Anyone who is on a weight loss program cannot afford to ignore his/her metabolism. Metabolism is the process through which food is converted into energy. This process occurs in the cells of our muscles and organs and helps in burning calories. And this is why a good understanding of our metabolism can help us in weight loss. Let’s take a closer look at the relation between weight loss and metabolism.
The process of metabolism
Fats, proteins, and carbohydrates are broken down in our digestive system to be used by the body. They are then transported to the cells of the body through the blood stream, where they are metabolized. During this metabolism process, the calories released are combined with oxygen and released in the form of energy to help your body function. When considering the role of metabolism in weight loss, it is this burning of calories which plays an important role.
Weight loss and metabolism
It is a well known fact that weight gain occurs due to consuming more calories than what your body burns. For maintaining your weight, you need to calculate your daily caloric intake. This can be calculated by calculating the amount of calories expended on the three essential components of metabolism. So, your daily caloric intake should be equal to the calories expended on your basal metabolism (calories required for the basic functioning of your body), your physical activity, and the digestion of food. For weight loss, you need to reduce your caloric intake and/or increase the amount of calories that you expend.
Besides this, an increase in metabolism helps in weight loss. If you increase your physical activity and exercise regularly, your weight loss routine can be a success.
By increasing the frequency, duration, and intensity of your physical activity, you boost your metabolism and burn more calories. Strength training and aerobics activity build muscle tissue. An increase in the lean muscle tissue means increase in metabolism. This will again lead to faster burning of calories.
Your eating habits also play an important role in increasing your metabolism and promoting weight loss. Contrary to popular beliefs, skipping meals actually slows down your metabolism. If your body doesn’t get its regular calories, it will go into starvation mode and your metabolism will slow down. You will lose muscle tissue and excess energy will actually be stored as fat. Therefore, the right thing to do to increase your metabolism is to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Combined with drinking the necessary 8 glasses of water a day, it will help in raising your metabolism and induce weight loss.
As you can see a weight loss routine is aimed at faster burning of calories and your metabolism is the process that is actually responsible for burning them. Calculating your daily caloric intake and taking steps to boost your metabolism can help you in losing weight in a healthy way.
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Most of us know that metabolism has a key role to play in weight loss. Anything that we do to boost metabolism will help in losing weight.
- As most of us know, metabolism is the process through which our body converts food into energy and this it does by burning calories.
Raw Vegetables Boost Your Metabolism
- Increasing physical activity and exercising daily increases metabolism and we burn more calories.
- But do you know that there are certain foods that boost your metabolism? Here are a few foods that can be included in your regular diet to raise your metabolism.
Oatmeal
Steel-cut or rolled oats are a good source of complex carbohydrates and fibers. Oatmeal slowly breaks down in your stomach which keeps the insulin levels in your body low after you eat and ensures a slow release of glucose into your bloodstream. This helps boost metabolism, preventing storing of fat and helping you burn more calories. It also makes you feel fuller for a longer time, provides you with the necessary energy for your daily workout routine, and is great for your heart.
Chilli, Cayenne, and Jalapeno
If you are fond of adding cayenne pepper to your sauces and soups, you are actually increasing your metabolism by approximately 20%. Peppers contain a compound called capsaicin that speeds up your heart rate and raises your metabolism. In fact, you can actually continue burning calories even after 3 hours of eating a meal including chilli and cayenne pepper. So, don’t forget to include peppers in your food.
Fish
Essential fatty acids, in particular omega-3 fatty acids, boost your metabolism. And fish such as salmon, tuna, and trout are the best sources of these fatty acids. Essential fatty acids alter the levels of a hormone called leptin in your body. Leptin has a direct impact on your metabolism and have an influence on whether the calories are burnt or stored as fat. Lower levels of leptin mean higher metabolism. This is why fish is considered to be one of the best foods to boost metabolism. You can even try fish-oil supplements to get your daily dose of essential fatty acids.
Chicken, Turkey, and Lean Beef
If you are wondering how these foods boost your metabolism, then the word you need to know is ‘protein’. These foods are high in protein and our body needs more energy and more time to digest the protein found in meat. So, a high-protein diet translates into more work for your body in digestion, higher metabolism, and more calorie-burning.
Fruits and vegetables
Raw fruits and vegetables are often recommended for weight loss because they are high in fibers. Your body finds it difficult to digest and extract the nutrients from fibers. So, it works harder and increases your metabolism. About 8-10 servings of these foods is enough to boost your metabolism.
These are not the only foods to boost your metabolism. Foods such as grapefruits, broccoli, and celery contain low calories, but require high calories to digest. Herbs such as green tea have also proven to be great diet supplements to increase your metabolism. So, include foods high in fibers, protein, complex carbohydrates, and essential fatty acids and raise your metabolism.
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- 3 Ways to Maintain or Improve Your Energy Levels When You Are Dieting
Today with several techniques available for losing weight, an effective and popular weight loss method is undoubtedly Yoga i.e. Yoga weight loss. With all Weight loss programs, you need to include both dieting techniques combined with exercise. Remember to reduce and control weight, control the intake of calories.Many people have shed pounds with the help of yoga alone.
- Yoga not only helps in reduction of weight but also in developing flexibility by way stretching muscles.It also gives the person a more positive and balanced approach towards life. This in turn helps in stress reduction.
