5 Weight Loss Myth Busters

By Nick Farina

Myth #1 - Low intensity exercise is the best form for weight loss as it puts you into a fat burning zone.

FACT – Your body uses a mixture of carbohydrates and fat for fuel. It is true that during low intensity exercise your body’s preferred choice of fuel is fat. However the fat burning zone doesn’t really matter, as it is important to remember that your source or energy will come from the same mix of both carbohydrates and fat. Therefore it will all come from the same calorie pool and this is what you need to focus on - how many calories you are burning.

Myth #2 - You can lose fat from a specific area of your body by doing an exercise for that part of your body. For example, using a seated leg adductor machine to remove fat from your inner thighs. .

FACT - You can’t spot reduce! You cannot control where fat is removed from your body.

Myth #3 – You shouldn’t start weight training until you have lost the amount of weight that you are looking to lose as this will just slow down the weight loss process.

FACT – Weight training should be an essential part of any weight loss program. It will increase your lean muscle mass, which in turn will increase your metabolic rate and make your body far more efficient at burning calories even when you are at rest. So start weight training ASAP.

Myth #4 - You burn more fat if you exercise in the morning on an empty stomach.

FACT - Exercising on an empty stomach does not affect how you lose weight. It may hinder the amount of exercise you can do as your energy levels will deplete quickly. Eating breakfast in the morning will kick start your metabolism and provide you with the energy you need for your workout. You should at least try to have some fruit juice in the morning if you find it difficult to eat early.

Myth #5 – The exercise machine-of-the-month burns more calories than any other exercise. FACT – Don’t be fooled by this. Calorie expenditure is directly related to the amount of effort an activity requires. In general the more challenging an exercise is the more calories you will burn. The easier it feels the fewer calories you burn.

The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how fancy the equipment that you are using is, it comes down to how much effort you are making while using it.

Nick Farina is co-founder of Pinnacle Fitness a personal training company in the uk.

Visit www.weightlossnocost.com for 2 free weight loss ebooks

Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Farina

               

Test Your Knowledge With The Obesity Quiz

A reader has forwarded to me the following:

Dear Webmaster,

I would like to suggest a resource for your site, Battling-Obesity.com.

It seems a lot of your readers are interested in being healthy and losing weight. Here is an obesity quiz you may find useful: (see link below)

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Well .. I went to the link, and think it is a great “Tool & Resource” filled with many quizes for your general health and wellness .. including: BMI Calculator, Cholesterol Quiz, Healthy Body Weight Calculator, Heart Rate Calculator, Hip-to-Waist Ratio Calculator, Lifestyle Quiz, Lower Back Pain Quiz, Osteoporosis Quiz, Sleep Health … and OBESITY QUIZ.

From their Site:

How Much Do You Know About Obesity?

Sixty-six percent of US adults are overweight. Thirty-two percent of US adults are also obese. And, about 17 percent of US children are seriously overweight. Take this true/false quiz with eight questions to see how much you know about obesity. After each question, you will find out if your answer is correct or incorrect, and information about health risks and healthy choices will be provided.

* TAKE THE OBESITY QUIZ - from the Medical University of South Carolina - Interactive Tools & Resources

If you have any interesting sites or want to reciprocal link on our LINKS page .. just drop me a line … hart (at) PetLvr (dot) com

               

What If Your Doctor Said You’re Obese?

By Bentley Thompson

If you were told by your doctor that you are significantly overweight, would it have been surprizing to you? Most certainly not; you already would (or should) have known. You have been ignoring reality all this time.

In fact, if I am obese and my doctor said otherwise I would have known he/she was telling me a fat lie.

So, by now you would have been noticing the gradual inflation of your health every time you go to your wardrobe or to the department store to choose your clothes. Your mirror would have been screaming at you for months or years, but you always kept on doing what you’re doing.

Well now, if you are obese, overweight, or are on the road to becoming, consider this simple argument…

What does it mean to be obese?

It means…

* You’re carrying around too much load, and you are not getting any younger.
* You need a bigger, stronger heart since you have now significantly increased the workload for your heart. You can only increase the power of your heart by exercising - which you (most likely) have not been doing.
* Your body mass index (BMI) is 30+
* Maybe your belly jiggles when you laugh. But this is no laughing matter! Why?
* You are three times more likely to suffer from heart disease,
* You are four times more likely to suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure)
* You are also five times more likely to develop diabetes, and
* You have increased risk of developing cancer.

Obesity shortens your life. Scientists have estimated that for every extra pound you put on you tend to shorten your lifespan by one month. So if you are 30 lbs over weight, there goes 2½ glorious years!

What can you do?

Don’t think you have to do anything big. Just think long-term.

That’s right. You might be hearing sounds like, “lose 30 lbs in as many days!” Hey, how long did it take you to put on that much weight? Much longer.

Take it easy. Do it right. Do it for the right reasons. Do it for the health of it. Do it the healthy way. What is that?

Change all the unhealthy practices to healthy ones - like

* increasing the rate at which you burn calories. Regular exercise. This also builds and strengthens muscles, which means increased calorie-burning capacity.
* Eat more fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables and less of the fatty, sugary foods.
* Don’t skip breakfast, and do not snack

Those are just a few of the very important and surefire ways to have a normal body weight.

That’s not any where nearly as difficult or costly as gastric bypass or liposuction. And it works.

REFERENCES:
Wyatt S.B., Winters K.P., Dubbert P.M., Overweight and obesity: Prevalence, Consequences, and Causes of a Growing Public Health Problem; American J. Med Sci. 2006 Apr; 331(4):166-174. Luddington, A., Diehl, H., Health Power, 2002

Copyright © 2006 by Bentley Thompson

Bentley writes about lifestyle-related conditions such as diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular diseases. He advocates the anti-diabetes diet which he describes on his website. You may visit his website and blog using the following URLs: www.anti-diabetes-diet-supplements.com/ and choosehealthtoday.blogspot.com

Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bentley_Thompson

               

Weight-loss reality show holds local casting call

My wife emailed me this little blurb in today’s paper … I wonder if she’s trying to tell me something? Hmmm

Fri Feb 16 2007

THE producers of a weight-loss reality-TV show are holding an open casting call in Winnipeg this month.
X-Weighted, a reality/documentary series that follows subjects as they try to reach their weight-loss goals with the help of expert coaches, will hold auditions for its third season on Feb. 24 and 25 at the Holiday Inn South.

The show’s producers are looking for overweight subjects who will commit to being filmed for six months while following a diet and exercise program, whose families and friends are also willing to be recorded, and who have a meaningful and reality-TV-worthy goal they’re looking to achieve with their weight-loss effort.

The series will be broadcast on the Slice network (the new name for Life network starting next month) in 2008.

SOURCE: Winnipeg Free Press (Subscriber)