Everyone has heard all the jokes about lifetime memberships at gyms and because of the trickery, the mirrors or the crowds many people decide to opt out of using a gym membership to help them lose weight. The good news is that avoiding the gym no longer means using cans to tone your biceps because you can purchase gym equipment for your home.

{Dumbbells can help you sculpt your upper body at home!}

The bad news is that gym equipment can become a huge expense if you’re not smart about your choices. Be realistic about what you need and what you can afford and you can have the gym equipment you need to get an effective workout each day.

Keep reading to learn more about losing weight at home.

Dumbbells

Dumbbells are an essential piece of equipment for any home gym. A pair of dumbbells can help you work your upper body using a wide variety of grips and exercises. Getting a pair or two of dumbbells doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money either. You can start with one pair or buy a pair of a lower weight and then a heavier set once your muscles begin to develop more.

Don’t worry about heavy weights giving you giant bodybuilder arms because they won’t. What they will do however is make sure your workout remains challenging so you constantly burn calories and build muscle. The good thing about dumbbells is that you can test them out so you find just the right size.

Here are a few exercises you can do with your dumbbells;

• Chest flies: Lying flat on an exercise mat or bench, hold the dumbbells above your chest in front of you and bend elbows slightly. Open your arms out to the sides but don’t go all the way to the floor. When your arms are parallel to the ground, return to starting position and repeat.
• Shoulder presses: Sit on a bench or stand up straight with your dumbbells over your head. Lower dumbbells down to your shoulders. When your elbows are at an 90° angle, press the dumbbells back up above your head and repeat.

Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are the perfect home gym equipment because you can do tons of different exercises and you can take them with you anywhere. Resistance bands are inexpensive and they come in different colors reflecting the different levels of tension. This will help you get an intense workout to fit your goals.

If your goal is bigger muscles then you’ll want a band with greater tension, while if your plan is to simply tone you can get a resistance band with less tension. Whether you travel or simply need to get some exercise in during the day you can toss your resistance band in your briefcase and do a few sets during lunch.

Try these resistance band exercises to get your started:

• Bicep curls: stand on resistance band with the ends in your hand and perform basic bicep curls.
• Chest Presses: Lie down on the floor with resistance bands under your back and the ends in each hands. Press one arm at a time towards the ceiling and return to starting position and repeat with the opposite arm.
• Lunges: Stand in traditional lunge position and place resistance band under the front foot with ends in each hand. Lower your body down by bending at the tip and knee until your front thigh is parallel with the floor and return to start position. Finish repetitions on one side and switch legs.

Jump Ropes

If running isn’t your thing and you’re looking for a way to get in enough cardio, then consider jumping rope. First of all you should add a jump rope to your home gym equipment because it is an amazing calorie burner! One hour of moderate paced jumping will burn 931 calories, and because you can take the jump rope with you anywhere you can break it up into 15-minute increments for a massive amount of fat burning.

Jump ropes are inexpensive, easy to transport and provide you with the most convenient way to get cardio exercise without leaving the comfort of home!

Exercise Mat

An exercise mat is an essential piece of home gym equipment because it allows you to perform exercises easily on carpet. So if you like yoga, pilates or sweating to exercise videos you’ll need an exercise mat to make sure you can perform them correctly. No more gym shoes skidding against carpet as you try to do basic jumping jacks, because now you have an inexpensive and easy to transport exercise mat.

{Do yoga, Pilates or workout videos with your exercise mat!}

If you don’t have carpet in  your home, use an exercise mat to do floor exercises like crunches, plank exercises and push ups. If you prefer circuit training to traditional cardio and strength training exercises then you’ll need an exercise mat to help you complete your floor exercises as well as any movements that require foot movements.

Medicine Ball

Medicine balls are a great way to improve flexibility as well as core strength. Similar to resistance bands, medicine balls come in various weights that range from 2 pounds up to 25 pounds. It is up to you to decide the ball that best suits your exercise needs.

If you need to improve your range of motion for sports, better flexibility or even physical therapy a medicine ball is just the type of gym equipment you need at home.

These are cheap and easy pieces of gym equipment to get you started so that you can workout from the comfort of your home. When you’re able to workout regularly you will experience greater weight loss results and a well toned body. Only when you’ve put this inexpensive gym equipment at home to good use should you consider more expensive equipment.

Instead of an expensive treadmill, stationary bicycle or elliptical machine, take a run or use your jump rope to help you get cardio. There’s no reason to spend a lot of money developing a home gym when there is inexpensive gym equipment that can help you get the job done.

Now that you have a shopping list for your home gym, it’s time to learn how to eat for weight loss. Read our review of Eat Stop Eat to learn more about intermittent fasting for weight loss.

Heart disease is known as the silent killer, taking the lives of over 600,000 Americans per year. These statistics are typical throughout the western world, with countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Australia all seeing large increases in the rate of death from the so-called ‘diseases of affluence’: cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, due to the sedentary lifestyles that are led in those countries.

{Spice up your morning oatmeal with berries & nuts for good heart health!}

Heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease, is caused by the buildup of fatty deposits along the inside walls of your arteries. These fatty deposits restrict the flow of blood through your arteries to your heart, and when the heart doesn’t get enough oxygen due to a lack of blood, a heart attack can occur.

It is high cholesterol levels in your blood that causes these fatty deposits to build up inside the walls of your arteries. And that is why if you are overweight one of the things that you must make a priority is learning how to lower your cholesterol in a safe and natural manner.

First of all, start exercising. Get your body moving. If you have high cholesterol levels, then you are probably overweight and/or have elevated sugar levels in your blood. And the amazing thing is that exercise can be used to treat all of these conditions.

Now, if you are seriously overweight, you are going to have to ease into this and follow your doctor’s recommendations regarding any restrictions to your activity level, as well as following your doctor’s suggestions regarding any medications to control your cholesterol.. However, if there are no restrictions, then there are two types of exercises to perform…strength training to build muscle and cardiovascular exercise to build your aerobic conditioning.

And by far the most important of the two types of exercises for fat loss, lowering your weight and lowering your cholesterol is…strength training!

This probably wasn’t the answer that you were expecting, so let me explain to you why this is the case.

Most people are under the misguided notion that the way to lose fat is just to cardio exercise after cardio exercise. But your body will adapt to this. This is why you see the same people at the gym on the treadmill day after day not getting any results.

To get the results you want…to build muscle, lower your weight, burn fat and lower your cholesterol, you must turn your body into a more effective fat burning machine. And the only way to do this is to add muscle to your frame.

Now, this is not what most women want to hear. What they were hoping I’d say is that 30 minutes on the treadmill while they are talking to their friends is enough.

Sorry, ladies, but you are just wasting your time.

But at the same time, I am not saying that you need to become an Olympic power lifter either. What I am referring to is about 90 minutes worth of strength training a week, which would be encapsulated into three 20-30 minute routines of body weight and resistance band exercises that could be done from home.

And the best part about using a set of resistance bands is that you can bring the gym with you anywhere, on vacation, to the office, wherever. They are a versatile piece of fitness equipment and owning a pair will allow you to save a small fortune on gym memberships.

{Resistance bands can help you lower your cholesterol and weight in a healthy natural way.}

And even though I emphasize the strength training, I do not wish to neglect getting in a proper cardio workout. If you are going to do your strength training three days a week, you should aim for three days a week of some form of aerobic activity. Which one is the best in my opinion?

Walking. Anyone can do it, you can do it anywhere, you need no special equipment and you don’t need a gym. Shoot for at least 30 minutes walking at a 4mph pace to cover 2 miles, and then, as you start to build your endurance as well as lose some weight, you can mix in some light jogging to increase the intensity of your workouts.

But apart from the physical changes you can make to lower your cholesterol, there are several other steps that you can take as well by improving the foods you eat…

• Eliminate any food with ‘partially hydrogenated’ anything in the nutrition facts label. These are the so-called ‘trans fats’ that are simply awful for you.
• Limit your sugar intake…this will help you lower your cholesterol and lose weight.
• Start to add more fibrous foods to your plate. One of the best things to do would be to eat a high fiber meal for breakfast. This way it will fill you up, you won’t eat as much throughout the day, you’ll lose weight and lower your cholesterol.One awesome recipe I could give you would be to take a package of Quaker Oats High Fiber Cinnamon Swirl Oatmealand add one tablespoon of all-natural peanut butter to it [watch and make sure it’s all-natural. A lot of peanut butter brands, such as Skippy’s, contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil…the trans fats that I warned you about above]. Add ½ cup of water and microwave for about 2 minutes. When it comes out, add a handful of blueberries and a handful of almonds to the oatmeal.You are left with a great breakfast that is easy to make, quick to eat and contains unbelievable benefits for your health. Try it once and it will be a staple for life.
• Start eating smaller meals more frequently. This has been called the grazing diet but studies have shown that by eating smaller, more frequent meals you can lower your cholesterol and sugar levels more than someone who eats the same exact amount of food a day but eats it in three square meals daily. How we eat is as important as what we eat.

These are just a few of the tips that you can use to lower your cholesterol naturally, and reach the point where you no longer need to take a statin drug any longer.

About The Author:
Tony Rovere regained his health, strength and vitality by losing 60 pounds and managing to keep it off for over 4 years.

This is why he created Health-and-weight-loss-tips.com, where he shares his passion for health and fitness with others so that they can accomplish the same goals that he has achieved.

Exercising is an essential part of fat loss and there is just no way around that. But it can become overwhelming to figure out what type of workout to do and how frequently to do it, especially with so much information available. You know there needs to be strength training as well as cardio exercise, but which takes precedence and which one should be done more frequently?

{Don’t shy away from strength training exercises; they help you tone and burn!}

The key to finding and sticking to a fat loss program is to find the right workout schedule that will produce weight loss success. Keep reading to create a workout schedule for your weight loss!

Fat Loss Goals

Creating a workout schedule is about losing fat but it isn’t about obsessing over numbers on a scale. Reducing your overall body fat is the main goal and you might not like the results if your only gauge is your weight. A proper workout schedule should include both strength training and cardio, which means that you will build lean muscle and that can sometimes register as weight gain.

Keep this in mind as you create a workout schedule that works for you.

Strength Training & Cardio Exercise

When you sit down to create a workout schedule for weight loss you have to make sure you factor in time for strength training as well as cardio exercise. Exercise is an integral part of successful weight loss as well as reducing the risk of weight related illnesses, according to an October 2010 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It is important that you get both types of exercise because while strength training does build muscle and burn calories, cardio is a more efficient way to burn calories.

When it comes to creating a workout schedule for weight loss success it will be up to you to decide how you divide up your workouts. One way to set up your schedule includes alternating between cardio and strength training, factoring in at least 1 day of rest to allow your muscles to recuperate.

{Get creative with cardio options so your workout schedule doesn’t get boring.}

Workout Calendar

Create a workout schedule and place it on a calendar so you remember what your workout goals are each day, but also so that you don’t allow yourself to “forget” about your workouts. A calendar is particularly helpful so you can keep track of each exercise in that day’s workout regimen. Similar to a diet journal, a workout calendar will help you adhere to your workout schedule by holding you accountable for your fat loss.