Yoga also helps in toning body apart from weight loss. Yoga weight loss can be combined with walking, running and even other forms of aerobic exercises, which helps one in reaching the goal of reducing weight.
- Yoga weight loss may not be the quickest way to reduce weight. One may reduce weight gradually but the additional benefits that a person starts getting with yoga are really surprising. Yoga weight loss method will not only have positive impact on the life of the person practicing it, but is also good for balancing between one’s mind, body and soul.
Apart from Yoga, one should also try to a lead stress free life in order to stay healthy. Moreover, apart from weight loss, peace of mind can also be attained by practicing yoga.
- To reduce weight and to maintain that attained weight loss, one has to regularly follow an exercise regime for doing yoga about 3 to 4 times a week. It brings within the person, self awareness and it becomes lot easier to nurture one’s body. Practicing Yoga ultimately results in better self esteem.
- Practicing yoga is a great experience because it is not competition based. Yoga weight loss is a personal journey. It not only focuses on the mental development but also helps in physical growth and spiritual growth.
- As yoga weight loss is considered to be gentle, yoga is also practiced by pregnant women, and it helps in shedding extra weight gained after pregnancy.
As you start doing yoga weight loss programs you will see that craving for food will reduce, and in fact your taste starts changing, one will look for better food choices. Many “asanas” as well as breathing techniques are included in it. Breathing technique helps the intake of oxygen necessary for human and throws out carbon dioxide. Yoga includes sun salutation, yoga for arms and legs. Other yoga is Ashtanga Yoga which is considered good for weight loss. The other yoga is Bikram Yoga which is also known to be good. Exercise using Yoga and see the difference in your body and attitude towards life. Click Here to take survey
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Create a comprehensive and systematic approach to your holistic fitness. Many people who are overweight or lack energy struggle with their chosen exercise routine.
There are many choices to get in shape, lose weight and tone: cycling, swimming, jogging or yoga. One of the most important aspects of a healthy life is selecting activities you enjoy. If you love something, you will be able to participate and integrate it into your lifestyle.
Why you torture yourself? The trick is finding an exercise that is effective and fun. Whatever your choice, start slow and make sure you have enough skill. You may need to book a session with a personal trainer or private lesson with instructor. Take the time and select a good trainer who is good for you, understanding your goals and current fitness level.
- A holistic approach incorporates your weight loss and fitness goals. In addition to your fitness goals, notice your stress. It may be the reason why you have too much fat around your belly. Stress hormone cortisone fluctuates during the day. Many people nowadays have stress and eat later at night. You are familiar with the results: weight gain, thyroid problems, sleep disorders, an increase in the production of cholesterol and heart attacks.
Holistic fitness addresses both your nutrition and exercise choices. Eat healthy, the right foods and remember to eat enough food if you want to lose weight. Eat too little and the body stores more fat to protect itself from starvation.
Other resources of interest:
http://www.holisticfitness.com/index.html
http://holisticfitness4u.com/
Yoga For Weight Loss for Beginners by Maggie Rhoades
Maggie Rhoades is a certified Yoga and Pilates instructor and her DVD Yoga For Weight Loss for Beginners aims at helping an individual reduce weight with an effective yoga workout. The DVD is aimed at individuals who have never practiced yoga. Although it uses traditional yoga poses beginner, they have been presented in challenging and interesting ways to help shed those extra pounds and also tone up and strengthen those muscles.
Maggie Rhoades begins the DVD with an introduction to yoga and how it can help attain harmony and balance in your life. The video offers routines for yoga beginners. The viewer can choose a routine according to his/her interests and requirements. The basic poses are demonstrated in a step-by-step manner. The instructions clearly specify how each pose is to be done along with the benefits of each pose.
There are basically three sections in the DVD. And each section has multiple workout routines.
- The first section is specifically meant for yoga beginners. The poses in this section involve slow and continuous movements and flow from one to the other. Clear instructions about when to breathe in and out make it easier for a beginner to understand the importance of proper breathing in a yoga session. The pace of the workout is neither too slow nor too fast. The poses included work wonderfully well in shedding extra pounds and promoting flexibility, balance, and strength.
- The second section of the video gets more challenging. This section also includes poses that flow from one to the other, but they are of varying length and the focus also keeps shifting from one part of the body to the other. The workouts in this section are ideal to lose extra pounds and provide a good workout for the muscles.
- The third section gets more interesting. The workouts in this section combine yoga poses with the use of light weights and resistance band. It’s a unique approach to yoga and is ideal for more strength training. You get all the benefits of yoga with some extra toning for your muscles.
Clear instructions, poses that promote strength and flexibility, and routines designed to easily lose weight even for yoga beginners makes this DVD a worthy buy. Combined with the beautiful landscape and the relaxing sounds, the workout routines in the video not only promote weight loss and muscle toning, but also leave you more relaxed and more energetic at the end of it. So, if you are looking at losing weight with some yoga, this Maggie Rhoades DVD is highly recommended.
If you have tried a few videos which claimed to use simple yoga poses, but found them to be too fast paced and too difficult, this DVD is just right for you. The years of yoga experience that Maggie Rhoades has can be seen in the clear instructions and her understanding about the body of highly inflexible individuals.
