Friday, December 12, 2008

Running for Weight Loss

We see that many people run in order to lose weight. This is a very good idea as it can be a great way to drop those extra pounds. A regular individual of around 150 pounds can lose around 100 calories when running one mine. Although rates will vary, it is a good place to start in order to understand the possible benefits that running has on weight loss.

The first thing you have to consider when running for weight loss is that running is not enough. You will need to have a good nutrition plan for this to work. Losing weight always boils down to consuming more calories than you take in. In average, losing one pound means that you will have to burn around 3600 calories. Remember that it is a mistake to eat more in order to compensate for what you burn. This is why a lot of runners can actually gain weight instead of losing it. This is not what you want so you really need to be careful about what you eat and how much you eat.

Running for Weight Loss Has to be Regulate

To put it simple, you can not lose weight if you just run once per week. We recommend daily runs but if that is not possible, try to go for running sessions at least 3 or 4 times every week. The problem is that sometimes it can get boring. What can you do in order to avoid this?

Make Running Challenging

Whenever running for weight loss becomes boring, start putting in some interval training or speed work. This can actually aid you in losing more weight. Contrary to what people might tell you, speed work will burn more in a shorter time period. To make it even better, this also increases muscle mass and will improve the resting metabolism. Thanks to this burning more calories daily is possible.

Remember that in the event that you want to participate at a professional competition, things change. You should work with a nutritionist. If you are only running for weight loss then all should be simple. You can take an mp3 player with you to make you like running even more.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Green Tea and Weight Loss

We have heard a lot of people linking green tea and weight loss and the truth of the matter is that green tea can aid you lose weight. To make it even more interesting, some weight loss supplements on the market today include green tea extract. Why is that?

There are a lot of proven benefits of drinking green tea. In fact, we have over 2,000 studies that have been performed in the past. We are not only talking about green tea but all its components as well. Since so many studies have been performed, there must be something in the middle, right? Why do we see green tea put into so many fat burners?

First of, one source for caffeine is green tea extract. It is sometimes preferred in fat burners as a replacement for caffeine, which is well known as a good enough fat burner. Also, green tea and weight loss form a good relationship as green tea is an anti-oxidant. It basically can work like Vitamin C. Some studies have even pointed out that ingredients in green tea can be a lot more powerful than regular oxidants.

To make it even better, green tea can also work as glucose regulator. This means that it slows the speed at which blood sugar rises after you eat. There are even studies that have concluded that green tea is an important addition to glucose management. It will also aid you in increasing metabolic rate. This will make calorie burning faster.

At the end of the day, green tea and weight loss do go well hand in hand. The truth is that green tea has a lot more positive effects on your body and can directly affect losing weight. You will not lose weight at an incredible rate but it will improve the speed at which you do. It is always recommended to drink some green tea, one cup per day can make a huge impact on your diet.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Subway Weight Loss

There is one person that has gained a lot of popularity and his name is Jared Fogle. He is responsible for promoting what was labeled as a "Subway Diet". The promise of this subway weight loss plan is that with 2 sandwiches per day will aid you lose a lot of weight. Jared Fogle was able to lose around 245 pounds in one year, all with little exercise involved.

The actual Subway Weight Loss diet is very simple. The beginning of the day is simply a coffee and then lunch is made out of the six-inch sub sandwich combined with potato cheeps. Pay attention that every element of the diet has to be out of the low fat Subway menu and finish the day with dinner in the form of a veggie sub of 12 inches. As you can easily se, we are talking about a very simple diet plan.

Now many individuals have followed this Subway Weight Loss diet and maybe some had success. We are quite sure that most did not. We think that the diet that Jared promotes is simply a story of personal success. Think about the fact that this man was way over 300 pounds when the diet began. The Subway Weight Loss diet actually created a deficit in the calories he was taking in. He basically ate less than he consumed daily. The reality about the entire story is the fact that the Subway sandwiches had no real impact in weight loss. You too will lose a lot of weight if you simply eat less calories than you consume. Exercising has to be combined with good nutrition and proper rest.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Weight Loss for Models

We have seen a lot of special products and guides that are labeled as "Weight Loss for Models". People think that fitness models or regular models actually have different secrets that make them look better than others. Well, it is not really like that! Weight Loss is the same for everybody. There is no secret and do not believe what fitness model specialists are telling you.

