You can start exercising at any age

WebMD News from HealthDay
Men who begin endurance exercise after age 40 will get similar long-term heart benefits as those who start training before age 30, new research finds.

The study included 40 healthy men, between the ages of 55 and 70, who had no heart disease risk factors. Ten of the men had never exercised for more than two hours a week. The remaining 30 had exercised for at least seven hours a week for more than five years, either beginning before age 30 or after age 40. Their regular exercise involved either cycling or running.

Men who began their "relatively intensive" endurance exercise before age 30 had been doing it for an average of 39 years (since the age of 22), while those who started after age 40 had been doing it for an average of 18 years (since age 48).

Resting heart rates were similar among men in both exercise groups (about 57 to 58 beats per minute), but were much higher among men who didn't exercise (nearly 70 beats per minute). The men in the two exercise groups also had much higher maximum oxygen uptake than those who didn't exercise.

Men in both exercise groups showed similar evidence of exercise-related improvements in heart structure and function, according to the study that was to be presented Friday at the EuroPRevent meeting, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Research presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

"Thus, despite biological changes with age, the heart still seems -- even at the age of 40 -- amenable to modification by endurance training. Starting at the age of 40 does not seem to impair the cardiac benefits," study author David Matelot, of the French Institute of Health and Medical Research, said in a European Society of Cardiology news release.

"However, endurance training is also beneficial for bone density, for muscle mass, for oxidative stress. And these benefits are known to be greater if training was started early in life," he added.

While physical activity can't stop age-related declines in heart structure and function, it can slow them down, Matelot noted.

He said "it's never too late to change your way of life and get more physically active. This will always be beneficial for the heart and well-being. And there's no need for a high level of training for many hours a week. Using the stairs rather than the elevator, or gardening regularly, can also be beneficial."

Just walking more, like 30 minutes a day more, can help anyone. Walking is hard on your joints? Use a stationary bike and watch TV or read at the same time.  There's two different types of bikes. The one I like allows you to sit normally like you sit in a chair. Use the stationary bike for long periods of time in the evening and it keeps you out of the kitchen. I have bad knees so I don't try to stress my legs. It's not necessary, I just pedal slow and steady. I take a break occasionally and then start again. 

Losing body fat should be your goal. Read up on weight loss and losing body fat. It doesn’t cost money to lose weight. The internet is full of free information.

Checkout my other blogs: 

gettingtoahealthyweight.wordpress.com

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com

But the quickest way and cheapest way is to buy an ebook online and get everything you need in one short read. I have two ebooks on Amazon:

How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight

Getting To A Healthy Weight

Check out one of them, I think you can find all the info you need and plenty of tips on how I lost my body fat. 

Look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find these e-books. These books give you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my books at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,

 iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Why Do Women Have A Harder Time Losing Weight?

It's all about body fat. The way I see it and from what I've read, Women naturally have more body fat than men. Some of a person's body fat is inside to protect and cushion your organs and because of a women's reproductive organs women would naturally have more internal body fat, and then during a pregnancy the amount of internal body fat would naturally have to increase.

The more body fat a person has, the slower the metabolism works and the fewer calories you burn during a normal days activities. That's one reason why heavy people will need to be more active to lose weight then a thin person. In order to lose weight your metabolism or the engine of the body that burns your calories to create energy, has to burn more calories than what you consume. Yes, it's extremely hard to know how many calories your burning everyday, but you can count the number of calories you consume.

It's  an old theory that "if you cut the calories you consume you'll lose weight". Okay, there's some merit to that theory, but if you don't know how much you burn, how are you suppose to know how many calories to cut.

This is the question that most dieters have trouble with. "How am I suppose to know how many calories should I cut to lose weight." Many of us quit your diets because the diets weren't working and most of the time it's because  of that energy balance. Even when we diet, we can't burn enough calories to lose weight. 

And why is that, it's because we have too much extra body fat. So, How do I lose that extra fat? you might ask. The biggest reason that most of us can't lose weight is about the diet. If your eating pizza, fried chicken, sausage sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs, and drinking soda, sweet tea, lattes and other sweet drinks; just cutting back on some of that food is not going to help you lose weight.

There are foods that will actually help you lose body fat but restaurant foods aren't on that list. One thing that's more important than cutting calories is to start eating the right foods. The frozen dinners that are low-cal sold by these diet companies aren't really good either. Their full of food additives and other chemicals that make the food tasty and the food is low in calorie but the portions are very small that most people just end-up snacking more.

