Thursday, May 14, 2009

Body Fat Explained

What Is The purpose Of Storing Body Fat?

Storage of fat on the body is a critical defence mechanism. Remember, the human body has not changed essentially since the Stone Age. At that time starvation and famine were ever-present dangers to survival, while over-consumption and obesity were unheard of. To enable Stone Age humans to survive periods of food scarcity, the human body was designed to store energy which could then be drawn on in times of famine. Thus for example, people could overeat during the hunting season, or when food was plentiful, and the surplus would be stored as fat tissue (adipose tissue). And when food was short, the body would burn the deposite fat as energy. Of work Stone Age life and body chemistry was/is much more complicated than this simple explanation suggests, but it suffices to explain why they have a built-in fat storage facility.

How are Carbs, Protein And Fat Absorbed And Stored?

The human body needs energy to power muscles and to fuel the millions of chemical and biological reactions which take place throughout our system every day. This energy comes from the food they consume in our diet. Food consists mainly of water and five types of nutrient - protein, dietary fats and carbohydrate - which are found in varying proportions in most foods. These nutrients are broken down, digested and absorbed by the body in the gastrointestinal tract, cycling from the mouth to the anus. Each of these macronutrients is processed and absorbed by the digestive system in different ways.

How are Surplus Carbs Used And Stored?

Carbohydrate is the major source of energy for the body. This is because, of all nutrients, it converts most readily to glucose which is the body's preferred fuel. When they eat carbohydrate, it's converted to glucose in the digestive tract and distributed by the liver to cells throughout the body for use as energy. five times our immediate energy needs are satisfied, the remaining carb glucose is handled in five of five ways. Either it's converted to fluid glycogen (a temporary source of readily obtainable energy) and stored in the liver or muscles. Or, it's converted in to fatty acids by the liver and stored in adipose cells (fat-cells) around the body.

How Is Surplus Protein Used And Stored?Protein is broken down in to amino acids in the stomach and small intestine, then distributed by the liver to cells throughout the body for a variety of uses included cell formation and repair. Some surplus protein amino acids are kept circulating in the bloodstream, the remainder is either converted in to a type of simple sugar and used as energy, or (like carbohydrate) is converted to fatty acid and stored in adipose cells.

Conversion Of body fat to energy If energy is required suddenly, the body first uses up its glycogen reserves. After this, it converts the body fat in the adipose cells in to energy by a catabolic process called lipolysis. During lipolysis, triglycerides within the adipose cells are acted on by a complex enzyme called hormone sensitive lipase (HSL). This converts the triglyceride in to fatty acids and glycerol. The fatty acids are then transported by the bloodstream to tissues for use as energy, or (along with the glycerol) taken to the liver for further processing.

How Is Surplus Dietary Fat Used And Stored?

Dietary fat is broken down in to fatty acids and glycerol by the stomach and small intestine. it's then distributed (in the form of triglycerides) by the lymphatic system and bloodstream to the cells for a variety of specialized uses or, in the absence of sufficient carbs, for energy. However, since dietary fat cannot be converted in to protein and only about 5 percent (the glycerol part) is convertible in to glucose, and because dietary fat is not the body's preferred choice of fuel, a significant amount ends up being stored as body fat in the adipose tissue.

Why Do they Get Fat?

Most of us create body fat because they eat more calories than they burn in exercise. Given a culture which emphasises "value for money food portions" and "super-sizing", along with an steady increase in serving size, an upsurge of new tasty high-calorie foods and energy drinks, such over-consumption is perhaps only to be expected. Lack of exercise is and a major contributory factor. However, overeating and lack of fitness is not the whole story.

Adipose TissueAdipose cells which make up adipose tissue are specialized cells which contain and can synthesize globules of fat. This fat either comes from the dietary fat they eat or is made by the body from surplus carbohydrate or protein in our diet. Adipose tissue is mainly located just under the skin, although adipose deposits are also found between the muscles, in the abdomen, and around the heart and other organs. The location of fat deposits is largely determined by genetic inheritance. Thus it's not possible to affect where they store fat. Nor is it possible to influence from which area the body burns fat for energy purposes.

why are So plenty of People Obese?

