Get-The-Body-Of-Your-Dreams
Table of Contents
What You Need to Know
History of Losing Fat
Different Types of Calories
How Many Calories Do You Need?
Exercise and Fat Loss
How to Trick Your Metabolism
One Pound of Fat?
Alternative Strategies
Low Carb Diets
Exercise: Advanced Measures
About Thermogenesis
Body Fat and Genetics
Supplements: Can They Help
Weight Loss and Drugs
Liposuction
What You Need to Know
What You Need to Know About Weight Loss
Everybody wants to lose weight. This is one fact that is supported by
the countless weight loss programs on the market along with the
numerous weight loss products, ranging from snack bars, powdered
juices, shakes and even slimming soaps and lotions!
It really gets confusing nowadays to know which ones are for real and
which ones are junk, especially when presented with all the
information.
You Don’t Have To Practice Everything
It’s not really essential that you know about all the available diets on
the market. In fact, many of them have conflicting principles. For
instance, one might say that you need to eat several small meals
throughout the day. Another suggests that you should only eat one
big meal for the day and starve yourself until you start another day.
Confusing isn’t it?
This proves that just because advertisements say so, doesn’t mean
they’re right. You should get to know which information is the real deal
and which ones are not.
So, here are the essential things you need to know about weight loss
before you decide to undergo any kind of diet program.
Losing Weight Is Not Instant
Although it would really be superb if you could lose weight instantly
just by using a product, you have to face the reality that losing weight
is not an instant process. Don’t be fooled by diet programs and
products that make 5-minute promises. Losing weight is never instant,
unless you’re undergoing liposuction.
You must understand that it is a process that takes time to be
effective. There are no shortcuts here. Unless you impose real
discipline in regard to eating healthy and living a healthy lifestyle, you
won’t lose weight on a permanent basis.
Weight Loss Involves Activity
There are so many diet programs to enter and each varies with their
underlying principles. Watching what you eat is good. There is nothing
wrong with that. However, you should keep in mind that food is not
the only factor that you should consider when trying to lose weight.
Another important factor is your body’s activity.
If you really want to shed some fat and make your diet effective, you
should couple monitoring your food with the right exercise. Dieting will
not work when you’re living the life of a couch potato. Living a
sedentary lifestyle does you no good at all.
Starvation Is Not The Answer
Going on a hunger strike will not answer fat problems. The popular
belief that starving your body will make you lose weight is a common
mistake. Although this principle may seem to make sense, it doesn’t
work!
The human body has its own monitoring system, which sees that
everything is in balance.
Your Guide to Fat Loss
If it senses starvation, it automatically takes this as a signal for stress.
When under stress, the body does automatic actions, such as
production of hormones to counteract this stress. In this case, it
produces more cortisol, which is an important hormone that stimulates
fat production.
Additionally, your body retains more water. When it starts water
retention, this adds to your body weight, since the human body is
mainly composed of water.
Metabolism Varies
Metabolism is how fast or slow your body makes use of the food you
eat and turns it into energy. You should understand that people do not
have the same rate of metabolism. People have varied rates, and this
can affect how susceptible a person is for gaining weight.
Generally, people with slow metabolism are prone to gain weight
easily. Those with a fast metabolism are likely those that can eat a lot
yet still do not get fat. This is one good reason why eating what your
friend eats within the day wouldn’t necessarily lead you to having the
slim body that she has.
Your Guide to Fat Loss
You may have different metabolic rates, which make it okay for her to
eat an entire pizza without worrying about getting fat, while you get to
eat all veggies, yet still have a hard time trimming down.
History of Losing Fat
The History of Losing Fat
Watching what you eat, counting calories, exercising, diet programs,
weight loss pills, liposuction, slimming creams and soaps - all of these
seem to be a normal part of the present culture. However, did it ever
occur to you that this obsession of losing fat must somehow have had
a beginning?
Civilization With No Diets
The history of losing fat is actually a very interesting and colorful one.
Although you may think that the human race has been dieting since
the beginning of time, this presumption is actually wrong.
The truth is, losing fat didn’t seem to be an issue once upon a time. In
fact, back then, people didn’t really think about their weight. This is
Your Guide to Fat Loss
probably due to some economic factors. For instance, back then only
the rich people were the ones who got fat. The majority of people were
actually busy trying to survive and have at least one meal a day.
Sin, Dieting And Vegetarianism
Ironically, the first diets came from the traditional war against sin.
Since gluttony was considered to be one of the seven deadly sins,
there were religious institutions that preached on eating healthy and
the perils of sickness. The first known preacher of this principle was
Sylvester Graham. He was ordained in 1826 and by 1830 he was
preaching about the benefits of having a vegetarian diet.
The First Low-Carb Diet And Diet Book
During the 1850’s a physician named Doctor Harvey in England had to
treat a patient named William Banting regarding obesity. Harvey
advised him to cut down the sugars and starches. In fact, he told him
not to eat more than the minimum daily amount that was required.
This came to be the very first low-carb diet.
The plan worked so well, that William Banting was able to write a book
about the diet. The book was published in 1862 and was called Letter
on Corpulence Addressed to the Public. This book also came to be the
very first diet book in history.
Chewing Food The Right Way
During the end of the 19th Century, Willam Gladstone, Britain’s 4
times Prime Minister, had advised that food must be chewed 32 times,
before it is swallowed. The theory was based on the principle that it
can lessen ones appetite, which would lead to weight loss.
This simple advice, was so influential that it led to the title of The
Great Masticator named as Horace Fletcher. However, he took it a step
higher as he advised that food should be chewed until it became liquid
in the mouth. He also advised that all kinds of meat must be avoided
along with tea, coffee and alcohol. It was also him who spread the
principle that people shouldn’t eat until they felt hungry and that
people should have a happy disposition during meal times.
Calories In The Making
Wilbur Atwater, a chemist, was the one to discover the calorific value
of food. However, it was only 2 decades after his discovery, 1918, that
the concept went mainstream and left the academic world.
A doctor from California, Lulu Hunt Peters, was the first to introduce
the calorie counting diet. Since it was a scientific method of losing fat,
people were enthusiastic about it and it sold like pancakes.
