat larger portions. Now that the holiday is over, it’s time to push the rich treats to the back burner as occasional treats, and go back to normal portions.  Truth be told, I believe that most of us who are struggling with weight issues have probably fallen victim to PORTION issues :-).  If you’re looking for weight loss after the holidays—look to put smaller portions on your plate. Plain and simple!!

Aside from portion control, one of my best weight loss solutions for you is to write down your food intake each day.  Yep.  I know.  It’s tedious.  However, IT WORKS!  You’d be amazed at all the little things that go into your mouth that you forget about when you mentally recall your daily food intake.  When you WRITE DOWN your daily intake—it’s easier to keep track of what goes in your mouth!

Finally, in your effort to get on the weight loss wagon after the holidays, I’d suggest  you start making an appointment with yourself for regular exercise.  I like interval training to spur on faster weight loss, but if you’re  new to exercise, just getting out for a brisk walk, a hike, or some time on cardio machine at your health club is certainly a start.

Weight loss after the holidays doesn’t have to be daunting. In fact, if you only gained a few pounds over the holidays, and you employ just one of the strategies I’ve told you and return to your  normal, non-holiday eating patterns, you should be back to normal weight within a couple of weeks.

Get out the the “indulgent” calories, be aware of what you’re eating and your portions, and schedule exercise.  That’s it.  There’s your post-holiday weight loss plan!

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Lose Weight with Seasonal Vegetables

Jan 16, 2013

Most research shows that eating fresh vegetables is much better than eating canned or frozen ones. This is because they are fresh and therefore, still retain most of their ‘goodness’. Seasonal vegetables are also cheaper than other vegetables, which means you can stay healthy and lose weight on a budget.  It can be more of a challenge to find familiar vegetables in winter, but I’ll list below some of the best seasonal vegetables for this time of year and ways to prepare/use them.

Let’s start with the good old brussel sprout. Love them or hate them, these are going to make a big appearance this time of year. They are packed full of goodness and flavor. They taste particularly divine when boiled. If you find their flavor too strong, coat in a tiny bit of pancetta, rosemary and crumbled chestnuts. Smear them in a tiny bit of butter in order to allow the mixture to stick.

White cabbage is another favorite for this time of year. You can use white cabbage in a soup or a pie.

Both leeks and potatoes will have hit their peek around this time. There are many dishes that incorporate leeks, potatoes or both. A leek and potato pie is always a good bet! Remember to eat your potatoes in moderation since they are high in carbohydrates. Avoid frying as this adds to their calorie content – boil or bake them instead.

One of the vegetables which seems to hit its peak around this time of year but gets very little attention is kale. Try incorporating kale into your diet for the high amount of vitamins and minerals it provides. It may take a bit of effort to find good kale recipes, but trust me, it is worth it. You might also go to your local Whole Foods market  and look in their produce section for bagged “kale salad”.  It’s already put together with shredded carrots!

Finally, carrots and cauliflower are found in abundance this time of year, and can be combined to make a tasty vegetable stew or vegetable curry. Rich in goodness as well!

As you can see, there are a lot of seasonal vegetables to choose from to help you lose weight. All of them taste fantastic, and all of them will make a great side dish to whatever food you are eating.

The best way to lose weight is to combine a diet high in fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains with regular CONSISTENT exercise.  If you need a little push on the exercise part, consider signing up for a one-week free trial at a lifeSport Fitness boot camp in San Jose, Los Gatos or Campbell!

 

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Four Tips to Look 10 Years Younger

Jan 10, 2013

Getting fit and healthy is amazing for your body and self-confidence.  It can also take years off your appearance.  Dropping a few pounds can thin out your entire body, especially your face which is what people usually see first. It can also reduce the appearance of fine lines.
Look 10 years younger by following four simple tips:

1.  Go Shopping
Before you embark on your journey, go shopping! Buy an “inspirational” outfit in the size you are aiming to reach. The excitement of shopping for a smaller size will be very motivating. Hang the outfit where you will see it often, or take a picture of it and post it on your refrigerator so it will be a constant reminder of what weight you want to be. You can also treat yourself to a new workout outfit to inspire you to exercise regularly.

2.  Clean Out Shop
You may have developed some unhealthy habits within the past ten years. Now is the time to let those habits go and forge forward with new ones!

Eliminating unhealthy food and snacks is a good place to start. Throw out sweet and high calorie foods and replace them with fruits and veggies which are loaded with vitamins and minerals that are needed for a productive and youthful body. You may notice your energy level improving as you eat healthier and consume fewer sugary food and drinks. You may get a temporary “spike” of energy because of a sugar fix, but that energy quickly wanes and you are left feeling tired and lethargic.

Switch out your soda or other high calorie drinks for water and unsweetened ice tea. Drink at least 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water everyday. That alone will knock hundreds of calories off your daily intake and help you shed a few pounds. Plus, a hydrated body will improve your skin and make it more elastic while giving you a youthful glow.

3.  Let Go of Other Bad Habits
You may have vices that help you cope with the daily stress of living, but these vices are aging you far too soon. Drinking alcohol regularly not only packs on the pounds, but it also dehydrates the body which leaves your skin pale and dry, causing wrinkles and dark spots.  Your internal organs (liver and kidneys) have to work overtime to get rid of the toxins of the alcohol.

Smoking will also age you, as well as put you at high risk for cancer. There are thousands of poisons and toxins in a single cigarette which dehydrates the body, and they seep into the skin causing acne and wrinkles. These toxins also affect the cells within the body that assist with oxygen flowing through the blood vessels properly.

Collagen plays a key role in the firmness of the skin and with smokers, the collagen levels are drastically decreased. Lower collagen levels make the skin look pasty and bloated which will add years to your appearance.

4.  Exercise
If you want to be thinner and more healthy, you will have to exercise, especially if you are over 30. Once you hit the age of 30, your metabolism slows down, which means the calories you eat regularly aren’t broken down and burned off nearly as quickly as you were in your 20’s.

We gain weight by eating more calories than we work off or expend, so you will need to revamp your diet plan by eating fewer calories and exercising to burn off the calories that you do take in. For every 3,500 calories that you eat, you will gain one pound of fat if none of those calories are burned off.  Take a boot camp class for maximum burn!

Go online and use a free calorie expenditure calculator to find out how many calories you burn in various workouts. Use your weight and your age to determine how many calories you should be consuming per day. Then find an exercise program that will work off a few hundred of those calories to get the weight loss you are looking for.   Take a San Jose boot camp workout for maximum calorie burn!

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