It's been months, years, or weeks, if you're one of the more fortunate ones...you've finally reached your goal weightloss. First, let me congradulate you. Job well done!
Now, the next decision is what to do to keep that weight from sneaking back up on you, after all that hard work.
Here are some tips that may be helpful in keeping that weight from coming back:
- Keep a check on your daily eating habits. If you want to keep a healthy weight, you have to fight those old habits, that caused you to gain in the first place and caused your weight to swing back and forth. This is the road to h-e-a-r-t-a-t-t-a-c-k. Avoid overeating and binge eating. To help you with this, don't place what you just cooked on the table, place a reasonable serving on your plate and put the excess in the fridge, so you won't be tempted to go back for seconds. Also, try eating at a slower pace, laying your fork down after every bite. Eating slower helps your brain detect when your stomach is full. It's OK to have a "cheat day" but make it only ONE day per week. Avoid excessive alcohol and smoking as well. These are both harmful to your body and can also be a big factor in your weight maintenance.
- Be consistent. If you have been on a diet, you already know how hard it was to reach that goal. You probably know the calories and fat percentages in a weeks worth of groceries by now. It's going to take a certain amount of willpower to stick with it, but remember, "It's easier to put on than to take off".
Don't stray too far when you are tempted.
- Being healthy is a lifestyle change and a lifestyle choice. We don't just decide to drop 20lbs and then go back to what we were doing before. Adopt a healthy lifestyle and refuse to let it go. Maintaining a healthy weight means making healthy lifestyle choices daily, as well. Stick with your regular exercise regimen and make up your mind that you will choose to go with healthier food choices from now on.
- Make conscious decisions each day when it comes to making healthy food choices. If you are going for a meal out, plan ahead and be creative with your food choices. Share a large plate with your friend or spouse. Drink water instead of sweetened tea or soda. This will save you money, plus you can still eat the foods you love. Most restaurants have a "healthy choice" selection on the menu.
- Don't skip meals, especially breakfast. Go to bad earlier so it won't be so hard to roll out in the morning. You'll have time to eat, exercise and pack a healthy lunch for work. Maintaining a healthy weight will still require that "eye of the tiger" discipline you had during your weightloss journey. You're a warrior now, don't ever forget it!
- Always drink plenty of water. The average person needs about 1 gallon per day. Drink a glass of water 15 minutes before each meal. This will not only help you hydrate your body and keep your body from retaining too much water weight, but it also helps give you a "fuller" feeling to help you keep from overeating.
- If you can't find time for exercise...MAKE time for exercise. In this busy world, it's too easy to make excuses. If you have to skip a day because of work, or an unforseen cirmcumstance, make up for it the next day. Just don't quit. As our bodies age, the more sedentary our lifestyles become and the harder it will be to decide to keep on working out. Don't let that negative voice inside your head win. You can fight this off by determining each day that you're gonna move that body. Get that heart rate up and exercise!
Maintaining a healthy weight, after you have worked so hard to lose it, just makes sense! I've seen too many people work so very hard to get into shape and and blow it all in a few months time. Be determined NOT to be one of those people.
HIIT for greater weightloss results!
I've recently added HIIT to my workouts and can already see amazing results. HIIT can be used especially, to get you over a plateau. Doing hours of cardio, week after week gets very taxing and the bad part is, your body gets used to the workload, adapts and your workout goes stale.
What is HIIT Training?
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT workouts are usually split into two interval periods of work and recovery. For example, a 60 second sprint would be the work and a 2 minute walk would be the recovery interval. These intervals are then repeated (the number of times depends on your goal, fitness level and the length of your intervals) until the end of your HIIT session.
How effective is HIIT?
HIIT training is extremely effective at increasing your fitness level quickly and helps you to lose weight faster. Studies show that your metabolism is raised for 12-48 hours after a HIIT session and this is where more of its fat loss benefits come from. This process is known as Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption.
Where and With What Equipment Can You Do HIIT Training?
Pretty much anything and everything! You can do intervals on the treadmill, bike, rowing machine, etc. Use it on your road runs, with weights, with your bodyweight, up and down stairs - the options are endless!
What are the cons to HIIT training?
HIIT really takes you to some place way outside of your comfort zone, which many of us aren't used to. The first thing we want to do when we step out of that zone is go back in where we feel most comfortable. My advice is to go into it slowly, maybe just start off with 1-2 sessions per week. Do short intervals if you havn't done them before and get used to the intensity. You want to be working at about an 8 out of 10 intensity during your work intervals (where 10 out of 10 feels like your heart is about to explode!). Then gradually progress to longer workouts when your body adapts.
