superadmin


Top 5 Weight Loss Lifestyle Tips

One of the biggest issues people have when trying to lose weight is their lifestyle. They’re fully prepared to eat the right foods and do the appropriate exercises but then life gets in the way and throws all their hard work out of the window. The good news is that with a little planning and consideration, you can burn body fat while also dealing with the challenges that life throws at you. In this article I’m going to be helping you do exactly that by providing you with five of the best weight loss lifestyle tips.

Tip 1 – Exercise In The Morning

Exercising in the morning isn’t the only way to lose weight. However, if you lead a busy lifestyle, exercising first thing ensures that you get your workout in before the pressures of the day set in. Scheduling your workouts for later in the day when you’re already busy makes you a lot less likely to follow through with them. Therefore, if your schedule allows it, make your weight loss workouts the first thing you do when you wake up.

Tip 2 – Prepare Healthy Food In Advance

One of the main reasons people eat unhealthy meals at short notice is because they’re running short on time. They plan to eat healthy but then something comes up at short notice and they don’t have time to put together a healthy meal, so they grab some fast food instead. However, if you set aside some time each week to prepare a batch of healthy meals, then you’ll always have something healthy available for the times you’re in a rush and you’ll never have to resort to fast food as a quick fix again.

Tip 3 – Always Carry Some Workout Clothes

Even when you lead a busy lifestyle, you’ll find that sometimes appointments are cancelled or moved and you’re left with unexpected blocks of free time. These blocks of free time are a fantastic opportunity to get a workout in and burn some extra body fat. However, to take advantage of them, you need to have the right gear close by. Therefore, make a point of always carrying some workout clothes with you, so that if a block of free time opens up during the day at short notice, you’re fully prepared to make the most of it.

Tip 4 – Walk When You Can

Most people don’t walk as much as they could. They take the elevator instead of the stairs and use their car for short journeys that could be easily completed on foot. However, walking burns 240 calories per hour, so by walking whenever you can during the day, you can give your fat loss efforts a notable boost. Just an hour of extra walking per day will burn off over 1,500 calories during the week and over 7,000 calories during the month. So next time you head for the elevator or grab the car keys, think whether that’s really the best decision for losing weight and if possible, turn it into an opportunity to add some extra walking to your day.

Tip 5 – Be Flexible With Your Cheat Meals

One big mistake people make when trying to lose weight is being too rigid with their cheat meals. They decide that one day of the week is their cheat day or allocate certain days and times during the week as cheat meals and then if they end up eating any cheat meals outside of these allocated slots, they feel guilty and disappointed. However, life is spontaneous and things will come up at short notice that make it difficult to stick to your healthy eating plans.

 

So instead of beating yourself up about these spontaneous cheat meals, adapt your healthy eating schedule and give yourself a 20% cheat meal allowance during the week but don’t allocate dates and times to it. Then when you have a cheat meal at short notice, remove it from your 20% allowance. This approach is much more flexible and allows you to adapt your healthy eating plans based on what life throws at you while still sticking to your healthy eating goals.

Summary

 As you can see, with the right attitude, it’s possible to stick to your fat loss goals in any situation. So take another look at these tips, start implementing them today and ensure that your lifestyle doesn’t ever hinder your weight loss goals again.


Top 5 Weight Loss Diet Tips

Top 5 Weight Loss Diet Tips for Bergen County Residents

If you’re trying to lose weight, a healthy, calorie controlled diet needs to be the foundation. However, many people don’t take this into account when attempting to drop the pounds and as a result, their fat loss efforts suffer. That’s why in this article I’m going to be sharing with you five of the best weight loss diet tips.

Tip 1 – Be Aware Of Your Total Calorie Consumption

While the quality of the calories you eat is very important when trying to lose weight, the amount of calories you consume will ultimately determine your fat loss success. Even if all your calories are coming from healthy and natural foods, if you eat too much, you’ll struggle to lose weight. Therefore, make sure you have a general awareness of the total number of calories you’re consuming and if you struggle to drop the pounds over an extended period of time, consider reducing your total caloric intake.

Tip 2 – Choose Natural, Unprocessed Foods

Natural, unprocessed foods are generally low in calories. In addition to this, they’re a fantastic source of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Not only do these nutrients help your body perform many essential functions but they also put it in an optimal fat burning state. Processed foods are generally high in calories and contain a fraction of the nutrients that can be found in natural, unprocessed foods. This means by choosing natural, unprocessed foods over processed foods, you consume less calories overall and burn more body fat as a result of the additional nutrients.

