Loss

How to Rid The Unwanted Stomach

July 15, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Achieving any goal requires the correct mindset. In weight loss it is often over looked. We look in the mirror and do not like what we see, “think how to rid tummy fat” and then we usually consider padlocking the fridge or setting up camp in the local gym or sports centre. A lot of us miss the first port of call, the engine room that drives our ship across the rough ocean to weight loss island, OUR MINDS!

This is one of the free lose weight tips that brings success, no pills or fads, just good focused mindset. Achieving the correct mindset does not arrive in the post the day after you order it, but the good news is that it is not hard to start to think the right way! I WANT KNOW HOW TO RID TUMMY FAT. If knowing how to rid tummy fat is your main weight loss goal? then write it down. Do not just write it on a scrap of paper and hide it where nobody else sees it. What you will end up doing is when you are near achieving your goal is to make it yours and the notes, little secret. Make yourself accountable; post the goal around the house and tell people about it. FREE LOSE WEIGHT TIPS ARE GREAT BUT. . . . Free lose weight tips are great but if you do not use them to achieve your goals then you are wasting your time. So you need to be specific with your goals. How much do YOU want to lose, and by when? How and what will YOU do when you have reached the goal. E. g. I am going to lose 12 pounds in four months by changing my eating patterns and I am going to walk for 30 minutes a day. And when I reach the goal I am going to take my family out for dinner wearing my favourite nice red top I used to be able to wear.

DO YOU HAVE A GOAL? Great: YOU HAVE A GOAL, but if YOU are going to reach it then you need to break it up into achievable sections. When Edmund Hilary climbed Everest he did not stand at base camp and think “right chaps I have got the sandwiches” and then charge off for the summit. This major accomplishment was split into numerous stages, with smaller goals of reaching camp one, then camp two and so on until reaching the summit. Break your goal into something like first month I will lose 3 pounds, 2nd month 3 pounds, and so on. Set dates for each mini goal and most importantly give YOURSELF a reward when you achieve each mini goal. YOU ARE NOT CLIMBING EVEREST Ok so you are not climbing Everest but you need to focus on how to rid tummy fat. One thing you must have in common with Sir Edmund is that with planning, commitment, devotion and most importantly the correct mindset YOU will reach your summit. If you follow these tips for losing weight, you are sure to notice that YOU will achieve some weight loss without having to go on the latest fad diet, and you will soon be back on track to being healthy and happy! Whatever you do, it is important to remember you can be successful and you will lose weight without starving yourself!

Filed Under Health Tagged With Free, Lose, Loss, Tips, Tummy, Weight

Finding Weight Loss Help

June 25, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

With summer coming and visions of summer clothes everywhere, how to find weight loss help is a problem many have to face. As a matter of fact, finding weight loss help is easier than you may think. The only real problem is how to find weight loss help that is right for you.

So, read on and find out what you have to be on the lookout for.

Points to keep in mind when considering a fat loss program: Avoid fad diets like the plaque! They will only make you gain weight in the long run. When considering an eating plan, keep your likes and dislikes in mind. It is also important that you keep your lifestyle in mind. You also have to keep your activity levels in mind. Most important, keep your fitness levels in mind. You have to keep these points in mind when you are looking for a slimming plan or product.

If you hate the food you have to eat, you will not be able to stick to the diet. Likewise if the diet needs a lot of extra shopping and meal preparation, you must have the time to do it. If you are very busy, you will end up grabbing something to eat and will not be able to stick to your meal plan. On the other hand, if you lead a very active life, you cannot eat too little and you will have to find an eating plan that supplies all your needs. Remember, it is very dangerous to try and exercise if you are not getting enough calories to give you the energy you need!

For how to find weight loss help, your fitness level becomes very important if you are considering a plan that requires you to exercise. If you are very unfit, it will be best to consult your doctor first before you embark on an exercise regime. So, it is clear, how to find weight loss help online is not really the problem, lots of help is the click of a button away. The real problem is finding a diet program that is right for you personally. Finding weight loss help is not a problem. There are many ways to reduce calories without having to actually count them.

Part of finding weight loss help is understanding weight loss. Your body is controlled by your metabolism and many people don’t understand what that is how how to control it. Many people ask when looking for help is how can I increase and control my metabolism. Here are a few simple things you must know when it comes to weight loss.

People who exercise regularly: This is because the more muscular you are, the higher the combustion you body is doing, even when it is at rest.

Men: Since typically men have more muscle mass than women.

Fat people: A fat man, even if it is just fat and not well trained, needs more power to maintain his body than a man less bulky and or thinner.

People that have a genetic tendency to have a faster metabolic rate: That means that it is likely that two people who have the same weight and the same amount of muscle mass have different basic metabolic rate due to their genes.

Young people: Because the basic metabolic rate decreases as the years pass (about 300 calories per decade), mainly because people lose more muscle mass, but also because they tend to exercise less.

Children and adolescents: During the body development the energy needs become greater-and thus the basic metabolic rate is proportionally greater.

