Posts Tagged ‘weight loss’

Can Diet Soda Make You Fat?

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Can sugar free drinks make you fat? Is diet soda just as detrimental to your healthy eating and your fat loss goals as drinks with added sugar? Let’s find out…

I’m going to start off with a little Q&A session, nothing to be afraid of I promise! Raise your hand if you drink diet soda because you believe it to be a “healthy” product.

Just as I thought; that is quite a few of you.

Here’s another question: Hands up if you know somebody, or you’ve ever heard a stranger talking out loud about how they love to choose sugar free soft drinks.

“I’m on a diet, better get the diet soda.”

Or maybe this little classic:

“Diet soda is good for you, did you know it has no sugar content at all?”

Just as I thought, even more hands waving at me!

Better put them down now though, you look kinda weird sitting there waving your hand at the screen :-)

Well it might surprise you, and all of those other diet soda drinkers you were just thinking about, to learn that there is absolutely NOTHING even remotely healthy about diet soda.

Artificial Sweeteners Can Make You Fat

Sugar free soft drinks contain zero sugar and zero calories thanks to artificial sweeteners. But you will be shocked to discover that they can still make you fat.

Even more frightening, there is a good chance that “diet” drinks are actually MORE fattening than their full-sugar brothers and sisters.

Wait a minute, what the deuce!?

Your Body’s Digestion Of Artificial Sweeteners

Did you know that it is NOT the number of calories you eat and drink every day that causes you to gain weight? It is actually your body’s HORMONAL RESPONSE to the calories you ingest.

But as you know, diet soda contains no calories! So what’s the deal? Well the artificial sweeteners (manufactured chemicals) inside the soft drink trick your body into thinking it is ingesting something sweet. And you can imagine how that works out!

Let’s take Aspartame for example (found in a market leading diet cola). This chemical actually blocks your brain’s production of serotonin (controls mood and appetite amongst other things).

And what does your body do when it is suffering from low serotonin levels? It tells your body to go and get some of the foods that it knows will stimulate the release of the chemical.

And guess what, this just happens to be the waistline expanding, high-calorie, carbohydrate-rich, processed “junk” foods that every dieter fears!

So sugar free sodas are actually fueling your sugar and junk food cravings. Not good.

The Insulin Response

Scientists also suspect that no-calorie sweeteners trigger the release of insulin in your body. (Insulin is released by your pancreas to allow your cells to absorb blood sugar and provide energy).

The problem here is that your body has been tricked into releasing insulin, but there is no sugar to process. When your body realizes this it triggers your appetite and tells you to go out and get some!

And again you’ll be craving sugary foods that produce a quick “spike” in blood sugar levels, quickly followed by a “crash”. This is how we get into a hunger-craving-snacking cycle that adds on the pounds.

How often do you experience sugar cravings like this? And every time you do I bet you reach for a candy bar or some milk chocolate, don’t you? It feels good for a moment but once the reality sets in you know it was bad. Wouldn’t you like to get rid of these cravings forever?

Drinking Diet Soda Causes Obesity?

I’ve done some research online and discovered a very comprehensive scientific study which warns of the dangers of drinking diet soda. It is actually quite frightening!

Conducted by Sharon Fowler and colleagues, the study was based on 8 years of data. The researchers were looking at the links between soft drinks and weight gain.

“What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity,” Fowler tells WebMD. “What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher.”

The researchers made a shocking discovery when it came to diet soda.

“There was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day.”

So there you have it. Diet soda is not as healthy as the advertising campaigns would have us believe. If you are serious about getting in shape then you really need to say goodbye to all types of soda. Believe me, you’ll feel much better for it and your physique will thank you for it!

Does diet soda make you obese? Learn how to beat your cravings with foods that burn fat on David’s blog.

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5 Techniques For Enhanced Arm Fat Loss

Monday, May 17th, 2010

The very first thing you need to focus on is how to properly target all your 5 major arm muscles. Doing so, will ensure the fastest loss of arm fat. When learning how to lose arm fat, there are no short cuts with this one.

