Weight and See

Lose weight? I’m happy being the weight I am, says Judith as she struggles up the stairs to bed. I’m fat and happy says Leslie, as she realises she can’t fit into the seat to drink her coffee in the café and has to call her friend to change venue. I’ve always been big, I’ll diet tomorrow, my husband likes my curves. No-one likes a skinny woman. Sound familiar. We’ve all said it at some time, for sure. But are we kidding ourselves? Are we looking in the mirror and seeing ourselves for what we are. 

For some, because weight loss is a slow process, and a difficult one for the majority of people, it is easier to stay the weight we are, and to do nothing about it. In this society of fast-food, fast Internet connection, fast trains, and fast everything, weight loss is possibly too slow. If only we could lose three stone in a day, and then do everything that’s needed to keep it off. Certainly there would be thinner people on the street, and thinner in most cases means healthier.

Think body image. Do we, who are overweight, see ourselves as slimmer than we are? Perhaps we look in the mirror and see a different person staring back. An excellent way of kick-starting that diet and therefore starting a health regime is to go clothes shopping. Not many people can stand the scrutiny of themselves in a cubicle without clothes on, staring at themselves in their less-than-white underwear. If you’re like me, you pull in your stomach, avoid looking at the legs and arms, and get out of there as quickly as possible, (minus the outfit!) 

Think on this before eating your doughnut… 88% of women have dieted at some point, and yet obesity remains a problem. Dieting should be simple… take in less than you use – in energy, that is. Women should stick to 1500 – 1800 calories, and men 2000 – 2300. Let your fat be released into your body, instead of hanging around the hips and thighs. 

Cut down on high-sugar drinks

Diet with a friend for support

Eat more fibre – it’s more filling

Eat smaller portions

Ask for the sauce on the side in restaurants

Cut down on ketchup and sauces – or cut them out

Eat more fruit and veg

Drink water

Drink green tea – high in antioxidants that may inhibit fat digestion

Take an interest in YOU

For more information regarding weight loss and diet, visit WeightLossCommunicator

BONES – MAKE OR BREAK

To help keep your bones healthy and to keep osteoporosis at bay, you will need to consider a few options. If only it were that simple… take a few supplements, do a couple of exercises and drink milk. No, it’s not like that, and you need to consider a few other things to have healthy bones, and to continue to have healthy bones into your retirement and beyond.

Osteoporosis is where the bones become weak and break easily. It sounds like something that happens to the very old, but don’t be disillusioned. It can happen at any age, especially for those who have had Anorexia. Although bone density decreases with age, osteoporosis causes the bone density to increase much quicker. If we have poor diets, the risk is greater. If we do little exercise it also greater. Read on, and see what you can do to help prevent this ‘silent epidemic’. 

Do’s

Eat a balanced diet. Include foods such as dairy, almonds, soya beans, tofu which are rich in calcium. Also sesame seeds and dried figs.

Do weight-bearing exercise, such as jumping or jogging. Even walking up stairs two at a time will have the same effect.

Go out in the sun, as this will give your body much-needed vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium. Have as much as twenty minutes a day, if possible.

Don’t’s

Don’t smoke. This will inhibit cells to strengthen bones.

Don’t drink too much. Keep to the guidelines of 2 – 3 units a day for women, and 3 – 4 units a day for men.

If you lose a lot of weight, combine this with exercise to help strengthen bones. Anorexia is a massive cause of osteoporosis in young people. 

 

Our society spends thousands of dollars on health and health products, and accessories to make our bodies look beautiful. Go to any drugstore and see face products on the shelf, costing the earth. But what do we do about our insides? Don’t forget that our skeleton is as important as our skin, and that without a healthy skeleton, no amount of skin products will help maintain our looks. There is no substitute for exercise and a good diet.   

For more information regarding weight loss and diet, visit WeightLossCommunicator

FAT CHANCE – KNOWING THE TRUTH

Take a look at four types of fats and we’ll make your life easier for sure.

SATURATED fat

MONOUNSATURATED fat

POLYUNSATURATED fat

TRANS fat

All fats have certain things in common. The first being, they are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They all contain calories. They are all a source of energy. If you eat too much of any of these fats, you will put on weight, and probably feel lethargic. Not one of these fats in excess will make you feel good.

However, we need fat. Our body needs fat. But do we need all of them?

Saturated.

These are ‘saturated’ with hydrogen, and come in the form of hard fat, like lard. It is found in animal food, such as dairy and meat. Think cheese. Some oil contains saturated fat, like coconut or palm, found in many processed baked products. 

