How to Get a Belly Fat Free With Fast Results?

How to lose belly fat has many answers and the method which you wish to choose and practice will bring in most optimized and most probable health solutions for you. Some of the best methods that are available now are to go for belly fat exercises or adopt or a diet program or such other methods as guided by fitness experts.

Whatever is the fat loss program you have chosen you must be confident enough to achieve good results. Because once you have accepted the program, you need to practice and achieve good results. Therefore keeping this in view, you can choose exercise programs that work on a slow pace for you based on your regular practice.

Keep a record of your exercise timing

As you begin from home, you can go for belly fat exercises and check your weight and timing after completion of daily practice. Because this is how you can find the difference in your weight. Fat loss can be achieved only by regular practice of exercises. This is really recommended as a safe program that will not only guarantee results but it will also make you stronger and much more healthier than before.

Because, the presence of unwanted fat in the body can cause lot of harmful effects to your body result in other illnesses and sicknesses. Further you may also find it quite difficult to travel or walk or work in your office. But there is a definite solution for your fat and there is no need to worry at all.

A proven technique to practice belly fat exercises

As a permanent solution for how to lose belly fat, you can always go for fat loss exercises and experience a good result in a short span of time. There are again various models of working out on these exercises basing on the fact that how much of weight you wish to lose and how much of fat is required in the body and all other important aspects.

While considering all the important facts to retain and restore your health, your chief aim and goal is to get rid of that excess fat from your belly and look as a normal healthy person. So the simple practice of exercise that work as fat loss program is an ideal program and will bring you absolutely excellent results and you will appreciate your working on fat loss program.

Enjoy permanent fitness and good health

As a retired parent or as working mom or dad you have certain priorities and you need to meet them. But giving the best care to yourself is also a top priority so that you can take care of your family. Therefore to find and apply permanent good solutions for your health is a very good effort and when you are working on how to lose belly fat, you will also appreciate your efforts being invested here in order to achieve good health. This is really required so that you stay happy, healthy and enjoy good life.

Are you looking for more information regarding belly fat exercises? Visit http://www.goodbye-belly-fat.com today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Ruiz

Diet: Changing Your Focus

Have you ever decided to take a trip somewhere relatively unfamiliar? Suddenly, everywhere you look, there is something about your planned destination. Turn on a television travel channel and it is featured. Pick up a newspaper and there is an article about it. Why this sudden universal interest in somewhere you had never really thought much about?

That is the secret: you were not previously thinking about it. The subject was always out there but you didn't -attend so you didn't notice. We are surrounded by so much stimulation and information that we cannot grasp more than a fraction of what comes into our environment. We filter out the vast majority of that stimuli by our own interests and by our lack of interest. Become involved in a new field and what you thought was a rather narrow and under-developed subject is revealed as a worldwide, enormous, fully developed area in which you are a novice surrounded by experts who appear to be widely known and respected -- the "gurus" of the new field -- but you have never heard of them before.

Changing your interests changes your world because your filters have been reshaped. It frequently happens spontaneously when something you see or hear hits an internal chord, intrigues you, and drags your thoughts in new directions.

It may also happen by necessity when you are forced to explore new areas in order to accomplish a different goal. For example, I wrote for years. I never thought outside the box of traditional publishing which says submit to the commercial publishers and hope that after an unbelievable number of rejections, something will stick. One day on the internet, I found self-publishing and walked into a vast universe I knew nothing about. Once published, I was forced to foray into the world of publicity that I always thought was a small field encompassing celebrities and public personalities. The depth and breadth of information and resources was overwhelming. After many months of trolling, I have still only scraped the surface.

What is this leading to? If we change our world outlook spontaneously or by necessity, WHY NOT CHANGE IT BY DESIGN?

If I often think about food then my world is filled with food-related stimuli. I watch and attend to food commercials, cooking shows, recipe sources, new restaurants, cookware, and "utterly amazing" kitchen gadgets. If I consider myself a gourmet, I scrutinize the appearance of the dish and the sophistication of the ingredients. If I am on a diet, I scan the details of how many carbohydrates, how much fat, how many grams of protein, the total caloric content. If my focus is health, I look for the vitamins, mineral, and free radical scavengers.

Wherever my particular focus lies, it doesn't really matter: IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOD!

If we want to change that, to remove food from its central role in our lives, we have to stop thinking about it. Not an easy task but it can be done, even if painful. The real question is how can we do it.

Reread the last two pages. We color our world by how we filter its input. We are going to filter out every scrap of food (excuse the pun) that we can and replace it with different input that won't make us fat.

What kind of stimuli shall we let in?

This is where we go in different directions because each individual has their own likes and dislikes. For one person, thinking about sex may be an excellent substitution, for another football may provide a pleasant diversion while another may prefer to curl up with a great mystery novel.

