Dieting and Metabolism

When we're bombarded with images of gorgeous celebrities who seem to lose weight in the time it takes us to eat a Danish pastry, it's no wonder we're often tempted to cut our already low calorie intakes in an effort to shift an extra pound or two each week.

But surprisingly, rather than helping us to reach our target weight more quickly, severely restricting calories actually prevents our bodies from burning unwanted fat stores effectively - and unfortunately, this means that weight loss slows down.

Why does a very low calorie intake slow down weight loss?
Quite simply, your body goes into 'starvation mode'. This mechanism, which is thought to have evolved as a defence against starvation, means the body becomes super efficient at making the most of the calories it does get from food and drink. The main way it does this is to protect its fat stores and instead use lean tissue or muscle to provide it with some of the calories it needs to keep functioning. This directly leads to a loss of muscle, which in turn lowers metabolic rate so that the body needs fewer calories to keep ticking over and weight loss slows down. Of course, this is the perfect solution if you're in a famine situation. But if you're trying to lose weight, it's going to do little to help you shift those unwanted pounds.

So how many calories should I have to prevent starvation mode?
Unfortunately, there's no single answer to this question. As everyone's metabolism varies in the first place, so too will the point when the body starts to use muscle to provide it with calories in a 'famine-type' situation. That's why WLR works out suitable calorie intakes for each member on an individual basis and never lets you opt to lose more than 2lb a week, which would require a severely restricted calorie intake. In other words, if you stick to the calorie intake recommended by WLR, you can be sure your body won't go into starvation mode.

As a general rule though, most nutrition experts recommend never going below 1,000-1,200 calories a day if you're dieting on your own. It's also worth bearing in mind that the body doesn't suddenly 'enter' and 'leave' starvation mode, like crossing the border from Devon into Cornwall. It's a gradual process - so you don't need to panic if you do go below your calorie intake very occasionally.

What's the link between muscle and metabolism?
The metabolic rate - the rate at which the body burns calories - is partly determined by the amount of muscle we have. In general, the more muscle we have, the higher our metabolic rate; the less muscle we have, the lower our metabolic rate. This explains why men, who have a high proportion of muscle, have a faster metabolism than women, and why a 20-year-old has a higher metabolism than a 70-year-old - again, they have more muscle.

Ultimately, muscle burns a lot more calories than fat so when we lose muscle, our metabolic rate drops and we burn fewer calories. In fact, research shows that the body loses a proportionately high amount of muscle with a very low calorie intake and this may considerably suppress metabolism by up to 45 percent.

This explains why it's crucial to do as much as you can to protect your metabolic rate, especially when you're dieting. And this means dieting sensibly with a suitable, rather than a very low calorie intake so that you lose fat rather than muscle.

Is there anything else I can do to stop losing muscle when I'm dieting?
As well as making sure you have sufficient calories to burn fat rather than muscle, it's also possible to build muscle, which in turn boosts metabolism. And the way to do this is, of course, to increase the amount of exercise you do. While aerobic activities such as jogging, swimming, fast walking and aerobic classes help to tone muscle and burn fat, strength or resistance training in particular will increase the amount of muscle you have in your body. And this is good news because for every extra 1lb of muscle you have, your body uses around an extra 50 calories a day! This means an extra 10lb of muscle will burn roughly an extra 500 calories a day without you doing anything - and that's a sufficient amount to lose 1lb in a week.

But doesn't your metabolism drop when you lose weight anyway?
Yes, your metabolic rate naturally slows down a little when you lose weight, but this isn't automatically because you've lost muscle. It's because when your body has less weight to carry around, it needs fewer calories. This means if you weighed 13st to start with and now weigh 9st, you need fewer calories to maintain your new weight than you did when you were heavier. Simply put, there's 4st less of you to carry up and down the stairs, into the bath, around the supermarket and to the bus stop - and because your body doesn't have to work as hard as it did in the past, it can survive on fewer calories! This is why you should regularly update your Goals and Results - as your weight drops, Weight Loss Resources will recalculate how many calories you need to keep losing weight at your chosen rate.

Will yo-yo dieting have damaged my metabolism permanently?
Fortunately not! The idea that yo-yo dieting permanently lowers your metabolism has been relegated to the archives. However, if you've frequently crash dieted and severely restricted your calorie intake without exercising, it's likely you'll have a lot less muscle now compared with the very first time you dieted.

As a consequence, it's likely your metabolism will also be lower so that you need fewer calories to maintain your current weight. This is because when you follow a very low calorie diet, you lose muscle as well as fat (see above). But when the weight goes back on, you usually only regain fat.

This means, your metabolic rate is likely to have dropped a little every time you've dieted, making it slightly harder each time for you to lose weight. The good news is you can increase the amount of muscle you have by increasing the amount of exercise you do. This in turn will rev up your metabolism so that you can lose weight one final time on a slightly higher calorie intake than you've perhaps been used to.

Tags: metabolism Fat Diet

Exercising Before Breakfast Burns More Fat

Yes, but see items 3 and 4. Also, a recent study suggests that if you want to lose weight this may not be the best strategy because exercising on an empty stomach may encourage overeating after exercising. An hour of weights may burn 400 calories and a large bagel may cost you 350. That’s not all bad because you do have to replace some of that energy lost. Yet a Big Mac with large fries and Coke will put you over the top. You have to watch the post-exercise meal if you want to lose weight.

Exercising on an empty stomach will reduce blood and muscle glucose substantially. Two things will happen: 1) you will burn more fat; and 2) your brain will start sending signals that you need to eat. The brain is the ultimate survival controller. When blood glucose gets down around 70 mg/dL (4 mmol/L), it gives you the ‘hurry up’ because at less than 55 mg/dL (3 mmol/L) you can pass out.

