My Diet Plan Zone

When exercising to lose weight, too many people (especially women) rely on machines for fat loss. They spend at least 30 minutes on an elliptical, bike, or treadmill in hopes of improving their body composition. At the end of those 30 minutes, they see the “calories burned” glaring back at them and think they have given it a great effort. Not to burst your bubble, but those machines can overestimate your caloric expenditure by about 25-30 percent.

How would you like to increase your rate of fat loss in less time? I assure you, this is not B.S. in any way. You truly can get more results in less time.

First things first: say goodbye to the cardio machines. Just say goodbye, and step away.

Done? Good!

I’m sure you’re wondering what you can do in place of spending time on a machine. Well that is exactly what I am going to tell you! Did I forget to mention that you can do these in the comfort of your own home! Not having to drive to the gym will save you at least 30 minutes alone!

Bodyweight Circuits:

What you are going to do is perform several bodyweight exercises in succession without rest. You will rest for a designated period of time at the end of the circuit.

1) Jumping Jacks 30-50
2) Squats 15
3) Pushups 10
4) Reverse Lunges 10 each leg
5) Inverted Row 10
6) Plank 30 seconds
7) Squat Thrusts 10

After completing every exercise, rest 1-2 minutes and repeat the circuit 3-4 more times.

Timed Bodyweight Circuits:
If you prefer to work out for a designated amount of time, try this option. For this method, you will complete the above circuit as many times as possible in 20 minutes. There are no set rest periods; the point here is to rest only when needed. The next time you repeat the workout, try to complete more rounds in the 20 minute time period. You can also add on 1-2 minutes to increase your work time (22 minutes of work).

Dumbbell Intervals:
This option will obviously require a dumbbell, but you can still do it at home.
Arm Dumbbell Swings - 10 each side
Perform 10 dumbbell swings with each side. Rest 30-60 seconds (depending on your conditioning level) and repeat 5-9 more times.

You now have several great options to replace your traditional cardio workouts. Feel free to get creative. There are no rules. I would suggest you perform these circuits/intervals after your weight training sessions or on your off days. If you replace your typical cardio workouts with bodyweight circuits or dumbbell intervals, I bet you will see difference in your body composition!

These workouts are more entertaining, require less time, and can get you better results! What are you waiting for?

About the Author :
Nia Shanks is certified personal trainer who specializes in fat loss. She helps individuals build lean muscle and lose fat with fast, effective workouts. Nia doesn’t believe in spending endless time on cardio machines in hopes of losing fat. Instead, she uses proven training techniques that deliver faster results in less time. For more information visit http://niashanks.blogspot.com/

Cholesterol is one of the major substances that cause heart attacks, high blood cholesterol levels, and weight problems. Despite its “bad guy image,” this waxy, fat-like substances made in the body by the person’s own liver serves a number of vital functions unknown to many.

Basically, there are two types of cholesterol: the Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and the High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL). The former refers to the bad type of cholesterol that is known to clog the person’s blood vessels, thus, increasing the risk for a heart attack or a heart disease. Studies show that a diet that is high in saturated fat is a main dietary cause of a raised LDL cholesterol level. The latter, on the other hand, is the good type of cholesterol that helps clear LDL cholesterol out of the blood stream, thus, reducing the risk for any heart illness. Researches have shown that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables along with average levels of omega-3 from fish oil greatly helps raise HDL cholesterol levels.

Although diet is the major reason for having high cholesterol levels, experts agree that factors such as genetics, lack of exercise or regular physical activity, obesity, unhealthy lifestyle such as excessive drinking and smoking, hormones, and varying high and low cholesterol levels can trigger the sudden increase of cholesterol levels in the body

GETTING STARTED

Indeed, cholesterol is a growing problem in the health of many people in the world. Experts say that people over 20 years of age should be more concerned about their cholesterol levels; thus, they should start doing everything they can to lower LDL cholesterol. Although it is quite hard to stick to the needed requirements and regiments to combat the growing problem, experts say that it can be controlled with the proper diet to lower cholesterol.

Studies show that a good diet to lower cholesterol can reduce a person’s risk for heart diseases while getting rid of bad fats because this diet to emphasizes on eating heart-healthy foods. But, aside from using the proper and proven low cholesterol diets available today, the most important thing is that knowing and taking in the right foods and effective cholesterol formulas to assist in lowering cholesterol levels.

Experts say that a diet to lower cholesterol includes good foods like grains—especially whole grain products and cereals—fish rich in omega3 such as salmon and tune, a variety of fruits and leafy vegetables, nuts, juices, and the like. Here are other effective means of lowering cholesterol level through diet:

1. Make sure that you visit your attending physician first before trying out any low cholesterol diets so he/she could administer the proper examinations and access your general health status.

2. You can lower your cholesterol levels by replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat in meat, chicken, and whole milk products.

3. Refrain from eating refined carbohydrates contained by bakery products, pastas, and sugary or sugar-added foods.

4. When eating out, makes sure that you ask the waiter to make serving substitutions like steamed or boiled food preparations. If possible, also pick lean meat, fish, or skinless chicken that is broiled, baked, grilled, steamed, or poached instead of being fried and ask for lots of vegetable side dishes and fresh fruit desserts.

5. Cutting down on eggs, margarine, or butter out of your daily diet.

6. Use natural-based oils such as vegetable, corn, and olive oils when cooking instead of the usual cooking oil.

7. Load up on a lot of garlic when you’re preparing dishes because it contains substances that help lower HDL cholesterol.

8. Take in high quality daily vitamin mineral supplements like Vitamin E to improve blood circulation, and Vitamin C and vitamin B3 to lower your high cholesterol levels.

Holidays are a time of year that we spend with family and friends enjoying delightful meals. While it is common to go off a diet plan during the holidays, overeating can cause weight gain from between 5-10 pounds. Losing that weight can take weeks or even months, so it is better we practice a bit of self dicipline to avoid a sudden weight gain.

Here are some tips to help avoid holiday overeating…

1.) Eat smaller portions - Sure we all love the turkey, ham and all the fixings, but moderating the size of portions we eat is essential to avoid sudden weight gain.

2.) Don’t go back for seconds - It’s tempting to continue eating something that tastes so good but going back for a second portion can add unsightly pounds and inches. Again, a little self discipline can go a long way.

3.) Avoid desserts - Most of us will find this tip to be one of the hardest tips to deal with but skipping dessert can be a necessity to avoiding holiday overeating. If you must have that slice of pie, try a half a slice instead.

4.) Don’t snack in between meals - One problem with holiday overeating is that there are plenty of snack foods that are tempting in between meals. If you must snack in between meals, try eating small amounts and resist the urge to eat mini-meals in between meals.

5.) Resist the urge to finish leftovers - Most people are conditioned to finish everything on their plate and to finsh any leftovers from our holiday feasts. Leftovers can be frozen in plastic storage containers and enjoyed again later on. There is no reason to “clean the fridge” of leftovers when we can make TV dinner meals to be used in the future.

The holidays are a wonderful time full of delicious foods but making a concerted effort to avoid holiday overeating can be one of the smartest things we do to stay on a healthy diet plan.