Happy New Year’s!   One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to loose weight and start exercising. Many people will do just that, and many will not follow through and achieve the results they want.  Weight loss is achievable and can be done without much “sacrifice”. When you know precisely how to get those results it can save a lot of wasted time and effort. 

To lose weight you must expend more calories that you consume. Simple as that. But there are very efficient ways to do this, ways that will speed up the process and guarantee results. Of course you should eat in a way that promotes leanness. This does not mean you have to diet. It means eating foods that contain less empty calories and that the body can actually use for ample energy and rebuilding the body’s tissues. By learning how the body utilizes carbohydrates, proteins and fats, and which foods contain the healthiest ones you can begin to eat better.

Even something as easy as changing your protein, carbohydrate, fat ratio can get those pounds melting off. Eat small frequent meals throughout the day rather than two or three larger ones.  This will keep you feeling full, lessen the chances of overeating at any one meal, and keep your blood sugar levels more stable which makes it harder for your body to store fat.

There are an abundance of great tasting, healthy easy to prepare foods out there just waiting for you to try them. We are all creatures of habit and most of us eat the same small variety of foods on a regular basis. Time to experiment and try new things!

Exercise is a must. All exercises yield different results so choose something that really revs up the metabolism if that is your goal. Proper long term weight training can actually change your metabolism. If you are inactive, and have a sedentary job you may not have as much lean muscle mass as you should have. This applies to both male and females. If you are not challenging your muscles on a regular basis that have no reason to stay as strong and dense as they should. This loss of muscle mass results in decreased strength, energy and a slower metabolism. Muscle is live metabolic tissue that burns calories and the denser it is the higher the calorie burn.  Losing muscle is the last thing you want when trying to lose weight. By weight training you can quickly regain that loss of lean muscle mass and speed up the metabolism. 

Cardio vascular training, as in running, biking, swimming and other exercises that increase your heart rate are great for helping to maintain healthy heart and lungs.  A good short bout of cardio training can also be invigorating, providing you with an energy burst. 

The most important part of the whole process is the mind set and enjoyment of getting in shape. If you are in an environment where you enjoy your training and you are getting the results you want you will probably maintain your training.

So it’s an education process, and we are offering the tools you need to learn all this at our gyms with a new program starting this week. Iron Haven gym’s Biggest Loser Program starts this week at all three of our locations. The course is 10 weeks long and there will be 10 classroom type educational sessions  to teach you all you need to know to get the results you want.  We will show you how to eat right, how to train right and how to have fun doing so. Motivation to make a lifestyle change is a must and you will have the support and encouragement of your instructor and everyone in your group. This course is for anyone who wants to lose just a few pounds up to over 100 pounds. One of the course instructors has lost over 110 pounds and is an inspiration to everyone at the gym who is struggling with weight issues.

Meetings are on Monday nights with Kelly Gallant Butler at our O’leary location, Wednesday nights with Lynn Jones at our Alberton location and Friday nights with myself in Summerside.  It has always been our goal to educate our members on how to achieve want they want and we are excited about the results participants are going to get out of this course.  For more info call your local Iron Haven Gym.  You can do it with the right information and support and we are here to help.