By Mackenzie Kelly
Are you one of the millions of women looking to lose weight or improve your health this New Year? Health and fitness related resolutions for women are always a popular lifestyle goal as the clock nears midnight. Hitting the gym and eating right is difficult to begin, but could have you dropping dress sizes in no time. Make your resolution a successful one by sticking to it and keeping the promise to yourself.
Physical exercise is a key component to losing weight. There is no question that it is one of the most important aspects of weight loss and may be the one ingredient that you have not accepted yet. If you don’t exercise, you will surely have a difficult time sculpting a new, healthier body. Having difficulty knowing where to start? Cardio is necessary, but don’t forget the weight-training component. High Intensity Interval Training has become popular among women, and for good reason. This type of training combines cardiovascular fitness with strength/hypertrophic training and will be a guaranteed sweat. The general protocol for HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) revolves around working extremely hard for 30-60 seconds and resting for 1-3 minutes. If that doesn’t’ sound interesting to you, standard cardiovascular work on one of the many machines the gym has available is a sure way to drop some pounds. Remember, walking is necessary if you are just starting out or are cooling down, but getting your heart rate into higher ranges is a definite way to burn more calories.
Workout routines can be hard to establish, and will without a doubt require some tweaking along the way. Everyone’s body is different and you must accept the fact that all people start in a unique physical position. Going to the gym and trying an intense workout in your first week might not be a good idea if you want to establish a long-term habit. Work your way up to the intense workouts and always remember that you aren’t competing against anyone but yourself. Take it slow and make sure to keep your workout inside your comfort zone for the first while. Slowly push yourself once in a while for motivation to prove to yourself that you can start to increase your intensity. Waking up sore and exhausted is not the goal in the initial months of a new fitness plan, as this usually leads to resistance and missed gym sessions.
As important as physical activity is, a healthy diet is where the biggest road to betterment lies. Eating healthy and exercising go hand in hand, and will exponentially increase the rate of your results. You’ll want to stock up on lean meats, vegetables, nuts, healthy oils and fruits. These items should make up the majority of your diet. A treat once in a while is fine, but avoid processed and refined foods as often as possible. Make sure that you don’t skip meals, and have healthy snack available at your disposal in case something comes up.
Make this year the year you succeed by following a proper exercise and diet regime. If you happen to fall away from healthy eating or skip the gym, don’t let it get you off track. Jump right back into and forget about the past. You are working towards a better you, which will make all of this work worth it.
Bio: Mackenzie Kelly is a fitness model, personal trainer and fitness coach. In her free time, she writes about health and fitness to educate others. Her personal blog about health and fitness can be found at: www.mkellyfitness.com.