Wellness WORD Health And Fitness Tips

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just added a free menu planning feature to its MyPyramid nutrition website.  After taking a close look at the new nutrition planning feature I was pleasantly surprised. Hats off to the Department of Agriculture for creating such a powerful free tool!

After entering in your personal data such as height, weight, and physical activity level, the software asks if you want to maintain your weight, or lose weight, that is if they consider you overweight. Once you select that option the program will calculate your fat loss daily calorie zone, as well as determine how much of each food group you should consume. …Continue Reading Free Menu Planning Service To Help Lose Fat

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The results of a small study involving the safety of energy drinks was released today.  When I refer to energy drinks I am referring to drinks such as Red Bull, XO, Roaring Lion, Jolt, etc. You can generally find these pick me upers in gas stations, and convenient stores.  To find out more about name brand energy drinks visit  http://www.bandddesigns.com/energy/ .

The study, which had a sample of only 15 healthy individuals, was conducted at Wayne State University and showed those that consumed two energy drinks a day had an elevation in blood pressure, and heart rate. …Continue Reading Energy Drinks Possibly Harmful To Certain Individuals

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A new study at John Hopkins Bloomberg School Of Public Health revealed 75% of American will be overweight, and 41% obese by the year 2015. Both of these numbers shocked me! It seems Americans continue to gain weight even though they are reminded that obesity is an epidemic.

…Continue Reading American Obesity Rates Will Rise By 2015

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Do you like paying retail for your bodybuilding supplements? I expect your answer to be a big no! The good news is you can get cheap bodybuilding supplements rather easily by making them yourself. By quickly making them yourself you have instant affordable bodybuilding supplements.

You probably think muscle building, and fat loss supplements are difficult to make. Well, think again. They are extremely simple to make if you know what you are doing. …Continue Reading Cheap Bodybuilding Supplements Insiders Guide

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How to lose weight naturally requires an understanding of energy balance. Energy balance is when you consume the same amount of calories your body burns off for energy. Forget the weight loss pills, and potions, and focus on the simple concept of negative energy balance. Another words, your body burns off more calories than are consumed. With that said, you will lose weight naturally.

When your energy balance is negative enough to burn off 3500 calories, you will lose one pound of bodyfat.

You body burns energy in 3 ways.

1. Basic metabolic functions of your organs and system (60%)
2. Physical activity (30%)
3. Thermogenic effect of foods eaten (10%)

Now how to lose weight naturally involves understanding your energy balance numbers. That is, how many calories are needed to maintain your body weight.

A real quick estimate of this number can be found the following way:

Men - Body Weight X 10 + Double Your Body Weight
Female - Body Weight X 10 + Your Body Weight

With that number determine your activity level. If you exercise to lose weight for more than 1 hour each day add 400 to that number if you are a man. For women, add 300.

The sum of this number will be an approximation of your energy balance. This is the amount of calories you should take in to maintain your weight. Now to lose, you must decrease your calories, or increase your activity in order to enter the negative energy balance. To gain weight, increase your calories to the appropriate level. This will bring about positive energy balance.

So the next time you wonder how to lose weight naturally, you can begin paying attention to your energy balance in order to maintain, lose, or gain weight.

To discover how you too can lose weight quickly while working out in only half the time visit Wellness Word.

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A diet research report was released this week as a result of studying 31 weight loss studies. Researchers concluded two thirds of dieters gain all their weight back, and even more, five years after going on a weight loss diet. Thus, after a fat loss regimen, participants gain back more weight than they lost.

The study concluded most people fall into the yo yo dieting plan category. This, in turn, can be bad for your health showing an increase in heart disease and stroke. Accoring to studies, it would be better not dieting at all, than going up and down, up and down.

Weight loss enthusiasts really need to think lifestyle. Your eating habits need to change from today through the rest of your life.  That is what works. Think healthy eating for a lifetime. Exercise was shown to be the best “pill” for maintaining weight loss.

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Just as I expected, after the Stanford study concluded The Atkins Diet is more effective than The Dean Ornish Diet, The Zone, and LEARN, the so-called losing diets are fighting back. Here is a link to a statement made from the Dean Ornish camp. He feels the study was flawed for the reasons he states in this Ornish Diet statement.

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The Atkins diet resurfaces from hibernation once again! This time a study was conducted comparing the Atkins Diet to the Zone, Ornish, and the LEAN (Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships and Nutrition) Diet. Which do you think produced the greater body weight loss throughout the 1 year study?

