by Editor | Jun 9, 2011 | Weight Loss
Natural weight loss is a big topic today for numerous people who do not comprehend the principle of eating only the quantity they need for the amount of physical activity they perform; but how many people receive notice of this?
The ability to burn fat is based on one’s metabolism levels and these levels can slow down when the body eats certain foods and avoids exercise. The ideal way to burn fat is to eat healthily and maintain plenty of exercise but a lot of people are so impatient or wish to lose weight for an upcoming special occasion that they don’t even try the right way to burn fat but instead automatically turn to the quick fixes such as fat burner pills and supplements…
Burn Fat Naturally
The key is to burn fat naturally and healthily and still maintain long-term results. Too many people try to use unhealthy methods in order to burn fat and this can cause health problems and more serious weight problems in the long-term. Exercise and using the muscles is the optimal way to burn fat but the muscles must be exercised frequently or else they become weak and build up fat yet again. While alcohol and high-calorie foods add to the amount of weight gained, they can also lead to the body becoming sluggish and lower the ability to burn fat. Cutting out alcohol and fatty foods while keeping the body hydrated with lots of water is another way to burn fat.
Metabolism
The body’s metabolism basically goes into shutdown mode when you become inactive. The metabolism must reach a certain speed in order to burn fat. The fact is that it is not difficult to increase your metabolism and encourage your body to burn more fat as fuel. It can sometimes be necessary to kick start the metabolism and one of the best ways is to perform a small amount of exercise in the mornings and also eat breakfast.
Healthy Foods
Fresh and healthy foods can give the energy needed to burn fat through exercise as well as make the body feel better and more energetic in the long run. As you incorporate more green foods into your diet you will become more alkaline — displacing needless acid — and improving your fat loss efforts. Minimize and avoid processed foods, artificial sweeteners, and nutrition-deficient drinks like coffee and sodas. In a nutshell, by eating the foods that make your body expend more energy burning them, you are raising your metabolic rate.
Workout
One of the best ways to burn fat is to build muscle mass through constant workouts. That’s why, for many people who want to burn fat, build-muscle workouts are the ideal approach. There are several venues where you can find the ideal burn fat, and build muscle workout for you. The more strenuous your burn-fat build-muscle workout, the more protein you need. Here’s a key tip to remember: the more muscles you get involved in your workout, the more fat you’ll burn off. A sufficient amount of exercise on a daily or weekly basis coinciding with a healthy diet can be seriously effective when trying to burn fat.
About the Author
Paul Rodgers has dedicated his active life to health and fitness issues. He is still very active in endurance, cardio outdoor sporting activities. His long-time favorite remains cycling.
by Editor | Jun 9, 2011 | Weight Loss
Do you struggle with weight loss? Some days, you feel gung-ho. You’re ready to eat salad and chicken all day long, forsaking desserts for good. On other days, you feel completely hopeless. You think, “Why bother?” as you reach to open a bag of cookies.
When fighting a war against unhealthy habits, you will win and lose some battles. The key is keeping in touch with the “why” behind your weight loss so you can win over the long haul. Why do you want to lose your pregnancy pounds? To be attractive? Healthier? For your husband’s or your kids’ sake? When you’re in touch with your values, the decisions become clear. You’re driven by something higher than your taste buds.
Sometimes you have to consider what you don’t want to realize what you do want:..
1. Don’t become a statistic. The proportion of Americans who are overweight or obese has been rising for the past 25 years. Don’t be part of the nearly two-thirds of women in the United States who are overweight, or the one-third who are obese. Being part of this crowd means you’re at high risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other major health problems. And the most sobering thing is that your children will follow you.
2. Don’t be a victim. Maybe you come from a family that has struggled with being overweight for generations. Or you find yourself depressed and unable to make wise decisions. Don’t give in to the victim mentality. You can do something positive to turn your situation around. You are not stuck with a particular destiny unless you surrender your will.
3. Don’t wait for a feeling. Most days, you won’t “feel” motivated. Sustainable motivation doesn’t begin with a feeling. It begins with a decision you make with your mind.
