Thursday, July 30, 2009

Heart diseases and Fats

A very high percentage of deaths each year can be attributed to obesity. So, are heart diseases and fats linked?

There have been enough studies to really prove that the link between heart diseases and fats is very real and very significant. You see, the problem is that fats is something that is not just a problem for those who are visibly flabby.

Many people have gone on for years with no signs of any problems. Then suddenly, they are hit with a massive heart attack. If you are fat and you know it, you will start to be more cautious, eat healthier and exercise. But for those who do not really look fat, and they are not very over-weight, they might not be aware of any potential dangers.

Fats can accumulate around the walls of arteries. They also accumulate around our internal organs. As we learn more and more about fats, we begin to realize that it is more than just about dealing with visibly fat looking people. Fats accumulate around our internal organs and can cause irritation and disruption. It has been shown that excessive fats around the liver can cause the liver to fail in detoxification of the blood. Same too, the accumulation of fats around the heart causes the secretion of chemicals that irritate the blood vessels. This in turn affects the blood circulation and even affect the properties of blood platelets which might cause them to become more sticky, leading to a higher risk of blood clots.

Do not imagine for a moment that just because you are “just a little bit out of shape” that you are free from the dangers of excess fats. One sure way is to find out your BMI. Your Body Mass Index is a good indicator of whether you are in the healthy range. If you are in excess of 30, do something.

Monday, July 27, 2009

What recipes can help me lose fats?

Losing fats need not consist of dreary diets and boring exercises. If you like mayonnaise, then you are in for a real treat. Instead of 100 calories and 11 grams of fat per serving, you can now enjoy the full taste of mayonnaise with only 15 calories and no fats. In fact, this Dijonnaise is something that you have to try to believe. So, here is a recipe that we found from GroupRecipes.com

Home Made Dijonnaise

Ingredients
1/2 stick salted butter
3 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups half and half warmed
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons non-grainy Dijon mustard

Directions
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.
Add flour and mix with a wire whisk until foamy, approximately 3 minutes.
Add half and half and mustard then continue to stir for 5 minutes until thickened and hot.
Gently stir in white pepper.

Do give some feedback and share the results. If you did not like the taste, if it tasted great or if you have your own super healthy, fantastically delicious recipes, do share!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Lose Fats Diet can be fun

The last thing that anyone will think of when you think of trying to lose fats is fun. Fun is so far from the concept of losing weight that many people forget that there are a lot of fun activities and foods that can help them lose fats.

For one, picnics are fun ways to lose weight. Think about this. When you go on a picnic, you need to be out somewhere nice. Usually, this is a park the beach or a scenic hilltop. You most likely will have to drive somewhere, but once there, you will need to carry the picnic basket, drinks and other knick knacks with you. Find a nice location and lay out your mat. This is certainly going to be a fun way to burn some calories.

But more importantly, the food. When you plan your picnic, it is unlikely that you will want messy food. You can find a few healthy recipes and prepare some really tasty food. In fact, in our next installment, we will be sharing a very fun recipe for mayonnaise that you might want to try for your next picnic.

Try to plan a full veggy and fruits menu for your picnic. Remember that even on a nice day, a day out can be hot. Having lots of fruits in your picnic menu is definitely a smart move. Also, taking a nice salad, eating simple sandwiches will do much to ease the enjoyment of the day. You really don’t want to go on a picnic, stuff yourself full with beef and gravy, then fall asleep the rest of the time.

So, you see, a diet plan can be simple and fun. It need not be very complicated. By doing this regularly, you will see many benefits. Increase your metabolic rate as you prepare for the picnic and hike to your favourite spot, increase your circle of friends as you invite others to join you and most of all, increase your joy and happiness as you find yourself more interested in having fun than worrying about your fat loss program.

Monday, July 20, 2009

How to lose Fats safely

One of the most often asked question in the quest for losing fats and losing weight, is one of safety. How can we lose fats safely?

Frankly, the real danger of any diet is when you attempt to lose weight fast. Most people want to lose fats because they want to lose weight. Most want to lose weight because they want to look slim and trim.

There are many factors to losing fats. One of the most important is your metabolic rate. If you are able to maintain a high metabolic rate, it will help to burn off excess fats. How can you increase your metabolic rate?

Exercise.

To some, that one word is scary. It is impossible. Yet, it is not as difficult as it seems to be. In place of rigorous exercise, a long term approach would be to change your lifestyle. Become more active by taking up some sport, go outdoors more and so on; these are good ways to increase your metabolic rate.

Here are some simple ways you can lose fats safely:
  1. There is no need to become an exercise fanatic. Simply become more active in your lifestyle and you will increase your metabolic rate. Take walks after meals. Walk up stairs instead of taking the elevators and other simple, daily tasks.
  2. Join an exercise club. For example, some women might get together to form a club that goes walking in the park once or twice a week or guys who agree to meet up to do some cycling and so on.
  3. Eat wisely. Rather than stuffing yourself at every meal, eat until your hunger pangs are gone. Stop before you feel completely full.
  4. Drink plenty of water. Sometimes, when you are thirsty, your body sends out signals that are similar to that of being hungry. However, these are false. Your body is simply trying to get you to get some liquids.
In order to lose fats safely, you need to have a balance of a healthy lifestyle, a sensible diet and the commitment to see it through.

Monday, July 13, 2009

So many dangerous chemicals in weight loss products supposed to help you lose fats

When you think about losing fats, one of the most common choices made would be to go right out and purchase some weight loss product. Worse, when you are anxious for quick results, you don’t want to go on a slow and painful diet, you don’t want to eat bland and tasteless foods; and so you resort to buying some weight loss medication.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration published some information about the dangers of using medication in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Apparently, common medications used for weight loss that are usually purchased online or even at the local drug or health food store, might contain a lot of harmful chemicals.

