The Dangers of Salt

You may think twice about "salt" after reading this. I found this post on VeryWell.com. Take a minute and read this, it might be one of the reasons you have body fat.

We all know excess salt in our diet raises our blood pressure. But did you know that Americans have a 90 percent lifetime probability of developing high blood pressure? Even if your blood pressure is normal now, if you continue to eat the typical American diet, you are at risk of acquiring hypertension during your lifetime. In addition to causing 62 percent of strokes and 49 percent of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure also harms other body systems. 

2

The Cardiovascular Side Effects of Salt

In addition to elevating blood pressure, salt has other damaging effects on the cardiovascular system. Research has established such a strong relationship between salt consumption and death from stroke, that it is all not accounted for by salt’s effect on blood pressure. Excess use of salt over time leads to stiffening of the arteries. Recent research also found that blood vessel function is suppressed within 30 minutes of eating a high-salt meal.

3

Salt's Impact on Autoimmune Diseases

Excess sodium may exacerbate the inflammation associated with several autoimmune conditions. Inflammation-promoting cells become elevated in people who eat salty fast food. In fact, studies of these immune cells in different sodium concentrations corroborate sodium as the culprit. It is also observed that mice, predisposed to an autoimmune disease, develop disease quickly when given a high-salt diet compared to a lower sodium diet.

4

An Increased Osteoporosis Risk

Consuming a large amount of salt also puts you at risk for osteoporosis because excess dietary sodium promotes urinary calcium loss, leading to calcium loss from bone, decreasing bone density. Even in the presence of a high calcium diet, high salt intake results in net calcium loss from bone. 

5

Ulcers and Stomach Cancer

Salt is the strongest dietary factor relating to stomach cancer. A high-salt diet also increases growth of the ulcer-promoting bacteria H. pylori in the stomach, which is also a risk factor for gastric cancer.

6

Salt's Other Effects

High dietary sodium has been implicated in kidney disease, headaches, and obesity. A high-salt diet may also increase the severity of symptoms for asthma sufferers. 

7

Put Down the Salt Shaker

It has been estimated that 2.3 million deaths per year worldwide are due to excess salt consumption, and many (40 percent) of these deaths are in people under the age of 70.  Excess sodium needlessly shortens millions of lives. This applies to regular table salt as well as the gourmet salts that are trendy right now. Reducing your intake of sodium is essential for anyone who wants to remain in good health. A person eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) consumes about 500 percent more sodium than they actually need every single day. Almost 80 percent of our sodium comes from processed foods and restaurant meals. By, preparing your own meals, you avoid most of the sodium in the American diet.

8

Salt is Not a Health Food

For millions of years, human diets contained no added salt, only what was naturally present in food. In the United States, our salt intake is about 3500 mg. per day. The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of 1500 mg. daily. I recommend even less.  Salt is not health-promoting. Rather than use salt, it is better to spice up your dishes with natural herbs and other flavorful spices. A Nutritarian diet with plenty of fresh greens and other colorful vegetables, including raw chopped onions and cooked mushrooms, beans, nuts, seeds and some fruit is the ideal diet.

You can tweet me at #ray0369

I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than 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. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.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. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon

Why Do I Gain Weight Easily?

All those people struggling with weight loss need to read this post. This post from VeryWell.com tells it all. 

Do you feel like you gain weight just looking at food? You're not alone. Many struggling dieters wonder, "why do I gain weight so easily?" and "why do I keep gaining weight?"  You may feel like you are doing everything right with your diet and exercise plan, making these questions even more frustrating. I understand. And I've dealt with the same questions. 

Personally, until I lost my body fat, I couldn't control my weight and I didn't know why. Now I know. It's all about your percentage of body fat. Before I lost fat and got my Body Mass Index below 23, I had to watch everything I was eating. I was watching my calories every day. Now my BMI is about 20 and I don't bother counting calories. I'll burn more calories because the ratio between fat and muscle gives me an advantage. Muscle will actually burn fat. I have to admit that I do eat healthier today but that's not about calories. If you eat the right foods you can eat 5 or 6 meals a day and you're never hungry. Read the following post.

