Monday, 30 November 2015

5 Reasons Your Workout Isn't Working

5 Reasons Your Workout Isn't Working





5 Reasons Your Workout Isn't Working
Have you been working out consistently for months (maybe even years) and yet the scale is creeping up? Here are five ways your workout could be keeping you from losing weight, and what our experts' recommend to start shedding pounds again:

1. Your workout routine is making you eat too much.
Is your workout causing you to use the "I burned it, I earned it," excuse when it comes to your diet? "Studies show that people tend to eat more calories when they take up exercise," says Michele Olson, Ph.D., professor of exercise science at Auburn University Montgomery, and creator of the Perfect Legs, Glutes & Abs DVD.

Think your 45-minute morning run was enough to burn off that slice of chocolate cake on the dessert menu? Consider this: the average, 140-pound woman burns about 476 calories (at a 10-minute mile pace) running for 45 minutes. The average restaurant dessert clocks in around 1,200 calories (or more), so even if you only eat half of a slice, you'd still easily eat away your run—and then some—in less than 10 minutes.

The solution: Make your workouts count by pairing them with a healthy diet that stays within the appropriate calorie range your body needs in order to lose or maintain your weight. Olson recommends writing down what you are eating to keep track of calories consumed, and then subtracting the calories you burned, for your true daily number.

2. Your workout completely wipes you out.
That 5:00am killer boot camp class seemed like a great way to get in shape, so why aren't the pounds dropping off? If your workout leaves you feeling completely drained, exhausted, sore, and just wanting to lie on the couch for the rest of the day, it could be doing more harm than good, says Alex Figueroa, a personal trainer and fitness instructor at the Sports Club/LA in Boston, MA. While your workouts should be challenging, pushing your body too hard can have the opposite affect on your body. Over training can cause everything from sugar cravings, a weakened immune system, and insomnia—all of which could contribute to weight gain.

The solution: Figueroa recommends following a workout plan that is appropriate for your current fitness level—one that will still challenge your body without completely draining it. Not sure what's best for you? Try scheduling a session with a personal trainer to review your goals and the best plan of action to reach them.

3. Your workout burns fewer calories than you think.
Feeling pretty righteous when the treadmill says you've torched 800 calories? Not so fast, cautions Olson. An unusually high calorie burn reading is rare, Olson says, and most machines overestimate readings by as much as 30 percent.

"Many machines do not require you to put in your body weight and, therefore, the calorie output is often based on a ‘reference weight' often used in science of 155 pounds," Olson says. "So, if you weigh 135 pounds, for example, you would not burn the same calories as someone who is at the reference weight."

And even those that use heart rate readings may not be accurate either. "Machines that incorporate arm activity (such as the stair stepper or elliptical) can cause a higher heart rate compared to a leg-only machine like a treadmill, but this is not usually because you are burning more calories," Olson says. "Research has shown that at the same level of calorie burning, the heart rate will be markedly higher when using the arms versus the legs, and you may even be burning fewer calories despite a higher heart rate."

The solution: Try using a ‘distance covered' read-out to more accurately gauge how many calories burned, Olson says. "For instance, if you want to burn 300 calories, jogging 3 miles, walking 4 miles, or cycling about 10 miles on a bike are known to burn this amount."

4. Your workout's not balanced.
Sure, we love Zumba just as much as you do, but that doesn't mean it's all you should be doing to stay in shape. "Variety is not only the spice of life, but the key to getting a better, leaner, stronger body," Olson says. "There is not one single activity that can give you everything you need."

Doing only cardio workouts or the same strength workout over and over means you are sacrificing the opportunity to build lean muscle mass and challenge your body in new ways (translation: burn more calories doing something new), and you may plateau because of it.

The solution: Create a weekly program that rotates through different modalities of exercise (cardio, strength training, flexibility, core) in order to keep your mind, and body, engaged and changing. Olson recommends fitting in at least three strength sessions and three to five cardio sessions per week for best results.

