How to Loose Fat Weight

When faced with weight loss issues, most people are concerned about how much fat they can loose in the shortest amount of time. And what activity is the most effective in ridding the body of this unwanted guest. Remember it took you sometime to put on the weight so it will take sometime to loose it, with that in mind, patience is the key and a positive attitude will help you unlock that door;).

Here are a few things to keep in mind when loosing weight. Fat loss is the goal and not water weight or lean muscle loss. Most people who go on crash diets loose water and muscle mass but very little fat. The bodies’ choice reserves are fat, with that in mind, your body reverts to survival mode by utilizing muscle for energy (catabolism).In addition, you deplete your bodies’ water reserves. Your goal is to train your body to burn fat and maintain lean muscle and stay hydrated. To do this you need to follow a balanced diet that consists of protein to help build lean muscle. You also need complex carbohydrates for energy and cellular function. So restricting carbs is not the best idea however, you should pick your carbs wisely. In other words, decide on eating complex carbs such as fruits, veggies and wholegrains. Reduce the amount of simple carbs such as candy, cookies and unhealthy baked goods etc.... Also be sure good fats are a part of your diet such as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Also avoid restricting your fluid intake. Your body is around 60% water and your brain consists of roughly 70% water. Your body needs water to carry out cellular activity.

As far as loosing fat, with the proper diet and activity you will loose fat weight, whether it’s around your waist, legs, hips etc… Aim to be active most days of the week and staying within your target heart zone for 30-60 minutes. That zone can vary depending on the individual and their health condition. For most people that range is 70-90% (considering you don’t have any underline medical condition). As you become more conditioned, you will need to push yourself in order to burn more calories. For example, 30 minutes of walking may have put you in your target heart rate zone before but now you need to take it to another level. You can do this by jogging or running for 30 minutes instead. This will allow you to get your heart back in the target zone.

Challenge yourself often and try new things in your workouts. This will get you the most results and you will be a happier and fitter you;)

Can you live to be a 100 or more?

Could you be one of the few who have genes that can determine how long you will live? You could very well be one of 3 individuals in 1000 with the DNA to live well past 100. New research on 1055 people who were over the age of 100 had a gene variation that proves to be somewhat responsible for longevity, according to Boston University & Italy. The centenarians who were a part of this study were mostly grouped into 19 clusters of genetic signatures that are related to age onset dementia, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Although the prediction of longevity is not 100%, diet and exercise are among the environmental factors that contribute greatly to survival, according to the study. Still screening for the longevity genes will be helpful in determining age related diseases and customizing medications that would best work with certain genetic groups, said Paola Sebastiani, Professor of Biostatics at Boston University School of Public Health. Still researchers are looking to find the answers as to why 150 genetic markers play a role in longevity in centenarians.

In the U.S, that average life expectancy is 78.3 for those born in 2010 (according to the U.S Census). The Census also reported that 3 of 1000 Americans (104,754 among the 309.6 million) were reported living over the age of 100. This number is expected to increase more than fivefold by 2050.

Believe it or not, living long is very common among many cultures that take care of their elderly and they themselves eat well; remain active and live away from areas with high pollution. A good example is the Abkhasians who live in a region of Georgia that is considered very mountainous. This culture treats their elderly with great respect and look to them for guidance and wisdom. This culture also has a history of living anywhere from 100 years to 130 years of age.

In closing, living long involves caring for yourself and those around you and it means taking a better look at what really is important in this life.

Strengthening Your Core

Core muscles are the center of balance and performance and consist of several muscle groups. These muscles include abdominal, obliques; lower back, glutes as well as pelvic muscles. Having a weak core can contribute to bad posture and balance, poor athletic performance, insufficient body mechanics thus increasing the chance of injury.