Why Do I Keep Gaining Weight?
It's not uncommon to have friends who can eat anything and stay thin as a rail.

Almost anyone with a weight problem knows someone who makes them simply green with envy. You know who I'm talking about—that person who seems to just eat endless amounts of food but never seems to gain a pound. It's so frustrating.  And it's especially hard if that person eats all the foods you love but you know you have to avoid them.

It often feels like I gain weight just looking at food. In fact, I've even said it out loud. This outcry usually happens as I watch a skinny person eat a donut while I munch away on a stalk of celery. If I think this way makes me feel better for a moment, but deep down I know that it's simply not true.

So what is the truth? The truth is that there are real reasons that some people are thin and some people aren't

Why Do I Gain Weight Easily?

It's very difficult to know the exact reasons why some people gain weight so easily while others seem to be immune to weight gain. They eat whatever they want while I eat almost nothing and get bigger. Of course, restraining yourself while you watch others indulge can be maddening.

And it can also make you feel hopeless.

But the truth is, my weight will always come down to my own eating choices and exercise habits. And yours does too. Fair or not, weight gain and weight loss is unique from person to person and always will be. But it's important to face the truth. It's not about feeling ashamed. It's more about creating hope.

Stop Weight Gain and Feel Better Today

If I want to stop getting mad, put an end to the frustration and stop gaining weight so easily, I need to look at each situation differently. And you can, too. We can take a moment to consider the skinny donut eater in a different light. Perhaps that person makes it a habit to exercise extra hard every day. Or maybe they have a "cheat" day now and again, but the rest of the time they eat healthy calorie-controlled meals.

And remember, metabolism greatly affects a person's tendency to lose or gain weight. Changing your metabolism is harder than changing your eating and exercise habits. You can strive to achieve a skinny person's eating habits or fitness level, but you just can't make their metabolism yours.

There are some factors in weight gain we simply have no control over. But there are others that we can change. There are hormones that affect hunger and metabolism. We can't control those. But I can make the healthiest choices possible when I eat. And I can exercise to feel good about my body, not just to lose weight.  Then if I still gain weight easily, I know that I'm doing the best that I can for my health and well-being.  

The change in perspective may not change my weight, but then again, it just might. If nothing else, it can make me feel better about my body and my weight...at any size.

Yes, I agree with this post, but I think that I should simplify some of what this author is saying. Your metabolism is simply the rate in which you burn calories and the higher percentage of body fat, the slower your metabolism. This is why it's so hard to lose fat. Don't get confused about weight loss. Don't worry about the scale. It's all about reducing your body fat. Increasing body fat is a sign of a more serious health problem. It started with the food your eating and you can start burning more fat by changing what you eat. Read my latest e-book for all the answers you need. Find out how I lost over 60 pounds. I have only about 20% body fat and I feel 30 years younger. No pills, no surgery, no expensive gym equipment or expensive meal programs. 

If you really want to lose your body fat than 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. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.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. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon

Why Your Diet Is The Important Part Of Fitness

The food we eat plays a vital role in how we look and feel. Regular exercise is important but according to research, nutrition has the largest impact on our fitness. Using food as our medicine has become a popular theme for health improvement.

The trend is now to focus on healthy food intake as a primary fitness goal. When healthy eating habits become a lifestyle, we are healthier and happier. Eating right allows us to reduce body fat, lose a few pounds, feel more confident and reduce our risk of illness.  

Chronic studies are indicating healthy food intake as the most important part of our fitness programs. Some physicians are teaching healthy eating habits/lifestyle as a way to improve overall health reducing obesity and related disease. 

Food is Our Medicine

Nutrient-dense foods or superfoods include lean proteins, healthy carbohydrates, and fats (fats from plants) that are essential to our health. Superfoods are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Antioxidants are shown to reduce inflammation in our body helping us fight disease and illness. Inflammation is said to be the leading cause of many diseases. Powerful antioxidants in leafy greens and vegetables, for example, help detoxify the body removing harmful chemicals. 

