Weight Loss vs Fat Loss

When it comes to weight loss vs fat loss, you need to know the difference between the two.

Many people who want to lose weight go on some sort of crash diet hoping to lose as much weight as possible in the shortest amount of time. They drastically reduce calories and become fixated on what weight the scale shows.

As their weight decreases, they assume that all or most of the weight being lost is body fat. They oftentimes couldn't be more wrong.

The reality is that when you go on a very low calorie diet, you often end up losing more water and lean muscle mass than you do body fat.

Very low calorie diets cause you to lose water because when calories are drastically reduced your body gets needed energy by burning glycogen (stored glucose in the liver and muscles). Glycogen holds on to water, so when it's burned for energy it releases water, which is expelled via urination.

Very low calorie diets cause you to lose lean muscle mass because when you drastically reduce calories in order to starve away body fat, you also starve away lean muscle mass.

Between the loss of water and lean muscle mass, as much as 75% of the weight you lose on a very low calorie diet might not be body fat. This is why the weight loss on very low calorie diets can be so deceiving.

Losing weight needs to be all about losing body fat. It's excess body fat that makes you look and feel bad, and excess body fat is what increases your risk for a variety of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

The most effective way to lose body fat is to combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine.

A fat loss nutrition plan is based on cutting back on calories, not on drastically reducing them. It's also based on you as an individual - your body type, your metabolism, and what mix of protein, carbohydrate and fat works best for you. A fat loss nutrition plan is not a temporary way of eating like a diet is, it's a healthy way of eating that can be followed for a lifetime.

A fat loss exercise routine that includes aerobic exercise and strength training enables you to lose body fat without losing lean muscle mass. There are also plenty of health and fitness benefits associated with aerobic exercise and strength training.

A great resource that shows you how to create a fat loss nutrition plan and a fat loss exercise routine is Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. It's an excellent program and I highly recommend it.

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Calories and Weight Loss

Here's what you need to know about calories and weight loss if you want to lose weight and keep it off.

A calorie is a unit of energy. Specifically, a calorie is the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree centigrade.

The word calorie is used interchangeably to describe the amount of energy in food and the amount of energy stored in the body as adipose tissue (body fat). For example, a glazed doughnut contains about 210 calories and a 25 minute jog on the treadmill burns off about 210 calories.

When it comes to calories and weight loss, if you burn more calories than you consume, your body will tap into stored body fat for energy to make up for the calorie deficit and you'll lose weight. If you consume more calories than you burn, your body will store the surplus calories as body fat and you'll gain weight. Some foods may get stored as body fat more easily than others because of the way they affect your hormones or blood sugar, but too much of any food will get stored as body fat.

Since you must create a calorie deficit if you want to lose body fat, what's the best way to create this deficit? Should you decrease calories, increase physical activity, or do both?

The best way to create a calorie deficit is to combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine.

A fat loss nutrition plan is based on cutting back on calories, not on drastically reducing them. It's also based on you as an individual - your body type, your metabolism, and what mix of protein, carbohydrate and fat works best for you. A fat loss nutrition plan is not a temporary way of eating like a diet is, it's a healthy way of eating that can be followed for a lifetime.

A fat loss exercise routine that includes aerobic exercise and strength training enables you to lose body fat without losing lean muscle mass and without slowing down your metabolism. There are also plenty of health and fitness benefits associated with aerobic exercise and strength training.

Even though combining a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine is the best way to create a calorie deficit and lose body fat, many people make the mistake of doing just the opposite - they go on a very low calorie diet and do little or no exercise.

A very low calorie diet can produce quick weight loss, but what happens once the diet ends? Most people go back to the same old way of eating that caused them to be overweight in the first place and end up gaining back any lost weight. The reality is that very low calorie diets almost never result in permanent weight loss.

Another major problem that very low calories diets have is that they cause you to lose lean muscle mass. When you drastically reduce calories in order to starve away body fat, you also starve away lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass is metabolically active tissue, so when you lose lean muscle mass your metabolism slows down. The slower your metabolism, the easier it is to gain weight and the harder it is to lose it.

The bottom line when it comes to calories and weight loss is that there's no better way to create a calorie deficit and lose body fat than by combining a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine. When you combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine, the result will be not just a leaner body, but a fitter, healthier body.

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The Best Way to Lose Weight

The best way to lose weight is really quite simple - combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine.

Unfortunately, many people make the mistake of doing just the opposite - they go on a very low calorie diet and do little or no exercise.

A very low calorie diet can produce quick weight loss, but what happens once the diet ends? Most people go back to the same old way of eating that caused them to be overweight in the first place and end up gaining back any lost weight.

The reality is that very low calorie diets almost never result in permanent weight loss. A very low calorie diet is a temporary way of eating that produces temporary results.

Another major problem that very low calories diets have is that they cause you to lose lean muscle mass. When you drastically reduce calories in order to starve away body fat, you also starve away lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass is metabolically active tissue, so when you lose lean muscle mass your metabolism slows down. You also get weaker and your body becomes softer and flabbier.

Continually going on and off very low calorie diets, which many people do, is one of the worst things you can do for your metabolism because your metabolism becomes slower with each repeated bout of very low calorie dieting. The slower your metabolism, the easier it is to gain weight and the harder it is to lose it.

You have to forget about drastically reducing calories if you want to lose body fat and keep it off. Instead, you have to combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine.

A fat loss nutrition plan is based on cutting back on calories, not on drastically reducing them. It's also based on you as an individual - your body type, your metabolism, and what mix of protein, carbohydrate and fat works best for you. A fat loss nutrition plan is not a temporary way of eating like a diet is, it's a healthy way of eating that can be followed for a lifetime.

A fat loss exercise routine that includes aerobic exercise and strength training enables you to lose body fat without losing lean muscle mass and without slowing down your metabolism. There are also plenty of health and fitness benefits associated with aerobic exercise and strength training.

But if combining a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine is the best way to lose weight, why don't more people follow this template?

It's because there are so many weight loss programs and products on the market that promise fast and easy weight loss. But if there was such a thing as fast and easy weight loss, more people than ever before wouldn't be overweight or obese.

Combining a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine requires making some lifestyle changes, but it truly is the best way to lose weight.

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Best Detox for Weight Loss

Liver detox for weight loss - the best guaranteed and proven key for weight loss. Look lean and healthy - fast and drug free - when you follow the best detox for weight loss. Liver detoxing before a weight loss program is today's latest medical breakthrough in losing weight. This breakthrough explains why some lose weight slowly or not at all. Lose weight easily when you detox your liver before you begin your weight loss program. Learn why detoxing the liver is so important for weight loss along with other key tips to help get your body looking lean and healthy in no time at all.

According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 70 percent of Americans are overweight. This, for the most part, is because fat people have dirty livers. Let me explain. The liver is 'the' key player in fat metabolism and toxin breakdown. Overtime, livers are bombarded with chemicals and hormones from the food we eat. Livers are designed to quickly and easily get rid of these harmful toxins, but without rest and proper nutrition, livers become overworked and begin to fail at their key functions. Livers no longer work properly to metabolize fat and breakdown toxins. So fat people usually have livers that are dirty with toxins. A toxic liver has problems burning fat and even increases the amount of fat in your body. This is why the liver must be detoxed for weight loss.

With a toxic liver, the body may display belly fat, a protuberant abdomen, and/or a roll of fat around the upper abdomen. A toxic liver loses its ability to eliminate chylomicron remnants. This results in fatty deposits under the skin leading to cellulitus. Chylomicrons are small fat globules that help transport fat after digestion from the small intestine to tissues in the body. Abdominal fat increases until liver function is improved. So, detox your liver for weight loss. Turn it back into the fat metabolizing and toxin eliminating power house burning fat 24/7.

Here are the best ways to detox your liver for weight loss:

1) Drink more water. Drink half your weight in fluid ounces of water per day. If you weigh 250 lbs., drink 125 fluid ounces of water daily. Water allows the liver and colon to flush toxins easily. The liver passes toxins to the colon to flush them from the body. Without sufficient water and fiber, the colon becomes constipated. Toxins are then reabsorbed back into the blood stream and returned to the liver to repeat the cycle. If this condition becomes chronic, you will experience discomfort, fatigue, and even weight retention. Begin your morning with a glass of warm water. Mix in a tablespoon of lemon juice, some cayenne, and some flax seed for fiber. This mixture will stimulate your system and help clean your colon.

2) Stay away from ALL artificial sugar. These sugars include Aspartame, Splenda, Saccharin, and High Fructose Corn Syrup, also known as Crystalline Fructose. Many of them advertise zero calories, but they are poisonous to your liver. Weight loss will be much easier using natural sugar.

