Many people want to stay in shape and improve their health but have a difficult time maintaining a regimen that works for them.
These simple steps will help you start a workout program that works for you and will enable you to continue, even when you don't feel like making it to the gym.
Steps
Don't drink your calories: This is the most important rule to follow. Try not to drink anything that has calories; only drink water!
A good rule of thumb for how much water you should drink is to divide your weight in half and that number in ounces is your recommended daily water intake.
Therefore, if you weigh about 200 lbs., you should drink about 100 oz. per day.
Be natural: This means only eat natural food. Don't panic now!
Natural or naturally occurring food or food products are those which are minimally processed and remain as close as possible to their whole, original state.
Natural foods are much better and generally more nutritious than their refined counterparts.
Plan your portions: If you are hungry do not randomly snack, you will end up eating too much.
Take your time to carefully select a meal that will leave you satisfied and at the same time isn't big enough to allow you to surpass your point of fullness.
It is best to eat small portions five times a day to maintain a high metabolism.
Eat at home: Dining out is great, but do not do it all the time!
While this can be difficult if you travel a lot, if you do go out to eat, try your best to stick with the above rules.
Sugar is your enemy: Surely you have heard this a thousand times, but it is true. If you love candy, cookies and sweets, you should do your best to give them up - at least for a short time.
Stay away from the sweets, especially until you get to your goal weight. It really can be done!
Stay away from salty foods: When you eat salty foods, such as potato chips, you naturally get thirsty.
However, the water you drink to rehydrate yourself is stored in your body as water weight (this is mainly caused by food that contains a lot of salt).
If you want to lose a couple of pounds, avoid food that has a lot of salt.
Eat more lean protein: The most often overlooked macro nutrient, protein, will help you greatly for getting into shape.
With the same amount of calories as a carbohydrate, protein is used to build and restore body tissue, most notably muscle. Not only will the added protein increase your metabolism (and thus burn calories), it will also help you defeat muscle soreness after a good workout.
Make sure to increase your protein with your level of exercise to avoid gout or other uric acid related disorders.
Set your weight goal: You need to set goals in order to be successful in anything. Set a weight goal, but NOT a date goal!
It is not important how fast you achieve your weight, so dates are not important. Health is always better than speed!
Get up and move: Exercise is a very important part of getting in shape, but sometimes you might miss a workout.
Even if this happens, you could pick some exercise, such as push-ups, and do that consistently no matter what interferes with the rest of your workout plans.
Try doing 20 push-ups every morning before you get into the shower. Make it part of your daily routine. It may seem insignificant, but after some time you will actually see a significant change in your body shape.
Start exercising: Take walks, join a gym, go jogging, or take a dance class – whatever you prefer.
Instead of making it your New Year’s Resolution each year to exercise more, make each Monday a new chance to get on track.
Find a Partner: Studies show, if you have someone else pushing you and doing the exercises with you, then it's going to be easier to stay on track.
Relax on the weekends: It is important to follow the rules above. However, it's okay to relax on the weekends.
This means, do allow yourself to go out to dinner and eat some sweets on the weekend. This may sound contradictory, but it's the real deal.
If you have a craving, go for it. Anytime you have a craving for something that does not really conform to your diet rules - such as pizza, sweets or fried chicken - wait for the weekend to have them; make them your weekend treats.
You can still follow the rules, but modify them a bit to fit in your cravings. A day or two of eating more than you're supposed to can actually make your metabolism kick in and cause a net weigh loss.
Do not, however, use this as an excuse to binge eat, or else you will undo all your hard work.
Tips
While working out, don't forget to rehydrate your body. Don't go too often without taking a drink of water.
If you don't have (or want!) other people to exercise with, try getting an iPod and listening to pod-casts while you exercise.
This makes the exercise time feel less like 'lost time' and more like 'productive time', since you're now learning or being entertained while you work out.
Understand what fat is. When you eat something, it's made up of many different things (protein, carbs, fat, vitamins, etc.).
Food gets measured in calories. The calories are units of energy, that get stored as fat in your body for emergencies. Depending on your genetics the fat will get stored in certain areas (most likely thighs, butt, stomach, arms, etc).
Set goals. For example: lose an inch off your waist, fit into a size 8 dress, etc.
If the goal is met, celebrate by going to dinner as a group (no kids!), a day at the spa, or plan a shopping trip together. This gives you something to look forward to.
Don't try to work out everyday of the week. You should have at least 2-3 rest days. Give your body time to rest! Your resting time is essential.
When exercising, don't forget to stretch first.
Know that "getting in shape" does not mean losing weight, unless that is your personal goal.
A proper goal for you may be overall fitness, and to achieve that, you will exercise and improve your nutrition.
Find other like-minded people from work or your community. Having a support group is a form of "peer pressure."
You'll be more inclined to stick with the program when you have others relying on you to show up. Decide where and when you will meet to work out (could be a gym, someone's house, etc.).
Start a Fitness blog - Posting updates and charting your own journey can be a great motivation tool.
Sharing your story and gaining followers can be a great aid to keeping your goals on track.
If you workout with a friend, you might want to do something like trading workout shoes.
By doing this little step, you will compel yourself to go to the gym--or your friend will be shoeless!
Warnings
Always warm-up before doing any exercise.
Never sleep immediately after having your meals.
With any workout regimen, start slow and build up as you feel you can.
Starting off with too strenuous a workout plan can lead to sore muscles and burn-out.
By Snow Wolf, Awesome Me123, Jeffrey