Some superfoods contain compounds that increase our metabolism for more efficient fat burning. Red peppers contain a molecule called capsaicin shown to enhance the rate we burn body fat. 

Eating healthy food will not only help improve our health but also enable us to finally reach desired fitness goals. 

Increase Your Metabolism Naturally

Your best fat burner is not going to come in a bottle but by eating foods containing certain compounds. We can increase the rate we burn fat naturally according to nutrition research.

Eating foods that stimulate and enhance the fat burning process will help us reduce fat more effectively. Adding metabolism boosting foods will be a great supplement to your existing workout and nutrition program. 

The following foods are shown to increase our metabolism so you burn more fat

• Hot peppers (active component capsaicin) 
• Green tea (active component caffeine)
• Black coffee (active component caffeine)
• Cold water (500 ml of water daily increased metabolic rate by 30%) 
• Whole grains (aiding component fiber and iron)
• Yogurt (aiding component calcium and probiotics)
• Apples (aiding component fiber)
• Nuts and seeds (aiding component essential fatty acids)
• Fatty fish (aiding component Omega-3 fatty acids)

Peanut Butter is a Superfood

Peanut butter just so happens to be the number one sports nutrition superfood. It contains healthy fat, is nutrient-dense and shown to provide long-lasting energy for optimal athletic performance. 

Selecting natural or organic peanut butter is recommended to avoid added sugar and preservatives. Peanut butter is high in fiber and an excellent source of plant protein. It also contains niacin, folate, vitamin E and other essential nutrients and minerals. 

Peanut butter contains quality nutrients and supplies lasting energy at 90 calories per 2 tablespoon serving. It also contains 7 grams of protein per ounce compared to other nuts only supplying 4 grams. Adequate protein intake is essential for muscle growth. 

It is low in saturated fat and cholesterol making it a heart healthy food. Research indicates consuming 1.5 ounces of peanut butter per day may reduce the risk of heart disease.  

What are Fitness Foods?

The term fitness food is interchangeable with superfoods. Eating a diet rich in fitness foods is essential to our health. Incorporating healthy nutrition and knowing what that means is vital to achieving a lean and healthy body.   

The following is a favored list of superfoods among fitness enthusiasts:

• Oats (high in fiber, improves digestion/increases metabolism)
• Eggs (protein source, muscle building)
• Greens (antioxidants, reduces inflammation)
• Apples (antioxidants, reduces inflammation/increases metabolism)
• Lean meats/fish (amino acids, protein source, muscle building)

Is Coffee Healthy or Not?

Should we drink coffee? This is a popular question and although not the best drink for some, overall studies show coffee as beneficial to our health and fitness.

Coffee contains antioxidants but also caffeine. Caffeine is a natural stimulant shown to increase our metabolic rate. Many athletes are using coffee as a pre-workout drink to benefit from this effect. Low to moderate doses (1-2 cups) of coffee are shown to significantly improve athletic performance.

Drinking black coffee 30 minutes prior to exercise is said to have the best ergogenic results. It's shown to improve our endurance and enable us to exercise longer. 

Coffee is also indicated to improve our mental focus and increase energy levels. Clearer thinking promotes a more productive and effective workout. Coffee is also shown to reduce exercise-induced muscle pain.

Coffee also contains powerful antioxidants shown to reduce chronic disease and illness. Studies have shown it help individuals suffering from Parkinson's diseaseand to reduce the incidence of gallstones. 

Because caffeine is a stimulant, it's recommended to consult your physician if you are hypertensive, pregnant, have diagnosed heart disease, or are nursing prior to drinking coffee.

Eat Superfoods Daily

Superfoods play an important part in achieving and maintaining a healthy body. Nutritionists may vary in their lists of which foods are best but agree they're all essential. Eating a wide variety of superfoods daily will satisfy nutrient requirements for optimal body functioning.

