The Right Fitness Program for You

Many beginners ask where they should start when getting into a new program and the answer, unfortunately, is never that simple…

It’s difficult to just wave a magic wand and create the perfect program that fits everyone…

However, there are certain basic principles that must be followed in order for anyone to lose weight, tone up, and create a better body.

The first one is increasing your metabolism. You must find a way through your nutrition, cardio, and resistance training program to increase your metabolic rate.

The second is to be more active throughout the day. That means more movement and a greater activity level each and every day.

The third point is that you must make these habits stick. Truthfully, it’s this last point that usually prevents people from achieving long-term success…

I’ll be talking a lot more about all 3 of these factors while we gear up for the New Year, so keep an eye out and feel free to write in with any questions you have!

This Week's Workout Program Outline

I get asked a lot for a simple and easy to implement workout program outline that spells out what to do each day of the week.

So without going to in depth with what exercises you should be doing each day, here's an effective weekly outline you can use to set up your program and get started.

Sample Workout Program Breakdown:
Monday: Resistance Training (done in interval style to keep heart rate up)
Tuesday: Cardiovascular endurance training or interval sprints
Wednesday: Resistance Training (done in interval style to keep heart rate up)
Thursday: Rest day (take a 30-60 minute walk)
Friday: Cardiovascular endurance training or interval sprints
Saturday: Resistance Training (done in interval style to keep heart rate up)
Sunday: Rest day (take a 30-60 minute walk)

Keep in mind you can substitute a kickboxing class or any of your favorite workout methods for any of the above workout days. You can even add in a beginner relaxation yoga class as a great rest-day activity. Also, your workouts don't need to be marathon training sessions either… each workout can be completed in as little as 20-30 minutes.

The main point here is to have a plan! This is really where most people fall short… they leave their workout program to chance and never really have any action plan for reaching their goals.

Don't let that be you – Write your plan today!

Recession Proof Your Workouts

All this talk about the financial market crisis and "gloom and doom" is getting to be a little out of control...

However, it does make for a great blog topic ; )

If you've been looking to set up your own home gym for a while now I have the perfect solution for you. It's the same one I use and it costs less than $100.

What I did was buy an old school pair of adjustable dumbbells with a few extra weights to add on. In addition to the dumbbells I added a padded exercise mat, a resistance band, and a pull-up bar... that's it.

With those 4 pieces of equipment I can do hundreds of exercise combinations. I can also get a total body workout in and the whole routine can be done right in my living room, basement, or spare bedroom.

For me this makes a great Sunday afternoon workout and gives me a day off from having to go the gym or studio...

Just Cut 500 A Day

All it takes to lose a pound a week is to cut out 500 calories a day. This can easily be done with diet and exercise - just add some more steps to your day and try some of these great tips from Prevention.com that can help you cut some calories out each day.

Here is a list of 100 ways to help you cut calories that you can print out and keep in a place where you can see it. Just try one or two of these tips each week and you begin to see results in your weight loss. Don't forget to keep up with your food diary as well to keep track of your daily intake.

Numbers 5 and 42 are the ones I am going to start with - where will you begin making your small changes?

"Turn over a New Leaf" this Fall

Since ancient times September has been viewed as the beginning of the new year for some religions. It is considered the time for reflection and resolution. What a lovely concept. It makes sense though because those January resolutions are made when most of us are physically, emotionally, and financially worn out. I think many of us would rather just take the month off and rest rather than think about more work to be done.

So turn over a "new leaf" this fall, this month.  The busyness of summer is ending  And as Sarah Ban Breathnach states in her book, Simple Abundance, "The beauty of autumnal resolutions is that no one else knows we’re making them. Autumn resolutions don’t require horns, confetti and champagne. September resolutions ask only that we be open to positive change." Sarah says that January resolutions are about "will," where later in the years your thoughts turn to genuine authentic "wants." What do you want for your health?

Why does losing weight seem so hard?

I am always telling my clients not to be overwhelmed by all the changes they may need to make in order to lose weight. A quote by Charles C. Noble puts things in perspective by saying, "You must have long-term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures."

