Archive for September, 2008

Can Water Make You Lose Weight?

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

Can water make you lose weight?

Are you eating right and exercising at the intensity, frequency and duration needed for you, but you still can’t seem to lose? You may just not be drinking enough water.

Most people don’t drink enough water, especially dieters.  If you just can’t seem to get that weight off, try drowning your sorrows in nature’s magical weight-loss formula - water. It works, and here’s why:

Metabolism

People talk about metabolism all the time, but ask them what it means and you’ll get all kinds of answers. Merriam Webster defines it as, “The process by which a substance is handled in the body.” A bit vague, but really that’s all it means.

There are several forms of metabolism going on in your body right now, but the one everyone is talking about it the metabolism of fat. This is what the liver does when it converts stored fat to energy. Although the liver has other functions, metabolizing fat is one of its main jobs.

Now the liver also has to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. However, if the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. So It  can’t metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were functioning well. If you allow this to happen, by not drinking enough water, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but you’re also setting yourself up to store fat.

Stick to it

The problem is while many individuals decide to increase their water intake, very few stick with it. It’s understandable. During the first few days of drinking more water than your body is normally accustomed to, you’re running to the bathroom much more often than usual. This can be very discouraging, and it can certainly interfere with an otherwise normal day at work. It sometimes feels like the water is coming out just as fast as it’s going in, and many people decide that their new hydration habit is useless.

Don’t get discouraged, though. Your body is just  flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years of “survival mode”. It only takes a short time, but this is a beautiful thing happening to you. While you continue to give your body all the water it needs, it gets rid of what it doesn’t need. It gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than just that water that you drank today.  Since your body realizes it doesn’t need to save up the water anymore; it’s trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing will cease, allowing you to return to a normal life. It’s true. This is called the “breakthrough point.”

Another recent report indicates that caffeine increases the body’s fat-burning potential.  So many people are loading up on coffee, Red Bull and other beverages high in caffeine before going to the gym. This finding may hold some degree of truth in it, but caffeine is, in essence, a diuretic, and diuretics dehydrate your body. Caffeine may increase the heart rate, causing you to burn a few more calories, but this is at the expense of your muscles, which need water to function properly. This isn’t doing your heart any favors, either. Your heart is already working hard enough during your workout. So, never mix caffeine and exercise.

Water is the also a great beauty treatment. You’ve probably heard this since high school, and it’s true. Water will do wonders for your appearance! It flushes out impurities in your skin, leaving you with a clear, glowing complexion. It also makes your skin look younger. Skin that is becoming saggy, either due to aging or weight loss, plumps up very nicely when the skin cells are hydrated.

Additionally, water improves muscle tone.  Muscles that have all the water they need contract more easily, making your strenghth workout more effective, and you’ll look much nicer than if you had flabby muscles under sagging skin.

Drink eight glasses a day

Really, it’s not that much. Eight 8-ounce glasses is what is normally recommended.  This amount is okay for the average person, but if you’re overweight, or working and living in a hot climate you may need to increase this amount.

Your water consumption should be spread throughout the day. It’s not healthy at all to drink too much water at one time. Try to pick three or four times a day when you can have a big glass of water, and then sip in between. Keep a bottle of water always handy.  Don’t let yourself get thirsty. If you feel thirsty, you’re already becoming dehydrated. Drink when you’re not thirsty yet.

Do you have difficulty drinking water? Drinking other fluids will certainly help hydrate your body, but the extra calories, sugar, additives and whatever else aren’t what you need. Try a slice of lemon or lime in your water, or if you really  hate drinking plain water, try a flavored water. Just make sure you read the labels. Remember that you’re going to be consuming a lot of this fluid.

It’s probably a good idea to stop drinking water a good three hours before you go to bed. You know why.

Most experts recommend drinking cold water, because the stomach absorbs it more quickly. There is also some evidence that cold water might enhance fat burning. On the other hand, warmer water is easier to drink in large quantities, and you might drink more of it without even realizing it. Do whatever suits you best.

When you drink all the water you need, you will very quickly notice a decrease in your appetite, possibly even on the first day! If you’re serious about becoming leaner and healthier, drinking water is an absolute must. If you’re doing everything else right and still not seeing results, this might just what’s missing.

How to Lose Weight While Weight Training

Friday, September 19th, 2008

There’s no doubt about it, weight training can help boost your metabolism. It has been a widely documented fact, and I have used this method myself to speed up my metabolism, and burn more calories.

