Posts tagged ‘basics’

Fat Burning Or Fat Storage You Have Hormones to Do Both

How Fat Loss Happens

What you need is a basic understanding of how fat loss happens in your body. Learn the basics and you can in a safe and healthy way reach your fat loss goals.

The overweight and obesity problem in this country is running rampant, one problem in dealing with it is lies and misinformation. The internet is full of the latest and greatest fad diets and quickie weight loss (garbage) products.

Fat loss is a hormonal event, the right hormones telling your body to release the stored energy in the fat cells to burn it off. It is important to know there are also fat storing hormones that tell the body to store energy into these cells. The body uses these hormones through many different stimulus like food, drink, exercise, stress and sleep.

Fat cells are the body’s emergency storage tanks. These cells are a built-in survival mechanism that is getting all the wrong signals today. The body wasn’t designed around constant intake of processed foods, especially the high sugar variety.

Fat loss occurs when oxygen is present, known as aerobic (with oxygen) The other stage is called anaerobic (without oxygen). Anaerobic training is also known more commonly as strength training.

Exercise can be confusing. Most people think that by doing aerobics you burn all the fat you want. Well if that was true we would all have single digit body fat levels from the 1980′s aerobics craze.

You have the ability to burn fat all day! The only thing left is the hormones and are they emptying or storing.

Empty Your Stores!

The Fat loss hormones are insulin, glucagon, and growth hormone (GH). Insulin is a fat storing hormone, while glucagon and GH are fat burning hormones. If insulin is high, the other hormones go down. Another hormone called cortisol (stress hormone) is a muscle breakdown hormone not something we want.

Maximize the fat burning hormones and minimize the muscle breakdown/fat storing hormones (not all muscle breakdown is bad, you need to break down and rebuild the cells it’s when you have excessive breakdown and minimal rebuilding that will lead to muscle loss).

Everything You Eat Or Drink Counts!

Why is sugar bad? Sugar is quickly absorbed into the blood which causes a spike in your blood sugar and with that spike the body releases insulin to take care of it. Every time you put sugar into your mouth your telling your body let’s store some fat and that is exactly the hormonal signal you are giving it. Remember also when insulin is high, glucagon and GH go down.

To Burn Fat:

Minimize insulin levels thoughout the day (no high levels/spikes except during the post workout window when the insulin sensitivity is maximum, it goes into muscle not fat)

Maximize Glucagon (which is directly inversely proportional to insulin levels)

Maximum GH (which is controlled by insulin, exercise response and sleep)

Keep Cortisol in check (you will have some, but excessive will lead to muscle loss)

For Insulin control (and max Glucagon response):

Keep levels low by not eating sugar or foods that quickly break down into the bloodstream (any processed foods)

Have protein with every meal (slows the digestion of sugar). Also protein stimulates the release of glucagon.

Improve insulin sensitivity with glycogen draining exercise (weight training) which will reduce your insulin resistance (which is one of the biggest reasons for obesity and a serious increase of risks for many other diseases including heart disease, cancers, diabetes, accelerated aging and more!)

For Max Growth Hormone Response:

Keep your insulin levels low (no big meals or sugar 2-3 hours before bed). Get your sleep, shorting yourself of sleep will hurt your efforts and may lead to weight gain from improper hormonal responses.

Exercise with Intensity, whether weight training with short rest periods or doing interval training. Short burst of anaerobic intense exercis will signal the body to release GH. Long aerobic activities (jogging, etc) will NOT. (look at the body of a sprinter vs the marathon runner the sprinter has more muscle and very low bf%, the marathon runner has little muscle and a higher bf% even if they look smaller).

Exercising in a fasted state has also shown to increase GH levels (make sure you have enough energy to get through your workout, have a small meal 1-2 hours before).

Minimize excessive Cortisol:

Keep strength training under 45min and interval training under 25min (increase the intensity, not the duration). Anything longer will just start using muscle as fuel.

Relax, don’t stress the small stuff. Get perspective decide what’s really important.

Master these small steps, and you will see tremendous changes. Remember that fat loss is an all day event! So eat and live your life that way! Don’t worry about how many calories you burn doing something. Worry about what you eat all day and how your hormones are going to react to it. Eat the foods your body was meant to eat, live an active lifestyle and you will look and feel great and be healthier.

