Healthy Weight Loss

A Body in Motion

Zumba is a very good cardiovascular activity. The body is always shifting, stepping and dancing in rhythmic cadence. This causes a high caloric expenditure which leads to weight loss. Factor in the fact that there is little recovery time and the body has no choice but to burn a lot of calories.

Bring in the Weigthts

Part of the Zumba workout involves the addition of weights. This is twofold. It increases the energy expenditure while simultaneously toning and strengthening the muscles. Muscle is very metabolically active, so this will cause more overall calorie expenditure.

Speed Down

Zumba is done in an interval fashion. This means that there are slow and fast rhythms being incorporated. The slower rhythms are the rest periods. This type of training has been known to burn more calories and also raise the body's metabolism for hours after the event.

Fun Before It's Done

A lot of times conventional exercise can be boring. This more often than not can lead to burnout and cause people to stop altogether. That is where Zumba differs. Being that it is "out of the box" and so different than the average step aerobics classes, people are generally left thirsting for more. When something is fun and interesting, adherence rates go up and weight goes down.

Disciplinary Action

Zumba can also help aid weight loss because it creates discipline. When an exercise routine becomes habitual and people enjoy it, this will bleed into other aspects of their lives that can further increase weight loss, such as diet. It is like a built in accountability factor that is going to make them stay on top of their eating habits and make only one trip to the buffet table instead of three.

Maybe you just had a baby or you've been trying to lose stomach weight for years. Whatever the case, it takes will power and determination to lose weight fast, especially in the stomach area. Here's how to lose stomach weight fast:

Instructions

1 Eliminate all white flour products from your diet and eat vegetables instead (preferably green leafy vegetables). Broccoli has protein and many health benefits so you can start with that, but don't forget the hundreds of other green leafy vegetables that are out on the market as well. Doing just the one step will help you lose stomach weight fast.
2 Eliminate sugar from your eating plan. Chocolate, candies, cookies, etc are super fun while you're eating them, but they completely sabotage any healthy diet and make your stomach fat. Sugar also makes you tired. If you eliminate all simple sugars from your diet, you'll soon be amazed at how much stomach weight you'll lose.
3 Be sure to eat five small meals a day. This takes some getting used to, but trust me, when you replace white flour products with vegetables and stop eating simple sugars, you will want that small healthy meal every 3-4 hours. Be sure to eat a source of protein at EVERY meal (eggs, meats, nuts, etc) since protein is the one thing that will keep you full until the next meal. If you think of your plate in thirds, one third will be protein, one third vegetables and one third complex carbohydrates (sweet potato, whole grain wild rice, etc). Eat things that look like they just came from the farm or field - the more natural it is, the healthier it is for you and the faster you will lose the stomach weight fast.
4 Drink a lot of water to help increase your stomach fat weight loss. You should drink at least 3 tall glasses of water a day. Those sugar drinks, coffees and sodas are going to get you NOWHERE - you will not lose weight fast while consuming those products. They sabotage your healthy diet just like cookies, cakes and candies. Eliminate the sugar drinks and drink water, milk and not from concentrate orange juice instead. V8's are great too if you can stand the salt.
5 Start exercising if you haven't already. Do cardio 4-5 times a week for 30-60 minute intervals. Do abdominal exercises too, but you need to realize that losing stomach weight fast has more to do with your diet than doing hundreds of crunches in the gym (and if you're doing hundreds of crunches, you're doing them wrong! - you should be exhausted at 12 reps per set). Weight training will help you burn fat fast too, so don't be afraid to pick up the weights.
6 Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. The more rested you are, the better your body performs.

Beginning and then committing to a weight loss program can be a real challenge. Hosting a weight loss contest with friends, family or co-workers is a fun way to bring together people and create a positive, motivating environment for your weight loss endeavors. Not only does the contest create a support group for individuals seeking motivation, it helps you track your progress throughout the duration of the contest.

