Weight Loss

Weight Loss

Weight loss has certainly become “big business” over the last few years. The amount of money spent on exercise equipment, diets and weight loss programs is steadily climbing. Today, weight loss is such a high profile subject that new research is coming out on a daily basis. However it is always worth finding out who has funded the research, as an impartial approach is essential if we are to receive a truthful outcome. I’m sure you are aware of the fact that sometimes research can be very biased depending on who does and most importantly who pays for it.

Health related industries and professionals are constantly experimenting to find out the best way for us to maintain a healthy weight. Recently research has found that with all three macronutrients - protein, carbs or fat - daily calorie intake was significantly greater when the beverage form was consumed as compared to the solid. Apparently the protein drinks did not satisfy the appetite the way that protein foods did! So weight loss is not necessary guaranteed with these liquids meal replacements.

This particular finding was a surprise for many who work in the weight loss industry. It was thought that protein drinks would be an effective part of a weight loss regime, mainly because protein foods have been proven to reduce appetite and increase satiety. However if you convert solid protein into a protein drink, it loses it’s appetite suppressive properties. A similar thing happens when you turn fruit into fruit juice.

Many people are not aware of the findings related to these protein meal replacement drinks. Most time people just hear what these companies want us to hear through their mass media campaigns. Looking at the available research, there are at least 7 scientific studies that have provided strong evidence that energy containing beverages (i.e., “liquid calories”) do not properly activate the satiety mechanisms in the body and brain and do not satisfy the appetite as well as food in solid form. Having tried them myself I can vouch for the fact that the drinks left me with a feeling of just being full of liquid. Not satisfying at all. However if I mixed the powder with a food such as yoghurt and a banana, the satiety value increased significantly and I did go on to lose weight.

I have done some research on my own and found out the following facts related to the lack of satiety value of the liquid calories:

1. high calorie density

2. lower satiety value

3. more calories ingested in short period of time

4. lower demand for oral processing

5. shorter gastrointestinal transit times

6. energy in beverages has greater bioaccessibility and bioavailability

7. mechanisms may include cognitive, orosensory, digestive, metabolic, endocrine and neural influences ( proving that the human appetite is a complex thing!!!)

8. last but not least, nowhere in our history have our ancestors had access to large amounts of liquid calories, even of the protein variety.

As strange as it may seem, our bodies cannot properly register the caloric content in liquids the way we do when we eat, chew and swallow whole foods. As with many “nouveau foods” that appear on our supermarket shelves, our genetic code has never developed the physiological mechanisms needed to deal with these foods. Bottom line: This study suggests that if you’re trying to beat body fat,(weight loss) it’s wise to limit all types of liquid calories and eat whole foods as much as possible, so that the body can process the food in the best way it knows how.

What liquids we drink are an important part of any weight loss program. With regard to liquid beverages apart from the protein drinks, if you really want to achieve successful weight loss, start by removing the soda and other fizzy drinks from your diet. Then get rid of the high calorie dessert coffees. Apart from anything else coffee plays havoc with your metabolism. Then cut back on the alcohol, another high calorie stimulant that your body can well do without. From there, be cautious even about milk, juice and especially protein drinks, that may be the mainstay of your weight loss diet. Drink water or herb teas instead, or limited amounts of black coffee or tea - without all the high calorie extras.

Knowing the amount of calories in the foods and drinks we consume is a very important, yet tedious, part of our attempts at weight loss. It is worth remembering that if you do consume any beverages that contain calories, such as protein shakes, be sure to account for those calories meticulously and be sure you don’t drink them in addition to your usual food intake, but in place of an equal amount of food calories. Protein shakes are intended to be “meal replacements” not “free calories!”

