Why not just Diet?

One of the worst assaults on our bodies has been the self-imposed low-calorie diet. This has never seemed to be a very good idea, and recent research supports the notion that such diets can be harmful as well as ineffective.
The body's survival response to low-calorie diets is to lower metabolic rate in order to burn fewer calories and minimize weight loss. One study of over-weight women on low-calorie diets found these women burned 350 fewer calories per day than when they were eating more normal amounts of food.
The slowed metabolic rate seen on very- low-calorie diets does not stop when a person begins to eat more normally. In fact, metabolism remains lower so weight maybe regained quickly. This, too, is a survival mechanism allowing rapid weight gain following starvation.
Unfortunately, all too many of us repeat this cycle of weight loss and weight gain. The long-term health effects are unknown, but animal studies suggest this yo-yo pattern makes each attempt to lose weight more difficult. With each diet cycle, weight is lost more slowly and regained more quickly.
Another problem with very-low-calorie diets is that weight loss is not all fat, but includes a substantial loss in lean mass, which includes muscle tissue. Exercise helps reduce this lean tissue loss. The combination of exercise and moderate calorie reduction is best for minimizing lean tissue loss during weight loss.
There are other health reasons to shy away from low-calorie diets if you are trying to lose weight. Recent research has linked very-low-calorie diets and the resulting overall low daily nutrient in-takes to the development of both coronary heart disease and osteoporosis in women. The reasons for this relationship are not known, but at this point it seems sensible to take a more moderate approach to cutting back on calories to lose weight.
Current recommendations for safe and effective weight loss from the American Dietetic Association suggest adults go no lower than 10 calories per pound of present body weight. For example, a 150-pound person should not eat fewer than 1,500 calories per day on a weight loss program; a 125-pound person no fewer than 1,250 calories per day. This is a change from the 1,200-calorie diet which is traditionally given to women wanting to lose weight. Using the 10-calories-per-pound guide will produce a gradual weight loss. Weight lost gradually is less likely to be gained back.

Go here to get more information on how to design the perfect diet for you and your body type.

This site will also give you animated exercises for dieting that are easy to do at home or at work, don't need any fancy equipment, and will make your diet much more effective.

Does Exercise help with my Diet?

Cutting calories doesn't have to mean dieting
We become overweight when we consume more calories in food and drink than we burn up. To lose weight, we need to burn up more calories than we consume. We can accomplish that by either consuming fewer calories, burning more calories, or both. Cutting calories doesn’t necessarily have to mean going on a “diet.” It can just mean avoiding or limiting one or more foods high in calories from fat, sugar, or alcohol. Cutting calories can also be accomplished by reducing our portion sizes, or by eating smaller portions of those high-calorie foods and filling up on larger portions of low-calorie foods such as vegetables and fruits.

Objective analysis shows that cuts in calorie consumption add up faster than increases in exercise. Studies show that a combination of smaller portions and changes in what we eat can easily reduce calorie consumption by up to 500 daily, whereas burning an extra 500 calories daily can be a daunting target especially for women.

Exercise plus lower calories for women
In a University of Minnesota study, moderate or substantial drops in dietary fat were linked to weight loss in overweight and obese men and women, regardless of how much they changed physical activity. On average, these successful program participants decreased the number of high-fat foods they ate by five to ten servings a week. In women, even substantial increases in exercise were not enough to produce weight loss if they did not decrease fat consumption. Men, however, were able to lose weight through increased exercise alone.

For men, the effects of exercise and dietary fat seemed to have independent effects on the amount of weight lost. For women, although exercise alone was not a successful weight loss strategy, at each level of dietary fat reduction those who increased exercise − moderately or substantially − lost more weight than those who changed activity less.

Whether exercise changes metabolism to allow more successful weight loss, or whether its stress-reduction benefits allow more consistent progress in changing eating habits, this and other studies show that both increasing exercise and decreasing calorie consumption clearly seems the best weight-loss choice for everyone.

Go here to get more information on how to design the perfect diet for you and your body type.

This site will also give you animated exercises for dieting that are easy to do at home or at work, don't need any fancy equipment, and will make your diet much more effective.

What is my ideal body fat percentage?

