Wednesday, March 2, 2011

How To Aviod Weight Gain On Holidays

With holidays just around the corner, weight gain may become an issue. Less work and exercise and more food is on the agenda. Here a few tips to help you keep the weight off that you have worked so hard to lose over the year.



Ah yes, here they come once more, the three month span of non stop celebrating and eating that occurs each year. You usually promise your self that this year will probably be various, but other than isolating your self for the holiday season, what can you do to make certain you do not overindulge? Try these no fail suggestions and you will come out of the season happy and also the exact same weight you had been prior to the celebrations began.

Discover an Official Taster

If you are the main chef within the home you know how simple it's to maintain tasting your cooking until you get it correct. All that tasting adds up in calories. Cook with a friend or ask a family member to taste your dishes and tell you what they require. They might make suggestions that enhance your dish that you didn't believe of.

Ask for a Doggie Bag Prior to Your Meal is Served

Now I know some of you might balk at this, but it's simpler than you believe. The holiday season is frequently a time whenever you go out to eat much more than usual. Whenever you place your order ask the server to put half of your dinner in a to go container and serve the rest to you at the table. You will be surprised at how well this works.

Drink 1 for Each 1

Wine with dinner, eggnog although decorating the tree and cocktails at holiday parties abound. For each alcoholic beverage you've, drink the exact same quantity of water. This helps in a number of methods. Water will make you really feel full so you do not eat and drink as a lot although flushing out fat and toxins. It also helps maintain you from becoming too intoxicated.

Join a Weight Loss Group or Health Club

In the event you do not already belong to a gym, health club, weight loss membership web site or some sort of forum that you are able to reach out to, consider joining now. By having some sort of support to turn to you will not really feel so alone and you will have a technique to maintain you from giving up. Most individuals join after the holidays when they make their New Year's resolutions but it's far much better to stop gaining the weight within the initial place.

Be Mindful of What You Eat

Do you truly require that second helping of mashed potatoes or additional dessert? With all of the jolly making going on we occasionally get caught up in all of the social activity and do not pay attention to what we're eating or how a lot. Being conscious and mindful of what you're eating pays off at the end of the season. Ask your self if you are truly hungry or eating just to be polite prior to you've an additional helping.

Following these 5 suggestions will get you off to a great begin to steer clear of gaining weight this holiday season. They're easy and simple methods to be healthier and weigh much less when New Year's rolls around.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Why Diets Don't Work



If you go "on a diet", what does that mean? That you will eventually go "off the diet." If you haven't changed your eating and physical activity behaviors, what's going to happen? Rationally, you know the answer. But emotionally, you engage in wishful thinking, hoping that this time you will lose the weight and keep it off. What weight are we talking about? When people tell me they lost 12 pounds in two weeks, I ask "12 pounds of what?" On low-calorie diets, about 25 percent of the weight loss may be muscle (Ballor & Polehlman 1994).

Losing muscle is a bad thing. Muscle tissue is very active--it burns a lot of calories. Every pound of muscle burns about 35 calories per day. Using the above example, if you lost 12 pounds, then, you lost three pounds of muscle. You would be burning 105 less calories per day or 3150 per month. Since there are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, you would gain almost one pound of fat per month just from the muscle mass that you lost!

Strength Training Versus Aerobic Exercise



Contrary to what many people think, strength training is as important, maybe more important to successful fat loss than aerobic exercise. The reason lies in the amount of calories that are burned when you aren't exercising. Depending on the intensity and your weight, an aerobic workout (walking, cycling, stair stepping) will burn approximately 300 calories per hour. If the exercise is strenuous enough (which is unlikely in the beginning exerciser) the RMR will be elevated temporarily up to a few hours afterwards. Compare this to strength training which elevates the RMR permanently. The RMR accounts for 60 to 75 percent of your daily calorie expenditure, so even a modest increase will help burn off more fat.

One study (Campbell 1994) found that a three-month basic strength-training program resulted in the subjects gaining three pound of muscle and losing four pounds of fat, while eating 370 more calories per day (a 15 percent calorie increase). Remember, aerobic exercise generally doesn't increase muscle tissue. In fact, excessive amount of aerobic exercise combined with a low-calorie diet can cause the loss of some muscle tissue. This is not to say that overweight individuals shouldn't do aerobic exercise--it offers many health benefits and is a part of a weight loss program. It's just that aerobic exercise by itself may not be the best solution for permanent weight (fat) loss.

