Weight Loss, Diet and Fitness Program

This week reported that Britney Spears celebrated her weight loss in Malibu on a shopping spree for a wardrobe for her new slender frame. It was five weeks after giving birth to son Sutton Pierce, Spears has reportedly dropped 26 pounds (12 kilograms) - without a trainer, diet pills or a nutritionist. The singer reportedly wants to lose a further 4kg in time for the October 31 launch party for her husband Kevin Federline’s debut rap album Playing With Fire.

A spokesperson for Spears said she had dropped her pregnancy weight without a trainer, diet pills or a nutritionist. Just by doing one-hour training sessions twice a day and sticking to a diet of six small meals a day, basically cut out on carbohydrate intake and exercised. Read more!

Beginning a workout regime at the gym can be overwhelming in many different ways. If you haven’t been before (or haven’t been for a long time) it can seem as though everyone knows what they’re doing but you. You worry about looking stupid, or about what people will think about your body, or about whether you’ll remember everything you’ve been told.

The first day is usually okay (because most gyms provide an introductory session on how to operate the machines) - but the second day can be confusing and even embarrassing, unless you’ve signed up with a personal trainer. You’re quite likely to find that you can’t remember which machines you’re supposed to use, or even how they work.
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Pilates is an exercise program that helps to strengthen and get a person more flexible in sophisticated but easy to do movements. Mostly Pilates exercises can be accomplished with just a mat and a determination to get fit. However a Pilates allow you to do many advanced exercises that you could not otherwise do without one.

Pilates typically does not require the use of weights or sophisticated gym equipment. That is what makes it so popular with many people. You can do a Pilates routine in the comfort of your home or you can join a fitness gym to practice with an instructor. In many advanced classes or DVDs that you might use at home the use of a Pilates ball will eventually come into play.
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Are you one of those individuals interested in enhancing your athletic ability? If you are, then you will be pleased to know that your goal is fairly easy to obtain. The key to enhancing your athletic capacity is not rocket science. In fact, if you incorporate a number of exercises into your daily workout, you will be able to improve the overall quality to perform vigorous activity in no time.

To improve your athletic performance you will most certainly want to focus on endurance, speed, and agility and strength exercises.
Endurance related exercises can be bicycling, running, walking, jogging, and swimming. These activities improve cardiovascular endurance. There are collateral benefits to these activities. Running, walking and jogging helps burn those calories and improves well being. Read more!

Wave goodbye to treadmills, weights and regimented exercise programs and get in shape in your own backyard. You don’t need a gym to keep you fit and sexy if you have a garden.
The fitness gospel has long preached the virtues of exercising in sweaty gyms and ugly Lycra, but there is another option. Experts agree that a regular dose of gardening promotes a sense of well-being, raises your fitness levels and makes you look sexy.

According to Dr. Steven Palmer, Director of the Center for Stress Management and a professor at City University, gardening is an excellent form of stress management and therapy. Dr. Alison Joy, a physician, agrees. She says, “People love gardening and there’s very little injury involved”.
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Westcott and Feigenbaum recommend that preadolescents perform six to 12 different strength exercises each training session. The program should address all the major muscle groups, and kids should progress from the larger muscle groups to the smaller ones, in the same way adults do. Kids can improve strength whether they use free weights (dumbbells) or resistance machines (either youth-sized or adult-sized). For more information, see Strength and Power for Young Athletes by Faigenbaum and Westcott or consult with a personal trainer who specializes in kid’s strength training.

Training Guidelines At a Glance
Although strength-training recommendation for adults and children are similar in many ways, there are differences, especially when it comes to sets and repetitions. Use the following information as a general guideline. For a specific program, seek the help of a qualified fitness instructor or personal trainer. Read more!

Surprise – kids actually enjoy working out with light weights!
Do you want your kids to grow strong muscles and bones, shed fat and build self-confidence? Are you looking for an activity that will excite an overweight child about the joys of exercise? Strength training could be just the right activity to turn your son or daughter from a couch potato into a slim, trim former spud!

The IDEA Health & Fitness Association asked two fitness experts to sound off on the benefits and possible pitfalls of youth strength training: Wayne L. Westcott, PhD, fitness research director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, and an advisor to Nautilus Health & Fitness group; and Avery D. Faigenbaum, EdD, associate professor of exercise science and physical education at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Read more!

With childhood obesity rates soaring, perhaps the greatest gift you can give your children is the “gift” of good health. It’s no mystery why children today are fatter than in years past – their consumption of fat and sugar has steadily increased while their physical activity has drastically decreased.

