Posts Tagged ‘Dieter’

The Little Known Dangers of Low Carb Diets

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Up. Down. Up. Down. The world of a perpetual dieter is a never-ending rollercoaster. Gaining and losing weight is just another part of the daily struggle. There’s a reason the dieting industry is raking in billions of dollars a year and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Fad diets have been a huge selling point. We’ve all tried our share of crazy ones! Anyone remember the hot chocolate diet? Not so good. How about the yam diet? Yeah, let’s forget that one ever happened! Some plans haven’t been so easily dismissed. The low carb diet has continually gained momentum and it seems everyone has tried it at some point. However, there are little known dangers when it comes to this eating plan – some that cannot be ignored.

The low carb diet can be very dangerous to your heart. This is true whether or not you’ve ever had issues with this area of your health before. The American Heart Association was so concerned they actually drafted a paper outlining the danger. They know a low carb diet often means a high protein diet. This can lead to an increase in bad cholesterol and cause a fertile breeding ground for cardiovascular disease. This is when a heart attack could sneak in. Scary stuff. Critics of diets like this say any weight loss is temporary, which makes the entire process an exercise in futility that only leaves you with a bad heart.

If you like to use your brain (and don’t most of us?), a low carb diet should be reconsidered. The brain needs carbohydrates, or more specifically glucose, to continue working. In fact, it needs twice as much energy than any other body part. Neurons (which are the cells that communicate with one another) are constantly working and need to be re-energized on an on-going basis. This can’t happen if there isn’t a supply of glucose coming in. If you are using your brain to figure out a problem, the demand is even higher. So, the next time you’re trying to figure out your taxes or maybe even just how much money your children are siphoning out of your life, eat a granola bar!

Eating fewer carbs to lose weight can backfire. A low carb diet has been shown to result in a loss of muscle. Just like glucose fuels the brain, it also fuels your muscles. This means you’ll lose muscle tone and start getting flabby. Less muscle also means your metabolism will slow down and you’ll lose weight even more slowly than to begin with. Doesn’t that seem awfully futile? Thought so.

There’s a reason experts suggest a balanced diet to lose weight. The truth is we need a little bit of everything to keep our bodies functioning at an optimum level. Cutting out certain foods won’t do the trick. Instead of driving yourself crazy by following the latest and greatest fad diet, take a step back and aim to be healthy. You didn’t gain the weight overnight, so don’t expect to lose it overnight! Take a deep breath, eat a piece of bread and go to sleep happy!

Article Source: ADB Article Directory

I’ve reviewed the most effective weight loss strategies on the internet today, to check out the best ways to lose that extra weight then visit www.5minutereviews.com/WeightLoss.html

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The Little Known Dangers of Low Carb Diets

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Up. Down. Up. Down. The world of a perpetual dieter is a never-ending rollercoaster. Gaining and losing weight is just another part of the daily struggle. There’s a reason the dieting industry is raking in billions of dollars a year and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Fad diets have been a huge selling point. We’ve all tried our share of crazy ones! Anyone remember the hot chocolate diet? Not so good. How about the yam diet? Yeah, let’s forget that one ever happened! Some plans haven’t been so easily dismissed. The low carb diet has continually gained momentum and it seems everyone has tried it at some point. However, there are little known dangers when it comes to this eating plan – some that cannot be ignored.

The low carb diet can be very dangerous to your heart. This is true whether or not you’ve ever had issues with this area of your health before. The American Heart Association was so concerned they actually drafted a paper outlining the danger. They know a low carb diet often means a high protein diet. This can lead to an increase in bad cholesterol and cause a fertile breeding ground for cardiovascular disease. This is when a heart attack could sneak in. Scary stuff. Critics of diets like this say any weight loss is temporary, which makes the entire process an exercise in futility that only leaves you with a bad heart.

If you like to use your brain (and don’t most of us?), a low carb diet should be reconsidered. The brain needs carbohydrates, or more specifically glucose, to continue working. In fact, it needs twice as much energy than any other body part. Neurons (which are the cells that communicate with one another) are constantly working and need to be re-energized on an on-going basis. This can’t happen if there isn’t a supply of glucose coming in. If you are using your brain to figure out a problem, the demand is even higher. So, the next time you’re trying to figure out your taxes or maybe even just how much money your children are siphoning out of your life, eat a granola bar!

Eating fewer carbs to lose weight can backfire. A low carb diet has been shown to result in a loss of muscle. Just like glucose fuels the brain, it also fuels your muscles. This means you’ll lose muscle tone and start getting flabby. Less muscle also means your metabolism will slow down and you’ll lose weight even more slowly than to begin with. Doesn’t that seem awfully futile? Thought so.

There’s a reason experts suggest a balanced diet to lose weight. The truth is we need a little bit of everything to keep our bodies functioning at an optimum level. Cutting out certain foods won’t do the trick. Instead of driving yourself crazy by following the latest and greatest fad diet, take a step back and aim to be healthy. You didn’t gain the weight overnight, so don’t expect to lose it overnight! Take a deep breath, eat a piece of bread and go to sleep happy!

Niche Article Directory: http://www.thatsmyniche.com

I’ve reviewed the most effective weight loss strategies on the internet today, to check out the best ways to lose that extra weight then visit www.5minutereviews.com/WeightLoss.html

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The Perfect Balance: Diet + Exercise = Healthy Weight Maintenance

Monday, August 10th, 2009

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.

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