by Mikhail Tuknov


The effort and stress involved in most conventional workouts discourage people from getting fit. Here are a few activities which offer you the opportunity to lose some weight while having fun.

Walking

Walking can be a very fun way to reduce weight and stay fit. In fact, experts say that walking 10,000 steps daily can help keep you healthy. Some people think that walking only exercises your feet and legs. However, you should know that walking actually helps improve your cardiovascular system, building up blood vessels so you have more oxygen stored in your blood. This helps increase your endurance and helps you keep your energy up after a long day.

When you take a walk, remember to enjoy the journey. Some people use treadmills, but that would actually be pretty boring and would seem like too much work to be worth it. When you take a real walk or even a jog, however, you’ll get to enjoy observing what’s going on around you. You might even manage to forget that you are exercising.

Video Games

Oh yes, there are actually video games that can help you stay fit and active. This equals to a lot of fun and a lot of calories lost. One of the most popular active video games is DDR or Dance Dance Revolution. This video game involves you stepping on a dance pad in time to instructions on the screen. Just a few minutes on DDR will get your heart pounding, your sweat pouring and your face smiling.

Another option would be the ParaParaParadise dance machine. This game is actually based on a popular dancing style in Japan called “Parapara”. Although the traditional modes have specific steps to follow in order to be considered a legitimate score, the game also offers a “freestyle mode” which allows you to be more creative and be more active. Offering different difficulties accompanied by energizing music, you’ll never realize you are actually exercising on this machine. A version is also available for use with Sony’s eye-toy.

The Wii is the latest to come out with active video games. Using motion-sensor controllers, a gamer will actually have to move in order to play the games. You need to punch when playing boxing games, you need to swing the controller in order to wield your sword and slay the dragon.

The active video game also helps boost morale by making you feel as if you have accomplished something. There are high scores to beat, after all.

Martial Arts

Forget repetitive and seemingly-senseless movements. What discourages people from doing aerobics or other types of traditional exercise is that they can be pretty boring and actually only burn a few calories per hour.

Martial Arts, on the other hand, can help you burn as much as 1000 calories an hour! Now that is some exercise.

In Martial Arts, your whole body will stay active -this means you will be able to tone and shape every muscle in your body. What’s more, this workout is far cry from being boring. You get to learn a new skill, practice it against opponents and generally focus on something other than how much weight you’re supposed to be losing.

What’s great about martial arts is that every move has its purpose. Whether it’s knocking out an enemy or regenerating life energy, martial arts is something where all movements count. Did you know that people who begin practicing Tai-Chi during their retirement years can actually extend their active life?

Dance

Dancing is another activity where you can get fit without actually thinking about exercise. It allows you to let lose, get those muscles working and that blood pounding. Dancing is all about having fun and feeling good about your body and your moves. It’s all about self expression and communication without words. Real exertion in dance can burn off as much calories as martial arts!

Dancing allows you to learn a skill and improve your overall personality. It allows you to become more aware of what you can do as a person. Dance also helps relieve stress and produce endorphins for that natural high.

Actually, various types of workouts are based on dance movements. Although these workouts pretty much focus on getting the same results as your regular exercise routine, the pacing and rhythm involved makes the exercise fun and more vigorous.

Swimming

Swimming is another activity that exercises the whole body. If you live near the beach or at least have a pool nearby, you should take advantage of the exercise opportunity. Of course, in order to keep fit with swimming, you’ll need to actually move. Just lounging about in the pool will not help sculpt your body.

What’s great about this activity is all the resistance you have to contend with. The water, despite supporting your buoyant body, actually causes every movement to require extra exertion. It also cools off your body. This equals to a great intense yet comfortable workout.

Why should you stress yourself when you can relax and get fit at the same time?

by Tracie Johanson


If you’ve been looking for sound advice on weight loss programs and diet plans, we have some good news for you. We’ve compiled a top ten list of weight loss tips for women. These tips on losing weight are powerful and proven to get results. Best of all, you won’t find any gimmicks or fads here. Only the best, most accurate and scientifically proven health advice made the cut and has been included in this fitness advice guide.

1) Our first weight loss tip for women is simply to exercise consistently. That may seem like common sense, but only 45 percent of adults are actually following their doctor’s advice and getting the recommended minimum: 30 minutes a day, at least four days a week. After only four weeks of inactivity the body begins to shed muscle mass, and aerobic fitness levels start to diminish after missing only two weeks of workouts. That’s why regular, consistent exercise is our first and most important weight loss tip.

