Do you want to become a regular arsonist when it comes to burning body fat? According to the latest study on Men’s nutrition, health and weight loss, Japanese researchers found that men who lift weights before doing cardio exercising tend to lose fat and get leaner muscle faster, then men who do cardio first and then lift weight. By lifting weight first, those men burned twice as much fat as those who only pedaled first. The explanation is that resistence training stimulates the release of fat0burning hormones. It’s like pouring kerosene on your inner fire.
Tag Archives: exercise
Diet or Exercise, Conflicting Messages?
10 Jun
The latest research on weight loss shows what most people already knew…it’s a combo of diet and exercise. According to a University study, scientists found that weight loss study participants all lost an average of 22 pounds through diet, exercise or both. But they did find one big difference.
Those who included exercise in their weight loss programs were able to specifically target belly fat. In fact, the diet plus exercise group shrank their abdominal fat cells twice as much as those who only dieted. Abdominal fat cells have different amounts of metabolic enzymes than other parts of your body, causing them to be more responsive to exercise.
Healthy Dieting
15 FebI have been working out with a personal trainer for the past 8 months. I started off 1 day per week and increased it to 2. While my actual weight is not changing I do notice that my clothes are fitting me better. I try to avoid my scale at all costs. I even put it into my garage so I would not be tempted to jump on. The mark I use now is not a numeral but the way I look and feel in my own skin and in my clothing. WHile exercise is important one watching their weight cannot avoid the “diet”. That four letter word that we all hate.
A healthy diet is an important part of any fitness plan. To help you in your weight loss and goals for fitness I came across this handy chart to help aid you in determining how and what you should be eating.
A healthy nutritional balanced diet is also key to losing weight. Following a clear chart for dieting showing the amount of simple carbs to complex carbs and everything in between can keep you on track for losing weight. There are six primary categories food is assigned too: Complex Carbohydrates (starches and fiber), High Quality Protein, Non Starch Vegetables, Simple Carbohydrates, Milk/Soy, Fats and Water.
We all hate diets, but following this chart seems to be a great way to improving weight loss and becoming a thinner, healthier you!
Body Care Products that are as Good as Gold
5 Jan
Peaceful Mountain is a company based in Boulder, Colorado that specializes in organic remedies that help relieve a wide range of maladies. One product I have tried is Arnica Gel that has been proven amazing both pre and post workout to help increase blood flow to the muscles that I have used. This gel has helped sooth the soreness that develops the day after you have worked out when the lactic acid has build up. The best thing about these products is that they don’t compromise the kidneys as some other remedies have been known to do. The combination of Arnica, Confrey Root and St. Johns Wort works magically. The company suggests using it at the first sign of muscle aches, stating that if used at the onset, it may help prevent a full blown spasm!
This natural formula can be found at www.peacefulmountain.com for about $11 a tube. A small price to pay for the pain. 
You can also find this product at Whole Foods or a local health food store.
Forget the lowfat food!
8 OctRecently I took my 7 year old daughter to a nutritionist after my pediatrician gave her a scare telling her that she was “very very unhealthy”. We had gone to the pediatrician for a physical, which we do every year before school starts and as usual they took her weight. She weighed 84 lbs when she should (according to the chart) weigh about 70 lbs for her height and build. My daughter looked at me when the doctor told her about her unhealthy weight gain and did not shed a tear. I actually thought she was not really taking it seriously at all, until we got into the car. The she cried and asked if what the doctor said meant she was going to die. 
. I took issue with the way the doctor addressed the issue, but don’t want to get into that now.
While my daughter likes her food, her problem is portion control. I tend to cook very healthy foods. I rarely EVER fry anything, I always bake and with very little oil if any at all. After undergoing blood testing to find if the inherited thyroid condition was causing her weight gain (which it was not), we went to see a nutritionist. One piece of advice she gave me that made a HUGE difference is that you should never purchase any food where the sugars are 50% or more of the Carbohydrates. People are always buying lowfat items, thats a big mistake. When something is lowfat they overcompensate for flavor by adding sugar! Sugar is metabolized in the body and stored in the body as fat. One of the main reasons a lowfat processed food does not help with weight loss.
Next time you reach for that bag of school snacks, check out the sugar to carb ratio. Go for the regular version, not the lowfat, and keep the portions under control.
