Check out the most common “ick” foods that are actually incredibly good for you here.

The basic objective of any fitness regime is to lose extra calories, burning fat and building muscle tone in order to be fit and fine. If you are following an aerobic exercise regime, you will certainly experience heightened burning of calories and some dame to tissues also. There has been a lot of research into this and it is quite clear that you should be eating something around 45 minutes after the workout gets over. This is the golden period when the muscle replenishes the used up or burnt glycogen that is required for healthy energy utilization by the body. This period is essentially 45 minutes to an hour after the workout, which means that just after the workout do not ingest anything because the metabolism of the body has been heightened by the rigors of the workout and you should not be burdening your body with extra digestive processes.

While there is no problem in having water after half an hour of workouts, you should have food to eat after a workout like some carbs as well as proteins, but fats are a strict ‘no no’. The reason for avoiding fats is that fats slow down digestion which is just the opposite of what you require for health. What you need is a healthy whey protein shake along with some liquid. Consuming whole proteins like chicken, tuna or egg whites are also not ideal because these need a lot of time to digest. The whey protein shake assimilates and gets digested much faster as it is liquid and also reaches the bloodstream much faster. Around the world, a whey protein shake is the official protein shake for post workout food. People generally consume around 20-50 grams of this, but around 30 grams is ideal for starts.

Carbs are essential for the body to build up the muscle glycogen. The body contains glucose in the blood stream and glycogen in the muscles which are the storehouse of energy for the body’s needs. In case the body does not get glucose or carbohydrates for its needs it will start breaking the muscle glycogen. Again if you eat whole carbs like brown rice or wheat bread, it would slow down the digestion, whereas a baked potato may do the trick. Again, what has been found ideal is a type of sugar called dextrose that is assimilated quickly and directly into the bloodstream and serves the purpose ideally.

Now that you have learned about what food should you eat after a workout, you can go ahead armed with this knowledge for an optimal workout.

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It is quite clear that scientists say that one should eat something before you go to the gym. This is because the body really needs some energy to be at its optimal level before you go for the workout. When you sleep at night, the calorie intake is nil and all that you may have ingested for 8-10 hours is some water which is 0 calorie. A lot of people go to the gym on an empty stomach, which is quite a mistake. This is because an exercise regime demands the flow of your blood through the bloodstream and also requires energy. If you have no energy source in the form of glucose, the body could withdraw energy from the glycogen in your muscles, leaving you tired and enervated.

What and how much you eat before the workout is also important, as you cannot also have a full 3 or 4 course meal before the workout because that would consume a lot of activity and effort in digestion which otherwise could have been used in the workout. This diminishes the efficacy of your workout. So be careful as to what you eating before the gym. You cannot really miss out on eating at least a couple of hours before the workout and expect to be fit. It’s really a myth that you can skip eating and burn more calories, because your body is not made that way at all. Working out on a grumbling stomach is like trying to run a car on very less fuel.

Researchers are also clear that eating after the gym is essential. This is because the body needs energy and nutrients to repair any damage to tissues that may occur during the workout. You also expend huge amounts of energy during the workout. This may often leave you drained and exhausted. It is recommended by doctors that you eat within 45 minutes of your workout. This is the golden hour period when your muscles replace the glycogen levels and get rejuvenated most effectively. Also, it is very important to re-hydrate the body as you would have lost a lot of body fluids through sweating it out in the gym.

So now you have the answer to the question, “Should I eat before the gym or after the gym?” The answer obviously is BOTH.

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• When the Body Mass Index is within 30 to 40.
• If dieting and exercise are not giving positive results
• If there are other health problems like diabetes, cardiovascular problems associated to overweight.

Diet pills act by curbing the appetite. This reduces the amount of food intake and hence the number of calories absorbed. All these effects if put together will result in weight reduction. As they curb the appetite they can be used while starting a weight management regime to rise above overeating. Some of the diet pills if used for a very long time are found to cause dangerous side effects. Thus one has to be very careful while selecting diet pills. It is suggested to select pills that are natural and safe without any risks.

Most of the drugs used to reduce weight are not approved by FDA except for the two drugs Sibutramine and Orlistat. Phentermine is another drug approved for short term usage. Alli is a low- strength version of Orlistat and is approved for usage by adults 18 years and above. These too have certain side effects like diarrhea, vomiting, bloating, dry mouth and constipation. Orlistat is found to reduce the absorption of fat soluble vitamins. It is recommended to use vitamin supplements while using this drug. Regular use of Sibutramine results in rise of blood pressure. Hence, it is not recommended for people with heart diseases and those with history of uncontrolled blood pressure.

