Each year around November, every regional savannah and recreational park transforms into an outdoor gym. This answers the big question how to lose weight just before my Christmas splurge and keep it down as part of my Carnival fitness plan?
As we all know, food is an integral part of our culture and it is customary to over indulge during celebrations that fall one after the next. We can’t resist the sweets and roti during Divali and the mountain loads of ham and fruit cake during Christmas. Some of these foods that we love have the dubious distinction of being loaded with salt, sugar and fat, the key problem that makes us want to lose weight.
Then after the holidays comes regret, shame, and the inevitable New Year resolution to “eat healthy this year”. Sometimes no matter how hard we try to resist temptation we still find ourselves a few pounds heavier than the year before.
Life in Trinidad and Tobago has changed considerably during the last 20 years. Most of us have cars, and for the ones that use public transportation there is always a short-drop taxi available to make the journey more convenient.
As a nation we have slowly over time become more sedentary as we do jobs that require less physical effort. As that aspect of our lives have changed, our diets have also changed. We eat “Sunday lunch” every day and have adopted the high calorie, high sodium diet of our North American neighbours with disastrous results.
Physical health helps with mental health and is a sure way to keep chronic non-communicable diseases at bay. Below is a simple weekly exercise regimen if combined with a balanced diet and proper meal portion control will give you the results you need by Carnival.
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Monday: Cardio
Do 30 minutes of cardio.
Try biking, walking, hiking, or running on stairs. Try doing consecutive intervals — 1 minute of walking, 1 minute of jogging, 1 minute of sprinting — to maximise your results in minimal time.
Tuesday: Arms
Bicep curls, 10 reps
Triceps kick-backs, 10 reps
Shoulder presses, 10 reps
Repeat this circuit two more times.
Wednesday: Abs and Obliques
Crunches, 20 reps
Bicycle crunches, 20 reps
Oblique crunches, 20 reps
Plank, hold for 30 seconds
Side plank, hold for 30 seconds on each side
Thursday: Lower Body
Walking lunges, 10 reps on each leg
Wall squat, hold for 30 seconds and build up to 1 minute as you feel more comfortable
Calf raises, 30 raises with both legs, then 15 on each leg
Jump squat, 10 reps
Repeat this circuit two more times.
Friday: Cardio
30 minutes of cardio of your choice
See Monday for more details.
Saturday and Sunday
20 minutes brisk walking or light jogging.
The above exercise plan should fit into the busiest person’s schedule. Give it a try, lose weight, and drop us a line with your results.,
November 2016 www.sweettntmagazine.com
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