Start with the following top superfoods for improved health and fitness:

• Oats (high in fiber, improved digestion, heart health)
• Blueberries (antioxidants, reduces inflammation, cancer-fighting)
• Apples (antioxidants, reduces inflammation, weight loss)
• Green tea (antioxidants, increases metabolism, weight loss)
• Flaxseed (essential fatty acids, increases metabolism, reduces inflammation)
• Broccoli (antioxidants, cancer-fighting, detox)
• Yogurt (calcium, probiotic, improved digestion, bone health)
• Olive oil (monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs)/heart health) 
• Beans (high in fiber, antioxidants, improved brain function)
• Cinnamon (antioxidants, detox, healing spice)

Stop eating the foods that taste good and start eating the foods that are good for you. Putting more nutrition in your diet will keep you slim, fit, and healthy.

I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than 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. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.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. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon

Apple Cider Vinegar And Your Health

So why are we discussing Apple Cider Vinegar, because you want to lose weight. When you diet for weight loss you can mess up your stomach to the point that it doesn't seem to be working. That's because you have changed the good bacteria in your stomach by changing the foods you have been eating in the past. Apple cider vinegar can restore the bacteria you lost. Stomach bacteria is what works in your stomach to digest the food you're eating and not eating properly will ruin that bacteria. Taking probiotics will remedy that. Apple cider vinegar is a natural probiotic. Being able to get the nutrition from your food depends on your stomach being able to process that food and the bacteria in your stomach is responsible for that.
Read on about Apple Cider Vinegar, it just may be the answer to your weight loss problems.
WebMD Feature

By Joy Manning

Reviewed by Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

I like this article, I take this myself and I have no more trouble with acid reflux. What this doctor is talking about is unfiltered apple cider vinegar. And this stuff is concentrated. It's on the same shelf at the grocery store but it costs a lot more. If you surf the internet you'll find there's one brand that stands out and it's an organic product and even if you find another, remember you want the unfiltered stuff that's cloudy in the bottle and try to buy the organic. I use one tablespoon in a 12-ounce glass of bottled water. I drink it first thing in the morning before I brush my teeth. Like lemon juice, this will hurt the enamel on your teeth. It will also damage your kitchen counters, be careful. If you want to talk to your doctored I wouldn't give this to kids. All vinegar is an alkaline and the idea is to neutralize over-active stomach acid. Your body does that already but some people make too much stomach acid so the vinegar help to tone it down a little. It's important you dilute this a lot because you can burn your throat. 

Apple Cider Vinegar and Weight Loss

Have you heard that apple cider vinegar will help you lose weight? 

The only study to test the idea in people was done in Japan. In the study, 175 obese but healthy people took either vinegar or water daily for 12 weeks. Their diets were similar. They kept food journals. At the end of the study, those who used vinegar had lost slightly more weight. On average, the vinegar group lost 1-2 pounds over the 3-month period. They gained it all back after the study was over.

The researchers suggest that vinegar may turn on certain genes involved in breaking down fats.

The effect is probably very subtle, says Chicago dietitian Debbie Davis, RD. “It may have some benefits in terms of weight loss and weight management, but it is definitely not a quick fix." 

If you want to lose weight, you’ll still need to exercise and change your diet.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Blood Sugar

While apple cider vinegar probably won’t make you skinny, it does appear to help with diabetes and blood sugar control.

Carol Johnston, PhD, directs Arizona State University’s nutrition program. She has been studying apple cider vinegar for more than 10 years and believes its effects on blood sugar are similar to certain medications.

“Apple cider vinegar’s anti-glycemic effect is very well documented,” Johnston says.

She explains that the vinegar blocks some of the digestion of starch. “It doesn’t block the starch 100%, but it definitely prevents at least some of that starch from being digested and raising your blood sugar,” Johnston says.

Not every expert feels as confident about apple cider vinegar’s power.

"Trying to use vinegar to treat diabetes is like trying to bail out a flooded basement with a teaspoon," says Michael Dansinger, MD, director of Tufts University’s diabetes lifestyle coaching program.

He advises patients to focus instead on their overall diets -- a strategy backed by a lot more research, he says.

