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Workout Tips for Overweight Exercisers

Find a program that fits your lifestyle

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Everyone has a hard time starting an exercise program.  But the process can be especially hard if you are overweight. These are just a few of the reasons that an overweight exerciser might struggle at the gym:

Why Workouts Are Harder for Overweight People

• Equipment doesn't fit. Some exercise equipment is not appropriate for larger bodies.  Weight lifting machines, for example, may not accommodate a bigger body and that can make using the machine both uncomfortable and ineffective.
   
• Different movement dynamics. People who carry more weight move differently than people who have smaller frames. The center of gravity is different for an obese body and for that reason, taking some group exercise classes may be less comfortable.  Overweight exercisers may have a hard time keeping up with the tempo of a fast-moving class, not because they aren't coordinated but simply because it takes more time for them to move through the steps.
   
• Trainers aren't qualified. An exercise program for an overweight client needs to specially tailored to their body type.  Exercises that require them to lay on the floor - like abdominal crunches - are generally not appropriate for larger bodies.  But not all trainers are qualified or aware of these special considerations.
   
• Intimidating environment. Let's face it, going into any new environment is challenging.  But going into a gym when you feel out of shape is especially challenging both emotionally and physically.
   

Tips to Start an Exercise Program if You Are Overweight

So how do you start an exercise program if you are overweight? Use these tips to make the process easier.

• Find the right workout. Not all workout formats or classes work well for bigger bodies. Use my list of the best workouts for overweight exercisers to find an activity that you enjoy.  But don't be afraid to try different styles and types of exercise. For example, functional training is helpful for people who need to burn more calories each day through NEAT. The best workout for you is the one that you do on a regular basis. So find a workout that fits with your lifestyle and your schedule.
   
• Get properly equipped.  What's the best way to prevent injury and stay comfortable during your workouts?  Equip yourself with good shoes and proper workout attire.  Visit a local shoe store to get personalized attention and expert advice about the best shoes, socks and workout apparel.
   
• Ask for help.  If you are new to a health club or exercise class, introduce yourself to the instructor or trainer and ask for help. When exercise specialists know that you are open to feedback, they'll be more willing to interact with you during your visits and provide advice and support.
   
• Take small steps. Remember that weight loss and improved health take time. But your commitment is worth the effort!  Set SMART goals to guide your weight loss journey.  Then, as you make progress, adjust your goals as necessary.
   
• Give yourself credit You're going to have good days and bad days at the gym. But remember that even a "bad" workout is a worthy accomplishment. Remember to give yourself credit just for showing up on a regular basis.
   
• Track your progress. Record important data about the type of workouts you are doing, the duration of each session and the workout intensity. Also include notes about how you felt during each session. Review your weight loss journal if you need to make adjustments to your program or if you need a reminder of the hard work you've already accomplished.

Remember that your workouts will help you to lose weight, but they will also help you to sleep better at night, improve your health and reduce your risk of disease. Even on the days when you don't feel like it, stick with your plan and you'll reach your goals.

Article source: http://weightloss.about.com/b/2014/01/23/workout-tips-for-overweight-exercisers.htm

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Giving Up the Weight Loss Obsession

If you're like millions of people, you'd probably like to lose a little weight - maybe a lot of weight. You'd probably like to make some changes in your body - maybe around your belly or your thighs, or around your hips or butt. Maybe you've been trying to achieve this for years and you're frustrated because it hasn't happened.

If you're like most people, you've tried a number of things to make this happen. Diets you eventually gave up on or exercise programs you've started and stopped more times than you can count. Maybe you've even bought expensive equipment, joined a gym or hired a trainer. But none of it seems to work. The question is: why?

The Weight Loss Conundrum
Though you may be asking why nothing you've tried seems to work, there's a bigger question you may need to answer: Do you really want to lose weight? If you said yes, let me ask you another, perhaps more difficult question: Are you doing everything you need to do to lose weight? Take some time to think about that and then rank the importance of losing weight on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being most important and 10 being least important). Now, think of a typical week in your life and figure out how much time you spend doing the things necessary for weight loss. Some of those tasks include:

• Cardio exercise (5 or more times a week)
• Strength Training (2 or more days a week)
• Flexibility exercises
• Being as active as possible - taking the stairs, walking when you can, moving around more, etc.
• Eating healthy, balanced meals and watching your calories
• Getting enough sleep
• Managing your stress and keeping it at reasonable levels

Do you do all of these things each week? Maybe a few, but not all? Maybe none? Take a moment to compare these two things: Where you ranked the importance of weight loss as opposed to how much time and energy you spend in the pursuit of it. If you're seeing a gap there, you're not alone. For many of us, there's a difference between what we say we want and what we actually do. Where does this gap come from? I think the disparity lies between what's really important to you and what you think should be important. If weight loss is more of a 'should,' maybe it's time to give up on it.

Giving Up the Weight Loss Obsession
The idea of giving up on losing weight may seem completely foreign to you. In fact, it may sound downright dangerous, especially if you have health issues that could be managed with weight loss. But, I'm not suggesting you stop losing weight...what I am suggesting is changing how you approach it.

One thing we know is that focusing on the process of exercise rather than the outcome leads to greater long-term success. Why is that? Because, as Dr. Jim Gavin and Madeleine McBrearty state in their IDEA Fitness Journal article, Exploring Mind-Body Modalities, "Once the pounds are off or the health risk is reduced, why would any clients continue doing something that they don't enjoy, that doesn't have intrinsic meaning...?"
In fact, in one study about exercise and motivation, researchers concluded that "...[a] change in exercise-related motivational factors, with a special emphasis on intrinsic sources of motivation (e.g., interest and enjoyment in exercise), play a more important role in longer term weight management."


