February 19th, 2009
At first sight, the above statement looks quite contrary to the usual belief. But to a great extent this is true. This contradicts the general belief that staying hungry and ‘dieting’ can give results, which no other plan of weight reduction can. As I proceed, I will explain how staying hungry can be quite harmful, not only for your physical self but also for your body organs.
At the outset, let me explain that the body classifies food products into mainly 3 components. They are carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Carbohydrates are mainly to provide instant energy and are stored in relatively less quantities in the liver. Fats on the other hand liberate more energy and hence are used for prolonged activities. These are stored at various sites. Besides being stored under the skin, they are also stored in the muscles and in the region of the organs such as liver. The subcutaneous fat, i.e. the fat under your skin is mobilized as fuel for your muscles.
Proteins are the third main group and are basically the building blocks of your body. These are utilized as fuel only during times when all other possible sources of energy have been exhausted.
Now that this aspect of your body functioning is clear, let us consider an individual who is starving himself or in other words, ‘dieting’ to lose the excess weight. By employing the knowledge of the body’s functions, we can safely assume that when the intake of food is reduced drastically, the body goes into a survival mode, if it may be called so, in order to preserve as much energy as it can. This is an adaptive mechanism, which we have learned during the process of evolution.
Thus, if you were to start dieting, your body would also begin to store up more of glycogen by decreasing your body functions and thus result in more weight gain. Thus, weight loss can only occur when you perform activities such as exercises over a long duration of time consistently.
Tags: Eat Healthy, Lose Weight
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February 19th, 2009
Baby weight, unlike the name suggests, is the weight that the mother puts on, and not the baby, after her pregnancy is terminated. Most mothers may already know that it is near impossible to shed all of this weight, as it may have been the case before the baby was born. However, it is not entirely impossible either and this article is going to focus on exactly that. That is, how to lose weight after your baby is born.
To begin with, you will realize that during breast-feeding, you will lose some weight. However, this may be replenished if your feeding habits are as extensive as they were during your pregnancy. What you need to do is to analyze the amount of food you are consuming and their calories. This will give you a basic idea as to how much you may be eating. Subsequently, cut down on your calories. This can be done by various ways. One is to reduce your dietary intake of calories while the other is to exercise more intensively.
Cutting calories is not achieved by staying hungry. Instead, substitute your diet with more of roughage, complex sugars, proteins etc such that you don’t feel hungry often. This will keep you energized as well as take care of your calorie intake.
Another way is to exercise daily. It doesn’t matter if you cannot put in an hour or two on a daily basis. What matters is that you take out time to exercise every day. Slowly and steadily, you will lose weight, which will show. However, if even with mild exercises you are feeling weakness, I would suggest you consult your physician.
Also, post partum depressions are quite common and resorting to anti depressants not only increase your weight, they can also be addictive. Instead, exercise and help yourself feel better and calmer. Bottom line is, you must go easy on yourself and losing weight should not be the immediate goal. Instead, caring for your newborn should be your primary concern.
Tags: baby Weight, Lose Baby Weight
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