What is important at this point is to pick something you like to do! You're going to have plenty of time to work on the painful aspects of losing weight but at this early stage, being comfortable is of utmost importance. Leave your tendencies toward martyrdom for later.

Take your pleasure from any of these items or add your personal selections.

Reading

Sewing

Solitaire

Mah-jongg

Video games

Jigsaw puzzles

Knitting

Quilting

I hesitate to include exercise. While that is obviously a wonderful thing for your health, if it is something you love, you wouldn't be overweight. We are looking for enjoyable diversions here, not more "shoulds" and "ought-tos."

Virginia Bola is a licensed psychologist and an admitted diet fanatic. She specializes in therapeutic reframing and the effects of attitudes and motivation on individual goals. The author of The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a free ezine, The Worker's Edge, she recently completed a psychologically-based weight control book: Diet with an Attitude:A Weight Loss Workbook. She can be reached at [http://www.DietWithAnAttitude.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Virginia_Bola,_PsyD

 

Why You Get Fat and Depressed - And What to Do About It

Over the years many clinical studies have shown that obesity and depression tend to be co-morbid. That means that they tend to occur together without necessarily having a cause and effect relationship. When conditions tend to occur together, scientists naturally want to explore exactly how they are connected. Does obesity cause depression? Does depression cause obesity? Could there be a third factor that is driving both conditions? These are important questions, because once we know the answers, we can better direct our research and treatment efforts.

I happen to believe that both obesity and depression are often driven by a third factor-our modern Western diet. It is now clear that excessive fructose mainly from sugar and high fructose corn syrup is the driving force behind insulin resistance and central obesity. When you have insulin resistance it takes more insulin to drive glucose into your cells and high insulin levels tend to trap fat inside of cells where it can't be used for energy. Recent evidence suggests that excessive fructose can alter your gut bacteria flora, further contributing to metabolic syndrome and obesity.

When you have insulin resistance and consume rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, especially from grains, you end up with magnified glucose spikes. Over time these glucose spikes can cause damage to your nerve cells, because unlike most of the cells in your body, neurons don't have an insulin gate. That's why diabetics tend to lose their nerve function and develop neuropathy long before other organs in their body are damaged.

Over time these toxic glucose spikes can trigger a form of diffuse brain dysfunction where your brain no longer functions as intended. The first symptom you experience when this happens is craving for sweet and starchy food, pushing you to consume more of the very food that is frying your brain. You also can develop mild brain dysfunction symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, mood swings and poor sleep. At this stage of brain dysfunction you don't yet have a disease because the symptoms are mild and variable. I refer to this pre-disease condition as "sugar-brain".

As time goes by, sugar-brain can transition to a true disease characterized by up to 22 distinct brain dysfunction symptoms that interfere with your ability to function in multiple settings. I now call this disease Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. Because the brain plays a key role in auto-regulating fat stores, people with sugar-brain and CARB syndrome will start to store extra fat even as they diet and lose weight and lean body mass.

The symptoms of sugar-brain and CARB syndrome develop because people with these conditions have low levels of monoamine neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinphrine and serotonin in their brain. When these neurotransmitters are low, regardless of the reason why they are low, you end up with predictable symptoms. Some of these symptoms would easily qualify you for a diagnosis of depression.

It's important to remember what true hereditary depression looked like 100 years ago. At that time all patients with major depression felt depressed, lost their appetite and lost weight. There was no such thing as a "weight gain" type of depression. This situation has radically changed over the past 30-40 years. Today most patients diagnosed with depression feel depressed, have an increased appetite and carbohydrate cravings and weight gain. In my opinion this form of depression is CARB syndrome, not true major depression. Unfortunately the medical and scientific communities lump both types of depression into one category, when in fact they are dealing with two distinct diseases. Suffice it to say that the great majority of people diagnosed with depression today, in reality have a form of food-induced brain dysfunction called CARB syndrome.

A recent study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry by Dr. Mark Hamer titled

"Risk of future depression in people who are obese but metabolically healthy: the English longitudinal study of ageing" supports the view that obesity and depression are connect through metabolic parameters, not obesity per se.

Remember that there are really two types of obesity. The most common type is associated with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes. This is the form of obesity that we tend to see with CARB syndrome. The second type of obesity is where a person has excessive body fat without any of these adverse metabolic markers. This type of obesity is seen when a person or lab animal is over-fed healthy food. If you give enough healthy food to any animal, they will eventually develop this type of obesity.

The type of obesity associated with sugar, HFCS and grain-based carbohydrates is not dependent on calories or over-feeding. Although people with this form of obesity always have excessive body fat, especially in the abdominal region, they may not be over-weight and they can sometimes even be thin. It's important to remember that obesity is defined as excessive body fat, so don't be fooled by someone's size or weight.

