Antioxidant Supplements: Bad Idea?

photo: Patrick Feller

This is a post by Cranky Fitness contributor Tiffany Reiss, a university professor who, unlike the slothful Crabby McSlacker, actually knows a lot about nutrition and bothers to go beyond the headlines with some actual research and thoughtful analysis. As I've mentioned before, Tiffany is one of the innovators behind the website The Hub Edu, which lets users to build a digital library of resources and share with others.  (In beta but very cool, and free!) More about Tiffany can be found by scrolling down on our info page.  --Crabby

Antioxidants: the pros and the cons: This concept is something that more often than not confuses my students, and at the very least is very eye opening for them.

We have all heard it, read it, been bombarded with it over the past couple of decades. Aging is bad. And what causes aging?  Why it's those little free radicals (or Reactive Oxygen Species(ROS) flying around in our bodies that damage cells and even our DNA that in turn, cause aging and possibly any number of physiological dysfunction (including cancer).

It sounds really bad doesn’t it? I envision something akin to evil flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz flying around in my body wreaking havoc on my cell structures, and even worse, damaging my DNA which then replicates. And before I know it, I am damaged, diseased and old looking because of my damaged cells and DNA. The horror.

I obviously need to be doing something about this and look, up in the sky, it’s a bird, a plane – no it’s Super-Antioxidants to the rescue!

It's wonderful to think there is something I can eat in natural foods and even better, take in pill form, that will stop these flying monkeys and prevent all of this damage in my body. And because I exercise, I am also theoretically probably producing more free radicals and therefore I should be consuming lots more of these Super-Antioxidant things to beat up all of those free radicals before they can cause any damage. It’s Vitamins E and C flying around in capes in my body beating those little free radicals to death, it’s all out war!

Well actually, in theory those antioxidants should really be absorbing (or bonding with) those free radicals, not just beating them up. Maybe Pacman is a better analogy…but you get the picture.

Aside from the problem of a multi-billion dollar supplement industry that will sell us anything and everything that gives us the illusion that we can somehow pop a pill and make ourselves “healthier” and “happier,” here is where the whole antioxidant supplement promise goes awry:  We have villainized something that is not only natural, but might actually be helpful under certain circumstances: free radicals.

Ask any person on the street and I assume most would tell us that free radicals are “bad” and antioxidants are “good”. Even if they don’t know the context, most people at least know that much. Well, free radicals can be bad but they can also be good…just like antioxidants.

We probably all know that we should avoid those synthetic supplements and eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables to get our antioxidants that way. And yes, we should eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. But when might antioxidants not be such a good thing, especially in supplement form?

Free radicals damage cells and our DNA. Check. How can this ever be good? Well perhaps when we already have a cancer diagnosis or are beginning to develop cancer itself. There is emerging evidence that a) free radicals might actually be a natural defense mechanism against cancerous cells and b) if we are loading up with antioxidants that block the free radicals…well, now the cancer cells have free reign. In addition, our cells seem to kind of sequester both ROS’s and antioxidants as their own defense mechanism, especially cancer cells. Lots of new evidence to back this up and when you think about it, it actually kind of makes sense.

For example:
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20140129/could-antioxidants-speed-up-cancer-progression;
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140710094434.htm;
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/causes-prevention/risk/diet/antioxidants-fact-sheet.

Now I don’t think anyone is suggesting antioxidants might actually cause cancer. The cells in our body are constantly multiplying and dying. There is a lot of opportunity for something to go wrong and for cells to start proliferating out of control (cancer). And much of that does seem to be caused by….free radicals.

Here is another example of when free radicals are actually good for us. When we exercise, we damage our tissue. The higher the intensity and the longer the duration of the activity (or the more novel it is), the more damage we do. Well any exercise enthusiasts knows that from this perspective, damage is a good thing, because without it, we would never adapt. When exercising, our bodies literally need to be broken down to build them back up.

Well, what do you think causes all of that damage, so eventually we can adapt and improve? Free radicals. Without them, the damage doesn’t occur or doesn’t occur to the same degree and therefore the adaptations are lessened as well. There is a growing body of evidence to support this as well:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22060178; http://www.jissn.com/content/11/1/4. Again, the benefits of supplements are certainly called to question, as might be the overconsumption of natural antioxidants.

So what does all of this tell us? I don’t think this means you no longer have to eat your spinach…but it does suggest this is way more complex than we originally thought or that my super hero analogy would suggest. The literature is pretty consistent on the idea that consuming antioxidants in supplement form at best isn’t helping and at worst might actually be doing more harm. However, there is no evidence to suggest that natural antioxidants found in natural foods cause or worsen cancer or prevent exercise adaptations and the literature seems to suggest that as long as we don’t over-consume too many natural foods loaded with antioxidants, we should also be okay.

In other words, consume a balanced, varied diet including fresh fruits and vegetables and yes, keep exercising! Only take supplements if you are deficient in something and a medical professional recommends it. All this science and it may really be that simple!

Source.

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1 Weird Old Tip To Lose Fat

Scientific Weight Loss Tips

Choosing A Diet Plan

When it comes to selecting from any of the most popular diets available online you need to balance the results a particular program claims against the weight loss goals you are looking to achieve. While the claims made among several of the top diets, often confirmed by thousands of participants may very well be real, that doesn't necessarily mean a specific diet and exercise program is right for you. You can easily lose weight quickly but that doesn't necessarily mean you will keep the weight off over the long term. Having counseled people on exercise and weight loss for years, I have developed three keys anyone should consider when looking to lose weight based on the most popular diets and programs you may choose to follow.

1. Decide On Your Primary Weight Loss Goal - Picking a weight loss program all depends on what your primary goal is. Short term (e.g. I need to drop 10 pounds before the 20th high school re-union), long term, and the amount of weight you would like to lose. All of these factors play a role in what will ultimately help you decide which program to fit that is right for you.
2. Most Popular Diets Can Impact Your Lifestyle - This arguably one of the biggest elements to picking any diet and exercise plan and will play a significant role on whether or not you achieve weight loss success. The term "lifestyle" is important to understand because if you don't buy into the changes that a particular program wants you to follow you won't be successful. For instance, I like preparing my own food and eating organic food so an effective diet plan like The Diet Solution Program makes sense for me. When reviewing any of the most popular diets ask yourself how much exercise you like or want to incorporate into your day to day routine, whether or not not you like to prepare you own foods, if you are up for tracking the amount of food you consume on a daily basis, and if you feel that you can adjust (or see yourself doing so overtime) to the major requirements that the program requires. All of these factors will help you determine what program will work for you.
3. Do You Want to Lose Weight or Have a Better Diet? - Although you can have both you should ask yourself what you are really trying to achieve when assessing the most popular diets and exercise programs. You can be healthier simply by following a more healthy diet although that may not necessarily lead to weight loss. There are obvious medical considerations for losing weight, something that the most effective diets like Fat Burning Furnace, the Diet Solution Program, Truth About Abs, and the South Beach Diet all can help you achieve. It's just important to understand what your primary motivation is. We all want better health and sometimes weight loss is really what we need, but in other cases simply improving what you eat is really your end goal.

When looking at the most popular diets make sure to review these three key areas to make sure that the program you select is one that you can really stick with and that it will have the positive impact you are looking for.

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Walking for Weight Loss? Some Possibly Sucky News

image: pixabay

By Crabby McSlacker

First off, let me just make clear that I think walking is a very healthy activity.Walking a lot is an awesome idea.

However, if you are hoping to rely on walking craploads of miles as a primary strategy for weight loss, I may have some bad news for you. I came across some research a few weeks ago that was kinda depressing.

Note: this research is not bad news for everyone, just some of us!

So what's unpleasant bit of potentially bad news?

Walking a Mile Burns a Lot Fewer Calories Than Running a Mile.

Did you think they were about the same?  I did!  Or that the difference was minor. But, well, not so much. Our bodies use more calories running a mile than walking it, plus, running gives you a much bigger "afterburn" and you burn more calories even after you finish.

I first came across this unfortunate information in a blog post from Runner's World oncalories burned walking vs. running and was seriously bummed to discovered how much less "credit" I get from walking that I'd thought.

But since the blog post was written back in 2005, I thought I'd see if there'd been any more research, possibly something with some more cheerful figures. Well, sure enough, there was a more recent update based on newer running vs walking calorie burn research. But, damn it, the 2012 report on walking vs running calories pretty much confirmed what the first article said.

Turns out, the figures I'd been using to calculate how many more calories I could greedily scarf up per day per for every mile I'd walked?  I was way too optimistic, and should have been using walking calories per mile, not running ones.

What's the next bit of bad news, especially for walkers, but also for anyone else who counts exercise calories and plans to eat accordingly?

To Evaluate the Impact of Exercise on Calorie Burn, You Need to Subtract Out Your Resting Metabolic Rate

Let's say you went for a long walk and burned 350 calories exercising. Yay you, that's great!

But does that mean that your exercise earned you 350 extra calories you can eat that day? Or that it burned off an additional 1/10 of a 3500-calorie pound of fat over what you'd have burned had you sat on your ass all day?

No it doesn't.  Because even if you'd been lying passed out in a cupcake coma the whole time, you'd still have been burning calories.

photo: Adam Gerard

Cupcake Comas: under-reported health menace.

You burn calories breathing, circulating blood, digesting, growing hair, making gross things like ear wax, and doing a bazillion other little bodily tasks that you don't even think about all day long. That's your Resting Metabolic Rate, also called Resting Energy Expenditure (REE).  So the calories you burn just due to your RMR/REE during the time you were exercising have to be subtracted in order to know how many calories you additionally burned by exercising, as opposed to existing.

(OK, sorry, technically I'm thinking an actual coma would be a lower figure than your RMR, probably your basal metabolic rate  (aka BEE, Basal Energy Expenditure) instead. But the two terms are almost synonymous).

But guess what? If you use My Fitness Pal to plan your caloric allotment for the day, they do not seem to do this for you!  They will give you full calorie credit for any exercise you enter.  Thus one has to learn to wipe away a few tears and then under-report your exercise to get the right results. It might be the same deal with other calorie/activity counters and apps, so beware!

And this points to another reason walking sucks relative to running: since it takes longer, you have to subtract more calories that your coma-self would have burned being in a coma that much longer than a runner would.

Here is a resting metabolic rate calculator; mine, for example, is a little under 1400 a day or about 58 calories an hour, which, the hell with it, I round to 60 calories an hour.

Doing the Math on Calories Burned by Walking or Running

Everyone's physiology is different, so it's all kind of a crapshoot. But if you're going to try to estimate your exercise contribution in order to know how much you can get away with eating, it would be nice not to screw yourself over by using unrealistically high figures.

However, it's harder than it sounds to get a good estimate. The Runner's World articles have some helpful formulas, but they were based on different studies, and at least for me the numbers came out differently.  And most annoying was that for some reason they decided it was too boring and/or depressing to factor in your Resting Metabolic Rate in the more updated article, so you would still need to subtract that.

Older Study :

Total Calorie Burn/Mile Running: .75 x your weight (in lbs.)

Net Calorie Burn/Mile Running: .63 x your weight

Total Calorie Burn/Mile Walking: .53 x your weight

Net Calorie Burn/Mile Walking: .30 x your weight

Newer Study Equation (That Doesn't Give the Option to Subtract Coma Calories):

CALORIES/MILE Running .72 x wt in lbs

CALORIES/MILE Walking .57 x wt in lbs

CALORIES/MINUTE Running .07 x wt in lbs

CALORIES/MINUTE Walking .03 x wt in lbs

Or you can try the Ace Physical Activity Calorie Counter to enter your weight, duration and activity. However, I don't believe this subtracts out your resting metabolic rate calories, so you need to do this step yourself if you want to know what your activity is really buying you.

For me personally, it was a bit of a shock: with the first study formula, at my weight, age, and size, I only get an additional 40 calories for every mile I walk over what I'd get at rest. With the updated one, it was more like 55, which I hope is right though its still less than what I'd been figuring.  But then I tried the Ace Calculator I was back down to 44 once I subtracted out my resting metabolic rate.

Seriously, FORTY F--CKING CALORIES per mile????

At forty calories a mile I'd have to walk to Cleveland and back to make up for a few moments of bliss with a baggie full of trail mix, let alone the damage I can do to a batch of home-made cookies. Need I mention I live no where near Cleveland?

However... one thing these formulas make very clear is:

The More Weight You Need to Lose, The Better Idea It Is To Walk a Lot

The multiplier in all these formulas is your weight.  The more you weigh, the bigger the payoff you get for walking over being sedentary. Would you do even better running? Sure, but for some people the injury potential is much higher.  If you are fit and overweight and not injury prone, there's no reason you shouldn't run for faster results! But it may be far more sustainable for many people to get in the habit of walking a ton.

