10 Tips to Look and Feel Younger in Hanover, part 1

“How To Get Maximum Weight Loss & Fitness Results In Minimum Time”

Set realistically attainable goals. You must have tangible short-term and long-term goals for your fitness program so that you can gauge your progress and stay motivated. It’s crucial to have a “baseline” before you begin so that you can measure your success. A qualified personal trainer (like me) can give you a complete fitness analysis that will aid you in developing a personalized fitness program which addresses your particular needs. Having goals, particularly short-term goals, allow you to track your progress and keeps you motivated when times are tough and you don’t feel like exercising. Keeping a journal of your cardio and resistance training workouts, as well as tracking what you eat is truly a fitness success “secret.” Just remember that your goals should be realistic and attainable. The best way for you to understand what is realistic and attainable for you is to talk to a fitness professional – not to buy into the “hype” of infomercials or diet and fitness products that blatantly mislead.

In the beginning your fitness plan should not be overly aggressive. One of the biggest problems most people encounter when starting a fitness program is rapidly depleted motivation after only a few weeks due to an overly ambitious fitness plan. Two days per week of 20-minute low-intensity cardiovascular exercise (walking, jogging, biking, swimming); and two days per week of 30-minute light resistance training (using weights or resistance machines) is adequate in the beginning. As you become acclimated to the lifestyle “shift” you can add more days and get improved results. But beware: if you try to do too much too fast, you may end up quitting altogether. If you’ve tried and failed doing it alone then I suggest you get a training partner or personal trainer who will help you sustain your motivation and accountability.

Eat regularly throughout the day. Fasting or overly restrictive diets will enable you to lose weight – in the short run. Because the weight you lose is primarily water weight and lean muscle tone. But in the long-run it has exactly the opposite effect you want. When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively thinks it’s being starved and shifts into a protective mode by storing fat. Your body’s energy expenditures will be fueled by your lean muscles causing your body fat to remain essentially the same while you lose vital fluids and muscle. The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism becomes, and the less fat you burn. You should be eating three nutritionally balanced meals each day, and you should have at least one or two healthy snacks. Avoid fried and processed foods at all cost – talk about dead calories! Here’s a good rule of thumb: make sure that you are consistently “grazing” on health foods about every three hours. This includes at least half a gallon of fresh water every day. This keeps your metabolic furnace firing, so you burn more at a faster rate.

There you have it. Ten essential strategies for an effective weight loss and fitness program that will have you looking and feeling better than you have in years – maybe ever! I realize that starting (or re-starting) a productive and effective weight loss and fitness program is not easy. That’s why I encourage you to get help.

…because the hardest part is just getting started and sustaining your motivation until fitness becomes habitual. Once you develop the habit, which can take as little as thirty days, your whole life will change for the better.

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