Now before you run out and start pumping iron, here are a few recommendations:

  1. Consider hiring a very good physical trainer, preferably one with a degree in physiology or physical education. Avoid anyone without proper credentials, or who has been certified with a weekend course, etc. If you can’t afford a trainer, consider using one for just a few sessions to get you going, or find a good book about weight training and follow it carefully.
  2. Get your own equipment to use at home whenever you have time to use it. I like to use the small hand weights while I watch TV.
  3. Weight training requires some planning. You don’t exercise the same muscle groups everyday, so once you learn the basics devise a realistic schedule for your weight training.
  4. Don’t overdo it in the beginning. If you can’t walk, or if you can’t lift your coffee mug the next day, you have used weights that are too heavy with too many reps. If this happens, and you are paying a trainer, stop seeing that person and find a new trainer. This is one of the main reasons many of us stop exercise programs of any kind.
  5. Combine weight training with a proper diet, high in protein and low in carbs to get the greatest benefit.
  6. Always consult your physician before starting any type of diet or exercise plan, especially if you have any health issues of any kind.

Now, start losing those pounds! Good luck!

Easy Diet Meal Plans for Fast Weight Loss Results

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

Dieting doesn’t have to be difficult. These days there are so many great diet meal plans that can help you lose weight fast. Typically, these weight loss programs are designed around convenient, ready made meals, or meal replacements, that are delivered right to your door. Others, like Weight Watchers or the South Beach Diet, are designed so that you can prepare your own food, purchase their brand of prepared foods at the grocery store, or even eat out at restaurants.

I have personally found that the prepared meals are the easiest way to diet. There is no counting or measuring, but you will learn how portion sizes are supposed to be. One diet meal plan that many individuals have used successfully is Medifast. With the Medifast meal plan you eat at least 5 times a day, and it couldn’t be easier to follow. You have to try all the various meal products, as some will be more to your taste than others. For example, I prefer the Medifast scrambled eggs and the protein shakes best.

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Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem weight loss meal plans are two other diet programs that are set up to help you achieve fast and ongoing weight loss results. The prepackaged foods are delicious, offer a great deal of variety - even desserts, and are cost effective.

Any of these diet meal plans, combined with a good fitness and exercise routine, will help you achieve fast and lasting results. You just have to make the commitment and try.

Start losing weight now!

Should You Use Weight Loss Pills?

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

Many people become impatient with trying to lose weight solely with the use of exercise and healthy eating.  Often they find that they just fall short of weight loss goals.  If this describes your weight loss efforts, you may be interested in seeking help through the use of one of the many weight loss products on the market, particularly weight loss pill. Although you may be thinking about giving the so-called fat burner pills a chance, you may be wondering if you should.

There are several questions that you should ask yourself if you are thinking about using weight loss pills.  These questions can help you truly determine if weight loss pills are right for you.

  1. One of the first questions that you should answer is if you have really tried losing weight.  Losing weight “naturally,” involves exercise and healthy eating.  Have you been exercising?  Exercising be as simple as taking a nightly walk.  Eating healthy involves cutting empty calories, such as sweets, from your diet or at least significantly reducing them.  If you haven’t taken these steps yet, you may want to first try losing weight naturally. If that doesn’t work, weight loss diet pills may be something for you to consider.
  2. Although there are a number of reasons for weight gain, the most common reason is eating too much food.  If you regularly find yourself eating more food than you should or more food than you need to, why do you think that you do so?  Are you just eating because you are bored or does your body sense that you are hungry?  This is important question that you need to answer, as many weight loss pills are designed to suppress your hunger.  While this can help many individuals reduce the amount of food that they eat and the number of calories they take in, it will only help you if you think that your body is telling you that you are still hungry.  If you are what is commonly referred to as a “bored eater,” there is a good chance that you will still continue to eat.
  3. Can you afford the costs of weight loss pills?  Weight loss pills come in a wide range of prices.  Although it is important to make sure that you can afford the cost of weight loss pills, it is important that you do not comprise quality for cost.  If you cannot afford the weight loss pills that come highly rated and recommend, you may just end up wasting your money on weight loss pills that may not necessarily work. That is why it is strongly advised that you consult with your doctor and look for weight loss diet pill reviews online, before making any purchases.

These are just a few of the questions you may want to ask yourself before you rush out and buy weight loss pills for yourself. As a reminder, it is extremely important that you do some research before you buy weight loss pills, should you decide to do so. Weight loss diet pills are not all created equally; therefore, they have varying results.