Drinking eight glasses of water a day helps keep you hydrated while losing weight.
Losing weight and getting into shape are actually two separate goals. One can lose weight by dieting and restricting their calorie intake. Getting into shape usually requires that someone establish a workout routine that mixes resistance training with cardiovascular exercise. However, that is not to say that they do not share some mutual beneficial properties. For instance, after losing weight, it stands to reason that someone may also improve their running ability. There are tricks to accomplishing both goals, so that reaching your target weight produces a healthier and faster you.
Instructions
Losing Weight
1. Determine the amount of calories you need to consume in order to lose weight safely. By calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate, you can determine how many calories you need to consume each day to lose one pound per week. (Losing one pound requires burning an extra 3500 calories over the course of a week.) The BMR formula is as follows:
(Body Weight x 15) + (Amount of Exercise x 3.5) = BMR
Subtract 500 calories from your answer to get the number of calories you need to eat per day.
2. Restrict your diet in a way that allows you to reach the BMR calorie number on a daily basis. Remove high carbohydrate and high fat foods such as bread, pasta, rice, crackers, cookies, chips, and desserts. Replace them with lower calorie foods. Fruits and vegetables are both high in fiber and low in calories. Swap a side salad (with light dressing) for that side of french fries with your sandwich; eat chicken and fish instead of burgers, skip the piece of chocolate cake in lieu blueberries and light whipped cream. Use the calorie guide below to swap out high calorie foods for lower calorie fare.
3. Drink plenty of water. Another dieting trick which is beneficial to your organs is to drink plenty of water. Eight glasses per day are recommended. (If you are exercising moderate to heavily, add two to three more glasses per day.) Not only will the water suppress your appetite, but it will keep you hydrated, and allow your body to flush unwanted toxins.
4. Eating small meals throughout the day. Rather than starving yourself throughout the day, or skipping a mid-day meal, be sure that you are consuming calories five to six times a day. If your body becomes too hungry, it will think it is starving and hold onto the fat you already have on your body. By eating meals throughout the day, your body will realize it is always being fed, and will have no problem shedding that fat. (Just be sure to stay within the BMR guidelines to lose weight.)
5. Watch the portion sizes. While items such as fruits and vegetables have very low caloric value, meats, bread, pasta and alcohol can have high caloric values. Pay attention to portion size to keep your calorie intake down. A recommended serving of meat is only four ounces, though many restaurants or deli counters serve eight to ten ounces, which would double your calorie intake.
6. Weigh yourself and chart your progress. Weigh yourself at the same time of day, on the same scale in order to get a consistent reading. Chart your progress, and strive for a weight loss of one to two pounds per week until you reach your goal weight based on your Body Mass Index or BMI.
Increase Running Speed
7. Keep your head stationary. Think of your head as the directional "rudder" for your body. Any movement to either side will cause a chain reaction in which the rest of your body moves to that side. Therefore to keep your body moving straight ahead, focus on an object in the distance which is straight ahead, and refrain from moving your head to the side.
8. Keep your hands loose and arms at a 90 degree angle. There can be a tendency you "clench" your fists when you are running really fast. This will only tighten your muscles throughout the body, causing them not to perform as effectively. Instead, keep your palms open and your thumb and forefinger gently in contact with one another. Also, place your arms at 90 degree angles and keep them close to your body. The objective is to minimize the drag as you move through forward.
9. Land primarily on the balls of your feet. With each step, after the ball lands, the heel should barely touch the ground before the next foot is landing.
10. Align your leg properly. Your foot should be pointing in the same direction as your knee, which should be aligned with your hip. If any of these joints are slightly off, you are slowing yourself down. Practice a symmetrical alignment in order to maximize your speed.
11. Practice sprints and quick drills. While doing laps will get you into cardiovascular shape for long runs, performing sprints will quicken your pace. Practice running short distances of 50, 100 or 200 yards often. Combine those sprints with the tools listed above to both lose weight and increase your speed.
Tags: your body, lose weight, calorie intake, calories need, your head, arms degree