Pregnant women: During pregnancy, and later, when the mother is breastfeeding her baby, there are increasing demands for energy. This is because during pregnancy the metabolic needs of the baby are added and during breast-feeding there is the need to produce milk that is rich in calories. Also, women have faster metabolic rate immediately after ovulation, because there is a slight increase of progesterone.

In winter, the basic metabolic rate of all people is higher. Because of the cold the energy needs of our organization is greatly increased.

When Does the Metabolism Increase?

In people suffering from specific diseases that increase metabolism, such as hyperthyroidism.

In people with fever.

In people with stress. It is true that acute stress generally increases the metabolic rate, because of the increased requirements of the body for energy. Instead, when the stress is chronic, it negatively affects the metabolic rate, making it slower due to the chronic hormonal disturbances caused.

For smokers, and those who consume substances such as coffee, tea, etc., which stimulate the sympathetic system and hence contribute to increased metabolic rate.

Exercise: The Best Way to Help Increase Our Metabolic Rate

The easiest and healthy way to make our metabolism faster is fortunately in our hands and not different from physical activity, and this includes both aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, swimming, various sports) and exercises with resistance (weights).

If we exercise we will have double benefits: We will increase our muscle mass (which would increase the basic metabolic rate, even in calm hours) and we will burn more calories during exercise. Also, you should know that there are two types of muscle fiber, the type 1 and type 2 – the type 1 muscle fibers are those that consume more energy (calories). Exercise except that it helps in the overall increase in muscle mass, increases muscle fibers especially type 1, which consume more energy (calories) even if we are calm. A minimum of 3 to 6 hours of exercise per week is the best. Through the day we can allocate the time devoted to exercise as desired, but also we can combine different types of exercise for maximum benefit: 15 walking in the morning, 15 evening and 15 running in the evening, along with exercises with weights.

How We Can Calculate Our Basic Metabolic Rate?

Women: B.M. = 655 + (9,6 x W) + (1,8 x H) – (4,7 x A)
Men: B.M. = 66 + (13,7 x W) + (5 x H) – (6,8 x A)

BM = Basic Metabolism, W = Weight in kilos, H = Height in cm, A = Age in years

Useful Help tips to Increase Your Metabolism

Apart from regular exercise, which is the best way to increase your metabolism, you can also:

Consume tea and coffee, which are substances that stimulate the sympathetic system, thus increasing the metabolism. Except from this there are some drugs and certain substances that increase metabolism because they also stimulate the sympathetic system. Many of these substances are illegal in many countries (many belonging to the banned anabolic such as ephedrine and caffeine).

Avoid the chronic stress, as stress affects our metabolism and increases the tendency for abdominal obesity.

Follow a steady daily life routine, eat well, sleep well, because when the body gets ‘de-organized”, the metabolism becomes slower

Eat many small meals (6), because the process of digestion increases metabolism slightly and ultimately we burn more calories.

Prevent the deprivation diets (less than 1,100 calories for women, less than 1,400 for men), since they will lead us to gain more weight and to do our metabolism even slower. This is because the first weight you lose fast in deprivation diets is mainly liquids, then muscle and fat tissue, but later you regain mainly fat. So basically we gain more weight, have less muscle tissue (we lost it in the process of losing weight), and thus a slower metabolic rate, and also have more fat, which also leads to generally lower metabolic rate.

Still looking for some more help or weight loss tips?

Filed Under Health Tagged With find, Help, Loss, Weight

Natural Weight Loss

June 22, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Which side are you? To be just thin or be slim and healthy? No doubt the second option is the one that many would choose. This takes us to a question every weight conscious people should answer before sticking to their weight loss program. . . is our weight loss program or diet plan healthy to our body? Many people are now into trimming down their weight, thanks to the sudden surge of weight loss companies promoting their own product “gimmicks” – the fastest, most effective, no-sweat method weight loss programs or products.

“Sexy is Fab!” “If you are sexy, you’re Hot!”

Sounds familiar? These are trendy words that many people are so eager to be part of. I’m not saying that this is totally wrong, but we also have to consider our health while dieting or following a weight loss program.

Don’t Fall For Those Quick Weight Loss “Gimmicks”!

There are many ways to lose weight that won’t affect your health negatively. One should also be aware on the type of diet they are going to take. Naturally, when a person is totally excited in losing weight and they wanted to lose it real fast, they will end up with a crash diet. These people check their weight very often – sometimes everyday! The result? They take crash diets that suggest them to eat less intensively! Well, here’s the fact, you will lose weight in a few days with this method but your body is also at stake. Our body needs enough calories to use as the energy to burn body fats. In order to get slimmer, we need to burn only the excess fats in our body. The reason why we are burning fat is because we want to convert it into muscle, to become proportionately fit with our body. If there’s no sufficient energy in the body, this will surely lead to fatigue, sickness and a weak immune system. It is always better to eat less quantity of the “right” food at the “right” time (at least five times a day). This will satiate your hunger and would boost your metabolism and fat burning effect. Others do not eat the right food for their bodies. You should have the right meal at the right time and the food must be prepared by roasting, boiling, or steaming.

Engage in any exercise.

