Posts Tagged ‘blood sugar level’

Stress and weight loss have been deeply connected with each other. There have been studies which suggest that stress and weight are interconnected. Studies suggest that when people tend to accumulate stress, two things may happen, either you lose weight or you gain weight. The bad news though is that instead of being able to lose weight, the tendency for many is to add extra pounds. Perhaps many of you wonder how come people tend to gain weight when in fact one is under stress.

The explanation given by many of those who studied stress and weight loss is that a common reaction to stress by many people is to cope up with stress by eating. As result of stress, they tend to increase their food intake. Eating has been seen by many people who undergo stressful situation as a way or channel to vent their emotions. Some may say that it is their way to channel their stress and satisfy their appetite for food. After eating and being satisfied or fulfilled, they take a nap to avoid thinking of their stressor. The result of this is being fat, as many would call it the pig syndrome or eat and sleep routine.

Some scientists point out that stress and weight loss has a natural cause and effect relationship. This may be part of our body natural check and balances. When our body is under stress, the body produces the hormone called cortisol to the blood stream. The increase in cortisol raises the blood sugar level as well as the appetite. So when you are under stress, it is actually the body natural reaction to crave for food as comfort. As we eat to relieve our stress, our fats deposit in our abdominal area and other parts of the body. Due to the fact that we are under stress, our body is not as active and often times, our comfort is to rest our body after we eat and the result again is the accumulation of fats.

So the relationship of stress and weight loss is inversely proportional. The more stress you have, the more likely that you will gain weight. Due to this, what you should do is to avoid stress to control your body weight or loss weight. If you think so much, the more likely that you will need to eat more and weight more.

Also, to remind all of you, stress does not only cause weight but it can also cause you to develop complicated illness such as heart problems or even the slightest wrinkles in your face.

Anthony Thedford has been writing information articles for years. For more information on stress and weight loss, please visit our website http://www.infosearchlive.com/weightloss/Weight-Loss/Weight-Loss.php.

A research scientist by profession, Dr. Barry Spears is the person behind the widely popular zone diet program. Since his book on “The Zone” came out some time in 1995, people have started trying it out, and results were consistently successful. Even doctors recommend the zone dieting for people who want to keep themselves healthy.

Through the zone diet program, one can rightly balance hormonal levels in the body. An imbalance in one’s hormonal levels can lead to unhealthy weight gain or weight loss. Through proper dieting, hormones will be in check and will remain at healthy levels.

By adhering to a zone diet program, one can curb unhealthy cravings such as excessive carbohydrate cravings (pizza, pasta, bread, etc). Too much carbohydrate is certainly unhealthy. It’s the number one cause of weight problems in most people.

Through the zone diet, blood sugar levels will stabilize. Too much sugar in the blood can lead to medical problems like diabetes for one. Also, right sugar levels ensure lasting energy in a day, plus, your food intake will be just right since you are not fooled into thinking and craving for unneeded food servings.

If you are on a zone diet, you will need to observe a balanced meal each time. You must see to it that daily intake will have the right amounts of protein (low-fat), the right amounts of carbohydrates (get them more from fruits or vegetables, in stead of breads and potatoes), and the right amounts of healthy fat (like olive oil). The officially recommended ratio is 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat.

It is best to begin your day with a zone diet meal within an hour after you’ve waken. Spread your meals into five servings in a day and try to space them no more than five hours in between. Keeping this time table will allow your blood sugar level to remain stable. Always maintain an abundance of body liquids while on a zone diet. Take in at least eight glasses of water daily. That would roughly be around half a gallon.

Complement your zone diet program with a healthy lifestyle. Do not make a habit of staying up too late. Have six to eight hours of body rest nightly. Maintain regular physical activity such as brisk walking, stair climbing, manual work or house chore, and others.

The zone diet program will not give you a license to indulge in harmful vices. In fact, everything may be in vain if you stay in your vices. Those which already have medical problems in their family history should seriously think about quitting smoking, drinking, and taking prohibited drugs.

Zone dieting definitely works, people testify to that fact. Many have felt increased body and mind energy levels after only a week with it. Even those with existing medical conditions have seen an improvement in their physical wellbeing. This program is not a weight loss strategy, it is a health strategy. Watch the food you eat and watch the lifestyle you live. Do that, and better yet, let zone diet help do that for you.

You can find mor info for zone diet on http://www.free-zone-diet.info

A good nutritious diet is a basic requirement for every individual in order to live a healthy life. Today, health is everyone’s top priority, which can be ensured only by good nutrition. Here are the ten important reasons as well as steps to prove that you must ensure good nutrition if you are willing to lead a healthy life.