Food Combinations
Then came the concept that how much you eat doesn’t really matter at
all, what mattered is your food choices and their combinations. It was
William Hay who first introduced this concept. He also held on to the
theory that sugars, proteins and starches must be eaten separately in
order to avoid adding extra pounds.
More Food, More Diets And More Claims
As time passed, people were exposed to more kinds of food. Fast foods
were also introduced along with the comforts of living with high
technology. Losing fat became more of a problem and still more kinds
of diets came into being. However, most of them are still based on the
above diets, which are considered to be the first in the history of losing
fat.
Different Types of Calories
About The Different Types Of Calories
Calories - This word has been used and abused for decades yet many
people still do not know what it really means. There is more to calories
than just being a word that is linked to weight loss.
Understanding Calories
A calorie is a unit of measurement used to quantify energy obtained
from food. When there is an excess of calories, they are not burned
but are stored by the body as fat. It is common to hear that there are
different types of calories. However, what this notion really means is
that there are different forms in which calories may be obtained.
The main types of calories include: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
All of them burn up when used in the body and turn into heat energy
or calories.
Each kind varies in terms of chemical and physical properties. They
can be found in various kinds of food, whether solely or in
combination. Here are the essential things that you need to know
about each calorie type.
Getting To Know The Feared Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are probably the most common type of calorie. They
contain 3.75 kilocalories/gram and are found in foods that are mainly
rich in starch and sugar. Most of them can be taken from plant-based
foods like vegetables, fruits, and grains. Legumes, such as lentils,
beans, and peas, are also rich in carbs. On the other hand, dairy
products would be the only foods that come from animals which have
a lot of carb content.
Generally, carbohydrates can still be classified into two subdivisions:
simple and complex.
Simple carbs are basically sugars, such as glucose and fructose, which
come from fruits and a few vegetables. Another type would be lactose,
which comes from milk. Last would be sucrose, which comes from
cane sugar.
Sugar that is for everyday use is pure sucrose. Many of the simple
carbs that you eat are sugars mixed with processed foods such as
cookies, sodas. Presently, these add-ons are the major reason why
sugar accounts for 16% of total calories that are consumed by
Americans.
The complex types are chains of simple carbs, which primarily consist
of starches along with fiber, which can be found in all foods that come
from plants. However, plants store carbohydrates in the form of
starch. Foods that have high complex carbs would include grains and
products like bread and pasta. Additionally, potatoes, beans, corn, and
other vegetables are also high in complex carbs.
Over Shadowed Proteins
Since carbohydrates seem to be the most popular type of calorie,
proteins on the other hand seem to be the most over shadowed in
comparison with the fame of fats and carbs. However, it is also an
important kind of calorie that you need to develop body muscle.
Proteins have 4 kilocalories/gram. The majority of this kind of calorie
could not be naturally produced by the human body and must
originate from dietary sources. The main sources of protein include:
eggs, nuts, meats, legumes, grains, dairy products (milk and cheese).
According to recent studies, men between the ages of 19 to 70 should
consume 56g of protein everyday in order to avoid deficiency. On the
other hand, women within the same age range should get at least
46g/day. People who aim for building up their muscles usually have a
lot of protein in their diet.
Unwanted Fats
Fats, as the name suggests, would probably be the most unwanted
kind of calorie by many. However, it still plays an important role in the
normal function of the body. For instance, the body cannot absorb
Vitamins A, E, D and K if not for it. Also, they’re an important source
Your Guide to Fat Loss Page 15
of fatty acids. They play an important role in the maintenance of
healthy hair and skin. Protection is another function, since they protect
various organs from shock. They are also insulators. This is very
important for people that live in colder climates.
Fats can be obtained both from animals and plants. Some animal fats
include lard, butter and fish oil; while plant fats include soya beans,
peanuts, sunflower seeds, olives, coconuts, sesames, and vegetable
oils.
How Many Calories Do You Need?
Probably the most common question asked by people who are trying
to monitor their weight, is how many calories they really need on a
daily basis. It is true that you can encounter various calorie diets such
as the 2,000 cal diet; there is also the 2,500 cal diet and many other
more. However, the question still remains, what is the right amount
for you?
Your Guide to Fat Loss Page 16
Prerequisites In Determining Your Calorie Need
In order to understand how much you need, you should first
understand the principle of Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is an
important factor in determining the amount of calories that your body
needs.
What Is Basal Metabolic Rate?
Your basal metabolic rate or BMR refers to the amount of calories that
your body burns even while resting. Basically, the human body
requires some calories in order to do vital body functions such as
breathing, pumping of blood, and maintaining body temperature. The
BMR represents the minimum amount of calories that you need to
survive in a state where you are not engaging into any kind of activity.
Literally, it represents the measure of calories you need just to dwell in
bed and sleep throughout the day.
The higher your BMR, the more calories you’ll burn without having to
engage in any kind physical activity. The rate of one person can vary
greatly with another. A persons BMR is somewhat grounded in
genetics. Generally, men have a higher metabolic rate compared to
women. This is because they are predisposed to naturally having
greater muscle mass and at the same time, lower body fat percentage.
Hormones And BMR
Basal metabolic rate is sometimes also affected by hormones. For
instance, Thyroxin, which is created in the thyroid gland, is one very
vital factor in BMR. If your body does not produce a sufficient amount
of thyroxin, your rate will slow down. On the other hand, if your body
produces too much thyroxin, your metabolic rate could increase even
up to a hundred percent of your normal rate.
Other Factors To Consider
Additionally, other than gender and genetic factors, there are people
who simply have naturally slower metabolisms, while others simply
have naturally higher metabolic rates. The rates can also change
significantly in relation to your age and level of activity that you do
every day. In general, the leaner body mass you have, the higher
basal metabolic rate is. Conversely, the higher your body fat
percentage, the lower would your basal metabolic rate would be.
In Relation To Calorie Requirement
As you can see, the metabolic rate of each person differs. Hence, so
does every individual daily calorie requirement. Generally, if your
metabolic rate is higher, you’d need to have more calorie intake. On
the other hand, if you have a pretty slow metabolism, this means your
body only needs small amount of calories for vital purposes. Hence,
your daily calorie needs would be less.