There’s nothing more effective and healthier in getting you slimmer than doing exercises. Diet alone is not enough; you need to move your body with more effort to burn those massive fats. Diet and exercise always come hand in hand. If you don’t feel like jogging or running because it seems boring to you, try engaging to any dance group like aerobics or hip hop, ballroom or whatever kind of dance you like. Sports like biking, swimming, tennis or badminton are also a good option. Any form of exercise that matches with your lifestyle or personal interests is fine. It is not necessary to go to the gym and carry some weights, but do something that will help turn your fats into muscles. Strive to keep a healthy and energetic body while trying to lose weight at the same time. This will give you a lot of benefits in the future.

Have any health questions? Get all the answers you need now at Rachael West Designs. We also have diet programs that could assist you with your weight loss needs, don’t miss out on them.

Filed Under Health Tagged With Loss, Natural, Simple, ways, Weight

Weight Loss Myths

June 20, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Have you sometimes felt confused about weight loss and nutrition guides that should help you take the right decisions about your health, yet for some reason they don’t? Here are some of the most frequent weight loss theories, and their rebuttals.

Myth 1: If you want to lose weight, a fad diet is the best choice. Not always true. Fad diets usually promise fast weight loss or make you cut down on certain foods. Fad diets may be unhealthy because they prevent your system from getting all its necessary nutrients. The best way to lose weight is to eat healthy and work out, according to researchers.

Myth 2: Lose weight by skipping meals. False. If you do that, you`ll end up eating more snacks. Studies proved that people who don`t eat breakfast are heavier unlike those who eat breakfast regularly.

Myth 3: I can eat anything I want and lose weight at the same time. This is not always true. However, some dieters may actually be able to eat whatever they want and still stay in shape. When you try to lose weight you may eat some of your favorite foods while you pay attention to the amount of your food intake.

Myth 4: Never eat after 8. 00 p. m. or you`ll gain weight. False. The most important is how much you eat and how much you exercise, not when you eat. Don`t eat snacks while watching TV, using the computer, or playing video games. You need to be aware of how much you eat, and when you’re doing something else while eating, you may lose track of how much you’re eating.

Myth 5: Certain foods help you burn fats. Not really true. Certain foods that contain caffeine can enhance your metabolism for a short while. However, those foods do not result in weight loss, or make you burn fats.

Myth 6: Herbal weight loss products are efficient and safe for your health. Not really true. Weight loss products are not necessarily safe just because they are “herbal,” or “natural” . Many herbal products that claim to help you lose weight are not always scientifically tested for safety or efficiency. Certain natural products may cause negative effects along with other drugs or have unwanted effects on people with certain medical conditions.

Myth 7: Nuts should be avoided during a weight loss program. Not always true. Some types of nuts contain saturated fats that may increase the level of cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. Other types of nuts also contain fiber, proteins, and don`t have cholesterol. They can be a part of a good weight loss program while they are consumed in small amounts.

Myth 8: Red meat is not the best choice for weight loss. Not always true. Foods like red meat, fish, chicken, or pork contain saturated fats, cholesterol, but also protein, zinc, and iron. However, lean meat is indicated for a weight loss plan.

Myth 9: Vegetables and fresh fruits are better than frozen products. Not always true. Both frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy. Fresh fruits can sometimes lose nutrients after light exposure.

Myth 10: Fast foods are always unhealthy.

Have any health questions or would like to get involved in a diet program? Then make your way through Rachael West Designs now and get all the answers you need now.

Filed Under Health Tagged With Loss, Myths, Weight

Lasting Weight Loss with Fat Burning Foods

April 26, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Those wonderful foods that speed metabolism and burn body fat will literally transform your body! In these sections is everything you need to know about them. If you increase your metabolic rate and sustain that increase, you will achieve lasting weight loss. In other words, eat the foods that will increase your metabolism and start losing fat for good.

It’s simple: The higher your metabolic rate, the faster you will lose body fat. To burn fat and lose weight, simply increase your metabolic rate. Your metabolism is all those chemical processes in your body that result in energy production. The higher your metabolic rate, the more energetic you will feel. The lower your metabolic rate, the more lethargic you will feel. By itself, eating well will increase metabolism. Stop eating the wrong foods and start eating the right foods.

Foods that Speed Metabolism 1

The Power of Proteins

Exercise and proteins are your greatest allies if you wish to lose excess body fat, cure or avoid obesity, and achieve lasting weight loss.

How do proteins relate to metabolism and fat loss?

In terms of its “thermic effect,” protein has twice the power as either of the other two macronutrients, namely, fats or carbohydrates. Your body must work much harder to process proteins than to process either fats or carbs. (Drinking plenty of water helps your body do this.)

So ingesting proteins powerfully boosts your metabolism. It will rev up your metabolism and accelerate your fat loss. In addition, protein makes us feel more satiated or full than either fats or carbohydrates. That feeling will also last longer than when it’s based on fats or carbs. Just stop eating when you feel full.

For both physiological and psychological reasons, and to avoid food cravings, eat proteins every 3 or 4 waking hours. See the companion page [the page link is given at the bottom of this page] for a full explanation about the reasons for doing this and exactly how to do it.