The converse of this?  If you are close to your target weight, especially if you have a small build, and you are spending an enormous amount of time walking, walking, walking, not just for fun and health but because you think you are burning something like 100 calories a mile?  You are probably not getting the results you were hoping for.

For optimum health, you should be doing some high intensity intervals and strength training anyway. But it's interesting to discover that even for your basic calorie-burning daily routine, you may want to consider cranking up some of your endless walking to something a little more running-like. Or, stop eating as though you are running if you are not.

When Bad News is Actually Good News.

Knowledge is power, right? Even shitty knowledge that you wish you didn't have?

After reading this study, I made some adjustments to my own routine.

Because I've been wanting to reverse some post-menopausal weight gain--weight that I had lost before but that seems to have hunted me down and found me again. And I haven't been having much luck.

It's not just vanity either: the extra weight is all around my middle, exactly where it can cause the most trouble.

I already do HIIT and strength training and some moderate cardio, but the problem? I also eat like a total fucking pig.

photo: daniel sh

I thought that by doing a ton of walking (which I enjoy anyway) in addition to the more intense exercise, I could continue to justify my greed. Fortunately, I do eat a very healthy diet--I just eat way too much.

And yes, I am certainly not the first to note that you can not exercise your way out of bad eating habits. But coming face to face with how little I was buying with my extra walking forced me to be more realistic and make a couple of changes.

1.  While I can't jog or run (back issues), I can bicycle and jump on the elliptical more frequently and for longer than I have been. My guess is that since my heart rate gets into running territory, my body is probably doing similarly inefficient, calorie-burning things as it flails around. Despite the paleo-ish trend away from longer, more endurance types of aerobic exercise, it seems to work well for me. I still think it's smart to do HIIT and strength training too, and I have no plans to stop, but I'm increasingly curious about the effects of plain ol' vanilla aerobic stuff on fat loss versus just walking.

2. Remember when I did the My Fitness Pal Review and discovered how Annoying but Useful it was?  Well, I've forced myself back on there, but this time armed with better exercise calorie estimations. So I'm no longer fooling myself about how many calories I'm burning.  Lo and behold, I'm finally getting some traction on getting the scale moving the right direction.

Will I keep the experiment up long enough to get more significant results, or will I slack off and go back to old habits? Who knows?  But at least now I have a better understanding of the sucky numbers behind the "walk it off" school of weight loss for those not carrying a huge amount of extra weight to begin with.

How about you guys, do you rely on walking or other exercise for help with weight management, and if so, does it work?

Source

Salmon as a Superfood To Help Fat Loss

Let us have a look at why the salmon has earned so much popularity for fat loss and why people are taking it as the staple diet or a regular dietary supplement.

The popularity of the salmon products can be owed to the rich abundance of omega-3 fatty acids. Some people carry the wrong notion as they think the omega-3 fatty acid content should be avoided as it adds to the fat content. This is in fact absolutely wrong. This might not be absolutely correct as a very low-fat diet deprives the brain of the essential healthy fat that is required for the normal functioning of the body and can damage other damage systems in the body as well. One particular type of fat that is present in the salmon products namely the omega 3 fatty acids is very good for health. Unluckily, very few people consume omega-3 fatty acids as part of the regular diet. As a matter of fact, the body is unable to synthesize this type of fat and thus, it needs to be supplemented through proper dietary balance. The more omega 3 fatty acids we take frequently, the healthier we are.

The fatty acids present in the salmon products also stimulate the secretion of leptin. The leptin hormone is produced by the fat cells and these are considered as the natural weight control devices. These hormones suppress the appetite and utilize or burn the fat that is tired in the body. Thus, the body moves back to attain that ideal weight. It also facilitates the loss of the body fat and thus helps in maintaining muscle mass. This is what is needed by people who are looking to attain that ideal weight and get rid of obesity. The loss of fat and the reduction in inflammation are vital in decreasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Apart from helping in reducing weight, the salmon products also account for other remarkable health benefits too in terms of improved attention span, better mood, healthier immune system and increased energy levels. Thus, the umpteen benefits of fatty acids for one's wellbeing cannot be ruled out. All of us benefit from the salmon products and there should be no excuse as to why you should not consider this to be a part of your life.