Estimating Your Calorie Needs
Since there are a lot of factors to consider when determining your
calorie needs, it would take extensive research, monitoring and testing
before a person could really know their exact daily calorie
requirement. However, there are still methods that you can do in order
to estimate how much your body really needs.
Here's one convenient and quick way for you to estimate your calorie
needs. What you need to do is simply multiply your current weight by
15 in order to have the number of calories that you’d need every day
just to maintain your current weight.
If you presently weight 140 pounds and you’re very much happy with
your present weight, you’ll need (15 x 140) approximately 2100
calories everyday just to maintain that weight. However, you should
understand that this number is quite a general starting point, mainly
because a lot of factors are not yet considered, such as whether you
are active or sedentary, male or female, young or older. Take note
that it’s only an estimate.
You should also keep in mind that that computation gives you the
number for maintaining your weight. Losing weight would be another
story. If you’re aiming to shed some fat, multiply your current weight
by 10. For instance, if you weigh 130 pounds and you want to weigh
less, you would have to limit your calorie intake to (10 x 130) 1300
calories per day.
Exercise and Fat Loss
Exercise And Fat Loss
If you’d be asking people what would be the best way to lose fat,
you’d probably get the answer “Go exercise!” However, although you
may think that it is a cliché for an answer, it still never loses its magic
and effectiveness.
On the other hand, just like diets, there are a lot of misconceptions
regarding exercise and fat loss. So, as a guide here are some of the
essential things that you should know about the reality of how you can
lose fat while exercising.
You Can Lose More Fat With High Intensity Exercise
One piece of common knowledge is that you can lose more fat when
you undergo high intensity exercise. However, you should be able to
do enough of the exercise. If someone tells you that going for a 20-
minute high-intensity training on an interval circuit or the stationary
bike burns more fat compared to treadmill jogging for 40 minutes,
then you’re not getting the complete story.
It requires hard work to undergo this kind of training and you would
have to do it sufficiently for the results to be significant. Sadly, not all
people are up for the challenge of undergoing high-intensity interval
kinds of exercise regularly. Hence, you shouldn’t believe
advertisements that say '15 minutes-a-day for a great body'. More
than likely it’s just a publicity stunt.
Burning Fat Means Losing Weight
Another belief is that losing fat mean losing weight. This is true,
however, you do not really need to go directly to fat burning. First off,
you should consider how your body processes energy storage. Fat isn’t
a permanent fixture of cells or it would come and go according to your
body’s fuel requirements.
When glucose in your blood is low, which happens during early
mornings, fat would be your body’s main fuel. However, after you get
some food into your system, the amount of glucose in your blood
would rise. This leads to insulin storing fat and glucose in cells.
Consequently, your body also starts burning blood glucose.
When your glucose level in your blood gets low again, fat from fat cells
are retrieved to be used as fuel. This is what’s called “fat burning.”
After burning a lot of glucose, your body fat would get its turn to be
burnt up since your blood glucose would be low. Hence, in a way, you
really do not have to make fat burning your problem but instead focus
on food fuel burning along with energy balance.
You Can Lose More Fat With Low Intensity Cardio Exercises
This assumption is true; however there is more to it that just that.
This is actually the same as with high intensity training and losing fat.
You should be able to do just enough of it before you can shed off
some fat. Generally, low intensity exercises that fall into the zone in
which you could comfortably talk while exercising, is actually where fat
could get burned better and be used as body fuel.
High intensity exercises like weight training or interval training would
use more glucose fuel coming from carbohydrates. However, some fat
still gets burned during higher intensities. Hence, if you exercise that
hard long enough, you might be able to burn more, or just the same
amount of fat during higher intensity compared to less or equal work
at lower intensities.
This after-burn could also contribute to an increase in your metabolism
rate after undergoing high intensity workouts. Ultimately, your body
doesn’t really care what fuel you’re burning. Hence, you’d get the
same results: what you intake in excess of what you’ll be expending
would be stored as fat, even if there’s a significant metabolic
difference among carbohydrate, fat, and protein.
Lose More Fat With Weight Training
Just like other beliefs, this is true if you do it regularly and with a high
level of duration. It’s really not recommended for you to do just a few
heavy lifts coupled with a couple of minutes break in between, then
expect that your body has already used tons of energy and is able to
burn a huge amount of fat.
Believe it or not, one hour of vigorous walking can burn 300 calories.
Just the same, one hour of walking around the weight room chatting,
drinking and completing 10 moderate intensity exercises would only
burn a maximum of 300 calories.
How to Trick Your Metabolism
How to Trick Your Metabolism by Varying Calories
Another popular kind of diet that has been hitting the crowds is Calorie
Shifting. This diet plan is well known for its aim of tricking one’s
metabolism. Basically, it tries to avoid the "plateau" which is common
among a majority of diet plans on the market.
The Frustrating Plateau
If you’ve been dieting tried different kinds of diets then you are
probably familiar with hitting the dismaying "plateau" which is also
called "the wall" at times. This is basically the strange phenomenon
which occurs when someone has successfully dieted and brings weight
loss to an instant halt. Hence, no matter how hard you try to continue
losing weight, nothing happens.
This so-called plateau occurs most of the time during the 3rd or 4th
week after you’ve started dieting and seems to be a persistently
reoccurring factor in that period of your diet onward.
It’s A Reflex
However, what most people do not know is that these frustrating
periods during dieting are actually the their body’s natural defense
mechanism. This is how it works.
When your routine of taking in food changes, your body instinctively
knows what you’re up to. In a frantic attempt to avoid starvation your
body gets into a protective attitude against this change. In turn, it
tries to slow down your metabolism to prevent losing further weight.
Frustration On Its Way
Other than trimming the total sum of weight that you want to lose,
dieters start to believe that they’re simply unable to lose weight. This
is where you start getting frustrated. This also leads to the point where
people start giving up.
The Trick
Calorie Shifting diets are the answer to this problem. It tries to
eliminate the occurrence of this plateau. By changing the number of
Your Guide to Fat Loss Page 26
calories you eat every day, the diet effectively attempts to trick your
metabolism. In doing so it makes your body believe that a steady or
slow weight loss or diet is actually occurring. Your body believes this
trick and it doesn’t get into that protective mode.
