Myth No. 2 – Dropping Calorie Intake
As we discussed earlier in this blog series (but it’s so important that it deserves an encore near the end), trying to lose weight by drastically cutting down on your calories doesn’t work; in fact, it’s unhealthy.
The thing to remember is that the body’s ability to lose weight is not controlled by calories. Calories are the input. The real control mechanism is that famous concept that you’ve become very familiar with now: metabolism.
Calories are merely units of energy. It’s how your body deals with that energy that determines whether weight is gained or lost.
So with that being said, cutting down your caloric intake to, say, 1000 calories a day isn’t necessarily going to help you lose weight; because it doesn’t necessarily change your metabolism.
Indeed, as you know, if you slow down your caloric intake, your body – which is always trying to help you in the best way that it knows how – will slow down its metabolism.
Really, it makes sense: the body says that something has gone wrong; instead of the 2000 calories that it needs, it’s only getting 1000. The body doesn’t know why this is happening; it doesn’t know that you want to lose weight.
It just senses that something is wrong; perhaps you’re trapped in a cave or something, or stuck in a snowstorm. So the body, trying to help you, will slow down its metabolism; it will do its best to slow down the conversion rate, so that you have as much energy on hand as possible.
Now, if your body was able to read this book and you could say: look, please just do what you normally do, but do it with 1000 fewer calories a day for a while, then we might actually get somewhere.
But the body doesn’t work that way. It won’t help you lose weight if you dramatically cut down on calories.
It will not only slow down metabolism, but also (and here’s the worst part), if and when you ever increase calories again, your body will have to deal with that via a slower metabolic engine. So you can actually gain weight if, after cutting down your calories for a period of time, you consume extra calories (say while on a vacation for instance).
See you next time with Myth No. 3.
Take care and best wishes
Sandra
Showing posts with label healthy weight loss at home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy weight loss at home. Show all posts
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Boosting Your Metabolism - Part 8 - Build Lean Muscle
Many women are very cautious about undertaking any exercise regimen that can lead to muscle building.
The old perception was that muscle building leads to muscle bulking, and before long, gorging forearm veins and a shrinking cleavage, is frankly not the case.
Provided you aren’t supporting workouts with specific muscle-building supplements, there is no need to be concerned; because building lean muscle won’t make you bulk up.
Still, the question remains: why would women who want to boost their metabolism focus on muscle building? Isn’t cardiovascular exercising the only thing that matters?
Again, the answer is: No! In addition to a healthy and responsible cardiovascular program, muscle building is an exceptionally powerful way to boost metabolism.
How? Because a pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat.
And what does this mean? It means that if you have more muscle on your body – anywhere on your body – you will simply burn more calories as a result.
You don’t even have to do anything. You’ll just burn more calories, because muscle simply requires more of an energy investment.
Of course, as you can probably guess, if you build muscle and then leave it alone, over time, the muscle fibres will weaken and you’ll lose that wonderful calorie-burning factory. But that’s no problem, because all you need to do is build and maintain healthy muscle.
It may sound daunting; especially if at the moment you perceive yourself to have much more fat than muscle. But the important thing to remember is that once you start building muscle – through any kind of strength training – your body will itself start burning more calories.
It has to; even while you sleep, or go to a movie, or read a book. It’s like putting your calorie-burning (catabolism) program on auto-pilot.
So don’t let a little (or even a lot) of extra flab, deter you from believing that muscle building is important.
Yes, you should enjoy cardiovascular exercise too, because that’s ultimately how your body is going to burn existing fat. But muscle building plays a profoundly supportive role in that pursuit.
And it’s an exponential one, too: the more fat you transform into muscle, the more calories you’ll burn simply to maintain that new muscle (and the wonderful cycle goes on and on!).
For more great ideas on building lean muscle Click Here and take a look...
See you in Blog 9!
Sandra
The old perception was that muscle building leads to muscle bulking, and before long, gorging forearm veins and a shrinking cleavage, is frankly not the case.
Provided you aren’t supporting workouts with specific muscle-building supplements, there is no need to be concerned; because building lean muscle won’t make you bulk up.
Still, the question remains: why would women who want to boost their metabolism focus on muscle building? Isn’t cardiovascular exercising the only thing that matters?
Again, the answer is: No! In addition to a healthy and responsible cardiovascular program, muscle building is an exceptionally powerful way to boost metabolism.
How? Because a pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat.
And what does this mean? It means that if you have more muscle on your body – anywhere on your body – you will simply burn more calories as a result.
You don’t even have to do anything. You’ll just burn more calories, because muscle simply requires more of an energy investment.
Of course, as you can probably guess, if you build muscle and then leave it alone, over time, the muscle fibres will weaken and you’ll lose that wonderful calorie-burning factory. But that’s no problem, because all you need to do is build and maintain healthy muscle.