Don't think that you need to workout in a gym for two hours to strength train. Significant gains can be made with a consistent 30-minute workout performed 2 -3 times per week. Check out the Simple Fitness Solutions Strength-Training Kit for an easy way to train at home. This could be your key to successful weight control

How often does the average person eat?

First of all, it depends on the person. Everyone needs different caloric intake depending on your weight, level of activity and exercise, and your age. In general, a good model to follow is to eat every 2-3 hours. That does not mean a full meal each time, however. It means a healthy breakfast of about 300 calories, a snack of about 150, a 300 calorie lunch, 150 calorie snack, and a 300-500 calorie dinner. That is about 1500 calories a day and is a healthy way to lose weight if that is your plan. Eat a little more calories each time if you do not need to lose weight, or break up the snacks or add a little more to them. 
And again - it all depends on your body composition!!

Would a 900 calorie a day diet be i good choice?

the amount of calories needed by one person is not the same for everyone...we are all built differently, with diff. metabolisms, levels of activity, etc. Mypyramid.gov will help you make healthy choices, track your food intake and tell you what amounts are right for YOU. 

900 calories is not enough for any human being, no matter how inactive they are, or what they eat. You need at least 1800-2000 just to live and keep your body functioning....that is what your body expends in energy to keep you alive. 

Most people trying to lose weight are often surprised to learn that eating less can sometimes slow down your metabolism and therefore slow down the amount of weight loss. Most weight loss experts agree that when you eat very small amounts of calories, the body "thinks" that there is not enough food available and will slow down your metabolism in an attempt to conserve energy. 

Therefore, it is possible, that eating too little can actually slow down your weight loss. 

This weight loss theory is fairly simple to follow. When the body does not have enough calories it will do everything it can to conserve the best stores of energy that it has. This means that it is possible that the body will, instead of using up the reserves of fat and making you thinner, actually start to burn the muscle tissue so that it can maintain a reserve of fat. 

One possible way to make sure that this does not happen is to make sure that you are eating enough food to keep your body from believing that it should go into starvation mode while, at the same time, control your caloric intake so that you will achieve the weight loss that you desire. 

There is not an answer that will suit everyone as to how many calories is enough to help with your weight loss. The best way to work out what is best for you is to visit a qualified nutritionist or weight loss expert who will be able to tell you the most appropriate amount of calories for your dietary requirements. 

Although your metabolism can slow down when dieting to achieve weight loss, it is believed by many that exercise can speed up your metabolism. This may help in two ways. First, the metabolic rate can be higher when exercising and therefore help to burn off those extra calories. Also, exercising can lead to more muscle which can help burn more calories because muscle burns calories more quickly than fat. 

Therefore, while it's true that some people naturally have a fast metabolism, there are things that you can do to speed up your own metabolism that will have a positive effect on weight loss. 

Also, to burn more calories or get a faster metabolism, you need to increase your amount of muscle mass. Cardio will give burn off calories as you do the workout, but when you have muscles, you burn fat and calories all the time...even when you aren't working out. When you eat too few calories, your body will start to burn muscle tissue to survive....losing muscle is never a good thing.

How Soon Can I Eat After Working Out? Read More http://www.ivillage.com/how-soon-can-i-eat-after-working-out/4-n-142245#ixzz1FDG9P9sN Sign up for iVillage Special Offers

The information about not eating after a workout is completely wrong. Every responsible source in bodybuilding and athletics recommends that you eat after training, and preferably within 45 minutes (maybe up to 60) after a workout. This period, known as the golden hour, is when the muscles absorb the most nutrients and when glycogen, an energy reserve in your muscles, is replaced most efficiently. The actual composition of the post-workout meal is a matter of some debate; for optimal glycogen replacement, most people recommend carbohydrates, but a certain amount of protein (at least 10 percent of the meal) is needed for muscle repair and growth.

I think the above recommendation is a good general guideline for athletes, but for weight management you probably have to go higher in protein and lower in carbs. You don't have to eat a big meal, but you should eat something after training. Lots of people get good results with a small, high-protein shake -- just beware of the extremely high sugar and carb content of juice-based smoothies. Experiment with the amount of food or drink and with the proportions of carbs, protein and fat to find out what works best for you.

