Fat loss seems to go hand in hand with salads. This may or may not be true. It depends on what you put into your salad, and what dressing you put on top. Here are some good, tried and true ideas to make sure you do the right thing for fat loss salads.
Salads not only make the best summer weight loss recipes but also top the list of fat loss recipes for women. As modern day women are always busy going to office, managing the kids and taking care of their hubbies, they hardly get time …
Join Natasha on her raw food weight loss journey! Today Natasha shows you how to make her favorite raw food recipe– a low-fat simple, easy, fast, and delicious salad recipe www.rawradianthealth.com
And, as always, Twitter Universe has a few notes, too:
Vegetable Salad Recipes * Easy Healthy Recipes * Garden Salad …: Raw Food Weight Loss * Raw Food Diet Menu * Fat… http://bit.ly/dy3JQr
It is pretty amazing what great information is at your fingertips. All this posting about food makes me hungry for something cool, crunchy, and delicious!
The market for FDA weight loss drugs is expected to reach 2 billion dollars by the end of 2010. That is nothing compared with the target of the FDA, which is the entire 55 billion dollar per year industry for weight loss products and services. Regulating the weight loss industry is all about money and little to do with weight loss or even good health.
Numerous prescription drugs, surgical procedures, and medical devices are on the FDA weight loss approved list. The pharmaceutical industry and mainstream medicine control them through patents and regulations by the FDA. It is a small portion of a huge industry.
Unfortunately for Big Pharma, 70 percent of the efforts by Americans to lose weight are through self help diets, supplements, physical training, etc. This is an untapped market that far exceeds the estimated 2 billion dollars that are expected for prescription weight loss drugs by the end of 2010.
Why Drugs And Surgery Are Poor Choices
The main premise behind many approved weight loss drugs and procedures is to limit either total calories or calories from fats. This approach proceeds in complete ignorance of more than a century of scientific research that shows why excess calories, including those from fat, are not the cause of overweight.
Surgical procedures that cut out or limit the amount of the stomach that can absorb food merely serve to reduce the amount of incoming calories. Such procedures are not a permanent solution to overweight. However, they are expensive and highly profitable.
Myth Of The Human Calorie Furnace
Calories in, calories out. That is the dogma of weight loss. Keep them balanced and you will stay the same weight. Take in too many calories and you will gain weight. Reduce calorie consumption or increase exercise to use more calories and you will lose weight. All of these invoke the concept of the human body as a furnace.
This concept is dead wrong. This means that weight loss drugs and surgery, or any other approach to weight loss that rests on this concept, will fail. Rebound weight gain and general poor health are the result.
Where To Find Truths Based On Science
Overweight is a complicated issue that entails much more than calories. People who are truly serious about maintaining healthy weight, along with all other indicators of good health, must become acquainted with the really good scientific research on this topic. Unfortunately, not all published scientific research is good. Indeed, some is downright lousy.
Fortunately, researchers sometimes compile the best information on a topic and put it into the form of a book. In the subject of weight management and health, right now the two best books on the market are the following:
Both of these books are serious research summaries, not for the faint of heart. Both of them have already suffered their naysayers from mainstream medicine, some of whom have been downright nasty. This is only logical, because these two books represent serious threats to the money stream to Big Pharma. Moreover, they both expose the FDA weight loss hypocrisy for what it really is.
If people took to heart the advice in these books and changed their lifestyles accordingly, two consequences would arise: 1) people would be healthier than ever; 2) it would undermine several industries that make money by marketing unnecessary drugs and surgical procedures and the most unhealthful processed food in human history.
Reading and understanding the messages in these two books may be bad for the economy. However, they are clearly the best for your health. It is your choice.
Irvingia extract reduces fat by influencing key enzymes, genes, inflammation, and hormones. Research shows an average weight loss of 28 pounds within 10 weeks. Side effects are minimal, although not nonexistent. Here is the view of a research scientist on what you need to know about the science behind Irvingia weight loss.
Components Of Irvingia Weight Loss
Irvingia supplement influences at least five key components of fat metabolism. The research details on the impact of Irvingia on weight loss may seem a little technical here. However, they show how unique this herb is in the number of ways that it directs weight loss. This list makes Irvingia unlike any other weight loss supplement. The key effects are as follows.
1) Adiponection is a hormone that is secreted by large fat cells to help support insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular health. Irvingia causes a significant increase in adiponectin levelsin overweight people.
2) Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase is an enzyme that converts glucose into triglycerides that then go into storage in fat cells. The result is to make fat cells fatter. Irvingia inhibits the activity of this enzyme, thereby slowing down the growth of fat cells.
3) C-reactive protein blocks the activity of leptin, the master fat hormone, which leads to leptin resistance. Leptin resistance causes fat gain. Overweight people taking Irvingia extract have lower levels of CRP, thereby restoring normal leptin activity and proper fat metabolism.
4) Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down starch to release glucose. Glucose is then absorbed in the digestive tract and taken up as blood sugar. Irvingia inhibits the action of amylase, thereby reducing the number of calories that can be absorbed from eating starch.
5) PPAR-gamma is a key enzyme that regulates the formation of new fat cells and insulin sensitivity. Irvingia inhibits the formation of new fat cells by it influence on PPAR-gamma.
Irvingia Research
The U.S. National Institutes of Health medical database (PubMed) lists 28 research articles that were published on Irvingia since 1980. They involve a wide range of studies on the role of Irvingia in reducing blood sugar in diabetics, relieving pain relief, preventing malaria, in treating bacterial and fungal infections, and even in making Irvingia wine. This variety of effects comes from more than one species of Irvingia and more than one plant part.
The research relevant to the development of this herb as a weight loss supplement concerns an extract of the seeds of one species, Irvingia gabonensis.
Clinical Research On Irvingia Gabonensis Seed Extract
Recent human studies on supplementation using the seed extract of Irvingia gabonensis show significant positive changes after 10 weeks in the following tests: total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, blood glucose, C-reactive protein, adiponectin, and leptin. These results were based the twice-daily, 150 mg dose, of a proprietary Irvingia gabonensis seed extract.
In addition to the metabolic measurements above, the Irvingia-treated group in this study also lost an average of 12.8 kg (28 lbs) and 6.3 percent body fat. Furthermore, mean waist size in the treatment group dropped just over 16 cm (more than 6 inches) during the study period.
This and other studies shows a remarkably diverse set of physiological effects from Irvingia. Other studies also show its effects on regulating genes that influence the production of hormones and enzymes that control fat metabolism.
Irvingia Side Effects
The main side effect in research studies, and from individual testimonies by people who take Irvingia, is a decrease in appetite. This probably has to do with how the herb reinvigorates leptin activity. Poor leptin activity is associated with hunger and a greater appetite.
Irvingia is also less effective if people eat too much. In other words, it is not a license to overeat.
This herb also seems to have different effects on people who eat a low carb diet. Since the actions of Irvingia are directed at carbohydrate metabolism as it relates to fat cells, complex carbs seem to be important when using this supplement.
Researchers in Cameroon, where Irvingia is a native food source, noticed that long-term consumption of the seeds of this plant is associated with two main side effects: 1) resistance to diabetes; and, 2) resistance to obesity. These observations are what attracted the attention of medical researchers in the first place. Seeds of Irvingia have been used by indigenous populations as a soup thickener for centuries. People have not suffered any apparent negative side effects from Irvingia even though they typically eat it almost every day of their lives.
Where To Get Irvingia Supplement
Research to develop an Irvingia supplement and get it approved for manufacture in the U.S. has been conducted by only one company so far. This is the Life Extension Foundation. In fact, at the moment, Life Extension Integra Lean is the only product that offers this herb in clinically relevant doses.
Furthermore, Life Extension has, in their typical fashion, continued to fund ongoing research and development of Irvingia. This means that expansion of the science behind this herb for weight loss will be able to explain more of how this herb works and what we can expect from it for healthy hormone and enzyme regulation.
As I a scientist with an extensive background in plant biochemistry and human health, I think that is just peachy. (Pardon the botanical pun!)
It occurred to me that the post that I put up on my HCG site would be great information for BellyFatScience, too. So without further ado, take a look at what has being going on the world of science about fat loss hormones.
Six meals per day for weight loss is poppycock. Research shows either that there is no difference whatsoever in how many meals you eat per day, or that eating more frequently means just consuming more calories. Reject the dogma.
Metabolically, there are good reasons to give it a rest for 4 to 5 hours between meals. If none of your weight loss meal plans have ever worked for the long term, change up your meal spacing. It is especially important to eat an early dinner and not eat again until breakfast.
All exercise machines are scams for fat loss. You do not exercise fat. Regardless of how strong your six pack abs become, if they are covered in fat when you start, they will be covered in fat after using an ab exercise machine.
Have you questioned why you always seem to get a dieting plan with any new ab machine you purchased which they demand that you use? The rationale is easy. They know that by doing only a few minutes of ab exercises every day, …
Body fat composition can be confusing. This is especially true when you want to lose abnormal fat and keep the fat that you need for good health. Total body fat percent really tells you nothing. Here is what you should know.
The best way to tell whether your diet, fitness, or other weight management programs are working for you is to keep track of changes in your body fat composition. Imagine that you weigh 200 lbs on Earth and are 35 percent body fat. On the moon you would instantly lose about 167 lbs because of lower gravity. However, your body would still be 35 percent fat.
The point here is that weight is not the issue. Fat is.
Body Fat Calculations and Types of Fat
Now it get a little dicey, because there is no way to know how much of the different kinds of fat are in your body. Your total consists of brown fat and white fat (both referred to as adipose tissues), and even cell membrane fat.
