Fat loss versus muscle loss

Weight loss typically involves the loss of fat, water and muscle. Overweight people, or people suffering from obesity, typically aim to reduce the percentage of body fat. Additionally, as muscle tissue is denser than fat, fat loss results in increased loss of body volume compared with muscle loss. Reducing even 10% body fat can therefore have a dramatic effect on a person's body shape. To determine the proportion of weight loss that is due to decreased fat tissue, various methods of measuring body fat percentage have been developed.

Muscle loss during weight loss can be restricted by regularly lifting weights (or doing push-ups and other strength-oriented calisthenics) and by maintaining sufficient protein intake. Those on low-carbohydrate diets, and those doing particularly strenuous exercise, may wish to increase their protein intake. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Dietary Reference Intake for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight for adults.

Excessive protein intake, though not connected to declined kidney functioning in healthy individuals, may be harmful to those with certain kidney diseases.There is no conclusive evidence that moderately high protein diets in healthy individuals are dangerous, it has only been shown that these diets are dangerous in individuals already suffering from kidney and liver problems.

The Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories the body expends at rest, meaning without performing any physical activity, is influenced by the person's total weight and total amount of muscle. The more muscle, the more calories a person can burn naturally. When the amount of muscle is increased, then more calories can be ingested without gaining weight. On the contrary, if the amount of fat is increased, increasing the number of calories ingested will only add weight.

Normally, when people lose weight, they lose a combination of fat and muscle. If the diet plan includes a daily caloric intake greater than the BMR, the person will most likely lose fat. In contrast, if the person follows a diet that includes a lower caloric intake than the BMR, this person will lose fat but also a higher percentage of muscle.[citation needed] Severe diets may make people lose 50% fat and 50% muscle weight thus affecting their metabolism because by losing muscle the BMR gets affected.

Maintaining muscle mass while losing fat is therefore a key factor to reach both the ideal weight and body composition. To achieve this goal, experts advise not to reduce carbohydrates aggressively. Fat can be lost by reducing the calorie intake by 20% of daily needs for two days.[citation needed] This reduced calorie intake, even in the presence of 100% carbohydrate consumption, allows for reduction of fat without muscle loss because the glycogen in the muscle is properly replenished.[8]

Exercising on days when the highest amount of carbohydrates is consumed, 1.5 to 2 hours after eating, is also helpful to achieve a balanced fat reduction in the absence of muscle loss. Within this window of time, sugar and insulin levels are undergoing a slow decline. When insulin levels start dropping, the pancreas then produces the hormone glucagon while releasing nutrients stored in the fat cells to the blood to be turned into energy. On the contrary, if blood sugar levels suffer a high increase, insulin feeds the muscle cells and deposits excess into fat cells. Furthermore, if insulin levels decrease too much, the muscle cells do not receive the appropriate amount of food they require. There should always be a meal left during the day after exercising to allow the muscles to recover from exercise.

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The 2011 way to stay healthy

Obesity is the most common disorder of the present time and is the main cause of many health problems like heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and also kidney diseases. The main reason of obesity is an imbalance between energy intake and energy out put causing a large accumulation of fat in the body. In order to control obesity, caloric intake is reduced while maintaining the daily nutritional requirements of the body.

A well balanced diet is one that on a regular basis includes foods that meet our body's requirements for the wide variety of nutrients needed to stay healthy in 2011 or in any year and will not change. It's what you eat most of the time that affects your health most. That means no need for lists of "forbidden foods" that you need to learn to live without. That's self-defeating "diet talk" that we know has a slim chance of lasting long term!

But given the state of our national health, it's clear that most people's day-to-day eating habits are in sore need of a tune-up. Too much processed, high fat food, along with too little physical activity, are raising our rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes, starting younger in life than ever before. On the other hand, reams of research tell us that many of these health problems are avoidable by eating a well-balanced diet and exercising regularly. And the earlier in life you begin, the better.

Without knowledge of the basics, the tendency is to mistrust your judgment and see way too many foods as "bad." Keep in mind that healthy eating isn't just about limiting the stuff that's not so good for you - it's also about going out of your way to eat nutritious foods. Here are some general guidelines for making healthy food choices:

Aim for more fruits and vegetables. Studies show that eating more vegetables and fruits at meals and snacks helps displace higher calorie - and often less nutritious - foods, without leaving you feeling hungry.

Include low fat protein foods - like lean meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, reduced fat dairy foods, beans, soy foods, nuts and seeds - with meals and snacks whenever possible. These foods will help you meet your daily protein requirements (50 grams perday for women, 63 grams for men), and provide many important vitamins and minerals.

Opt for whole grains whenever possible. Look for whole grain breads, fiber-containing cereals, brown rice and other "brown" grain foods.

Limit your access to "junk foods." You greatly increase your odds of overindulging if they're too easily available.

Trim the fat. Most people - particularly those who eat out a lot - eat far more fat than is healthy. Limit foods that are fried, prepared with a cream or cheese sauce, or have lots of added butter or oil.

