DragonTortise.com

Why You Must Avoid Stress At All Costs If You Want to Lose Fat!

Do you enjoy a nice long soak in a hot tub full of water hot enough to blister your skin?

Who doesn’t? How about spending time in a steamy sauna with sweat pouring off your body?

Maybe you like turning your thermostat down in the winter till it’s so cold you can see your breath in the house when you talk? If these activities appeal to you then slap yourself on the back (yes that will burn calories too) because heating yourself up and chilling yourself down have been shown to boost your metabolism by about 20%. Speaking of heat, add a bit of spice to your life and your food.

Studies have shown that eating spicy foods, those with cayenne pepper, or jalapeños or chili peppers will give a boost to your metabolism as well. Ole!

Sleep

You thought that getting a good night’s rest was just to avoid getting those matching bags under your eyes, didn’t’ you? Well, think again. Research has shown that if you get enough sleep at night, up to 8 hours or more (if you need more) it will keep you from gaining weight.

People who do not get enough rest are more prone to gaining weight. So get some rest. While you’re resting, you’re avoiding stress. Stress is known to increase your chances of gaining weight.

Stress releases a steroid called cortisol which depresses your metabolism, thereby encouraging your little soldiers to conserve calories as fat. Avoid stress at all costs.

In the battle of the bulge and the fight against fat, boosting your metabolism is one of the best weapons you can have in your arsenal.

Learn that increasing your metabolism means not starving yourself, it means getting out there and putting on some lean muscle mass, eating small meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar level and it even means avoiding stress.

Getting your internal fire burning will help you lose weight and feel better about yourself. Who could ask for more?

Filed under: Fat Loss by admin - No Comments →

If you want to boost your metabolism, the very best thing you can do is to start moving your body.

Some exercise is good for building muscle and some is good for just plain sweating and giving you a good cardio workout. While aerobic exercises like running, jogging, playing tennis or riding a bike will help you tone your body and maintain your weight, they don’t do a whole lot to increase your muscle mass, which is what you need to do in order to boost your metabolism.

Weight training and strength training help build muscle tissue and this is a good thing. Think of your body, again, in terms of an army.

Too much fat means too many soldiers are weak and wounded, not able to carry on the fight.

Body: “Sir! Our numbers have been depleted! We’re not efficiently fighting the incoming calories, I mean missiles!”

Metabolism: “Recruit new soldiers, FRESH soldiers! Put them on the front lines and let them take on the calories! I mean missiles!

Body: “Sir, yes Sir! Commence lifting weights NOW!”

As you increase your muscle mass, and decrease your fat stores, your metabolism speeds up.

It burns more of what you eat. Your body will require more calories to maintain itself, so if you increase your soldiers, I mean muscle mass, through weight training and strength training, and consume a lower calorie amount, you will lose weight.

Just don’t lower your calories so drastically that it sends your army into survival and hoard mode again.

Boosting your metabolism through exercise is just one way to light up those calorie burning fires within you.

Filed under: Fat Loss, Fitness by admin - No Comments →

Are you dieting the wrong way?

Your metabolism is the amount of energy in calories that your body burns in order to maintain its weight.

Whether you’re sleeping, running, sitting, standing, riding in a car or eating a bowl of chocolate fudge ice cream, your body is constantly burning calories in order to keep you going.

Think of it as a fire within you, burning your fat and food away. No, sorry but you won’t burn enough calories chewing your chocolate fudge ice cream to cancel out the calories you just took in by eating that bowl of ice cream.

It would be nice if it worked that way, but it doesn’t.

Get any group of women together, and even some men, get them talking on the topic of their metabolism and you’ll hear moaning and groaning and complaining about how their metabolism is so slow, that when they were younger they could eat anything they wanted to and not gain weight but now if they simply think about a piece of cheesecake they put five pounds on.

It’s a sad but true fact of life that as we age our metabolism slows down.  It doesn’t stop (although at times we might feel as though it has) but it does change.

The reason for this is because we have more lean muscle mass at 20 than we do at 70, and lean muscle mass is what helps burn calories.

Some people have higher metabolisms than others and are able to burn off the calories they eat and never gain an ounce.  Others have metabolisms slower than a slug and everything they eat seems to stick with them and not get burned off. No two people are alike in the calories they burn and the rate of their metabolism.

Having said that, is it possible to boost your metabolism in order to burn more calories and be able to lose weight?

