The diet Chronicle

So here are a few suggestions for some exercises you can do at home. The best part about exercising at home is that you can do these exercises even while you watch television.  No need to give up your favorite programs to get active, just get on the floor and try this workout:

•  Jumping Jacks - 1 minute.
•  Squats – 15 to 20 times.
•  Push-Ups – As many as you can.
•  Jog in place making your foot hit your butt – 1 minute.
•  Superman – lay flat on the floor on stomach with hands stretched out to the side. Lift legs and chest off the floor and hold for 30 second – 15 to 20 times.
•  High Knees – jog in place lifting your knees as high as you can – 1 minute.
•  Lunges – feet flat on the floor, step forward with alternating feet – 15 to 20 times.
•  Torso Rotation/Twists – 20 times each direction.
•  Side Bends/Reaches – 20 times each direction.
•  Wall Sit – Squat against a wall with your back flat on the wall – sit as long as you can hold it.

And that’s it! Do this every day and feel the benefits.

Even with those “miracle” diet pills, you still cannot lose weight without increasing your physical activity. Exercising in some form will help to burn calories that can be converted into fat and extra weight. This is why you need to devise an effective workout plan that will fit into your abilities and interests.

Most people don’t really like to exercise. For them, it seems too much like work. And it is work, but it doesn’t have to be tedious work. There are ways to exercise doing things that you love to do.

First, you need to choose an activity that you enjoy. Do you like riding your bike as the sun sets in the sky? Maybe swimming is more your idea of fun. Even a good round of golf can be a great form of exercise – but only if you leave the cart in the cart barn!

Once you find that activity, you need to pursue it at a minimum of three times a week for at least 30 minutes at a time. The more you exercise, the more calories you will burn, but you don’t have to be fanatical about it!

Start slowly then increase your level when you feel stronger until you are at a point where you think you are at a high level of intensity. It’s OK to rest at intervals to recharge your batteries, but get back up to that level again until your workout is complete.

The ideal exercise plan is going to involve some form of aerobic exercise sustained for 30 minutes at a time. This could be in the form of an aerobic class or something as simple as taking a walk. 

This will get your heart pumping effectively so that your body can burn the calories that you have consumed!

When should you do this type of workout? Believe it or not, there is a best time to perform your cardiovascular workout for best results.

We want to tell you that the important part about exercise is that you get out and do it! No matter when you exercise, you will burn fat and calories as long as it’s a good workout. But to get the maximum benefit, try exercising in the morning before you eat your first meal.

Early morning aerobic exercising on an empty stomach has three benefits over working out later in the day.

First, your levels of stored carbohydrates and muscle are at a low when you first get up in the morning. 

This is because during the night, your body is burning any calories that were consumed at dinner the previous evening by performing bodily functions that occur even while we sleep.

As a result, you’ll wake up with lower carbohydrate levels and lower blood sugar levels which is the optimum environment for burning fat instead of carbohydrates.

How does this work? It’s actually quite simple. Carbohydrates are your body’s primary and preferred energy source. When this source is in short supply, your body must tap into its secondary energy resource: body fat.

If you do your exercise workout after eating, the body will burn off the carbohydrates you’ve consumed first. It’ll take a little longer to get to that fat you need to burn.

A second benefit to doing exercise in the morning is called the “after burn” effect. You’ll not only be burning fat during your workout, but that fat burn will continue on even after your workout is finished. How?

An intense session of cardiovascular activity can keep your metabolism elevated for hours afterward. Exercising at night won’t give you that extra metabolic lift because once you go to sleep, your metabolism drops dramatically once you become sedentary. When you sleep, your metabolic rate is slower than at any other time of the day.

The third reason for doing early morning exercise is more emotional than anything else. Your body’s endorphins are elevated when you exercise.  It lifts your mood and gives you a sense of accomplishment that will likely stay with you all during the day.

That being said, exercise is something that many consider a tedious chore. We tend to procrastinate and put off doing something we consider to be less than enjoyable. If you commit yourself to morning workouts, you’ll have “gotten it out of the way” freeing your mind from having to do it later.

This can create guilt and stress and affect your whole day – don’t let it!  Plus, you are more likely to blow off exercising later in the day because you are tired or just don’t feel like it.

You might find it difficult to get up and exercise first thing in the morning. Not everyone is a “morning person”. So how do you motivate yourself to get up and get moving?

