Weight Loss

Abdominal Fat Loss Exercise: Efficient Fat Loss or Just Hype?

Abdominal Fat Loss Exercise: Efficient Fat Loss or Just Hype?

Abdominal fat is not only unsightly, it may have a link to common diseases and conditions.  Little wonder why people prefer to get rid of it through diet and exercise.  To help people lose the belly fat and the love handles, many physical fitness experts have come up with several recommendations regarding abdominal fat loss.  These exercises, they claim, can help lose the fat around the middle area of the body.  But how effective are they?

The essential fat

The body gains fat from the absorption of nutrients sourced from food.  This is then stored in various tissues in the body where it can be burned later as calories.  Fats are highly efficient as sources of cell energy.  A gram of fat can release 9,300 calories of energy while the same amount of carbohydrate or protein only releases 4,100 calories.

The fat around your waist

Excessive fat tends to be stored around certain areas of the body, the most common of which is the abdominal area.  Through efficient exercise, these fats are gradually burned away.  This is why people who stick to a regular regimen of physical activity report loss of fat along the midsection.  Exercises make it possible for the body to trim the fat off.

So what about abdominal fat loss exercises?  They actually work but only to a certain point and under certain conditions.  On their own and without additional physical exertion obtained from aerobic exercises, abdominal fat loss exercises are not actually very effective in trimming excess fat.  The best they can do is build the muscle underneath, keeping it toned and taut.

In order for these abdominal fat loss exercises to work, they have to be accompanied by aerobic exercises the type of exercises that increase heart rate and encourage sweating.  By pushing the body to work harder, it becomes an efficient fat-burning machine.  It becomes more capable of converting fat into calories that the body can use.  As long as the body exerts effort through physical exercise, it will continue to use up the excess fat it keeps in the abdominal area.

What exactly do abdominal fat loss exercises do?  As mentioned earlier, they help tone the muscles in the area.  Continuous use of these muscles builds them up, resulting to bulk.  This is how definition in the area is created, resulting to six-pack abs and a well-defined belly.

The best way to use abdominal fat loss exercises is to perform them as a supplement to overall weight loss through aerobic exercises.  This is the only way that their benefit can be maximized and observed.

Body Fat And Genetics

Body Fat And Genetics

Body fat has been society’s problem for the past couple of decades. Reasons why people tend to be obese, how they can lose weight along with the risk factors of being fat has been studied endlessly in the medical field and by well-known institutions. There are still a lot of issues not yet resolved, even by extensive research and development of technology.

The Big Issue

One popular issue is whether body fat and genetics are related. These questions have been bugging people of all generations, but most specially, today’s present generation. This is probably due to the higher incidence of obesity at present and the easier access to information by the public.

Taking Sides

Just like with any other kind of issue, there are two sides of the story here. Of course, there’s the school of thought that supports the claim that genetics have something to do with a person’s predisposition of being fat. However, there is also the school of thought which does not believe that genetics has anything to do with obesity.

Back To Basics

If you have no idea what genetics are, this would be the study of DNA and how specific traits are inherited from parents to offspring. DNA is basically the blueprint that every individual has. This dictates what color and other characteristics of hair, eyes, skin, and a lot more body features you develop as you grow up. Since, genes/DNA practically dictates everything that a person would be; you can’t really fault those who suspect that it also has something to do with being fat or not.

What Believers Of This Theory Say

Due to the development of technology, more and more parties are delving into the research of finding that special gene, which has been dubbed as The Fat Gene. However, as more studies come out, more claims are also broadcasted that they have found the fat gene. Nevertheless, there is still no official declaration, since most of these studies have actually found different genes that are more or less related, not to being fat itself but to having physical conditions that can be indirectly related to obesity.

Most tests are administered to mice rather than men. For instance, one team of researchers in San Antonio that studying brain injuries was able to delete an important defensive protein from a laboratory mouse. They ended up having rodents that had short stature and consequently grew fat in adulthood.

Additionally, another research team in Boston found out that creating a very small genetic change on the DNA region can be the cause of obese predisposition. The convicted gene, called INSIG2, has a vital role in producing fat. They say that it makes an individual more prone to being overweight by merely changing its natural G-condition to a C-condition.

These two are just some of the many studies that implicate obesity’s relation to a person’s DNA make-up. You should understand that most of them are still under the process of further examination and studying.

What Non-believers Say

On the other hand, those who think that genetics is not related to being obese have very good points. Here are some of them.

They believe that genes have evolved in a way to protect humans from starvation, and not from overabundance of food. It has only been within the last 100 years that being overweight has become a problem. In fact, during ancient times, people who were obese were actually worshiped and admired since it was a sign that they had lots of food.

Additionally, the lifestyle of the human race has drastically changed during this century. Since lifestyle is the issue, being obese is partially blamed on the conveniences people have today, examples are computers, telecommuting, cars, elevators, remote controls, fast food, and the like.

Lastly, it is said that fastest increasing population of obese people fall into the impoverished category. They basically reason that those who have poor food access also have slower metabolic rates, which accounts for why they are more prone to being obese and not really due to their genes.

Alternative Strategies When Dieting

Alternative Strategies When Dieting

With the extensive and colorful history of dieting, countless weight loss strategies have come into existence. Not all of them have acquired the fame of popular diet programs such as the South Beach diet and Atkins diet have achieved. Nevertheless, it’s still interesting to know these less popular dieting methods.

Hypnosis For Weight Loss

This is one of the last methods for weight loss that would cross your mind, but yes, there are actually weight loss hypnosis therapies available. Hypnotism is not only used for bizarre cartoon shows, but can actually be of help in real life.