85% of fat loss is nutrition (not how many calories you can burn doing something) and you have the ability to burn fat all day long if your hormones tell your body to do so. Eat whole natural foods (not processed), avoid all sugars (foods and drinks), have protein with every meal Train your fast twitch muscles with weight training 2-3x a week and do interval training 2-3 times a week. Do something active everyday.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/fat-burning-or-fat-storage-you-have-hormones-to-do-both-1702102.html

Learn the Basics of the Medicare Supplement Plans

Medicare Supplement plans, known as Medigap is private health insurance, which is the original Medicare supplemental policy. This means that the Medicare Supplement plans help some of the costs of health care, do not cover the original Medicare. In other words, it closes the gap between the political reporting of the original Medicare and the total amount payable. There is no such thing as co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles. The Medicare Supplement policysometimes certain things that can not be covered by the original Medicare. The point is that if you have a Medicare policy would pay for the coverage, but together with the know if you would with a Medicare supplement plan to help it, you pay the remainder of medical costs, apart from your original Medicare on the left is politics. But it had to be reminded that Medigap is a little different than the original Medicare policy.http://www.healthplan.pannipa.com/2009/09/learn-the-basics-of-the-medicare-supplement-plans/

Although Medicare Supplement plans arenot follow directly under state supervision and administration, but any Medigap policy, specific state laws must be properly identified as “Medicare Supplement Insurance” marked. According to the rules of Medigap insurance companies can sell only 12 standardized Medigap insurance policies. These measures are described below are the letters A through L. It is also important to note that all Medigap policies must offer the same basic benefits, regardless of what business canSell. The only thing that can be from company to company, the amount of premium payable by the recipient. The point is that, provided you include a Medigap policy, the purchase of a company under any such letters, the benefits of other undertakings, under the same cover letter, for example, if you want a policy that coverage under the letter C or D purchasing policy coverage and the benefits would be the same regardless of which company you can choose.

In mostCases that may only sell Medicare Supplement insurance standardized Medigap policies. It is also clear that the companies have specific advantages that they offer, so you can easily refer them to compare. It may be that not every company can offer each Medigap Plans A through L, but they are required to provide clear information about the policies that they deal with. But the fact is that each company must provide Medigap plan if they have the will to any other MedicareSupplement plans. But should sell the rest of the policies to be decided by the companies themselves, although law which affects those to whom it could offer, too. But even with that Medigap plans are generally managed by private industry, therefore the amount of the premium is entirely under their consideration.http://www.healthplan.pannipa.com/2009/09/learn-the-basics-of-the-medicare-supplement-plans/

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/learn-the-basics-of-the-medicare-supplement-plans-1688193.html

Weight Loss Basics — A Medical Perspective for Lay People

In order to achieve weight loss calorie metabolism must exceed calorie intake. Metabolism is a complex series of chemical actions in the body necessary to maintain life involving the utilization of energy from food known as calories. Simplistically speaking, metabolism is the burning of food energy. Therefore, if calorie burning exceeds calorie intake weight loss occurs.  Conversely, if calorie intake is greater than the number of calories burned weight gain occurs.

Life-sustaining bodily activities requiring metabolism include growth and development, various cell functions including digestion, healing, breathing, functioning of the immune system and many of the chemical reactions that occur in the tissues of the body as well as muscle movement.  When number of taken in exceeds the amount of calories utilized for the various life-sustaining activities, the extra calories are stored in the body. Unfortunately, one of the main forms of stored bodily energy is fat.

Approximately 100% of the calories in an average diet are derived from three main food types. Those food types are carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The calorie value of each food type is specified as number of calories per gram.  There are 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate and protein and 9 calories per gram of fat. Our bodies use more than just the energy from food but also the smallest chemical particles of the food, known as molecules, as building blocks for body parts and to make enzymes which are proteins that speed up chemical reactions in the body.  For this reason the total daily calorie intake cannot be from just one food type but must be balanced between carbohydrates, fats and protein.

Carbohydrates include simple sugars and more complex chemical particles known as starches and fibers which are present in foods such as grains such as rye, bread, potatoes and pasta. According to most authorities, carbohydrates should constitute between 50% and 55% of total daily calories.

The primary sources of protein in the diet are meat, beans, eggs, nuts, soybean, soybean products and milk products. Between 10% and 15% of the total daily calorie intake should be in the form of protein.

Because of the higher calorie content in fat, diets high in fat cause greater weight gain and are associated with more difficult weight loss. The amount of fat in the diet should be limited not only if weight loss is the goal but also because of the link between fat intake and diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Authorities generally recommend that less than 30% of daily calories should be in the form of fat.

