Spring into your bikini... Via fitness

If the longer winter finds you 10 pounds heavier than you were last fall, and the thought of being seen in your swimming suit brings tears to your eyes and a overwhelming sense of panic... don't freak!

* My first bit of advice... focus on any thing BUT weight-loss, i.e. eating healthy, regular exercise, and if you really are hell bent on causing double takes at the pool, you'll need to ramp up the amperage! You don't get rich by sitting at home, and you don't get a six pack of abs by sitting on your butt.

* Remember, it's only healthy to lose about 1 pound of fat per week. One pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. So, in order to lose a pound of fat per week, you have to burn 3,500 calories more than you eat. This should be a combination of calorie reduction and increased exercise. For example, if you want to lose a pound a week, you could burn an extra 200 calories a day through exercise and reduce your daily food intake by 300 calories. Daily calorie intake should never go below about 1,200 - 1,600 a day, burn any more than that and your body will think it's starving and hang onto its fat stores like there ain't a meal in sight.

* There are a plethora of diets that promise fast weight-loss, the downside is that your actually losing water and muscle; NOT smart! Besides being unhealthy (and potentially life threatening), water loss is only temporary, once you begin eating normally again, the water weight will be back. Losing muscle is COUNTER PRODUCTIVE because it slows your metabolism, basically turning off your body's natural calorie burning furnace. Fat loss requires a commitment to eating right and leading a healthy, active lifestyle. If it sounds to good to be true... well, we've talked about that before.

* Concentrate on making physical activity a part of your daily routine. Walk, bike, skate, dance, sign up for an aerobics class, buy some dumbbells, rent a few exercise videos-- but make sure it's something you'll stick with and that you ENJOY!

Instead of wasting precious energy worrying about losing weight; get outdoors, be active, hit the gym, run after your kids, do some gardening -- the weight loss will follow! And if you truly want to turn heads... be prepared to work your ASS off.

Cheers for now -

TonyG