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Fire Up That Metabolism!
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Diet and Nutrition
"For starters, I'm not a nutrition guru, and I won't claim to know all (or any!) of the science behind this. I can, however, make the claim that these basic steps have worked for me and I believe they would work for most other people as well. This is kind-of a follow-up to Rusty's excellent tip that diet might have more to do with weight loss than exercise.
The hardest part is making the lifestyle changes - yes, lifestyle. I choose to call it a lifestyle rather than a diet/exercise plan. The latter to me has a connotation of 'until the goal is reached' or 'temporary', while lifestyle has a more permanent feeling. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now ;) So here are some basic steps towards a lifestyle that stokes the metabolic flame:
Drink lots of water!
64 oz up to 1 gallon per day, in fact. Scientists claim that dehydration slows the metabolism, since kidneys that don't have enough water lean on the liver for certain processing. If the liver is busy helping the kidneys, then it will metabolize less fat.
No simple carbs
Ever! Ok, well we have to cheat sometime... But in general, stay away from simple carbs such as soda, candy, processed foods, most breads, etc. Complex carbs are ok (and necessary), but portion control is appropriate. Limit the pasta, rice, french fries (that's a whole 'nother story). Definitely introduce whole grain breads, pasta, and rice into your diet, and have a baked potato instead of fries.
Stomach growling? Feed it!
Continually avoiding food when you are hungry can lead to overeating later in the day or even an upset stomach. If your body is telling you to eat – listen; then try to make healthy choices. Emphasize whole grain products such as whole grain bread, lean meats, poultry, and fish; fruits, veggies, and low or non-fat dairy.
Mini-meals
Assuming you've figured out how many calories you should be taking in each day, try breaking the total up into 5 chunks and assembling 5 balanced mini-meals to get you to that total. A simpler approach might be to just take 3 'normal' meals and dividing them up into 5 containers. Then, consume those mini-meals at evenly-spaced times throughout the day. Another approach might be to just have your 3 meals (but control the portions to be a little smaller) and have some grapes or a small bag of carrots for the 'in-between' times. The mini-meal approach will train your metabolism to work faster.
Before or after exercise - that is the question...
This might stir up a debate, but I say after. what I've found is that if I eat a banana (or another piece of fruit) and have a protein shake on the way to the gym, then eat one of those mini-meals after the workout, my metabolism works more efficiently. Here's my analogy: if you put a large log on a small fire, it will probably go out. If you build up a nice hot fire with some kindling first, then put that large log on, you will have yourself a hot fire to warm up your toes.
Sometimes I feel lik"... read entire tip
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metabolism, carbs, diet
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created by
plucky
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saved on 3/10/2008
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4
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26.6
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100 %
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Why You Want To Preserve And Build Muscle
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Strength Training
"Why You Want To Preserve And Build Muscle
Many people view their muscles as inert things that take care of themselves. The masses never give much thought to their muscle mass. They ignore taking care to protect it, take it for granted, and expect it to remain intact and the same for life. This isn’t the case, especially if you’re sedentary.
Here are a few great reasons for preserving and building muscle with resistance or weight training:
1. Muscle is your engine. Muscle burns fat, about 50 calories a day per pound of muscle.
A pound of fat burns about 3 calories a day.
2. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn.
3. A pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. You can weigh more while taking up less space and wearing smaller sizes. Muscle is sleek and attractive.
4. Muscle makes you strong, functionally fit, increases your endurance, and improves physical performance in all areas of life, not just athletics.
5. Studies show fat (although not a big calorie burning engine) is metabolically active. Fat makes good and bad hormones and chemicals that affect health. The more fat you have on your body, the more nasty chemicals you’ll produce while the more muscle you have the more calories you’ll burn.
It is a fact of life that you will lose muscle mass starting around 30 years old and averaging 5 pounds of loss per decade without resistance training to counteract this phenomenon. So what, you may say, I’m not an athlete and I have a desk job. That mere 5 pounds a decade of muscle loss means you’ll burn approximately 250 calories less per day. By the time you turn 60 that adds up to 750 calories you are no longer burning. If you’re still eating the same as always your body and lifestyle will be a recipe for obesity.
See full version of article at my blog Kudos For Balanced Fitness and Lifestyle
http://kudosforlowcarb.blogspot.com/2007/06/why-you-want-to-preserve-and-build.html"
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muscle, metabolism, strength training, fat loss, fitness
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created by
CarolBard
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saved on 3/10/2008
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5
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29.3
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100 %
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Best Foods To Eat Before Cardio
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Diet and Nutrition
"It's not good to starve the body before cardio...if you go 4 hours or so without eating in the middle of the day, this will cause your body to go into starvation mode which will slow metabolism and while doing your cardio, you will be burning muscle mass for energy. The only time to do cardio on an empty stomach is in the AM right when you roll out of bed...and only for 20 min. or so...then afterward, eat immediately to get your metabolism rolling.
