Zen to Slim: A Simple 5-Step weight loss plan

Everybody is health conscious these days and take care of themselves by eating right, exercising and doing the right things so that obesity does not affect them. Being slim and healthy is not just for the sake of good appearance but it keeps a lot of ailments away like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, joint pains leading to arthritis and a host of other ailments associated with obesity. There are various foods and juice that one can consume to cut fat out of the system and one such is the pomegranate juice. Pomegranates have been a very popular fruit or as a juice with health junkies over the years. Not only does it aid in weight loss but lowers blood pressure too. It takes care to bring the cholesterol down, reduces dental plaque and prevents cancer as well. The more popular of the benefits is its effect on the weight loss in obese people. Other benefits of the pomegranates are: - It eliminates excess weightrn- Removes toxins from the bodyrn- Increases energy levelsrn- Improves the quality of skin making it look younger, andrn- It contains high contents of antioxidants which help to reverse the condition of artery hardening. Apart from consuming the right foods, fruits and juice exercising is as important and mandatory for a weight loss plan. Let us look at the Zen to slim weight loss plan mentioned here: STEP 1 Begin gradual exercise: rnInstead of starting with a major plan, we will begin with the basics. All you need to do is commit to doing some form of exercise for 10-15 minutes everyday for the next 30 days. Some key points:rnKind of exercise: If you are already a runner or cyclist or something similar then begin with it again or a machine like a treadmill, cycle, rowing at the gym would also work. Simultaneous exercising would make it more interesting so you can engage in different exercises on different days – just keep doing it EVERYDAY! Most important:rnTake it easy when you begin. Too much enthusiasm will burn you out earlier. We want you to start short and slow so that you continue and don’t give up. rnMake it a routinern- Do it every single dayrn- Set time aside to do your exercisesrn- Strength: Some light pushups, crunches, lunges and squats with no weights will also help. The key is to start slow. - Just start: If you are feeling lazy to exercise, tell yourself to get out of the door and begin. Even 5 minutes is good but don’t take a break. STEP 2 Replace the fatty foods with healthier optionsrnDon’t go on a diet but take a look at what you are eating. Replace the unhealthy and greasy food with healthier alternatives. Some key points for this step:rnInstead of fried chicken, opt for baked chicken. In place of a chicken burger, try a low-fat turkey burger. Make your own pizza instead of ordering from outside. Make a gradual changernNone of the habits need to change overnight. Take time to make changes but ensure they are permanent. You will get used to it over a period of time ExercisernIncrease your exercise duration in the second month and the key is to continue doing what you are doing. STEP 3 Eat frequent smaller mealsrnTry eating smaller portions of food more frequently. Instead of 3 big meals, change it to smaller portions of 5-6 smaller meals everyday.rnBreakfast is mandatory meal followed by a mid-morning snack, then an early lunch, a smaller lunch couple hours later and then a late afternoon snack and finally a light dinner. SnackrnEnsure that your snacks are healthy; they can include nuts, low-fat cheese, boiled veggies and low-fat yogurt. STEP 4 Intensify the exercises slowlyrnAs soon as you finish a month of exercising and have been regular your body is now used to exercising and the work-outs. You can now gradually intensify the process. Durationrn- Increase the durationrn- Keep the intensity low and add 5 extra minutes to itrn- Stick to this duration for 3-5 workouts then add another 5 minutes - Your goal should now be 40-45 minutes per day IntensityrnOnce your body is used to it, try doing an intense workout once a week. The duration of the intense workout should be shorter. Increase the intensity of the workouts as the weeks go by. Hard-easyrnIf you do a longer or more intense work-out. Ensure that you follow them with an easy workout. Consider the more intense workouts as your “hard” days, and you should not have two hard days in a row — or else you may get injured or burnt outrn rnSTEP 5rn Replace sugary foods with healthier treatsrnJust like you replaced the fatty foods with healthier options, the sugary foods too need to be replaced the same way. By consuming less fat and less sugar combined with regular exercises, you should be able to combat weight faster this way. rnSome tips: ChallengernJust like the fatty foods, try a 30-day challenge with the sugary stuff and see if you can go the whole month without sweets or try the gradual approach, and have less sweet each day. Cheat dayrnFor every month of staying away from sweet, you can have 1 cheat day. You can eat whatever dessert your heart desires. AlternativesrnFind alternatives for the sweets, try having a fruit salad or low-fat strawberry yogurt instead of the unhealthy sugary stuff. DrinksrnDrink water instead of the sodas and juices. You will cut a lot of calories by doing this. Whole grainsrnTry including whole grains into your diet like cereals, wheat breads and brown rice. They are whole lot healthier than their whiter options like refined flour based products. With the weight loss and healthy tips mentioned above, no one can go wrong.