4. Chances are you don’t want to be a statistic, a victim, or a procrastinator. Now is the time to make some decisions that will change the course of your life and your children’s. When you need motivation, just look at your precious baby. What kind of health do you want for him or her? Let healthy eating and exercise begin with you!
Today’s Action Step: What is your personal motivation for losing weight after having a baby?
About the Author
Arlene Pellicane
arlene@losingweightafterbaby.com
Arlene Pellicane, the mother of a toddler and infant, helps women lose their baby weight and thrive as wives and mothers. Her weekly podcast “Losing Weight After Baby” is full of practical ideas that work for busy moms. An everyday mom herself, you can visit Arlene’s website for free articles and exercises at http://losingweightafterbaby.wordpress.com
by Editor | Jun 9, 2011 | Weight Loss
You have all been through it before, the family wedding is coming up next month and you can’t seem to fit into that suit or dress because you have put on too much weight. So you must lose at least ten or more pounds quickly.
Losing weight quickly is not advisable as most of the loss will be muscle tissue and water; you put on the weight slowly (usually over years) so normally you should take it off slowly and then you will know that the majority of the loss will be body fat…
But you have a problem here and the clock is ticking so you will have to diet pretty hard to meet your target weight loss. Let’s look at that first, you all know that diets don’t work; they send the body into starvation mode, a survival mechanism from long age when humans faced periods of famine.
Going too low in calories causes the body to lower its metabolic rate, which reduces its ability to burn fat. At the same time, hunger signals increase and you quickly start to crave high-energy foods loaded with fats and sugar, the same foods you are trying to do without.
Research shows repeated dieting actually makes it harder to lose weight and easier to put it on because when you dump the diet and return to normal eating habits the drop in metabolic rate caused by the diet means that your old habits actually represent an excess in calories. Not only do you regain the fat stores just lost, but also you may even gain an extra bit.
Knowing this, you really don’t want to put yourselves through this rigorous process, but for this special occasion, you will. First, though, you will have to boost the metabolism that has been lowered by dieting. To do this you will have to perform a “Strength Train” workout to generate that initial spike in your metabolism. By increasing the lean muscle in your body by using Strength Training, your metabolism will increase, burning fat along the way.
The strength training technique I use requires just twenty to thirty mins per week. Gone are the days of the five-day-a-week program with 6 to 12 sets per body part that, method has never worked. One short intense strength-training workout a week will elevate your metabolism more than you ever thought possible.
While the calories expended doing exercise are important, the increase in metabolism especially after strength training continues long after the exercise is finished, burning calories at the same time.
The two main components of this technique are the intensity of the exercise and the recovery after the exercise. Infrequent, short, high-intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger is what is needed to increase functional lean muscle and lose body fat.
The way to lose body fat and maintain muscle is to have a food program for life. Quality food and more energy output are the basics you’ll need to go for. Bulk foods that fill you up and don’t fill you out, foods that are low in fat and sugar which aren’t refined should be the ideal.
Small frequent meals should be consumed during the day each containing a little protein to maintain muscle mass and energy levels. A high-quality broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement should also be taken on a daily basis.
As before get the calories from high-quality food but if you can’t, utilize a blender to make concoctions from skim milk with whatever additives you want to use, just as long as you keep count of the calories for your daily total.
Now use these blender mixtures and solid food for your daily feedings. Spread it out over many small meals a day instead of the traditional three meals a day. The way to keep track of weight loss is to buy a calorie counter and record your daily calorie intake for a week.
Now average out how many calories you consume a day with the use of a seven-day eating plan and calorie counter, once you have this figure subtract 1000 calories and this will be the target number of calories you will be aiming for.
Remembering that one pound of fat contains 3500cals, losing 1000 calories a day will total 7000 for the week, which equals two pounds lost by dietary means alone. Another technique for low-calorie eating is to watch your fat intake as this has the most calories.