5. Your workout is totally stale.
Have you been taking the same body-sculpting class using the same 3-pound weights week after week? Grab some heavier dumbbells to boost your calorie burn and build more fat-blasting muscle, recommends Sonrisa Medina, group fitness manager for Equinox Fitness Clubs in Coral Gables, Florida. And while you're at it, try a class you've never done (like yoga or Pilates) to stimulate your body in new ways.

Why is it so important to switch things up? Doing the same workout routine over and over means your body doesn't have to work as hard to perform it after a few weeks. "We 'learn' how to do any activity and movements," Olson says. "The more ‘learned' we are, the easier the activity is to our bodies, which means you will actually burn fewer calories than you did when the activity or your routine was new to you."

The solution: Whether its trying heavier weights or adding more resistance during cycling class, changing up the intensity and style of your workout can help kick up your calorie burn to start losing weight again. Even adding workouts like yoga and Pilates that don't typically burn a large amount of calories, if they are new to your body, will create some nice changes in your physique simply from being a new challenge to your movement and workout patterns, Olson says.




Source:- http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/tips-plans/5-reasons-your-workout-isnt-working

Sunday, 29 November 2015

9 Weight Loss Myths Busted - Are They Stopping You Shedding The Pounds?

Do you think drinking water helps you lose weight or carbs stop you shedding the pounds? Think again


Getty
Tell me the myths or I'll smash these scales

You might think you know the best ways to lose weight, the easy wins, the absolute dieting truths. These "truths" might actually be myths. Here are nine of the most common weight loss tips and the reason they might be stopping you shedding the pounds.

1. Margarine contains less fat than butter


Margarine and butter contain different types of fat. Margarine is usually lower in saturated fat than butter. But it's more likely to contain hydrogenated fats.
Hydrogenated fats, also called trans fats, may be more harmful to health than saturated fats. To lose weight, and for a healthy heart, reduce the amount of saturated and hydrogenated fats you eat.

2. Starving myself is the best way to lose weight


Crash diets are unlikely to result in long-term weight loss. In fact, they can sometimes lead to longer term weight gain.
The main problem is that this type of diet is too hard to maintain. Your body will be low on energy, causing you to crave high-fat and high-sugar foods.

3. Slimming pills are effective for long-term weight loss

No, they're not. Slimming pills alone will not help you keep the weight off long term. They should only be used when prescribed by a doctor.

4. A radical exercise regime is the only way to lose weight

Not true. Successful weight loss involves making small changes that you can stick to for a long time. That means building regular physical activity into your daily routine.
Adults between 19 and 64 should get at least 150 minutes of physical activity every week, and those who are overweight are likely to need more than this to lose weight.
To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.

5. Carbohydrates make you put on weight

Eaten in the right quantities, carbohydrates will not cause weight gain.
A 2003 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that dieters on the best-known low-carb diet, the Atkins diet, tended to lose weight not because they ate fewer carbohydrates, but simply because they ate less overall.
Eat whole grain and wholemeal carbohydrates such as brown rice and wholemeal bread, and don't fry starchy foods when trying to lose weight.

6. Drinking water helps you lose weight

Water does not cause you to lose weight, but it does keep you hydrated and might help you snack less.
Water is essential for good health and wellbeing. Sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger – if you're thirsty you may snack more. The Department of Health recommends that we should drink about 1.2 litres of fluid every day.

7. Foods labelled up low fat or reduced fat are always the healthy choice

Be cautious. Foods labelled low fat have to meet legal criteria to use that label.
Labels such as reduced fat do not have to meet the same criteria and can be misleading.
A reduced-fat snack should contain less fat than the full-fat version, but that doesn't automatically make it a healthy choice: it could still contain a lot more fat than, say, a portion of fruit. Low-fat foods also sometimes contain high levels of sugar.

8. Cutting out all snacks can help you lose weight

Snacking isn't the problem when trying to lose weight: it's the type of snack. Many people need a snack in-between meals to maintain energy levels, especially if they have an active lifestyle.
Choose fruit or vegetables instead of crisps, chocolate and other snacks that are high in sugar or saturated fat.

9. Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight

Skipping meals is not a good idea. To lose weight and keep it off, you have to reduce the amount of calories you consume or increase the calories you burn through exercise.
But skipping meals altogether can result in tiredness and poor nutrition. You will also be more likely to snack on high-fat and high-sugar foods, which could result in weight gain.
Source:- http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/9-weight-loss-myths-busted-6624249

Saturday, 28 November 2015

Losing The Baby Weight: The Truth About Shedding Pounds After Birth

Many women wonder how long it takes to lose baby weight and bounce back to a pre-baby body. Get the real facts about how the body holds on to pounds after birth.



new mom

It’s every woman’s dream to lose all the extra pregnancy pounds the moment baby finally arrives — but the fact is no one (not even celebs!) snaps back to her pre-baby body so quickly. It’s important to keep your expectations in check: Depending on the size of your newborn (usually between five and 10 pounds) and precise weight of your amniotic fluid and placenta (which you deliver at birth), most pregnant women can lose up to 12 pounds during delivery. Considering the average pregnancy weight gain is between 25 and 35 pounds, that’s a healthy start!
So where do the rest of those pounds come from? Your breast tissue, blood supply, fat stores and enlarged uterus. In fact, giving birth might not shrink your baby belly very much at all — at least for the first six weeks, until your uterus shrinks back to around its pre-pregnancy size.
There are lots of things you can do to get into shape again. But it’s really important to give yourself a break: Your body just birthed another being. Things moved around, stretched and grew to make that happen. Don’t focus on "getting your body back" (it actually didn’t go anywhere!) but on creating a healthy, happy, and — possibly slightly differently shaped — you.

YOUR WEEKLY WEIGHT-LOSS GOAL
After you deliver, you will slowly lose weight. You may want to speed things along by working with your doctor to set a safe, reasonable goal. A good rule of thumb is to lose no more than one and a half pounds per week (that is, a calorie deficit of 3,500 to 5,250 calories per week, or 500 to 750 a day). While many new mothers ditch the bulk of their pregnancy pounds by baby’s 6-month birthday, everyone sheds weight at their own pace. Many factors have been proven to affect your weight loss journey — including your age (your metabolism slows down by about 2 percent every decade after age 25, so you burn fewer calories at rest as you age), your diet (when you eat more protein than carbs and eat larger meals earlier in the day, your body burns more calories and works more efficiently), activity level (the more you move, the more calories you burn), and your natural metabolism, which is determined by your genes. Keep in mind, too, if you gained more than 35 pounds during your pregnancy, it could take extra time (from 10 months to two years) to bounce back. Although shedding 10, 20 or more pounds post-baby might seem insurmountable, it may take less “work” — or at least hours pounding it out on the treadmill — than you might think. That’s because, as many new moms will attest, breastfeeding helps melt off the pounds in record time. In fact, depending on how much milk you produce, breastfeeding can burn up about 500 calories per day. What’s more, it stimulates the release of hormones that help shrink your uterus (and your post-baby belly). Unfortunately contrary to what you might have heard, you don’t need to hold on to an extra five pounds of weight as a reserve while you breastfeed (so those last few stubborn pounds might actually require some extra sweat sessions at the gym). After you stop breastfeeding, your body has less work to do — which means it burns fewer calories than it did when you were nursing. However at the same time you may notice that weaning naturally decreases your appetite — your body’s natural way of putting you on the right kind of diet (so listen to it!). You’ll likely feel more free (and comfortable) to increase your activity level, too. So when you stop nursing, don’t worry too much about packing on the pounds you lost. Lifestyle changes can help keep your metabolism churning — and while you’ll need to scale back on food a bit, you can prevent those numbers on your bathroom scale from creeping back up.