If you have gastroparesis, a common problem with diabetes that slows stomach emptying, be careful. Early research shows apple cider vinegar may make this problem worse.

"I’m concerned that drinking vinegar, even diluted in water, increases acid in your system, which puts a strain on your kidneys and bones,” Dansinger says.

If you have diabetes and want to try apple cider vinegar, let your doctor know, and keep an eye on your blood sugar levels.

Johnston stresses that if you are on medication for diabetes, you shouldn’t stop taking it and substitute vinegar. If you're thinking about using it to help manage your blood sugar, talk to your doctor first.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Digestion

If you drink apple cider vinegar with a starchy meal, then the starches you don't digest will feed the good bacteria in your gut, Johnston says.

Davis recommends using unfiltered apple cider vinegar, “the cloudy kind, where you can see a blob in the bottle.”

That blob is known as “the mother,” and it’s full of probiotics and other beneficial bacteria. “This kind of vinegar can support immune function and, for some people, even help with constipation,” Davis says.

Tips on Taking Apple Cider Vinegar

Don't drink it straight. It’s so acidic that it could harm your tooth enamel and your esophagus.

Don't use a lot. “Dilute 1 to 2 tablespoons in a big glass of water, and sip it along with your meals one or two times a day,” Johnston says.

You can tweet me at #ray0369

I write several blogs and ebooks, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks 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 ebooks. 

There are two Ebooks. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new Ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon

Forget Three Squares a Day; Americans Eat All Day Long

This is so true and I'm an advocator of the "5 small meal a day plan", but it's easy to overdo the calories. When I started the small meal plan I had to put everything on paper first and count the calories and you have to stick to the plan you make. Always eat at the proper time and never skip a meal and stay between 250 and 300 calories every meal then do your exercise and you won't get hungry and you will lose weight.

1. 
   

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- Many Americans have tossed the conventional three-meals-a-day routine out the window and replaced it with frequent chow downs spread throughout the day, new research shows.

The study found that most folks were eating for 15 or more hours while awake, and the lion's share of calories were eaten well after 6 p.m.

"Most participants thought they don't eat or drink that regularly outside their breakfast-lunch-dinner routine," said study co-author Satchidananda Panda, an associate professor in the Regulatory Biology Laboratory at the Salk Institute. Most people also assumed that they had been confining their eating routine to a 10- to 12-hour window, he added.

But after tracking actual eating patterns, Panda found that the "recorded fact was different."

The findings stem from a new effort to track real-world eating behavior by means of a newly designed mobile app.

For three weeks, 150 healthy men and women continuously snapped photos of all the food, drinks and nutritional supplements they consumed. In turn, the app tracked all caloric intake, along with the exact time and place food was consumed, the researchers said.

All the participants were between the ages of 21 and 55, and resided in the vicinity of San Diego, the study reported. No one was asked to modify his or her normal eating habits in any way. Also, no study volunteers were dieting.

After 21 days, investigators determined that food intake was generally both erratic and continuous.

In essence, the study authors found that whenever they were awake, people ate. More than half of the participants spread their food intake over a roughly 15-hour period each day. Fasting tended to occur only during sleep, the study found.

What's more, less than a quarter of daily caloric intake happened before noon. By contrast, more than a third of food was consumed after 6 p.m., the study said.

A follow-up experiment tracked eight participants who were classified as obese and who had a habit of consuming food for periods stretching beyond 14 hours each day. Wrong. You should consume all food and drink for the day during the first 10 hours after you wake-up. The food you eat those last 3 or 4 hours before bed will not have time to digest and will sit in your stomach all night and may never be digested. 

The five male and three female participants were instructed to restrict all food intake to a 10-hour block of time per day for 16 weeks. The app was used to track their eating behavior, and this enabled all participants to log onto a website to follow their actual dietary habits in real time.

The result: Although no one had been instructed to change the kind or amount of food they normally consumed, the obese participants had cut back their daily calories by about 20 percent by the end of the four-month study period. They ended up losing an average of about 7 pounds. They also reported experiencing improved sleep and increased energy levels, the study revealed.