One of the main goals in any weight loss program has to be a change in our eating habits, as this most likely is the reason we have put on the extra weight. As your weight loss program is about reprogramming your dietary habits, it would be far better if you concentrated on eating proper food that is chosen for its health promoting properties rather than supplementing or replacing your healthy food with a liquid diet

TriPowerTeam Home Based Business

Weight Loss

So many of us have a weight problem to contend with. It is always on our mind and we are usually very conscious about how we look and how others see us. How many times have walked into a supplement store and asked for information about weight loss, fat-burning or muscle-building supplements? How many times have you bought the latest best-selling diet book? How many television infomercials have you watched a weight loss or fitness expert promote the latest and best diet and equipment? Finally, how many hours have you spent surfing the web for information about diet, nutrition or weight loss programs.

If you have done any of the above then the chances are you’ve been told many weight loss lies!

There seems to be so many self-proclaimed so-called experts out there that sometimes we are getting information that is not based on pure, scientific health related research. Honest, accurate information about nutrition and weight loss is harder to come by than ever before, and nearly everyone has been misled at one time or another. This may of course be that the so called guru thinks that the information they are giving is correct and may have been misled themselves. But to ensure that you are receiving or giving accurate and honest weight loss information you need to look very carefully at the scientific evidence surrounding the weight loss claims

Many of us who need to lose weight are probably concerned mainly with the extra pounds we put on around our waistline. If you are a regular dieter then you will no doubt be familiar with this annoying problem of belly fat. Belly fat has become the dieters curse. No matter how successful your weight loss program has been undoubtedly you will be left with the problem of stubborn belly fat. This is particularly frustrating for women who are looking for that slim-line figure, but no matter how hard you try the problem persists.

Ask any woman and she will tell you that it is much harder for women than men to lose weight. Unfortunately women are born with more fat cells than men, mainly for the purpose of protecting and nourishing our babies. So weight loss, especially the removal of that stubborn mid section fat, can actually be a lot harder for women than for men.

Regardless of how much extra weight one has to lose, we all want to see it come off quickly. If we can see some visible results rather quickly it helps us be somewhat more motivated. Getting rid of that bloated belly can be a great incentive for most people. Better to get rid of it from the start than be left with it at the end of your diet.

An intriguing question many of us want answered is just exactly what is the cause of this bloated belly? Inflammation caused by foods your body is intolerant to is one of the main reasons for a bloated belly, especially if that belly is of the pot belly variety. Inflammation and excess gas caused by undigested food particles can be a major cause of both inflammation and a bloated belly. Most people who have been on a weight loss diet will be familiar with the term water retention and although this can often be more prevalent in the ankles and other joints it can also be a contributory factor for a swollen midsection .

For weight loss to take place it is advisable to address these underlying intolerances first, especially if you want to have a flat belly rather than a fat belly. You will then feel that your weight loss program will be much more successful.

Janet Matthews
skype me: lindajanetmatthews
+44 7815614557

TriPowerTeam Home Based Business

Weight Loss

With so many experts, programs, theories, diets, fads, etc. it is no wonder people get confused when trying to decide on the best method to lose weight. Weight loss has become a complex issue. Diet has always been thought to be the most important part of any dietary regime. However very few will disagree that exercise is also an important part of a weight loss program. Exercise also has a secondary benefit, not only does it help us get rid of those extra pounds but it helps improve our overall health. So what really takes place in the body when we exercise? What changes occur and how does our body processes work together to achieve these benefits?

Each and every day, regardless of our activity level, our body is working and expending energy. When we eat any food we are consuming calories and we also at the same time we burn up calories as we go through our daily routines. If our daily activities burn less calories than we take in, then we are going to gain weight. If we do not have enough physical activity in our normal routine of life, then we must find a way to burn more calories. Exercise is the most efficient way to do this. But exercise not only burns off calories as we are doing the exercising, it also has a very important after effect beneficial in anyones attempt to achieve weight loss.

Science has shown for decades that exercising our bodies can be an important factor in maintaining our health. Exercise raises the metabolism, the body’s mechanism for burning calories. What happens is that by raising our metabolism we not only burn more calories as we exercise, but the body continues to burn calories for a period even after we finish exercising. It’s like our body knows what is best for us, so it continues to work a little overtime to help us with weight loss. Exercise gives us that feel good factor, but it feels better knowing that our body’s continues to burn calories for a period after we have finished exercising.

