Health Benefits of Drinking Green Tea

Metabolism: The Simple Weight Loss Engine Posted By : Jim DeSantis

November 14, 2008 on 8:00 am | In Uncategorized | Comments Off You are "fearfully and wonderfully made" declares a passage in the Bible and it is the key to conquering the battle over losing weight and keeping it off. No, this is not a Bible lesson, it's an explanation of how to boost your metabolism, that is, how to tune up your internal engine to lose weight and keep it off.

Overweight people very often blame metabolism for their troubles with losing the extra pounds and they are correct, because speeding up metabolism is known to help burn more calories. Nevertheless, in order to control your metabolic rate, you need to know exactly what metabolism really is.

A common puzzle you often see is the person who seems to eat everything and anything put in front of them and they remain thin. They eat all the high calorie, high fat, foods that they want and they have slim bodies and un-bounding energy. The solution to the puzzle is their metabolic rate. If you look at their lifestyle you like will find a person who has a very active social life and an optimistic attitude. They are always on the go and trying new things. How is this possible?

Simply put, metabolism is how your body responds physically and emotionally to demands made upon it. Metabolism is determined by physical and emotional energy moving through your body. Or, to put it another way, your body is more complex than the most expensive automobile in the world and it, like that expensive automobile, needs to be kept in tune, the right fuel used, and driven hard at times for best performance. You control your metabolism by speeding it up or slowing it down like you would stepping on the accelerator of your automobile.

If you wish to lose body fat continuously for many months until you reach your target weight, then work at boosting your metabolism rather than switching from one diet to the next. A controlled metabolic rate works better than any fad diet or herbal remedy because it automatically regulates your body weight based upon the demands of your everyday life. The key is finding the right combination of food and exercise that provides all the energy you need to look and feel fit everyday.

The problem with dieting alone is that many of the diet plans on the market actually cause the metabolism to slow down. A decreased metabolic rate is often the very reason that weight loss progress suddenly stops. Increasing exercise frequency may still have no effect at this stage. Plus, reducing food intake doesn't help because there is a net loss of protein in the overall muscle mass, and this net loss continues to lower your metabolic rate even further. This is when the body has adapted to the lower calorie intake. In effect, you are not putting the right fuel into your body to give you that balance of food and exercise. It appears complicated but it's really simple once you understand how your personal metabolism works.

Losing abdominal fat is probably the #1 complaint by all dieters. Before you decide to resort to drastic measures, consider these facts:

A high-intensity cardio workout that really increases your heart rate will make you lose the most calories and represent the most significant short-term metabolic booster; between 20 and 30 percent. However, it won't have a permanent effect on your metabolism because, after your workout, your metabolism will return to its previous level over several hours. While, you will continue burning extra calories during this slow down, this alone will not result in a fine tuned metabolism.

The diet pill industry has about the same success as the quit smoking industry - less than 50% of people succeed over a long term. This is simply because diet pills, like extreme exercise, are short-term solutions and can cause physical harm.

You would not drive that expensive automobile at full speed all the time, would you? Of course not because you know that such behavior will destroy the machine. The human body is no different.

So, what to do next? Go on the Internet and do research on metabolism. Talk to your doctor to see if they understand the relationship between metabolism and weight loss. If they do, have them provide a weight loss plan that fits your age, gender, and physical condition.

How to Eat Correctly By Using Meal Plans 101 Posted By : Annita Brixen

November 14, 2008 on 8:00 am | In Uncategorized | Comments Off Can you no longer stand constant 'in the box' diets? We aren't all made the same. Some people will demand higher calorie intake. Meal Plans 101 ends the strict diet regime. It gives you the freedom to think of a special meal plan that is based on your body type and requirements.

Authors of Meal Plans 101, Jayson Hunter and Cris Mohr, can show in-depth knowledge in the subject of dieting. Together they developed Meal Plans 101 that will enable anybody to put an end to crazy diet plans and start with real fat loss.

Meal Plans 101 is the system used by the top weight loss specialists. It shows you how to choose from a huge number of meal possibilities. You are allowed to eat your favorite dishes and enjoy different kinds of food. The plan also helps you to track your weight loss. The tracking allows you to find out which meal plans will be best for you. Meal Plans 101 also shows you the most essential elements of long-term fat loss. Finally, you are able to stop wishing about a weight loss plan, customized to you. With Meal Plans 101 you don't have to be a movie star to get to know the ideal meal plan for you. Don't delay much longer to make a move towards a leaner body.

Just think of how much more effective sticking to a weight loss system would be if everything was laid out for you. Let Meal Plans 101 does all the counting and planning instead of you.

How to Tell if Your Belly is Growing Too Fat Posted By : Dr. Becky Gillaspy

November 13, 2008 on 8:00 am | In Uncategorized | Comments Off You may have noticed your belly growing fat but has it grown fat enough for you to be concerned about your health?

Getting a fat belly is particularly unhealthy when compared with gaining fat in other areas of your body. Extra belly fat increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer.

To tell if your belly is growing too fat and becoming a health risk you want to throw out the scale and pick up a measuring tape. The key to diagnosing whether your belly is growing too fat is to measure your waist-hip ratio (a measurement of the waist size divided by the hip size). To accurately determine your ratio, first measure around your waist at about the level of your belly button; don't hold your stomach in and don't pull the tape so tight that you indent the skin. Next you want to measure around the fullest area of your hips with your feet together. Divide your waist measurement by the measurement at your hips.

A waist-hip ratio above .85 for women and above .90 for men indicates a higher health risk.