In this particular study they looked at the correlation between both types of obesity and depression. They wanted to know about the connection between depression and people with "metabolic obesity" and those who were obese but metabolically healthy. As it turns out people with metabolic issues were at an increased risk of later developing depression, whereas those who were obese without metabolic issues were not at an increased risk of developing depression. This is exactly what we would predict from the CARB syndrome disease model.

How does this information apply to you? I assume that most of you would rather not be obese or depressed. If insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are the gateway to most cases of obesity and many cases of depression, the best strategy would be to prevent metabolic problems or to treat them aggressively if you already have them. The best way to do so is to limit your intake of the dietary triggers of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome-sugar, HFCS and high glycemic carbohydrates, especially from grains.

Of course this describes most processed foods that form the core of the modern American diet. Learn to eat real food including meat, fowl, fish, seafood, vegetables and fruit. I'm not a big fan of milk because of its sugar content but a reasonable amount of cheese is acceptable. I would also limit your intake of legumes because of their anti-nutrient content. Some would recognize this as a Paleo-style diet. I simply call it a healthy diet.

If you learn to eat this way you will go a long way towards preventing the metabolic problems that seem to lead to many cases of obesity and depression. There are also many other common conditions that fall under the CARB syndrome umbrella. As with depression, we now believe that the diseases listed below can be triggered by eating these toxic dietary elements.

· ADHD 

· PTSD 

· Anxiety disorders 

· Autism 

· Eating disorders 

· Fibromyalgia 

· Irritable bowel syndrome 

· Restless leg syndrome 

· PMS 

· Bipolar II

I think that it's really exciting that we have now made a connection between food and these common disorders. Think about it. What would you rather do-take handfuls of pills for the rest of your life living in a daze, or simply change your diet? This important study clearly shows the relationship between consuming certain foods and depression. In the years ahead I hope that we will see more studies looking at the impact of diet on common chronic diseases. Gary Taubes, author of the excellent books "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and "Why We Get Fat" has started a non-profit organization called NuSi that is dedicated to funding such research. I plan on supporting Gary in his efforts and I encourage you to do so as well. I don't think that we can count on the agricultural or food industries to fund this type of research so we're on our own. If we are going to stay healthy, we need to stick together.

If you want to learn more about the role that excessive fructose plays in driving metabolic problems, I recommend that you read Richard Johnson's book "The Sugar Fix" or his excellent new book "The Fat Switch". It's never too late to learn and it's never too late to change. For the sake of your health and mental wellbeing, I suggest that you start today.

William L. Wilson, M.D. is a Family Physician with an interest in neuroscience, especially the interface between food and brain function. Learn more at http://carbsyndrome.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_L_Wilson

 

How Does HIIT Compare To Regular Cardiovascular Exercise?

By Russ Hollywood

An increasing number of fitness enthusiasts are choosing high intensity interval training over regular cardiovascular activity in the gym, firmly establishing HIIT as one of the most popular weight loss tips in the post millennium era. If you're thinking about tackling a HIIT routine, you need to know the basic facts first.

Today you will discover the science behind HIIT and the reason it has become such a practised method in gyms around the world over the last few years.

The old notion of staying on a cardiovascular machine for an hour or more is now yesterday's advice. This is due to the fact that HIIT has been shown to yield far more results in a significantly lower time frame. When fat loss is the goal, HIIT is certainly the way to do it.

HIIT was initially discovered almost by accident, when researchers were trying to discover if exercise could help to prevent our metabolism from lowering as we got older. They noticed that the individuals who had been working at a higher level of intensity in the gym had the far greater weight loss results. Back in 1985 this was big news, but it wasn't until five years later that these results were confirmed in a much more in depth study.

That was the starting point for HIIT. Since then, many sprint coaches and swimming trainers adopted the approach to help their athletes increase their explosive speed in their selected events and HIIT gradually made it's way into the world of mainstream gym training.

A 2001 study from Canada provided the first concrete evidence for HIIT as an effective method to lose weight. Studies confirmed that not only did it increase the body's usage of carbohydrates, which is uses for fuel in the workout, it also increased the fat metabolizing enzyme HADH. This was a shock at the time, because it doesn't actually use fat for fuel, it uses carbohydrates. Better still, this increase in HADH lasted for a massive fourteen hours. []

So not only was HIIT proven to be effective for losing blubber, it increased the body's ability to burn excess fat for over half a day after the workout had finished!

The study went on to show that it also increased lean muscle mass and prevented muscle breakdown during exercise. The best result of the study, however, was the fact that the HIIT group burnt off over six times more body fat than their steady state cardiovascular counterparts. This showed that one calorie burnt during a HIIT workout was equal to six during regular cardiovascular activity.