- It is, therefore, perfect for yoga beginners who have a low level of physical strength and endurance and who want to improve their flexibility.
- The video is slow paced and allows a yoga beginner to progress at his/her own pace. The pace of the video allows the viewer enough time to move slowly into the pose and get the proper alignment of the body.
- Maggie Rhoades provides clear instructions about how to perform a pose and also provides information about its purpose and benefits.
The video is divided into three sections and each section is more challenging than the previous one. Different routines are provided in the various sections.
- Some routines are as short as 6 minutes, whereas a full routine can be as long as 90 minutes. So, you can pick up a routine depending on the time available with you.
- The shorter routines often focus on one type of yoga poses (for example, sitting poses or standing poses) or one body part.
- The full routines provide a complete workout for each and every part of the body and include different types of yoga poses.
The instructor also uses props such as a chair and a blanket while performing the yoga poses. This makes it easier for an inflexible yoga beginner to move into a pose easily and at the same time aids in stability.
In summary, if you never tried yoga or gave up on it because you found it too difficult, this Maggie Rhoades DVD is perfect for you. The Yoga Poses Beginner workouts are slow-paced. Clear instructions make it easy to move in and out of the different yoga poses. You can pick a routine depending on how flexible you are and how much time you have available. Combined with beautiful scenery and the soothing voice of the instructor, the routines in this video will leave you relaxed and energetic. Click Here to take survey
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5. The Wonderful Benefits of Yoga
Irrespective of religion, country, sex, and age, anyone and everyone can enjoy the benefits of yoga. Yoga is a Sanskrit word which means “union” and originated in ancient India. According to ancient Sanskrit texts, there are actually 8 limbs of yoga which relate to the different aspects of an individual’s life and are essential for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.
Its focus on the overall development of an individual is the reason why it has become so popular throughout the world. There are probably hundreds of benefits of yoga which are know to us at present and many might still be revealed in the future. But here are a few of the benefits that you can expect with a regular practice of yoga.
Benefits of Yoga for Your Body
Most people usually take to yoga for its numerous physiological benefits.
- Yoga poses or asanas are designed to stretch and strengthen your muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons.
- Combined with the right breathing practice, they work to make you supple, flexible, and fit. Regular practice of yoga helps build immunity, improve the quality of your sleep, helps you lose or gain weight, and improves eye-hand coordination and dexterity skills. And that’s not all.
- Yoga stabilizes the different functions of you body. So, you can expect yoga to normalize your hormonal imbalances, your gastrointestinal and excretory functions, improve your respiratory and cardiovascular functions, and also stabilize your nervous system.
Benefits of Yoga for Your Beauty
A beautiful and ageless skin is one of the benefits of yoga which attracts people. The regular practice of the many inverted yoga poses reduces the wrinkles on the face. Better circulation to the face, calmness of the body and mind, and better sleep provides a natural glow to the complexion of an individual which can never be achieved with the various products available in the market. Yoga also does wonders for your hair. It increases the blood supply to your scalp and thus delays the graying of hair and helps you get thicker, shiny, and beautiful hair. And of course, the improved posture which results from the regular practice of yoga also adds to your beauty.
Benefits of Yoga for Your Mind
Although there are many physical benefits of yoga, it is considered to be one practice which provides more psychological benefits than any other form of exercising.
- The different yoga poses, breathing exercises, and regular meditative practices which are important parts of a regular yoga session improve concentration and memory, makes learning and retention easier, reduces depression and anxiety, improves mood, reduces tension, and promotes mind-body harmony.
Other Benefits of Yoga
Yoga also provides other benefits for an individual.
- The person becomes more self-aware. A positive self-esteem and a clarity of mind helps you deal with people and situations in a more effective and positive way. Calmness of mind and respect for yourself and others helps in better relationships. In this way, yoga provides benefits in each and every aspect of your life.
A yoga session involves many yoga poses and for a yoga beginner some of them may be instantly relaxing whereas some may take a few days to get used to. But there is one thing for sure. The above-mentioned benefits of yoga are not the only ones. Only when you practice yoga regularly will you be able to actually realize and experience the many wonderful benefits of yoga. Click Here to take survey
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5. The Wonderful Benefits of Yoga
Dr. Howard M. Shapiro is the founder and director of Howard M. Shapiro Medical Associates. It is a private multidisciplinary medical office in New York City, which specializes in nutrition counseling, weight control, and life management. His pioneering work in bariatric medicine gained him international recognition in 1981. He was able to establish a comprehensive weight control method which expanded to include psychological services. Dr. Shapiro has authored Dr. Shapiro’s Picture Perfect Weight Loss: The Visual Program for Permanent Weight Loss
Dr. Shapiro’s Picture Perfect Weight Loss: The Visual Program for Permanent Weight Loss (Amazon affiliate link) 
Comparisons in pictures give clear illustrations that, while an individual can make a choice of eating food with low calories, he/she can still have a large portion that is enjoyable to one’s palate. The pictures get readers to think about their food choices. This book is a visual aid to some people who prefer large portions but still want to lose weight. Most people need to ‘see’ and not just ‘hear’ or ‘read about’ it.
This book is straightforward and easy to read. For many readers, this is not a “diet” book.
- It illustrates that losing weight can be easy. It teaches how to satisfy one’s hunger by actually eating more, provided you eat the right foods.
