Adequate nutrition

While exercising, there is increase in the breakdown of carbohydrates and fats. They all need to be replaced and in cases where the essence is to build the muscles, will require that, adequate amino acid sources are ingested to allow the new rate of muscle building triggered off by the exercise.

The body demands increase tremendously and will take adequate amount of energy from carbohydrates to power the level of metabolism going on. Proteinous foods will supply the amino acids needed for muscle building. All these including micronutrients like B vitamins and chromium, antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, and minerals such as calcium and magnesium will be needed at extra quantities. The level of metabolism releases even more free radicals and as such, increase mop up action will be needed by anti-oxidants.

You will need to drink more water than you usually do. During exercising, you loss fluid extremely from sweat and insensible loses due to increase respiration, and so you are easily dehydrated. This can lead to heat stroke, hypovolemic shock, renal stone formation etc. So you will need a lot of water to cool off the exothermic reaction that is taking place in your body.

There is virtually an increase in every single chemical reaction in the body. Just as everything else is working overtime, so are the heart muscles. You will need to supply the heart with adequate vitamins like B and C, oxygen and other nutrients to ensure that the electrical activities in the heart continue to meet up the new demands. More sodium and potassium ions influx and efflux occurs and nutritional intake should be such that can meet up with these activities. Depletion of these ions could cause heart block.

Before or after exercises, adequate carbohydrate which is the main energy source for physical activities should be taken. If you want to do so before an exercise, you need to allow time for adequate digestion to occur and commence when the food is no longer much in the stomach to avoid Angina as blood flow is more to the abdominal organs thereby depriving the heart. Ideally, we should eat after a good rest following exercise paying attention to the needs of the body.

For athletes, wrestlers, boxers and other sports people, that strong grip and balance in the legs can not be developed if exercises are not properly complemented by good nutrition. For a strong grip, the muscles of the hands need to grow bigger and stronger, the leg muscles must grow bigger too for balance, and the bones are not going to be strong enough without adequate calcium supply from a diet rich in fruits, fish and milk.

Methods that are in fact natural and easy to incorporate into your every day lifestyle: fat binders.

Now before you jump the gun, and state that weight loss supplements do not work, just listen to this point for a moment.

Yes it may be true that there are hundreds of weight loss supplements on the market, that have got no backing or clinical trials to prove they are the genuine article. But if you look a little closer you will find that this is not completely the case.

It is just a matter of learning how to find the real deals whilst keeping a conscious view of all the others tips available.

Take the Telegraph’s recent article discussing their top 5 recommended ways for losing weight in 2008.

In this one article they touched all the different bases that you can consider:

• Eat 6 times a day – in other words, monitor what you eat. By breaking breakfast, lunch and dinner into 6 smaller meals you can prevent snacking and keep your body’s metabolism high.
• Fat binders – now we know fat binders are commonly found in weight loss supplements, but compared to chemically enriched supplements that affect the nervous system, fat binders are 100% natural. All they do is work to make 28% of your fat indigestible in your digestive tract, whilst also being effective appetite suppressants. And one clear example the Telegraph gave of a real and credible fat binder was natural weight loss supplement Proactol.

Visit Proactol and offer your body a natural solution to weight loss – Click here

• Online support – as the Telegraph proves not all effective weight loss is about taking a supplement or exercise. Surrounding yourself with a strong support network can give you the confidence to keep pursuing your weight loss goals whilst helping you to keep it off. Many online weight loss supplements can provide you with that network. On Proactol for example consumers can benefit from advice and tips from their online discussion forum whilst having access to a 27/7 support team.
• Eat Breakfast – sometimes losing weight doesn’t even have to involve changing your diet, as the Telegraph proves. By simply ensuring you eat a healthy breakfast every morning you can set your metabolism up for the rest of the day, and keep it burning fast.
• Realistic exercise plan- exercise and weight loss can often come hand in hand in terms of successful weight loss, but one of the most common mistakes people make is setting themselves unrealistic targets which they cannot keep up. The best way is to build up your fitness levels beginning with a 10 minute walk until you are able to take on more.

So as the Telegraph’s clearly points out there are numerous other alternatives that you can choose from to ensure that you experience natural easy weight loss. Food, exercise, support groups or natural weight loss supplements, each and every one of these can make your journey to successful weight loss, easy, fun and accessible.

Especially when the other common alternative is surgery.

Look on the web and you will commonly find 4 types of weight loss surgery. Each of them risky and painful.

Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (VBG) – here the stomach is stapled into 2 parts, with the upper part being made smaller to reduce space for food.