Incidental activity is also very important if you want to lose this amount of weight in this short period of time, by increasing incidental activity you can burn at least another pound a week The best exercise for the purpose of fat loss is fast walking either indoors on the treadmill or outdoors.
Walk until you are mildly puffing and hold that rate until the allotted time. If your aerobic activities leave you panting or breathless, you’re going too hard, your energy is coming from your carbohydrate reserves and not from your fat stores. Try fast walking for one hour a day every day of the week.
Well, there you have it, as an experienced trainer I wouldn’t recommend this type of program to my clients. The weight loss is just too quick and the program would be very hard to maintain owing to the very low caloric intake.
I advise my clients to decrease their calories by just 500 per day (and no more) below their maintenance levels and they will be losing 1 – 2 pounds of body fat every week, safely, without craving, and without too much disruption to their lifestyle.
Remember, think long term here and that’s between 30 and 50 pounds of fat lost in six months. Any faster and all you will be losing is water and precious muscle tissue.
Gary is the author of several ebooks, including “Maximum Weight Loss in Ten Weeks” – the complete ebook and time-saving solution for burning away unwanted fat, and “Maximum Weight Gain in Ten Weeks” – easy-to-use and follow techniques that serve as a guide to muscle growth without having to “live in the gym”.
by Editor | Jun 9, 2011 | Weight Loss
If you have been dieting and haven’t lost weight, stop! Don’t even think about trying another diet, because it will produce the same results you have already seen.
Below you will find “Scientific Guidelines” for weight loss that have always been around but are not followed by the majority of weight loss programs these days.
Now let’s have a look at a few basic principles….
1. Increasing Your Metabolism
In order to produce Sustained, Permanent, and Long-Term Weight Loss, it’s imperative that you boost your metabolism. And the most effective way to raise your metabolism is to have a greater proportion of functional muscle in your body.
The only way to build this lean muscle so you can raise your metabolism is through “Strength Training”. There’s no other method that works wonders on Metabolism like Strength Training.
By performing Strength Training, you’ll effectively increase the amount of functional lean muscle on your body so that your metabolism will elevate.
After a Strength Training session, your body will undergo a significant increase or “Spike” in Metabolism, which will allow you to burn much more fat than you were able to before.
2. It’s All About Lean Muscle
“The amount of fat the body can burn is directly related to the lean muscle your body can hold.”
If your muscle system can sustain more energy and use this energy significantly when performing strength training, then it will be able to burn off the calories you eat and the excess fat in your body.
In other words, if your muscles become stronger and can hold more energy then you should be able to release this energy more efficiently to increase your metabolism, and to burn off excess calories that you have eaten.
Once we can build more lean muscle through our own strength, then our bodies will become more efficient at burning fat.
It’s also the amount of lean muscle on your body that makes you LOOK GOOD. Once you burn off the excess fat from your body, the lean muscle underneath your skin will be exposed making you look healthy, energetic, and well-toned.
3. Decrease Your Daily Calories
For years now, we have been told to use dieting to rid the excess fat from our bodies.
The trouble with this concept is that the low-calorie restricted diet would throw the body into starvation mode, with the body holding onto the fat and using precious muscle tissue for energy.
This would then lower the metabolism causing greater muscle loss and when the diet is broken the unwanted fat would not only return but actually increase because of the lowered metabolism.
The way around this is to cut your daily calorie intake by a small amount of calories only. This will stop any starvation mechanisms from clicking in. You can do this by making up a seven-day eating plan and writing down everything you eat for the week, and then working out the calories you have eaten with a calorie counter. Divide this figure by seven and you have your daily calorie value.
Decrease daily calorie value by a couple of hundred calories per day and no more. This will generate slow weight loss and the majority will be fat loss only. The daily calories should be consumed during the day with small frequent meals.
4. Fast Walking Burns Fat
All you need to do now is incorporate “Fast Walking” into your weight loss program to hasten the burning of excess fat.
Not only is fast walking better and much easier on the hips, but it also produces a greater percentage of fat loss as opposed to jogging or running.
