Weight Loss - Why Reducing Calories Is Not The Whole Story

Add the calories up that you take in in your food and drink, subtract the calories you expend in your physical activities, if the answer is a positive number you'll put on weight and if it's a negative number you'll lose weight.
The trouble is, your body doesn't see it like that. If it were that simple, early Man would never have survived from one unpredictable meal to the next. He survived because his body had a mechanism which would store energy when food was plentiful and release it again when it was scarce. His body also had a way of recognizing when energy intake was low, and economizing on its use of fuel. These two mechanisms were his blood sugar/insulin control system and his metabolic rate.
You differ little from early Man in your genetic makeup. Your body still retains the blood sugar/insulin and metabolic rate control system that enabled your ancestor to survive. The problem is, you probably don't eat like your ancestor. Your ancestor never had the carbohydrate-dense, highly refined foods that most of us eat so much of today, such as sugar, flour and all the manufactured products that are made with them. Unfortunately for you, your energy storage system works a little too well. You put on weight easily when you eat these carbohydrate-dense foods, because they send your blood sugar/insulin control system into overdrive. They may still do this, even when the calories you are taking in are not excessive.
Even worse, if you reduce your calorie intake to a level where you have a calorie deficit, you are in danger of triggering the other mechanism -- the slowing of your metabolic rate. This is often called 'starvation mode', but you don't have to be literally starving for your metabolic rate to slow down. And if your metabolic rate slows, your body needs less food to supply your daily energy needs. In other words, the more you diet, the less food you need.
This means that losing weight is very often a precarious balance between reducing food intake and exercising enough to produce a calorie deficit, while eating enough to keep your body from going into 'starvation mode'. And if you are one of the up to sixty per cent of the population which is believed to have a very sensitive blood sugar/insulin control system, then basing your diet on carbohydrates, especially the refined sort, may also hinder your weight loss.
The importance of these survival mechanisms is only now starting to be recognized in the medical world. It is becoming understood that losing weight is not just a simple matter of eating less. There is also mounting concern about very low calorie diets -- the sort that supply less than 500 calories per day -- because of the risk that they will depress your metabolic rate if followed long term. If you are not losing weight on a restricted calorie diet, then these mechanisms may well be at play. These and many other factors which may be preventing your weight loss are explained further in the book "Why Can't I Lose Weight -- The Real Reason Diets Fail And What To Do About It".

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By Jackie Bushell
Jackie Bushell is passionate about raising awareness of the role of diet and nutrition in good health and helping those who are affected by obesity. Via her website at GoodDietGoodHealth.com, she provides information, support, cookbooks, how-to guides and a newsletter for those wishing to understand more about how to improve their health and achieve a healthy weight in a natural way. Amongst the resources she has developed are a low carb/low GI diet cookbook and a book called 'Why Can't I Lose Weight' for those who experience common problems such as not losing weight on their diet or becoming stuck on a 'diet plateau'.

Copyright GoodDietGoodHealth.com 2006

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Two Foods to Avoid If You're Trying to Lose Weight

Everybody is different especially when they go on a weight loss plan. The “diet” that works for one person may not necessarily work for another person. Your genetics or chemical makeup can affect how you lose weight. Some people do very well on calorie-counting diets while others almost seem to gain weight when they go on restrictive eating plans.
But there are two foods that, if you minimize or eliminate them from your diet, you will lose weight, no matter what your physical type.
Processed Carbs
If you think about how bread and pasta (the most popular processed carbs) are made, you will realize how deadly this food is to your body’s healthy weight. It doesn’t matter if they end up on your table as whole grain bread, brown rice or White Wonder Bread, they are processed in the same way and contain the same basic density of calories.
To make bread or pasta, you start with grains that are processed into flour. Each one of those grains has calories so when you have a few ounces of pasta or a slice of bread, you are actually eating concentrated calories in the form of grains. Then your body has to work hard to process it and your metabolism becomes sluggish as a result. Not only that but all those concentrated grains cause your insulin to spike which will also slow your metabolism.
One more reason for grains to be eliminated from our diets is the fact that our bodies were not designed to eat grains. But our ancestors managed to find a way to process them so that we ended up with them in our food supply. Through a complicated process, eating grains allows incompletely digested proteins into our bodies and that can cause problems for your immune system. If grains can cause serious autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s Disease, it’s probably not a good idea to eat it regularly in your diet. (Read The Protein Power Lifeplan written by Michael R. Eades, M.D. and Mary Dan Eades, MD. for more information.)
Dairy
Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yogurt are not a good food to eat if you are trying to lose weight. It doesn’t matter if it’s low fat, it’s still fat. You already have fat on your body that you are trying to lose, why would you eat more?
Plus, milk naturally has sugar in it which means your insulin level goes up whenever you drink it. If you are eating animal protein, your body is getting plenty of fat from those food sources. If you cut back on the fat you are eating, your body will use up the fat your body already has to fill its needs to function and you will end up losing weight.
Don't worry about depriving yourself. Remember that as you cut back on these foods, the goal is to lose weight. Once you lose the weight you want to lose, you can add these foods back in with moderation.