In time, ingesting complete proteins will also improve your insulin and glucose levels.

Foods that Speed Metabolism 2

Best Quality Proteins

Here are the best protein foods that speed metabolism

Wild-caught fish and seafood such as sockeye salmon, herring, mackerel, clams, halibut, Chilean sea bass, and anchovies. (To help avoid fish that is contaminated with heavy metals, eat large fish such as tuna sparingly.)
Lean game meat. (This was the staple food of our ancestors.)
Meat and organ meat from range-fed ungulates like cattle, beefalo, and bison that eat grass.
Organic chicken eggs (but don’t fry them and, since they are high fat, don’t eat more than one yolk daily).
Free-range, organic poultry.

Even though they are high in proteins, the proteins below should not be eaten:

Avoid farm-raised fish and farm-raised seafood. Since farm-raised fish neither move nor eat like their wild cousins, it may not surprise you to learn that their flesh contains more contaminants.
Avoid meat from ungulates that have been fed corn, given antibiotics, and raised in feedlots. Since they don’t move naturally or eat natural food, it may not surprise you to learn that their flesh is nutritionally inferior, in some important respects, to flesh from their more natural cousins.

Foods that Speed Metabolism 3

(Good) Fats

Even if you exercise well (as we encourage you to do on this website), you should not be getting much more than about one-third of your daily calories from proteins. You need to get over half of your daily calories from fats and natural low carbohydrate foods.

Which fats and natural low carbohydrate foods should you eat? The answer: good fats and good low carbohydrate foods!

“Good” fats have an ideal ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats that is between 2 and 3 to 1. Fats that most North Americans consume regularly, however, have a ratio that is between 10 and 15 (or even twice that!) to 1. (Some experts think that the best ratio is 1:1.)

You’ll naturally get good fats in the best protein foods listed above. Unfortunately, except for walnuts nearly all nuts and seeds have unacceptably high ratios, which is why you should consume them sparingly. The best oils to use are flaxseed oil and coconut oil. Walnut oil is acceptable. (If you use olive oil, blend it with one of the best oils.) Avoid all other oils. Bone marrow is a good fat that won’t raise your cholesterol.

Peanuts and other legumes should be avoided. They are not foods that speed metabolism, and they contain antinutrients (such as lectins) that can undermine your health. (This is why many people are allergic to peanuts and pine nuts in particular.) So avoid: peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, cashews, pistachio nuts, hazel nuts, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, and almonds.

Foods that Speed Metabolism 4

(Good and Bad) Carbohydrates

On average, North Americans consume a whopping 500 grams of carbohydrates daily! If you want to lose excess body fat, we recommend consuming about one-tenth of that.

In fact, if you want to lose weight quickly, you can go even lower than 50 grams. At least if you have your physician’s blessing, you won’t damage your health. There is no minimum daily requirement for carbohydrates.

If you restrict carbs, your insulin, glucose, blood pressure, and inflammatory markers will all improve. You’ll lose body fat, particularly around your middle. Your triglycerides will go down, your good HDL cholesterol will increase, and your LDL will improve in quality.

On the other hand, if you completely eliminate carbs, you may not feel well mentally and you may feel less energetic. Experiment to find what works best for you. Keeping their consumption between about 40 and 75 grams daily works well for many people.

Since fat has a lower metabolic rate than muscle, whatever causes you to lose fat and build muscle will help to increase metabolism. The good carbs that are foods that speed metabolism are the complex carbs. It’s true that, when digested, all carbs end up as sugar. Still, most complex carbohydrates contain small amounts of fats and proteins as well as vitamins and minerals.

Good carbohydrates are organic, rainbow-colored vegetables and low-sugar fruits like blueberries, apples, strawberries, bell peppers, celery, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, and spinach.

The bad carbs, which are not foods that speed metabolism, are the sugars and simple carbs. They are all unnatural, processed (refined) carbohydrates.

Bad carbohydrates include such things as cookies, bread, rolls, buns, pasta, tacos, corn chips, potato chips/crisps, ice cream, pizza, cakes, sweets, candy, cookies, biscuits, chocolate, cereals, store bought cooked meats/cold cuts (they have added sugars and additives), sausages/hot dog frankfurters (they have carbohydrate fillers, additives, and sometimes sugar) all sodas, sugars, and foods containing corn syrup, etc.

From a physical point of view, we function best eating the foods that we evolved to eat. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors centered their meals on lean meats and fish as well as vegetables and fruits. If flourishing physically is your goal as well as losing excess body fat, so should you.

Although that’s a summary of it, you’ll find lots more information about foods that speed metabolism throughout.

Filed Under Health Tagged With Approach, Burning, Diet, Foods, lasting, Loss, Natural, Weight

Summer Weight Loss Foods Made Delicious

April 21, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

You don’t need to starve yourself on a wacky fad diet if you want to look look better in your shorts or swimsuit this summer. The secret to weight loss is to choose healthy foods and take in fewer calories than you burn. And it’s just easier to make better food choices in summertime, when heavy, high-calorie dishes seem less appealing. The best foods for weight loss in summer are light, refreshing and, most important, keep you out of the hot kitchen.