Fat Loss & Muscle Building Schedule

Day One: Legs & Shoulders

Day Two: Yoga or Day Off

Day Three: Cardio & Abdominals

Day Four: Triceps & Chest

Day Five: Day Off or Pilates

Day Six: Biceps & Back training

Day Seven: 40 minute jog or brisk walk

Remember as you progress in your workout schedule you can stick to the same schedule but you will have to increase the intensity in order to keep seeing results. This also means that you should start at a level that allows you to build up the intensity. Don’t start with weights that are too heavy for your current ability and don’t try to run yourself into cardiac arrest. But don’t also allow yourself to give up too easily; just be realistic about your abilities so that you can see fat loss results each week.

If you prefer a workout without weights, consider this workout schedule;

Day One: Circuit Training & Abs

Day Two: Full Body Workout

Day Three: Day Off

Day Four: Circuit Training & Abs

Day Five: Full Body Workout

Day Six: Day Off

Day Seven: Circuit Training & Abs

You can also switch up some circuit training days with other physical activities like a tennis, hiking, basketball or swimming. This allows you to keep your workouts interesting without changing your workout schedule. The more physical activity you add into each week, the fewer traditional workouts you have to do, but you should always make time for strength training.

Workout Time

In the early stages of your exercise regimen you should aim for 30 to 40 minutes of exercise plus an additional 10 minutes of cool down and stretching. If you can’t make time to do the entire workout at once, then split it up into 2 parts because the most important thing is that you stick to the workout schedule.

As you get fitter you will want to increase your workout times as well as your intensity in order to get the same fat loss benefits. If you stick with the same level of intensity for too long, you will start to notice that you aren’t seeing the same results that you saw in the beginning. If you don’t feel as tired after your workout as you used to, that could be in indicator that its time to give your workout a boost.

Create Your Workout Schedule

Now that you have an idea of what a workout schedule for weight loss should look like, you can start to add your own exercises into the schedule. Just make sure that you’re targeting all the important muscle groups including the shoulders, back, abs, thighs, biceps & triceps and chest. Mix up the types of arm exercises or thigh exercises or any other type of exercises you add to your workout routine; this will keep you and your muscles interested in your workout each day.

{This Insanity Workout calendar provides a great model for a good workout schedule.}

Figure out what, if any, exercise equipment that you will need to help you stick to your workout schedule. Whether its dumbbells or resistance bands, make sure you’re prepared to implement your workout schedule. If you need to get a gym membership or go get specific exercise equipment make a list once your workout schedule is complete so you have everything you need to get started.

Always keep water and a towel handy throughout your workout sessions and choose workout gear that is comfortable and allows you to perform your exercises properly.

Successful weight loss requires sticking to your workout schedule as well as eating healthy. Now that you’re prepared to put your workout schedule into action, all you need to do is find a way to eat for weight loss. Read our review of Eat Stop Eat to find out why intermittent fasting may be more effective for weight loss than everyday calorie restrictions.

So much about weight loss is about calories. Counting calories you eat and drink, counting calories you burn through exercise and even counting calories burned at rest. Unfortunately if your workout of choice isn’t a treadmill or elliptical machine you have no idea how many calories you’re burning as you sweat it out at the gym.

{Who would’ve thought gardening as a calorie burning activity?}

Wouldn’t it be great if you could at least have an idea of how many calories you burn when you exercise, play a sport or even do basic activities around the house? Keep reading to find out how many calories you burn everyday!

General Activities

When most of us think about burning calories we only think about the calories burned when we lift weights or strap on our running shoes, the truth is that you burn calories doing plenty of other things as well. Because you’re burning additional calories doesn’t mean you should work out less, it just means that you should consider these activities if you’re legitimately finding it difficult to make time for a full-fledged workout.

Keep in mind that the number of calories you burn during exercise and other physical activities will vary based on your current weight. But regardless of your weight, an increase in physical activity is a great way to reduce your risk of obesity and heart disease according to a 2009 study in Clinical Cardiology.

Cleaning house can cause you to work up quite a sweat yet we very rarely think of cleaning and dusting as a physical activity. The truth though is that 1 hour of dusting can burn 204 calories for a 180-pound person. Cleaning up around the house can burn as few as 207 calories per hour for a 130lb. person and up to 326 calories per hour for a 205lb. person.

Think about some of the most dreaded household activities like shoveling snow and raking leaves, these are quite the calorie burners. One hour of shoveling snow by hand can burn 490 calories and raking leaves for 1 hour burns 351 calories. If you hate mowing your lawn each week, I can give you 512 reasons to spend an hour getting the grass pretty!

Other activities around the house that are calorie burners include:

• Bagging grass & leaves – 327 calories per hour.
• Gardening – 372 calories per hour.
• Watering lawn – 123 calories per hour.
• Carrying groceries, laundry and other heavy loads – 654 calories per hour.

Exercising

It’s no surprise that you can burn a great deal of calories by exercising. Whether you choose to perform cardio or strength training exercises, you can burn more calories the longer and harder you push yourself. This doesn’t mean push yourself to the point of injury just that you shouldn’t quit when you start feeling the burn. The burn is when the fat is melting and the muscles are growing.

Running: Running is perhaps one of the best calorie burning exercises that you can perform. If you’re just starting to get physically active you should start slow to avoid injuries. If you run a 12 minute mile then you can burn 654 calories per hour of running. A faster pace of about 8 miles per hour can help you burn 1,163 calories in 1 hour. Cross country running can burn more than 800 calories per hour. Perhaps the best calorie burner of all for runners of any level is running up stairs, which burns more than 1,200 calories per hour.

Swimming: Swimming is yet another amazing calorie burner. If you want burn more calories when you hit the pool, switch up your stroke. The butterfly stroke is the hands-down calorie burning star, burning more than 1,000 calories per hour in the pool. Freestyle swimming can help you create a calorie deficit as well; a fast stroke can burn 817 calories per hour and a slow stroke can burn 651 calories per hour.

Weights: Lifting is an essential part of losing weight and building muscle; it’s what gives you the toned and sculpted look that highlights your weight loss. A light workout of weight lifting can burn as little as 177 calories and as much as 279 calories per hour. A vigorous workout with heavier weights can burn 490 calories or more per hour!

{Build muscles and burn calories at the same time!}

Bodyweights: Bodyweight exercises like push ups, sit ups and lunges can also help you reach your calorie burning goals. Light bodyweight exercises, which means just a few sets can burn more than 300 calories per hour depending on your body weight. A vigorous workout however can burn in excess of 600 calories per hour. If you prefer circuit training, you can burn 745 calories per hour with minimal rest.

Sports

Playing sports is an effective way to burn calories but it keeps your workout interesting while working a wide range of muscles. And if you’re a competitive person, you won’t focus on quitting time no matter your current weight!

A few sports you may want to consider playing for an hour of calorie burning? Try these:

• Basketball – 745 calories per hour.
• Boxing – 1,117 calories per hour.
• Football – 735 calories per hour.
• Handball – 981 calories per hour.
• Martial Arts – 931 calories per hour.

Outdoor Activities

Getting physical activity in the great outdoors can be a refreshing and scenic way to burn your calories. Whether you like to skate or hike or climb mountains, it is important to know how many calories you burn when you get out and get moving!

Grab your backpack for an hour of hiking and you can burn more than 600 calories, but if you want to log some miles cross country hiking then you can burn between 350 and 560 calories per hour.

If zooming by on wheels makes your heart beat faster than strap on your roller blades because you can burn from 700 calories to more than 1,100 calories per hour. If you prefer more adventure with your calorie burning then get your equipment together for a little bit of rock climbing. Going up the rock can help you burn 900 calories per hour, whereas mountain climbing can give you a 745 calorie deficit after an hour of hard work.

So you see there are tons of ways you can choose to create a calorie deficit for weight loss. Now that you know how many calories you can burn in an hour, you can configure your diet to help you lose 1 pound each week. If you need help cutting calories find out if your weight loss goals can be helped by intermittent fasting. Read our review of Eat Stop Eat for more information!

“Exercise and temperance can preserve something of our strength in old age.”

This quote by Cicero may be more factually accurate than any of us ever thought, especially considering what new scientific evidence reveals about muscle memory and muscle frailty in old age.

{Getting your killer biceps back is just a matter of hitting the weights again!}

With science on your side you can stop using tired old excuses to get out of exercising because your body remembers the good old days when your muscles were toned, which means getting back there isn’t as difficult as you think.

Keep reading to find out why your muscles may remember their old form!

What Is Muscle Memory?

In traditional fitness terms muscle memory refers to your muscle’s ability to remember certain movements that are performed repeatedly. Most often it is used to describe why over time certain physical activities become easier and less effective for muscle building. But in general it is used to describe any physical activity with which our bodies grow accustomed.

Today when we talk about muscle memory though we mean the ability of your muscles to remember how physically fit they used to be.

The notion that muscles have memory has always been controversial. Some bodybuilders and fitness trainers have sworn for years that muscle memory is real and that it can help you rebuild muscles are long periods without working out. On the other side of this argument are those who think that muscle memory is complete bollocks.

Now, science is on the side of fitness trainers and bodybuilders. According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, muscles remember their former fitness, making it easier to bounce back for those who in the past have been in good physical shape. This means that if you were an athlete in high school or college but life got in the way, it isn’t too late to get those muscles back in to shape.

The Science

We have all heard the term ‘muscle memory’ but if you’re like me you probably had no idea what that really means. Muscles aren’t people or independent entities, how can they remember anything?

As it turns out the muscle’s memory is stored in nuclei which contains DNA, and that memory is multiplied during exercise. It was once thought that those nuclei got lost when you stop working out for a long period of time, or your muscles begin to atrophy, but the August 16^th study has found otherwise.

What It Means

This is good news for most of us who were very physically active at some point in early adulthood, because it means its never too late to get back in shape. As it turns out having been in good shape at some point earlier in life makes it that much easier to get back into shape when you want or need to.

That extra nuclei that contains DNA creates a muscle memory that allows your muscles to “bounce back” when you restart a weight training program. This doesn’t mean that you won’t experience muscle soreness when getting back in shape; it simply means that your muscles will quickly remember their former selves and begin to increase the nuclei in case you stop again.

This muscle memory study presents good news for most of us. Although losing weight is still an uphill battle, that battle is more mental than physical. Because muscle memory is real you never have to feel depressed about your ability to get back into shape. If you can control your diet, your body will help you get back into shape.

What is even more compelling is that this study provides good news for all of us as we age. Research has indicated that this muscle memory can be effective to help stave off frailness in the elderly. Although our ability to build muscle mass decreases as we get older, building muscles in our early life can decrease how much muscle mass declines in old age.