Hidden Fat
16 Sep
Here’s a warning to the slim people who feel comfortable because they have the right “weight”: being slim doesn’t necessarily mean you’re okay health-wise and that you’re far from acquiring any of the much feared diseases. If your daily food intake is more on the junk food and greasy side and/or you’re living a sedentary lifestyle, there’s a high chance you can have internal fat collected in your heart, liver, pancreas, and certain muscles which can trigger the deadly diseases like various heart conditions and diabetes. Having the proper numbers on the scale and fitting into your ideal clothes doesn’t mean you should rejoice and be complacent. Exercising daily is a big big necessity to be able to burn any internal fat that may be forming. Eating healthy food is also essential to make sure you are not deficient on all the nutrients you need.
Image from this site.
Gaining Healthy Weight
10 Sep
Sometimes it seems to me that 99% of people in this world would like to lose weight. Some would simply like to, many are desperate to. But what I seldom encounter are people who would actually like to gain weight because they lack the proper pounds. If you’re one of them, here are just three of the things you need to work on to start the process.
Cut down on fatty and greasy food. Sure, eating a lot of fast food, sugary sweets, and the like can help you gain weight, but it won’t be the type of weight you want. You’ll end up being even unhealthier because the risk for deadly diseases increases every time you consume unhealthy oily foods and food high in trans fats like pastry products and processed meats.
Consume a lot of protein. Protein builds muscle tissue. Since your goal is to have more healthy muscles to increase mass and weight, make sure you focus on foods that are good protein sources such as chicken, fish, low fat dairy products, healthy meats, and nuts and seeds. Of course, your meals still have to be well-balanced so make sure you’re also consuming all the other important vitamins and minerals to stay healthy.
Weight train. Many people have the misconception that doing any form of exercise will just make you lose weight. Weight training and weight lifting can actually do the reverse by building on muscles not akin to those of heavy bodybuilders but just enough to increase your weight and add body mass and strength. Weight training helps convert additional calories into muscle rather than fat. It also stimulates appetite.
Women and Weight-Lifting
28 Aug
Many women are scared to lift weights because they’re afraid of turning into beefy body-builders and looking all masculine. The truth is there are more to those heavy body-builders than lifting weights – they have grueling workouts as well as special dietary supplements. Thus, regular weight-lifting will not turn any woman into Ms. Muscle just like that. The following list highlights just some of the reasons why health and strength training experts say regular weight lifts are actually beneficial to any woman.
- It increases strength and endurance.
- It reduces body fat.
- It makes aerobic exercise easier.
- It helps prevent injury.
- It improves balance and flexibility.
- It develops strong bones.
- It increases energy!
Weight lifting tones the body by increasing muscle mass, not in the way that bulks up the body (there are special methods and supplements for that if that is your purpose) but by burning more calories in the right areas. So next time you exercise, try to lift some weights. It just may be good for you. 
Image from this site.
Walking Tips
12 Aug
When you decide to start walking you can always use some tips to keep you motivated. Walking is a great way to get your heart pumping and lose some weight. If you do it correctly and at your own pace you can grow to love walking. After a while you will find yourself looking forward to your daily walks.
First thing you want to do is make sure you have a pair of sneakers that are comfortable to your feet. Don’t pay attention to price. Just get a pair of sturdy sneakers that are comfortable on your feet that you like wearing. For me, a new pair of shoes inspires me to work out.
Comfortable clothing is another thing to consider. You don’t want to keep tugging at a shirt or straightening out some pants while you should be enjoying your walk or jog. Wear clothing is is comfortable and pleasing to you. There is no need to try and “dress it up” when you are trying to exercise. Comfort is your main concern.
When you are walking you want to get a stride or a rhythm. At first, you may feel a little awkward but it will work itself out the longer you walk. Just stick with it and don’t worry what other people are thinking. You should be doing this for you and you alone.
A great tip is to get you some tunes to listen to. There are so many MP3 players out on the market now. You can get one for just about any price range and this will become your new best friend. A trick I like to do to make me look forward and lose myself in the run or walk is to load up audio books onto my MP3 player. I almost have to be dragged in, I am so wrapped up in the story.
One final tip, always keep plenty of water with you. You don’t want to be caught out without water to drink. Walking can be an enjoyable activity if you do it correctly and learn a few tricks/tips to make it worth it.
Having the body you want!
6 AugThere are no substitutes for eating healthy and regular exercise, but experts say that your attitude can make a huge difference to your weight loss success. We’re talking about cutting out the “mental fat”—the negative thoughts keeping us from shedding the physical fat. Just as losing weight won’t happen overnight, improving your thought process will also take time. Be patient with yourself and work at it a little at a time.
It’s easy to make excuses for not losing weight but changing our own thinking will help us lose weight faster an easier. It is all in the mind.