2) Don’t focus so much on fast weight loss. Instead, concentrate your efforts on achieving permanent weight loss. While it may be tempting to try the latest fad diet or prescription diet pill, keep in mind that quick weight loss doesn’t always equate to healthy weight loss. As a matter of fact, when you diet without exercising, up to half of the weight you lose could be from muscle mass. Losing muscle is the absolute worst thing you can do when you’re trying to acquire permanent fat loss, so don’t be tempted by the gimmicks promising rapid weight loss. Focus on permanent weight loss through a sensible diet and exercise program, and you’ll be pleased with the long-term results.

3) This weight loss tip is perhaps the best free medical advice you’ll ever receive: Eat your recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables before indulging in any treats. This diet tip is so potent because it will help you realize better health in so many different ways. First and foremost, consuming at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day will help us lose weight because fiber moves fat through our digestive system faster so that less of it is absorbed. High fiber foods also make us feel full sooner and stay in our stomach longer, slowing down our rate of digestion and keeping us feeling full longer. Following this health tip will also lower your risk of several cancers and heart disease.

4) As much as possible, eliminate ‘white’ foods from your diet. High sugar and high carbohydrate foods create an insulin spike that tells our body to start storing fat. They also trigger a blood sugar high, which is inevitably followed by a low. This drop in insulin levels leaves us feeling hungry, tired, and wanting to eat more. Specifically, at the bottom of an insulin crash the body craves more sugar and carbohydrates, setting us up for a vicious weight gain cycle. With this in mind, it’s good advice to simply avoid ‘white’ foods whenever possible. Choose brown rice instead of white, whole wheat bread instead of white, and cut back on goodies made with white processed flour.

5) Actively seek out all the expert advice on health, diet and nutrition that you can find. There are many reputable sources of online medical advice available, and much of it is free. Knowledge is power, and the more you know about weight loss, the more likely it is that you’ll be successful in your efforts. Look for free advice and fitness tips from qualified sources like health club owners, physicians, and certified personal trainers. In short, learn all you can.

6) Get at least eight hours of sleep each night. Research has shown that people who sleep only four hours a night have an 18 percent reduction in leptin, a hormone that tells the brain there is no need for more food, and a 28 percent increase in ghrelin, which triggers hunger. This is one weight loss tip that should be easy for anyone to follow.

7) Drink water. Drink LOTS of water. Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Studies show that a decrease in water will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water can actually reduce fat deposits. Why? The kidneys can’t function properly without enough water. When the kidneys don’t function to capacity, some of the work load is taken on by the liver. The liver’s primary function is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy. If the liver has to do some of the kidney’s work, it can’t function at its optimal capacity. As a result, it metabolizes less fat. More fat remains stored and weight loss / fat loss stops.

Although it’s not a workout tip or an exercise tip, staying motivated is probably the most effective weight loss advice you’ll ever receive. Since each person in different, motivational techniques will vary. However, many have found that charting fat loss progress to be very encouraging. Others maintain that the single most motivating action is to find a friend and commit to exercise together. Whatever method you choose, find a way to stay motivated if you want to write your own weight loss success story.

9) Essential weight loss advice for a woman is to not exercise like a man. That may sound strange at first, but the fact of the matter is that there are several separate and distinct exercise methods available, and not all are proper for women. In fact, some types of exercise could possibly cause women to gain weight (although any weight gain would be from added muscle, not from fat). For maximum fat loss, women should be engaging in not only aerobic exercise but also in light resistance training.

10) Our final weight loss tip is to carefully select vitamins and supplements to help you attain your fat loss goals. There are a million diet pills and weight loss pills on the market, but the vast majority of them may not be appropriate for you and your personal needs. Instead of buying what you see on the infomercials, take the time to research what’s effective and what’s not. Most importantly, speak with your doctor before beginning any supplement program. Medical research has given us many breakthroughs in the last few decades, and vitamins and supplements can certainly be a valuable tool in your weight loss toolbox. Take the time to investigate the options and choose wisely.

Although there’s a mountain of health advice available today, our Top 10 Weight Loss Tips for Women are the best, most accurate and scientifically proven recommendations at hand. Take them to heart, and you’ll be well on your way towards fat loss success.