First, remember that you are trying to lose weight. You have a goal that you are trying to achieve. That should remain in the forefront of your mind. If you stay focused on your goal, the motivation should come.

Think back to a time when you tackled a difficult task and finished it. Remember how great you felt afterward. Completing any challenge can give you a “buzz”. When that task is physically demanding, that “buzz” is both psychological and physiological.  That’s because your body releases endorphins into your system.

Endorphins are opiate-like hormones that are hundreds of times more powerful than the strongest morphine. Except for endorphins are made by YOU, not a laboratory. Endorphins create a natural high that can make you positively euphoric! Endorphins can reduce stress, improve your mood, increase your circulation, and relieve pain.
 
This “high” you feel is partly psychological too. When you get up early and get your workout done, you’ll feel a sense of completion that will kick start your day and get it off on the right foot! You will have a sense of completion and accomplishment that will stay with you throughout your day.

Look at your weight loss as your own personal sporting event. Just as you need to know the rules of the game as well as the basics of performing that game in sports, you also need the right information in your diet to make it effective.

When you have all the tools you need, you can become an excellent performer in almost anything you try in life. One of these tools is the right frame of mind. 

The right frame of mind will give you motivation, commitment, and the skills you need to overcome the obstacles that you might face along with temptations and distractions.

Think this sounds a little too “new age” for you? Think again! When you have the right psychology during your weight loss journey, you will make your weight loss fun, easier, more exciting, and be able to develop changes towards a healthier lifestyle that will stay with you forever.

Your mindset controls your behavior, actions, and thoughts.  As people grow, they develop habits and associations that govern their life. Most of these habits are controlled by our sub-conscious and we are generally unaware of them. However, your subconscious could also sabotage your efforts – also while you unaware of them. This can be detrimental to your weight loss attempts.

The right mindset entails using various techniques and strategies to control your behavior by monitoring your thoughts and actions. When you obtain this mindset, you will be better equipped to replace the old habits and associations that formed your thinking in the first place with new and more positive habits that will enable you to lost weight and be happier while you do so!

Developing the correct mindset doesn’t occur overnight. It take a little bit of effort, but in the end, it is well worth the time you’ll spend doing so. You will have to regularly monitor your progress and behavior.  Sometimes it will be easy – at other times, it won’t. The good news is that there are some easy ways to begin to put yourself into the right mindset.

1. Write your goals down - tell yourself what weight you want to get to. While you’re at it, write down any other personal goals you might have as far as your life in general.  Since you’re undertaking something as huge as losing your extra weight, you may as well also focus your efforts on improving other aspects of your life while you have the motivation and drive.
2. Be specific about what those goals are. When you generalize your goals, you are trivializing them. Your goals ARE IMPORTANT. Make them important!
3. Assign yourself a deadline. You want to lose weight. You want to do it by Christmas, or your wedding, or the next class reunion. When you assign a deadline, you give yourself a goal to work for, and like we said, your goals ARE IMPORTANT!
4. Make those goals measurable and achievable. Don’t think TOO big or try to undertake more than what you are capable of. If you need to lose 100 pounds, don’t expect to do it in a few weeks. Give yourself enough time to do so in a healthy manner.  You could also try to break the goals down into easier increments. Tell yourself that you will lose 10 pounds over the next month. Then tell yourself the same thing the next month. Eventually, you’ll reach that goal and feel the satisfaction of being lighter than you were before.
5. Focus on those goals everyday. Post them on your refrigerator.  Write them in your date book.  Put a reminder on the visor of your car. When you focus on your goals, you will keep them in mind all the time and when they are first and foremost in your mind, you will be well on the way toward achieving them.
6. Be committed to those goals – at all costs. There’s a reason why you want to achieve those goals. When you are committed, those goals become the focus of your mind and they will be much easier to realize.

The battle with our metabolism as we age can’t be denied. Our metabolism, which transforms our food into energy, slows down with each passing year. If we don’t adjust our eating habits and our exercise to compensate, we slowly add additional pounds.

If you take things one step at a time, there are basic steps that can be adopted. Stop telling yourself, “I just can’t do it.” You can coax yourself into a new habit of healthy eating.

Developing a psychology towards weight loss will help you achieve you goals and realize success. Aim high, push yourself to become the type of person you want to be and live the life that you want and deserve. We are not given the power of dreams without the power and ability to achieve those dreams. It’s time to start – RIGHT NOW!