- It allows you free choice, you can control what you eat but you will not feel deprived. It is a realistic system. This is a better alternative to low-carb diets which are harder to maintain and puts one’s heart at risk.
Another plus is the discussion on emotional eating where examples are cited on how “real people” can modify their eating selections.
While the book may be the best diet plan to many of Dr. Shapiro’s readers, there are some flaws in this book:
- Dr. Shapiro discourages milk and instead encourages an increase in intake of fortified soy products.
- This book leans toward vegetarianism but many people still prefer to have some meat in their diets as their protein source. Some people can only eat so much tofu. Soy products are also quite expensive and not available in some places.
There is no mention of alternatives to seafood in this book. This is a problem to people who are allergic to seafood. The discussion on exercise, as part of a balanced health regimen, lacked depth.
Dr. Shapiro’s Picture Perfect Weight Loss: The Visual Program for Permanent Weight Loss (Amazon affiliate link)
is one of the best approaches to weight control. It is simple and easy to understand. It helps many people to lose weight in a doable, enjoyable way. In the end of it all, it is one’s choice whether he will make use of this book to improve his life.
Dr. Shapiro’s Picture Perfect Weight Loss 30 Day Plan (Amazon affiliate link)
Just like its predecessor, Dr. Shapiro’s Picture Perfect Weight Loss 30 Day Plan (Amazon affiliate link) 
In this book, there is nutritional information targeted at specific age groups (e.g. kids, teens and seniors).
There is a section addressing eating disorders like bulimia which is affects many young people. Unlike the first book, the 30 day plan book is more specific. As the title suggests, it’s a 30-day eating plan. For many people who are too busy to figure out the portions that they should eat, this book is a big help. However, like the first book, this is also a diet-focused book. Losing weight should also involve exercise.
While this is a one of the best weight control programs written, an exercise regimen would also greatly benefit the readers.
As with all other diet plans, there is one basic thing to remember. If you do not stick to this plan, you will easily regain all the weight that you lost. While this program was designed to be simple and easy to follow and understand, it still takes commitment on one’s part to do this regimen diligently to stay healthy.
Dieting is not an effective weight loss tool. In fact, dieting will actually make weight loss next to impossible. The premise behind dieting is that the individual will limit their caloric intake enough to lose one to two pounds a week. But more often than not, the person who is desperate to lose those pounds today is likely to try to limit the calorie intake even more.
A pound of weight is equal to 3500 calories. That means in order to lose a pound of fat you have to either burn off another 3500 calories a week and maintain the food intake you are enjoying now or cut the calorie intake or a combination of both. So if you are a woman who normally eats around 2000 calories a day and she wants to lose a pound to two a week she must cut the calorie intake to 1500 and increase the amount of exercise she does.
The question becomes can she continue to maintain the calorie count on a daily basis for the long-term to maintain her weight loss or will she eventually feel tired, weak, fatigued and deprived of the foods she enjoys?
And to increase the likelihood of failure decreasing calorie intake and feeling tired and weak will also decrease the metabolic rate and slow the anticipated weight loss. Without weight loss what’s the point of cutting the calories?
The goal is to increase the metabolic rate and burn more calories. And in order to do that you actually have to eat.
1 Eat six small meals every day. It may sound like a lot but six small meals will provide your body with as much calories as it needs but spread out over a period of time so there are no gaps in the day when the body is without energy. If you eat only three large meals a day then you are more likely to eat junk food when you’re hungry. But eating six meals means you won’t feel hungry, your metabolism will stay high and you’ll never go more than a couple of hours without eating.
Split your three large meals into six smaller ones. Incorporate less processed foods and more raw material such as fruits and vegetables – both of which you can eat as much as you want.
2 Drink a lot of water. The added water is now available to help the extra toxins and waste products from the body making metabolism easier for the body. 
It also keeps you feeling full, plumps your skin cells so you look younger, keeps the metabolic rate moving and keeps your kidneys healthy.
The standard number of ounces of water that is recommended is 64 or 8 – 8 ounce glasses. But if you are trying to lose weight and increase your metabolic rate then it’s better to drink 10 -12 glasses per day. Spread them out over the daytime and begin to cut off the drinking by 7 or 8 pm (depending upon what time you go to bed). This will save you from getting up all night to go to the bathroom.
The average person living in a Western country is now obese. The secondary effects of this weight gain ranges from a decreased ability to be active with family and friends to diseases and illnesses that can be directly attributed to the body’s decreased ability to remain healthy at an increased weight. The causes of this weight gain can be credited to several different factors which range from the Standard Western diet high in fat and processed foods, decreased exercise, more desk jobs and increased stress in the lives of people.
No matter what the reasons weight loss and increased exercise is the solution. And because of the increased number of people suffering there are also a plethora of weight loss programs available to meet almost every need you can imagine. But among those weight loss programs that are legitimate are also those that are unreasonable.
People who are desperate to achieve their goal are often at a higher risk of falling prey to those who would want to take their money without delivering on the promise. There are some specific criteria to evaluate before you join a weight loss program or determine to follow a particular plan. Let’s look at those criteria now.
1. Does the program promise quick, rapid, easy and painless weight loss? Most legitimate weight loss programs won’t make a promise that you will lose weight rapidly because they know that such a thing isn’t possible. The only promise they may make is that they’ll help you lose it as fast as medically possible. So if you find a program that promises you’ll be in that bikini in 2 months – don’t walk away – run!