While most new concepts and fads fall to pieces when the real scientific data is made available, HIIT just keeps on building a stronger case. Since these breakthrough reports were conducted there have been many further studies showing the fat loss benefits to a solid and consistent HIIT plan.

High intensity interval training is now a fitness principle which is adopted by millions of gym enthusiasts worldwide. Whether you are a personal trainer, a bodybuilder, an athlete or just somebody who is looking to find effective weight loss tips which work quickly, HIIT is here to stay.

About the Author:

More Help: Get a complete guide on how to take high intensity interval training from personal trainer Russ Howe PTI, as well as the five key weight loss tips that will help you to build a great physique this year. Russ teaches hundreds of clients per day how to get in shape, why not you too?

The Difference Between the Non-Diet Approach and Traditional Diets

Throughout your weight loss struggles you may have read a lot about eating disorders with the hope that you will read a tidbit that will cure you of weight loss difficulties. You may even read weight loss magazines and try to complete all the tips inside, but eventually you end up right back where you started. Then you end up gaining the weight right back and feeling even worse because you could not successfully complete a few quick and easy tips. Our advice is different than other advice you may have read. It will not dwell on the details of various eating disorders, but rather on how you can take control of your eating. That's right! This article is about learning to love yourself while losing weight naturally.

Before we talk about loving ourselves and losing weight, we must briefly discuss eating disorders. One of the most common eating disorders is called binge eating disorder. The cycle of binge eating begins when we feel pressure from society to be thin. We may want to control our weight through typical dieting, but we can never keep the weight off. When we become upset with ourselves and our abilities, we turn to food in order to feel happiness. This is often when we enter the binge eating cycle.

The binge eating cycle begins with a desire to be thin. You may even try an extreme diet which wreaks havoc on your body. As 95% of diets do not work, you end up gaining the weight back. When this happens you feel upset and turn to food and begin binge eating. Binge eating means eating a large amount of food to gain emotional relief. You then feel upset with your eating habits and begin the process again by finding another diet to try.

Many times when we have an eating disorder, the relief we find from food can outweigh our desire to lose weight. The good news is that it is possible to break free from this cycle of eating. You can stop dieting and still lose weight naturally. You may be wondering how you can free yourself from the struggles of an eating disorder without dieting. You may think that your desire to be thin is causing all of your weight loss struggles. This is simply not true. You struggle because of the relationship you have with food.

Do not focus on losing weight by restricting certain types of food. Instead, focus on eating what your body needs. If you are craving ice cream, then by all means eat ice cream! When you restrict what you can eat, your body will begin to crave that food even more. This will ultimately lead to failure. You you may be wondering how you can lose weight by eating ice cream. Easy! You can lose weight by eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full.

Learn to love yourself and develop a healthy relationship with food. By listening to your body you can begin to make positive changes in your life!

Want to discover how to lose weight without starving yourself? Eat whatever you want and live the life that you deserve? Then go here for your FREE 7 days Course and discover the principles and techniques to eat what you love without guilt, to lose weight and to maintain that weight loss forever. http://www.WinningOvereating.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ofira_Shaul

 

How to Turn 'Diet Failure' Into Weight-Loss Success

"Past performance is no guarantee of future results."

That's the boilerplate we see when we buy a mutual fund or other potentially risky investment. It serves as a warning, lest we think success is a sure thing.

But what if we flipped things around and used those words to encourage ourselves?

What if we used them to remind ourselves that yes, we can change, that we can succeed in the future even if we've struggled in the past?

Plenty of women feel like they've "failed" at fat loss because they've tried this diet or that diet, lost some weight, and then regained it. Maybe that describes you.

But let's look at those events as results, not failures. Let's examine them to see why you might not have been successful.

And let's not make the mistake of thinking we're doomed to stay unhealthy just because we haven't attained our goals just yet.

A better strategy is to figure out what we can learn from the past and use our "failures" to make better choices now. You can start by asking yourself these questions:

1. Did the diet provide enough calories to keep you satisfied? (Most popular diets do not!)
2. Did the diet include enough high-quality protein?
3. Was the food plan based on normal whole foods (e.g., lean meats, vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy, whole grains) rather than fake foods (e.g., shakes, meal-replacement bars, "diet" cookies)?
4. Did anyone support you during your fat-loss program?
5. Was exercise part of your routine?
6. Did you have an exercise buddy, join an exercise class, or otherwise enlist the help of people who kept you accountable?
7. Did the diet promise fat loss if you took certain supplements?
8. Did the program promise weight loss greater than one to two pounds a week?
9. Did the diet cut out whole categories of essential macronutrients (for example, carbohydrates or fats)?

If you answered no to some or all of questions 1 through 6 or yes to some or all of questions 7 through 9, the odds were against you.