1) A good and well balanced diet assists in development of strong bones and maintenance of normal cell growth pattern, a key to good health.

2) Consuming food rich in Vitamins after consulting your dietician as per your body’s need help your body to get the vital nutrients and keep you healthy.

3) Consuming 8 to 10 glasses of water in a day to avoid dehydration and assist in skin cleansing. This is a prerequisite for a healthy and beautiful body.

4) Certain fruits like apples and oranges are termed to be rich in negative calories and might lead to calorie deficit in you body. The moral is to avoid intake of similar kinds of fruits in a short span of time. This balanced approach for nutrition would help you remain healthy.

5) Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as the body has to replenish the low blood sugar level in the morning. It should comprise of food rich in vitamins and minerals and have minimal fat or cholesterol. This increases the strength and endurance of the body. You can include skimmed milk or fresh fruit juice as part of your daily breakfast.

6) Fruit salad can be consumed before your main meals to decrease your appetite. Many health and diet experts consider fruit salad a necessary component of your daily diet and necessary for god health.

7) Avoid intake of unhygienic food, especially at a time when you are away from home. It can cause more problems than the delight you derive while having it. Maintaining a healthy food intake will help you avoid diseases- a prerequisite for good health.

Try to stay away from fast foods and that too at irregular hours of the day like in the evening or early morning. Fast foods contain harmful ingredients that are injurious for your health.

9) There is a prevailing misconception that exercises alone can help you to stay fit and healthy. However, it needs a supplementary role to be played by good nutrition. Nutrition and exercises are two equally important pillars of good health.

10) Stick to your diet and avoid excessively fried food. This would help you stay healthy and free from diseases.

Now that you know the importance of good nutrition and the steps for achieving balanced nutrition, follow a nutritious diet plan and enjoy good health.

Terence Young – For more great personal growth articles visit http://www.personalgrowthunlimited.com.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your weight loss program never hit a plateau?
If every week you lost those 2 pounds even if you cheated just a little?

Reshaping your body, losing inches does take some determination to stay the course. If you have tried several different diets, done crash-dieting, or even tried weight-loss wonder pills, your body’s metabolism needs time to heal. Anytime you restrict calories, your body assumes that you may not eat again, and it slows down your metabolism. If you have been extreme in your dieting, you may have severely damaged the glands that regulate your metabolism.

It can happen to anyone. One man who lost over 100 pounds actually had a plateau that lasted for six months, before the pounds and inches started coming off again! (He was determined to stay on his plan no matter what). Most people won’t experience a plateau that stubborn. Here are some tips to help you through
plateau time.

Key point: muscle weighs more than fat! Especially if you are working out with weights as part of your routine, you are building muscle. So you may see a weight gain, or slower loss, but your clothes fit better!

Look for other ways to measure your progress:

Inches/Body measurements: dress size, waist, hips, neck,chest or bust, arms, fitting into favorite clothes. Are you starting to see some abs again?

Performance: more endurance during exercise, doing them at a higher level, jumping higher, walking longer, running faster, playing a sport better

Mood and Attitude: rate energy level, rate attitude and outlook, track how often you feel very sleepy during the day, rate your confidence level

Health: blood pressure, cholesterol level, blood sugar level, food cravings, quality of sleep, your skin tone, even how your fingernails and hair look.

Intangibles: How you look, compliments you receive, how others respond to you. The self-confidence that comes from knowing that you are being proactive in your life and taking control of your health.

A few quick tips to break your wieght loss plateau:

1) Don’t cut back on calories. It’s tempting when weight loss slows down to cut your calorie count even further. Don’t! Cutting calories to low will cause your metabolism to slow down even further.

2) Do vary your calorie count. Alternate days. If you are eating 1200 calories on Monday, eat 1500 on Tuesday, 1200 on Wednesday and so on. Do this for 1-2 weeks. Your metabolic rate will increase.

3) Increase raw fruits and vegetables in your diet to 50%. This will help detoxify your body and get your metabolism “unstuck”.

4) Vary what you eat. If you eating mostly fish and chicken, try lean pork and beef. Try new vegetables. A varied diet is important.

5) Change up your exercise.

No matter what-stay on track! Plateaus are not fun, but they are a good sign that your body is changing, healing and rebuilding itself. A plateau means that your body is adjusting to becoming the new you! You are forming life habits that will keep you at a healthy weight. Hang around friends who will encourage you. Avoid trigger foods. Be patient. The plateau will come to an end, and the weight will start falling off. You will always be glad you “fought back” by outlasting the plateau.