The single easiest way to trim calories from your summer diet, experts say, is to load up on nature’s bounty. Produce is at its peak in summer. Delicious fruits and vegetables abound at farmers’ markets and in your local grocery. Besides being low in calories, produce is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

“Enjoy fresh produce in season. You will be thrilled at how fresh, delicious, and satisfying it tastes,” says Susan Moores, RD, a St. Paul-based nutrition consultant..

“Save the oranges and apples for fall, and load up on fresh berries, melons, greens, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, beets, pea pods, and all the super-nutritious and low-calorie fruits, greens and vegetables that grow in the garden this time of year.”

As a bonus, you can forget about portion control when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables, Moores say.

“Go for it, because it is hard to do much damage to your waistline with these super-nutritious edibles,” says Moores

To keep your cool and cut your time in the kitchen, start with prepared produce, such as cut-up fruit and washed greens. Add rotisserie chicken, prepared soups, and pre-threaded kabobs when you need something a bit heartier. Pre-prepped foods may cost a little extra, but they save time in the kitchen.

Here are dietitian’s picks for some of the best foods to help with weight loss during the summer.

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 1: Chilled Soups

Moores loves all kind of produce but says cold soups are among her favorite low-calorie dishes. Chilled soups like gazpacho or cucumber-dill that contain lots of chunky vegetables are a great way to start a meal.

“Research shows that a low-calorie, broth-based soup at the beginning of the meal will fill you so you eat less at the meal,” says Moores, a St. Paul-based nutrition consultant.

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 2: Watermelon

Who doesn’t love diving into a crisp, juicy slice of watermelon when it’s hot outside?

“Half of the watermelon comes from water. …It’s a wonderful way to satisfy thirst and a yen for something sweet,” says Moores.

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 3: Grilled Veggies

For registered dietitian Dawn Jackson, a plate of grilled vegetables is a summertime must-have. She recommends keeping a plate of grilled onions, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, asparagus, and garlic in your fridge. You can use them to make dishes like:

Grilled vegetable and goat cheese salads
Grilled vegetable pitas
Grilled vegetable, ricotta, and fresh herb pasta and frittatas

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 4: Salads

Salads make for quick, healthy meals — with no recipes required.

“Just give the produce a quick rinse; slice, dice, toss fruits, vegetables, low-fat cheese, a handful of toasted nuts with some salad greens and a light raspberry or ginger vinaigrette, along with a whole-grain roll, and you have a meal in minutes,” says Moores.

Or try bean or whole-grain salads, such as wheatberry and tabouli.

Moore suggests flavoring your salads with herbs from the garden so you can go light on the dressing. And when adding meats or fish to your salad, she says, “think of them as an accessory to the greens, vegetables, and grains.”

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 5: Low- and No-Calorie Beverages

Smoothies, sweetened specialty coffee drinks, sweetened teas and sodas — they all go down so easily, especially when it’s hot outside. But the calories add up just as easily.

“Beverages can be the Achilles heel during summertime because we need to drink lots of liquids to stay cool, but liquids quench thirst and don’t usually impact our hunger,” says Jackson.

Jackson recommends these refreshing drinks and treats to enjoy this summer without blowing your diet:

Root Beer or Orange Dream Float. 1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt in 12 ounces of diet root beer or orange soda (100 calories)
Tart Lemon Pom Spritzer. 12 ounces of lemon sparkling water mixed with the juice of 1 lemon and 1/4 cup pomegranate juice, served over ice (35 calories)
Large Ice Skim Latte from Starbucks (130 calories)
White Wine Spritzer. 5 ounces white wine mixed with 3 ounces lemon/lime seltzer water (120 calories)

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 6: Fruit-Based Desserts

“Cravings don’t take a summer vacation and your hot-weather sweet tooth can wreak havoc on your weight loss efforts,” says Jackson. “Ditch high-calorie desserts and opt for these naturally sweet treats that can tame the most ferocious sweet tooth.”

She suggests:

Grilled banana sundaes made with low-fat ice cream
Grilled pineapple with rum and pecans
Grilled white peaches with blackberries and honey
Frozen, dark, sweet cherries
A chocolate-covered frozen banana (such as Diana’s Banana, with 130 calories)
Frozen grapes

Filed Under Health Tagged With Foods, Loss, Summer, Weight

The Ultimate Enemies – Alcohol and Weight Loss

April 14, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

It seems that one problem many people encounter as dieters is not actually the foods they eat, but what they drink. Most people do not realize how many carbs are in alcoholic beverages and consume excessive amounts, causing issues with their dieting attempts. If you are someone who is serious about losing weight you are not only going to have to make changes to your eating habits, but also your drinking habits.

In the never-never land of diet hype, something new is on the scene—alcoholic beverages labeled for carbohydrate and calorie content, and many of them boasting of low carb beer, low carb wine and “no carbs” liquor. You may not have noticed the labels yet, but they are either in the marketplace already or in the offing. The labeling of beer, wine, and the hard stuff for calorie content is not a bad idea—it is useful to know the caloric content of anything you’re about to consume. But carbs?

