Why Wearing Proper Activewear Matters When Exercising

Whether you’re a starter or have been doing the regular exercise, wearing appropriate clothing matters.

For a start, it helps you feel comfortable and supported. I tell you what, exercising isn’t and will never be easy. You don’t want to make it even more difficult that what it already is by wearing inappropriate clothes that easily ride up, slide down or show more than you want. Light-colored fitness clothes are best as they absorb less heat compared to dark clothes.

When you want to workout, you want to workout! Know when to breathe and know that wearing appropriate workout clothes will help you do that and will therefore allow you to effectively execute the steps from start to finish.

Remember, you don’t have to go to the gym to dress up properly when exercising. For years I have been doing my exercise routine at home. I can wear what I want without having to worry of how I look. Most of the time I wear tight fitting clothes that are made of cotton-helps me move easily.

Unlike me, if you’re a trendy type of person, opting for stylish fitness clothes can be done provided it won’t compromise comfort.

Cheap ones don’t always pay off. But if you know how and where to avail coupons, that should get you quality guaranteed fitness clothing with a markdown.

Continue Reading

Those Hard to Lose Arm Fat... Or Am I Just Being Impatient?

I don’t know if it’s just me but other than the lower belly fat, I also find arm fat hard to lose. I’ve read a source that says men tend to collect belly fat as they age while women gather arm fat as they gain weight. But in my case, I seemed to suffer both although I have already addressed some of my lower belly fat woes, I doesn’t seem to see any changes on my arms despite the intense workout. I even do resistance exercises. I lift weights as part of my workout program. I do push-ups. Those are designed to tone the muscles, help burn down the calories and eventually melt the fats away but none of what I’ve been doing seems to help, either. Or am I just being too impatient to see results? I hope I just am and it’s nothing to do with genetics at all.

Anyway, here's a shameless photo of myself showing off my arms.

See how much I need to lose?

Continue Reading

Way to go!!

So yesterday morning I woke up and realized it’s another weekend. How I wish I have ways to make the most out of it like I always do for a long time now other than just sitting around just like what I do on ordinary weekdays doing the same thing. So for a change, I’ve decided not to allow boredom to take place before I could even start the day – I stretched out, stood before the mirror, seizing myself a bit and changed – getting ready to kick off the day with a workout!

I spent a total of 4 hours and it felt really great! ;)

Thanks for the free instructional videos – truly a life-saver. Ever since, I couldn’t imagine myself being in a gym hanging out with other goers while trying to lose weight. I’m way better off doing it at home and by myself using these videos that I get to download for free. The only downside though is when you tend to get lazy and skip doing it when you’re supposed to. Instance like this is likely to happen because you have nothing to lose anyway- gym fees wise- except that you have to make it up double for yourself. But you know you can always combat issues like such – just a matter of discipline and sticking to your goal.

Hmm, let's see...

Original Weight: 72 kilos or 158 lbs.
Last Bathroom scale check:  66 Kilos or 147 lbs.
Weight Goal: at least 54 or 120 lbs.

Way to go!!

Continue Reading

Top 10 Things to Know About Belly Fat

Read this article this morning and I thought it might be of interest to you as well.

1. Belly Fat is Worse Than Other Fat
It's true: Belly fat is the worst kind of fat -- and not just because of the way it looks in beach pictures. Deep belly fat (the kind that makes for a classic beer belly) actually churns out proteins and hormones that make all kinds of bad things worse, including LDL (lousy) cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, and triglycerides. It's also a player in insulin resistance and red-alert-causing inflammation. Makes that fat on your thighs seem downright charming, no?

2. Dropping Belly Fat Isn't Just a Calorie Game
The type of food you eat affects whether belly fat stays or goes. In a study, two groups of people ate the same number of calories. One group got their carbs from refined grains, the other from beans and whole grains. The latter group lost more belly fat. You can, too! Replace two servings a day of refined grains (e.g., white bread, white pasta) with a couple servings of satisfying lentils, chickpeas, or kidney beans.

3. Certain Condiments Can Make Belly Fat Vanish
In a study in which obese people consumed either 1 to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or a placebo each day, the apple cider vinegar group shed more body and belly fat than people who took the placebo -- even though everyone was on the same diet and did the same workout.

