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Effective Weight Loss

November 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

f_11310677300_diet.jpgOverview:

Obesity is the widespread accretion of excessive fat in the body. Overweight refers to being ten percent above the expected body weight, given the height and build. Obese refers to being twenty percent over the desired target. The unmistakable fact is that Americans are getting fatter. According to statistics from the National Institutes of Health, over sixty-five percent of American adults are considered overweight or obese. That means close to a hundred million adults in the United States are ineffective at managing their weight. The most widely accepted statistical estimate used by healthcare professionals to screen for obesity is the Body Mass Index (BMI), computed by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height in meters squared; the equation therefore is kg/m2.

Alternatively, to calculate your BMI, simply multiply your weight in pounds by 704.5, divide the result by your height in inches; then again divide that result by your height in inches a second time. The Belgian statistician, Adolphe Quetelet, created the BMI in the 19th century. The medical definition of being overweight is having a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 29.9. If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, you are within the normal or ideal weight range. But if your BMI is higher than 29.9 you are considered to be obese. Obesity carries enormous health risks and economic costs. It is recognized as a major catalyst for developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and other debilitating conditions.

People who are obese or overweight are more likely to develop heart disease, strokes, hypertension, diabetes, and certain cancers, which are the leading causes of death. Estimates of the number of deaths attributable to obesity in the United States alone reach up to 350,000 per year. According to National Institutes of Health, adults aged over 18, having a BMI greater than 25, are at risk of premature death and disabilities, as a result of being overweight or obese. Usually interventions such as permanent weight loss and medications are prescribed to diminish the risk of developing diseases. Permanent, effective weight loss is the process of intentionally making and accomplishing a plan to reduce total body weight. This typically involves the lessening of total body fat. Ideally, you should go on a strict diet, by consuming nutritionally balanced low-calorie foods and increasing physical activity.

Remember, effective weight loss is a premeditated, calculated attempt to lose body weight. Even though there are several permanent weight loss programs, the only proven – long-standing and harmless technique is to burn more calories than are ingested. Permanent and effectual weight loss can be achieved either by decreasing the caloric intake by eating less or healthier food and by increasing the energy outflow by doing more physical exercises like aerobics, brisk walking, swimming and bicycling. One pound of fat contains around 3500 calories, so to lose one pound a week; a person should consume approximately 3500 lesser calories per week. This can be easily achieved by reducing the daily intake by 500 calories per day, thereby providing the deficit of 3500 calories in a week. Thus, by regularly following this weight loss method, you can lose one pound a week!

Summary:

“Beauty lies in Simplicity”. To end with, the key to weight management and enduring weight loss is to simply increase your daily activity. Small things like taking the stairs (instead of elevators) or brisk walking (rather than driving) make the real difference in successful weight loss. A slow, but persistent weight loss of one or two pounds a week; will eventually attain the ideal body weight.

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Low glycemic index diets are better then high protein diets

November 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_21310677595_fitness.jpgAustralian research team lead by Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller at the University of Sydney conducted a trial in which 129 overweight subjects ages 18 to 40 were randomly assigned to one of four weight-loss diets for 12-week. All four diets were comprised of reduced fat (30 percent of total energy intake) and held daily calories to 1400 kcal for women and 1900 kcal for men.

This was the first clinical trial comparing the effects of glycemic index and high-protein diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk.

The diets varied in target levels of carbohydrates, proteins, and glycemic load (i.e., glycemic index multiplied by the amount of carbohydrate, divided by 100) as follows:

Diet 1: carbohydrates comprise 55 percent of total energy intake, protein 15 percent of total energy intake, high glycemic load (127 g)

Diet 2: similar to diet 1 except a lower glycemic load (75g)

Diet 3: protein comprises 25 percent total energy intake (based on lean red meat), carbohydrate reduced to 45 percenttotal energy of intake, and high glycemic load (87 g)

Diet 4: Similar to diet 3, except low glycemic load (54 g).

Brand-Miller and her team report that the diets resulted in similar reductions in weight (4.2 percent to 6.2 percent of body weight), fat mass and waist circumference.

However, in the high-carbohydrate diets, lowering the glycemic load doubled the fat loss. The investigators also found that total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels increased with diet 3 and decreased in diet2.

In the short term findings suggest that dietary glycemic load, and not just overall energy intake, influences weight loss,

Foods with a low degree of starch gelatinization, such as pasta, and those containing a high level of viscous soluble fiber, such as wholegrain barley, oats, and rye, have slower rates of digestion and lower glycemic index values.

Without any drastic change in regular dietary habits, one can simply replace high glycemic index grains with low glycemic index grains and starchy vegetables with less starchy ones and cut down on softdrinks, that are often poor in nutrients yet high in glycemic load.

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Stay Young Through Exercise

November 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_01310677832_healthyfood1.jpgExercise is a powerful tool against the physical effects of aging and it’s never too late to start. Being a senior citizen is no reason to avoid exercise, says University of Illinois professor of kinesiology Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko. In fact, any physical activity, like walking even if walking canes must be used, will benefit health.

It’s important to “choose an activity that you will do,” whatever that is, the professor said. “It really matters less exactly what you do than it matters to avoid being completely sedentary.”

A 1996 report from the U.S. Surgeon General indicates only about 15 percent of adults over 65 get a recommended level of physical activity and as many as one-third get no exercise at all, Chodzko-Zajko noted in an article he wrote for the journal Quest.

Chodzko-Zajko suggests that some people might benefit from strategies such as keeping a diary of all their physical activity, including even things like short walks to the store with their walking canes, doing housework or working in the garden. Seeing the diary with their activities written down may help motivate people to exercise because they will want to avoid days in which they have nothing to write.

Another trick to encourage increased walking that he likes is getting a dog. The dog will insist on going out for a walk even if the owner might not be in the mood.

“Part of the problem may be that we’ve adopted a medical model of exercise, where exercise is sort of a bitter pill, and you get a prescription and you’re expected to stick to it,” Chodzko-Zajko said. “But the bottom line is it takes time to change behavior, and I personally feel the broader you can define your activity program, the less likely you are to become demoralized.”

Even seated exercise is beneficial

People who need mobility chairs can still benefit from exercise, although they may have to do it in a seated position. Many of those using mobility chairs have the use of their limbs, but use the chairs because they tire easily. Walking may not be a good exercise choice in this case.

Instead, they can try doing leg lifts in a seated position. Start by lifting only one leg at a time to a horizontal position and then put the leg back to vertical. Do this 10 times with each leg to start, working up to three sets of 15 leg lifts per leg. Once this has become easy, lift both legs at the same time, again starting with 10 lifts and working up to three sets of 15 leg lifts. To increase the work load on the leg muscles, ankle weights can be added. Start with one pound per leg and start over at the lowest number of lifts.

Exercising the upper body is also important. This can also be done from a seated position. Do a variety of arm exercises. Start with one pound weights at 10 repetitions per exercise. If you don’t own any weights, a can of peas from the kitchen is a good substitute. Many web sites and exercise tapes demonstrate exercises for the upper body that can be done while seated.

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