Many of them have been found to contain unspecified ingredients. Even more disturbing is the fact that many of them contains very high levels of such ingredients. In some cases, they even exceed the allowed amount of prescribed medications.

Why is this a concern?

One of these over-the-counter product, for example, was found to contain sibutramine. That is a prescription weight loss drug and acts as an appetite suppressant. This type of drug is a danger to people with hypertension or heart disease. The drug works by affecting heart rate and blood pressure. Other side effects could be harmful for those with liver problems, seizures and glaucoma.

The challenge is that there are so many of such products, it is hard to track all of them. That is why it is important that you check that the product that you purchase has been approved by your local authorities. Also, make sure you read the labels.

Most importantly, be aware that “quick fix” diet pills almost never work. Go for a more sensible approach. A healthy diet, exercise and a positive outlook can do wonders for your weight loss program.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

What are the ways you can lose Fats?

One of the most frustrating thing in the world that anyone can do, is to try to lose fats. Have you ever watched helplessly as the weighing scales continue to fight your best intentions?

I would like to share with you a few ways that can help you to really lose fats on a permanent basis. Yes, not just a temporary drop or those “yo-yo” effect style of weight loss.

#1 – Eat Properly

Are you surprised that the first thing you need to do to lose fats is to eat? But not just eat, you need to eat proper food. Forget about eating diet pills, special diet concoctions and even those fat burning pill. Eat good, nutritious food. Food that will give you proper energy. Otherwise, when you feel listless and tired, your metabolic rate drops, then you gain more weight.

#2 – Build Muscles

A lot of misunderstanding here. You do not have to become a gym fanatic. But as you exercise, you will build up your muscles naturally. Why is this important? Muscles are the body’s natural fat burning factory. The more muscles you have working, the more fats are burned, even if you do nothing more than walk normally, or even just resting.

#3 – Stop Eating Till Stuffed

When you eat just a little short of feeling really full, that is good. A better gauge would be to eat with a calorie deficit. This means that you take in less calories than your body actually needs. This will force your body to burn up fats to make up for the difference. Some people find it hard to overcome the mental challenge of hunger pangs. One good way to fight this is to take many small meals.

#4 – Never Starve Yourself

You will need to learn to eat well, exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle. When you starve yourself and fall ill, you become bedridden and lose all the good exercise habits that you fought so hard to build.

So, by following the above, you will find that not only will you start to lose those fats, you will not find them creeping back again. This is because you not only cut down on food or rely on artificial means. A change in your lifestyle and eating habits is the best way to lose fats and maintain your weight.

Monday, July 6, 2009

How Fats destroy your health?

The human body is a delicate balance of so many things. Have you ever thought about how fats can destroy your health? Have you ever wanted to lose fats fast?

Sometimes, the implication of gaining fats is lost on us because we hear so little about it. What we get are very commercialized versions of scare messages that encourage you to buy this latest product or that latest program.

Let’s focus on what is real.
  • Fact: If you gain 6 – 10 kg, you actually increase the risk of contracting type 2 diabetes by two times as much when compared to another person who has not gained.
  • Fact: More than 80 percent of people who suffer from diabetes are overweight or obese (BMI > 30).
  • Fact: Being overweight and obesity are associated with increased risks for certain types of cancer, for example: endometrial (cancer of the lining of the uterus), colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney and postmenopausal breast cancer.
  • Fact: Women who gain more than 20 pounds from age 18 to midlife, actually double their risk of postmenopausal breast cancer when compared to women whose weight remain stable.
  • Fact: Sleep apnea (a type of breathing disorder while sleeping) is more common in obese persons.
  • Fact: For every 1kg increase in weight, the risk of developing arthritis increases.
  • Fact: Symptoms/Severity of arthritis can be improve/relieved with weight loss.

As you can see, weight gain and obesity is not just about high blood pressure, cholesterol problems or heart diseases. There are many implications when you body accumulates too much fats. To lose fats is to gain health.

Most people believe that they do not need to lose weight because it is “normal” for people to gain weight as they get older. The reality is that the only reason you gain weight with age is your lifestyle slows down without an equal adjustment in your diet habits.

There is no need to go to extreme dieting to lose fats. However, if you are overweight, it is time to consider the benefits of losing some of those fats. Re-building some of those muscles will be good for you too.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Why is losing Fats important?

When you think of losing weight, everyone immediately think of dieting, slimming down, looking good. But is this the reason why it is important to lose fats?

Have you ever considered the implications of losing fats from your body?

  • More than 100,000 deaths each year are attributable to obesity.
  • The risks of dying increases as weight.
  • Even moderate weight excess in adults 30 – 64 years old can increase the risk of death.
  • People who have a body mass index [BMI] greater than 30 have a higher risk of death from being overweight.

Yes, it is certainly important to look good. However, before you dismiss losing fats from your body as a mere exercise in vanity, consider the statistics and facts related to genuine health concerns as have been presented above. These are no big secrets, you can get such information for many hospital and health related web sites.

You may want to lose fats because you feel it will make you look better. But you certainly must want to lose fats in order to make yourself healthier. Health is such an important part of our lives.

It has been said that all the riches in the world could not compare to having a healthy body. When you speak with those who have suffered a heart attack or are on regular medication for high blood pressure, you will begin to understand how important health is.

A heart attack or having high blood does not mean the end of happiness in your life. In fact, if you can learn from these experiences, you can recover and go on to discover a rich and fulfilling life.

Hopefully, this short writing will start you thinking about the importance of controlling your weight. When you lose fats, it is so much more than just about looking good. Losing fats help you to feel good in a much deeper sense than just the physical.