Weight Loss – Spot Reducing, Myth or Miracle?
There are no miracles in weight loss, though there are lots of myths. You may have heard a new one making the rounds: cortisol will ‘dissolve’ fat around the waist. Not so.
Whenever you take in more calories than you use, the remaining energy is stored in chemical bonds between adipose tissue (fatty deposits). In adult men those fat deposits are preferentially stored around the waist and abdomen, in women around the hips, thighs and abdomen.
As you take actions that place a demand for energy on your body that is greater than can be supplied by available glucose (its preferred source), it turns to fat to supply the deficit. Fat molecules are broken down and severing those chemical bonds releases the energy needed for maintaining internal temperature, muscle movement, etc.
But, here’s the kicker: you have no control over where the body takes that fat from. Cortisol may aid in releasing those fat deposits and breaking down those bonds, but it isn’t targeted. There is, currently, no technology that will remove local fat deposits from any part of the body except mechanical removal, such as in liposuction.
It’s true that doing abdominal exercises, though, helps reduce fat around the waist, and in two ways.
First, since abdominal exercises typically involve large-scale movement that requires high effort, it naturally requires lots of energy. Once the available free energy is consumed, the body turns to those fat deposits to get more. The result is less fat and weight loss.
But it does that in an overall way, with no narrow location getting most of the benefit. Most of the fat may indeed come from the waist, but that’s because that’s where most of it is, as a percentage. But the exercise doesn’t target that fat in any way.
Second, during a vigorous abdominal workout those muscles are being worked harder than others. That’s the whole point of abdominal exercises. As a result, those muscles (along with the back muscles, typically) are being strengthened. Toning and strengthening those muscles helps restore their youthful ability to hold in the internal organs, primarily the stomach.
At the same time there will be a (largely temporary) loss of fluid that contributes to both weight loss and slimming. The net effect is that the waist looks slimmer, the bulge is reduced. That’s definitely a good thing, both for general health and weight loss or fat reduction.
But it’s not the same thing as targeting specific fatty deposits, as the makers of cortisol pills (and other) ‘miracle cures’ would like to sell you. The only effective program for reducing fat deposits – around the waist, on the thighs and buttocks, or anywhere else – is the old-fashioned, high effort, high willpower one.
A program of adequate daily exercise and proper diet is the key to long-term health, safe weight loss and fat reduction. You’ll feel better and your health will be optimized. And, not coincidentally, you’ll reduce those unattractive fat deposits around the middle.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Weight Loss – Junk Science
Apart from discussions of the environment, there is nowhere that junk science is more common than in issues surrounding weight loss – Nutrition and diet, exercise and health topics in general.
Every month there’s a new claim, often given a coating of respectability by quoting the latest ’study’. But if trained scientists have difficulty deciding what the truth is, you can bet the average laymen doesn’t know for sure.
So what’s a person who just wants to lose weight to do? Not everyone is a scientist, and very few have the time or inclination to read a dozen scientific studies. Well, there’s no perfect solution to that dilemma, but there are a few common sense guidelines that can go a long way toward avoiding common mistakes.
Greet with a skeptical eye any outsized claims. ‘Outsized’, here, means those that make rock certain claims to know what’s best in Nutrition – especially when they contradict long-standing and obvious guidelines.
Studies may differ on details, but they all agree that a balanced diet of the basic essentials – carbohydrates, protein, etc – is best. All agree that moderate, regular age-appropriate exercise is an important factor in health.
Be wary of anyone making promises for safe, easy, quick results. It’s possible to achieve any one of these three, but never all three together. A wise weight loss program will definitely consider safety first. It will rarely be easy – technology has advanced, but not THAT much. And, it is almost never quick. Reducing excess body fat, losing weight and getting fit require a long-term commitment.
Treat with caution any program that tries the other side of the coin: to scare you into adopting it. Many will tout claims of the dangers of meat, for example. While consuming excess animal fat can increase health risks, what is ‘excess’ is still being examined.
Any claim that eating meat in moderation is harmful is based only on junk science. Adopting a strictly vegetarian diet for ethical reasons or matters of taste is a valid choice, but not one required by science.