With this in mind, ask yourself what would happen if you gave up on weight loss as an end result? What would happen if you freed your mind from the pursuit of an ideal you haven't been able to reach? What would happen if you forgot about results and focused on what you're getting out of your workouts right now? Are you willing to find out?

Article source: http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/giveupweightlos.htm

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Dumb Things We Do When We're Trying to Lose Weight

If we could take all the things we know about weight loss, exercise and diet and smush it down into  four words, it would come out like this:  Eat less, move more, a phrase we've heard so many times, it's become kind of meaningless. Yes, we know it's a matter of calories in vs. calories out but, if you've ever stepped on a scale after working really hard only to see absolutely no change, you know that it's about much more than controlling calories.

Part of it is that it's just hard to lose weight.  We have to get everything perfect - calories in, calories out, stress management, sleep management - to get results, all while working against a body that wants to store extra fat just in case there's a famine around the corner.

We sometimes make it worse with some of the dumb things we do when we're trying to lose weight.  Most notably, trying to force our bodies into a certain shape or by unwittingly lying to ourselves about how much we're really eating and exercising.

If you're struggling to lose weight, you may just be sabotaging yourself.  Learn more about the dumb things we do when we're trying to lose weight and how to stop doing them.

Trying to spot reduce your belly, hips, thighs, etc.

Blend Images - JGI/Jamie Grill/Brand X Pictures

It makes complete sense, doesn't it? When you do a crunch, you feel it in your belly...therefore, you should lose weight from your belly. Or you do a leg lift and you feel it in your outer thigh so you should lose the fat around your thighs, right?

Unfortunately, the body doesn't work that way. The body works as a whole system, so when you work one part of it, you're actually drawing energy from the entire thing. It's like central air conditioning in a house - Closing a door isn't going to cool just one room...the entire house gets the same treatment.

It may not seem like a big deal to believe the exercises you're doing will get you those six-pack abs or that firm butt, but the constant failure to achieve your goals can be a real drag on your motivation.

Why you should stop

• It wastes time - When you do a bunch of small exercises for one body part, you're wasting precious time and energy you could use doing exercises that burn more calories.  That's what you want if you're trying to lose body fat, no matter where you're trying to lose it.  Instead of lying on the floor for a leg left, try a whole body exercise that works multiple muscle groups - A squat with an overhead press and a leg lift, for example, will not only work the outer thigh, it will work the enitre lower body and the upper body as well. The more muscle groups you work at the same time, the more calories you burn. More compound exercises.
• It makes you feel bad - Isn't it frustrating to do all this work for one body part, only to realize it isn't working?  When you lose weight, there's no guarantee you'll lose it where you want to.  If you're making progress - Whether it's losing inches, feeling better or getting stronger - that's the gauge to use for success because it may be awhile before your body gets around to losing fat in those stubborn, hard-to-lose areas like the abs and thighs.

Using bad form with exercises

Paige Waehner

We're all guilty of using bad form from time to time, mostlly because the human body has a finely honed instinct: To take the simplest, least painful path from A to Z. If that means swinging the weights during a biceps curl to make it easier or dropping your head during a pushup to avoid pain, your body will try it.
The problem is, bad form not only puts you at risk for injury, it's a sure way to waste time. Every time you use bad form, you take the focus away from what you're working and using other muscles that probably have no business being involved. Like a small child, you constantly have to monitor your body to make sure it's doing what it's supposed to.


How to stop

• Learn the basics about each exercise - I can't tell you how many times I ask a client, "Where do you feel that?" and they either have no idea or they think they're working muscles that shouldn't even be involved in the exercise. Many of them having been lifting for years and sometimes have no idea what muscles they're supposed to be working. Rather than going through your workout on autopilot, focus on each exercise and learn what muscles you're working and how to do it properly. You can go through my step-by-step exercises for pictures and details of a variety of exercises, visit a pro site like ACE Fitness and go through their extensive Exercise Library or hire a trainer and get one on one instruction.
• Watch yourself in the mirror - No, the mirror isn't there so you can stare at all your jiggly parts (although it's really hard not to do that, isn't it?). When it comes to strength training, the mirror is your friend. Use it to watch how your body moves through each exercise. You'll find that seeing your body do an exercise is completely different than just feeling your body do it. 
• Watch out for the Big Five - The exercises I see with the worst form are usually the same ones:
  • Squats - This is usually squatting with the knees forward and putting stress on the knees rather than sending the hips back.
  • Lunges - This may involve faulty foot placement, bending the knee too far forward or rotating the back knee.
  • Deadlifts - People often round the shoulders when the back should be straight throughout the movement.
  • Pushups - These are a tough exercise, so they often cause the body to do a variety of things to avoid the effort like: Dropping the head, sagging through the middle, locking the elbows and holding your breath.
  • Dumbbell Rows - In this one, people sometimes round the back and/or bring the weight  towards the armpit. It should be further down by the ribcage to really engage the lats.

Forgetting you're not 20 anymore

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When I was 20, I could workout for hours..and that was after staying up all night studying. Okay, I was mostly drinking, but think how much energy you need to work, go to class and exercise with a hangover? These days, an all night bender followed by a two hour workout would put me in a hospital, yet there's this little voice that occasionally peeps out from the back of my mind and says, "Remember how fit you were back then?"

I also remember that I wasn't the brightest bulb at that age. I may have been in shape, but I didn't always do what was best for my body and what we all have to remember, as hard as it is, is that our 20-year-old workouts have no place in a 40-or-50-something-year-old body. That fact usually doesn't stops us from trying and the results include, but aren't limited to:  Injury, incredible soreness, the strong desire to quit and, possibly, a visit to your friendly neighborhood orthopedic hip, knee or back surgeon.