Waist Measurement ÷ Hip Measurement = Waist-Hip Ratio

While it is not unusual to gain weight as you age due to a slower metabolism and less activity, a belly growing fat seems to have additional causes. Heredity may be one factor - you may simply have inherited a tendency to get a fat belly. Hormones are also important players for women. Hormones change after menopause and effect the way your body handles fat, depositing greater amounts in the belly.

Even though belly fat tends to be found deeper inside the body than fat that is found around the hips, thighs and butt it is all removed in the same way - through proper diet and exercise.

Discover What is Wrong with Fad Diets Posted By : Nicole Barry

November 12, 2008 on 8:00 am | In Uncategorized | Comments Off Fad diets can help you lose weight and get results rapidly. Is there anything wrong with that? You’ve certainly seen advertisements in magazines or on the Internet about a product or diet allowing you to lose an enormous amount of weight in a few short days. Can it be true? Possibly, if you include temporary weight loss caused by the removal of water weight... The human body is largely composed of water, so by rehydrating yourself, your weight will reappear all of a sudden.

Are there other reasons why fad diets aren’t good for you?
1. Most fad diets focus on you eating a single food and avoiding all other foods. How can your body receive all the nutrients it needs if you are depriving it from a balanced diet? Sometimes these diets will warn you about the nutritional deficiencies you could experience and then suggest you take additional vitamins, minerals and other supplements to cover for the unbalanced diet. One thing they don’t tell you is that your body can’t absorb these supplements without the proper food intake. The exact foods they tell you to avoid are those that will help your body absorb the vitamins and supplements that you need.

2. Most fad diets are limiting and tasteless (or even worse, taste awful) so after a few days or hours, your body starts to crave other foods. Sometimes these cravings are overwhelming and will force you to abort your fad diet. Not only will your body not lose any weight, but you will beat yourself up for not having enough willpower to be successful with your diet plans.

3. Fad diets can (at best) be temporary solutions to your weight issues. Even on the remote chance that most people were to follow through until the end and lose weight, no permanent lifestyle changes were made. These people will put the weight back on soon after they lost the initial weight because they still don’t know how to deal with food. This results in fad dieters being yo-yo dieters that switch back and forth between binges and starvation periods. Fad diets create the cravings for particular items and binge eating is very common. Being on a weight rollercoaster is not good for your wallet, your wardrobe, your self-esteem and most importantly your health.

The media may introduce a new fad diet tomorrow but you must remember that they are simply fads that aren’t here to stay and that the secret to weight loss is consistent efforts and changing your lifestyle to include exercise as well as healthy and balanced meals. The formula is simple and it doesn’t include fad diets.

A Healthy, Balanced Diet Can Be Simple - Cut The Fat, Cut The Carbs! Posted By : Nicole Barry

November 12, 2008 on 8:00 am | In Uncategorized | Comments Off Many popular diets are based on reducing fat, carbohydrates and calories. You know you should be eating a healthy diet but what does it consist of? Here's what nutritional science has to say about it:

Decrease JUNK fat consumption: Most people don’t have to get rid of all fats or have a diet with ultra low fat. Simply getting rid of excessive junk fat is a step that most of us could take to improve our health. Junk fat includes all processed fats, whether they are hydrogenated fats, polyunsaturated oils that have been heated or fats combined with junk carbs. It’s important to get rid of processed fats as they are the ones that cause flab on your body and clog your arteries.

Decrease JUNK carb consumption: Ultra low carb diets are not needed by most people. However, a large number of people who start low-fat diets keep their carb consumption too high by including lots of highly processed foods. They go from processed high-fat foods to processed low-fat foods. If you read the labels, you’ll see that most manufacturers replace fat with junk carbs in their low-fat products, which doesn’t resolve people’s weight problems. Junk carbs don’t have much fiber and include sugar, flour, fructose (and anything ending in “ose”), cornstarch and fruit juice. Your eyes didn’t play a trick on you. I said fruit juice is a junk carbohydrate. Opt for the fresh fruit instead. That way, you’ll get the fiber and won’t ingest too many calories.

Decrease JUNK calorie consumption: Ultra low calorie diets are not necessary for most people. An easier way to get rid of junk calorie foods is simply getting rid of processed fats and processed low-fiber carbs. Most of what’s left is lots of veggies, fruit and natural protein. The total number of calories you would ingest will drastically decrease too and your health would improve.

Eat a balanced diet that contains natural foods that our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have been able to eat. These natural foods include: a lot of whole vegetables, small to moderate portions of meats, fish, seafood and other protein foods, and small portions of fresh seasonal fruit. The vegetables are great for vitamin and fiber intake. Animals, fish and seafood should be grilled, stewed, or baked. This is the diet that our ancestors enjoyed and the diet that results in optimum health for most people.

Think twice before ordering a sugar and fat-laden fast food meal. Could you replace your fries with a salad? How about trading the soda for water? These small and simple steps can make a significant difference if you apply them consistently. At home, you can create healthy and balanced meals using recipes that contain whole and fresh foods that have been exposed to as little processing as possible. Include natural unprocessed foods in all your meals by adding healthy fresh (or frozen) vegetables as side dishes or salads. Stay away from all processed foods with high fat and/or low fiber.

A sample menu:
- grilled or steamed fish with steamed yellow beans and broccoli
- large mixed salad, with small amounts of olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice for salad dressing
- fresh fruit platter without added sugar or cream

A healthy, balanced diet can be and should be that simple!