Do you remember the day you first joined your gym? Wasn’t it a great feeling, knowing that you had finally taken that first step towards living a healthier life? Making a conscious, positive decision to improve is rewarding, and hopefully we’ve all kept that promise to ourselves. But try as we might, it seems that there’s always a handy excuse to not exercise.
While gym attendance peaks around January, it slacks off every March/April as people forget about their New Year Resolutions. Summer BBQ’s and vacations tend to make people stay away from the gym, and six months later holiday parties and planning to the same thing. Finally, we can all relate to those days when we simply don’t want to work out!
The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, a trade association serving the health and fitness club industry, reports that the average health club member in the United States spends only about 90 days at the gym per year.
The purpose of this article is to help you STAY MOTIVATED to exercise! We don’t just want to help you with the ‘how’ of exercise - we want to help you with the ‘why’ too! We want you to look forward to exercising!
So what can you do to stay motivated? Here are five great ideas to help us all keep that inner fire burning..
1) Find an exercise buddy! When we know that someone else is going to meet us at the gym at a certain time, we will automatically be much more likely to show up ourselves. After all, who wants to abandon their friend? Don’t have a friend at the gym? Invite one along! She will appreciate the invitation, and will be much healthier for it!
2) Get to know people in the gym! One of the many reasons why women enjoy the gym so much is that it’s part exercise facility and part social club! Visiting with friends and family while we’re exercising makes the time go by so fast it hardly even seems like we’re doing something good for us. It’s great to get out of the house or office and just have some fun with other ladies!
3) Talk with your doctor! We all know that exercise is good for us. From helping to prevent cancer to lowering our blood pressure to helping us fit into that swimming suit, exercise is the best thing we can do for ourselves. Even with that knowledge, it’s sometimes encouraging to hear about our progress from our doctor. Here’s a hot motivation tip: ask your gym for a copy of your fitness records (monthly body fat analysis and measurements) and then share that information with your doctor. He or she will be so happy that you’re exercising, and will encourage you to continue!
4) Chart your progress! The CEO of a Fortune 500 company once said “What gets measured gets done”, and that advice is as good for us as it was for that business. Take the time to keep a food journal, an exercise log, or simply write down your fitness goals. Post it where you will see it every single day (on the ‘fridge, in the car, on the mirror, etc.). Life is just so busy these days, a constant visual reminder of our goals may be just the motivational push we need.
5) Give yourself a reward! Sometimes the ‘big picture’ can be too intimidating. For example, if you have 80 pounds to lose it’s tempting to think “It’s too much! I shouldn’t even try.” That’s one of the biggest motivation-killers out there, so combat those discouraging thoughts by rewarding yourself for smaller accomplishments. Treat yourself to a manicure when you lose that first five pounds. Buy a new outfit when you’ve lost ten pounds. Take a mini-vacation when you’re halfway to your goal. Give yourself small rewards for achieving smaller goals, and guess what…..many small steps make up a long journey! Before you know it, you’ll have accomplished your overall goal!
There are many other ways to give yourself the motivation to succeed. Try some of these tips today - the only thing you have to lose is the fat!
* Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace. Permission is not required for the distribution of Pick Up The Pace articles as long as they are used in their entirety, are properly credited to Pick Up The Pace, and are accompanied by our website link: www.letspickupthepace.com.
* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on www.letspickupthepace.com should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.
Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women, focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com for more information.
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Today I would like to talk about when is the best time to exercise for maximum weight loss. While the type of exercise, the intensity and duration is important with respect to weight loss, the time of exercise is equally as important - if not more so.
Timing your workout can be crucial. There are specific times during the day during which your body burns fat most efficiently. It has to do with your eating cycle - or more accurately with your body’s digestive cycle. The body burns more fat when you exercise on a relatively empty stomach - contrary to many claims out there that state otherwise. The longer you wait to exercise after a meal the more fat your body will burn.
Is that truth or myth?
A university researcher studied the effects of exercising on a full versus an empty stomach. A group of women participated in 2 exercise studies. In one they exercised twice before meals and in the other, after meals. Evidence showed that when the subjects exercised on an empty stomach (before meals), blood glucose levels were lower in the periods following meals and during the night, than the when they exercised on a full stomach (after meals).
This suggested that exercising before meals can help to regulate blood glucose levels almost as well as 2 popular glucose-lowering drugs. (1)
To take it one step further, since this type of exercise method lowers blood glucose, lower amounts of glucose may translate to decreases in body fat. Remember excess glucose in the blood (from carbohydrate) may be stored as fat.
This study, it seems, supports the widely popular theory that the best time to exercise for fat loss, is on an empty stomach. A theory which many claim is only a myth.
I decided to put this theory to the test.
I am well into my thirties now, and I find it more difficult too keep the pounds off these days (with everything being constant). In other words, I am not eating more calories than I did 10-15 years ago and I’m also not exercising any less. And yet I had put on an extra 12 pounds. By the way, I also have a slow metabolism.
So, I wanted to see if there would be a significant difference when I exercised before breakfast instead of 2-3 hours after dinner which is what I had been doing. My workout was exactly the same, I didn’t change anything. I jogged for 30 minutes and followed that by 15 minutes of high intensity interval training.
The results were shocking. I lost 11 pounds in four and a half weeks - that was extra weight around the mid-section that I was carrying around for quite some time.
In truth, however, I am not really a morning person and find that my body has a hard time waking up for a workout first thing in the morning. If you’re not a morning person, you’ll know what I mean.
