10 Ways to Stay On Track with Your Weight Loss Goals

Staying on track with your weight loss goals can be difficult at times, but it’s not impossible. Here are ten ways to help you stay motivated and stay on track with your weight loss goals!

Plan Meals

This will help you to stay within your calorie budget each day. Make sure to be prepared and have healthy snacks and meals ready at all times. A good example of this is keeping freshly cut fruit and veggies in the fridge.

Accountability

You will be surprised at how much this can help you.  Build a support system of people who have similar goals and are working towards the same thing. If you surround yourself with people who are also trying to stay on track, you will be less likely to make poor eating choices or skip a workout.

Record Progress

Regularly weighing yourself, tracking your calories, recording your workouts, and taking measurements can help you stay on track. It will also show where you are, how far you’ve come, and how close you are to your goal.

Know Yourself

If you know you can’t resist brownies or you can’t wake up for an early morning workout at the gym, work those things into your plan.  Budget in the brownie and schedule the gym later in the day.  It’s not worth it to lose your control with food or to pass up a workout.

Eat More

It’s amazing what this can do!  If you do not take in enough calories, it doesn’t matter how many miles you run or minutes you spend on the elliptical – you will not lose weight (fat)! If you do see numbers on the scale eventually fall, it could be muscle or bone mass. Your body needs healthy calories to function, so make sure you’re eating enough every day.  This will prevent you from setting yourself up for a binge.

Staying motivated

Sometimes it’s difficult to maintain the excitement you felt when you first made your goals.  When the going gets tough, remember why you set those goals in the first place.  Remember what you are trying to accomplish and remind yourself that what you do today will pay off in six months!

Reward

Okay, I never reward myself with food since I don’t want to look at unhealthy treats as a reward to myself.  It’s easy to get excited when you reward yourself from time to time for all the hard work you’re doing.  Here are a few ideas you can treat yourself to: buy some new workout gear, get a massage, or maybe buy a new book you have wanted.

Exhaust Every Avenue

Don’t ever give up. If you find yourself slipping into a slump, try everything you can to stay on track. Make sure to commit to a minimum amount of exercise each week.  Here are a few ideas that can help you reach your fitness goals:

• Hire a personal trainer

• Find a workout partner

• Try something new like a spin class or particular sport

Lose the Excuses

Think positive thoughts and hold on to what inspires you rather than make excuses for yourself to skip the gym or eat unhealthy. Every day is going to be different; and what motivated you yesterday may not work today.  You may want to try on those pants you’ve been dying to fit into.  Always keep yourself motivated.

Have Consequences

There are consequences to everything in life.  If you skip workouts or practice poor eating habits, you won’t reach your goals.  That’s the hard truth.  Never miss out on what you REALLY want for what you want right now (extra sleep or that greasy cheeseburger, for example).  If you miss a workout or eat unhealthy, there should be a consequence that will hold you accountable.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Tags: healthy lifestyle, motivation, Weight Loss

Did Snooki Safely Lose Weight?

Snooki (AKA Nicole Polizzi) from the popular reality TV show, Jersey Shore, is one of the many stars who have recently lost a lot of weight. For the 4’9″ reality star, her 15 pound weight loss is a substantial difference! Snooki now weighs in at 98 pounds and many want to know how they too can shed some excess weight.

How Snooki Lost 15 Pounds

Snooki weighs in at 98 pounds (which isn’t bad considering her height) and the rumor mill was in overdrive trying to figure out the secret to her recent weight loss. Luckily, Snooki let her 4 million plus followers on Twitter in on her little weight loss secret.

Snooki wrote on her Twitter page “Glad to hear reports that say I look good =) but it’s not because of HCG! Thanks @Zantrex!”

There you have it! Snooki has had the help of the diet pill Zantrex to help her reach her goal weight. I’ve also read recently that according to recently that Snooki also credits alcohol and becoming a gym rat to her weight loss success. Yikes. While the rest of Hollywood is providing their congrats to Snooki, I’m going to take this opportunity to warn my readers against the dangers of poor diet, alcohol, and dangerous weight loss pills mixed with gym time.

Yes, Snooki lost weight and looks great, but you can do better than that. You can create a healthy lifestyle that will last longer than the latest Hollywood fad diet.

Is Zantrex Safe?