{Muscle memory isn’t just for bodybuilders, get your old muscles back whatever they look like!}

What you should take from this is that working out regularly, even if not to increase muscle mass, can make it easier to get back in shape and slow down muscle decline as we get older.

Your Physical History

The key to muscle memory and the ability of your muscles to get back in shape after a long period of dormancy is directly related to your previous history of physical activity. This does not mean that unless you were an extremely ripped bodybuilder, muscle memory won’t work for you. But if you had muscle definition in the past, then your muscles contain nuclei that will allow them to quickly return to previous shape.

If however you have gained a lot of weight since your physical glory days, it will take longer before you can actually see those results. Just like with anyone who has a significant amount of weight to lose, seeing the results of strength training will require burning off the fat through cardio exercise. This is why so many people don’t believe that muscle memory exists, but getting back in shape takes more than lifting a few weights.

Getting Back In Shape

The information revealed in this study does provide compelling and motivating reasons to hit the gym again, but your weight loss and fitness goals must also be taken into consideration before you begin any weight loss program.

Your weight will always be a factor in how quickly you begin to see the results of muscle building, even when you begin to feel the effects immediately. You may be able to open a jar without assistance or lift more weights after just a few days, but you don’t quite see the sculpted muscles you were hoping for.

This muscle memory study doesn’t change what you need to do to lose the weight so your muscles are visible. You need a regular cardio workout along with a well balanced diet in order to lose fat. A well balanced diet will help you reduce your calorie intake to melt the fat away, while your weight training will keep sculpting muscles so you have a beautiful and toned body when your weight loss goal has been reached.

If you’re like most people and find it difficult to control your calorie count, then read our Eat Stop Eat review to find out if intermittent fasting can help you shed the excess fat.

People always say that laughter is the best medicine, but medicine for what exactly? As it turns out laughter is the best medicine to keep your heart and body healthy, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

{These 2 funny guys laughed themselves thin…with the right diet too, of course!}

It’s not just laughter that makes you healthy but it’s what laughing means that’s so compelling. Keep reading to find out how laughter can improve your health and your finances!

Stress & Weight Gain

It’s no secret how stress can negatively impact your ability to lose weight and can in fact lead to weight gain. When we feel stressed out we tend to make decisions based on instant gratification—whatever will alleviate the stress NOW is what we do, regardless of how it impacts our ability to lose weight.

The behaviors we exhibit when stressed are more responsible for weight gain than any physiological factors. Whether it’s poor food choices or making the decision to skip a workout, these are the actions that can contribute to weight gain and sabotage your weight loss efforts.

Unfortunately it isn’t just the numbers on the scale that increase with stress; it’s also the numbers in your bank account. According to the same study in the American Journal of Health Promotion, the subjects who practiced Transcendental Meditation had lower health care bills than the subjects who did not use meditation to deal with stress.

Fewer visits to the doctor means an overall healthy you, and more money in your pocket means more money to spend on clothes to match your thinner, less stressed body!

Identifying Stress

One of the keys to dealing with stress so that it doesn’t affect your ability to lose weight, is recognizing the symptoms of stress when they arise. By recognizing the symptoms you’re in a better position to cope with stress in a healthy way.

Some of the symptoms of stress can be confused with other symptoms so it is up to you to identify which of these you feel when you’re stressed;

• Anxiety
• Headache
• Irritability
• Anger
• Change in sex drive
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Overeating
• Inability to focus
• Lack of motivation
• Sadness
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Under-eating

These are just some of symptoms, which can also be found in a host of other health problems. But by identifying which of these behaviors you exhibit when stressed can help you figure out how to deal with the inevitable stressors in life.

One of the best ways to cope with stress isn’t to vegetate in front of the television, it is to actually get up and get moving about! Take a run in the park, spend an hour boxing or hop in the pool for an hour of laps. In fact exercising the stress away is a great way to stay in shape while you alleviate stress.

Happiness & Weight Loss

Just like stress can have a negative impact on your weight, being happy can have a very positive impact. You see when you’re happy you feel more motivated to accomplish goals, like weight loss goals, which can help you achieve those goals.

Unlike stress, which sucks the motivation out of you and makes you sad, happiness gives you a sense of hope that you can do the impossible. When you feel like you can do what needs to be done to lose weight, you can do it.

{Ever notice how you forget what’s bothering you when you’re laughing?}

This doesn’t mean that you need to walk around smiling weirdly like you’re on happy pills; it just means that you need to develop a happier attitude about life in general and weight loss specifically. When we’re stressed we tend to bottle up those negative emotions and let them fester rather than do things to tackle that stress. When you’re happy you’re less likely to sit in front of the television depressed about your inability to lose weight or find a job or land the perfect mate.

Feeling happy makes you want to go out and try to make those things happen for you, which usually has the consequence of helping you lose weight, get the job and land the guy or girl of your dreams!

Laughter for Fat Loss?

Does being happy mean that the very act of laughing can help you lose weight? Well the science is still out on this specific fact, but what we do know is that a good sense of humor and a positive outlook can positively affect your weight loss efforts. Just think about how you felt after a good bout of laughter.

Your muscles stretch, you breathe faster and your blood pressure goes up which gives you the same sensation as a mild workout, only slightly more fun. And what’s best of all according to Maciej Buchowski from Vanderbilt University, 10 to 15 minutes of laughter can burn as many as 50 calories. It isn’t a massive amount of calories, but the effects of laughter mimic those of exercise which we know improves heart health and reduces the risk of heart disease.

Whether or not laughter can actually help you drop a pound, it does have many positive attributes that make it ideal for weight loss. You feel better when you laugh, which makes you feel better about the things you don’t like about yourself like your weight. The more you take a positive attitude about your weight loss the more likely you are to achieve your weight loss goals.

What It Means

Simply being happy and having a positive attitude isn’t a guaranteed path to quick and easy weight loss, but it does give you a greater chance of success. Having a positive attitude makes goals seem more attainable, which makes you likelier to stick to your healthy eating plan and weight loss regimen.

Sometimes you just need help controlling your appetite during stressful situations and intermittent fasting can help. Read our Eat Stop Eat review to find out how intermittent fasting can help you stop over-eating.

When it comes to weight loss there is one tried and true method: burn more calories than you consume. Despite this truism, so many of us look for loopholes in our weight loss contract that will allow us to burn more calories when we’re not exercising.

{Interval training requires intense exercise-like running at full speed.}

In an effort to increase resting metabolism thus more calorie burning, many dieters are looking to interval training for a boost. But, does interval training really cause such a huge caloric after burn that it’s better than other forms of fat burning exercise?

Keep reading to find out the truth about this calorie burning myth!

What IS Interval Training?

Although ‘interval training’ sounds complicated it isn’t. The easiest way to understand interval training is that it is bursts of activity with intervals of light activity that allows you to recover slightly before the next high energy activity. Ok so maybe it’s a little more complicated than it sounds, but when put in action its not quite so difficult.

Runners often do interval training to help improve performance and speed, but not so much for calorie burning. Run for a predetermined distance, then jog just long enough to recover, and start running again. See, that isn’t so complicated, is it?

Why Does It Burn MORE?

There are many reasons that interval training is the go-to exercise regimen for athletes and regular fitness buffs alike but there is one main reason: calorie burning. There’s no doubt that interval training burns a lot of calories during exercise, but the question is what effect does it have on a metabolism at rest?

We’ll get to that in a minute, but now let’s talk a little more about why interval training can be beneficial for weight loss. One of the reasons I like interval training is that it keeps me involved—actively involved—in my workout routine. By switching up the exercises and not focusing on one movement at a time I am always paying attention to what I’m doing. Not to mention I look forward (most of the time) to see what exercises I’ll do next!

Interval training burns calories, according to the Mayo Clinic because it improves aerobic activity, which means you can exercise harder and longer. The more intensely you workout the more calories you will burn, which is always a recipe for successful weight loss.

Because of this oft misunderstood aspect of interval training, personal trainers, dieters, bloggers and fitness gurus have turned to high-intensity interval training also known as HIIT.

Understanding HIIT

In order to understand this myth that you burn an insane amount of calories by performing interval training, you have to understand HIIT.

High intensity interval training is an intense form of cardiovascular exercise, so intense in fact that the theory behind it is that your metabolism will be working in overdrive burning calories to recover from the intensity. This in turn is supposed to lead to a massive calorie burn after each workout.

{If you feel like this after a HIIT session, you’re doing it right!}

How? Well according to the theory behind HIIT is that you take in far more oxygen by recovering from high intensity interval training than you would by recovering from a traditional workout done at a steady rate for the duration of the workout. This means you could burn some serious calories—nine times more calories according to fitness specialist Jeff Bayer—at rest, than if you’d performed your standard moderate pace running, cycling or swimming exercises.

A study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology however, that excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) that helps boost post-workout calorie burning during rest periods, is very short lived. Although this study was done using women only, the results showed a much higher oxygen uptake in the half hour after the workout but found no significant differences at the 60 minute marker.

The Math Behind the Myth

Ok so now that you know enough about interval training in general and high intensity interval training specifically, it’s time to address why this myth persists.

First the obvious reason is that we’re all looking for a way to boost calorie burning at rest, whether we rely on HIIT or fat burning foods. The truth is that high intensity interval training does help burn tons of calories for weight loss, however the jury is still out on how many additional calories are burned at rest compared to other exercises.

Unfortunately when you look at the science (and math) behind this super calorie burning myth you’ll see that those numbers don’t exactly bear out. According to a 2011 study in the Journal of Obesity, EPOC comprises approximately 6 to 15% of the net total exercise oxygen output. This means that yes HIIT is effective at burning more calories, thus fat, during exercise rather than after exercise.

This doesn’t mean that you won’t experience some additional fat burning while your body is at rest enjoying a little primetime television; it just means that you won’t burn as many calories as HIIT proponents would have you believe. And what’s more; the fitter you are the faster your body will recover, which means less EPOC and fewer calories burned at rest.

So according to those pesky scientists if you burn 850 calories during a high intensity interval training session, the best you can hope for is an additional 128 calories burned. Now that’s nothing to turn your nose up at, but it’s also not a spectacular amount of calories that will truly expedite your weight loss goals.

Interval Training: All Bad?

None of this means that interval training or high intensity interval training is something you should avoid because as we’ve learned it is a massive calorie burner. But if you’re expecting to burn hundreds of additional calories due to EPOC, then you should stick to your traditional workout.

HIIT sessions are incredibly intense, at times, which is part of the reason it is an amazing fat burner. But for those who aren’t normally physically active, the intense sessions may be too much at first. However the periods of moderate activity allow you to recover slightly before the next round of intense exercise.

The fact is that you can burn the same amount of calories by performing an exercise that you can sustain for a long period of time so you can burn as many calories as possible during the exercise session. HIIT can be a grueling way to get fit, which may make you less likely to commit to an exercise regimen compared to an hour on the treadmill or bike or even in the pool.

Don’t succumb to the post-workout pig out that delays weight loss; read our review of Eat Stop Eat to see how intermittent fasting can help you curb your appetite for greater fat loss!

