If you’ve not been exercising or doing any form of cardio exercise for a long time, you might feel really intimidated by the idea of starting. But you shouldn’t be. Cardio exercise can be something as simple as taking a brisk walk.

You don’t have to buy tights and leg warmers. There is no requirement as far as fashion or equipment to start out doing some good weight loss cardio. You don’t even need an exercise DVD. Step out your door and walk briskly for about 20 to 30 minutes, or as long as you’re comfortable at first.

If you’d like to try something besides walking, aerobic dancing is a good choice. You can just dance around your living room, but an exercise DVD is a good way to do it. You can find DVDs that will let you do basic dancing moves. Or you can choose a weight loss DVD of salsa dancing or belly dancing, and almost any kind of dancing you think you’d enjoy.

Cycling, swimming, hiking, and any type of activity that gets your heart rate and your breathing up are aerobic activities. That means it’s a cardio workout. Doing any of these things for at least 30 minutes four times a week is a great way to use cardio to lose weight. It

Specifically for weight loss though, the best thing to do is to change up your exercise routine. If you start taking brisk walks for five times a week, that’s wonderful. It will help you lose weight and it’s good for your body. But you can lose weight even more efficiently and build your endurance more efficiently if you vary your routine.

Instead of just walking, try to also incorporate jogging or running. Walk for a few minutes, and then run for a little while to get some cardio work in. You can time the sessions or you can just do it as you feel it. This is called circuit training.

If you’re cycling for cardio exercise, cycle at a leisurely pace for a few minutes and then go very quickly. If you’re on an exercise bike, cycle at a normal pace for a while and then spin like mad. The same goes for any exercise that you do. If you’re walking or cycling, using hills for this type of thing is wonderful.

You can also circuit training in another sense. Choose brisk walking one day, and then the next go for cycling or aerobic dancing. You can easily get into a rut doing the same thing every time.

Doing the same type of exercise is better than nothing, and it’s wonderful. But if you can change it up a little bit, the cardio exercise for weight loss that you do will be more effective.

Fluctuations in your body weight are caused by consuming more energy than you use up. Our system converts surplus food to fat and we put on pounds. Our body is actually protecting itself by storing food to prevent starvation if we do not have enough to eat. Worked quite well in the old days when people often went hungry but these days, the result is a nation suffering from obesity.

If you want to slim down, you need to expend more energy than you consume. Sounds easy right? So just how many calories a day do people need to reduce in order to lose weight? Well it depends on the individual to a point. If you are losing weight under medical supervision you should follow your doctor’s advice.

If you are trying to do this on your own, the World Health Organization recommends that all adults have at least 1200 calories a day. If you try for less than this, your body may think you are in fact starving and slow your metabolism right down. This will stop you losing any excess pounds.

Crash diets i.e. those that restrict you to less than 1000 a day will result in rapid weight loss at first. But you will be miserable and starving and the results are not sustainable nor is it healthy.

The bigger the deficit you can cause between the amount of food you consume and the energy you expend, the more weight you will lose. But studies show that if you reduce your weight by one to two pounds a week, you are more likely to maintain your new waistline. So if you increase your level of activity you won’t have to impose a huge calorie reduction. You will also preserve your muscles and they help to burn fat and keep your metabolism raised.

You can cut down quite simply by changing the way you eat and cook. Most of us rely too much on takeaways and packaged meals. These contain a lot of hidden fats and sugars. It is much healthier and cheaper to cook the meals from scratch at home. You can reduce your consumption by using semi-skimmed milk in recipes rather than the full fat version. You probably won’t notice the difference. Using tomato based sauces also helps as does eating brown pasta and rice as opposed to the white versions.

Fruit and vegetables contain few calories and little fat. Increase your consumption via smoothies, salads and juices. They are great at filling us up and if we put a little extra effort into preparing our meals, they are very tasty as well. Eat little and often and keep carbohydrates for breakfast and lunch not your evening meal.

So if you are serious about that new figure, try the calorie reduction diet for yourself.

