How Exercise Changes Fat and Muscle Cells

Exercise promotes health, reducing most people’s risks of developing diabetes and growing obese. But just how, at a cellular level, exercise performs this beneficial magic — what physiological steps are involved and in what order — remains mysterious to a surprising degree.

Several striking new studies, however, provide some clarity by showing that exercise seems able to drastically alter how genes operate.

Genes are, of course, not static. They turn on or off, depending on what biochemical signals they receive from elsewhere in the body. When they are turned on, genes express various proteins that, in turn, prompt a range of physiological actions in the body.

One powerful means of affecting gene activity involves a process called methylation, in which methyl groups, a cluster of carbon and hydrogen atoms, attach to the outside of a gene and make it easier or harder for that gene to receive and respond to messages from the body. In this way, the behavior of the gene is changed, but not the fundamental structure of the gene itself. Remarkably, these methylation patterns can be passed on to offspring – a phenomenon known as epigenetics.

What is particularly fascinating about the methylation process is that it seems to be driven largely by how you live your life. Many recent studies have found that diet, for instance, notably affects the methylation of genes, and scientists working in this area suspect that differing genetic methylation patterns resulting from differing diets may partly determine whether someone develops diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

But the role of physical activity in gene methylation has been poorly understood, even though exercise, like diet, greatly changes the body. So several groups of scientists recently set out to determine what working out does to the exterior of our genes.

The answer, their recently published results show, is plenty.

Of the new studies, perhaps the most tantalizing, conducted principally by researchers affiliated with the Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden and published last month in PLoS One, began by recruiting several dozen sedentary but generally healthy adult Swedish men and sucking out some of their fat cells. Using recently developed molecular techniques, the researchers mapped the existing methylation patterns on the DNA within those cells. They also measured the men’s body composition, aerobic capacity, waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and similar markers of health and fitness.

Then they asked the men to start working out. Under the guidance of a trainer, the volunteers began attending hourlong spinning or aerobics classes approximately twice a week for six months. By the end of that time, the men had shed fat and inches around their waists, increased their endurance and improved their blood pressure and cholesterol profiles.

Less obviously, but perhaps even more consequentially, they also had altered the methylation pattern of many of the genes in their fat cells. In fact, more than 17,900 individual locations on 7,663 separate genes in the fat cells now displayed changed methylation patterns. In most cases, the genes had become more methylated, but some had fewer methyl groups attached. Both situations affect how those genes express proteins.

The genes showing the greatest change in methylation also tended to be those that had been previously identified as playing some role in fat storage and the risk for developing diabetes or obesity.

“Our data suggest that exercise may affect the risk for Type 2 diabetes and obesity by changing DNA methylation of those genes,” says Charlotte Ling, an associate professor at Lund University and senior author of the study.

Meanwhile, other studies have found that exercise has an equally profound effect on DNA methylation within human muscle cells, even after a single workout.

To reach that conclusion, scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and other institutions took muscle biopsies from a group of sedentary men and women and mapped their muscle cells’ methylation patterns. They then had the volunteers ride stationary bicycles until they had burned about 400 calories. Some rode strenuously, others more easily.

Afterward, a second muscle biopsy showed that DNA methylation patterns in the muscle cells were already changing after that lone workout, with some genes gaining methyl groups and some losing them. Several of the genes most altered, as in the fat cell study, are known to produce proteins that affect the body’s metabolism, including the risk for diabetes and obesity.

Interestingly, the muscle cell methylation changes were far more pronounced among the volunteers who had ridden vigorously than in those who had pedaled more gently, even though their total energy output was the same.

The overarching implication of the study’s findings, says Juleen Zierath, a professor of integrative physiology at the Karolinska Institute and senior author of the study, is that DNA methylation changes are probably “one of the earliest adaptations to exercise” and drive the bodily changes that follow.

Of course, the intricacies of that bogglingly complex process have yet to be fully teased out. Scientists do not know, for instance, whether exercise-induced methylation changes linger if someone becomes sedentary, or if resistance training has similar effects on the behavior of genes. Nor is it known whether these changes might be passed on from one generation to the next. But already it is clear, Dr. Ling says, that these new findings “are additional proof of the robust effect exercise can have on the human body, even at the level of our DNA.”

For the original article please click link below:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/how-exercise-changes-fat-and-muscle-cells/

How To Get Motivated to Exercise

How To Get Motivated to Exercise
It can be hard to exercise. Here are 5 tips to help you get off the couch and get fit.
By Linda Wasmer Andrews
WebMD Feature Reviewed by David Ludwig, MD, PhD

You know you should do it. And you know why: Exercising -- simply put, moving instead of sitting -- is critical for safeguarding your health and setting a good example for your kids. So why does it seem so hard to get yourself moving?

The truth is: You can. But knowing how and why to exercise isn’t enough.You need to develop the right mind-set to get and stay motivated.

"Change is hard!" says certified health behavior coach Shelly Hoefs, fitness supervisor at the Mutch Women’s Center for Health Enrichment in Sioux Falls, S.D. "When we try to start exercising, we think of all the excuses for not doing it and all the things that have gotten in the way before. Getting fit starts to seem overwhelming. And that makes it feel stressful. Before long, we don’t want to do it anymore."

Here are 5 steps to get you moving in the right direction -- and keep you going.

1. Find Personal Motivation to Exercise

What you need to get you up off the couch is a reason that's important to you. At first, that may be some external factor, says Cal Hanson, director of the Sanford Wellness Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. It could be a number on the scale that surprises you or your doctor's recommendation that you need to move more to stay healthy.

There are all kinds of benefits to getting fit. Which matters most to you? Something as simple as taking a brisk walk after dinner every night helps to:

control your weight
strengthen your bones
enhance your muscles
reduce your risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer
Plus, by becoming active, you're being a good role model for your children.

These benefits may get you started, but they may not cut it when it comes to keeping you moving day after day, Hanson says. To keep up your motivation to exercise over time, you also need to find your internal motivators. Maybe taking a yoga class leaves you feeling more energized or less stressed. Maybe a run or walk every day helps you let go of stress. Hanson says these are the kind of rewards that are meaningful to you on a personal level and that can help keep you motivated.

2. Set Realistic Goals to Get Fit

CDC guidelines call for adults to do 2 1/2 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week. That's a 30-minute walk 5 days a week. If you kick it up a notch -- jogging or running, for example – the benefits multiply. Though it's fine to provide for a gentle start, ultimately the more the better.

You can aim for these exercise guidelines, but don't try to meet them at the start. "People lose their motivation to exercise when they try to do too much too soon," says Hanson.

So instead of walking for 30 minutes a day right off the bat, start out doing 15 minutes a day, 2 or 3 days a week.

Set weekly goals, gradually adding more time and intensity. At the end of each week, take a look at how you did. If you reached your goal, celebrate! "And if you didn't reach your goal," Hanson says, "think about what went wrong and how you're going to respond differently next time."

3. Stop Thinking of It as Exercise -- Do Something You Enjoy

You don't have to go to the gym to get a good workout. It's all about moving more -- however you do it. For some people, going to the gym provides structure that helps them focus and a sense of accomplishment when they're done. For others, it's a chore -- one they wind up avoiding as often as they can.

What else can you do? Almost anything that gets you -- and your family -- moving:

Walk the dog, or walk a neighbor's dog. They'll be grateful for the help!
Have dance contests with the kids instead of watching TV.
Go to the park and play hide-and-seek.
Shoot hoops with the kids.
Walk or bike to the store instead of driving.
Get off the train a stop early and walk the rest of the way to your office.
Take the stairs rather than the elevator.
If you think about it, you're surrounded by opportunities to get more active. Find the ones that you get excited about. You're more likely to keep doing them if you're having fun.

4. Plan How to Fit Exercise Into a Hectic Schedule

For busy parents, a major obstacle to getting fit is lack of time. If you wait for time to open up, chances are you won't be able to squeeze in a walk or a dance class very often. To avoid getting sidetracked by the daily demands of life, try these tips:

"Sit down with your schedule and really carve out blocks of time," says psychologist Susan Bartell, PsyD, author of Dr. Susan's Fit and Fun Family Action Plan. Put it in your calendar like any other appointment.
Add physical activity to things you already do. For example, pedal a stationary bike while reading or watching TV. Or take a walk with a friend to catch up instead of calling each other on the phone.
Plan activities you can do with your kids, such as going for bike rides or skating. Not only will you find more time for fitness, you'll help inspire your kids to move more.
If you plan ahead for potholes on the road to fitness, you're more likely to stay on course, Bartell says. "When you think through solutions to problems in advance, you're less likely to give up when a pothole comes along."

5. Bounce Back From Setbacks

You’ve set a reasonable fitness goal. You’ve prepared for potential problems. Yet somehow you still didn’t make it to the gym today as you had planned. Don't let that be your downfall.

"For many people, this is a slippery slope," Hanson says. "It reminds them of times when they failed before, and they begin to think of themselves as exercise failures."

When this happens, it’s time for an attitude adjustment so you don’t completely lose your motivation to exercise. If you miss the gym on Monday, that doesn’t mean your whole week is shot, Hanson says. It simply means you need to hit the gym on Tuesday or take the dog for an extra-long walk tonight.

Knowing how to exercise isn’t just a matter of learning how to use your body to hold a yoga pose or swing a racquet. It also involves learning how to use your mind to propel yourself into action and stick with a fitness routine.

"Start thinking of yourself as someone who exercises," says Hoefs. "Eventually, that will become your identity."

For the original article please click the link below:

http://fit.webmd.com/jr/parents/article/parents-motivated-to-exercise?page=3

How Exercise Impacts (Good) Brown Fat Cells & (Bad) White Fat Cells

Did you know that your body has two different kinds of fat? Learn how an active lifestyle can reduce or minimize the amount of "bad" white fat you have in your body.
In the old Westerns it was always easy to identify the bad guys because they always wore black. But, in the ensuring decades it has not been as easy to delineate the good from the bad. Bad guys don’t always wear black, and every once in a while one of them actually turns out to be a hero.

Recent research sponsored by the American Diabetes Association and the National Institutes of Health is actually proving incredible insight into a notorious “bad guy,” and forcing researchers to rethink how we view good and bad fat.

Body fat—the good and the bad

Did you know that your body has two kinds of fats? No, seriously. Just like the fat that you can consume in foods, your body is naturally comprised of both good and bad fats. The question that researchers have been asking for years, is how we can increase the amount of “good fat” while reducing “bad fat?”

Body fat or adipose tissue, as it’s known in biology, actually plays several vital roles within the body. In addition to insulating the body and cushioning internal organs, body fat serves as an energy store and secretes hormones such as leptin and estrogen just to name a few. Brown fat or brown adipose tissue is considered to be “good fat” and is common to humans, rodents and small mammals. It was once believed that brown fat only existed in infants but was recently discovered in adults.

Researchers believe that brown fat may hold weight loss secrets that would benefit overweight and obese individuals. In infants and adults, brown fat actually generates heat to warm the body when it is exposed to cold. To generate heat the brown fat, mainly located in the neck and upper chest, burns calories through a unique thermogenic processes that raises the basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Brown fat is very different from white adipose tissue or white fat that develops from a sedentary lifestyle combined with poor diet. A certain amount of white fat is beneficial and necessary for bodily functions but problems arise when too much accumulates within the body. Elevated levels of white fat especially abdominal fat are related to several disease including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome just to name a few. And, unlike brown fat, white fat doesn’t burn calories.

Muscular Build

New research into exercise and fat offers hope

Two studies of mice and humans conducted by the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston suggest that exercise can actually led to a browning of white fat.

The studies found that mice that ran on an exercise wheel for 11 days and men who undertook 12 weeks of training on an exercise bicycle underwent a browning of their subcutaneous white adipose tissue that appears to have led to profound changes in the way that fat behaved in the body.

The browned white fat behaved more like brown adipose tissue in that it was more metabolically and thermogenically active than white adipose tissue. Researchers were able to discover that this “new” fat affected other bodily tissues by transplanting the exercise-training fat into obese mice. The murine study suggests that the browned fat was associated with increased glucose uptake, improved body composition, decreased fat mass and increased insulin sensitivity.

“Our results showed that exercise doesn’t just have beneficial effects on muscles, it also affects fat, said Kristin Stanford, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Joslin Diabetes Center. “It’s clear that when fat gets trained, it becomes browner and more metabolically active. We think there are factors being released into the bloodstream from the healthier fat that are working on other tissues.”

While researchers were unable to perform a similar transplant in humans they believe that exercise plays an important role.

“We know that exercise is good for us,” says Laurie Goodyear, PhD, senior researcher on the study and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. “But what we’re showing here is that fat changes dramatically in response to exercise training. This is not the fat that’s around your middle, which is bad fat and can lead to diabetes and other insulin resistance conditions. It’s the fat that’s under the skin, the subcutaneous fat that adapts in a way that appears to be having important metabolic effects.

Based upon the studies conducted by the Joslin Diabetes Center, it’s probably a safe bet that other researchers will be conducting trials of their own to investigate the correlation between exercise and the browning of white fat. In the meanwhile there are some valuable takeaways from the data that has been published. First, if you aren’t exercising then you need to start. Second, if you regularly engage in physical activity then you are definitely headed in the right direction, so keep it up.

For the original article, please click below:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/exercise-brown-white-fat-cells

Five Things You’re Getting Wrong About Weight and Weight Loss

If I’m thin then I’m healthy, right? Wrong. There are several misconceptions people have about weight, losing it and what’s healthy. Here’s the low-down on some myths we’re better off busting.

Kids have to lose weight to shed obesity: As children grow, they put on weight, but how much is normal, and how much is excessive and potentially a hazard to their health? In the latest study, published in the journal Lancet, researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health developed a mathematical model to differentiate between healthy weight gain and the extra pounds that contribute to obesity. The model takes advantage of more accurate assessments of how many calories heavier children take in, as well as how quickly and efficiently they burn off those calories, and the ratio of fat to muscle in their bodies. The resulting model shows some kids can outgrow their obesity around puberty even if they don’t lose weight. That’s because obesity is a measure of not just weight but the ratio of height to weight known as the body mass index (BMI), and as children grow, they transform fat into muscle, which can weigh as much, if not more than fat tissue. So kids with a high BMI that might suggest obesity may not actually be overweight.

Still, the researchers say that teaching children about portion control and balancing what they eat with  physical activity to burn off excess calories are important lessons to learn early.

(MORE: 6 Weight Loss Tips Straight from the Nation’s Premier Spas)

You can’t be fat and still be fit: A person’s level of physical fitness, as well as his weight, matters for overall health. A study in 2012 showed that overweight and obese people were at no greater risk of developing or dying from heart disease or cancer compared to normal weight people, but only if they were as metabolically fit as their slimmer counterparts. When it comes to premature death, it’s less about how much fat a person carries, but what kind of fat. Visceral or belly fat, for example, is considered more metabolically harmful than fat that sits just under the surface of the skin. Visceral fat, which is embedded more deeply within muscles and organs like the liver, release agents that can disturb the body’s energy balance, shunting calories into fat. Lean people can have high levels of visceral fat in their tissues, while overweight individuals may be carrying more subcutaneous fat and therefore could even be metabolically fitter than those who are slimmer.

Most people who put on weight, however, don’t enjoy a fit status for long. Eventually, the excess weight can contribute to higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.

You can eat what you want and just exercise to lose weight: Cutting calories by adjusting what you eat is actually the most effective way to lose weight. Ideally, consuming fewer calories and exercising is a more efficient way of dropping pounds, but for most people, passing up the chips is easier than sweating it out on a treadmill for an hour. Downing 140 calories from a can of soda, for example, takes only a few minutes, but would take half an hour of moderately intense walking to burn off. “You can greatly undermine weight loss efforts and general health by not considering the quality of the foods you eat. It is important to consider calorie density and nutrient density of foods to maximize exercise performance and improve health status,” says Gayl Canfield, the director of nutrition at Pritikin Longevity Center.

(MORE: The Secrets to Weight Loss: Keep a Food Journal, Don’t Skip Meals, Eat In)

Long bouts of low-intensity exercise are best for losing weight: Fitness experts are trying to de-bunk the myth that pounds melt off faster with low-intensity aerobic exercise than higher intensity workouts. “It’s true the body burns proportionally more fat calories than carbohydrate calories at a lower training intensity, however, should you increase your exercise intensity into the cardiovascular zone you will burn more overall calories,” says Scott Danberg, the director of fitness at Pritikin Longevity Center. Mixing in some short bouts of high-intensity exercise can translate into benefits on the scale.

Eating protein is the best way to feel full and keep calories in check: Lean protein is indeed a good way to get filled up, but fiber is even better, because it comes with fewer calories. To make sure you’re not feeling hungry but still getting all your nutrients, load your plate with fruit, vegetables beans and grains.

To read the original article please click below

http://healthland.time.com/2013/07/31/five-things-youre-getting-wrong-about-weight-and-weight-loss/

How to diet

Low-carb, the 5:2 diet, detox, cabbage soup ... there is no shortage of novelty diet programmes promising to make you lose weight fast.
Are you a healthy weight? Use the BMI calculator to find out
The big question is do they work? Most do lead to fast – sometimes dramatic – weight loss, but only for the pounds to creep back on again at the end of the diet.
More worryingly, many fad diets are based on dodgy science or no research at all, prescribing eating practices that are unhealthy and can make you ill.
In 2011, the British Dietetic Association warned against following popular diets such as the Dukan diet, which it said was complicated, not based on scientific evidence and reportedly did not lead to long-term weight loss.
Below are some of the problems with fad diets, plus advice on healthy eating and how to lose weight healthily.
Five reasons to avoid fad diets

Many weight loss diets promise to help you lose weight quickly. Often, these diets focus only on short-term results, so you eventually end up putting the weight back on.
Here are five reasons why following the latest novelty diet may not be a good way to lose weight.
1. Some diets can make you ill

Many diets, especially crash diets, are geared to dramatically reducing the number of calories you consume. “Crash diets make you feel very unwell and unable to function properly,” says dietitian Ursula Arens. “Because they are nutritionally unbalanced, crash diets can lead to long-term poor health.” Find out how to start losing weight.
2. Excluding foods is dangerous

Some diets recommend cutting out certain foods, such as meat, fish, wheat or dairy products. Cutting out certain food groups altogether could prevent you from getting the important nutrients and vitamins that your body needs to function properly. You can lose weight without cutting out foods from your diet. The eatwell plate shows the different foods we should be eating.
3. Low-carb diets can be high in fat

Some diets, such as the Atkins diet, are very low in carbohydrates (for example pasta, bread and rice), which are an essential source of energy. While you may lose weight on these types of diets, they’re often high in protein and fat, which can make you ill. Low-carbohydrate diets can also cause side effects such as bad breath, headaches and constipation. “It has been suggested that the high protein content of these diets ‘dampens’ the appetite and feelings of hunger,” says Arens. Many low-carbohydrate diets allow you to eat foods high in saturated fat, such as butter, cheese and meat. Too much saturated fat can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.
4. Detox diets don’t work

Detox diets are based on the idea that toxins build up in the body and can be removed by eating, or not eating, certain things. However, there’s no evidence that toxins build up in our bodies. If they did, we would feel very ill. Detox diets may lead to weight loss because they involve restricting calories, cutting out certain foods altogether, such as wheat or dairy, and eating a very limited range of foods. “Detox diets do not work,” says Arens. “They are, in effect, a form of modified fasting.”
5. Cabbage soup, blood group, the 5:2 diet and other fad diets are often far-fetched

Some fad diets are based on eating a single food or meal, such as cabbage soup or raw foods. Others make far-fetched claims, for example that you should cut out certain foods from your diet based on your blood type. Intermittent fasting, which includes the increasingly popular 5:2 diet, is a pattern of eating where you eat normally five days a week, and fast on the other two days. Fans of the 5:2 diet say it can help you live longer and protect you against disease.
Often, there is little or no evidence to back up these claims and can be difficult to keep to in the long term. “If followed over long periods, these diets can be very unbalanced and bad for your health,” says Arens. “You may lose weight in the short term, but it’s much better to lose weight gradually and to be healthy.”
How to lose weight the healthy way

We put on weight when the amount of calories we eat exceeds the amount of calories we burn through normal everyday activities and exercise. Most adults need to eat less and get more active.
The only way to lose weight healthily and keep it off is to make permanent changes to the way you eat and exercise. A few small alterations, such as eating less and choosing drinks that are lower in fat, sugar and alcohol, can help you to lose weight. There are also plenty of ways to make physical activity part of your life.
If you’re overweight, aim to lose about 5-10% of your starting weight by losing 0.5kg-1kg (1lb-2lb) a week. You should be able to lose this amount if you eat about 500 to 600 calories fewer a day than you need.
An average man needs about 2,500 calories a day and an average woman about 2,000 calories to stay the same weight.
Find out whether it's safe to lose weight fast.
Six ways to kickstart your healthy weight loss plan

Here are six simple things you can do to eat healthily and help you lose weight. You’ll find lots more tips and information in our Lose weight section.
To reduce the amount of fat you eat, you could trim the fat off meat, drink skimmed or semi-skimmed milk instead of full fat, choose a reduced- or low-fat spread and replace cream with low-fat yoghurt. Find out about some more healthy food swaps.
Eat wholegrain foods, such as wholemeal bread, brown rice and pasta. They’re digested more slowly than the white varieties, so will help you feel full for longer.
Don’t skip breakfast. A healthy breakfast will give you the energy you need to start the day, and there’s some evidence that people who eat breakfast regularly are less likely to be overweight.
Aim to eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day. Learn more in Why 5 A DAY?
If you feel like a snack, try having a drink first, such as a glass of water or cup of tea. Often we think we’re hungry when really we’re thirsty.
Swap drinks that are high in calories for lower calorie alternatives. That means drinks that are lower in fat, sugars and alcohol. Swap a sugary fizzy drink for sparkling water with a slice of lemon. Don't forget that alcohol is high in calories, so cutting down on alcohol can help you to control your weight.
Exercise and weight loss

Regular physical activity will not only help you lose weight but could also reduce your risk of developing a serious illness.
The amount of physical activity that is recommended depends on your age. Adults between 19 and 64 who are new to activity should aim to build up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week. Learn more about physical activity guidelines for adults

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/how-to-diet.aspx

How can I speed up my metabolism?

It’s not unusual to hear people blame their weight gain on a slow metabolism.
They’ve cut down on calories and take regular exercise yet they’re still not losing weight. The only other possible diagnosis, they expertly conclude, is a slow metabolism.
What is a slow metabolism? How does it affect your weight and can you do anything to speed it up?
Professor James Timmons, a metabolism expert from Loughborough University, gives your metabolism a closer examination.
What is metabolism?

Metabolism describes all the chemical processes that go on continuously inside the body to keep you alive and your organs functioning normally, such as breathing, repairing cells and digesting food.
These chemical processes require energy. The minimum amount of energy your body requires to carry out these chemical processes is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR).
Your BMR accounts for anything between 40% and 70% of your body’s daily energy requirements depending on your age and lifestyle. A ‘slow metabolism’ is more accurately described as a low BMR.
There are many calculators that work out your daily energy needs available online. Look out for calculators using the Harris-Benedict equation.

Do some people have a faster metabolism than others?

Body size, age, gender and genes all play a role in determining your metabolic rate.
Muscle cells require more energy to maintain than fat cells, so people with a higher muscle to fat ratio tend to have a higher BMR.
As we get older, we tend to gain fat and lose muscle. This explains why the BMR tends to decrease with age.
In general, men tend to have a faster metabolism as they have more muscle mass, heavier bones and less body fat than women, which is why their daily calorie allowance is higher.
Calorie allowances

An average man needs around 2,500kcal a day. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal a day. These values can vary depending on age and levels of physical activity, as well as other factors.

Your metabolism may be partly determined by your genes, although this is not yet fully understood. Genes definitely play a role in muscle size and your ability to grow muscles, both of which affect your metabolism.

Am I fat because of a slow metabolism?

People who struggle to lose weight often blame a slow metabolism. However, studies show that some overweight people may actually have a higher metabolism than their leaner counterparts. This is because they have larger bodies with bigger muscles and internal organs.
Research has also shown that people tend to eat more than they think they do. When asked to write down everything they've consumed in a day, many people tend to report eating far less than they actually do.
More often than not, the reason you’re putting on weight is not because of a slow metabolism, it’s because you’re eating and drinking more calories than you're burning. It may be hard to accept, but staying on top of the number of calories you eat is key to losing weight and keeping it off.

Can losing weight too fast slow my metabolism?

Crash diets and other calorie-restricted diets can reduce your BMR. With some diets, your body is forced to break down muscle to use for energy. The lower your muscle mass, the slower your metabolism. With less muscle and a slower metabolism, it then becomes a lot easier to put body fat back on after coming off the diet.

What can I do to speed up my metabolism?

It is claimed that certain foods and drinks can boost your metabolism, including green tea, black coffee, spices and energy drinks. The evidence behind these claims is flimsy, the effect on your metabolism is marginal at best and each person will respond differently to each product.
While you don't have much control over the speed of your metabolism, you can control how many calories you burn through your level of physical activity. The more active you are, the more calories you burn. In fact, some people who are said to have a fast metabolism are probably just more active — and maybe more fidgety — than others.
Here are the three most effective ways of burning calories:
Aerobic activity
Aerobic exercise is the most efficient way to burn calories. You should aim to do 150 minutes of aerobic activity, such as walking, cycling and swimming, a week. You can achieve this target by doing 30 minutes five days a week and breaking down your activity sessions in chunks of 10 minutes. To lose weight, you are likely to need to do more than 150 minutes a week and make changes to your diet. Physical activity guidelines for adults.
Strength training
Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, so increasing your muscle mass will help you lose weight. Don't worry, you don't need to turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger! Aim to do muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms). Examples of muscle-strengthening activities include lifting weights and high intensity bouts of exercise. Heavy gardening may also do the job.
Be active
Being constantly on the move and reducing time spent sitting down will help you burn more calories. Any extra movement helps burn calories. Look for ways to walk and move around a few minutes more each day than the day before. The more you move, the more calories you burn. Get ideas on fitting more activity into your day.

Can certain medical conditions cause a slow metabolism?

Some diseases and conditions can slow a person’s metabolism, such as Cushing’s syndrome and hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid), but more often than not, people’s weight is a matter of consuming more calories than they burn. However, if you feel that you may have a problem that’s not responding to lifestyle changes, seek medical advice.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/how-can-I-speed-up-my-metabolism.aspx

Fiftysomething Diet: 5 Powerful Weight-Loss Boosters

Science is finding that these foods and drinks can help you shed pounds more easily and quickly

Staying at a healthy weight during your fiftysomething years is a balancing act between calories consumed and burned. Chances are you already know that you need fewer calories as you age. So it’s trickier to prevent weight gain without making some efforts. Exercise is one good strategy, especially aerobic activities, like brisk walking, swimming, dancing and biking. But it also pays to take advantage of any and all foods that can burn fat, curb appetite and tweak your metabolism into overdrive. Here’s a look at five foods that do just that.

1. Dried Beans Foods rich in water-soluble fiber, like kidney beans, chickpeas and black beans, not only help you feel full at meals but they may even target your stubborn spare tire. In a 2011 study, researchers noticed that for every 10 grams of soluble fiber eaten over the course of a day there was a corresponding 3.7 percent decrease in abdominal fat over a five-year period.

“There is mounting evidence that eating more soluble fiber and increasing exercise reduces visceral or belly fat, although we still don’t know how it works,” said Dr. Kristen Hairston, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina and lead author of the study. “Although the fiber-obesity relationship has been extensively studied, the relationship between fiber and specific fat deposits has not. Our study is valuable because it provides specific information on how dietary fiber, especially soluble fiber, may affect weight accumulation through abdominal fat deposits.”

For more details on various types of fiber and weight loss, check out this article from WebMD.

(MORE: The Fiftysomething Diet: Should You Be Juicing?)

2. Salmon One of the biggest food helpers on the path to weight loss is protein -- preferably lean protein, which is better for the heart and overall health. The simple explanation is that a good dose takes longer to digest than carbohydrates, keeping you satisfied and therefore making you less likely to overeat between meals. It doesn’t hurt that the body burns more calories digesting proteins than it does carbs. But the intriguing thing about fish as your protein source -- salmon, in particular -- is that preliminary reports suggest salmon plays a role in modulating insulin levels or insulin sensitivity.


The key word here is preliminary. Still, two reports bear mentioning. In one 2009 study, scientists fed three groups of volunteers low-calorie diets: no seafood (the control group), lean white fish or salmon. Everyone lost weight, but the salmon eaters had lower fasting insulin levels, which is far better for overall health. Weight loss is one partial explanation, researchers say, but the compounds in salmon (perhaps omega 3 fats like EPA and DHA) might also contribute to modulating insulin.

In an unrelated 2011 study with animals, Canadian researchers found that a group fed salmon protein had significantly lower weight gains than groups eating other varieties of fish. What’s happening here is still part mystery, yet it could be a win-win. Choosing salmon as your lean protein source might not only help you lose weight, but also help prevent the insulin resistance that can lead to type 2 diabetes in later years.

Wild salmon is leaner than farmed. It contains plenty of protein minus unhealthy fats. Three ounces of cooked wild salmon contains 155 calories, 22 grams of protein and just 7 grams of fat, most of it the heart-healthy omega 3 variety.

(MORE: Boomer Bellies: Can Middle-Age Spread Be Avoided?)

3. Nuts Most dieters shy away from nuts due to their high fat content, but research suggests almonds, peanuts and other nuts offer special weight loss benefits. It all started with a 2001 landmark study from Harvard that found that participants following a Mediterranean-style diet that included nuts and peanuts lost greater amounts of weight and stuck with the diet longer than those on a different low-fat diet. (Harvard researchers now call the Mediterranean plan the best diet for losing weight.)

Then a 2003 study in the International Journal of Obesity discovered that an almond-eating group of overweight volunteers (eating 85 grams per day or about 3 ounces) lost 62 percent more weight and 56 percent more body fat than a nut-free diet group eating the exact same number of calories but no nuts. Research also confirms that women who eat nuts have lower body mass indexes, or BMI, than women who eat little or no nuts. Speculation is that the fat and protein in nuts helps keep dieters full longer.

Whatever the reason, all researchers say the key watchword is moderation -- say, a couple of small handfuls of nuts a day. Count on a handful being about one ounce of nuts: 157 pine nuts, 49 pistachios, 24 almonds, 20 walnut halves, 20 pecans, 20 hazelnuts, 18 cashews or 12 macadamia nuts. Keep in mind, you can nullify all health benefits if nuts are covered with chocolate, sugar or salt.

4. Green Tea We’ve mentioned before that green tea contains antioxidants (called polyphenols) that may fight cancer and lower cholesterol levels. But studies suggest it might be time to add fat burner -- or maybe we should say belly buster -- to the list of health benefits.

Scientists seem to be zeroing in on a specific group of polyphenol compounds called catechins as the surprising force behind weight loss. A 2009 study from the Journal of Nutrition showed that a group of 132 overweight and obese adults doing moderate exercise for 180 minutes per week and drinking either a caffeinated beverage with green tea catechins or a control beverage with no catechins, had remarkably different weight-loss scenarios. At the end of 12 weeks, the exercisers drinking green tea with 625 milligrams of catechins lost more weight and more belly fat and had lower triglyceride levels than dieters drinking the catechin-free beverage.

It’s unclear how green tea promotes weight loss, but researchers suspect it may have something to do with revving up fat burning in the hours after a meal. A small 2013 Brazilian study confirms these findings. Researchers there found that overweight and obese women drinking green tea and following a program of resistance training lost more body fat, lowered their waist circumference and showed more significant increases in their resting metabolic rate than women who drank a placebo or green tea but didn't exercise.

Bottom line: To net the fat-burning efforts of green tea it appears you need to pair your tea sipping with exercise.

(MORE: One Man's Diet: How I Lost Nearly 50 Pounds)

5. Water Call it the forgotten weight loss aid, but studies continue to confirm that good old zero-calorie H2O is one of the cheapest and most effective weight-loss aids on the planet.

Will it work on a fiftysomething body? Definitely.

A 12-week 2010 Virginia Tech Study divided a group of overweight adults age 55-75 into two groups. All participants ate the same amount of calories, but half the group was asked to drink two cups of water before each meal; the other half drank no water. "We found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake,” said Brenda Davy, an associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, senior author on the study.

Davy says the exact mechanism responsible for weight loss is uncertain. She speculates it could be as simple as the fact that water fills up the stomach and makes you feel like eating less. In an earlier study, she and colleagues noticed that middle-aged and older adults who drank two cups of water before a meal ended up eating about 75-90 fewer calories. Another plus of choosing water as your beverage of choice before meals: There’s less room for calorie-rich options like soda, sugary cocktails or fruit juice.

For the original article please click below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/28/how-to-lose-weight_n_2965765.html

Bacteria in the Intestines May Help Tip the Bathroom Scale, Studies Show

The bacterial makeup of the intestines may help determine whether people gain weight or lose it, according to two new studies, one in humans and one in mice.
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Philip Davis/Massachusetts General Hospital
The smaller mouse, right, lost weight after gastric bypass surgery, while the heavier ones, left, had “sham” operations.
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The research also suggests that a popular weight-loss operation, gastric bypass, which shrinks the stomach and rearranges the intestines, seems to work in part by shifting the balance of bacteria in the digestive tract. People who have the surgery generally lose 65 percent to 75 percent of their excess weight, but scientists have not fully understood why. Now, the researchers are saying that bacterial changes may account for 20 percent of the weight loss.

The findings mean that eventually, treatments that adjust the microbe levels, or “microbiota,” in the gut may be developed to help people lose weight without surgery, said Dr. Lee M. Kaplan, director of the obesity, metabolism and nutrition institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and an author of a study published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine.