Don't let that discourage you: you just learned something.

All of those factors have a powerful influence on your chances of success.

This topic has been on my mind since a friend e-mailed to thank me for believing in her-and to say that some of the others in her life have seen her "fail" at diets before and thus expect her to "fail" again.

Here's what I know: your past performance does not dictate future results.

With solid information rather than hype, people who support you, the willingness to change your habits, and enough self-love to cut yourself some slack when you hit a rough patch, you absolutely can lose fat and improve your health.

I know you have the power.

Mary C. Weaver, CSCS, is a fat-loss and body-transformation coach for women and an NSCA Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist.

She helps women lose weight, speed up their metabolism, and take years off their body.

Register for her online training session, The 7-Step Formula for Weight-Loss Success, available only through April 2. Sign up here ---it's FREE!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_C_Weaver

 

Sugar - Just Say No!

Let's face it, you are addicted. You have all the signs, the cravings, irrational decisions, rationalization, guilt, remorse and repeated behavior. What is this nefarious product? Sugar!

The sweet seductress has been shown to be as addictive as cocaine. When you eat sugar your brain releases dopamine and increases serotonin which makes you feel good. This reward response quickly becomes a habit and over time a true addiction. Like any other addiction, the first step is admitting you have a problem. Believe me, it is a problem. The average American consumes around 130 pounds of sugar a year. That would be like eating a life-sized gummy bear.

Just like any other addiction there are real health concerns too. Here are just some of the effects of excessive consumption:

• Obesity
• Heart disease as a result of increased LDL cholesterol
• Colon cancer
• Type 2 diabetes

Quitting the addiction may be harder than other drugs too. With sugar you actually have to be vigilant to avoid it. It is not as if your local supermarket is selling cocaine covered oatmeal as a healthy alternative. It is true, sugar is everywhere, and companies spend millions to try to trick consumers into thinking that eating their products will make them happy. In the 1970's there was a major health push to reduce fat intake. Since products without fat have little taste, companies compensated with increased sugar. Now you can find sugar in almost every packaged food on the shelf. Here are some items you may not have realized are high in sugar:

• Bread
• Yogurt
• Peanut Butter
• Sauces
• Flavored Oatmeal
• Granola Bars
• Fruit Bars
• Frozen Waffles
• Protein Bars

Another important thing to remember is that to your body sugar by any other name is sugar. Make sure you are familiar with the different forms of sugar in foods and avoid products with one form listed as one of the first five ingredients. Some common forms of sugar are:

• Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Sucrose
• Maple Syrup
• Honey
• Lactose

So you may be wondering if you can ever have sugar again. To quote my own Mother, "everything in moderation". You may however, need to detox to get your sugar addiction under control. Avoid all sugars for at least a week. Be careful if you're considering switching to sugar substitutes. Studies have shown that sugar substitutes may increase cravings for sugar, so your best bet is to go cold turkey.

Once you have the habit kicked, how much sugar can you have? The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends daily sugar consumption at about 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men. The better alternative is to just avoid it. Remember that a typical can of soda has about 10 teaspoons. If you're not willing to go cold turkey the best first step is eliminating sugary drinks. Unless you are blending your own veggie shakes you should eat your calories not drink them.

Get a strong support system and remember if you fall off the wagon, pick yourself back up; Live Fit, Be Fit...

Visit http://www.fastfitfacts.com today, you can find more fit tips, visit the fitness store, and join the community!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Bryan_Mostowski

Eat These 6 Foods to Lose Stomach Fat!

We all know by now abs are made in the kitchen and revealed in the gym, so let me just jump right into it, here are the 6 foods to eat daily to lose stomach fat:

Kale

Cabbage

Brussels Sprouts

Broccoli

Bok Choy

Cauliflower

These 6 vegetables are all members of the cruciferous family of vegetables. They are already well known for their role in reducing the risk of cancer because of their high amount of phytochemicals. They are high in fiber, vitamin A, C and folic acid.

Cruciferous vegetables also contain glucosinolates, which give them their characteristic spicy or better taste. When the cell wall of these vegetables are broken via blending, chopping, or chewing they release an enzyme called myrosinase which converts glucosinolates into several cancer fighting substances but the one I want to talk to you about is indole 3-carbinol which is an anti-estrogen.

What does this have to do with my ability to lose stomach fat?

Glad you asked. Everyday we are bombarded with toxic chemicals in our environment that cause us to have hormonal imbalances in particular excessive amounts of estrogen also known as "Estrogen Dominance" which is the leading cause of fat gain around the stomach, hips and thighs. Estrogen Dominance is responsible for a host of illnesses:

PMS

Infertility

PCOS

Fatigue

Irritability

Allergies and Asthma

Mood Swings

Thyroid dysfunction.