Wine producers, on another tack, have lobbied for permission to use a “heart-healthy” label, but the agency with jurisdiction over such matters (the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, part of the Treasury Department, which has long regulated the “sinful” commodities, as well as firearms) has been cool to the idea, and has required so many disclaimers that a bottle of wine would need to come with a booklet tied around its neck.

However, though the wine industry can’t simply label wine as having heart benefits, the low-carb and no-carb claims on alcoholic beverages are legal—so long as the labels don’t actually say that they help you lose weight. But, in fact, the terms are now irrevocably linked in most people’s minds (especially young people’s minds) to “weight loss,” “Atkins diet,” or even “better for you.” “Cut carbs, lose weight,” many people now think. “Low-carb” has somehow come to mean “healthy.” Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to alcohol—and no subject could be more confused and confusing than the effect of alcoholic beverages on weight.

How Many Calories Does Alcohol Contain?

Pure alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram, which makes it nearly twice as fattening as carbohydrates or protein (both contain about 4 calories per gram) and only just under the caloric value for fat (9 calories per gram). This means that if you want to lose weight and reduce excess body fat, alcohol is not a good choice.

Examples of Carb Content in Alcoholic Drinks

Alcohol Item (serving size) Carbs (g)
Beer, regular (12 fl oz)….. 13g
Beer, light (12 fl oz) ….. 4.5g
Wine, red (3.5 fl oz) ….. 1.75g
Wine, rose (3.5 fl oz) ….. 1.5g
Wine, white (3.5 fl oz) ….. 1g
Cider, dry (1 pint) ….. 15g
Gin, Rum, Vodka, Whisky (1 fl oz) 0g
Sherry (2 fl oz) ….. 3g
Port (2 fl oz) ….. 6g
Guinness (1/2 pint) ….. 4g

Knowables and Variables

Scientists have not been able to tie alcohol consumption consistently to weight gain. Some studies have found that drinking beer or spirits, for instance, increases waist-to-hip ratio, while some have found no relationship at all. One study showed that among female twins, body fat actually decreases with increasing alcohol consumption. Other researchers have also found that heavy drinking reduces body fat, but still others point to evidence that it raises the risk of becoming overweight or obese. There may never be a simple answer, since there are so many variables. For example:

Genes affect how the body processes alcohol.
What you eat is important—if you consume a lot of cheese or other high-calorie snacks while drinking, you’ll most likely gain weight.
People who drink a lot may gain weight whether they drink beer, wine, or spirits.
But if you drink a lot and the alcohol replaces food and other beverages, you may lose weight, as some alcoholics do.
People in studies are prone to under-report how much they drink, rendering many findings unreliable.

The Mysteries of Alcohol and Carbs

Still, sensibly enough, the first thing nearly all weight-loss plans require is that you stop drinking. (Not the notorious “Drinking Man’s Diet” of yore, a prehistoric ancestor of Atkins, which consisted of martinis, steak, bacon, and eggs.) This is because alcoholic beverages give you calories with no other nutrition, and they also may loosen your resolve to lose weight and make you eat without thinking. Beer goes with peanuts, wine with cheese. Also, alcohol itself is high in calories—7 calories per gram, almost as much as fat (9 calories per gram) and more than carbs or protein (about 4 per gram). Here are some things you should know about alcohol and nutrition—facts that run counter to what many people believe:

Alcoholic beverages all contain calories, and most of the calories come from the alcohol. (We are speaking about straight spirits, wine, or beer—not mixed drinks made with added ingredients, which can bring calories to, well, staggering levels.)
Alcohol is not a carbohydrate.

Your body processes alcohol first, before fat, protein, or carbs. Thus drinking slows down the burning of fat. This could account for the weight gain seen in some studies.

Hard liquor is distilled and thus contains no carbohydrates. The current “Zero Carb” campaign for vodka and whiskey is baloney and may encourage mindless consumption. It’s like bragging that a candy bar is “cholesterol-free.”

When grapes are made into wine, most of the fruit sugars (carbs) convert to alcohol, but a few carbs remain. A 5-ounce glass of wine typically contains 110 calories, 5 grams of carbohydrates, and about 13 grams of alcohol (which accounts for 91 of the calories). A 5-ounce glass of wine supplies roughly the same amount of alcohol and number of calories as a 12-ounce light beer or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits.

Beer, too, contains carbohydrates. The new low-carb beers are not new at all, though this type of beer does indeed have fewer carbs. Low-carb beers are simply the old light beers with a new label and ad campaign. The old Miller Lite has 96 calories and 3.2 grams of carbs in 12 ounces. The “low-carb” Michelob Ultra has 96 calories and 2.6 grams of carbs. Coors Lite has 102 calories and 5 grams of carbs. The differences are tiny—hardly worth mentioning. In contrast, a regular beer has 13 grams of carbs and 150 calories.

What It Boils Down Too

In spite of the strong implication that “low-carb” somehow means low-calorie, and that low-carb foods in general can help you lose weight—or, indeed, that they are “health foods”—there’s no evidence this is so, and particularly not when it comes to beer, wine, and liquor. Alcoholic beverages have calories because alcohol has a lot of calories—not because of carbs. The implication that low-carb beers and wine or carb-free spirits are a boon on a weight-loss program is simply deceptive advertising.

