Getting Healthy: Rough Guide to a Better You

So you want to shift those pounds then do you? You want to lose that barrel of a belly, the tree trunk thighs, and perhaps those extra chins? Or maybe you'd like to just drop last year's beer gut? There's no magic pill that's for sure, but there's one simple method to lose them all:

The first step is controlled diet and exercise.

Sounds scary and complicated right? Sounds like hard work? Well to be somewhat truthful: it is. That need not be the end of your reading though.

Your diet is one of the most important; losing weight doesn't mean you have to eat carrot sticks, celery and nuts. You're not becoming a rabbit, or an athlete. So first things first, what should you be drinking? Well, here comes the hard part for most people. You don't want to drink soda. The occasional one or two per week is fine, but not 3-5 per day. Soda is filled full of sugars, chemicals and crap. You'll not only be able to lose weight by cutting it out from your diet, but also have better health and skin. Try and swap this with water and fruit juices. Try and get about 2 or so liters of water per day for a start. And then drink more (about a liter more) when you exercise that day. You need to keep hydrated, and drinking that recommended amount of water will give you more energy.

What you want to eat is fruit and vegetables, making sure you get your leafy greens too. Try and make sure you get some of either of these whenever you eat: Apples, sprouts, broccoli, grapes, oranges, melon, carrots, cucumber etc. Make sure to eat plenty of these, but don't over do it! Eating a large portion of anything is going to put on the pounds and have adverse effects! Keep it sensible, but keep it going down the hatch. Pasta, potatoes and breads (Wholegrain I'm afraid) are fine. Just don't eat too much of them. You want to be having 5 portions of Fruit and Vegetables per day. Make sure you do. But you're not a Rabbit, so what about meat?

Yes, you can eat it! Sticking to skinless chicken breast, tuna (most fish actually) and lean meats will keep you supplied with good, complex proteins. Just don't eat too much meat! Make your meals smaller then what you'd usually eat, and split them up into 4-5 meals per day.

Your stomach needn't be filled completely to get enough of what you need! After a little while your body will adjust to what you're eating. No more fats, sugars and carbs to be used instantly anymore. It will change, and so will you. You'll notice the taste of food more than ever as your palate recovers from being abused by those Big Macs and Pepsi. So, we've got some very basic foundations now, on what to eat and drink.

Exercise: Running. Jogging. Walking. Swimming. Biking, pushups, sit-ups and so on.
Maybe a half hour a day should do it. Enough to get your blood flowing. Doesn't seem so bad huh? Some of these exercises are obviously more effective than the others. Jogging and running is better than walking for example. However you might have to work up to it.

Running/jogging/rest periods of walking will benefit you also, and probably will be the most effective method. Just jog 1 mile every two days and you'll start to lose those pounds, and lose that fat layer. If you find you can't run that far, just stop and start walking, have a small breather if you need to, and just carry on.

It really is this simple. If you follow these tips, you're sure to lose weight and get healthy. Only you can stick to them, and make sure you don't cheat. Good luck, and happy fat burning!