Some recommended foods to eat right before cardio:
Nuts
Low-fat cottage cheese
Anything with good fat and protein; low-carbs
Directly after your workout, you should try to eat one simple carb and one protein. The reason for this is that a simple carb goes straight to your blood stream which will help move the protein more quickly through the body and digestive system and enables it to get to the muscles quicker to repair and rebuild them after your workout."
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cardio, food, diet, exercise
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created by
fitbeachbabe
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saved on 2/27/2008
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3
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88.3
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100 %
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Understanding Your Body Fat Percentage
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Diet and Nutrition
"Body fat measurements and the measuring tape are recognized as superior methods for measuring "weight loss". When one declares that they want to "lose weight", what they often mean is that they want to lose fat. So, now that you've had your body fat percentage measured, what does the number really mean?
First, your body fat percentage is simply the percentage of fat your body contains. If you are 150 pounds and 10% fat, it means that your body consists of 15 pounds fat and 135 pounds lean body mass (bone, muscle, organ tissue, blood and everything else).
A certain amount of fat is essential to bodily functions. Fat regulates body temperature, cushions and insulates organs and tissues and is the main form of the body's energy storage. The following table describes body fat ranges and their associated categories:
*General Body Fat Percentage Categories
Classification Women (% fat) Men (% fat)
Essential Fat 10-12% 2-4%
Athletes 14-20% 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Acceptable 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32% plus 25% plus
*American Council on Exercise
Knowing your body fat percentage can also help you determine if your weight loss goals are realistic. Remember, weight loss doesn't always mean fat loss. For example:
Let's say you're a 130# woman with 23% body fat, and you goal is to "lose 20 pounds":
Initial body fat: 130# x 0.23 fat = 30 # body fat
Lean body mass: 130# total - 30# fat = 100# lean body mass (bones, organs and all else)
Goal: 130# - 20# = 110 pounds
As you can see, the goal of losing 20 pounds is not realistic or healthy. At 110 pounds, this woman still requires 100# of lean body mass (bones, organs, etc.), but would only be carrying 10#, or only 9% body fat. From the chart above, you can see that this is a dangerously low percentage.
A better goal might be for the woman to reduce her body fat from 23% to 18%. In this case:
130# x 0.18 = 23 # body fat
100# lean body mass + 23 # = 123# goal weight
So, for this individual to achieve a lean, but healthy 18% fat, she would need to lose only 7 pounds of fat, reducing her weight from her current 130 pounds to 123 pounds. Losing more than 7 pounds means losing lean body mass (usually metabolically-active muscle tissue), which is clearly not desirable.
So before you decide that you need to "lose weight", remember to consider that "weight" consists of both lean body mass and body fat. Try to keep your weight loss goals realistic, and remember, keep the calorie-burning muscle, and lose only the fat."
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created by
MleighS84
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saved on 2/27/2008
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7
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120.5
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100 %
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Damage Control at Happy Hour
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Diet and Nutrition
"Yes...we all want the rocking body, but what good is it if you can't get out there and enjoy life? I live in downtown Seattle and like most major cities, we have a crazy "happy hour" scene. Right down the street from me is a hip bar called Pesos that has ultra fancy mexican food and Seattle's best looking young professionals...hot skinny girls in True Religion jeans and tight shirts, etc.
Quick tip: Eat an apple and drink a glass of water before you hit the Friday Happy hour. It is only 50-80 calories and the pectin will expand in your stomach a bit with the water. It will fill you up so you won't crave as many quesadillas, sushi rolls, spring rolls, fries, etc. Oh yeah...order "Stella" on tap. A solid beer choice while snacking on these high calorie foods!"
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happy hour, junk food, fuji apples, lose weight, sexy body
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created by
Rusty
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saved on 2/27/2008
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8
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38.4
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100 %
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Cardio on an Empty Stomach Boosts HGH
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Diet and Nutrition
"Doing cardio on an empty stomach is the best way to insure fat loss. Your natural fat burning hormone HGH, is boosted dramatically when you perform intense interval type cardio on an empty stomach. To enhance the effect of HGH release, don't eat immediately after your cardio session...wait one hour to allow a full HGH release. This is especially effective at targeting those last 10-15 pounds of "stubborn" body fat. I recommend not going near any type of food for 4 hours before your cardio workout.
This tip is for people who want the slim and toned "Hollywood" look. If you want the bulkier look than you will want to eat a fast digesting protein source immediately after working out. Use the tip and become Tyler Durden from Fight Club! Oh yeah...the first and second rule is to not talk about this tip!"
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cardio, fight club, hgh, burn fat, stubborn fat
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created by
Rusty
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saved on 2/26/2008
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12
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131.1
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80.0 %
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