Evidence suggests that there are a number of ways to help maximize our metabolism in order to more efficiently consume the food we eat, whether we’re walking, reading or even sleeping.  Boosting your metabolic rate is possible and I’ll show you how.

When we see beautiful models in magazines and svelte actresses in movies, we are tempted to cut down on our eating in order to lose weight and look more like them.

We decide to stop eating as much so we can drops some pounds.  Less food taken in should mean you’ll lose weight quickly, right?

Not necessarily.  Our bodies are very efficient at storing food as fat as a defense against starvation.  When you cut your calories, and if you do it drastically enough, your body panics.

Think of it in terms of an army and its rations.

Body: “Danger! Danger!  There’s not enough food!  We’re starving!”

Metabolism: “Cut down on production men, we’re going into survival mode! Slow and steady! Emphasis on the slow!”

Body: “Just make sure we have enough fat stores to get through this famine”

Metabolism: “Aye Aye Captain!”

Orders have been given and voila’, thunder thighs are born.  Or Jelly Bellies, saggy arms, double chins, saddle bags and any number of fat stores are created in order to make sure that your body doesn’t starve.

Think of it as the general of an army, laying in stores for a very long winter. When your body is in survival mode, it takes fewer calories to sustain itself, to maintain its current weight.

Excess calories are stored as fat and the stores are parceled out to the soldiers reluctantly and very s l o w l y in order to make sure the resources last as long as possible.

Severe restriction of calories is a sure fire way to cause your metabolism to slow down to a crawl.  If you’ve been crash dieting for years without exercising then your metabolism has been affected.

Dieting like this burns muscle and the less muscle mass you have, the less calories you burn and the slower your metabolism. You will now need fewer calories to maintain your current weight.  This means that if you consume more calories, your body won’t need to use them for energy and will store them.  Helloooo belly fat.

When you put the weight back on, and you will if you’ve been crash dieting, then it will be put back on as fat.  This means that your metabolic rate has probably dropped a little bit each time that you’ve crash dieted.

Putting on more fat and losing muscle will cause your metabolism to slow down even more. It seems like a cycle of doom, doesn’t i?  It can be if you don’t break that cycle.

Filed under: Fat Loss, Fitness by admin - No Comments →

All over the world, night after night, millions of people are riveted to their TV sets – but not to watch the latest soap, or CSI.

Not to watch Jay Leno or Sex in the City.

Not to see who outwits, outlasts and outplays others in Survivor.

No – they are spellbound by the efforts of a small band of obese people trying to overcome the effects of years of overeating.

It’s not surprising that for so many people this is compulsive viewing. Obesity is the new epidemic. Fat children lumber around school playgrounds while their overweight mothers fill shopping carts with wrong choices.

Then… they sit down at night to watch The Biggest Loser.

They see dramatic weight loss and startling new body shapes beginning to emerge. They want the same results – and they begin to think it might be possible.

But who has four or five hours a day to work out? Who can afford a personal trainer several times a week? And who has the luxury of their own personal adviser on calorie content and smart food choices?

The answer is: not many people. But you have to remember that this is television: it’s a false situation. As the players keep reminding themselves and the viewers: “This is a GAME. You have to make the most of your time here – it’s going to be so much harder out in the real world.”

IS it harder in the real world? Probably. But you can take lessons away from watching this reality show. You can make it work for you, as well as for the contestants. Here are three practical and useful lessons you can put to use immediately.

1. Put Weight Loss First.

In the Biggest Loser household WEIGHT LOSS COMES FIRST. Make it come first in your household, too. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It is. In fact, so simple that many people just overlook it. They try to fit exercise and meal planning around everything else in their lives, instead of making it a priority.

Think: what is most important: getting the weight off, and becoming fit enough to put years on your life – or watching another TV show?

Sit down with a pen and paper and allot at least one hour a day to planning meals, recording what you eat, and doing some form of exercise. You’ve still got 23 hours left to do everything else!

2. E is for Exercise – and Enjoy!

What else do you notice in the Biggest Loser household? The more they exercise, the more they seem to enjoy it. Oh sure, they grunt and they groan; they sweat and they complain. But as the weeks go on, you’ll hear them say things like: “I never thought I’d say that I look forward to working out – but now don’t feel right if a day goes past without exercise!”