Visualize yourself thin. Imagine how you’ll look 6 to 12 months down the line. If you have old pictures of your thinner self, dig them out and put them up in a prominent place (like the refrigerator or on a bulletin board in your office). Remember how you felt back then. What habits did you have then that allowed you to be healthier? See if you can incorporate your better habits from the past back into your lifestyle now. Remember to see yourself in a positive light. Having a positive attitude and being happy with yourself will be helpful in achieving your health goals.
Make a list. List specific reasons why you want to lose weight. Perhaps you want to be more attractive to a certain someone, maybe you want to be able to fit into your old clothes again, or maybe you’d just like to have more energy. Whatever your personal reasons, great or small, write them all down on an index card. Look at your list every morning and carry it around in your wallet or purse. On the back of the card, write down motivating phrases to give yourself encouragement.
Think about activities you wish you could do that you can’t do because of your weight. If you can, cut out a picture of that activity from a magazine and hang it near your desk (or somewhere else that’s visible), so that you’ll have something to look forward to.
Identify self-sabotaging thoughts. Pay attention to your negative thoughts. We all have them. They may be something like “This is too difficult,” “I’ll never be able to lose this much weight,” or “I’m too tired.” You can’t stop them from entering your head but you can learn to respond to them constructively.
Don’t be overly critical of yourself—focusing on your negative aspects while minimizing your positive ones. Just because you feel or believe something doesn’t actually make it true. Of course, there are no wrong or bad emotions, but identifying why something makes you feel bad can help prevent those situations in the future. If you get in the habit of identifying your self-sabotaging thoughts, you can nip them in the bud before they blow up into an ugly depression.
Distract yourself from cravings. Create a list of things you can do to distract yourself from tempting food. Perhaps you can read a book, flip through a magazine, or play a video game. The next time a craving comes up, do one or two things on your list. You may have to do more, but eventually the craving will pass. Cravings will pass 100 percent of the time.
Create small goals for yourself. Write down a list of tiny things you can do to improve your lifestyle. We all know that it’s difficult to make huge changes to our lifestyles. So try accomplishing smaller goals. Try doing some of the activities listed below.
Take a 30-minute walk in the afternoon.
Eat one more serving of fruits or vegetables today.
Forgo that soda or glass of wine and just have a tall glass of ice water.
Order a side salad instead of those french fries.
Replace old habits with new ones. It’s easier to replace an old habit with a new habit than it is to break an old one altogether. For instance, if you have a sandwich every day for lunch, choose low-fat turkey on wheat and skip the mayonnaise. Have plain or sparkling water instead of a regular sugared or diet soda. If you like to have an afternoon snack, grab an apple or a handful of your favorite nuts instead of a candy bar. There are so many ways you can replace even entrenched bad habits with healthier good ones. Be creative and have fun with it.
Keep a journal. Get a little notebook and keep a log of your weight. This way you can determine what is and isn’t working and track the progress you make. Also, write down what you eat. Keeping track of the foods you eat will help show patterns. You may not have realized that you eat ice cream right out of the freezer every night after dinner, but your journal will keep you honest. Just knowing that you’re going to write down what you’ve been eating may keep you from reaching for that extra serving of mashed potatoes.
Plan for the future. Every night before you go to bed, plan for the next day. Whether it be scheduling exercise in your calendar or prepacking healthy snacks (like fresh fruit, cut veggies, or low-fat popcorn), get ready for tomorrow.
This also applies to grocery shopping. Make a list before you go grocery shopping that includes fresh fruits and vegetables you like. Replace calorie-heavy, fatty foods like chips and cookies with baked crackers or dried fruit.
Armed with a plan and tools to help you maintain that plan, you’ll have an easier time meeting your goals.
Be nice to yourself. When you’ve been good, do something nice for yourself. Reward yourself with something you enjoy (but not with food rewards, of course!). Perhaps you can enjoy a trip to a movie theatre, buy yourself a new book, or go for a foot massage.
For instance, if you walked up the stairs to work this morning, treat yourself to a bit of Internet surfing or an online game before tackling your job. If you’ve lost 5 pounds, reward yourself with a new haircut. Whatever you do, give yourself rewards proportional to the goals you accomplish.
Surround yourself with support. We all need emotional support, especially when times get tough. Find friends and family to help you. You may even be able to find a diet buddy or join a support group Many studies show that having a healthy social network is better for your overall health. Dieters who have friends and family pulling for them achieve better success than those who try to go it alone.
So pick up the phone, call a friend, and flex those mental muscles.