It's hard enough getting older, why make it worse by doing workouts your body just doesn't like anymore?

How to stop

• Let go of the past - We can't go back and, believe me, I've tried. We all get older, it's just a fact. Doing it gracefully means accepting exactly where your body is right now, not where it used to be.
• Get to know your current body - We're so focused on losing weight and getting our old body back, we haven't spent much time getting to know the new one. Before jamming your body into a workout program that might not fit, take stock of where you are: Any injuries that need a doctor's attention, aches and pains that need to be addressed or any weaknesses you've noticed lately. Assess where you are - Your general strength, endurance and flexibility - and build your program around that. If you're not sure where to start, this is the perfect time to work with a personal trainer.
• Find your new limits - So many of my clients live in the past, dreaming about what they used to be able to do and comparing that to what they can do now. It's a battle to stay in the present for all of us, but that's exactly what you have to do if you want to change your body. Forget about how many pushups you used to do...how many can you do now? Can you do more the next time? Forget about the 8 miles you used to run and focus on the walking you're doing now. How fast and far can you go? Is it further than last week? If so, you're already pushing past your limits.
• Celebrate what you can do - I used to be able to run for hours. Now, I can't run at all because of back problems and that really sucks. But what sucks more is all the negative thinking that kind of attitude generates. My workouts are much more enjoyable when I focus on all the activities I can still do...and there are a lot of them. What about you?

Lying about how much you're eating

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I regularly lie to myself about my eating. It's not because I'm a bad person, it's just that I don't like to think about the bad things I do - Like eating a Hershey's Kiss every time I walk through the kitchen, or drinking an extra glass of wine when I know I shouldn't. In truth, it's not necessarily bad to do those things...but it is contraindicated if my goal is to lose weight. If I'm content with the decision and feel good about it, there's no reason to feel guilty about it or lie about it.

  The trouble is, this is the kind of behavior we all engage in when it comes to losing weight. My clients regularly declare their diets are very healthy and they just have no idea why they gained 10 pounds in the past month. That is, until we start looking into the details of their food diaries and find out that it was probably the fact they were drinking three glasses of wine every night rather than just the one they were writing down. Being honest is hard, but being overweight is often harder.

If you want to lose weight and you're not making progress, your eating habits could be the culprit.

How to stop

• Write it down - The only way to truly know what you're eating is to write it down.  Yes, it's a pain at first, but when you realize how important it is to see and acknowledge what you're eating, it gets a little easier.
• Be honest - Writing it down only works if you're honest about everything you're eating and drinking.  Many of my clients skip a few details in their food journals out of guilt and shame.  They don't realize that the only way to change bad habits is to know what they are in the first place.
• Educate yourself - When my client  says she had grilled salmon, red potatoes and green beans, that sounds like a healthy meal.  But what if she had a piece of salmon the size of her head?  Or a giant gob of sour cream and butter on her potatoes? It's easy to lie to ourselves when we don't delve into the details, but that's exactly the information we need if we really want to lose weight.  Learn:
  • How many calories your body needs
  • How to watch your portion sizes
  • How to read food labels
  • How to make a balanced meal plan

Lying about your workouts

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Exercise is such a subjective thing, isn't it?  For example, my client *Dave once mentioned that he works 'really hard' at his stationary bike workouts every day.  When I asked how hard, he said he was getting up to 125 beats per minute. 

That was instant information that his idea of hard was nowhere close to mine.  And it wasn't that he was lying, really.  The problem was, some trainer had given him a target heart rate calculation a million years ago, telling him not to go above 125 beats per minute.  Dave never thought about the fact that the workout felt really easy or that he wasn't even breaking a sweat.  It never occurred to him that he could change things, work harder.
And that's something that happens to all of us. It's easy to get confused about how hard we should work and it's even easier to get confused about how many calories we're actually burning.  We have activity calculators, of course, but they're not always accurate and the calorie counts on cardio machines are almost always overestimated.  It's easy to believe you've burned 500 calories in 30 minutes, when you're really only burned around 300.  Stupid lying machines.

How to stop

• Determine how much exercise you really need to lose weight:  For the record, most of us need 200-300 minutes of exercise each week to lose weight.  That translates to about 30-60 minutes every day of the week, depending on your body type, body composition, fitness level and so on.  I hate to say it, but many of us will need even more exercise to counteract all the sitting we do the rest of the day.

• Decide if you can really do that much exercise:  We regularly lie to ourselves about how much we'll exercise each week, but we forget important things.  Like the fact that we have jobs and spouses and kids and that we get tired and overwhelmed and that we don't want to miss our favorite TV shows.
  
  We forget that we need time to get used to all the changes required when starting a workout program.  Everything changes when you start exercising - Your schedule, your priorities, not to mention your body your mind and body.  Look at the reality of your life - Your energy levels, schedule, obligations and so on - and figure out how much time you can really exercise.

• Set your goal:  Once you're honest about how much you can exercise, match your goal to that amount.  That means you may have to put weight loss to the side and, perhaps, focus on goals that require a little less exercise like getting healthy or preventing more weight gain.  There's nothing wrong with backing off and doing what you're capable of right now.  You can always add more exercise when you're ready for it.

• Educate yourself:  Do you know what a complete program looks like?  Or how to know how hard you're working?  Do you know about cardio and strength training and how much you need to lose weight?  If not, spend some time answering these questions, either here, elsewhere on the Internet or by working with a personal trainer.  Feeling confident about what you're doing is an important part of showing up every day.

