Weight Loss Part 2

An active body first burns carbohydrates to sustain activity. Much later when all the easy fuel is burnt up it will switch to burning fat.  A marathon runner feels the switch when he hits the wall at about 22 miles into his race.  Even most hard workouts don’t allow a body to burn fat.  First we use up the available carbohydrates, as well as burning some protein.  The protein the body uses will naturally be replaced. 

The good part about exercise is there is an afterburn in which the body burns extra calories for 22 hours following the workout.  Many of those calories come from burning fat.  It isn’t so much the calories burnt during exercise but those that are burnt after that is important in losing weight.

Protein is denser than fat, and as it is replaced and even added to the body one will lose inches but may even gain weight especially in the first few weeks at the start of exercise.  

Everyone should be active but most people don’t have the time or the inclination to lose weight by solely relying on exercise.  A good exercise program should be between 55 minutes and 90 minutes of moderate exercise a day. Moderate exercise means you are sweating throughout the activity.  This is a formidable task. 

Yet there is a way.  Become more active.  Measure how far you walk in a day and add 2000 more steps to your daily average.   These steps can be added to your activity throughout the day.  Instead of sitting and talking after your lunch break go for a walk and talk.  Walk up one flight of stairs before taking the elevator.  Park at the far side of the parking lot instead of taking the closest parking spot.  Every time you add a few extra steps, calories are being burnt.  Use a pedometer to help you determine how you best can add those extra steps to your daily routine. 

In choosing your meals there is some good news if you like dairy products.   Remember to keep the calorie count the same but if you eat or drink low fat milk, cheese, or yogurt the calcium in low fat dairy products will bind to fats in your food as it passes through the lower intestine and in a year will absorb up to 2 kg.

Water will help you feel full when eaten with a meal but it goes through your stomach quickly, leaving the stomach empty. Then hunger signals are sent to your brain. Rather combine the water blended together with the food in soup form, especially creamed, and you will have one of the best kept secrets of weight loss. The liquid, with nutrition in it, stays in the stomach to be digested, longer.  At the next meal you will eat less.

Adding 10 percent lean protein to your breakfast or to your soup at lunch will help you feel fuller for longer too.  More of the hormone that suppresses hunger pangs is sent to the brain when one eats lean protein.  When you feel fuller for longer you eat less at the next meal.

Try not to skip meals.  Doing so triggers your subconscious to chose high calorie foods, thus wiping out the benefits of missing your meal.  Variety is hardwired into our brain.  Have you ever noticed how much you will eat at a buffet?  When thinking of dieting it may be best to chose a diet that is a little boring.