What’s the Secret to Food Choices For Weight Loss?

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I’ve just come across a 2011 study published in The Journal of Clinical Nutrition that suggests being boring with your food choices can help you lose the pounds. [1]

 

For this study, researchers set out to investigate ong-term food habituation in obese and non-obese people.

 

So we’re on the same page, let me give you a brief explanation of what habituation is.

 

Simply put, it’s when a repeated action no longer produces the same result.

 

A quick example… do you drink coffee?

 

If so, you can probably think back to the time when you tried your first cup of joe. Chances are you felt jittery, and maybe even felt your heart beat a little faster.

 

But if you kept on drinking coffee, chances are you felt that kind of reaction less and less. And you’ve probably noticed that the more coffee you drink, the more it takes for you to stay “awake” and get the effects of the caffeine.

 

This is habituation. Your body’s receptors become less responsive to the caffeine, so it takes more of it to get a response.

 

So this study wanted to see what happens when you’re exposed to the same food, again and again.

 

The researchers in this study recruited 32 women.

 

Half were obese and the other half were not. They were randomly divided into two groups:

 

Group 1 was the “Weekly Group.” This group of women participated in once-a-week experimental food exposure. This lasted for five weeks.

 

Group 2 was the “Daily Group.” They participated in the same experimental food exposure for just five consecutive days.

 

During the experimental food exposure sessions, the women were asked to complete a series of tasks, after which they were given a 125-calorie portion of macaroni and cheese.

 

The women were allowed to complete more tasks in order to receive more food, with no limit placed on how much more food they could “work” for.

 

As you may have guessed, the “Weekly Group” increased their total caloric intake by almost 30 calories a day.

 

The “Daily Group” decreased their caloric intake by 100-calories a day.

 

Also, it’s important to note that there were no significant differences in how obese women responded versus non-obese participants.

 

This study suggests what many of us have suspected… making the same food choices on a regular basis will help you eat less!

 

Sure, it might be a little boring. But if your goal is to lose weight this coming year and get in the best shape of your life, it might be worth your while. For a while.

 

Plus, if you analyze most people who successfully make a dramatic physique transformation, you’ll find that the majority of them eat the same foods day in and day out.

 

Once you’re in “maintenance” mode, then you can go back to putting in a little more variety and mix things up accordingly.

 

Talk soon.

 

Dave

1] L. H. Epstein, K. A. Carr, M. D. Cavanaugh,
R. A. Paluch, M. E. Bouton. Long-term habituation
to food in obese and nonobese women. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2011;
DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.110.009035

10 Best Foods for Your Heart

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Simple food choices go a long way when it comes to your heart’s health. Focusing on fresh foods full of heart-healthy fats and antioxidants can decrease your risk of developing heart disease and cut your chances of a heart attack. These 10 foods will help keep your ticker in top shape.

Oatmeal
Start your day with a steaming bowl of oats, which are full of omega-3 fatty acids, folate, and potassium. This fiber-rich superfood can lower levels of LDL (or bad) cholesterol and help keep arteries clear.

Opt for coarse or steel-cut oats over instant varieties — the coarse and steel-cut contain more fiber — and top your bowl off with a banana for another four grams of fiber.

[Read more...]

Be The Healthy Role Model For Your Family

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Childhood obesity, underage drinking, smoking and failure to exercise are all concerns for parents these days. If you want your kids to adopt a healthier, wiser lifestyle, you are going to have to show them the light. Children often learn best by example. Lead and they will likely follow.

How can you set the example and get them off on the right foot if your habits aren’t that great? Consider taking these steps to put yourself and your family on the road to better health and fitness: [Read more...]

Think Before You Eat for Fort Worth Weight Loss

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If you learn to think before you eat, you will achieve Fort Worth weight loss by making the right choices.  When you eat foods simply because you like them without regard for their nutritional content, it is easy to choose foods that are not good for your body.  Losing weight doesn’t have to be a traumatic experience when you learn how to choose healthy and tasty foods with high nutritional content.

Thinking It Through to the End

There was once an old expression that went something like “a moment on the lips and a lifetime on the hips”.   You don’t hear this expression often anymore, but it really sums up the need to be fully aware of what you put into your mouth.  When you thoughtlessly prepare and/or eat meals that are unhealthy, the food tastes great in your mouth but quickly turns to fat in the body.

Even worse is the fact the wrong food choices can lead to disease and shorten your life span.  Almost everyone knows that high cholesterol foods can cause cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, or even cancer.   Foods that are high in sugar can cause type-2 diabetes and heart disease.

All too often, people decide to go on a diet and make a big production of the decision.  They announce their decision to family and friends, make a date to start the diet, and begin weighing religiously.  Most diets start out well, but it’s not long before the cravings for certain foods begin and the constant effort becomes tedious.

Instead of deciding to go on a diet, you should decide to start living a healthy lifestyle.  Going on a diet for Fort Worth weight loss is a short term solution.  Living a healthy lifestyle is a choice you are making that will endure the rest of your life.  You can begin by simply thinking about what you eat and when you eat it in order to achieve Fort Worth weight loss.