Body fat percentage (or index) is an estimate of the fraction of the total body mass that is fat mass as opposed to lean body mass like muscle, bone, organ tissue, blood, and everything else. This index is often used as a means to monitor progress during a diet or as a measure of physical fitness for certain sports, such as body building. It is more accurate as a measure of excess body weight than body mass index (BMI) however, its popularity is less than BMI because equipment required to perform the body fat percentage is not readily available and skills are required to perform the measurement. Even when measured by a skillful person, there are factors that contribute to a signficant margin of error.

Total body fat percentage consists of essential fat and storage fat. Essential fat is that amount necessary for maintenance of life and reproductive functions. The percentage for women is greater than that for men, due to the demands of childbearing and other hormonal functions. Essential fat is 2-5% in men, and 10-13% in women. Storage fat consists of fat accumulation in adipose tissue, part of which protects internal organs in the chest and abdomen. Again, women have slightly more than men.

Recommendations

Some body fat percentage levels are more culturally valued than others, and some are related to better health or improved athletic performance.

According to Health Check Systems, The American Council on Exercise has categorized ranges of body fat percentages as follows:

Description Women Men
Essential fat 10-13% 2-4%
Athletes 14–20% 6–13%
Fitness 21–24% 14–17%
Acceptable 25–31% 18–25%
Obese 32%+ 25%+

A small amount of storage fat is required to be as fuel for the body in time of need. It is unclear whether falling in a particular category of these body fat percentages is better for your health than any other, but there are definitely enhancements in athletic performance as you near the ideal body fat percentage range for your particular sport. The leanest athletes, bodybuilders, typically compete at levels of about 5-8% for men, and 10-15% for women. Getting to this level usually requires specific and carefully monitored variations in sodium and fluid intakes. It can be dangerous to maintain a body fat percentage at the low end of this range for more than a few days or a few hours.

Go here to get more information on how to design the perfect diet for you and your body type.

This site will also give you animated exercises for dieting that are easy to do, don't need any fancy equipment, and will make your diet much more effective.

The Harris-Benedict Principle Explained

Most people can handle weight maintenance. For example, what you eat right now probably maintains you at the weight you are now. So if you can figure out how many calories you are consuming in the moment to maintain the weight you are at. The way to do this is to use a simple formula called the Harris-Benedict principle. It assesses your basal metabolic rate.

The basal metabolic rate or BMR is what your body burns to function. For most of us, we use about 60 percent of the calories we consume each day to do things like breathe, eat and live. The are a lot of factors that influence our BMR including our sex, our weight, our height and our age. Here is how you figure out what your BMR is:

For Women: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years) = BMR

So if you are 35, weigh 180 pounds and stand 65 inches tall, your BMR would be:

655+ (4.35 x 180) + (4.7 x 65) - (4.7 x 35) = BMR

655 + 783 + 305.5 - 164.5 = BMR

1579 = BMR

Now, that's just step one. For men the formula is a bit different: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

So the second step to figuring out your calorie counting and BMR is:

Multiply your daily activity and caloric output versus your BMR.

• Sedentary = BMR x 1.2
• Lightly Active = BMR x 1.375
• Moderately Active = BMR x 1.55
• Very Active = BMR x 1.725
• Athletic = BMR x 1.9

So let's say our 35 year old woman is lightly active: 2172 is the answer to how many calories you are taking in at your level of activity in order to maintain your current weight. So to create your caloric deficit to lose weight, you need to burn an extra 500 calories a day, you can lose about a pound a week.

You can do this by burning 250 calories extra in exercise and cutting back 250 calories per day from the diet. You can push this up to burning 500 calories a day in exercise and cutting back 500 calories out of your diet per day. This puts you in a target goal of losing .5 to 2 pounds for week.

Go here to get more information on how to design the perfect diet for you and your body type.

This site will also give you animated exercises for dieting that are easy to do, don't need any fancy equipment, and will make your diet much more effective.

Diet Programs and How They Work - Weight Watchers

If you've decided to slim down a little bit, then you may be considering joining a weight loss program to help you drop those pounds. There are a number of different weight loss programs available, many of which offer excellent tips and support systems that can help you to lose the weight and keep it off. But how do you know which program to join? And do these diet programs really work? Here is the lowdown on some of the most popular weight loss programs starting with Weight Watchers.

Weight Watchers is currently one of the most popular diet programs out there. Developed in the 1960s by an American, Jean Nidetch, Weight Watchers has since expanded to more than 30 different countries worldwide. And with millions of participants, including Sarah, the Duchess of York, Weight Watchers has gained a lot of credibility for providing its participants with nutritious and healthy food while helping them to lose weight and keep it off.

