10 daily activities that help you lose weight without even knowing it!

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5 useful tips for a summer-ready body

Orange-peel, cottage cheese, plain old unsightly lumps – whatever you want to call it, cellulite is like a fact of life: almost everyone will have it at some point in their lives. And though the media is trying to convince you you’re the only not-perfect one out there, cellulite doesn’t discriminate: famous or not, fat or skinny, young or old, it affects us all the same. The question is: what can we do about it?

Cellulite is a tough one to beat – first off, it’s genetic. Second of all, it has more to do with the way fat is stored than with the actual amount of fat you have in your body: as fat cells get engorged, they put pressure on the connective tissue around them, deforming collagen layers and thus creating the wavy appearance you see on the surface of the skin.

In a nutshell: you know how they say “beauty is skin-deep”? Well, cellulite actually goes deeper than that, so forget about magical creams and serums that promise to melt away the cellulite. So, the question remains: how to get rid of cellulite?

Below you can find 5 tips on how to get rid of cellulite that actually have a shot at working, so before you decide to never put on a swimsuit again, give these a try!

1. Burn and tone

Cellulite is basically a fat gone rogue, so the best way to get rid of cellulite is to burn off that extra fat. Cardio exercises, such as running or swimming are your best bet to slash fat deposits and improve the appearance of problem areas.

But if you really want to see a difference, you’ll need to build some muscle, too. Growing muscle stretches out the skin, significantly reducing visible cellulite. Strong and toned muscles also burn more calories, which eventually leads to a lower fat count. Focus on exercises targeting your problem areas: legs, thighs, abdomen, and buttocks.

2. Massage

If done properly and regularly, anti-cellulite massages can be effective against the orange-peel appearance. However, keep in mind that a proper anti-cellulite massage isn’t as pleasant and relaxing as a regular massage – it can be quite painful, actually. The increased pressure is necessary to get the flood flowing in the deeper layers of the skin and gradually smooth out the lumpy tissue.

3. Improve circulation

Fat-burning hormones travel like everything else in our body – through the bloodstream. In areas where we naturally store more fat (which are also the areas preferred by cellulite), such as the thighs and buttocks, circulation is poorer, because blood vessels are smaller and compressed further by the excess fat. So, it is fair to assume that in order to get rid of cellulite, we need to improve blood flow to the respective areas.

Improving circulation can be achieved in many ways: being physically active (even walking counts!), drinking coffee (caffeine widens blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more easily), taking alternating cold/hot showers, avoiding extremely tight clothing, and so on.

4. Exfoliate

No, you can’t exfoliate fat away, no matter how hard you try. But exfoliating gels and creams, as well as luffas and sponges, stimulate local circulation and can have similar benefits to a low-impact massage. Exfoliating regularly can also make the skin appear brighter and healthier, contributing to an overall improvement in appearance.

5. Give up unhealthy habits

That includes smoking, alcohol, not getting enough sleep, eating junk food, and sitting at your desk all day. The mechanics behind them are complex, but, in a nutshell:

– smoking builds up toxins in your body, and messes with your metabolism and hormones; it does suppress appetite, but your body eventually adjusts to the new rhythm and before you know it, nicotine won’t be enough to sustain your “happy” state, and cravings will start to appear, to pick up the slack. Never mind that it causes premature aging and makes your skin worse, with or without cellulite;

– excess alcohol consumption leads to dehydration, bloating and water retention, and it packs a hefty caloric intake, which adds up in time;

– sleeping is very important for many processes in your body, including weight loss; sleeping burns calories, and without it you will put on weight which will aggravate the appearance of cellulite;

– junk food and processed foods, in general, are problematic because of their saturated fat content (i.e. the “bad” fat that sets up camp on your hips and thighs) and large amounts of salt, which we know encourages water retention and makes us appear heavier than we actually are. Moreover, processed and refined foods are digested quickly, burning next to no calories in the process, and they don’t keep you full for longer, which leads to more unhealthy eating., which in turn leads to more fat and more cellulite.

If you want to know how to get rid of cellulite, the truth is there is no sure-fire way. Every person is different and so are their bodies – they react and adapt differently. But if you change your lifestyle and follow these 5 steps religiously, you will certainly notice a positive change, not only in the appearance of cellulite but in your entire body.

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There’s simply a lot more that goes into the equation than that, and while working out remains very important, finding a healthier lifestyle across multiple categories is the key to true fitness and improved health.

Being able to learn about everything you need for a comprehensive program like this all in one place will be your key to unlocking the healthiest, fittest version of yourself.

Work Smart and Eat Right

Of course any fitness program today still will talk about working out and exercising. It’s something essential to build muscle and burn calories, you need to be exercising.

However, it’s not the end-all and be all, and there are actually many different categories and disciplines that you need to learn about and work on in order to become as healthy as possible.

Right at the top of the physical fitness program list is nutrition and eating the right way. Don’t even call it dieting, because it’s not about restricting yourself or limiting yourself. It’s about making smarter food decisions and developing healthy eating habits that will enable you to reach your overall fitness goals.

By adjusting what you eat, when you eat, the portions and more, you’ll be able to not only change the number of calories you’re taking in, but also change the quality of those calories and how your system reacts to them.

You can eat the same amount as you used to but get your metabolism geared up to burn off hundreds of more calories per day, making a huge difference for your weight loss goals, for example.

A Holistic Approach

It doesn’t stop with just eating right and exercising though. The best physical fitness programs today are about complete fitness and health, and more categories remain.

These include everything from getting enough sleep so that your body can rest, recover, build muscle and more, and also learning how to control hormones in your body.