You are probably cringing at this point. But I dont want bulging arms, you retort. In reality, you should not be worrying about this all too common myth. Before you stop reading, let me explain.

The organ systems within the female body produce 60% less testosterone (arm muscle hormone) than the organ systems within the male body. Thus, the female body does not have the necessary amount of hormones to produce manly arms. No matter how hard you train, this will never happen to you!

So keep an open mind when learning how to lose arm fat! And please ignore the photographs you see of professional female bodybuilders. They inject themselves with anabolic (growth) hormones and train at least 3 hours a day, every day.

Too many of my female clients fear weight training because they do not want to look like a cross between a man and a woman. Please do not let the same fear keep you from touching a weight. Instead, here is what you should focus on when learning how to lose arm fat:

1. The triceps muscles in your arms. The triceps (meaning three) is comprised of 3 major muscles and accounts for sixty percent of your arm mass. To properly work all the triceps muscles, you have to isolate the long, medial and lateral head. A great exercise for the lateral head is press-downs.

2. Proper biceps stimulation. The biceps group in your arm consists of 2 main muscles and forms forty percent of your arm mass. It has a long and short muscle. Concentration curls with a dumbbell is a great exercise for the long muscle.

3. Not counting calories. You should not be counting calories or following any depriving diets. Once you stop said diets, your arms will blow up even more than before. Worry about what you eat, not about how much you eat.

4. What you eat. No weird dieting needed here, just make sure each one of your meals has a protein, carbohydrate, fat and vegetable source. Do this and your body will take care of the rest. You see, learning how to lose arm fat is easy!

5. Water consumption. Seventy five percent of your arm is water, only twenty five percent is muscle. If you dont pay attention to water intake, you are missing out on 75% of the equation on how to lose arm fat. Drink only distilled or purified water between meals.

Understanding how to lose arm fat is not rocket science, although it can be a little tricky because of all the misinformation. But now you know the 5 things you should be considering so that the arm fat comes off faster than ever before!

Author Katherine Crawford, a fitness expert and former flabby arms sufferer, teaches how to do arm toning exercises for women. Unearth how to get sexy arms by visiting her blog with shake weight reviews now!

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6 Reasons Why You Are More Likely To Fail Without Carbohydrates

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Getting in shape will seem like a never ending nightmare if you don’t have enough carbohydrates in your diet. And despite this fact, endless fat loss hopefuls simply take carbohydrates out of their diet.

Even worse, the initial weight loss caused by carbohydrate restriction is not fat, most of it is water that you quickly regain.

So, without further ado, here is why a lack of carbohydrates can ruin your weight loss goal:

1. Your nervous system is optimized to function on a steady supply of sugar: Without carbohydrates, your brain turns to ketones, the breakdown byproducts of fat and protein catabolism. And while it can survive on ketones, it can’t reach maximum performance with them.

2. You don’t get all the nutrition you need: There are certain vitamins and minerals in carbs that other food groups don’t have. If you simply knock out your carb consumption, you will miss out on all this nutrition. And maximizing nutrition is key to successful weight loss.

3. You can burn the most amount of calories: To keep your metabolism as high as possible, you need to exercise as hard as possible. Unfortunately, without carbs, this isn’t possible. This is one of the reasons why people on a low carb diet find it harder and harder to lose weight.

4. You miss the glut-4 increase without them: In other words, your cells become hyper absorbent towards carbs for a very short time period immediately after exercise. And this is a great time to shuffle an excess of carbs into your muscles which in turn will allow you to maximize caloric burn next time you exercise.

5. They keep your muscles toned: Without carbs your muscles lose their toned and tight appearance. This happens because carbohydrate restriction dehydrates your muscles. And a dehydrated muscle will look like a deflated balloon, loose and jiggly.