The only reason why fitness models lose weight easier than you do stands in more knowledge than you have. These men and women are a lot more attentive to their exercise routine and diet. There is no way you can lose weight in a proper manner without a good diet and working out. Weight loss for models is in no way different than weight loss for other sports. We only have minor differences based on specific needs.

Take into account that models also have a lot more money than most people. This means that they eat better foods and can afford better supplements. They can also go to the best gyms and afford to work with the best nutritionists and go to the best gyms. Weight loss for models simply sums up to this. If you want to look like a model you should start learning more about weight loss. Everyone can lose weight but only if it is done right. We recommend reading everything that you can and only from proper sources. Do not believe everything that you are told by fitness model specialists.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Why Diets Fail

Whenever people find themselves to be fat they will immediately turn towards eating less in order to lose weigh. This basically means skipping a meal or eating less at dinner, all in a VAIN effort to lose that extra fat. Start realizing that this is not a good idea and if you start eating less you will NOT LOSE WEIGHT! Remember that diets existed ever since the human body appeared on Earth and the only low calorie intake that came then was hunger. We already talked about why Low Carb Diets do not work and in a similar fashion, low calorie diets are also a very bad idea.

Both thin and overweight individuals take in around the same calorie numbers and what is really different stands in the amount of fat that overweight people take in. Thin people simply end up with eating less fat and a lot more carbohydrates that are complex. Remember that when wanting to lose weight you will go through a process that does last. Any good weight loss program needs to be built around good guidelines. The real problem stands in lack of good information and the bad pieces of info that keep circling around on the Internet. Every single day there is a huge chance that you will see weight loss ads somewhere. This includes web sites and magazines. People are looking for a miracle product and the fact is There is NO Miracle Weight Loss Product on the market today! There are only products that help but not as much as it is currently advertised.

Any diet will fail when it is built badly. The biggest reason why diets fail is that the one that is one a diet does not really know what is needed to lose weight. You can lose weight and eat as much as you are eating right now. The trick is eating more healthy food and staying away for those foods that are bad for weight. Combine this with exercise and you will lose those extra pounds. There are cases in which You Can Not Lose Weight, but these are very rare!

Exercise to Lose Weight

I need to recommend that you start thinking about exercising more and not eating less when you want to lose weight. This is because eating less does not necessarily mean that you are going to lose pounds. On the other hand, exercising more means you will burn more calories and this can lead to weight loss. You do not always need to start dramatic weight loss exercises. Leading an active life is more important than you can imagine. Even walking the stairs instead of taking an elevator has a big impact on your overall fitness level and your capacity to lose weight. We live in a world where people do tend to be sedentary. This is very wrong.

We see millions of people around the world that want to lose weight. Statistics show that Americans alone are responsible for spending around $30 billion each year on products and diet programs in a hunt for weight loss. Most of them do lose weight but if you analyze how they are doing after 5 years you will notice that they are still fat or even fatter. It is a fact that individuals that stay on a diet and do not do exercise will get fatter in most cases. Contrary to what you might believe, most diets will have you lose weight that is not fat. You basically lose weight due to water and muscle weight as a part of your body. To make it even worse, when weight gets back, it might be pure fat. The trick to fighting this phenomenon is Exercising Regularly.

Keep in mind that I am not talking about fitness, bodybuilding or sports that are highly intense. You do not need that and even aerobic exercise can be obtained from a lot of places. Contrary to what you might believe, Walking is a very good exercise to lose weight. Never forget that proper weight loss comes with a good combination between exercising and dieting. Without linking them you will not lose weight as you should and you might find yourself fatter in some years.