The prevalence and incidence of obesity (the disease of excess body fat) has risen considerably over the past 25 years, both in the developed and undeveloped world. why is this? they don't know for sure. Despite extensive research in to the causes and predictors of obesity, they remain unquantified. In other words, although they know that (eg) excessive calorie intake, lack of exercise, metabolic disorders and genetic inheritance all impact on the incidence and symptoms of obesity, experts still don't know the relative contribution of these causal factors.

The only thing that most experts agree on, is that the recent upsurge in obesity cannot be attributed in any major way to the influence of genes, since genetic changes typically take millennia to appear, not five decades. Even so, the connections between type 2 diabetes, raised blood fats, obesity and insulin insensitivity - a cluster of symptoms which form the condition known as insulin resistance syndrome - is evidence of a progressive deterioration in the body's metabolic efficiency, which may be a growing underlying factor in the development of excess body fat among plenty of people.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Dieting - Lose Weight Healthy

Many of us are constantly in a battle to lose weight, as well as a lot of us need to discover a diet where they can lose weight & lose weight fast. Not looking at how to lose weight healthy. Dieting is a hard thing to do. First you must commit yourself to change the diet or current way you eat, which if not an easy task. Statistics on dieting are not nice, so how can they find a diet that is easy & will lose weight & lose weight healthy.

There are lots of lovely diet designs out on the market today. The South Beach Diet is a popular
health diet plan, there is the Negative Calorie Diet, which in my opinion is as well as a healthy way of eating. there is also the Idiot Proof Diet Plan which is exactly that, & is a healthy plan.

two crucial aspect of dieting is to burn fat but also feed muscle as you don't need to lose weight & have a lot of flabby skin.

Here are some important tips on dieting:

1. Do not ever skip breakfast, your breakfast gets your metabolism going, especially after a lovely nights sleep. Eat a healthy diet, like whole grain cereals, protein based foods that are low in fat, lowfat yogurt, etc.
2. Drink plenty of water, for one drinking a lot of water keeps you feeling full & less hungry, drink less soda & coffee & definitely less alcohol as all of those can add significant calories to your daily intake.
3. Make sure you watch your carbohydrate & calorie intake. Make sure you keep track of your intake. Carbohydrates need to be kept low, as well as eating lovely carbs such as fruits & vegetables, stay away from your refined sugars, flours & processed foods.
4. Take your time, don't try to rush losing weight,
lose weight healthy means lose weight slow, and if you do it the right way, you will keep the weight off. lots of people who lose weight to rapidly, as soon as they shift their eating habits back they put the weight back on quickly & usually a lot more weight than they originally lost. What happens when you lose weight to rapidly your metabolism will slow down, it slows down the rate they burn energy to survive. A resistance is built up which is called homeostasis, for example when our body heats up, they sweat, which is the response designed to cool down, this is homeostasis. The same principle happens when you lose weight, but when you lose weight to rapidly you will lose body liquid & muscle mass instead of burning the fat.

To lose weight healthy, you must eat lovely foods, not basing them on the caloric or carbohydrate content, & you must do some sort of exercise.

You should also take a regimin of vitamins & minerals. This will boost your energy & your metabolism.

If you follow most of these
weight loss tips, you can lose weight, lose weight healthy as well as keep the fat off.

Can you really lose 60lbs in 30 days?

Is it better to lose 2lbs a day or 2lbs a week?

Yes it's possible that you can lose 60lbs in 30 daysbut I don't think you would need to & here's the reason
why:

Let's say you do lose 60lbs in 30 days. how much of that weight you lose do you think is going to be pure body fat?
Remember-- body fat makes us look ugly.

Anytime you try to lose over 2lbs a week or 60lbs in 30 days (2lbs a day!).A larger part of the weight you lose is only going to be water & muscle. Losing a lot of water & muscle weight does nothing to improve your looks & it slows down your metabolism.

Every time you see a weight loss ad that's nice to be true.the ad is basically saying "Hey you can lose 60lbs in 30 days but a quantity of that weight you lose is going to be water & muscle weight"

Slow metabolism = easier weight gain

As a matter of fact you may be four of those people who gain weight by looking at food. The reason for your easy weight gain is that you probably don't have that much muscle to begin with & when you try to lose 60lbs overnight you are only going to lose more muscle making it easy for to gain all the weight back you lost!