Now that you’re familiar with core muscles here are somethings you can do to help tone those muscle and reduce abdominal fat. To loose abdominal fat you should start by reducing caloric intake and add exercise that includes strength training as well as cardiovascular training. Strength training should be done no less than 2 days a week, training all major muscle groups. Cardiovascular training can be done most days of the week for 30-60 minutes depending on your fitness level. You can also allow for a day or two of rest.

In this weeks blog I have included some video footage of exercises to help you strengthen your core muscles. I recommend doing 8-12 reps for 2-4 set for beginners and for those who are more advanced can do 15-20 reps for 2-4 sets.

I have also added a few bloopers for your humor:D.

A Study on Huperzine A & Alzheimer’s

In a recent publication that I subscribed to, I read about a study that was done in April 2004-07 for Huperzine A (HubA). If you’re not familiar with this supplement, it’s sold in health food stores and is used to improve brain function. Huperzine A is the active constituent found in a Chinese moss that is considered rare (Huperzia Serrata).Drugs that are used to treat Alzhimer’s work by increasing levels of acetylcholine. The study showed promising benefits that HubA increases brain function. The study went on to say that, HubA might have a disease-modifying affect on Alzheimer's disease.

This was a double-blinded study that consisted of phases and included 150 individuals male and females ages 55 and older. The dose that was given ranged from 200-400mg twice a day. Phase II was to determine whether a 200mg dose twice a day improved cognitive function in AD. The other part of the study was based on 400mg and was to determine whether HubA not only improved cognitive function in individuals with AD but also improved activities of daily living (ADL) and behavior. In addition, they wanted to find out the toxicity of HubA and determine the correlation between the blood levels of cholinesterase activity and mental function in people who suffered from AD.

The bottom line is HubA acts as a “natural cholinesterase inhibitor." This is a huge potential breakthrough for people with Alzheimer’s. For more information regarding this study visit http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00083590

Linking Fructose to Hypertension

According to the CDC 1 in 3 U.S adults suffer from hypertension. A good article in the Press Enterprise on July 3^rd talked about how researchers have found a link to fructose and hypertension. New research is showing that the high amounts of sugar added to foods is causing this increase. The study links fructose (fructose is 50% of the ingredient in table sugar and 55% in high fructose corn syrup) to HP in lab rats. They also claim that in comparison to humans the link is “elusive." The researchers from University of Colorado Denver were looking for a link in HP and added sugar intake by comparing the diets of those who ate healthy versus those who ate fructose from added sugars. The unhealthy group who consumed added fructose had an increase in systolic pressure (top number is the sytolic pressure which is when the heart is in the contracting phase).This was not the case with the individuals who ate from “healthier sources” such as fresh fruit. In addition, they found that the individuals with larger waistlines had higher blood pressure readings. Individuals who consumed more than 74 grams of fructose per day (from added sugar) were 77% more likely to have a blood pressure reading of 160/100 or greater (hypertensive). Reducing added sugar decreases your risk greatly. For example, an individual who consumes 2 ½ 20-ounces of bottled Coke can easily exceed the 74 grams of fructose a day. Cutting your intake of Coke by half can reduce your risk.

Hypertension increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and other possible conditions. According to the World Health Organization, 7.1 million deaths occur each year related to hypertension. More information regarding this study can be found by visiting the following link http://www.asn-online.org/publications/current-articles.aspx.

The Dreaded Plateau

In this week’s blog, I want to address plateauing. Anyone who has lost weight but later experienced the scale no longer going down may have plateaued. Plateauing happens when you have reached a point where you no longer loose weight or you loose very little. The first thing to do is to take a closer look at what you’re eating. In other words, start logging what you eat. Are you getting enough fat in your diet? If not, your body will go into survival mode and stop burning calories at the rate it should. For instance, your body will begin to store calories rather than burn them. What about your exercise routine, are you getting enough or too much? If your still following the same exercise routine you began with, chances are your body has adjusted and is no longer progressing but maintaining. In such case try changing your routine, make it more challenging. In contrast, too much exercise can cause the same effect. If you’re consuming too little calories and exercising your butt off with no results, this too can cause your body to go into survival mode and hold on to fat rather than burn it. Try scaling back and changing your exercise regimen. For example, do weight training 2-3days a week and add in some aerobic activity 3 days a week for 30-60 minutes (depending on your situation).