Too much saturated fat can increase cholesterol in the blood. This in turn increases heart disease. 

Monounsaturated.

This is liquid at room temperature, and is an unsaturated fat. Olives and olive oil contain this type of fat. Also avocado and many spreads. This type of fat has been linked to low blood pressure, and is typical of the Mediterranean diet.

Replace saturated fat with mono, and you will find health benefits. Cook with olive oil, but in moderation. Eat nuts, and avocado.

Polyunsaturated.

These fats are essential for our body. We do not produce these fats, so need to supplement them through food. We need Omega-3 and Omega-6. Omega-3 is found in green vegetables and oily fish, as well as rapeseed oil and flaxseed. Omega-6 is found in sunflower oil, and corn oil, as well as meat, chicken and nuts. Make sure you have a well-rounded diet, including oily fish at least twice a week.

Trans.

Trans fats are made. Unsaturated oil is hydrogenated, which gives it a higher melting point, and makes it more solid. This is usually to give it a higher shelf life.

Processed foods are the usual source of trans fats, and food such as cookies, cakes, cheese, pies and pastries are the biggest culprit. Some margarines contain trans fats, but many manufacturers are cutting these out, and have changed their way of thinking. 

There are no health benefits to trans fats. Luckily, trans fats have been reduced by the food industry over recent years. Check food labels, however.

Don’t forget… olive oil is healthier than butter and hemp seed oil is a good source of Omega-3 for people that don’t eat fish.

For more information regarding weight loss and diet, visit WeightLossCommunicator

GIVE ME STRENGTH

Not only can exercise burn fat and help build muscle, it can also strengthen bones, which, obviously, is necessary and vital for our skeleton. In simple terms, we need strong bones to keep us upright, to allow us to walk, sit and, well, be.

We need to take care of our bones, and our skeleton, the same as any other organ or tissue. These days, women spend a fortune on make-up and skin products, and that’s what we can see on the outside. Do we forget what’s on the inside? We mustn’t forget… Bone supports our soft tissues, it protects our organs, and also stores fats and minerals. Bone is also the site of red blood cell production in the marrow.

 

Our bones are living structures, and need nourishment as well as care. Calcium is stored in our bones, and released into our bloodstream. When older, and our hormone levels change, bone density can decrease and our structure becomes weaker. Osteoporosis is a risk during the time of decreased bone density, sometimes due to hereditary, and sometimes being female. And of course, because of diet.

To help bone density, and to help decrease problems associated with it, cut down on alcohol and smoking. Alcohol depletes calcium, and smoking affects production of hormones. 

Calcium-rich foods help bone density, so stock up on dairy, dark green vegetables and nuts. Also try fish, eggs, cod liver oil, and plenty of sunshine!

Regular exercise is also a must, and can strengthen bones. Don’t be put off by thinking you need to have a complete exercise regime. Instead, think of exercise that will impact, like jogging or jumping. Even walking up the stairs can help, especially two at a time. Do this ten times. Leg squats are good, just by standing on one leg and holding the back of a chair. Squat down as far as is comfortable by bending the knee. Pull abdominals tight, and don’t twist your ankles, knees or hips. Do this fifteen times.

To strengthen arms, sit on the stairs, leg outstretched. Place your hands either side of your bottom and push yourself off the stair you are sitting on. You should be lifting yourself up. Then lower yourself slowly, keeping elbows into your sides. Do this fifteen times.

Start off slowly with these exercises, and build up. If in doubt, consult your doctor. For more information on National Osteoporosis Society, check out www.loveyourbones.org.uk or phone 0845 450 0230.

For more information regarding weight loss and diet, visit WeightLossCommunicator

WAIST NOT WANT NOT

Did you know that fat around your stomach can be toxic, and that you can add years to your life by losing inches from your waist?

Along with a fat stomach often goes raised blood sugar.  This also can mean raised blood pressure, and unbalanced blood fats. This is known as ‘Reaven’s’ syndrome, named after Gerald Reaven, who first noticed the risk factors. It is often now called the metabolic syndrome, which can be present in the body for years before type 2 diabetes appears.

As we know, it is vital to control the level of glucose in our blood, and the two hormones, glucagons and insulin both do this job: glucagons to raise blood glucose, and insulin to lower it.  When insulin is released into our system, our liver and muscles along with other tissue are stimulated to absorb more glucose from the blood. Often tissue becomes less sensitive to insulin, and this is insulin resistance. This means the pancreas needs to work harder by releasing more insulin to bring down the glucose levels.