Tip 3 – Learn To Cook

If you want to get the maximum flavor out of natural, unprocessed foods and truly enjoy your meals, then you need to learn to cook. This may seem daunting at first if you’re used to living off processed foods that require minimal preparation. However, once you get started with some simple recipes, you’ll quickly pick it up and be enjoying a wide range of healthy, low calorie meals in no time at all. The more you enjoy these meals, the more likely you are to keep eating them which prevents you from falling back into bad habits and binging on unhealthy foods.

 Tip 4 – Fill Up On Vegetables

Making the switch from processed foods to natural, unprocessed foods will give your weight loss efforts a huge boost. However, if you want to take it a step further, adding multiple servings of vegetables to every meal is a great way burn even more body fat. Most vegetables contain less than 50 calories per serving and have a very high concentration of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. However, despite their low calorie content, vegetables are surprisingly filling and do a great job of satisfying your appetite. This makes them a great fat burning food and the more you eat them, the more weight you’ll lose.

Tip 5 – Allow Yourself Occasional Cheat Meals

Losing weight does require a certain level of discipline when it comes to your diet. However, being too strict with what you eat and making certain foods forbidden rarely works and often leads to strong cravings followed by large, unhealthy binges. Therefore, to avoid binge eating and make your weight loss diet is manageable in the long term, you should enjoy cheat meals in moderation. These cheat meals can include any foods you like and the only rule is that you consume them 20% of the time and stick to healthy, natural, unprocessed foods the remaining 80% of the time. Doing this provides you with a buffer to eat any foods you desire but also ensures that most of the time, you’re eating foods that promote fat loss.

 

Summary

By making these simple but effective dietary changes, you’ll notice a huge difference and your excess body fat will start to melt away. So if you’ve been struggling with weight loss for a while, make sure you implement these tips and get the figure you’ve always desired




Top 5 Healthy Eating Tips for Bergen County Residents

Most healthy eating advice focusses on counting calories and measuring portion sizes and ignores actual health. However, true healthy eating goes far beyond calorie restriction and involves providing your body with the essential nutrients it needs. These essential nutrients boost your energy levels, protect against chronic diseases, help your vital organs function and much more. Today I’m going to be helping you adapt your diet so that it contains fewer calories but is also packed full of health boosting nutrients by providing you with five top healthy eating tips.

Tip 1 – Fill Up On Vegetables

Vegetables are a great healthy eating choice for various reasons. First, they contain large amounts of water and help you stay hydrated. Second, they are packed full of fiber along with plenty of health boosting vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Finally, vegetables generally contain well below 100 calories per serving which makes them an excellent choice if you’re trying to lose weight. So if you want to stay healthy, make sure you’re eating multiple servings of vegetables throughout the day.

Tip 2 – Drink Healthy Hot Drinks

Healthy hot drinks (such as black tea, coffee and green tea) not only protect against dehydration but they’re also loaded with health boosting phytonutrients. These phytonutrients in black tea, coffee and green tea have countless health benefits some of which include protecting against chronic disease, boosting the health of your blood, strengthening your immune system and much more. By drinking healthy hot drinks regularly, you can take full advantage of these phytonutrients and enjoy all their health benefits.

Tip 3 – Enjoy Natural Marinated Meat & Fish

Fresh meat and fish are an excellent source of protein. However, if you’re eating them regularly, they can start to become bland and boring. One great way to get around this is by mixing up a range of healthy and natural marinades, soaking your meat or fish in them for a few hours and then cooking them as normal. Doing this will give the fish and meat you eat a whole new level of flavor and ensure that you have plenty of variety in your diet.

Tip 4 – Snack On Nuts & Seeds

Nuts and seeds are an excellent healthy snack for numerous reasons. They’re packed full of healthy fats which boost your brain, strengthen your heart, enhance your immune system and much more. In addition to this, they contain high levels of protein which helps to build, maintain and repair all your body’s cells. They’re also very filling and sure to keep you satisfied between meals. So if you’re currently snacking on candy, chocolate and chips between meals, swap them for nuts and seeds today and give your health a kick.

 Tip 5 – Limit Processed Carbohydrates

Processed carbohydrates are probably the biggest barrier to healthy eating around with foods that contain large amounts of processed carbs being high in calories and low in nutrients. As a result, they do very little for your health but add lots of unnecessary calories to your diet which then get stored as excess body fat. So if you want to ensure that every meal you eat is healthy, think about the amounts of processed carbs it contains and where possible, choose meals that contain little or no processed carbs.

Summary

 As you can see, a proper healthy eating strategy will help you lose weight and improve your overall health. So if you’re currently focused just on the quantity of foods that you eat, start making some changes today and use these five tips to improve the quality of the foods you eat as well.



