Here is something you may not know, you don’t have to kill yourself on the treadmill, the elliptical trainer, stair climber or stationary bike any more. Out with the old and in with the new. New studies have proven better and faster weight loss can be achieved by working each muscle group to fatigue during your workout by doing only one set at your maximum weight setting.  What this means is you can greatly reduce the amount of cardio training you do on the treadmill, stairclimber, elliptical trainer or stationary bike or eliminate it all together especially if you really hate it, and be honest, who doesn’t hate cardio?

Next and probably most important is your diet. Eliminate all “white” foods such as white flour, white bread, white rice and, white sugar. All of these contain carbs that convert into simple sugars in your body and get stored immediately as fat. Instead stick with a diet rich in complex carbs found in whole grains and brown rice, lean protein like boneless, skinless chicken breasts or fish, eat several servings a day of fresh fruits and vegetables and drink plenty of water to flush out toxins and stay hydrated.

The general rule of thumb for taking in enough water everyday is to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. So, if you weigh 200 lbs you need to drink 100 ounces of water each day. Now that may seem like a lot but when you figure the average person is awake for 16 hours a day that means you would only need to drink about 6 ounces every hour. Stay away from carbonated beverages especially the diet variety. The stuff they use to make diet pop is poison and will actually trick your body into staying fat.

Remember, when you learn how to lose weight in the thighs you are learning how to improve the rest of your body as well. If you are scale averse then don’t use one. Feel the weight loss in the fit of your clothes, see the changes in your body in the mirror. Losing weight and then maintaining to keep it off should be a lifelong endeavor. Making some simple daily lifestyle changes especially in diet and exercise can go a long way in helping you reach your weight loss goals. So start today and watch the new you emerge.

Customers are usually told that they can lose “inches” as opposed to pounds and that the fat will “melt” away bringing about a loss of inches in a very short period of time, usually an hour or so. One of the claims propagated is that wrapping will work because cellulite is “water logged fatty tissue.”

What overweight person wouldn’t love to find a product that will render them slim and trim while they sleep? Unfortunately, many people think that body wrapping is a relatively “new” procedure and jump on the bandwagon quickly. The truth is that the body wrapping craze has been around for some time. Over two decades ago, government “watchdogs” reported:

“Who can blame the fretfully flabby for being lured by the promise of losing inches without doing anything more strenuous than popping a pill or wrapping up the offending flesh? Who can resist ads for body wraps that promise ‘to burn away fat even while you sleep,’ to ‘lose 4-6 inches the first day?”

What do these wraps consist of?

Some are plastic or rubber garments worn around the waist, some cover the waist, hips and thighs, and others cover nearly the entire body in a “mummy fashion.”.  Some are to be worn while carrying out routine activities, others while exercising, and some while sleeping. One is inflated with air from a vacuum cleaner. Another uses an electric hair dryer to blow in warm air. Some are used after a cream, gel or lotion is applied or after the wrap is soaked in a solution.

The garments and wraps, with or without lotions and creams, claim that they reduce body dimensions by removing fluids. Most medical experts agree that such treatment will cause a loss of inches and perhaps pounds due to profuse perspiration (sweating) and that the reductions are temporary. The fluid is soon replaced by drinking or eating.

Remember, rapid and excessive fluid loss is potentially dangerous because it can bring on severe dehydration and can upset the balance of important electrolytes in the body. Reputable spas are aware of any potential hazards such as this, so do your homework and select a spa with a good reputation.

Some people have tried using “plastic wrap” as body wrap material. In fact, that was a very popular practice several decades ago. Body wrapping has evolved since those days, becoming much more sophisticated. Prices for a body wrap range anywhere from $40 an hour up to as much as several thousand dollars at some of the upscale spas.

Some advertising claims that body wrapping will eliminate, or at the least reduce, cellulite but we’ll leave that up to you to determine. What we can tell you is that visiting a spa or salon for body wrapping may be a wonderfully rejuvenating experience, leaving you rested, relaxed and refreshed. And who wouldn’t like to have a few hours being pampered and fussed over in a relaxing environment regardless if it helps the cellulite or weight problem?

Some spas advertise herbal and/or other natural wraps. In fact, the methods and products applied are widely varied. Let’s explore some of the components that make up a good “wrap” experience.

Herbal wraps:

Some of the higher end spas go so far as to grow their own “herbs” for use in their body wraps, but that isn’t necessary for a good body wrap experience. Herbs can be fresh, or dried and usually organically grown is best. Each herb has a specific effect. Some increase circulation, another may soothe the skin and so on.