These are just a few of the illnesses caused by Estrogen Dominance. Eating unfermented soy products, using plastics and yes cans that are not BPA Free, pesticides and not eating organic all cause an increase in estrogen levels. Even in men excessive amounts of estrogen causes us to store fat in our abdominal area. Thank God for the cruciferous crew! By the way did you know that cruciferous is Latin for cross bearing? I thought that was an interesting tid bit.

Is there any special way to eat or prepare them?

They are best eaten raw or lightly steamed and the more you chew or chop them the more of the enzyme is released. Mix them up but 1-2 different kinds everyday. The more you cook them the less cancer fighting and anti-estrogen properties they have and the more bitter they will taste. This is one of the reasons why I love green food smoothies, I can eat my kale raw and don't even taste it. In addition to creating a calorie deficit and exercising these 6 foods will be a great asset to help you lose the stomach fat for good!

Shelita Williams, R.N. Certified Fitness Trainer, helps aspiring and established women entrepreneurs who struggle with achieving their health and fitness goals, to lose weight, increase energy, boost confidence and establish their brand integrity so that they are poised, fit and motivated to start, manage and grow their business!. Shelita's book has been featured on CNN, as well as TCT television network to name a few. Go tohttp://www.shelitawilliams.com to get a free weight loss ecourse to learn exactly what Shelita did to lose over 80 lbs. Connect with Shelita on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/shelitawilliamspage

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shelita_Williams

 

Oh So Beautiful Body Type

Almost all of us have a distorted image of our body, often due to the importance our culture places on outward appearance. Every day, an onslaught of media images featuring airbrushed models and celebrities, bombards us. Do any of these statements sound familiar? I'm fat. I'm too skinny. If only I were taller, shorter, had curly hair, straight hair, a smaller nose, bigger muscles, a smaller bottom or longer legs, I'd look better. On a daily basis, we talk to ourselves in ways we would never speak to another. We demean ourselves for not being "perfect." Imagine speaking to a child the way you talk to yourself about your own body? It would devastate and squelch a child. Here is some BAD news; it actually does affect you in a similar way. This kind of self criticism causes stress and emotional pain which effects your body and can make improving your health or losing weight even more difficult. Consider this- women and their body parts sell everything from food to cars. Women's magazines are full of articles urging readers to lose that last twenty pounds. Then they'll have it all-the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career.

Why are impossible standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger and more mature than any of the models? The roots, some analysts say, are economic. By presenting an ideal difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetic and diet product industries assure their own growth and profits. And it's no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of the current culture's model of beauty. All women may not need to lose weight, but they will age, and according to the industry, age is a disaster that needs to be fixed.

The stakes are huge. On the one hand, women made insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth anywhere between 40 to 100 billion (U.S.) a year. Even worse, this industry subsists on selling temporary weight loss gimmicks (90 to 95% of dieters regain the lost weight). On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls. The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control-including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting.

So, what's a girl to do? How about taking a moment to think of all the intelligence, creativity and time you spend on improving, altering and judging your appearance? Who would you be and what could you accomplish if your valuable resources weren't used this way? Constant emphasis on the external makes us discount the great presence and intelligence that is housed by the body. It makes us forget the magic of our internal rhythms and fail to acknowledge the true beauty of our bodies. The body you have right now is incredible! It never misses a heartbeat, it maintains homeostasis and it miraculously digests whatever you put inside. Your body is an instrument for expressing creativity, intelligence and love. By focusing on the 1% you don't like or wish was different, you may be ignoring the remaining 99% about your body that is beautiful, unique and delightful.

What would your life be like if you were simply at peace with your body? You may wish to be healthier and stronger, but can you do that out of love and respect for your body instead of the opposite? Can you treat yourself with kindness, limit the negative self-talk and reconnect with your inner wisdom? Take a minute to imagine what that would feel like. It would mean celebrating your body rather than punishing it. It would mean nourishing your body rather than depriving it. It would mean a chance to watch your body flourish when treated with care and respect.

What would your life be like if you were simply at peace with your body?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carol_L_Takakura

Does Estrogen Make You Fat?

In today's lesson we're going to look at why it is tougher for women approaching menopause lose weight from their abdomens. I have worked with a lot of women in my time and a lot of them don't know what to do about it. They seem to be doing everything correctly but for some reason they have a tough time losing weight in that area.

So, we're going to look at the role of estrogen today. I am going to explain exactly what happens in the body with respect to estrogen and difficulty losing weight. We're going to talk mainly about women today but this does apply to men to some degree.

First off, let's talk about what happens during menopause as women's hormones start to fluctuate and change. Basically, estrogen decreases by 35% and progesterone decreases by 75%. Both hormones decrease but the balance changes.

