Monday, May 10, 2010

Dieter: Know Thy Posture

An informative and interesting guest post by Tim Collins - Thanks Tim!


You might be wondering what posture has to do with dieting and weight loss. The answer is simply everything. When you are walking straight and tall, with your shoulders down and back, chest forward, tummy held tight and bum tucked under, you look taller and thinner. People will comment on this and make you feel great. Maybe you really have lost weight, you will think to yourself. Invigorated, you will forego a second helping and take a walk after your evening meal. Real weight loss is just around the corner. Your posture influences more than the way that you look to other people, however; it can influence how you feel.

Sitting Straight at the Table

How do you eat your meals? Hunched over plastic tray on the couch is a common answer to that question. When you are finished with this meal, how do you feel? Do you feel gassy, bloated and uncomfortable? Do you have to get up and walk around to start feeling better again? For your next meal, go back to the kitchen or dining room table. Sit in the chair, straight and tall. Put your feet on the floor right in front of you. Now finish your meal and see how you feel. Slumping forward, while you are eating pinches your stomach and does not allow it to do its job at all. Making sure that you are giving your stomach room to expand while you are eating will keep food from backing up during the meal.

Walking With a Slump

Now go to a room with a full length mirror. Watch yourself walk in. Do you see how you slump forward, shoulders hunched over and belly rolling over your waistband? Now imagine a string on your head, pulling it up toward the ceiling. Roll back your shoulders and drop them away from your ears. Tuck in your bottom and hold your tummy firm. Walk toward yourself again. Do you see how much better you look? Now think of how much better you feel as well. When you are slumping over, you are not getting the full deep breaths that your body needs to work at its best. Not getting enough oxygen can cause your brain to be sluggish and make poor decisions. No one is suggesting that a few deep breaths will stop you from wolfing down a piece of chocolate cake, but it might help you to think more carefully about whether you should or not.

Posture Perfect

While you are working on your posture, you are also working on your core muscles, the ones that make up your abdominals and hold your tummy in. The more you work these muscles, the more toned they will become. Imagine you are zipping up some very tight jeans as you pull your tummy up and in without holding your breath in any way. Getting used to engaging your ab muscles will allow you to have better posture and will also get you ready for the next step which is abdominal training exercises.




Written by Tim Collins of Ultimate Fitness Gear, Get Insanity Workout and begin the process for getting ripped.

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