2. Does the program recommend the use of supplements to jump start or maintain weight loss? Many weight loss programs will recommend using a multi-vitamin because in the process of cutting calories many people may also cut out the necessary vitamins needed to help maintain the functioning of the body. However, if the program relies on a supplement as the basis of the program then it’s probably not something that you can maintain for any length of time. And before considering any supplement consider the side effects, the long-term effects and any interactions with medications you may already be taking – such as blood pressure medication and any of the over-the-counter medications you may take for headaches, allergies or pain relief.
3. Does the weight loss program address the mental aspect of losing weight? However good the program may be if you aren’t prepared for the lifestyle changes and the weight loss then the program won’t help you! If the program appears to be legitimate and doesn’t make big claims about what you can accomplish but doesn’t have a support mechanism built in you may want to find your own support mechanism to use the program. 
4. Does the program advocate incorporating exercise into your daily routine as well as dietary changes? Research is clear about the health benefits of both. Those who use both a dietary change and exercise will have better results than those who just cut calories.
Before joining any weight loss program it’s important to evaluate the criteria that make the program healthy and successful. Those programs that encourage people to make drastic changes to their diet or exercise hours each day, are more than likely not going to be successful because of the amount of will power it would take to maintain the program in the first place.
Take a strong look at how the program will also affect your body and your health. We are given one body to last this lifetime. When we take good care of it – it will take good care of us.
You decide it’s time to lose weight. And now, like everything else in life, you want it to happen right NOW. We live in a society that thrives on immediate gratification. There is fast food, fast cars, fast service and buying everything on the Internet so you don’t have to stand in line. We want our weight loss the same way – fast.
But there are some basic tenets of weight loss that must be observed, even when you want to lose the weight fast. You have to forget about dieting and learn to concentrate on healthy eating habits. Cutting back on calories alone doesn’t give your body the nutrition it needs to maintain a fast metabolism and keep your energy high.
On the other hand, by eating food dense in nutrition and low in calories you aren’t hungry, you give your body the vitamins and minerals it needs and you have the energy to walk past the donut table in the middle of the afternoon. And finding these foods isn’t as difficult as you might believe. Did you know you can eat as much raw fruits and vegetables as you want without fear?
Exercise is another important factor in losing weight, getting healthy and having more energy. As much as you may think you hate exercise it doesn’t have to be the workout you dread. Remember that you aren’t aiming to compete in the Olympics. Instead you are just trying to increase your metabolism and burn a few extra calories.
There is no denying the benefits of exercise. Exercise will increase your energy, improve your muscle tone, increase your metabolism and increase the number of calories you burn each day, even when you are at rest! Cardiovascular and weight workouts are best to meet these goals. Change up the exercises you do each month. Don’t do weight workouts more than 3 times a week and allow 48 hours between workouts with weights to allow the muscles to repair and become stronger.
And remember to rest! Many of us are busy from the time we get up until the moment we go to bed. Sometimes finding the time to eat or exercise can be a challenge. But cutting back on sleep will only sabotage your efforts to lose weight.
Shoot for 7-8 hours a night. Some people believe they can make do on less and although you’ll be awake studies have shown that you’ll grab more snacks in an effort to jump start your brain and keep yourself awake. Lack of sleep also adds to your stress level which releases hormones known to pack on the pounds. It is nature’s way of protecting the body.
Drinking Natural Weight Loss Drinks to Maintain a Fast Metabolism
The first natural weight loss drink is apple cider vinegar! It is true that it tastes awful, but Apple Cider Vinegar is one of the most powerful, natural appetite suppressants available. When you are trying to lose weight, hunger is your biggest enemy. In order to defeat this enemy, you need to take the help of some sort of appetite suppressants. Instead of relying on prescription drugs that come with harmful side effects, why not try out Apple Cider Vinegar? It is 100% natural and safe to take!
Just add three tablespoonfuls of Apple Cider Vinegar juice with eight ounces of water, and drink the juice just before having your meal. Apple Cider Vinegar will also boost your metabolic rate and keep you energetic throughout the day!
The second drink that now comes in gum form is Green Tea. You might have already heard about the great health benefits of green tea, especially with regards to weight loss. It is no wonder that most of the weight loss supplements available out there contain green tea. Green tea helps you burn fat by accelerating your metabolic rate. You can drink green tea on its own or mixed with lemon juice and honey.
Obesity is a problem that affects more and more people today. Because the Standard Western Diet stresses foods that are high in fat, calories and sugar; and because people often have less time in their day for extended exercise (more than 10 minutes), weight gain is a common problem.
New research has suggested that including calcium in the diet, in the form of dairy products, has a positive effect on weight loss. In fact, the dairy industry has produced an entire advertising campaign around calcium and weight loss.
Many studies that the American Dairy Association (ADA) relies on in their advertising have found a link between the amount of calcium and weight loss of the body. The link appears to be in the amount of calcium stores and the current weight of the subject.
In the advertising the ADA states that the research showed a relationship between eating 3-4 servings of low fat dairy products each day and a decrease in the amount of fat stores in the body. The research has pointed to a suggestion that calcium will increase the amount of fat the body converts to energy by increasing the body’s core temperature causing it to burn calories at a faster rate.
