4 ways to lose weight effectively and keep it off

Ladan's advice for losing weight effectively and maintaining your target weight.

THE MIND

Where does it all start? The intention behind wanting to lose weight and achieve that ideal figure? Perhaps it has been a long term dream that has never been attainable. Maybe it has been achieved, yet not maintained. Or have you been so close and never really quite reached the destination? Do you ever wonder why you never met that point? What was it that stopped you getting so near yet still so far from your goal?

From my own personal experience, it goes beyond the physical body and diet. It all starts with the mind. Aha, the mind! Mastery of the mind along with self-discipline and learning how to re-programme your way of thinking is key. This is not only an investment in your health and well-being but it will become a part of your lifestyle.

HOW TO TRAIN THE MIND..........

Breath. Did you know that 80% of our energy comes from breathing and 20% comes from food?
Sounds simple and natural, yet in our busy hectic lives, we forget to do the one thing that is so important and that is just to breathe.

If you know how to breathe correctly, then levels of anxiety and run down immune systems would be much healthier.

Disease finds it hard to manifest in fresh oxygen.

Most people are so busy rushing around that they forget to breathe. Instead of using our whole lungs capacity, we only breathe a shallow clavicle breath. Shallow breathing = shallow thinking. By starting at the diaphragm and expanding up to the intercostal muscles and then finally the clavicle we then take in a wholesome fulfilled breath.

By practicing and learning how to really master the technique of correct breathing, one will then know how to have mastery of the mind.

THE PHYSICAL BODY

There are three types of exercises that I would recommend one does for optimum results.

A) Cardio
B) Weight bearing
C) Flexibility

Cardio is any type of exercise which is a duration activity. Examples are walking, running, cycling, swimming etc. These exercises are most effective for periods of 20 minutes or more nonstop. Obviously if you are starting out, the fitter you get, then the more you can build up your time. To know whether you are working hard enough without any equipment, you should be able to speak in short sentences. If you can waffle on then you need to bring the intensity up or if you find you can't speak then you need to decrease the intensity. Each week that you participate in any cardio-vascular activity, try to increase the duration and intensity. Frequency should be ideally 3 times per week. Remember these exercises are great for burning calories and body fat, which you will still be burning up to four hours after this activity as you will have stimulated and activated your metabolism.

Weight bearing exercise is anything that uses resistance, whether it is using your own body weight or equipment. Examples of this are weight training, body condition classes, swiss balls, dyna-bands etc. Weight bearing exercises will help to change your body shape and composition. You will ultimately develop a higher ratio of lean muscle mass to body fat. Remember that muscle is a calorie burning tissue. Therefore when you consume food, your muscles will utilize the calories for fuel. However, if you have more body fat, then this will just store as more fat. I recommend doing resistance training 3 times per week. It is most effective if you do your cardio prior to this as you will maximize your performance due to increased muscle mobility and you will minimise injury as your muscles are warm and ready to go.

A fantastic way to keep getting results and avoid plateau with your work-outs is to cross train. This means constantly changing your work-outs to shock your muscles and nerves in order to continue achieving results, which will keep you inspired and motivated. Once you start to exercise on a regular basis and get stronger, even if you stop for a while and go back to training, your body will quickly adapt and react well to exercise as your muscles have memory.

Flexibility is any type of exercise which will keep you agile and supple. A great example is ballerinas or yogis who have long, lean and lengthened bodies due to stretching. Many people leave this type of exercise out of the fitness equation and I would say that it is equally as important as all the other factors which contribute to a fit and healthy body.

A great way to achieve flexibility is to spend quality time stretching. The longer you hold your stretches with the long deepened breath the more effective the results. PNF stretching (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) is probably the safest way to stretch. You have receptors on your nerve endings which send messages to tell the brain that you are stretching. This process takes about ten seconds, therefore every ten seconds you can increase and deepen your stretch. Inhale first and exhale and go further into it completely letting go and relaxing the mind as you do so. In general, if you do not practice flexibility then you’re more prone to injury due to limited range from shortened muscles.

DIET AND NUTRITION

This subject is so controversial and vast as I believe each individual’s body is so unique. Due to gender, constitution, character and emotions to name a few, I think if we become more mindful and aware of our bodies needs nutritiously, it will tell us what we should eat. There is no doubt to my knowledge that diet is probably the most important factor of losing weight and keeping it off. Let’s put it this way, if you are exercising regularly and doing everything by the book yet still not losing weight, then one really has to address their diet. It's no secret that if your calorie consumption is higher than your levels of energy expenditure your answer is weight gain regardless of how much time you are spending in the gym.

I recommend eating small regular meals to sustain your blood sugar level and to keep that metabolic rate stimulated. Breakfast is very important as this is the time of the day that your blood sugar levels are at their lowest and need a good boost for balance. You will definitely find that if you fuel up first thing in the morning you'll be less likely to have cravings in the evenings. For healthy snacks between meals or prior to training, I would choose foods which have a mixture of carbohydrates and protein. An example would be fruit and nuts, or a slice of wholemeal bread with peanut butter (ideally organic).

Smoothies are also a great source of instant energy for pre/post training. A great all round smoothie would be one which would have some protein,fruit, natural yogurt or soya milk with nuts and seeds. I recommend my own personal recipe. It will give you a great booster for energy before your work-out as it will dissolve into the bloodstream quicker than chewing food. If you take it post work-out, then the protein will aid in the repair and recovery of muscles. The carbohydrate will help to replenish your glycogen stores.

Getting the right balance of nutritional calories from your food is key and vital for acquiring sufficient vitamins and minerals for supplementing your body.

REST

People are always pleasantly surprised when I mention this word. The only way to finish off the energy equation and allow your muscles to heal adequately is by rest. Most people underestimate this part and think it is a waste of time. If you keep working out and not resting in between, all you are doing is over training the muscles by pushing them into a chronic fatigue state.

You will not achieve any results like this and chances of injury are higher. The body is more likely to feel tired and achy with a probable chance of too much lactic acid (waste product given off in your muscle). Rest also means calming down the mind and having some quiet time. It is only when you slow down and calm the mind and body, that you can observe your thoughts and emotions with a lot more clarity and vision.