Fat Is Not The Villain

For the last two decades we have been told that fat is what is making us fat. It is the f-word that has lead to such poor health and obesity across the globe. But in North America we have cut our fat from 40-32 percent of our daily calories, but the average North American has been putting on almost 10 pounds a year! How can this be? Haven't they been telling us for years that a diet reduced in fat is supposed to help us lose weight? Doesn't fat in our bodies mean less fat on our bodies?

I ask many of my clients to keep a food journal, at least for a few days so I can get an idea of what their diet looks like. So many of them list foods like, fat-free cookies, fat-free cakes, fat-free licorice, and non-fat yogurt/sour cream. Many people believe that if a product says fat-free that makes it a "free" food and can be eaten as often as they like, in un-limited quantities. Whether it is fat-free or not, it's junk food! The main ingredient in these so-called healthy snacks is SUGAR, and sugar my friend is the real enemy. Sugar turns into pounds on your thighs and gut. And these products shouldn't even be called food because they often have contain mainly white flour, dangerous chemicals and dyes that your body doesn't even know what to do with, and it certainly doesn't need.

Your body needs healthy fats to work at it's best. I'm not saying that you can go and gorge on it and not gain weight, but not having enough good fats in our diets is more likely to put weight on you than help you lose it. Choose lean meats, olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocados for your diet. These choices are full of good nutrients like vitamins A, D and K. Remember that the culprit in your diet is what North American's have become accustomed to "wrapping" our so-called "fatty-foods" in, breads, buns, croissants etc. And where the empty foods like buns, breads, and croissants leave you feeling hungry in an hour, the "fattier" foods will leave you feeling full and satisfied and ward of the immediate hunger cravings you have likely come to know. You still need to make sure that you don't go over board though, because too much of anything isn't good either. But you already know that.

For your FREE Guide To Beat Belly Fat visit: http://www.incrediblebodynow.com

Find me on Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/pages/Incredible-Body/342624465859273

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

Want To Know Why Diets Don't Work?

 

You've heard it a hundred times before, and you probably even know this from your own experience that diets don't work. Most diets fail because diets are based on deprivation. And after several days or weeks of depriving yourself, you eventually give yourself a little reward. And this "little" reward usually starts you back to the path of how you ate before, and sometimes with a little extra indulgence. And during this time you typically gain the weight back, and then some. Dieting statistics are depressing. Over 96 percent of people who go on diets end up gaining back all the weight they lost.

So, what are we doing wrong? Simple, it has to do with our metabolism. And what does our metabolism do exactly: it is the rate at which our bodies burn calories to give us the energy and fuel we need to function. There are some lucky people who have naturally high metabolisms and can pretty much eat whatever they want and still stay slender, while the rest of the world can eat nothing but salads and still gain weight. Just like your Mama told you, "Life isn't always fair." But is it possible for you to change your metabolism? You bet! In fact, you likely already have, but for the worse. Going on and off of diets, aka yo-yo dieting, you are actually dangerously disrupting your body and LOWERING your metabolism.

Think back to your last diet (or the one you are on right now), where you did lose weight, well, temporarily at least. This is because the human body is so amazing. It responds to getting fewer calories by taking from your fat reserves, so you lose weight, but this only works for a short while. Then your body SLOWS DOWN your metabolism to stop you from starving yourself. It is at this point that people usually experience a plateau, even though they are sticking to their diet. And after a few days of depriving yourself and not seeing the number on the scale budge, you give up and give in. Not only does the weight come back, but now because you have lowered your metabolism, your body actually needs less calories than it did before you went on the diet. Great, so now if you eat the way you did before, with the same amounts, as before, you will gain weight even more quickly because you have changed your metabolism.

So next time you hear about the latest and greatest diet fad, ask yourself if you want to slow down your metabolism.

