How to Use Smoothies to Help You Lose Weight

When it comes to losing weight, your goals should be to shed off pounds, remain healthy, and optimize nutrition while reducing caloric intake. While this is simple in principle, it is not always an easy guideline to follow. 

In our busy lifestyles and hectic paced lives, it is sometimes difficult to find nutritionally sound meal ideas that truly support both weight loss and health. 

This often leads to skipped meals that can hinder a person's metabolic rate and slow the weight loss process. This is where using smoothies as part of your weight loss tools can come in. 

Smoothies are easy to make, delicious to drink and packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients if prepared in the right manner.

Smoothies: What You Need To Know

Healthy smoothies encourage weight loss through the natural inclusion of numerous fruit and vegetables. This is great as they are low in calories, high in energy, providing excellent nutritional support and also very fulfilling. 

When considering smoothies as part of your weight loss goals, it is important to keep it nutrient balanced. This means lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as an excellent source of protein. Also, including some nutrient dense supplements, such as flax seed, aloe vera juice or chia seeds can help to make the drinks very nutritious, filling and enjoyable to drink.

What Are The Options?

Some vegetable options that work great in smoothies include greens such as spinach or kale, as well as avocados. Leafy green vegetables do not alter the taste of a smoothie, but they do add essential vitamins and minerals, such as iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. 

Avocados are a healthy source of fat, and they can be beneficial not only for weight loss but the overall health of the body. Add these beautiful vegetables generously to any smoothie to increase fiber and reach your weight loss goals with ease.

There are also a variety fruits to choose from when deciding on your smoothie recipe. Some of the best fruits to add to your healthy cocktail include bananas, berries, pineapples, and mangoes. The key is to use your imagination when mixing your fruits, and also to keep your blender colorful. Not only will a good variety of fruits help to enhance the nutritional value of your smoothie, but they will also expose you to new taste sensations, keeping your beverages interesting and fun. 

Finally, it is important to incorporate a high-quality protein source into your smoothies. Protein sources that work well in these beverages include milk, almond milk, soy milk, protein powders and yogurt. 

Each will add a unique consistency and flavor to your drink, so try a few and find the one that works best for you. Also, it is possible to incorporate protein filled nut butter, such as peanut butter or almond butter, into any healthy smoothie blend.

Losing weight can be a challenge on its own, and that's why having the option of an appetizing and nutritious smoothie that is easy to drink and fun to make gives you something to look forward to. So the next time you are running out the door without a meal, remembers that skipping a meal when trying to lose weight is not a bright idea. 

Grab your blender and mix a delicious smoothie instead you will soon see the results on your scale. Smoothies can help you lose weight. 

Tabata Workouts For Beginners (with Infographic)

Just because Tabata workouts are gold standard for Olympic trainees doesn’t mean that they are not suitable for beginners. In fact, Tabata workouts are a great way for a beginner with no money, no equipment and very little time to really get fit. The main thing you need is an ability to push yourself—and a stopwatch.

Timing is key for a Tabata workout, timing, and the ability to go full-power for 20 seconds at a time. Can you do it? If you can, you’re well on the way to a much trimmer, fitter and healthier you.

Cost In Time: 4 Minutes Per Day

(plus 10 minute warm and 5 minute cool down)

One of the best things about Tabata is that it is very flexible. You can choose from a variety of exercises, including, using machines, like exercise bikes, treadmills and elliptical machines.

When you choose your type of Tabata workout, take into account your comfort level with the exercise in question, your current fitness level, and also consider just what you want to achieve with your workout, specifically, what muscle groups would you like to target?

A Tabata workout will have you doing your all-out absolute best, so it isn’t the time to try out new exercise moves or those that are too complicated. But if all you know is pushups, your Tabata sessions don’t have to be limited by that, either.

You’ll just have to teach yourself new exercises during lower-intensity workout times, and after you’ve got them down, incorporate them in your Tabata workout.

Tabata And Running

Suppose you are a runner. Then you may want to start your Tabata adventure by doing a Tabata Running Workout; building up from what you are already good at.

Here is an example of a great Tabata workout with running.

You’re going to sprint, going as fast as you possibly can, as if wolves were after you, for all of 20 seconds.

Then pause for 10 seconds. Stopping straight out might be out of the question, but put the brakes on, walk very slowly, catch your breath, stop if you want to, but, only for 10 seconds.

Then—there are the wolves again—so go for 20 more seconds. When the timer goes off and that 20 seconds are over, you’ve got another breather, and you’ve done ¼ of your workout.

A Tabata workout is 8 cycles long; eight cycles of 20 seconds on 10 seconds off. 