Perhaps what the trainers at your gym are trying to emphasize is the need to moderate carbohydrate intake in a weight-loss program. They correctly want to see you become a "better butter burner," that is, someone whose metabolism burns fat faster and more efficiently. That is best accomplished by eating a nutritionally dense, low-calorie diet that offers a balance of protein, high-quality fat and the right kind of carbohydrates. This will keep your hormones balanced and your fat-burning machinery working optimally. I agree that you shouldn't load up on carbs and fat after a workout, but the idea of not eating anything at all for two hours after working out is balderdash.


Friday, February 25, 2011

Dieter triumphs over emotional eating, bored noshing


Tracey Sekula, 44, was inspired to lose weight after an embarrassing incident. She was out shopping for clothes one day in spring 2007 when a little boy looked at her and then turned to his mother and said, "Look, Mommy, the stork brought a baby to her belly like you."
His pregnant mother asked Sekula how far along she was. "I'm not pregnant," Sekula said.
Afterward, Sekula called her doctor and told him she needed help. She weighed 265 pounds, and her cholesterol was 366. "He told me I was one step away from having a heart attack."
She stopped drinking six cans of regular soda a day, cut down on her portions, started walking regularly and eventually lost 100 pounds. At 5 feet tall, she now weighs 165 pounds.
She is one of the readers who volunteered to share her story as part of this year's USA TODAY Weight-Loss Challenge. This is the final week of the series.
Sekula, who is single and does promotional and marketing work, realizes now that she was an emotional eater. "I found I was stress-eating a lot and eating out of boredom, not really when I was hungry."
She used food to console herself when her beloved brother died. "Food became my best friend. Food was how I grieved. It was comfort."
She kept a journal to track her emotions and a food diary with the goal of limiting her calories to below 1,800 a day. After she lost 50 pounds, she joined Weight Watchers.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Healthy Helpings: Nutrition advice for athletes



Both athletes and non-athletes need the same nutrients: carbohydrates, fat, protein, water, vitamins and minerals. Carbohydrates, fat and protein are known as the macronutrients; while vitamins and minerals are known as the micronutrients.

As an athlete, you might need some of these nutrients, particularly carbohydrates and water, in greater quantity than non-athletes to fuel your performance. The number of calories you need each day depends on your body size, age and sex, as well as the intensity, duration and frequency of your workouts.

Calorie intake should balance energy expended.

If you are maintaining your body weight, you are consuming enough calories. If you are not consuming adequate calories, your performance can suffer.

Carbohydrates are the major energy source and should make up about 50 percent of the total calories consumed each day. Fat provides the body with energy and some es sential nutrients known as essential fatty acids and should make up about 30 percent of the total calories consumed each day.

Protein plays a role in building and repairing muscle tissue and providing energy and should make up about 20 percent of the total calories consumed each day.

Water is the most important nutrient for any athlete. When you sweat, you lose water, which must be replaced in order for you to per form your best. Losing as little as 2 to 3 percent of your body weight to sweat can cause a decrease in performance.



Pre-exercise recommendation:






Allow enough time for digestion- typically about two to four hours. However, each athlete is different, so it is important to recognize your own needs and eat when you feel is the best time.


Choose a meal high in carbohydrates because they are easy to digest and help maintain steady blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates will also produce energy faster than protein and fat are able to. A general guideline is 5 to 7 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per day and 1 to 4.5 gram/kilogram prior to exercise. Account for timing when consuming carbohydrates. For instance, one hour prior to exercise, consume 1 gram of carbohydrate per kilogram; four hours prior to exercise, consume 4 to 4.5 gram of carbohydrate per kilogram.


Consume moderate amounts of protein. While protein foods contribute as an energy source, they also take longer to digest than carbohydrates and they can lead to increased urine production, which can lead to dehydration.


Limit fats and oils. They take a relatively long time to digest and you don't want to perform on a full stomach. Also, they take longer to provide the muscles with energy compared with carbohydrates.


Restrict sugary foods because they can cause a rapid increase in blood sugar followed by a rapid decrease in blood sugar, resulting in less energy.


Avoid foods and drinks that contain caffeine because caffeine stimulates the body to increase urine output, which can cause dehydration and also a full bladder.