In other words, avoid extremes.
There are 3-day diets that recommend eating nothing but fruit for three days, then other foods the rest of the week. Bad idea. Such a diet is necessarily unbalanced and will cause rollercoaster effects on the body.
There are diets recommending almost all protein and very few carbohydrates. Bad idea. The body needs a variety of materials from which to extract and synthesize what it needs. That means it benefits from a balance of protein (to produce amino acids), carbohydrates (for energy), fiber and other essential elements.
Anyone selling a miracle cure, effortless or instant results, while claiming to have a safe and reliable program is selling you air. Don’t buy.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Weight Loss – Exercise, The Diet Partner
Most people will try a hundred different fad diets, at least as many nutritional supplements and even all sorts of wacky alternatives. But, getting them to exercise can be a real challenge.
Nevertheless, it’s an inescapable fact that proper diet has to be accompanied by an age-appropriate, regular exercise program – if the goal is good health and an attractive body. Diet is essential, but exercise is its essential partner. Diet provides the proper fuel, but exercise uses that fuel to generate health and fitness.
There’s no need to become a fitness fanatic, but there are several simple exercises you can begin today. Start a daily stretching routine of at least 10 minutes before doing any vigorous training. A 20-minute walk every other day is a great beginning for those not used to exercise.
Work up to more effort slowly. Most of those new to exercise get discouraged and quit too soon because they try too hard at first. This produces soreness and sometimes injury. That reduces the motivation.
Instead, start with some light weight training, using 5lb, 10lb, then 20lb weights. Curls, squats and other exercises are simple and you’ll soon graduate. Then add a 10-minute jog, a 20-minute jog, then 30-minutes. Once you hit an hour-long run, you’re into the serious workout category.
If you can, invest in equipment that may help you get motivated. Others will need the social stimulus of a gym to keep their willpower up. But in either case, don’t let your money go to waste. Make a commitment to regular workouts, whether at home or away. If you do join a gym, don’t be shy. Take advantage of the expertise of more experienced fitness enthusiasts and the staff.
In order to lose weight, you want to be sure to include some cardiovascular exercises in your routine. That can be running, cycling or any number of alternatives. To tone muscles and tighten the slack skin that will result from major body fat reduction, you’ll need to add resistance and weightlifting exercises. You can use stretchers, rope and pulley or other equipment to supply the resistance. Weight machines are great for lifting exercises.
As you get into the routine, you may or may not actually lose weight. If you’re not obese but merely overweight, you may not see much loss. As you reduce fat deposits the difference can be made up by gains in muscle mass. Don’t pay much attention to early losses, they may well be due as much to water loss as anything else.
But as you reduce excess body fat and tone muscles you’ll experience many side benefits beyond a more attractive body. You’ll feel better overall, be more energetic and should experience a heightened mood.
Feel good about it. You worked hard for the results.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Weight Loss – Selecting The Right Weight Loss Program
For some people a formal weight loss program isn’t necessary. They can summon the willpower, do the research and carry out the needed actions independently. Others will benefit from support, guidance and a helping hand.
When seeking out that weight loss program there are a number of important questions the second type will want answered.
The most essential, and therefore the first question is: What are the facts about diet, exercise and weight loss? There are dozens of fad diets, special exercise regimens and all manner of junk science surrounding the subject.
It won’t be easy for those not trained in science to sort the wheat from the chaff, to sort fact from fiction. But anyone with common sense and some persistence can fairly quickly find one or more sources of reliable information. Scientific studies don’t stand in isolation, they either support or contradict others. When you find a number, from serious sources, that agree there’s good reason to give them some credence.
Similarly, it will be important to find knowledgeable and experienced people that can help you along. Most people can distinguish between people who are trying to give wise counsel and those who just want to sell you something that may or may not have any value. People deserve to be paid for their services, but offering something worthwhile is fundamental.
Once you find a program that can offer you good guidance and moral support, you’ll get added benefits. Such people can help remind you, when the going gets tough, why you chose to make the effort in the first place. It’s difficult to adhere to a long term program when the progress is slow. A program like the Atlanta Weight Loss Group combines the best of both worlds by offering conscious and subconscious support to the client.