Starting a new exercise regimen can be daunting and scary. Becoming physically active after a long period of being sedentary can make exercise difficult, and sometimes demoralizing. Unfortunately exercise is a tried and true way to help you burn calories for weight loss.

{Swimming is a great calorie burner and muscle toner!}

Figuring out what kinds of weight loss exercises you should be doing boils down to 2 factors;

1. How many calories are you burning, and;
2. Whether or not you enjoy the exercise.

Keep reading to find out the 6 weight loss exercises that can help you lose weight.

Running – Calories burned in 1 hour: 745

Whether you do it outside in the park or on a treadmill at the gym, the calorie burning strength of running cannot be understated. If you ran for 1 hour just 5 days a week, at approximately 5 miles per hour, you would burn 3,725 calories which is just over 1 pound lost per week!

In addition to burning a significant amount of calories, running is a weight loss exercise you should be doing because of the many health benefits associated with running. According to an article published by Vanderbilt University Psychology Department, running can lower blood pressure, expand lung capacity and improve heart health to prevent heart attacks and heart disease.

Keep in mind however that as effective as running is as a weight loss exercise, it may take some time for you to burn the full 745 calories per hour. If you haven’t worked out in awhile or if you have a lot of weight to lose, you will have to build up to a full hour of running.

Racquetball – Calories burned in 1 hour: 931

Regardless how you feel about the game of racquetball it is a great weight loss exercise that doesn’t necessarily feel like exercise. The competitive nature of racquetball lets you focus on winning rather than finishing, which is a great way to keep you interested in regular physical activity.

The reason racquetball made the list of weight loss exercises you should be doing is that in addition to being a calorie burner it is a great lower body workout that tones the thighs, legs, butt and lower abdominal muscles. Because you’re running side to side and swinging a racquet, you get a well rounded workout that will help you work up a sweat.

The other thing that’s great about racquetball for weight loss? You get to hang out with a friend while beating them at racquetball!

Freestyle Swimming – Calories burned in 1 hour: 817

In summer or in winter swimming is one of the best weight loss exercises you should be doing. Swimming works all the muscles, improves lung capacity and is a relaxing way to burn a few hundred calories. Freestyle swimming is something that all capable swimmers can do, as it is the method most of us use when learning to swim.

The good news is that seasoned swimmers can burn even more calories by swimming the butterfly stroke for 1 hour. This method burns more than 1,000 calories per hour but may be too vigorous for you if you’re just becoming physically active again. However swimming is a great weight loss exercise for those not yet ready for impact aerobics like running, and a 2006 study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness indicated no difference in the effect of aerobic exercises in the water or on land.

Boxing/Sparring – Calories burned in 1 hour: 838

Getting in the ring with a buddy for an hour of sparring is another weight loss exercise that you should be doing. Although an hour of actual boxing burns more than 1,100 calories, many exercise newbies may find this method of exercise too intense.

Nevertheless, sparring with a partner is a great way to burn calories while improving your response time and coordination. Getting in the ring to spar means not getting hit is a great motivation to keep moving!

The movements associated with boxing; footwork, punching, ducking and breathing can help tone a wide range of upper and lower body muscles. So next time you’re looking for a fun weight loss exercise you can do with a buddy, book an hour at your nearest boxing gym!

Rock Climbing – Calories burned in 1 hour: 1,024

Even if you think that rock climbing is a weight loss exercise that’s too adventurous for you, think again because many gyms and recreation centers offer indoor rock climbing so you can learn before hitting the great outdoors.

Sign up for a few rock climbing lessons and you can burn more than 1,000 in the first hour! In addition to being an amazing calorie burner, rock climbing helps tone arms, legs, butt and core since you’ll need all these muscles to keep you on the rock and not on the ground. Balance and concentration are key when rock climbing so you’ll become a better athlete and problem solver by rock climbing.

Jumping Rope – Calories burned in 1 hour: 981

Jumping rope is a weight loss exercise you should be doing at home because it’s so simple and requires inexpensive  exercise equipment. One hour of fast rope jumping can burn close to 1,000 calories which puts you well within reach of losing a one pound per week until you reach your weight loss goal.

If you don’t like going to the gym or simply don’t have time, purchase a rope at a sporting goods store and get your workout in the backyard or basement. This perhaps the easiest of the weight loss exercises you should be doing, and it doesn’t require anything but a good pair of sneakers and a rope.

It is important to mention that these calorie burning weight loss exercises are but one part of an exercise program for weight loss. Strength training should also be a part of your workout routine to boost your resting metabolism and tone muscles. The good news about this is that weight lifting and basic calisthenics are also great calorie burners, so no matter what you do you’ll always be working towards your weight loss goals.

Tired of counting every calorie in your favorite sweet snack? Read our review of Eat Stop Eat to see if intermittent fasting can help you reduce your sugar intake.

It’s no secret what you have to do to lose weight; eat less and exercise more. But what do you do when you need a tougher workout in order to continue your weight loss progress? There’s a simple answer actually; find a more efficient way to burn a lot of calories!

{Running, jumping and winning; a great way to lose weight!}

Forget spending endless hours in the gym in front of a mirror trying to burn calories by lifting weights and running on a treadmill—although those are totally effective too—and get competitive. Sports provide you with a more exciting and challenging way to burn more calories.

Keep reading to find out which sports you need to do to burn more calories!

Why Sports?

Sports are a great way to burn more calories because of their competitive nature. When you’re competing you work harder to win and you’re not watching the clock to make sure you’ve put in your 45 minutes of cardio.

Because there is a goal to competitive sports, more than just finishing them, you are more likely to engage in these activities. These sports will help you burn more calories, which can help you reduce your risk of weight related illnesses like heart disease and chronic health problems. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute recommend weight loss of 10% to see a decline in risk of obesity related illnesses, but some studies indicate results with just a 4% to 5% decrease in overall body weight.

Basketball Game

Strap on your favorite pair of sneakers, grab a few pals and hit the nearest basketball court if you’re looking for sports for to burn more calories. One hour of competitive basketball can help you burn tons of calories—mostly from running from one end of the court to the other—while keeping your heart healthy and strengthening your legs.

In addition to improving your stamina and coordination, an hour of competitive basketball can burn 745 calories per hour for a 205-lb. individual. If the game takes longer to win, it’s a bonus for you because you get to log more calories toward your weekly calorie deficit.

Rowing

You don’t have to be on the rowing team at Harvard to appreciate the insane amount of calories burned in just one hour of vigorous rowing, although I’m sure it helps!

Rowing is truly a full body workout, giving you a healthy dose of cardio along with working your arms, back, legs, core and shoulders. Why should you row vigorously? To win the race, of course!

Spend one hour in a boat rowing to the finish line and you could burn 981 calories if you weight 180 pounds and 1,117 calories if you weight 205. Participate in a rowing race just once a week and you’re 1/3 of the way to burning off an entire pound for the week! Not a bad trade off for rowing until your legs and arms are on fire, right?

Cross Country Skiing

If nothing gets your heart pumping like winter sports for to burn more calories, then consider cross country skiing. Often thought of as the boring step-sister to the more exciting downhill skiing, a cross country ski race is a good way to work up a sweat while it’s cold and burn tons of calories.

Never mind that you’ll probably burn another 100 calories simply suiting up for the race, but you’ll also burn more than 1,300 calories if you weight 205 pounds. Gliding through the snow in a race for the finish line can help you burn more calories than traditional exercise but it’s also an incredibly exciting way to burn 1,144 calories if you weight 180 pounds!

Just think when you’re done your reward can be a hot cup of green or oolong tea!

Cycling

Nothing takes you back to childhood more than hopping on 2 wheels and racing your friends to your favorite hangout. Well when it comes to sports that burn more calories than traditional exercise, cycling is back in fashion.

Strap on your safety gear and challenge your friends to a bicycle race—loser buys sushi for everyone else!

I know what you’re thinking; I can just hop on a bike at the gym and burn tons of calories instead of inhaling carbon dioxide bicycling on the road. Unfortunately when the pride you feel about winning isn’t on the line you won’t push yourself as hard, which means you won’t burn as many calories. The difference?

Bicycling at the gym for 1 hour burns 372 calories for a 205 pound person, while bicycle racing burns an impressive 1,489 calories per hour for that same person. And if you weigh 180 pounds, you will still burn off an inspiring 1,308 calories in an hour.

Jai Alai

Those of you looking for an extreme sport that’s fun and burns enough calories to make it worth the risk, look no further than the popular world sport known as jai alai. Played on a court with 3 walls, a ball and a cesta, jai-alai is like racquetball at more than 100 miles per hour!

The game of jai alai is a major calorie burner due to the swinging of the ball and running to the ball. This game is also considered quite dangerous thanks to the high speed at which the ball travels, but if you have the stomach for this sport you will be rewarded after one hour of play with between 980 and 1,117 calories burned! And if you don’t get a massive bruise because you didn’t move fast enough, chances are you also have won bragging rights.

Jai alai is a great sport to burn more calories than an hour of traditional exercise.

Martial Arts

Whether you’ve always had dreams of beating those jerks at Cobra Kai, looking to learn self-defense or even a little discipline, learning martial arts is also a great way to get in shape.

In addition to teaching you the discipline that will help you make healthier food choices, every hour of martial arts training you attend will burn between 817 and 931 calories! Learning to protect yourself while losing weight is a win-win situation, and when you consider how many calories will be burned during a martial arts competition you’ll be burning calories faster than you can count them!

BONUS CALORIE BURNER: Step Aerobics

Ok so the 90’s are over but I’m sure plenty of you out there still have a step gathering dust someplace in your home. If not I’m sure you have a neighbor (or mom) happy to part with theirs.

Why should you go back to this 90’s exercise craze? For starters it is one heck of a calorie burner, in addition to being a super fun way to burn calories. Step aerobics can be done at home or at a class at your local gym. Although not a sport, step aerobics burns 695 calories per 1 hour for a 180-lb person and 791 calories for a 205-lb. person!

The competitive nature of sports makes you work harder and longer for the glory of the win, which is why these sports burn more calories than traditional exercises.

If you’re tired of counting calories and worrying about food all day long, read our review of Eat Stop Eat. Intermittent fasting might help you worry less about calories and more about getting fit!

Getting in shape doesn’t mean spending all of your hard-earned cash to do so. Forget expensive exercise equipment, personal trainers and over-priced gym memberships; there are plenty of ways you can burn fat and build muscle without going broke.

{Personal trainers can be expensive…and annoying. Find a cheaper way to get in shape!}

Whether your goal is to save money or simply find creative ways to get a regular workout, keep reading to find out the many free ways you can get fit and lose fat!

Running

One of the most effective and cheapest ways to burn calories is running. If you’ve already got a pair of effective running shoes, then this is one exercise you can do anywhere at anytime for no money at all.

What’s more is that running provides you with fresh air and constantly changing scenery so you never get bored with your workout. You can always choose to run different routes in different parts of the city so you can explore your surrounding while getting in incredible shape!