Panda said that at this point, the app is designed to serve as a research tool, rather than as a dietary consumer aid.

Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, said the study findings are "not much of a surprise."

"Basically this new study helps confirm what we already suspect," she said. "Eating sporadically and at all hours is just not good for our health. Today's new studies show that the more calories you eat, the more health problems you'll have later in life. 

"I see this a lot in those that I work with in my weight-loss classes," Sandon added. "There is a lack of planning and stability in their eating schedules, so eating just happens whenever. Many skip breakfast, have a light lunch, then find themselves hungry and tired in the afternoon and seeking a pick-me-up from the vending machine, only to get home from work ravenous and wanting to eat anything and everything with no energy to exercise. They then spend the night snacking before bed. This is a common phenomenon.

"[So] planning ahead for regularly scheduled meals is an important strategy for weight loss or just simply eating healthier," she advised.

I write several blogs and ebooks, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks 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 ebooks. 

There are two Ebooks. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new Ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon

Body Weight Exercise: Exercise on the Cheap

Using the weight of your own body to create resistance was one of the earliest forms of strength training. It's easy to learn, effective, and you can do it just about anywhere.

Although you can get quite inventive, the following exercises are the primary bodyweight exercises and how to do them. It's a somewhat fine distinction, but the core resistance bodyweight exercises are not the same as calisthenics, stretching, plyometrics or most yoga exercises (in my opinion anyway), although they may include elements of all these disciplines.

The exercises form the core of any bodyweight workout program. Many others are variations and trivial modifications.

Push-ups

The push-up is a classic bodyweight exercise, and it demonstrates quite clearly the principle of bodyweight resistance training.

Lie face down on the floor, preferably on a firm carpet or mat or rubber surface, with feet together.
Place your hands on the floor at shoulder level, facing forward. Keep a slight bubble in the hands and fingers, rather than positioning them flat on the hard surface.
Raise your body up on the hands and toes until elbows are nearly straight, then lower to a point where the elbow is at a right angle. Don't let your body touch the floor.
One "up and down" is one push-up repetition. Don't go too fast or too slow. Keep the head and neck steady.
Do as many as you can in one minute, rest, then try again. Rest your knees on the ground if you find the exercise difficult when you first start out.
The push-up develops strength in the chest, shoulders and the triceps muscles of the upper arms.

Variations include resting knees on the floor, using a wide or narrow hand position and using one arm to perform the push-up motion (for the tough guys and girls).

The Squat

The squat without weights may seem easy, but once you get up around the 20 rep mark it starts to take a toll on the knees, upper legs, and butt until you build some condition. I do a flat footed squat, but some prefer to do the squat on their toes.

Here's how it goes:

Stand with feet about shoulder width apart. Keep hands on your hips, crossed over the chest, held out in front, or at your sides. I like the hands out in front because it allows you to settle back a little into the squat and put some emphasis on the butt muscles and hamstrings.
Keeping the back straight, bend the knees and squat down until your knees are at approximately 90 degrees (a right angle).
Push up to the starting position and repeat. The squat develops legs and butt muscles and, over time, may strengthen knee joints. However, be cautious with this exercise if you have an existing knee injury or feel knee pain at any stage in the workout.
Start with 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Lunges

The lunge is a fundamental bodyweight exercise. Done in sets of 8 or more (each leg), lunges provide strength, balance, and flexibility training. You can see how to perform the lunge in this example of a weighted lunge.

Options include a variety of arm positions -- at the sides, straight out in front, raised at each side, crossed at the chest or straight up overhead.

Try them all, as each arm position provides a slightly different emphasis and perhaps level of difficulty. For example, the arms raised at the sides provides better balance and stability than arms crossed at the chest.

Other more advanced options include the backward lunge and the 45-degree angle side lunge.