For people with health risks like diabetes, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure, a combined usage of diet pills, regulated diet, regular physical activity is very helpful to lose weight. Though a very few pounds are lost, it would serve great purpose in reducing blood pressure, blood glucose levels and levels of certain hormones like insulin.

Diet pills have to be used under the guidance of a doctor. It is essential to consider the side effects, both short term and long term. If you are on other medications, have knowledge about the effect of these pills on them. Being a low concentrated drug, Alli is being used extensively. Like other weight loss pills it also works by reducing the amount of fat absorption. It specifically acts by inhibiting the action of enzyme lipase that is involved in fat breakdown. As a result fat remains undigested and is eliminated through bowel movements. Excess consumption of fat while using Alli will result in frequent and uncontrolled bowel movements and may be with oil spotting.

Most of these weight loss drugs are expensive. Very few insurance companies provide coverage for these drugs. Thus one should have knowledge about the coverage for these drugs before planning to use them; otherwise alternative arrangements have to be made.

Whatever the diet pills you use the effects are only temporary. One will regain all the lost pounds after discontinuing the pills if they do not follow good dietary habits and physical exercises. These pills can only give you a helping hand but are not the replacements for dieting and exercises.

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One cannot be obese and feel any sense of wellness or accomplishment at all. Obese people often suffer from low self esteem and feelings of desperation, worthlessness and anguish at their misshaped bodies. That’s one reason why so many people want to shed body fat fast.

Gaining weight is a factor of many things. Some people are fat because of genetic and hereditary factors. Others gain weight due to medication while many people become obsess once they start working and lead a sedentary lifestyle, cooped up in front of the computer all day with very little physical activity or exercise. In all these cases, and irrespective of the reason, your refrain is “How to lose body Fat?”

Most people already know the right answer to this question which is to ingest lower number of calories and burn more calories by exercising. This is quite basic, and yet so many people still trip up on something so simple and easy to follow. Many people get into the quest to lose body weight locally or in an isolated region in the body, like abs or thighs or legs, which is really not of too much help and quite ineffective actually.

The first pillar of losing body fat in a more permanent way is to eat right. Eating lots of salads, ingesting fluids, and choosing fruits and vegetables over fast food or candy and aerated drinks are some simple ways you can lose your body fat consistently and over the long term. Having smaller yet more frequent meals prevents starvation and the metabolic rate is just right to shed body fat. If you try starvation, it may not help because the body goes into famine mode and starts to retain more fat and water thus making you bloated and unshapely. You must remember that you need to always analyze your metabolism and eat accordingly, because if you overeat, extra calories get converted into fat and get stored in the body as adipose tissue.

The other pillar on how to lose body fat is undeniably exercised. You can diet all you want, but if you are lacking in physical exercise, your quest for a slim, fit, fat free figure will be a program in futility. No one is asking you to start an exercise regimen fit for a body builder from day one. You can start with baby steps in exercising by walking, jogging, a few laps of swimming and performing simple exercises at home. Sometimes just walking your dog around the block a couple of times will help you start melting fat. Once you start off, you can think of enrolling in a gym and if you are more serious, you can hire the services of a personal trainer to expedite the fat loss process.

Losing body fat is quite simple if you put your mind to it and know how to lose body fat. I’m wishing you a great health and a fit figure.

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Losing weight is all about burning more calories than you can ingest, as any excess calories will invariably get converted into fat. Calorie cutbacks can be undertaken little by little and one can indeed tackle the problem of obesity and come up victor over this problem of endemic global proportions.

Lose weight counting calories is often depicted as a laborious task of keeping a tab on each and every food item or fluid that you consume and then noting down the calorific content of these food items before trying to assess how many of these calories that you are able to burn. This assessment is not easy as the body’s metabolism is a function of factor like age, level of physical activity, weight, gender and even genetic considerations.

How to count calories? If you want to lose weight, you do not need to be intimidated by the monotony of keeping track of the calorific content of each and every food item that you consume. This is indeed possible but not time favorable. You need to make a rough assessment of your calorie intake in respect of the metabolic rate. For instance an adult female will burn around 2,000 calories a day while an adult male will burn around 2,500 calories a day. At rough count, if you are able to consume 500 calories per day less than you can burn, you can lose around 0.5 kgs per week. Seems rather simple, doesn’t it?

After this is clear, you need to break up the targeted calorie intake into 4 meals a day, which are breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. If you want to maintain a 1500 calories diet, you need to count the calories such that there are 300 calories in breakfast and snacks, 400 for lunch and 500 for dinner. If you are targeting a 2000 calories diet as an adult male, you can work out the math to arrive at the meal-wise calorie count accordingly.

