How to Lose Weight Safely

Maintaining the normal weight is paramount to healthy living. When you are in the range of healthy weight, you will have fewer worries about the health problems. If you can burn about 500 more calories than the food you consume for one week, you could lose about one or two pounds. To reduce weight fast, you need to exercise more and eat less. There is no other shortcut to reducing your weight in a safe manner.

If you consume between 1050 and 1200 calories and exercise for up to an hour daily, you could lose between three and five pounds in your first week. It is essential not to reduce your calorie intake further because it is dangerous. Minimizing the starch, sugar, dairy foods, and animal fats is a great way to lose weight. You need to focus on eating more veggies, soy products, egg white, fruits, fish, non-fat dairy foods, skinless poultry breasts and 95% lean meat.

The following are some tips that can help you in the process of reducing your weight;

• Drink more water
• Eat veggies to make you feel full
• Don't skip any meal
• Throw tempting foods out of your house
• Keep the record of the food you eat
• Keep yourself busy; you shouldn't eat because of boredom

If you are able to record your daily intake even in a napkin that will end up being thrown away, it will be an act of being accountable to yourself. Keeping records of your daily diet is a very effective tool when you plan to lose weight.

Exercising to lose weight fast

According to study, safe weight loss requires up to an hour moderate exercise every day. Make a plan to do strength and cardio training if you want to lose weight. Cardio will help you burn most calories to lose weight very fast, but you will need to include strength training a few hours per week.

If you have not been exercising for a very long time, don't rush into exercising for longer hours; make it a gradual process. Rushing the exercise may lead to injury and cause the setback to your weight loss plan. If you are not sure of how to start, consult a councilor to put you through.

One important way to set up you exercise intensity is to start interval training- brief burst of high intensity which is followed by more mellow pace; repeat the same pattern throughout your workout. The interval training will allow you work harder without spending the entire time at the higher level. The more you exercise your body, the more it becomes easy to lose weight.

How to Do a Plank: 7 Plank Exercise

Plank exercise is a safe, challenging, and effective method of core conditioning. Variations of planks are used across many fitness disciplines, including Boot Camp Regimens, Yoga, Pilates, Barre, CrossFit, and many more. The benefits of plank exercise are numerous. They not only strengthen the abs but also entire core and many other muscle groups in the upper and lower body.

BENEFITS OF PLANK EXERCISES

STRENGTHEN THE CORE AND WORK UPPER AND LOWER BODY MUSCLES.
When you perform plan exercises, you work all of the muscles that make up your core and gain all of the benefits that come with building a strong core. As if that wasn't enough, planks also work the following muscles:

UPPER BODY

• Trapezius.
• Rhomboid major and minor.
• Rotator cuff.
• Anterior, medical and posterior delts.
• Pectorals.
• Triceps.
• Biceps.

LOWER BODY

• Quadriceps
• Gastrocnemius (calf muscle).

PREVENT MUSCLE IMBALANCES
It's easy to develop muscle imbalances when only performing abdominal exercises (such as sit-ups). Most people do not perform spinal and gluteal strengthening exercises to compensate for the abdominal work. Planks condition the front and back of the body simultaneously. When muscles are comparably developed on both sides of the body, the result is better posture, more spinal support, and less lower-back pain.

IMPROVE FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT
One of the best selling points for planks is their relevance when it comes to functional movement, which is essential movement to living life. Things such as squatting, bending, running, lifting, jumping, and throwing are all functional movements initiated in the core.

PROVIDE A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO CRUNCHES AND SIT-UPS
While sit-ips are an important functional movement for daily life (for example, the ability to get out of bed every morning), they are not always the best core conditioning choice for everyone.

Crunches and sit-ups only work the muscles on the front side of the core, so it's necessary to do back strengthening exercises as well. However, planks work the entire core, as well as many other muscles in the body.

Crunches and sit-ups can place pressure on the spine through the repetitive flexion and extension of the spine, and over time, this can become an issue. If you experience any discomfort with these movements, plank training can be useful substitute.

Furthermore, crunches and sit-ups are counter intuitive for those with ruptured, bulging, or slipped discs or other spinal injuries. Planks are a much safer alternative in those cases.

And finally, crunches and sit-ups can have negative effects on posture by promoting rounded shoulders. Plan exercises promote good posture.

OFFER VERSATILE EXERCISE
The best thing about planks is that there are countless variation of the exercise, ranging from traditional and side plank variations to planks using external weights or unstable surfaces. There is a plank for every body and every fitness level. If one doesn't work for you because of injury, body type, imbalance, or a lack of requisite strength, there are many other options. Entire workouts can be programmed around the plank.