Not everyone who hopes to lose weight wants or needs surgery to do it, he said. About 80 million people in the United States are obese, but only 200,000 a year have bariatric operations.

“There is a need for other therapies,” Dr. Kaplan said. “In no way is manipulating the microbiota going to mimic all the myriad effects of gastric bypass. But if this could produce 20 percent of the effects of surgery, it will still be valuable.”

In people, microbial cells outnumber human ones, and the new studies reflect a growing awareness of the crucial role played by the trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in their own ecosystem in the gut. Perturbations there can have profound and sometimes devastating effects.

One example is infection with a bacterium called C. difficile, which sometimes takes hold in people receiving antibiotics for other illnesses. The drugs can wipe out other organisms that would normally keep C. difficile in check. Severe cases can be life-threatening, and the medical profession is gradually coming to accept the somewhat startling idea that sometimes the best therapy is a fecal transplant — from a healthy person to the one who is sick, to replenish the population of “good germs.”

Dr. Kaplan said his group’s experiments were the first to try to find out if microbial changes could account for some of the weight loss after gastric bypass. Earlier studies had shown that the microbiota of an obese person changed significantly after the surgery, becoming more like that of someone who was thin. But was the change from the surgery itself, or from the weight loss that followed the operation? And did the microbial change have any effects of its own?

Because it would be difficult and time-consuming to study these questions in people, the researchers used mice, which they had fattened up with a rich diet. One group had gastric bypass operations, and two other groups had “sham” operations in which the animals’ intestines were severed and sewn back together. The point was to find out whether just being cut open, without having the bypass, would have an effect on weight or gut bacteria. One sham group was kept on the rich food, while the other was put on a weight-loss diet.

In the bypass mice, the microbial populations quickly changed, and the mice lost weight. In the sham group, the microbiota did not change much — even in those on the weight-loss diet.

Next, the researchers transferred intestinal contents from each of the groups into other mice, which lacked their own intestinal bacteria. The animals that received material from the bypass mice rapidly lost weight; stool from mice that had the sham operations had no effect.

Exactly how the altered intestinal bacteria might cause weight loss is not yet known, the researchers said. But somehow the microbes seem to rev up metabolism so that the animals burn off more energy.

A next step, Dr. Kaplan said, may be to take stool from people who have had gastric bypass and implant it into mice to see if causes them to lose weight. Then the same thing could be tried from person to person.

“In addition, we’ve identified four subsets of bacteria that seem to be most specifically enhanced by the bypass,” Dr. Kaplan said. “Another approach would be to see if any or all of those individual bacteria could mediate the effects, rather than having to transfer stool.”

A second study by a different group found that overweight people may be more likely to harbor a certain type of intestinal microbe. The microbes may contribute to weight gain by helping other organisms to digest certain nutrients, making more calories available. That study was published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The study involved 792 people who had their breath analyzed to help diagnose digestive orders. They agreed to let researchers measure the levels of hydrogen and methane; elevated levels indicate the presence of a microbe called Methanobrevibacter smithii. The people with the highest readings on the breath test were more likely to be heavier and have more body fat, and the researchers suspect that the microbes may be at least partly responsible for their obesity.

This type of organism may have been useful thousands of years ago, when people ate more roughage and needed all the help they could get to squeeze every last calorie out of their food. But modern diets are much richer, said an author of the study, Dr. Ruchi Mathur, director of the diabetes outpatient clinic at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“Our external environment is changing faster than our internal one,” Dr. Mathur said. Studies are under way, she said, to find out whether getting rid of this particular microbe will help people lose weight.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/health/studies-focus-on-gut-bacteria-in-weight-loss.html?_r=0

THE TOP DIET MISTAKES YOU’RE MAKING

Who ever said diets were easy, was right, as long as you’re well educated and prepared before jumping into any unknown territories. The word diet isn’t necessarily a foreign word, so why does it end up feeling so foreign when trying to wrap your mind around it? Yes, we are all quite familiar when it comes to having the very best of intentions, and we have all gone through one or even many disappointing experiences that ultimately caused more harm than good. If your diet keeps stalling and you have no idea what you’re doing wrong, you may be making common mistakes that you can easily undo today. Let’s look at four common factors that could be preventing you from fully fulfilling your diet.

Are You Gluten Free?

Did you know that when you remove wheat and other grains from your foods, they are often replaced with high calorie oils and sugars? We see this a lot when it comes to gluten free foods which have been processed. Always be aware of what you’re ingesting, and take a look at the label before purchasing foods that have been processed, you may just be in for a huge surprise. If you are really serious about going gluten free, start by becoming informed and surround yourself with information about what’s out there. Whether you have already done the switch to a gluten free lifestyle, or you are considering the switch, always remember, when it comes to going gluten free, there are far better ways to get whole foods into your diet then settling for low grade processed foods. Try out some gluten free whole foods such as; buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth, buckwheat.

Be “Choosey” With Your Fruit

Fruit is a great food to have in the house when you’re dieting, but like any other food, you must not overdo it. The vast majority of fruits rate quite high in fibre, and therefore they scoring low on the glycemic index. What many of you might not know is that some of your favorite fruits which you may be eating daily, contain a fairly higher rating therefore, may be causing spikes in your blood sugar. Oftentimes, the healthiest of people struggle with weight gain, simply because their diet includes far too many highly ranked “sugary” fruits. Unfortunately, many of us have fallen victim to this epidemic. In order to slip past this hazard, you want to aim for filling up on fruits that rate low on the glycemic index such as; apples, and pears. In addition, you want to limit your intake of fruits rating high on the glycemic index such as; dried fruits, melons, and pineapple.

Filling Up On Protein Bars

Many of us are already getting more than enough daily protein, yet we don’t even know it. In fact, maybe scarfing down that protein bar after the afternoon trip to the gym, isn’t necessary after all, and could be doing nothing more than adding extra sugar, fat and calories to your diet. If you are looking for a pick me up to help you until your next meal, skip the protein bar and try snacking on a handful of nuts, a boiled egg, or even some beef jerky. These mid day snacks are packed with fibre and low in sugar. Since many of us aren’t fully aware of the abundance of protein out there, filling up on protein without even realizing has become quite common. It’s a fact that you get a large amount of daily protein from a variety of different foods such as; fish, meat, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and nuts. So ditch the sugary treats, and fill up your protein tank with a variety of clean, healthy choices.

Swapping In Too Much Juice

When on a diet, many people commonly like to swap in juice as a replacement for soda’s, as an attempt to eliminate all of those extra calories. What many people don’t take into consideration is that the majority of juices are jam packed with sugars. Have you ever heard the saying “too much of a good thing may be a bad thing”. Well, in the case of swapping soda’s for juices, people often tend to end up consuming far more than the “suggested” serving, ultimately crashing their diet plan. If you really want to ditch the sugary and calorie filled drinks, go with a nice glass of chilled water loaded with fruit slices. This way you can enjoy the fruity flavors, while knocking out those extra sugars and calories.
Become a little bit healthier today by simply implementing these quick and easy four steps into your daily routine. You may just see results before the week ends!

To read the original article please click below:
http://battlefat.com/843/top-diet-mistakes-youre-making/#

Raw food dieting leads to weight loss success

Out of all the weight loss programs that exist, very few are as simple and obvious as a raw food diet. People often forget about the calories that get padded on to foods through basic cooking techniques. Between oil and butter, as well as the general frying and baking process, a meal can have up to 25 percent more calories than the ingredients alone.

Furthermore, since the body has to do a little more work in order to consume raw foods, it results in a substantial difference in the caloric intake of a meal. There is a very interesting study on this topic that was recently featured in Forbes Magazine. Basically, a group of scientists studied lab rats over a span of forty days and one group of rats ate raw foods, while the other ate cooked foods. It was so interesting how the body masses of the rats ranged between the two groups. The conclusion to the experiment was that raw food consumption does result in weight loss.

How does this affect general nutrition?

If there is a goal that relates to weight loss or a lower caloric intake for whatever purpose, it is advised that raw foods, as a replacement to cooked foods, will produce this result. It is common sense that cooking food will increase the calories, however most people do not consider that eating it prior to cooking is even an option.

What raw foods should be the focus?

The answer to this is simple: dark, leafy greens. Most people know through common nutritional trivia that dark leafy greens are essential to any standard of health. They are packed with vitamins and they have seemingly endless nutritional benefits. The irony of this strong stigma of dark, leafy greens is that many people do not even know what vegetables qualify as dark and leafy.