I need to recommend that you start thinking about exercising more and not eating less when you want to lose weight. This is because eating less does not necessarily mean that you are going to lose pounds. On the other hand, exercising more means you will burn more calories and this can lead to weight loss. You do not always need to start dramatic weight loss exercises. Leading an active life is more important than you can imagine. Even walking the stairs instead of taking an elevator has a big impact on your overall fitness level and your capacity to lose weight. We live in a world where people do tend to be sedentary. This is very wrong.

We see millions of people around the world that want to lose weight. Statistics show that Americans alone are responsible for spending around $30 billion each year on products and diet programs in a hunt for weight loss. Most of them do lose weight but if you analyze how they are doing after 5 years you will notice that they are still fat or even fatter. It is a fact that individuals that stay on a diet and do not do exercise will get fatter in most cases. Contrary to what you might believe, most diets will have you lose weight that is not fat. You basically lose weight due to water and muscle weight as a part of your body. To make it even worse, when weight gets back, it might be pure fat. The trick to fighting this phenomenon is Exercising Regularly.

Keep in mind that I am not talking about fitness, bodybuilding or sports that are highly intense. You do not need that and even aerobic exercise can be obtained from a lot of places. Contrary to what you might believe, Walking is a very good exercise to lose weight. Never forget that proper weight loss comes with a good combination between exercising and dieting. Without linking them you will not lose weight as you should and you might find yourself fatter in some years.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Looking like a Supermodel

What do you think looking like a supermodel is all about? Most people would answer make-up but it is definitely not just that. Others would say being anorexic and this is again something that is not true. In order for you to look like a supermodel you need aerobic exercise, strength training, a balanced diet and enough resting time.

From my point of view any woman can look like a supermodel. I said it so many times: there is no way you can not lose weight. All you have to do is be determined enough to do it. I am tired of people saying that it is a gift to look like a supermodel. It is not true, even if you have 100 extra pounds. Stop complaining and start working out, eating right and learning what you can do to lose weight as fast as possible. You can do it!

What You should NOT Believe about Weight Loss

There are a lot of myths going on in the weight loss industry and you should know them so that you do not believe them. If you want to lose weight you do need to know these facts!

Wrong Weight Loss Fact 1 - Miracle Exercise Machine Burns More Calories

I understand that a lot of individuals are confused when thinking about how many calories they are burning during the day. We go through so many activities that it is hard to understand. Even walking burns calories but that does not necessarily mean that you will lose weight if you walk a lot. The truth is that there is no such thing as a miracle workout machine for weight loss. The number of calories you burn is linked with the effort you put into burning them. If you use the same machine at different intensity levels you will burn a different number of calories.

Wrong Weight Loss Fact 2 - Low Intensity Exercises are Better for Weight Loss

How many times have you noticed people in the gym doing exercises at lower intensity levels? You surely did a lot of times and you should know that they are not burning more calories. We already mentioned above why. A lower intensity workout is just a lower intensity workout!

Wrong Weight Loss Fact 3 - 2-3 Days of Weekly Workout for 30 Minutes is Enough for Weight Loss.

The truth is that such a schedule is better than nothing but it is not enough. Daily exercise is not only better for weight loss but it is important for us to stay healthy. In my view the best possible way to go is weight training for 3-4 days per week and 30 to 60 minutes of DAILY cardio/aerobic exercises.

Wrong Weight Loss Fact 4 - Loosing Fat from 1 Body Part is Possible

You usually hear of this in a connection with a particular exercise that works that body part. In most cases we are talking about abs and various types of crunches. This is not true as you can do thousands of sit-ups or crunches and you will not lose belly fat.

Wrong Weight Loss Fact 5 - You can NOT Lose Weight

There is no such thing! No matter what anyone tells you, YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT! The only thing that is different from one person or the other is the rate you can lose weight. To make it worse, one crucial aspect of weight loss stand in you believing that you can do it. Stick to what you are doing and you will reach your goals.

Wrong Weight Loss Fact 6 - An Empty Stomach Means Burning More Fat!