Much like the meals we eat and the movies we enjoy, the type of exercise we do is a very personal choice. Your spouse or best friend might really enjoy running. But if you hate running, it’s not going to be the best weight-loss exercise for you.

Why should you spend five days a week doing an activity that you dislike? Even if it’s the best way to lose weight for most people, hating it will simply make you less likely to do it. So you need to find an exercise that you enjoy.

When you’re trying to find the best weight-loss exercise video, you might have to go through a few before you find one you really like. There are so many to choose from today, but at least you have a good chance of finding several you enjoy.

If you don’t want to purchase these DVDs and end up with a collection of exercise videos that you won’t use, you can rent them to try them before you buy. You may be able to find them at your local library so that you don’t even have to pay to rent them.

Trying several different ones is important. You can find weight-loss videos that let you walk in place in front of your television. If walking in place for 30 to 60 minutes is something that you think you would enjoy, there are several series of this type weight loss video.

There are weight-loss videos that lead you through aerobic dancing routines. You can find hundreds of these all based around a different type of dance and different fitness levels. Then there are the standard workouts with things like jumping jacks and some form of adaptive kickboxing moves.

If you love dancing or think you would enjoy that for exercise than there are so many different videos you could never possibly try them all. Rent or borrow from the library until you find a few that you enjoy and then purchase them.

You might run into a situation where you enjoy the exercise and the workout, but don’t like the instructor. Don’t give up on that particular weight-loss exercise video. Once you become familiar with the moves, you can turn the volume down and play music while you do it.

Also, don’t be too swayed by other people’s reviews of these weight-loss exercise videos. If you’re looking online for a video, you might be hesitant about trying the weight loss DVD because some other people didn’t like it. But you don’t know them, their fitness levels or their personalities. And exercise is a personal choice.

The best exercise video for weight loss for you might be one that lots of other people didn’t really enjoy.

In order to lose weight you need to consume fewer calories than you are using. The best solution is to combine an exercise program with a diet as dieting alone will not have the same results.

Some people especially men seem to think that if you exercise enough, you can eat what you like, but this is an urban myth. Unless you are careful you could end up with heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses as well as having a weight problem. Yes! Exercise can make you hungry but that is not an excuse to chow down on fast food and snacks.

So what is the answer to the question what to eat to lose weight? You should eat something from all the food groups every day but in proper proportions. The food groups are as follows:

1) Fruit and Vegetables

2) Carbohydrates or starches

3) Protein

4) Dairy products

5) Foods containing fats and sugars.

Most of your food should come from the first group. Fruit and vegetables are great for people trying to lose weight as they help to fill you up without adding on loads of calories. They are also great for your skin, your hair and your general wellbeing. You need to try and vary the quantity; colour and type that you eat as eating carrots every day will soon become rather boring.

If you do not like raw vegetables try making homemade soup. If you make the soup from scratch and use spices and herbs instead of salt, you can make a very filling meal with very few calories. You should try and start your lunch and dinner with either a soup or salad as you will end up slimmer.

You need carbohydrates in order to get vital B vitamins and nutrients. Switch from white products such as bread, pasta and rice to the wholegrain or wholemeal varieties. Aim to eat your carb allocation as close to morning as possible so that you get a chance to consume the glucose released by these foods. Glucose converts to fat if it is not used up.

Proteins provide essential amino acids so are vital to your diet. You do not need a lot of protein and the best sources are lean meat, fish and sprouting beans. Eating a dinner made of protein and vegetables will help you to lose weight. In fact never eating protein and starches in the same meal will have a huge impact on the number of pounds you lose.

Dairy products are a great source of calcium and thus should never be fully excluded unless you have an allergy. The final group is the “bad” foods. While you shouldn’t consume much of these products, a little now and again will help to stop you feeling deprived. This may help you to stick to the diet a little longer. You now have the answer to the question of what to eat to lose weight.

