by: William Mackie
Copyright 2005 William MackieFitness has evolved tremendously since the early days of round cement dumbbells and jump ropes. Now all the luxuries of home are provided for you in your workout experience, to help make it more convenient, enjoyable and have it feel less like, well, working out, as possible. Cardio machines now come equipped with numerous amenities, from personal televisions to fans. People now can seclude themselves from the rest of the world with head phones that connect to televisions’ as they workout. Strength equipment has also advanced with more user friendly resistance machines that provide every possible way in which to target a muscle. Yes, our society has defiantly advanced, at least in terms of the equipment we use. However, some how, even with all of our technological advances we are still more over weight and obese than ever. Many people sit and wonder to themselves how could it be that movie stars can obtain and maintain such fit and beautiful bodies? They have access to much of the same technological advances as the rest of us do in our fitness centers and home equipment. After all, is it not about how much you do and not what you do? This is far from the truth; movie stars, models, performers, their just like you and me. They have cravings, they get too tired to workout and they have access to similar equipment. So again, how is it that with their hectic schedules, being constantly bombarded with rich foods, and being only human, that they can look so good, all the time! The answer is that they have access to something most people do not, a great personal trainer! I know what people will be thinking when they read this, “I can’t afford a personal trainer” or “I don’t have time to meet on a regular basis with someone.” Online personal training is the solution to much of the nations’ health problems. Online personal training can provide people with the direction they need to help them reach their goals. They can do this with access to a certified personal trainer, but without the cost and time needed to acquire one. Online personal training is the New Era of the fitness industry and can get you where you need to be, on the fast track to a healthier more attractive body! Here’s how it works. Participants obtain access to an online training website. From their, the participant selects the plan they prefer most (prices usually increase depending on the type of program selected). Once a program is selected, a simple questionnaire is required to be filled out to determine you current health status, preferences and future goals. You are then set up with you own login screen name and password that gives you access to your programs online. The trainer will send you your workout plan periodically through email and post it on your login access online. Participants can print out their workouts, which consist of a picture of each exercises start and finish positions, written directions on how to perform each exercise and the correct order to perform each one are all provided. How many sets and reps to perform are included as well. For more detailed explanation of an exercise, clients can even access their program online and watch a video of a model demonstrating each exercise start to finish properly. Another great advantage to online training is that you have constant access to a personal trainer via email or phone, to ask questions about your program or any general health and fitness inquiries. The benefits seem endless, depending on the program one chooses, nutritional components are also supplied in different degrees. The nutrition component is based on your goals and eating habits. A licensed nutritionist supplies you with a daily meal plan and grocery list in which to choose healthy options based on your goals and health needs. The best features’ of online training is that it is affordable, convenient and made specifically for you. You too can have the advantages of a personal trainer without the time commitment and cost. Online training truly is the New Era of Health and Fitness! William Mackie is a fitness expert with knowledge base in exercise science and a certification in personal training. For the technical edge on fitness and the attainment of your weight loss goals.
For more information or articles please visit www.honostreview.com
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Are Weight Loss Supplements Right For You?
by: Tom Worsley
Are Weight Loss Supplements Right For You?
By Tom Worsley
The debate about whether supplements for weight loss are healthy or not will go on and on for years to come. There are good and bad points to using weight loss supplements. One of the bad points is that once you stop taking them you gain everything back that you lost to begin with.
Most doctors will tell you that weight loss supplements are not necessary and that only a good controlled diet along with daily exercise is the only thing one needs to lose weight. This is true. however with today's working society with 2 parents working and trying to raise children at the same time who has time for exercise? Who has time to plan good nutritional meals?
I know first hand what this is all about. My wife is probably around 60 pounds over weight. Now before we go any further I would just like to say that I love her just as much now as I did when we first met. Her weight does not bother me. She is a beautiful person both inside and out. But I know inside she is hurting. And for the last several years she has struggled with her weight almost daily. And the biggest problem as I mentioned above is time. Time to prepare good quality nutritious meals both for her self and the children. Time to do sufficient exercise in order to burn off calories.Our schedule is chaotic to say the least. She works from 9:00 AM till 5:00 PM. I work from 3:30 PM till 12:00 AM . When I'm not with the kids she is with the kids. Only on weekends do the kids have both parents home at the same time.
Back to supplements.
