Blog on weight, How to Lose Fat on the Cheap

Trying to lose weight? If you’re a more-meat-than-potatoes kind of person, two new studies should encourage you. That’s because both concluded that a low-carbohydrate diet appears to be at least as effective as a low-fat diet, challenging the long-held notion that eating fat is what makes you fat.  And in a way that's true, but eating fat only allows your body to burn the fat in your food so it doesn't need to burn body fat when it has the fat in your diet. Losing weight is about losing body fat, so I do believe that eating fatty foods will keep your body from burning body fat and  ultimately cause weight gain. One  study, in the  Annals of Internal Medicine , randomly assigned 148 men and women to follow either a low-carb or low-fat diet. After a year, the people on the low-carb diet had, on average, lost nearly 8 pounds more than those on the low-fat diet. The low-carb dieters also saw more improvement in their blood cholesterol levels than the low-fat dieters. The oth

Good for you: You’ve achieved your desired weight. Next up? Keeping it off. Yes, you need a positive attitude. The changes you made can stick. Most people who have lost weight put the weight back on, and that’s why they lose the willingness to diet again. Even those who diet again and again always seem to put the weight back. You can keep the weight off. People who gain the weight back are those who return to their old way of eating; there old lifestyle. They seem to thing this time they can beat the odds. This time they can keep the weight off. You can but there’s some simple rules to follow. Use these five tips to help you stay on track: Don’t skip meals. Skipping meals can slow your metabolism down; that means you'll burn less calories.  Skipping meals can also cause overeating later in the day. Weigh yourself daily. A daily weight-in may seem like overkill but research shows the method is more effective than getting on the scales less frequently. If  your keeping a r

One of the more frequent questions I get in my email is "Do I have to diet to lose weight?" The word "diet" doesn't have much to do with losing weight. The word diet really refers to your "Diet Plan" or what you're eating everyday. Most of us have no diet plan, we simply eat whatever we have a taste for. That's the reason so many Americans have a weight problem. Bad sleeping habits is another reason for gaining weight. Sleeping more can keep you from grazing and will reduce your total calorie intake for the day. It's a fact that those people who stay up until midnight or later will consume an extra 1000 calories a day. Cutting calories is the way to lose weight. It has nothing to do with starving yourself. Eating fewer calories is accomplished by eating foods with less calories, not eating less food. Americans are famous for eating loads of high-calorie food, like dairy products, snack foods, fatty fried foods, and high calorie drinks. Th

There’s no calories to count or cutting out major food groups. You swap the bad fats for heart-healthy fats like olive oil. You’ll eat fish and poultry instead of red meat. And eat fruit instead of fancy desserts. You’ll eat more veggies and beans. Nuts are a mainstay, but only one handful a day. You can also have whole-grain bread and wine in moderation. All the food is fresh, seasonal foods prepared in simple, easy ways.  You can have bread and pasta made from whole-grain. Whole grain gives you more protein and minerals.Try whole-grain pita bread dipped in olive oil and hummus. You will eat fats but good fats from olive oil, avocados, and nuts. The menu will be huge. The Mediterranean region takes in Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Morocco and many others. You can use a lot more spices to flavor your food. Most Mediterranean meals are small plates of cheese, olives, tomatoes, beans and peppers. And of course pita bread. And like all Mediterranean people y

"If you don't reduce your calorie intake, you won't slim down", researcher warns Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is often recommended as a way to lose weight, but doing so may not help you shed excess pounds, according to researchers. They reviewed data from more than seven studies that examined how increased fruit and vegetable consumption affected weight loss. "Across the board, all studies we reviewed showed a near-zero effect on weight loss," Kathryn Kaiser, an instructor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in a university news release. "So I don't think eating more [fruits and vegetables] alone is necessarily an effective approach for weight loss because just adding them on top of whatever foods a person may be eating is not likely to cause weight change," she added. "Overly simplified messages don't seem to be very effective," she added. However, Kaiser and her coll

Our body fat is indeed different depending on its location. Subcutaneous fat is the layer of fat just under the skin, all over the body. Visceral fat is located deep in the abdominal cavity around the organs. We have a limited amount of control over the distribution of our body fat. Body fat distribution varies by age, gender, ethnicity, and genetics. You may have a normal BMI – thinking your weight is not putting your health at risk – but have a waist circumference that indicates abdominal obesity. By waist circumference, abdominal obesity is defined as 35 inches for women, 40 for men. Abdominal obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and later life dementia. A large waist circumference has been linked to negative outcomes even among people with normal BMI numbers. Additionally, some studies have compared two groups of obese patients with the same total body fat, but low or high levels of visceral fat. The high visceral fat groups were found to have evidence of g

When you’re trying to lose weight or keep off extra pounds, can diet soda help? While it has fewer calories than regular soda, some studies show it fuels your sweet tooth. Which means it makes you crave sweet foods or drinks. It's one more way the food industry has to try and keep you wanting more. Also, are artificially sweetened sodas good for your health? Several studies this year continue the debate. My personal feelings is that the chemicals used to make artificial sweeteners can't be good for you. The Food And Drug Administration has the same old reasoning for allowing it, "It's such a small amount, it won't hurt you."  Of course, if you drink six a day, then it's not a small amount any more is it. Earlier this year, in January, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reported that overweight and obese people who drink diet sodas tend to eat more calories during meals and from snacks throughout the day than those who drink