• Programs to get you started:
• 4-Week Jumpstart Program
• 6 Weeks to Fitness for Absolute Beginners
• 12 Weeks to Weight Loss
• 30 Day Fitness Challenge

Article source: http://exercise.about.com/od/gettingweightlossresults/tp/Dumb-Things-We-Do-When-Were-Trying-to-Lose-Weight.htm

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How Much Exercise Do You Really Need?

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Digital Vision/Getty Images

Experts are good about giving us exercise advice. The Department of health regularly updates physical activity guidelines telling us just how much exercise we need to improve our health, lose weight and more. The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports has chimed in with its own guidelines. Even personal trainers, like me, offer the basics of how to exercise and you'll notice that most of these guidelines look about the same: Cardio about 3-5 days a week and strength training about 2 times a week.

These guidelines are helpful, but often vague, leaving you wondering: How much exercise do I really need to lose weight?

Exercise That Works for You
What many of us want when we go on a search for exercise advice is specifics. We want to know what activities to do and for how long, how hard to work and how to do the exercises. We want someone to say, "Here's the workout schedule you need to get exactly where you want to go." While plenty of experts will tell you they have the answer, the truth is, no one workout schedule will fit your exact needs.

So how do you figure out how much exercise you need? One place to start is with your goals. To help you out, I've broken down the guidelines for the three most common goals: better health, prevention of weight gain and weight loss. The sample workouts and schedules included will help you make exercise a reality.

Guidelines for Your Health
The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, published by the Department of Health recommend:
Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Or
Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
And
Do 8 to 10 strength-training exercises, 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.

Make It a Reality
The following examples show how you can schedule your workouts to meet the guidelines:

Just Getting Started
This workout schedule is a good choice of you're a beginner and aren't quite ready for 5 days of cardio:

• Monday: 30 min walking at 3.5-4 mph
• Tuesday: Total Body Strength
• Wednesday: 30 min walking at 3.5-4 mph
• Thursday: Rest
• Friday: 30 min elliptical, medium pace
• Saturday: Total Body Strength

Mix and Match
This series takes things a bit further with more workouts and more intensity:

• Monday: 30 min elliptical, medium pace
• Tuesday: 20 min interval training (alternate walking and jogging, or this Beginner Interval Workout)
• Wednesday: Total Body Strength
• Thursday: 20 min intervals (alternate walking and jogging, or Beginner Interval Workout)
• Friday: Total Body Strength
• Saturday: Three 10-minute walks at a brisk pace

Guidelines to Prevent Weight Gain
While there aren't official guidelines for preventing weight gain, the ACSM's position stand on the subject suggests moderate-intensity workouts between 150-250 minutes (20-35 minutes daily) or about 1200 to 2000 kcal a week may help you maintain your weight.
To see what this looks like in real life, check out the sample schedule below, which predicts calories burned for a 150-lb person:

Weight Gain Prevention Series
This exercise program includes a variety of cardio activities, all done at a moderate pace along with a simple strength and yoga workout, for a complete and balanced program:

• Monday: Elliptical Trainer, 40 min at a moderate pace, 327 calories, 10 minute stretching, 40 calories
• Tuesday: Basic Total Body, 30 min, 100 calories
• Wednesday: Walking, 45 min at 4.5 mph, 322 calories, 10 minute stretching, 40 calories
• Thursday: Basic Total Body, 30 min, 100 calories
• Friday: Swimming laps, 20 min, 137 calories
• Saturday: Yoga class, 60 min, 170 calories

Total Time: 245 Minutes
Estimated Calories Burned: 1236

Guidelines to Lose Weight
Now we get to the nitty-gritty, the amount of exercise you need to lose weight. You can see that it takes quite a bit of exercise just to prevent weight gain, and it takes even more to actually lose weight. For this goal, the ACSM recommends 200-300 minutes each week of moderate-intensity exercise. Keep in mind, though, that working harder for some workouts will give you more bang for your buck. To see it in action, the sample routine below shows how a 150-lb exerciser fits in 300 minutes of exercise a week:
Weight Loss Series

• Monday: 30 min High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) - Alternate 1 minute running (10 mph or as fast as you can) with 2 minutes of walking (4.5 mph) for 30 min, calories 320. Basic Total Body, 30 min, 100 calories
• Tuesday: 60 min kickboxing class, 550 calories
• Wednesday: 30-45 min Lower Body Strength, 300 calories, 15 minute stretching, 42 calories
• Thursday: 60 min yoga class, 170 calories
• Friday: 45 min HIIT - Alternate 1 minute 10 mph with 2 minutes at 4.5 mph for 45 minutes, calories 480
• Saturday: 30 min Upper Body Workout 150 calories

Total Time: 315 Minutes
Estimated Calories Burned: 2112

Making Sense of It All
If you're a beginner trying to lose weight, you may be put off by the amount of exercise you have to do. The good news is, you don't have to start at that level. In fact, a great way to approach it is to start with a focus on improving your health. Those workouts are perfect for beginners and allow you to build a strong foundation of strength before you move up to the more strenuous routines required for maintaining and losing weight. Start with what you can handle and use the guidelines as just that: Guidance to set up a program that works for you.

Article source: http://exercise.about.com/od/exerciseforbeginners/a/howmuchexercisedoyouneed.htm

<sub>Sources:
ACSM and AHA. "Physical Activity and Public Health Guidelines." ACSM. Accessed Jan 5, 2010.
Jakicic JM, Clark K, Coleman E, et al. American College of Sports Medicine. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Appropriate intervention strategies for weight loss and prevention of weight regain for adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001 Dec;33(12):2145-56.

