Simple Diet & Exercise Plan

Getting into shape is a goal many people strive for, but they often do not know how to start. A simple diet and exercise plan tailored to your personal fitness goals provides the motivation to start you on the path to physical fitness.

Dieting and Exercise Principles

When creating a simple diet plan, it is important to remember that maintaining proper nutrition is much more important that eliminating hundreds of calories for the sake of losing weight. In addition, if you rob your body of essential calories that it needs to operate properly, your metabolism will drop, making it much tougher for you to lose weight. So when designing a diet program, what you eat can have as big an impact as how much you eat.

When you begin an exercise program, your body will require more calories to make up for those lost during your workout. Many people who struggle do so because they combat their increased hunger by overeating, creating a cycle of overexertion, hunger and binge eating that leads to fluctuations in weight and metabolism. The best way to deal with these issues is by gradually altering your diet to avoid cravings that may lead to overeating.

Simple Diet Plan

Your initial diet plan is intended to kick-start a lifestyle change that will eventually lead to healthy diet choices becoming a habit. Making small changes in your diet helps you adjust to differences in food choices and avoid diet abandonment. The first change to make is avoiding large meals spread far apart, which create spikes in blood sugar that lead to drowsiness and shifts in metabolism. To combat hunger throughout the day, try split up large meals into 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day. This keeps your metabolism working all day long and will increase the amount of energy you have for everyday activities.

Your daily diet will need to factor the calories burned while exercising, but about 2,200 is adequate for a male who includes moderate exercise (cardio and weight training 3 to 4 times per week). For your larger meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) include whole grains like cereal, a piece of fruit and dairy -- a cup of cottage cheese is loaded with protein which will complement your workout plan. Protein helps you feel more full after a meal, so include lean cuts of poultry or fish in your diet. For snacks between meals, try a piece of fruit coupled with nuts, or a light sandwich on whole-grain bread.

Now and then, everybody tends to break from their diet. If you have an overwhelming urge for a piece of cake or a donut, indulge yourself but keep the portions smaller than what you are used to. Often it is the strict sense that we are cheating ourselves out of something delicious that leads to guilt, which can sap motivation to continue a diet.

Simple Exercise Routine

For your first exercise routine, staying consistent is the most important aspect. You must establish exercise as a normal part of your daily routine to keep yourself motivated and active. Once you build up momentum, it is much easier to follow through on a regular basis. Do not overburden your muscles on the first go-around. Ascertain your level of physical fitness by experimenting with different exercises. If you are just beginning, then a gym membership may not be the first thing on your mind. However, the experts that work there can provide guidance on where you are and how to reach your fitness goals in the most efficient manner.

Assuming that you do not have access to gym equipment just yet, you can still establish a fairly solid level of physical fitness using body weight exercises like push-ups and sit-ups. You will want to start out doing as many reps of both exercises as you can, until muscle exhaustion. Allow yourself a minute of rest between exercises, and follow with another set of reps to muscle exhaustion. To work your legs, perform squats by standing upright and slowly bending your legs until your thighs are nearly parallel with the floor. Extend your butt to avoid putting too much strain on your knees. Perform reps to muscle exhaustion, and repeat for three sets with a minute break between each set.