For those that prefer meal planning and grocery shopping with a list, it is recommended to deviate from that habit just once so that a stroll through the produce section of any grocery store can fuel ideas on all that is dark and leafy. So many vegetables can be used in simple and quick recipes that have great nutritional value, and just knowing the names of such ingredients will aid any Internet search for recipes. Specifically collard greens and dandelion greens are easy ingredients to begin exploring.

With so many weight loss methods that are filled with uncertainty and even potential health risks, raw food dieting offers a truly natural alternative to curb weight in a healthy manner. Additionally, raw food dieting is enjoyable and a voyage that will result in wonderful discoveries through tasting new flavors of foods that are familiar, and perhaps a few that are not!

For the original article click the link below:

http://www.naturalnews.com/034855_raw_foods_dieting_weight_loss.html

Weight Loss vs Fat Loss

When it comes to weight loss vs fat loss, you need to know the difference between the two.

Many people who want to lose weight go on some sort of crash diet hoping to lose as much weight as possible in the shortest amount of time. They drastically reduce calories and become fixated on what weight the scale shows.

As their weight decreases, they assume that all or most of the weight being lost is body fat. They oftentimes couldn't be more wrong.

The reality is that when you go on a very low calorie diet, you often end up losing more water and lean muscle mass than you do body fat.

Very low calorie diets cause you to lose water because when calories are drastically reduced your body gets needed energy by burning glycogen (stored glucose in the liver and muscles). Glycogen holds on to water, so when it's burned for energy it releases water, which is expelled via urination.

Very low calorie diets cause you to lose lean muscle mass because when you drastically reduce calories in order to starve away body fat, you also starve away lean muscle mass.

Between the loss of water and lean muscle mass, as much as 75% of the weight you lose on a very low calorie diet might not be body fat. This is why the weight loss on very low calorie diets can be so deceiving.

Losing weight needs to be all about losing body fat. It's excess body fat that makes you look and feel bad, and excess body fat is what increases your risk for a variety of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

The most effective way to lose body fat is to combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine.

A fat loss nutrition plan is based on cutting back on calories, not on drastically reducing them. It's also based on you as an individual - your body type, your metabolism, and what mix of protein, carbohydrate and fat works best for you. A fat loss nutrition plan is not a temporary way of eating like a diet is, it's a healthy way of eating that can be followed for a lifetime.

A fat loss exercise routine that includes aerobic exercise and strength training enables you to lose body fat without losing lean muscle mass. There are also plenty of health and fitness benefits associated with aerobic exercise and strength training.

A great resource that shows you how to create a fat loss nutrition plan and a fat loss exercise routine is Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. It's an excellent program and I highly recommend it.

In conclusion, when it comes to weight loss vs fat loss, there's a big difference between the two, and it's important to understand the difference.

To read the original article please click the link below:

http://www.functional-fitness-facts.com/weight-loss-vs-fat-loss.html

Why Can't I Lose Weight?

Are you one of the many people asking yourself why can't I lose weight? Have you given up trying to lose weight?

While there can be a number of reasons why someone struggles to lose weight, there are three very common weight loss mistakes many people make.

Here are the three most common weight loss mistakes that you have to avoid making if you want to permanently lose weight and get fit and healthy:

Having unrealistic expectations.

If you have unrealistic weight loss expectations, you're setting yourself up for failure right from the start. You'll get frustrated and discouraged when weight loss doesn't happen as fast as you think it should and you'll give up trying to lose weight.

A good weight loss goal is one to two pounds of body fat per week, or one percent of total body weight per week if you're extremely heavy (e.g., three pounds if you weigh 300 pounds). This is the healthiest and safest way to lose weight, and this will also most likely result in permanently keeping the weight off.

Going on a very low calorie diet.

A very low calorie diet can produce quick weight loss, but what happens once the diet ends? Most people go back to the same old way of eating that caused them to be overweight in the first place and end up gaining back any lost weight. The reality is that very low calorie diets almost never result in permanent weight loss.

Another major problem that very low calories diets have is that they cause you to lose lean muscle mass. When you drastically reduce calories in order to starve away body fat, you also starve away lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass is metabolically active tissue, so when you lose lean muscle mass your metabolism slows down. The slower your metabolism, the easier it is to gain weight and the harder it is to lose it.

Relying on weight loss supplements.

With all of the hype and deceptive advertising in the weight loss supplement industry, it's not surprising that many people think all they have to do is take a particular supplement and the pounds will start dropping off.

The reality is that plenty of studies have been conducted on weight loss supplements, and no credible evidence has been found that any single supplement results in significant weight loss. At best, some weight loss supplements provide a slight boost to metabolism or a slight suppression of appetite.

Now that you're aware of the three most common weight loss mistakes that have to be avoided, you're probably wondering what does work when it comes to losing weight. The best way to permanently lose body fat and get fit and healthy is to combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine.

A fat loss nutrition plan is based on cutting back on calories, not on drastically reducing them. It's also based on you as an individual - your body type, your metabolism, and what mix of protein, carbohydrate and fat works best for you. A fat loss nutrition plan is not a temporary way of eating like a diet is, it's a healthy way of eating that can be followed for a lifetime.

A fat loss exercise routine that includes aerobic exercise and strength training enables you to lose body fat without losing lean muscle mass and without slowing down your metabolism. There are also plenty of health and fitness benefits associated with aerobic exercise and strength training.

If more people combined a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine, there would be a lot fewer people asking themselves why can't I lose weight.

http://www.functional-fitness-facts.com/why-cant-i-lose-weight.html

Exercise and Weight Loss

Regular exercise is an important part of effective weight loss. It helps to control your weight by using excess calories that otherwise would be stored as fat as well as boosting you metabolism and lowering insulin levels. Physical activity also helps prevent many diseases and improve your overall health.

Your weight is determined by the number of calories you eat each day minus what your body uses. Everything you eat contains calories, and everything you do uses calories, including sleeping, breathing, and digesting food. Any physical activity in addition to what you normally do will burn those extra calories.

Balancing the number of calories you expend through exercise and physical activity with the calories you eat will help you achieve your desired weight. The key to successful weight loss and improved overall health is making physical activity a part of your daily routine.


The Health Benefits of Exercise

Research consistently shows that regular exercise, combined with healthy eating, is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight.

Research also shows that , in addition to helping to control weight, regular physical activity can reduce your risk for several diseases and conditions and improve your overall quality of life. Regular exercise can help prevent:

Heart disease and stroke. Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your HDL ("good" cholesterol), and lowering LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart's working capacity.
High blood pressure. Regular exercise reduces blood pressure in people with high blood pressure (hypertension).
Diabetes. By reducing body fat, physical activity can help to prevent and control type 2 diabetes.
Back pain. By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture, regular exercise can prevent back pain.
Osteoporosis. Regular weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation and may prevent many forms of bone loss associated with aging.
Regular physical activity can also improve mood and the way you feel about yourself. Exercise is likely to reduce depression and anxiety and help you to better manage stress. It is a natural and inexpensive antidepressant.

6 REASONS YOU’RE NOT LOSING WEIGHT

Ever wonder why you just can’t seem to shed those few final pounds or you just can’t seem to make any weight loss progress what-so-ever? There are several factors that may be holding you back from reaching those final steps. Let’s take a look at six of the most common links to why you’re body is not allowing you to shed that unwanted weight.

You’re Lacking In The Zzzzz’s Department

Studies have shown that those who are lacking in the sleep department tend to show a higher production of a hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol has been directly linked to fat storage within the body, along with heightened levels of stress. If that alone isn’t bad enough, links have also been made between both a lack of sleep, and elevated levels of the hunger hormones “ghrelin” and “leptin”, which ultimately predict when our bodies are hungry or full! So remember, some things can wait, but sleep isn’t one of them! Get rested up, and you may just see a difference in not only your weight, but also your eating habits.

You’re Guilty Of Following A “Fad Diet”

Many fad diets don’t focus on long term change, which makes the majority of them non fail proof. Many people just want a “quick fix” to drop that extra and unwanted ten pounds, but never really give thought to how this will effect them in the long run. In order to take on a new diet and eating habits, you need to be willing to stick to the goals you have set for yourself over time. Since diets don’t specifically target each individual’s lifestyle and eating habits, you need to take the time to research the diet you wish to follow, then make sure it will work for you. When it comes to dieting, everything doesn’t have to be black and white, and that’s often where people fall behind. There is no such thing as an unfair diet. If you are serious about making a life change, you will ditch the quick fix and easy strategies for weight loss, and focus more on what works best for you.

