Those Holiday Pounds: No Big Secret To Weight Loss: Eat Less, Exercise More

Just home for the Holidays, Tyler Jones of Dallas, Texas, gets his heart rate in the target zone with a personal fitness trainer in the comforts of his home. Proper diet and exercise, as most of you know, is by far the best way to lose those unwanted holiday pounds.

Now that the Holidays are over, and the gifts are unwrapped, most of us are hitting the stores exchanging those gifts that are questionable from well-meaning relatives.

But with all of the holiday feasts filled with honey baked hams, roasted turkeys, potatoes & gravy, mouth watering desserts, sumptuous eggnog –you may have received something a little harder to get rid of: that Special K pinch right through the middle.

As the New Year rolls around you might find yourself making a New Year's resolutions to battle the bulge and get back into shape. But like all battles, it will take hard work and resolve to win.

Portion control and exercise are the two of the biggest agents in weight loss, that can affect the outcome of your success. Most of you know the importance of health related fitness. If you really want to lose weight, setting specific goals for your weight loss program is a great way to get started. If you’ve taken time off the treadmill for a while you will benefit greatly from working out with a personal trainer who can give you proper instruction on what exercises to do and how often to do them. We can design an effective, safe and customized workout program that includes tracking your progress, and taking your body fat measurements.

I recommend that you start to take walks every day to get yourself back into the swing of things. You can start off with short walks and work up to longer ones.

It doesn't cost anything but some of your time.

Once you have proven to yourself that you’re committed to your walking routine you might feel more comfortable about joining a gym or committing to working out with a personal trainer.

Another importance of health related fitness, whether you’re exercising to lose weight or just for your health in general, is to work hard enough to get your heart-rate in the training zone. To maximize the effectiveness of the workout, you should do this at least three times per week.

A very important -and often forgotten -part of the workout is stretching. By stretching you lengthen muscle tissue, enable your body to be more flexible, and strengthen your muscles which make it less likely for you to injure yourself.

If you combine weight training and all of these other elements you will have overall fitness and health.

But unfortunately if you don’t make the necessary changes in your eating habits, you can work out all day long and see little results.

Reducing your portion sizes is an easy way to still eat the food you like while reducing caloric intake.

You can do this by simply eating half a meal at a restaurant instead the whole thing, or maybe eat just an appetizer. Another good trick on how to cut calories is to use a margarine substitute and buy light and fat free products when you shop.

To lose one-pound a week you need to eliminate 3500 from your eating habits.

Just think, "If you cut out 500 calories per day, you could lose one pound in a week".
Instead of eating high-calorie foods, try replacing them with more fruits and vegetables, they help you lose weight and can help prevent other diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

If you’re one of those people who like to read labels, be sure to avoid trans-fat and look for products that have less than three grams of fat per serving.

Let's face it: we all seem rushed at times. I know I am. Sometimes I have to stop at a fast food restaurant to get a bite to eat due to the lack of time. It’s either that or not eating at all. I don’t recommend skipping meals. You might feel like eating out can be hard on your diet, but you can ask for a nutritional information menu before ordering and pick a meal with less fat and fewer calories than you normally would.

It would be nice if I could just wave a magic wand or had some hidden secret to give you for instant weight loss, but I don’t. The only way to really lose weight and get in shape is with the proper diet and exercise program, this combination is the healthiest way to beat the battle of the bulge and start off on the right foot to a successful and Happy New Year.