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By Eunice Coughlin
Eunice Coughlin is the founder of http://www.healthy-living-for-moms.com, a resource for moms of all ages and stages who seek spiritual and physical health and wellness. Find out how to lose 5 pounds fast at http://www.healthy-living-for-moms.com/lose_5_pounds_fast.html .

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Safe Weight Loss

What is necessary for safe weight loss?
A calorie deficit must be created through exercise and a small calorie reduction. This means more energy goes out than comes in. If it were only so simple!
Problem #1
Appetite seems to increase with activity level (therefore cancels out energy expended), this may not always happen.
Problem #2
The body will attempt to conserve weight during times of increased activity and reduced calorie intake (body becomes more efficient with energy).
Problem #3
Scales do not tell how much of the body weight is muscle, fat, OR water.
Problem #4
We all know someone who eats a lot (and eats a lot of "forbidden foods") BUT does not seem to gain a pound, while others eat very little and still have difficulty in altering their body composition.
Tip #1
You must use weight training to build muscle mass and increase metabolism and you must exercise consistently. The energy expenditure will help develop a negative caloric balance.
Tip #2
Base your success on how you feel, how your clothes fit, and how well you perform in your sport/activity, NOT on how the scale reads.
Tip #3
Do not starve yourself. The body may shut down its metabolism and it becomes extremely efficient in saving/storing energy. Eat nutritious meals spaced evenly throughout the day to maintain the metabolism and provide energy for exercise. Reduce any unnecessary food intake.
Tip #4
Remember you are trying to eat fewer calories then are needed to maintain weight. Aim to reduce the calories by a maximum of 20% (i.e. 200-400 per day), BUT/ never go lower than 1500 total daily calories. Reducing the amount of fat in your diet greatly helps in reaching a calorie deficit (because each gram of fat has 9 calories).
Tip #5
Do NOT eat "fat-free" foods in excess. Remember the aim is a calorie deficit! There are no magic OR forbidden foods. Some are better than others BUT very few items need to be fully excluded from a diet. Allow yourself at least the occasional treat.
Tip #6
Choose water as your low-calorie fluid source, unless you need the nutrients that are provided by a glass of milk OR juice.
Be honest #1
Do you really need to lose weight? Losing weight often involves certain sacrifices, so determine if it is really necessary for health or performance and then make full commitment to the goal.
Be honest #2
Can you decrease your food intake without your health suffering? Try to reduce calories with your health in mind by reducing the foods with least nutritional value (i.e. processed foods, sugary drinks, excess sauces, and sugar).
Be honest #3
Are you truly hungry when you eat? Are you just thirsty, bored, stressed?
Be honest #4
Are you active for only 30minutes (your exercise session) and then stuck in a chair for the rest of the day? Consider this before you justify an increase in caloric intake.

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By Craig Ballantyne
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

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How to Increase Your Fat and Sugar Burning to Aid Weight Loss