4. Sitting Promotes Belly Fat
Belly fat prefers when you sit, so if you want to make the bad stuff around your waist scram, it's time to get up and move. Just 3 hours a week of aerobic exercise (e.g., walking, jogging, cycling, elliptical training) can bust belly fat. You just need to do it at an up tempo, not at window-shopping speed.

5. A Thousand Crunches Won't Do the Trick
Crunches can firm up the muscles under your fat and keep your core strong, and that's important for many reasons. But they won't make that fat magically vanish on their own. For fat erasing, you need regular aerobic exercise, such as walking.

6. Green Tea Has a Special Belly-Busting Effect
Exercisers who drink green tea all day lose more belly fat than exercisers who don't. It could be that catechins, a compound in green tea, may boost your body's calorie- and fat-burning mechanisms. It takes about 7 cups a day, but that's not as much as it sounds. A large glass of iced tea often contains about 3 cups of liquid.

7. TV Remotes Have a "Bye-Bye Belly Fat" Button
Chase away belly fat by pushing the "off" button on your TV remote. People who cut their TV time in half consume 100 fewer calories a day. That's a pound every 35 days without even trying!

8. You Really Can Blame Your Boss/Sister/Loud Upstairs Neighbor
The higher your stress, the bigger your waist. Stress makes the hormone cortisol climb, which makes you crave high-calorie snacks that get stored in your belly as fat. You don't have to quit your job, fight with your sister, move, etc.

9. Flat-Belly Success is Measured in Inches, Not Pounds
Ditch the scale in favor of a tape measure. This is a better way to monitor belly fat because everybody's weight tends to fluctuate a little from day to day.

10. You Really Can Eat More and Still Shrink Your Belly
Studies have shown that people who eat six small meals a day have smaller waists than people who eat two or three large meals a day. Of course, "small" is the key. To nix belly fat for good, don't sustain it with sugar, syrups, and saturated and trans-fats. Instead, sustain the rest of you with whole grains, lean proteins, fiber, exercise, and stress control. Your waist's loss is your life's gain.

SOURCE

Continue Reading

"Getting in Shape" Quest: The Kick Off

My first week for this year’s get-in-shape quest was a success. I completed 4 sessions out of 6 - that’s from the second day of the month to day 7 which is today. See why I missed two days here.

I still do Billy Blanks’ Basic Bootcamp training and as usual the first day was arduous considering my muscles are off with the routine for months but thank goodness there’s no passing out for me again this time.

[If you may ask, I got all my instructional workout videos from a P2P file sharing software I’ve downloaded for free.]

Billy’s Basic Bootcamp is a 54:23-minute workout and a combination of basic calisthenics, strength, cardio and combat kicks. This is what I do when I lost 20 pounds in less than 6 months last year. Also after months of inactivity I gained most of what I’ve lost back. Terrible, isn’t it? That is why I have added a special meal plan to pair with my workout this time – the no-rice diet. That way, shredding pounds will be a lot easier.

I know a lot of people think wiping out rice on a regular meal plan is insane. Well for me it’s just a matter of mindset and discipline. Eliminating rice doesn’t mean denying yourself from the same nutrients you can get from it. If you try to look around you will see there are actually tons of rice alternatives that are maybe available to use such as potatoes, bread, cereals, pasta… these types are way easier to digest than rice.

The only thing about it is patience and determination. But hey, nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

Living healthy these days I know is quite a formidable task with all the easy way around. Again it’s just a matter of choice. I am definitely not here to convince people to do what I do. But if this story drives you to start making a change for yourself, I’ll be proud. Trust me it is no one else but yourself whom you are giving that huge favor for.

Just because you're not sick doesn't mean you're healthy.

Continue Reading

"Getting in Shape" Quest: The Kick Off

My first week for this year’s get-in-shape quest was a success. I completed 4 sessions out of 6 - that’s from the second day of the month to day 7 which is today. See why I missed two days here.

I still do Billy Blanks’ Basic Bootcamp training and as usual the first day was arduous considering my muscles are off with the routine for months but thank goodness there’s no passing out for me again this time.

[If you may ask, I got all my instructional workout videos from a P2P file sharing software I’ve downloaded for free.]

Billy’s Basic Bootcamp is a 54:23-minute workout and a combination of basic calisthenics, strength, cardio and combat kicks. This is what I do when I lost 20 pounds in less than 6 months last year. Also after months of inactivity I gained most of what I’ve lost back. Terrible, isn’t it? That is why I have added a special meal plan to pair with my workout this time – the no-rice diet. That way, shredding pounds will be a lot easier.

