Lose the Belly Fat – Shed the Extra Weight
Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center corrections officers stay in shape in a variety of ways. The strategies they use to lose excess weight, decrease body fat, and gain strength can help you shed those extra pounds. The key lies in three areas: watching what you eat, regular cardio activity, and consistent strength training.
Regulating Food Intake
Many diets require radical calorie reduction or eliminating entire categories of food. To keep up a healthy diet, modern research encourages people to stay away from total restriction. The good news is that such extreme diets aren’t necessary to lose weight.
- Reduce Calories: You want your calorie intake to be lower than the number of calories you burn in a day. There is no set number – active people can take in more calories than less active people.
- Limit Sugar: People eat a lot of hidden sugar when they consume processed foods. Try to avoid foods with added processed sugar.
- Decrease Meal Size: Reduced portion size is also essential. Many restaurants serve portions that are far larger than recommended. If possible, take leftovers home rather than attempting to stuff yourself with an oversized plate of food.
- Make Sure to Hydrate: Getting enough water is important to maintain electrolyte balance and helps proper muscle function. It is easy to think you’re hungry when really, you’re dehydrated. The next time you feel what you believe is hunger, try drinking a glass of water. Sometimes, that is all that is needed for your “hunger” to go away.
Regular Cardio Activity
It’s true that regular cardio activity is important for weight loss and good health, but the key is to start off slow and be consistent. Here are some good cardio activities as well as ways to make sure you don’t get burned out.
- Walking/Running: Running is a great cardio activity, however if you aren’t already a runner you should start out by walking. Each time you go out you should go a little faster and a little bit further until you are at a steady jog for an hour.
- Ride a Bike: Riding a bike is not only great cardio, it is also a lot of fun. If you don’t have a bike and aren’t sure if you want to make a large investment in one, you can find very affordable bikes 2nd hand.
- Increase Your Number of Workouts Per Week and Be Consistent: Instead of starting with a hard workout, start slowly. Then work your way up to working out several times a week. This also helps make fitness a habit. And that makes it easier to maintain consistency.
- Match Your Fitness Plan to Your Fitness Level: If you haven’t worked out in a while, you can’t expect to start out by running a marathon. Pace yourself and you will last longer and are more likely to reach your goals.
Consistent Strength Training
Strength training does not necessarily mean lifting weights. Strength training that uses your own body weight can mean fewer injuries, especially for beginners. Like cardio workouts, you want to make sure that your strength training workout matches your fitness level.
Here are some great workouts that don’t require weights:
- Sit-ups: Small crunches can be just as effective as full sit ups if you have good form.
- Push-ups: If these are hard start out with your knees on the ground or with you hands on the wall.
- Dips: These can be done in a chair anywhere in the house.
- Squats: There are lots of different ways to do a squat. The stronger you get the deeper you will be able to go.