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.Fitness Fundamentals: Guidelines for Personal Exercise Programs. www.fitness.gov. Accessed Jan 4, 2010.</sub>

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Getting a Good Workout with Low Impact Exercise

Low impact exercise is often used in conjunction with the words gentle, easy or light and is often recommended for people who can't or don't want to do high intensity exercise. But what if you want to work hard, but don't want all the jumping around? Can low impact exercise help you burn calories and lose weight as well as high impact moves? Absolutely.

High Impact Exercise Isn't for Everyone
If you're trying to lose weight, you know that getting into the middle-high range of your target heart rate zone (about 65% to 85% of max heart rate) is important for burning calories. You also probably know that it's easier to get your heart rate up when you're jumping around. But, for some people, high impact exercise just isn't an option. Some reasons you may have to avoid high impact are:

• Pregnancy
• Injuries in the joints, bones or connective tissue
• Chronic problems like arthritis, osteoporosis or stress fractures
• Being a beginning exerciser
• Being very overweight
• An aversion to high impact exercise

While it's important to have some type of impact for healthy bones, you don't necessarily have to jump around to get an intense workout. Many low impact exercises (which simply means one foot is always in contact with the ground) can get your heart rate into your target heart rate zone...the catch is, you may have to work a little harder.

Making the Most of Low Impact Exercise
If you've ever added any running into your walking workouts or tried some jump roping for the first time in years, you probably noticed how high your heart rate shoots up. But, if you can't or don't want to do high impact exercises, there are some alternatives. The following are just a few of the most popular low impact activities along with some tricks for getting the most our of your workouts.

Walking
Walking is by far the most popular low impact exercise, but in order to get your heart rate up there are some things you may need to do.

• Walk faster. One mistake we often make is walking too slowly to get the heart rate up. Wendy, About's Walking Guide, offers a great tutorial for How to Walk Faster. Picking up the pace can help you up the intensity of your workouts.
• Try interval training. By adding short bursts of speed or an occasional steep hill to your walking workouts, you can increase the intensity of your workouts as well as your calorie-burn. Try one of these Hill Workouts on the Treadmill or one of the Beginner Interval Workouts to get started.
• Use your arms. Make sure you're not holding onto the treadmill and, when you're outside, swing your arms to keep the intensity up. Holding weights as you walk is a no-no (it can cause injury), but consider using walking poles as an alternative.
• Mix things up. If walking is your sole source of cardio, cross-train with other activities to keep your body challenged. Walking is something we do every day and, therefore, we're very good at it. Learning something you're not as adept at can be a great boost to your endurance and fat loss.

Walking the Stairs
Walking up stairs, whether they're real stairs or the revolving staircase at the gym, can be an incredibly intense workout and a great way to get your heart rate up. If you're a beginner, try adding a few minutes of stairclimbing to your usual workout or hop on the stepmill at the gym for a quick five minutes towards the end of your workout. You'll find you don't have to go very fast to get your heart rate up.

Hiking
Hiking can be another tough low impact activity, especially if you're hiking up an incline. The changing terrain requires a lot of work from the lower body and walking up a mountain involves the large muscles of the glutes, hips and thighs - exactly what you want for an intense cardio workout. Add a backpack and you're burning even more calories.

Step Aerobics
Step aerobics can be a great alternative if you like choreographed exercise but don't want the pounding of hi/lo aerobics. Because you're stepping onto an elevated platform, you can typically get your heart rate up without doing any jumping. Using the arms can add more intensity the the workout as well. Cathe Friedrich is just one video instructor who offers low impact workouts for the more advanced exerciser such as Low Impact Circuit, Low Impact Step and Low Max Step. You can also try group fitness classes or other more advanced videos that may include high impact and modify the workout to keep it low.

Other Alternatives
You can also choose other activities that have no impact, but still offer high intensity workouts like cycling, swimming, cross-country skiing, the Versaclimber or rowing. Any of these activities can be intense if you work hard, but you may also want to cross-train with impact activities to keep your body challenged in different ways.

Adding Intensity to Your Workouts
The key to making low impact exercise work is to work a little harder by involving your entire body in what you're doing. Try some of these ideas for making your workouts more intense:

• Add upper body movements. Upper body moves can contribute to your overall intensity so think of swinging your arms when you walk, raising the arms overhead during step or other types of aerobics or choosing machines at the gym with upper body options like a cross-country ski machine or elliptical trainer.
• Go Faster. Picking up the pace, whether you're walking, cycling or ellipticalling (did I make that up?), is another way to make your workouts a little tougher.
• Use big movements. Another way to add intensity is to use big, exaggerated movements. For example, if you were marching in place, you could make the move harder by bringing the knees up high and circling the arms overhead.
• Involve the lower body. Most cardio activities do involve the lower body, but you can add intensity without impact by doing things like squats or lunges to really get the legs involved. Add walking lunges or side steps with squats to your usual walking workout to increase intensity.

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Surprisingly Fattening Foods

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Some foods have what's known as a health halo -- they seem like smart choices, but in reality, they're not. I call them food fakers! Here are a few of my favorite examples...

Granola - While granola is made up of healthy ingredients, it's generally calorie dense, meaning a small amount has a lot of calories. To make matters worse, while it's fine in small servings, people frequently consume granola like standard cereal or snack on it by the handful. And a cup of traditional granola has around 450 calories and 16g fat! Even low-fat granola often has nearly 400 calories per cup. When I'm in the mood for cereal, I mix something high in fiber with puffed cereal for a bowl that's both filling and large.