Some people refuse to exercise as they believe that muscle weighs more than fat. But muscle burns more calories so people who try to lose weight by dieting alone are generally less successful than those that follow a combination of a healthy diet and exercise.

Walking is a great weight loss exercise. It burns fat, as it is aerobic, but as it is also weight bearing, it helps to build lean tissue and maintain healthy bones. A brisk walk is a low impact exercise which means you are at less risk of injury and probably best of all; it doesn’t cost a penny.

A leisurely stroll won’t burn the pounds though. You need to go for a brisk walk building up a slight sweat as you exercise.

If you start sweating excessively you are putting your body under too much pressure so slow down. It would also be a good idea to speak to your medical practitioner to ensure there are no underlying health problems that need to be taken into consideration.

Ask your family to buy you a pedometer so you can measure your steps. It is suggested that we all walk at least 10,000 steps a day, about five miles, but those that need to lose weight may wish to walk more.

People think that in order for exercise to work, you need to be down in the gym working out like Mr T. This is not the case at all. In fact gentle exercise works best to start with, as you are more likely to keep the new fitness regime going. You won’t see immediate results and the sooner you realise that you are in this for the long haul the easier your weight loss program will be.

you know it doesn’t really matter what percentage of your body weight is muscle, if overall you are in great shape, weigh the correct amount for your age, height, build and get sufficient exercise. What matters more is that you are happy and enjoying your life.

Muscle doesn’t turn into fat when you stop exercising. Some people believe this myth but it is completely false. Muscle cannot turn into fat and vice versa. What tends to happen is that you can lose muscle tone and definition; if you cease to work out. You may also put on weight if you do not reduce your calorie intake as you burn more calories when exercising. So if an illness or injury prevents you from being as active as usual, just cut your calorie intake slightly and you should be fine.

So stop wondering what percentage of your body weight is muscle and get out there and find ways of improving your overall lifestyle.

What kinds of exercise do you like the best? Do you prefer walking or do you like to run? Do you use an exercise bicycle, or do you like to go swimming? Have you always wanted to try ballroom dancing? Or would you feel silly bouncing around in your living room?

You need to ask yourself several of these questions to help you decide which exercise DVD will help you lose weight. The general answer is, however, that any DVD you use will help you. No matter what it is, as long as you use it, it will help you lose weight. That’s because you’ll be getting a certain amount of exercise each week.

The problem is that if you don’t like it, you’re not going to use it. If you buy that weight loss exercise DVD that you can’t keep up with and leaves you exhausted, how often are you going to put it in? You need to find one that you like and that you can do.

The best way to do this is to hit your local library or video rental. You don’t have to buy the DVD to try it. Rent or borrow a few and try them for a couple of weeks. You’ll have at least one that you like better than the others.

If none of them are standout favorites, then choose the one you like best and look for other DVDs that are similar. If your favorite DVD is an aerobic dancing weight loss workout, but you really don’t like it that well either, you at least know what kind of exercise to look for.

Because dancing DVDs are so varied today, you can find almost any kind of dance routine you like. If you rented several and the one you liked best was a belly dancing routine, but you don’t really like it that well, try a hip-hop dancing DVD or salsa dancing DVD designed for weight loss.

If you’re more of the boxing, kickboxing and gym workout type, there are several weight loss DVDs that you’ll enjoy. Tae-Bo DVDs were the first of this kind to become popular, and they are still available.

Maybe you’re losing weight but you also want a work out to help you increase your strength and flexibility. These types of exercises are important, too. You can find yoga and Pilates DVDs that will lead you through excellent routines. There are many of these workouts to help you lose weight.

You can even buy exercise DVDs that lead you through a walking in place work out in front of your television. There really is something for everyone. The most important thing to remember is that the best exercise DVDs for weight loss are the ones that you will use on a regular basis.

Anyone planning to embark on an exercise regime should consider their fitness levels and age. There is no benefit to taking on a plan of exercise which is beyond the abilities of the exerciser. If exercise has not been done for many years, for example a sedentary office job with a car-ride to and from work, then the most commonly used exercises for weight loss may not be suitable.

