Shape 'N Shake

How To Stay Gym Fit Without A Gym Membership

If the global recession is affecting you and you’re trying to cut costs then finding ways to stay fit without going to the gym might help. Regularly going to the gym can cost quite a bit of money and might be one of your single biggest monthly expenses.

While you may not want to stop going to the gym forever, one temporary cost-cutting measure is to try and keep fit from home. Here are a few exercise ideas and tips on how to give your home workout program a running start!

Cycling: If you’ve got a bike then it’s pretty easy to keep fit – just head out for a ride! If you usually use an exercise bike at the gym then this is a great alternative, and can be much more fun too. You get to set your own route, so you can see what you want to see as you get your exercise. You can even vary your route to keep things interesting.

Bench and weights: If you’ve got a bit of spare cash you can buy a bench and weights for a home workout. You can pick these up pretty cheap – probably for the same price as a single month of gym membership, and maybe even less! With these you can do nearly all of the exercises that your gym weights machines do, without paying a single penny more than it cost to buy them. Not only that, but you can use them any time you want – not just during gym opening times.

Yoga: One of the cheapest forms of exercise to do from home is yoga. Although yoga isn’t for everyone, it’s incredibly popular and is a great way to stay healthy when taken seriously. To do yoga you really need nothing more than your body, but you might want to get a yoga mat too. That’s all you’ll need to start doing your own home yoga program.

If you’re not already familiar with yoga practice, then you can pick up DVDs on yoga instruction for next to nothing, and the internet offers loads of free yoga explanations too. There’s no reason to spend loads of money on yoga classes if you haven’t got the cash!

Exercise with no equipment: The most obvious kind of exercise that requires no equipment is running. However, there are a variety of other exercises that are easy to do with nothing besides your own body. Press-ups and sit-ups are classic examples. Pull-ups are another. Using exercises like these it’s possible to cover nearly every muscle in your body.

It’s also possible to use makeshift equipment in place of the “real” thing. For example, you don’t actually need dumbbells to do weights. All you need are heavy objects that are easy to lift. For light aerobic training you can just use food tins like baked beans. For heavier weights, try using large bottles of mineral water. Both are just as good as real weights but cost nothing extra than your shopping bill!

Tip 1: If the gym forms a central part of your social life, then stopping your regular gym attendance might not seem like much of an option. But it is possible to get your gym buddies to come and train with you from home, so don’t rule it out altogether.

Tip 2: Staying motivated during home workouts is one of the toughest things. However, there are loads of ways to keep your motivation up. One of the best ways is to find buddies to work out with from home – go for a run with your gym pals or get a friend over for a yoga session.

Another great way to stay motivated is to reward yourself for every workout (as though your own personal fitness and wellbeing wasn’t enough of a reward!). You can do this with food (careful not to undo all your hard work with this one though) or with small gifts.

Exercising from home also means that, if you’ve got music or a TV on hand, it’s your choice what to watch or listen to as you exercise. Together, these things should be able to keep you motivated and maintain your fitness even without heading to the gym regularly. Just remember not to let yourself start slipping!

Weight Loss Tips: What You'll Need To Get Started On Your Goal

When it comes to weight loss tips, it's not the "magic cures" that you should pay attention to, it's the real, solid advice that will set you on a healthy track for the rest of your life. And when you're starting a new weight loss goal, anything that'll make things easier on yourself is worth trying. With that in mind, here are 5 steps you should take at the start of your weight loss journey.

1) Buy A Scale: This is the first of the free weight loss tips and it's a very important one. You'll need to keep a scale not only to keep track of your weight, but also scales for the kitchen to weigh out proper portions of food. Many of us overeat when we don't strictly measure our portions!

2) Find Support: If you can find an exercise and/ or dieting buddy then you'll have support to continue even when things are at their most difficult. Studies show that dieting alongside someone else makes it a lot easier to meet your targets and set up healthy new habits. If there really isn't anyone who wants to join you, one of the best free weight loss tips is to at least confide in others and share specific goals that will keep yourself accountable.

3) Get A Notepad: You need a notepad to note down the foods you're eating, and even the exercises you're doing if that helps. Although it can be tedious, knowing exactly what goes into your body helps you to improve things little by little. You can also use your notepad as a place to vent if you're feeling frustrated, and to reinforce your goals to help motivate you to continue.

4) Go Through Your Cabinets: If you're going to be dieting then you don't want to have temptation all around you in your home. So go through all your cabinets and get rid of food that will lead you astray and won't serve you well. Then go shopping and buy plenty of healthy snacks, like fruit, that you can have on hand whenever you're feeling peckish.

5) Choose An Exercise Program: Now that you've got everything else sorted, it's time to work out the kind of exercise you want to do. Although you'll have to make sacrifices and sometimes do things you won't enjoy, you can cater your exercise to what feels best for you. This could mean starting by walking every day, or running x amount of miles on the treadmill. Whatever you do, make sure you put it into a solid plan!

7 Tips to Eat Less and Lose Weight Faster

Food cravings make life difficult - just when we have planned to lose weight, we seem to feel the urge to take a look at the fridge. In simple activities, we place some snacks before us, and bang - the chips bag is suddenly empty. Time for a little self-control!
If you want to take food more consciously and, thereby, lose weight, you should learn to curb your appetite and eat less. This does not mean that you are going to suffer from feeling hungry, but that you will simply change small habits in your everyday life. With the next 7 tips, it won't be so hard to eat less.
1. Do not go shopping hungry
You have heard this tip many times because it makes sense. In a hungry state, our body thirsts for all things that are tasty and, unfortunately, this is not limited to our favorite biscuits or vegetables. So just go to the supermarket to get only the most needed items (best with a shopping list).
2. Eat smaller portions
If there is a lot of food on our plate, we feel compelled to eat everything, especially when it is particularly delicious. In order to eat less, you only have to get smaller portions - try not to cheat!
3. Do not eat in front of the TV
Even as children, mom often left us with a delicious snack in front of the TV, and, as adults, we continue this tradition. It is so convenient to watch your favorite series with food on your lap. Unfortunately, this is a mistake, because, when we eat in front of the TV, our brain focuses mainly on what we see and hardly perceives what we eat. The sensation of saturation occurs much later. So, when you eat, concentrate on your meal only.
4. Eat more fiber
Foods with a lot of dietary fiber do not only fill you up faster, but are also good for digestion. Nuts, whole-grain products or legumes are good snacks, just like fruits and vegetables, in order to combat the heat of starvation and, thus, to eat less. However, be careful not to overdo it with these foods, because, otherwise, constipation may occur.
5. Avoid all-you-can-eat buffets
This tip is self-explanatory. Fully packed tables, which present us with endlessly many delicious dishes definitely looks so tempting. Although such buffets can save money, they are not at all useful for our purposes.
6. Avoid food containing flavor enhancers
Products that contain flavor enhancers such as glutamate (E 621) or inosinate (E 630) stimulate the appetite a lot. That's why we want to keep eating. So, when shopping, do not buy products where taste enhancers are listed in the ingredients list.
7. Chew more consciously
Do not cut your food down, but chew it more intensely and slower. By soaking the food with enough saliva, you can ensure good digestion, and the nutrients will be absorbed more easily. In addition, a feeling of saturation becomes faster and you eat less - faster weight loss guaranteed.
With a little discipline, you can easily change your eating and shopping habits. Eating less and more deliberately, that is what matters. This way, you can definitely lose weight without having to give up too much.