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Winter might not strike you as the best time to promote weight loss. However,
there are some elements of winter that will really aid weight loss over
the course of a year.
Winter weather, in the UK at least, is much colder than any other time of
the year. This means that the body must burn many more calories just to
keep warm.
One why to really promote weight loss is to go for an evening walk when
the weather is particularity cold. Of course the walk will warm you up (a
little) but the body will work overtime (via shivering etc) to keep your
body temperature regular. Over the course of an hour, this may mean you
burn close to 50% more calories than you would performing the same walk
in summer.
Testosterone levels, even in women, is at its highest level during the winter.
Higher levels of testosterone mean that the body can, if triggered, build
and tone muscles much easier than during any other time of the year. However,
the key work in the above sentence is triggered.
The best way to tone muscles and change the shape of your body is to perform
resistance based exercises - press ups, dips, Bicep curls, squats, lunges
etc. Aim to perform one exercise for each major muscle group twice a week.
Perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions until this feels 'easy'. As soon as this
occurs increase the weight used.
Tip 3 relates back to Tip 1. Turning up the central heating when it's cold
makes us comfortable. Unfortunately this does nothing to promote weight
loss. When the temperature is warm or hot in your house the body isn't stressed
into turning up its own central heating; the metabolism. So, if you want
to burn more calories even when watching TV, turn off or at least turn down
your radiators and let your body's own furnace to take over.
This time of year we all make New Year's resolutions. This can be a great
way to set your stall out for future weight loss. For increased weight loss
aim to build in the triad of exercise, sensible eating and rest into your
New Year's resolution.
. Aim to exercise 3-5 times a week. Aim
to cover resistance exercise for muscle toning and shaping and cardiovascular
exercise for calorie burning and general fitness.
. Eat at least 3 meals a day, although 5-6
small meals a day would be better - the increase in number of meals promotes
weight loss via hormonal regulation (lower blood sugar and insulin etc)
and a reduction in the chance of snacking between meals.
. Rest. Try and get at least 7 hours of
sleep each night. This will lower adrenaline levels and allow the body to
replenish and repair itself fully.
If you can't face the prospect of outdoor exercise but you want to get fit
and control your weight effectively then you might want to consider joining
your local gym or health club.
Joining a health club in January usually means that you will be able to
get a discount on the membership fees. But beware, January is the month
when old gym members and people taking up fitness based New Year's resolutions
will be looking to join a health club. As a result the waiting list for
a club tour or a fitness induction with an instructor might be fairly long.
Therefore, why not book an appointment early or even try to take a club
tour BEFORE you go to work; this is be a quiet period of the day for many
health club membership advisers.
Additional information
Burning calories during
exercise
Making and sticking to New Year's resolutions
Join a gym or health club
Review the UK's leading health
club chains
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