Filed Under Health Tagged With alcohol, Loss, Weight

Losing Weight with Exercise and a Healthy Diet

April 12, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Thousands of people world wide are doing everything in their power to lose weight, but many of these people are failing drastically at doing it. Are you someone who is ready to take control of your health, but don’t know how? It is time to get out of the dark and see what you can do to improve your health and lifestyle now.

Losing weight doesn’t have to be a difficult concept anymore. There are an abundance of options available that are designed to help you lose weight minus all the stress and confusion you may have encountered in the past. We’ve all heard it before, and we’ve all ignored it in the past. The best way to lose weight is a combination of exercise and a healthy diet. Simple as that? Yes.

Exercise

Exercising helps you improve your health all around. This includes physically, mentally and even emotionally. You will start feeling better about yourself and how you look, which will in turn make you feel absolutely amazing. If you exercise regularly you will feel even better. This doesn’t mean you go out and exercise every day 3 hours a day. You could easily walk for 30 minutes a day and instead of taking the elevator at work take the stairs. Exercising does not mean straining yourself and pushing yourself to do extensive work outs. Even simple exercising works, especially if you haven’t done it in the past.

There are many different options available when it comes to exercising. Some things you could consider doing include:

Walking
Running
Swimming
Roller blading
Bicycling

All of these things are very simple to do and actually don’t take much effort to do. If you are feeling really determined you could even consider becoming apart of a local gym. They will have people there willing to help you strive for your goal and make drastic improvements on your health. This is something that you could consider, but don’t go out spending a fortune on a gym subscription if you aren’t going to be too serious about it.

Healthy Diet

Alright, this is a very simple process. Most people don’t realize how simple it is until they give it a shot. Having a healthy diet is as simple as running to the local fast food joint, spending a ridiculous amount of money on junk and scarfing it down like you’ve never ate before. Except you won’t have to live with the guilt that you just consumed 10,000 calories in a matter of 10 minutes. When you take the time to actually improve what you consume you are going to quickly feel the difference in your health. Instead of consuming an abundance of calories a day you can actually consume what your body needs eating healthy food.

Now, you are probably wondering what exactly is “healthy food”. If you walk into a super market you will quickly notice that all the fresh, none processed foods all seem to be on the outer portions of the store and all the processed food is in the inner aisles. Fancy that! Fresh produce, fresh meats, fresh diary and fresh grains are all great for you, if prepared in the right portion sizes. These are all on the outer areas of your super market, normally. Stick to these areas and you will already be ahead of the game.

If you are worried that you can’t make changes to your diet on your own you could also consider getting help doing it. There are many meal replacement diets out there that are designed to help you understand what is good and what is bad. They will teach you a good diet versus a bad diet and place you onto a meal plan that is healthy for you. One that I love and recommend to every body I know wanting to lose weight and understand what a healthy eating habit is happens to be the Medifast meal plan. It helps you learn how to structure a proper meal plan, helps you lose weight and it will even teach you how to eat your way to a healthy life.

The major benefit of the Medifast meal plans is that they even offer discounts with their Medifast coupon offers. They update monthly and you are guaranteed to save money on your meal plans each and every month if you take the time to get one of the many Medifast coupon discounts.

Conclusion

By simply making changes to your exercise routine and eating habits you have the opportunity to make a complete 180 with your life. You can start feeling healthy and start experiencing life the way you want. The opportunity is there, all it takes is you taking it. Don’t miss out on the chance to improve your life with a few simple changes and actually live the healthy life you’ve always dreamed of.

Filed Under Health Tagged With Diet, Exercise, Healthy, Loss, Weight

Making Your Diet Work for You

April 6, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

There are many popular weight loss diets available now a days that are designed to give faster initial weight loss and many are less harmful and more beneficial. You lose weight fast during the initial stages, due to the net loss of water weight since protein and carbohydrates both help hold water in body cells. Quick weight loss diets are just a temporary solution and do not help you to make permanent changes to your eating habits.

Does this mean that quick weight loss diets don’t work? They do, but only when you understand the role that quick weight loss diets play in your overall lifestyle. The important thing before starting any diet regimen is to ask, “Can I do this for the rest of my life?” If the answer is no, then don’t try the diet; it will only harm you in the long run if you start a yo-yo cycle of weight “loss-gain-loss” again and again.

Quick weight loss diets are not intended for prolonged use. Although you may not notice a problem at first, your body will soon stop responding to the diet and the weight loss will reach a plateau. Quick weight loss diets, say professional dermatologists, often lack proper nutrition and rapid weight loss in itself can also trigger metabolism changes that affect hair growth.

For the healthiest hair, physicians say that the best weight loss programs are reduced calorie diets that promote gradual weight loss and a healthy diet using foods from all the food groups. Exercise and diet go hand in hand with a successful weight loss plan. Exercise should be enjoyable, otherwise you won’t continue. If you feel you don’t have time for anything, try jumping rope, or incorporate your exercise into something else you do, for example, if you work or live in a high rise building, take the stairs up and down.

