Saturday, July 10, 2010

Calorie Definition and Weight Loss

The food calorie is sometimes capitalized as Calorie to distinguish it from the chemistry calorie; however, this capitalization is rarely observed in practice.

The Nutrition Calorie

Nutritionists measure the energy content of food in "calories" (sometimes capitalized and abbreviated as Cal or sometimes C, or abbreviated kcal as if small calories were being used), where each food calorie represents 4,186 joules. This is equivalent to 1000 of the calories used in chemistry, and thus the food Calorie would be called a kilocalorie if small calories were being used. However, in chemistry calories have been deprecated as a scientific unit of measure in favor of joules, and therefore in common modern usage the word "calorie" usually refers to a food calorie.

This situation provides two ways of talking about the amount of calories in food which look quite different but that express the exact same amount of energy. One may say that dietary fat has nine kilocalories (kcal) per gram, while proteins and carbohydrates have four kcal per gram, or, one may say that fat has nine Calories per gram while carbohydrates and proteins have four Calories per gram.

The amount of food energy in a particular food is measured by completely burning the food in a bomb calorimeter, a method known as direct calorimetry. Dieticians recommend counting calories to avoid obesity. The government of the United Kingdom recommends consumption of no more than 2000 Calories (2000 kcal) by women each day and 2500 Calories (2500 kcal) by men each day.

The Physics and chemistry calorie

In physics or chemistry, a calorie (abbreviated cal) is a unit of energy that equals the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water by 1 degree Celsius, at a pressure of 1 atm. This amount of heat depends somewhat on the initial temperature of the water, which results in various different units sharing the name of "calorie" but having slightly different energy values:

* the 15 °C calorie, * the 4 °C calorie,da * the mean 0 °C to 100 °C calorie, * the International Steam Table calorie, * the thermochemical calorie,

The slight variations in these units can be seen if you convert them to joules. For example, one 15 °C calorie is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 g of water from 14.5 °C to 15.5 °C. This is approximately equal to 4.1855 J or 3.968×10-3 Btu. The International Steam Table calorie is approximately equal to 4.1868 J and the thermochemical calorie 4.184 J. Of these various units, what is most commonly meant by calorie in cntemporary English text is the 15 °C calorie.

The nutritional Calorie represents 1000 of these 15 °C calories. Since this could be a source of confusion and error, these units are now deprecated. The International System of Units (SI) unit for heat (and for all other forms of energy) is the joule (J), while the (obsolete) cgs (centimeter gram second system of units) system uses the erg (unit of energy and mechanical work in the centimeter-gram-second system) - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Before start losing weight and counting calories you must first calculate the number of calories your body needs everyday, because this amount changes from person to person, depending on sex, age, weight, muscle content or height. Averages are situated around 2000 calories for women and 2500 for men. An easy, but not so accurate calculation is that for every 500 less than your normal amount of calories eaten every day you will lose up to one pound (453,6g) per week.

Counting calories must be included as part of your diet, because when you loss weight is best to know how many calories your food has, and so ensuring that the amount of calories burned each day is more than the amount stored. All nutritionists agree that a healthy low fat diet without counting calories could not exists, so take your time and solve that problem with various calorie calculators.

By knowing all the time the amount of calories consumed you can control how much you can eat and how it will affect your body. When dieting and counting the calories you can eat almost anything as long as you do not exceed the number of calories burned every day.

When you eat fewer calories, your body is forced to consume the fat stored to make up the deficit in your calorie count. Nutritionist’s advice is that you must combine psychical exercises with healthy eating in order to create some calorie deficit.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Bust Through the Weight Loss Plateau

Dieters dread the plateau. You're on a roll, losing weight steadily and happily for weeks. Your confidence is high and your goal is in sight. Then suddenly your scale freezes. No matter how hard you try, those extra pounds just refuse to budge. You've hit a wall and you know the frustration of seeing no progress could easily lead you to gain back what you've lost. So how do you break through the plateau?

It's perfectly normal for a dieter to reach a plateau. The trick is to use it as an opportunity to double up your efforts and get really clear on your strategy to carry you through to the finish line. Below you'll find suggestions that can help you recommit to your program and re-ignite the weight-loss process when you feel challenged.