Once you get past this point, your body’s metabolism does not slow
down. Consequently, it wouldn’t prevent you from further losing
weight. Thus, you get to continue weight loss and get the most out of
your current diet.
How To Execute The Trick
There are various ways to could integrate this kind of dietary plan into
your everyday routine. Thanks to its versatility, it’s a diet that is
relatively easy for roughly anyone to integrate into their present
lifestyle, regardless of what kind of lifestyle you have. There are a lot
of different Calorie Shifting diets out there that you can follow. Here
are some of the most popular methods.
The 14 Day Method
One popular diet is the 14-day method. Here, you’ll be doing the diet
for 14 days. Within those days, 11 days would be allotted to following
your scheduled diet plan, while the next 3 days would let you freely
eat whatever kind of food that you want.
The entire diet itself also rotates the various types of foods that you
eat throughout the day, which also helps in tricking your metabolism.
The 3 cheat days in the program not only prevent your body from
making a defense mechanism but also prevents you from being
frustrated with having a strict eating regimen and falling off the
routine. You could continue doing this 14 day plan as long as you feel
that it is necessary for you to get rid of excess weight.
The 2 Day Method
Another popular method is the 2 Day diet plan. This includes having an
“up day” and a “down day”. The whole program is based on a 2-day
schedule. The up day would be the day where you can eat regularly,
while the down day would be the day in which you would limit your
calorie intake by 20-35% less than your normal consumption. You
simply continue the pattern until you are able to get your target
weight.
One Pound of Fat?
How Many Calories Equal One Pound of Fat?
It is common knowledge that losing and gaining fat would has
something to do with the amount of calories that your body intakes.
However, what most people tend to forget is how many calories really
equals one pound. Dieters should understand that losing weight really
takes time and is definitely a process.
So, How Much Is It?
In reality, 1 pound of fat is equivalent to 453.6 grams, while 1 gram of
fat would contain 9 calories. Thus, one fat pound would contain 4082
calories. This would come from the equation: 9 x 453.6 = 4,082.4 .
This is the approximate amount of calories that you gain every time
your body consumes a pound of fat.
However, when talking about getting rid of 1 lb of body fat, you must
get your body to burn 3500 calories. Obviously, 3500 calories is
definitely not equal to 4,082 calories, right?!
What’s With The Difference?
So, what’s with this big difference? Actually, the reason is that fat cells
in your body actually contain other materials, like water and protein.
Hence, they’re not really made up of pure fat, unlike what you
consume. In consequence, when you lose one pound of body fat, you
really burn only about 3500 calories and not 4082calories.
Gaining Or Losing Weight
If you want to gain weight, you would have to add 3,500 calories to
your diet so that you can gain one pound of fat. On the other hand,
you would also have to take off 3,500 calories so that you can also get
rid of one pound of your weight.
What’s The Implication?
As you can see, this simply answers the question as to why some diet
programs are impossible to succeed. How come? Take note that the
needed average calorie intake of a person in a day to supply vital
functions and maintain their weight would usually fall into the 2000
calorie or 2500 calorie diet. Obviously, this is far from 3,500 calories.
Hence if you want to lose one pound in a day, you would have to go to
the extent of not getting any kind of calorie intake plus burning
another 1,000 or 1,500 calories.
This basically means torture to your body. Also, it would be difficult to
execute a plan like this since your body is wise enough to detect what
is happening. Hence, there is no such thing as instant dieting or
instant weight loss.
Do not be victimized by those countless advertisements of weight loss
products that say you can get an instant one pound off your scale as
soon as you use their product for just a few minutes or an hour.
Promises like that are definitely impossible to achieve. It would take
burning more than your daily calorie need just to get that pound off in a day
Taking It Slow
Nevertheless, it is still possible for you to get rid of that pound.
However, it will take you some time and you have to undergo a
process. You should understand that there are no shortcuts with losing
weight.
Sad but true, it takes a lot more time for you to drop pounds
compared to what it takes to gain them. A majority of dieters tend to
feel that they’re not getting any progress, especially when they come
into the phase where slow rates of weight loss occurs, such as when
they get stranded on the infamous weight loss plateau.
Achieving Your Way To Victory
If you are really determined to lose weight, you can still take
advantage of this information. What you’ll have to do is set a realistic
goal and create a diet plan that you think you have the guts to stick to
until the end.
For example, you want to lose one pound in a week. This is something
more achievable than losing a pound in a day. Hence, divide 3,500
calories by 7 (there are 7 days in a week) and you’ll get 500. Thus,
you would have to cut 500 calories from your daily diet. So, if you’re
eating a 2,500 calorie diet, you would have to cut down to a 2,000 diet
so that you can lose 1 lb in 7 days.
Alternative Strategies
Alternative Strategies When Dieting
As we have now seen, with the extensive and colorful history of
dieting, it is undeniable that there have been countless weight loss
strategies that have surfaced through time. However, not all of them
have acquired the fame and fortune that popular diet programs such
as the After Six Diet, South Beach Diet and Atkins Diet have achieved.
Nevertheless, it would still be interesting to know some of the less
popular dieting methods.
Hypnosis For Weight Loss
This is probably one of the last methods of weight loss that would
cross your mind, but yes, there are actually weight loss hypnosis
therapies available.
In this kind of program, you go to a hypnotherapist who can
administer the proper procedure. You are brought into a state of mind
in which you will be able to control your food cravings and suppress
your appetite. Hence, you won’t experience the pitfalls of overeating.
This would then lead to weight loss.
Subliminal Messages
Just like hypnosis, subliminal messaging is also used for getting rid of
fat. While subliminal messaging has been quite an issue for some time
there are still institutions that believe that the human mind is capable
of getting subliminal messages that are embedded in various kinds of
media.
For instance, you can listen to an audio track or music that
subliminally tells you to control your appetite and not eat fatty foods.
You may also go for pictures. The messages that you want to get can
also vary depending on your need. There are companies that actually
render this kind of service. All you’d have to do is tell them what you
want to achieve and they can even embed a subliminal message to
your favorite music!