In order to carry through a successful weight reduction process, your over-weight must be attacked from several angles at the same time. Among other measures, you also have to increase your burning of fat and sugar. This burning is also of two kinds. The body are steadily burning fat and sugar and thereby producing heat, and it burns these nutrients to get energy for the daily activities you perform. The aim in a slimming process is to increase both these burning processes. In the terminology often used about slimming, this is often called "increasing your energy levels".
A. THE FAT AND SUGAR BURNING PROCESS
The burning of fat and sugar is composed of many chemical steps. Fat is first broken apart yielding free fatty acids. The fatty acids are then broken further down to pieces called acetyl. The sugar is also broken down to acetyl in a process called glycolysis, and the energy thus released is used to produce an energy-rich compound called ATP. The acetyl formed from the braking down of fat and sugar is then further combined with oxygen yielding carbon dioxide and water, and even more ATP is produced. The ATP produced is then used to release heat and to give energy for the bodily work.
B. GET ALL THE NUTRIENTS YOU REQUIRE
The process of braking down and burning fat and sugar uses vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids as working tools. Therefore your diet has to contain all these nutrients in the needed amount. Including vegetables or fruit in a natural form in every meal will help you get these nutrients.
Even though your generally shall reduce your fat consume, some types of food containing essential fatty acids should be a part of your daily diet, for example nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, olives, olive oil and fat fish.
Extra supplements of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and lecithin can also be of help.
C. PHYSICAL EXERCISE
You should do some physical exercise at least every second day. Condition training like running, swimming, cycling or ball play consumes energy and thereby helps burn fat and sugar. The burning process even continues some hours after the training session.
Weight lifting or other muscle building activities are also of value. They help convert fat in your body to muscle mass and muscles are always burning some sugar and fat, even when they are not active.
D. USE OF DRUGS OF THE AMPHETAMINE GROUP
Amphetamine and related substances stimulate the activity of the central nervous system and thereby give impulses to increased external activity that consumes fat and sugar. These compounds also increase the metabolic activities that produce heat by consume of fat and sugar. These compounds can also reduce the appetite. All these effects can together help to reduce an excessive weight.
However, these compounds also may give many unpleasant or dangerous effects, like addiction, insomnia, agitation, manic reactions, hypertension, stroke, heart valve damage and heart rhythm disturbances. Therefore amphetamine itself and many related compounds are by now banned in most societies as a means to reduce weight. Amphetamine was early banned and classified as an illegal narcotic. By now also these compounds has been banned after having been on the market for some time: aminorex, fenfluramine, phenylpropanolamine and ephedrine.
Substances of this group available on the market today as weight reduction aids are: Phentermine, diethylpropion, phenidmetrazine, benzphetamine, sibutramine, rimonabant, oxyntomodulin and fluoxetine hydrochloride (Prozac).
E. USE OF CAFFEINE AND SIMILAR COMPOUNDS
Caffeine and similar compounds also increase the mental alertness, the feeling of energy and the impulses to external action, and thereby they also increase the burning of fat and sugar. They also increase the fat and sugar burning by accelerating the basic heat production metabolism.
A simple way of taking caffeine or the related compound teofylline is drinking a few cups of coffee or tea each day. A cup of coffee in the morning can and another cup in the afternoon can often give you the impulse you need to do an effective daily exercise session.
The tropical plants Yerba Mate and Guarana contain caffeine variants with a much greater effect on the fat and sugar burning than ordinary caffeine. On the market you can find sport drinks and slimming aids containing extracts of these plants.
F. SUPPLEMENTS STIMULATING THE THYROID GLAND
The hormones produced by the thyroid gland increase the basic metabolism and the burning of fat and sugar. A sluggish production of thyroid hormones can therefore contribute to developing over-weight.
Vitamins and minerals that the thyroid gland use as tools to produce its hormones can help to effectivize the thyroid hormone production, for example vitamin B1, vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, magnesium, manganese, potassium and zinc. Compounds being raw material for this production can also help the thyroid gland to effectivize its hormone production, for example L-thyrosine and iodine. These compounds are found in many supplements to aid slimming.
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By Knut Holt

Knut Holt is an internet consultant and marketer focusing on health items.

TO FIND natural supplements to help slimming and natural medicines against common diseases, like acne, eczema, hypothyroidism, fatigue, depression, hemorrhoids, joint pain, hypertension, high cholesterol, circulatory problems, digestive ailments, allergies, menstrual problems, respiratory diseases and more, PLEASE VISIT: http://www.panteraconsulting.com/salg2.htm

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How To Find The Best Weight Loss Program That Really Works

Have you been going back and forth, jumping from one program to the next, in your quest, in still trying to find, the best weight loss program that works??? This is a hard task. Well let me tell you this. They are out there and they do exist. You just got to dig deeper.
People first are looking for the best weight loss program out there before actually loosing the weight itself. You need to know what to look for in a weight loss program and what questions to ask
Before looking into a weight loss program, you may want to talk to your doctor first. It is a doctor's job to help you improve your health. Isn't that what they are there for? Through your doctor, find out as much as you can about your health first before joining any weight loss program. At least you will know where you stand health wise.
Now, in your quest to find the best, make sure it is safe. Look for a program that will have a 1000 to 2000 calorie intake. Any calorie program lower that 1000 is dangerous. Also, a program should focus on slow changes. Don't go for the quickies.
Make sure the professionals who are working in the weight loss arena can answer your questions easily. And especially about pricing. Some of these programs cost so much and you get nothing out of it. Just a little tin-kle return. And does the program carry any risk? Definitely ask this one.
You also want to know how many people have been with the program and for how long and are they still using the weight loss program. And if this program you are looking into is celebrity endorsed, don't be afraid to ask questions about that celebrity and how much weight they lost. Why not if he or she is endorsing the program.
The best weight loss program out there is one that is going to motivate you. One that makes you feel good mentally, physically and spiritually. And this is what you should look for.