For your FREE Guide To Beat Belly Fat visit: http://www.incrediblebodynow.com

Find me on Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/pages/Incredible-Body/342624465859273

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

Weight Loss Myth - Doing High Reps With Light Weights Will Burn More Fat and "Tone"

This has been drilled into our heads for years! Just pick up any magazine and you'll see a picture of an attractive, slender, lean female, holding super light weights, suggesting that she got her body by effortlessly curling 5 pound weights 20 to 25 times each arm. Yeah right. And this is transferred into the gym, where you'll find the majority of the women lifting light weights because they have been told that is how you lose weight and "tone" up. And you will find most of the men are lifting much heavier weights for much fewer reps to build muscle. But is this really the case?

At my gym the majority of the ladies who are lifting light weights a dozens of times in a row are also the ones who are on the cardio machines a lot (and I'm not talking about intense cardio queens who run for hours), these ladies can carry on a conversation and text at the same time. But these ladies are not slender or toned, in fact, most of them are the exact opposite, overweight and soft. While the men (and a few of the women) who are lifting heavier weights for lower reps have far less body fat on them and they have muscle. Now, don't go thinking what so many women fear, "I don't want to bulk up!" Ask any bodybuilder how "easy" it is to put on muscle, it's not, and this won't happen unless are on a crazy diet (eating TONS of bodybuilding foods) and lifting like a bodybuilder. So then, what is the solution to lifting weighs, cardio and losing weight?

INTENSITY! Intensity is key to getting results. You can lift both light and heavy weights and not see any change in your body, but add intensity to your workouts and keep your rest times short, and you'll get the best results. Really focus on your workouts, leave your phone behind and get your heart rate elevated and sweat. When our workouts are intensive and include some heavier lifting it helps speed up our metabolism and helps us burn energy throughout the day, even when you are sitting on the couch watching TV.

So, whether you decide to lift light weights or heavy weights, or a combination of both, make it intense and you will drop body fat and add lean muscle, which will mean a tighter, sexier you.

For your FREE Guide To Beat Belly Fat visit: http://www.incrediblebodynow.com

Find me on Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/pages/Incredible-Body/342624465859273

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

Staying Positive on Weight Loss Journey

Staying positive is a key component in accomplishing all your weight loss goals. Dieting is very hard and requires dedication and discipline; it is very easy to lose motivation after only a few weeks, as you may not be seeing the results you expected and this is when negativity and doubt can creep in. It becomes very easy to lose focus and forget what makes you special. You need to remind yourself everyday, fall in love with yourself! If you remain positive you will achieve all the goals you have set out and get the body you deserve. A crucial element for successful weight loss: Recognise any negative attitude and mental patterns. You must deal with these before you will progress with your weight loss. Let these negative thoughts go and replace them with positive thoughts and focus on what you really want. Take back control and make better choices

The mind is a powerful tool in influencing behavior, whether we persevere with an endeavor or whether we quit all comes from the mind. By allowing negativity to seep in, we limit ourselves and we will never know what we are really capable of. By staying positive we can reach our full potential, this is especially prevalent when we are dieting to lose weight. Positivity will give us drive to reach our weight loss goals by conquering the limitations we put on ourselves.

Some studies have concluded that our bodies maintain the weight that our minds have become content with. So in theory by seeing yourself as a overweight person your body will find a way of accumulating weight. This weight gain can be harder to remove unless you remove the negative thoughts from your mind and replace them with positive affirmations. If the mind can conceive it the body has to find a way to achieve it. Picturing yourself when you have met your weight loss targets or on the beach in your new bikini will push you through. Visualizing the rewards of weight loss will set in motion a rush of good feelings and you won't get discouraged. At the end, weight loss is about health, feeling good as well as looking it. You must love the skin you are in right now even if you are not at your desired weight or dress size. All bodies are beautiful. Everybody deserves to feel great and there is nothing better at achieving this than a positive mind!

Look good and feel good. Love yourself slender!

http://www.slenderlove.com

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

What You Don't Want to Hear About Rapid Weight Loss Diets

I understand how tempting it has been for you; you want to buy that program that promises to give you some rapid weight loss diets needed to melt your excess pounds in seconds. Of course, you want to wake up the next morning beaming with confidence - you want that perfect body.

You've heard a lot about celebrities losing considerable amount of pounds within weeks of giving birth, and you reaffirm to yourself how possible it is to lose those troubling pounds - FAST.

