Author: wlcnadmin

Developing A Healthy Lifestyle Guide

Living a healthy lifestyle is difficult for most people, including myself. For half of my life I have tried to adhere to a basic healthy lifestyle guide by not eating fast food, limiting soda and eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. I thought this was good enough but then I watched my weight increase. Of course the first thing I blamed was my age; many individuals I talked to told me that as one ages the slower the metabolism gets therefore weight is retained. Hearing this was discouraging and reconciling with this belief was difficult for me to accept. So I resolved it was time to hire a personal trainer and find out what I could do to slow down the weight increase.

The first notion my personal trainer exposed was age does not decide weight gain and altering your lifestyle will help maintain a healthy weight. We then started exploring the certain aspects of how people gain weight and the three main factors needed to be changed to meet a healthy lifestyle guide: nutrition, cardiovascular activity and resistance training. 

The first sessions with my fitness coach we spent a lot of time reviewing my nutrition and observed I was lacking balance. I tended to eat lots of fruit, not enough vegetables and overdose on carbs. My coach introduced me to the 50-30-20 diet; each meal will be made up of 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 20% fat. He then told me to eat 5 meals a day with each meal following the the 50/30/20 guideline and finally rationing my calorie consumption to 1750-2000 which averaged out to be about 350-400 calories per meal.

I published my meals following the 50,30,20 guidelines on my website easyportions.com.

After completing the nutrition plan we turned our attention to exercise. Analyzing my current workout regime highlighted my workouts were not intense enough and the time I spent exercising were not an efficient use of my time. The new goals for each workout session focused on burning fat through cardio intensity and building muscles.

The design of my new cardio workout sessions focused on pushing past my Target Heart Rate (THR) via interval training. Interval training means exercising at high intensity for 1 minute followed by 2 minutes lower intensity and repeating the rounds four times for a total of 20-25 minutes. One of my favorite cardio workouts is running up and down a steep hill – the steeper the better; the routine begins with a five minute warm-up usually walking down the hill. The intervals are running up the hill for one minute, walk down the hill for two minutes then turn around and run back up the hill for 1 minute; this routine I did 4 times and end the workout with a five minute cool down period. The benefit of including hills in the cardiovascular program is if running up the hill is too daunting walking up a hill still increases the heart rate.

The final portion of my new healthy lifestyle guide focused on increasing my muscle mass. My personal trainer and I started with largest muscle groups which are the legs, back and chest; building up muscles lets the body to burn fat during resting periods. Resistance training started with lunges, squats, push ups and rows using basic body weight then increasing the load as I became stronger.

Pulling all the components of training together, my weekly scheduled is:

  * Monday – Cardio
  * Tuesday – Resistance
  * Wednesday – Cardio
  * Thursday – Resistance
  * Friday – Cardio
  * Saturday – Cardio and Resistance
  * Sunday – Rest

Following the steps highlighted by my coach and sticking to my healthy lifestyle guide I have felt healthier than I have in years. I hope sharing my ideas can give you the boost you need to begin your journey.

To learn more about me and for more information visit my website.

Just in Case You Needed It – Two More Good Reasons to Lose Weight

Men and women each have a new good reason to lose weight. According to two recent studies, obesity is linked to lower sperm count in men, and for women, obesity may increase the likelihood of birth by cesarean section. For many people, creating the sustained motivation to lose weight is a stumbling block.
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Fasting to Lose Weight

In the Bible it states that one should fast once a week, that it will cleanse the body. This is very true, but many take fasting too far. It does rid your body of toxins it flushes out waste, fat and other harmful things that get trapped in our intestines. Water is good but you can also drink other liquids, but be sure there is no sugar or cream in them.
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How To Minimize Your Weight By Implementing Only A Few Easy Changes

Your self esteem can reach an all time low if you look in the mirror and hate what you see. Whether you are a little overweight or a lot, you know the fat is there, and it makes you feel self-conscious. Many people look for the miracle diets or even half kill themselves dieting and exercising, only to fall back into the same pattern afterward. There are strategies on how to lose weight fast that help with just a few simple changes in your life.

Of course everyone will tell you that exercise is the key. That is true, but really you just want to move your body, do something and not sit around all the time. Skip the car and the bus when you can and walk to where you need to go. Forego the elevator and take the stairs at least once a day if you have the choice. Don’t force yourself to do things you hate, build up a habit so that you automatically do things that are good for your body and that give you natural exercise.