How Does It Work?
Weight Watchers helps men and women to lose weight by getting them to become more aware of their calorie intake and expenditure. While they offer different types of weight loss programs, one of their most popular is the Points System.

The Points System assigns a specific number of points to every type of food, based on serving size, calories, fiber content, and fat grams. The Points System also assigns a negative number of points to various exercises that people perform during the Weight Watchers program. At the end of the week, you tally up these points and try to come in under your total weekly point allowance. This overall point allowance is based on your current weight and your weight loss goals. Weight Watchers also provides weekly meetings to help support you through your weight loss experience.

Does It Work?
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who had followed the Weight Watchers Points program for two years lost an average of about six pounds. Those who also attended Weight Watchers meetings were found to be more successful, losing an average of 11 pounds after two years.

Pros and Cons
The Weight Watcher’s program offers a number of useful benefits for dieters. A particular pro about this diet is that no single type of food is restricted or banned. Instead dieters can choose to eat any type of food, as long as it’s in moderation. Additionally, Weight Watchers promotes healthy eating habits and portion control, both of which are essential to long term weight maintenance. However, many participants find that the Weight Watchers Points System involves too many calculations. Additionally, meetings can become very competitive and quite expensive.

The next program I'll be talking about is Jenny Craig. Stay tuned.

Go here to get more information on how to design the perfect diet for you and your body type.

This site will also give you animated exercises for dieting that are easy to do, don't need any fancy equipment, and will make your diet much more effective.

What is BMI and how does it help my diet?

A number of methods are used to determine if someone is overweight or obese. Some are based on the relationship between height and weight; others are based on measurements of body fat. The most commonly used method today is the body mass index (BMI). BMI is an index of weight adjusted for the height of an individual.

BMI can be used to screen for both overweight and obesity in adults. It is the measurement of choice for many obesity researchers and other health professionals, as well as the definition used in most published information on overweight and obesity. BMI is a calculation based on height and weight, and it is not gender-specific in adults. BMI does not directly measure percent of body fat, but it is a more accurate indicator of overweight and obesity than relying on weight alone.

BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. The mathematical formula is “weight (kg)/height (m²).”

To determine BMI using pounds and inches, multiply weight in pounds by 704.5,* divide the result by height in inches, and then divide that result by height in inches a second time.

Go here to get more information on how to design the perfect diet for you and your body type.

This site will also give you animated exercises for dieting that are easy to do, don't need any fancy equipment, and will make your diet much more effective.

Benefits of Exercise in a Weight Control Program

The benefits of exercise are many, from producing physically fit bodies to providing an outlet for fun and socialization. When added to a weight control program these benefits take on increased significance.

Not only does proper exercise help control weight by burning excess body fat but it also has two other body-trimming advantages

1) exercise builds muscle tissue and muscle uses calories up at a faster rate than body fat

2) exercise helps reduce inches and a firm, lean body looks slimmer even if your weight remains the same.

Remember, fat does not "turn into" muscle, as is often believed. Fat and muscle are two entirely different substances and one cannot become the other. However, muscle does use calories at a faster rate than fat which directly affects your body's metabolic rate or energy requirement.
Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy required to sustain the body's functions at rest and it depends on your age, sex, body size, genes and body composition. People with high levels of muscle tend to have higher BMRs and use more calories in the resting stage.
That's why it is very important to know what your BMR is in order to know how many calories you may consume per day to lose weight. It then becomes quite simple.
1 pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. If your BMR is lets say 2,400 per day with medium activity and you want to lose 2 pounds per week (7,000 calories) then you would have to deduct 1,000 calories from 2,400 leaving you with a diet and exercise combination that gets you down to 1,400 calories per day. Make sense? Click here to calculate your BMR.
But be careful. Never go lower than 1,200 calories per day.

The beauty is that your metabolic rate stays elevated for some time after vigorous exercise, causing you to use even more calories throughout your day. Additional benefits may be seen in how exercise affects appetite. A lean person in good shape may eat more following increased activity, but the regular exercise will burn up the extra calories consumed. On the other hand, vigorous exercise has been reported to suppress appetite. And, physical activity can be used as a positive substitute for between meal snacking.
Hear are some great exercises you can do right at home including some great tips on how to determine what diet is best for your body type.
Stay tuned for a more detailed explanation of how BMR, BMI and the Harris Benedict Principle all work together to get you into shape.