Effective Weight Loss Shouldn't Be Rapid

Let me bring you right back to earth; save yourself from these claims. Anything that sounds too good to be true is probably is - rapid weight loss diets inclusive.

It's no news that Americans spend $33 billion every year on weight loss products, it is also no news that weight loss supplements and fad diets want a piece of that huge cake.

So, it's alright to believe these claims, after all, all you see are advert lines like "Lose 10 pounds in 10 Days" and "Drop one Dress Size today" plastered all over the internet.

Truth is, nothing like rapid weight loss diets exist and even if they do - they are unhealthy and can be counterproductive to your health.

Now, you ask: Aren't rapid weight loss diets healthy? As far as I know, an A-listed celebrity once used it and never had problem with it, what is then the problem?

A lot is wrong with these diets, I can tell you. But to quickly satisfy your curiosity, let's dive into this together. Any diet that promises drastic weight loss falls into any of the types below.

Classes of Rapid Weight Loss Diets:

Very Low-Calorie Diets (VLCDs): These are supervised low-calorie diets based on researches and studies on people that have used them and their effects on weight loss.

Starvation Diets: these diets promote detoxification through enemas or colonics. They promote a daily calorie intake of less than 1200 calories per day.

Diet Pills and Supplements: Just like the name, they are pills and supplements that promise to speed up weight loss by revving up your metabolism, burning fat in the process.

Creams and Devices: this type is the most dubious - lots of magic creams are out there that promise to replace exercise and healthy diet.

First, you need to know that marketers of these products make their claims freely - without any proof or any research to back them up.

The rapid weight loss diets worth considering is the VLCDs - the drastic reduction of calories - but even at that, it is not advised for long-lasting weight loss because one cap does not fit all.

Why You Don't Need Rapid Weight Loss Diets

The risks of drastic weight loss are enormous - apart from the huge physical demands it creates on the body, there are lots of medical issues that can be traced to it.

People who lose huge amounts of pounds in no time are susceptible to malnutrition, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and irritability. Other health issues associated with this type of weight loss are dizziness, constipation, headaches and fatigue.

In as much as you want to drop those pounds, there is need for common sense - there is no easy route to weight loss. By all means, attack your weight problem in a healthy way to put yourself on the path of success.

Effective Weight Loss Plan without Side-Effects

There are ways you can safely lose 3 pounds a week - without any rapid weight loss diets gimmicks. What you need is a healthy diet and the right amount of exercise to go along with it.

If you want to shed some pounds fast, exercise a lot more and eat less - burning close to 500 calories more than you eat everyday is enough to drop 1 to 2 pounds a week.

And if you are looking for the 3 to 5 pounds a week option, take 1100 to 1200 calories everyday and exercise for up to an hour. Don't cut the calories any further as this could be dangerous to your health.
Learn ways to minimise added sugars, starches, animal fats from meats and dairy foods. Focus on veggies, fruits, soy products, egg whites, fish, skinless poultry breasts, non-fat dairy foods, shellfish and lean meat.

DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST! Also, make a habit of eating from a plate on your dining table - not in front of the fridge as this triggers bingeing.

Vegetables and fruits are filling; they keep you full without extra calories. This same thing goes with water; take lots of water to keep hunger pangs at bay. And more importantly, keep yourself busy - being bored lures you to snack.

Always Keep a Food Journal

Write down the things you eat on a daily basis, this will help you curb unnecessary indulgence and bingeing. Aside this, It also keeps you on track and focus on important things.

Along with what you eat, write down how your feelings were before eating - were you angry or bored?

Did you get home from work feeling happy or exhausted? Were you with friends? Writing down these things makes it easy for you to attack the problem of bingeing and emotional eating.

Keeping a food journal means you are helping yourself take the right steps - doing the things that'll help you to a healthy weight in the long run.

Move That Butt Around

It is a known fact that 30 minutes of moderate exercise is needed daily to lose weight. You just must stop living a sedentary lifestyle and move yourself around. There is no two ways about it, you must exercise.

