Are you working out, eating healthy, doing all the right things and still finding it difficult to lose those last few pounds? Believe it or not research from the University of Pittsburgh's medical department shows that those last 5 to 10 pounds are truly the hardest to lose. The reason is that as you lose weight you become smaller which means your body needs less energy to sustain itself therefore, making it harder and harder to lose additional weight.
The good news is that with just a few tweaks to your already healthy lifestyle you can break through that plateau and get the scale moving in the right direction! According to prevention magazine for every pound you lose your metabolism can slow by up to 20 calories per day; so the more weight you have lost the more substantial those calories become. Diet and calorie consumption is definitely only one area to fine tune but keep in mind just cutting your calories is not going to do the trick! Typically women should eat no less than 1200 to 1500 calories per day and men should consume no less than 1500 to 1800 calories. So how do you adjust, adapt and improve to lose those last few pounds? Fine tune your diet, increase your exercise intensity and burn more calories!
Fine tune your diet:
Be sure you are eating the proper amount of macro nutrients everyday. According to information from the Mayo Clinic you should aim for the following:
- 45 to 65 percent of your daily calories from carbohydrates
- 10 to 35 percent of your daily calories from protein
- 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories from fat
Know your serving sizes and keep in mind you can over eat good, healthy food and unknowingly consume more calories than you were aware of. When possible read the nutrition labels on packaged food. Often times what appears to be a single serving size is a lot more. Finally, be aware of hidden calories found in dressings, condiments, beverages and alcohol.
Increase your exercise intensity:
Keep in mind cardiovascular exercises burns the most calories when you are performing the exercise, strength or resistance training allows you to keep burning additional calories even when you are finished exercising.
Work harder and burn more calories during cardio training by increasing your over all speed by just a few points, adding high intensity intervals throughout your workout or by adding just a few more minutes to the end of your workout. When strength training be sure the weight you are lifting is heavy enough, keep your rest time between sets to no more than 30 seconds or give circuit training a try. Perform every exercise in your workout without a break, then take a break and repeat the exercise circuit 1 or 2 more times.
Burn more calories in everyday life:
Stand Up! Studies conducted at the University of Iowa show that for every hour you stand during the day you can burn an extra 50 to 100 calories.
Fidget! If you tap your feet, twiddle your thumbs or just move around you can burn up to 350 more calories in a day than someone who remains stationary according to a study at the Mayo Clinic.
Be Fit, Be Healthy, Be Happy! ~ Tanya
Tanya specializes in helping people achieve optimal health with a highly individualized approach to fitness exercise. She is the founder and creator of http://getinshapeforfree.net/ featuring a "6 Week Shape UP Challenge" with Sequential Progression. This national fitness and exercise website is completely Free and available to everyone who has the desire to be fit & healthy. Tanya's philosophy has always been that a fit & healthy lifestyle is a process that you build upon; that's why her approach to exercise with Sequential Progression is so effective. Tanya's clients have successfully improved and achieved their health and fitness goals because of this approach. And now with http://getinshapeforfree.net/ so can YOU!
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