Workout Routine Ideas

Step Aerobics – With this particular workout you can burn roughly 400 calories in a 30 minute workout.  This is a highly preferred workout by women as it targets the common problem areas that women want to tone down such as your hips, glues and legs.

Elliptical – This is a pretty common workout machine that you will see being used in the gym. In fact, at certain times of the day it will be almost impossible to find one that’s available and that’s because it is effective.  With the elliptical trainer a person that weights about 145 lbs will burn roughly 300 calories in 30 minutes,

Jump Rope – This is an exercise that boxers and MMA fighters constantly work into their routines to help tone up and burn calories.  It is very simple yet very effective.  A 30 minute jump rope workout will burn about 350 calories. Now, I am going to be honest, jump rope is not as easy as it seems, but it is a must if your goal is quick weight loss.

Rock Climbing – Rock climbing is not for everyone.  If you lack a lot of arm and leg strength then this is something you want to hold off on until you build up your strength.  For someone that weights about 145 lbs will burn roughly 330 in 30 minutes.

Walking – For those who need a less strenuous work out, walking is the method for you.  This doesn’t mean walking at a slow pace, this is a brisk walk for 30 minutes and someone around 145 lbs will burn roughly 180 calories in 30 minutes.  If you want to step it up a notch try and incorporate some inclines and sprinting into the walk to burn additional calories.

Losing weight is not just about watching the calories you take in; it is also about burning the calories you’ve got just laying around, called fat.  It is a balancing act of burning calories with a workout routine and eating the correct foods to continue to burn calories.  As always, talk to your doctor before implementing any drastic change in diets or a new workout routine.

It is not easy to correlate alcohol intake with weight gain, meaning that alcohol itself most likely will not be the cause for significant weight gain, but it certainly does not help matters and here is why it may affect your weight goals. Alcohol is full of empty calories and some alcoholic drinks are full of sugar.  If you have one drink a week then clearly alcohol is not a main factor in your weight gain or weight loss, but if you have a few drinks at a time, a couple days a week then alcohol may be a big factor with your weight.  The average sized beer is about twelve ounces and has about 130 calories, and a glass of wine has about 120 calories but a drink like Mikes Hard Lemonade has about 220 calories.  One drink a few nights a week will not add that many calories to your daily intake but if you have 2 or 3 a night, it quickly adds up.

Not only do the calories from the drink you consume add up, but usually after a few drinks your judgment becomes impaired and it lowers your inhibition.  You start to feel hungry or see snacks lying around and feel like you can eat anything.  Add to the fact that alcohol inhibits leptin which is the hormone that promotes the feeling of fullness and you could be snacking for hours and not even realizing it.  I can tell you that anytime I’ve been with friends having a few drinks, I get really hungry.  It is why all the diners are full after the bars close.  People have been drinking all night; they feel hungry and want to sober up a little bit so let’s go eat some greasy food.

Alcohol in moderation can have protective effects on your arteries and your health but if you over do it you will most likely see your jean size increase! If you don’t have the will power to just have one or two drinks a week (which I so do not), then remove alcohol from your daily calorie intake and it will really help you in your goal for quick weight loss.

1. Weight Watchers – It is one of the oldest and widely recognized weight loss programs around. The plan consists of a momentum program which helps one choose a healthy diet plan that suits their needs. The plan works on a point system and helps educate you about food and the choices that you make. It also provides the option of an online weight watching plan which a person can follow at his/her own pace anywhere. The program doesn’t prescribe what to eat but rather it supplies various information and tools to keep you motivated and make a healthy decision.
2. Ediet – This is a very popular online diet program. It has been designed to make you lose 10lbs in just 5 weeks (depending on your body type).They have a number of dietitians and trainers who design a  diet plan specifically for you and so all your needs and preferences are taken care of. They provide a number of customized recipes and  diet plans like Glycemic Impact Diet, Mediterranean Diet,  Slim-Fast Optima, bill Philip eating for life,  Diabetic, Low Cholesterol, Low Sodium, Health Soy, Heart Smart, Vegetarian, Lactose Free, and many more. They also have a meal delivery plan in which freshly prepared food is delivered to your house.
3. Diet.com – diet.com is a unique kind of weight loss program which evaluates a person’s emotional health to devise a diet plan for him/her. It analyzes you first by asking you to fill out a questionnaire of 70 questions relating to your fears, attitude and overall feelings associated with food, exercise and other skills. Accordingly it divides your personality into 3 types namely food, exercise and coping personalities. It then devises a diet plan which caters to all 3 of your personalities. The program has a devised number of motivating resources like community, weight loss buddies, support groups and the likes for you to share your feelings and overcoming your fears .A well motivated person can do really well by following this program strictly.

There are various methods and programs to which someone can follow for quick weight loss results.  Everything from workout routines, pills or supplements to take like fish oil for weight loss and many fad diets. The key is researching and figuring out which plan will work best for you as not all weight loss programs are the same.  You will need to determine if you simply need a meal plan, a support program, online capabilities or all of the above.   Visit the various weight loss programs to find the right match for you!

So the specifics are

• Meal #1 – Eat any Special K Cereal with 2/3 cup of skim milk along with your choice of fruit, or you can have a Special K protein meal bar or shake.
• Meal # 2 – Eat any Special K Cereal, Protein Shake, Meal Bar or Waffles (with 2 tablespoons of light syrup)
• Meal # 3 – Eat a normal meal. Now, obviously this doesn’t mean go load up on cupcakes, ho hos, or make a huge calorie packed meal. You want to eat healthy and be smart about your choices and portion control.
• Snacks – Oh yes, there is snacks! You can eat your favorite fruits and vegetables as additional snacks and you are allowed two other Special K snacks anytime during the day. This means a snack bar, cereal bar, crackers and a few other options.
• Drinks – You will drink beverage as you normally do but the idea is to eliminate high sugar drinks like soda and no alcohol.

Overall this doesn’t seem like a bad plan at all. I don’t think I could do this long term, but I guess that’s why it’s a two week plan. I think this is going to be the jump start I need for my quick weight loss goal in 2010. It’s all about taking that first step. I have to go grocery shopping and so I will start this plan on January 11, 2010. I hope you check back to see my progress as well as my updates about how I feel during the process.

Here’s to meeting all of our resolutions this year and exceeding all of our expectations!