In the fasting state, our bodies begin to break down or burn calories for fat, carbohydrate and protein stores stored in out bodies to maintain life-sustaining bodily activities at the cellular level. The set amount of energy required for sustaining life supporting chemical and biological bodily functions when our digestive tracts are inactive and we are not physically active is known as the basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is expressed as calories per day.  BMR decreases with age and is generally higher in males than in females. BMR also increases with increased muscle mass and decreases with obesity.

Because muscles cells and other tissue cells require more energy during physical activity, the body breaks down the sources of stored energy (particularly fat) during exercise resulting in weight loss occurs if the amount of energy utilized is not replaced or exceeded by the dietary intake of calories after or preceding the physical activity.  The increased metabolism associated with physical activity explains why exercise is so important in weight loss programs.

There are basically two forms of exercise, aerobic and anaerobic.  Brisk walking, jogging and playing tennis are examples of aerobic exercise. Weight-lifting is the most common form of anaerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is generally of moderate intensity and is sustained for extended periods. It involves increased breathing and greater burning of fat than does anaerobic exercising which is not sustained for extended periods of time but is of high intensity. Anaerobic exercising tends to be more associated with the use the nonfat body energy stores than aerobic exercising, and therefore is not as effective in producing immediate weight loss as is aerobic exercise in combination with a weight loss diet.

Although immediate weight loss is not usually seen with anaerobic exercising, scientific observations suggest that anaerobic exercising raises the BMR because of the resulting increased muscle mass. Therefore, in the long run, anaerobic exercise can be beneficial in achieving weight and might be more effective in maintaining weight loss once it has been achieved.

Because of the relationship between calorie intake, calorie burning and weight loss, the most successful weight loss programs include a combination of a well-balanced, healthy weight-loss diet and safe exercising. The use of a weight calculator might be extremely helpful in helping coordinate a weight loss diet and exercise in your weight-loss program.

 

Victor Battles founded Proactive Health Outlet, an online resource to assist you in becoming more involved in your healthcare and improving your health, obesity being a major focus. For more information on weight loss resources visit http://www.proactivehealthoutlet.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/weight-loss-basics-a-medical-perspective-for-lay-people-1650186.html

Awareness of Boot Camp Training

The initial workout of 3 weeks in a Navy Boot Camp will be strenuous – physically & mentally. After 3 weeks, you can get into graduation mode. A total transformation to a new life is the result of the training.

In the first week of the training, you will get an idea about the basic functions of a sailor in the US Navy. Hours & hours of training in maritime activity will be provided to make you perfect in a platoon march. There will be irregularity in marching in the first two weeks. Recruits will be bumping into each other while marching. Marching propels the thinking in the minds of the recruits that they are one as a whole & there should be uniformity in thought & action. Depending on your position in the ranks, your marching pattern will be decided.

* March – To start marching from the point of standing.
* Ranks – long rows of recruits standing in order.
* Left Face – Turning body facing 90 degrees on the left side.
* Right Face – Turning body facing 90 degrees on the right side.
* About Face – Turning body facing 180 degrees in the opposite direction in sudden flash.
* To the Rear – Sudden marching in the opposite direction.
* Dress – following a dressing order – lining up with others in the ranks & falling in the same line.
* Dress Right – Lining with the person in the right side.
* Dress Left – with the person in the left side.

Marching involves you to some basic terms. There will be trick drills& complex functions to know about. We will learn basics at present. In boot camp, marching is a constant exercise & it is a daily routine.

Swimming with the current & against the current – there are two levels of swimming. You will be taught swimming in the first week itself. Before graduation in the boot camp, you should achieve a standard of swimming. Basic swimming is taught initially. In the beginning, two groups will be formed – one group experts in swimming & the other, totally unfamiliar to swimming. The initial course in swimming will be a little bit cruel. They will throw a small group of recruits into the pool. They will shout at the recruits to doggy-paddle in order to stay afloat. But, no need of panic. Professionals & trainers will be watching to protect the trainees in case of emergency. Long sticks will also be pressed into service to rescue the trainees. There was an occasion when one trainee was trying to drown the guy in the front to keep afloat. It gave a chance to disqualify him.

Classroom session is a continuation of school life. Tedious hours will be spent in the classroom. Sending inputs into the brain about rank/rate recognition, rope awareness, equal opportunities, sexual harassment & fraternization, core values & many more topics related to boot camp will take place. It will be laborious to sit through the entire session with artificially-opened eyes as sleep will be trying to overcome your senses. Recruits have to do small exercises to avoid sleeping.