To lose weight you need to start preparing your own meals. Several small meals everyday. The object is to never get hungry. If you get hungry you're waiting too long to eat. You should eat something every three hours or so. But it's more than just eating small meals. You have to eat fresh. This means to eat only fresh foods. When it comes to vegetables, I buy them frozen, just buy the plain ones with no sauce, fruits buy fresh. Don't eat processed foods. While you're trying to lose weight avoid dairy, except Greek Yogurt, that's okay. Try to only eat fish or poultry very little red meat. Red meat only once a week if that much and buy it fresh. Don't drink anything sweet. black tea or coffee and water lots of water and don't forget to walk. Walk as much as possible. Walk the dog. Can you walk to work or walk the kids to school? Park far away from the stores, you'll get less dings on your car. If you can avoid using elevators do that. Do anything to get more exercise, every little bit helps.

You can lose weight if you really put your mind to it. Remember the trick is to change your life and live a new life, a life of doing things a better way.

"How many calories do I need" part 2

Science say that "the more calories you consume, the shorter your life". We should only eat what we need to fuel our bodies. All food has calories, we know that. Calories are a measurement of heat or to burn calories is to create energy for the body to sustain itself. So there's no simple answer to "how many calories do we need?" I'll explain, your organs work 24/7 and they need energy,  even if we weight the same our muscle mass needs energy to sustain itself and even your fat mass needs some energy to sustain itself. Since all of us are different, different size and different amounts of muscle and fat, we all require a different amount of calories to sustain our bodies. Your energy level will also make a difference. Some people move more then others. We walk more, some of us stand more and some of us sit more. Some workout and some of us are Runners. Some of us are too old or too tired to do anything physical. So you can see that some of us can live on 800 calories and some need 1800 calories a day. But if your fully grown and just do moderate workouts you should not need more then 2000 calories a day.

It's not easy to determine how many calories to eat in-order to lose weight. It's a trial and error process. I wrote a post on another site about a girl in another country who struggled with her weight problem until she decided to do something about it. It's not a smooth path to just go cold turkey and change your life, but she decided that the only way to solve her weight problem was to change her ways. She started to cook her own meals and go to the gym. She wasn't doing anything radical, no treadmills or running, but with weight lifting and a gluten free- lactose free diet and four times a week to the gym, she's back in shape and back in the bikini.

When I first started on my journey to lose weight, and believe me it's a journey. I wasn't really committed. I was pushed into losing weight, my family said I was getting too fat. I joined a gym but after several months I didn't lose anything. I did feel bettering I liked to workout. After sweating for a hour I felt healthier, I could breath better, but I was still fat. It wasn't until I changed what I was eating, that I started to lose weight. So I didn't count calories, but I knew I must be eating less. I was eating clean and eating fresh. I tried to only eat white meat and fish, vegetables and fruit. Nuts for a snack and nothing to drink but tea, coffee and water with an occasional glass of wine. I seasoned my food but didn't use any sauces or creams.

I use the food pyramid that I found on the internet to create meals.

Some foods you can eat everyday, some weekly, some monthly. But don't forget to walk. The extra activity will help you to burn more calories. Don't be impatient, you will lose weight over time. 

How Many Calories Do I Need?

I think your going to be surprised, You don't need that many calories. Many people eat less than 1000 calories a day. For instance, Vegans and many vegetarians. What's the difference, you might say? If you do a little research on vegetarians you'll find there are three different kinds. A very strict vegetarian will stick to all the rules, others eat dairy and vegetables, and others will not eat meat or poultry, but eat everything else, like fish. Vegans are very strict and only eat plant food, and rely on protein supplements from soy and rice.

I know for most of us, we think a diet without meat is just crazy, but science has proven that a diet without animal protein will extend your life and you'll be a lot healthier.

Every diet should start with basic questions about calories. To begin with, you should know how many calories you need each day. It sounds simple, but depending on the method you use to get your number, you might get different answers. So how do you know which number is right?

There are different ways to determine your caloric needs. You can get a quick estimate online or a more specific (and expensive) test performed in a lab.

There are pros and cons to each method. The best method for you depends on your goals, how much money you want to spend, and your access to various health services.

Look at these five different methods for determining your caloric needs and evaluate the pros and cons for yourself.