Weight loss encompasses numerous challenges. It's not always simply a matter of moving more and eating less. This is a cliché, but it's really about changing your lifestyle and it's not going to happen over night. I would first suggest trying to see results with behavior changes before you even start looking at the scale.

For example, if you don’t cook and go out to eat absolutely all the time it may be a huge adjustment to suddenly start planning, shopping, and even learning how to cook. How will you educate yourself on all the foods that you now have to purchase and prepare?  What happens to your social life if you are not going out with your friends anymore? How do you eat out when you are losing weight?  When will you take the time to exercise?  Whew! What an order. So how do you make all these changes without totally giving up and overwhelming yourself?

You make small goals that build on your long term goals. Take things one at a time; you might want to use Smart Goals to implement some goal setting. You will have ups and downs with those short term goals but in time you will be successful on the scale if you keep at it.

Just remember, "Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to start where he was." Emerson.

Readers what do you do when you have so many changes to make?

Lose Weight Without Being Hungry

When you're cutting back on calories in order to lose weight, you may struggle with feeling hungry.  Your best defense is to choose foods that have a high Fullness Factor(TM).  These are foods that fill you up with fewer calories.

The Fulless Factor rates foods on a scale from 0 to 5, with 5 being the most filling per calorie and 1 being the least.  For example, potato chips have a fullness factor of 1.2. A baked potato on the other hand has a fullness factor of 2.5.  That means that you're probably going to feel a lot more full if you eat 200 calories worth of baked potato than you will if you eat 200 calories worth of potato chips!

 

The Fullness Factor is a tool you'll only find on NutritionData.com.  You'll see it  listed on the nutrition facts page for every food.  Nutrition Data even calculates the fullness factor of your recipes and mealplans! 

Look for the Fullness Factor on the Nutritional Target Map

Tip: To find foods with a higher Fullness Factor, go to the Food Category Explorer and click on "Show me better choices for weight loss."

Next Step: Go to the Food Category Explorer

Related Content: Learn more about the Fullness Factor

Return to the Diet and Weight Loss Center

Get smarter about what you eat

You can use the Better Choices tool on Nutrition Data to get smarter about what you eat, and to choose foods that will help you lose weight more easily.

For every food you eat, there are likely to be similar foods that are more nutritious and will fill you up for fewer calories.  A food that is more nutritious and filling than another food is a Better Choice for Weight Loss. 

For example, yesterday you might have had some frozen corn with dinner. 

When you track your diet using the My Tracking tool, the analysis report includes a list of all the foods you've eaten that day.  Next to each food you'll find Better Choices links.

If you click on Better choices for weight loss (and choose the "vegetable" category), you'll find that there are 615 vegetable choices that are both more nutritious and more filling per calorie than corn. Choosing any one of these as a substitute for corn will be a step in the right direction!

For example, you could choose asparagus, green beans, or broccoli.  Each Better Choice you make will improve the nutritional quality of your diet and make it easier to lose weight.

Next Step: Learn more about Better Choices

Return to Diet and Weight Loss Center

Choose tonight's dinner

Looking for some last minute inspiration for tonight's dinner?  Ideally, of course, it should be easy to pull together, good for you, yet still delicious and imaginative. Too much to ask? Not anymore.

Our Healthy Dinner Tonight recipe feed gives you a great, new, healthy recipe idea every day! Dig into restaurant-worthy dishes like Pasta with Butternut Squash and Lima Beans or Orange and Rosemary Tuna Kabobs...guilt free, and usually in 30 minutes or less!

Although not all of the recipes on our sister site Epicurious.com could be considered "light," I've found a treasure trove of wonderful, nutritious, (and not too complicated) recipes that make eating healthfully a decadent pleasure. Working with Megan Steintrager, Epi's Health Editor, I've assembled the best of them into a daily dose of healthy inspiration.

We've done a complete nutritional analysis of each recipe, so you can see exactly how the dish fits into your dietary goals.  If you use our tracking tools to analyze your diet, you can add the recipe to My Recipes with a single click.

You can view the feed on a web-based feed reader such as google or yahoo or any other RSS-friendly device or have each day's recipe sent to your inbox.

Next Steps:
See Today's Recipe
Subscribe to Healthy Dinner Tonight

Return to the Diet and Weight Loss Resource Center