HIIT or Low Intensity Cardio?
When performing low intensity cardio workouts, a greater percentage of the total calories burned will be from fat. However, if we look at the bigger picture, this is not the best option for fat loss. The reason is that although a bigger percentage of fat is burned with low intensity cardio, you're likely to burn more calories in total (and usually in less time) if you were doing High Intensity Interval Training. This means the percentage of fat burned was less, yes...BUT the total amount of fat calories burned is maximized with HIIT.
With HIIT you also get that 'afterburn' effect (ie.Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption) that keeps your metabolism raised long after the end of your workout. This, in my opinion, is a definite plus and makes HIIT the ultimate fat-burning cardio. This isn't for the light-hearted though and of course it isn't for everyone. If you're looking for something a little more exciting, I recommend you give it a try.
Let me know what you think.
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT workouts are usually split into two interval periods of work and recovery. For example, a 60 second sprint would be the work and a 2 minute walk would be the recovery interval. These intervals are then repeated (the number of times depends on your goal, fitness level and the length of your intervals) until the end of your HIIT session.
How effective is HIIT?
HIIT training is extremely effective at increasing your fitness level quickly and helps you to lose weight faster. Studies show that your metabolism is raised for 12-48 hours after a HIIT session and this is where more of its fat loss benefits come from. This process is known as Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption.
Where and With What Equipment Can You Do HIIT Training?
Pretty much anything and everything! You can do intervals on the treadmill, bike, rowing machine, etc. Use it on your road runs, with weights, with your bodyweight, up and down stairs - the options are endless!
What are the cons to HIIT training?
HIIT really takes you to some place way outside of your comfort zone, which many of us aren't used to. The first thing we want to do when we step out of that zone is go back in where we feel most comfortable. My advice is to go into it slowly, maybe just start off with 1-2 sessions per week. Do short intervals if you havn't done them before and get used to the intensity. You want to be working at about an 8 out of 10 intensity during your work intervals (where 10 out of 10 feels like your heart is about to explode!). Then gradually progress to longer workouts when your body adapts.
HIIT or Low Intensity Cardio?
When performing low intensity cardio workouts, a greater percentage of the total calories burned will be from fat. However, if we look at the bigger picture, this is not the best option for fat loss. The reason is that although a bigger percentage of fat is burned with low intensity cardio, you're likely to burn more calories in total (and usually in less time) if you were doing High Intensity Interval Training. This means the percentage of fat burned was less, yes...BUT the total amount of fat calories burned is maximized with HIIT.
With HIIT you also get that 'afterburn' effect (ie.Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption) that keeps your metabolism raised long after the end of your workout. This, in my opinion, is a definite plus and makes HIIT the ultimate fat-burning cardio. This isn't for the light-hearted though and of course it isn't for everyone. If you're looking for something a little more exciting, I recommend you give it a try.
Let me know what you think.
My quest to lose 10lbs and get more ripped...(revised Superset plan)
My Current Workout Plan:
Goal: Gain more "ripped" muscle tone, lose 10 lbs body fat.
4 weeks total. Then switch workout.
This is a very intense workout, with very little rest between sets, 30 seconds. I promise, your clothes will be soaked with sweat when you finish this relatively short workout routine. I revised it to fit my own personal needs. Feel free to add or subtract what works best for you. Remember to keep moving.
Time: 15 min. cardio + 45 min. strength training = 1hr.
SUPERSET STYLE
*Note: Abs- everyday, your choice. Do different movements each workout. Switch it up.*
Day 1:
Resistance training: 3 sets, 8-10 reps, 30-second rest periods
Chest-
Bench press
Dumbell Fly
Back-
Lat Pulldowns (cable or machine)
Seated Lat Row (cable or machine)
Biceps-
Lying Bicep Curl
Standing Bicep Curl
Concentration Curl
Calves-
Seated (Straight Leg) Calf Raise
.
Day 2: Resistance training: 3 sets, 8-10 reps, 30-second rest periods
Quads
Leg Press
Dumbell Lunges
Hamstrings-
Lying (Prone) Leg Curl
Seated Leg Curl
Shoulders-
Reverse Fly
Seated Shoulder Press (bar or machine)
Shrugs
Triceps-
Cable Tricep
Lying Tricep Extensions
Triceps Kickback
Day 3: Cardio- 20 minutes on treadmill HIIT Style. (High Intensity Interval Training = exam. Walk at moderate pace 1min. then switch to running 1min. fast as possible. Repeat this for 20 minutes total.)
