The Summer Workout Plan

Hopefully you have now got fitter by exercising everyday over the winter and Spring months since the end of the holiday season. So now you should be able to do 2 workouts each day.

Every morning you should do your cardio workout, ideally before breakfast. Comprising of 45 minutes of cardio, with the last 15 minutes including at least 3 intensive sprint intervals to really get the heart rate up and your lungs panting. Breakfast should be lean and could include either an egg or a banana.

Lunch time is salad time, only add olive oil as a dressing, with tuna or chicken (without the skin). Ensure you only chose those low GI vegetables for the salad. Lettuce, rocket and watercress are all excellent options.

Evening supper should be very light also, so that you can then do an evening workout. This should include one of the following:

• Yoga routine / other callisthenics
• Circuit training routine
• Weight training routine (push/pull session, or upper/lower body session – split those workouts)

These evening sessions should only be 20-30 minutes long, as you are exercising twice a day. Warm up with a few movements then do the work sets. With weight training especially split your routines to allow yourself to workout everyday.

If you are a very keen weight lifter then you will need to take rest days as you will be lifting heavier weights.

After your evening session have a light protein snack (fish, eggs etc.) or a protein shake. But not both.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day and watch the weight come off and your muscles tone up and strengthen in time for the beach holidays.

1. Alcohol is allowed but no while you eat. When you drink while eating you stop thinking about your food and are more likely to eat too much.
2. Grazing throughout the day is OK so long as you always follow the rules. Snacking is good for you and a great way to keep metabolism high and hunger at bay, but only if you snack on healthy food and do not overindulge.
3. Do not eat breakfast if you are not hungry. Breakfast is still important, but only eat what you need. So often people pile into a massive breakfast because they read somewhere that they should eat breakfast like a King. If you are not hungry, don’t eat it.
4. Eat when you are hungry. This actually keeps metabolism at a high. Back to eating. Yes, eat when you are hungry. Reprogram your body to tell you when you need food and when you are full. Do not starve yourself as this lowers metabolism and then leads to over eating.
5. Never put your work first – your health should always come first. Look after your health, eat healthy at work, and do not skip meals just because the boss wants more work from you. You have rights.
6. Stop thinking of yourself as being overweight, instead imagine what you are becoming – fitter and healthier. Be positive about yourself and your future.
7. Every day plan the day ahead to make sure you do not risk slipping off the weight loss wagon. By planning your day you avoid falling into traps along the way.
8. Still eat mostly low sugar foods from the low GI food list. Low GI food makes putting on weight much harder as the carbohydrates are digested slowly and the energy released slowly. There is less excess energy to convert to fat.
9. Drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated and ward off hunger. So often people confuse thirst with hunger. Avoid this by staying hydrated. Being hydrated not only reduces hunger but also improves concentration, keeps the skin fresh, is good for digestion and general wellbeing and is a calorie free alternative to every other drink in the World. Water is the only calorie free drink.
10. Enjoy your food. Do not become a slave to your new diet. Enjoy the foods you eat.

• Going on a fad diet plan that leaves them feeling exhausted and hungry all the time
• Taking diet pills, fat burners and fat blocking pills, all of which fail to do anything without a proper diet and exercise regime
• Joining a commercial gym, then failing to workout on a regular basis due to family commitments
• Buying home cardio equipment but not using it frequently or intensively enough
• Joining aerobics classes and fitness clubs

So, if this sounds like you, then know that you are not alone. The real reason why many women fail to lose weight after giving birth is that none of the above methods, no “diets” or workout routines will ever help you lose weight on their own. Weight loss requires a complete system that takes into account nutrition, diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors.

Fast Intensive Workouts

Luckily the best way to lose weight is to workout quickly. Gentle, slow paced exercise, such as walking, jogging or cycling slowing are not as effective at burning fat as fast and intensive workouts. Follow these general rules:

• Exercise at least 3 times per week to a high intensity
• Exercise for at least 45 minutes
• Perform full body workouts, such as squats, lunges, push ups
• Use weight training methods such as shoulder press, curls, deadlift
• Perform intensive interval training with short sprints followed by recovery exercise

Sensible Eating Habits

The other factor to lose weight is to ensure that you are eating a healthy diet that will encourage weight loss. You may still think that fat is the problem, but it is not. The real problem is sugar and refined carbohydrate, processed food and junk food. Follow these dietary rules:

• Never skip breakfast
• Stop eating bread, cakes and cookies – no excuses
• Eat more eggs at breakfast
• Eat more protein for lunch and dinner – chicken, turkey, fish, lean meats
• No junk food, candy, sugar, soda, chocolate or fast food
• Only eat low GI vegetables and fruits
• Drink water when thirsty
• Drink coffee before exercise

The only way to lose weight quickly and keep the weight off is to follow a tried and tested routine. Buying expensive cardio equipment or diet pills will not help, but following a nutrition and exercise program will give good results. The best program for mom’s is the FitYummyMummy workout plan that has been devised by a mother who gained 50 pounds after her son was born, then lost it all to become fit and athletic again.

Another food program is Mike Geary’s Truth About Abs. Both are well worth looking at if you are serious about losing weight.

It is certainly possible to lose all the baby fat quickly – just look at celebrities such as Katie Holmes, Heidi Klum or Kerry Katona.

Source: How To Lose Baby Fat – Mom’s Workouts | Get Fit and Lose Weight

Lose Weight with Healthy Eating

Although there are many ways to lose weight, from cabbage soup diets and detox fasts to intensive cardio training and military boot camps, the basic rules remain the same. Weight loss is not rocket science. You do not need a personal nutritionist to create your menu or a fitness instructor to take you through the moves (although it can help). In fact, a study published by Foxnews.com a few years ago showed that the only weight loss program with proven results was the weight watchers program. All the others could not guarantee success. So forget those fad diets and get fit quick schemes, and focus on losing weight the right way – slowly, carefully, with exercise and healthy eating. Here are our simple tips for losing weight. Here are some top tips from MotleyHealth.com – Learn How to Lose Weight and Get Fit.

1. Reduce the size of your portions

No matter whether you are healthy or have a medical conditional, you can only ever put on weight as a result of overeating. Apart from a few very rare conditions, which make maintaining a balanced diet very difficult to achieve, weight loss results from curbing your appetite. One tip is to reduce the size of your serving plate. Simply by eating from a 10 inch plate instead of a 12 inch plate, subjects under test conditions, eat 22% less food in a sitting.

2. Count your calories

As energy in minus energy out equals surplus energy leading to fat, counting calories (energy in food) allows you to balance what you are eating against energy used. Women on average only require 2000 calories a day, men average 2500. If you are very active you will require more, but for most people this guideline works well.

3. Eat a balanced diet

Eating more protein for breakfast helps us to feel fuller for longer, meaning less mid-morning snacks. Also, lunch portions can be reduced if a healthy breakfast is eaten. Avoid traditional cooked breakfasts of sausage, bacon and fried eggs though, as this can result in too much salt and saturated fat. Drink milk, eat cereals with milk, oatmeal, yoghurt and poached or scrambled eggs. The old rule of eating breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and supper like a pauper still applies.

4. Eat more dairy and calcium

Dairy actually helps the body to eliminate fat more easily, as shown by research by the NationalDairyCouncil.org: “We conclude that dairy-rich diets markedly augment weight loss by targeting the fat compartment during energy restriction.”

5. Exercise more

Not only does exercise burn more energy, but also you continue to burn extra calories for 24 hours after exercising. Also, each time you exercise, you get fitter, which means that you can exercise more the next time. The fitter you are, the more energy and fat you can burn off during exercise.

6. Be more active

As well as exercising at set times, get more active generally. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk more when you can, leave the car at home, get off the bus sooner. Find fun activities to do with the family, play in the park, go skiing, swim etc. Just be more active in your day to day life.

It is essential to make every effort to lose weight and get fit. Visceral fat, the fat that surrounds the internal organs, is the most dangerous form of fat. It leads to various diseases, including heart disease, as well as cancers and other internal diseases. So many people say that they have tried everything to lose weight. Almost all of them are living in denial. About 80% of people asked to keep a food diary actually lie in their journal, omitting snacks, chocolate, calories laden drinks. The key to losing weight is to be truthful to yourself, do it for you and your family, stick to the plan, never give up. Consider weight loss a battle that you must win. Fight for your life, do not let lethargy, greed and obesity kill you.