One of the simplest ways to determine your caloric needs is to keep a pre-diet food journal. Before you start a weight loss program, take one week to evaluate your current caloric intake. Don't make any changes to your diet, just write down everything you eat and drink and the number of calories in each food. You should do this at a time when your weight is stable and your daily activity is typical.

After a week of recording your food intake, add the total number of calories for each day and divide by seven to get an average daily caloric intake.
This should provide a general guideline for the number of calories your body needs to maintain its current weight. To lose weight, you need to decrease that number by roughly 500-600 calories per day.

Pros: Inexpensive, reinforces good weight loss habits such as food journaling. Online or smartphone apps make this method simple to use.
Cons: Requires tedious recording and may not be accurate if you aren't specific about measuring and recording your food portions.

There are several easy-to-use online caloric needs calculators, like the one at CalorieCount.com. These tools provide a quick and easy estimate of the number of calories you need to eat to lose weight. To get the most accurate number, you need to know your current weight, height and goal weight. You also need to assess your daily activity level.

The number generated from these calculators is usually based on the Harris-Benedict formula for determining basal metabolic rate (BMR).

The formula is widely recognized by experts as a reasonable estimate for daily caloric need. However, it is only as accurate as the information you provide and the answer is based on general guidelines. Daily activity level, for example, varies widely from person to person and there is no way for a single formula to accurately predict the metabolic impact of your specific activity level.

Pros: Provides a fast answer, free to use
Cons: Only based on general guidelines and estimates

Many gyms and other health centers now provide metabolic testing for a fee. Metabolic testing measures the number of calories that your body burns at rest (RMR) and the number of fat and carbohydrate calories your body burns while exercising at various exercise intensities. As part of your metabolic assessment, many trainers will also provide a metabolic training plan that will help you to burn more fat calories during exercise so that you lose weight more effectively. While this seems like the most accurate way to find out how many calories you need, there has been some criticism of this testing process. The accuracy of your test may depend on the quality of equipment used, how often it is calibrated and the skill level of the person doing the testing. The service can be expensive and may require a gym membership.

Pros: Results are personalized and based on your specific performance.
Cons: Expensive and not widely available and some say that results are not as accurate as advertised.

So, back to the question, How many calorie a day do I need?

The answer isn't easy, I don't think it's just a number. If a person is eating Pizza, Hamburgers, Carry-out chicken, Chinese carry-out and Sausage sandwiches, just cutting back on the quantity isn't going to help. These are foods that will pack on the pounds. It's not just the calories in these foods but the amount of fat, salt, and other food additives. The average guy on this kind of diet may be eating about 3500 to 4000 calories a day when you add in the drinks and just cutting back on the quantity say to 2500 calories a day isn't going to reduce the amount of body fat. Yes, he might lose a few pounds but most of the loss will be muscle weight.

I don't think counting calories will reduce body fat. People get to engrossed in losing weight and aren't concentrating on losing body fat. That should be your goal. And the only way to lose body fat is for your body to use the fat as fuel. I'll write more about this next time.

Meanwhile, you can go to my website and see more articles about losing weight.     blogonlosingweight.com

Are your friends and family ruining your diet?

You're probably great at sticking to your diet when you're alone in your own home. But do you notice that you eat more when you're with others? If so, you're not alone.  Many dieters struggle to stick to a healthy eating plan when they are in social situations, particularly if those situations are stressful. But that doesn't mean you can't take control. With a little bit of planning, it's possible to eat less around family and friends.

How Family and Friends Can Ruin Your Diet

A simple family dinner or a night out with friends might not seem like a big deal, but researchers have found that it can have a significant impact on your calorie intake. In one study, researchers looked at the way that we change our eating habits to match the eating habits of the people around us. They found that our friends and family are especially influential. We tend to change the amount of food we eat and the type of food we eat to match the choices made by our closest companions.

Of course, that can have good or bad consequences if you're a dieter. If you surround yourself with healthy moderate eaters, then they may influence you to eat a healthy moderate diet as well. But if you live in America, that may less likely to happen. One recent news report claims that Americans eat 3,770 calories per day on average, more than any other country.  Recent data from the USDA puts the number closer to 2,700 per day, but that calorie count is still way too high for most dieters. Someone trying to lose weight should keep their calorie intake below 2000 per day.

If you're trying to lose weight, you don't have to avoid all events with your family and friends in order to reach your goals. The best way to eat less in social situations is to make a plan in advance. Use these tips to develop a strategy that meets your specific needs.