NOTE: If you are critically obese and haven't lifted a muscle in years, it'll be a nice idea to check with your doctor or health care provider before engaging in any type of physical activity. He/she will guide you on what will be convenient for you to do.

Remember: you don't have to run to compete for world finals; all you need is the right amount of exercise that'll make you lose weight. Then you can work your way up little by little till your body starts to take notice of your commitment.

Once you can be able to pull this off effectively , you'll realize you don't need those rapid weight loss diets before getting your body where it needed to be
Are you really sure that you can lose weight naturally? Perhaps, you need a mentor?
Wouldn't it be nice if you can really get yourself a guide... for FREE?
To get this guide and learn other tips to lose weight naturally and effectively, and more importantly, how you can lose weight without rapid weight loss diets

Visit http://www.permanentweightloss101.org

Effectively Lose Weight With A Paleo Diet Grocery List

In today's sugar and carbohydrate addicted world a lot of people experience excessive weight. Sugar and carbohydrates are in fact the number one cause of excess weight. These types of nutrients trigger a whole variety of issues for humans, beginning with insulin spikes that cause low energy levels all the way to chronic ailments that can devastate a healthy living. The paleo diet is one of the only diets available today that almost totally cuts sugar and processed carbohydrates from nutrition and thereby eliminates a host of problems that would otherwise persist or even increase. One of the first things anybody will notice when looking at their paleo diet grocery list is that it contains zero processed or refined foods, meaning all of the foods on there are either organically grown vegetables or fruit or meat that comes directly from the farmer, butcher or the seas. An optimized paleo diet grocery list ideally only contains vegetables and fruit with low carbohydrate and very low starch content or a healthy type of natural sugar that does not do harm to your body.

The next great advantage of the paleo diet is that it can contain as much or as little protein as you like to have, and that due to the nutrients you take in on a daily basis, your protein synthesis will become optimized over time. One of the first things that is going to be recommended to you whenever you join a gym to lose weight is to amplify your protein intake. What ordinary gym instructors do not tell you is that in order to maximize protein synthesis you should almost completely cut sugar from your diet. The only time any sugar should be required is right after a good muscle workout or during long endurance cardiovascular related exercises. The logical thing to do is to replace your usual sugary soft or energy drinks with fresh fruit from your paleo diet grocery list. A fruit smoothie or a vegetable and fruit smoothie mix right after training or even during training can quickly be absorbed and is totally natural. In addition to the healthy sugar you will get from this type of drink it also contains plenty of minerals and vitamins that are much more easily absorbed by your body than are synthetic, factory produced supplements. It is therefore quite difficult to understand why only a small percentage of people even today choose synthetic supplements over natural ones. The main explanation I could find for that phenomenon is that natural foods are more widely available and do not receive the same kind of marketing back up that other nutritional supplements within the fitness industry find. Natural foods already sell well and do not necessarily have to be advertised, even though they should be!

Getting back to the topic of protein, you will find that your paleo diet grocery list is a food list filled with protein. The first thing any bodybuilder or athlete that wants to focus on building muscle and losing weight needs in his diet is protein. The reason is simple; protein is what builds muscle cells and therefore protein is what builds the non-fat components in your body after your workouts. This means the more muscle you build by feeding protein to your body, the less place there will be for fat and your body composition will eventually change to being predominantly muscle. Protein in fact burns fat and the higher the muscle or protein content of your body, the lower is your body fat percentage. This means that if you use your paleo diet food list for a long enough duration you will experience a decrease in body fat percentage, an increase in vitamin and mineral absorption as well as muscle growth. Furthermore it needs to be mentioned that consistent use of a paleo diet food list will mean that your body's hormone levels will return to normal. This can mean a variety of things starting with automated fat loss, healthy appetite without cravings, healthy and regular sleep at night, steady energy levels without insulin spikes and an overall increase in wellbeing combined with a drastic reduction of physical ailments.

Take action today and get hold of my paleo diet food list at http://www.apaleodietfoodlist.blogspot.com

I also recommend you get my $27 Paleo Recipe Book for a list of 300 delicious and fat melting recipes that will help to normalize your body's hormone levels and enable you to lose excess fat fast while becoming a healthier person!