PLANK VARIATIONS
This part includes the most basic variations of the plank, which serve as the foundation for building core strength. These planks are performed only with your own bodyweight.

The best thing about the planks featured in this part is that they require no special equipment and can be performed anywhere, (at the gym, at home, or as a travel workout).

There are many variations of these four planks, ranging from intermediate to advanced, so you won't get bored with your core training.

Ready to put these planks into practice and build the strongest core of your life as you change the shape of your body? Get ready to feel the burn with these ten workouts that link together a series of planks. The workout range from beginner to advanced and are all around five minutes in duration.

WORKOUT 1: BEGINNER
The focus of this workout is to build up the amount of time you are able to stay in a full plank. As the 15-second holds get easier, start to increase the amount of time you are in the plank over the course of 1 minute. For example, start 15-seconds in the full plank hold, with five seconds rest and repeated three times, and then increase to 25-seconds in the full plank, with 5-seconds rest and repeated once. Continue to increase the plank hold time until you are able to hold a plank for a full minute.

WORKOUT 2: INTERMEDIATE
These variations are rep-based and add movement to the plank.

VARIATION ONE:

10 knee to chest planks, five on each leg.

10 twisted knee to chest planks.

10 mountain climber planks.

Repeat this set three times.

VARIATION TWO:

10 side plank with foot taps, ten on each leg.

5 side plank hip dips, five on each side.

10 side forearm stability ball planks, ten on each side.

Repeat this set three times.

VARIATION THREE:

10 forearm plank knee taps.

10 forearm plank hip drops, five on each side.

10 plank walks, high plank to forearm plank.

Repeat this set three times.

WORKOUT 3: ADVANCED
This advanced bodyweight workout features movement and single arm/leg balancing.

8 pulsing full planks, eight on each leg.

8 side planks with knee crunches, eight on each leg.

8 table crunch twists, eight on each leg.

8 push-up side planks, four on each side.

30-second rocking forearm plank.

8 dolphin plank push-ups.

Repeat this set three times.

WORKOUT 4: STABILITY BALL
This workout requires your stability ball, get ready for a circuit-based workout that will challenge the core.

30-second stability ball forearm plank.

15-second stability ball balancing plank.

10 stability ball knee tucks.

15-second stability ball side forearm plank, 15-second on each side.

30-seocnd stability ball reserve plank.

Repeat this set three times.

WORKOUT 5: BOSU TRAINER
You'll work with both sides of the BOSU trainer in this rep-themed workout that will have you moving and twisting.

10 BOSU plank walks.

15-second BOSU side forearm plank.

15-second on each side.

10 knee to chests from flipped BOSU full plank, five on each leg.

10 twisted knee to chest from flipped BOSU full plank, five on each leg.

Repeat this set three times.

WORKOUT 6: MEDICINE BALL
This medicine ball workout features a conbination of static and moving planks.

8 pushing leg lift medicine ball planks, eight on each leg.

30-second medicine ball plank hold.

8 medicine ball cheetah crunches, four on each leg.

8 rolling medicine ball planks, four on each side.

Repeat this set three times.

WORKOUT 7: WEIGHTS
Perform this set of short planks with weights to strengthen the core while also toning the entire body.

12 dumbbell plank rows, twelve on each arm.

12 dumbbell tricep kickbacks, twelve on each arm.

15-seconds weighted side plank, 15-seconds on each side.

12 stability ball chest progress.

12 stability ball overhead extensions.

Repeat this set three times.

You are only as strong as your core. As a personal trainer, I make core training a foundation for all my clients. You can't get stronger or faster or better at anything without a strong core, and the planks is my go-to move because it's so challenging and versatile. Don't forget to share this article about Plank Exercise!

Book Review - Stop the Diet, I Want to Get Off!

Did you know most of us are on a high-protein diet whether we know it or not? I didn't either until I read Johansen's book, Stop the Diet, I Want to Get Off! Did you know the U.S. is among the top 10 countries with the most overweight people?... that three out of ten people are currently trying to lose weight?... that the grapefruit diet has been around since the 1930's?

Johansen has prepared us with a dish of healthy common sense facts and truths about dieting. She gives 12 characteristics of fad diets and explains how to spot them. Specifically, she mentions 15 of such diets by name - Jenny Craig, Paleo, Atkins, Gluten-free, Cleanse, Blood type, Nutrisystem, etc. - and logically explains why these diets are not beneficial and even detrimental to most people.