Let’s face it. Zantrex is a diet pill. You know how I feel about those, right? With that aside, is Zantrex any different? Is it safe? I did some research and the short answer is: No, Zantrex is not safe. It may help with quick weight loss but it just doesn’t provide a long term solution to weight loss, which is what you really want, right? Diet pills are just the “easy” way out, so I understand why it seems to appealing.

For long term weight loss and health, focus on healthy eating and drinking habits and avoid those dangerous diet pills, no matter which favorite starlet is promoting the product.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: SkinnyvsCurvy.com

Tags: Celebrity, Snooki

Jonah Hill’s Dramatic Weight Loss

Jonah Hill reveals his strategy to his dramatic weight loss this year.

Jonah Hill’s Weight Loss Strategy

We’ve heard it all before. If you want to lose weight, you need to eat healthier and start exercising. Guess what? It works.

“I just started eating really healthy and exercising. That’s about it” – Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill knew he needed to lose some weight, so he received the help of a Nutritionist to learn how to eat healthier and also hired a Personal Trainer to learn how to exercise. Jonah admitted that losing weight wasn’t necessarily ”fun”, but it was important for him to change and create a healthier lifestyle. So far, Jonah Hill has lost at least 40 pounds!

It’s Just Hard Work

Like I’ve said before, weight loss can be just plain ‘ol hard work. There’s no secret or magic pill, and Jonah Hill discovered this himself:

 ”I wish there was some amazing book that I found in the center of the Earth that had all the world’s secrets in it, but unfortunately, it was just hard work.” – Jonah Hill

Want to lose weight like Jonah Hill? Eat right and exercise. No secrets.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credits: Getty Images

Know Your Heart Rate Zones

Too many gym goers  just aren’t seeing the results they want to see. They don’t know what they are doing wrong, and most of them just stop going to the gym altogether. Problem is, just going to them gym and exercising your hardest just isn’t always the best way to see the results you are after. If you want to maximize your exercise results, the key to your problems is knowing your heart rate zones.

Calculating Heart Rate Zones

If you want to reach your goals in the gym, you first need to know what your maximum heart rate is.

Maximum Heart Rate

220 – age = Maximum Heart Rate

For example, if you are 30 years old:

220 – 30 = 190

Now that you know what your maximum heart rate is, you can determine what your heart rate zones are.

Heart Rate Zones

Zone One: 65% – 75% of Maximum Heart Rate

Zone Two: 80% – 85% of Maximum Heart Rate

Zone Three: 86% – 90% of Maximum Heart Rate

For example, if you are 30 years old:

Zone One: Heart Rate of 123.5 – 142.5

Zone Two: Heart Rate of 152 – 161.5

Zone Three: Heart Rate of 163.4 – 171

Advantages Of Each Heart Rate Zone

Zone One

• This is a great zone for your warm up and cool down during the exercise.

• If you are new to working out, this is a great zone to stay in during your entire cardio workout.

• This zone will help improve the blood’s ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body and remove waste which increases blood volume and allows the heart to become stronger.

• This is an Aerobic workout, which uses your muscle glycogen and fatty acids as an energy source.

• An example workout would be walking or even jogging.

Zone Two

• This zone is near the anaerobic threshold, which is when the body is at a point where it can no longer produce enough energy for the muscles with normal oxygen intake. As a result, higher levels of lactic acid is produced. Increase your anaerobic threshold should be one of your cardio goals.

• Exercising at an aerobic level, such as being in Zone Two, will result in more calories being burned with a higher percentage of those calories coming from fat. This is an effective zone for those who want to decrease body fat.

• This is the Aerobic/Anaerobic workout, which uses your muscle glycogen and lactic acid as an energy source.

• An example workout would be jogging, group (cardio) exercise classes.

Zone Three

• This is a high intensity workout that can’t be kept up for a long period of time. You should only stay in this intense zone for 60 seconds or less.

• Once you have worked your way up to this zone, you should only go into this zone about once a week – that’s it! If you go into this zone too much, you will overwork your heart and have less efficient workouts.

• Zone Three should only be used in conjunction with Zones One and Two.

• The benefit of Zone Three is to prevent  plateaus and to continue improving your overall fitness level and boost your metabolism.

• Increases the amount of oxygen burned after the workout, also increasing the number of calories burned after the workout.

• This is an Anaerobic workout, which uses ATP/CP and muscle glycogen as an energy source.

• An example workout would be a fast run or sprinting.

Interval Training

Knowing how to use your heart rate zones to your advantage will help increase the effectiveness of your workouts.