And, you know what? It’ll do more for your body than an hour run at a steady pace.

Tabata With Exercise Bikes

You might not be a runner. Other exercises work just as well with the Tabata protocol. If you’ve got an exercise bike at your house, try spinning. Get on there and play a little with the pedals to warm yourself up.

Then try cycling madly for all of 20 seconds.

A 10 second break, then 20 seconds more.

Try to make sure your speed stays at least at 85 RPM for the whole high intensity time.

Stationary biking was actually the first exercise the Tabata method was tried on, and if you are consistent with it, say, four days a week, 4 minutes a day—you’ll definitely see results.

Other Tabata Moves

Bodyweight movements are also great options for Tabata, these include, squats, jump squats, jumping jacks and high knees, all of which are great Tabata workouts. 

The important thing to remember is that during your 20 seconds on you are working the hardest you can, the fastest you can, and putting everything you have into it. Your reward is your 10 seconds of rest.

Try this fun four-minute Tabata workout for beginners, from The Fitologists!

Pairing Cardio With Tabata For A Complete Weekly Fitness Regimen

Tabata is an intense training methods that really delivers results. The Tabata protocol is an exercise regime where you workout in short, twenty second bursts of extremely high intensity.

These high intensity intervals are separated by ten-second rest periods, and you do eight of them for a classic Tabata exercise workout.

Be forewarned, Tabata is not for the weak or faint at heart. It is really intense, pushing yourself to the absolute max, with non-stop aggressive reps for each and every one of the 20 second intense intervals.

Tabata Moves

For the best all round results, you want to choose an exercise that targets several major muscle groups. Burpees can really get your heart going, and so can jump squats or even jumping jacks.

You don’t need to limit yourself to only one exercise, but, since you want to fire up your muscles up to their maximum ability and each exercise works out slightly different muscles, you may want to do a complete four minute Tabata workout with the first exercise, and take a little break before going on to the next. Or if you’re only up to one session, do one day and another the next.

Let’s suppose you decided to do high knees, which are, exaggerated walking/running in place where you bring the knees up to waist level every time you take a step-- and you’ve got some small weights you’ll bring up over your head as you bring up your knees, just to make sure your upper body is working too.

Set up a stopwatch so you’ll be able to easily track ten and twenty-second sessions. When time starts, go as fast as you possibly can. If it seems too easy, change out your weights for something a little heavier. You need to be exerting yourself as much as humanly possible.

Don’t lose your form, though—exercise without proper form will deliver you very little real benefit. If you find you’re just flailing your arms and legs, you need to slow down a little and may need to work on fluency with your chosen exercise before you work on making it Tabata intensity.

After twenty seconds, give yourself a ten second break. Ten seconds where you just stand there, gasping for breath if necessary. Then you go on with twenty seconds more of the high knees with that overhead lift.

If we follow our natural tendencies, the first twenty seconds may be pretty radical, red hot stuff. We’re motivated; we want to get healthy in just five minutes a day, and we’re fresh and excited to be doing this.

By round three, we’re feeling just a little bit less energetic. Our speed and intensity is tapering off. By the time we come to round seven and eight, were just going through the motions.

If that’s you and your workout, you’re not doing Tabata. For Tabata you need to keep yourself at the highest intensity through all 8 repetitions. It’s not the natural rhythm your body will be trying for.

But if you’ve got a little will power, you can push yourself to it. Remember, when the four minute bell rings, you’ll have completed the workout and be well on the way to a healthier you.

Pairing Cardio With Tabata

What happens when you pair the Tabata protocol with some intense cardio? You get a great weekly combination, a fitness regimen that will really fire up your cardiovascular system, yield optimal fat burning results and get you squarely on the road to a healthier you.

Tabata is an extreme workout and so it is not recommended for everyday use. Typically 3 or 4 times max per week is best.

So, a good strategy is to do your regular cardio on the other 3 or 4 days, and rest for one.

So a typical schedule might be, Monday, Wednesday and Friday Tabata.

Then Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday an hour on the treadmill, maybe 20 minutes of HIIT, some bike work or any other cardio that you enjoy and don’t forget to add some muscle toning on those cardio days as well.

This type of aggressive combination will yield fantastic results in transforming your body to a lean mean fat burning machine, and as long as you stick with a healthy diet, you will see truly amazing results.

Now go do it!

How Walking Can Help You Lose Weight

If you are facing in the right direction, then all you have to do is keep on walking to lose weight!

Everyone knows how important exercise is for our overall health, not to mention how we feel about ourselves -- which is also very important. Popular exercise plans often promise six pack abs, sculpted glutes and a lean silhouette if you work harder than you ever have and consume less than has ever satisfied you; neither of which are sustainable.