There are also a lot of websites where you can feed in the type of food or food item that you are ingesting and it would return the calorie content of the food item. In an ideal case, you should develop a feel for the calorie content of each food item so that you know by practice as to what is the calorie content of different foods. This can be done by making a note of calorie content of foods and then calculating the total calorie value of each meal.

It does help if you maintain a roster or diary of all the foods that you consume daily as it gives you a feel of the calorific content, at least initially. Then once you develop the feel, you don’t need to meticulously and laboriously maintain the diary. Counting calories to lose weight has been found to be quite effective in weight loss programs.

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It’s really no wonder that many people are just desperate to lose weight and become fit. There are many who would go to almost on length to lose weight. One of these rather unhealthy practices is fasting, which in its severest forms becomes starvation. Fasting has a few advantages as it sometimes helps in detoxification and also aids weight loss. But in the long run fasting to lose weight is disadvantageous as mentioned below:

1. Getting into famine mode: Lose weight by fasting does not always serve any meaningful purpose in the long run. If you’re fasting, your body gets adjusted metabolically to it and starts retaining calories as it gets into a famine mode. This lowers the metabolism and causes your weight loss program to go absolutely haywire. In fact the body holds on to its fat to sustain itself and keep it going when you are starving yourself.
2. Lack of nutrition: You must realize that fasting is one of the unhealthiest options ever. It deprives you of nutrients that are required for healthy living. The body needs vital nutrients to keep it going, derive energy, repair impaired cells and remain fit. When you fast, the body does not get these vital nutrients and is severely impacted health-wise. Do remember that the food we ingest provides minerals, carbohydrates, proteins and fats that the body uses to rejuvenate itself. Excessive fasting to lose weight also deprives the body of necessary water and the body gets dehydrated. This lowers the immunity of the body and makes it susceptible to disease.
3. Ineffective weight loss: Fasting to lose weight does not cause optimal weight loss in the long run. True and permanent weight loss occurs when there is proper and controlled ingestion of calories at regular intervals through proper meals, combined with burning of calories through an exercise regimen. These are the pillars of any healthy form of weight loss. Fasting is just not adequate or proper.
4. Body conditions: Fasting is not always conducive for health. People who perform physical activity during a fast can end up with severe headaches. This is a way the body flashes an alarm to indicate that what is being done is not quite proper. People with diabetes, pregnant mothers, liver, and lung or kidney disease should not fast as it contributes to deterioration of their health.
5. Blood Pressure: Excessive fasting lowers the blood pressure dangerously which harms health and cause dizziness, nausea or even loss of consciousness. One has to monitor his/her blood pressure and ensure that it does not dip too much too soon. In extreme cases fasting diets can cause irregular heart rhythms or even death.

Fasting for a day at maximum is not harmful and can rid the body of toxins and make one feel lighter. However, prolonged fasts are extremely harmful as fasting to lose weight is not a healthy way.

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What is a liquid diet? It is prescribed when a person is suffering from gastrointestinal problems or infections or surgery in the mouth that does not allow ingestion of solid food. The advantage of a full liquid diet is that it keeps the body nourished and hydrated even when solid foods cannot be consumed by the patient due to medical reasons and exigencies.

Then, what is a liquid diet provides? It provides the body with essential nutrients, salts and minerals that help to keep up the body’s immunity and keep it fit under adverse circumstances. Such diet is helpful when a patient is not exactly on a saline drip and at the same time cannot start eating full meals. It’s like a meal type which is intermediate in nature and helps tide over the threatening situation effectively. Requirement of such diet also occurs after dental procedures like tooth extraction.

A liquid diet consists of fluids such as meat and vegetable broths, soups, clear fruity juices and ices as well as popsicles. These may also include carbonated or aerated drinks and gelatin deserts. Whatever the case, in essence of the liquid diet means total absence of any trace of solid substance. Presence of even a small portion of solid would not qualify a diet as being liquid in nature.

There are some liquid food forms that consist of strained fluids which may be smooth in consistency and where the food content may either be clear or somewhat opaque. The items that could be included in this category are milk and milkshakes, cream soups and broths, both vegetarian and otherwise. In some instances fully and smooth cooked cereals like cream of wheat, oatmeal along with a dash of butter and honey could do the trick.

Some of the examples of a liquid diet are as follows:

• Fruit Juices: You can have apple or grape and cranberry juice after ensuring that the pulp has been strained out properly. However, you cannot consume canned or fresh fruits as these are full of fiber which is solid in nature.

• Soups: Broths which are of vegetables or meats and strained cream soups are ideal. But you have to necessarily avoid soups which have solid chunks or pieces floating in them, be it of meat or vegetables.

• Beverages: Soda, colas, coffee, tea and water can be consumed without a second thought.

• Milk: You can have skim or whole milk and cream. Do avoid yogurt.