So I am going to experiment by switching my workout period to first just before lunch and then just before dinner (on a fairly empty stomach). I’ll let you know what the results will be. I have a feeling they’ll still be more favorable with respect to weight loss than when workouts are conducted after meals.
Reference:
http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0506/Nov21_05/06.shtml, “Exercise nearly as successful as drugs at lowering blood sugar”, retrieved 6 July 2006 from http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0506/Nov21_05/06.shtml
John Tiniakos helps make weight loss easier through proven weight loss methods using information and analysis from the worlds leading scientists. To subscribe to his blog or his free monthly newsletter that includes valuable, up to date tips on diet, weight loss and health and to receive 2 free reports visit http://www.nulife-weightloss.com For more information on his latest ebook “Nulife Natural Weight Loss Program” visit http://www.nulife-weightloss.com/natural.htm
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The latest trend in the area of weight loss is low-carb diets such as the Atkins Diet. With so much conflicting information out there on nutrition and weight loss, it’s difficult for the average person to not only find out what works, but also understand how to apply it.
In order to help clear the air, I’m going to dispel some of the myths that are floating around and give you some facts backed up with real science on how the human body actually metabolizes food.
First, let’s talk about why the low-carb approach is so popular. There are a few reasons, but the most common is that people are finally realizing that the low-fat/high carb approach that has been promoted for decades now just doesn’t work! Not only is it making us fatter, it’s also responsible for dozens of diseases and illnesses.
It’s true..most Americans eat too many carbs and are deficient in the healthy dietary fats. However, it seems that it has to be one extreme or the other with people in this country. So now many people are cutting carbs and avoiding them like the plague, which is just as bad.
But wait..you say that it works? Maybe you or someone you know has tried the low-carb approach and noticed significant weight loss. Yes, cutting carbs will cause you to lose weight, but not much actual body fat, if any at all. So, why do most people lose weight so quickly? It’s because the human body holds 2.4g of water for every 1 gram of carbohydrate consumed. Cut the carbs and all you do is hold less water! This artificial weight loss is the main reason so many people are going low-carb.
So, not only does following a low-carb diet cause you to lose water, it also depletes muscle glycogen which leaves you feeling sluggish when trying to be active or workout. Remember, carbs are stored as glycogen in the muscles and glycogen is what’s used to fuel your muscles.
Another problem with severely limiting carbs is that the brain uses carbs for energy and without enough carbs, you won’t be 100% mentally. While I agree that people are different and that some people do better on lower amounts of carbs, most people will feel like crap after a week or two with no or low carbs.
But all the fitness and nutrition ‘gurus’ say that carbs are stored as fat, right? WRONG! Any excess energy (food or beverage) can be stored as fat - it doesn’t matter if it’s french fries or salad! Extra is extra is extra!
To my knowledge, there has not been but one study that actually measured body fat of individuals following a low-carb both before and after to see exactly how much body fat was lost. Plus, this study was funded by a grant from Dr. Atkins!
Also, there is quite a bit more research that shows that carbs are not only ok to eat, but that they also contain vital nutrients that can’t be found in other foods.
A recent study done by French and Canadian researchers found that consuming carbohydrates in small amounts did NOT inhibit fat burning and only approximately 4% of it was stored as fat. This was in individuals who were not exercising.
They also assessed the effect of carbohydrates in individuals who performed light to moderate intensity exercise and found that the small carbohydrate meal resulted in no fat being stored and did NOT inhibit fat burning. Plus, even the large carbohydrate meal had NO effect on fat burning and all of it went directly to the muscles to replenish glycogen and repair tissue.
Just imagine what happens when you do a hard workout!
So what does this mean in plain English? Basically, carbs are fine in small to moderate amounts (even if you don’t exercise) and on days you do exercise, the carbs are going to be stored in the muscles and not as fat.
So to all those people out there who think that eating carbs will result in them being stored as fat and it ’shutting off; the fat burning, I’ve got good news for you..
You can finally have that big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs you’ve been craving!
So how can you apply this to your eating and fitness program? Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
1. You need carbs - just the right amount and the right type
So what are the right types? Focus on eating carbs that are high in fiber such as vegetables, beans, fruits, and whole grains.
2. Vary the amount of carbs you have based on how active you are
For example - on days you don’t exercise, eat less carbs and maybe vary the types.
3. The one time you can go carb crazy is right after you exercise
For example - if you want to cheat and have ice cream the best time would be right after a hard workout.
Focus on eating balanced - carbs, proteins and fats; and again, adjust the amount of each based on how active you are and plan to be.
I also recommend you do so research yourself and learn as much as you can about human metabolism and sound nutrition. Here are some great resources:
- http://www.westonaprice.org/nutrition_guidelines/whats_wrong.html
- http://philkaplan.com/thefitnesstruth/atkins1.htm
- http://www.chekinstitute.com/articles.cfm?select=42
You can also find some great resources and articles at my website here: http://www.achieve-fitness.com/free_resources.htm
I hope you found this article informative and I wish you the best. Remember, the more you know the better off you’ll be.
About The Author
Jesse Cannone is a certified personal fitness trainer, post-rehab specialist, nutritionist, and a national fitness presenter. He is also the author of Burn Fat FAST and A Bride’s Guide To Fast Fitness + Weight Loss in addition to many other popular fitness articles. He is known for his hard-hitting and to the point style and offers a great free email newsletter called Fitness Success News, which you can subscribe to at his website http://www.achieve-fitness.com
jesse@achieve-fitness.com
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