Month: May 2013

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Weight Loss Exercise

How To Track Your Bodyfat Percentage


You may have already heard that tracking your bodyfat percentage is one of the best ways to track your weight loss progress, as this way you can be certain that you are losing fat and not water or muscle.

There are several methods available for you to ascertain your bodyfat percentage; some can be done at home, while others require you to spend money and use big equipment. Here are some of the most effective:

Best Ways to Track Bodyfat Percentage

US Navy Bodyfat Measurement

US Navy Bodyfat Measurement

Skin Fold Calipers – You can purchase these calipers, pinch the fat on your body, and place the pinched area in between two calipers to measure your body fat percentage. This method is pretty dependable and repeatable; however if you are more than 40 pounds overweight, you may not be able to use this caliper method since the pinched fat may not be able to fit between the calipers.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) – A BIA scale sends tiny electrical currents through the body and records the resistance that the body offers to this current. This resistance is then used to determine the percentage of body fat in the person’s body. This is the simplest way to measure your body fat, and the scales are usually not too expensive. However, the accuracy of this method is questionable and it also depends on how well your body is hydrated when you step on the scale.

The US Navy Method – This means using body measurements to determine body fat percentage. This is the cheapest way to get your body fat measurement, since all you need is a body tape measure or a cloth measuring tape. For men, you measure the waist, neck, and height; for women, the measurements taken are of the hips, neck, and height. While this is an easy at-home method that anyone can use, its accuracy is highly questionable.

Hydrostatic Weighing and DEXA Scans – Hydrostatic weighing is the traditional gold standard of determining one’s body fat percentage, where the person is submerged in a special type of water tank. The DEXA scan, however, is somewhat of a ”new gold standardâ?, where the person just lies down and the scanner determines the amount and distribution of fat in the body. Both these methods are generally not practical, since hydrostatic weighing is uncomfortable and both these methods cost around $150 to $300 every time you perform them, which is quite pricey.

In a nutshell, there are the many different methods you can use to track your body fat. However, for daily or weekly measurements at home, there are only three methods you can use, as detailed above.


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Weight Loss Exercise

How and Why to Keep An Exercise Journal


Sticking to a fitness or weight loss program is never easy. However, you’re far more likely to keep going if you can see that you’re making progress. This is where an exercise journal comes in. It’s a great way to keep yourself motivated through those times when you’re just not feeling it, and it’ll also help you to form great habits.

How to Create Your Own Exercise Journal

wordartThe crucial part about keeping an exercise journal is that it needs to become part of your daily routine. This means that it needs to be simple enough so that you’ll actually bother with it! This is why you’ll probably want to avoid creating something overly complicated.

If it helps, go out and buy a brand new notebook in a design you really like, along with some brand new pens for writing in the journal. You don’t need to do this, but it could give you that extra excitement you need to get going!

You could also purchase a journal designed specifically for this purpose. There are a number available, and they are basically designed as fill-in-the-blanks diary books. It’s something you can do yourself, but buying one ready made will save you some money.

What To Note In Your Journal

If you’re into strength training and bodybuilding then it makes sense to note down your sets and reps. Every week or month you can go back over this information and see how you’re able to endure more and more as time goes on. You can also use this information to get bigger by using a technique known as progressive overload, which basically means you’re always using heavier and heavier weights.

For cardio and stretching sessions an exercise journal can be used to note down what you did and how long you did it for. If you’re using gym equipment, you can note down some of the top stats from your workout. You can then use this information to motivate you when you’re not feeling it, or to help you overcome any plateau in your workouts. If you’ve gotten lazy lately, use your journal to find out a way to push yourself just higher than you’ve ever worked out before.

In short, an exercise journal is a perfect tool to keep you aware of your previous goals and to give you something to work towards. It can be a huge boost to your motivation, and could mean the difference between success and failure!


Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

How To Create Weight Loss Goals You Can Really Stick To


How many of us have created a weight loss or fitness goal that we gave up on just a few weeks, or even days, later? Most of us create weight loss goals that are not realistic, and give up when we don’t see the results we want.

Here are some things you should know when you are trying to lose weight:

First of all, it’s important to know healthy weight loss means losing up to two pounds a week, give or take. This is likely the amount that your body will be losing on a weekly basis.

There are diets that may promise you a loss of ten pounds a week or something along those lines, but those are diets that will mostly rid you of water weight, and sometimes muscle. Why muscle? When your calorie count is too low, your body will feed on muscle first before it will feed on fat. So, don’t ever go on a very low-calorie diet unless supervised by a doctor.

There are many ways you can lose weight, but the best would probably be by combining a low-calorie diet with exercise. This way, you don’t have to eat too little, and at the same time you will be getting fitter.

How To Set Healthy Goals

Setting healthy goals is simple. Before you start, think about your lifestyle now. What is it that you can cut out that will reduce your calorie count? Are there foods that you are not yet willing to stop eating? Also, can you incorporate exercise into your daily routine? How much are you willing to reduce when it comes to your calorie count? These are some of the things you should consider.

If you are taking things slow, which you should, then you should aim for a loss of about one pound a week. If you are working out heavily though, you can aim higher, for about two to four pounds a week. If you see a bigger loss than that on the scale, then that’s a bonus!

Setting realistic weight loss goals is important so that you don’t end up disappointed and give up altogether. Indeed, weight loss is a slow process, but in the end, it’s definitely worth the effort. So eat healthy, exercise regularly, and change your lifestyle to a healthier one, so that the weight slips off, and stays off, in the long run. Start your journey, keep at it, and don’t give up!