Once the food arrives it is passed into the lower pouch through a small opening. To prevent the hole from expanding, a band is put in place to stop it stretching.

RISKS: the band is prone to wearing; the staple line can breakdown and in some cases stomach juices have leaked into the abdomen causing infection and even death.

Laparoscopic Gastric Banding (Lap-Band) – intended only for people who are 100lbs overweight, this device works by placing an inflatable band around the upper part of the stomach.

The band itself can be altered in size by changing the amount of salt there is in the saline solution in the band, but overall this band is intended to be permanent.

RISKS: can lead to nausea, vomiting, heartburn, abdominal pain, band slippage and pouch enlargement.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RGB) – during this surgery, the surgeon makes the stomach smaller by stapling it and creating a smaller pouch. This pouch is then attached to the middle past of the small intestine.

The reason they do this is to one, limit how much you eat and two, to reduce the number of nutrients that are absorbed into the small intestine.

RISKS: offers the risk of ‘dumping syndrome’ where food moves too rapidly through the small intestine. Other side effects include – nausea, weakness, sweating, faintness, diarrhoea, infection, leaking, pulmonary embolism, gall stones and nutritional deficiency.

Biliopancreatic Diversion (BPD) – this is a highly risky surgery that is rarely used. Here surgeons remove a large part of the stomach, limiting food and stomach acid production. This small pouch is then connected to the final segment of the small intestine. A common channel is kept to allow bile and pancreatic digestive juices to mix with the food before it enters the intestine.

RISKS: nutritional deficiencies.

As you can see each of these surgeries comes with risks. Risks that are impossible to ignore when there are other natural alternatives available.

Now as we say this there are of course weight loss supplements on the market which can cause similarly unpleasant side effects to these surgeries. To name just a few: Alli, Reductil and Xenical – each of these can cause unpleasant, negative side effects.

Then there is the fact that they can only be used for a limited amount of time. Varying from 3 months to a year, for those seeking long term weight loss results, such dietary pills as these just cannot help.

Yet there is hope.

Natural fat binders such as Proactol™ can offer you an easier route to weight loss without any of the risks of bogus pills or surgery.

100% organic and side effect, Proactol™ is clinically proven to help consumers reduce their dietary fat intake by 28% whilst also suppressing their appetite. The perfect combination for taking control of your weight loss, without ever having to worry about your body. It is risk free.

And compared to most weight loss pills you’ll find online, Proactol™ comes highly recommended as natural weight loss supplement within the media.

To date it has been featured in the Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the New York Times and most recently in bridal magazine YouAndYourWedding where they teamed up with Proactol™ to offer users a free trip to a Champney spa.

So offer your body a natural solution to weight loss, free from all risks.

Visit Proactol Website now for more details

When most people think about weight loss, they automatically think about food. What can and can’t they eat. But one area that always gets overlooked is drinks and fluids. Now whilst many diets will advise you to drink more fluids during this time, they never really advise on which fluids to drink.

Of course water is always the number one recommendation: low in sugar, calories and 100% natural, there is nothing you cannot gain from water which isn’t positive.

But other fluids, will get called ‘no, no’s’ with no clear indication as to why they are not allowed.

For this reason we have chosen to explore all our favourite drinks, to ascertain which ones you can still take whilst you are trying to lose weight.

And to do this, we have gathered all their calorie readings, so that you can see exactly what you are drinking in one cup/glass.

Coffee with whole milk (220ml cup): 15.4 calories with 0.9g of fat, 1.1g of carbohydrates and protein

Coke (330ml can): 139 calories and 33g of carbohydrates

Orange Juice (200 ml glass): 88 calories, 19.8g carbohydrates and 1.2g protein

Tea with whole milk (100ml): 10.8 calories, 1.5g carbohydrates, 1.2g protein and 0.2g fat.

Half a pint of beer: 70-110 calories depending on the type

125ml wine: 85-120 calories

Spirits (50ml) – whiskey, gin or vodka: 120-140 calories

And these are just a sample of the calories you could be consuming every day without even realising it. 

But as you can see, even 5 cups of tea can mount up to 54 calories. Calories which you have ingested without a single thought.

So what can you take from the above figures? The answer is simple.

To effectively lose weight you need to be aware of everything, even what you drink.

Saying this we are not telling you to cut out any one of these from your lives, but to drink them in moderation. Especially soft drinks and alcohol. They may taste nicer, but they taste nicer for a reason. 

Losing weight doesn’t have to be dull and boring. Nor does it have to spell the end to your favourite meals. In most cases it is all about making substitutions with your ingredients, which is achievable whilst still creating delicious dishes.