Next, Johansen explains who should limit or avoid foods in certain food groups and who should not. After all, as she points out, "... it's important that we don't develop an unhealthy or fearful relationship with food." In her book, she also explains how to visualize serving sizes. For instance, it may be easier to regulate food consumption when you think of a cup of cereal as the size of a baseball or three ounces as the size of your checkbook or a gram size being that of a paper clip.

For dessert, some of the book is ironically hilarious as Johansen explains ridiculous diets such as the "cotton ball baloney" in which a person eats 5 cotton balls soaked in lemonade. As you read through these once-popular "diets", you are given a clearer perspective of today's trending diets. In addition, over 30 tips are given for healthy eating such as: "Don't drink your calories," "Practice mindful eating" "Take advantage of your support system" and many more. Further, six indicators of not getting enough water and a description of our most efficient energy source are served on the table along with the main content.

Lastly, Stop the Diet, I Want to Get Off, provides two websites where you can find a plethora of information on healthy eating and, at the time, design a diet specific to your needs.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who eats and reads -- especially anyone who has been on a diet, is currently on a diet, or is thinking of going on a diet.

EASY Yet Extremely Effective Ways To Lose Weight Part 1

Losing Weight Does Not Have To Be Hard
Not everyone who tries to lose weight is successful. However, it is not because losing weight is too difficult that only very few people can be successful. People fail to lose weight because they view the process as too tedious, requiring extreme discipline or needing a lot of time. Because of these perceptions, people are discouraged at the beginning.
Those who were able to start the weight loss process get discouraged and give up if they do not see any improvement in the first days or weeks.
The main thing to remember when trying to lose weight and adopting a weight loss program is that losing weight is a journey. You start from point A going to point B. The road to your final destination will not always be smooth (just like anything in life!), there could be bumps and detours, but if you stick to a proven weight loss plan you will succeed.
You can do it!
The trick is to have the right attitude and frame of mind. Think: 'I can do this, I will push through with this, I WILL lose weight!'
Once you have conditioned yourself and adopted the right kind of thinking, consider these four really easy yet effective ways of losing weight.
1. Eat Right
Fad diets, they are all over - on the internet, in magazines, on TV.
But do they really work?
Fad diets are called fad diets because they enjoy only temporary popularity. Why is this? That's probably because people find out that they don't really work.
These diets can help an individual lose weight, but the problem is that the weight loss is only short-term, once a person loses weight and gets off the diet, the weight comes back - and often with a vengeance! People end up gaining more weight than they lost.
Side Note: Stopping eating junk food is not only good for your health, but it can save you hundreds of dollars too!
The best and really easy way to lose weight is to start eating right. You don't have to suddenly make a change from your current habit of eating fast food and junk foods to eating only healthy foods. You can do this slowly and gradually. Make small changes in your meals and in the way you eat like for example:
• If you always have a snack between meals, instead of snacking on potato chips, why don't you have some fresh fruits instead?
• Instead of 3 large meals a day, eat 5 smaller meals. This keeps your metabolism going thus the process of burning fat becomes faster.
• Eat only when you are hungry and know when you have had enough.
• Go for fresh - fresh fruits and vegetables whenever you can and minimize your consumption of canned or preserved veggies and fruits.
• Cook your own meals and brownbag your lunch instead of always eating out.
• Go natural and choose foods that are organically raised or grown as these contain far greater amounts of nutrients. Make organic eggs, products from organically grown livestock and poultry, fresh veggies and fruits, herbs and fresh fish regular staples in your daily meal plans.
• Reduce your consumption of sweets. Sugar contains empty calories that make gaining weight so easy. It also makes you prone to diseases like heart disease and osteoporosis.
Remember, do it gradually and don't shock your system. Suddenly deciding to go on a diet that cuts you off completely from the foods you're used to eating can backfire on you.
Your body will go through withdrawal-like symptoms which make the attempt to lose weight more difficult that it really is. Just go through the changes in a relaxed way and don't pressure yourself into adopting a whole new eating regimen all of a sudden.
2. Hydrate
Drink lots of water.
It really does help you lose weight and maintain a healthier weight.
It's almost like a secret weapon that so few people actually use.
Hydration is the key to a healthy body. The human body literally runs on water and minerals - it's made up of more than 70% of water! Our brain is more than 75% water, our blood is 80% water, and our liver is 96% water!
A drop of just 5% in our body's water level can already lead to a significant decrease in our energy level and our minds couldn't function well. Death can result from just 15% drop in our body's hydration!
So you see, water is really important to us in order to live and to function well. Water is very essential for maintaining proper health. It helps the body burn fat, metabolizes stored fat and flushes out excess fats and toxins.
Use water to help you lose weight easily, here are some tips:
• If you snack a lot, drink water instead of reaching for your favorite junk food or candy bar. You can also substitute no-calorie beverages with water if you want.
• *HOT TIP* Drink a glass of water before every meal. This will keep you from feeling too hungry thus you can easily watch what and how much you eat.
• Drinking lots of water before exercising can help you accomplish more because you feel more energized.
• Drink water whenever you feel hunger pangs. Sometimes, the body confuses hunger to thirst, so instead of just drinking, you end up eating when you're just really thirsty.
Aside from curbing your appetite, water is also a great way to prevent bloating and constipation. How much water should you drink daily for optimum health?
The ideal amount of water for you is half of your body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, the ideal amount of water you should drink everyday is 75 ounces.
The Part two will be dropped very soon, I hope you enjoyed reading this article