So the next time you think about what you can do to workout without spending money, lace up your shoes and starting pounding that pavement!

Freebies

Another great way to get fit for free is gym freebies. When a new gym opens (or when business is slow) many gym facilities will offer free sessions with a personal trainer, free exercises classes or free access to the gym for a limited number of visits.

Of course this can’t last forever, but taking advantage of these free ways to get fit and lose fat can help you lose weight without spending all of your money. Besides these gym freebies are a great way for you to see if any of these services is something for which you wouldn’t mind paying.

{A free week of rock climbing will burn calories and be a great experience!}

If you feel exhilarated after a session with a personal trainer, maybe you’ll find a way to pay for it. The same is true for that new hip hop-salsa class that’s free all this week or that rock climbing wall. Take advantage of these free offers as different ways to get fit and avoid exercise boredom.

Library

If you’re like me, you probably swore off buying exercise videos after you spend an insane amount of money on the Tae Bo series. While effective, these exercise videos often lose their luster after a few months. The exercises become easier, which means your workouts become less effective over time and your weight loss hits that dreaded plateau.

Instead of buying every new exercise video that hits the market (P90X), hit up your local library and check out their copies. This gives you an opportunity to try out the newest exercise craze without taking part in another expensive fad.

The only thing it’ll cost you at the library is the time it takes to sign up for a library card!

Bodyweight Exercises

It’s not surprising that most people don’t want to splurge on high-priced weights and exercise equipment. This is especially true if you struggle to get physical activity on a regular basis. But who says you need all that fancy equipment to get in shape?

There are plenty of exercises you can do to get fit and lose fat that require no equipment at all, especially bodyweight exercises like push ups and pull ups. Exercises like these allow you to use the weight of your body to provide resistance and build up muscle. Combine this with running and you can get a full body workout without spending any money!

Here are just a few bodyweight exercises you should try if you’re looking for free ways to get fit & lose fat;

• Crunches
• Plank
• Dips
• Calf raises
• Squats
• Oblique sit-ups

These are just a few, but you can get a full body workout for free by doing bodyweight exercises.

Public Parks

Public parks have gotten on the fitness bandwagon, providing a wide range of activities to help the community stay active and fit. Besides running, many public parks have exercise equipment right in the park for you to use at your convenience. In fact one study found that those who live closer to public parks are more likely to get more physical activity.

{Fresh air and exercise for free? Imagine the money you can save for a new wardrobe…}

If you think your park doesn’t provide these facilities, contact your local recreation center to get more information.

Get Competitive

Dust off your football, basketball, tennis racquets or soccer ball and gather a group of friends of a friendly game. Assembling your pals in the park for a competitive game is a great (and free) way to make sure you get regular exercise.

There must be a reason you hang on to all the old sporting equipment from your youth; now you have a reason to dust them off and put them to good use. Sports are a great and free way to stay in shape without really feeling like exercise.

In addition to that, sports provide a great way to burn calories. Just look at the calories burned playing these competitive sports for one hour;

• Basketball – 745 calories
• Football – 838 calories
• Flag/Touch Football – 745 calories
• Soccer – 931 calories
• Singles tennis – 745 calories
• Doubles tennis – 558 calories
• Ultimate Frisbee – 654 calories

Next time you’re bored on a Sunday afternoon, gather your friends for a friendly game of…whatever!

Use Your Computer

The beauty of having a computer right at home is that you can always find a way to exercise. Some of you may argue that it isn’t free because you have to pay for the internet, but you have to pay for it whether you exercise or not!

So, use your fingertips to help you find an exercise routine that fits your weight loss goals. The internet gives you access to a wealth of free exercise information in the form of videos, photos and step-by-step instruction.

By making an effort to become more physically active each day, you can worry less about spending money on traditional methods of exercise like hitting the gym or using a personal trainer. An overall more active lifestyle will make these free ways to get fit and lose fat, a natural part of life.

Regular exercise is only half of the weight loss equation. Read our Eat Stop Eat review to see how you can use intermittent fasting to break your poor eating habits.

Whether you’re a professional baseball player, former smoker or 11-year old, chances are good that you’ve enjoyed a handful of sunflower seeds. We munch away on these seeds without any regard for how many calories are in them, and then I wondered to myself; what’s the deal with sunflower seeds?

So I did a little research and found that sunflower seeds, when eaten in moderation, are not as bad as one might think to your fat loss efforts. Keep reading to learn more about sunflower seeds nutrition facts.

Major Nutrients In Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds have quite a surprising amount of fat—22% of your recommended daily value-considering that they are most talked about as being packed with salt. Strangely enough, there is just 5% of your daily recommended value of sodium found in ¼ cup of sunflower seeds.

Now, on to what’s good about sunflower seeds nutrition facts. Sunflower seeds are a no cholesterol food and have barely any sugar to mention. When it comes to losing weight you should notice that there’s just 2% carbs and 10% of fat burning fiber! When you factor in 5.5 grams of protein, you can see why so few sunflower seed eaters aren’t fighting the battle of the budge.

Storing/Selecting

Although sunflower seeds are not high in sodium, you should choose unsalted sunflower seeds to save your tongue from that tingly feeling you get after eating too many seeds! Avoid flavored sunflower seeds like ranch or jalapeno because these will increase the salt and fat content of this relatively healthy snack.

Store sunflower seeds in a cool dark place, tightly sealed to prevent them from going stale. Be sure to portion out ¼ cup of sunflower seeds each time you snack so you can adhere to the sunflower seeds nutrition facts that you know!

Eat It With:

Enjoy your ¼ cup of sunflower seeds with a glass of water to make sure you stay hydrated. If you’re looking for a healthy way to get more protein in your diet, add sunflower seeds to any salad for an extra bit of crunch.

{Rather than mindless munching, consider adding sunflower seeds to a plate of veggies!}

An interesting way to use sunflower seeds is to chop them finely in a food processor and use them as breadcrumbs in meatloaf or crab cake recipes.

Burn Off Sunflower Seeds

To burn off the calories in ¼ cup of sunflower seeds you would need to do:

• 15 minutes of high impact aerobics.
• 18 minutes on the punching bag.
• 14 minutes of lacrosse.

When it comes to losing weight, stress can often have a negative impact. When we’re stressed we tend to seek out things that comfort us; chocolate, booze, cigarettes or television. Unfortunately many of these comfort devices don’t help with weight loss.

{If this is how you handle stress, keep reading for a healthier solution!}

Exercise however, is a great way to relieve stress and burn fat at the same time. In fact some exercises are so hardcore that they are go-to exercises to alleviate stress in a positive way. So rather than buying a pack of smokes or indulging in chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream, keep reading for ways to exercise your stress away!

Stress & Fat

Our bodies react to stress in a multitude of ways, including weight gain. Sometimes the weight gain is due to the ways in which we respond to stress including to overeating and excessive drinking. At other times, the hormone cortisol can be to blame.

Cortisol does more than contribute to weight gain, however. It is also involved in regulating your blood pressure and glucose metabolism, as well as immune functions and inflammatory responses. But we do call cortisol the stress hormone because when we’re in “flight or fight” mode this hormone is secreted at higher levels than when we are not stressed.

When stress is chronic, which basically means you are always in stress mode, this hormone is secreted more often which can lead to weight gain. So, one important key to weight loss and weight maintenance is to keep stress at a minimum. If that isn’t possible, find ways to alleviate the daily stressors in your life.

If you’re thinking of an extreme low-calorie diet to lose weight, beware: a May 2010 study found that restricting calories can increase your cortisol output. So rather than extreme diets, adopt a well-balanced diet and try a few stress-busting exercises below.

Running

When the stress of daily life gets in the way, make room for a run in your schedule to clear your mind or help you deal with it. In addition to the known benefits of exercise—reduce risk of heart disease and high blood pressure and weight loss—running helps release endorphins that can help give your mood a lift.

Running can help you forget if that’s your goal, but the focus required to run properly may actually help you find a way to deal with the problems causing you stress.

In addition to reducing the symptoms of depression an anxiety, running can help you forget the day’s stress while you burn some serious calories. Losing weight can give you a confidence boost, which may help make you feel less stressed about the thing in life you can’t control.

Kickboxing

In addition to burning more than 900 calories per hour, kickboxing is an incredible way to get rid of stress. Before you roll your eyes, consider what stress relief you’ll get from kicking and punching someone while imagining the source of your stress! Whether you need basic self defense or a good way to stay in shape, kickboxing is a calorie burning wonder than can help you accomplish both!

If you’re not ready to kick box with a human partner, many gyms offer bags so you can practice kicking and punching…and stress relieving!

Kickboxing may not be the most mature way to deal with stress, but it works and it burns plenty of calories…what other reasons do you need?

Yoga

It is a well established fact that yoga is a great way to alleviate stress. In fact the goal of yoga is to promote tranquility, so you can’t really find a more soothing way to burn calories while forgetting about life’s stressors.

Because of the intense focus on breathing and postures, the nature of yoga really trends toward relieving stress. And if you’ve ever tried yoga before, the soothing voice of the instructor, the comfy yoga pants and the silence in the room all lend themselves to helping you forget about what’s stressing you.

{What could more soothing than yoga…on the beach?}

If you have yet to hop on the ‘yoga train’ then you should start with a simple, less intense type of yoga like Hatha, suggests the Mayo Clinic. When you’re looking for a way to unwind after a long stressful day, yoga can help you make sure you don’t spend the rest of your day stressed.

Tennis

What better way to alleviate stress than smashing a ball with all of your might across the net? Tennis (or racquetball) gives you a clear method of finding an outlet for your stress (hitting the ball), while burning as much as 745 calories per hour!

In addition to its ability to help you exercise the stress away, tennis is a full body workout that works legs, arms, shoulders and core muscles. The aggression required in the game of tennis also allows you to feel in control of something, which will help you stress less about the things you are unable to control.

Grab a friend and smash a few dozen tennis balls so you can deal with the stress and keep your cortisol levels even.

Boxing

Although you would think boxing might be a stressful way to exercise—it could be if you’re terrified of getting hit—it is actually an effective way to help you deal with stress. Obviously the punching gives you an outlet to deal with any unresolved aggression you may have about stress, but the movements also burn fat and build muscle.

The amount of calories you burn boxing should also help alleviate any stress you feel about reaching your weight loss goal. An hour of boxing with a partner can help you burn more than 1,100 calories, while sparring will still burn more than 830 calories.

{This handy little piece of equipment is great for boxing & kickboxing!}

With numbers like that you might just start hoping for stress just so you can hit the ring! Don’t do that though, haven’t you heard; stress can lead to weight gain!

Hiking

What could get rid of stress more than being out in the vast beauty of nature? Beautiful green trees, tons of oxygen, a bright blue sky, tons of oxygen and a kick-ass pair of running shoes could be the way to keep the stress in your life to a minimum.

