Posts Tagged weight loss

Diet Pills - Pros and Cons

Wouldn’t everyone love to stop worrying about dieting? Just take a pill once a day and forget about it. The pounds just melt off. Well, nutritional science isn’t quite there, yet. But it is making strides. However, anyone considering their use should be aware of both the risks and the potential benefits.

Pharmaceutical companies have taken two basic approaches to weight loss pills: those that stimulate and those that block. Stimulate what? Block what?

More →

What Is a Calorie?

Dieters often concentrate on calorie counting. That’s wise, given that the basic equation of weight loss will always remain true: more calories consumed than used - leads to weight gain. But that statement makes it sound as if a calorie is something you eat and if you ate fewer you would lose weight. That is not quite accurate.

In simplest terms, a calorie is a measure of energy. In science, the unit that measures it is the calorie, cal. But because the amount in food is typically so large, the food calorie is actually a thousand of those or kcal (kilocalories). Food calories are sometimes denoted with a capital C to make the difference clear.

More →

Fiber and Why It’s Good

In nutrition circles, one often hears “eat fiber, it’s good for you”. But fiber is a carbohydrate and those are supposed to be bad, or at least severely limited. What gives?

The resolution to this dilemma lies in examining more closely just what fiber is and what it does for you.

What Is Fiber?

More →

Why Not Just Stop Eating?

One sure way to lose weight, it might seem, is simply to stop eating for a while. Simple as it sounds, that idea is fraught with potential problems.

The basic weight loss equation certainly remains valid in this case: using more calories than are consumed results in weight loss. If you don’t take in calories by eating, it’s fairly easy to satisfy that equation. Your body burns 70 calories per hour even just sitting idle on the couch.

But while you may be idle, your body’s systems are not

More →

Join the Go! Smell The Flowers Weight Loss Contest!

Yesterday marked Day Seven (of my third try) to lose weight. Rather than put myself through a mid-week weigh-in, I have decided to delay weighing myself until Friday Morning .. on January 11, 2008, which will be Day Ten.

My reason? Two fold:

More →

What Is the Body Mass Index?

The BMI (Body Mass Index) has become a useful tool in managing weight and body fat percentage in the last 20 years. Calculating it requires only simple arithmetic and can be performed by anyone. It’s important because it provides an objective measurement that, combined with the appropriate scale for age and body type, helps someone manage their body weight more scientifically.

Judgments about body weight can easily become clouded by emotionalism. It’s good to be passionate about managing your body, but you need to get a good grounding in facts, first. BMI is an important tool for achieving that goal.

More →

Weight Loss, Arthritis and Holiday Feasting

Gloria Gamat, from the Battling Arthritis blog wrote an interesting article titled .. Weight Loss, Osteoarthritis and Your Christmas Recipes

Tomorrow night will be Christmas Eve and you most likely have your recipes memorized and the ingredients all bought in preparation for the food you will serve your family on Christmas.

More →

Junk Science and Weight Loss

Apart from discussions of the environment, there is nowhere that junk science is more common than in issues surrounding weight loss - nutrition and diet, exercise and health topics in general.

Every month there’s a new claim, often given a coating of respectability by quoting the latest ’study’. But if trained scientists have difficulty deciding what the truth is, you can bet the average laymen doesn’t know for sure.

So what’s a person who just wants to lose weight to do? Not everyone is a scientist, and very few have the time or inclination to read a dozen scientific studies. Well, there’s no perfect solution to that dilemma, but there are a few common sense guidelines that can go a long way toward avoiding common mistakes.

More →

Exercise - The Diet Partner

Most people will try a hundred different fad diets, at least as many nutritional supplements and even all sorts of wacky alternatives. But, getting them to exercise can be a real challenge.

Nevertheless, it’s an inescapable fact that proper diet has to be accompanied by an age-appropriate, regular exercise program - if the goal is good health and an attractive body. Diet is essential, but exercise is its essential partner. Diet provides the proper fuel, but exercise uses that fuel to generate health and fitness.

There’s no need to become a fitness fanatic, but there are several simple exercises you can begin today. Start a daily stretching routine of at least 10 minutes before doing any vigorous training. A 20-minute walk every other day is a great beginning for those not used to exercise.

More →


Close
E-mail It