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Low-impact workouts such as walking are great calorie burners and muscle builders. Walking remains the most popular activity du jour for people who need to start a diet and exercise program to lose weight.

Walkers may seem exercise-adverse to those who pursue more physically challenging activities but walkers intrinsically know the simple secret to calorie burning: stay in motion.

Aside from a good pair of shoes with cushioned support, it won’t cost you anything to go for a walk. Do it daily or at least 5 times a week.

Follow a Simple Routine

Keep your walking gait at a moderate pace of at least 3 1/2 miles per hour, or pick up the pace and do a brisk walk of about 4 mph. You won’t break into much of a sweat or get your heart rate up as much as other cardio exercises, but calories are burned at every intensity level and walking (or hiking) gets the job done. The popular “10,000 steps per day” walking program is designed with a goal of doing 5 miles per day, which is an excellent target. Each 2000-2500 steps covers a mile, and each mile you walk will burn about 100 calories.

If you can’t lift or do ellipticals, swim or ride a bike, walking is an excellent and easy way to burn calories. It’s also inexpensive!

Fitness swimming offers the best aerobic workout with the least amount of joint stress or impact. Pool rats admit to having trouble some days getting up for a workout—but once they jump in the water and get a rush by pushing off the wall and gliding underwater they remember what it is they love about swimming. Depending on your pace, the freestyle and breast strokes will burn up about 570 calories per hour, while a strenuous workout can zap up to 790 calories per hour.

A word of warning though: appetite is partially regulated by body temperature control and since water cools the body much faster than air, studies show that fitness swimming in cold water tends to trigger appetite. So if you feel famished after swimming, consider eating a small protein snack rather than a big meal. You don’t want to wolf down the calories you just spent an hour burning off in the pool.

If you are a non-swimmer, or love the water but aren’t into doing laps, consider joining a water aerobics class where the resistance of the water provides a gentle but effective cardio workout. An aquacise class has great music that everyone enjoys—and you don’t even have to get your hair wet!

by Daniel Broderick

Millions of Americans and billions of world citizens look in the mirror every day disparaged by their image. Everyone has tried this fad diet and that exercise regimen to no avail. If you’re one of these many weight conscious citizens, you’re far from alone. But there is still hope. It’s time we kick our fat fighting strategies up a notch. The idea behind losing weight is simple: you need to burn more calories than you take in. One of the easiest and most effective ways of doing this is the speed your metabolism as this will allow you to passively burn more calories. Herein you’ll learn how to speed your metabolism in three simple steps.

Step 1: Eat many small meals per day.

The goal here is 6-8 small meals. This golden bit of information is no secret. The reason this works is simple. If you only eat a few meals a day, your body regularly thinks it’s being starved. If your body feels threatened by starvation, it will store everything you eat as fat so that it has sustenance until the next meal. Don’t starve your body.

Some people might think it’s too difficult to eat 6-8 meals a day with their hectic schedule, but it’s really not. Take a protein shake and a bag of peanuts to work; they each count as a meal.

A meal doesn’t have to be enormous. In fact, all of your meals should be fairly small; anywhere from 150 to 400 calories. This is just enough to provide energy for the next couple hours until you eat again, so it will be less prone to store as fat.

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by Antonio Rivera

Eat less … lose weight?!? Here’s the other stuff you can do to get leaner.

1) Don’t diet to extremes. Reducing calories by 15-20% a day will almost exclusively burn fat while larger cuts in calories will burn a combo of muscle tissue and fat. Muscle drives the metabolism – calorie burning. If you’re currently eating 3000 calories, reduce to 2400-2550, but do so according to smart guidelines like those laid out in The Living Health Weight Loss Audio.

2) Graze all day. Professional athletes and models eat all day long yet keep their total calories under control. The grazing method, 5-6 small meals, elevates the metabolism. Each time you eat, the metabolism increases, and over a 6-10 week period, that increase can parlay into another 2-3 pounds of fat loss.

3) Increase Protein. Carbs, protein and fat – are equal in their efficiency to be stored as body fat, but protein exerts a greater metabolic boosting effect than carbs or dietary fat. When calories drop, protein saves muscle which helps keep the metabolism elevated. Aim for 1.2 grams per pound of bodyweight daily.

4) Play with Carbs. Carbs help retain metabolic boosting muscle yet they can stimulate fat storage. Following a modified low carb diet – staggering your carbohydrate intake is one of the most effective ways to jump start your metabolism and to burn stubborn fat fast (as outlined in Maximize Your Metabolism and the Living Health Audio Program.)

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by Tabitha Stuart

Getting started on your weight loss journey can be difficult. The only thing that is more difficult is sticking to it. Some diet and fitness programs are so complicated and time consuming they are impossible to stick to. No matter what your weight loss goals are these 6 simple tips will help you reach your weight loss goals and stick to your program.

1. Water Water Water! People just don’t seem to understand how essential it is to stay hydrated. Approximately 80% of Americans live in a constant state of dehydration. Not only can this cause medical problems, but your body will hold every ounce of fluid it can get. So I recommend 64 ounces or more of plain ice water everyday. Adding a lemon wedge is fine and lemon is a natural diuretic, BUT NOTHING ELSE!

2. Portion Control is key. Even if you are eating valuable foods you can still consume excess calories. My rule of thumb is use a 9 inch dinner plate and imagine it is divided into 4 equal sections. One section would be your lean protein like fish or chicken, one would be your whole grain such as brown rice, and the other two would be produce such as steamed veggies. This works well for most dishes and makes it simple to visualize proper portions.

3. Don’t try to completely give up your favorite foods. Many people have trouble sticking to a program because they convince themselves that they can never have pizza or cake again. You should think of losing weight not as a diet but as a life style change. Therefor, it must be livable and realistic. If you go to a party, have a piece of cake. If you are really craving pizza, have a slice or two and a salad with lite dressing. If you go into knowing that you can enjoy your favorite foods from time to time you will have much more success and prevent binge eating.

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by Trevor Gardner

Its strange that whilst the number of men with gym memberships has increased by 16% since 2003, the number who hit the weights has dropped by 15%. This drop is worrying because if you go and lift weights of any sort 3 times a week you can achieve the following:-

1) Cut the risk of diabetes in just four months. According to a study at Tufts University, Massachusetts weight training reduces blood-glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity.

2) Treat Depression. Harvard University researchers have compared the benefits of weight training and cardio exercise over a 10 week period and discovered that weight lifters experienced the greater mood boost.

3) Spike your testosterone. Researchers in Finland have discovered that the hormone testosterone plays a key role in your overall mortality risk and of course your sex drive.

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