The studies also suggest that people with the lowest amount of calcium stores in their body also have the highest amount of stored fat.
Conversely popular diets that promise quick weight loss are often low in dairy products, the highest foods containing calcium, which also affects the potential for bone loss and osteoporosis. Women who control the amount of eating they do each day can be at risk for a number of deficiencies because they miss vital vitamins and minerals.
The list of foods that are high in calcium include milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, baked beans, dried figs, broccoli, and most dark green leafy vegetables.
Dr. Reed Mangels, from the Vegetarian Resource Group, also comments on the influence that high amounts of animal protein have on our bodies. Quoting a study published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2003 he states that “Some studies show that diets that are high in protein, especially animal protein, do cause increased losses of calcium in the urine…” Which means that the amount of calcium Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of calcium may fluctuate for individuals based on the amount of animal protein they regularly consume.
The current RDA for calcium is 800-1000 mg per day while most Americans usually consume between 500-700 mg. Unless a diet is high in foods that contain calcium, calcium supplements may be necessary to avoid the increased risk of bone loss and osteoporosis and take advantage of the potential for calcium and weight loss.
It might be convenient to believe that increasing the amount of calcium included in your diet would increase your weight loss but there have also been studies published in the same time frame that do not point to an increased calcium and weight loss from altered body fat mass in young healthy women. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, April 2005, carried reports of research that are contradictory to the reported weight loss that other studies showed.
The conclusion? Before starting any weight loss program you should consult your doctor, especially if you are under 18, pregnant, nursing or have a health problem. Your original calcium intake, as well as the intake of other vital vitamins and minerals, should be established. And then a specific diet, that meets the caloric as well as the nutritional needs of your body, should be established. This can be done with the assistance of an educated Registered Dietician. The results of the current studies linking calcium and weight loss are not conclusive and more research is required before a judgment can be drawn.
Plateau: A comparatively stable level in something that varies; Reach a stable level; level off
Everyone reaches a plateau when they are trying to achieve a goal. It doesn’t matter if the goal is to learn how to crotchet, graduate from college or lose weight. At some point the level of success plateaus and the individual must find the motivation to push through and break this level.
Help for Weight Loss!
In the beginning of a weight loss journey the weight seems to fall off without too much effort. The new diet program appears to be working well. But unfortunately most weight loss programs are designed to give the dieter instant gratification. This means that the dieter will achieve early loss that may be temporary without more permanent changes to the individuals eating and exercising habits.
Once the body adjusts to the changes in eating habits the individual will suddenly discover that the scale isn’t showing smaller and smaller numbers any more. This is the situation that is commonly called a weight loss plateau. But, like all other plateaus – business, education or dieting – it can be broken and you can achieve consistent weight loss over time.
Here are a couple of tips and tricks to breaking the weight loss plateau and moving forward to achieve your goals:
1. If you aren’t exercising then start! Exercise will help to jump start your metabolism and keep the calorie burn going for hours later. No need to train for the Olympics – instead include 30 minutes of walking, swimming or playing games with your children each day into your routine.
2. If you’ve been exercising you’re probably using the same exercise with every workout. The problem with this is that the body soon accommodates to the exercise and it requires less energy to do the same amount of work. The trick is to change up what you’re doing. In other words if you are walking include hills or jog for a block occasionally. If you are using machines get off the one you’re using and use another one several times a week. Change the pace and tempo you are exercising at.
3. Incorporate strength workouts in your routine. Building muscle will accomplish a greater calorie burn during the exercise and for the rest of the day since muscle burns more calories than fat.
4. Stop counting those calories. Calories aren’t your friend or your enemy. It’s time to stop thinking of them in either of those ways. We eat so that we can live. Period. We don’t live so we can eat. Calories are important to give our bodies the fuel they need in order to work and burn more calories. While burning more than eating will result in weight loss too little calories will also result in no weight loss as the body accommodates to the change in calorie intake. Instead find a way to eat enough calories while decreasing the amount of fat and processed foods that you eat each day.
5. Stop thinking about this as a ‘diet’ or you are doomed to failure. A diet is a time when you deprive yourself of the things you love. Instead you are changing your eating habits to achieve better overall health or to cure a specific illness or condition. Obesity is a condition that is cured by healthy nutritional intake and a decent amount of exercise on a daily basis. It isn’t cured by starvation which results in more eating later and more weight gain. It isn’t cured by Olympian exercise efforts which results in injury and sore muscles.
Be prepared to attack the plateau in weight loss where you find yourself after beginning a new regimen. Instead of being discouraged be encouraged that your body is losing weight and that you now only have to make a few tweaks and you’ll be on the road again!
Obesity is a barrier that stands between the individual and the world in almost 50% of the North American population. Shedding those extra pounds will not only improve self-esteem but also improve your overall health and energy levels. The decision to lose weight is one that is made by countless people every day and is one that should be applauded.
Obesity is a condition that leads to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and peripheral vascular disease. And, if ignored for a long time can prove to be fatal.
In this day of education and media coverage most people have figured out that the only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in. But the calorie deficit shouldn’t be caused from crash diets, skipped meals or sudden intense exercise. These are unhealthy ways of losing weight and shouldn’t be followed because they all end up at the same destination.
