Friday, January 20, 2012

Simple Tips for Belly Fat Loss

What you would need to do is to cut the quantity of calories you eat while bearing in mind exercise is supreme when it comes to burning whatever you have on your body in surplus. What you really do need to know is that when it comes to the aspect of knowing about belly fat loss, there are a few options that you can hold close. On the other hand, you must become conscious that not all solutions are specifically the healthiest out there. For example, you are sure to come across many supplements and oxi-fat burners that have an assortment of plant extracts that serve up to supplement your metabolism and help you drop pounds.

Yet what many people do not know is that various dubious techniques that are used for belly fat loss can lead to permanent health complications. This is something that you do need to be aware of and stay away from. The last thing you need to do is to take a short cut that can lead you to shorten your life span. Then there are some tremendous ways you can lose weight as well. For example you would have come across a variety of fasts such as a water fast or juice fast. The fact of the matter here is that both have led to a great deal of pounds to be lost.

Still for all, what you need to be vigilant of is your physical condition. While you are sure to have come across many methods, you could do with some idea to see whether you are fit from a medical point of view. All in all, it is not wise at all that you should end up undertaking a fast if you have heart disease or you are a diabetic. What you need to bear in mind is that you ought to think of getting the decision of a medical professional. This way you would be assured of undertaking a fast in a controlled and safe and sound environment.

Bear in mind that when it comes to knowing about belly fat loss, you must mull over a decent diet and exercise regime. In an ideal world, what you need to do is to consume wholesome and organic food that is filled with minerals, vitamins and fiber. This would be of assistance when it comes to eating fewer calories all the way through the day and then subsequently lead to fat loss. It is obligatory that you quit foods that are processed while you only select to drink water as well. In addition to what has been said here, you also need to hold close a work out regime where you can get your heart rate up and start slashing calories.

By Family Blog

Belly Fat Exercises for Better Shape

Belly fat exercise has always been one of the most popular types that many people have engaged in. many others have extensively researched the topic to come up with effective methods by which fat can be reduced in the belly.

Those who have been disappointed by what the popular exercise and fitness machines promised to offer are now falling back to the good old methods of regular exercises. Clear evidence to this fall back can be seen by visiting popular video streaming websites such as Youtube, where you will have access to millions of do it yourself videos on belly far exercises.

In the good old days, bending and sit ups were considered as the belly fat exercise. The era to follow got all up close and personal with fitness machines that a whole range of machinery came in to the market, confusing laymen on what to choose. As a result, a layman would own 2-3 exercise machines at home, that they have only used for a couple of times. As the deal with machinery for belly fat exercise ceased to bring in positive results, people started frequenting gyms.

Again, with the help of machines and in the company of human support, a person would engage in belly fat exercise, to no avail. Why? When they come home, they would consume food in excess that erases off day’s physical activity that was supposed to be aimed at belly fat exercise. Then it becomes apparent that machines are not really needed for losing fat. What is essentially needed is support from fellow humans. From there begins the journey of aerobics and all similar group classes where likeminded people, have fun while they try to lose fat. Therefore, belly fat exercises at aerobics classes would aim at belly fat reduction as well.

The latest trend in belly fat exercise however is something even more fun that can be done at the comfort of one’s own home. These are interactive video games that makes you sweat!... that’s right… rather than becoming a couch potato while playing video games that can keep you occupied for an entire day, being physically involved in whatever activity in the game makes you lose weight! Many children and adults are now moving towards making use of these fun and interactive games to lose weight while having fun at the comfort of their own homes. What’s more in store for those who want to engage in belly fat exercise? Well, only time will tell… for now, there’s plenty to keep you occupied to lose that fat!

By Family Blog

What You Should Know About Belly Fat Diets

Belly fat diets are important because belly fat has always been and always will be a very big problem mainly because once you get it; it is very difficult to shed. So that has us wondering, how do you get belly fat?

Food that is high in fat are labeled as the primary culprits in gaining excess belly fat, as digested fat content is stored as fat faster in the body. High fat foods, for example, red meat, butter and cream are high in saturated fats, which is a major factor in heart related illnesses. Fried food however are even worse because in addition to being made with almost pure fat being fried in vats, these food are commonly made with flour, rolled in flour or added. The body breaks down these flour products into sugars, fried foods hits you with a double dose of sugar and fat, both of which will contribute to belly fat. It is better to eat small portions of fatty food and abstain from it whenever possible. Eating healthier alternatives such as fruits, baked or broiled fish and vegetables will help you avoid gaining belly fat. A fruit ad vegetable based diet would be an excellent belly fat diet.