Oh My God - This is so wrong! Contrary to what you might believe, you might hinder your progress if you exercise on an empty stomach. You need energy to work out and if you do not have it then you can not! It is as simple as that! Do not believe all the bull you read as nutrition is highly important to lose weight!

Never believe the facts mentioned above because they are very wrong!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Do Low Carb Diets Work?

We noticed that the latest trend in losing weight methods stands in low carb diets. The one example that always appears is the Atkins Diet and the truth is that we are faced with a lot of mixed opinions in weight loss and nutrition. This is why it is quite hard to understand how a low carb diet works and since information is the key let us take a look at this topic so that it can be properly understood.

First of, it is clear why people find low carb diets as a good way to go. We all finally understand that a high carb and low fat approach to nutrition does not work. Such a diet actually makes us fatter and will also lead to illness and diseases. Just think about the fact that most Americans eat too many carbs and not enough dietary fats, thus having poor health. We also notice that many individuals try to cut out carbs as much as possible, which is again a bad idea.

In order to not avoid the topic we can keep it simple in the sense that reducing carbs from your diet will make you lose weight. The problem is that you do not lose that much body fat. The human body will hold around 2.4 grams of water for 1 gram of carbohydrate we consume. If you remove the carbs from your diet you will not hold as much water so we are heading towards artificial weight loss. To make it even worse, you will not only lose water but you will also have less muscle glycogen. This will make you feel energy-less. Our brain also uses carbs for energy. Not having enough in your system will immediately mean that you brain will not work properly.

You surely heard a lot of people that say that carbs are stored as fat in our bodies. This is extremely wrong as any excess energy will be stored in our bodies as fat and it does not matter if it is an apple or high cholesterol sauce. Too much is always too much and it does not matter what that much is.

Carbs are important in our daily diets and they do come with vital nutrients that you will not find in any other foods. They are needed in small to moderate quantities even if you do not work out. To make it even better, when you exercise the carbs are stored in our muscles and not as fat. The bottom line is that you can eat foods that are high on carbs and still lose weight. The problems always stand in overdoing everything. Remember that you need carbs and you should focus on fruits, whole grains, vegetables and beans. Pay attention to how active you are and eat less carbs only when you do not workout. In days when you exercise you have to eat more carbs than when not exercising. To make it all even better, after you work out you can actually eat a lot more carbs. This includes ice cream. Keeping a balanced diet and working out is the right way to lose weight.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Weight Loss and Gallstones

You need to realize that overweight individuals do have a larger risk to develop gallstones (sometimes written gall stones) than regular weight people. Another thing that you have to understand is that when you go through a diet that is based on low calories intake every single day is also hazardous. This is because rapid weight loss will also increase the risk to develop gallstones. The entire topic of weight loss and gallstones is researched and analyzed but there are so few people that really understand it. That is why we need to learn the facts that are linked to this topic.

A gallstone is formed of solid material and appears inside the gallbladder. You will develop them as many small stones or as one large stone. They come as a mix of compounds although most of them are cholesterol. The real problem stands in the fact that people with gallstones do not have any symptoms in most cases and they do not really know that they are suffering from gallstones. On the other hand, there are cases when painful attacks happen and this is not pleasant at all.

The gallbladder is the place where the bile is stored and released into the intestine in order to help in aiding digestion. Bile is simply a fluid that is created by the liver and it helps digestion as it contains various substances named bile salts. They basically act as natural detergents that break down fats found in what we eat. The bile is highly important in eliminating cholesterol from our body. To put it simple all is needed in order to eliminate cholesterol from our bodies.

How do gallstones get formed? Most researchers think that there are 3 situations when this happens. The first one is linked to a supersaturated bile as it contains too much cholesterol than salts can dissolve. The second one is linked to a visible imbalance of various substances including protein. That is when cholesterol starts to crystallize, thus forming gallstones. The third situation happens when the gallbladder can not contract enough to empty the bile regularly.

