Essential Weight Loss & Health Strategies For Women
By Phil Beckett
Copyright © Physique Concepts Inc.

Why is it that some struggle to stay in shape while others achieve unbelievable results that inspire themselves and others?

It's actually very simple. Excellent results come from a plan, a specifically designed women's fitness program that includes weight training and cardio workouts along with excellent nutrition and supplementation.

Below you'll learn the essential strategies that will enable you to achieve your goals. These simple strategies can be immediately implemented into your lifestyle with little sacrifice on your part. It will add quality years to your life.

1. Don't be too aggressive.
One of the biggest problems most women encounter when starting a health & fitness program is rapidly depleted motivation after only a few weeks due to an overly ambitious plan.

As you become accustomed to the lifestyle shift, you can add more days and get improved results. But beware: if you try to do too much too fast, you may end up quitting altogether.

2. If you don't enjoy doing resistance training or are pressed for time, concentrate on working the largest muscle groups with compound resistance movements.

A lack of success is generally just a lack of understanding of how a woman's body works. Most women want to lose fat and tone and firm their bodies.

The way to do that is to use resistance to train large muscle groups.

3. Stretching improves flexibility, blood flow, muscle recovery, low back pain, health and a host of other things. Additionally, stretching can prevent injury, making sleep better and improve your performance.

Always stretch, but be certain not to stretch pulled muscles. You should always warm-up before stretching. However, it is very important that you know how to stretch. Never bounce!

4. Set realistic, attainable weight loss & health goals.

You must have both short-term and long-term goals so you can gauge your progress. It's crucial to have a baseline before you begin, so you can measure success.

5. Set exercise appointments with yourself.

Use your day-timer to set appointments for exercise, and then stick to them. You wouldn't miss a business meeting or client appointment, would you?

So don't miss an exercise appointment with yourself. Nothing is more important than your health. Nothing.

Everything else will crumble around you if your health fails. So make your exercise appointments a priority.

6. Exercise correctly. So much time is wasted doing, at best, unproductive exercise, or worse, dangerous exercises. Get educated on how to exercise correctly. And the absolute best way to do that is to have someone develop a program for you and then teach you what to do and how do it right.

7. Enjoy yourself.

The most difficult thing is actually getting into your running shoes and going to the gym. But once you begin your workout, relax and enjoy the process.

Yes, exercising can and should be somewhat rigorous but it is just that investment which makes it supremely rewarding. As with anything, if you're in the moment, you can fully appreciate the experience and truly enjoy the process.

8. If you want to maximize your results or fat loss efforts, you've got to eat breakfast.

Even if you don't exercise at all, breakfast remains the most important meal of the day. You breakfast should canteen complete proteins and complex carbohydrates.

9. Eat fat to lose fat.

Healthy fats are necessary to your body for a bunch of reasons: regulating hormonal production, improving immune function, lowering total cholesterol, lubricating joints, and providing the basics for healthy hair, nails and skin.

One distinction you must be aware of it is the difference between healthy fats, and dangerous fats.

Good fats are monounsaturated fats like olive oil, peanut and canola oil, avocados, all natural peanut butter and nuts; and omega-3 fats like salmon and mackerel and soy-based foods.

Bad fats are saturated fats, partially hydrogenated fats, and trans fats.

10. Drink plenty of fresh clean water.

Yes, you've probably heard this over and over again. But there's a reason for it; it's the truth! The recommended amount is approximately eight classes, or 64 ounces, of water every day.

When you're exercising, you need to drink even more. Over 75 percent of your body is water.

Even small deficit of water can radically affect how your body performs. Here's a good rule of thumb: if your urine is a dark yellow or has a strong odour, you're not drinking enough water.

11. For optimum results eat regularly throughout the day.

Fasting or overly restrictive diets will enable you to lose weight, in the short run. Because the way he loses primarily water weight and lean muscle mass.

But in the long run, it has exactly the opposite effect you want. When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively thinks it's being starved and shifts into a protective mode by storing fat.

You should eat 4 nutritionally balanced meals each day, and should have least one or two healthy snacks. This keeps your metabolic furnace stoked, so you burn more fat at a faster rate.

There you have it. Essential strategies for an effective health, weight loss and fitness lifestyle that will have you looking and feeling better then you have in years, maybe ever!

The hardest part is getting started and sustaining motivation until fitness becomes habitual. Once you develop the habit, which can take as little as 30 days, your whole life will change for the better.

About the Author
Phil Beckett is one of the world's most experienced weight loss, health, fitness and nutrition experts. He is the C.E.O. of Physique Concepts Inc. and the Fitness Director for Women's Health & Fitness Inc. He's helped thousands of women succeed with their weight loss, health & fitness goals over the past 14 years. Phil also specializes in the research end of women's weight loss products.