Source: MotleyHealth.com – Learn How to Lose Weight and Get Fit

• 1. Exercise more, and specifically build more muscle (aerobics is not as effective as resistance training).
• 2. Eat fat burning foods (remember, not eating actually slows fat burning (lipolysis), which means starvation diets can make you fatter!).

By eating fat burning foods, not only do you improve your chances of burning fat, but you also fuel your body to help tone lean muscles. So if you are serious about losing weight, reducing that belly fat and getting slimmer and leaner, then ensure that you are eating some of these fat burning foods every day:

1. Salmon.

Salmon is great for our brains and contains essential fats. Diets high in Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to improve weight loss. Also, the liptin that is present in fish alters your metabolism, increasing the chance of using stored fat for fuel. Ideally you should eat salmon or trout 3 or 4 times a week.

2. Soup.

Soup is a fantastic way to lose weight, and the winter months make it more appealing too. A study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Deitetics showed that on average men that ate soup 5 days or more a week had a body mass index of 23. This is an ideal bodyweight for a lean man with average build.

3. Beans.

Beans are great, especially kidney beans. So chilli con carne with a large serving of kidney beans makes a good weight loss meal. Kidney beans can stop carbs from breaking down into sugar, which slows digestion. This in turn prevents carbs from converting to belly fat.

4. Fat-free yoghurt.

Fat free yoghurt helps to increase lipolysis (fat burning). However, you need to eat at least 3 servings a day to see results. In a study carried out by the University of Tennessee, men that ate the fat free yoghurt diet lost 81% more belly fat than the non-yoghurt eaters. Its high calcium and protein properties make it a great weight loss aid, which works for women in the same way!

5. Whey protein.

Whey protein is one of the most popular supplements for bodybuilders. However, it helps to strip away fat as well as build muscle. The University of Toronto found that men that drank two whey protein shakes a day would eat on average 200 calories less than other men. Also the men on the whey protein diet increased muscle mass by 8% and lost 3% more fat than the ones on the non-whey diet. In the same way women taken protein shakes would lose more fat and get a defined figure without bulking up.

6. Chilli Peppers.

The hotter the chilli the greater the fat burning potential. Chillies contain capsaicin, a property that helps maintain a healthy heart and also increases metabolism, which helps to strip fat off. If you want super hot, go for Scotch Bonnets!

7. Pistachios.

The classic party nut. Pistachios are high in lean protein and they also curb the effect of carbs on your blood sugar level. This means that eating pistachios helps to keep your waist slim. These make an ideal snack.

8. Cereals.

Breakfast cereals such as Weetabix, Shreddies oats and muesli all help to keep weight down. A study by the National Weight Control Registry found that people that lost weight and kept the weight off were more likely to eat breakfast cereals rather than any other breakfast. Cereals release energy slowly meaning that you are less likely to snack on junk foods before lunch.

9. Cottage Cheese.

A favourite of athletes! 200g of cottage cheese have as much protein as a small steak, and it also contains casein. This means that cottage cheese is a slow digesting food, meaning that you are less likely to overeat later in the day if you eat cottage cheese for lunch. It also makes a great snack if you have an intense training schedule.

10. Grapefruit.

Finally some fruit! The 5 a day rule is healthy, but does not generally help us to keep the fat off. Ideally you should eat one and a half grapefruit a day, split into 3 snacks. Grapefruits are high in vitamin C, which actually dilutes fat, making it easier the flush fat from your system. Researchers at Louisiana State University found that people who ate grapefruits regularly lost on average 4 pounds more over a 12 week period than other diets.

Daily Fat Burning Diet

With a little imagination you can consume all of these foods in one day, which will provide you with an excellent muscle definition and fat reduction diet.

Breakfast: Start the day with muesli and a grapefruit

Morning snack: Cottage cheese makes a good morning snack as it requires no preparation.

Lunch: Extra hot mince beef chilli, with extra kidney beans. For dessert eat a fat free yoghurt.

Afternoon snack: If your energy levels start to wane, grab a bag of pistachio nuts and munch your way through them. This should keep you going through to dinner. Have a whey protein shake too.

Dinner: Soup of the day, followed by baked salmon served on a bed of watercress and rocket.

Post workout (any time of day): Whey protein shake.

This meal plan includes all the fat burning superfoods on the menu, which combined with regular weight training sessions almost guarantees that you will define your figure and burn fat. Enjoy!