Anastasia Weight Loss : Solution to weight loss

Anastasia Weight Loss : Solution to weight loss: Your Weight "Set Point" Just as your body temperature is programmed to stay around 98.6 degrees, your body weight is naturally r...

Solution to weight loss

Your Weight "Set Point"

Just as your body temperature is programmed to stay around 98.6 degrees, your body weight is naturally regulated to stay within a range of 10%-20%, says Thomas Wadden, PhD, director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at University of Pennsylvania Medical School. This weight range is known as the "set point."
A complex set of hormones, chemicals, and hunger signals help your body naturally maintain your weight within this range, says American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD.
It is not just a matter of genetics, though. Your eating and exercise habits can also help to determine your set point.
"Overeating swamps the internal regulatory system, and, as a result, the set point increases -- which is much easier to do than it is to lower it," says Wadden. The body adjusts to the higher weight and "resets" the set point to defend the new weight.
It is difficult, but not impossible, to set your range lower. "With changes in healthy eating and exercise behavior, you can lower your set point," says Blatner.

The 10% Solution to Weight Loss

A recent book, Break Through Your Set Point: How to Finally Lose the Weight You Want and Keep It Off, by George Blackburn, MD, suggests that maintaining a 10% loss for six months to a year helps your body adjust to the lower weight and thus reset the set point.
Wadden explains that when you lose large amounts of weight at once, you set up an internal struggle and hormones like ghrelin spike to make you hungrier as your body tries to defend its comfortable range.
Instead, experts recommend that you try losing 10% the old-fashioned way -- by slowly changing eating and exercise behaviors -- then maintain this new weight for a few months before trying to lose more.  Not only will your body get the signal to lower its "set point," but you'll give yourself a chance to get used to new food choices, smaller portions, and regular exercise.
“When patients lose 10% it may not be the pant size they want, but they start to realize how a little weight loss impacts their health in very positive ways," says Blatner. "They feel better, sleep better, have more energy or less joint pain, and some people are able to reduce medications."

Anastasia Weight Loss : Essential fatty acids

Anastasia Weight Loss : Essential fatty acids: Fats Essential fatty acids improve cholesterol levels, help lower blood pressure and protect the heart, according to the Mayo...

Essential fatty acids

Fats

Essential fatty acids improve cholesterol levels, help lower blood pressure and protect the heart, according to the Mayo Clinic. Healthy fats include monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocados, nuts and seeds. Polyunsaturated fats include vegetable oils, sunflower, safflower, soy and cottonseed oils along with nuts and seeds. Omega-3 fatty acids are comprised of fatty cold-water fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel, flaxseeds, flax oil and walnuts.

Carbohydrates

The body uses carbohydrates for energy. There are two types of carbohydrates simple and complex. Complex carbohydrates, also called starches, include whole grains, pasta, rice, bread and crackers. Whole grain carbohydrates such as whole wheat bread, wheat bran or germ, oatmeal and other grains provide fiber in the diet. Dietary fiber is essential for a balanced healthy diet. A high-fiber diet may help reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease. The daily recommendation for fiber is 21 to 25g for women and 30 to 38g for men.

Vegetables are both simple and complex carbohydrates. The starchy vegetables are complex the rest fall into the simple carbohydrate category. Vegetables are an important part of a balanced diet. They provide vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. You should aim for nine servings per day, 4 ½ cups of fruits and vegetables, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Simple carbohydrates are simple sugars that include refined sugars, fruits and milk. The best choice for simple carbohydrates is eating fruit. Fruits such as raspberries, strawberries and blueberries are high in fiber and rich in antioxidants. Oranges, limes and grapefruit are rich in vitamin C.

Water

The human body is two-thirds water. All the cells in the body need water to function. Water also moves all the nutrients through the body and lubricates joints. Water is the healthiest choice. It is calorie free and is easy to find.