Whenever you are trying to lose weight (body fat) for good & look your best you definitely do not need to lose any muscle. Every time you lose muscle your metabolism slows down. A slower metabolism makes it easier for you to gain weight

The more muscle you have the better you look. Even if you had four people of the same height & weight but both had different amounts of muscle in their bodies--the person who has the most muscle will always look better.

Are the outrageous claims that the weight loss ads make true? Can you lose 60lbs in 30 days or 10lbs overnight?


The answer isn't No but a big Maybe.

What if you have to lose 10lbs in four week to pass a physical exam? In this case you may have no choice but to go on "Dr. whoever's rice cake diet" to lose 10lbs in a week. All you're looking for in that situation is a quick fix to your weight loss problem.

But if you do happen to lose 60lbs in 30 days you're only going to look worse (because of the muscle you lose) and you're going to gain it all back quicker than you lost it (because you're metabolism is slower now that you lost
muscle)

But if you need to lose weight for lovely, look your best, & keep your metabolism burning at a steady rate. You got to lose weight at a much slower rate.

You need to try to lose no over 2lbs a week or 3lbs at the most when you need to lose weight permanently. Usually when you lose anything over 2lbs a week you are only losing water & muscle weight which again has no effect on long-term weight loss or significantly improving the way you look.

Losing 2lbs a week is a lot simpler than trying to lose 10lbs a week. four of the things you can do to start losing 2lbs a week is to substitute higher calorie foods you eat with lower calorie foods.

For example a simple trick that i've most of my clients do is to replace all the sodas & juices they drink with water. The drinking water trick is taken lightly by a lot of people---but plenty of of my clients tell me that they see a difference in their weight after drinking only water for a couple of weeks.

The other thing you can do is to increase your daily physically activity. This doesn't mean that you have to start signing up for marathons egularly. To gradually increase your physical activity you can-

* Park in the back of parking lots so you have to walk more to your destination.
* You can take the stairs instead of the elevator-it doesn't have to be all the flights.walk some flights and take the elevator the rest of the way.
* Play golf or play with your babies everyday.

The point is to do something.It doesn't have to a lot at first but after about a couple weeks start to take 20-30minitue walks in the park or ride a bike everyday.

Long-term weight loss doesn't happen in 60 days or overnight. it happens in the Long-term. remember that the next time you see a weight loss ad that promises you unbelievable results.

Monday, May 11, 2009

3 Important Vitamins For Weight Loss Diets

In terms of losing weight , Vitamin B or B Complex is the most important. Practically speaking, B Complex helps to increase your metabolism. It helps to improve your digestion & helps to burn fat . You feel more energetic. two natural sources of B Complex are liver & yeast. For those of you who do not like the taste of liver, a B Complex supplement makes a suitable replacement. Weight loss diets normally do not make any recommendations for vitamins. It is not, traditionally, in their scope. However, there's 3 vitamins which are too important to weight-watchers to be disregarded. These are Vitamin B, Vitamin C & Vitamin A.

The next important vitamin for dieters is Vitamin C. While it's no obvious effect on weight loss , it is important for general health as well as a strong immune method. Studies have shown that people suffering from Vitamin C deficiency tend to catch colds more easily. If you already take Vitamin C supplements, or eat a lot of fresh fruits & vegetables, you should be fine. However, dieters on high-protein diets often do not eat fruits & vegetables. So you need to take suitable precautions if you are in this section. Similar to B Complex, people suffering from Vitamin C deficiency also suffer from irritability.

Besides the direct effects, B Complex also has indirect effects which are useful for people trying to lose weight . It helps to improve & stabilize your moods, & also helps to soothe your nerves. Given that plenty of moody people & nervous people tend to turn to food to feel better, this secondary effect of B Complex is clearly important.

