Here's to Health & Fitness in 2012

I am committed to focusing on health and fitness in 2012 and came across this excellent article:

Burning off that unwanted fat does not need to be a dreadful, life altering endeavor! All you need is a little knowledge, a good plan and great support! How about 12 easy to follow tips to get you going today? And, hey, you don’t need to try to implement all of them at once! Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint! You didn’t gain those unwanted pounds overnight, don’t plan on dropping them by tomorrow! Dedicated persistence is what we are after! Now get to it…

Tip #1: Increase Your Muscle — Muscles are fat-burning furnaces, so be sure to do enough resistance training to build and maintain lean muscle while following your training with a healthy meal or snack that contains protein, carbohydrates and fat. Building new muscle raises your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) so you’ll burn more calories every day.

Tip #2: Do The Cardio Deed — Cardio improves definition and burns the fat that covers your muscles, especially belly fat. Combining regular aerobic exercise with strength training will give you the slimming effect you’ve been going for, not to mention what it will do for our heart. After all, toning without cardio is like building a house on a weak foundation.

Tip #3: Never Miss a Meal — Eat 5-6 small meals and/or snacks each day to avoid blood-sugar spikes and minimize urges to binge. Try to schedule meals at the same time each day. If you feed yourself well throughout the day, you’ll learn to understand when your body truly needs food. You can’t starve yourself and expect to make good choices at the next meal.

Tip #4: Choose Wisely — Fuel your body with wholesome, nutritious foods, and limit your intake of refined carbs (anything sugary or white-flour based). To maximize the calories burned through digestion and stave off hunger, get plenty of complex carbs (fruits, vegetables and beans) and eat a little protein with every meal. It doesn’t need to be meat; nuts, low-fat dairy, tofu, and beans are all good vegetarian protein sources.

Tip #5: Sleep Tight — Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. A recent study from Case Western Reserve University found that, on average, women who sleep for 5 hours or less per night are 32 percent more likely to gain weight and 15 percent more likely to be obese than those who get at least 7 hours.

Tip #6: Water, Water, Water — In a German study, subjects who drank 16 ounces of water at a time experienced a 30 percent increase in metabolic rate during the following hour, burning an extra 24 calories. The researchers recommend cool water because the body expends extra calories warming it up to your body temperature.

Tip #7: Focus On Your Assets — Playing up your favorite body parts can boost your confidence and draw attention away from spots you want to minimize. Sculpting your shoulders, arms, chest, and back, for example, can help balance heavier hips so you look more proportionate. Plus, you’ll be firmer all over.

Tip #8: Get Your Fill — Undereating causes your metabolic rate to drop and your body to hold onto fat. Be very careful, women especially, have a tendency to eat too little once they make the decision to “drop a few pounds”! The last thing you want to do is slow your metabolism even more simply due to eating too little, but obviously, the quality of the calories and the individual needs are very important.

Tip #9: Only Worry About That Which You Can Control — Keep stress levels in check by managing your time, focusing on the present and not over-committing. Many studies have found a link between high levels of stress and weight gain. You don’t have to commit to regular yoga classes or meditation sessions, just find something you enjoy that allows you to bring it down a notch whenever necessary.

Tip #10: Intervals — Alternate the speed and intensity of any cardio workout routines to stoke your fat burners. For instance, if you’re walking, do a few minutes at a moderate pace, then speed-walk or jog for a few minutes; repeat. If you’re running, go for a few minutes, then sprint for a minute and repeat.

Tip #11: Fill In Your Gaps – Like it or not, you have gaps in your nutrition, no matter how well you eat. Something as simple as adding MNS Max 3 for a comprehensive vitamin, mineral and weight management solution makes a world of difference! Adding Spark to your daily grind will kill cravings for sweets and provide lasting natural energy through the brain food commonly missing in the daily diet! Not only are these things essential for looking, feeling and performing better, but they will save you a ton of money too…GUARANTEED.

Tip #12: Have a Purpose – As silly as you make this sounds, I cannot emphasize this enough! Far too few people truly understand the power of the mind, the effect it has on reaching ones goals, irrelevant of what they may be, but it does work wonders. Wanting to lose a few pounds or simply burn some body fat, simply will not cut it for most people when it comes to really attacking your goals. You need a bit more detail, a bit more focus, and a stronger overall purpose, in order to achieve long-term success. Short-term motivation can be generated easily, but to create a life-change, you need to know your “why”! Will the burning of unwanted body fat get you off some medications? Will it help you enjoy your family and friends more? Maybe set a better example for your kids? Do you see the difference in having a true purpose to work for and simply running with the masses and complaining about carrying a few extra pounds? I hope so, because it really makes a difference!