The secret to enjoying exercise is finding what’s right for YOU. If you don’t really enjoy the gym, look for other forms of exercise. You need a mix of cardio and resistance training – but it doesn’t have to be on machines. Walk, swim, dance, climb hills, push a wheelbarrow in the garden… there are endless choices that can be fun for you.

Research what happens to various muscle groups – and to your heart – when you exercise, and pick activities that you will enjoy.

3. Identify the Triggers.

Emotions run high when the contestants have to face their demons. Weight gain is rarely from just a physical cause. If you keep a food diary, and faithfully record not only what you eat but when (and why) you eat it, you’ll soon see a pattern of emotional eating. What are YOUR triggers? Boredom? Tiredness? Family arguments?

Once you have identified these triggers, you can start working on strategies to defeat them. This can be as simple as challenging yourself every time you want food. (“Am I hungry – yes or no? If I’m not hungry, then why do I want to eat?

Am I really just thirsty? If I’m running to the fridge because I’m upset, is there something else I can do to feel better? Is there a long-term solution that will fix this forever?” and so on.) If you’re not yet ready to deal with the root cause, then be prepared with food that won’t add to your problems with the resulting rolls of fat. Make sure that you have ‘good’ food at hand – but also food that you LIKE.

These are just three of the lessons that anyone can take away from watching The Biggest Loser. And you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you did it all by yourself.

Filed under: Fat Loss by admin - No Comments →

Lose Fat

Yes, even when you are building the perfect body, you’ll still need some fats in your diet.  Fats are the main source of energy in the body.  Fat combines with glucose for energy in order to spare the breakdown of protein.  That way, protein can do what it is supposed to do – build muscle.

The key to fat intake is to stay away from bad fats and only eat the good fat.  Saturated fat is bad.  These are the fats that contribute to heart disease and high cholesterol.  Because of the chemical composition of saturated fat, your body cannot break it down very well.

Saturated fats are commonly found in animal products such as meat, seafood, whole milk dairy products like milk and cheese, as well as egg yolks.  Saturated fats elevate blood cholesterol by increasing both the good HDL and the bad LDL.  Elevated levels of LDL can clog arteries and cause heart disease.  They are also more readily stored as body fat, so they should be limited.

Trans fats should also be avoided.

This type of fat is often used in commercially processed food because they are preserved longer.  Trans fats cause an over activity in the immune system and are linked to stroke, heart disease, and diabetes.  You should truly strive to eliminate all trans fats from your diet.

Unsaturated fats are easier for your body to break down.

Some of them can act as antioxidants that can actually help in losing stored fatty tissue in the body.  These fats are found naturally in foods like nuts and avocados.  These fats have a great effect on the cardio system as they work to lower the bad LDL cholesterol in the body.

The easiest way to tell the difference between saturated and unsaturated fats is to look at them.  At room temperature, saturated fats are hard and solid.  Unsaturated fats are in liquid form as in oils.

So basically, you should stay away from fats like animal lard and use oils such as olive oil or canola oil.  Pay close attention to the fat content of any processed foods you are eating and keep it to a minimum or else your body will store that fat as, well, fat.

Probably the best type of fat to have in your diet would be Omega 3 Fatty Acids.  These fats are most often found in fish and can have some significant health advantages.  They can reduce inflammation, help prevent cancer growth, and improve brain function.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids can actually help combat conditions such as depression, fatigue, joint pain, and even Type 2 diabetes.  Because they reduce inflammation in the body, they are good for the body builder because they help promote muscle recovery which can be important in the body building process.
Fats are actually an important part of any diet.

They play an important role in protecting the body’s vital organs.  Fats keep the body insulated, maintain healthy hair and skin as well as providing a sense of fullness after meals.

Obtaining sufficient fat in its healthy form is one of the keys to good health and well being and a great body!  However, you must be careful not to overdo on the fats, so consider the following suggestions for keeping your fat intake at a healthy level:

- Snack on peanuts instead of chips or candy.  About a ½ cup is a good amount.

- Use olive oil in salad dressings and when cooking

- When baking, instead of topping with chocolate or candies, consider using nuts and seeds instead

- Try making sandwiches with avocado and tuna instead of higher fat lunchmeats

- Eat fish at least three times a week to increase your Omega 3 intake

- Limit or even eliminate fast food as well as sources of trans fats like commercially processed cookies and cakes

Best Weight Loss Guides Reviews!

Best Fitness Guides Reviews!

Filed under: Fat Loss, Fitness by admin - No Comments →