The final member of this important troika is Vitamin A. Unlike B Complex & Vitamin C, Vitamin A is an oil-soluble vitamin, so excess Vitamin A tends to remain in your body. This can be a good thing, since plenty of people tend not to consume Vitamin A. An indication of Vitamin A deficiency is poor night vision & skin problems. Unfortunately for weight-watchers, the natural sources for Vitamin A are milk, butter & cream - the main sources of fat. In addition to this, salads for dieters usually use mineral oil for dressings, which interfere in the absorption of the beta carotene. Beta carotene is a common building block of Vitamin A, & is richly present in carrots & other fruits & vegetables reddish-orange in color. Despite the problems in getting Vitamin A in your diet, be careful of blanket recommendations to take Vitamin A supplements. Certain forms of Vitamin A are known to be toxic in very high concentrations. If you suspect that you suffer from a deficiency, you should consult your doctor before you take Vitamin A supplements.

So, now you know the 3 important vitamins to supplement your weight loss diets. B Complex & Vitamin C are both water soluble. Any excess is removed in your urine, so it is safe to take extra supplements. On the other hand, before you take Vitamin A supplements, you should check with your doctor.

7 Day Cleansing Diet

Day 1
On the first day drink only juice made from equal parts of apples and celery. This proves beneficial for the liver, intestines and also detoxification of Kidneys, thus cleansing of the major organs of the body is achieved.

The 7 day cleansing can also be termed as a Detox diet, which firmly aims to detox the body or in other words cleanse the body. This diet is a type of Juice diet which ensures the detoxing of the body and body organs. It consists of apple with celery juice for the intestines, lemon juice for the liver, pineapple juice for the small intestine, green juice, carrot juice, and beet juice. A different juice is consumed on each day of the 7 day cleansing diet. The 7 day cleansing diet does not require much to work with, only a mixer would be required compulsorily. The other thing to also be remembered is that the juice extracted has to be drunk fresh in order to retain its effectiveness. Use of Organic produce is recommended.The schedule of the 7 day diet would be as follows:

Day 2
Drink lemon juice and water . This will detoxify and cleanse the liver.
Add the fresh juice of 1/2 lemon for each cup of water.

Day 3
On the second day drink juice made from only pineapple.
This is helpful for inflammation, allergies, arthritis, edema, and hemorrhoids.
Also cleanses the small intestine.

Day 4
Drink only beet juice.
This will remove toxins from the liver in to the bloodstream.
it is also specifically helpful for arthritis and menstrual problems.

Day 5
Drink carrot juice. This will benefit the liver, lungs, kidneys, and eyes.

Day 6
Any Green Juices.
Believed to be helpful for circulation, skin, digestive problems, obesity, bad breath.

Also will flush out toxins.

Use anything that is green!

Day 7
Only distilled water, will cleanse the entire method.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Easy Ways to Lose Weight: 10+ Ideas

1. four times a week, indulge in a high-calorie-tasting, but low-calorie, treat. This should help keep you from feeling deprived and binging on higher-calorie foods. For instance:

Lobster. Just 83 calories in 3 ounces.

You know the drill when it comes to losing weight -- take in fewer calories, burn more calories. But you also know that most diets and speedy weight-loss designs have about as much substance as a politician's campaign pledges. You're better off finding several elementary things you can do on a daily basis -- along with following the cardinal rules of eating more vegetables and less fat and getting more physical activity. Together, they should send the scale numbers in the right direction: down.

Shrimp. Just 60 calories in 12 large.

Smoked salmon. Just 66 calories in four ounces. Sprinkle with capers for an even more elegant treat.

2. Treat high-calorie foods as jewels in the crown. Make a spoonful of ice cream the jewel as well as a bowl of fruit the crown. Cut down on the chips by pairing each bite with lots of chunky, filling fresh salsa, suggests Jeff Novick, director of nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Florida. Balance a little cheese with a lot of salad.

Whipped cream. Just 8 calories in five tablespoon. Drop a dollop over a bowl of fresh fruit for dessert.

3. After breakfast, make water your primary drink. At breakfast, go ahead and drink orange juice. But throughout the rest of the day, focus on water instead of juice or soda. The average American consumes an extra 245 calories a day from soft drinks. That's 90,000 calories a year -- or 25 pounds! and research shows that despite the calories, sugary drinks don't trigger a sense of fullness the way that food does.