First they will not work if you do not get the proper diet and at least exercise once per week. My wife has tried supplements and they did work for her. What supplements do is to help speed up your metabolism rate decreasing the need for daily exercise. They also supplement the nutrition needed that you may not be getting from your diet for proper weight loss. Weight loss supplements actually regulate your blood sugar level, this helps you overcome severe sugar and carbohydrate cravings that sabotage even the most strong-willed weight loss efforts.
So are weight loss nutrition supplements right for you? When my wife lost 40 pounds using supplements she felt great. She was happy and gained allot of self esteem back. Not to mention that she had allot more energy. If you have a hectic schedule and cannot find enough time in the day to prepare proper nutritional meals and get regular daily exercise then I suggest you give supplements a try.
My opinion is that if they help you to lose weight and make you feel good about yourself again then go for it. What do you have to lose except a few pounds. There are hundreds of products on the internet you can try.
For more information or articles please visit www.honostreview.com
Are Weight Loss Supplements Right For You?
By Tom Worsley
The debate about whether supplements for weight loss are healthy or not will go on and on for years to come. There are good and bad points to using weight loss supplements. One of the bad points is that once you stop taking them you gain everything back that you lost to begin with.
Most doctors will tell you that weight loss supplements are not necessary and that only a good controlled diet along with daily exercise is the only thing one needs to lose weight. This is true. however with today's working society with 2 parents working and trying to raise children at the same time who has time for exercise? Who has time to plan good nutritional meals?
I know first hand what this is all about. My wife is probably around 60 pounds over weight. Now before we go any further I would just like to say that I love her just as much now as I did when we first met. Her weight does not bother me. She is a beautiful person both inside and out. But I know inside she is hurting. And for the last several years she has struggled with her weight almost daily. And the biggest problem as I mentioned above is time. Time to prepare good quality nutritious meals both for her self and the children. Time to do sufficient exercise in order to burn off calories.Our schedule is chaotic to say the least. She works from 9:00 AM till 5:00 PM. I work from 3:30 PM till 12:00 AM . When I'm not with the kids she is with the kids. Only on weekends do the kids have both parents home at the same time.
Back to supplements.
First they will not work if you do not get the proper diet and at least exercise once per week. My wife has tried supplements and they did work for her. What supplements do is to help speed up your metabolism rate decreasing the need for daily exercise. They also supplement the nutrition needed that you may not be getting from your diet for proper weight loss. Weight loss supplements actually regulate your blood sugar level, this helps you overcome severe sugar and carbohydrate cravings that sabotage even the most strong-willed weight loss efforts.
So are weight loss nutrition supplements right for you? When my wife lost 40 pounds using supplements she felt great. She was happy and gained allot of self esteem back. Not to mention that she had allot more energy. If you have a hectic schedule and cannot find enough time in the day to prepare proper nutritional meals and get regular daily exercise then I suggest you give supplements a try.
My opinion is that if they help you to lose weight and make you feel good about yourself again then go for it. What do you have to lose except a few pounds. There are hundreds of products on the internet you can try.
For more information or articles please visit www.honostreview.com
Avoid these five common weight loss mistakes
by: Hristo Hristov
Mistake #1: Not changing your calorie plan as you lose weight. The fallacy of the "1200 calorie diet" plans and the like.
Most people fix their calorie intake to a given number and expect to lose weight at the same constant rate over a period of weeks. Hence, dieters look for 1000 calorie or 1800 calorie diet plans on the internet. The fixed calorie diet plans don't work. If you burn 3000 calories a day at the start of a diet, after a week or two of losing some weight, you are no longer burning 3000 calories. Now you might be burning 2800 calories. If you fix your calorie intake in the face of a decreasing calorie expenditure, your weight loss will slow down more and more as you lose weight.
If you want to lose weight at a constant rate, you must repeatedly:
decrease your calorie intake to accommodate the calorie expenditure dropincrease your calorie output by exercising moredo both
I would like to note that you must set realistic slow weight loss goals. If you go for fast weight loss you would not be able to sustain it for a long period unless you go extreme in the calorie reduction and exercise a lot. For people who have to lose more than 20 pounds (10kgs), the goal should be a loss of no more than 2 pounds or 1 kg per week. People who need to lose just a bit of weight should go for weight loss of 1 pound or half a kilogram per week.
Why does my calorie expenditure drop as I lose weight? The most important factors are:
You weight less. A smaller body burns less calories both at rest and while activeYou may involuntarily burn fewer calories. Dieters often lack energy and move lessCalorie restriction suppresses the metabolic rateYou have less body fat, which may further suppress your metabolic rate
These major factors contribute to an ever-decreasing energy expenditure as one loses weight. The more a dieter cuts calories, the bigger the calorie expenditure drop. The leaner the dieter, the greater the calorie expenditure drop.