Although there are a wide variety of salmon products one should be alert enough to choose the right product so that they are able to get the full benefits of the omega 3 fatty acids.

Source

Top Weightloss Myths

More information isn't necessarily better. This is certainly true with the weightloss sector. Considering all the brand-new products, diets, programs, and advice on the market that will apparently 'assist' slimmers, even more people are over weight today than they were not having this advice. More data, therefore, doesn't always help, largely because much of this information is just misinformation. To properly shed weight, dieters really need to get beyond the pervasive myths they will come upon concerning weightloss. Listed below are debunkings of the top five weightloss myths that start you off on the wrong pathways:

MYTH: Celebrity diets show results in the short and long term.

TRUTH: Dietary fads may possibly do the job in the ultra-short term, although typically not. And they definitely do not work long term. For individuals to shed pounds and keep it off, they must be undertaking maintainable routines, things that they're able to implement through out their lifetime. Lots of celebrity diets operate on the unspoken premiss you could shed pounds now (i. e. in just a month or two) and then get back to your usual eating routine and keep your weight. Of course, if you get back to what you typically did, you are going to get back to the weight you always were.

MYTH: Fat will help make you fat. Or is it carbs? Or maybe it's just sugar ?

TRUTH: Anything could make you obese when you are consuming too much of it. Fat, carbs, and protein are, at base, merely 'calories, ' or units of energy. When you eat a lot of calories, you are going to retain the excess as excess fat. Regardless of where those calories are derived from carbs, fat, or protein. (Please note: clinical analysis continues to take a look at all these concerns. )#)

MYTH: Given that weight is dependent on consumption of calories, just cut back drastically on calories and you'll get rid of a huge amount of unwanted weight.

TRUTH: Starvation is definitely the worst method to shed pounds in the history of pretty much everything. In order to get slimmer, you must keep your metabolic processes going. When you cut back drastically on your eating, your body will probably feel it's starving and decrease your metabolism. This will lower your basal metabolic rate and so the quantity of calories you burn up daily. This tends to stunt or perhaps end your weight loss. Additionally, it really is unsustainable - you'll not be able to starve yourself forever, and ultimately you are going to go back to your normal weight once you begin eating again.

MYTH: If I eat 'low calorie' or low fat or fat free foods I am going to shed weight.

TRUTH: These foods will help provided that you're having the right size helpings. When you eat excessive calories, no matter whether they are from these kinds of foods, you still put on pounds. A lot of people assume they're able to eat as much as they want of fat free food products because "they aren't fattening". This is really wrong. They still have got calories; the majority of them include extra sugars to make up for the fat loss, making the foods themselves still moderate to high calorie items.

MYTH: I will not be required to workout provided that I scale back on calories.

TRUTH: It's correct you could lose fat by simply sticking to your diet. Yet, it's neither healthy nor sustainable. Your body functions at its optimum when you're getting it to move. Additionally, when you merely scale back on foods, you'll not aid in the wellbeing of your heart, bones, disease fighting capability, mental faculties, and so on. Each of these parts of the body would benefit if you get moving, both in aerobic and resistance training.

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The Top 2 Vegetables for Weight Loss

As we move forward to the future, more and more ways to lose weight are introduced to unsuspecting health buffs-from magic pills to diet plans and highly overrated gym gadgets and paraphernalia. What many people do not realize is that a healthy body, and longevity, for that matter, does not have any unknown secrets. All it takes, really, is to have a solid weight loss plan. In this article, we will be presenting two types of food that will help you achieve your weight loss goals, which is essentially a chunk of what we call a Mediterranean diet.

Asparagus 

Probably one of the most balanced foods out there, asparagus may make your urine smell fouler than usual. For every 3.5 ounces or 100 grams of asparagus, your body will receive only 20 kilocalories of carbohydrates. This amount is little compared to what nutrition experts recommend, which is 300 grams. A simple diet for a weight loss plan that includes asparagus gives you a boost in Thiamine or vitamin B1, Vitamin B2 or Riboflavin, Vitamin B3 or Niacin, Vitamin B5 or Pantothenic Acid, and Folate or Vitamin B9.

A wholesome diet for a weight loss plan, should be rich in Vitamin B because this vitamin family is essentially responsible for good metabolism. These vitamins increase the rate of metabolism, thus burning fat faster and making the cells grow and heal faster. With this, you can expect healthier skin, better muscle tone, a boosted immunity system, and improved red blood cell count to fight anemia.

