Whilst you will need to address your diet as a whole, its not about starving yourself. Actually, finding a balance and a diet that works for you will actually be much better in the long run. You need to consider the fundamentals and why you are dieting in the first place. For instance, you want to lose weight so you change your diet drastically and eat very little. This will actually have an negative affect. Your body will go into shock and store fat reserves instead of burning them.
Counting calories and looking at the nutritional value of your food is probably the best place to start, if you are exersising alongside a diet your body will still need fuel. This is key to being successful in your efforts. By eating the right types of food you will reduce cravings, feel less hungry and reduce the risk of eating something you know you shouldn’t be eating!
In theory, you do need to eat less – or at least less of certain food types. But this is not enough by itself to lose weight. Ultimately, you will need to exercise, move more.
So what are the best exercises for a beginner wanting to lose weight?
Go for a walk
Just about anybody (of any fitness level) can go for a walk – if you are lucky enough to live near the countryside why not take in some of the amazing scenery this country has to offer. Live in a built up area or a large city? why not walk in to town instead of travelling by car or public transport? Need something from the local shop? – walk! by making these small and subtle changes to your lifestyle you will improve your overall health, lose weight and help save the environment!
Body weight exercises
Undertaking body weight exercises are great fro everybody as they don’t involve any special knowledge or expensive equipment! you can even do them in the comfort of your own home! Having covered body weight exercises in the past here are a few of our favourites and what they entail.
The best separated exercises are: burpees, mountain climbers and squat jumps. You haven’t heard of them before? No problem. So the first one were going to look at is called burpees or a burpee. Here is how to complete your first burpee – Squatting to the floor, then jumping to your feet to a plank position, jumping back in, and standing up. Why should you do them? This is called a “killer exercise” for a reason and it can burn 100 kcal in 10 minutes! Plus you do not need any equipment or experience to begin with.
The Second exercise is called the mountain climber. Sound scary! How do you perform a mountain climber? From a push up position you run the knees in and out (as if jogging on the spot but from a crouch) as fast as you possibly can. Mountain climbers make your heart rate super-fast while building strength and endurance from the core outwards.
The third of these exercises are squat jumps. What does it look like? First of all, squat as low as you then jump as high as possible before landing. From a squat position, jump as high as you can then finish by returning to a squat position. Here, we have a variation. Prisoner squat jumps. This variation needs your hands to be put behind your head. Remember my friend, the more you sweat, the better the results will be.
Jogging
Like walking, Jogging requires no prior experience and can be done at any fitness level. Not only will you lose weight but you will release feel good chemicals into your system which will help improve your mental health. You can jog anywhere, on the spot, the gym or your local park. With the nights drawing in it may be sensible to get a light or a high-vis pair of clothes to ensure you are safe whilst out and about. Jogging is a great way to become active because you can do it at your own pace, feel tired? slow down or walk – feel like you can push on? accelerate or try and beat last weeks record! There are lots of local running clubs you can join should you prefer a more sociable jog, and most will accept any skill and fitness level.
So as you can see, if you want to lose weight you will need to look at a few areas, not just cutting down on food. Before making any huge lifestyle changes it is always best to consult a health professional first as your health is everything – even those of us with the right intentions can sometimes get it wrong – make sure you stay safe and don’t cause yourself any unwanted injuries.