Another culprit to belly fat buildup is sodium, commonly referred to as salt. Salt is another major factor in gaining excess belly fat. This is because while sugar and fats are converted into energy and stored as fat, sodium is used as an agent to digest these foods further. As the digestive process is about to be complete, the extra sodium is absorbed into the body, usually going through the belly region before storing itself somewhere else in your body. While this absorbed sodium is not converted to fat immediately, its salty nature causes the body to cover each sodium molecule with water, exponentially inflating the fat cells stored with sodium. When the cells become fat and puffy it tends to make your stomach bloat and leads to belly fat buildup. In order to prevent this make sure you don’t eat salted food like peanuts and potato chips excessively. Sodium deficient diets are also good belly fat diets.

Foods that are high in sugar content are also major contributors to belly fat, as sugar takes the most direct route from the mouth to the belly. When high-sugar foods are eaten, the body converts these calories into immediate energy. If you are not a highly active person, these calories will be converted into fat and stored for later use, and most of the time it will be in the belly area. High-sugar foods offer large amounts of sugar that the body can convert into energy very quickly for example within two or four hours. These foods may have no apparent effects at first but if you maintain a diet of high-sugar foods they can pad the belly area with fat within just a few weeks. To prevent this you should exercise as much as possible to burn the sugar and calories. If not try to maintain a belly fat diet of fish and vegetables to reduce the fat in the belly area.



By Family Blog

Saturday, January 7, 2012

How to Diagnose High Cholesterol

If you think you might have high cholesterol and want to go in for a diagnosis, what can you expect? High cholesterol diagnosis is primarily done through blood tests. Just a physical exam can't tell the doctor much about your cholesterol levels.

==> What Is a Lipid Profile?

A lipid profile is a blood test specifically catered for testing for high cholesterol levels.
In order to make sure you get an accurate reading, your doctor will require that you skip meals for 12 hours before you take the test.

This is because certain levels in your blood can fluctuate whenever you eat food. In order to get a good baseline reading, they need you to not eat for a period of time.

They then take your blood using a needle. Much like taking blood for any other kind of test, your blood vessels will be constricted using a band to make them stand out. Blood will then be extracted and sent to the lab for testing and diagnosis.

==> The Different Parts of Your Lipid Profiles

There are a few numbers your doctor is going to come back with.

The first is your LDL cholesterol levels. LDL stands for "low density lipoproteins." Your LDL levels are the most important numbers you want to pay attention to if you're worried about high cholesterol.

Another important number to pay attention to is your HDL or "high density lipoprotein" levels. HDL is generally considered the "good" cholesterol that you want in your blood stream to help your cells function better.

The two other numbers your doctor will come back with are your triglyceride levels and your total cholesterol levels. Your triglycerides are also considered bad lipids. Your total cholesterol is the total of your HDL and LDL levels.

This is a basic explanation of what all these numbers are and what they mean. Your doctor can give you a more in-depth explanation of each factor and what they mean for you personally.

==> What Should Your Levels Be At?

Generally speaking, you want your LDL levels to be 3 or lower. Your total cholesterol should be 5 or lower.

Remember that these goals vary from person to person, depending on age, weight, smoking habits and other factors. There's no set goal or ideal level to hit overall; instead your specific target levels can be set by your doctor.

When you get your results back, your doctor is going to explain your cholesterol levels to you in terms of risk. Based on your levels, how likely are you to have heart complications in the next ten years?

Based on these results, a course of action can be recommended. Should you start taking medications? Should you start changing your lifestyle habits? These are all valid options depending on your risk levels.

Key Foods to Avoid If Your Cholesterol Is High

If you want to lower your cholesterol, the very first step should be to start avoiding foods that are high in cholesterol. If you're constantly adding more cholesterol to your body, it'll be very hard to reduce your cholesterol levels no matter what else you're doing.

Here are a few of the most important foods to start avoiding.

==> Livers, Hearts, Intestines

Avoid eating any kind of animal organs. This includes chicken livers, hearts or bone marrow.

Though these foods aren't frequently used in Western cooking, they're extremely common in Asian cooking as well as some South American dishes.

==> Butter, Margarine, Lard

Toast with butter is a staple of most people's breakfast. Many people also often prefer to cook with butter rather than oil, because it smells and tastes richer.

Unfortunately, butter and margarine both have extremely high cholesterol contents. If you're trying to lower your cholesterol, it's best to say "no" to butter and butter-replicas.

==> Processed Meats: Spam, Bologna, Sausages

Processed meats are one of the worst cholesterol offenders in the standard American diet.

Processed meats usually contain ground-up meat from all the parts of the animal that couldn't be used in other products. In other words, the fattest, dirtiest and least healthy aspects of the animal are what's packed into sausages, spam, etc.

On top of that, processed meats are chock full of sodium and oils. In other words, processed meats are your worst enemy if you're trying to lower your cholesterol.

==> Deep Fried Foods

Deep fried foods like French fries, Kentucky Fried Chicken and mozzarella sticks are also terrible for cholesterol.

Deep fried foods work by essentially being dunked in oil (fat) and letting them sit there until they cook. Naturally, the foods cooked this way are going to absorb a lot of fat and cholesterol.

