Quick Tips to Lose Weight

by Michelle Sutton-Kerchner

Warmer temperatures have arrived. Make sure your beach body is on its way …

It is the time of year when everyone appreciates some quick calorie burners. Storage bins seem to have shrunk our shorts and tank shirts. Swimwear surfaces threateningly from the bottoms of drawers. Our mind plays a loop of the Jaw’s theme song as we rummage for clothes that do not reveal a winter comforted by food.

Strength Train

Build lean muscle to complement your cardio workouts. Muscle helps you burn fat, even when at rest. The more muscle tone you develop, the more calories you will burn.

Restructure Your Cardio Workout

The average exerciser does not need to worry about excessive cardio workouts. However, if you’ve become obsessed with dropping those last 10 pounds, extra time on cardio sessions may be counterproductive. Your body may decrease the lean muscle mass needed to accelerate caloric burn. Although it is necessary to have some energy stored as fat for endurance events, every day does not hold a marathon to use it. Be sure to balance aerobic workouts with strength training.

Challenge Your Intensity

Fitness sessions don’t need to be long to be effective. Increase intensity to blast calories in a shorter timeframe. Interval training gets fast results using this theory. Short bursts of maximized cardio can be performed with your strength training workout. This allows muscles to recover as you mix aerobic conditioning into your session. Balance burns. You can manage to workout harder and faster by constantly shifting the focus. Of course, rest intervals rule!

Change Your Style

Variety is often all we need to nudge the scale. If you are drudging through a workout you’ve done since the holidays, imagine how bored your body is. Wake up a tired workout. Try new fitness classes, ask a trainer how to best use a new exercise machine, take a land workout to the water. To see change, you need to make changes!

Don’t Overdo It

Muscles recover during rest, which allows them to return to the next workout stronger and less susceptible to injury. You may be in a hurry to get reintroduced to your summer body, but excessive workouts are not a catalyst. If you feel compelled to honor a daily fitness routine, take advantage of the Center’s variety.

Alternate workouts. Recovery time does not need to mean downtime. Spend days in between cardio doing yoga, Pilates, or weights. Schedule regular visits to the pool where a full-body workout can be accomplished without the stresses of land routines.

Eliminate Poor Eating Habits

Diet is a huge element in weight loss success. Try to follow nutritional basics regularly. Load up on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Healthy carbohydrates are best enjoyed on days you strength train. Eat mostly veggies and protein on days slotted for cardio workouts or rest.

Always try to avoid processed foods and sugars. Monitor how much and when you are eating. Unnecessary calories are frequently munched away without mentally registering. A food journal to keep track of diet is a great self-discovery tool when trying to lose weight.

Give It Time

These tips can be a fast fix to stalled weight loss. You still must dedicate the time and energy. Losing weight too quickly is unhealthy and unproductive. And, the pounds often creep back. Focus on developing a healthier lifestyle, filled with fun activities and foods and fitness to fuel them. Somewhere along the way, you’ll accomplish a healthy weight. A watched scale never budges.

Image credit

Woman with weights: picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ARw1VFJiLc0jSU7veq6NtA

Food journal: flickr.com/photos/thenext28days/9264642405

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