This is one good way of getting motivated so that you can easily
exercise on a regular basis thus, leading to weight loss.
Stomach Stapling
If you do not mind extremes, one weight loss method would be
stomach stapling. This entails a medical procedure known as Vertical
Banded Gastroplasty. Although it is a legal procedure that is used to
manage obesity, the whole surgery itself is considered to be dangerous
and is only used as a last resort. It is used primarily for those who are
considered morbidly obese.
The procedure involves staples along with a band. These would be
used to make a small pouch in your stomach. At the bottom of this
pouch, there is be a 1 cm hole into which the contents of the pouch
could flow into the rest of your stomach and continue to the rest of
your digestive system. The aim of this procedure is to regulate your
metabolic rate along with your calorie intake.
Acupuncture
Another alternative method is acupuncture therapy. According to
traditional Chinese medicine, people tend to have excess weight
because of an imbalance within their system. This imbalance is
generally caused by malfunctions of your spleen and liver.
Hence, by acupuncture, certain pressure points on your body are
targeted to return the normal function of your liver and spleen. The
therapy would also target the well-being of your endocrine system,
which can leave you with a happier disposition.
Massage Therapy And Weight Loss
Another alternative is massage therapy. Believers of this kind of
method claim that getting a massage can actually help in losing weight
due to various reasons. Since massage can enhance blood circulation,
it is also thought that it can increase the metabolic rate. This increase
in metabolism can tap the stock energy inside the body and lead to
losing fat.
It also improves the strength of your muscles, which makes them
more fit when exercising. However, you should understand that getting
a massage is only considered to be a support for weight loss and not
really a main activity for you to shed some fat.
Your Guide to Fat Loss Page 37
Low Carb Diets
Obesity And Low Carb Diets
If you have tried dieting there is a good chance that the kind of diet
you underwent was one of the countless low carb diets available today.
Although low carb diets have existed for more than 30 years, the trend
for this method of weight loss has only reached its zenith very
recently.
The Answer To Obesity?
You may hear or see advertisements saying that this kind of diet is the
answer to the growing obesity problem.
This could be attributed to media hype and countless numbers of
genuine success stories. Not to mention that when you add a celebrity
or two in the mix, you definitely get the right formula for a new fad.
In no time, everybody jumps on the bandwagon this turns out to be a
popular low carb diet.
Is It Really For You?
This kind of diet requires the near-eradication of one whole food
group, which would be carbohydrates. Undergoing this ban could mean
anything from a number of weeks of sternly restricted carbs under the
South Beach Diet all the way to zero carbs as long as you live on
Atkins.
If you have a very sedentary kind of lifestyle and are gradually gaining
weight, this kind of simplicity is very attractive when you first hear it:
no counting calories, no measuring, no weigh-ins. All you’d have to do
is simply not eat pasta, potatoes, bread, cookies, cereal; or, if you’re
on Atkins, eat a majority of vegetables and fruits. However, the
question is, could you sustain that? Moreover, should you?
Yes, But With One Condition!
If you’re obese and you’ve tried almost everything yet nothing has
really worked for you, a low-carb diet plan is definitely worth trying.
However, it is important that you keep in mind that it is impossible for
you to maintain weight loss by dieting alone, not this season or the
next.
Exercising regularly is essential not just for you to control and
maintain your weight, but also for your general good health too,
especially for your heart health. Sooner or later, you have to increase
your activity and make it an essential part of your life as well. A lot of
doctors believe that when obesity is the problem, any kind of weight
loss plan which works is still better than not being able to lose weight
at all.
The Benefits
There are a lot of benefits in opting for this kind of diet. The best
would be that you are able to initially lose weight. There are a lot of
diets which make you eat odd foods, count up calories, and some even
go to the extent of making you weigh what you’ll be eating. These
kinds of methods aren’t just time consuming, they can also be very
expensive.
The Big Difference
Low carb diets also don’t limit you to one food group. This is a
significant advantage since a lot of fad diets usually limit you to only 1
or 2 food groups. This isn’t good for the body since it will leave your
system unbalanced.
This kind of diet is able to give you just the right amount of food
variety so that you are still be able to consume the essential nutrients
that your body really needs. In fact, a lot of low-carb diets tend to
promote the healthy kind of carbs.
Additionally, the foods you’ll be eating in this kind of diet aren’t that
hard to find and are not fancy. Here are some of the low-carb diet
approved kinds of food: steak, eggs, fowl, meat, mozzarella, cheddar,
salad vegetables, pumpkin, leeks, broccoli, sour cream, cabbage, okra,
and all kinds of meat (except processed and cured ones).
Exercise: Advanced Measures
Exercising is one of the most important activities that you should not
forget to include in your daily life. However, sometimes it may seem
that you still need to get a whole dose of motivation just to get
yourself up and ready for simple stretching exercises. This is actually a
major problem for most people.
There are still those who take being physically fit to another level. Yes,
people like these actually exist in real life and no, they don’t only
appear in movies. These are people who undergo advanced measures
of exercise, which require intense training, consistent practice, and
never ending diligence.
These are actually exercises that are less popular to the public eye and
are done only by those who are really serious with keeping themselves
fit. However, this doesn’t really mean that you can’t try such
exercises. Nevertheless, you should first have what it takes before
getting into such fitness programs.
As a guide, here are the essential things you have to know about the
advanced measures of physical exercise.
Going Extreme With Aerobic Exercises
One category of extreme exercise would be Aerobics. This type
actually has innumerable forms. Generally, it is done with intensity in
the moderate level throughout a fairly long period of duration. For
instance, running at a moderate pace for a very long distance is
considered to be an aerobic exercise; however, sprinting isn’t.
There are a lot of benefits that you can get from aerobic exercises.
First off, it strengthens your respiratory muscles. This gives you better
facilitation of the air transfer in and out of your lungs. It also
strengthens and enlarges your cardiac muscles. This paves the way to
the improvement of your heart pumping efficiency and also reduces its
resting heart rate.
Muscles in your body also get toned. You experience an improvement
in your blood circulation and lowering of your blood pressure. Some
psychological and emotional aspects are affected too, as it improves
your mental health, by reducing stress and lowers incidence of
depression.
