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Weight Loss Basics - Eat to Live


(Ninth in a Series)
In his book, Mindfulness with Breathing, Buddhadasa Bhikku, a rather famous Buddhist monk-at least in Theravada circles-had these very wise words to say about food: "We should eat food that is food. Do not eat food that is 'bait.' We eat food for the proper nourishment of life. We eat bait for the sake of deliciousness. Bait makes us unwise and causes us to eat foolishly, just like the bait on the hook that snags foolish fish. We must eat the kinds of food that are genuinely beneficial for the body, and we must eat in moderation."
That is probably the best statement on the subject of "Eat to Live vs. Live to Eat" that I have come across.
In the same book, he goes on to say: "Eating bait means eating for the sake of deliciousness and fun. It is also usually expensive. We must stop swallowing bait and learn to eat only food that is proper and wholesome.
"If you are eating bait, you will be constantly hungry all day and night. You will always be sneaking off to eat yet more bait. Eating bait impairs our mental abilities. The mind surrenders to the bait."
Live to Eat
It is a sad testament to our western culture-especially here in America-that living to eat is a predominant philosophy, if not a religion.
Most of us, deep down, know this. We know that fruit is better than grease-dripping French fries. We know that greens and rice is healthier for the body than a thick, juicy (as in bloody) steak with baked potatoes (and scoops of sour cream).
Quite apart from the fact that we could feed seven persons with the soy beans we feed the pig that slaughtered will feed only one person-which is just bad economy-the human body does not run well on salty, greasy, high-cholesterol, high-calorie food. Yet this is the daily menu for a majority of our citizens today.
A Pact
In fact, this is so much the case that it makes one wonder: Could there be a secret pact between the Fast Food and Medical Industries? A pact that goes something like this:
Medical Industry: "As long as you keep sending them to us for expensive and very profitable treatment, we will not expose how terribly bad your foods actually are for them."
A nodding-head Fast Food Industry: "Deal."
This is not to say that such a conspiracy is afoot; it is to say that by the statistics alone, one is justified in wondering.
Pleasure and Taste
For many the battle comes down to taste, and the pleasure it gives.
We can go a whole day-if not a whole week, and with great anticipation-looking forward to a particular dinner course, one which in the past has given us great pleasure (enter your favorite food here). The quiet voice that tries to point out that this sumptuous meal, strictly speaking, is not at all good for us-and that afterwards we will wake up in the night with heartburn and a bad conscience-eventually goes all silent, and as comes the day, we sit down to dig in.
Short Term vs. Long Term
It may be that true pleasures are few and far between. It certainly is true that pleasure is far preferable to pain. But it is also true that long-term pleasure, say a rejuvenated body that will allow you to make that twenty mile hike to the top of Mount so-and-so-and with it that most fantastic view and feeling you've ever experienced-is far stronger, and far preferable to the short-term pleasure of an indulging meal.
But short term is much easier to confront than long term, and that's the crux. Working toward long-term pleasure, and survival, takes effort, will power, and time. Even though we know the rewards outweigh the short-term pleasure by a huge factor, we would rather go with the burger in hand than the long-term survival in the woods.
Eat to Live
It takes less effort to start the car than to walk. It takes less effort to turn on the television than to read a book. It takes less effort to drive to the fast food restaurant than to cook a healthy meal.
It takes less effort to be unhealthy than healthy. It takes less effort not to live than live.
Living life to the fullest takes effort. It takes dedication and will power. It takes knowing what fuel makes your body function the best and to choose that fuel, no matter how much work is involved. It takes sticking to that resolve every day of every week, month, year.
Eating to live is not a short-term project; it's a philosophy and a lifestyle that in the end brings far, far more happiness to those who make it, than any amount of bait ever can.
The multiTRIM Diet
All diet plans--except for the outright fraudulent ones, and be warned: they abound--have as their goal for you to burn more calories than you consume.
Possibly the most sensible plan we have seen in recent years is the multiTRIM diet which supplies all needed nutrients to maintain health and ease hunger in a fifteen calories meal-replacement drink.
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Weight Loss Basics For Successful Results