However, it is possible to get the results without the strain of intense training. Are you looking to bulk up or slim down? If you have athletic ambitions or you want to increase your strength, then weight training and strenuous aerobics will be the sport for you. But for those who want to be slim and healthy, then walking is ideal.

All Around Benefits

Not only is walking enjoyable, it is cheap and also encourages socialization.

It is great for body sculpting too. Walking melts fat off the whole body--be it the abdomen, upper arms and hips. The reason walking is fat burning is because it is aerobic. This means it increases circulation, it increases the oxygenation of cells, it detoxifies, and it increases metabolism. The areas of highest fat concentration melt away first.

Taking regular walks is really the answer to a firm and slim body. But we don’t mean the casual afternoon stroll--you can’t expect to get the benefits without achieving moderate pace. If you are going to use walking as a way to trim your body, you going to need to up your pace, lengthen your stride, swing your arms and increase the walking pace.

If you want fat to melt away, you have to raise your heartbeat and keep it raised for at least half an hour. If you do this, you will notice a slimmer and more toned physique in a matter of weeks!

Walking is low impact; it doesn’t damage the joints.

Walking is more effective against cancer and other diseases too, than extreme intense exercises. The high-intensity workouts can put stress on the body, and that can be detrimental to your health. You may have heard of strong young people dropping dead from heart attacks after a marathon or a lot of jogging. It is better to take it at an easier pace, but for longer periods. You will see your weight improve and you will reap health benefits too, for sure!

Have you got comfortable walking shoes with cushioned soles? Buy yourself good ones and do your feet a favor – you will feel like you are walking on air. You won’t regret spending a bit extra on good walking shoes.

Sedentary lives out, get the walking shoes on!

Modern home and work environments mean that we spend large parts of our day’s sitting, particularly when we have office jobs. Sedentary lifestyles definitely can contribute to weight gain and also increase your risk of health problems.

One study estimated that in order for you to maintain a stable weight, you need to walk at least 150 minutes a week – remember to keep it brisk. And if you want to increase the intensity of your walk and burn even more calories, then you can try walking on routes that have hills and slight inclines. When people cut their calories to lose weight, they can lose muscle in addition to body fat. Since muscle burns fat losing muscle is a bit counterproductive.

Muscle is metabolically more active than fat; it helps you burn more calories each day. Toning and resistance exercises, which includes walking, help to counter the effects of muscle loss by preserving lean muscle as you lose weight.

It helps to reduce the drop in your metabolic rate that occurs so often with weight loss, making your weight loss efforts easier to maintain. Walking also reduces age-related muscle loss, helping you retain your muscle strength and function as well.

An effective way of reducing belly fat is to regularly participate in aerobic exercises and that means plenty of walking. One study showed how obese women who walked 3 times a week for 50-70 minutes reduced their waist circumferences by 1.1 inch. They also lost 1.5% of their body fat too.

Apart from helping you to lose weight, walking has other benefits too. It boosts your mood, decreasing feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. It makes your brain more sensitive to the hormones norepinephrine and serotonin – it is these hormones which relieve the feelings of depression and stimulate the releasee of endorphins, making you feel happy. Get out and walk!

Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise. (Carrie Latet)

That’s true.

CrossFit for Beginners (+ Deciding if a CrossFit Workout Is Right for You)

After watching someone perform this advanced workout, you may be intimidated and wonder if there’s a CrossFit for beginners.  But you shouldn’t let fear keep you from achieving your fitness goals.

Even the beginner that’s completely out of shape and overweight can begin to practice CrossFit training and receive its benefits.  You probably don’t want to go it alone, though, when you’re a beginner.  It helps to have a certified trainer assist you in getting started.

Trainers will help you to use equipment properly and learn to protect from injury.  CrossFit is unique because the workout for the most advanced member is the same as CrossFit for beginners, but some substitutions can be made.

The CrossFit workout is different each day.  Each center receives a prescribed program for the day.  The difference is that a more advanced person may lift a heavier weight or practice a more advanced move.

A beginner will work with the heaviest weight they can safely lift.  For some beginners that may mean that you may only be able to lift the bar instead of adding weights to it when you do squats.  If you have injuries to your knees, you may have to do an alternative move that’s modified.

One of the great things about being a beginner is that the CrossFit environment is very supportive.  The purpose of this training isn’t to be perfect - it’s to be fit.  And no matter what your fitness level is, you’ll feel welcome as you set your own goals for improving.

