Your Weight! Your Health! Your Skin!

Hi there,

I found this great article about burning more calories and I just had to share it with you. I hope it will be as life changing to you as it was to me. Enjoy . . .

Burn More Calories in Less Time
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN

In my view, intensity is the most critical aspect of any exercise regime and can mean the difference between someone who reaches their goals and someone who doesn’t. Increasing your workout’s intensity will stimulate your body to burn more calories and induce a greater cardiovascular response. It will also allow you to have a more time efficient workout.

If you are looking to burn fat and become more toned, then increasing your exercise intensity is critical. Many people have the misconception that if you workout at a higher intensity you will no longer be burning fat since you will be in your “cardio zone”. Whereas, if you keep your intensity low for a longer duration you will burn more fat since you will be in your “fat burning zone”.

Let me clarify this for you once and for all. By training at a low intensity (<70% max) it is true that you use fat as your predominant source of fuel. While exercising at a higher intensity (>75% max) your main fuel source is carbohydrate but you will ultimately burn more calories. And since 1 pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories, the ultimate goal is to burn as many calories as possible to create a negative energy balance!

One of the best ways to achieve this intensity is through the use of full-body exercises (circuit training set up) in conjunction with interval training. The benefit of full body exercises is that they utilize more muscle in any given movement – thus, you burn more calories. The inherent intensity of the workout also means that each exercise becomes more challenging as your heart rate is sustained at a much higher level as a result of not giving yourself enough rest between exercises.

Here are a couple of benefits to following an exercise program combining circuit training and interval training:

1. Intervals and circuits vastly reduce boredom. Traditional steady state cardio training and/or weight lifting can become quite boring. Interval training and circuit training offer more variety and excitement to your workouts.

2. Interval training increases post-exercise energy expenditure (calories burned following exercise) more than steady-state exercise, which means that more fat is burned. After intense exercise, the body needs extra calories as it works to repair muscles, replace energy stores (i.e. carbohydrate) and restore the body to its normal state (e.g. reduce heart rate).

As this can take many hours, you will keep on burning more calories long after the workout is over. In fact, research shows that metabolic rate is higher for several hours following interval training compared to steady state exercise.

3. Interval training burns more calories. As an example, 30 minutes on an Elliptical machine using a steady state program will burn roughly 292 calories, whereas 30 minutes of intervals will burn approximately 584 calories!

Here is a sample circuit traing workout that will leave you huffing and puffing:

WARM-UP – bike, treadmill, elliptical, rower + dynamic stretching (5-10 min)

CIRCUIT (45 seconds for each exercise, with 15 seconds rest between exercises :: 5-7 min to complete 1 set)

Lunge walks with lateral raises

Plank (on stability ball)

Squats with medicine ball shoulder press

Push-ups

Side Bridges

Reverse Pull-ups

Burpies

INTERVAL TRAINING (cardio machine)

20 sec @ 100% : 40 sec @ 70% x 5 = 5 min

Repeat Circuit and Interval 3 times

Total Workout Time: 45 – 50 min

Do this workout 4 times over the next 2 weeks and watch the difference intensity brings to your workouts – and your results!

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men’s soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and “How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast” report!

Eat your way to a healthier you.

Healthy eating takes planning, especially if you are on the move during the day. Without a plan you can find yourself eating unhealthy foods or foods that are empty in calories or eating irregularly, which can jeopardize your weight loss efforts and prevent your body from performing optimally. Here is my recommendation to healthy nutrition, which worked for me:

1. Cut down on fast foods. Yes I know that it can be very tempting at times and it can be hard to say no to that burger and fries or that pizza, but fast foods can be high in fat and calories.

2. Reduce your intake of fats especially the fat found in red meat and chicken skin. This fat is also a source of cholesterol, so not only are your weight loss efforts in vain you are seriously compromising your health.

3. Some of us do have a sweet tooth, but it is important to cut down on the sugar, especially processed sugar. If you do have a craving, opt for a fruit or 100% juice, instead of sodas and sweets.

4. Remember what your parents and teachers used to say about fruit and vegetables? They were right, it is very good for you. Try and aim for five portions of fruits and vegetables a day. The general rule is, the more color your fruits and vegetables have, the more beneficial they are for your body.

5. Eating out has proved to be a challenge for some people, but it does not have to be. Opt for grilled foods, vegetables and if you opt for salad, choose a salad that does need salad dressing. If you have to use salad dressing, opt for dressing that is light in fat.

6. Meal skipping is a big no. Aim for three balanced meals and a fruit or vegetable snack in between. This will ensure your body has the energy it needs and it will not go into starvation mode.

7. Regulate your portions. Rather spread your meal over a couple of hours instead of having a huge meal on one seating. Do not wait until you are nearing starvation to eat, because then you will consume more food than you need.

Maintaining your body weight is not just about looking good, it is about good nutrition and health. It shouldn’t be something that is done temporarily; it is a way of life. Losing weight will require that you eat right, control your portions and incorporate some form of exercise.

Hi there,

Before we get to the actual calculation, lets discuss what BMI is. BMI stands for the body mass index. This is a tool that is used to determine if a person is at a normal weight for his or her height.

BMI is one of the first thing that is used to calculate whether someone is overweight or not, however it is not the only or final tool. The disadvantage with using BMI to determine if someone is overweight is that that is does not distinguish between weight from muscle or weight from fat. Other tools have to be used to calculate the amount of fat in a person’s body. For people who aren’t very muscular it is a very good indication of whether someone is overweight, underweight, obese or normal.

To calculate the BMI you will need to have a persons weight and their height. The basic formula is weight divided by height squared, or kg/m2. You simply take your height in meters and square it which means you take the number of meters times itself.  Then divide that number into your weight in kilograms

For example :

To determine the BMI of someone who stands at 1.7 meters tall who weights 91 kilograms, we divide the weight by the height squared, or 91 divided by 2.89.  That gives us the result of about 31.  This individual is classified as obese.  How do I know that?

A BMI of 18.5 or below indicates an underweight person. The normal weight range is from 18.5 to 24.9. Overweight people will have a BMI of 25 to 29.9.  A BMI of 30 or greater indicates obesity. So a person with a BMI of 31 is in the obese range, but not by much.  By calculating BMI again with different weights, you can see that the person would only need to lose 5 kilograms, or about 11 pounds, to no longer be obese, but merely overweight.  And a loss of 19 kilograms, or about 42 pounds, will put this person within a normal weight range.  Calculating BMI to determine how much weight one should lose can be a big help for someone who’s not sure.

If you don’t know how to convert to kilograms or meters, simply take your weight in pounds times 4.88.  Then divide that number by your height in feet, squared.  So a 200 pound person who is 6 feet tall:  976 divided by 36 = 27.1.  After calculating BMI, it’s clear this person is within a normal and healthy weight range.

Knowing your BMI can be a huge help if you are unsure whether you are overweight or normal. You will also have an idea of how much weight you need to lose weight to be in your desired weight range.

If you are overweight and you need to get my Body Mass Index where it should be, here is a great resource to help you get there.