Sophie James is a blogger, an author, columnist and expert in the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.
Her often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, and popular weight loss blogs.

EASY Yet Extremely Effective Ways To Lose Weight Part 2

1. Exercise
Exercise.
The word alone is enough to put most people off!
This is what discourages people who are trying to lose weight. They think that they have to do heavy workouts all the time until they reach the weight they are aiming for.
The truth is, exercising is a crucial part of losing weight. You can't lose much just by improving the way you eat and by drinking enough water. You really need to sweat to shed some pounds.
However, you don't have to schedule heavy workouts, hire a personal weight loss trainer or hit the gym 3 or 4 times a week.
Your exercising doesn't have to be heavy or time consuming to shed excess pounds.
Here are a few easy ways to get some exercise without much effort:
· Walk. Even a 5 minute walk will jumpstart your body's natural fat burners, so walk whenever you can. Perhaps you can start off from home earlier than usual so you can walk to the bus stop or all the way to work.
· Park your car at the very back of the parking lot, gives you the opportunity to walk.
· Take the stairs wherever you are; your office building, apartment, mall, etc.
· Are there exercise groups in your neighborhood? These groups usually exercise in parks in the early morning. Joining a group of people with the same interests or goals help make exercising more fun.
· Get a Tae Bo or exercise video and workout at home at your own time and pace.
· Learn to dance.
· Use a push mower to mow the lawn, sweep your drive, rake the leaves, do your chores manually instead of using machines.
· Sign up for charity runs or walks.
It's really easy to add some exercise into your daily routine. You just need to get out there and do it!
2. Keep Your Incentives In View
Come up with incentives to keep you driven, inspired and motivated and keep these incentives in view. Rewarding yourself after every accomplishment makes the work seem less hard.
Decide how much you want to lose, break it down to more achievable points and reward yourself for every achievement. For example, you want to lose 60 pounds. Break that down into 5 pound increments and for every 5 pounds you lose, give yourself a reward.
Your rewards will be up to you, and they should be reasonable rewards i.e. cash, new dress, movies, new book, new accessories, etc. These need not be expensive, just small things that you know you want and you deserve for staying on track with the weight loss program.
Aside from material rewards, there are also non-physical rewards you can tell yourself you could get if you persevere. These intangible rewards include feeling better about yourself, having more confidence and a better sense of self.
Healthwise, your rewards could include escape from chronic diseases like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, better sleep, better agility, among others.
Some Final Words: Keeping The Weight Away
Once you've reached your ideal weight, you should be careful not to regain the weight you lost. There are ways you can make sure that whatever weight is lost stays lost. Here are some helpful tips:
· Never skip your meals, especially breakfast. Your body goes into fasting mode when it's at rest at night, when you wake up in the morning, you need to break this fasting by eating. If you don't eat, you will feel the pangs of hunger and (a) eat more than necessary or (b) wait till it's lunchtime forcing your metabolism to slow down and store fat. So don't skip your meals.
· Keep a food journal. Write down what you eat everyday so that you know what foods make it easier for you to gain weight, and which foods help you maintain your weight.
· Monitor your weight every week. This lets you know if you've gained weight or lost weight or if there have been no changes at all. This goes hand in hand with monitoring your food.
· Stick to a realistic eating habit and exercise program. Your diet and exercise routine should be realistic enough for you to stick to even after you reach your ideal weight. This will help you maintain your healthy weight because eating well and exercising has become a habit.
So if you are struggling to lose weight, if you have tried various weight loss programs before to no avail, do not give up. Instead, change your attitude and perception. Look at losing weight as nothing you cannot accomplish. Once you have attained the right frame of mind, adopt the various methods discussed in this article to start a smoother journey towards a healthier and fitter you.

