Be Fit Fitness Blog

If you are looking to lose weight or a few pounds, you have to be motivated and committed to doing it, otherwise you will fail! Losing weight really takes a lot of work, and lifestyle changes. Often you may need the help of a professional such as a fitness trainer and a nutritionist because exercise and nutrition are both critical in any weight loss program.

That’s why you should consider watching an episode or two of those losing weight types of TV shows on the health channels like Slice, Discovery Health. Once in a while, I like to tune into them. The only thing I don’t like about these channels is that they have too many commercials for the half-hour shows.

The reasons that I suggest that you watch these shows is that they will provide you with extra motivation and allow you to see how other people cope when they are trying to lose weight. How some people succeed in losing weight and how others fail to reach their targets because of lack of motivation and sticking to their fitness and nutrition plans.

A few nights ago, I watched the singing opera episode of The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp starring personal trainer Tommy Europe. The lady in this episode had at one time weighed 190 pounds. She now weighed 150 pounds and was looking to lose 10 more pounds in 4 weeks so she came to Tommy for help. He put her on a fitness plan. It was tough and she complained a lot, but she did it. Also, she changed her eating habits. Gone are the cookies and the over-eating. She now is on a nutrition program with a healthy daily menu and only consuming the calories that her body needs.

In the end, although the program was tough for her, she stuck to the plan and persevered and was able to lose 11 pounds and a lot of inches off the hips, chest and waist in just 4 short weeks. She now looks amazing!

This example shows that if you are committed, motivated and you are placed on a fitness and nutrition plan that is tailored to your needs, you can accomplish or exceed your targeted weight loss goals.

Baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez has finally admitted to taking steroids after the article about him in Sports Illustrated indicated and alleged that he had tested positive in 2003. I was looking at his before-steroids and after-steroids pictures. Sure he is bigger, but not huge. So it makes me wonder, why would he even have considered taking steroids? He’s already got the natural skill and ability. Now because he lied about his steroid use and it has come out in open, he has to live with the shame and it could even cost him entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Also one wonders, what his true numbers would have been like if he wasn’t under the influence!

My point is that it’s just not worth taking steroids or any banned substances because it scars your reputation for life and you don’t know, nobody truly knows how it will affect you and your health in the long-run.

I feel that by exercising and building muscle through natural strength training methods and eating properly or taking natural supplements, you can achieve amazing results. It may take more time and effort, but it will be worth it. Plus, you won’t have the guilt or lingering shame to live with like Alex will for the rest of his life.

I guess athletes these days are always trying to find fast ways to make themselves more competitive, better or propel themselves to the next level even if it means cheating by taking illegal substances. In the end, you still need natural talent to succeed regardless of what steroids or illegal substances you are taking.

This leads me to the next point, are all those fancy swimsuits and outfits track stars use another form of cheating? I mean it gives athletes from wealthier countries or countries that spend lots of cash on high tech clothing a competitive advantage. It would make more sense and it would place everyone on a more level playing field if every athlete were issued the same standard swimsuits or outfits. The ancient Greeks had it right by having every athlete compete in their birthday suits!

Getting back to the issue of steroid use… By bringing to light every athlete who uses banned substances or steroids, maybe in the future, athletes will take to the field with only their natural talent and hard work.

Getting one’s body into the right shape is the latest mania that is rocking American society as more and more people are getting trapped into the web of obesity. People have come to realize that our body is the only vehicle that we have to ride the journey of life. Therefore, taking good care of our body will certainly ensure a longer, happier ride.

Listed here are a few tips that contribute immensely towards achieving this objective.

Healthy food habits
Have maximum intake of fresh vegetables and fruits as these are packed with beneficial fibers, vitamins, phytonutrients and antioxidants. They are also low in calories, thus they help to keep the calorie count low and simultaneously fill up the stomach fast to make you feel full earlier. As far as possible, eat wholesome, fresh, home cooked food and avoid processed and instant foods as they are high in fats, carbohydrates and low in nutrition.

Do not skip meals
Skipping meals is the most common misconception that people have about loosing weight. Skipping any one of the three regular meals of the day is when we tend to do more with snacking. That is how the unwanted calories get into the body and you would see yourself gaining weight even while dieting. Thus the rule of thumb is that take proper, three meals in a day to keep your blood sugar level balanced. And if at all you feel hungry in between, eat light calorie foods and watch out to balance your caloric intake with your energy expenditure. 

Regular exercising
Beyond all doubts, regular exercising is the sure shot way that guarantees weight loss and also maintaining it in the long run. Experts recommend 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity in a day coupled with some weight-bearing exercises at least two times a week. Once you start exercising on regular basis, you would soon begin to enjoy its positive impacts on your psyche as well, as its one of the best stress combating mechanisms. 

Keep a positive mental outlook
Your mental disposition has an enormous impact on your physical body. Most people have enough willpower to lose weight for a few weeks but sustaining it for long term, demands change in habits and attitude. A positive outlook and happy disposition will actually help your body to avoid disease and stay healthy. Don’t be overly restrictive in your food habits, rather reward yourself with small treats once in a while. Develop hobbies that are recreational and rejuvenating. 

Stay focused on being healthy, not on becoming thin
Last but not the least, it’s your focus that matters the most. Be focused on having a healthy body and not just becoming thin as otherwise all your efforts could just bounce back and rather lead to some major medical complexities. Change your mindset to think about selecting foods that will help your body’s health rather than worrying about foods that will affect your body’s weight.

By-line:
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of certifications for geriatric nursing. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com

Which types of weights should you be using when working out: free weights or exercise machines? Personally, I like to use a combination of both free weights and exercise machines, including pulley machines. It all depends on the type of exercise that I am doing.

Let’s take a look at exercise machines. They are great for beginners because you don’t need a spotter, therefore they are safer. You can feel confident that as you increase the amount of weight, you won’t hurt yourself or be stuck on a repetition. Machines can help you focus more on targeted muscles. Some machines even have different hand grips to help you hit different muscles and add some variety to your workout. The only drawback is that machines tend to move in a single plane, a limited range of motion. Although, by incorporating a workout using certain types of machines, you can achieve different range of motion and a wider range of motion.

With respect to pulley machines, they allow you to change hand grip bars and you can get constant tension on both the positive and negative movements. They also give you a wider range of motion, particularly while doing chest crossovers. Therefore, pulley machines offer you a lot of variety which can mimic the exercises that you can do with free weights.

On the other hand, free weights tend to give you a wider range of motion. Basically, you control the motion. There are also so many types of exercises that you can perform with free weights. You can even combine your free weight workouts with a Bosu Ball for a total-body workout.

If you are working out with heavy free weights, you may need a spotter.