The implications of this steady weight gain are formidable. Overweight children are more vulnerable to high blood pleasure, gall bladder disease, sleep apnea, asthma and bone and joint problems. Researchers have found evidence of fatty streaks – the beginning of hardening of the arteries – in the blood vessels of overweight children as young as five. And a 1996 study at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio found that the percentage of overweight children with type II diabetes had increased tenfold in only two years. What’s more, without intervention, overweight children are likely to become overweight adults. The toll on our health care system could be devastating. Read more!

Zellweger’s weight gain methods are nothing to emulate as well, says a Calgary nutritionist. “A diet high in trans fats, such as doughnuts and desserts, is never a good idea,” says Jane Rose, an adviser for Trym Gym, a weight loss and healthy living program offered by the University of Calgary. “Once you have done the damage to the blood vessels it’s very hard to undo it.” The fats and overall bad eating can clog the arteries and damage the blood vessels irreversibly. “I would sure like to see how Zellweger’s blood vessels are looking after all the weight loss and gain,” says Rose.

With extra weight comes extra fat cells, which don’t disappear after the pounds do, adds Calgary-based dietitian Kelly Anne Erdman. “Once you have a fat cell, it’s there for life,” says Erdman, who works at the University of Calgary’s Sport Medicine Centre. Those fat cells will fill up more easily the second time around and with the proper incentive – in other words, a lousy diet and overeating, she says. Read more!

That’s not to say there’s no difference between workouts that burn a greater percentage of fat vs. those that burn a greater percentage of carbs. To help you choose the right option, let’s take a look at the pros and cons.

First, low-intensity fat-burning exercise is the preferred choice for novice exercisers and those with medical concerns that discourage exercising at an elevated pace or effort. Not only is it easier on the joints and muscles, it delays fatigue, which allows you to exercise longer. But compared to more vigorous exercise, the calorie burn of low-intensity exercise is sluggish. To counteract this slow burn, exercisers need to work out longer if they hope to lose weight. Read more!

Do you ever wonder whether the fat-burning option on your treadmill, elliptical trainer or stationary bike delivers what it promises?

Is getting rid of unwanted fat stores as easy as pushing the right button on the console of your cardio machine and working up a quick sweat?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. selecting the “fat burning” option on your cardio machine merely programs the machine to maintain a training intensity equal to 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age). At intensities this low, exercisers burn a higher percentage of fat than carbohydrates, hence the moniker, “the fat-burning zone.”

While no one disputes this claim, the important question is whether burning predominately fat as fuel results in greater or faster weight loss. Read more!

You’re finally going to take on a light-weight routine-good for you! This recent finding will help you make the most of it: researchers at Marquette University in Milwaukee say it’s best for beginners to use lighter weights and do a higher number of reps for each exercise.
Doing 15 reps of a toner will up your endurance, which in turn will get you through your new routine.

Once you’ve been working with weights for a couple of months and your routine is starting to feel easy, it’s time to switch to heavier weights and 5 to 12 rep sets. The researchers at Marquette University say this change will keep your stamina at a high level, and you’ll be sure to get through that workout.

The start of a new diet is marked by steely determination to stick with it. But the experts at weight-loss website have found the first 14 days of a self-improvement plan can make or break even the best intentions. Here are their five favorite motivational tips for sticking with a weigh-loss program for two weeks and beyond:

- Wake up to fitness. Run to the coffee shop or to get the morning paper. Not enough? Move the alarm clock out of arm’s reach. Read more!

We’ve all had times when life seems too bland and boring for words. Fitness expert Kathy Smith believes passion is the key to bringing joy and excitement back into your days and nights. Give these tips a try, and you’ll climb out of your rut in no time!

- Make time to identify the things that you love to do or that inspire you. Write them down and look at them often!

- If a lack of energy is an obstacle, review your diet and exercise habits. Even small changes, like a 10-minute daily walk, can create renewed enthusiasm.

- Set small, manageable goals that will help you take a step-by-step approach to following your passion.

People who are committed to living a healthy lifestyle typically pay close attention to their fitness regimen – proper cardiovascular workout, strength training and stretching – but they can make crucial mistakes in their diet. Not putting the right nutrients in your body could ultimately affect the overall fitness benefits on an active lifestyle.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) shares the following nutrition mistakes commonly made by active people.

1. Skipping breakfast. Experts agree that skipping breakfast just means you’ll be hungrier later, which can make it more difficult to control both your diet and your weight. Read more!