Weight Loss Myths – Bust These Myths and Your Calories!

You’ve tried everything, from the fad diets to the crazy workouts and still the bulges refuse to budge! Chances are that the only things keeping you away from achieving the body of your dreams might be these weight loss myths.

1. Radical exercise regimes are the only way to lose weight

A workout regime doesn’t have to be radical to be successful; the key to successful weight loss are small changes that you can commit to for a long time. This means that you need to be more physically active in your everyday routine. For an adult 150 minutes of physical activity such as walking or cycling, is necessary for a week and much more is needed for the overweight. If you’re not too keen on outdoorsy activities, you can opt to get safe and comfortable in home personal training in Toronto by a service provider like First Class Personal Training. Basically, to burn more calories than you consume, you must achieve a balance of more physical exercise and eating less.

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2. Healthy foods are more expensive

It may at first seem that healthy foods cost more than unhealthy alternatives but in closer inspection its actually not! Replace the usual ingredients with healthier substitutes and you’ll find that it will cost less than you imagined. For example, opt for cheaper cuts of meat and mix it together with cheaper substitutes such as pulses, beans, and frozen veg that will work wonders for stir-fries or casseroles.

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3. Carbs make you put on weight

Carbs are one of the most misunderstood of macronutrient components of food. Consumed as part of a balanced diet and in the right quantities, carbs will not, on their own lead to weight gain. On their own means without any additives such as creamy sauces, butter…etc. Eat more wholemeal and whole grain carbohydrates such as wholemeal bread, brown rice, and potatoes (with the skins on) to increase the intake of fibre. If you’re trying to lose weight, don’t fry starchy foods but bake’em!

4. Starving yourself is the best way to lose weight

It’s very unlikely that crash diets are the solution for long-term weight loss. It actually leads to long term weight gain. The biggest problem is that this kind of diet is too difficult to maintain in a long term. You will also miss out on essential nutrients as crash diets limit the diversity of food consumed. Not only that, your body will be on low energy, and that will cause you to crave for high-sugar and high-fat foods. This leads to eating more foods and calories than you need, resulting weight gain.

5. Some foods speed up your metabolism

Metabolism is a continuous chemical process that works to keeps you alive and keeps your organs functioning normal like repairing cells, breathing, and digesting food. Some claim that certain food and drinks can boost your metabolism and thus aid weight loss and burn more calories. There is little scientific evidence to back most of these claims. Therefore, to be safe get active and stick to burning more calories than you eat to lose weight.

 

Neck Strengthening Exercises – A Sound Mind in a Sound Body

Neck strengthening exercises can be done safely at home once you have mastered the art. Injuries can be avoided by strengthening the muscles in the various parts of your body which will absorb the shocks and act as a cushion.

Combat neck pain

Maintaining a strong neck is important as it helps support your head. When the upper back and neck muscles become weak your head tends to sag forward thereby increasing the stress on the spine resulting in neck pain.

Regular course of exercise

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Strengthening the muscles of the neck area will relieve you of this pain and improve your posture. It is also important to follow a regular course of therapeutic exercises as a deterrent.

In home personal trainer

If you are in Canada you may register with in home personal training in Toronto the likes of First Class Personal Training to help you keep fit and avoid unnecessary injury to self.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is a tangle of nerves beginning at the brain and running through the spine ending at the lower back. The spine supports a huge load, in addition to the rotational flexibility and allows for the passage of messages throughout the body.

 

 

Exercise Techniques to Reduce Injuries – Healthier Alternatives to Common Exercises

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Exercise is one of the healthiest activities a person can indulge in, yet it can also be one of the most dangerous. To a great extent there is no such thing as bad exercises, but if one were to not carry them out with the right form and techniques, they have the potential to cause serious harm, or at least have no beneficial effect at all. In most countries there will be services where you can have trainers conduct classes in your own home, such as First Class PT one of many places with the best personal trainers Toronto has to offer.

A great alternative exercise for the shoulders would be the single arm lateral dumbbell raise, which is much safer instead of the usual barbell high row. When doing this, place your feet parallel with your shoulders, and your hips and spine in a neutral position. While maintaining a slight bend in your elbow, raise the weight till your wrist and hand is at level with your shoulder. Then slowly lower it to the starting position.

One of the best abdominal workouts you can do is reverse crunches, which provide a lot of support to crucial areas such as the spine. While lying on your back, place your hands under the edges of your pelvis. Then, while maintaining a very slight bend in your knees, raise your legs above your hips so that your body is at a fairly L-shaped angle. Once this is achieved, transfer most of your body weight to your upper body while raising your tailbone from the floor. Then slowly reach as high as you can with your legs while pushing your hips towards your head. Then slowly return to the starting position by laying your tailbone back on the ground and returning your legs to a bent position.

There are many such exercises that are more effective and healthier counterparts, so it’s always best to do some research, or enlist the help of a professional.

Catalina Forbes is a travel writer who bases her content on many thrilling escapades experienced across the world.

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Staying Fit through Good Food & Great Exercise – No Pain, No Gain

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Image Credit: First Class PT

You’ve tried everything from fad diets to zumba classes. Unfortunately, since the only consistent thing you’ve achieved was inconsistency, the bulges have been piling up more than ever. When everyday activities become tiring and you’re constantly exhausted, not to mention when most of your clothes don’t fit you anymore, you get stressed out. And what happens when you’re stressed out? You tend to stress eat. All those peameal bacon sandwiches, beavertails, and butter tarts seem to be calling out your name. So you begin to lose motivation because it seems that you’re never gonna get fit again, but you can, and here’s how, you need to start thinking that fitness is not a destination but a way of life !

What does this mean? It means that you need to make healthy food and proper exercises an everyday thing, not ‘get-a-membership-at-a-fancy-gym-and-only-go-for-a-month thing’. Mate, you need to make a serious commitment and you know what they say, “No Pain, No Gain”. You have the freedom to choose whatever workout, works out for ya. If you wanna boost cardio, make running, cycling or swimming a regular thing. Don’t think you have the will power to continue the workout? Now worries. The best personal trainers in Toronto the likes of those at First Class PT, will know how to constantly keep you motivated and focused on the game. They will also give you a carefully thought-out diet plan that is ideal for your body’s condition and what you aim it to be. For example, those with an apple-shaped body type should choose fiber-rich carbohydrates such as legumes, oats, beans, whole grain bread, and non-starchy vegetables. Pear-shaped individuals, on the other hand should maintain a diet of lower fat, high fiber and an ample balance of lean proteins.

Keep on fighting, better and stronger. To maintain a fit life you should always try improving your workout routing. To do this, you must improve the intensity of your workout as well as its length. If you started by jogging 2 to 4 miles, try upgrading it to 5 to 4 miles as you go on. Always challenge yourself to beat your last timing. When the workout grows so does your healthy lifestyle.

And remember staying fit is to have more fun!