Now you must understand that if you want to succeed in losing weight, you have to make changes in your nutrition plan. I recommend burning more calories, because being more active facilitates smaller calorie restriction and milder calorie expenditure drop.
It is very difficult to estimate the rate of the metabolic drop. Here is the general rule: the bigger you are, the smaller the rate of the metabolic drop. The more weight you lose, the more you have to cut calories or increase exercise. If you are overweight you might need to cut just 10 more calories for every lost pound, while if you are lean you might have to cut 60 calories for every pound lost. I picked these numbers just as an example.
Mistake #2: Overreporting the "extra" calorie expenditure of exercise
Most people count the calories they spend exercising as "extra" calories. There is a difference between calories burned while exercising and "extra" calories burned exercising. Here is an example: you burn 300 calories on the treadmill instead of your usual activity (watching TV at home); in reality, you have to subtract the calories you would have spent watching TV from these 300 calories to calculate how many additional calories you burned. Let's say that watching TV, you would have burned 80 calories. In this specific case, you have expended 300 calories while exercising, and 220 "extra" calories.
Calorie counters mindlessly add the calories burned exercising as "extra" and in some cases, this practice can significantly influence the calorie calculations. Hence, calorie software counts the part of your usual activities that overlaps with the extra activities twice.
How to estimate the "extra" calories burned exercising?
In order to make the calculations more accurate, I shall first introduce the concept of MET values. MET values are a convenient way to calculate the calorie cost of activities. MET values are multiples of the resting energy expenditure per time. In plain English, a MET = 3 means burning 3 times more calories than resting. A MET = 1 signifies how many calories you burn at rest (your Resting Metabolic Rate or Basal Metabolic Rate). Whatever you do, you burn calories at a rate of at least MET = 1 with the only exception being sleeping which has MET = 0.9. During the day, most activities include sitting and walking which have MET values between 1.2 and 3. Your total daily energy expenditure is calculated by multiplying your Resting Metabolic Rate by the average MET of all your activities. Is your head spinning?
Let's use a real world example. Consider a female person with a Resting Metabolic Rate of 1200 calories a day. One day has 1440 minutes. Our example lady is burning 1200/1440 = 0.84 calories per minute at rest, which signifies a MET = 1. Let's say our example woman just returned from an aerobics class, where she exercised for 30 minutes. General aerobic class training has a MET = 6. Our example lady has just burned 30 (minutes) x 6 (MET) * 0.84 (calories per minute) = 151 calories while exercising. Suppose our lady would have chatted on the internet instead of exercising (MET = 1.5). In this example, the woman substituted chatting on the internet with aerobic exercising. Remember, that every time you do something you substitute one activity for another. In order to get the extra calories, we have to subtract 1.5 (chatting) from 6 (exercising). Now let's calculate the extra calories: 30 (minutes) * (6 - 1.5) (MET value) * 0.84 = 113 calories.
Let's consider what a standard calorie counter would have done. First, it will assume an average calorie burn rate of 1 calorie per minute. Then the counter will find that exercising for 30 minutes will yield 30 (minutes) * 6 (MET) * 1 (calories per minute) = 180 calories. The calorie counter will add these 180 calories to your daily expenditure without considering that a part of these 180 calories is already accounted by your usual activities.
Do you now see the difference between 113 calories and 180 calories? If that woman spends 5 hours a week in that aerobics class, the standard calorie counters will overreport her calorie output by: (180-113) * 10 = 670 calories a week. The woman will be fooled that her metabolic rate has dropped while she just overestimated her calorie expenditure. Enter weight loss plateau, wasted time and efforts. Do you have the time for trial and error calorie estimations?
Remember these two rules:
Report only extra activities to your calorie counter. If your walk to your office every day, do not log "walking to office for 30 minutes" as an extra activity. Consider only unusual activities that contribute to extra expended calories! Always subtract the calories you would have burned instead of exercising. A general rule is to subtract from 1.2 to 1.5 from the MET values. In some cases, you need to subtract a greater MET. If you substitute 30 minutes of bodybuilding (MET = 6) for 30 minutes of slow jump rope (MET = 8) then the additional MET would be 8 - 6 = 2.
How to find the MET values of activities based on standard tables?
In order to make the above calculations, you need to know the MET values of activities. Standard tables give: name of activity, duration and calories. Standard tables assume an average calorie expenditure of one calorie per minute. To find the MET you just need to divide the calories by the duration.