Whether you sit in traffic all day, have a micromanaging boss or coworker who drives you crazy, an hour in nature will release feel-good endorphins to keep fat at bay. Sometimes you just need to clear your head and slow things down a little just to see the big picture. When you do this, you can separate stressful from annoying and deal with them accordingly.

Remember that it’s not just fat that you’re helping get rid of by exercising the stress away. Too much stress can lead to many other health problems that include high blood pressure, compromised immunity and decreased bone density & muscle tissue. So keeping stress, especially chronic stress, at a minimum isn’t just about weight loss; it could be a matter of life and death.

Emotional eating is a common way in which many of us deal with stress, but it is hardly a productive way to manage stress. Intermittent fasting may be just what you need to stop stressful snacking. Read our Eat Stop Eat review to learn more about intermittent fasting.

It took you a long time to find or create the perfect workout routine. You’ve finally got the perfect amount of cardio and strength training for your fat loss goals. Your workout is now perfectly tailored to help your weight loss succeed.

{It’s time to refresh your workout if you start multitasking during your session!}

The only problem is that now you’re sick and tired of that perfectly tailored routine. Starting the same workout routine every other day for the last few months has gotten boring, and what’s worse is that you’re not even sure that it’s working anymore. What to do?

Keep reading for tips on how to refresh a boring workout routine!

Take A Class

If your regular routine of weights and machines is making your workout routines less than memorable then it’s time for you switch it up. Take a yoga or dance class, or any other exercise class that piques your curiosity. Even one class can go a long way to reinvigorate your current workout routine.

The best thing about taking a class is that they generally change every season, so there’s always something new to try. Sign up for one day, a week or even a month, so your body feels like it has been challenged and you’ll have a new love for your old workout routine.

Besides, giving your muscles something new to do will require them work hard, in a way that’s completely different way than your humdrum workout routine!

Change Locations

Another way to refresh a boring workout routine is to change where you complete your workout. If your typical workout spot is in front of the television—at home or at the gym—consider working up a sweat in a different location.

A simple change of scenery can go a long way in giving your workout routine new energy. If you do the same workout routine over and over again, make a mental note of your exercises and take it outside. Getting fresh air while you burn fat will quickly put you in a better mood and give your workout a little extra boost.

In fact a recent study revealed that those who participate in outdoor physical activities feel more revitalized and less tense, not to mention are more likely to repeat that physical activity.

Runners, consider hopping off the treadmill and go for an actual run in the outdoors! Running and exercising in general in fresh air allows you to breath cleaner air into your lungs, not that nasty old gym air.

Circuit Training

Most of us are pretty loyal to our chosen method of exercise. Whether is weights, classes, machines or whatever, circuit training is another great way to refresh a boring workout routine. Circuit training is really the perfect way to breathe new life in your workout routine while also getting cardio and strength training exercises. What’s so good about circuit training is that you can never get into that comfortable lull of just lifting weights or just pounding away on the elliptical.

Circuit training workouts keep you focused on your workout routine to maximize the benefits of exercise. You take short but frequent breaks between each exercise so you’re always focused in breathing and form, not your weekend plans.

Try Something New

Pick an activity, a physical activity that you’ve always wanted to try but have been to afraid because of your weight or the simple adventurous nature of it. Now, find a way to try that activity at least once. This will liven up your workout routine, even if for just one day, and give you a renewed interest in your weight loss efforts.

In addition to giving you more confidence to continue on your weight loss quest, learning how to refresh a boring workout routine through a new activity will show you just how strong you really are! Store that feeling and recall it whenever you start to doubt your ability to reach your weight loss goals.

{This awesome activity is a major calorie burner at 1117 calories per hour…and it’s anything but boring!}

One other great bonus to trying something new? Some of these activities are serious fat burners! These are just a few examples:

• Surfing – 279 calories per hour
• Skydiving – 279 calories hour
• Snorkeling – 465 calories per hour
• SCUBA diving – 1117 calories per hour
• Hiking – 651 calories per hour
• Whitewater rafting – 465 calories per hour
• Rock climbing – 1024 calories per hour

So you see, conquering your physical fears is another great way to try something new and refresh a boring workout routine!

Get New Gear

As shallow as it sounds, something as simple as getting new workout gear can help breathe new life into a repetitive workout routine. If you’ve been hiding beneath baggy sweats until you reach your goal weight, use this time to get something a little more flattering that also makes you feel better about yourself. Those baggy clothes are just reminding you of who you used to be…not who you’re becoming!

In addition to reminding you of the progress you’ve made so far in your weight loss quest, a new workout wardrobe will give you greater incentive to reach the next benchmark; another new set of workout gear!

Get Competitive

A surefire way you can learn how to refresh boring workout routines is by enlisting a buddy for a competitive game of basketball or tennis or running. Competitive sports allow you to workout in a way that’s much different from your traditional solo workout routines, and it gives you a better incentive to push harder—winning!

The harder you push yourself to win a game of racquetball for example, the more calories you’ll burn. Plus, unlike that treadmill you spend hours on, you won’t stop playing a competitive sport until you’ve won or lost, rather than stopping when the monitor indicates you’ve burned 700 calories.

{Your winning attitude can make working out more fun than ever before!}

Because you’re enjoying yourself, you are more likely to continue to play and reap additional health benefits. If you make this competition a regular activity, you’re more likely to eat better and focus more on your mundane workout just to give yourself the competitive edge over your opponent!

There are plenty of ways in which you can learn how to refresh boring workout routines. Simply identify why you’re getting bored and do something to change it. Sometimes all it takes is a class, while other times you may need 2 or 3 workout routines to keep your workouts interesting.

Go HERE for a few tips on creating your own weight training program.

Many dieters are turning to intermittent fasting to help them control their food issues. If you’re one of those people, read our Eat Stop Eat review to see if it can help you enjoy more effective weight loss!

Choosing a weight training program can be a complicated matter if you don’t have weight training goals. These goals will help you choose a weight training program that is right for you.

{You can have different goals and still weight train together.}

If you’re feeling especially motivated consider creating your own weight training program, designed with you and your goals in mind. Before you get out that sheet of paper however, keep reading to find out what features any good weight training program should have.

Warm Up

The warm up is an essential part of any workout, but especially a weight training program. Warming up serves two main purposes:

1. Warm up muscles to help prevent injuries during weight training, and
2. Insure you maintain the integrity of each motion by practicing with lighter weights.

When you begin each weight training session with a warm up you allow blood to flow into the heart, muscles and lungs so your body is prepared for rigorous exercise. By warming up your muscles before starting a weight training program you keep your body healthy so you can work out another day.

Your warm up should include at least 10 minutes of aerobic activity such as walking, bicycling or even jogging. To fully warm up you should do a practice set of weight training exercises with lighter weights to make sure you perform each movement properly to avoid injury.

Choosing Exercises

Arguably the most important aspect of creating a weight training program, you must choose the right exercises to help you achieve your goals.

Whether you want big bulging muscles or to simply tone your body due to recent weight loss, the exercises you add to your weight training program should help you get there. That being said, it is also important that your weight training program is well-rounded, working each muscle group evenly.

Because you should work each muscle group evenly, a weight training program to meet your goals will have varying weight limits and rest periods.

Exercises for the legs you may want to add to your weight training program include squats and calf raises. But you must also target your upper body, which should include exercises like bench presses, dips, curls and crunches.

These are easy exercises to include in your weight training program because they require very simple equipment—weights—that don’t require you to spend a lot of money to get in shape.

Sets & Reps

The number of sets you complete as well as the number of repetitions that make up a set will be determined by the goal of your weight training program. The number of repetitions you perform in each set will be determined by your goal; increase muscle size, greater endurance or improved strength.

Use this chart to help you determine how many repetitions you should perform in each set of your weight training program;

The number of sets you perform during your weight training program will always begin at the low end, increasing as your program advances. During the first week of your weight training program you will start with the smallest number of sets. This will allow you to reach your goals without overexerting your muscles and injuring yourself.

Starting Weight

One of the most difficult aspects of creating your own weight training program is knowing how much weight to start your program. The simplest answer is that you need to use more resistance (i.e. weight) than your muscles are used to. Furthermore you will have to continue to provide greater resistance as your muscles get used to the weight during each week of your weight training program.

{When you feel the burn on the last few reps…that’s enough weight!}

Your starting weight should allow you to finish the predetermined amount of reps, but only those reps. Your form should not lapse by the last rep, but you should feel some difficulty completing the very last rep.

If you can continue easily beyond your last repetition, chances are good that the starting weight for your weight training program is too low.

Progression

Progression is the weakness of just about every dieter on the planet. We all succumb to plateaus because what was once a hardcore, rigorous workout is now an easy weight training program that you complete with ease.

To avoid this demoralizing phenomenon requires progression, that is increasing the level of intensity within your weight training program so that you can continue to see results.

You can increase the intensity by adding more resistance (weights), completing more reps and sets or even by adding more challenging exercises to your weight training program. If free weights are becoming easier, consider cables or bodyweight exercises to give you the intensity you desire.

Cool down & Stretching

As important as your exercises are to an effective weight training program, so too is the cool down after each session. The cool down portion of your weight training program should include stretching to avoid any muscle stiffness.

When it comes to science, there are studies that say stretching and cool downs are effective, others indicate the opposite. One study in the Journal of Sports Medicine, indicate that stretching prior to a workout may help reduce injuries. However they all agree that a post-weight training program stretch or cool down routine poses no risk to your muscles. What does this mean, exactly?

Well it means that a proper cool down can help cool the temperature of your muscles and return your heart rate to normal after an especially intense workout, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Rest

Letting your body rest and repair is as important to your weight training program as the exercises you choose to perform and how much weight you start with. If you strip your body of rest days you are undoing all the hard work of your weight training program because it is during these rest days that your muscles grow and transform—the entire point of these exercises!

How do you give your muscles a rest?

For starters try to avoid working the same muscle groups 2 days in a row. This will give your muscles time to repair and become the muscles you’re training them to become. Your workouts are simply breaking down the muscles, while the rest & recovery period is allowing your muscles to expand.

Dedicate approximately 5 hours each week to your weight training program and spend the rest of the time creating a well-balanced diet and getting a proper night’s sleep.

Read our Eat Stop Eat review to see how intermittent fasting can help you eat so your weight training program is as successful as it can be!

We all have our own motivations for wanting to shed those excess pounds; the always-looming bikini season, that cute bartender or your college reunion. Whatever those reasons are, embrace them and let them help you reach your fat loss goals.

{Sometimes a shallow reason to lose weight is all you need!}

When it comes to losing weight, shallow reasons are just as good as legitimate health-related concerns. Keep reading to see how your shallow reasons to lose weight can boost your fat burning potential.

Winning

Whether you want to admit it or not, former athletes who’ve put on a few pounds always long for the day when they can win again at their favorite sporting event. Shedding that extra weight will give you greater endurance and stamina so you can “in your face” your biggest competitor.

According to a recent study, adding yoga to your daily schedule for just 6 weeks can improve endurance and muscle strength, making you a faster and stronger competitor.