It is also necessary to consider what is the intention of taking exercise; is it merely to lose a few pounds, or does the person also want to boost their general health, reduce heart problems, or diminish the risk of vascular problems and diabetes? A cardio fitness regime can combine the best exercises for weight loss with improvement in fitness and cardiovascular systems.

Walking is one of the best exercises for weight loss for sedentary people; begin with a daily walk of about 30 minutes, and then build up to a 45 minute daily walk. Improvements in health and fitness should become clear after only a few weeks; and walking is a relatively risk-free activity.

Once walking has begun improving the health, it is time to consider adding to the range of exercises. Regular fitness regimes should contain a combination of both aerobic or cardio work outs, the best exercises for weight loss, and strength training, which builds muscles and encourages the metabolism.

A good aerobic exercise for weight loss is running: a regular program of running burns more calories than other kinds of aerobic exercise; it produces endorphins which improve feelings of well-being and help reduce stress, and can boost general health, lowering risks of diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol.

When struggling to lose weight, many people concentrate upon aerobic exercise and ignore the benefits of a strength-training program. This is a mistake, as even a light amount of resistance training, done regularly, an improve the resting metabolic rate – a rise in metabolism which encourages greater burning of calories even when sitting down.

Cardio alone can build this metabolic rate up, and it lasts for about three hours after the exercise; but with strength training, this resting metabolic rate can stay higher for between 10 and 15 hours. In addition, strength and resistance training create more muscles – muscle is the most metabolically active of all the body’s systems, so the more muscle you have, the more rapidly you burn calories.

A combination of running and weight training are the best exercises for losing weight and keeping it off; begin with a low-impact walking regime if necessary, and remember to build muscle each week in order to benefit from a rise in resting metabolic rate. Aerobic and resistance training together help the body burn more calories and fat.

If you just want to know the best exercise for burning calories, then running ranks at the top of the list. But that’s not the same as the best exercise for losing weight. If you enjoy running and find it something that you can do several times a week, then running might be best for you. But most likely, something else will be better.

The best exercise for weight loss is very simply the one you will do. If you can get motivated to run for 30 minutes or five times a week, then it could be best for you. If you hate running or you can’t run, then obviously trying to run won’t do you any good.

If you’re already fit, then you’re probably already doing the best exercises for you. But if you need to lose weight, the best type of exercise to start with is probably walking.

You don’t have to walk a mile a minute to get a benefit from the exercise. You can start out at a pretty leisurely pace. If you think you can walk for 30 minutes straight, then do that. If that seems like a challenge, then start with 15 minutes or even 10. Whatever you can do is the best thing to do.

Your goal should be to walk at least 30 minutes at a brisk pace at least 3 to 4 times a week. If you can do it every day, that’s even better. And when 30 minutes is less of a challenge, aim for 45 minutes. When 45 minutes seems pretty easy to you, then walk for an hour.

If you never do any exercise but walking, you will greatly improve your health. And you will lose weight, as long as you’re eating healthy, too. Eating Ding-Dongs and high-fat foods all day long will keep you from losing weight, probably no matter how much you walk. But a good diet with a walking routine will help you lose weight and get in better shape.

When you start to lose weight, if you’re comfortable with the idea of jogging or running, that can be the best exercise to help you lose weight more quickly. Or if you hit a plateau where you’re not losing weight, adding some jogging or running can help break you out of that.

You do need to be careful with running, however. You can hurt your knees or injure yourself and be unable to walk or run for a while. Try other activities like swimming or cycling if you’re unsure.

The best type of exercise for weight loss needs to be something that you can do frequently. So walking is the easiest and safest exercise to help you lose weight.

If you are lacking in these vitamins, you could potentially be causing serious damage to your body. Your nervous system, growth and development as well as healthy blood cells all depend on this vitamin.