The real problem with gallstones is that obese people are more likely to develop them. The greater the obesity level the greater risk of forming these stones. Nobody really knows why this happens but most people think that the liver is producing too much cholesterol so it can easily lead to a supersaturation inside the gallbladder. Also, if you lose a lot of weight rapidly you will have the same risk as gallstones are considered a complication of voluntary weight loss that can easily happen.

All this raises one huge question: Why Does Weight Loss Cause Gallstones? The popular belief is that dieting can destroy the balance found between cholesterol on bile salts in the gallbladder. This basically means that you have increased cholesterol level and decreased bile salts levels. If you spend a long time not eating then the gallbladder will not contract often enough to empty the potential small bile gallstones that can appear and so they become dangerous.

Now the real problem stands in thinking whether or not it is worth losing weight if there is a risk of developing gallstones. The answer is YES and you do need to lose weight properly. Gallstones appear when you are trying to lose weight too fast and when you are basically not eating. Holding a proper weight loss diet will aid you in more ways than one.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

4 Reasons Why You Can Not Lose Weight

You should be aware of the fact that a lot of things go into gaining and losing weight. The truth is in most cases the one fact that stops you from losing weight is one element that makes you gain weight. Let us take a look at the 4 most common reasons why people find it hard to lose weight.

Poor Eating and Not Enough Exercise

This is probably the most common element out there. You simply can not lose weight just by reducing calorie intake. You do need a good eating plan and enough exercise in order to reach your goal of dropping pounds. In USA you will notice that most citizens do not get enough exercise to burn the calories they take in daily. This basically means putting on weight and there is no way around that.

If you want to maintain your weight you do need around 30 minutes of daily cardiovascular workouts. This includes playing with kids, washing your car, walking and so on. If you are looking to lose weight you do require at least 60 minutes of cardio daily. The start to creating any program to lose weight should be focused on an examination of what you are eating. We recommend that you keep a diary for this purpose and always look at the nutritional labels on products so that you know how many calories you take in. This includes minerals, vitamins, sugars and fat. You do need to eat whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Do not go over your daily calorie intake levels.

Syndrome X

When one talks about Syndrome X he is referring to a metabolic disorder. Statistics showed that one in 4 Americans suffer from it and is characterized as leading to diabetes and cardiovasular disease if not treated. People suffering from Syndrome X are insulin resistant. Every time we eat insulin is released in order to help glucose reach the cells where it is efficiently burned. If insulin resistance is the case the cells do not allow entry of glucose. Because it has nowhere to go it will start building up in our bloodstream. To make it even worse, the liver will also end up pumping more glucose, making everything worse. Extra glucose ends up going to the liver and transforms in fat. Insulin resistance is caused by exercise lack, diets that are too high in carbohydrates and obesity. If you are suffering from Syndrome X you should consult a doctor so that he aids you in your weight loss plans.

Stress

So many people neglect the impact of stress on our lives. One of its negative effects is causing weight gain. Whenever you work too much or you basically suffer from too much stress your body will react funny. Your adrenal glands usually end up pumping cortisol on a regular basis. In case you did not realize it, whenever stress disappears you end up looking for food. Cortisol is telling us to eat and in most cases this is too much food. You are basically overeating. Managing stress is the most effective way of avoiding Cortisol surplus and aids you in avoiding weight gain, thus losing weight. You might even want to consider a therapist if you can not handle taking care of stress yourself.

Hypothyroidism

It is always good to test your thyroid gland as it regulates our metabolism. If hormone levels decrease our body slows down and this is called hypothyroidism if it is caused by thyroid hormone. Because of it our cells need less energy and eating normal actually leads to weight gain. Extra calories are transformed into fat. Keep in mind that hypothyroidism can be treated but it is crucial to consult your doctor for this.

Keep in mind that there are other possible problems that can lead to weight gain or simply not being able to lose weight. Nowadays it is quite complicated to maintain that perfect figure and all comes with some sort of sacrifice. Always keep this in mind and stay motivated as it is possible to lose weight in 99% of cases.