I know a lot of people think wiping out rice on a regular meal plan is insane. Well for me it’s just a matter of mindset and discipline. Eliminating rice doesn’t mean denying yourself from the same nutrients you can get from it. If you try to look around you will see there are actually tons of rice alternatives that are maybe available to use such as potatoes, bread, cereals, pasta… these types are way easier to digest than rice.

The only thing about it is patience and determination. But hey, nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

Living healthy these days I know is quite a formidable task with all the easy way around. Again it’s just a matter of choice. I am definitely not here to convince people to do what I do. But if this story drives you to start making a change for yourself, I’ll be proud. Trust me it is no one else but yourself whom you are giving that huge favor for.

Just because you're not sick doesn't mean you're healthy.

Continue Reading

Gearing Up for this Year’s Get-In-Shape Quest

Contrary to what I believed as still popular these days, I was surprised to learn that a great number of people have long been casted the thing away from their faculty now too. To them making a New Year’s resolution or a list of things one wants to accomplish for the year is nothing but a waste of time seeing a lot of these makers (probably including themselves then) are not actually making any of it. Can’t blame them though! It is indeed easier to make a change when you know exactly you can make it for yourself regardless of time.

Well as for the subject of this post, getting in shape is nothing new to me. It isn’t a failed 2011 New Year’s resolution either but rather a regimen I’ve been trying to keep for over a year now though I must admit it has downtimes too on the process. But it’s not like it is something I felt badly crazy about. I know exactly what I want to achieve and know when to start. And yes, for the entire holiday I made an exception. I bet you who are on the same grind did the same too.

Now it’s time to get back on track.

This morning I was asked to shop for party supplies for my niece’s birthday tomorrow. I took that chance to grab this pair of knee caps I can use for doing push-ups. I still find it hard doing the conventional way so I’m on my knees most of the time.

I also have my other workout accessories ready. I doubt if I can kick off tomorrow though with all the tasks assigned to me for the party but let there be no more excuses come the next day. Time waits for no one. In achieving something, let this phrase be our guideline instead.

Continue Reading

Gearing Up for this Year’s Get-In-Shape Quest

Contrary to what I believed as still popular these days, I was surprised to learn that a great number of people have long been casted the thing away from their faculty now too. To them making a New Year’s resolution or a list of things one wants to accomplish for the year is nothing but a waste of time seeing a lot of these makers (probably including themselves then) are not actually making any of it. Can’t blame them though! It is indeed easier to make a change when you know exactly you can make it for yourself regardless of time.

Well as for the subject of this post, getting in shape is nothing new to me. It isn’t a failed 2011 New Year’s resolution either but rather a regimen I’ve been trying to keep for over a year now though I must admit it has downtimes too on the process. But it’s not like it is something I felt badly crazy about. I know exactly what I want to achieve and know when to start. And yes, for the entire holiday I made an exception. I bet you who are on the same grind did the same too.

Now it’s time to get back on track.

This morning I was asked to shop for party supplies for my niece’s birthday tomorrow. I took that chance to grab this pair of knee caps I can use for doing push-ups. I still find it hard doing the conventional way so I’m on my knees most of the time.

I also have my other workout accessories ready. I doubt if I can kick off tomorrow though with all the tasks assigned to me for the party but let there be no more excuses come the next day. Time waits for no one. In achieving something, let this phrase be our guideline instead.

Continue Reading

No Rice Diet. Now on my 2nd Week and Counting

The quest has started and here are the recent proofs. Click image to view full size.

Foodies I've had and made myself over the first week

On losing weight I realized no matter how hard it is exercising alone can't do it all. So I had to redesign my plan. See On Reducing Rice Intake post below.

So far I already have lived a week without it. Funny because I didn't even seem to miss it!

I try to keep each meal as sufficing as possible then I won't have to look for in between grubs.

Bagged chips are recently out on my grocery list now too. Well except for those potato fries "wanna-be' up there. It's really just plain stuffs. Like popcorn kernels, you just have to fry it and it pops.

Way to go!

Wish I could get a new bathroom scale soon. A regular weight check is hard without it. Mine got broken when the kids had it for their plaything - without me around of course otherwise, they will just leave it alone and not touch it. Oh well... such are kids! I may just have to look for a new one when I get the chance... hopefully soon.