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By Carmen Paden
If you are looking for a great weight loss system that you can do in the privacy of your home, you can check this out. The best weight loss program Work it!!!

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How Diabetes Can Effect Vision

Vision problems usually affect those who have Type 1 diabetes, but can also affect those with Type 2 diabetes. Vision issues such as:
- Blurred vision

- Ability to see color is diminished

- Floaters across field of vision

- Nighttime vision decreased
When a person has diabetes, the tissue in the back of the eye that allows light in may be damaged or may be growing too rapidly. This can happen over time and may eventually lead to blindness. Having a doctor examine the eye is the only way to determine the causes and determine whether surgery or other options are available.
Surgeries can include:
- Laser photocoagulation

– destroys blood vessels that are blocking the light from entering the eye.

- Cryoretinoplexy

– freezes blood vessels and stops tissue from growing behind the eye.

- Vitrectomy

– remove vitrous from the eye.
These surgeries will help remove tissue that has been damaged by diabetes.
While there are many problems associated with diabetes, losing one’s vision over time can be very frustrating. Having yearly check-ups, wearing glasses, and monitoring how one’s vision seems during the day will help. If a person develops constant headaches, blurred vision, or other symptoms, they should consult a doctor to see what can be done. Many times reducing stress and changing dietary habits may be enough to stop the symptoms from returning.
Eating a proper diet and maintaining blood sugar levels will also help. Diabetes affects millions of people, but not all will suffer eye damage. This depends on diet, exercise, heredity, and other factors.

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By Jeanette Pollock
Jeanette Pollock is a freelance author and website owner of justdiabeteshelp.com. Visit Jeanette's site to learn more about diabetes and vision problems.

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Six Tips for Losing Weight

Losing weight is not “rocket science.” All you have to do is increase your exercise and control your eating and you will lose weight. Of course this is easier said than done, but it is possible to do it.
Many people give up the effort because they are overwhelmed with so many things to do. Don’t eat this, eat this, do this, do that and many other instructions prove to be too much. OK, if you can’t follow a whole program then why not make one change at a time in your lifestyle?
I will give you a few examples. One of my yoga students came to me and told me that he had just lost 4 kilos (close to 9 pounds) in one month. How did he do it? He just did one thing: he fasted during one day of each week of that month. That’s all he did.
If you don’t like fasting or are not ready for it, then try one experiment with food. Give up eating foods with unnecessary added sugar such as cookies, cakes, candies, soda etc. I tried this recently and lost ten pounds. After a meal, instead of eating a sweet dessert I eat a piece of fruit. It’s possible, and you don’t have to change anything else.
And, if you are not ready to change your eating habits, then try adding some exercise to your life. Take a walk after dinner instead of sitting in an easy chair watching TV. Put on your mp3 player, get out in the fresh air and digest your dinner with a brisk walk. Walk 20 minutes away from your home and 20 minutes back. Do this every night and you are sure to lose some weight, and also improve your digestion and sleep.
Another small change you can make is to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Four liters (quarts) spread out over the day will help you to control your appetite and also help your over-all bodily functions.
If these above mentioned tips are not “doable” then try something else: do the three yoga postures which are explained in the Yoga Weight Loss Secrets ebook, twice a day. It will take you a total of forty minutes, and/or do the meditation that is described in the mini course and in the ebook.
Finally, if you are gung-ho and would like to try all of these tips on a daily basis. Then here is what to do:
1. Give up unnecessary sweet foods, and substitute them with fruit
2. Do fasting on a regular basis (see my ebook or mini course for instructions)
3. Add brisk walking to your daily schedule (40 minutes)
4. Drink four liters of water every day
5. Practice yoga exercises two times a day
6. Practice meditation two times a day
If you do any one of these things you will lose weight. If you do all of these, then your success is a sure guarantee.

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By Dada Vedaprajinananda
Dada Vedaprajinananda is a yoga and meditation teacher with over 30 years of experience. He is the author of "Yoga Weight Loss Secrets", www.yogaweightlosssecrets.com and "Start Meditation, Stop Smoking", www.start-meditation-stop-smoking.com

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