Progesterone normally keeps estrogen in check. If there is more estrogen floating around relative to progesterone, it can lead to a condition called estrogen dominance and we're going to talk about that later.

Women are generally pear-shaped up until menopause. Fat cells and hormones ensure that fat is distributed mainly around the hips and reproductive organs. There is also a tendency to store fat subcutaneously which means that more of a women's fat is stored just under the skin.

That is why it's tougher for women to see muscle definition than it is for men because men have a lower subcutaneous fat level than women. We'll talk about what happens in women and why it happens in a minute.

During menopause, there is a decrease in estrogen and a decrease in estrogen receptor sensitivity. Because of this, women's bodies tend to become more male-like in terms of fat distribution.

More fat starts to collect around the abdomen, mimicking more of a male, apple shape. The apple-shaped body is linked to type-II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. That is why abdominal fat is not a good thing. More fat around the viscera; the digestive organs is linked to many diseases.

In general, women have a pear shape and more fat underneath the skin up until menopause. They store their fat in and around the hips.

And at menopause because of a decrease in estrogen, their fat distribution changes and more fat is held within the abdominal area.

A lot of people tend to think that estrogen makes you fat, and that is a misconception. People may think that because women tend to have more body fat than men that it is due to estrogen. That is not the case. Estrogen is actually a hormone which promotes fat breakdown and decreases fat storage.

Estrogen has 2 functions as a hormone in the cell. Firstly, it decreases lipoprotein lipase (LPL). LPL is an enzyme which favours fat uptake into the cells, making the cells fatter. Estrogen decreases LPL activity which means that less fat is taken into fat cells.

Secondly, estrogen increases the activity of another enzyme called hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) and increases the role of epinephrine at the cellular level, both of which increase lipolysis which means fat breakdown.

In summary, estrogen favours fat breakdown and it hinders fat uptake. This is the overall effect of estrogen. There are other effects that occur at the cellular level, but all in all, estrogen does not make you fat in the grand scheme of things.

Engorged fat cells will return to normal size in the presence of estrogen. Normal size fat cells will become fatter if there is a lack of estrogen or if there is a decrease in estrogen receptor sensitivity.

The transition from a normal sized fat cell to a large fat cell is what happens in menopause. Why does this happen? Why do women go from pear-shaped to apple-shaped?

This is a good time to talk about estrogen receptors. The ones I am going to focus on are called ESR1 and ESR2.

There are certain estrogen receptors that are located in the brain. Others are located in the liver and the bones and in the fat cells. All of these estrogen receptors have an impact on how estrogen is used and produced in the body.

For instance, there are estrogen receptors in the brain, specifically in the hypothalamus, which control appetite and hunger. Studies have shown that those estrogen receptors have an impact on food intake.

As estrogen decreases, there is less stimulation of these receptors in the brain which means that there is a tendency to have less appetite suppression when you have less estrogen in the body. Now, this is not black and white.

There are a lot of things going on in the brain and this is not always the case. This has been shown in studies with rats that have been ovariectomized. Where they have basically shut down the rats' production of estrogen from the ovaries in the body and the food intake of the rats increased thereafter.

This is just one example of what could happen because of these estrogen receptors in the brain if there is less estrogen stimulating them as you age and approach menopause.

There is another really interesting estrogen receptor on the subcutaneous fat cell. When women are young and there is a lot of estrogen in the body, estrogen causes an increase in the receptor known as anti-lipolytic alpha 2A-adrenergic receptor. Anti-lipolytic = anti-fat.

What this means is that estrogen increases the number of anti-fat breakdown receptors in subcutaneous fat; fat just underneath the skin all over the body. Because of the increase in these receptors, they are telling the fat cells not to break down fat.

Therefore, before you get into menopause and estrogen levels are high, there are more of these receptors which mean that more fat has a tendency to be stored in that subcutaneous fat and less fat is stored in and around the abdomen.

However, during menopause when estrogen levels start to fall, even though there is more estrogen relative to progesterone, the balance is shifted and anti-lipolytic alpha 2A-adrenergic receptors become fewer in number.

Because estrogen levels have decreased relative to before menopause, there is more subcutaneous fat that can actually be broken down and there is a subsequent tendency for fat to accumulate in and around the abdomen.

That is one of the primary reasons why more women store fat in their stomach during and after menopause. When estrogen levels fall, anti-lipolytic alpha 2A-adrenergic receptor levels fall so that fat under the skin can more easily be broken down and the tendency shifts to fat storage in the abdominal area.

Now, we're only talking about estrogen. We haven't even touched on testosterone or progesterone. This is fascinating stuff.

Remember, estrogen receptors are one of the key reasons why the distribution of fat shifts as you enter menopause. Now, you may be thinking that if estrogen is meant to keep you thin that you might want high estrogen levels in the body. Not necessarily.