Any wise diet and exercise program needs to be oriented toward lifestyle changes that will help you lose the weight and keep it off, permanently. The Atlanta Weight Loss Group can help you do that. Hypnosis combined with behavior modification gets results and helps you unlearn bad habits, learn better ones, and then help you to stick with them.
You’ll need to monitor your progress, so you need to ask where and what are the tests and tools to do that. You’ll need food charts for measuring calories and types of nutrients. You’ll need a BMI calculator and other tools.
Some of those tools are as simple and inexpensive as a scale, a flexible tape measure and a mirror. Others may be a heart rate or pulse monitor, a device that measures body fat percentage and other things that often accompany a treadmill.
You’ll want to judge any program by how many people have actually found success using it, of course. But beware the hype. A few unsolicited opinions from people you don’t know won’t tell the whole story. Find out how many finished, and how much they lost, and whether there were any downsides or side effects.
It’s your health. That’s worth doing some homework to find the right weight loss program for you.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Diets – Why Not Just Stop Eating?
One sure way to lose weight, it might seem, is simply to stop eating for a while. Simple as it sounds, that idea is fraught with potential problems.
The basic weight loss equation certainly remains valid in this case: using more calories than are consumed results in weight loss. If you don’t take in calories by eating, it’s fairly easy to satisfy that equation. Your body burns 70 calories per hour even just sitting idle on the couch.
But while you may be idle, your body’s systems are not.
First of all, the body – deprived of food – will slow down the metabolism and burn calories more slowly. Weight loss can be sudden at first, but the rate slows very soon thereafter.
At first, it goes after glycogen stored in the liver and converts it to glucose to burn for energy. That energy is used to power all the body’s activities.
When that is used up (to a degree), the body then begins going after the energy stored in the bonds of certain molecules in fat cells. The process is called ketosis and accounts for why your breath sometimes smells like fingernail polish (made with ketones) after hard exercise.
So far, that all sounds good. You burn calories, reduce body fat and lose weight. Exactly what you wanted. But, unfortunately, this isn’t all the body is doing under these circumstances.
Because of the relatively rapid weight loss/calorie burning from this method of ‘dieting’ the body will experience a ‘rebound’ effect. In other words, it will cause you to crave food like crazy. The food you do eat will cause you to put on more pounds than you lost. The body is compensating for a radical deficit.
At the same time, there are serious health risks to simply starving or a long term fast. Going without food for a few hours or even a day isn’t dangerous, though it can be uncomfortable since you’ll get very hungry. But this method causes a number of carefully balanced nutrients to get out of whack.
It upsets the delicate balance of insulin, sugar and a variety of other essential compounds. Apart from regulating energy levels, they influence hormones that regulate the brain and nervous system.
Concentrations of potassium and sodium get out of balance unless you compensate with sports-style drinks, which can be more difficult to adjust in the absence of food. Those minerals are key to regulating the heartbeat, not to mention being found in every cell of the body and the fluid in between where they participate in an enormous variety of vital tasks.
Fatigue, dizziness and difficulty concentrating are only three of the milder symptoms that will result. Dehydration is likely, since much of the fluid we gain is from food, not just liquid. That can easily lead to heat stroke if the weather is at all warm and you are even a little active.
The kidneys will have a more difficult time filtering properly. They clean waste material from the blood, play a role in regulating blood pressure and stimulate the bone marrow to make red blood cells.
The odds of heart attack are increased, brain function suffers,… the list is endless. Even if the fast is ended long before death (at about 4 weeks), serious physical effects would occur.
Instead of fasting, eat a balanced, healthy diet of limited calories – combined with an age and circumstance-appropriate exercise program and find a way to stay on track. Motivation is the key to staying with any new kind of life style. Lets not kid ourselves, what permanent weight loss requires is a permanent change in life style. Hypnotherapy is one of the best ways to create a new habit and get rid of old negative or unhealthy ways of thinking about food. That is the surest way to lose pounds safely. Your physical health will be in harmony with your mind and your new healthy eating/exercise habits will become part of who you are.
Popularity: 2% [?]