During the study, 311 overweight women, aged 19 to 50, were divided into four groups. Each of them followed a different diet for one year (12 months). The groups consisted of the Atkins, the Zone, the Ornish and LEARN.  In case you are not aware, the Atkins Diet follows a very low carbohydrate, higher fat, and protein regimen. The Zone follows a 40% carboyhdrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat plan. Meanwhile, the Ornish weight loss plan focuses on high fiber, low-fat vegetarian eating. Finally, the LEARN Diet Plan follows a low fat, high carbohydrate plan. Which worked best to strip the fat with the least amount of medical side effects (higher cholesterol, higher blood pressure, etc.)?

The Results Of The Diet Study - After a year following the diet, the 77 women on the Atkins Diet lost on average 10.3 pounds compared to The LEARN Diet 5.7 pounds, The Ornish 4.8 pounds, and finally The Zone 3.5 pounds lost.  The interesting thing is the Atkins group saw the greatest improvement in blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and body mass index. All of these variables are an indication of good health.

My 2 Cents - We can all conclude that the Atkins fat loss plan works, at least for the first 12 months. It is interesting to note that the Atkins diet group lost most of the weight in the first 6 months, and then weight loss really slowed off. It goes back to what I have been saying all along; is this a nutritional program that you can faithfully stay on the rest of your life? What are the long term implications? Does fat loss come to a complete halt at 24 months? Can a person stay disciplined enough to eat less than 50 grams of carbs per day, everyday for the rest of their lives? What are the long term implications of the diet regarding blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat percentage, etc? Once again, I must say more needs to be studied. I’m sure you will continue hearing about the Atkins for some time. Hey, I would like to see this study extended longer, and include diets such as the South Beach Diet. I would also love to see people incorporate consistent exercise in this study. I bet the weight loss would have increase even more!

It just seems all these diets are missing one key component - behavior modification. In my opinion, you want to be on a healthy eating plan for the rest of your life. That type of plan migh demand a greater amount of complex carbs, but they are guaranteed to work long term. It is important to think long term, life long behavior modification, and not just 1 year of dieting. I guarantee most of these people will gain every single pound back, and more.

One again, it goes back to what I have always recommended.

1) Monitor your calories on a regular basis.  Be aware to keep things in check.
2) Keep high glycemic sugars to a minimum - simple sugars
3) Keep carbs around 40-50 percent of your diet
4) Eat a lower fat (saturated fat) diet. 20% of diet
5) Eat lower saturated fat protein sources. 30% of diet
6) Set up an eating plan you can continue for a lifetime - behavior mod
7) Limit portion size which keeps calories in check
Exercise regularly - A program for life.
9) Be patient with your weight loss - 1-2 pounds each week maximum. Remember, it is a lifetime of maintenance.

Another interesting side note from the study is the LDL “bad” cholesterol in the Atkins group didn’t decrease while the other groups did. However, the LDL seemed to level out for all diets to not much of a positive effect by the end of the study.

I’m sure the diet debate will continue to rage on. However, I can conclude after reviewing numerous studies that the Atkins appears to be safe, and effective on at short term basis (12 months) only. More needs to be studies long term. Until then, focus your mind on long term, lifelong nutritional behavior modification.

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No wonder why people seem to get heavier, and heavier. Just open your eyes at a theme park; and you will see what I am talking about. We all know it is portion size, and not knowing exacting how many calories we are putting in our mouths.

Remember, it is a restaurants goal to have you walk out feeling very satisfied. If that includes putting sticks of butter into the recipe, then so be it. The restaurants goal is for you to tell your friends, and come back for more. In 2007, as a result of strick time constraints, people are eating out more than ever. This results in eating more calories which translates into larger waistlines.

One recent study revealed some of the “eating out” meals contain over 2,000 calories,  and we don’t even know it. One hamburger company has a burger which is close to 2,000 calories, and that is even without the fries. Wow! It is equivalent to eating five McDonalds quarter pounders. The sad thing is we don’t even realize how many calories are being taking in.

The moral of the story is BE AWARE. I guarantee you, if you are eating out often, you are taking in more calories than you need. Be an intelligent, healthy diner. You have been warned!

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One of the biggest complaints I hear from training clients is their metabolism is too slow. They are frustrated because fat isn’t falling off of them. After their thyroid has been checked I always recommend a few tips to ignite their metabolisms.

1. Weight train.  The more muscle you put on your body, the faster your metabolism will be. Thus, the more fat you will burn.

2. Eat more than 5 small meals a day. Now these meals should not be based on simple carbohydrates, but complex carbs, and protein. Make sure to keep these meals small, and calorie friendly.

3. Do cardiovascular training on a regular basis. It is also important to be consistent on your training. This will also help ignite your fat burning fire.

By following these three simple tips, you are guaranteed to ignite your metabolism to its very own peak potential.

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