HIIT Core Workout in Bergen County

HIIT Core Workout

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is a brilliant fat burning tool and when combined with specific exercises for your core muscles, it’s one of the best ways to develop a tight, toned midsection. This HIIT core workout does exactly that by blasting through 500 calories and giving your core muscles a thorough workout in just 30 minutes.

To complete the workout, simply perform each of the 9 exercises below in succession and then repeat the cycle 5 more times. If you find 6 cycles too difficult, start by performing each exercise once and gradually build up until you can successfully complete the full 30 minute HIIT core workout.

Exercise 1 – Planks

Planks are one of the most challenging bodyweight exercises around and involve holding your body in a flat, horizontal position for a fixed amount of time. To perform planks, follow the instructions below:

  1. Kneel down on the ground and then place your forearms on the ground and in line with your head.
  2. Straighten your legs, lift your knees off the ground and support your bodyweight on your toes and forearms.
  3. Once your body is fully supported, tighten your core muscles and hold the plank position for 20 seconds.
  4. Rest for 10 seconds and then move onto the next exercise.

Exercise 2 – Bicycle Crunches

Bicycle crunches are similar to regular crunches but involve moving your legs in a cycling motion as you crunch your core muscles. To perform bicycle crunches, follow the instructions below:

  1. Lie down on the ground with your legs straight out in front of you, your hands at either side of your head and your elbows sticking out.
  2. Lift your legs off the ground, keep your left leg straight and bend your right leg toward your chest.
  3. At the same time, twist your upper body toward your right knee and touch it with your right elbow.
  4. Straighten your right leg and bend your left leg toward your chest.
  5. At the same time, twist your upper body toward your left knee and touch it with your left elbow.
  6. Repeat steps 2-5 for as many repetitions as you can manage within 20 seconds.
  7. Rest for 10 seconds and then move onto the next exercise.

 

Exercise 3 – V Sit Hold

The V Sit hold is a simple looking but very challenging core exercise. To perform the v sit hold, follow the instructions below:

  1. Sit on the ground with your back straight, your knees bent and your feet flat.
  2. Lift your feet off the ground, straighten your legs and raise them up to a 45 degree angle.
  3. Once your legs are at a 45 degree angle, lean back until your upper body is at a 45 degree angle.
  4. Hold your arms straight out in front of you and balance on your tailbone for 20 seconds.
  5. Rest for 10 seconds and then move onto the next exercise.

 

Exercise 4 – Twisting Crunches

Twisting crunches are performed in the exact same way as regular crunches except they involve rotating your body as you crunch your core muscles. To perform twisting crunches, follow the instructions below:

  1. Lie down on the ground with your knees bent, your feet flat, your hands at either side of your head and your elbows sticking out.
  2. Curl your lower back, crunch your abdominal muscles and twist your left elbow toward your right knee.
  3. Straighten your lower back, relax your abdominal muscles and lie down on the ground.
  4. Curl your lower back, crunch your abdominal muscles and twist your right elbow toward your left knee.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4 for as many repetitions as you can manage within 20 seconds.
  6. Rest for 10 seconds and then move onto the next exercise.

Exercise 5 – Lying Leg Raises

Lying leg raises target your lower abdominal muscles. To perform lying leg raises, follow the instructions below:

  1. Lie down flat on the ground and put your hands alongside your butt.
  2. Lift your legs off the ground, stopping once the bottoms of your feet are facing the ceiling and your legs are at a 90 degree angle to your hips.
  3. Lower your legs back down toward the ground, stopping just before your feet touch the ground.
  4. Repeat steps 2-3 for as many repetitions as you can manage within 20 seconds.
  5. Rest for 10 seconds and then move onto the next exercise.

 

Exercise 6 – Side Planks

Side planks involve holding a similar position to regular planks but with more emphasis on your oblique muscles. To perform side planks, follow the instructions below:

  1. Lie down on the left hand side of your body.
  2. Place your left forearm on the ground and your right hand behind your head.
  3. Lift your hips off the floor and support your body on your feet and left forearm.
  4. Once your body is fully supported, tighten your core muscles and hold the side plank position for 20 seconds.
  5. Rest for 10 seconds and then lie down on the right hand side of your body.
  6. Place your right forearm on the ground and your left hand behind your head.
  7. Lift your hips off the ground and support your body on your feet and right forearm.
  8. Once your body is fully supported, tighten your core muscles and hold the side plank position for 20 seconds.
  9. Rest for 10 second and then move onto the next exercise.