When our goal is to achieve some weight loss we should be concerned with muscle tissue and fat. The muscles in our bodies use up energy and burns off the calories/fat. Even when we are at rest our muscles will be using energy, thus burning calories. However, we know that it certainly isn’t enough to lose weight or all we would have to do is sleep. While muscle tissue burns calories, the opposite is true of fat tissue. Fat cells store calories. As you can see there is an intrinsic link between muscles and fat?

This relationship between muscle and fat is very important and we should understand how it works. The basic concept is quite simple: one uses calories and the other stores calories. More muscle means burning more fat, and therefore there are less calories to be stored in our fat cells. Since our muscles need energy, the more muscle tissue we have the faster our metabolism runs. The faster our metabolism runs the more calories we burn up. The more calories we burn off the more weight loss we achieve.

If we look at this sort of physiological information it should help us to understand the intricacies of how to lose weight. So why not take time to learn how the body works and what will help you achieve sustained weight loss. This way you will understand why it is necessary to exercise as part of your regime.

Scott Cameron

skype: scott.cameron16

http://weightloss-leads.com/

Weight Loss according to Body Type?

Can you imagine what life would be like if we all liked the same things? Thankfully we are all unique individuals and just as we have different tastes, talents and attitudes so we also have different body types. Your body type is a scientific classification of your overall body shape, and and it is determined by a combination of certain physical characteristics. Your genes determine your body type therefore, your body shape will develop from birth to adulthood. Body types can never be changed and no matter what type you possess, you can still achieve weight loss relatively quickly with the correct choices of food and tactics for weight loss or weight control.

Scientists in the health field have developed a classification system for the different body types. There are three basic body types for male and female are: Endomorph, Ectomorph and Mesomorph.

The first body type is called endomorphs. These people are naturally big boned and have such characteristics as a round face, a soft and flabby body in general, wide hips, bigger waist, slow metabolism and high number of fat cells. This type usually finds weight loss a constant struggle.

The second body type is the ectomorphs. This type of person is considered thin with a linear appearance, small muscles, ultra fast metabolism, low body fat, narrow shoulders, hips and waist. Doesn’t usually have to worry about weight loss.

The third body type is mesomorphs. This type is a naturally muscular person with wide shoulders, small waist, athletic build, low body fat percentage with an increase metabolism.

So now you look at your body and are thinking you have characteristics from more than one category. In reality you may actually have some characteristics from more than one category. This may well be true as it is extremely rare for an individual to display all of characteristics for their body type. We all display some characteristics from each body type, although one type will usually dominate. It is the dominant type of characteristics which determine the actual body types assigned to us.

Regardless of the body type we may have, if we want to achieve weight loss we need to create a negative energy balance or a calorie deficit. The number of calories we cut from our intake needs to be sufficient enough in order to see some results fairly quickly. So if we begin a new diet by cutting our calorie intake by about 500 per day we will lose weight over the course of a week or two. However just cutting calories is now not deemed to be a sensible way to approach weight loss

What happens to our bodies when we go on a weight loss program and begin to cut our calorie intake by eating less? During a calorie deficit our bodies still require the same amount of energy so they start to use up energy stores to make up for this 500 calorie deficit. However, as our bodies inevitably use up extra proteins for energy AND to maintain normal protein synthesis, we end up with a net loss of total protein. This results in a gradual loss of lean muscle, and this is the start of a lowered metabolism and consequently a slower weight loss

As we begin to lose weight we may be discouraged when we look in the mirror. Muscle loss may not be obvious because the body will take it from other, less priority areas and not just from our skeletal muscles. The stomach is a classic area where protein is broken down for use, as there’s less need for a large stomach capacity because we have lowered our food intake. Ever noticed how we can no longer eat those big meals we once used to eat before dieting?

It would appear therefore that although you may need to cut down on the amount of food you eat, it is vitally important you don’t drastically cut your calories as you may be doing your body and your weight loss more harm than good

Jackie Whalen