So what symptoms should you be looking out for? The problem is that the signs can be rather vague. You could have no obvious indications of a problem. Alternatively, sleeping problems, extreme tiredness, irritability, diarrhea, confusion, trouble breathing and being pale are all potential indicators of an underlying problem. But they could also be there because of the original illness or may be caused by some other medical complaint. Therefore the only definitive way of testing for a B12 deficiency is via blood tests.

Some people are tempted to fix any issue with a pill. It appears to be easier to take a supplement rather than try changing your diet. While doctors sometimes recommend medication, this is usually for the most severe cases. Your body simply cannot absorb vitamins and minerals from tablets as well as it can from natural sources.

Vitamin B12 deficiency diet therapy can help those who are less seriously affected. The best way to improve your intake is to make sure you eat a healthy breakfast. Wholegrain cereals contain essential B vitamins. If you are not vegetarian, quality meat provides a great source as does eggs and dairy produce. Be aware though that boiling milk destroys the vitamins.

If you are vegetarian or vegan, you may need to take supplements as the vitamin B12 contained in plants is not accessible to humans. Some people will tell you that Nori (seaweed) and Spirulina (an algae) both contain good quantities of this vitamin and they do but not in a form that we humans can access. So don’t waste your cash in expensive health stores. You can eat some foods that have been fortified with vitamins such as yeast extract, vegetable protein, and soya milk.

Studies have been undertaken in third world countries to find out why the citizens rarely suffer from B12 deficiency. It appears that the reason is the fact that their vegetables are fertilized with human manure. However excellent a source of B vitamins this is, I am sure most US citizens would prefer not to have these foods on their table.

If you are diabetic you may also be at risk due to the effects of some of your medication so it is best to discuss treatment with your doctor. He will probably suggest the Vitamin B 12 deficiency diet therapy as the best option for you.

People may feel discomforted going to the gym, particularly if they are overweight, and they may also feel reluctant to join exercise groups, or be seen exercising in public. Therefore, they perform exercises at home which increase the risk of injury, and also fail to motivate – the 30 mins a day on the stationary bike can be put aside for today, tomorrow, forever – leading to feelings of failure and disappointment.

Using exercise DVDs for weight loss purposes is a good way of avoiding falling into lethargy or becoming injured. There are a range of exercise DVDs on the market designed to assist in losing weight; many of these have more positive effects than simple exercising alone. There are so many different weight-loss DVDs that it can become difficult to know which are the best: so here are a few popular DVDs that really work!

WALK AWAY THE POUNDS: Probably one of the least stressful of the exercise programs is Leslie Sansone’s “Walk away the pounds” series. Positive and enthusiastic, her exercise DVDs for weight loss promote the idea of gentle ‘walking’ – ideal for the beginner or those suffering from joint and back problems. Regular use of this DVD provides a good cardio workout, without the risk of injury or needing to buy lots of equipment.

WEIGHT LOSS CARDIO KICK: for those who want their exercise DVDs for weight loss to be a bit more active, cardio kick exercises are a very popular method of increasing the metabolism; the moves are basic, so no great martial arts knowledge is needed. These DVDs also encourage the use of weights – resistance training is necessary for weight loss.

SLIM AND SCUPT PILATES: Pilates is a well-known exercise routine, and followers can practice at home with this DVD, which helps to tone the physique, rather than encouraging strenuous exercise. Exercise DVDs for fitness like this often come with exercise bands, mats, or other equipment.

DANCE WITH LISA: Dancing is another very popular method of losing weight, and there are a range of weight-loss exercise DVDs which promote dancing in various ways: salsa, hip-hop, even ballroom and disco dancing! These DVDs range from gentle movements which anyone can follow to very strenuous work outs that leave you tired; the salsa Dance with Lisa is in the second category, but don’t be afraid, there is an instructional video that comes with it. Dancing is a fun way to shed a few extra pounds.

These exercise DVDs for weight loss can all be performed in a few minutes, ideal for the busy person who doesn’t want to go to the gym. Many of the exercises are also fun and endorphin boosting: the perfect way to relax after a hard day at work.