Example: "Bicycling, stationary, general", "20 minutes", "140 calories"MET of "Bicycling, stationary, general" = 140 / 20 = 7
I know these calculations are somewhat tedious and in many cases the standard calorie calculations are close to correct. However, in some cases they can significantly over or under-calculate the calorie expenditure of activities and compromise your weight loss plan with daily miscalculations.
Mistake #3: Training with light weights and lots of reps
I have seen countless number of ladies come to the gym, get the lightest possible dumbbells, crank out some hundreds of reps and go home. Most often, these women do not get the results they want. The problem with this type of training is that it does not burn many "extra" calories unless you spend a considerable amount of time in the gym. Hefting Ken and Barbie weights in the gym has a MET value of 3, which means that it burns 3 times more calories than resting in bed. Almost anything you do during the day has a MET value of 1.2 to 2. Browsing the internet on your computer has a MET value of 1.5. Realize that almost anything you do during the day (average MET = 1.5) has about 50% overlap in calorie expenditure with training with very light weights (MET = 3). If you pump super light dumbbells in the gym, only about half of the calories burned are "additional".
Of course, you can burn a considerable amount of extra calories training with light weights but you have to really extend the duration of this type of training. Curling 5 pound dumbbells for 4 sets of 20 reps and chit-chatting for 20 minutes in the gym is not going to burn many extra calories.
Remember the rule: the less intensive the activity (smaller MET), the greater the calorie expenditure overlap with casual activities; the less intensive the activity, the more time you have to spend doing it to expend a good deal of extra calories. Always subtract a MET of 1 to 1.5 to arrive at the additional expended calories.
Mistake #4: Using "average person" calorie estimations
You can find all kinds of tables showing the calorie cost of different physical activities on the internet. These tables don't show your calorie expenditure. They actually tell you the calorie expenditure of an "average person". These tables assume you are an average person that burns one calorie per minute at rest. Yes, we covered this in the first part of the article and it needs repeating. Most men burn more than one calorie per minute and most smaller women burn less than one calorie per minute at rest. In reality, these standard tables overestimate the calorie expenditure of smaller people and underestimate the calorie expenditure of bigger than average people. Combine this with the common mistake of counting all burned calories as "additional calories" and you have a wide range of possible miscalculations.
Mistake #5: Going on very low calorie diets (VLCD)
Research has shown little to no difference in the weight loss rate of 1200 calorie diets and 800 calorie diets. The 1200 calorie threshold is the point where further calorie restriction does not yield faster results. Diets in the range of 800 to 1200 calories a day suppress the resting metabolic rate from the very first day and after some weeks on these diets, the metabolic rate has dropped by up to 20%. This metabolic drop is just a consequence of the calorie restriction factor; other factors such as the level of leanness may further depress the calorie expenditure.
A big percentage of the quick initial weight loss on a VLCD is water. VLCDs create an illusion of fast fat loss, while in reality most of the weight loss is water. It is hard to continue a very low calorie diet for a prolonged time because the harsh calorie restriction makes you hungrier than ever. People on VLCDs often lack energy and move very little. When you stop the diet, you are prone to instant overeating. Eating a very low calorie diet is the ticket to yo-yo dieting.
Instead of using very low calorie diets, I recommend diets with a mild calorie restriction and an emphasis on exercise. Overweight people who know what they are doing can employ VLCDs for a limited time. It is important to get enough vitamins and minerals from supplements, because such low calorie diets are woefully inadequate in nutrients. Water intake should be high.
Bodybuilders, powerlifters and athletes must stay away from very low calorie diets because the large calorie restriction causes a greater proportion of the weight loss to be muscle loss.
For more information or articles please visit www.honostreview.com
Mistake #1: Not changing your calorie plan as you lose weight. The fallacy of the "1200 calorie diet" plans and the like.
Most people fix their calorie intake to a given number and expect to lose weight at the same constant rate over a period of weeks. Hence, dieters look for 1000 calorie or 1800 calorie diet plans on the internet. The fixed calorie diet plans don't work. If you burn 3000 calories a day at the start of a diet, after a week or two of losing some weight, you are no longer burning 3000 calories. Now you might be burning 2800 calories. If you fix your calorie intake in the face of a decreasing calorie expenditure, your weight loss will slow down more and more as you lose weight.