With this kind of program, you can visit hypnotist who can administer the proper procedure. You are placed into a state of mind in which you are able to control your food cravings and suppress your appetite. Hence, you wouldn’t fall into the pitfalls of overeating and can finally cut down your calorie intake. This then leads to weight loss.

Because of the mystique stigma attached to hypnotism most people laugh at the mention of this kind of dieting method.

Subliminal Messages

Just like hypnosis, subliminal messaging is used in weight loss. Subliminal messages have been an issue for a long time. There are still institutions that believe the human mind is capable of receiving subliminal messages that are embedded on various kinds of media.

For instance, you can listen to an audio tape or music that subliminally tells you to control your appetite and not eat fatty foods. The messages that you want to get can vary depending on your need. There are companies that actually render this kind of service. All you’d have to do is tell them what you want to achieve and they can embed a subliminal message to your favorite band’s music!

This is one good way of getting motivation, especially if you lack it, so you can exercise on a regular basis; thus, leading to weight loss.

Stomach Stapling

If you’re really into extremes, one weight loss method would be stomach stapling. This entail undergo a medical procedure known as Vertical Banded Gastroplasty. Although it is a Medical procedure, that is used to manage obesity, the whole surgery itself is considered to be dangerous and is only used as a last resort.

The procedure literally involves staples along with a band. This is used to make a small pouch in your stomach. At the bottom of this pouch, there would be a 1 cm hole in which the contents of the pouch could flow into the rest of your stomach and continue further to the rest of your digestive system. The aim of this procedure would be to regulate your metabolic rate along with your calorie intake.

Acupuncture

Another alternative method is acupuncture therapy. According to traditional Chinese medicine, people tend to have excess weight because of an imbalance within their system. This imbalance is generally caused by malfunctions of your spleen and liver.

With acupuncture, certain pressure points on your body would be targeted to bring back the normal function of your liver and spleen. The therapy would target the well-being of your endocrine system, which can leave you with a happy disposition.

Massage Therapy And Weight Loss

Another alternative when dieting would be massage therapy. Believers in this kind of method claims that getting a massage can actually help in weight loss due to various reasons. Since massage can enhance one’s blood circulation, it is thought that it can increase a person’s metabolic rate. This increase in metabolism can definitely expend the stock energy inside the body and leads to weight loss.

It improves the strength of your muscles, which makes them more fit when exercising. You should understand that getting a massage is only considered to be a support for weight loss and not really a main activity for shedding weight.

About The Different Types Of Calories

About The Different Types Of Calories

Calories, this word has been used and abused for decades. Yet, most people still do not know it’s meaning. When asked about its meaning, most people would attribute it to dieting. Although this is an acceptable answer, it still doesn’t relay the full meaning. There is more to calories than just a word that is linked to weight loss.

Understanding Calories

A calorie is a unit of measurement used to quantify energy obtained from food that is used by the human body for fuel. When there is an excess of calories, these are not burnt and would be stored by the body as fat. There are different types of calories and different forms in which calories may be obtained.

The main types of calories include: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. All of them burn when used in the body and then turn into heat energy, which is generally called calories.

Each kind varies in terms of chemical and physical properties. They can be found in various kinds of food, whether alone, in combination or even all of them. Here are the essential things that you need to know about each calorie type.

Getting To Know The Feared Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are probably the most common type of calorie. They contain 3.75 kilocalories/gram. It is found on foods that are rich on starch and sugar. Most of them can be taken from plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, and grains. Legumes, such as lentils, beans, and peas, are also rich with carbs. On the other hand, dairy products would be the only foods that come from animals which have a lot of carb content.

Generally, carbohydrates can still be classified into two subdivisions: simple and complex.

Simple carbs are basically sugars, such as glucose and fructose, which come from fruits and a few vegetables. Another type would be lactose, which comes from milk. Last would be sucrose, which comes from cane sugar.

Sugar that is for everyday use is pure sucrose. A lot of simple carbs that you eat are sugars that are mixed with processed foods such as cookies, sodas and the like. These add-ons are the major reason why sugar accounts for 16% of total calories that are consumed by Americans, presently.

The complex types are chains of simple carbs, which primarily consist of starches along with fiber, which can be found in all foods that come from plants. However, plants store carbohydrates in the form of starch. Foods that have high complex carbs would include grains and products that come from it like bread and pasta. Additionally, potatoes, beans, corn, and other vegetables are also high in complex carbs.

Over Shadowed Proteins

Since carbohydrates seem to be the most popular type of calorie, proteins on the other hand seem to be the most over shadowed in comparison with the fame of fats and carbs. However, it is an important kind of calorie that you’ll need to develop body muscle.

Proteins have 4 kilocalories/gram. Majority of this kind of calorie can not be naturally produced by the human body and must originate from dietary sources. The main sources of protein would include: eggs, nuts, meats, legumes, grains, dairy products (milk and cheese).

According to recent studies, men between ages 19 to 70 should consume 56g of protein everyday in order to avoid deficiency. On the other hand, women within the same age range should get at least 46g/day. People who aim for building up their muscles usually get a lot of protein in their diet.

Unwanted Fats

Fats, as the name suggests, would probably be the most unwanted kind of calorie by many. However, it still plays an important role in the normal function of the body. For instance, the body cannot absorb Vitamins A, E, D and K if not for it. Also, they’re an important source of fatty acids. They play an important role in the maintenance of healthy hair and skin. Protection is another function, since they protect various organs from shock. They are insulators, which is very important especially for people that live in colder climates.

Fats can be obtained both from animals and plants. Some animal fats would include lard, butter and fish oil, while plant fats would include soy beans, peanuts, sunflower seeds, olives, coconuts, sesames, and vegetable oils.