1. Get clear on your ultimate weight-loss goal.

Be sure that your weight-loss goal is realistic and that your expected rate of weight loss is reasonable. If you are on a heath enhancing, nutritionally rich weight loss program you can expect to loss one to two pounds a week. Each body has its own ideal weight and size. Don't compare yourself to anyone else, but listen to your body and notice what feels best for you. A simple way to approximate your ideal weight is by referring to a Body Mass Index chart.

2. Go high-protein, low carbs.

Unless you are eating enough protein to maintain your lean muscle mass, you are likely to have lost weight already from both your fat stores and muscle. Women need to eat approximately 100grams of protein a day and men 150 grams in order to preserve their muscle tissue during a weight loss program. If you have lost some muscle during your weight loss program so far you will need to focus on protein so your body can build muscle, which requires more calories to sustain, which will in turn, kick start your weight loss again. Needless to say, any weight loss program you choose should be one that preserves your body's muscle and this does not happen!

3. Add resistance training to your program.

A wonderful way to boost your metabolism and break through to the next level of weight loss is by incorporating aerobic exercise into your program, such as 30 minutes of walking three to four times a week. (If you are 35 years or older, or haven't exercised regularly, begin with 10 to 15 minutes two to three times a week.) In addition, weight training with free weights or machines several times a week can help increase muscle mass, which in turn allows you to burn more calories faster. Studies show that weight training can increase your metabolism overnight by five to 10 percent. Working out can increase your metabolism for up to 21 hours after an intense workout.

4. Look out for hidden carbohydrates.

If your weight loss progress seems slow, look out for carbohydrates that might be sneaking their way unnoticed into your diet. Sugar can lurk in the most unexpected places such as ketchup, salad dressings, teriyaki and barbecue sauces. Watch out too for cornstarch, sugar or milk solids in many processed foods such as gravies, or sauces on frozen vegetables. Be especially careful about "low-fat" foods where flavor is enhanced by sugar and other carbohydrates. Try keeping a diet journal for a couple of days of EVERYTHING you eat and drink. You may quickly discover the hidden carbs that are keeping your weight-loss progress stuck and be able to eliminate them and move past your plateau.

5. Take the "refinement" out of your diet.

Try eliminating all refined sugar and refined grains from your diet. This includes white bread, pastries, pasta, white rice, white flour crackers, sugar-coated breakfast cereals, cookies and cake. This simple step can encourage a huge weight-loss breakthrough and leave you feeling more healthy and energized in the process.

6. Don't go hungry.

Cutting back on how often you eat can have a negative impact on your diet plateau. Many studies show that small, frequent meals are more satisfying and produce better weight-loss results than the same number of calories consumed in three large meals. Take advantage of healthy snacking and crunch on fresh slices of raw vegetables like celery, peppers, cucumber and jicama when you're hungry.

7. Drink to burn up.

It's vitally important to replenish your fluids by drinking plenty of water on your weight loss program. An inadequate supply of water in itself can slow down your weight-loss. Carry water with you wherever you go throughout the day. For additional weight-management benefits, add a high quality aloe concentrate to your water to help keep your digestion in top shape. Also, a probiotic supplement can help us maintain a healthy intestinal flora. Keeping well hydrated not only helps you burn fat efficiently, it also helps control hunger.

8. Keep your incentive strong.

Remember the determination you felt when you first began your weight-loss program? Remember the excitement of watching the pounds drop one by one? Go back to whatever your initial motivation was and see whether it still works for you. It may have been the desire to lose weight for a particular event or to regain your figure after pregnancy. You may have been motivated by poor health or by the shock of just how much weight you had gained. See whether the same motivation still has juice for you. If not, choose a new one. Keep a picture of yourself looking great (or bad!) on your refrigerator as a daily reminder of where you are heading.

(c) Kim Beardsmore

Monday, July 5, 2010

Are Advertisers To Blame for Americans Weight Loss Issues

Regardless of which side of this debate you are on, it can be argued that advertisers have used food almost as a weapon to gain market share for their clients. The war of fighting to get the consumer’s attention to purchase certain types of food has adversely affected many people’s effort to achieve permanent weight loss.

Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey have also made weight loss and how to lose weight a highly marketable issue on her famous talk show. Oprah herself has suffered with the battle of weight loss and has publicly shown how difficult it can be for us to lose weight in the face of the availability of food and the advertising surrounding food. Everyone at some time in his/her life has tried to lose weight and some have been struggling unsuccessfully with weight loss.

Therefore weight loss is not an issue for the rich or poor in our society but it is an issue for everyone concerned about the health, survival and quality of life of the next generation. We have to avoid the blame game and seek to seriously address the issue of obesity, especially childhood obesity. Society needs to make demands on advertisers. Junk food targeting young, impressionable kids needs to be curtailed and avoided altogether.

Parents should be re-educated on the nutritional value of food for growing, young children. While the ultimate goal is to achieve weight loss and prevent obesity, it is more important to teach people how to prepare nutritious foods and snacks from the simple fruit and vegetables that are found in all food stores across America.

http://www.Click2LoseWeight.com guide to natural weight loss program gives the tools necessary to take control of the amount of weight loss. It works on the old fable of "give a fish, feed a man for a day" but "teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime". Armed with the lose weight tools, people will improve their health, spend less time in hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Obese people have learned all their bad eating habits from the advertisements that have been forced on them by special interests groups in society. Obesity is the resulting problem and now these same special interests groups want to penalize the obese

Law professor, John Banzhaf is labelled a "public interest law professor". Therefore, the public purpose - save tens of billions in health insurance costs by forcing the advertisers and their clients to develop commercials to show how natural foods (fruit and vegetables) can be used to lose weight. This is another classic example of blaming the victim. Obese people are products of the social and economic environment that we have all created.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Do not Fall For These Weight Loss Gimmicks

Have you heard about the new weight loss patch? You wear it behind your ear, and it speeds up your metabolism and helps you control your appetite. It sounds pretty reasonable, doesn't it? After all, if someone had told you five years ago that you could quit smoking by sticking a circle of fabric on your skin would you have believed them?

Unfortunately, this one isn't true. According to Dr. Michael Myers, who maintains the popular web site weight.com, it's just another of the hoaxes that clever promoters are using to bilk you out of your money. Weight loss is a gold mine, and unscrupulous operators will use any gimmick to convince you that their product is the magic cure that will melt away your pounds without any effort on your part.

Here are a few of the current weight loss gimmicks and the truth about them.

The Diet Patch

Transdermal delivery of medication is a reality, and there are certain medications that are absorbed readily through the skin. However, the most common active ingredient used in diet patches on the market is 'fucus vesiculosus', a seaweed that is a major source of iodine. Iodine was once a recommended treatment for obesity, because it helps promote healthy thyroid function. It was abandoned because of side effects and the untoward effects when treatment with iodine ceases. In other words, it's an outdated medication being revived for delivery in a new way.

Wash your fat away with slimming soap!

The claim is that this is an ancient Chinese soap that contains a unique blend of ingredients derived from seaweed which will 'emulsify' the fat. Further, it comes in several different versions, including one that is specifically meant to give you 'beautiful thighs'. In all truth, the ingredients sound like they'd do a lovely job of softening and toning your skin, but there's not an ounce of research quoted anywhere that can be checked for the results. Until I see the proof, I'll just figure that any weight loss resulted from vigorous scrubbing - not the ingredients!

Magnetic Weight Loss... earrings

Yes, earrings. According to the press, it's another ancient Chinese Secret that has to do with balancing the magnetism in the body. By wearing a magnet near the ear, you can suppress hunger, increase metabolism, speed up the healing process and reduce pain. Again, though there's mention of 'studies', none are cited, and I couldn't find any in any medical journals. It won't kill you, at least, and the earrings are pretty, but I wouldn't put much stock in their weight loss properties.

All of these new weight loss discoveries should be filed in the “Yeah right” file, right next to sauna wraps, copper bracelets, and electro-slimming belts. If it sounds too good to be true, remember, it probably is. The only gimmick to weight loss is to eat less and move more!