Posted: 4. January, 2012
Here are ten easy steps to a better body:
1. Mental preparation – This is the key, according to fitness expert. You have to want it to get it. If you don’t make the decision to stick with the program, don’t even begin.
“Sometimes, people say to me: ‘Oprah’s got it easy because she has a personal trainer and chef,” says personal trainer of Oprah Winfrey. ‘That’s baloney. No one can run for you. She was on the track every morning. She deserved the results she achieved.”
2. Intensity and endurance – These are celebrity fitness guru’s twin exercise gospels, but before beginning any exercise program, check with your doctor first.
If you’re really overweight, walking is the easiest exercise to begin with. Oprah Winfrey started with that, graduated to jogging and then eventually to running marathons!
3. Rev up your workout engine – The first step to svelteness is to get moving. Walking is highly aerobic and puts very little stress on your joints, explains an expert. First, warm up by walking a bit and then do some stretching. To walk correctly, hold your chin up and shoulders back, but don’t bend forward.
Start slowly with a ten-minute workout, then gradually work your way up to 20 to 45 minutes a day at least five days a week. “You have to view this as a part of your daily life,” he adds.
4. Set realistic goals – Also, allow yourself triumphs and breakthroughs. Don’t try to lose 25 pounds a week. Set a goal and don’t give up if you fail to reach it.
5. Record your efforts – Keep a diary or home video so you can monitor your exercise and see your success. Write “I want to lose X pounds by whatever date,” then write “I lost X pounds” when you get there.
If you lost your goal amount or more, great. If you fell short, that’s great, too, because you still lost something. Weigh yourself every week at the same time, the same day, without fail.
6. De-fat your diet. “That means tossing out or giving away the high-fat items like salad dressing, potato chips, cookies and cakes that are in your refrigerator and pantry,” says fitness buff.
Eat approximately 20 grams of fat per day. If you go to 22, it’s OK. “If you do this, you’re going to lose weight – it’s guaranteed,” she adds.
7. Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily – preferably veggies – They have more complex carbohydrates and take more energy to burn.
Eat three meals and two snacks each day to spread your calories out, and never eat within two hours of bedtime. Also, drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
“And no alcohol,” says one health consultant. “It slows down the metabolism.”
8. Set up a challenge – Once you’ve started exercising, eating right and losing the weight, set a challenge for yourself. “Sometimes, it’s hard to keep going on an exercise program if you don’t have a goal in sight,” says one gym trainer.
Oprah wanted to run that marathon … and she did! Yours could be walking a mile, going for a bike ride, climbing a steep hill – whatever.
9. Maintain your weight loss – Don’t quit once you reach your goal weight. “Make the commitment to daily exercise and healthy, low-fat eating,” says Oprah. “If I can do it, anyone can.”
10. Give yourself a makeover – Once you reach your ideal weight, treat yourself to some new clothes, hairstyle and makeup. It’s a whole new you on the inside – why not treat the outside?
Related Posts:
Add your comment