If you want to lose weight at a constant rate, you must repeatedly:
decrease your calorie intake to accommodate the calorie expenditure dropincrease your calorie output by exercising moredo both
I would like to note that you must set realistic slow weight loss goals. If you go for fast weight loss you would not be able to sustain it for a long period unless you go extreme in the calorie reduction and exercise a lot. For people who have to lose more than 20 pounds (10kgs), the goal should be a loss of no more than 2 pounds or 1 kg per week. People who need to lose just a bit of weight should go for weight loss of 1 pound or half a kilogram per week.
Why does my calorie expenditure drop as I lose weight? The most important factors are:
You weight less. A smaller body burns less calories both at rest and while activeYou may involuntarily burn fewer calories. Dieters often lack energy and move lessCalorie restriction suppresses the metabolic rateYou have less body fat, which may further suppress your metabolic rate
These major factors contribute to an ever-decreasing energy expenditure as one loses weight. The more a dieter cuts calories, the bigger the calorie expenditure drop. The leaner the dieter, the greater the calorie expenditure drop.
Now you must understand that if you want to succeed in losing weight, you have to make changes in your nutrition plan. I recommend burning more calories, because being more active facilitates smaller calorie restriction and milder calorie expenditure drop.
It is very difficult to estimate the rate of the metabolic drop. Here is the general rule: the bigger you are, the smaller the rate of the metabolic drop. The more weight you lose, the more you have to cut calories or increase exercise. If you are overweight you might need to cut just 10 more calories for every lost pound, while if you are lean you might have to cut 60 calories for every pound lost. I picked these numbers just as an example.
Mistake #2: Overreporting the "extra" calorie expenditure of exercise
Most people count the calories they spend exercising as "extra" calories. There is a difference between calories burned while exercising and "extra" calories burned exercising. Here is an example: you burn 300 calories on the treadmill instead of your usual activity (watching TV at home); in reality, you have to subtract the calories you would have spent watching TV from these 300 calories to calculate how many additional calories you burned. Let's say that watching TV, you would have burned 80 calories. In this specific case, you have expended 300 calories while exercising, and 220 "extra" calories.
Calorie counters mindlessly add the calories burned exercising as "extra" and in some cases, this practice can significantly influence the calorie calculations. Hence, calorie software counts the part of your usual activities that overlaps with the extra activities twice.
How to estimate the "extra" calories burned exercising?
In order to make the calculations more accurate, I shall first introduce the concept of MET values. MET values are a convenient way to calculate the calorie cost of activities. MET values are multiples of the resting energy expenditure per time. In plain English, a MET = 3 means burning 3 times more calories than resting. A MET = 1 signifies how many calories you burn at rest (your Resting Metabolic Rate or Basal Metabolic Rate). Whatever you do, you burn calories at a rate of at least MET = 1 with the only exception being sleeping which has MET = 0.9. During the day, most activities include sitting and walking which have MET values between 1.2 and 3. Your total daily energy expenditure is calculated by multiplying your Resting Metabolic Rate by the average MET of all your activities. Is your head spinning?
Let's use a real world example. Consider a female person with a Resting Metabolic Rate of 1200 calories a day. One day has 1440 minutes. Our example lady is burning 1200/1440 = 0.84 calories per minute at rest, which signifies a MET = 1. Let's say our example woman just returned from an aerobics class, where she exercised for 30 minutes. General aerobic class training has a MET = 6. Our example lady has just burned 30 (minutes) x 6 (MET) * 0.84 (calories per minute) = 151 calories while exercising. Suppose our lady would have chatted on the internet instead of exercising (MET = 1.5). In this example, the woman substituted chatting on the internet with aerobic exercising. Remember, that every time you do something you substitute one activity for another. In order to get the extra calories, we have to subtract 1.5 (chatting) from 6 (exercising). Now let's calculate the extra calories: 30 (minutes) * (6 - 1.5) (MET value) * 0.84 = 113 calories.
Let's consider what a standard calorie counter would have done. First, it will assume an average calorie burn rate of 1 calorie per minute. Then the counter will find that exercising for 30 minutes will yield 30 (minutes) * 6 (MET) * 1 (calories per minute) = 180 calories. The calorie counter will add these 180 calories to your daily expenditure without considering that a part of these 180 calories is already accounted by your usual activities.
Do you now see the difference between 113 calories and 180 calories? If that woman spends 5 hours a week in that aerobics class, the standard calorie counters will overreport her calorie output by: (180-113) * 10 = 670 calories a week. The woman will be fooled that her metabolic rate has dropped while she just overestimated her calorie expenditure. Enter weight loss plateau, wasted time and efforts. Do you have the time for trial and error calorie estimations?