Examples Of Aerobic Exercise
A lot of activities fall into the category of aerobic workout. Some of
them include: running, cycling/biking, roller skating, swimming,
playing basketball, cross-country skiing, jumping rope, dancing and
walking briskly. Additionally, you could get aerobic workout via
stationary exercise machines like treadmills, cycles, rowing machines
and stair-steppers.
Going A Notch Higher
There are also extreme forms of aerobic exercise, which can be found
in the form of Aerobic Water Exercise. This kind of activity also aims
for the goal of strengthening lungs and oxygen intake. However it is
done via various activities in water. It lessens stress on your muscles,
bones and joints because of the exceptional buoyancy properties. Your
body will also be completely supported by water when performing your
exercise routines. This is usually done in swimming pools and can let
you burn more calories, due to the added resistance of water to your
body.
Anaerobic Exercises For Intense Trainers
Another type of extreme exercise is anaerobic exercise. This kind is
considered to be more intense than aerobic ones. It is the kind of
exercise that is intense enough to elicit anaerobic metabolism in the
body. This is used by athletes for non-endurance sports so that they
can build up more power. It is also used by body builders in order to
bulk up and build muscle mass.
However, muscles that are trained under this kind of exercise develop
differently than aerobic exercise. They actually tend to have greater
performance within a short duration for high intensity activities that
could last up to a maximum of 2 minutes.
Examples Of Anaerobic Exercise
There are two main types of anaerobic exercise: Isotonics and
Isometrics. Basically, Isotonics make use of your muscles in order to
contract it against an object along with movement. One good isotonic
example would be weight lifting or resistance training.
Isotonics are great if you want to have tone, stronger muscles, and
stronger bones. It also prevents injuries and shapes and condenses
muscle for better aesthetics.
On the other hand, Isometric exercise would involve contracting your
muscle against a resistance without any kind of movement. One good
example is when you lift up an object, such as a dumbbell, then hold it
in position. Hence, you’re isolating a certain muscle.
About Thermogenesis
Heat Production and Fat Loss (Thermogenesis)
In the world of weight loss there is an obvious link between fat loss
and heat production. More often than not, you would find
advertisements that encourage you to subject your body to heat so
that you get rid of your fat easily. This is becoming a popular process
of getting rid of fat commonly known as Thermogenesis.
How Does It Work?
Whenever you fry bacon, or simply heat it in the microwave, you
instantly see oil coming out of the food, even if you didn’t add oil in
the first place. As you can see, when subjected to heat, the fats in the
bacon suddenly come out in the form of oil. This analogy is one good
illustration of how Thermogenesis works.
It is actually the process in which your body generates energy or heat,
by increasing your metabolic rate to above normal levels. Once you
attain a rise in your metabolic rate, this is what you call “the
thermogenic effect”. However, some schools of thought also refer to it
as the “Specific Dynamic Action (SDA)” or “thermogenic response”.
How Can You Get Thermogenesis?
You are able to attain Thermogenesis via a number of methods, some
of which include: supplements, exercise, nutrition, and cold exposure.
Nutrients And Their Thermogenic Effect
Among the nutritional sources of thermogenesis, the different
macronutrients also have different effects in regard to the thermogenic
response. Whenever you consume food, you experience an increase in
your metabolic rate. In fact, it goes way above your fasting level.
As for protein, it is processed to be used as energy, which is in turn
used for repair and growth of tissues. Conversely, carbohydrates and
fat primarily function as fuel and are also used more efficiently by the
body. Hence, fat and carbohydrates have lesser thermogenic effect
compared to protein.
Heat Creating Supplements
Supplements that have thermogenic functions usually have key
ingredients such as: ephedra, salicin and caffeine. Generally, they
boost your metabolic rate, which makes your body burn more calories
at a faster rate. They also help curb your appetite.
These agents are intended to counter your body's mechanisms for fat
storage by making your body preserve a high metabolic rate. In
consequence, it turns up your internal thermostat. Hence, you get to
burn fat faster.
However, with thousands of supplements that fall into this kind of
category on the market today, it could be very confusing to pick the
best. Nevertheless, most thermogensis products have the same
ingredients and may just differ with one or two special contents.
Keep in mind that getting the best thermogenesis products would
mean achieving all its effects minus the side effects, which include:
heart palpitations, jitteriness, or nervousness.
On Dosage And Caution
It doesn’t really mean that the higher the dosage of your heat creating
supplement it will give you faster weight loss results. In fact, what
happens is you do get the same effects, yet the side effects are
increased.
Moreover, there are also precautionary actions that you should keep in
mind, if you do undergo thermogenic supplements. First, you would
not want to become dehydrated. Thus, you should drink more water.
Another, you shouldn’t skip meals. This is because you’ll have low
blood sugar when undergoing this kind of program. Lastly, don’t take
these supplements at night. Keep in mind that they have caffeine
content, which could lead you to being up and awake all night long.
Popular Heat Makers
One popular heat creator for the body is green tea. Drinking this kind
of tea through the day could actually aid you in burning an extra 70-
100 calories in a day via thermogenesis. Studies also show that EGCG
(epigallocatechin gallate), which is a chemical in this kind of tea, is
responsible for its fat burning properties.
Additionally, some studies show cayenne peppers have chemical
compounds that are able to increase the body's thermogenesis. Hence,
just like green tea, it is able to heighten your metabolism. Some
research also shows that it can decrease your appetite, which is similar
to what thermogenic supplements do.
Body Fat and Genetics
Body fat has been society’s problem for the past couple of decades.
Reasons why people tend to be obese, how they can lose weight along
with the risk factors of being fat has been studied extensively.
However, there are still issues that are not yet resolved, even by
extensive research and even with the development of technology.
The Big Issue
One popular issue is whether body fat and genetics are related. This
question has been bugging people of all generations, but most
specially, today’s present generation. This is probably due to the
higher incidence of obesity and the easier access to information by the
public.
Taking Sides
Just like with any other kind of issue, there are two sides of the story
here. Of course, there’s the school of thought that does support the
claim that genetics have something to do with a person’s
predisposition of being fat. However, there is also the school of
thought which does not believe that genetics has something to do with
obesity.