Sophie James is a blogger, an author, columnist and expert in the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.

Want To Diet? Here's 5 Tips To Do It Safely

Dieting has been a debatable issue for long. While many consider it as a quick fix if you are looking to shed some serious weight and get in shape as quickly as possible, others tend to be quite cynical about the routine. This is because diets are often associated with short-term results. Dieters complain that the pounds creep in as soon as you step off the diet restrictions. To add, many experience side effects due to drastic changes in their diet habits.

It is true, but not for all diet programs. And besides, if you take the right precautions before and after dieting you can sustain your results and keep the ugly consequences at bay. This short article discusses the dos and don'ts of dieting.

1. Cut calories slowly -

Dieting, for many, means cutting calories drastically. Going from 10 to 1 in a matter of a day will only have adverse effects on the body, sending it into starvation mode. Don't get lured by fad and crash diets. Instead look for meal plans that cut calories a meal at a time, giving your body a chance to get accustomed to the calorie deficit.

2. Drink a lot of water -

Since your calorie intake will be less, it is natural for the body to feel tired. Hence, it is advised that you drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated. Water also fills you up making you eat less at the following meal.

3. Inclusive of exercise -

Losing weight is not only about the number of calories you eat, but also about the amount you expend. Hence, the best and healthiest diet programs are those that combine food with exercise. Exercise in addition to promoting general health also helps you maintain weight loss in the long run.

4. Nutritional requirements -

Never opt for diet plans that eliminate particular food groups. The body needs nutrients in stipulated amounts to carry on the daily functions. By depriving it of these nutrients, you disturb the balance. That is what results in illnesses and side effects.

Settle for a diet plan that includes food items from all the major food groups; it could be in controlled amounts, but they should be there. Also, don't opt for diet programs that include foods that are not palatable. You will give it up no sooner than you have started. A small indulgence once a while makes the diet program more manageable.

5. Flexibility -

No diet plan is a one-size fits all. It should be customizable according to the nutritional demands, caloric requirement and health concerns of the individual opting for it. If you are unable to decide or you suffer from a specific health condition (allergies, heart disease or diabetes), it makes more sense to speak to a healthcare provider about managing your weight safely.

To wrap up, the diet program you choose is of equal importance. It should be designed by a registered nutrition, who understands the requirements of the body and the effects of the diet program on the individual.

Weight Loss - Push Back Your First Meal of the Day to Help Lose Weight

This article will serve as yet another short discussion on one of the simple things you can do to lose weight. It's crucial to understand you don't have to follow some ridiculous diet or quick-fix program to achieve a "six-pack" physique. First and foremost, getting to that point is unnecessary. Don't believe you need a six-pack abdomen to be healthy. And quite frankly, many of those people you see on the cover of fitness magazines are unhealthy. To reach such a low-level of body fat often requires drastic measures, which can compromise one's health and well-being in the process.

Rather, let's focus on what you can do to lose some of your body fat so you can return to a healthy weight. If you have high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, or are a Type 2 diabetic, this piece of advice will benefit you as well.

One proven weight loss strategy you may not have tried consists of pushing back your first daily meal as late as you can. So if you are used to eating breakfast, it means you are no longer going to eat first thing in the morning. You will skip breakfast entirely, and eat lunch a little later than usual. The longer you can push back your first meal of the day, the better.

When you resist eating for as long as you can without becoming too irritable or unfocused, will ensure your body burns as much fat as possible during the fasted state. Instead of immediately beginning digestion at the start of the day, your body will be required to draw energy from its supplies, as opposed to breaking down the calories it is usually provided with from eating breakfast.

You're likely familiar with the fact eating fewer calories than your body requires is what ultimately causes you to lose weight. Though this is just the second best technique to lose weight. The best weight loss strategy involves periods of time where you don't eat anything at all.

Avoiding meals in the evenings and going to bed on an empty stomach essentially accomplishes the same feat. But not everyone can end their day with a stomach that begs for some sustenance before going to sleep.

We encourage you to give this technique a try. Have your usual morning coffee, and don't eat anything for as long as you can wait. Have a light lunch in the afternoon, don't snack afterward, and reward yourself at the end of your day with a satisfying (but sensible) dinner.

The only thing to improve this weight loss strategy even further would be to include some physical activity in your daily schedule. It goes without saying exercise is also beneficial for weight loss.