Broccoli 

Cultivated as early as 2000 years ago, this vegetable was a highly valued source of nutrition among Italians but was not fully known around the world until the 1920s. Very similar to cauliflower, this is one of the must-haves on your dinner plate if you want the best simple diet for weight loss plan. Evolved from a wild variety of cabbage, this veggie dates back to the roman Empire then later on spread to the Mediterranean areas and was later introduced to the United States.

There are basically three main types of broccoli: the Romanesco, the Calabrese, and the Sprouting type. The Calabrese is found mostly in Great Britain and it is distinct because of its large head which measures up to 20 centimetres in diameter. The Romanesco has a fractal look and is kind of yellow green. The Sprouting Broccoli has thin stalks but similarly large heads with the Calabrese.

A well balanced weight loss plan must include, broccoli because it is very rich in carbohydrates, giving about 6.64 grams for every 100 gram serving. On top of that, it has a fair amount of dietary fiber which is a very important component of the digestive system. This prevents you from experiencing headaches and constipation.

As you know, a solid weight loss plan must include a good amount of carbohydrates to provide the body enough energy to burn. This also regulates sugar in the blood and is a good substitute for protein. What this does is to burn fats and prevent them from clogging the arteries and thereby avoid cardiovascular diseases.

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5 MORE reasons Why You Have A Big Appetite

Chromosomal Abnormality

http://medimoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Genatic-obesity.jpg

This is another genetic condition which effects a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This is the part of the brain which regulates energy intake and use and contains a number of nuclei, one of which regulates hunger. When this malfunctions you may feel permanently hungry and over eat.

Depression

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Depression, especially if for a prolonged period, can cause an imbalance of chemicals in the brain and hormonal deficiencies which can increase your desire for food enormously. It is however, just as possible that the same imbalance can curb your appetite just as quickly, causing yo-yo dieting and associated heart problems.

Lack Of Sleep

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When we don’t get enough sleep, in particular when we reach extreme levels of fatigue our body’s leptin and ghrelin levels are effected. This causes an increased appetite as leptin levels in fat cells, which are responsible for telling the brain when we are full, go down, where as ghrelin levels produced in the intestinal tract and responsible for telling the brain when we are hungry, go up!

Not Enough Fiber Or Protein 

http://www.somewhatsimple.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/High-Protein-Fiber-Energy-Bites.jpg

Protein has apatite suppressors in it which keep your body feeling fuller for longer. At the same time fiber is a well documented way of filling you up quickly, hence if you are on a diet which is low in either or both of these essentials, you will inevitably feel less full and have a greater appetite.

Diabulimia

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Although not officially recognized as a medical condition, experts believe that it in fact effects almost one third of all young female diabetics. The condition occurs when insulin dependent diabetics skip an injection in order to lose weight. This causes huge fluctuations in appetite and can cause the binge eating associated with Bulimia.

Source

5 reasons Why You Have A Big Appetite

Feeling hungry all the time? This may well be because of some very normal circumstances. Perhaps you are pregnant, or putting in more effort than normal at the gym. However, there are also a number of different medical conditions which can also cause you to have a big appetite, termed hyperphagia or polyphagia.

Stress and Anxiety

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Stress causes the brain to make corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and adrenaline, which actually suppress  your appetite. But if this stress persists, the adrenal glands release the hormone cortisol, which serves to increase your appetite. In extreme cases, cortisol production may stay elevated causing excessive hunger.

Worm infestation

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Intestinal worms, such as Tape Worms can exist in the intestine for an extensive time, without you knowing. They typically rob the body of essential nutrients and proteins which cause you to feel more hungry more often and can be attributed to over eating.

Hypoglycemia

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Low blood sugar is another reason why you have a big appetite. Hypoglycemic symptoms such as hunger, fatigue, headache, confusion and shakes can be caused by over-exercising and not eating enough carbohydrates or by starvation dieting. In these cases, the hypoglycemia is short termed, and blood sugar levels are restored when you eat. But if you have liver disease perhaps caused by excessive alcohol consumption, the hypoglycemia becomes chronic and you have the urge to eat all the time.