You’re A Late Night Eater

A major problem for late night eaters, is that they are simply not consuming enough food during the day. As we all know, by the end of the work day, if you’re tired and starved, you are bound to eat whatever is most convenient at the time, which ends up being junk food or take out. This trap will often leave you eating a bulk of your day’s calories at a time when your metabolism is beginning to slow down. A good way to avoid this late night binge, is to make sure you are eating a balance of foods throughout the day. Try planning your meals in advance, aim for healthy whole foods including fruits and veggies. Remember, if you’re giving your body what it needs throughout the day, it won’t be begging for late night snacks! In addition, try and tame down on eating anything after 6pm, since this is normally when you start to shut down for the night.

10 common sense weight loss tips

10 top tips to help you lose weight and maintain a healthy, balanced diet

Boots Feature
Medically Reviewed by Dr Rob Hicks
A weight loss programme is all about common sense and a healthy balanced diet. We want you to lose weight sensibly and keep it off by changing how you think about your diet and health. As a little bit of extra motivation we have put together these ten top tips to help you reach your goal.

Eat slowly

Research has shown that people who are overweight tend to bolt their food. Savour and enjoy what you eat and take time to chew your food. Macrobiotic practitioners advise chewing each mouthful 30 times as this allows the enzymes in the saliva to start the digestive process.


Stop eating before you feel full.

Remember, it takes approximately 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that it is full!

Never skip meals.

When losing weight, it is important to maintain an even blood sugar level to prevent hunger. If you skip a meal you are more likely to give in to a craving.


Only weigh yourself weekly.

Try not to become a slave to the scale, remember weight loss is a long process and your weekly weigh-in will give you a good overall idea of your progress. If you weigh yourself too often you may become disheartened if you don’t drop pounds as quickly as you would like.

Use a smaller plate.

The fashion these days, particularly in restaurants is to serve food on a huge white plate. While this may look pretty it is bad for dieters as psychologically you won't feel as if you have eaten enough. At home serve your food on a small plate for a simple way to make you feel fuller.

Reduce your alcohol intake.

Alcohol is a source of empty calories and cutting down is an excellent way of increasing weight loss

Eat high fibre foods.

High fibre foods are the dieters' friends as complex carbohydrates release energy slowly and keep you full for longer. Porridge is an excellent breakfast for this reason and if you do have to have a muffin choose a low fat bran muffin for extra energy.

Keep hydrated.

If possible drink about six to eight glasses of water, or other fluids per day. Water is essential for the healthy functioning of the body and often we can mistake thirst for hunger. Water will also make you feel fuller, if you have a mid-afternoon craving try drinking a big glass of water and see if you are still hungry ten minutes later.


Avoid temptation.

When shopping try not to buy snacks and sweets for other members of the family, you will be doing them a favour if you stock up on fruit, nuts and seeds instead. Unsuitable food can be stored in a box at the back of a cupboard as out of sight is, hopefully, out of mind.


Exercise.

Weight loss occurs when more calories are expended than ingested and the most effective way of maximising your weight loss programme is by incorporating regular exercise into your routine.

Check with your GP if you want to lose a large amount of weight, or have a current medical condition, before starting any exercise or weight loss plan.

http://www.webmd.boots.com/men/guide/10-common-sense-weight-loss-tips

Very low calorie diets

If you’re trying to lose weight, eating healthily and being physically active are the key. In a few cases, though, a very low calorie diet (VLCD) could be the right choice. But these should only be followed for a limited time, so talk to your GP before you start. They can help to support you to see whether you are a healthy weight, use our Healthy weight calculator to find your body mass index (BMI). Your BMI is a measure of whether you are a healthy weight for your height.

Achieving a healthy weight is all about striking the right balance between the energy that you put into your body, and the energy that you use.

To lose weight, you have to use more energy than you consume in food and drinks throughout the day.

You can do this by making healthy changes to your eating habits, and building more physical activity into your daily life. In many cases, this will be enough to achieve a healthy weight.

You can learn more about changing your diet in Healthy eating, and get advice on becoming more active in Fitness.

However, if you have made these changes already and the weight loss you’ve experienced has not resulted in a healthy weight, you may benefit from a very low calorie diet.

VLCDs are not available on prescription from the NHS, but are offered by a range of private organisations in England, at a cost. The proven benefits are short-lived; there is limited evidence of long-term benefit.

Before you begin a VLCD, make sure that it is the right choice for you. It’s also important that the diet you choose is safe, and that you follow it properly. That means talking to your GP for more advice.

What is a VLCD?

Examples of very low calorie diet plans offered privately include: Medifast, Optifast and the Cambridge diet.

A very low calorie diet is any diet that involves eating 1,000 calories a day or fewer. It should only be undertaken for 12 continuous weeks, or intermittently – for example, every two or three days – along with a low calorie or normal diet.

The recommended daily calorie intake is 2,000 for women, and 2,500 for men. This means that VLCDs contain far fewer calories than most people need to be able to maintain a stable, healthy weight. For that reason, eating a very low calorie diet can cause more rapid weight loss than a conventional weight loss programme.

It’s important that VLCDs are only used by people who need them and that the diet is safe and followed properly. Cutting calories significantly can cause health problems such as gallstones, heart problems, and other issues associated with not getting the nutrition you need, such as tiredness and anaemia. A proper VLCD will ensure that you continue to get all the nutrients you need, and is typically followed under supervision, so that action can be taken if health problems occur.

In England, a range of private organisations sell very low calorie diet plans. During a typical VLCD the person undertaking the diet will stop eating all normal foods, and replace them with special drinks, soups, bars or porridge containing milk- , soy- or egg-based protein. The replacement foods are designed to contain all the nutrients that we need, while providing 1,000 calories a day or fewer.

The person undertaking the diet will also meet regularly with a trained member of staff from the organisation – usually called a counsellor or consultant – who will monitor their progress.

Who should use a VLCD?

Sufficient sleep is essential to fuel weight loss efforts .

We all understand the importance of sleeping seven to nine hours each night to allow for adequate cellular housekeeping, as the body metabolizes and synthesizes enzymes and proteins that are critical to our survival. In the past, a sound sleep has been shown to lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes and dementia in direct relationship to the number of hours slept each evening.

Canadian researchers publishing the Canadian Medical Association Journal have released the result of a study showing that adequate sleep is an important part of a weight loss plan and should be added to the recommended mix of diet and exercise. In addition to lowering caloric intake and increasing physical activity, the research team led by Dr. Jean-Phillippe Chaput of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa has provided sufficient evidence to show that inadequate sleep is an independent risk factor for overweight and obesity.

Scientists determined that lack of sleep increases the stimulus to consume more food and increases appetite-regulating hormones. Dr. Chaput explained "The solution to weight loss is not as simple as eat less, move more, sleep more... however, an accumulating body of evidence suggests that sleeping habits should not be overlooked when prescribing a weight-reduction program to a patient with obesity."

Seven to nine hours of sleep are needed daily to aid weight loss efforts

Many different factors affect body weight including predisposition to handling stress, depression and genetic individuality. Adequate and sound sleep can improve or eliminate each of these risk factors, and can also regulate the hormones leptin and ghrelin to lower food cravings and naturally promote a normal weight range. Naturally, reducing or eliminating insulin-producing processed carbohydrate foods and cutting sugar from the diet are necessary to stimulate weight loss in many people.

The authors of this study did not provide an exact mechanism to explain how adequate sleep assists weight loss, but they did explain that a lack of sleep affects the parts of the brain that control pleasure eating. Further, the scientists indicate that levels of the hormones leptin, ghrelin, cortisol and orexin, all of which are involved in appetite or eating, are affected by lack of sleep.

For original article please click the link
:http://www.naturalnews.com/037258_sleep_weight_loss_hormones.html

Choosing a weight loss programme

Choosing a weight loss programme

Many people seem to be continually on some kind of diet with varying results.  The difficulty in losing weight and keeping it off leads many people to turn to a professional or commercial weight loss programme for help. When considering joining a weight loss programme, choose wisely.

Almost any of the commercial weight loss programmes can work but only if they motivate you sufficiently to reduce the amount of calories you eat or increase the amount of calories you burn through regular exercise (or both).

What should I look for In a weight loss programme?

