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!

We know that cardio is your ticket to burning fat, but are you doing it the proper way?

What is your preferred choice of cardio? Swimming, treadmill, biking? Whatever it may be, make sure you don’t do it every single day.

I love my bike, and if it was up to me, I would bike every time I went to the gym, but I don’t. I have since been told that the best way for your body to burn fat efficiently is to vary the exercises that you do. Make sure your body does not get used to to a particular exercise, keep it guessing.

Do you know that your body takes 15 to 20 minutes before it actually starts burning calories?

That is because it starts to burn calories after it is warmed up, so the tip is to start with your weight training first before you do your cardio. Or should I just say, do your cardio last to maximise your fat burning efforts.

Click here for more Fat Burning Tips that will ensure you shed those pounds for good.

I am disappointed with myself  . . .

I drank myself into a stupor on both Friday and Saturday nights, and on top of that I ate junk food all weekend long. Burgers and pizzas, they sure taste good!

This is totally unforgivable! Especially because I have been working hard at the gym, and trying to eat healthily. So today, with the guilt, I dragged myself to the gym and I worked double hard.

I just came back from the gym, and I have since decided to stop beating myself down about it. After all, it is ok to eat my favorite foods once in a while, right? Plus I am allowed to reward myself when I have been good.

So the lesson is to eat my favorite foods, but in MODERATION! After all, life is too short and it is to be enjoyed.

Here is the fat burning tips I want to share with you today:

You might be surprised to learn that simply slowing down the rate that you eat your food at can have a profound affect on your body weight.  The longer it takes you to eat your food, the less food you will need to eat to feel satisfied.

There are some simple techniques that can get you out of a bad habit of eating too fast and consequently eating too much.

• Try to chew your food a little longer before you swallow it as this will help with the digestion of the food and the extra time that it takes you to chew will also help you to feel more satisfied without having to have such a large quantity.

• Don’t load up your fork or spoon with more food until you have finished eating the food that is already in your mouth. One simple way of doing this is to actually put down your fork or spoon until you ready to pick up the next piece of food to eat.

You will find that once you start eating a little slower you will actually get to enjoy the food a lot more. You will have more time to savor the tastes in the food.

It takes a little while after eating food for your body to register the fact that it has had enough and many people overeat when they eat too fast simply because they believe they are still hungry. You should never eat until you are full; rather eat until you feel comfortable that you have had enough.

If you found this tip useful, share it with your friends.

When I was young, my mom would make my siblings and I eat all the food in our plates. You either had to eat all the food or you do not get the juice. On top of that, she would make you listen to a speech about how other families are going hungry, and we are taking our blessings for granted.

Were you also brought up from the principle of finishing all the food in your plate? I guess if you are reading this, you are trying to lose weight. The intentions of my mom and many others were good, or are good. However, this is not the way we should be looking at food, especially if you are trying to lose weight and be healthy. From now on, here is a new way of looking at food.

If you are full, stop eating. There is no need for you to eat all the excess food that is in your plate. The excess food is only going to result in excess fat and I know that is not what you want. Here are a few ideas that will help you to stop overeating:

• Use a small plate when you dish out.

• Be aware of yourself, your surroundings and the food you are eating. You are more likely to eat more if you are watching tv

• Prepare just enough food for a particular serving. If this is not possible, just make sure you have the food you are intending to eat at that particular seating on your plate only. Having more food at the table will just encourage you to eat more.

• Chew slowly as you eat. This way you will be more likely to notice when you get full. It is better to spread your meals into five to six meals a day than eating a lot of food in one seating.

If you are constantly finding there is more food left when you are full then you need to reduce the amount of food that you are cooking or making available for your meals each day. It is definitely better to eat less than too much. Eating less food will give you an opportunity to compliment the meal with a fruit or a healthy snack.

The same rules apply when you go out as well. The food servings tend to be a lot, so it would be in your best interest to take a doggie bag than trying to finish everything, just because you are paying for it.

Stop overeating. Empower yourself today and take control of what is going into your stomach as well as how much of it.

When it comes to dieting you will find all kinds of crazy and faddish diets on the market today. In addition to the many diets there seems to be every kind of diet aid you can imagine. From shakes the diet industry has evolved to include everything from candy bars and pudding to pills and patches. Each item makes the claim that it can help you drop those unwanted pounds quickly and easily.

Well I can tell you for a fact there is very little easy for must of us about dropping a few pounds. If you would like a few tips that should make your weight loss goals a little easier to achieve then perhaps the following tips will help you out.

• Drink Plenty of Water. There really isn’t enough that can be said about the importance of drinking water in an effort to reach your fitness goals. Water hydrates the body first and foremost but water is also an important way of tricking your body into believing it is full. Other drinks do not work nearly as well as water in this endeavor and many drinks, even fruit juices, contain empty calories that you can ill afford when dieting. Another great thing about drinking a lot of water while dieting is that it helps your skin retain its elasticity so you can avoid some of the ‘loose skin’ look that often accompanies massive weight loss. As an added bonus drinking plenty of water will have your skin looking radiant and beautiful as well.

• Set Goals. Having goals is one of the most important things you can do when working to loose weight. Try to make sure that your goals are aggressive but can be achieved. If you are frustrated early in the dieting process by unrealistic goals you are much more likely to give up. However, challenges are always going to inspire us to achieve greater things in life. If you can find a ‘weight loss partner’ in order to have a little friendly competition for the weight loss totals for a week or a month then you are going to be far more likely to accomplish your goals than if you keep them quietly to yourself.

• Eat More. Did you read that twice? Yes, eat more healthy foods that are high in fiber. Eat more vegetables and fruits-fill up on these foods that are good for you and you will not be inclined to binge on calorie laden junk food.

• Move! While this seems a little too simply stated for most, getting up and moving is one of, if not the absolute best way to burn calories. The simple truth is that you are not going to lose weight unless you use more calories than you consume. The more activities you enjoy that burn calories, the more likely you are to shed those unwanted pounds and meet your weight loss goals. Some great activities that actually burn calories include the following: gardening, golf, dancing, playing volleyball, walking, jumping rope, playing hop scotch with your little ones, and playing tennis. I mention these activities because you can trick yourself into believing that you aren’t really exercising while burning calories. Even cleaning house requires movement and energy and if you dance around a little to some good music in the process you might burn a few extra calories.

Dieting, when successful can help restore self image and self-esteem in people who are otherwise beautiful people inside and out. The steps above are not the only things that are involved in the dieting process but they can help you reach your weight loss goals particularly when combined with a diet plan that you feel confident you can follow. Be sure that on those days when will power is non-existent that you do not derail your diet efforts all together by giving up. The most important thing you can do when dieting is to go back to dieting once you’ve strayed.

If this article has been helpful to you, share it with a friend.