Exercising does you no good if you just go out and eat more when you are finished. Dieting is the first key to any truly successful weight loss, especially when you want to make sure that you not only get those pounds off, but that you keep them off, too. Quick weight loss diets do work, but they work even better combined with regular sustained physical activity for forty-five minutes or more at least five days a week.

Remember that it’s important to check with your physician if you have a substantial amount of weight to lose, if you have any type of health condition, and/or you do not exercise on a regular basis or are sedentary. Eating breakfast every day is contrary to the typical pattern for the average overweight person who is trying to diet. Then they get hungry and consume most of their calories late in the day. Eating right using pre-planned recipes that incorporate foods that strengthen rather than weaken and bloat your system is critical.

Successful dieting is about being prepared with proper quantities of healthy food in all situations. Eat regular meals 5 times a day but not much. Strive to eat balanced and healthy meals while still controlling your caloric intake. In this way you will be more likely to maintain your weight loss instead of gaining back the pounds. Instead of high-fat products, lower fat options are recommended. These diets also generally include such things as whole grain foods, plenty of water, low-fat proteins and more.

One tip to immediately cut down your calorie intake is by reducing your normal food portion in half. In most cases, the serving sizes you get in restaurants and fast food joints are more than what you need. By reducing your portion size, you still get to enjoy your normal foods and cut down your calorie intake immediately!

Quick weight loss diets abound, both online and locally in your city. While local weight loss programs are generally more expensive than online programs, the face-to-face support may be exactly what you need to help you take off the excess weight. Permanent lifestyle changes are the only way to remain at your target weight once you reach it. Quick weight loss diets will help you lose weight, just remember to do it right, the healthy way.

Filed Under Health Tagged With diets, Loss, Quick, Them, Weight, Work

Lose Weight with the Right Diet Foods

April 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Do you need to know about weight loss foods? About which food that will make your lose weight? Do you know that the secret to have a victorious weight loss program lies in the foods that you consume? Then you will love what we are about to show you. There are endless amounts of foods out there and it can be hard knowing which ones are good or not. One key thing you should do when you are picking out your meals is look at the ingredients, especially if they are already prepared. Just because they sound healthy doesn’t mean they are going to be. You need to know what you are consuming so take the time to review every meals ingredients before consuming.

Consuming the right kind of foods plays one of the major role in making you lose weight. Here are some weight loss foods that you should consider eating to make you lose weight:

Cabbage

Cabbage is a good vegetable option for people who are health-conscious. Cabbage may be very fulfilling and it contain very little calories. There are many people who love cabbage soup. Include other vegetables as well in the cabbage soup such as carrots, celery, onions or any other vegetables that you like. Have cabbage soup for dinner in place of your regular meal.

No idea how to cook the cabbage soup?

Then try this cabbage soup recipe:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil A handful Cabbage (A handful and chopped)
1 Japanese bean curd – cylindrical (sliced about 1cm)
½ Carrot (diced)
1 Celery stick (sliced)
½ Capsicum (diced)
3 cloves Garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
1 chicken stock cube Spring onion (chopped)
Coriander leaves (chopped)
Freshly cracked black pepper
About 3 cups of water

Method:

1. Heat the oil and sauté the garlic until fragrant. Add in the water, cabbage, celery, carrot and chicken stock and bring to boil

2. Add the bean curd and simmer for about 10 minutes

3. Season with salt and pepper

4. Before serving garnish with onion and coriander leaves

Salmon

Salmon is a fish which is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 are well known to facilitate in the improvement of the insulin function. Insulin is in charge for managing our sugar levels in our blood and accordingly restricting our food cravings.

Green tea

Green tea is loaded with catechin polyphenols, which is able to boost our metabolic rate. Green tea also comprises of caffeine, which will help in weight loss.

Berries

Berries are fruits which are loaded with fiber. Fiber is well known for its capability to keep us fuller for a long period of time and it also helps in the digestion process.

Dairy products

Good source of calcium comes from calcium and calcium is also known to help in loss weight. However, remember to pick low-fat dairy products.

Apples

Apples are also loaded with fiber. Studies have shown that people who consume an apple just before their meal consumed smaller amount of calories compared to those people who didn’t have an apple before their meal.

Dark chocolate

Dark chocolate contain chemical that will assist in preventing heart diabetes, diseases as well as stroke and it also contain minimal sugar content and fat content.

Chillies

Chillies contain capsaicin. Capsaicin will assist our body to burn energy about 20 minutes after we have our meal.

Despite the fact that foods will make us lose weight, we should also remember that food will also make us fat. Eating too much of the above weight loss foods will not help you lose weight. The key is to eat moderately. So eat these weight loss foods moderately to lose weight. It doesn’t matter if you are eating healthy foods regularly and eating large portions consistently. Portion sizes need to be monitored just as much as the food you are eating. Stick to proper meal sizes and incorporate exercise and you’ll get some great results all around.

Filed Under Health Tagged With Foods, Lose, Loss, Tips, Weight