Alcohol, Weight Loss and Exercise deals

January 27, 2010

You’d be surprised to learn, despite the urban legend of the beer belly, that less than five percent of the calories consumed through alcohol are turned into fat. The presence of alcohol in your system is far more likely to reduce the amount of fat your body burns for energy.

This is no idle claim. Recent research illustrates this. Participants were given two drinks to consume. Both contained 90 calories. One drink was vodka; the other was sugar-free lemonade. The researchers measured fat metabolism before and following the consumption of each drink.

For several hours after drinking the vodka, the participants’ body lipid oxidation – a measurement of the fat your body is burning – dropped by a whopping 73 percent.

Your body, it appears, doesn’t store these calories as fat. Rather, it converts them into a substance called acetate. And this was illustrated in this same study when the researchers discovered that the participants’ blood levels of acetate following the alcoholic beverage were approximately 2.5 times higher than normal.

What does this mean to your body? It pretty much brings any fat loss to a screeching halt. In simple terms, your body uses the most available source of fuel it can find to create energy (it is an opportunistic creation, now isn’t it?). When acetate – like that from the drinking of alcohol – is released into your bloodstream, your body chooses to replace it instead of fat as a fuel source.

Your body appears to handle alcohol much the same way it deals with an excessive amount of carbohydrates. While carbohydrates can be converted directly into fat, if you eat too many, your body replaces fat as a source of energy…

It showed that just one alcohol drink prior to eating increased a person’s calorie consumption to a greater extent than a carbohydrate-based drink. And researchers in Denmark made a similar discovery. In this project, they provided a group of men with a meal, allowing them to eat as much as they wanted. When the meal was served with beer or wine, they ate more than when it was served with a soft drink (Can you understand now why you always have to go out to eat after a rousing night of drinking?)

Well, what about alcohol and exercise?

Drinking an average of three to four drinks really does affect your workout at the gym. Research shows that it reduces the amino acid uptake in your system and impairs the creation of muscle protein.

All that hard work that you’ve been doing at the gym is getting literally washed away with the alcohol consumption. The exercise, which should be boosting your metabolism and creating muscle, isn’t. And it’s due to the presence of the alcohol.

Three Myths of Weight Loss

January 13, 2010

First of all I would like to tell you that one of the worst myths in weight loss is that you will lose weight if you skip meals. That is false. If you do that, the only thing that will happen is that you will eat more for diner and chances are you will gain weight instead of losing some. Just remember to never skip a meal. You should eat small meals instead of skipping one.

The other myth I would like to discuss is that some people think you have to exercise everyday in order to lose weight. That’s false again. In fact, to maintain a healthy life and lose weight you should exercise 3 to 4 times a week for 45 minutes. This is generally enough for common people.

Some people think that you can only eat vegetables or salad on a diet to lose weight. This could not be more wrong. Salad and vegetables are good food for you but if you only eat this your motivation will go down for sure. The best thing is to eat food that you like but small sized plates. The body is a great machine that will burn just about any kind of food you eat if you don’t eat too much. In other words, you can eat pizza if you want and if you’re reasonable. I suggest you eat fast food on weekends and eat well all week. This way you will be more motivated to make an effort all week knowing you will enjoy your weekend.

Obesity & Weight Loss – Methods to Reduce Weight

January 6, 2010

Millions of people around the world are obese because of the lifestyle modifications that have been seen around the world. It is very easy to put on weight, but to reduce weight is very difficult. People try their best to reduce their weight because of the health benefits derived from reducing weight.

1. Aerobics: A walk a day for about forty five minutes will help the individual in reducing the weight. This is sure to benefit the patient by reducing the weight. The reason the weight reduces is that while exercising, the fat deposits in the body of the individual reduces and the person becomes healthier. There are different types of aerobic exercises that include walking, jogging and swimming.

2. Nutritious diet: Eating a balanced diet will help in weight loss and reduce obesity. Obesity is caused by eating unhealthy diet full of fat and oily food. Avoiding this kind of food will help to prevent obesity and also lead to weight loss in obese individuals. Other than the exercises, food is the most important aspect that can be used to control the weight of the person.

3. Nourishing breakfast: A nourishing breakfast is very important in reducing the weight of a person. As the person eats food that is full of energy for breakfast, then the need to eat a lot during the course of the day decreases. This is very important to reduce the weight and prevent obesity. Many people skip breakfast and they are more prone to obesity and may also have decreased ability to concentrate at work. So breakfast is very important in reducing the weight of the person.

4. Fruits and vegetables: Fruits and vegetables are free foods unless a person is suffering from diabetes. These kinds of foods can be eaten in large amounts because they are full of water and also fiber. They do not increase the weight but help to fill the stomach and reduce hunger. This prevents overeating and thus helps to reduce the weight and also to prevent obesity