Limit foods that produce gas. Some raw fruits, vegetables or beans might cause problems for some young athletes, so be aware of the foods that cause you problems and avoid them when necessary.


Try to choose foods you like to eat and that you usually eat. This is not the time to try new foods because you never know for sure if your digestive system will tolerate it.


Drink plenty of fluids: 16 fluid ounces before exercise and 6 to 12 fluid ounces every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise.

During exercise lasting longer than an hour, choose a sports drink instead of water. Sports drinks con tain carbohydrates and a small amount of sodium to fuel muscles and replace fluid lost while sweat ing. For exercise of longer duration, it is recommended to consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrates every hour as food and/or fluid.



Post-exercise recommendation:




Try to eat relatively soon after exercise. Research shows that this helps you recover faster. Whatever you eat or drink should be rich in carbohydrates to replenish the energy stores. Consume 1.5 grams of carbohydrate/kilograms of body weight immediately after exercise and an additional 1.5 grams of carbohydrate/kilograms two hours later.


Choose foods that contain some protein to help restore and rebuild the muscles that have just been worn down from the physical activity.


Fat also plays a role in energy replenishment and storage and should be consumed in moderation with the meal. Choose healthier fats, such as the monounsaturated fats found in canola oil, olive oil, nuts, fish and avocado.


Replenish fluid losses by consuming 16 fluid ounces for every pound of body weight lost in sweat. Choose water or sports drinks.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

What To Wear For Your Body Shape?..

  1. If your body shape is tall, break it up. You don’t want to look too long and lanky, so mix different shades, so you’re not just one long color from top to bottom. Tall body shapes can pull off patterns or mixed colors since they have the extra height. Also, never wear skinny jeans to avoid looking like a beanpole. Instead, go for straight-leg cuts. Finally, never wear pants or sleeves that are hemmed too high; you’ll look like you just finished a growth spurt and couldn’t afford to buy new clothes.
  2. If your body shape is short, stretch it out. Vertical stripes are good for short body shapes, especially the narrow pin stripes on a suit, since they elongate your frame. Make sure your clothes always fit correctly if you have a shorter body frame; you never want your pant legs to drag under your shoes, so hem them if need be. And, always avoid wearing jacket sleeves that hang down past your wrists, or you will look like a little boy dressing up in his father’s clothes. Wear pointed or rectangular, rather than rounded, shoes to help elongate your lower half, and try V-neck shirts to lengthen your upper body. 
  3. If your body shape is heavy, slim yourself down. Clothes can help a heavier body shape slim down. To achieve a thinner look through clothes alone, avoid wearing horizontal stripes at all costs. It’s a rule for both heavy women and men alike; it will only thicken your frame. Instead, try dark colors and solid patterns to make you appear more svelte. Never wear a shirt tight across your belly either; wear your shirts loose enough to mask any extra belly bulge.
  4. If your body shape is skinny, bulk up it up. This is one of the few body types that can pull off horizontal stripes. Try horizontally patterned shirts to give your chest a broader appearance. You can also pull off wearing light colors like white and beige, since these colors give your body shape a little needed bulk. Also, do not wear super tight jeans; it will look like you raided your girlfriend’s closet. Go for boot-cut jeans to make your legs look a bit more substantial. Never dress in overly baggy clothes, however, because you’ll look like a walking tent if you have a skinny body shape. Find just the right fit to give you a lean, sexier appearance.
  5. If your body shape is muscular, balance it all out. This body shape can be difficult to shop for since you need larger clothing, but aren’t “heavy.” Never wear padded clothing; you don’t need to fake it. Plus, that can often give you a top-heavy appearance since muscular men usually carry more bulk above the waist. Balanced proportions are the key to looking good if you have this body type. Shirts that stretch a little over you can be sexy and show off your physique, but don’t cross the line into overly tight clothing, or you’ll look desperate. If you have a super muscular body shape, tailored jeans might be needed to get the perfect fit around your legs.
  6. Tips for all body types. Every man is built slightly different. Play up the unique strengths of your particular body shape. For example, if you have great arms but are insecure about your legs, wear a well-fitted T-shirt with looser, dark denim jeans. It’s all about accentuating your strengths and minimizing your weaknesses.

Food you can eat to lose weight....