Regular Greek Yogurt - I love Greek yogurt, but I always stick with the 0% or 2% fat varieties. Why? Full-fat Greek yogurt is high in both calories and fat: An 8-oz. serving of the plain type has around 280 calories and 20g fat! The fat-free stuff, on the other hand, has about 130 calories for the same amount... and it often comes in snack-sized containers with 100 calories each. Be careful, because the packages look extremely similar! One of my favorite ways to enjoy it? I stir a no-calorie sweetener packet into plain fat-free Greek yogurt, toss with fruit, and top with high-fiber cereal. Such a great breakfast! In fact, it's a staple morning meal on the Hungry Girl Diet.

Restaurant Salads - I know what you're thinking... How can a lettuce-based meal be a bad choice? The problem isn't the greens; it's all the stuff that gets added in order to make the salad more appealing. Common culprits? Breaded and fried chicken; candied nuts; full-fat cheese (and lots of it!); fried noodles or tortilla strips; and way too much fatty dressing. People often assume vinaigrettes are "healthy," but they're often just as fattening as creamy dressings. A 2-tbsp. serving of vinaigrette has around 180 calories and 18g fat, and restaurant salads are usually tossed or served with three to four times that amount! Always get dressing on the side (something light, if they have it) and then dip your fork into it (don't pour the entire ramekin's worth over your salad). Then avoid those high-calorie add-ons, and stick with fresh veggies and lean protein.

Sandwich Wraps - Many people think of wraps as lighter alternatives to traditional sandwiches, but that couldn't be further from the truth. While tortillas are thin, they're generally massive! Unroll a wrap, and you're likely to find a tortilla the size of your steering wheel! That alone can easily contain 300+ calories. Plus, those tortillas can hold far more food than a couple of bread slices... which means even more calories! If you're on the go, opt for a sandwich on thin slices of whole-wheat bread (or ask for it to be wrapped in lettuce!). At the grocery store, look for high-fiber tortillas with 110 calories or less. Either way, fill your sandwich with lean protein (like turkey slices or chicken breast), lots of veggies (lettuce, tomatoes, etc.), and low-calorie condiments (mustard is my favorite!).

Restaurant Baked Potatoes - In general, a baked potato can be a good choice... But the problem with ordering a baked potato when you're out is that restaurants tend to serve ENORMOUS ones. While the standard serving size for a baked potato is a reasonable 6 oz., most restaurants serve potatoes that clock in at a whopping 12 oz., which means they have over 300 calories each... and that's before you add anything at all to them! So stick with half, and top it with salsa or eat it plain. Whipping up potatoes at home? Try this recipe for "Twice-Baked" Cheeseburger-tatoes.

Sugar-Free/Fat-Free Desserts - It's easy to assume that anything sugar-free or fat-free is automatically diet friendly. But these foods are often loaded with calories, despite being low in sugar or fat. Sugar-free sweets tend to be high in fat, and nonfat desserts frequently include high amounts of sugar. If you're out and about and craving dessert, go for fresh berries with a squirt of whipped cream or have a small scoop of sorbet. And at the supermarket, always check nutritional labels to get the full story.

Bran Muffins - Let me go on record and say this: Bran muffins are NOT diet friendly! No matter what you were told years ago -- and no matter how much fiber they contain -- bran muffins are typically breakfast no-nos. Flour, butter, sugar, eggs, oil... Do any of these ingredients sound light to you? An average bran muffin packs in around 450 calories and 14g fat! Even muffins marked low-fat are often loaded with way too many sugary calories. If you're out for breakfast, you're much better off with an egg-white scramble... extra veggies! At a brunch meeting? Grab a big piece of fruit. And if you want to make muffins at home, use better-for-you substitutes like light whipped butter or light buttery spread, fat-free liquid egg substitute or egg whites, and no-sugar-added applesauce.

Article source: http://dietadvice.about.com/od/dining-out-advice/fl/Hungry-Girl-Chews-amp-Donts-Surprisingly-Fattening-Foods.htm

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5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Diet Right Now

I know changing old, bad dietary habits is tough, and it takes a long time for new eating habits to become permanent. But don't make it too complicated - here are five easy things you can do right now to improve your nutrition.

1. Add an Extra Vegetable to Your Next Meal

I don't care if your next meal is breakfast, lunch or dinner, you can improve your diet instantly by eating an extra vegetable. Pick one that's green or brightly colored for maximal nutritional benefit. Steam some broccoli to go with your sandwich at lunch, and make two vegetable sides for dinner instead of one. Or eat a bigger salad. This even works fro breakfast -- add spinach to your scrambled eggs or make a green smoothie.

2. Eat a Piece of Fresh Fruit

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Next time you're in line at the lunch counter, grab and apple or pear instead of a cookie or piece of cake. Or, if you're eating dinner at home, enjoy a bowl of berries for dessert. You don't have to give up your dessert if you're used to a nightly bowl of ice cream. Just cut back - serve up about half the amount you normally eat and fill the rest of the bowl with fresh fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, or sliced peaches. You'll cut back on the calories, plus get better nutritional value. And it still tastes awesome.

3. Drink More Water

A lot of excess calories from sugar and fat come from the beverages you consume. Drinking more water might help you lose weight if you drink it in place of sugary soft drinks. And if you drink alcohol, add in a glass of water between drinks. If you hate the taste of water, you can disguise it with a slice of lemon, lime, cucumber or fresh pineapple.

4. Make Your Next Grain a Whole Grain

Whole grains are higher in fiber than regular refined white grains, and since most people could use more fiber, it might be time to switch. The next time you eat bread choose 100-percent whole grain or 100-percent whole wheat bread. Swap out your sweet cereal for a bowl of oatmeal or a 100-percent whole grain cereal at breakfast. Choose brown rice or whole wheat pasta for dinner.