  YOUR POST-BABY DIET
Since your body needs ample rest and nutrition to recover from delivery, fend off infection and feed your baby, you shouldn’t even think about dieting until your baby is 6 weeks old — no matter how anxious you are to squeeze back into your pre-pregnancy clothes. Once you feel ready to start a post-baby diet (and you’ve gotten the OK from your doctor), make sure you’re still eating enough calories. Crash dieting isn’t just risky for you: If you’re breastfeeding and don’t eat enough calories, your body ends up producing less milk — which means you're hungry, growing baby goes on a diet with you. What’s more, burning fat too quickly can trigger the release of toxins that end up in breast milk. Even if you’re not nursing, eating too few calories can make your body think you’re starving. This confusion can cause actually slow down your metabolism, making it harder to shed those extra pounds in the long run. Remember, if you’re nursing your calorie needs are even greater during the first six months after delivery than they were during the last trimester of pregnancy. Your doctor can help determine exactly how many calories you should be eating, since the number will vary depending on your BMI before pregnancy and your activity level. To put things in perspective, the average woman needs about 2,000 calories a day, and breastfeeding women should tack on an extra 500 calories to maintain their current weight. To lose one pound, though, you need to create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories per week (or 500 calories less per day) by eating less or exercising more (which means the average breastfeeding woman would be back at 2,000 calories per day to lose about a pound a week). Make sure the foods you do eat are packed with the proper nutrients (for tips on what to eat, check out the postpartum diet and/or breastfeeding diet). Also remember that the less you weigh, the fewer calories your body needs — so you may need to adjust your calorie intake as you slim down.

GET MOVING!
One other thing to keep in mind: Exercise does a body good, especially one that has a few too many love handles. And even though you're super busy, you can always find ways to start exercising with baby (it can be as simple as taking out the stroller or using a baby carrier). Just make sure you've gotten the green light from your practitioner before starting back on your exercise routine, and never exercise to the point of exhaustion (you're probably exhausted enough from the lack of sleep!). Find an activity you enjoy — jogging, yoga, cycling, swimming, walking — and plan it into your week. Besides helping you with your weight loss after delivery, a brisk walk with the baby in a nearby park or playground is a great way to meet other moms who are no doubt on the same weight loss mission as you are.

THE DREADED WEIGHT-LOSS PLATEAU
You might have heard that many new mothers reach a weight loss plateau. And while it’s hard to say exactly if and when weight loss slows, experts say that many women do retain 10 pounds for good. That said, it likely has nothing to do with being pregnant but is more related to changes in your diet and activity levels after baby is in the picture: Caring for a new baby leaves a lot less time to take care of yourself — especially as you struggle to cope with a lot more work and a lot less sleep! But while losing the last few pounds might be tough, diet and exercise really can get your body back to its pre-baby shape.

TIPS TO SHED THOSE FINAL POUNDS
No matter where you are on your post-baby weight loss journey, patience is the key. Sticking to a diet can be tricky with a baby, but these tips can help you stay on track:
Team up. You need all the support you can get — so get your partner on board. Take a walk instead of watching TV after dinner, and make a commitment to sticking to a post-baby diet together. Start by ridding your fridge and pantry of high-fat and processed foods, then stock up on fruits, veggies, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry and fish — and keep an eye out for each others' eating habits.
Don't discount the small stuff. Squeeze even a little extra activity into your daily routine. Every step counts, so don't discount the little things: You'd be amazed by how many calories you'll burn from a number of everyday mommy activities.
Stay positive. Focus on what you've accomplished so far and the weight you've already lost. If your skinny clothes are still too skinny, buy a couple of fun things that you'll enjoy wearing, get a new haircut or try new makeup to perk you up as you slim down.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Even mothers are bound to the standard rules of weight loss: less calories in than out. Remember that it took you nine months to gain the weight, and slimming down will likely be as challenging as it was before you began to pack on pregnancy pounds. And even when the scale hits a number you like, you may find your body’s shape is somewhat different than it was before birth. That’s OK — and a great reason to splurge on some new clothes that flatter the new you! So no matter how long it takes you to retire your pregnancy jeans, try not to get frustrated. While pregnancy might leave you with permanent stretch marks on your belly and slightly less perky breasts, healthy habits can help you shape up otherwise. And keep motivated by reminding yourself that you have created a fabulous human being who adores you — all of you...so instead of staring at your tummy, take a peek at your beautiful baby and cut yourself some slack.

Source:- http://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/losing-baby-weight