Anastasia Weight Loss : Healthy weight loss tips

Anastasia Weight Loss : Healthy weight loss tips: THE WEIGHT CONNECTION Magnesium and the B-complex vitamins are energy nutrients: they activate enzymes that control digestion, ab...

Healthy weight loss tips

THE WEIGHT CONNECTION
Magnesium and the B-complex vitamins are energy nutrients: they activate enzymes that control digestion, absorption, and the utilization of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Lack of these necessary energy nutrients causes improper utilization of food, leading to such far-ranging symptoms as hypoglycemia, anxiety, and obesity.

Food craving and overeating can be simply a desire to continue eating past fullness because the body is, in fact, craving nutrients that are missing from processed food. You continue to eat empty calories that pack on the pounds but get you no further ahead in your nutrient requirements.

Magnesium is also necessary in the chemical reaction that allows insulin to usher glucose into cells, where glucose is involved in making energy for the body. If there is not enough magnesium to do this job, both insulin and glucose become elevated. The excess glucose gets stored as fat and contributes to obesity. Having excess insulin puts you on the road toward diabetes.

The connection between stress and obesity cannot be overlooked. The stress chemical cortisol signals a metabolic shutdown that makes losing weight almost impossible. It's as if the body feels it is under an attack such that it must hoard all its resources, including fat stores, and won't let go of them under any inducement. Magnesium can effectively neutralize the effects of stress.

OBESITY, MORE THAN BAD GENES
The public has been told that obesity is inherited, which makes people think they don't have a hand in creating this problem and can continue their bad habits and blame their genes. Animal experiments show, however, that if a mouse with an obesity gene is deprived of B vitamins, the obesity will be expressed. But if it is fed plenty of B vitamins, it will remain thin. The process of metabolizing B vitamins is called methylation, and magnesium is necessary for one of the most important steps in this process.

Every metabolic function in the body requires vitamins and minerals - without them, symptoms develop. Therefore, the first step in treating nonspecific symptoms is diet and dietary supplements, not drugs. It is also important to note that many of the weight loss diets that people subject themselves to are often deficient in magnesium.

ABDOMINAL OBESITY
Gaining weight around your middle is related to magnesium deficiency and an inability to properly utilize insulin. It also sets the stage for Syndrome X. You only need a tape measure to diagnose a predisposition to Syndrome X - a waist size above 40 inches in men and above 35 in women puts you at risk. In their book The Magnesium Factor, authors Mildred Seelig, M.D., and Andrea Rosanoff, Ph.D., take note of research showing that over half the insulin in the bloodstream is directed at abdominal tissue. They theorize that as more and more insulin is produced to deal with a high-sugar diet, abdominal girth increases to process the extra insulin.

How much protein do vegans need

Athletes

Athletes require more protein than the average person because of their high level of activity and the demands they place on their muscles. Athletes must consume extra amounts of protein to aid their muscles in recovery so they can continue to perform at their peak levels. It is generally recommended that athletes consume approximately 1 to 1.5 g of protein per pound of bodyweight. For example, 150 lb athlete would need to consume between 100 to 150 g of protein per day.

You may not consider yourself an athlete, per se, but if you workout with intensity 3 to 5 days per week, or perform difficult labor most days, you should eat about as much protein as an athlete does.

Protein Rich Foods

Vegans have many options when searching for protein rich foods. Legumes -- beans, peas, and pulses -- are an excellent choice. 1 cup of cooked black-eyed peas, for example, contains about 32 g of protein. Nuts, seeds and nut butters are another great source of protein that should be added to a vegan diet. 1 ounce of almonds contains 6 g of protein. 1 ounce of sunflower seeds also contains about 6 g of protein.

Other Sources of Protein

Protein is also introduced into a vegan diet through other foods that are not considered high in protein but still contain some amount of protein. For example, 1 slice of whole-wheat bread yields about 3 g of protein. Oatmeal is another good example: 1 cup of cooked oatmeal yields 6 g of protein. Even fruits and vegetables, like bananas and broccoli, contain small amounts of protein