 

Exercise 7 – Lying Twisting Windmills

Lying twisting windmills are another great exercise for your lower abs that involve twisting your legs from side to side while holding your upper body in a fixed position. To perform lying windmills, follow the instructions below:

  1. Lie down on the ground with your arms straight out to the side and in line with your chest, your legs bent and your feet flat.
  2. Straighten your legs and point the bottoms of your feet toward the ceiling.
  3. Twist your legs and hips to the right while keeping your upper body in the same position, stopping just before your feet touch the ground.
  4. Twist your legs and hips back to the starting position.
  5. Twist your legs and hips to the left while keeping your upper body in the same position, stopping just before your feet touch the ground.
  6. Twist your legs and hips back to the starting position.
  7. Repeat steps 3-6 for as many repetitions as you can manage within 20 seconds.
  8. Rest for 10 seconds and then move onto the next exercise.

 

Exercise 8 – Flutter Kicks

Flutter kicks are a fun, fast paced core exercise. To perform flutter kicks, follow the instructions below:

  1. Lie down on the ground with your legs straight out in front of you.
  2. Crunch your hands into fists, place them underneath your butt and lift your feet a couple of inches off the ground while keeping your legs straight.
  3. Kick your left foot a couple of inches above your right foot.
  4. Lower your left foot back down and then kick your right foot a couple of inches above your left foot.
  5. Lower your right foot back down and then kick your left foot a couple of inches above your right foot.
  6. Repeat steps 4-5 rapidly for as many repetitions as you can manage within 20 seconds.
  7. Rest for 10 seconds and then move onto the next exercise.

Exercise 9 – Reverse Crunches

Reverse crunches do exactly as the name. To perform reverse crunches, follow the instructions below:

  1. Lie down on the ground with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle and your hands by your butt.
  2. Pull your knees toward your chest and tighten your core muscles, stopping when they are fully crunched.
  3. Lower your knees back down toward the starting position.
  4. Repeat steps 2-3 for as many repetitions as you can manage within 20 seconds.
  5. Rest for 10 seconds and then move onto the next exercise or complete your workout.

Workout Summary Chart

Phase Exercise Time (seconds)
1 Planks 20
2 Rest 10
3 Bicycle Crunches 20
4 Rest 10
5 V Sit Hold 20
6 Rest 10
7 Twisting Crunches 20
8 Rest 10
9 Lying Leg Raises 20
10 Rest 10
11 Side Planks (Left) 20
12 Rest 10
13 Side Planks (Right) 20
14 Rest 10
15 Lying Twisting Windmills 20
16 Rest 10
17 Flutter Kicks 20
18 Rest 10
19 Reverse Crunches 20
20 Rest 10

 

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the standard length for this HIIT core workout is 30 minutes but it can be shortened if you find the full workout too difficult or you’re pushed for time. To adjust the workout to your desired duration, follow the instructions below:

  • For a 5 minute workout, complete phases 1-20 once
  • For a 10 minute workout, complete phases 1-20 twice
  • For a 15 minute workout, complete phases 1-20 three times
  • For a 20 minute workout, complete phases 1-20 four times
  • For a 25 minute workout, complete phases 1-20 five times
  • For a 30 minute workout, complete phases 1-20 six times

Top 5 Weight Loss Mindset Tips in Bergen County Life Style

 

A strong, positive mindset is one of the most important tools on your weight loss journey. With the right mindset, you’ll find facing weight loss challenges and sticking to your weight loss goals a breeze. However, developing and maintaining a positive weight loss mindset can be difficult especially living in Bergen County, New Jersey. That’s why in this article I’m going to be listing five top weight loss mindset tips.

Tip 1 – Be Patient

If you’re trying to lose a large amount of weight then you need to accept that it’s going to be a long term process and stay patient as your work towards your final fat loss goal. Most healthy weight loss programs will result in around 2lbs of fat loss per week, so use this as a benchmark and get a general idea of how long it’s going to take to achieve your desired amount of weight loss. Then when impatience sets in, remind yourself that reaching your weight loss goal will take time but every day is taking you a step closer to your ultimate fat loss goal.

Tip 2 – Learn To Focus On Successes

As with many long term goals, it can sometimes seem natural to focus on the negatives on your fat loss journey. However, by doing this, you’re ignoring all the positive steps you’ve made along the way and setting yourself up for disappointment. So next time something doesn’t go to plan on your weight loss journey and you feel disappointment setting in, make an effort to think about all the positive steps you’ve made that week. By doing this, you’ll quickly realize that the positives heavily outweigh the negatives, feel more motivated and discover that you’ve got nothing to be disappointed about.

