Healthy Weight Loss and Dieting Tips

It’s no secret that today we live in a society that thrives on instant gratification.

While it’s nice to get what you want when you want it at times, there are situations where this thought process can be detrimental. Your fitness and weight-loss goals fall into this category.

All a person has to do is browse the internet and they’re bombarded with false promises that lead them into believing that they can lose 20 pounds in a week. Honestly, yes in the most unhealthy manner the human body can do this..with a guarantee of putting 40 back on.

More importantly, 20 pounds of what?

Most likely, the exact weight that shouldn’t be lost…muscle tissue. There simply is no quick fix to proper weight-loss.

Before I get technical, let me get to the heart of things. I struggled with my weight for a period of time for various reasons. I tried some of those “diets” and threw myself into fitness programs that were way too advanced for my level of abilities.

In the end, I always ended up putting back whatever weight I lost and then some.

• My self-esteem took several hits and my metabolism did as well.
• I hated having to eat and I hated exercise.
• It was too hard.

Little did I know…there really was a way to get what I wanted.

Once I learned to just allow my current regimen to become a lifestyle and ditch the idea of being in a hurry, my body morphed into a shape I didn’t know was possible.

It took time, it took persistence, it took some growing up, but with the results I got, I wouldn’t have done this any other way.

Fat-loss and the building up of lean muscle tissue takes time

There are physiological changes that must occur within the cells, heart, lungs, muscles, use of stored fat as energy and the neuromuscular system to produce the desired results.

It takes several weeks of consistent cardiovascular activity for the heart to increase it’s stroke volume (the amount of blood released with each heartbeat). With increased stroke volume, more blood, and therefore more oxygen is distributed throughout the body.

As this happens, the body creates even more vessels to allow for oxygen distribution and as a result, your heart and lungs begin to maximize their efficiency and strength.

How Muscle Building Works

Building muscle works in a similar way.

Within the first couple of weeks of strength training, the bones and muscles go through a weakening phase.

This must occur to allow the building up of tissue to follow. This is why it’s so imperative to be realistic with the intensity of the fitness program when just beginning.

As the routine continues, your bones and muscles begin to respond to the new demands being placed and as they rise up to the new challenges being placed on them, the neuromuscular system has no choice but to call upon the creation of more fibers to adapt to the extra demands being placed when you increase your work load.

Again, all of this takes time. There are certain ways to work a muscle depending on the results you want.

This is where communicating with the professionals come in. It offers peace of mind to know what you’re doing while putting effort into a goal.

Want to supersize your muscles quickly? Professional personal trainers will teach you that the key is to damage your fibres in new ways, and then respect the amount of time they need to rest, heal and grow.

Gaining Muscle Quickly – Is It Possible?

Stored fat is what you want to use up while exercising for weight-loss. It takes a certain amount of time to call upon this energy system to use this as your fuel.

• Starving and overdoing aerobic activity doesn’t accomplish this as the body ends up relying on the muscle you’ve built for energy, therefore resulting in muscle loss.
• Metabolically, muscle is a more active tissue than fat is and requires more energy to maintain its form.
• Building lean muscle tissue and allowing proper time to use stored fat as energy is how you want to go about weight-loss.
• Starving, avoiding carbs and over consumption of protein, cookie diets, etc will not only prohibit proper weight-loss, but these behaviors will never teach anyone how to live.

So, the final question may be…how much time?

It depends. I compare it to a home renovation. If there is no structural damage, the renovation takes less time, but still won’t occur overnight.

If, however, there was water or termite damage in the foundation of the home, would you simply drywall over it? Of course not.

You’d have to fix the underlying cause and build a safe and strong structure to allow your home to last without constantly fearing about what can bring your house down with it being weak and damaged under the surface.

Your body is similar. If you are in good health already and practice good habits, you will get your results quicker.

If not, you would need to rebuild from the damage done to your system and go from there…but again, we’re talking about a strong and sound structure.

Do you want to spend the rest of your life worrying about every morsel of food you eat? I seriously doubt it.

Getting Enough Rest to Grow Muscle Mass

Rest is probably the most underrated and most abused factor in the quest for muscle growth. It’s very tempting to adhere to the More Is More attitude to working out.

The reality though, is that our real muscle growth takes part while we’re at home resting.

Take care not to overwork tired muscles: training the same body parts too frequently can significantly impair your recovery and perhaps even lead to over-training syndrome.

We’re here to Enjoy Our Lives

We want to feel free, strong and confident in our bodies and our minds. This is how we change our world.

We feel proud, we feel peace and we share it with others.

There is no Other way than — Doing this the right way. There’s no rush.

Take your time, sharpen your habits, shape and strengthen yourself the right way and I promise you, your body WILL respond.