Failure.
Instead of crash diets or starving your body consider changing your eating habits and improving your nutrition so that you are feeding the cells of your body the vitamins and minerals necessary to be healthy. A healthy body, that receives the right nutrition, will naturally lose weight.
The pounds that come off the scale when you crash diet or starve are only temporary and will come back bigger than before when you finally give in and eat the foods you did before. In reality you are losing lean muscle when you starve and not the stored fat. And when you lose muscle the weight is going to come back.
Weight loss is achieved by simply eating the right foods and moderately increasing your physical activity level. The right foods means raw fruits, vegetables, raw nuts and seeds with lots of pure water. Eating raw fruits and vegetables means that you can eat as much as you want, whenever you want. You are never hungry.
That means never hungry.
You have to get rid of the rice, white flour, processed foods, chips, soft drinks, alcohol and sugars. These are foods that will sabotage your efforts to lose weight because they are metabolized differently than raw foods and because they are calorie dense instead of nutrient dense. This means that there are more calories in each bit of these foods than there is in raw food and there are less nutrients.
As for exercise, while it’s an important part of being healthy and losing weight you have to remember that you aren’t training for the Olympics. If you’ve been sedentary just going for a 20 minute walk every morning will be enough to start out and you’ll see some great benefits in just a couple of weeks.
But if you’ve had a bit of exercise then other outdoor activities can be fun, help you lose weight and not get boring. Things like badminton, table tennis and volleyball can be played at parties and with friends. Running, swimming, walking and rowing are exercises that can be done alone to help you lose those unwanted pounds.
And with exercise it’s important to remember that you should change up the things that you are doing so your muscles don’t get used to exercising in a specific pattern. This only cuts back on the calories that are burned with each workout.
Using these simple factors weight loss isn’t as restrictive or strict as some programs make it. It is a simple equation that requires some dietary changes and persistence. Using the right tools of nutrition and exercise you can lose weight.
Remember too that losing weight with the support of friends and family will help keep you on track with your new dietary habits and exercise. Weight loss can’t be about boosting your self-image, although it is a nice side benefit. Instead, it is about being healthy, living longer and having more energy.
Weight loss is all about metabolism and calories. Take in less calories, burn more calories, boost your metabolism to burn more calories doing the same amount of work. The sooner that you learn these truths the faster you’ll be on your way to losing weight.
If you are still struggling with why metabolism is so important consider these questions:
Why do doctors tell you to eat raw fruits and vegetables? Because they speed up your metabolism – and they’re low in calories!
Why do you exercise? To accelerate your metabolic rate by building strong muscles and burn more calories!
Why do you use diet supplements? Because they accelerate your metabolism!
You see, almost everything you do in order to lose weight is geared towards one aim – even if you don’t realize it – and that aim is to increase your metabolic rate. Why so? Because the higher your metabolic rate is, the faster you will burn fat and lose weight. Here are four tips to help boost your metabolic rate and increase the weight loss you are experiencing.
1. Small meals are the way to go: We’re often so busy that we don’t even have that time to focus on eating. But if you are serious about weight loss, all that needs to be changed. The ultra-busy people finish off with just two meals per day, while the not-so-busy people usually have three meals. But if you want to burn fat, you should eat six small meals per day.
You may find it difficult to schedule six different meals into your day, and you aren’t really increasing the amount of food you’re eating. Istead, you just need to eat more frequently. You can split the three meals you eat into six small meals, and eat each meal every two or three hours.
The theory behind this method is to keep your body digesting food and full at all times. When your body begins to get hungry the metabolism has already started to slow down to accommodate to the decreased fuel supply. Provide your body with food on a continuous basis and it will not only jumpstart your metabolism, but also keep it high at all times.
2. Sleep please: People spend far less time on sleeping than is really necessary. If you want to get healthy, sleeping for at least 7-8 hours is a must. If you don’t sleep well, your appetite will be low and so will be your metabolism. Plus lack of sleep can cause other health complications. We all have lots of work to do but if we want to become healthy, we need to find some quality time that we can spend on bed.
People who lack in quality sleep have difficulty not only with their metabolism but it also negatively impacts cardiac health and neurological systems. People who are sleep deprived may actually eat more to stay awake which doesn’t jump start the metabolism because they are eating well over the allotted calories. They also find it difficult to be productive and it takes them longer to accomplish the same task as if they have had enough sleep.
3. Drink cold water: Did you know the cold water, especially icy cold water, can boost your metabolic rate? Make sure that the first thing you do in the morning is drink one glass of icy cold water. It will skyrocket your metabolism to a level you might have never imagined!
Of course, throughout the day, you should drink plain, cold water. Water, as a matter of fact, not only accelerates your metabolic rate, but also cleans your body of all the toxins. In fact you will lose weight just by getting yourself rid of all the toxins that are stored in your body!
Measure the amount of water you need by the color of your urine. Normally you’ll need 8 glasses of 8 ounces every day to cleanse your body and keep it hydrated. However, if you are sweating profusely or start by being dehydrated you should watch the color of your urine to estimate the amount of water you drink. Urine should be clear, not dark yellow, with very little odor. The darker the urine with odor the more dehydrated your body is.
4. Don’t hate exercises: Exercises are what will help you build lean muscles, and lean muscles in turn will help you burn fat. Here is how: lean muscles demand a lot of calories from your body, which it gets by burning more calories.