• Sweets: The example of a liquid diet you can have in this category are fruit ices, sherbets and cold drinks, ice cream, custards (without fruit fibers) and puddings which are liquid in form. All solid sweets, chocolate bars and the like have to be avoided.

What to avoid: If you are on a liquid diet you cannot consume butter and cheese, meats and meat products, cereals like rice and wheat based pies or dishes, breads and pizzas or burgers are also not allowed.

Adhering to a full liquid diet is quite simple to follow. It doesn’t really take much!

Pumpkin

Pumpkins are really an amazing weight loss food that contain all the necessary nutrients. You can get the benefits of fiber and more calories from plain old canned pumpkin. Fiber is the major supplement in the weight loss plan with countless health benefits. Additionally, as far as food preparation goes, pumpkin is very easy to make.

Green Tea

Green tea is a natural weight loss refreshment. The antioxidant level is very high in green tea. Green tea helps in many ways to maintain your health and improves the health of heart, makes the digestion system regular, and helps to maintain the blood sugar level and body temperature.

It also acts very well in a weight loss program by developing the rate of metabolism and boosts the fat oxidation. It is advised to drink green tea daily to improve your metabolism. Green tea is also a great way to relieve some stress, as it is considered by many to be a destressor.

Grapefruit

Grapefruit is a great fat fighter, and it helps a lot to reduce weight. Having grapefruit before a meal will show a miraculous difference in your weight, and it is possible to feel the reduction of weight if you consume it regularly.

You can consume the grapefruit in the form of grapefruit juice, grapefruit capsules and raw grapefruit. But to get the better result, it is recommended that you intake raw grapefruit.  Another great benefit of eating grapefruit regularly is that it has been shown to help prevent cancer.

Grass-Fed Beef

Everybody knows that meat is an excellent diet food, but the contents of antibiotics, hormones and steroids must be nil. By eating grass fed beef, you can get more health related benefits. If you are not able to get grass fed beef, you can have buffalo burgers as substitute.

The content of omega 3 fatty acid is very high in grass fed beef. Diets with maximum protein are very much helpful in weight loss program for various reasons. Protein motivates metabolism.

Sardines

Sardines are really a gift for anyone trying to lose weight. It is the all time accepted weight loss food. Sardines are fully packed by proteins, which will help you to maintain the blood sugar level and to motivate the metabolism.

Sardines are an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids, which are the best remedy for heart related diseases. Sardines are not costly and you can get them almost anywhere. Sardines are extremely free of contaminants like heavy metals and mercury.

There are some reasons for this phenomenon. Vacation time is when one is relaxed and care-free. Being away from the hustle and bustle of modern life gives one a sense of well being and could lead to a person putting on weight. One tends to take it easy and also put on extra calories by being more generous and indulgent when it comes to food and drink. Indiscipline is quite punishing and manifests itself in the form of extra weight especially during holidays.

Here are some tips on staying healthy during the holidays:

• Eat wisely: Just because you are on vacation that does not mean that you can abandon your balanced diet. Consuming excess carbohydrates and even proteins causes the excess calories to be converted into fat. This is not at all permissible if you want to manage and even lose weight. You need to maintain your balanced diet with adequate portions of the different food types included in your meals. Have smaller, but more frequent meals or snacks to ensure that your metabolism is maintained at a level which is conducive to overall health and induces weight loss. Again, if you starve, your metabolism could dip and create hunger pangs that could cause you to overeat and become bloated up.

• Exercise: This is essential for weight loss and maintenance. During vacations, many people have a tendency to laze it out and take it easy, even stopping their regular exercise routines just because it’s a holiday. This is not acceptable, as weight gain does not stop just because you are not working and taking rest. It’s advisable to keep on doing your exercises, preferably early in the morning so that the weight loss continues throughout the day. Start early and remain fit. If you are doing some sightseeing during the day and into the night, it’s better to exercise in the morning or else you may not have the time, energy or even the motivation to exercise later.

• Drink plenty of water: Drinking enough water is essential as it keeps your metabolism at an even level. Drinking small amounts of water before meals also restricts appetite and prevents you from gorging and overeating. When you are out in the sun, ingesting enough water is also essential to prevent dehydration which is unhealthy. You do not need to wait until you feel thirsty to drink water. Just drink small amounts of water regularly throughout the day to ensure that you are not dehydrated. Remember that the human body is 70% water and that water is essential for life.

• Keep off alcohol: Alcohol makes the body put on those extra kilos real quick. It’s true that a beer belly is very unseemly and makes one look unattractive. While an occasional drink could be okay, as a rule, try to avoid too much alcohol during vacations, so you can be sure you’re staying healthy during the holidays.

Follow the above tips to help in keeping the weight off during the holidays. Happy Holidays!