The Best Weight Loss Routine

The best weight loss routine is one that involves eating less meaningless calories and performing exercise to burn calories. Weight loss occurs with you burn 3,500 more calories in a given time frame than you consume. While the concept of weight loss is simple to understand, it will take a conscious and continuous effort to implement changes into your life.

Reduce Calories

The basic premise to weight loss is to burn more calories than you eat. There is no need to join a weight loss club or to try a fad diet plan. There are a couple of quick and easy eating habit changes you can make to save hundreds of daily calories. One such action is to limit your salt (sodium) intake. Too much sodium will create water retention that ultimately leads to weight gain. It is also good to avoid soft drinks. These carry about 150 calories per can of empty calories. You can drink your way to an extra 500 calories per day easily from 3.5 drinks. Drink water instead. Another great way to lower your normal calorie and fat intake is from beef consumption. While beef is a good source of protein, eating too much fatty beef is not good for the body. Only buy lean beef. If it has a 90 percent or greater lean rating, it is a good purchase. Limit your beef portions to a total of three ounces.

Cardio Program

The goal of a cardio program is to create some activity. You need to increase the amount of body movement you engage in on a daily basis. Cardio is described as any activity that increases your heart rate for an extended period of time. This can be anything from running, walking, swimming, biking, playing tennis, basketball, golf or using an elliptical machine. You can burn large quantities of calories by engaging in a form of consistent cardio. The body must expend energy to create movement. Energy is found in the form of burning calories and fat. You should do this activity for a period of 20 to 60 minutes each session. Cardio should be performed from three days per week to every day, depending on your fitness level and ability.

Strength Training

One of the best ways to maximize weight loss is the incorporation of a strength training program. This will help to burn calories, increase metabolism and tone the body. The benefit of doing such a program is that after a muscle-building workout, the body will continue to burn calories for at least the next 24 hours. This occurs because of muscle breakdown and rebuilding. This process requires a great deal of energy, which means the body will burn calories throughout this entire process. It is best to complete strength training on days in which cardio is not being done. Limit these strength-building workouts to only two or three days per week for 20 to 40 minutes per session. Never do strength building workouts on back-to-back days as the body needs 24 hours to recover. There is no need to lift heavy weights. The goal with strength training to lose weight is to lift light weights with higher repetitions. Some exercises that you can perform but are not limited to are bench press, squats, push-ups, lunges, military press, crunches and leg raises.