Hyperthyroidism

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This is a an autoimmune disease affecting the thyroid. The thyroid serves to increase the body’s metabolic rate, so an over active thyroid will cause you to burn calories too quickly and hence increase the body’s appetite for fuel in the form of food.

Prader-Willi Syndrome

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PWS is a genetic condition and the most common cause of genetic obesity, due to the stimulation of an appetite hormone called ghrelin. Ghrelin is also responsible for the pleasure reaction to high calorie foods.

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Why You Shouldn’t Graze All Day

You don’t have to eat all the time to burn fat and build lean, strong muscle

I used to work with a guy who was obsessed with building muscle. He lifted weights a lot, and he got pretty big, but the body part that got the most working out was his jaw. See, my friend bought into the well-established—but newly debunked—theory that to build and maintain lean muscle mass, you had to be constantly eating, so as to “feed your muscles.” And you’ve probably been told, like he was, that “grazing” during the day is key to keeping your metabolism high and your body burning calories.

My friend was so obsessed with feeding his muscles that he used to come to work every day with a whole roasted chicken under his arm. He’d stick it in the office fridge, and all day long, he’d walk back and forth from his office to the kitchenette to tear off a hunk of fowl. He’d even show up in meetings with a thighbone in his paw. I was afraid we’d come to the office one morning and find a horde of cats howling outside like 13-year-old girls at a One Direction concert.

Problem is, all that eating made him a pretty large guy, and not just in the muscle department. (Also, gnawing on a chicken bone in the middle of a staff meeting is just not a great career builder, unless you’re in Henry VIII ’s inner circle.) And more and more research has been showing that the theory of eating six times a day—three meals and three snacks—to burn fat and build muscle just doesn’t hold water. In fact, your metabolism will run hotter and your muscle-making factories will work overtime when you eat less frequently.

Eating less frequently helps you keep off weight.
A 2010 study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that participants who ate three meals and three snacks per day had no greater weight loss than those who ate just three meals per day, calories being equal. “Grazing” did nothing for weight loss.

Eating less frequently boosts your stay-young, lean-muscle hormones.
Scientists at the Intermountain Medical Center in Utah asked participants to fast for 24 hours and then compared their blood samples to those taken after a day of normal eating. They discovered that the male participants’ levels of human growth hormone (HGH)—which protects lean muscle and regulates metabolism—were 20 times higher on the days when they fasted.

Eating less frequently maintains muscle function.
A 2012 research review in the Journal of Sports Science found that athletes who maintain their total energy and macronutrient intake, training load, body composition, and sleep length and quality are unlikely to suffer any substantial decrease in performance during fasting for Ramadan, the Muslim religious observance. And a 2011 study in the journal Obesity Reviews found that while intermittent fasting had the same effect on weight loss and fat loss as simply cutting calories, intermittent fasting seemed to be more effective for retaining lean muscle mass.

This is actually great news, because being able to eat whatever you want, in whatever quantity you want—and not having to make sure you’ve always got the right food on hand to “stoke your metabolism”—takes a lot of pressure off. (Studies have even shown that the more rigid your “diet” plan, the higher your BMI was likely to be and the more depressed you were likely to feel.)

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10 Easy Ways to Lose Weight

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Free Online Workouts and Other Gym Alternatives

It's true, you don't have to be a gym rat to get in great shape! For gym alternatives that don't cost a penny, please welcome back Dave Smith who has some awesome suggestions. --Crabby

Gym Memberships Are Overrated: How You Can Get In Great Shape Without One

Last week I received an email from a woman who desperately “needed” to lose weight and had only a few weeks to reach her goal. She explained that while she was willing to do whatever it takes, she realized that her situation might be hopeless because she doesn’t have a gym membership.

A gym membership is a prerequisite for getting in shape? Really?

I know this woman is not alone because I’ve heard sentiments like this from many others in the past.

“I’d like to get in shape but I have no time for the gym.”

“If I didn’t hate going to the gym, I’d exercise all the time.”

For some reason going to the gym has become synonymous with fitness. I’d like to offer a few reasons why this notion is far from reality.

1. Exercise Is All Online and It’s All Free

One drawback to signing up for a gym membership is the high monthly cost. I get it – paying $50 or more each month might be a luxury that isn’t worth the investment. But guess what? Every workout you’d ever want to do at the gym can be done at home for free!

