by commedia » Fri Aug 09, 2013 4:03 pm
Eat organic, fresh produce whenever possible. Stay away from fast foods and boxed or canned products. Homemade meals are best. Cut portions down by 1/4 with the exception being green vegetables and lean fruits unless they have something fatty mixed into them. Try to eat 5 small meals instead of three large ones not including small snacks (healthy but yummy) to munch on between meals. Make breakfast the largest more nutritionally complete meal of the day. Drink mainly water (tea is okay but plain water or water with lemon is best).
^this will help keep you satisfied and boost your metabolism.
Exercise atleast 3-4 days a week starting out easy and working your way up slowly in intensity. If YouTube is available for you (idk where you live but it's worth a shot) then I highly recommend FitnessBlender workouts. If you can get onto their website (they have the links in video descriptions for all of their videos) they have more information regarding the routines. You can chose from what seems like hundreds of videos for cardio, toning specific body sections or full body workouts. There are also some available for bad backs and joints, if I recall correctly.
Each workout video they have has a chart in the description section. There you will find a number representing fitness level it's made for (1 being beginner and they get harder as the number gets bigger), what equipment, if any, is required, what part of the body it's working out and an estimate of how many calories can be burned upon completion (not including after-burn which happens because your body is heated up from the exercise). Under the chart they tell you even more information about the video and some recommend other videos or give tips to complete the video successfully in the safest manner possible.
You can perform a search within the free videos (except for the 8-week program almost all of the videos are free to the public) for a specific fitness level, type of routine (i.e. pilates, toning,...), area of focus (i.e. lower body) and a minimum-maximum calories burned.
PLEASE be careful, take caution, listen to your body and STOP if you pull something and don't continue exercising until three days after the injury has healed to avoid further, more severe complications. Eat well and drink plenty. Take it slow.
Weight will only come off but so fast in a healthy way. It may take a long time but that's allowing the body to adjust to the new weight. This is very important for maintaining a new weight whether the goal is to gain or lose it. Most bodies have a 'set-weight' that it reverts back to naturally. This is what makes loss and gain so difficult to maintain for so many people. If your weight fluctuates a lot but ends up around the same number (example: set-weight is 140lbs. the person's weight can fluctuate between 135-145lbs often. your body wants to stay as close as possible to the set-weight.) that's around your set-weight.
By taking the time to get to your ultimate goal you're giving the body a chance to adjust and change the SW.
With time it will move closer and closer to your desired weight. Sometimes it won't change or will stop at a certain point. That's why diets don't work in the long run. You have to change your lifestyle. It's not as difficult as it sounds. Eat better and better foods and stay active for that one hour minimum 3 times a week. Walk in place if you have to while watching a movie or television show. Eat the small multiple meals. Within weeks you'll see and feel change in your body and you will adjust to the new behaviors. It gets easier with time if you give it your best and truly commit.
Have patience. Good luck to anyone reading this!