Discriminate against white food. This is probably the easiest yet hardest things to overcome. All those delicious white carbohydrates just calling your name in the form of bread, potatoes, pasta, cakes, and anything else that is white or made with flour. These are not your friends. They may make your feel good, but they won’t make you look good. The exception though is if you do a workout, eating some white carbs after is acceptable and generally needed.

Skip the calorie intense drinks. People tend to forget that they can drink their calories as well as eat them. Drink your coffee and tea without the sugar and cream; grab a diet cola instead of a sugar filled one. And, remember to drink plenty of water.

One tip successful dieters share is eating the same meals again and again. Create a selection of good for you foods that taste great, and mix and match them so it doesn’t get too boring. Add plenty of good proteins like lean beef, egg whites, chicken breasts, and pork. Don’t skimp on the vegetables, things like peas, spinach, and mixed vegetables are full of good stuff and will fill you up without adding the extra calories.

Eating several small meals a day will actually help you lose weight, and eating as much as you want will help by keeping you full of the good foods. Replacing the pasta and rice with vegetables will cut down your calorie intake by at least 200 calories per meal.

The downfall of many who seek fat burning is that they restrict all the “bad” foods. So when they crash, they crash hard, overeating and giving up on the diet because they feel they have no self-control. If you restrict yourself from all those foods, you set yourself up for a fall. Take one day a week and make it your crazy food day. Eat whatever you want, whenever you want. If fast-food is your weakness, then enjoy it. Candy and chocolate calling you, then eat it. One day of eating what you want will actually help maintain your metabolism and prevent you from failing.

Losing weight and dieting can be hard but it doesn’t have to be impossible. These few simple tips on how to lose weight fast will work, and the small changes will make a big difference. You can have great tasting food that is good for you. If you need help just look up some recipes online so you can make the most of every meal and still lose fat.

What You Should Know About Exercises To Tone Your Legs

If you have a flabby and unshapely legs the tendency is you feel embarrass most of the time. Makes you uncomfortable especially if you wear your short dresses and skirts. Below are some helpful exercises to tone your legs. This is not difficult to do, everybody can do it!

Wall Squat with ball

Place stability ball against wall approximately lower back height.

  1. Starting Position: Lean your lower back against ball and take approximately one step forward with each foot~Do this: Allow your lower back to lean against the ball then take about a step forward with each footStarting Position: Place your lower back against the ball then move each foot a step forward. Feet should be slightly wider than hip width apart.
  2. Bend your hips and knees then lower your body until the thighs are parallel to the ground. If possible DO NOT allow knees to extend past the big toe.
  3. Repeat the first position.
  4. Remember to keep back and head straight in a neutral position.
  5. Proper knee Allignment should be noted- you should not let front knee extend past big toe or deviate laterally or medially. Note: Take a 30 sec rest between sets.

Sidelying scissors

  1. Start by lying on your side and raising both legs slightly off the ground.
  2. kick your legs in opposite directions in a scissor type motion.
  3. Upon finishing the total number required, do it again to the other side. Instructor’s comments: no rest between sides

Adductor Raise

  1. Lie on your side and lean up on your elbow. Your top foot should be over your lower thigh.
  2. Maintaining this position and raise your lower leg keeping it straight.
  3. Repeat for the required number of repetitions and then repeat with the other leg.Instructor’s comments: no rest between sides

High Knee Drill

  1. Stand in place with feet hip width apart.
  2. Drive knee up towards chest and quickly place the foot back on the ground.
  3. Drive other knee up in a moderate to fast jog with minimal ground contact time. Trainer’s comments: do a 5 minutes warm up.

Calf Raise

  1. Start position: Stand with feet hip width apart leaning against a ball or stand on the edge of a step on the balls of your feet with heels hanging over edge. The toes should be pointed forward.
  2. Contract calves by pushing off balls of feet to raise heels up in air (standing on toes)
  3. Lower heels and repeat.
  4. Remember to keep knees slightly bent throughout movement to prevent any knee strain. Trainer’s comments: 30 sec rest between sets.

Hamstring Curl with stability ball

  1. Assume back lying position on floor. Place hands at sides with palms down on floor.
  2.  Starting position: Place heels of both feet on top of stability ball.. Brought your hips away from the floor.
  3. Curl heels toward glutes by flexing at the knee. Hips should remain off floor.
    Repeat the first position
    Maintain your stability with that ball then make use of your trunk muscle and core. To increase difficulty, cross arms hands over chest to take away base of support. Trainer’s comments: rest 30 sec between sets.

If you’re serious about having well toned legs, then taking action right now is necessary.
For more exercises that tone your legs visit us at
http://www.exercisesforgreatlegs.com/category/how-to-firm-legs