Tip 3 – Accept That Setbacks Will Happen

While it’s important to focus on successes and not setbacks, you still need to accept that setbacks will happen. Once you accept that they’re a necessary part of your weight loss journey and something that you can use to make yourself stronger and more motivated, you’ll stop seeing them as a negative thing, they’ll have much less control over you and you’ll find it much easier to stay motivated.

Tip 4 – Meditate Daily

Meditation allows you to clear your mind of negative thoughts and puts you in a neutral mental state from which you can then build positive, constructive thoughts. Therefore, by meditating daily, you’ll find it much easier to implement the three tips above and maintain an increasingly strong positive mental attitude which helps you achieve your weight loss goals.

Tip 5 – Get At Least 6 Hours Of Sleep Every Night

Getting at least six hours of sleep every night has both a physical and mental impact on your weight loss efforts. First, it gives your weight loss efforts a physical boost by stimulating the release of growth hormone (a hormone that promotes fat burning). It also gives your weight loss efforts a mental boost by naturally suppressing your appetite and increasing your energy levels. Therefore, by getting at least six hours of sleep each night, you’ll put yourself in a mental state where you’re less likely to overeat and more likely to exercise which is exactly what you want if you’re trying to lose weight.

Summary

With the right mindset, you can achieve any weight loss goal that you set yourself. So if you’re currently having issues with motivation or discouragement when it comes to weight loss, make sure you implement all five of these tips and start realizing the benefits a positive mental attitude can have on your fat loss success.


Top 5 Healthy Alcohol Consumption Tips

Top 5 Healthy Alcohol Consumption Tips

When it comes to eating healthy, most people don’t give alcohol a second thought. They change the actual foods they’re eating but continue drinking the same types and quantities of alcohol as they did before. However, alcoholic drinks often contain more calories and can be worse for you in terms of health than junk food. So if you really want to improve your overall health, you need to be factoring in your alcohol consumption. In this article I’m going to be helping you do exactly that and providing you with five top tips that will allow you to enjoy alcohol in moderation without it sabotaging your healthy lifestyle goals.

 

Tip 1 – Limit Your Consumption To A Maximum of 2 Alcoholic Drinks Per Night

Heavy alcohol consumption can cause you to become dehydrated and this has a negative effect on your metabolism, your blood flow, your vital organs and more. In addition to this, heavy alcohol consumption directly damages a number of vital organs including your brain, your kidneys and your liver. Finally, most alcoholic drinks are relatively high in calories, so by drinking excessively, you’re likely to gain weight. By moderating your alcohol consumption and drinking no more than two alcoholic drinks per night, you can avoid all these negative effects without giving up on alcohol completely.

 

Tip 2 – Have At Least 2 Alcohol Free Nights Per Week

Even if you’re drinking in moderation, consuming alcohol on a daily basis is not good for your health and the buildup of alcohol in your system can lead to the same health complications discussed above. Therefore, it’s important that you have at least two days per week where you completely avoid alcohol. Doing this cleanses your system and gives your vital organs a break from alcohol exposure.

 

Tip 3 – Drink A Large Glass Of Water After Drinking Alcohol

As mentioned in the first tip, one of the health risks of excessive alcohol consumption is dehydration. However, even in small amounts, alcohol does have a dehydrating effect. Therefore, to fully protect against dehydration and avoid the health complications, make sure you drink a large glass of water after drinking alcohol.

 

Tip 4 – Choose Low Calorie Alcoholic Drinks

Alcohol is relatively rich in calories and contains 7 calories per gram. In addition to this, most alcoholic drinks contain large amounts of carbohydrates and sugar which adds further calories to the drink. As a result, just a couple of regular alcoholic drinks can add over 500 calories to your daily intake. Not only can this lead to unwanted weight gain but the large amount of calories in liquid form can also cause your blood glucose levels to surge and drop rapidly. By choosing low calorie alcoholic drinks, such as champagne, light beer or spirits, you can slash the total calorie count to below 100 calories per drink and avoid these complications.

 

Tip 5 – Don’t Drink Alcohol Within The Last 2 Hours Before You Sleep

Drinking alcohol close to your bedtime can interfere with your sleep patterns and reduce the amount of deep sleep you get during the night. As a result, the sleep you get will be less effective and you’ll feel exhausted if you drink alcohol close to your bedtime. Therefore, make sure that on the nights you do drink alcohol, you drink it at least two hours before you go to sleep.

 

Summary

 If you’ve been rigorously sticking to your healthy eating plans but haven’t been getting the results you desire, your current level of alcohol consumption could be why. So if you’re not presently implementing all five of the above tips when it comes to alcohol, start making some changes today and give your health a huge boost.