...... in the Gym, Running, Exercise, etc. ?" 

Many people when they want to lose weight focus purely on aerobic exercise -  the most common activities being jogging, swimming and cycling.

If you really enjoy jogging, etc then it is a great way to burn calories but do keep a good daily diary so you keep track of how long you trained.

 

Tip 1  You will burn more fat if you can exercise a longer time at a lower heart rate..... .... than if you exhaust yourself at a higher heart rate for a shorter period of time.  (i.e. running or cycling at a slower speed for a longer period gets better weight loss results than quick sprints !) Select a rate at which you get a comfortable degree of exercise and feel warm and sweaty towards the end of your aerobic workout. At the right rate this exercise should be something pleasant you would want to do again.

Resistance training ?

It you want to lose weight (or inches) then there are 2 ways to boost results.

• One option is to combine aerobic exercise with the right diet plan (see below)

• The other way is to add resistance training into your plan

The objective of working with weights (or resistance equipment) is to build muscles.

Why are muscles so important?

One pound of muscle burns 14 calories per day at rest (even if you are lying in bed), hence the easiest way to increase your metabolism is to add more muscles.

For example just a 10 pound increase in your muscle mass results in you burning 140 calories per day without doing anything!

What weights should you work with?

If you want to avoid bulky muscles (and don't want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger) then follow a circuit training regime moving from one exercise to another with little rest in between. Very important to do more repetitions at lighter weights

How often?

Try to do exercise daily.  Ideally try to achieve 1 hour of exercise per day, for example 20 minutes of aerobic and 40 minutes of weights.

Example 1 - Fran

Mistake 2 - Following the wrong diet plan

What you eat, and when you eat, is as important as your exercise

If you don't change your diet then you simply won't get the best results in the gym.

Your "diet" plan should provide all the balanced nutrition your body needs on a daily basis.

It is important to have a plan where:

• you lose excess weight

• by reducing excess calories

• without sacrificing important nutrients like protein, potassium and iron.

Linked to this you need a plan where your reduce your calorie intake while at the same time maintaining (or boosting) your energy levels. (have you noticed how gyms are always busier at the beginning of the week?)

3 key items for better results

1. Don't cut back to much

The starting point to your plan is find out your resting metabolic rate (RMR). This is the number of calories you burn at rest during a 24-hour period doing work, exercise, etc.

By eating 500 calories less than your RMR daily, you will lose one pound of excess weight per week. However it is not as simple as cutting back on calories

- you also need to eat the right food and right amount to keep your energy levels up, and ideally 'metabolic' boosting foods to further increase your results.

2. Your Protein intake

The second item is know how much protein you need to eat each day to help your muscles, prevent hunger between meals and rebuild your body after training.

Again it is very important to know how much protein you need to take, and this will vary from person to person.

3. Don't skip meals

In most cases just eating three regular meals per day will be enough.

But if you find you are getting tired during training, or just not getting the results you hoped, then you need to adjust this by either adding supplements or changing what you eat.

How can we help ?

We specialise in providing one to one advice, help and support.

Either follow the links at the bottom of this page for more information,

or the easiest way to get started is to visit our main product site ( click here ) and get a free recommendation.

All you do is simply fill in the questionnaire and we will email you with our advice.

More information

• Sport Nutrition Products mentioned

• 5 step sports nutrition plan