Learn how to set your weight loss and fitness goals. If you’re trying to lose weight, get healthy, build muscle or excel at a sport, you’ll need specific goals. When you don’t have a specific goal, it’s difficult to keep exercising and to track your progress to see how far you’ve come. Before you get busy, take a moment and ask yourself these questions:
- What do I want to accomplish with this exercise program?
- Is my goal realistic and attainable?
- Do I know how to reach my goal?
- When do I want to reach my goal?
- How will I reward myself when I reach my goal?
For example, is it reasonable to want to lose 50 pounds in 6 months? It’s possible, but may not be reasonable unless you eat well and exercise every single day for the next 6 months. Experts recommend that you lose no more than 1-2 pounds per week, but it isn’t likely that you’ll lose 2 pounds every single week and many people find they actually lose about .5 to 1 pound on a good week. For more, check out How to Set Weight Loss Goals.
Keep in mind that:
- The more weight you lose, the harder it will be to lose weight because the less weight your body has to move around, the less calories it will burn doing so.
- The closer you get to your goal, the harder it will be to reach it–in fact, you may NEVER reach it (ever talk to someone who’s still trying to lose that last 5 pounds?).
- The weight you can maintain may not be the weight you want to be.
- Scale weight isn’t always the best way to track progress. The scale won’t tell you what you’ve lost and/or gained. Be sure to use other tools to track your progress.
- Weight loss isn’t the only goal you can have and may not even be the most motivating. Giving up the Weight Loss Obsession may be your first step to success.
After you set your goal, find out how to reach it. If you want to lose weight or become better at a sport, you need to do some research to figure out where to start. Browse through these different goals to find out more about getting started:
- Setting Realistic Fitness Goals
- How to Lose Fat
- How to Gain Muscle
- Training for Sports
- Getting Healthy
It’s helpful to know what you have to do before you get started. Many people are surprised at the daily effort it takes to reach their goals.
Once you know what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, you’ll need some strategies for sticking with it:
- Schedule your workouts
- Set weekly goals and reward yourself each time you succeed
- Work out with friends or family for added motivation
- Recommit to your goals every day
- Be prepared by always having your workout bag with you, bringing your lunch to work, etc.
- Keep a food and workout journal to stay on track and measure your progress
- Take your measurements regularly
(Caloriecount.com)
As National Barbecue Month comes to an end, the official start of barbecue season kicks off with this Memorial Day Weekend’s festivities. These summer months will have you eating outside for plenty of reasons including family picnics, birthday parties, and outdoor festivals. All this means the simplicity of counting calories gets a little harder. Because you’re generally not the one cooking or controlling the menu, you’ll need a little help keeping track at these events. Below is a rundown of what you may encounter at a BBQ.
A Day’s Worth of Fat
That traditional
bratwurst is calling your name, but saying yes to it will pack on the fat grams to the tune of 25. If you go for two, you’re almost at a day’s worth of fat and almost 600 calories not even counting the bun. If a
chicken or turkey bratwurst is available, choose that. Bring a pack to the party to add to the grill if you’re unsure if it’s an option. That will save you 20 grams of fat and a third of the calories per dog. Even a hot dog or hamburger has about half the fat of a pork bratwurst.
A Day’s Worth of Added Sugar
Cookouts are a prime location for sugary beverages. Aside from the 20 oz. bottle of soda, which packs about 240 calories, you may have that highly desirable cup of lemonade. Both pack about 70 grams of added sugar. That’s a day’s worth of added sugar for most people. Drinking watered down lemonade takes all the fun out of the experience, but who says you have to fill your cup to enjoy the taste. Bring a few packs of club soda instead and add fresh fruit to it. Pieces of strawberries or watermelon are a fun surprise for the sweet taste you crave in a cold beverage in the summer months. A splash of apple or cranberry juice can get your taste buds going as well. Dress it up in a nice cocktail glass for a visual treat.
Stay Full Foods
Now for the good part (nutritionally speaking). Barbecues are the perfect place to have foods that will keep you satisfied. With high protein meats a central part of the menu, and side dishes that scream fiber, you can choose foods that will stick to your ribs as my Mom would say. A couple wedges of
watermelon has a couple grams of fiber and a high water content that will help fill you up. An ear of corn has a couple more grams of fiber. A side of broccoli
coleslaw nets you four more grams of fiber and you’re feeling pretty good on the hunger front. Add a half a
chicken breast, with 26 grams of protein and you should make it through the barbecue without the need for a second or third plate.
Missing Gems
If your family is known for not grilling fruits and vegetables to go with all that meat, be the one that steps up. Pineapples, tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, artichokes and so many more can really add a nutritious flair. Some well placed seafood on the grill, like shrimp, salmon, halibut, or tilapia, can be another way for you to save calories without sacrificing the fun and flavor of barbecue foods.
By: carolyn_r
A study published in the March 2012 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology revealed the affect exercise has on regions of the brain associated with food reward. Researchers tested healthy young men and women who are habitually active by testing their reactions to food cues after exercise or after rest.
Exercise lowered participants’ reactions to both high-energy and low-energy food. The findings suggest exercise reduces pleasure of food, incentive motivation to eat, and anticipation and consumption of food when compared to responses at rest. A separate University of Colorado study of obese participants in an exercise program saw a similar result, with chronic exercise showing a reduction in the response of visual food cues.
By:carolyn_r
A study by researchers in the UK found hunger hormones were affected differently depending on the type of exercise. Resistance training and aerobic exercise were compared in a small group of healthy males in which three 8-hour sessions monitored ghrelin and peptide YY during exercise and two meals.
Aerobic exercise beat out strength training for suppressing hunger. Specifically, ghrelin, a hunger-stimulating hormone, decreased and peptide YY, which suppresses hunger, increased during aerobic exercise. Though strength training also decreased hunger, it only lowered ghrelin, while peptide YY did not change significantly. The effect of the hormone changes lasted about two hours.
By: carolyn_r
I remember my days working at Mass General Hospital and how many of my colleagues saw getting by on minimal sleep as a badge of honor . I talk about sleep with my weight loss clients and hear the same story. As Rodney Dangerfield might say “sleep gets no respect”. Living a healthy fit healthy life is all about balance and routine quality sleep is a big part of the plan.
Beware of falling below the six-hour mark.A review of studies reveals the role inadequate sleep may play in increasing the vulnerability to obesity.Those who fall below six hours of sleep a night have an increased body mass index, diabetes and hypertension. This may be due to the fact that lack of sleep negatively affects your ability to make good food choices.
ts in a row reported a 24% increase in appetite and their cravings for sweets, salty, and starchy foods greatly increased.
By: Carolyn_r