In boot camp, you have to learn throughout the day barring a couple of hours. The barracks was meant to be the ship. The recruits have to sleep in uncomfortable beds. RDCs will be monitoring the activities of the recruits. The training period involves you in organizing, stenciling, ironing & listening to the instructions. On passing P week, the recruit will receive his first official uniform, the dungarees. This is the sailor’s uniform throughout his career in the Navy. Learning about stenciling uniforms, with names in the right places is also his duty. Inconsistencies will result in punishments. During the first week, uniform perfection will be given priority in training.

The ship has to be maintained spick & span throughout the career of the sailor. This is a work to be attended on daily basis. Psychological tests will also be conducted. In the ultimate analysis, Boot Camp in the Navy is quite an exhilarating experience & highly imperative for creating the best sailors.

Shijina is a successful webmaster for http://www.liveinfitnesscamp.com/. she provides information on Boot Camp, Weight Loss Programs, Fit Camp, Effective Weight Loss on her website. For more details Contact liveinfitnesscamp@gmail.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/awareness-of-boot-camp-training-1596282.html

Best Weight Loss For Men – Acai Force XT

A lot of guys are on the prowl as to what really is the secret to the best weight loss for men. I’m pretty you are one of them and you might have always been trying out something different to be able to get rid of those excess fat. Still, you would see little or no difference at all even with all the help you have gotten.

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What is it really that is missing here? Well, you actually missed out on your research. Not all programs that promise the best weight loss for men are the ones that are suitable for you. Each person actually has a different body composition and different lifestyles so it is best to check out each program and know your body a little bit more.

Since lifestyles vary, you should have a check on your own type of living. If you are quite a busy person and you don’t have time to properly regulate your exercise schedules, then you might find it difficult to go to the gym and lose those flabs. There are other weight loss programs that you might want to check up on that is suitable for your own way of living.

Any program may be just the best weight loss for men if you decide on choosing it according to what your body needs. As long as you stick to the basics and follow a regular way of doing the exercises and regimen, you would start to feel healthier already.

It is also best to include in every program a healthy dose of supplements that will support your goal in losing weight. You would be seeing results in as early as a week or two with the help of these supplements. You just have to make sure that the ones you will be taking are safe and effective as well.

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This author writes about Weight Loss Help For Men at Best Weight Loss For Men

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/best-weight-loss-for-men-acai-force-xt-1510548.html

Creatine: The Basics

Creatine: The Basics

Creatine monohydrate is one of the most popular and commonly used sports supplements on the market. Creatine is research proven to be effecitive at building muscle mass when used in conjunction with proper training and diet.

When muscles are put under a high intensity stimulus adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is broken down into a waste product adenosine diphosphate (ADP). The energy released when the breakdown of ATP occurs powers the muscle contraction.

When ATP has been depleted the muscle can longer contract and must synthesize ATP stores to continue its contraction. The fastest method is by using creatine phosphate (CP). CP is broken down to release a phosphate molecule that bonds to the ADP turning it back into ATP. This allows the muscle to continue its exertion.

Why supplement with creatine?
Supplemented creatine increases the amount of CP within muscle tissue, therefore giving more ability to synthesize ATP. Related to bodybuilding and sports, supplemented creatine allows muscle to continue with a high intensity stimulus for longer periods, meaning more reps and sets performed. This further allows the bodybuilder to overload and create mew muscle growth.

How to supplement with creatine:
There are many different opinions as to the best way to supplement with creatine.

1) Taking creatine with simple sugars such as dextrose/maltodextrin will increase its uptake.

This is true, as taking simple sugars will create a spike in insulin levels when digested. As the creatine is consumed at the same time it is transported more quickly into muscle cells. However it must be noted than muscle cells can only store a limited amount of creatine and once saturated the body will excrete any surplus. Therefore taking creatine with simple sugars is not completely necessary. Taking pure creatine monohydrate (without sugars) will saturate muscle cells, albeit at a marginally slower rate.

Taking creatine with simple sugars is effective pre and post workout to enhance your performance and recovery, as this is when muscle cells are at their most responsive to ingested nutrients. Taking simple carbs will allow the creatine to be absorbed when needed most.