Another thing to avoid is crash dieting. Crash dieting is not the answer, in fact it’s a bad word, as well as the word “diet.” I am an advocate of healthy lifestyle changes that include reversing poor eating habits, adding physical activity and setting realistic goals. Crash dieting may take the weight off right away but there is a price to pay. Crash dieting can result in muscle wasting and an increased level of a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is excreted by the adrenal glands and helps the body metabolize fat and sugar for energy. In addition, it helps manage stress. Too much cortisol may sabotage weight loss. Increased cortisol can also be an effect from using diet pills or diet energy drinks that contain high amounts of caffeine, sugar and other stimulants. My advice to you is to eat healthy, exercise regularly and give me a call in the morning and I’ll be glad to help :).

Can you really have a vacation that includes exercise and eating well?

Can exercise and vacationing go together? How about eating healthy and vacationing? To most people that may seem like an oxymoron but believe it or not it’s not. I’m a mountain girl and enjoy the great outdoors and every year my family and I spend a week up in the Sierras. Keep in mind, that I’m not much of a camper, meaning camping outside doing the “tent thing/ sleeping bag,” that just doesn’t work for me. However, I will stay in a cabin;) Anyways, we usually stay at a cabin right along the Lake. The cabin is rustic, meaning it contains limited amenities. Which means, it does have the basics (small kitchen, bathroom and a bed). The nearest grocery store and restaurant is about a good 45-minute drive down the mountain. My job is to plan the menu for the week and do grocery shopping for the week. And that means, there will be some healthy eating going on with exception to these “to die for” Cinnamon Rolls that we manage to make several 40 minute trips during the week to get. Oh, and I must confess that I did engage in eating a hot dog on one day and a Sirloin Burger on another day and yes I did have some cookies for desert on several days but it was the Kashi’s Trail Mix whole grain cookies that taste just like a macaroons :).

During my vacation my plan was not to exercise but to do the things that I enjoy such as taking an am run through the forest, going on a boat rowing tour across the lake with my family and Kayaking solo several times during our stay, hiking and my new favorite rock climbing. Every morning started with a breakfast of egg whites, a bowl of shredded wheat with soymilk, 2 cups of green tea and I was fueled for the morning. Even though my plan was not to exercise, I engaged in all the activities that I love to do and before I knew it, I had already spent around 2 hours or more some days exercising. For one thing, it’s not like riding the stationary bike or running on the treadmill wondering if you’ve reached the hour mark. Hiking through the forest and enjoying nature does not seem like exercise nor does scaling granite rocks along side of a waterfall seem like you’re burning calories. In fact, all I can think about is what a sense of freedom I have and the privilege to view such majestic sites of beauty that only God can create.

In closing, I’m sad that my trip came to end an end but I have no regrets of overindulging in foods that to some might be “off limits.” I ate balanced and if anything I ate more than normal to compensate for my high activity level. For example, trail mix was a wonderful energy sustainer for longer activities. I stuck to a trail mix that was mixed with dry fruit and nuts, less the simple carbohydrates such as chocolate, m&m’s etc… I also ate every 2 hours or so to properly refuel and stayed well hydrated. And when the evening came, I enjoyed a balanced dinner and popcorn as a late snack, a glass of chardonnay topped with a picturesque view of the lake. So next time when you ask yourself, how can I get through my vacation eating healthy and exercising? Simply pick out some activities that you enjoy doing and focus on eating a balanced diet. That will allow you to enjoy your vacation without the fluctuating energy level due to poor eating and planning. And in return, you will enjoy your vacation with a higher level of energy resulting in more time spent doing the things that you like best.