Here are some of the benefits of Fast Walking:
- Easy to Perform
- Most Conventional
- All Natural Body Movement
- Doesn’t Cause Injuries
- Can Be Done Anywhere
- The Best Minimal Effort Exercise for Fat Loss
“I can’t stress enough how Fast Walking is necessary in every weight loss program.”
Gary is the author of several ebooks, including “Maximum Weight Loss in Ten Weeks” – the complete ebook and time-saving solution for burning away unwanted fat, and “Maximum Weight Gain in Ten Weeks” – easy-to-use and follow techniques that serve as a guide to muscle growth without having to “live in the gym”.
by Editor | Jun 9, 2011 | Nutrition, Weight Loss
There is a lot of confusion about weight loss supplementation, how to use it, what to use, and how much to use. In this article you will find the pick of today’s latest supplements on the market and armed with the right information you will have the knowledge to burn more body fat and have more energy for the things you want to do…
Remember that supplements do not replace proper diet and exercise but when used with the right training and weight loss program may help you make faster progress towards your weight loss goals.
Please remember that before taking on a training and supplementation program and if you are on medication always consult with your physician first. Now let’s have a look at the supplements:
Chitosan
Chitosan is a fiber whose fat-binding ability is so strong that it can be used effectively to promote weight loss. The most important health property of dietary fiber is its ability to bind to fat molecules in the digestive system, which in turn are excreted.
Since Chitosan can’t be digested, the fat absorbed is passed out of the body. Together with a low-fat eating plan and regular exercise, Chitosan is a great choice for keeping off those unwanted pounds. Try taking 15 minutes before a meal to inhibit fat absorption.
Dosage: as per the bottle
Ma Huang
A popular Asian herb that has been used for over 5,000 years is Ma Huang; it was first used by the ancient Chinese people as a decongestant.
The active ingredient is ephedrine, which has been shown to contain powerful fat-burning characteristics which can enhance thermogenesis, the body’s burning of fat for energy.
It also increases the basal metabolic rate, which allows your body to burn calories faster and more efficiently. By mobilizing stored fat and carbohydrate reserves, Ma Huang works to reduce your appetite and aids in helping you lose excess weight.
Try combining with White willow bark and Guarana as the fat-burning and muscle sparring effects of this stack are fantastic.
Dosage 300mgs twice a day.
Zhi Shi
Citrus aurantium is commonly referred to as bitter orange. Zhi shi is the immature dried fruit of citrus aurantium. Zhi Shi may be more thermogenic than ephedrine and has fewer side effects.
It can also be very effective in stimulating the metabolism (this stimulation causes an increase in the metabolic rate which burns calories) without any undesirable effects on the nervous system. Citrus aurantium may also act as an appetite suppressant.
Try combining with caffeine, white willow bark, cayenne, and green tea for greater thermogenic action.
Dosage 300mg three times a day.
Pyruvate
Pyruvate is a naturally occurring substance found in weight loss and herbal ‘fat-burners’.
Studies have shown that using diet pills containing pyruvate while restricting caloric intake slightly and participating in strength training will boost your metabolism resulting in weight loss.
Pyruvate produces ATP, which makes it a great supplement to take with creatine and ALC (Alpha Lipoic Acid) comes in Sodium and Calcium, try Calcium.
Dosage 1 gram to 5 grams per day.
Bcaas
Branched Chain Amino Acids are essential amino acids, which means that the body by itself cannot produce them so sufficient quantities must be obtained from supplementation.
The three Bcaas (Valine, Leucine, and Isoleucine) make up approximately 70 percent of the amino acids in the body. Bcaas are unique in that they are utilized directly by muscle tissue during long workouts.
Since your body only has a limited number of these amino acids, it can be forced to break down lean muscle tissue when dietary sources aren’t meeting your needs.
Bcaas can be found in most good protein powders these days.
Dosage 5 grams – 15 grams
Ribose
Ribose is a simple sugar that occurs naturally in all living cells and is one of the simplest molecules used by the body to build and restore energy.