If you’ve seen someone who has been participating in this training program for a long time, you may wonder if you’re too old, too injured, too fat, or too out of shape to try it.  But this workout is for anyone of any age, body type, or fitness level.

When you begin to work with a trainer you’ll see that he or she is supportive and meets you where you are so that you can advance.  You may be worried about feeling like a failure, but in the early stages you’ll have plenty of opportunities to see how much you’re capable of growing.

For a beginner, one of the most important things to pay attention to is safety.  If you do more than you’re really ready to do you can injure yourself.  If you lift too much weight or perform the exercises improperly you can do harm.

But if you’re interested in getting fit and challenging yourself, you shouldn’t let your newbie status keep you from giving it a try.  CrossFit for beginners is challenging, but as you grow you’ll appreciate the benefits of it.

Deciding if a CrossFit Workout Is Right for You

If you’re tired of the traditional time at the gym, a CrossFit workout could be the change you’ve been craving.  When you head to the gym you may feel like you do the same thing each time – treadmill, weight machines, and stationary bikes.

While there’s really no such thing as bad exercise, the traditional workout isn’t going to give you the same results as CrossFit.  What makes this workout different? It’s the idea that you work out many muscles at one time.

Instead of isolating a group of muscles with a weight machine, CrossFit allows you to engage multiple muscle groups and give you more advanced fitness.  This is more than just trying to be healthy and look good; it’s a workout that will improve the way your body works for you.

The CrossFit workout is designed to give you a quick workout that’s also powerful and gives you results.  CrossFit also harnesses the power of social support and the competitive spirit to help motivate you to exercise.

In fact, each year CrossFit sponsors the CrossFit Games where people compete in different exercise categories.  While it’s all the in spirit of good fun and encouraging all participants to do their best, there are also cash prizes for the winners.

This type of workout is very intense and it’s best for people who want to get a hard workout without spending all day in the gym.  There are thousands of CrossFit gyms throughout the world, while most of them are in the United States.

These are typically no-frills gyms that offer trainers and equipment to complete the day’s workout.  Workouts change daily and are posted online for affiliated clubs.  There are also gyms that aren’t officially CrossFit gyms, but use the same style of workout.

If you decide to try CrossFit, it’s important to make sure you’re doing the exercises correctly.  This workout is demanding on the body and you can become injured if you’re not properly trained or supervised.

While this is a tough workout, you shouldn’t let that scare you away.  This workout is designed for the average person to complete it.  It may take you some time to build up to the entire workout, but with commitment you’ll be able to handle it.

And the benefits of CrossFit extend to many aspects of your life.  You’ll be able to do more with your body. Not only will you look better, but you’ll feel great.  You’ll have flexibility, endurance, and strength to face the tasks you need to complete in your life.

If you’re looking for a great way to get in shape that’s different from the standard workout, this may be for you.  A CrossFit workout can help you to get in great shape and to enjoy variety with your workouts.

Why not give this full body CrossFit workout a try?  

What to Look for When Choosing Treadmill Equipment

So you’ve decided that this is it. You’re ready to make some significant changes in your body. Maybe you need to lose some unwanted pounds and maybe you’re not overweight but you just want to stay that way. Whatever the reason, you know you want to use treadmill equipment, but you’re just not sure exactly what qualities or features you should look for.

Many treadmills have weight limits. 

Some users don’t think to check for this before purchasing but it does make a difference and can affect the different features of the machine. The weight limit is set as a safety precaution for users as well as a precaution for what the motor can handle. You’ll want to check the limit to make sure it will work for you.

Next, you’ll want to check out the warranty. 

Do you get a year on the motor? Ten years? A lifetime warranty? If you plan to keep the treadmill you’re buying for many years, look for one with a high warranty time limit. Keep in mind that heavy duty motors deliver better performance and usually last longer. That’s why the commercial gyms buy the treadmills with the powerful motors.

Do you have a room set aside to use strictly for exercise? 

Or will the room have a double use? If so, then you’ll need to check out the convenience factor for the treadmill equipment. Look for one that offers easy set up and take down for storage capability. You’ll want to make sure that wherever you place the machine, you have the room to get around it.

Check out all of the extra features. 

How many pre-programmed exercise routines would you prefer to have? The amount of built in exercise programs in each machine ranges from very few to quite a few.

If you prefer to customize your workouts, then find the treadmill that has that in the features. Some people prefer to multi-task or otherwise engage their minds when exercising and if that’s something you also prefer, make sure you choose a treadmill that has a reading rack or a flat screen television monitor.

Finally, when choosing treadmill equipment, consider the cost. You’ll find they range in price from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. But don’t allow cost to be the deciding factor.