When you have high estrogen levels in relation to progesterone, it can lead to a condition called estrogen dominance. We are seeing a lot of estrogen dominance nowadays, not only in women but in men as well. This is something of which most people are not aware.

There is nothing wrong with estrogen or progesterone by themselves. The problem occurs when their balance in the body is thrown off.

This is a bit off the topic of fat distribution, but you do not want to be taking in high amounts of estrogen during menopause because as has been shown with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) there is an increased risk of breast cancer and other issues related to high estrogen levels.

The big thing about estrogen is that it promotes cell growth and cell division and that is not good where cancer is concerned. If there are any trace of cancer or pre-cancerous cells in your body when there are high levels of estrogen, the estrogen is going to further the cancer's development. That is why estrogen dominance is something to worry about whether you are a man or woman.

How does estrogen dominance occur?

There are endogenous sources of estrogen which are sources of estrogen that are produced in the body from the ovaries, the fat cells, and the placenta during pregnancy, etc.

The adrenal cortex produces a precursor that produces estrogen as well. There are exogenous sources of estrogen, sources of estrogen that come from outside of the body such as xenoestrogens which are basically chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body. Xenoestrogens are a big concern.

They come from plastic bottles, artificial foods, and processed foods. There are a lot of things that lead to xenoestrogen creation. Drugs such as birth control pills get flushed down the toilet along with human waste and stay in our water supply and contribute to our estrogen issue. The problem with xenoestrogens in the body is that they contribute to estrogen overload and that is not a good thing at all.

Phytoestrogens on the other hand are good in most cases. They are very weak estrogens. In the body, phytoestrogens displace xenoestrogens. They take up space on estrogen receptors so that xenoestrogens and the main estrogen in the female body (estradiol, estriol, and estrone) are not able to attach to the estrogen receptor.

This is good because pytoestrogen decreases the actions of estrogen in the body. Phytoestrogens are natural estrogens that come from plants. They are very weak and have a minimal negative effect on the body. Flax is a source of phytoestrogens which is talked about a lot. Any kind of whole foods diet will have phytoestrogens. The one thing that you want to be careful of is soy.

Soy is a very powerful phytoestrogen. It basically mimics estradiol in the body and its effect is potent. So not only will it take up the estrogen receptor sites, but it will also further the estrogen load in your body. There is a difference between flax and soy. Flax is a very weak phytoestrogen and most plants are.

Soy is a very strong phytoestrogen and actually increases the estrogen load in your body, so it is something you want to stay away from.

To reduce estrogen dominance, you should eat a predominantly whole foods diet. Eat a mostly vegetarian diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables. The fiber in fruits and vegetables will help bind the estrogen and remove it through the colon.

Make sure that your liver is healthy because it processes estrogen. And make sure that you are eliminating regularly. You should be passing 2-3 bowel movements per day. If estrogen sits in your colon for days on end it will be reabsorbed into your blood stream and auto-intoxicate you.

Those are just some things to think about when it comes to lowering estrogen in the body. The last thing you want to do is pump your body full of estrogen, even if you think it's going to keep you thinner because it will throw your hormonal balance.

Another reason why women tend to gain weight during menopause is because the ovaries produce less estrogen. Fat cells, which produce estrogen as well, start to pick up the slack. Fat cells are now needed to produce more estrogen as the ovaries produce less. The body has a more difficult time getting rid of volume in the fat cells in general because of this need to produce estrogen. It is tougher for women to lose weight during menopause.

Having said that, I do not want you to think that menopause is the end of the world when it comes to fat loss because it is not. You just have to realize that the distribution of fat within your body will be different and that you will just have to be a bit more diligent with respect to your diet and exercise regime.

Strength training is important. Interval cardio training to burn maximum calories in a short period of time will be very beneficial. Food intake will have to be minimized, but really, that just means that poor nutrient-void food must be minimized.

Hormonal changes will affect each woman differently with respect to their appetite so it is important to pay attention to how you feel. Be aware of your body and feed your body good whole foods that will not pack on the pounds. The key again is calories in vs. calories out. The best diet to lose fat around the abs is one very high in whole foods.

That is your in-depth lesson on the role of estrogen during menopause and before menopause and why it is tougher to lose fat around your abdomen. Now you know what is going on in your body, you can overcome it. It takes hard work. No one said it was easy to lose abdominal fat.

Remember, it's going to be the last place fat comes off and the first place that it goes on. Just stay committed and keep a long-term vision. Keep up the great work and make sure you are using the right workouts!

Fitness and Fat Loss Expert, Yuri Elkaim, helps thousands of busy health conscious individuals lose fat while sculpting lean muscle with just 3 short enjoyable workouts a week. Take his 20-lesson six pack abs e-course for free by visiting http://www.myfitteru.com/abs today!

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