Instructions

1 Create a weight loss chart with corresponding rows and columns for the names of all the participants and dates for weekly weigh-ins.
2 Schedule a time, date and location for the first weigh-in. Send out invitations and notices to all participants via email, social networking sites, in person, by phone or by mail. Include the prizes and incentives for the contest on your invitation flyer.
3 Conduct your first meeting and weigh-in. During the meeting, explain the rules and time frame of the contest and make sure everyone is comfortable with displaying their weight on the chart. If you wish, you can take a "before" picture of each participant and have everyone introduce themselves and their goals as an icebreaker. Also during the meeting, schedule future weigh-in times at approximately the same times each week.
4 Continue weigh-ins for the duration of the contest. If you wish, you can arrange weekly prizes for the "biggest loser" of the week. Smaller, weekly incentives for a long weight loss contest can boost motivation and make each weekly weigh-in more interesting. Prizes may include gift cards to healthy restaurants, merchants or services.
5 Calculate the total weight loss for each person at the end of the contest. To be fair, the best way to determine the winner is by percentage weight loss. To do this, subtract the final weight from the starting weight. Divide the difference by the starting weight to calculate the percentage weight loss. For example, if a participant starts out at 160 lbs and her final weight is 150 lbs, her total weight loss is 10 pounds (160 - 150 = 10). Divide the starting weight of 160 by total weight loss of 10 to receive the percentage weight loss, which is 16% (160 / 10 = 16).
6 Award the "biggest loser" with the grand prize and give incentives to the other participants. If you wish, take an "after" picture to compare the results. You can also send everyone a thank you note for participating and attach their personalized "before" and "after" photographs in the note.

Introduction to Metabolism

Your metabolism is the rate at which your body needs to burn calories in able to keep going. Metabolism can vary from person to person and can also vary depending on the time of day and the activity being performed. Your body's metabolism is constantly going, whether you are awake or sleeping, burning a continuous amount of calories to provide energy for the many systems of your body.

Differences in Metabolism

Metabolism is largely based on your body composition. Your body composition has to do with the percentage of muscle in your body versus the percentage of fat in your body. Muscles require a greater amount of calories than fat to stay working. This means that the greater percentage of muscle you have in your body, the higher your metabolism will be.

Metabolism and Weight Loss

Metabolism affects how fast you are able to burn calories. For every 3,500 you burn beyond what your body needs to operate, you can lose one pound of fat. The faster your metabolism is, the faster you are able to burn those 3,500 calories. This is why those with faster metabolisms tend to be slimmer, and also tend to be able to lose weight quicker than those with slower metabolisms.

Ways to Increase your Metabolism

The best way to increase your metabolism is to stop dramatic dieting and start working out. Though dieting is an important part of a weight loss program, cutting your calories too much can cause your body to believe it's starving. If your body feels it's starving, it will slow your metabolism down to conserve calories. The next step is increasing your muscle mass. As stated before, muscle requires a greater amount of calories to function. As you build up your muscle, your body will in turn increase its metabolism to insure that your new muscles work at their optimal level. The rest of your body benefits, because your body will target fat first to gain the calories needed to give energy to your muscles. The extra burned calories translates to lost fat, which then translates to greater, more successful weight loss.

Many people are anxious to lose weight as quickly as possible, for obvious reasons. This article discusses the steps to determining a safe, effective, and realistic weight loss goal for each week.

Instructions

1 First, note that according to the latest research, the prevailing consensus among weight loss specialists is that overweight individuals should strive to lose 1% of their body weight each week. Certainly discuss the matter with your doctor, but for most people, this percent will be safe and realistic. Understand that you will read and hear a great deal of advice that is contrary to this suggestion. If you are not comfortable with this advice, or do not agree with it, do whatever you and your doctor feel is best.
2 Next, understand that for the first two weeks of any diet and exercise program you will likely lose a great deal of water weight. If you lose this weight, it shows that you are on the right track. However, don't mistake this drop in scale weight as a loss of actual fat. Also, don't expect your weight loss to continue at this rate. In fact it would be unsafe to do so.
3 To compute 1%, take your current weight, and move the decimal point two places to the left. Then round to the nearest quarter pound. For example, a 329-pound person should aim to lose about 3.25 pounds per week. A 193-pound person should aim to lose about 2 pounds per week. A person who is only slightly overweight, and only needs to lose 10 pounds may need 6 to 10 weeks to safely and effectively accomplish this, even though they would probably prefer to lose it in 2 or 3 weeks.
4 Weigh in every week under the same conditions (same time of day, same day of the week, etc.), but don't make yourself crazy. You may have a week where you overeat, and yet still lose weight. You might have a week where you were really good, and yet actually gain weight. Compare your weight month to month to look for overall trends, just like you might do with your stock portfolio.
5 Recalculate your weekly weight loss goal once per month. Keep in mind that if you are quite heavy, you might start out by losing 3-4 pounds per week, but as you lose weight, that figure will drop to 1-2 pounds per week.
6 Understand that the most important part of weight loss is keeping the weight off. The slower you lose weight, the less likely it will be that you will put it back on. An analogy might be that the slower and more systematically you study for a test, the less likely you will be to forget the material.
7 Try to think of the bigger picture. If you average 2 pounds of weight loss per week, that's 100 pounds in a year. Think about how you will look in a bathing suit this July, compared to 100 pounds less next July. Also keep in mind that it's not like you are in jail for that year. You are still living your life, systematically working toward your goal. If you stay focused on your goal, you will certainly lose the weight that you need to. It may take a bit more time than you'd like it to, but you will reach your goal. I speak with firsthand experience.