-10 min. of crunches to failure off swiss ball = approx. 4-5 sets w/30 sec. of rest between sets.
-Forearm workout: 15-20 reps x 3. Go home and shower.
Day 4: Resistance training: 3 sets, 8-10 reps, 30-second rest periods
Chest-
Flat bench dumbell press
Chest Fly (machine)
Incline Press (machine or bench)
Back-
Dumbell Lawnmower Pulls
Machine Row
Biceps-
Lying Bicep Cable Curl w/straight bar
Alternate Bicep Curl (dumbells)
Preacher Curl
Calves-
Seated (Straight Leg) Calf Raise
.
Day 5: Resistance training: 3 sets, 8-10 reps, 30-second rest periods
Quads-
Leg Press or V Squat
Seated Leg Extensions
Hamstrings-
Lying (Prone) Leg Curl
Shoulders-
Reverse Fly (machine)
Seated Shoulder Press (dumbells)
Lying Shoulder Pullover
Triceps-
French Press or close-grip skull crushers
Seated Tricep Extensions (machine)
Triceps Kickback (dumbells)
Day 6: 30 minutes cardio of choice.
Day 7: Rest
Goal: Gain more "ripped" muscle tone, lose 10 lbs body fat.
4 weeks total. Then switch workout.
The foundation of this is basically "The Rocks" workout routine. I admire Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, a lot more since he quit the wrestling, started acting and went from the bulky, kinda bloated, power lifting look at 265lbs to the more cut up look at 235lbs. This is pretty much where I like to stay, in the 225-230lb range. I hate that freaky-huge, steroid-induced look, the modern bodybuilders have resorted to these days.
This is a very intense workout, with very little rest between sets, 30 seconds. I promise, your clothes will be soaked with sweat when you finish this relatively short workout routine. I revised it to fit my own personal needs. Feel free to add or subtract what works best for you. Remember to keep moving.
Time: 15 min. cardio + 45 min. strength training = 1hr.
SUPERSET STYLE
*Note: Abs- everyday, your choice. Do different movements each workout. Switch it up.*
Day 1:
Resistance training: 3 sets, 8-10 reps, 30-second rest periods
Chest-
Bench press
Dumbell Fly
Back-
Lat Pulldowns (cable or machine)
Seated Lat Row (cable or machine)
Biceps-
Lying Bicep Curl
Standing Bicep Curl
Concentration Curl
Calves-
Seated (Straight Leg) Calf Raise
.
Day 2: Resistance training: 3 sets, 8-10 reps, 30-second rest periods
Quads
Leg Press
Dumbell Lunges
Hamstrings-
Lying (Prone) Leg Curl
Seated Leg Curl
Shoulders-
Reverse Fly
Seated Shoulder Press (bar or machine)
Shrugs
Triceps-
Cable Tricep
Lying Tricep Extensions
Triceps Kickback
Day 3: Cardio- 20 minutes on treadmill HIIT Style. (High Intensity Interval Training = exam. Walk at moderate pace 1min. then switch to running 1min. fast as possible. Repeat this for 20 minutes total.)
-10 min. of crunches to failure off swiss ball = approx. 4-5 sets w/30 sec. of rest between sets.
-Forearm workout: 15-20 reps x 3. Go home and shower.
Day 4: Resistance training: 3 sets, 8-10 reps, 30-second rest periods
Chest-
Flat bench dumbell press
Chest Fly (machine)
Incline Press (machine or bench)
Back-
Dumbell Lawnmower Pulls
Machine Row
Biceps-
Lying Bicep Cable Curl w/straight bar
Alternate Bicep Curl (dumbells)
Preacher Curl
Calves-
Seated (Straight Leg) Calf Raise
.
Day 5: Resistance training: 3 sets, 8-10 reps, 30-second rest periods
Quads-
Leg Press or V Squat
Seated Leg Extensions
Hamstrings-
Lying (Prone) Leg Curl
Shoulders-
Reverse Fly (machine)
Seated Shoulder Press (dumbells)
Lying Shoulder Pullover
Triceps-
French Press or close-grip skull crushers
Seated Tricep Extensions (machine)
Triceps Kickback (dumbells)
Day 6: 30 minutes cardio of choice.
Day 7: Rest
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