In addition to oil absorption, the oil that deep fried foods are cooked in have often been sitting there for hours, causing the fats to turn into trans-fats.

==> TV Dinners, Microwavable Meals

Finally, avoid microwavable meals of all sorts.

Microwavable meals and frozen meals are packed full of preservatives and other unhealthy chemicals. They're also extremely high in calories and tend to have a lot of hidden sugar.

Instead of eating microwavable dinners, it's much healthier to either cook in yourself or find a sandwich shop or other healthy quick food joint in your neighborhood.

==> Desserts

Finally, many desserts are also packed full of sugars, fats, diary and all kinds of other high cholesterol ingredients.

If you have high cholesterol, does that mean you can never enjoy ice cream or chocolate again? Not necessarily. Low-fat, low-calorie alternative ice creams and chocolates are still a valid option.

These are some of the most important foods to avoid if you have high cholesterol. Again, the first step to getting your cholesterol down to healthy levels is to stop taking in more unhealthy cholesterols.

How to Make Transition to Eating Healthier and Real Food

So you want to make the transition to eating healthier, "real" food - first of all, good for you! This is a very important decision you've made, and you've made the right one.

It can be hard to know where to start, though. You might be concerned about how you're going to feed your family this way, and what they will think about it. You might have budgetary concerns, or children who are picky eaters. Furthermore, you may not be sure what foods to even begin with - do you throw everything out and start over?

Here are some tips to help you with all that, and you're well on your way to transitioning into a healthful diet.

Research

First, it pays to take a little time to research. Look for consistencies in food information - this will help you avoid "fad diets." Find out what really makes a food healthy, and decide what food groups you are going to keep or discard (some people decide not to include dairy in their diets, for example, or they will lean toward a primitive diet that does not include grains).

Replacements Chart

Once you are comfortable with what constitutes a healthy food, you can make a chart. This can be so helpful in making out grocery lists and planning meals, and in making the transition in general. To make the chart, you will need two basic columns (if you are into the details of nutrition, such as glycemic index and nutritive value, then you might want more columns).

On one side of the chart are the foods you normally eat. On the other side, put a replacement. For instance, you might have doughnuts on one side; you can put whole wheat cinnamon toast on the other side as a replacement.

If you aren't sure what to replace with what, a good rule of thumb is: replace white with brown, artificial with natural, and processed for whole. For instance, traditional pasta can be replaced with whole grain pasta; fruit snacks can be replaced with natural dried fruit; and potato chips with a sack of organic potatoes.

You'll want to make the transition gradually; health experts agree that this is less shocking to your system. This is where the chart comes in handy - you can choose one replacement a week or even month.

Increase How Much You Eat

That sounds ironic, doesn't it? But sources say that the "crowding out" theory can really work for some. If you load up on healthy food, you may simply not want the unhealthy stuff. Making a point of eating lots of high-quality, whole foods will theoretically leave less room for the bad stuff - and this is true for your grocery budget as well. Some find this makes for an easier transition than cutting out unhealthy foods and feeling deprived.



By Health Articles

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Why Dieters Should Look Into Calories In Cranberry Juice

Cranberry juice can give you many health advantages. This is the reason why experts recommend that individuals should consume up to two glasses of this fruit juice daily to prevent the occurrence of several diseases. For individuals who are watching closely what they eat and drink, they are particular whether drinking this juice can affect their weight. The good news is, calories in cranberry juice are acceptable even to dieters. However, dieters should know that the calories in this fruit juice tend to go high if artificial sweeteners are added.


Health experts commend unsweetened cranberry juice because a cup of this only contains 116 calories; while one cup of bottled cranberry juice cocktail has 137 calories. Other varieties of cranberry juice are also available, but they should not be chosen because they have high caloric content;these are cranberry-grape juice, cranberry-apple juice and cranberry juice and vitamin C. The disparity in the caloric content means that you should choose the juice wisely so that your diet will not be affected. If you are following a weight loss diet plan, you should be aware of calories in cranberry juice because this is very important. If you believe that too much calories can defeat your purpose of reducing your weight, you should not drink cranberry juice too often.


But, calories in cranberry juice should not be your only concern. Aside from that, you have to know the nutrients that it can offer you and these include vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. This just shows that you can reap many advantages if you include cranberry juice in your daily diet. The low caloric content and many nutrients of this juice makes it an attractive option for dieters.


Hence, drinking cranberry juice means that you are following a healthy lifestyle. Keep in mind that calories in cranberry juice are in the acceptable level than other juices derived from fruits. Still, dieters are encouraged to consume other food items (even though they want to lose weight )so that they will remain active and fit. Dieting should not mean abstaining from food consumption; instead it should refer to making healthy choices from the food to the beverages that you usually drink. Water is not enough to meet your body’s needs, therefore you should supplement it with natural juices from fruits.

By Health Articles

 
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