Cardio Training

Stop your weight cycling (yo-yo weight loss and regain) habit. Stop going in weight loss circles and damaging your health. Start transforming your body by burning fat and inches.


Here are 25 Fat Loss Tips to get you started on the way to blasting the fat and getting the lean and toned body that you want and need:

Commitment to the Fat Loss Process

1. Make a commitment to a lifetime of fitness. This commitment trumps all other fitness commitments. Without it, you will always fall prey to the inevitable obstacles and pitfalls along the way.

2. Be willing to change your eating habits! Since you must eat to survive, get ready to change. Get rid of the fad diets. Start planning your own meals using a mix of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

3. You MUST change your body's composition! You must increase muscle mass to become a “fat-burning machine.” You don't need to be a body builder but you need to replace the fat (to an acceptable body fat percentage) on your body with muscle mass.

4. You must do more than cardio exercise to change your body's composition. "Cardio only" will not lean out your body. Too much cardio will waste away your muscle mass.

5. Make a commitment to full-body strength training. Among other things, it builds muscle mass, speeds up your metabolism (the body has to work harder to maintain muscle) and helps improve your bone density. And, you’ll look great!

See my article 10 Fat-Burning Strength Exercises.

Use Common Sense to Help you Burn Fat

Like many things in life, fat loss comes down to you applying common sense like:

6. If you severely limit candy, donuts, cookies, sugary drinks, calorie-packed desserts and other sugary products (while continuing to exercise), you will burn belly fat and lose weight.

7. Walk as much as possible (i.e., stay active during the day), exercise 4-5 days a week, stay with your meal plan at least 90% of the time and you will burn fat and lose weight.

8. If you don't replace bad foods (like sugary foods) with good foods like fresh fruits, you will probably continue to eat massive amounts of sugary foods. Try the replacement method--it works.

9. If you don't REALLY COMMIT to improve your quality of life with exercise, healthy nutrition, active lifestyle, etc., you probably won't change your bad habits for very long.

10. If you continue to try every new fad diet that hits the market (to get quick weight loss), you will continue to see your weight yo-yo and your health worsen. Make the commitment to fat loss with regular weight training and cardio exercise. In time, this will burn fat, give you a lean body and good health!

See my article Burn Fat, Lose Weight with Short Workouts.

Don't Choose to Believe Lies about Weight Loss

c. There are many lies about fat loss and weight loss out there! Why? Because businesses are trying to make money off of you and they'll lie to you to get it. You have to make a choice to believe those lies.

The Federal Trade Commission identified these lies:

11. "LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT DIET OR EXERCISE!" This is idiotic! Achieving lasting fat loss and weight loss takes work. Take a pass on any product that promises miraculous results without the effort.

12. "LOSE WEIGHT WITH OUR MIRACLE DIET PATCH OR CREAM!" You’ve seen the ads for diet patches or creams that claim to melt away the pounds. Don’t believe them. There’s nothing you can wear or apply to your skin that will cause you to lose weight.

13. "BLOCK THE ABSORPTION OF FAT, CARBS, OR CALORIES!" Doctors, dieticians, and other experts agree that there is no magic non-prescription pill that will allow you to block the absorption of fat, carbs, or calories. The key to curbing your craving for those "downfall foods" is portion control. Eat less and better when you do eat.

14. "LOSE WEIGHT PERMANENTLY! NEVER DIET AGAIN!" Even if you’re successful in taking the weight off, permanent weight loss requires permanent lifestyle changes like regular exercise and good meal plans. Don’t trust any product that promises once-and-for-all results without ongoing maintenance.

15. "LOSE WEIGHT NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU EAT OF YOUR FAVORITE FOODS!" Beware of any product that claims that you can eat all you want of high-calorie foods and still lose weight. Losing weight requires smart food choices. Filling up on healthy vegetables and fruits can make it easier to say no to fattening sweets and snacks.

Doctors, dieticians, and fitness experts agree that the best way to burn fat and lose weight is to eat higher quality calories, exercise regularly and increase your daily activity. Don't look for shortcuts! Work hard and smart!

Boost Your Metabolism to Burn More Calories and Fat

If you want permanent fat loss and weight loss, continually boosting your metabolism will help you burn more calories and fat. Metabolism is basically the rate at which your body burns calories. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories you'd burn if you did nothing all day (or the amount of calories your body needs to maintain itself). You will use this rate, your activity and goals to determine how many calories you need each day.

Although you don't need to strictly count calories, you do need a good idea of how many calories your body needs every day. Calculate your Calories Needs Here.

16. Do not skip meals. Eating every 3-4 hours keeps your metabolism and energy humming during the day. Starving yourself or severely cutting your calories will only slow your metabolism and cause you to store fat (your body's survival mechanism). Eating only 1,000 calories a day for too long will damage your metabolism.

17. Regular exercise (cardio 2-3 days a week/weight training 3 days a week). Building muscle mass will speed up your metabolism because your body has to work harder to maintain muscle.

See my article Lose Weight Without Losing Muscle Mass.

The more intense the exercise, the more calories you will burn during and after your workout. So, high intensity interval cardio and circuit weight training will give you more fat burn and calorie burn. Breaking up your workouts also works well to speed up metabolism (i.e., two 20 minute workouts instead of one 40 minute workout).

18. Eat protein with every meal. Your body has to work harder to digest protein. This burns more calories and also helps you eat less during the day. Protein is also critical to repair and build muscle after a tough strength workout.

19. Eat good carbs like fresh fruits and veggies. Again, your body has to work harder to digest these foods and you feel fuller for a longer period of time.

Eating fresh fruits can help you cut out the excess sugar in your diet in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Dr. David Ludwig, a Harvard endocrinologist, who is widely cited by obesity researchers, says that sweetened drinks are the only specific food that clinical research has directly linked to weight gain. "Highly concentrated starches and sugars promote overeating, and the granddaddy of them all is sugar-sweetened beverages," said Ludwig, who runs the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children's Hospital in Boston.

20. Get enough sleep and stay away from long-term stress. These two imposters will wreck your metabolism and health!

Take Action to Burn Fat Now!

21. Do something you love. What physical activity do you love? Are you in an "exercise rut?" Forget all the exercise theories and articles! Just get started with an exercise activity you love and do this activity for at least 30 minutes on most days. Before you know it, you will have started exercising regularly again.

22. You don't have a meal plan yet? Here are some things you can start doing today to improve your eating habits:

--Drink only water or unsweetened drinks for beverages
--Severely limit candy, cookies, pastries, junk food and processed foods
--Eat at least one fruit or vegetable with every meal
--Eat protein with every meal, such as eggs, fish, nuts or lean chicken/beef/turkey
--Eat small meals, every 3-4 hours
--Start writing down what and why you eat to hold yourself accountable

23. Tell a friend about your immediate plan to start getting fit. It helps to have someone hold you accountable and its even better if that person will join you. You need help to accomplish your fat loss and weight loss goals. That could be a trainer, a friend, a spouse or other family member. Research proves that those who have weight loss buddies are more likely to succeed.

24. So, you're too busy to exercise? Not! Take advantage of "DEAD TIME" during your day and exercise. Twenty minutes of exercise here and 20 minutes of exercise there works just fine.

25. Are you afraid to set goals for fear of not reaching those goals? Since you need to take action, set a temporary goal of "just getting started exercising." You can set an appointment with a trainer to help figure out the rest.

Do these type things on a consistent basis and you will get the fat loss and weight loss you want!

Be sure and download your FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program from My Fitness Hut and start burning fat and building muscle mass.

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
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