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Quick Ways to Lose Weight

With so many diets and weight loss plans on the market, there are many quick ways to lose weight nowadays.

Among them, the South Beach Diet is one that has been gaining some attention. This diet focuses on the glycemic index where good carbs are separated from bad carbs, and bad fats from good fats. There are no calories to count. You eat until you are full, three times a day with two snacks in between. This diet works in phases where the first phase is extremely limited, followed by a second phase with the addition of good carbs, and finally the third phase which is a liberal maintenance plan.

Another diet, the Atkins Diet, is often confused with the South Beach Diet. However, these two ways to lose weight differ in many ways. In the Atkins diet, all carbs are limited. The aim is to consume as few carbs as possible. No protein or fat is limited. This diet has raised some eyebrows due to its lack of concern for saturated fats.

Then there is Nutrisystem, a complete eating plan where the food comes prepackaged in 4-week parcels. It focuses on the glycemic index, like the South Beach Diet, and offers a variety of foods you can choose from. All foods are instant, meaning that little preparation is required. Because everything is measured for you, this is an easier plan for those with portion control problems.

Another way to lose weight is through the Fat Loss for Idiots diet plan, where foods and types of calories consumed changes every few days. With a menu that constantly changes, you will be able to eat many kinds of foods. The logic behind this diet is swap the menu when your body becomes accustomed to one menu.

Still, other effective ways to lose weight include exercises and there are many exercise plans to choose from these days. You can opt for video and DVD programs like The Firm or Tae Bo. You can also take up classes or training programs at the gym. Results vary due to the individual effectiveness of each program and the way participants eat during the day.

Quick ways to lose weight also includes the Mediterranean Diet and the traditional Mediterranean lifestyle. In this type of diet, foods are rated as frequent, occasional and rare. Some foods are consumed everyday and with every meal while other foods are eaten once every few days. Then, there are foods that are consumed rarely. It is believed that the long lives of the Mediterranean people can be attributed to their diet.

Among ways to lose weight, one of the oldest diets is the low-calorie, low-fat diet. In such a diet, you are restricted to a certain number of calories per day, usually 1600 or less. Carbohydrates can be consumed regularly, while fat-free and low-fat foods are encouraged. The results of this type of diet is questionable as some claim that weight loss attained through this method may be loss of water and muscle.

As you can see, there are many quick ways to lose weight. The trick with any diet is to stick to it and to maintain weight loss at the end of the diet. A diet should be looked at as a lifelong plan. With any diet, weight loss cannot be permanent without some diligence on the part of the dieter. So decide on a plan, take action and stick with it!

5 Best Fat-Burning Exercises

January is over and hopefully you are all sticking to the plans you made to achieve your goals. Stick with it, whatever they may be.

For some people however you may still be struggling with one goal in particular – weight loss. You’ve read some articles, been to the gym, attended a class or two and spoken to friends about it, but that weight just still doesn’t seem to be going anywhere fast.

You are not alone!

Don’t be disheartened, this is quite common and one of the most important things you can do to accelerate your fat loss is choose the correct exercises.

You see, going to the gym is one thing, but going to the gym and doing the right exercises can make all the difference. If you’re spending hours on the treadmill, bike, rower or cross-trainer then you are jeopardising you’re fat loss efforts.

So what are the best exercises for you to be doing?

Here are my top 5 fat burning exercises:

Number 1: Squat + Press
•Stand tall with good posture and belly button slightly pulled in, holding a weight at your shoulders
•Push your bottom back and perform a squat, keeping your weight through your heels and your knees behind your toe line
•As you rise from the squat, press the weight overhead in a fluid motion, squeezing your glutes (buttocks) and standing tall. Note: arms and legs should straighten at the same time, not one before the other
•As you squat down again for the next rep, the hands should return to the shoulders (again, the arms and legs should bend at the same time)

Number 2: Burpees
This is a tough exercise, if you can’t do it at first, stick with it until you can!
•Start in a standing position, then crouch down, placing your hands shoulder width apart, about 8 inches in front of your feet
•Lift your feet and straighten your legs out behind you, keeping your back straight as you do
•Almost as soon as your feet hit the ground, lift them up again and pull your knees into your chest
•As you feet touch the ground, lift your hands and jump as high as you can with your chest and shoulders high and chin up
•The moment you land, repeat this sequence

Number 3: Woodchops
•Stand in a wide stance, holding a dumbbell by the ends with both hands (you could also use a Medicine Ball)
•Bend your Right leg and shift your weight to your Right as you reach the Dumbbell to the outside of your shin/ankle
•Now push off your Right heel and lift the Dumbbell out and across your body diagonally, to reach up as high as you can above your head to your Left side – keeping your arms straight at all times
•Keep looking at the Dumbbell throughout and repeat for the desired repetitions then change sides

Number 4: Multi-Directional Lunges with Touch Down and Overhead Reach
•Stand tall with hips forward and glutes squeezed
•Take a large step forwards (as far as you can) and bend over your front knee to touch the floor in front of your toes
•As soon as you reach the bottom of the movement “bounce” back up smoothly
•Pushing off the heel of your front foot to stand tall again, reaching your arms straight up above your head
•Repeat this, lunging forwards, sideways, and diagonally, touching down in front of your toes each time
•Alternate legs

Number 5: Hill Runs
There’s nothing like an uphill slog to get your heart rate up and get you puffing!
If possible, do this one outside on a real hill (as steep as possible!). If not, a treadmill set to full incline will do just fine.
•This one’s simple, sprint up the hill as fast as possible and use the time it takes you to walk down as recovery, then go again
•If on a treadmill, run as fast as you can on full incline for around 30seconds, then stop completely for 40-60 seconds before going again

•Repeat as many of these sprints as possible over a 20 minute period – you may need to adjust your rest periods as you get tired, but don’t take too long, just long enough to get your breath back.

•Also, depending on your fitness level, you may not be able to run these initially, if this is the case, just walk as fast as you can and increase this as you get fitter. Eventually, you will be able to jog/run/sprint this – but it will take time and effort. Don’t expect it to happen over night!

So, now you have 5 of my favourite fat-burning exercises to be getting on with.

They work because they are working all of your muscles at once, and as such will be using far more energy/calories. This will mean that they are harder than your average gym machine – but “if it’s easy, it aint doin’ anything!”

You probably won’t like them, but if you’re serious about your weight loss, you’ll do them. Even if you stick to just these 5 exercises your results will begin to show in a matter weeks.

An example routine could look like this: -

Three Days per week (every other day) complete the following circuit 3 times, taking up to 5 minutes rest between circuits, followed by 20 minutes of Hill Runs.

Squat + Press x 20
Burpees x 10
Woodchops x 10 per side
MD Lunges x 20 alternating sides

If you can commit to doing this every other day, and sticking to it, you will be on track to achieving your weight loss goals.

Now go do it!

To download this article with exercise pictures, visit markonefitness.co.uk