Being able to gloat about your win over a pal may be a shallow reason to lose weight, but it is also one of the best motivators for fat loss. So get up and get moving so you can start winning again.

{Never underestimate the power of an awesome win to motivate you!}

Guilt-Free Indulgences

When you need to lose weight you beat yourself up over every cookie, martini and bag of chips you consume. Losing weight will allow you to have a dessert or a few cocktails without feeling bad about it or overcompensating for it at the gym.

Indulging in your favorite foods or drinks probably tops the list of shallow reasons to lose weight, but nothing beats eating a brownie while watching Entourage and not feeling guilty about it when the credits roll.

Once you reach your weight loss goal regular exercise will be a part of your life so you know that you’ll burn it off during your next workout. No guilt, just fun.

What’s Old Is New Again

Once you’ve shed the excess weight you can start wearing those too-tight clothes you’ve been longing to get in again.

Bringing back some retro looks or simply being able to get into those jeans that make your butt look perfect is a shallow reason to lose weight, but one that will make you feel awesome!

{Say good-bye to this annoying dance when the weight is gone!}

Even more than buying new clothes, being able to fit clothes that you previously couldn’t is a serious confidence booster that will only motivate you to continue the healthy lifestyle that lead to your initial weight loss.

Sometimes shallow reasons to lose weight can lead to win-win weight loss success!

Bye-Bye Fat Euphemisms

Ok so maybe this isn’t exactly a shallow reason, but when compared to heart disease and diabetes it is pretty shallow.

Nothing is more annoying than listening to your fit friends try to find a polite way to say someone is fat in your presence. Hearing politically correct words like chubby, jolly, big-boned, big, chunky and round can make your blood boil even if they are used to describe someone else.

These polite words only serve as a reminder that even your nearest & dearest can’t see beyond your current size to separate you from the rest of the overweight world. Reaching your weight loss goal will end these fat euphemisms permanently.

Attainable New Year’s Resolutions

This is a strictly shallow reason to lose weight, but what better way to start a new year than with a few resolutions that can actually be resolved in a year?

Sure if you only have 10 or 20 pounds to lose, that is totally achievable in a year. But if you lose an average of 1 pound per week and you need to lose more than 50 pounds you’ll need more than a year to get it done. And if you factor in that week of vacation where you ate and drink to excess, then it will take even longer.

When you reach your weight loss goals you can focus on resolutions that improve you rather than your physical appearance. You can read that bestseller that’s been collecting dust on your coffee table or take up a new hobby like rock climbing you’ve been anxious to do, if only you could get rid of that extra weight.

Look The Part

One of the worst things about not having the body you want is that you feel like you’re not the person you want to be. Losing weight will help you look the part of the person you want to be, which is half the battle.

Wearing better fitting, tailored clothes can help you look the part of the high-powered executive so you can get the job you’ve always wanted or help you look and feel more authoritative in your area of expertise.

Whether you want to be a corporate executive, entertainer or simply look your best in your favorite clothes, losing weight can help you achieve the look you want. Looking the part for the life you want may sound like a shallow reason to lose weight but it’s one hell of a motivator, no?

Losing weight will help improve your health and sex life, for sure. But sometimes we need a slightly bigger nudge and these shallow reasons to lose weight can be just the prodding you need to reach your goals.

Struggling with your addiction to sugar? Read our Eat Stop Eat review to find out how intermittent fasting can help you lose weight, regardless of your motivations.

Choosing a weight loss plan can be a lot like choosing the right pair of jeans; sometimes they’re too tight in the leg area and too loose in the waist and other times the fit is right but the legs are too long or too short. You feel like Goldilocks, only without the success.

{Choosing the wrong pair of jeans can be as disastrous as choosing the wrong weight loss plan!}

But just like with jeans, choosing the right weight loss plan requires defining your goals and prioritizing them. If your eyes cross just reading weight loss reviews, keep reading for 5 ways to choose a weight loss plan for success!

Fast vs. Effective

The first thing you need to decide before you even research weight loss plans is to decide exactly how you want to lose weight: quickly or effectively.

This isn’t to imply that fast weight lost can’t be effective, just that quick weight loss programs put the emphasis on fast rather than long-lasting.

So, if you’re looking to get in shape for your college roommate’s wedding or beach season then a fast weight loss plan is likely what you’re looking for. If however you have plenty of weight to lose (20 pounds or more) and you’re looking for a way to not only lose weight, but to keep it from returning then you want an effective weight loss plan that helps overhaul your current lifestyle.

Now you can begin to choose a weight loss plan that’s right for your goals.

Safety First

The weight loss program you choose should, above all else, be safe. Any weight loss plan that requires you go below 1,200 calories each day without a physician’s supervision will compromise your health and safety.

Remember if you’re severely overweight, take it easy when you undertake weight loss plans with rigorous workout plans like P90X. This doesn’t mean you will never be able to do these exercise; it just means you need to understand the danger of overexerting yourself after a lengthy period of not exercising.

Know Your Weakness

When choosing a weight loss plan, select one that will help you overcome your weight loss weaknesses.

If you love to exercise but hate watching what you eat, then choose a weight loss program that teaches you (by force if necessary) how to adopt a better diet without sacrificing the things you love. Look into home delivery diets or focus more on healthy eating in the early stages of your new diet plan.

If you have no problem eating healthy but you loathe breaking out into a sweat, then you want an exercise intensive weight loss plan like the Insanity Workout or P90X to get you started. These weight loss plans will show you—in results—the impact exercise can have on your weight loss efforts.

{If this is how you eat (no judgement) then how will you succeed on a highly restrictive diet?}

Food Restrictions

Beware of any diet that requires you to restrict your food intake in ways that are unhealthy. Any weight loss plan you choose should require you to undertake a well-balanced diets that consists of foods like; broccoli, chicken breast, whole wheat pasta, spinach, watermelon, garlic, skim milk and salmon.

Stay away from weight loss plans that require you to eliminate carbs or dairy from your diet. Unless your physician recommends otherwise, successful weight loss requires you to eat a diet filled with a wide variety of foods.

Post-Goal Maintenance

When choosing a weight loss plan, the trickiest part of all is choosing a plan that has a method of helping you keep up your weight loss once your goal has been reached.

How do you do this?

Well, choosing a weight loss plan for success means choosing a plan that will teach you how to eat properly and exercise regularly…even when you don’t have a diet plan looming over your head. This means the weight loss program you choose should teach you the components of a well-balanced meal and the keys to exercising for weight loss.

Simply following a diet plan and exercise regimen will help you lose weight, but what happens when you’re no longer doing that?

If junk food is your weakness see if intermittent fasting can help you overcome it by reading our Eat Stop Eat review.

If I had a dollar for each time I’ve said, “that’s insane!” referring to the latest fad diet to hit the market, I’d be on a beach somewhere sipping a tropical cocktail and working on my abs!

{Grab your friends or your partner and reach the brink of Insanity together!}

But as it turns out there’s something more insane than drinking 600 calories a day…and it just might work! Keep reading for a comprehensive Insanity Workout review.

What Is Insanity Workout?

The Insanity Workout is a 60-day workout program designed by fitness trainer Shaun T. The Insanity Workout is based on what Shaun T refers to as “max interval training”.

This max interval training on which the Insanity Workout is based provides dieters with a unique way to burn fat and build muscle. Unlike interval training, the Insanity workout requires really pushing yourself during long intense workouts with short breaks. This truly insane workout allegedly allows your body to burn an insane amount of calories…so they say.

How The Insanity Workout Works

You must be wondering how intense the workouts are in a program that calls itself Insanity Workout and the answer is…pretty damn intense!

The first thing that surprised me during this Insanity Workout review was just how intense the focus was on exercise. This 60-day workout program requires you to workout for 1 hour, six days a week. This may be hard for those of you having difficulty motivating yourself to get to yoga or go for a walk, but sometimes you have to get a little insane to see fat loss results.

Insanity Workout creator Shaun T claims that by following his workout plan you can burn up to 1,000 in an hour, which means that you can lose nearly 2 pounds each week!

Sounds pretty insane to me, but somehow I’m strangely intrigued…

Insanity Workout Review – The Workouts

When you purchase the Insanity Workout, you aren’t just given a few sheets of paper with exercise diagrams; Shaun T gives you 10 workout DVDs that will transform your body in 60 days.

{Your new body can found within these 10 DVDs…the perks of insanity!}

Throughout your 60-day body transformation you will do the following;

• Dig Deeper & Fit Test (30 minutes): This fitness test will help you see where you are and you will do this regularly to chest your progress in the Insanity Workout.
• Plyometric Cardio Circuit (42 minutes): Lower body plyometrics combined with intense cardio.
• Cardio Power & Resistance (40 minutes): Strength training & power movements will help you build lean muscle and improve muscle definition.
• Cardio Recovery (33 minutes): Take it easy this day so you’re prepared for the next.
• Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs (55 minutes): No intervals here; just non stop cardio!
• Core Cardio & Balance (37 minutes): This disc prepares you for month 2 of the Insanity Workout.
• Max Interval Circuit and Fit Test (86 minutes): Get pumped for another month of intensity and weight loss!
• Max Interval Plyo (55 minutes): Maximum power and plyometric exercises and your legs will feel the burn!
• Max Cardio Conditioning & Cardio Abs (65 minutes): Insane cardio that promises to burn, burn burn!
• Max Recovery (47 minutes): Chill out this day with stretching and movements.

Wow! That is a lot of intense workouts…but is this the entire Insanity Workout?

Insanity Workout Extras

While the 10 DVDs make up most of the Insanity Workout, our Insanity Workout review revealed 4 free gifts to help you maximize your weight loss.

Elite Nutrition Plan: The nutrition plan that you get as a free gift when you decide to go on the Insanity Workout has been created by Shaun T to give you the proper fuel (energy) you’ll need to make it to the finish line with each insane DVD!

Workout Calendar: You’ll be surprised that a workout touting its insanity also provides you with a great deal of organization. Organized by month, the calendar will allow you to set goals and track your progress. The fitness test tracker not only helps you track your weight loss results, but also keeps you motivated from week to week.

Insanity Fitness Guide: This guide is succinct, just providing you Insanity Workout essentials before you begin the workouts!

Online Support: In TFLA’s Insanity Workout review, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the Insanity Workout provides non-stop access to online support. Get help from fitness experts like Shaun T and stay on the right track with support from other Insanity dieters like you!

Yeah, But How Much?

It was the question I had to, honestly. With 10 DVDs, nutrition plans, calendars and online access I was confident that the Insanity Workout program would make me go insane, but I was wrong. Somewhat.

At $119.85 the Insanity Workout may seem like a big cost, but you can pay in 3 installments in addition to shipping & handling costs for each installment or you can pay all at once.

The good news however is that Shaun T offers his Insanity Workout with a 30-day money back guarantee! All you have to do is call and return this workout program within 30 days and you’ll get all your money back (minus shipping & handling costs) no questions asked.