Now most of the following tips are pretty straight forward, and will not make much of a difference to your food preparations, but some will prove more time consuming than others.

Don’t worry. We have thought of everything to make this entire process easier, and once you have given it a try you’ll soon be losing weight the fun way – eating appetising mouth-watering meals, at a fraction of the calories.

So let’s get started. We are confident that within these tips you’ll find one to suit you and your weight loss management plan in no time.

1. Beef – by rinsing it down in hot water (once you have drained and browned it), you can reduce its fat content by 50% without affecting its flavour.
2. Substitute chicken broth for butter in all your pasta, rice and stuffing dishes
3. Forget using oil and replace it with chicken/ beef broth or wine. Here you’ll gain extra flavour without the added fat.
4. Use fruit juice, salad dressing or wine in your marinades instead of oil. This extra acidic taste will increase the taste whilst reducing the fat
5. In pasta dishes use soft cheeses such as cottage cheese instead of full cheese.
6. Swap mozzarella cheese for cheddar cheese. This will cut its fat and calorie content by half.
7. Bake instead of deep frying. To do this simply add a beaten egg to your food and put them in a plastic bag. To coat them, roll the pieces in bread crumbs and add them to a baking tray. By doing so you will still be able to experience crispy coated meat and food, whilst reducing the fat that can be added by deep frying.
8. Use skimmed milk instead of whole. This will save you on a whole 8g of fat in one glass
9. In your cakes, muffins and brownies, use yoghurt instead of oil. This will add nutritional value, whilst cutting down on the fat.
10. Use 2 egg whites instead of 1 whole egg.

And then just keep a record of all your ingredient changes. Above are just 10 of the most common ones weight loss systems will tell you to use, but there are many more techniques that you can incorporate into your meals.

Whether they are ingredient substitutions or a complete recipe rewrite, it is possible to enjoy your favourite foods without having to worry about their fat or calorie content.

So give them a try and see which tips work best for you. You might be surprised by how much more you enjoy your healthier version. 

Incorporating a detox diet into your weight loss management plan can offer you more than clearer skin and improved bodily functions. It can also help you to lose weight, boost your immunity, beat headaches and remove cellulite. Every woman’s dream.

Saying this it is important that you ensure that your body always receives the right level of nutrients – something that detoxing can affect.

Let us explain.

Whilst detoxing can radically reduce your calorie count by encouraging you to eat low fat foods such as fruit and vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, herbal teas and plenty of water. Which in turn can reduce bloating, cleanse your organs and keep you enriched in protein and vitamins.

Many detox diets, involve a reduction in wheat, dairy, meat, fish, eggs, caffeine, alcohol, salt, sugar and processed food. Now although some of these – if over indulged in – can contribute to weight gain, they do in themselves offer you essential nutrients that can not be over looked for an extended period of time. And if you do choose to cut them out, you could be risking your body to dietary deficiencies and lower immunity.

So where is the balance? We recommend that if you do choose to incorporate detoxing methods into your diet, then only do it for a limited period of time, and ensure you follow a detox diet that has lesser restrictions in terms of naughty foods.

After all, your body is naturally designed to detoxify itself, so following this course of action for too long can do more harm than good. But, if you can find the right balance, you could soon be on your way to boosting your weight loss, without having to resort to unnatural methods.

So if you are interested in helping your body to lose that sluggish feeling, and increase your energy levels. Try adding some of these to your diet:

Fruit: apples, bananas, pears, oranges, grapefruit, satsumas, sultanas, raisins, pineapple, mango, kiwi fruit, strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, nectarines, peaches and melons

Vegetables: carrots, turnip, onion, swede, sprouts, peppers, sweetcorn, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, salad, tomatoes, cucumber and mushrooms.

Beans and Lentils: red kidney, haricot, black eye, pinto, red lentils, green lentils and brown lentils

Fresh Fish: cod, plaice, mackerel, salmon, crab, haddock, tuna, prawns, lemon sole, monk fish

Unsalted Nuts: brazil nuts, peanuts, cashew, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts

Oats, potatoes (all types), unsalted seeds, tofu, live natural yoghurt, water and herbal teas.

Avoid:

All forms of red meat, chicken, turkey and other meat products such as sausages or burgers.
Milk, cheese, eggs, cream, butter and margarine – the big diary products
Wheat products such as bread, croissants, cereals, cakes, biscuits, pies, pastry or quiche.
Savoury foods such as crisps or salted nuts
Treats (anything high in sugar) – chocolate, sweets and jams
All processed foods, ready meals and takeaways – you don’t know what has been used to cook them
Alcohol, caffeine, tea or fizzy drinks