| Losing weight is probably on the top of nearly | | | | about taking away or restricting you. Dieting is about |
| everyone's New Year's resolution this year. This is the | | | | change. You must change the way you think about |
| year you will get to your goal weight. All you have to | | | | food, the way you eat and the way you see food. |
| do is incorporate these simple steps into your life and I'll | | | | Don't make any drastic changes, because you will |
| show you how to lose weight. | | | | probably not be able to make them and simply get |
| 1) Drink lots of water - Drinking a lot of water (at least | | | | disappointed and that leads to quitting. |
| six to eight 8-ounce glasses a day) is very important | | | | Moderation is the key for any diet, for anyone. Add |
| for your health and it will help you shed pounds faster. | | | | foods to your diet that you never tried before. Eating a |
| Water hydrates your body and replenishes your | | | | variety of healthy foods is extremely important. You |
| system. | | | | should be eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, |
| It helps to flush out your intestines of anything that | | | | fish and grains. Change your grains to whole grains, as |
| shouldn't still be there and keeps your liver working like | | | | this is much healthier than processed, refined grains. |
| it should. Water will even help your skin, making it | | | | Eat fish at least twice a week if you can. You can |
| clearer, as well as making your hair healthier. Drinking | | | | increase your metabolism simply by eating six smaller |
| six to eight glasses of water a day may seem a bit | | | | meals daily rather than three larger meals. |
| overwhelming at first, but it is not that hard at all. The | | | | This will also help shrink your stomach so you don't |
| best part about adding more water to your diet is that | | | | feel that you need to eat so much in one sitting. There |
| it will force you to not drink other beverages that are | | | | are many healthy snacks out there such as peanuts, |
| not healthy, such as sodas, juices, coffee, etc. | | | | vegetables, fruit, yogurt, cheeses, cereals, pretzels and |
| 2) Exercise - Getting your body moving is vital to losing | | | | so on. These are also foods you should be able to eat |
| weight. You should start slow, especially if you haven't | | | | on the go. Food is not your enemy - it is your friend. |
| exercised in a while. After a couple of weeks of small | | | | Food is what gives us the fuel we need to do what |
| steps in exercise, such as walking once a day for | | | | we need to do in a day. However, without exercise, |
| thirty minutes, you need to start increasing the intensity | | | | dieting can be frustrating. We need to exercise as well |
| of your exercise. Increasing the intensity of your | | | | to use those calories and carbohydrates so we can |
| exercise and continually challenging yourself will help | | | | turn our fat into muscle, which brings me to my next |
| you lose weight easier, make you feel better, give you | | | | point of discussion. |
| more energy and help you drop weight faster than if | | | | 4) Gaining muscle - Gaining muscle just might be the |
| you just kept doing the same thing. | | | | most important aspect of your weight loss plan. With |
| Plus, it can get rather boring doing the same thing all | | | | more muscle (even just an added pound of muscle), |
| the time. Changing it up about once a week will keep it | | | | you will increase your metabolism. By increasing your |
| fun for you. The key to a good workout routine is | | | | metabolism, you will be burning fat even when you are |
| doing it at least three times a week (everyday is the | | | | sleeping! |
| best) and including aerobic exercise with weight | | | | With weight training, you can use dumbbells, ankle |
| training, which I will talk about below. Aerobics will help | | | | weights or a resistance workout. This will even help |
| your flexibility, keep your heart healthy, improve your | | | | make your bones healthier and stronger. Gaining |
| lung function and so much more. | | | | muscle may be just as important as the fat you lose. |
| 3) Diet - I know, the word sounds daunting, but it's not | | | | |