It may sound daunting; especially if at the moment you perceive yourself to have much more fat than muscle. But the important thing to remember is that once you start building muscle – through any kind of strength training – your body will itself start burning more calories.
It has to; even while you sleep, or go to a movie, or read a book. It’s like putting your calorie-burning (catabolism) program on auto-pilot.
So don’t let a little (or even a lot) of extra flab, deter you from believing that muscle building is important.
Yes, you should enjoy cardiovascular exercise too, because that’s ultimately how your body is going to burn existing fat. But muscle building plays a profoundly supportive role in that pursuit.
And it’s an exponential one, too: the more fat you transform into muscle, the more calories you’ll burn simply to maintain that new muscle (and the wonderful cycle goes on and on!).
For more great ideas on building lean muscle Click Here and take a look...
See you in Blog 9!
Sandra
Monday, 31 May 2010
Healthy Eating for Weight Loss – 5 Ways to Lose Weight Easily
Losing weight is one of the best things that you can do to improve your health and overall levels of wellbeing. When you lose weight you lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as reducing the risk of diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer. But with many weight loss products available on the market its knowing where to start that can be quite daunting.
Choose good weight loss programmes that focus on healthy eating and include all the major food groups. It should not be too calorie restrictive or you will not have enough energy to make it through the day. The ideal way to lose weight is at a slow, steady rate of between 1-2 pounds each week. A weight loss plan that promises dramatic weight loss should be treated with caution as large losses in weight can affect your metabolism and cause other health issues.
Have a look at these 5 small changes that you can include in your diet and lifestyle, they will help you to lose fat steadily, without turning your life upside down:
1. A good breakfast is important, like wholegrain toast or wholegrain cereal topped with fruit. If you think that skipping breakfast is a good way of saving calories, you would be wrong - it will lead to eating and snacking more during the day.
2. Each meal should include at least one serving of fruit or vegetables, as these will leave less room for junk foods.
3. Reduce large portions of food by 10%, and if it helps use a smaller plate or dish - psychologically you will not notice, remember less is more!
4. Reduce the amount of fizzy drinks and alcohol in your diet, as they are full of empty calories that do nothing to fill you up. Replace them with water and fruit or vegetable juices. Have a slice of lemon in a mug of hot water in the morning as this can work wonders too, and if you like a bit of zip, why not squeeze in a little lemon also?
5. The recommended amount of exercise is as little as 30 minutes, 3-4 times each week, but more is great if you can find the time. Any exercise will be of benefit to you, it needs to get your heart rate up and leave you feeling out of breath, but not so much that you cannot talk. If you exercise with a group of people, whether it is cycling, tennis, badminton or even joining a dance class,it can be much more enjoyable. It is not just the social element that makes it more fun but also makes it harder to ‘duck out’ if you have just had one of those days. The key is, the more exercise you do the more calories you will burn.
So whether you’re a full time mum or have a demanding career, losing pounds will help to boost energy levels and improve your confidence and self-esteem.
If you are looking for a really great diet solution programme, Click here now!
Sandra
Choose good weight loss programmes that focus on healthy eating and include all the major food groups. It should not be too calorie restrictive or you will not have enough energy to make it through the day. The ideal way to lose weight is at a slow, steady rate of between 1-2 pounds each week. A weight loss plan that promises dramatic weight loss should be treated with caution as large losses in weight can affect your metabolism and cause other health issues.
Have a look at these 5 small changes that you can include in your diet and lifestyle, they will help you to lose fat steadily, without turning your life upside down:
1. A good breakfast is important, like wholegrain toast or wholegrain cereal topped with fruit. If you think that skipping breakfast is a good way of saving calories, you would be wrong - it will lead to eating and snacking more during the day.
2. Each meal should include at least one serving of fruit or vegetables, as these will leave less room for junk foods.
3. Reduce large portions of food by 10%, and if it helps use a smaller plate or dish - psychologically you will not notice, remember less is more!
4. Reduce the amount of fizzy drinks and alcohol in your diet, as they are full of empty calories that do nothing to fill you up. Replace them with water and fruit or vegetable juices. Have a slice of lemon in a mug of hot water in the morning as this can work wonders too, and if you like a bit of zip, why not squeeze in a little lemon also?
5. The recommended amount of exercise is as little as 30 minutes, 3-4 times each week, but more is great if you can find the time. Any exercise will be of benefit to you, it needs to get your heart rate up and leave you feeling out of breath, but not so much that you cannot talk. If you exercise with a group of people, whether it is cycling, tennis, badminton or even joining a dance class,it can be much more enjoyable. It is not just the social element that makes it more fun but also makes it harder to ‘duck out’ if you have just had one of those days. The key is, the more exercise you do the more calories you will burn.
So whether you’re a full time mum or have a demanding career, losing pounds will help to boost energy levels and improve your confidence and self-esteem.
If you are looking for a really great diet solution programme, Click here now!
Sandra
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