At other periods such as rest days there should be no need to consume creatine with simple sugars, as a continued supplementation programme of creatine should keep stores at their peak. Furthermore it is not completely necessary to take simple sugars with creatine, as a sustained period of supplementation will create muscle saturation

2) Creatine and loading phases:

Loading usually involves taking large doses of creatine for one week to quickly saturates muscles to their maximum, a typical loading phase would look like this:

20g per day for 7 days (split into 2 10g doses or 4 5g doses separated throughout the day.

5g per day for the remainder of the cycle.

It is not completely necessary to ‘load’ creatine. As mentioned before once creatine levels are at their peak no more can be stored. Taking a does of 5g-10g daily will after a short period saturate the muscle. ‘Loading’ creatine will obviously saturate muscle cells at a quicker rate however be sure to choose your creatine wisely as loading creatine mixed with simple sugars can give you in excess of 600Kcal daily. Taking this amount of simple carbohydrate outside of your training window may create fat storage.

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Getting A Multivitamin That’s Worth Taking

Bette Dowdell

A health-promoting nutritional supplement program builds its foundation on a good multivitamin/mineral. But not just the first one you lay your hands on. I recommend TwinLab Daily One Without Iron. Why? That ‘s what I’m here to discuss..    

I pretty much don’t know how to be casual about my recommendations, so, after 30+ years spent studying the vitamins and minerals we all need, I spent days doing computer research on multi ingredients, then more days going to health food stores to read labels and talk to people. I had ingredient labels floating through my dreams.

To arrive at my recommendation, I matched what we need against what each multi offered.

I have no connection with the TwinLab company. I receive no compensation of any sort from them. I based my choice strictly on the merits.

So, what are the merits?

TwinLab enjoys a good reputation as a quality provider of nutritional supplements. I like that.

This multi offers significant amounts of minerals. Many multis come up short in minerals, which I don’t understand. Studies show we all need more minerals. People dealing with fatigue and endocrine problems REALLY need more minerals. I want a multi that packs a punch.

The minerals are  balanced, too. You can’t take minerals willy-nilly. For instance, zinc and copper have to hit a proper ratio to be a blessing and not a problem. And different forms of the minerals are preferable to others; this multi has good minerals. (More on that later.)

And my recommended multi has a simple formulation, another plus. It covers the basics well, with no frills. I like that. Today’s multis make me tense with their large array of herbs. We have very little solid research on individual herbs and NO research on combinations of herbs. Bunches of herbs create an unnecessary risk.

I’m not opposed to herbs. I take a few herbs, and I’m researching more, but throwing them in by the handful is nuts.

Simple, straightforward supplements acknowledge our uniqueness. We’re all different, our needs are different and we react differently to everything we take in. By keeping things simple, we can spot and fix problems pretty quickly.

I also like the idea of one pill getting the job done. Taking pills doesn’t make anybody’s top ten list of things to do, so having to take only one increases the chances it’ll happen. And one-pill adds flexibility. With a known problem of absorbing nutrients, I take two a day. And I’d build, say, a cancer patient up to three a day, for a while, to maximize the cancer-fighting components. So, you can ramp up without reaching overwhelming numbers. And the minerals stay in their proper ratios.

Never take a multi with iron. Long story. Just don’t do it. This multi has molybdenum, which does a lot of what iron does–plus adds a few benefits of its own–but without the risk.

As I said, this is the best multi I could find. But I can’t declare perfection.

I wish it had a different form of chromium. However, it does have a goodly amount of chromium, which significantly compensates.

I wish it included boron. Among its several talents, boron helps us absorb the minerals we get.

Finally, I wish it didn’t include soy lecithin. Soy gets me crazed. But my research says lecithin doesn’t wreak the havoc of most soy. Plus, it shows up near the bottom of the ingredient list, so there’s not much. Also, it’s in all the other multis of value, too. Sigh.

To sum up then, no other multi matches my positives, but all the other multis offer a bunch of negatives. Add the fact that TwinLab Daily One Without Iron is reasonably priced and widely available and you have it.

If I ever find something even better, I’ll let you know.

Confused about what vitamins and minerals you need? Not certain about what to look for in nutritional supplements? Bette Dowdell dug herself out of a really deep health ditch, and she wants to use her years of study to help you do the same. Don’t go dragging through life when you don’t have to. Bette’s e-book Pep for the Pooped: Vitamins and Minerals Your Body Is Starving For helps you build a solid health foundation–and takes you directly to the right brand, the best type, at the lowest price. Save time and money–plus get the knowledge you’re on the right track. Real help is waiting for you at http://PepForThePooped.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/getting-a-multivitamin-thats-worth-taking-1457352.html