5. Pay Attention to Portions

There's an old saying about your eyes being bigger than your stomach. Although technically that's certainly not true, it's easy to load up a bigger portion of food than you need, especially when you're hungry. So, at your next meal, stop a minute to think about how much you're eating.

Your protein source (meat, poultry, fish, etc.) should take up about one-quarter of your plate, and any starchy foods like potatoes, rice or pasta, should only take up another quarter. The other half of your plate can be filled with nutritious low-calorie fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, peas, green beans, or a garden salad. That will probably be enough to fill you up, but it if you're still hungry, go for extra vegetables.

Article source: http://nutrition.about.com/od/recipesmenus/tp/Basic-Nutrition-5-Easy-Ways-To-Improve-Your-Diet-Right-Now.htm

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Can Chocolate Improve Your Mood?

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Lenni asks, "I love chocolate. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, whatever. I know that chocolate contains natural chemicals that can affect your brain, at least if you get enough of them. Does eating chocolate improve a person's mood?"

Chocolate does contain compounds that could improve your mood, at least hypothetically, which seems to make sense when you think about how much people love their chocolate.

But the research evidence isn't too clear about what really happens when you eat it. More than likely, eating chocolate just makes you happy because it's sweet, delicious and melts in your mouth.

Chocolate Chemistry

Chocolate is made up of cocoa powder, cocoa butter and sugar. Milk chocolate also has milk solids, while white chocolate is just the milk solids and cocoa butter. The cocoa powder is the portion that contains caffeine, theobromine, tyramine and phenylethylamine.

These compounds, when taken in large enough amounts could potentially impact a number of neurotransmitter systems such as dopamine, serotonin and the endorphins. These systems affect your appetite, reward responses and the part we're looking at here -- mood regulation.
But, the keywords here are 'in large enough amounts.'

Sadly, the amount of cocoa in a typical chocolate bar isn't enough to perk you up.  I'm not even sure if it's possible to eat enough chocolate to get enough of those mood-pleasing compounds.

Bummer -- So Now What?

If you like chocolate, then eating some is probably going to make you happy, at least for a little while, but it's definitely not going to act like an antidepressant.

There is a silver lining to this chocolate cloud, though, because chocolate does have some impact on your health. Those compounds do appear to improve your blood pressure function and may act as antioxidants.

Eat a Little Chocolate, But Not Too Much

Chocolate might be one of those Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hydes of the nutrition world, just like alcohol and cheese. It might be beneficial in small amounts, but it's high in calories from all those sugars and fats so if eating too much leads to weight gain, then you're going to counteract any health benefits.

So, go ahead and enjoy your chocolate but don't go overboard, you only need 1 to 1 /2 ounces per day to get the health benefits. One ounce of chocolate has about 150 calories, make sure you take a look at the Nutrition Facts label for the serving size before you start nibbling on your chocolate bar.

Article source: http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/chocolate.htm

<sub>Sources:
Lamuela-Raventós RM, Andrés-Lacueva C, Permanyer J, Izquierdo-Pulido M. "More antioxidants in cocoa." J Nutr. 2001 Mar;131(3):834-5.
Njike VY, Faridi Z, Shuval K, Dutta S, Kay CD, West SG, Kris-Etherton PM, Katz DL. "Effects of sugar-sweetened and sugar-free cocoa on endothelial function in overweight adults." Int J Cardiol. 2011 May 19;149(1):83-8.
Parker G, Parker I, Brotchie H. "Mood state effects of chocolate." J Affect Disord. 2006 Jun;92(2-3):149-59. Epub 2006 Mar 20.
Scholey A, Owen L. "Effects of chocolate on cognitive function and mood: a systematic review." Nutr Rev. 2013 Oct;71(10):665-81.

United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 26, "Basic Report:  19902, Chocolate, dark, 45- 59% cacao solids." Accessed June 14, 2014. http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/6335</sub>

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Natural Ingredients Aren't Always Better Than Artificial Ingredients

Natural ingredients are often better than artificial ones -- but not always.

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Natural and artificial ingredients are both used to add (or preserve) flavor, color, and texture. They may also be used to fortify processed foods with additional vitamins and minerals or other nutrients.

According to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), natural ingredients are derived from natural sources. You might see ingredients such as beet powder, lecithin, garlic powder, black pepper, spices or vitamin C; all of which have been extracted from plants.

Most plant-derived natural ingredients can be listed as a group on a food label using the words 'natural ingredients,' but that's not true for animal-based ingredients, which must be identified individually (even though animals are very natural beings). Hydrolyzed vegetable proteins and monosodium glutamate (MSG) must also be identified individually on an ingredient list.

Artificial ingredients are created in laboratories. Examples include many food colorings and artificial sweeteners. Ascorbic acid, which is the scientific name for vitamin C, might come from a lab instead extracted from a plant. In that case, it's an artificial ingredient.

The words 'natural ingredients' certainly sound healthier than 'artificial ingredients,' but there may not be much, if any, difference between the two types of ingredients.

Artificial ingredients must be approved for use by government agencies such as the FDA. Plus, those ingredients only make up a very small part of the total processed food (and that processed food may not be good for you whether or not the artificial ingredients are present).

Vitamins may be artificially created in a lab (such as ascorbic acid and folic acid, the synthetic form of folate), and even through they're not natural, they're still beneficial.

The word 'natural' doesn't mean the product is organic. It may or may not be -- while organic foods are natural, not all natural ingredients are organic, and many natural ingredients are extracted with chemical solvents and other processes that are not allowed in true organic foods.