6. Your mood depends on them: Study after study has shown that as carb intake goes down, so does levels of serotonin. And without enough serotonin, life will lose its color. So make sure you are well aware of this before going the low carb route.

You can lose weight while eating carbs. The key is to watch your total caloric intake and to watch your levels of blood sugar. Do this and you will be able to lose weight and keep it off!

Author Katherine Crawford, an exercise physiologist and former flabby arms sufferer, teaches how to get rid of bingo wings. Figure out how to get sexy and toned arms by visiting her blog with shake weight reviews right now!

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Employed People Are Not Excused From Taking A Healthy Lifestyle

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

It is not uncommon to see many people these days that go about their careers ignoring their personal health and desires for fit and attractive body. Sadly, it’s more of a norm today as more professionals find it hard to simply find time to work out.

All that negativity though only comes from someone who sees the problem but is unwilling to take the steps needed to address it. Someone who works a full time job can definitely have that desired body and the overall physical well-being that comes with it. It involves personal commitment compared to time in order to pull this off. To explain this in more detail, here are a couple of tips to aid you in this endeavor.

The first one of these goals is to address an obvious enemy known as fats. The fast food industry is literally sizzling with them and it’s easy to see where this is going given the fact that most people on a break are usually spending it there. Shave off those pounds by shaving off fats in your meals.

Avoid these places as much as possible and seek out other food services which would make a healthier alternative to those fat packed menus. This may not be easy especially for someone who is finding their everyday schedule adherence to be a tricky maneuver.

Another sacrifice that you’ll need to make is to cut down on desserts and other goodies that contain much carbohydrate. I know it’s going to be hard for people who just have a sweet tooth but too much sweet, particularly desserts can wreak havoc on your health. It is best to indulge ourselves with these goodies with discipline.

You must also pay attention to your needs for fiber rich foods. Good sources of fiber include green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits.

These fibers are capable of enhancing digestion which leads to a healthier and regular bower movement. It also helps break down cholesterol and fat build up in the body.

Last on your list is the fact that physical exercise is the most effective means of expelling those unwanted fats from your body. Thus it is necessary to find the time to do these routines. It doesn’t have to take much of your time and a mere 10 to 15 minutes a day is enough to yield positive results in the long run.

Following these tips requires discipline and will to consistently adhere to it. The rewards are certainly worth the sacrifices and pretty soon you’ll be able to flaunt an attractive body that comes with a healthier lifestyle.

Besides fitness, the writer also regularly contributes articles on air conditioner units and air conditioner compressor.

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The Mediterranean Diet FAQ\’S

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Q. What are the types of foods I eat on this diet? You can eat large portions of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts, lower amounts of poultry and red meats, yogurt and certain cheeses and a little bit of red wine.

Q. Is it high in fat? There are a lot of fats consumed on this diet however they are the fats that are good for you and that your body needs such as monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. The typical American diet consists of a lot of saturated fats

Q. I thought that fat is what makes you fat? Good fat does not make you fat, taking in a lot more calories than you burn off or that your body needs is what causes weight gain

Q. So how is this Mediterranean diet different? More fruits and veggies, leaner meats and poultry, less harmful monounsaturated fats and more good fats.

Q. Can Mediterranean diet lower the risk of heart disease? A. The people who live in the Mediterranean region of the world have a much lower incident of heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases. Based on scientific research, there diet has played a significant role in lowering the incidence of cardiovascular disorders.

Q. Isn’t this just a low carb diet? A. No, it also is lower protein, contains healthier foods such as root veggies, fruits and omega 3 rich foods and also helps prevent heart attacks.

Q. Since this is so healthy can i skip exercising? Exercise is great for overall health and doe not take much time to do. Try a strenuous walk, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or running and aerobics. It also is a mood lifter because when you exercise your body produces endorphins which ar a hormone that makes you feel good. Find a sport or activity you can enjoy and still elevate your heart rate for 15 to 30 minutes 3-5 days a week to start.

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