For example, the stress hormones, particularly cortisone, have been proven to be correlated with the retention of body fat. Getting your hormones in balance through all-natural strategies and a healthy lifestyle will therefore not only help you feel better each and every day through a reduction in stress, but will also help you reach your fitness goals, without your own body getting in the way.

The best fitness programs today will offer a fantastic and powerful synergy between all of these different components and more. It’s a far cry from simply reading a guide about going to the gym and getting on the treadmill. You need the right exercise, correct eating habits and more to get your lifestyle as healthy and beneficial as possible.

Well Informed and Focused

As an individual trying to reach a fitness goal, whether it’s packing on lean muscle mass, getting rid of excess pounds and fat, achieving both of those results or simply getting yourself into the best shape possible regardless of what the means, having the right information will have a huge impact on your success.

Today’s fitness programs cover all of these areas and more, and can give you everything you need to start making progress today.

These physical fitness programs draw from the latest in scientific research and medical breakthroughs, new technology and more, and they will help you to reach new heights that you never would have imagined were impossible. If you’re still training utilizing methods that were available when you were a kid, you’re behind the times.

You should catch yourself and your training up to speed by utilizing comprehensive and complete programs which take full advantage of all of the latest knowledge, and that’s what you’ll find here on our web site.

In addition to having great access to all of this crucial information in one spot, you can also sign up for our free newsletter where you’ll get the latest tips, strategies, motivation and more sent right to your inbox.

This makes it as quick and easy as possible for you to stay up to date and stay on track with your training and your total fitness program.

It’s never too late to begin a complete physical fitness program for a healthier lifestyle, and the results can be seen as soon as you dedicate yourself to moving forward in the right direction.

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• If you are a personal trainer you probably know why, and you can stop reading
• If you are trained by a personal trainer, he/she will tell you all that you are doing wrong
• If you are none of the above, there is a huge chance you are doing something wrong and not getting the results of your workout.

But don’t worry, a lot of people are doing something wrong while working out, and you must have noticed that there are no visible results after a while, and you probably did something about it, like reading this for example. Doing a workout routine for a very long time in the not proper way can harm your health, muscle pain, back pain, leg pain, etc.

Regardless of the reason why are you exercising, whether because you want to lose weight, or build muscle, or just keep your overall health in good shape, you have to do it properly if you want results. When it comes to losing weight, you want those numbers on the weighing scale to go down, and go down fast! When building muscle, you want the scale to go up, but in a muscle mass, losing fat really fast.

It can be difficult, and it takes time and effort, and if you are not doing it right, it can take a lot more time and a lot more effort. So, here is a list of top 8 things you are (probably) doing wrong while working out:

1. Sleep – sleep deprivation affects the same hormones that control appetite, stimulating them, and making you do all those midnight snacks, usually high calorie and fat kind of food. Lack of sleep won’t help you lose weight, but it also won’t help you gain muscle, because sleep will facilitate muscle growth. Sleep also boosts your immune system and keeps you healthier, and a well-rested body is a body you want in the gym. The tired body gives lousy results in the gym, and even worst, tired body can cause bad injuries!
2. You are not using weight as your ally – maybe you are not aiming for the muscular look and using too little weight, or maybe you are craving for huge muscles and using too much weight. Either way, stop it, you are doing it wrong. Weight lifting is what challenges your muscles, and gives them shape and helps them grow, and whatever your goal is, fat loosing or muscle building, choosing the right weight is critical. If you don’t do the exercises with proper weight, you are not getting close to your goal soon, so challenge yourself, don’t overdo it, and keep safety as a priority always. The number one cause of gym injury is overweighting!
3. Improper warm up – cold muscles are easy to hurt, not being elastic and flexible enough. The proper warm-up prepares your whole body, muscles, heart, lungs, and keep you safe from injuries, increases your blood flow and warms you up. A proper warm-up increases your overall performance, speed, strength, and endurance.
4. Change the routine workout, for a little bit – small changes in your routine might give big changes in your expected results. Running on the treadmill on different speed or different difficulty is a completely different workout, and the same applies to change weights or reps. Every change is welcomed, however, try and keep it one at a time, because too much change can also give you unwanted results, or again, injury! Change the routine every month or so, sometimes even the order of doing exercises can give you better results.
5. Count your calories – it can be dull and annoying, but watching portion sizes does give results fast. It can be quite difficult to balance your workout with your diet, and intake just the number of calories you will most likely spend in the gym seems impossible (and most of the time it is), but trying to maintain the balance can be good enough for you. Never over-eat and never stay hungry for too long, look for healthy snacks that will get you out of the red zone (meaningless overeating)!
6. Rest – not sleep, but give your body time to accumulate all the stress you are causing working out. A walk in the park, doing yoga, medium hiking, all ways to fast recover your body, keeps you in shape, and rests you at the same time.
7. Not disciplined enough – make a plan, and stick to it. You can make minor adjustments, and sometimes minor changes (as recommended), but jumping through all the machines in the gym is pointless, and time exhausting. Having a plan and keeping a diary usually helps you maintain discipline, and stick to a well-prepared routine. Try and make a routine plan for a whole month, and review the diary afterward. You will notice the changes that have to be done! Keep logged all your sessions just like taking your antibiotic, four times or three times a week at the exact place and time.
8. Having fun? This perhaps is the most important thing of all, having fun while doing it. If you are not having fun, and go one step ahead, two back, you have the change the whole routine, or the whole workout plan. Maybe running is not for you, or weight lifting is just too boring, whatever the reason, you have to change it. Doing it just because is not a reason enough, and doing it and not having fun while most certainly not give you any results. Find fun exercise you want to do, and do it, and in time results will come!

The post Workout without results? Here is what you (probably) are doing wrong! appeared first on Transforming Fitness.