Back To Basics
Genetics is the study of DNA and how specific traits are inherited from
parents to offspring. DNA is basically the blueprint that every
individual has. This dictates what color and other characteristics of
hair, eyes, skin, and a lot more body features you will develop as you
grow up. Since, genes/DNA dictates everything that a person will be
you can’t really blame those who suspect that it also has something to
do with being fat or not.
What Believers Of This Theory Say
In the light of research many factions lay claim to the discover of “The
Fat Gene”. However, there is still no official substantiation for this
claim since most of these studies have actually found different genes
that are more or less related not to being fat but to having physical
conditions that could be indirectly related to obesity.
Most tests are also administered to mice rather than humans. For
instance, one team of researchers in San Antonio were studying brain
injuries. They were able to delete an important defensive protein from
a laboratory mouse. They ended up having rodents that had short
stature and consequently grew fat in adulthood.
Additionally, another research team at Boston was able to find that
creating a very small genetic change in DNA that they claim can be the
cause of obese predisposition. The convicted gene, called INSIG2, has
a vital role in producing fat. They also say that it makes an individual
more prone to being overweight by merely changing its natural G-
condition to a C-condition.
These are just two of the many studies that implicate obesity’s relation
to a person’s DNA make-up. However, you should understand that
most of them are still in the process of further examination and study.
What Non-believers Say
On the other hand, those who think that genetics is not related to
being obese also have very good points that you can consider. Here
are some of them.
They believe that genes have evolved in a way to protect humans from
starvation, and not from an overabundance of food. It has only been
within the last 100 years that being overweight became a problem and
became evident in large groups of people. In fact, during ancient
times, people who were obese were actually worshiped and admired
since it was a sign that they had lots of food.
Additionally, the lifestyle of the human race has drastically changed
during this century. Sadly, the majority of the genes of people today
may not be fit for having a modern lifestyle. And since lifestyle is the
issue, being obese is partially blamed on the conveniences that people
have today such as computers, telecommuting, cars, elevators, remote
controls, fast food, and the like.
Lastly, it is said that the fastest increasing population of obese people
would fall into the impoverished category. They basically reason that
those who eat cheaper, less nutritious food also have slower metabolic
rates. They believe that accounts for why they are more prone to
being obese and not really due to their genes.
Supplements: Can They Help
Supplements and How They Can Help With Fat Loss
The advancement of technology has brought innovations in physical
fitness and weight loss. We have established that various diets have
existed since the 1800s. However, one of the most significant changes
in the methods of losing weight nowadays compared to those that
existed a century ago is the use of fat loss supplements.
Supplements For All Your Dietary Needs
There are numerous kinds of fat loss supplements available today. In
fact, if you search the Internet, you will see thousands of web pages
selling and different kinds of supplements. This is also the case if you
decide to visit any health nutrition store.
For a first timer, it can be confusing to select what supplement to buy,
especially if you’re not aware of the various kinds along with their
effects on the human body.
For starters, it is important to take note that all these supplements
have the ability to help you lose fat. However, there are also
supplements that can help you gain weight, if that would is your
problem. As for those that can make you lose weight, you should
understand that they basically differ on the process of how they could
help your body get rid of fat.
As a guide, here are the general categories of weight loss supplements
that have helped people lose fat over time.
Carb And Fat Blockers
These types of supplements are a great help in losing pounds since
they help you avoid gaining them in the first place. Most fat blockers
contain Chitosan, while Carb blockers have phaseolamin as its main
ingredient. These kinds of supplements block fats from meals by
binding to the nutrient within your digestive tract. In fact, Chitosan
has the ability to absorb up to 7x its own weight.
Overall, they can be helpful when you’re on a diet and especially in
times when temptation to eat unhealthy food hits you big time!
However, these do not give you the license to eat whatever food you
want, whenever you want and still expect that you can lose weight.
They are only to be used occasionally, yet are very effective.
Thermogenic Supplements
These are probably the most effective and popular supplement
available. These include a number of the most advanced supplements
on the market along with the priciest ones. Most of these contain
stimulants like caffeine and are specifically made to increase your
body's metabolism to burn more fat by increasing the amount of
calories your body burns.
However, stimulants increase energy. Thus, they can make you
sleepless. They’re also not advised for hypertensive patients since such
supplements could increase blood pressure. This is one reason why
there are people who should not use Thermogenics.
Thyroid Supplements
This kind of supplement is designed to heighten your body’s natural
thyroxin levels. Thyroxin, which is produced by the thyroid gland, is
the hormone that regulates metabolism. If increased, it could boost
your metabolism, results in a greater amount of calories burned.
Taking this kind of supplement leads your diet and exercise to be more
effective. In return, you achieve fat loss.
Appetite Suppressants
If you eat less food, you lose weight. However, being on a restrictive
calorie diet could make this difficult. So, “they” made appetite
suppressants, which make your diet easier to control. In this way you
can just eat your planned number of calories, no more excuses!
Some appetite suppressants can also help manage your body’s
cravings for fatty or sugary foods. Basically, it can make your diet
more comfortable.
CLA & EFA (Essential Fatty Acids)
CLA increases muscle mass and decreases body fat. Use of this
supplement can also manifest anti-catabolic actions, along with
antioxidant properties. Extra benefits would be assisting the immune
system.
EFA, on the other hand, can give powerful thermogenic effects. They
can increase fat burning, which makes the body burn stored body fat
to be used for energy production.
Weight Loss and Drugs
Although eating nutritious food and living a healthy lifestyle are the
two main remedies for weight loss, there are cases in which these two
are not enough. There are people who bring weight loss a step higher
by using drugs to help them get rid of fat. Right or wrong, this is one
reality that is currently being accepted by society as normal.
Going For The Fat Loss Pill
Drugs that are made to battle anti-obesity, also known as diet pills,
aim to help people lose weight effectively and faster compared to
other methods of losing weight. They are usually defined as
pharmacological treatments.
Most of the time, these kinds of pills are only suggested for people
that are suffering with life-threatening problems with their weight.
They’re also available only for people that have a doctor’s prescription.
Generally, these fat loss agents work via suppressing your appetite,
boosting your metabolism, and/or by working with your body’s natural
capability to absorb particular nutrients found in food.
