Posts Tagged ‘Diet’

Weight loss strategies

December 14th, 2009 Health News

Each of these weight loss strategies takes advantage of the different ways the body used these nutrients to help you lose weight.

Strategy #1, eating a low-fat diet, ensures that you add less fat to the fat stores. The less fat you add, the less you will have to remove later. Strategies #2 and #3 are aimed at removing the fat that already pads your frame.

Strategy #1: Eat a low-fat diet

Fat is the villain. Fat makes you fat. Unlike carbohydrates and protein, fat is not burned off when you eat it. Almost all (97%) of the fat you eat slides right into the fat stores that pad your body. It is as if you took the hamburger you just ate and wadded it onto your belly except that it is happening from the inside.

The capacity for storing fat knows no bounds. The normal lean person stores about 140,000 calories of fat. Contrast this to the body’s limited capacity to store carbohydrate (about 1200-1500 calories). And with fat storage, there is no upper limit. A person who weighs 300 pounds is storing about 200 pounds of fat.

Whereas it is extremely difficult to overeat carbohydrates if you are eating nutrient dense, fiber rich food, there are no mechanisms to protect you from overeating fat. You can overeat fat one day, and the next, and the next, and the fat stores grow larger and larger.

In short, you are overweight because you have put too much fat in cold storage.

Creating a deficit
Each day fat from the foods you eat is added to your body’s fat stores. Some is removed to furnish energy not supplied by the carbohydrates you eat. Your weight is determined largely by how much fat you add to the fat depots versus how much you remove.

If you eat just the amount of fat that is removed from the fat stores to furnish the energy not supplied by the carbohydrates, your weight will remain the same. If you eat more fat, the excess will go into the fat stores and you will gain weight. If you eat less fat than is required to satisfy your energy needs, then the body will have to make up the deficit by removing fat from the fat stores and you lose weight.

Strategy #2: Eat plenty of nutrient-dense, fiber-rich carbohydrates

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Weight loss: Energy supply and demand

December 11th, 2009 Health News

Your body needs energy to operate
We will start with energy because weight loss is all about how your body uses and stores energy.

Basal Metabolism: Your body needs a certain amount of energy to function – to power your heart, lungs, brain, kidneys, and other organs and keep them in good repair. The amount of energy you use when you are completely at rest is called your basal metabolism. The rate at which you burn energy when you are completely rest is called your basal metabolism. The rate at which you burn energy when you are completely at rest is called your basal metabolism rate (BMR).

Each person has his own BMR determined partly by heredity and partly by lifestyle. Your heredity sets the upper and lower limits of your BMR. You can maximize your BMR within this range by doing daily aerobic exercise and by eating a lot of nutrient-dense, fiber-rich carbohydrates. The higher your BMR, the faster and more easily you lose weight.

Physical Activity: Unlike your basal metabolic rate, physical activity is not fixed within a range. The more exercise you do, the more energy you need to fuel it.

Total energy needs: Your total energy needs are the sum of your basal metabolism plus the amount of physical activity you do. The higher your BMR and the more active you are, the more energy you need.

Food Supplies Energy
Where does your body get energy to power your basal metabolism + physical activity? Just as energy stored in batteries powers machines to do work, energy stored in the food you eat powers your body.

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Few tips to keep yourself fit

December 10th, 2009 Health News

Keep your Carbohydrates Tank on Full
When you eat a meal, some of the carbohydrate you consume tops up the glycogen stores. If you skimp on carbohydrates because you are following a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, and/or high-protein diet, your glycogen stores will be inadequate and you will feel it. You will have diminished energy, stamina, and endurance.

Excess Carbohydrate Calories Don’t Turn to Fat
Although scientific research has proven over and over that excess carbohydrates are burned and released as heat, people still believe that carbohydrates turn to fat. Scientific experiments have shown that only if you were to eat more than 2200 calories of pure carbohydrate in addition to your normal daily total calorie intake for 5 to 6 days in a row might the excess carbohydrates possibly turn to fat. This is called glycogen loading and is not so easy to do.

Protein: Overrated
The role of protein in our diets is greatly misunderstood. Although many people associate rippling muscles with a diet of steaks and chops, the protein you eat doesn’t build bulging biceps and triceps. It is used to rebuild muscle.

We tend to think of muscle as a permanent structure, but it is constantly being broken down and rebuilt (in response to use). When muscle is broken down, protein is released and burned. Since only small amounts of muscle are broken down and rebuilt each day, you don’t need much protein in your diet. Scientific research has shown that adults need only about 12-15% of their calories from protein. And no matter what we eat, we generally get that amount.

Most Americans eat more than enough protein for good health. Consuming too much protein can put stress on the kidneys. In addition, since many people equate high-quality protein with red meat, and since red meat is filled with saturated fat, by eating lots of red meat you may be raising your cholestrol level and putting your heart at risk.

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