Blood fats levels – or dyslipidaemia – are not just about high cholesterol. It is about unhealthy lipid profile, or fats, and the balance between the fats may be unhealthy, even if your cholesterol is low. Along with the expanding waistline may go raised blood pressure, insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia. Even though these features may be in low amounts, mixed together they may be dangerous. 

According to a Harvard Health Professionals Follow-up Study, men with the biggest waists were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with smaller waists. In fact, the likelihood was 12 times higher. The bigger your waistline, the more likely you are to have heart disease, cancer or a stroke. In fact, a high waist size was found by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, to almost double the risk of premature death, even if cholesterol etc was normal.

In order to cut down on your waist size if it is larger than normal – less than 31 ½ inches in women – you need to exercise for 30 minutes a day, and include a good balanced diet. This means foods with a low glycaemic index - GI – unrefined carbohydrates and protein.    

For more information regarding weight loss and diet, visit WeightLossCommunicator

A Weight Loss Tracker

Keeping track of your weight loss is crucial. This allows you to see whether you are achieving your weight loss goals or not, so you can come up with more effective weight loss programs. Several websites are offering free download of an online weight loss tracker. You can use this to your advantage and avail of an online weight loss tracker over the internet.

How it works

A website that has an online weight loss tracker usually asks you to input the following:

1. Your current weight

2. Your weight before you entered into a diet program

Your weight goal

An online weight loss tracker will then compute these data and produce a data that shows how much weight you have lost from your past weight.

Advantages

The benefits of getting a weight loss tracker are abundant. Not only will you see concrete results on how much weight you have lost, but it can also serve as a motivational factor that can push you to lose weight once you see that there are positive results.

It is important, though, that you put in the correct information in an online weight loss tracker. After all, you do not want to deceive yourselves about your weight loss progress.

Is it accurate?

The question remains, however, if these weight loss trackers are accurate or not. It takes a leap of faith when it comes to trusting this weight loss tool. In the end, it is still better to consult a professional to know your accurate weight loss progress. They have the right tools to compute and they can also give you sound advice to further improve your weight loss progress.

Dieting

The best way for you to lose weight and achieve your weight loss goals is to undergo diet and exercise. By employing these techniques you will be able to achieve your desired weight in no time.

Phillip England is a weight loss expert and Author of the popular report "The Ultimate Weight Loss Secret". To receive your free information on the secret that doctors, and health companies either don't know, or don't want you to know, please see http://www.theultimateweightlosssecret.com/secret

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phillip_England

For more information regarding weight loss and diet, visit WeightLossCommunicator

Setting Realistic Goals For Your Weight Loss Goal Worksheet

Weight loss is not supposed to be a blind man's journey. It is not about waking up one day and wanting to lose weight. Rather, weight loss is a long term process of losing weight through healthy means and keeping the weight off with a healthy lifestyle. To kick start your weight loss journey, it is best to have a weight loss goal worksheet at hand so you can realistically set your goals and plans.

What it is

A weight loss goal worksheet can help keep track of your weight loss journey so you can monitor how much you have achieved in a specific amount of time. Ideally, your weight loss goal worksheet should be checked and consulted regularly by a doctor, so he can guide you on your journey, just in case you've lost your way.

What is contains

Your weight loss goal worksheet contains the basic information including your height and weight at the start of your weight loss program, your body mass index (BMI), and your weight loss goals. There are many weight loss worksheets available on the internet. You can also make your own weight loss goal worksheet or you can consult with an expert to come up with a personalized and realistic worksheet.

The path to weight loss

In your weight loss journey, you might be tempted to find a shortcut so you can easily achieve your weight loss goal. But do not cheat your way to weight loss! It is important to undergo a healthy diet and exercise regime that will help promote healthy weight loss. The advantage of having a weight loss worksheet is you can set real goals and once you have achieved that goal, you can now start maintaining the weight you have lost.

One essential - yet difficult - part of weight loss is weight loss management. A weight loss worksheet can help you in weight loss management with ease.

Phillip England is a weight loss expert and Author of the popular report "The Ultimate Weight Loss Secret". To receive your free information on the secret that doctors, and health companies either don't know, or don't want you to know, please see http://www.theultimateweightlosssecret.com/secret

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phillip_England

For more information regarding weight loss and diet, visit WeightLossCommunicator