Before you start any exercise program – especially Interval Training – I suggest that you get the approval from your Doctor to make sure your heart can handle the intensity involved in this kind of workout.

Beginners

Zone One: 20-40 minutes (entire workout)

• If you haven’t been exercising consistently, it’s important that you start here. You will still get a good workout in, without causing more harm than good. You need to develop a strong cardio base before you move on to other heart rate zones.

Intermediate

Zone One: 5 minutes (warm up)

Zone Two: 1 minute

Zone One: 5 minutes

Zone Two: 1 minute

Zone One: 5 minutes

Zone Two: 1 minute

Zone One: 5 minutes (cool down)

• You may only end up being in Zone Two for about 15 or 30 seconds, rather than the entire minute. That’s OK and is expected. Once the minute is up, it’s time to go back into Zone One for 5 minutes. If you never reached Zone Two during that minute, your heart may not be ready for Zone Two.

Advanced

Zone One: 10 minutes

Zone Two: 2  minutes

Zone Three: 1 minute

Zone Two: 1 minute

Zone One: 10 minutes

• This Zone should not be used by beginning or intermediate clients, otherwise it could result in a critical health-related injury.

I suggest buying a Heart Rate Monitor that can easily provide you with your heart rate throughout your workout so you can adjust your pace accordingly. You can manage your heart rate while walking, jogging, running, biking, or even on an elliptical machine or group exercise class. Just monitor your heart rate regularly and know which zone you should stay in.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Tags: exercise, Fitness, Heart Rate Zone, Weight Loss

How Jennifer Hudson Lost 80 Pounds

Do you want to know how your favorite Diva lost 80 pounds? Jennifer Hudson was able to lose the extra weight when she focused on her diet, through Weight Watchers, and hired a Personal Trainer to help her get started with an exercise routine. Bottom Line: Diet and Exercise.

“It’s all about self-motivation because at the end of the day, you can have all the trainers and all the money in the world, but if you don’t have that mindset, it’s not possible.” – Jennifer Hudson on Oprah

Jennifer Hudson’s Diet

For Jennifer Hudson, it all started with Weight Watchers, which is basically a support group for those who want to calorie count their way into their skinny jeans.

The great thing about Weight Watchers is that you don’t have to buy a specific brand of food to participate in their program (such as the Special K diet or Slim•Fast), though, they do sell their own Weight Watchers products in the grocery stores. Another positive thing about Weight Watchers is that the program doesn’t completely eliminate an entire food group, such as all carbohydrates or all fruit. Other diets are just not as practical.

A couple of concerns about the Weight Watchers program is that dieters are allowed to eat as much fruit as they want. This may sounds like a wonderful thing, but all foods, including fruit, have their limitations. For those who truly want to lose weight, and unlimited amount of sugar is not ideal, even if the sugar is coming from a healthy source such as a piece of fruit.

Weight Watchers is a glorified calorie counting program that costs you money every month. You don’t need to pay a company to find out how many calories you should be eating. It’s common enough that it’s found free throughout the internet. For a free support group, let your family and friends know about your healthy weight loss goals and have them help support you with your efforts. Again, I just don’t think you need to pay for that.

If Jennifer Hudson found success with Weight Watchers, why not you? Something to consider. She was approached by this company and was offered millions of dollars to endorse their product. Trust me, I am sure that would motivate anyone to lose the extra pounds that they wanted to lose anyways.

Jennifer Hudson’s Exercise Routine

In addition to Weight Watchers diet plan, Jennifer Hudson hired a Celebrity Personal Trainer, Harley Pasternak, to help her start an exercise program that would work for her.

Harley started Jennifer with a 25 minute circuit training routine that included cardio, shoulder presses, lunges, sit ups, and ab exercises for five days a week. As Jennifer progressed, she worked her way up to a 50 minute routine. In addition to a traditional style workout with her trainer, Jennifer also gets in at least 25 minutes of cardio every day.

Jennifer tries to keep her cardio workouts fun, so she will enjoy playing some basketball or even jump roping. You don’t have to be in a gym on an exercise machine to burn calories and lose weight!

I am proud of Jennifer Hudson for learning how to eat well and starting an exercise program to help her become healthy. Yeah, she lost weight – but even if you aren’t trying to lose weight, it’s important for your health to eat right and exercise on a regular basis.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credits: jenniferhudsonweightlossx.com

Tags: Celebrity, Harley Pasternak, Health, Jennifer Hudson, personal trainer, Weight Loss, Weight Watchers