Here is a list of the Best 50 Sources for Online Workouts, which includes all sorts of exercise classes that are instructed by some of the world’s most renowned personal trainers and fitness experts. There’s yoga, resistance training, cardio, Pilates, dance, core training, and more.

Most of these workouts require no equipment, making them perfect for doing in your living room or while travelling. They also vary in class length – There are full-blown 60-minute classes just like the ones you’d take at the gym, and there are quickie workouts that take under 10 minutes.

Money just isn’t a problem when it comes to getting quality exercise done. Check out these free resources and you’ll surely find something that fits your exercise style.

2. Getting In Shape Outdoors Is a Great Alternative to the Gym

If you stay away from the gym because it’s cramped and smelly, maybe it’s time to take your workouts outdoors.

If you’re really lucky, your local park might have some outdoor gym equipment that perfectly replace the machines you’d have access to at a fitness club. These setups are great, but they aren’t required.

Here are some examples of exercises that you can do in any playground.


(Or you could even check out Crabby's tips on designing a playground workout if you dare).

A playground workout is a great way to enjoy the outdoors. Recruit a friend to join you and make it a social outing while you get your workout done.

3. Walking Is Awesome Exercise – Don’t Underestimate It!

You’ve surely heard that adults are supposed to aim for 10,000 steps per day in order to meet the minimum requirements for daily physical activity. That sounds pretty easy to do – Just get out and walk!

Unfortunately, studies have shown that most adults get in about 5,000 steps per day. This is a big missed opportunity because those 10,000 steps burn up to 600 calories, which just so happens to be about the same amount you would burn in a typical fitness class at the gym.

Walking is far too underrated. It’s great exercise and can be done anytime, no gym required.

4. Small Amounts of Exercise Really Add Up

It would be sort of silly to go to the gym for a 15-miunte workout. Taking the time to pack your gym gear, make the commute, and get changed for your workout is too much of a time investment for such a short workout.

This is a shame because short bursts of exercise are more effective than long, drawn-out ones. This means that learning how to build quick workouts into your day is an amazing fitness option that is also a great time-saver.

How can you get started?

Do you get a morning coffee break at work? Here’s a super-quick coffee break workout that will take you just a few minutes to complete. Is there a TV show that you watch every evening? Try this core workout that you can literally do from your sofa!

While individually these workouts might not seem as effective as an all-out session at the gym, the cumulative effect is tremendous. Once you know how to incorporate exercise into your daily routine, there is no reason not to get it done.

Here’s a challenge for you this week whether you have a gym membership or not: Go through these exercise suggestions and find just one gym-free workout that you will enjoy doing. 

Tell us in the comments section what you’ve chosen!

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WHY BEANS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN WEIGHT LOSS

Beans may be known mostly for their unpleasant odiferous side effect when eaten, but beans are actually nutritious little gems. If you follow these tips, you can eat beans without the bloat, which means you can reap these weight-loss benefits. Here are three reasons to plate-up with beans.

Hello, Fiber!

While the fiber content of beans helps keep things moving, it also gives you that "I'm full" feeling. Satiating your hunger is the key to preventing overeating and consuming too many calories for the day. But you don't just need to eat a plate of plain beans; in fact, you canadd beans to smoothies — you won't be able to taste them at all. Or throw them in your scrambled eggs, add them to soups, pasta dishes, or as a topping on homemade pizza.

Protein Punch

Beans aren't just for vegetarians. Omnivores can soak up bean protein as well. High-protein beans help keep energy and blood-sugar levels stable, which helps prevent cravings for sugary pick-me-ups that tend to be high in calories and void of nutrition. Since a couple hours between meals tends to be common crash times, including beans for breakfast and lunch will keep you peppy until your next meal. Whip up a sweet potato, chickpea, and quinoa veggie burger, a plate of polenta with beans, or a satisfying bowl ofslow cooker chickpea coconut curry.

Smart Snacking

When trying to beat the scale, you need to make sure that you're eating quality foods low in calories and high in nutrition. Beans make perfect snacks too, so look beyond the typical carrot sticks and hummus pick-me-up and try pairing your fruit with this chocolate hummus. You can snack on honey-roasted cinnamon chickpeas, veggies with creamy white-bean dip, or these delicious edamame pear crostinis. You can also enjoy a low-cal dessert with fortified with beans, like these peanut butter oatmeal raisin cookies or black bean brownies.

Image Source: Jenny Sugar

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