Remember these two rules:
Report only extra activities to your calorie counter. If your walk to your office every day, do not log "walking to office for 30 minutes" as an extra activity. Consider only unusual activities that contribute to extra expended calories! Always subtract the calories you would have burned instead of exercising. A general rule is to subtract from 1.2 to 1.5 from the MET values. In some cases, you need to subtract a greater MET. If you substitute 30 minutes of bodybuilding (MET = 6) for 30 minutes of slow jump rope (MET = 8) then the additional MET would be 8 - 6 = 2.
How to find the MET values of activities based on standard tables?
In order to make the above calculations, you need to know the MET values of activities. Standard tables give: name of activity, duration and calories. Standard tables assume an average calorie expenditure of one calorie per minute. To find the MET you just need to divide the calories by the duration.
Example: "Bicycling, stationary, general", "20 minutes", "140 calories"MET of "Bicycling, stationary, general" = 140 / 20 = 7
I know these calculations are somewhat tedious and in many cases the standard calorie calculations are close to correct. However, in some cases they can significantly over or under-calculate the calorie expenditure of activities and compromise your weight loss plan with daily miscalculations.
Mistake #3: Training with light weights and lots of reps
I have seen countless number of ladies come to the gym, get the lightest possible dumbbells, crank out some hundreds of reps and go home. Most often, these women do not get the results they want. The problem with this type of training is that it does not burn many "extra" calories unless you spend a considerable amount of time in the gym. Hefting Ken and Barbie weights in the gym has a MET value of 3, which means that it burns 3 times more calories than resting in bed. Almost anything you do during the day has a MET value of 1.2 to 2. Browsing the internet on your computer has a MET value of 1.5. Realize that almost anything you do during the day (average MET = 1.5) has about 50% overlap in calorie expenditure with training with very light weights (MET = 3). If you pump super light dumbbells in the gym, only about half of the calories burned are "additional".
Of course, you can burn a considerable amount of extra calories training with light weights but you have to really extend the duration of this type of training. Curling 5 pound dumbbells for 4 sets of 20 reps and chit-chatting for 20 minutes in the gym is not going to burn many extra calories.
Remember the rule: the less intensive the activity (smaller MET), the greater the calorie expenditure overlap with casual activities; the less intensive the activity, the more time you have to spend doing it to expend a good deal of extra calories. Always subtract a MET of 1 to 1.5 to arrive at the additional expended calories.
Mistake #4: Using "average person" calorie estimations
You can find all kinds of tables showing the calorie cost of different physical activities on the internet. These tables don't show your calorie expenditure. They actually tell you the calorie expenditure of an "average person". These tables assume you are an average person that burns one calorie per minute at rest. Yes, we covered this in the first part of the article and it needs repeating. Most men burn more than one calorie per minute and most smaller women burn less than one calorie per minute at rest. In reality, these standard tables overestimate the calorie expenditure of smaller people and underestimate the calorie expenditure of bigger than average people. Combine this with the common mistake of counting all burned calories as "additional calories" and you have a wide range of possible miscalculations.
Mistake #5: Going on very low calorie diets (VLCD)
Research has shown little to no difference in the weight loss rate of 1200 calorie diets and 800 calorie diets. The 1200 calorie threshold is the point where further calorie restriction does not yield faster results. Diets in the range of 800 to 1200 calories a day suppress the resting metabolic rate from the very first day and after some weeks on these diets, the metabolic rate has dropped by up to 20%. This metabolic drop is just a consequence of the calorie restriction factor; other factors such as the level of leanness may further depress the calorie expenditure.
A big percentage of the quick initial weight loss on a VLCD is water. VLCDs create an illusion of fast fat loss, while in reality most of the weight loss is water. It is hard to continue a very low calorie diet for a prolonged time because the harsh calorie restriction makes you hungrier than ever. People on VLCDs often lack energy and move very little. When you stop the diet, you are prone to instant overeating. Eating a very low calorie diet is the ticket to yo-yo dieting.
Instead of using very low calorie diets, I recommend diets with a mild calorie restriction and an emphasis on exercise. Overweight people who know what they are doing can employ VLCDs for a limited time. It is important to get enough vitamins and minerals from supplements, because such low calorie diets are woefully inadequate in nutrients. Water intake should be high.
Bodybuilders, powerlifters and athletes must stay away from very low calorie diets because the large calorie restriction causes a greater proportion of the weight loss to be muscle loss.
For more information or articles please visit www.honostreview.com
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