So you are overweight and you want that to change? Don't worry for weight loss isn't as difficult as it may appear. All you need to do is to be determined and not be lured in by all the shinny, expensive equipment sold on TV. You need to be aware of the basic principles of weight loss, namely, diet, exercise and proper sleeping time. Think of weight loss as a pyramid, on top which sits a balanced diet. Immediately below diet, comes exercise and at the base resides a good night's sleep of at least eight hours a day.
What does a balanced diet mean? It does not mean eating less or eating meals that would qualify to be for a hospital patient. It means to balance your diet with your energy requirements. This balance is tilted in favor of energy required, that is if you want to lose weight. The term, hence, used for this is the creation of Energy/Calorie Deficit. Once the energy deficit is achieved you will, automatically, lost weight.
Adding herbs to your diet will accelerate your weight loss even further. Through research such naturally occurring herbs have been found that not only help you lose weight but also provide the vitality you need to exercise. A case in point is Ganudarma, an ingredient found in Reishi mushrooms. Ganudarma provides energy and vitality that is required to have a balanced diet and enough energy to perform cardiovascular exercises.
Other herbal intakes include Green tea, Fish oil (rich in omega-3 fatty acids), Bitter Orange, Ephedra, Garcinia, Cambogia, Guaraná, Guggul, Spirulina (Blue-Green Algae) and St. John's Wort.
If you choose to achieve this energy deficit by starving yourself then the weight loss that you will achieve will be detrimental to your health and vitality. This happens because your body's physical health is hampered if you choose to starve it of its basic nutrient requirements. Hence, you must achieve the said Calorie deficit through diet and exercise. Further, exercise keeps you healthy and stress free. Particularly, cardiovascular or sometimes called cardio or aerobics help strengthen your body muscles, heart and lungs. It provides one with the vitality and stamina that is required to live a healthy life.
A constant practice of cardiovascular exercise guarantees a long healthy life. Other forms of popular exercises in the U.S are "Chi", Yoga, power lifting, Tae Kwando, Karate and other martial arts. You must choose the one that suits you best.
If you achieve the tasks discussed above then a good night's sleep of, uninterrupted, eight hours would serve as the icing on our weight loss cake. However, sleeping for eight ours in patches does not help because the human body needs to rest in order for it to stay vital and healthy. If you do not get ample sleep then you will not be able exercise and stay healthy.
So, basically, all you need to do is be on top of the weight loss Pyramid. For as long as you are on top of it you will constantly lose weight and stay healthy at the same time.
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Weight Loss Basics - A Scientific Prospective For Lazy 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 exceeds the number of calories utilized 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 eaten exceeds the number of calories burned 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 expressed 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 bread, pasta, potatoes and grains such as rye. According to most authorities, carbohydrates should comprise between 50% and 55% of total daily calories.
The primary sources of protein in the diet are nuts, eggs, meat, beans, 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.
When we have been fasting for 12 or more hours, 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 consumption 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 conjunction with a weight loss diet.
Although immediate weight loss is not usually seen with anaerobic exercising, scientific observations suggest that anaerobic exercise 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, a resource to help individuals become more involved in their healthcare and improve their health, including combating obesity. For more information on weight loss resources visit http://www.proactivehealthoutlet.com.
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Weight Loss Basics - Resources


By 
(Seventh in a Series)

Help
Pride and independence often tell us the story we want to hear: we can do this on our own, we know we can; we don't need any help.
That may well be true if you only have ten or so pounds to lose to get into last year's dress for a party. Live on lemon juice for a week or two while you treadmill yourself ragged for two hours a day. Sure, you'll get into that dress-though you probably won't again a couple of weeks after the party.
If, however, you're facing a long-term weight loss project of fifty, seventy-five, one hundred pounds or more-and especially if you've tried, and failed, a few times already-it's time to swallow your pride and acknowledge that, yes, you could do with a hand here.
The ability to accept help, freely and without resentment, is undervalued. Few have it innately. Most have to work at it. And as a long-term dieter, you had better acquire this skill sooner rather than later. Once you have come to terms with needing a hand, however, you will find that such hands abound.
Weight Loss Sites
This paragraph opens with a warning: there are so many Internet sites devoted to weight loss that you can easily spend the rest of your days perusing them all and never quite get around to losing weight.
Also, many weight loss sites are pure money making schemes, praying on your need (getting more and more desperate as time, and failed diets, pile up) to lose weight. The best way to detect such sites is by their promises, which are always a little over the top, and always stress how easy it will be, if only you spend $50 a week with them.
This is a dead giveaway, for long-term weight loss is not easy. But there are many helpful sites as well, providing all manner of tools and tips. FitDay and SparkPeople are two of the best. There are, however, many excellent sites. Just search for what you need in terms of information and support, and watch out for outlandish promises.
Nutritionists
If you have the financial resources to afford one, or the insurance coverage to provide one, a nutritionist can be of invaluable help to you. An experienced nutrition professional has been there and done that with almost any scenario and can provide excellent, and real, advice to follow.
Doctors
It goes without saying that if you have medical problems, or even concerns, of any kind, you need to consult-and gain the support of-your doctor before you set out on a long term weight loss program. Many medical problems-although causes may appear to lie elsewhere-tend to resolve once you reach a healthy weight, for the body is an amazingly efficient self-healing organism.
Once it no longer has to cope with and battle the ills of being overweight, it can turn its attention to other, medical, problems, and more often than not successfully resolve them. Still, you need to enlist your doctor on your team. If your current doctor is less than enthusiastic about your weight loss efforts, it might serve you well to recruit a new one who is. The support guidance of a medical professional is an invaluable resource.
Loved Ones
Possibly the most important support you will need, especially over the course of a long-term weight loss project, is members of your family and friends, whether an old roommate, significant other, co-worker, parent, or child. Knowing that those who love your are squarely in your court and willing to do anything to help you, can make all the difference; can in fact, make or break the success of long-term weight loss.
Successful Dieters
Another priceless source of support comes from those who have successfully lost the amount of weight you are setting out to lose. They have been there and done that on the field of battle, and they have won. They know what problems you will face, and they know how to overcome them.
Not unlike sponsors in an Anonymous group, they can offer you very real and applicable advice to virtually any situation. And they will, just like your loved ones, be firmly on your side against the mountain that often seems quite impossible to climb. Seek them out by any means, and stay in weekly, if not daily contact, to benefit from their experience. It cannot be overvalued.
Help Revisited
The fact that you may have tried many times to lose weight, but has yet to succeed, is a clear indication that pride must be swallowed, and help must be sought and accepted-whether freely or grudgingly, it doesn't really matter. This can be hard to do, but for the sake of your own health and happiness, you must do it; you'll find that it is nowhere near as hard as trying to go it alone.
The multiTRIM Diet
All diet plans--except for the outright fraudulent ones, and be warned: they abound--have as their goal for you to burn more calories than you consume. Possibly the most sensible plan we have seen in recent years is the multiTRIM diet which supplies all needed nutrients to maintain health and ease hunger in a fifteen calories meal-replacement drink.
At
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