The herbs are steeped in very hot water (almost boiling) then special muslin sheets are soaked in the solution. It is these herb-infused sheets along with other insulating layers that wrap around the body. How the treatments work is interesting. The goal is to create a condition not unlike your body when you have a fever. We all know that when we have a fever, our body eliminates toxins by sweating. It’s the same principle with body wraps. The results vary. Some people report a very intense detoxification while for others it might be mild.

Methods of application and content vary as well. Seaweed, mud and salt are popular body wraps. Most often, the subject is wrapped from neck to toe with the arms set close to the sides of the body. This can be uncomfortable for someone who suffers from claustrophobia. The easiest correction for this is to keep the arms free from the wrap. Most people who are claustrophobic find this works and that all they need  is to be able to feel free to remove themselves if they so choose.

Whatever type of body wrap you select make certain that you feel comfortable with the spa and that a technician is always close at hand. Extreme care should be taken when selecting a salon or spa for this kind of treatment. Some things to consider:

• How long have they been offering body wraps?
• Do they have a licensed clinician whose sole purpose is massage and/or body wraps?
• Where do their herbs and other contents come from?
• Do they offer any special pricing for new clients?
• Will they allow a tour of their facilities prior to purchase?
• Have they had any unresolved complaints reported by the Better Business Bureau?
• Do they have any package pricing for multiple visits?

Also, watch your local publications for coupon offers. This can be a good way to try out a service at a bargain.
Ask your friends if they have had a body wrapping experience and whether they enjoyed it and what kind of results did they experience. You may even want to check for “two for one” specials and try it out with a friend!

Whether or not the experience reduces your cellulite, and follow the guidelines above, you are probably in for a pleasant experience. Who knows, you might just like it enough to include it in your long term personal care budget!

Let’s start with strength training. This can be done without any equipment (push-ups, leg lifts, arm curls, etc), or with resistance bands, weights and other types of equipment that vary in their level of sophistication. It’s important to do the exercises that you choose correctly to get the most benefit out of them. Aerobic fat loss exercises get your heart rate up so you have a huge range of activities to choose from here: ,walking briskly, swimming, dancing, running, bike riding, using stairs, playing sports, cleaning the house, etc. Don’t be fooled into thinking that aerobic activity must be some sort of formal sport or exercise. As long as it gets your heart rate up, it is aerobic. The key to burning fat with aerobic exercise is to maintain a high target heart rate so you shouldn’t be able to carry on a complete conversation while doing this.

Here are some of the most popular exercises that burn fat and don’t take much time.

In terms of muscle strengthening, you can’t beat the classic push-up. When you do push-ups, make sure that your palms are on the floor at your shoulder and just slightly outside of your shoulder width. Your back and legs should be straight when you do these exercises. Exhale slowly as you push your body up and inhale as you let it down. If you want to make this exercise even harder, you can raise your feet up on a step or bench. To make it less strenuous, keep your knees on the floor when you push up so your legs will be bent.

As far as aerobic activity goes, many people enjoy aerobics classes as much for the workout as for the social aspect of that activity. Having a group to support you can really make a difference in your consistency. Kick-boxing, swimming and brisk walking (even with light weights) are also extremely popular. Walking is one of the easiest activities to maintain because you can do it pretty much anytime, anywhere and this is one where you can maintain a minimal conversation with a work-out buddy if you prefer. Jogging is also popular but can be hard on the knees. Popular winter aerobic activities include ice-skating, skiing and snow-boarding. In the end, the best fat loss exercises are those that suit your preferences and lifestyle best. Find what you like for strength building and aerobics activity and stick to it.

BMI is the measure of body mass. By comparing your weight and height, specifically dividing your weight by your height, squared, the BMI calculations give us a single number.  Depending on where that number falls on a special scale, it tells you if you’re underweight for your height, in the normal range, overweight, or obese.

BMI doesn’t measure body fat, however, so often the number is wrong when it comes to athletes or very muscular people.  Muscle weighs more than fat, so for them, BMI isn’t an accurate measure at all.  For most people, though, it’s a very good estimate of weight in relation to height.  So what BMI calculations allow us to arrive at that magic BMI number?

BMI calculations may seem complicated, but they’re really not. At its most basic, the formula is kg/m2.  Or your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters, squared (your height in meters times itself). A person who’s five-and-a-half-feet tall stands about 1.7 meters.  Square that number (1.7 times 1.7) and you come up with 2.89.  A person who weighs 150 pounds weights about 68 kilograms.  So the BMI calculations to determine this person’s BMI would be 68 divided by 2.89. The result of that is about 23.5.

A BMI of 18.5 or below indicates that an individual is underweight. The normal weight range is from 18.5 to 24.9.  Overweight people will calculate a BMI of 25 to 29.9.  A BMI of 30 or greater indicates obesity. So a person with a BMI of 23.5 is within his or her normal weight range, according to the BMI calculations.