If this offer doesn’t foster a little confidence, then I don’t know what would.

Insanity Workout PROS

• Lots of calories burned during each workout
• Online support to keep you on the right track
• Weight loss in just 60 days
• No workout equipment needed
• Insanity Workout calendar allows for goal setting
• 30 day money back guarantee
• Improved fitness and endurance

Insanity Workout CONS

• Difficult to maintain intense pace beyond first 60 days
• Limited focus on nutrition can lead to relapse
• May be too costly for some
• May not be suitable for those with chronic injuries or very obese.

Insanity Workout Review – Does It Work?

Upon first glance those of you who hate to monitor what you eat probably think this is the perfect diet for you. It promises to burn 1,000 calories each day so you don’t have to count calories, right?

Wrong! This diet, perhaps more than many others requires a healthy, well-balanced diet just to make sure you get through each day’s workout without problems. This mean’s you’ll need lean proteins, fiber and all other parts of a healthy diet.

Any workout program like the Insanity Workout will lead to weight loss, if you’re burning more calories than you consume. The only potential problem with this plan is learning how to maintain that weight loss when the 60 days are over. It seems unlikely that most mere humans will be able to maintain a rigorous workout schedule beyond 60 or 90 days.

But if you’re looking for an intense workout that will burn fat and build muscle, the Insanity Workout will do just that!

Having trouble eating properly for your workouts? Find out how taking a break from food might help by reading our Eat Stop Eat review.

Cellulite, it is unsightly, ruins confidence and is actually quite treatable! So much focus has been on how to prevent cellulite that those already suffering from it feel completely left out of the conversation. Until today, that is.

{Cellulite is a byproduct of unhealthy living, which doesn’t always mean being overweight.}

What many cellulite cream peddlers fail to disclose is that cellulite occurs in 4 stages, which means that it is possible to diminish and even get rid of cellulite on your thighs among other places. Keep reading to find out what you can do to get rid of cellulite!

What is Cellulite?

Put simply, cellulite is fat cells that have protruded through the surface of the skin. It is these pockets of fat that have no place to go, that gives cellulite its dimply appearance.

Now that you know what cellulite is, let’s talk about how to get rid of cellulite!

Can I Get Rid of Cellulite?

Yes, cellulite does not have to be something you suffer in silence. The stage of your cellulite will determine how effective efforts are to get rid of cellulite. During phase one, cellulite is not visible and it is this stage that it is easiest to get rid of cellulite on your thighs, butt, belly and anywhere else that causes you worry.

The remaining three phases are when cellulite becomes visible, but in phase two it is only visible when the skin is pinched together. The final 2 phases are when cellulite is most visible and very difficult, if not impossible to treat.

The most important stages in getting rid of cellulite are the stages in which you have little, if any, visible symptoms. That is why we’ve compiled a list of ways you can get rid of cellulite on your thighs, hips, belly and butt!

Popular Cellulite “Cures”

There are many products on the market that claim to help rid your body of cellulite, however the effectiveness of many of these products seems to be anecdotal at best.

Many cellulite creams may work depending on which phase your cellulite appearance is, but most of them are costly and provide little if any relief from the appearance of cellulite. These creams promise to show you how to get rid of cellulite, but mostly they help you get rid of your money.

Cellulite pills have not been proven to work either, and many contain ingredients like iodine that can lead to other health problems. Many of these studies for these pills have produced no noticeable results among test and placebo groups.

Some may resort to liposuction as a means of getting rid of cellulite but this is the worst possible cellulite cure. Liposuction rids problem areas of fat that is deep down, and we know that cellulite is a surface skin fat problem. While many of these cellulite treatments have gotten plenty of publicity none have the effectiveness of basic lifestyle changes to stop the progress, and therefore the appearance of cellulite.

Keep reading for realistic and inexpensive ways to get rid of cellulite!

Avoid Toxins

Toxins, whether in our food or the environment play a large roll in breaking down healthy skin cells. When you want to learn how to get rid of cellulite, the first thing you should do is cut back on your nights of binge drinking because alcohol is a toxin.

Stop smoking altogether if you want to get rid of cellulite on your thighs or anywhere else because cigarettes are just toxin sticks, helping your fat bunch up and up until it’s is visible and more difficult to treat.

{Ridding your body of cellulite is another reason to eat more fruits & veggies!}

Eat Fresh Foods

Add more fresh produce to your diet, and make it organic produce when you can. A lot of processed, pre-packaged and fast food is packed with toxins (food coloring, saturated fat & artificial flavors to name a few) to make it more convenient to eat. Many so-called experts recommend a home detox diet, but simply adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet will go a long way to teach you how to get rid of cellulite.

Many fresh fruits and vegetables are powerful antioxidants that protect against toxins…in case you needed another reason to eat your produce!

Another great benefit of fresh produce is that fruits and vegetables are packed with water, which is an essential part of any healthy diet.

Drink More Water

Whether your goal is to lose weight or simply get rid of cellulite, drinking more water is good advice. In terms of getting rid of cellulite though, water plays an important role in keeping your skin hydrated and moist.

More importantly however, drinking enough water will make it easier to flush out unavoidable toxins in the environment, also known as free radicals.

Maintain A Healthy Weight

This probably goes without saying, but even if the beautiful people do have cellulite, your chances of needing to get rid of cellulite are increased by excess body fat. Maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying a well-balanced diet and getting regular physical activity, and you can start to worry less and less about cellulite rearing its ugly head.

Adding more physical activity to your life will also help get rid of cellulite on your thighs by helping you maintain healthy blood circulation, which is one of the worst side effects of cellulite.

Don’t wait until you don’t have to pinch your skin to spot cellulite to get rid of it; by then your chances of success diminish greatly. Get rid of all the junk that you shouldn’t be eating (or drinking) anyway and follow these tips to get rid of cellulite on your thighs!

Eliminating the toxic food you consume may be difficult for some. Consider intermittent fasting to help you break away from those foods so you can start getting rid of cellulite. Read our Eat Stop Eat review to learn more about intermittent fasting.

Ahhh. The age old question, how many calories should I eat for weight loss, rears its ugly head again. So many of us try to eat healthy and exercise regularly only to experience moderate, then stalled weight loss.

[A meal like this easily exceeds 1,000 calories, not ideal for fat loss unless this is your ONLY meal!]

That’s why we here at TFLA have decided to give you this information again. It never hurts to keep up to date with your weight loss facts, because let’s face it, weight loss science is constantly changing. So, keep reading to find out how many calories you should eat a day to lose weight.

Weight Loss Goal

Before you start worrying about counting calories for weight loss, let’s start with your weight loss goal. Your weight loss goal should first and foremost be realistic, but it should also include a goal weight range as well as a time guideline to achieve this goal.

Once you’re set on your weight loss goals, you can then start thinking about how many calories you need to eat a day to lose weight!

Calories Burned

Next we need to talk about how many calories you generally burn each day because this will determine how many calories you should eat a day. This number will depend heavily on how much physical activity you get each day. If your only exercise is walking to and from your car, then your daily calorie count will be much lower, than say someone who runs an hour a few times each week.

Just to get an idea how many calories are burned during regular exercise, take a look below;

• Moderate pace running burns 745 calories per hour.
• High impact aerobics burns 651 calories per hour
• 1 hour of housework burns 233 calories.

Calorie Deficit

Creating a calorie deficit—burning more calories than you consume—will help you determine how many calories you need to eat and burn a day to lose weight.

To lose one pound of fat a week, which is what is considered healthy weight loss you will have to burn about 3,500 calories a week. This 3,500 calorie deficit is what will help you answer the question, how many calories should I eat a day to lose weight?

{Although the best calorie burner, running is just one way to help you achieve a calorie deficit.}

Only you can know how many calories you actually consume on a daily basis, so honesty is important when determining how much you eat and burn for fat loss.

Daily Calorie Intake

To determine how many calories you need to eat a day for fat loss, women should eat no less than 1,200 calories a day while men should consume no less than 1,500 calories, unless of course a physician has you on a supervised low calorie diet.

If you currently eat between 2,000 and 2,500 calories per day and get very little physical activity, changing your diet will help you immediately create a calorie deficit for weight loss. Eat more whole grains, lean proteins, low fat dairy and fruits & vegetables since a well-balanced diet will help you reduce calories without feeling hungry all of the time.

The key to eating for weight loss is to find a way to satisfy your hunger without overeating so you can stay within your daily calorie count for fat loss. So if you were to consume 1,500 calories a day and ran for 45 minutes 4 days a week, you would burn off 1 pound of fat and not feel the urge to splurge on junk.

The truth is when people ask me how many calories should I eat a day for weight loss, I ask them how many calories do they burn in a day. The latter question is just as important as the former, because many bodybuilders and professional runners eat what we might consider a lot of calories, but for them it doesn’t lead to weight gain because they burn hundreds if not thousands of calories each day.

If figuring out how many calories you should eat a day for weight loss is giving you a headache, read our Eat Stop Eat review for tips on breaking that junk food addiction! Sometimes you just need stop craving junk to stop eating it.

Men and women in search of low calorie alcoholic drinks have been turning to wine instead of their favorite spirits, and not just for its low calorie count. Made from black pinot noir grapes, you’ll find the calories in a glass of wine will go nicely with a healthy meal.

Even if you think you’re not a “wine person,” the nutrition facts and calorie count will make you want to head to the nearest wine tasting for glass of red wine you’ll love. Keep reading to find out why a glass of wine is friendlier for weight loss efforts.

Major Nutrients Found in a Glass of Wine

Because wine is made from grapes, many people (incorrectly) assume that you get lots of unnecessary calories and sugar. But looking at the nutrition chart you can see that a 5 ounce glass of wine has no fat or sugar and very few calories.

The calories in a glass of wine amount to just 117, but when you factor in that pinot noir is linked to reduced risk of cancer and heart disease you can see why many are turning to wine. There isn’t much nutritionally redeeming about a glass of wine, but the calorie count is low enough that you can pair it with a meal without the guilt.

Storing/Selecting

Choosing the right wine depends on a whole host of factors, including your budget and knowledge of wine. If possible, taste the wine prior to purchase to make sure it isn’t too bitter or pungent for your palate.

Red wine like pinot noir should be served cool, around 60 degrees. If you’re unsure how to achieve that coolness, simply store your pinot noir in the fridge for up to 30 minutes prior to drinking to serve it properly. Otherwise, store it at room temperature in a dark place.

Eat It With:

Pair a glass of wine with your favorite low calorie meal to get the most enjoyment. Steak and salad is a great pairing for pinot noir, but really it is up to you. Generally the rule is red meat with red wine and fish and poultry with white wine, but you’re the boss as long as you check the calorie count first! If you’re just enjoying a simple glass of wine, pair it with cheese & crackers or just a smile!

Burn Off A Glass of Wine

To burn off the calories in a glass of wine, you would need to do:

• 40 minutes of bird watching
• 12 minutes of ice hockey
• 14 minutes of kickball