The Sensible Way to Lose Weight and Get Fit
There was a time when I lost a whole lot of weight over the course of a year, but the results left me far from satisfied. For one, I lost most of my hair, what was left of it was limp and dry, my skin developed a sallow appearance and lost all its glow, and I took on the gaunt and wan appearance of an invalid. Instead of congratulating me on the amount of weight I’d lost, people came up to me enquiring about my health. They wanted to know if I was ill because of my pale and insipid looks.
The reason I looked so bad was that I had literally starved myself to lose those pounds. I did work out too – I would walk, work out on the stationery cycle and play a game of racquet ball or two, but I think I sort of overdid the dieting bit by not focusing on giving my body the nutrients it needed. When I gained back more than ten pounds in the two years that followed, I realized I needed to lose weight again. And this time, I decided that I was going to be sensible about the process. After researching the weight loss procedure for a while, here’s what I knew I had to do:
• Mix cardio and strength training into my workout routines: One mistake I made in my first attempt to lose weight was to focus only on cardio routines. I hardly gave a thought to developing my muscle mass. This time round, I included squats, lunges, leg lifts and abdominal crunches in my routine three times a week and alternated them with strengthening exercises for my arms, biceps, triceps and back. I also worked out on the treadmill, cycle and rowing machine and still found time for a few games of racquetball each week. Within a matter of weeks, I was looking and feeling better. I was able to wear a smaller size and the compliments kept pouring in.
• Eat healthy food: I included more fruits and vegetables in my diet and did not miss any meal, most importantly breakfast. I ate when I was hungry and limited my portions. I reduced the amount of sugar in my coffee and reduced the number of calories I took in through liquids, the empty calories that we don’t often count towards our daily requirements. And I avoided fast and processed food as much as possible (I did eat them once in a while to indulge my cravings).
• Increase activity level: My job is sedentary, so I made it a point to get up and take a short walk every 90 minutes or so. I would walk to get a glass of water, to make a phone call, or just to talk to someone else. I started taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to work instead of taking the car on pleasant days, and walking around in the mall when my friend shopped instead of sitting in one place and waiting for her.
• Look after hair and skin: When you diet, you need to ensure that you keep your hair and skin healthy by giving them the nutrients that they need. Include healthy protein like nuts and lean meats in your diet for healthy hair and drink lots of water to keep your skin hydrated and supple.
Remember, weight loss alone is not important; what’s more important is how you lose that extra weight – in a healthy way.
By-line:
This article is written by Kat Sanders, who regularly blogs on the topic of surgical assistant schools at her blog iScrub. She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: katsanders25@gmail.com