If you don’t want to convert feet and pounds to meters and kilograms, then you can use one of the other BMI calculations to figure your number. This person’s new formula would be weight in pounds, 150, times 4.88, or 732, divided by height in feet squared (5.5 times 5.5) which is 30.25.  Then divide weight by height squared (732 divided by 30.25) and the result is 24.1, very similar to the metric formula’s result. BMI calculations can also be done by taking weight in pounds times 703, and dividing by height in inches, squared.

While BMI isn’t the final word in whether or not someone is at a normal weight, it’s one of the first tools often used to determine if someone’s overweight.  Because the BMI doesn’t distinguish between weight from fat and weight from muscle (other tools must be used to determine the actual amount of fat) it doesn’t work well for very muscular people like athletes.  But for most of us, BMI is a pretty accurate measure of whether we’re underweight, a normal weight, overweight or obese.

Calculating BMI isn’t difficult once you understand the formula.  The basic formula is weight divided by height squared, or kg/m2. You simply take your height in meters and square it which means you take the number of meters times itself.  Then divide that number into your weight in kilograms.  So a person who’s five-and-a-half-feet tall stands about 1.7 meters.  To get 1.7 meters squared, you simply multiply 1.7 times 1.7, which equals 2.89.  Now, convert weight to kilograms.

So if someone weigh 200 pounds, that’s about 91 kilograms.  To determine the BMI of someone about five-and-a-half-feet tall who weights 200 pounds, or who stands 1.7 meters tall who weights 91 kilograms, we divide the weight by the height squared, or 91 divided by 2.89.  That gives us the result of about 31.  This individual is classified as obese.  How do I know that?

A BMI of 18.5 or below indicates an underweight person. The normal weight range is from 18.5 to 24.9. Overweight people will have a BMI of 25 to 29.9.  A BMI of 30 or greater indicates obesity. So a person with a BMI of 31 is in the obese range, but not by much.  By calculating BMI again with different weights, you can see that the person would only need to lose 5 kilograms, or about 11 pounds, to no longer be obese, but merely overweight.  And a loss of 19 kilograms, or about 42 pounds, will put this person within a normal weight range.  Calculating BMI to determine how much weight one should lose can be a big help for someone who’s not sure.

Calculating BMI can be made even more simple if you’re not sure how to convert to kilograms or meters.  Simply take your weight in pounds times 4.88.  Then divide that number by your height in feet, squared.  So a 200 pound person who is 6 feet tall:  976 divided by 36 = 27.1.  After calculating BMI, it’s clear this person is within a normal and healthy weight range.

BMI, or body mass index, was created in the early 1800s by Adolphe Quetelet. Because of that, it’s sometimes called the Quetelet index.  It’s nothing more than a way of comparing a person’s weight to his or her height, and determining if his or her weight falls into a healthy and normal range.  The BMI is still used today pretty much as it was when Quetelet invented it.

The formula for figuring BMI (body fat, bone and frame size, muscle and body type aren’t included in that) is this: Take your height in meters squared (your height times itself) and divide your weight in kilograms by that number.  For example, if I’m 5 feet tall, that’s about 1.5 meters. To square that number, take 1.5 times 1.5. The result of that is 2.5. So if I weigh 120 pounds, that’s about 54.5 kilograms.  Divide 54.5 by 2.5 and I get 21.8 as my BMI. The normal weight range is from 18.5 to 24.9, so 21.8 is classified as a normal weight.  Underweight is considered 18.5 and below, while overweight people will calculate a BMI of 25 to 29.9.  A BMI of 30 or greater indicates obesity.

BMI, body fat and general health can all be used as signs of how fit a person is. But where general health is pretty self-explanatory and the percentage of body fat clearly shows whether a person gets enough exercise or not, BMI is a bit trickier.

People with a lot of muscle don’t show accurate BMI readings. Because muscle weighs so much heaver than fat but takes up less space, a relatively small statured person can carry a lot of muscle weight without looking huge.  BMI doesn’t take that into account. Football players, professional wrestlers, bodybuilders, and virtually any athlete who has a lot of muscle is going to measure as overweight and even obese according to the BMI.  So it’s not accurate for them.  Is it accurate for everyone else?

The answer to that is yes, and no.  It depends on you.  The BMI typically doesn’t show an accurate result for children.  And extremely tall or large-framed people will show overweight or obese classifications more easily because of the extra weight from their bones and muscles.  So for very short, tall or muscular people, the BMI appears to not be a good tool.

There’s also no distinguishing between men and women in the BMI. Body fat is more natural for women who are supposed to have more than men, so some sort of distinction in the measurement of the sexes would help the BMI’s accuracy