Exercise has many other health benefits as well. On the days you exercise your metabolism stays boosted for several hours burning more calories that day than you would on any other day. Exercise will also decrease your risk of cardiac problems, diabetes, immune problems, joint problems and improve your overall health and sense of well being.
Interval training is the best exercise to do if you want to increase your muscle mass and therefore your metabolism. Weight lifting and resistance training are others you can do to accelerate the weight loss process.
As much as you may want to be convinced by unscrupulous manufacturers and weight loss programs, quick weight loss of more than 2 pounds just isn’t possible. While you may be able to lose 10 pounds in one month the methods you use will likely be so extreme that you’ll gain that much back and more the next month. Just like you didn’t gain the weight in one week, or one month, you won’t be able to lose the same amount in that time frame. In fact, taking the weight off is more time consuming than putting it on.
It is important to note two things right now. Weight loss is very possible for those who are motivated to shed those pounds and weight gain often happens because you were leading an unhealthy lifestyle. I should then be obvious that in order to lose the pounds you have to learn to live a healthy lifestyle.
This is such a simple concept that it should be easy to understand. BUT, and it’s a big but, people are creatures of habit and have specific reactions to stress. In other words, when the habit is to grab the donut in the morning, skip lunch and eat a big dinner where vegetables make their appearance as the red coloring in the tomato sauce it’s no wonder that fad diets, starvation and intense exercise programs are doomed to failure.
The second point is that people will also react to stress. And with stress comes hunger pangs, nervous hands and an intense desire to chew. All of these things lead to a sabotaged weight loss program and probably weight gain.
When people are encouraged to exercise in their weight loss programs it is no different there either. If an overweight man or woman is told to workout regularly in order to lose weight they often hit the gym daily for a month or two. Then as quickly as their motivation bloomed it dies on the vine. They get fed up with slow results and quit going all together.
In both cases of dietary changes and exercise habits people may feel that their weight loss results are too slow to warrant them continuing to work at better health.
And when people stop doing the things that are necessary to move them toward a healthier lifestyle then their weight loss stops, energy levels decrease and health risk levels increase. These individuals believe that weight loss is impossible for them. They can’t maintain a fad, starvation diet nor are they willing to workout at the gym for 3 hours a day.
There are four important things that can be done to make your weight loss efforts successful:
1 Develop a weight loss program that fits your lifestyle and that incorporate factors of good health.
2 Commit to stick to the weight loss program.
3 Understand that weight loss doesn’t happen overnight. Instead plan on an average of one pound of loss per week and understand that you aren’t working toward weight loss but rather a healthier lifestyle that will result in a trimmer you.
4 Find support! People who find and use the support of friends, relatives or groups are more likely to stick to their program and lose the weight they desire – and they are more likely to keep it off.
Remember that just as Rome wasn’t built in a day neither did you gain that weight overnight. Weight loss is commitment that goes on for years – not weeks and not months. You aren’t dieting but instead are changing the way that you see and feel about food.
Weight Loss Motivation
Obesity and weight loss are a common problem among people and our daily news only confirm this trend. Today’s nutrition includes too much fat, too much sugar, and too many processed foods. Weight loss motivation often starts out in high gear and quickly goes down hill. Many people are motivated many times in their lives to lose weight but keeping the motivation seems to be the problem.
People who successfully lose weight find that motivation remains high only with positive feedback and a support mechanism. After the initial fast weight loss people are often left tired, hungry and either at a plateau of weight loss or losing minimal amounts of weight. This decreases the level of motivation and the client is left high and dry.
Weight loss is much more successful when the individual receives positive feedback and has a support system to bolster them when the going gets tough. This positive feedback is self-fulfilling when it comes from positive movement toward your goal. Individuals also find that a support person can be a motivating force to keep them on track and help to keep their weight loss motivation high.
Another force that impacts motivation while trying to lose weight is that failure is bound to happen. Too many times people diet using a definition to deprive themselves of specific foods they believe will keep them from losing weight. The feelings of deprivation will only lead to certain failure. Diets are also associated with hunger, fatigue and deprivation.
Instead those who wish to diet and do it successfully by keeping their motivation high should also realize that we are all human. But admitting that perfection is out of reach they can also realize that the occasional slice of chocolate cake or missed work out doesn’t spell complete failure. It spells a bump in the road that is surmountable and easily tamed.
Stop the cycle and fix the problem by first understanding that you are changing your eating habits for life and not developing a quick start diet. This is not a ‘diet”. You are learning how to put your body into a burning mode as opposed to a starvation mode.
When your body feels deprived and starved your metabolism slows considerably and weight loss is close to impossible. This decreases your motivation and your positive feedback. You end up going back to eating the way you did before the ‘diet’ and your body will put on more weight than you had before the diet.
Learn what good eating habits are. Portions are really smaller than you might think. The amount of meat that is one portion is considerably smaller than the normal portions at a restaurant or fast food place. By learning good eating habits and improving your rate of success you will also keep your weight loss motivation high.
Weight loss success depends greatly on motivation and your ability to maintain a high level to achieve the dietary changes necessary. It is up to you to focus on ways to improve your positive feedback and find a support mechanism that works for your lifestyle and personality.