Give yourself every opportunity to get the good stuff in and Don't skip meals. Skipping meals during the day also often leads to overeating at night, which is not a healthy habit, particularly for those watching their weight.

To make all this happen, it's important to "set the stage" to up the odds good eating to occur. That involves a little planning so that good food is available, and carving out time, a few times a day, to sit down and eat healthful foods.

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How to Lose Belly Fat - 5 Tips To Use Now

Fat is not always negative. We need fat to keep us warm, protect our internal organs from damage and keeps us healthy and our cells in prefer condition. It keeps our skin glowing. But fat becomes a problem when it is available in excess in the body. It disfigures us, puts our health at risk and cause us to feel tires and lethargic the whole day. Additionally excess fat especially belly fat can cause serious illnesses such as heart disease and abates. So how to lose belly fat fast if you are one of those plagued with the dreaded pot belly?
Women may be obsessed with ways how to lose belly fat fast since it hurts their looks and appearance in a negative way. The modern women are more prone to developing pot belly due to the high level of stress, the need to keep up with the demands at the workplace, the additional chores at home and a horde of other problem haunting the woman today. The hectic schedule simply means there is no time left to exercise. Women who have protruding tummies may be depressed trying to figure out how to lose belly fat fast and effectively.
But men are not spared from this problem either. No one what to go around looking like an eight month pregnant women along with the man's boobs too! Today's competitive workplace and the high targets set makes men strive harder and stronger, which all adds up to the stress level, An men too are complaining of having less time for themselves to exercise. Most of them would be too tired after a hard days work to spend more time to hit the gym. So if you happen to be one of them you may wonder just how to lose belly fat under these circumstances?

It can be a very demanding task but here are five simple tips to help you get started.
Tip #1: Exercise
There are no excuses allowed here, you need to exercise now. If you haven't already started on your own exercise program this is a great time to check out some of the options available and choose one that you feel might be suitable for you. Take into account your personal interest and the level of fitness you enjoy when choosing the program.
Tip #2: Food
Stay away from fattening food, and food that is high in salt content. Salt tends to cause the body to retain water which account for that bloated look in your belly area. Start consuming plenty of energizing food scubas fruits and vegetables for a change. You will soon notice your skin getting brighter and takes on a healthy glow if you follow this diet.
Tip #3: Slimming Wraps
This is a new way to lose belly fat but it works. If you are wondering how to lose belly fat fast for an upcoming unimportant event, then go for these wraps! They can be purchased under several commercial brands or you can even create one in your own home.

Tip #4: Sauna
If you have time to spare consider going for a special treat at the local spa. Get into sauna room which would help detoxify your body. You would feel refreshed and raring to go just after one session in one of these sauna rooms
Tip #5: Meditation
Now for that final touch, get a nice session of meditation to help lower your stress level and pout you in a more empowering state of mind. You may choose to follow some home made videos on mediation or you can even join into a club that specializes in these activities. It also helps to have a tutor or a guru you can rely on.

Threes are five very effective ways to help if you are looking at how to lose belly fat without expensive surgery.

Dramatically Increase Your How to Lose Belly Fat by checking out our free report. Go to http://www.fatloss-review.us right now before we wise up and decide to no longer reveal our secrets!

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

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How To Lose Weight Fast and Easy- we should take Actions to become healthy

 

and after one year

Just take action to change

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My "No Diet" Diet (continued)

First, I had to sit down to a meal on a plate at a table. Second, I had to take small bites and chew thoroughly to teach myself what it's like to eat slowly — and also learn to stop when I was full. Finally, I'd quit weighing myself. I shouldn't look at the scale if I'm not supposed to care.
Simple enough, right? Wrong.
Before I could actually enjoy a meal, I had to unlearn more than a decade of weight-loss brainwashing. I had to teach myself to look at turkey, avocado, and bread as a delicious sandwich instead of nutritional parts to be worked off later. I had to rediscover how much I could even eat, since up to now, my intake was either "strict" or "cheating."
The first time I tried this at dinner with friends, I ordered a salad with goat cheese and dressing that I ate with bread, a medium-rare steak, a glass of cabernet, and finally, oozing chocolate cake. It's not that I'd never ordered that way before. It's just this time, I didn't allow myself to feel bad about it. It was liberating — that night, anyway.
The next day, I passed on the after-lunch brownie I was offered, unsure of the damage I'd done the night before. But then I remembered I was missing my own point. I went back for the brownie and fought the urge to feel bad the rest of the day. On the third day, I freaked out. Suddenly, my jeans were tighter, so I spent the next few days eating egg whites, fish, and vegetables (no carbs!) and working out — until I got the nerve to step on the scale and saw that I hadn't doubled my body weight (and remembered that my jeans had just come out of the wash). I snapped out of it — that time. But I'd repeat this cycle for six months.
Determined to leave food guilt in the past, I tried an experiment. I would weigh myself every morning for two months to see how each day's intake affected my weight. Maybe one indulgent meal — or six — didn't ultimately make a difference. It was enlightening: When I ate Chinese, it was 2 pounds up. When I drank a lot of water, it was 1 pound down. If I ate five holiday-type meals in a row, the scale jumped 3 pounds. But once my life went back to normal, the scale rebalanced. Many times, nothing happened — even after three cookies and a piece of rugelach.
Success.
Along the way, I learned how I eat. I discovered I really did like richer Häagen-Dazs better than the pseudo ice cream I'd been eating for a decade. But I also learned that when I ordered Chinese chicken with string beans, I preferred brown rice instead of white. And I actually do love steamed broccoli with sea salt. As for pancakes, a bite is enough. I prefer the savory eggs.
It took me a year, but I've finally become that girl-who-can-eat-whatever-she-wants-and-never-gain-an-ounce — and I don't even need to think about my rules. Instead of writing a food log, I spend more time writing in my journal and doing active things, like running or rock climbing. And, of course, once I shed the desperation and guilt, I dropped those 3 pounds too.