Ribose is very important for the production of ATP. ATP is the major source of energy used by cells including muscle tissue for normal function. Ribose has been shown to increase muscular levels, boost endurance, and promote recovery! It is also an important way to increase your energy levels.
Another new supplement that looks very promising.
Follow the dosage on the bottle.
Nacn-Acetyl-Cysteine
Nac is a powerful anti-oxidant and its ability to neutralize free radicals helps slow down the ageing process.
Nac has all the properties of l-cysteine and may be the most cost-effective way to boost peptide levels in the body. Nac has been shown to safeguard against a variety of toxic hazards such as cigarette smoke, auto exhaust, and certain herbicides.
It can also play a beneficial role in prostate and respiratory conditions. Surprisingly, it is more effective than supplementing with cysteine, methionine, or even glutathione itself! A very good cost-effective anti-oxidant.
Follow the dosage on the bottle.
Multi-Vitamins and Minerals
Multi-vitamin and mineral supplements are perhaps the most important single supplement that can be consumed by bodybuilders and athletes and the first supplement you should buy.
For the human body to perform at its optimum, it must be fed a vast supply of vital nutrients. If the body becomes deficient in just one of these essential vitamins or minerals optimum efficiency and performance decline.
People think that since you can not put on pounds of muscle they are a waste of time to take them but if your body is deficient in just one of the essential vitamins and minerals you will never reach your full potential. Try and buy the Multis that have the higher potency mineral formulas.
So please remember a supplement is something added to the diet to make up for a nutritional deficiency or imbalance they are not intended to substitute for eating a balanced diet. If they are to be taken at all they should only be used to supplement the diet and not replace it.
Gary is the author of several ebooks, including “Maximum Weight Loss in Ten Weeks” – the complete ebook and time-saving solution for burning away unwanted fat, and “Maximum Weight Gain in Ten Weeks” – easy-to-use and follow techniques that serve as a guide to muscle growth without having to “live in the gym”.
Disclaimer: The information presented in for general informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice. Before starting any weight loss regimen or incorporating supplements into your diet, consult with a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian.
by Editor | Jun 9, 2011 | Weight Loss
Every day you walk down the street it is becoming more and more apparent that the average person is becoming larger and this trend has escalated over recent years.
Why are they getting fatter? Here are some reasons…
- Less incidental activity
- Automated and computerized lifestyle
- Longer working hours and less leisure
- Increased consumption of processed foods
- Our food servings are larger than ever
Being overweight, or obese, has now moved from a social nuisance and domestic embarrassment to an official disease. The American Heart Association has announced obesity is a major risk for heart disease.
Obesity itself has become a major and dangerous epidemic. More than 70% of US adults are overweight and that figure is rapidly increasing.
What do most people do to rid their bodies of unwanted fat? They diet! Dieting is now a trillion-dollar industry and just about every month a new diet is announced. If you do have weight problems how do you find a diet that is safe, effective, and sustainable?
What you do is try to find a diet that includes a variety of foods that you can live with comfortably. You have to take a long-term view and include plenty of exercise. A good diet is one that supplies all of the essential vitamins and minerals and is not high in fat or protein.
Research on people, who have successfully lost a lot of weight and kept it off long-term, shows that the vast majority succeeded by consuming a low-fat diet high in fiber coupled with strength training and cardiovascular activity.
Be wary of diets that
- Ban a specific food group ·Promise a quick fix
- Replace a balanced meal with a drink or a snack bar
- Make recommendations based on single studies
- Make recommendations to help sell a single product
Excess weight does not appear overnight and nor will it disappear overnight! In fact, the faster you lose weight, the more likely you are to pile the pounds back on. Seek out a program that will help you maintain long-term body fat losses by providing attainable solutions such as a program that promotes lifestyle changes, healthy eating, and regular exercise.
Regular exercise is important (i.e. strength training) as it burns fat, boosts your
metabolism, and also increases your energy levels. Dietary changes can lead to initial weight loss, but this is only for the short term. Exercise is essential for maintaining weight loss in the long term.