Visit http://www.paleodietmenu.info today!

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

 

Release Weight and Rejuvenate

Imagine the shock of a weight loss expert gaining weight. It can happen to anyone and the answer is always getting to the root cause and recommiting. Don't judge, berate or punish yourself with negative self talk. It only serves to hurt and not help. Let your vision of vibrant health, being slim and looking great in a fabulous outfit draw you closer to your goal. You owe it to yourself to care for your body like a precious classic of immeasurable value. So when you need to lose weight, be conscientious, commit and create an environment that supports you.

It's not just calories that count

I am happy to see that there are a lot of new books, some on the NY Times Bestseller list touting what I have been advising and practicing for years. We gain weight and age because of inflammation, glycation (sugar binding to protein) and oxidation as well as hormone imbalances. Food is the culprit or cure for all of these reactions that if left unchecked can create havoc with your hormones and incite illness.

It's not just the quantity or the calorie count of foods that makes weight loss difficult; it's the type and quality of the food that can cause reactions in your body that cause weight gain, inflammation and illness. Food intolerances cause inflammation and glycation. Both of these accelerate oxidation as well as raise cortisol and insulin, hormones that make you pack on the pounds. Many weight loss doctors or programs utilize what I call fake food: processed soy protein with additives, preservatives, artificial flavors and sweeteners in small portions. You can lose weight but be left metabolically worse off and lose muscle mass causing a rebound gain in weight.

Food that makes you fat and ill

A medically supervised weight loss program can help you get to the root cause of why you are gaining weight and examine your genetics and the biomarkers in blood, saliva, urine or cheek swabs. These tell you how your body is reacting metabolically and how it is programmed. Medical weight loss physicians are able to tailor diet and supplement plans to bypass or eliminate metabolic blocks that are hampering your weight loss efforts.

However, there are many things you can do on your own. Eliminating some common foods that cause you to become a metabolic mess can transform your health. Toxic buildup over time, reliance on processed foods with additives and preservatives, aging and loss of enzymes as well as food engineering takes it toll on your metabolism. You can reverse this and renew by eliminating the major pound packers that also cause many other symptoms such as:

• Additives
• Alcohol
• Artificial sweeteners
• Caffeine
• Corn
• Dairy
• Eggs
• Fruit juice
• Gluten
• Grains
• Peanuts
• Preservatives
• Soy
• Sugar
• Wheat

The symptoms they cause

• Abdominal pain
• Bloating
• Breakouts
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Gas
• Headaches
• Joint aches
• Mental Fog
• Mucous
• Nasal congestion
• Skin reactions
• And more...

If you have any of these symptoms, they can be relieved by an elimination diet known by many other names such as detoxification, cleanse or whatever the jargon is at the time. Don't worry, you won't get diarrhea, it's not that kind of cleanse. The trick is that you have to eliminate ALL of the possibilities COMPLETELY for at least two weeks, then reintroduce them systematically in large quantities and note if any symptoms return. Many people can return to eating these foods infrequently in small quantities after a period of abstinence.

Benefits

The best part is that you not only heal a lot of what ails you, weight is released and energy and vitality are unleashed. It helps to get support so as not to become overwhelmed. There are a lot of versions of this type of diet. Choose a practitioner or source you can trust. It helps to combine this with detoxifying supplements and herbs as toxins released from fat can cause reactions. Having a medical weight loss physician who can measure your biomarkers and personalize your diet and supplements to address the root cause of weight gain can help you take it off and keep it off for good. Start on your own and if you need support, find a doctor well versed in metabolic medicine.

Lorraine Maita, MD is an award winning physician, speaker and author of "Vibrance for Life: How to Live Younger and Healthier" and can make you slim, sharp, sexy and supercharged. She is an expert in anti aging medicine, bioidentical hormone replacement, and weight loss, nutrition, supplements and executive health. Dr. Maita has a private practice in Anti Aging Medicine www.howtoliveyounger.com in Short Hills, NJ and educates virtually at www.vibranceforlife.com.

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