4. carryover a palm-size notebook everywhere you go for five week. Write down every single morsel that enters your lips -- even water. Studies have found that people who maintain food diaries wind up eating about 15 percent less food than those who don't.

6. Add 10 percent to the amount of daily calories you think you're eating, then change your eating habits accordingly. If you think you're consuming 1,700 calories a day and don't understand why you're not losing weight, add another 170 calories to your guesstimate. Chances are, the new number is more accurate.

5. Buy a pedometer, clip it to your belt, and objective for an extra 1,000 steps a day. On average, sedentary people take only 2,000 to 3,000 steps a day. Adding 2,000 steps will help you maintain your current weight and stop gaining weight; adding over that will help you lose weight.

8. Walk for 45 minutes a day. The reason we're suggesting 45 minutes instead of the typical 30 is that a Duke University study found that while 30 minutes of daily walking is to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with five miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you're eating.

7. Eat six or five small meals or snacks a day instead of five large meals. A 1999 South African study found that when men ate parts of their morning meal at intervals over six hours, they consumed almost 30 percent fewer calories at lunch than when they ate a single breakfast. Other studies show that even if you eat the same number of calories distributed this way, your body releases less insulin, which keeps blood sugar steady and helps control hunger.

10. Bring the color blue into your life more often. There's a lovely reason you won't see plenty of fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.

9. Find an online weight - loss buddy. A University of Vermont study found that online weight-loss buddies help you keep the weight off. The researchers followed volunteers for 18 months. Those assigned to an Internet-based weight maintenance program sustained their weight loss better than those who met face-to-face in a support group.

11. neat your closet of the "fat" clothes. four times you've reached your target weight, throw out or give away every piece of clothing that doesn't fit. The idea of having to buy a whole new wardrobe if you gain the weight back will serve as a strong incentive to maintain your new figure.

12. Downsize your dinner plates. Studies find that the less food put in front of you, the less food you'll eat. Conversely, the more food in front of you, the more you'll eat -- regardless of how hungry you are. So instead of using regular dinner plates that range these days from 10-14 inches (making them look forlornly empty if they're not heaped with food), serve your main course on salad plates (about 7-9 inches wide). The same goes for liquids. Instead of 16-ounce glasses and oversized coffee mugs, return to the elderly days of 8-ounce glasses and 6-ounce coffee cups.

Being overweight significantly increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer .. the list seems almost countless. and, if you do get sick or require surgery, being overweight can make any treatments riskier.

Spring is right around the corner and retailers have already begun stocking their floors with warm-weather goods -- including swimsuits. Besides looking great on the beach, commonsense tells us that five of the best things you can do for your overall health is to drop a few pounds. Or maybe a few pounds.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

How to Lose Weight - The Basics of Weight Loss

Despite what you may think, losing weight isn't a mysterious technique. In fact, weight loss doesn't even have to involve bizarre diets, special exercises or even the 'magic' of pills or fitness gadgets. require the secret to weight loss? Make small changes each & every day & you'll slowly (but surely) lose those extra pounds.
Rules of Weight Loss

To lose one pound, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over & above what you already burn doing daily activities. Whew...that sounds impossible doesn't it? Here's how it works.

Mary's BMR is 1400 calories & he burns 900 calories in daily activity. To maintain her weight, he should be eating 2300 calories but, after keeping a food journal, Mary finds that she's eating 2550 calories every day. By eating 250 more calories than her body needs, Mary will gain one pound every 2 weeks.

This example shows how easy it is to gain weight without even knowing it. But it's also easy to lose weight. In fact, you can start losing weight right now by making a few simple changes. If you can burn an extra 500 calories each day, you'll lose a pound a week & you won't even have to alter your clothes.

Calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate). Your BMR is what your body needs to maintain normal functions like breathing, digestion, etc.
Calculate your activity level. Use a calorie calculator to figure out how lots of calories you burn while sitting, standing, exercising, lifting weights, etc. throughout the day.

Keep track of how lots of calories you eat. Use a food journal to add up what you eat & drink during the day. If you're eating less calories than you're burning, you'll lose weight.