Diet and Exercise Tips II

Daily Tip: Avoid crash diets, especially the "big pot of vegetable soup" variety. You'll lose the pounds as advertised, but the weight will be right back in a few weeks. The best diet is to just eat healthy, but to eat less and back it with exercise, even if that exercise is just walking a few extra blocks a night.

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Tip of the Day: Debate the gym versus home. Working out at home is cheaper and easier, even if you buy equipment. The gym, however, gives you a chance to get out of the house, has different classes, and you can easily get support to keep you exercising. It's always going to come down to cost vs. support regardless of other factors.*   *   *   *   *Most people need to drink 8 or so glasses of water a day. The best idea is to spread them out throughout the day, as they not only keep you hydrated, but they also can keep you from eating between meals; sometimes your stomach just wants something to fill it, and water can do that, especially when drank an hour after each meal. Drink an hour after each meal, soon after any exercise; on average, you should drink a glass  every two hours, but don't enforce it like you would a regimen.

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The Atkins Diet (or any high-protein/low carb diet) should be strongly debated, and definitely don't get attached to it. Because of the limits of the diet, it's usually only good for adults, and even then only about 6-8 months. Any longer and the lack of dairy in the diet has the potential to cause bone damage due to the lack of calcium. Use it to change how you eat, and for the weight loss, but after six months or so start re-introducing carbs and dairy.  Also, if you do a lot of exercise,  this may be a bad diet do the lack of carbs.

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Don't inflict your diet on your family. Just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean that everyone else in the family needs to, or even should. This applies double if you have teenagers, as they need a lot more carbs for proper growth and getting around, especially if they are still taking gym class and definitely if they do any kind of sports. Basically, the diet may be good for you, but will mess with your teens' energy levels, making them unable to do much physically.

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Your MP3 player can be your best friend when you are exercising. If you know how long your exercise period is going to be, program a playlist along the following lines: three songs of increasing tempo for the beginning of your exercise period (for warm-up), a medium tempo for the last song (for cool-down), and the rest either fast or medium-fast songs (to keep you in the mood). You can create any number of playlists, especially if you note that certain songs work better on certain days. However, do not play on shuffle, or you lose the advantage of the playlists.

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If you would prefer not to listen to music, you can listen to podcasts or books on tape instead. This allows you to disassociate from the workout, letting your body do its thing while you learn something. It's a great opportunity to learn about something you have always wondered about or more about what you already know, or just have fun with something entirely different, such old radio dramas.

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Oh, and you're MP3 player can be your drill instructor as well. There are some exercise courses that can be downloaded and played during your workout, instructing you on what to do during each workout. Although there are some obvious issues regarding individualization of the courses, they should be able to give you enough of a basis and give you the support you need during your exercise period.

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When you shop, don't forget to buy vegetables. Too many people remember to buy milk and meat and forget the extra carbs, but they forget the vegetables. Make sure that you buy a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits. They make great snacks and desserts, and if you buy the non-canned version they can be ready when you need them. Best yet, there are rarely any limits on how many you can eat, making them an ideal snack.