Make sure it is safe. Whether you create your own weight loss programme or use a commercial one, make sure it is safe. A safe diet should include all of the recommended daily allowances (RDAs) for vitamins, minerals, and protein. The weight loss diet should be lower in calories (energy) only, not in essential vitamins or minerals. In general, a diet containing 1,000 to 1,200 calories a day should be selected for most women; a diet between 1,200 and 1,600 calories a day is suitable for men.
Slow, steady weightloss. The programme should be directed toward slow, steady weight loss unless your doctor feels your health condition would benefit from more rapid weight loss. Expect to lose only about a pound a week after the first week or two. With many calorie-restricted diets, there is an initial rapid weight loss during the first one or two weeks, but this loss is largely fluid. The initial rapid loss of fluid also is regained rapidly when you return to a normal-calorie diet. Thus, a reasonable goal of weight loss should be expected. The rate of weight loss should be one or two pounds each week.
When inquiring about a commercial weight loss programme, be sure you are given a detailed statement of fees and costs of additional items such as dietary supplements or foods. Other important questions to ask of any potential weight loss programme include:

Explosive fat burners

Want to get your dream body without leaving the house? It’s just a hop, skip and jump away

Think you need to join the gym to drop a dress size? Think again. This explosive, fat-burning workout is perfect to do at home as it’s kit-free and super fast. These high-powered explosive moves, known as plyometrics, are one of the most effective ways to burn calories, as they tone your muscles while raising your heart rate – great for getting fit, while zapping fat and blitzing trouble spots.

How to do it

To prevent injury, warm up with a few minutes of jogging on the spot and some functional movements, such as arm swings and hip circles. You should then do the following exercises in order, moving from one to the next with as little rest as you can. Once you have completed the entire circuit, rest for one minute, then repeat the sequence for a total of three circuits.

1. Explosive press-ups  

Works: Chest, shoulders, arms, core  

Reps: 12

Place a yoga or Pilates mat on the floor and start by getting into a plank position, with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your knees resting on the floor.

Lower yourself to the ground in a controlled manner, then explosively push up, so your hands leave the ground.

Land so your hands return back to the starting position, and repeat.

2. Low jumping jacks

Works: Glutes, hamstrings, calves and quads

Reps: 20

Start with your hands resting by your sides, your abdominals tight and your feet together.

Jump into the air, bringing your feet wide so you land in a wide squat position, with your knees and toes turning out. At the same time, raise your hands above your head.

Quickly jump your feet together to return to the start position.

3. Bunny hops  

Works: Shoulders, back, abdominals, glutes, quads and hamstrings

Reps: 20

Using a mat, begin with your hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart, and your legs bent and to the right side of your mat.

With your legs together, brace your core and glutes, then jump both legs into the air and land on the left side of your mat. Continue to jump from side to side as fast as you can.

4. Bicycles

Works: Abdominals and obliques

Reps: 16

Lie on a mat with your fingers resting behind your ears. Bring your knees in towards your chest and lift your shoulder blades off the floor without pulling on your neck.

Straighten your left leg out while simultaneously turning your upper body to the right, taking your left elbow towards your right knee.

Switch sides, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee and continue alternating sides in a pedalling motion.

http://www.womensfitness.co.uk/fitness/630/explosive-fat-burners

How to diet

Low-carb, low-calorie, detox, cabbage soup ... there is no shortage of novelty diet programmes promising to make you lose weight fast.

Are you a healthy weight? Use the BMI calculator to find out
The big question is do they work? Most do lead to fast – sometimes dramatic – weight loss, but only for the pounds to creep back on again at the end of the diet.
More worryingly, many fad diets are based on dodgy science or no research at all, prescribing eating practices that are unhealthy and can make you ill.
In 2011, the British Dietetic Association warned against following popular diets such as the Dukan diet, which it said was complicated, not based on scientific evidence and reportedly did not lead to long-term weight loss.
Below are some of the problems with fad diets, plus advice on healthy eating and how to lose weight healthily
.
Five reasons to avoid fad diets

Many weight loss diets promise to help you lose weight quickly. Often, these diets focus only on short-term results, so you eventually end up putting the weight back on.
Here are five reasons why following the latest novelty diet may not be a good way to lose weight.

1. Some diets can make you ill

Many diets, especially crash diets, are geared to dramatically reducing the number of calories you consume. “Crash diets make you feel very unwell and unable to function properly,” says dietitian Ursula Arens. “Because they are nutritionally unbalanced, crash diets can lead to long-term poor health.” Find out how to start losing weight.

2. Excluding foods is dangerous

Some diets recommend cutting out certain foods, such as meat, fish, wheat or dairy products. Cutting out certain food groups altogether could prevent you from getting the important nutrients and vitamins that your body needs to function properly. You can lose weight without cutting out foods from your diet. The eatwell plate shows the different foods we should be eating.

3. Low-carb diets can be high in fat

Some diets, such as the Atkins diet, are very low in carbohydrates (for example pasta, bread and rice), which are an essential source of energy. While you may lose weight on these types of diets, they’re often high in protein and fat, which can make you ill. Low-carbohydrate diets can also cause side effects such as bad breath, headaches and constipation. “It has been suggested that the high protein content of these diets ‘dampens’ the appetite and feelings of hunger,” says Arens. Many low-carbohydrate diets allow you to eat foods high in saturated fat, such as butter, cheese and meat. Too much saturated fat can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.

4. Detox diets don’t work

Detox diets are based on the idea that toxins build up in the body and can be removed by eating, or not eating, certain things. However, there’s no evidence that toxins build up in our bodies. If they did, we would feel very ill. Detox diets may lead to weight loss because they involve restricting calories, cutting out certain foods altogether, such as wheat or dairy, and eating a very limited range of foods. “Detox diets do not work,” says Arens. “They are, in effect, a form of modified fasting.”

How to Make Your Body Burn More Calories

You can make weight loss quicker and easier by increasing your metabolic rate and burning more calories.

Metabolic Rate is the rate at which the body burns up calories. A body that consumes 2500 calories a day, and burns 2500 calories a day will stay at the same weight. A body consuming 2500 calories daily but burning only 2000 will gain weight at the rate of about 1lb a week.

This explains why that ‘lucky’ person across the table from you doesn’t get fat from all that junk food.

You can do quite a lot to speed up your metabolism – the secret of burning calories lies in knowing what determines your metabolic rate and what you can do to influence it.

You burn calories to provide energy for three main functions:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

This is the amount of calories you burn just by being alive – even when you are lying down, doing nothing. BMR accounts for approximately 60% of the calories burned for an average person.

Burning Calories for Activity

This is the energy used during movement – from lifting your arm to operate the remote control to cleaning the windows. This accounts for approximately 30% of the calories burned by an average person.

Dietary Thermogenesis

The ‘thermogenic effect’ described as meal-induced heat production – the calories burned in the process of eating, digesting, absorbing and using food.

How to Speed Up Your Rate of Burning Calories

You can influence all these factors, and speed up your rate of burning calories using some, or all, of the following tactics:

Build Muscle

Increase the amount of muscle in your body. For every extra pound of muscle you put on, your body uses around 50 extra calories a day. In a recent study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%. This is because muscle is ‘metabolically active’ and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you’re not moving.

Training with weights just 3 times a week for around 20 minutes is enough to build muscle. Not only will you be burning more calories, you’ll look better – whatever your weight.

Move More

Although the average person burns around 30% of calories through daily activity, many sedentary people only use around 15%. Simply being aware of this fact – and taking every opportunity to move can make quite a dramatic difference to the amount of calories you burn.

The trick is to keep the ‘keep moving’ message in mind. Write the word ‘move’ on post-it notes and put them in places you’ll notice them when you’re sitting still. Then, take every opportunity to move – here’s some ideas for burning calories:

Tap your feet
Swing your legs
Drum your fingers
Stand up and stretch
Move your head from side to side
Change position
Wriggle and fidget
Pace up and down
Don’t use the internal phone – go in person
Use the upstairs loo
Park in the furthest corner of the car park
Stand up when you’re on the phone
Clench and release your muscles
You’ll find lots of opportunities for burning more calories if you remember that you’re looking for them! Keep thinking ‘keep moving’.

Eat Spicy Food

There is evidence to show that spices, especially chilli, can raise the metabolic rate by up to 50% for up to 3 hours after you’ve eaten a spicy meal.

Drinks containing caffeine also stimulate the metabolism, as does green tea.

Aerobic Exercise

As well as the actual amount of calories burned during exercise – studies have shown that sustained, high-intensity exercise makes you burn more calories for several hours afterwards.

Try 30 minute sessions of heart rate raising exercise, such as vigorous walking, step aerobics, jogging, cycling or swimming, 3-4 times a week.

Eat Little and Often

There is some evidence to suggest that eating small, regular meals will keep your metabolism going faster than larger, less frequent meals. There are two reasons why meal frequency may affect your metabolism. Firstly, levels of thyroid hormones begin to drop within hours of eating a meal, and metabolism slows. Secondly, it may be that the thermogenic effect of eating several small meals is slightly higher than eating the same amount of calories all at once.

Provided your small meals don’t degenerate into quick-fix, high fat, high sugar snacks, eating little and often can also help to control hunger and make you less likely binge.

You can find the original article at:
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/burning_calories/burn_more_calories.htm