Fitness N Sport

Archive for August 7th, 2009

Usually, weight loss programs fail for similar reasons. It usually starts like this. An individual wants to lose weight for a specific reason. For example, a wedding is coming up, and the bride wants to look good during the wedding. So to get results fast, she goes on a starvation diet.

A starvation diet here means skipping meals or consuming just a tiny amount of food for each meal. The body goes hungry throughout the day due to the minimal consumption of food. In the short term, this seems to work very well. The weight loss starts to happen.

But the bride doesn’t know that she is losing her health as well. How does that happen?

You see, when the bride to be goes on a starvation diet, she is losing muscle mass and fat at the same time. Without a constant source of energy (due to the meals skipping), the body has to tap into existing sources of energy to continue functioning. But most people don’t know that the body is also responding to these new eating habits.

As it is not receiving adequate nutrition, the body starts to store fat whenever possible. In other words, the metabolism drops. When that happens, the bride needs only to eat a little to gain weight. The body stores the food as fat because it doesn’t know if it’s going to have enough to eat the next day!

So the wedding comes, and the bride is happy because she gets to look slim during her big day. But as soon as the event is over, she reverts back to her normal diet. And guess what happens? She puts back all the weight that she had lost, plus a few more extra pounds! That’s not surprise. After all, she did get her metabolic rate to nose dive during the last few weeks.

Hopefully, the bride learns an important lesson here. When it comes to losing weight, it’s all about how much fat you burn. And how much fat you burn depends on your metabolism. You want your metabolism to be high so that your body will continue burning calories throughout the day.

Going on a starvation diet is always a poor short term strategy. The weight loss program is never going to work for the long term. In the long run, you want your metabolic rate to be high so that you can enjoy your daily meals, and yet feel strong and look great.

Having fitness affects all areas of your life. You will have more energy for work, for friends, and for your family. Remember that there is no short cut to losing weight. You have to increase your metabolism or your program is going to fail. Workout regularly, eat well, and start leading a healthier life.

Learn more about protein shakes and how a protein shake a day can benefit your health.

Is it even possible to lose weight when you are eating more? Sounds too good to be true. But fitness enthusiasts are secretly smiling. They know something that others don’t. It is, in fact, true that you can eat more than you normally do, and still lose weight at the same time. How does that work?

The secret lies in knowing what to eat. I’m sure you would have heard of the many so-called “healthy” diets that TV programs promote. Those are full of salads and other low calorie meals. But consuming low calorie meals is just one part of the equation.

If you want to lose weight for the long term, you must master both sides of the equation. On the one hand, you have your diet plan to think about. And on the other hand, you have your exercise program to think about.

The two must go hand in hand. Otherwise, your weight loss program is destined for failure. Let’s take a look at why you need both for your program to be successful.

If you only have a diet plan, and you don’t work out, you are not growing any stronger. In other words, there is no chance of your metabolism improving. That means the only way to lose weight is to lower your calorie count. But there is a limit as to how much calories you can avoid consuming per day.

Don’t view calories as the ultimate enemy. It is not. In fact, you need between 1500 to 2000 calories each day in order to stay healthy. With all that calories, how does one lose weight then?

Here comes the other part of the equation – your exercise program. In order to boost your metabolism, you have no choice but to gain lean muscle mass. And there is only one way to do so – by engaging in resistance training.

Resistance training here means that you are using your muscles to push against an opposing force. It can be dumb bells, resistance strings / springs, or it can be your own weight. As long as you are using your muscles to push against an opposing force, your muscles will respond and grow accordingly.

When you are engaged in work outs, you have to choice but to eat well. Feed yourself with lots of proteins (about 1g of protein for every 1 pound of weight) so that you have enough for muscle growth and repair. As your muscles grow, your metabolic rate will become faster.

After about 4 weeks, you will start to notice changes to your body. Not only will you feel better, you will also look better. With an increased metabolic rate, your body now burns fat at a faster rate.

That’s the main reason why you can eat more and yet lose weight at the same time! Your body just burns off the fat, even while you are not exercising.

Learn more about protein shakes and how a protein shake a day can benefit your health.