subject: Getting Into Shape - Mistakes To Avoid [print this page] For most of us, the thought of getting into shape can be extremely daunting. We conjure up images of a guy dressed as a drill sergeant screaming and shouting at us until we give him another 20 push ups . We do this because we have been programmed to believe that this is the only way to get into shape. Actually, the picture we hold in our minds is much more grim than the reality...
The truth is that a regular exercise plan, combined with healthy and wholesome food , is the only real way to ensure that you stay in good shape throughout your life. There are also some other things you can do to help yourself get into shape and NONE of them include ordering anything off a TV infomercial.
Contrary to the TV ads and testimonials you often see on morning breakfast shows, there is no overnight solution to getting into shape. Your current lack of fitness is due to bad lifestyle habits and you need to change those if you're going to improve fitness and lose fat. Forming new lifestyle habits can take three or four weeks for most people.
The factor that trips up most people attempting to lose weight is the lack of quality, truthful information about how to do it properly. Do yourself a favour and ignore the infomercials that try to sell you pills, powders, detoxes, diets and crappy exercise equipment.
If you're looking to improve your health and physical fitness, below are five extremely common mistakes you need to avoid.
1.Starvation
When they want to lose weight, too many people decide that they will just cut way back on what they eat. This puts your body into starvation mode, which will lower your metabolism and force you to burn fat more slowly.
When you start eating normally again, which you inevitably will, your body will put on even more weight. For many people, this becomes a vicious cycle and is largely responsible for the "yo-yo" phenomenon in weight loss.
2.Bathroom Scale Worship
People always talk about weight loss, but they don't mean they just want to lose weight: they want to lose fat. The bathroom scale, however, doesn't differentiate between fat and muscle. Did you know that muscle weighs more than fat? If you only measure your success or failure based on the number you see on the scales then you're going to be chasing your tail forever.
3.Binging on 'No Fat' or 'Low Fat' Foods
Just because something is low fat or no fat, it still contains calories. The reality is that whenever you consume more calories than you burn through exercise and daily activity, you gain weight. When you burn more calories than you consume in, you lose weight.
4.Short Term Planning
Most people have a short term goal in mind.. The desire to lose 2 kilos is a great place to start at, but if you don't have a plan for sustaining your new weight then all of your efforts will be for nothing. You will need to make a lifelong commitment to a new way of living, pure and simple.
5."I'm an Overweight Person Trying to Lose Weight"
This type of thinking is probably the most fundamental mistake most people make when trying to lose weight or get fit We will become the person we believe we are. The self talk inside our minds has a profound impact on our reality, so you need to get this under control and keep it positive. You're a "healthy person returning to normal," not an "unhealthy person trying to get healthy."
