Weight Loss 101

You may think that weight loss relies on an impossible amount of will-power or you may believe that it's incredibly easy as you've lost weight many times before in the past but haven't been able to maintain it.

Weight loss, like any desired goal, comes down to a single principle and that is action.

Action pushes you off the start line and once you are running you may repeatedly fall down but to pick yourself up is to reinitiate action and sooner or later you will move past the finish line and learn how to continue being a consistent winner.

This running analogy works for weight loss specifically well because each leg propelling you forward can be imagined as a crucial element of your success, one leg being exercise or calorie expenditure and the other being nutrition or calorie intake.

This is the vital equation that is going to enable you to become a weight loss champion with lasting good health, fitness and shape.

Here is a summary of the correct exercise for weight loss:

1) 3 x week (60 minutes) or more exercise

2) High Intensity (bringing the heart rate above 70%)

3) Weight Training in a metabolically demanding format, e.g. circuit training; peripheral heart training and other methods that minimize rest and maximize a metabolic response

4) Compound exercises that require multiple joints and muscles, e.g. squats

5) Exercises that are highly demanding in many ways such as a lunge (stabilization and movement) and exercises that you personally find challenging as these are exercises you haven't become functionally efficient at yet thus your body expends a lot of energy performing them.

Here is a summary of the correct nutrition for weight loss:

1) Small portion sizes

2) Low calorie, high volume foods such as spinach, broccoli, strawberries, melon, grapefruit, soup.

3) Including protein in each meal to optimize satiety

4) Keeping well hydrated

5) Reducing any high calorie factors such as sauces, butter, oils and beverages such as soft drinks and alcohol.

Follow these guidelines and you will be off to a great start.