Why Go For Drugs?
There are various reasons why people opt for these kinds of drugs.
Some may be personal, while some may be due to a doctor’s orders.
For most, they turn to the help of anti-obesity drugs or diet pills when
exercise and dieting seem to be unsuccessful in showing any
noticeable or visible result.
There are also instances when time is an important factor. There are
people that resort to using these kinds of drugs when they’re up
against time. They also use this when they really want to see
immediate results. However, there are still those that use weight loss
drugs in agreement with the recommendation and advice of their
doctors or trusted health professionals.
What is Available?
There are a lot of weight loss drugs on the market. Some exist on the
black market, while some can be bought legally in your normal
drugstore. Those that can be bought in drugstores are usually the ones
that gain fame and fortune. Examples of these popular diet pills and
anti-obesity drugs include: Sibutramine, Orlistat, Byetta,
Metformin,and Symlin.
Sibutramine
This drug is sometimes advised by experts. Nevertheless, it isn’t
something that you should consider as a 'wonder-drug'. It can partially
help you. Hence, you would still need to lessen your food intake to lose
weight. It generally works by giving you the feeling that you’re more
'full' even if the food that you just consumed is less than your normal
amount of consumption. Thus, your appetite would be reduced and
your satiety is enhanced.
According to studies, taking this drug and coupling it with the right diet
and exercise can let you achieve more weight loss compared to having
exercise and weight-reducing diet alone.
However, there’s also a big chance that it won’t work with you. One
good reason is because some might think that you could relax with
your diet, and let the drug do all the work.
Orlistat
This drug is popularly known as Xenical. It has the ability to interfere
with your body’s natural process of fat-absorption. Hence it could
reduce and decrease the amount of fat that your body absorbs.
Originally, Orlistat could only be bought with a doctor’s prescription.
Nevertheless, as of 2007, over the counter sale has been approved.
Metformin
This is a particular drug that is prescribed for people that have
diabetes. However, due to its use for diabetes through the years, it
was found that those with Type 2 diabetes that have used Metformin
also experienced the drug’s side effect of losing weight.
Byetta
This is actually a by-product of GLP-1, which is a hormone that is
secreted in the intestine whenever it senses that there is food present
within. Similar to Metformin, it is currently available as medication for
Type 2 diabetes. You can get it in an intravenous form. It helps you
lose weight by making you feel full and delaying gastric emptying.
Symlin
This is a by-product of Amylin, which is a hormone secreted by your
pancreas. Generally, this hormone is secreted as a reflex when eating.
It is quite similar to Byetta. This drug also works by delaying your
stomach’s emptying. It also gives you a feeling of fullness.
Liposuction
Losing Fat Through Liposuction
Exercise, dieting, eating healthy foods, taking supplements and weight
loss drugs are all weight loss methods. It may seem that with the
number of these methods, they would be enough to answer the ever
growing problem of obesity.
However, there are still cases where all those mentioned above are
still not enough. So what would probably be the last resort if you still
don’t lose fat even if you religiously follow your weight loss program?
Liposuction, of course!
What Is It?
Liposuction is a type of cosmetic surgery. Here, fat is removed from a
number of areas in your body. These areas that are worked on usually
include: your midsection, butt, arms and thighs among others. If at all
possible, this procedure is considered to be a last resort for removing
fat deposits which haven’t reduced even through persistent exercise
and dieting.
This procedure is used to take away excess fat. It also has the ability
to shape-up various areas of the body. However, you should keep in
mind that you can’t solely rely on this procedure for weight loss. In
fact, surgeons averagely remove less than 10 pounds of fat in the
overall procedure.
Development
Getting rid of fat by liposuction has dated from the mid 1920’s up to
the 1960’s. However, the procedure’s appeal only had its spike during
the early 1980’s. It was a French surgeon named Dr. Yves-Gerard
Illouz, who introduced one method of liposuction which uses a cannula.
These are tubes which are used for fluid extraction from the body. He
also made use of high-powered suction. It became a success since the
results were very favorable. Additionally, little amount of fatal
incidences occurred.
After a few decades, the procedure has experienced steady
improvements in relation to the techniques being used. All of these
innovations have resulted in liposuction procedures that have fewer
risks involved. Additionally, there is less pain, less bleeding, and more
fat is removed. Presently, this is the current most commonly done
surgical procedure in the U.S.
Can Everyone Undergo Lipo?
Although you may think that liposuction is a life saver from living a
lifetime of obesity, it is not. This is because it isn’t for everyone. There
are requirements for you to be able to undergo this procedure. First
off, you should be 18-years of age or above. You should also be in
excellent physical condition. Lastly, you must have tried other weight
loss methods yet failed with them.
People with certain conditions are also not allowed to get this surgery,
such as those with diabetes, heart problems and circulation problems.
How Does It Work?
Traditionally, liposuction is done by inserting a cannula, or tube, in an
incision under your skin. This cannula has a vacuum appliance on the
other end of it. The plastic surgeon pulls and pushes the tube through
the body’s fat layers under your skin. This causees fat cells to break
down and be extracted.
However, in today’s trend, surgeons first inject a small volume of
liquid in the area that would be treated before inserting the tube. This
liquid has anesthetic effects. It also has epinephrine, which lessens the
bleeding. Lastly it contains a saline solution, which transforms the fat
to be similar to normal body fluids. All in all, the liquid loosens the fat
and minimizes complications and bruising.
There are also some surgeons that use a different technique called
tumescent liposuction. This is also known as swollen liposuction. It is
somewhat similar to the basic method discussed above. However, this
type entails a larger volume of liquid to be injected in the treated area.
The larger amount of liquid gives the surgeon a larger surface area to
remove fat. It also reduces bruising.
Side Effects And The After Math
There are also side effects from liposuction. You may experience:
localized swelling, bruising, pain, minimal scarring and numbness in
the treated area. However, these side effects usually disappear in a
few weeks from the operation.
There are also risks that may make you change your mind from
undergoing the procedure. These include: allergic anesthetic reaction,
infection, fluid imbalance, skin necrosis or death, damage to internal
organs, fluid imbalance and burns.
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