If you wish to avoid artificial ingredients, you can look at the list of ingredients printed on any packaged foods (or just avoid most packaged processed foods). You can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, or fresh meats and seafood that have not been processed beyond simple packaging.

It's not too difficult to avoid artificial ingredients at home, but many restaurants use processed foods that contain artificial ingredients, except for a few places that specialize in natural and organic dishes.

Article source: http://nutrition.about.com/od/recipesmenus/f/naturalingredients.htm

<sub>Sources:
United States Department of Agriculture. "Food Safety: Natural Flavorings on Meat and Poultry Labels." Accessed July 27, 2010. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Help/FAQs_Flavorings/index.asp.
United States Food and Drug Administration. "Food Ingredients and Colors." Accessed July 27, 2010. http://www.fda.gov/food/foodingredientspackaging/ucm094211.htm#qanatural.

United States Food and Drug Administration. "Food Label Helps Consumers Make Healthier Choices." Accessed July 27, 2010. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094536.htm.</sub>

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My Tips for Successful Weight Loss

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Dieting to lose weight isn't fun, and there aren't any short cuts -- you need to eat less. It can be tedious, and progress is slow. You may feel deprived without your favorite high-calorie goodies.

Weight Loss Strategies

You need to eat less food or become more physically active. Better yet, do both. Exercise will help you lose weight and improve your health. You don't need to do anything fancy, just get out for an hour of walking five days each week. Or you may prefer the intensity of weight training or exercise classes at a health club. Just choose what works to keep you motivated.

Let's get back to your diet. Taking care of your nutritional needs is important so make it a priority in your life. First you need to know how many calories to take in every day. Use a calorie calculator to help you figure this out. You'll need to eat fewer calories than you are currently eating every day to lose weight, but please don't go under 1,200 calories per day without speaking to your doctor.

You need to keep track of the calories you take in (and the calories you burn during exercise). Use a food diary to keep track of all the foods you eat, or join Calorie Count, which has a huge database of foods to make diet record-keeping easy.

Choose Healthy Foods

There's more to dieting than just cutting calories. You need to eat nutritious foods and in the correct amounts so that you get enough carbohydrates, protein and fats, plus lots of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, while avoiding excess saturated fats, trans-fats, added sugars, and sodium. The best way to do this is to plan your meals ahead of time, every day.

You need to understand how much food you are actually eating. Many of us tend to underestimate the actual volume of food we eat during the day, so it's best to measure all your servings, at least until you become more skilled in estimating portion sizes by sight. Invest in a digital kitchen scale and use measuring cups and spoons and measure everything.

Make a Meal Plan

So what foods go into your meal plan? Become familiar with ChooseMyPlate.gov so you know how many of the different food groups you need. Aim for:

• Five to 11 servings of grain (half your servings should be whole grain).
• Two to three servings dairy or foods high in calcium.
• One or two servings of protein sources such as meat, eggs, poultry, fish or legumes.
• Five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day.

Limit the amounts of extra fat, sodium, and sugar found in condiments, dressings and sauces.
Strive to fill your daily meal plan with a variety of good foods and leave room for a small treat so you'll feel less deprived. Remember that beverage calories count too.

You can sit down with paper and pen to make up your meal plan or use Calorie Count to build one -- log in, choose your foods and mix, match, add and subtract items for one day until you find a meal plan you like.
Make your meal plans for a few days at a time so you can go to the store and buy all the foods you need. Planning meals can actually help you save grocery money when you eliminate impulsive purchases from the snack aisle.

Here's an example of a daily meal plan. It provides about 1,800 calories for the whole day, with plenty of fiber and nutrients. If you wish to whittle away some more calories, you can omit the glass of wine, dark chocolate, honey, mayonnaise, oil and vinegar dressing, and the butter to save about 450 calories. You can also look for reduced calorie varieties of your favorite condiments and dressings and use non-nutritive sweeteners to tame your sweet-tooth.

What you don't want to do is cut back on the healthy fruits, vegetables, and whole grains because they're packed with nutrients and fiber.

Breakfast

• Three-fourths cup oatmeal
• One tablespoon honey
• One-half cup non-fat milk
• One-quarter cup blueberries
• Six ounces orange juice
• One cup black coffee

Mid Morning Snack

• One apple
• Twelve almonds
• Sparkling water with lemon

Lunch

• Sandwich with three ounces tuna, a thick tomato slice, one tablespoon mayonnaise and lettuce on two slices whole wheat bread
• One cup raw baby carrots
• Sparkling water or diet soft drink

Afternoon Snack

• One cup plain non-fat yogurt
• One-quarter cup crunchy whole grain cereal
• One tablespoon honey

Dinner

• Salad with one cup raw spinach, one ounce cheddar cheese, one-half cup cherry tomatoes and one tablespoon oil and vinegar dressing
• One three-ounce steak
• One-half cup mashed potatoes with one pat butter
• One cup green beans
• Four ounces red wine

Evening Snack

• One and one-half ounces dark chocolate

Does this meal plan look like it can keep you feeling satisfied all day? If not, you can alter your meal plan to include more nutrient-dense, low calorie foods like green and leafy vegetables. If your meal plan leaves you feeling hungry every day, maybe you are cutting your calories back too severely.

Remember that it's okay to lose weight slowly.

Be sure to allow yourself room for one treat every day (about 100 calories) and you can experiment with artificial sweeteners to control sugar cravings.

Drink more water, it has zero calories and you can flavor it with a slice of lemon or lime, or choose sparkling water if you like the fizz.


Dieting isn't easy, so if you fall off your diet for a day or two (or even longer), don't get upset with yourself

Source: http://nutrition.about.com/od/diets/a/mealplan.htm

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