3) Stay away from pasteurized milk products. They make you fat. Start using raw milk products. Russel Eaton, author of The Horror of Homogenized Milk, explains that the problem with pasteurized milk is that it's homogenized. This is how milk companies stop the cream from rising to the top. "Homogenization is a mechanical process that forces the milk through thin nozzles to break down and disperse the fat globules into very small particles." Homogenized fat globules (micronized fat) are so small, they bypass the liver and go directly into the bloodstream. What's worse is they bring toxins right along with them such as bovine growth hormones (IGF-1) and heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and lead. Homogenized fat globules are long chain saturated fatty acids. Our bodies cannot simulate this type of fat until converted into non-saturated fat. Because this conversion isn't easy, our bodies decide rather to store the saturated fat as surplus fat for later use.

4) Buy organic. Believe it or not, this does make a difference in liver performance. Most all farmers today use chemicals. They use pesticides to kill bugs and herbicides to kill weeds. Farmers feed livestock drugs and hormonal additives. As these chemicals, drugs, and hormones add up in our bodies, our livers get toxic. If you want a healthy liver, it's important to switch to organic.

5) Read ingredients on the food you buy. The food we eat today is full of poisonous chemicals. Look for ingredients such as hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup. These chemicals are added to keep food fresh and looking its best. Food and drug companies don't care what these chemicals do to our bodies because the dollar rules in today's food market. These ingredients abuse the liver and contribute to weight gain.

6) Do not exclude fat from your diet. Our bodies require fat to keep running properly. Fat provides energy and allows the body to absorb necessary nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E, and K. Stay away from bad fats such as hamburgers and fries and include good fats like nuts, avocados, tuna, and salmon.

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Milk and Weight Loss

Most people who would like to lose weight have excluded milk in their diet. However, recent studies indicate that they may actually lose weight by drinking it every day instead. They may drink skim milk in order for their bodies to get enough amount of calcium that would help in increasing their body metabolism. When the body is able to achieve better metabolic rate, it is able to make use of the energy more efficiently which in turn will result to losing weight instead of gaining it.

Individuals who love milk but who do not want to put on the additional pounds can choose fat free milk instead of the whole milk. Some people may be allergic to milk but most people can include it in their daily meals. Others with lactose intolerance problem may still enjoy small quantities of milk each day. Simply switching to the kind of milk taken every day can bring a difference for those who have some weight problems.

Whole milk is usually composed of saturated fats from animals. People know that this is not good for their bodies because it tends to increase the cholesterol level in the blood. Fat free milk on the other hand gives lots of calcium for the health benefit of people. Those who drink this kind of milk are also able to prevent bone problems such as osteoporosis. People can drink about 3 cups of not-fat milk every day. They may also combine their milk intake with lots of fruits and vegetables especially for those who would like to lose more weight.

There are also other health related benefits of drinking sufficient amount of fat free milk on a daily basis. The daily supply of calcium protects people from developing colon cancer. It also facilitates the attainment of a stable blood pressure level. Calcium is also needed by the body for blood clotting as well as for nerve conduction and it is needed for muscle contraction too. People may also benefit from the B vitamins that are contained in fat free milk.

People will also have to check labels when buying non-fat milk products. They can get more from those that are fortified with other vitamins like A and D. They also have to make sure that they read the expiration date that is indicated on the milk carton. People have to drink non-fat milk that has been pasteurized for health safety as well. Including milk in the daily diet may help people to lose their weight especially when they drink skim milk instead of whole milk.

Losing weight and feeding the muscle can be one of the most difficult things for someone to do. Learn to burn the fat the right way by eating correctly and by doing the proper exercises. By learning this, you will be on your way to shedding those unwanted pounds as well as being healthier. 

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Top-Rated Diets Overall

U.S. News evaluated and ranked the 29 diets below with input from a panel of health experts. To be top-rated, a diet had to be relatively easy to follow, nutritious, safe, and effective for weight loss and against diabetes and heart disease. The government-endorsed Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) snagged the top spot.

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7 Mind-Blowing Benefits of Exercise

Maybe you exercise to tone your thighs, build your biceps, or flatten your belly. Or maybe you work out to ward off the big killers like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. But how about sweating to improve your mind? "Exercise is the single best thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory, and learning," says Harvard Medical School psychiatrist John Ratey, author of the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. "Even 10 minutes of activity changes your brain." If you need a little extra incentive to lace up those sneakers, here are five ways that exercise can boost your brainpower.

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