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My "No Diet" Diet, part one.

WebMD Feature from "Marie Claire" Magazine

By Yael Kohen

What would happen if you stopped dieting? If you ate the steak — and the frites — because you wanted them? Yael Kohen discovered that eating what you want isn't as easy as you think.
It was the diet to end all diets. About a year ago — 15 years after my first diet — I decided to break my perpetual need-to-shed-pounds lifestyle to do something radical: eat what I wanted, when I wanted. Call it the "no diet" diet. It's the hardest thing I ever did.
See, the first time I went on a diet, I was 12. I was hardly plump, but there was no hiding my two stomach rolls in the black Betsey Johnson spaghetti-strap dress I bought for my bat mitzvah. And on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where I grew up, dieting is as much a rite of passage as your first period.
Through my teens and into my 20s, I went on and off a variety of diets, from Weight Watchers to Atkins to Cabbage Soup, until finally seeing a nutritionist I couldn't afford who had me eat four meals a day and diligently record each morsel in a journal. I hit the treadmill because it supposedly burned more calories than the bike. All this, and I was never really fat. Two years out of college, I was just 3 pounds shy of fitting into the Citizens of Humanity jeans I deliberately bought one size too small. But those 3 damn pounds wouldn't come off.
Oh, I tried. I ate salads and fruit, skinless chicken and broccoli. I craved the pancakes but ordered egg whites and learned to drink my vodka on the rocks. Except, of course, for all those times I didn't. The problem is, I love food: the smell, the taste, the experience of sitting down to a three-hour dinner with a bottle of cabernet and close friends. I love Italian peasant bread dipped in olive oil and a little sea salt; I love braised lamb shank over roasted fingerling potatoes; and I love, love molten chocolate cake. So when I say I tried, I really did, following all those meals with calorie restriction and exercise, questioning whether the gourmet food had been worth it.
Until one day, several years into this crime-and-punishment back-and-forth, I heard a very skinny friend call herself fat. If she could think she was fat, I wondered when, if ever, I would be satisfied with the way I looked.
That's when I said to hell with it and resolved to live guilt-free and eat what I wanted, when I wanted. I'd seen other people do it, and they were trim. But still, I knew I would need guidelines so I wouldn't revert to my deprivation ways — or gain weight.

Source of the article : Here

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Weight loss Tip 10

Opt for lighter choices once in a while at restaurants.

Many restaurants have lighter options on their menus these days, some have low-fat options and some have even jumped on the low-carb band wagon and offer low-carb options.

Whenever you're sitting in a restaurant looking through the menu, ask yourself if a lighter option would be a better choice. Where possible choose steamed, poached, boiled or baked foods rather than those that have been fried or deep fried.

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Weight loss Tip 9

If you're a weekend food binger, plan ahead to make sure you have plenty of healthier snacking options in the house.

For example, pre-prepare some air-popped popcorn, mix up a blend of your favourite unsalted nuts, have some low fat yogurts ready to go in the fridge and try adding a dash of cordial to carbonated mineral water instead of drinking high sugar colas, etc.

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Weight loss Tip 8

Get into the habit of carrying a bottle of water with you wherever you go.

Keeping water handy will help keep you sufficiently hydrated and will help stop you reaching for the closest thing available when you inevitably become thirsty, such as carbonated drinks full of sugar or coffee, which actually causes further dehydration.

It's a well documented fact that many of us often mistake hunger for thirst and actually eat unnecessary calories when we are actually thirsty. When we are well hydrated, we're also less likely to overeat when we do sit down at the table.

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Weight loss Tip 7

If you often fail to go on planned bicycle rides because it's too windy, reconsider.

If it's windy outside, it does make it harder to ride our bikes, particularly heading directly into a strong wind.

But for those of us who want to lose weight, this is actually a good thing because the harder we are forced to work, the more calories we'll burn each minute!

Just be sure not to try to maintain the same speed you were doing with the wind when you're against it, you may get your heart rate a bit higher than is absolutely necessary.

Just slow down a little and enjoy the ride (as best you can under the circumstances!).

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