Linking this to Yummy Sunday

Continue Reading

No Rice Diet. Now on my 2nd Week and Counting

The quest has started and here are the recent proofs. Click image to view full size.

Foodies I've had and made myself over the first week

On losing weight I realized no matter how hard it is exercising alone can't do it all. So I had to redesign my plan. See On Reducing Rice Intake post below.

So far I already have lived a week without it. Funny because I didn't even seem to miss it!

I try to keep each meal as sufficing as possible then I won't have to look for in between grubs.

Bagged chips are recently out on my grocery list now too. Well except for those potato fries "wanna-be' up there. It's really just plain stuffs. Like popcorn kernels, you just have to fry it and it pops.

Way to go!

Wish I could get a new bathroom scale soon. A regular weight check is hard without it. Mine got broken when the kids had it for their plaything - without me around of course otherwise, they will just leave it alone and not touch it. Oh well... such are kids! I may just have to look for a new one when I get the chance... hopefully soon.

Linking this to Yummy Sunday

Continue Reading

I do the Hard Workout to Lose Weight

It's so good to be back. At least I can get online things done now that I'm back in my own work place - my room. It has been such a struggle for me to get some blog postings done away from my comfort zone. No matter how I try I simply can't get things through my head while in someone else's place.

The result... LONG POST GAP! (Sigh!) When will I ever learn?

Anyway, I'm back and that's what matters now I guess and as promised I will talk about the routine I do to lose weight. So what is it exactly?

photo courtesy of yahoo images

I do Billy Blanks' Tae Bo for a workout. It's a real tough workout I must say. Using the instructional videos I started doing it in 2007 but had to stop after I was being diagnosed of an ovarian cyst at a later part of the year. To cut the story short, I underwent complete surgery November of the same year and it took me years to get completely healed and to gain back enough strength to do things I used to do back when I was still in a healthy condition. Working out is one of them.

I would have been in a perfect shape already after the operation. I feel so light; my shape was like that of a teenager... I couldn't ask for more... sadly my surgery affected my metabolism making it slower than it was. I couldn't control my carb intake during the span of my healing time because I feel like I am always starving I had to gobble regardless. Then I started to bloat. That's when I thought of doing Tae Bo again.

The first attempt in 2009 was a failure though...well probably because my muscles are no longer used to it. I mean I literally passed out while trying to do a particular program. Then I realize maybe I had to start with the basic again - something slow and I did. I took Taebo seriously somewhere in 2010 (around November if I remember it right) and started with the 40-minute aerobic cardio workout for 2 months and added few more grinds along the way.

I've shredded a total of 20 lbs. so far. That's quite an achievement for me already. :D

Continue Reading

I do the Hard Workout to Lose Weight

It's so good to be back. At least I can get online things done now that I'm back in my own work place - my room. It has been such a struggle for me to get some blog postings done away from my comfort zone. No matter how I try I simply can't get things through my head while in someone else's place.

The result... LONG POST GAP! (Sigh!) When will I ever learn?

Anyway, I'm back and that's what matters now I guess and as promised I will talk about the routine I do to lose weight. So what is it exactly?

photo courtesy of yahoo images

I do Billy Blanks' Tae Bo for a workout. It's a real tough workout I must say. Using the instructional videos I started doing it in 2007 but had to stop after I was being diagnosed of an ovarian cyst at a later part of the year. To cut the story short, I underwent complete surgery November of the same year and it took me years to get completely healed and to gain back enough strength to do things I used to do back when I was still in a healthy condition. Working out is one of them.

I would have been in a perfect shape already after the operation. I feel so light; my shape was like that of a teenager... I couldn't ask for more... sadly my surgery affected my metabolism making it slower than it was. I couldn't control my carb intake during the span of my healing time because I feel like I am always starving I had to gobble regardless. Then I started to bloat. That's when I thought of doing Tae Bo again.

The first attempt in 2009 was a failure though...well probably because my muscles are no longer used to it. I mean I literally passed out while trying to do a particular program. Then I realize maybe I had to start with the basic again - something slow and I did. I took Taebo seriously somewhere in 2010 (around November if I remember it right) and started with the 40-minute aerobic cardio workout for 2 months and added few more grinds along the way.

I've shredded a total of 20 lbs. so far. That's quite an achievement for me already. :D

Continue Reading