Brown fat is the new kid on the block for fat loss. At one time it was thought to be present only in infants. Recent research shows its presence in adults. It occurs mostly in the upper chest area and around the neck. The importance of this discovery is that the more brown fat you have, the more able you are to balance other types of fat. Brown fat directs the metabolism of that awful belly fat that most folks want to lose.
You can easily tell when you have abnormal fat made of white adipose tissue, because it sticks out somewhere. The usual places are belly, thighs and buttocks, and upper arms.
Ideally, the best fat loss would therefore be white fat loss. Indeed, better weight management would include getting your body to make more brown fat and less white fat. So far, scientists have succeeded in getting mice to do this in laboratory research. We do not yet know whether this will work in people. Of course, drug companies are seeking a new miracle drug that will do this for you. No such thing is available at the moment.
Body Fat Recommendations
Keep in mind that measuring total body fat can be misleading, even though it is currently the best indicator of body fat composition. The accuracy of the main three methods of measurement varies.
The most accurate is the submersion test, where your buoyancy in water is used to calculate body fat percent. The second most accurate method is through impedance devices. These are now available as bathroom scales that read body fat and as handheld devices that use the same principle. In my personal experience, my handheld impedance device measures about 3 percent higher than does the submersion method.
The least accurate method is the caliper method. It varies tremendously because the strength of pinching varies with the examiner.
Regardless of the result that you get, there is a range of body fat composition that is best for optimum health and weight (fat) management. There is no magic number for everyone. Indeed, numbers are always higher for women than for men, and they increase with age.
General agreement among nutrition researchers offers the following as healthy ranges of body fat percent for women and men in different age groups:
Women
20 to 40 yrs, 21 to 33 percent fat
41 to 60 yrs, 23 to 35 percent fat
61 to 79 yrs, 24 to 36 percent fat
Men
20 to 40 yrs, 8 to 19 percent fat
41 to 60 yrs, 11 to 22 percent fat
61 to 79 yrs, 13 to 25 percent fat
These are the target ranges for good health. It is probably obvious that being above these ranges is the foundation for overweight (i.e., overfat) and obesity. There may be no limit to how high it can go. One of my clients, a woman in her 50s, measured at 48 percent body fat. Wow!
Lower Body Fat Percent Is Not Healthier
What may not be so obvious is that numbers below these health ranges are not necessarily healthier just because they are lower. You need body fat in the right amounts, of the right types, in the right places for optimum health and body image.
If you haven’t heard about the type of fat in your body that is called brown fat (or, BAT for brown adipose tissue), then you are in for a pleasant surprise. This is the kind of fat that makes your body burn fat that you do not want. Yup, you can get one type of fat fighting off another type of fat. What fun!
Here is a little video that introduces the topic.
The Doctors Explain Why Brown Fat is Healthy
The Brown Fat Revolution
Now we know that fat loss involves the interaction among the fat colors: brown fat, yellow fat, and white fat.
The book by Dr. Lyons is available at Amazon, so I’ve put in a link directly to it below. Oh, yeah…this is where, if you buy it through this link you will find a ‘used’ copy for a lot less. And, I might get a HUGE commission from Amazon (usually about 40 cents!).
Find out what it takes to boost brown fat and get it working for you.
This may be the best herb there is for directly influencing fat metabolism. Research is solid. Inexpensive supplements are widely available. It seems like a no-brainer. Not too long ago I delved into the scientific research on green tea and found studies that back up claims about green tea and fat loss. Hey, it is a simple thing to add to your fat burning arsenal.
Here is a recent update with some great research-based commentary on green tea for fat loss, with other significant side benefits.
Maki KC, Reeves MS, Farmer M, Yasunaga K, Matsuo N, Katsuragi Y, Komikado M, Tokimitsu I, Wilder D, Jones F, Blumberg JB, Cartwright Y. Green tea catechin consumption enhances exercise-induced abdominal fat loss in overweight and obese people.
By the way, if you are like me and prefer to take green tea supplements, then that will work fine. If would rather drink green tea, here is a little advice that I have come up with to make green tea taste better.
Just squeeze some lemon juice into it when it is steeping. This will bring out more of the active ingredients, too. (They are more soluble in hot water in a slightly acidic environment.) Also add some liquid Stevia for sweetening. I really like the Vanilla Creme flavor, although liquid Stevia comes in many other flavors, too.
High fructose corn syrup is bad news in so many ways. First off, fructose is not the benign sugar that it has been widely acclaimed to be. Its low Glycemic Index means nothing. Fructose is the most lipogenic (fat building) sugar of all, even more than table sugar. Take a look at a surprising article that cites the latest research on the most pervasive sugar in processed foods and sweetened drinks:
Researchers at Princeton have shown that if you keep the number of calories the same, rats eating high-fructose corn syrup “gained significantly more weight” than rats who ate table sugar.
I must admit that I used to talk about fructose and high fructose corn syrup in glowing terms. Then I discovered the real research. This is one food additive to keep off your diet if you want to stay trim, that’s for sure.
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