Fitness Info

Quick Tips:

Diet

Try to eat both a protein and carbohydrate food at each meal. This will allow for better utilization of the protein for recovery and muscle repair. In addition, try not to eat more than two different items at each meal and try to keep those portions within the serving size recommendations on the labels. This will allow the body to efficiently burn most or all of the calories consumed at a given meal. Try to eat more smaller meals than fewer larger one's. If your goal is to consume 2000 calories per day, you'll get far greater results eating 4 meals of 500 calories than 2 meals of 1000 calories. Although the daily intake is the same the body may only consume 500 calories for energy purposes and the other 500 calories of the 1000 calorie meal may be conserved. Also, carefully monitor fat intake. Although some is healthy, many low carbohydrate diets replace carbohydrates with large quantities of fat. This can lead to increased cholesterol levels. While many report initial success with these types of diets, some of this might be from water as well as overall calorie reduction rather than the nutrient content of the diet. Unbalanced nutrition can damage the metabolic rate and can make long term maintenance tougher.

Workout

Try to perform weight training exercises for each muscle group at least twice a week with at least one day of rest between workouts and possibly more for higher intensity routines. Try to rest as little as possible during the workout as this will keep the heart rate elevated to burn more calories and fat. For beginners this can be accomplished with small circuits alternating between pushing and pulling exercises or upper body and lower body exercises. More advanced routines can consist of alternating between different exercises of the same muscle group, pyramiding, and many other techniques. Try to perform cardiovascular workouts at least three times per week. Try to exercise for a longer period of time (45-60 minutes) than shorter. For those interested in burning the majority of calories from fat, keep your heart rate between 60-70 percent of your maximum heart rate. (220-your age) To concentrate on cardiovascular endurance, keep your heart between 70-80 percent of your maximum. This type of workout will burn more overall calories though a lesser percentage will come from fat. Those competing in athletics may want move the intensity up to the 80-90 percent range.

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