Crunches

Crunches are a key exercise for strengthening the abdominal muscles. Many different types of crunches are possible. Some of the best are:

Standard crunch, in which the shoulders are raised off the floor while you contract the abs
Reverse crunch, in which the legs and knees are raised off the floor while you contract the abs
Combo crunch, which is a combination of both of the above
Bicycle crunch, which includes all of the above and you peddle the legs in the air as well.

Dips

Dips are performed with a chair or bench. You can also use a special machine at the gym that helps you. These are called "assisted dips." These instructions are for the standard dip from a bench:

Make sure you select a secure bench or chair that will not slide from under you. I use a kitchen chair and I push it against the wall to prevent slipping.
Sit on a bench or chair and slide your butt forward off the bench so that you are supporting your whole body weight on your hands, with your butt hanging and your feet on the ground.
Lower your body down until the elbow is at about 90 degrees (a right angle). Don't go below this, as the shoulder joint can get in a position that may not be safe for some people.
You can start out with the legs bent at about 90 degrees and your feet more or less flat on the floor, then extend them out as you get stronger until your "dipping" on your heels with your feet stretched out in front of you.

Some people believe you have to exercise to lose weight and it will help, but you can't sweat off pounds and expect them to stay off. Only a change in your diet will create permanent weight loss.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebook at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

“How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?”, is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

Mysteries of Weight Loss Continued......

A few months ago I wrote the first post and today I'm doing a follow-up.

I'm not a big fan of low-carb diets for losing body fat, but some people are insulin-resistant, which means when they eat carbs they spike their blood sugar. "So, what?" When you eat foods that cause your blood sugar levels or glucose levels to shoot up very fast after eating then get ready for a quick drop. That's the real problem, that quick drop will cause more food cravings so you'll be snacking after a big meal and you won't be hungry but you have the cravings for salty or sweet and it drives you to eat more and those cravings will continue until you ate some much you're uncomfortable.

Low-carb diets are all about balancing blood sugar (blood glucose) levels. Beyond weight loss, we eat low-carb diets to keep our blood sugar normal and stable. To fully understand the connection, it's helpful to first familiarize yourself with how the body processes blood sugar in a normal state and even explore how that changes when there's a problem, such as in diabetics.

What Do Carbohydrates Have to Do With Blood Glucose?

Carbohydrates have everything to with blood glucose.

All foods with carbohydrate -- whether rice, jelly beans, or watermelon -- break down to simple sugars in our bodies turning into glucose through metabolic processes. This process is what causes our blood glucose to rise. The carbohydrate in most starchy foods (potatoes, bread) is simply a collection of long chains of glucose, which break down quickly and raise blood sugar.

What Does Our Body Do When Blood Sugar is High?

When our blood sugar goes up, our body responds by secreting insulin to stabilize it. The sugar is then taken out of the blood and converted into fat; insulin's primary function is facilitating the storage of extra sugar in the blood as fat. Diabetics are unable to balance blood sugar when the process of converting food to energy takes place. When sugar levels are high, the ability of cells in the pancreas to make insulin goes down. The pancreas overcompensates for this lack of insulin and insulin levels stay high, as does blood sugar.

Over time, the pancreas is permanently damaged and other bodily functions are affected such as hardened blood vessels, among other ailments.

What are the Problems with Blood Sugar Going Up?

However, for many people, this metabolic process works fine. Sometimes, though, people reach a point in their lives when it goes awry (or it doesn't work well from childhood).

This is called insulin resistance, and one of the consequences is that there gets to be too much insulin in the blood as the body tries harder and harder to bring the sugar down. When insulin is high, weight gain is more likely, since a main function of insulin is fat storage. Conversely, people with high insulin levels are more likely to lose weight on low-carb diets.

Keeping blood glucose normal has other health benefits, such as the prevention of heart disease and diabetes. Even non-diabetics have an increased heart disease risk with higher blood glucose levels.

Stop what your eating and start eating healthy and much of your health problems will disappear. Learn more about eating healthy from my ebooks.

You can tweet me at #ray0369

I write several blogs and ebooks, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks 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 ebooks. 

There are two Ebooks. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new Ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon