If you wish to lose weight, there is simply one rule to follow: you must be able to burn more calories per day than you consume. If you do not, your body will store these excess calories as fat. And you don’t want that!

One would think simply eating less would be a way to achieve weight loss. The fact is when you simply reduce the number of calories you consume; your body’s metabolism actually slows down, resulting in burning off fewer calories. A way to increase your metabolism is to add some daily physical activity to your weight loss plan.

Now that we can see how important an exercise program is in achieving weight loss, we have to wonder what is the best exercise to achieve this? Perhaps the best exercise an individual can do to lose weight is one, which he or she enjoys, and one, which they will stick with. This can be almost anything. The key is in picking an exercise you won’t hate to do, so that you will continue to do it.

Walking is an excellent form of exercise and one that anyone can do. You can start off slow and gradually increase your walking time over a period. You can add periods of jogging between walk cycles, carry weights or add resistance exercises. Walking is just one example of an aerobic exercise program. Others in this area include jogging, biking, swimming, racket sports, aerobic dancing, roller-skating and even the treadmill and stationary bike. These are all fitness exercises, which are meant to increase endurance and stamina.

Strengthening exercises are also ideal for weight loss. By placing enough of a load on our muscles, they will increase in size and burn more calories. They will even burn more calories when our bodies are at rest. With more muscle tissue and less fat, our metabolic rates will increase. It will result in a firmer, more toned body. This is just what we are all looking for!

An important addition to all exercises is flexibility exercises. Stretching and loosening up our body will keep our joints flexible and prevent injuries. They will also warm up our bodies and get our muscles moving.

Ideally when exercising, you want to increase your heart rate to your target zone, which is 50-75% over your maximum heart rate for your age. The higher the intensity of your workout, the longer your body will continue to burn calories after the activity is over. Weight loss is more than not eating a lot. It is also about physical activity. But the exercise must be performed on a consistent basis. You will find not only will it help you lose weight, but it will also have other substantial health benefits. So pick some physical activity you enjoy doing. Not only will you drop a few sizes, develop a good sense of well being, but you will also be doing something healthy for yourself. So get moving, get healthy and get rid of those extra pounds.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

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There are many people that are trying hard to lose weight and often there are questions that come to mind. If you have questions about losing weight then read on to find the answers. Following are several of the most frequently asked questions having to do with weight loss and dieting.

What should my weight be?

Remember that every person is different so beware of following health charts that you find. Usually you can find the best answer to this question by asking your doctor. Your BMI body mass index is actually more important than just your weight.

What diet will help me lose the most weight?

There is no one diet that will be the best for losing weight. You need to be sure that you eat a healthy diet and also be sure that you are eating fewer calories than your body burns daily if you want to lose weight.

What is the best weight to keep off weight?

It is important to lose your weight slowly. About one to two pounds a week is usually best and those that lose weight slowly have a better chance of it off. If you make changes in the way you eat and exercise you will build a long term plan that can help you keep weight off for the rest of your life.

Is obesity related to diabetes?

Obesity can be related to diabetes. Obesity has been proven to increase the risk of many different health problems. It has been found that people that are overweight are at a greater risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.

Is there a way to decrease the amount of sugar I take in?

One way to cut the amount of sugar you get is the fairly obvious way of cutting candy and other sweets out of your diets. You can also check the labels of what you eat looking for fructose and sucrose that may be in the products.

Should I weight myself every day?

No, you should only weight yourself weekly. Remember that the scale is not as important as how your clothing fits. Even if the scale is not moving, but you are going down in clothing size you are doing something right.

Is exercise important?

Exercise is very important. While you do not have to exercise to lose weight, exercise does make it easier to lose weight. There are many things you can do to burn calories like cleaning your home, walking, swimming, or even dancing.

What actually is a calorie?

Calories are how energy is measured. The amount of calories in a food is the amount of energy that food contains for your body to use when you eat it.

If I don’t change my diet can I still lose weight?

Sometimes you can lose weight without changing your diet by increasing exercise. If your diet is unhealthy you want to change your diet to promote long term weight loss. If you combine a healthy diet with exercise you will see the best benefits.

Can I eat fish while dieting?

Yes, you can eat fish while dieting. Fish is a great food that is low in fat and contains a high amount of protein. Eating fish often can be very healthy for your body.

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There are three types of weight loss surgery that are commonly performed on overweight people. These surgeries either make the stomach volume smaller or cut down the digestion tract.

The most established weight loss surgery procedure performed these days is the Roux-en Y Gastric Bypass. This operation makes the stomach smaller and allows food to bypass a part of the small intestine. This procedure also minimizes the amount of food going into the stomach and the amount of food that is absorbed in the digestive system.

The stomach is either sewn closed or stapled at the upper half creating a smaller stomach on top. The intestines are then linked to the smaller stomach and food passes directly from one to another. In this way the stomach is separated into one small and one large section. The result of this is that less food will give the sensation of fullness and thus fewer calories will be consumed.

The food then passes through the shortened segment of the small intestine, allowing less food to be absorbed and this also results in fewer calories being absorbed by the body. The combination of getting full quicker and the lower absorption of calories lead to weight loss.

The Roux-en Y Gastric Bypass surgery has the benefits of a quick weight loss right after operation. The average weight loss for patients that go through a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is 60 to 80% of their excess body. This happens in most instances 12 to 18 months after the surgery. But after five years, patients are in average only able to keep off 55-59% of their excess body weight.

This procedure has a higher success rate than other forms of weight loss surgery. On the other hand, the Gastric Bypass is often further invasive as it is often performed as an open incision, and the time to recover is long. But in some cases the operation could also be performed laparoscopically, which means that the operation is performed as a keyhole surgery.

Biliopancreatic diversion is the most radical of the weight loss surgeries. In this operation, about three-fourths of the stomach is entirely removed and the remainder of the stomach is linked to the ending section of the small intestines.

There are quite a lot of disadvantages to this method like having a higher mortality rate, life long bone density loss, the dumping syndrome and anemia. The benefits to this weight loss surgery are that it gives the patients the biggest initial weight loss and that it is possible to feed as normal people.

The newer Lap band surgery makes a smaller stomach by an adjustable band which is positioned around the top segment of the stomach. The band makes it possible to regulate the volume of food going into the stomach. The band could be changed until the preferred weight loss is achieved.

The lap band procedure is in most cases suggested because of the shorter recuperation and smaller risks. The Lap band is also favored because it is reversible and flexible. Often patients go through a more even time of weight loss and are able to keep the weight off longer than with other surgical methods. Lap band surgery patients reach an average weight loss of 36 to 60% of their excess body weight after 12 to 24 months.

Before you get a weight loss surgery you should get as much information about the different weight loss surgery options as possible. It is important that you know both the advantage and the disadvantage of each method. One way to find more information is to use the Internet.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Robert L J Bloom is the author and can provide additional information about the lap band procedure and cost of lap band surgery. He also provides information about the Lap band diet after Surgery. The website is lapbandgastricsurgery.com .

As many dieter’s discover, finding the right balance between diet and exercise can be tricky. In order to ensure healthy weight loss and maintenance, equal attention should be paid to both what you eat and how you exercise. Without balance, your weight can fluctuate. Aside from the frustration this causes, studies have shown that yo-yo dieting is actually more harmful than carrying extra weight. Learning to find the proper balance between diet and exercise can help you to secure and keep the perfect weight for your body type.

All About Calories
The best way to gauge the balance between the amount you eat and how much exercise you need is to count your calories on a daily basis. Once you know how much food you are taking in, planning an exercise program to burn off the required amount of calories gets a lot easier. Of course, every person is different and other factors such as metabolism, body type, age and your current weight will also play a part in determining the right balance of diet and exercise. Learning how many calories your body needs will also help you to decide how much exercise you need to lose or maintain your weight. As a general rule, most women need approximately 2000 calories a day to maintain their current weight. If you are more active, you can allow for more calories, if you are less active, you should require fewer calories. Adding an exercise regimen to your schedule can help to burn additional calories and will help you to lose weight.

The Problem with Plateaus
Once you find the right balance between diet and exercise, you may find yourself running into weight loss plateaus. Although you may be participating in the same activities and consuming the same amount of calories, sometimes the body doesn’t seem to want to lose any more weight. When this happens, there are several ways you can breach the plateau:

Increase Your Exercise. Adding to your normal exercise program is one way to up the ante on your weight loss plan. Once you have been exercising for a while, increasing the difficulty level can help to build your strength and endurance.

Fast for a Day. Many experts attribute weight loss plateaus to a reactionary affect by your body’s metabolism. While long term fasting can be dangerous, limiting yourself to water for a single day can clean out your system and re-boot your metabolism.

Change Your Diet. A change in diet can also help to boost your metabolic rate. By introducing new foods to your diet, you may be able to trick your metabolism back into action.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

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Weight loss surgeries or bariatric surgery or are not a cure for obesity. Infact you only have a few years to enjoy the sole benefits of weight loss surgeries.

Permanent lose of fat is not assured through surgeries; rather it is about a change in lifestyle. Obviously these bariatric surgeries do not constitute a lifestyle change. Actually the best approach to these surgeries is by viewing them as support structures.

There are basically three types of bariatric surgergcal procedures; Restrictive, Malabsorptive and Restrictive and Malabsorptive (Combined) surgery.

Restrictive surgeries are procedures that reduce the size of the stomach such that you are forced to eat less by restricting the amount of food you stomach can hold at a time hence the term restrictive surgery. This is usually done in two main ways, either using staples or using a band.

Both procedures reduce the size of the effective stomach by creating a small pouch out of the main stomach using either the band or staples.

Malabsorptive surgeries on the other hand donot limit food intake. It inhibits absorption of calories. The procedures involve eliminating a substantial length of small intestines from coming in contact with the digested food.

The logic behind malabsorptive surgeries are that though one may eat a lot of calories, fewer calories are absorbed into the blood stream due to a significantly shorter small intestines, the site for nutrient and calorie absorption.

Combined surgeries are a hybrid of the other two procedures. It has become more common as it is found to be more effective in restricting both calorie intake and absorption.

According to American Society of Bariatric Surgery, about 170,000 people in the year 2005 had surgeries. Most of these procedures were done on adults 65yrs old and younger who had been immobilized by their weight and related medical conditions.

It is important that bariatric surgeries are understood. They are not a cure for obesity they probably will never be. The only known cure for obesity is a change in lifestyle.

As so appropriately suggested by surgeon Harvey Sugerman professor emeritus of Virginia Commonwealth University and a past president of American Society of Bariatric Surgery, surgery “is a tool”. Indeed it is an extreme tool only for extreme cases.

Among the top 4 reasons you fail in losing weight is weight loss support structures. Weight loss surgeries are support structures. Support structures are physical means that are designed to aid your physiology as well as psychology in the pursuit to lose weight healthily and safely.

Among the characteristics that bariatric surgeries exhibits support include the fact that they jump starts weight loss.

This is a similar characteristic you will find from a liquid diet or an appetite suppressing diet pill.

Permanent weight loss involves a permanent change in lifestyle. It should be used to help you attain this change in lifestyle.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

© Mark Kimathi writes about Weight Loss-Top 4 Reasons for Failure at Health-eMark.com and related topics like weight loss surgery.

People are obsessed with dieting and weight loss! Don’t believe me? Just tune-in to any source of advertising…you’re instantly bombarded with the latest diet schemes and “Hollywood” food fads.

Here in America, we have built a thriving industry trying to control our weight and treat the consequences of over-indulgence. The cost of weight loss and obesity related health care treatments is staggering…Americans alone spend around $114 billion every year! And even with all this interest in losing weight, we continue to pack on the pounds like never before…

- A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese…up about eight percent from earlier estimates.

- Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent or almost nine million are overweight…triple the rate in 1980!

- Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese.

For Americans, modern life may be getting TOO easy. Our cushy lifestyle means we expend less energy and consequently need fewer calories to sustain our normal body weight.

Think about it for a moment…

Entertainment no longer requires energy expenditure. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite. We now entertain ourselves in the comfort of our own home while watching TV and munching on our favorite snack. Whether it’s television, computers, remote controls, or automobiles, we are moving less and burning fewer calories. Common activities that were once a part of our normal routine have disappeared…activities like climbing stairs, pushing a lawn mower or walking to get somewhere.

And please do not misunderstand me…I appreciate comfortable living just as much as the next person. But, here is the problem…

With all of our modern day conveniences and “cushy” style of living we have not adjusted our caloric intake to compensate for our decreased caloric expenditure. We consume more calorie rich and nutrient deficient foods than ever before. Consider a few of the following examples comparing what we eat “today” vs the 1970′s (U.S. Department of Agriculture survey):

- We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption has jumped 45 percent since the 1970′s, from 138 pounds of grains per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of the wheat flour is consumed as whole wheat.

- Our consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased, but only because French fries and potato chips are included as vegetables. Potato products account for almost a third of our “produce” choices.

- We’re drinking less milk, but we’ve more than doubled our cheese intake. Cheese now outranks meat as the number one source of saturated fat in our diets.

- We’ve cut back on red meat, but have more than made up for the loss by increasing our intake of chicken (battered and fried), so that overall, we’re eating 13 pounds more meat today than we did back in the 1970′s.

- We’re drinking three times more carbonated soft drinks than milk, compared to the 1970′s, when milk consumption was twice that of pop.

- We use 25 percent less butter, but pour twice as much vegetable oil on our food and salads, so our total added fat intake has increased 32 percent.

- Sugar consumption has been another cause of our expanding waistlines. Sugar intake is simply off the charts. People are consuming roughly twice the amount of sugar they need each day, about 20 teaspoons on a 2000 calorie/day diet. The added sugar is found mostly in junk foods, such as pop, cake, and cookies. In 1978, the government found that sugars constituted only 11 percent of the average person’s calories. Now, this number has ballooned to 16 percent for the average American adult and as much as 20 percent for American teenagers!

Unfortunately, it would seem that the days of wholesome and nutritious family dinners are being replaced by fast food and eating on-the-run. We have gradually come to accept that it’s “OK” to sacrifice healthy foods for the sake of convenience and that larger serving portions equate to better value.

It’s time recognize that we are consuming too many calories and time to start doing something about it! Each of us can decide TODAY that healthy eating and exercise habits WILL become a normal part of our life!

We can begin by exploring our values, thoughts and habits… slowly and deliberately weed-out the unhealthy habits and activities and start living a more productive and rewarding life. And remember, it has taken a long time to develop bad habits, so be patient as you work toward your goal!

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

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