Now let’s take a closer look at what food is made up of and then you will have a good idea of what to look for in your daily eating plan. Firstly we need a wide range of nutrients to perform various functions for a healthy life.
These nutrients include carbohydrates, proteins, and fat and are all present in the food we eat on a daily basis.
The foods containing these nutrients are cereals, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruits, milk products, and flesh foods (fish, meat, and poultry).
We need all these nutrients to live and thrive and since we receive them through the food we eat, our food must be well-balanced and in the proper proportions. Food is fuel; the body requires this fuel for energy, which is measured in fats, carbohydrates, and protein.
Each of these nutrients provides different amounts of energy and these are measured in calories.
Nutrient Calories per Gram
Carbohydrate 4
Protein 4
Fat 9
Let’s look at carbohydrates first, carbohydrates supply energy for our body, they provide fiber for the prevention of disease and taste and texture to food. They are found in cereals, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables. They come in two basic forms, simple and complex. Simple carbs are easily identified by their taste and are sweet. Complex carbs, such as potatoes are pleasant to the taste buds but are not sweet.
They are then divided into two groups, high fiber, and low fiber.
High-fiber foods are the healthiest choices for nutrition and the intake of these foods is associated with a lower incidence of cancer and diabetes. Carbohydrates supply the sort of calories easily burned during cardiovascular exercise.
They are often wrongly feared and considered fattening, but the most important factor in weight control is balancing the energy (calories) consumed.
Please remember:
- ENERGY IN is more than ENERGY OUT = Weight gain
- ENERGY IN is equal to ENERGY OUT = Weight maintenance
- ENERGY IN is less than ENERGY OUT = Weight loss
Different foods affect the ability to exercise at different levels. High levels of exercise (cardio and strength training) require carbohydrates as a fuel source; at lower levels it is fat.
A lack of carbohydrates in the diet will lead to fatigue, the inability to exercise effectively, and excess fat consumption. When our food is digested, carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars.
These sugars are absorbed by the body and used by the muscles or stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. As our glycogen storage capacity is limited, carbohydrate needs to be continually topped up by the foods we eat.
BUT THE BODY HAS AN UNLIMITED STORAGE CAPACITY FOR FAT!
The average person is extremely vulnerable to fad diets and extreme dieting behaviors. The low-carbohydrate diet is one of the latest eating plans to hit the streets. This current diet craze is very popular but there are safer and more effective methods based on scientific research, to reduce body fat levels.
LOW CARBOHYDRATE DIETING IS SIMPLY WRONG.
Why is this? Just as a car runs better on a certain fuel, so does the human body. Unfortunately, the latest low-carbohydrate fad diets are not the fuel mix the human body was designed to run on.
Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram, whereas fats contain 9 calories per gram. For weight loss, the priority is to decrease total calorie intake. Reducing the amount of fat in the diet will make the biggest difference in reducing total daily calorie intake and hence weight loss.
CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE IS NOT FATTENING. EXCESS CALORIE INTAKE IS FATTENING
If you aren’t having enough carbohydrates in your diet you will experience:
- Fatigue due to low blood sugar levels inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals
- Low fiber intake, which may affect bowel movements
- ‘Bad’ breath due to the breakdown products of fats (called ketones)
The bottom line for carbohydrates and weight loss is to:
- Try to balance carbohydrate intake with activity levels
- Maintain energy levels by eating carbohydrate-rich foods on a regular basis
- Carbohydrate-rich foods are normally low in fat and nutrient-rich
A real weight loss program includes all the food groups, strength training, and low-level aerobics, a slight decrease in your daily calorie levels, and a program that can be followed for life.
Above all try to achieve a balanced diet, eating a balanced variety of foods will help you to feel great every day, ensure better long-term health and improve weight control.
Gary is the author of several ebooks, including “Maximum Weight Loss in Ten Weeks” – the complete ebook and time-saving solution for burning away unwanted fat, and “Maximum Weight Gain in Ten Weeks” – easy-to-use and follow techniques that serve as a guide to muscle growth without having to “live in the gym”.