You have probably heard of sassy water - the flavored water that is supposed to help you lose weight. On cold days, a hot cup of tea is what you crave. Why not indulge in a cup of spicy tea that can help you win the battle against belly fat. This tea uses several ingredients that are known to promote weight loss. Cinnamon helps to control insulin levels, and prevent spikes that can trigger the body to start storing fat. Oranges, and other citrus fruits, are useful in flushing fats from the body. Green tea is believed to help with weight loss. This weight loss tea is so good, you'll love it hot or cold, all year long.

Instructions

1 Brew a pot of green tea. To the teapot, add 1 orange, thinly sliced, 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger and 2 cinnamon sticks. Allow the tea to steep for 30 minutes. For a darker, richer tea use a combination of green tea and black or orange pekoe tea. This will still provide all of the benefits of green tea, only with a deeper flavor.
2 Remove the cinnamon sticks, ginger and orange slices from the teapot and discard. You may need to pour the tea through a sieve or filter to remove all of the pieces of grated ginger.
3 Serve the tea hot with a cinnamon stick for garnish, or pour it over ice for a refreshing drink on a hot day. If desired, you may sweeten the tea to taste with a no calorie sweetener or just a bit of all natural honey.
4 Store the unused tea in the refrigerator, and reheat individual cups in the microwave.

Have you hit the dreaded weight loss plateau?

Are you frustrated because the weight loss has just stopped?

Here are 4 simple ways to break through a weight loss plateau.

Instructions

1 The first thing you need to do is make sure that you are following your diet program. We frequently lie to ourselves in order to justify cheating on our diets. If you haven't been fully following your diet plan then you need to start there before reading on.
2 Before we move on to the steps to break a weight loss plateau, we must understand why it happens. Your body desires to be in a state of homeostasis, it does not like change. When change occurs it has to work harder. That's why changing your routine is so important in order to continue your weight loss.
3 Tip 1 - Increase your calories. The first tip to break a plateau is by increasing your calorie consumption by 500 calories per day for 7-10 days. That doesn't mean go off your diet. You just need to give your body a little nudge to get it going in the right direction.
Increase your carbohydrate intake to give your body a break from carb restrictions. After the 7-10 days cut your calories back to where they were. This will help give your body a nice little shock that can you get back on track.
4 Tip 2 - Your intensity level. When trying to drop those last few pounds it is often an issue of intensity that is causing your weight loss plateau. In these situations you need to crank up the dieting and exercising for a few weeks to help you blast through it.
Exercising a little harder or being a little stricter on your diet can give you that extra little boost that you need.
5 Tip 3 - Change your exercise routine. The way you exercise can play a vital role in how you burn fat. Doing the same routine for too long allows your body to adapt and work more efficiently. If you have been using the same workout routine for more than 4-6 weeks it's time for a change.
A Simple solution to this problem is to change how you workout. For example, add weight training to your program or increase your sets and reps or change how many days a week you workout. Do this every 4-6 weeks to keep your body from adapting.
6 Tip 4 - Reduce your carbohydrates. Yes this is the opposite from the first tip but it can work really well to help you break through your weight loss plateau. By lowering your carb intake down to a ketogenic level it forces your body into a fat burning mode. This works best if you aren't already on a low carb diet (less than 100g/day).
Try lowering your carb intake to 20-40g/day for 2 weeks whenever you hit a plateau. This is the most difficult of all of the tips but also the most shocking to your body.
7 As frustrating as weight loss plateaus are, they are a normal physiological occurrence. That's why it is always important to change up your routine in order to keep your body from adapting. By using one of the strategies listed above you will be able to break through your plateaus and continue to lose weight.
8 While you are here please take a moment to check out the resources area below for more tips and information. For other how to tips don't forget to check my profile and to take a look at other articles on ehow.