Look at a treadmill as a lifetime investment and you’re certainly worth whatever the cost it takes to get and stay healthy. You don’t want to buy the cheapest piece of machinery on the market just to save a few bucks. Make a list of what you need in an exercise machine first. Then go shopping to find the one that falls in line with those needs.

Getting into or staying in shape isn’t as hard as you might believe. 

You would think that the formula of ‘burn more calories than you eat’ would be simple enough to lose weight and keep it from coming back. And it is. But only exercise is the door to proper weight loss and a fitness treadmill holds that key. 

How you lose the weight does matter. Quick or fad diets do not work in the long run. You might drop a clothing size, but in the end, that weight will come back. Starving yourself isn’t a healthy way to lose.

On a fitness treadmill, you’ll be walking - and walking is the number one way to lose weight. 

So why get a treadmill? Why not just walk outside on the sidewalks? Most walking injuries occur to the ankles and knees due to connecting the foot repeatedly with a hard surface. Walking or running on sidewalks or asphalt jars your joints and puts stress on your joints. Add that to an uneven surface and it’s pain waiting for a place to happen.

With a fitness treadmill, you get better cushioning and an even surface. Those are the benefits just starting out. But once you get going, this kind of exercise elevates your cardio vascular performance. Walking lowers not only stress but also your bad cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

Not many people realize that each muscle in your body takes part in the workout and you’ll end up more toned not only on your leg and calf muscles but your arms, waist and buttocks as well.

You’ll get adjustments on the speed and the level with the push of a button. Intensity in exercise levels can range from mild or moderate to intense. These adjustments mean that everyone can take part in fitness, even couch potatoes looking for a change.

Exercising for just thirty minutes a day can change your body’s fitness level. 

If it’s so simple, why don’t more people do it? Because it’s not easy to get into workout clothes in the mornings or evenings and head out to the gym hoping you can find a treadmill that’s not in use.

If you have a treadmill at home, you get to burn calories and fat, tone your muscles and if you’ve thought about getting one but thought boredom might be a factor, you haven’t considered the versatility of owning one.

You can change up the exercise routine. You can walk, jog or run. You can read a book or magazine or watch TV. A fitness treadmill is the easiest way to lose weight and get in shape all year round. Thirty minutes a day is all it takes to get fit and stay there.

Walking is good for you whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned exercise expert. To get the most benefits for your body from exercise, aim for a daily workout. Workouts are easier to stick to if you have the right equipment. This list of treadmill reviews will help you choose the correct equipment.

One of the top performing treadmills is theProform 380 CS Treadmill.  With this model, you get a 1.5 CHP/2.25 HP motor. You can adjust the speed from 0 to 10 miles per hour easily when you’re ready to increase the intensity of your workout.

The comfortable Protech cushioning will absorb the impact of walking so that your ankles and knees won’t have to. You can keep an eye on how well you’re doing with the workout with the handy LCD display. You get plenty of features and a budget friendly price tag.

The Horizon brand is next in the lineup of Treadmill Reviews. The Horizon Fitness T91 Treadmill has a durable 2.0 horsepower motor and the speed can adjust from 0.5 to 10 mph and you can have an easy or challenging workout to help you reach your best fitness goals. You’ll get a variety of exercise programs so that you can keep your workout from getting stale. Though it has plenty of features, this model is easy to set up and use.

The Nordic Track Professional Series 4000 offers users a 3.5 CHP motor that can handle the toughest workouts. You get better than average elevation level at 15 percent with a cushion deck to make walking, jogging or running a pleasure for your feet.

This model comes with an LCD TV so you can see the shows while you lose weight and firm up those muscles. Fifteen exercise programs are part of this package to help keep you on the right track.

The Ironman 220t Programmable Treadmill gives you the option to create 8 customized workout programs as well as 4 preset ones. The 2.25 horsepower motor and the cooling fan can make exercising a habit forming activity.

With this one, you’ll get a 325 pound weight maximum and an EKG pulse grip so that you can see how your heart rate is doing. With an added feature that’ll hold a book or magazine as well as a water bottle, you can workout in comfort and enjoyment.

Last but not least in the Treadmill Reviews is the Life Fitness T5-0. The motor on this model is extremely quiet and the 3.0 motor delivers optimal performance. Choose from 12 pre-programmed exercise programs or if you’d like something more personal, you have 4 to select from as well as a custom one.

If you’re sharing this treadmill with someone else, each person can create a user workout that’s geared toward their fitness needs. This model has a lot of extras such as the GoSystem Quick Start and the HeartSync which can change the workout due to the feedback the system gets from your heart. Innovative quality and more for your money is what best describes this model.