Weight Loss Regime

So you have entered the new year wanting to lose a few pounds? Well forget those celebrity fitness DVD's you see being advertised heavily on the television and concentrate on a real workout that will help lose weight, tone up and give you a better feeling of well being.

Here at Musclepowershop the aim is to give you the tools you need to achieve your goals, these fitness videos give you a workout that is okay for the beginner but dont really support your long term goals....so here we go...

Firstly before even starting a workout I wish to tell you about your eating plan. To lose weight effectively so you are not crash dieting and the weight wont creep straight back on you need to know your calorie intake and eating habits.

Calorie intake and eating

To lose weight take your calorie intake in pounds (for those who only know kilograms its your wieight in kilograms times 2.2) and times this by 12. This is your guidline calorie intake.

Next it is important to know that you DO need to eat fats and proteins. Your calorie intake should be made up of 60% carbohydrate, 20% fat and 20% protein. The fats you should eat though should be good fats called Monounsaturated fat and Polyunsaturated fat (collectively called Trans fats). These fats are essential for your body so check the labels of foods you eat to see that these are contained.

Below is a list of foods that you can gain your essential fatty acids from

• Fish (Tuna, Herring, Mackerel among others)
• Cereal
• Whole grain wheat
• Nuts (Peanuts, Walnuts, and other nuts)
• Oils (Olive oil, Sunflower oil and Safflower oil)
• Bananas
• Seed (Hemp seed and Flax seed among others)

Next its important to know when to eat, lets have none of this skipping breakfast malarkey, its important to eat your meals. In fact to lose weight its better to eat five or six meals rather than three, to do this you need to eat five or six meals spaced about three to three and a half hours apart. By eating small amounts regularly you are keeping your metabolism at its highest rate so your body is working at its most effective and expending its most amount of energy while also reducing the size of your stomach by eating smaller meals.

The workout

You should wokout four times a week, this should be for 30 to 40 minutes each time. Below is a sample of workouts you can mix and match to suit you, plus there are many others available which can be found here on Musclepowershop or elsewhere on the Internet..

• Workout 1 - Jog for 30 - 40 minutes
• Workout 2 - Cycle for 30 - 40 minutes
• Workout 3 - Boxing - 10 x 20 punches with 60 second rest between each set (gloves, pads and partner required)
• Workout 4 - Squats, lunges, calf raises, press ups, star jumps, situps (complete 3 x 15 of each)
• Workout 5 - Fast walk 45 - 50 minutes
  

Summary

Losing weight can be fun, you dont need to eat just greens you can eat anything within reason as long as you eat healthier and watch your calories a bit more. Fitness will come in time and you will feel better in yourself so please do try to complete your workouts three to four times a week.