• Always know your energy balance numbers. To lose weight successfully, you need to manage your energy balance every single day. So before you meet with friends or family, make sure you know how many calories you've consumed that day and how many you can afford to consume at the event. This way you can make informed choices as you socialize.
   
• Use a mobile app for weight loss. The most convenient way for most people to manage their energy balance is with a mobile app for weight loss.  These convenient smart phone tools go with you where ever you are, so you can always check in to see how your calorie balance looks in the moment.
   
• Make better drink choices. You'll probably eat less with family and friends if you learn how to drink less alcohol and drink more water.  Your energy balance number and your weight loss goals tend to matter less when you get tipsy.  Stay focused with better booze choices and less alcohol consumption overall.
   
• Acknowledge and manage stress. Many people manage family stress with a glass of wine.  But since that can interfere with good calorie control, find other ways to manage the stress that can come with social events.  Take short breaks if necessary to go for a walk or simply to recharge.
   
• Ask for support. One of the best ways to manage family stress is to ask for help. There are specific phrases you can use to get diet support from your family.  You can also get diet help from friends to help keep your weight loss plan on track. I know that sounds great; tell your family your on a diet and they won't cook for you. Sounds easy, right. It didn't work for me. I found the best way is to get support from Weight Watchers or your trainer or a Dietitian. I never told my friends or family until they brought up the subject. Take it from me, after you lose 20 pounds they'll be talking about you.
   
• Be clear about your goals. Believe it or not, the way you set your weight loss goals can have an impact on whether or not you reach them.  If you set a weight loss goal that is specific, relevant and measurable it becomes easier to follow your plan during challenging moments. You can even set a short-term goal for the evening and post it in a place where you see it periodically to keep yourself motivated, like on your refrigerator door.
   
• Don't allow yourself to be pressured. There will be times when your well-intentioned family members may push food on you or say offensive things that compromise your weight loss commitment. Don't give in to the pressure. Bolster your self-confidence by reminding yourself of your previous successes and stay committed to your plan.
   

Remember that it is normal to want to eat more in social situations. But if you can learn to eat less around family and friends, you'll lose weight faster and keep the weight off for good. Eat a snack before your go; like a banana or apple, and remember you can always eat something when you get home. When your on a diet you want to eat foods that you bought and prepared. That's the best way to lose weight.

Change Your Eating Habits and Lose Weight For Good.

You know you want to make a change. You want to see what life is like without extra weight on your body and on your mind. You're committed to making a change for the better. To make it happen, think of your habits like a road trip. Your next steps become clear, and you start to see your destination ahead.

Plan Out Your Route

You'll want to take time to think about how to create healthy habits to take you to your goal. Planning can also get you psyched up about new things to try or doing things you enjoy. Here are tips to help you plan your habits, your support, and your mind-set. I know it sounds like a lot of work. Creating new habits is simply planning better choices. I'm not going to stop for that latte before work. Or, make that Latte with Fat-Free milk, and no sweetener, please.  There's always a healthier way if you look for it. Okay, I know what your thinking, You don't like fat-free milk and you like sweet coffee. Listen closely, if you don't make sacrifices you won't lose weight and remember that you really are trying to lose body fat, the weight will be a bonus. If you lose the body fat you'll become a slimmer, trimmer person forever, no more diets. You only have to change what you eat. 

Prepare for each destination. Think about the things you eat, but shouldn't and how to substitute something else, so you'll still eat something but now the something won't make you add more fat. For instance, Do You eat chips at work? Bring some mixed, salted nuts from home, but only bring a handful, not the whole package. Eating more food from home is a good habit to start. Some apartment people almost never eat at home, because they don't really like spending time in the apartment. You can change that. For instance, what would your perfect, most motivating kitchen have? Cut-up colorful vegetables ready for you in the fridge? Apples in the fruit basket? Sheer curtains to let the light in?You might be thinking that guys don't care about how their place looks. But subconsciously you do. Make your place look like somewhere you want to be. When You get off work, why stop for a beer, I'll get one at home and turn on the game. 

Plan for the family and friends you'll see along the way. There will be people who are for you -- happy to support you in your weight loss effort. And there will be people who aren't so supportive. You may already know who they are. People that maybe should diet but don't think they have to. Others like my Mother who thinks people should have a little extra weight, so eat,eat.

You need to be prepared for both types.