One more thing will happen. If the brain can’t get glucose from food, the hormone cortisol will start to break down muscle for glucose. If you want to lose fat and gain muscle, this is certainly not the way to do it – which is what happens on very low-calorie and starvation diets.

Tags: burn Muscle tom

Shrimp marinated in lime and Dijon mustard Diet Recipe

tip: In this recipe, the shrimp is marinated in its cooking stock rather than served with a heavy sauce. Serve the shrimp cold with water crackers or melba toast.

SERVES 4


Ingredients
1 medium red onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh lime juice, plus lime zest as garnish
2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined




Directions

In a shallow baking dish, combine the onion, lime juice, capers, mustard and hot sauce. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, add the water, vinegar, cloves and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and add the shrimp. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Drain and transfer the shrimp to the shallow dish containing the onion mixture, making sure to discard the cloves and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.

To serve, divide the shrimp mixture among individual small bowls and garnish each with lime zest. Serve cold.

Tags: Recipe Diet Recipe water crackers tom Belly belly


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Fat Loss 4 Idiots What Type of food you eat

Researchers have found that fat and thin people can eat roughly the same number of calories, but it seems that the type of food they are eating is different.

There is a very popular theory that goes something like: too much fat makes you fat. This may be right in principle (large amounts of saturated fat in the diet are not healthy), but it's important to remember that some fats are absolutely essential, hence their name: essential fatty acids.

The result of this theory is that women go on low-fat and no-fat diets, which are dangerous. Furthermore, no-fat and low-fat food tends to be high in sugar and salt, which is required to make it palatable. This is the type of thing that makes you fat. In fact, it's sugar and other foods that are 'fast-releasing' that will encourage weight gain, and here's why:

The speed with which a food increases blood sugar (in other words, whether it is 'fast-releasing' or 'slow-releasing') determines whether or not it will cause you to gain weight. If your blood sugar levels rise very quickly your body has to secrete more insulin in order to control it.

Every time you eat, your body has a choice: it can either burn that food as energy or store it as fat. Researchers have found that high insulin levels cause you not only to change your food into fat, but they also prevent your body from breaking down previously stored fat.

These fast-releasing foods include anything that contains sugar and refined flour, such as cakes, biscuits, pastries, and other 'treats'.



If you crave sweet or starchy foods, feel tired during the afternoon, light-headed, dizzy or shaky if you miss a meal or wake up feeling tired after a full night's sleep, then your blood sugar levels are probably fluctuating too much.

Tags: burn low fat cookies Heat Loss fitness Obese Belly


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Self Discipline Is the Key to the Best Results Fat Loss 4 Idiots

Self Discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. Success in any area requires tons of discipline.

Self-discipline, self-mastery and self-control are the basic building blocks of character and high performance.

Focus Clearly on Your Number One Task
By focusing clearly on your most valuable task and concentrating single mindedly until it is 100% complete, you actually shape and mold your own character. You become a superior person.

You become a stronger, more competent, confident and happier person. You feel more powerful and productive.

Build Your Self-Confidence
You eventually feel capable of setting and achieving any goal. You become the master of your own destiny. You place yourself on an ascending spiral of personal effectiveness on which your future is absolutely guaranteed.



And the key to all of this is for you to determine the most valuable and important thing you could possibly do at every single moment and then, "Eat That Frog!"

Action Exercises

Once you start your most important task, discipline yourself to persevere without diversion or distraction until it is 100% complete. See it as a “test” to determine whether you are the kind of person who can make a decision to complete something and then carry it out. Once you begin, refuse to stop until the job is finished.too, especially if you make a batch for 2-3 days in advance.

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Fat Burning Foods

Fat Burning Foods - Which Foods Keep you Fit

Your ideal body weight is where you are healthiest:
This isn't meant to sound controversial or trite, but rather - most Ideal Body Weight calculators are based on simple measurements of height. This is NOT a good way to estimate your ideal weight. This kind of measurement does not take into account bone density, muscle mass, or fat proportion. In addition to this, due to modern body image obsession, and psychological disorders (EDs), many people are unable to determine an accurate body weight.

You should be aiming for a body fat percentage goal.

An ideal body fat percentage for men would be 10-14%, or 16-20% for women. If you know your current body fat percentage you would be able to calculate your ideal weight. But not many of us know this.


How To To determine your frame size:

Grip your wrist using your thumb and index finger.
- If your finger and thumb don't touch you are a LARGE frame
- If your finger and thumb just touch you are a MEDIUM frame
- If your finger and thumb overlap you are a SMALL frame

Tags: diet Weight Loss Fat






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The Top Secret To Losing Belly Fat

There's no secret, no one best approach for losing belly fat. More activity and eating less are key. The good news is that while there's no easy trick or shortcut, with more exercise and fewer calories, belly fat is the first kind of fat to go.

The only tried-and-true method to lose fat of any kind is:

Reduce the amount of calories you take in. You can do this by eating smaller amounts of food, or stick to foods that have fewer calories.



Burn fat by making physical activity part of your daily routine.
An important part of staying healthy is not only losing weight, but also keeping it off — this means after you lose weight, you still need to watch what — and how much — you eat and get regular exercise. However, it takes more effort to lose weight in the first place than it does to keep it off.

Don't despair, you can lose the spare tire — it just takes patience and effort. And once you shed even a few extra pounds, you'll feel better and lower your risk of health problems.

Tags: diet Fat Loss





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