The only way you can lose weight ever, is to eat less calories than you burn off. Bottom line, there is no arguing this. This rule existed 1000 years ago, and will exist a 1000 years from now. There is no possible way you could gain weight if you ate less calories than you burned off.
No matter how easy you seem to put on weight, and how little food you think you eat, there is always a lesser amount that will cause you to lose weight.
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How to justify a perfect scale for a body shape?

  Usually the best scaling or measurement for a woman and man is different. For woman, a good body shape should be focusing on the balance of three scaling of chess-waist-hips, for example 36-26-36 is considered as the modeling body shape but if certain inches that occurred on your body which not exceeding 5% of the scaling still be considered as perfect and so called as in-scaled. 

Choosing the right program and guide for makeover your body is crucial especially for a beginner. The initial step you must do before you start up any weight loss activity is you must identify your existing body scaling, which means your three body part (chess-waist-hip) measurement. Body Shape Makeover 

For example your existing scaling is 38B-34-48 and please don’t feel sad and ignoring the time when you or somebody taking your body scaling. Because once you have rectified the problem, then you will know which part of your body that you need to put more effort. Then please determined the right body shape makeover program or activities that will reduce fat and build muscle for your body, if according to the example just now, your main problem was exist in your waist and hips. Follow influential research and actual weight loss achievement, the best equipment for getting a nice and trim stomach was dieting and practicing hoo-la-hoop exercise training, so now you get an idea on how to do it! Then, when you find out more, hoo-la-hoop can be used for trim your hips as well, so buy another light hoo-la-hoop and use it for daily practicing for your waist and hips for about 10 or 20 minutes, then you will get the body shape that you want! 

Of course dieting would never failed a newbie whom intended to pursue a nice body shape, whereas be choosy and alert on the food that you consume and developing a practical diet plan is very important. For me, an effective Body Shape Makeover Diet Plan should be matching with your existing eating habits, but with a slide twist on it. For example like the usual meal menu for a candidate was like below:
Breakfast: Meat ball spaghetti with cheddar cheese and a cup of hot chocolate
Lunch: roasted beef with asparagus cuscus and strawberry milk shake
Dinner: Pizza (3 pieces), cream cheese salad and carbonate drinks
Snacks: fries, chips and chocolates.

Well, to makeover the above diet menu, the new dieting menu should be as below:
Breakfast: Spaghetti with fresh vegetables topping (try to consume half amount comparing before) and a cup of black coffee (raw or with bit of rock sugar)
Lunch: whole meal pasta with puree tomato and a cup of ice lemon tea
Dinner: A cup of fresh yogurt plus a normal sized boiled tuna sandwiches
Snacks: 2 types of fruit daily
As you can see for the transformation of the plan, it doesn’t add or minus any of the food in quantity, but it did reduced in the quality of the food, the quality which beneficial for cleanse and makeover your body shape.

As a conclusion, a nice body shape will take months and years to achieve, but it doesn’t mean that it is impossible. Although body shape makeover process will caused you time and effort, but you will enjoy a lot of benefits if you choose to live fit and trim with beautiful dresses and tight fit jeans plus fancy tube top. 

Monday, February 21, 2011

how many calories should you eat

Take your ideal weight and multiply it by 30. This should be the amount of calories you can eat a day. Of course this is not very precise because it doesn’t take important factors like lifestyle and gender into account.
Factors that influence how many calories you should eat:
  • Male/female
  • Active/sedentary life style
  • Age
  • Height
  • Weight
The US Department of Health and Human Services recommend the following numbers:
Sedentary lifestyle (less than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity/day)
  • Male 18-30 yo: 2400 calories
  • Female 18-30: 2000 calories
  • Male 31-50: 2200 calories
  • Female 31-50:  1800 calories
  • Male 50+: 2000 calories
  • Female 50+: 1600 calories
More active lifestyle (more than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity/day)
  • Male 18-30 yo: 2600-3000 calories
  • Female 18-30: 2000-2400 calories
  • Male 31-50: 2400-3000 calories
  • Female 31-50:  2000-2200 calories
  • Male 50+: 1800-2200 calories
  • Female 50+: 2200-2800 calories
These numbers will maintain your current weight.
To lose weight you should increase your physical activity and reduce your caloric intake.  Try to eat 400 calories less than you are used to and you will soon start losing weight seriously.