Think of each person you spend time with in your daily life, and ask yourself these questions to set up a game plan:

• How much do you want to share with them about your efforts? Some people really don't need to know. After you lose the weight, they'll see how good you look and you can tell them you've been working out.
• What kinds of obstacles do you expect from them? What are a few ways you can respond to them? When I eat with the family, I always get the same thing. "Eat, eat, it's good for you." So I always just eat a little of everything and I do mean a little, and just say "I'm full, that was good." When it come to dessert, I eat fresh fruit. 

You can change the unhealthy foods for healthy foods and you will lose body fat, but it will take time. Extra activity can help you lose weight quicker. 

Why Do I Eat So Much After Dinner?

You stick to your diet all day and eat healthy well-balanced meals. Then the evening comes and you find yourself making repeated trips to the refrigerator or pantry to eat food that you don't really need. Sound familiar? If it does, you're not alone. Nighttime calories are a struggle for many dieters who find that they continue eating after dinner. If you're serious about losing weight, use these tips to stop eating so much at night.

You're normal if you like to snack and graze after eating dinner. But if you are trying to lose weight, the calories you consume from snacks in the evening could easily undo a day's worth of smart food choices. So the first step to eating less is to find out why you eat when you don't need to. 

I like this article, but I want to inject a couple of words. When a person is active all day and then sits down in the evening to unwind they normally watch TV. I don't really know why, there's not much on those 500 cable station I pay almost $220 a month to watch. Anyway, the reason, as I see it, unwinding takes time so as your trying to unwind your still antsy. I can't really sit still very long. I'm still wond-up. So the natural thing to do when the show isn't holding my interest is to get up and move around, and so I go to the kitchen.

For most of us, the reason we overeat is related to the fact that we are less busy at night and we are near food. We like to relax and enjoy more leisurely activities and food is a common source of comfort. Without the distraction of work or other daytime activities, it's easy to grab for snacks that are nearby. If you can find other ways to unwind, then you'll be likely to eat less at night. You can also use these strategies to curb nighttime eating.

How to Stop Eating After Dinner

The best way to curb your nighttime eating behavior for good is to use short term strategies to break the habit. If you can replace snacking with a healthier habit, then you won't feel the urge to overeat in the evening.

Use one of these tips (or all three) to change your night-time snack habit.

Move away from the food. You're more likely to eat too much at night if you are always around food. So after dinner, move away from the kitchen. This might mean that you postpone clean-up tasks so that you aren't tempted to eat leftovers. Or better yet, delegate the job to someone in your house who isn't on a diet.

Another great way to get away from food is to go for a walk after dinner. I walk the dog after dinner. I get-in extra activity to burn more calories. At the same time, I'm breaking the habit of snacking after dinner. But the real plus for me is I can sleep better. I'm not stuffed full and the walking has made me little tired. Even if your walk is just 15-20 minutes long, physical activity helps to break up the eating momentum. It also gives your body a chance to feel the sensation of fullness so the urge to eat is less strong. After I got use to walking at night, I stretched out my walk to 45 minutes.

Use a "meal-ender" to curb your appetite. Some dieters use mint-flavored gum to diminish the desire to eat after dinner. Most of us don't like the taste of food when we have a mint flavor in our mouths. Brushing your teeth after dinner provides this same benefit - along with a dental bonus. That's true but I still like mint flavored gum when ever I have a craving to eat something.

You can also use MealEnders to stop eating so much. These small candies reset your taste buds so that you don't feel the urge to eat. MealEnders contain no stimulants and are regulated as a food product so they have to follow strict guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration, unlike many diet and weight loss supplements. MealEnders are popular with seniors with dentures. I know it's hard to chow gum with dentures.

Be a smart television watcher. Most of us eat too much at night when we snack mindlessly in front of the television. Some researchers even believe that certain action shows make us eat too much food. Regardless of your show preference, however, you can create healthy eating habits in front of the television to eat less and lose weight.

One way to eat less is to keep your hands active. I do simple chores while I watch TV. Sometimes I read while I watch TV, my brother taught me that. And sometimes I stay on the internet at night and that keep my hands busy.

Remember, snacking isn't bad for your diet. But eating when you're not hungry is never a good plan. Learn to eat a healthy (not hardy) dinner and then create habits to stop eating  at night. You'll reach your goal weight faster and keep your weight off for good. Most diet gurus will tell you not to eat the 3 hours before bed. There's a good reason for that. Late night food won't have time to be properly digested and will end-up being stored as fat.