Lose Weight By Living the Healthy Life

When you embark on a healthy lifestyle, it is important to begin thinking about your decision related to food and physical activity.  When it comes to food, you want to mentally evaluate your choices.  For example, when you reach into the refrigerator for an evening snack, you can choose ice cream or a piece of fruit.  When it’s time for breakfast, you can choose a bowl of oatmeal or bacon and eggs.  Do you really need that in-between meal snack?  Are you that hungry, and if so, why?

You can begin to substitute foods with high nutritional value for foods that are not good for your body on a meal by meal basis.  Instead of being obsessed with Fort Worth weight loss, you can focus on your energy level and how well you are aging.  When you make the right food choices and manage the quantity of food you eat, you will lose weight.

Your diet management should be combined with regular exercise too.  If you just think about each food item you put into your mouth, you are bound to maintain Fort Worth weight loss as you learn to make better choices.

Keeping Off the Pounds You Lost with Fort Worth Weight Loss

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Everyone who cares about Fort Worth weight loss has heard of yo-yo dieting where you lose weight and then slowly (or quickly) put the weight back on and then lose it again and so on.  It is unhealthy to treat your body in that fashion, and it puts a lot of stress on your organs and cardiovascular system.  In fact, you can do permanent damage to your body’s ability to maintain equilibrium.

Maintaining the Right Weight and a Lifestyle

When you lose weight by following a calorie restricted fad diet, you are not making a lifestyle change.  You are simply dieting.  This makes it very difficult to keep lost weight off, because as soon as you start eating again the weight will return.

The ideal healthy diet is really not a diet but more of a fitness plan.  You learn to eat right and get regular exercise.  The fitness plan is not something you follow for a few weeks until the weight is lost, but it is a plan for living a healthy life.  There is a big difference between dieting to lose weight and getting fit while losing weight.

Maintaining Fort Worth weight loss is a lot easier when you adhere to a healthy lifestyle.  The key is to make your fitness program interesting by eating a variety of healthy foods and choosing physical activities you enjoy.

If you are uncomfortable working out at the gym then you can hire an in-home trainer who can develop a varied exercise program.  If you like exercising outdoors, there are many different athletic and recreational activities which you can do to burn calories.  You can play tennis or start a walking program.

Paying Attention to the Details

The key to Fort Worth weight loss is to continue your weight maintenance program in your daily living while paying attention to habits which could lead to weight gain.

  • Stay focused on your daily Fort Worth weight loss maintenance program by becoming aware of physical symptoms indicating the body is distressed (i.e. eating high fat food that causes indigestion)
  • Weigh yourself regularly without being obsessive
  • Learn how to choose a variety of healthy foods
  • Learn how to cook foods in a healthy manner
  • Exercise 5 to 7 days a week
  • Change your exercise program regularly so you don’t lose interest
  • Don’t let your body feel starved which lowers your resistance to eating junk food or extra calories you don’t need
  • Only eat when you are hungry and not because it is “meal time”
  • Eat smaller meals more frequently
  • Make sure your exercise program includes aerobic and strength training exercises
  • Look for ways to burn more calories as you go through the day (i.e. stand instead of sitting, parking far from the store door and so on)

Keeping the pounds off for Fort Worth weight loss is not difficult as long as you pay attention to your diet and continue to exercise regularly.  Even as you age and the metabolism naturally slows down, low fat diets coupled with increased exercise can help you stay at the right weight.

Managing Fitness And Diet: Good Calories Vs. Empty Calories In The Battle For Weight Loss In Fort Worth

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When trying to achieve weight loss in Fort Worth, gaining a balanced diet can be confusing.  There is a lot to include and there are real moderated needs for protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and even calories.  As most people know, quantity of calories is a major concern; but then, calorie quality is important, too.

Good Calories, Bad Calories

All calories are not created equal; not all calories are evil—you need calories to live and have energy.  A diet capable of supporting health and fitness is one that is packed with good calories.  So what’s a ‘bad’ calorie?  You might recognize it by another name—an empty calorie.

An empty calorie is a calorie with no nutritional value.  It is a calorie largely based in fats and sugars devoid of vitamins, minerals, and important nutrients. When trying to achieve weight loss in Fort Worth, you should learn which calories are empty calories and try to avoid them.

Protein, carbohydrates, and fats are all macro nutrients.  There are good sources of these needed dietary elements, but there are also a lot of bad sources that are nothing more than empty, useless calories.

Good calories and good sources of macro nutrients have necessary carbs, good fats, and proteins, and they also have micro-nutrients such as fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Useless, Empty Calories

The problem with empty calories is that they provide little to no energy, no restorative and constructive properties (for muscle, bone, and tissue), and add to fat stores.  Very simply, empty calories have none of the necessary elements needed to support body function, workouts, and good health.

Fitness depends on having good sources of calories that also provide other needed elements and energy for working out.  The right caloric sources will result in improved energy, enhanced muscle formation, and increased weight loss.  Empty calories will negate these efforts, making it harder to achieve weight loss in Fort Worth.

How To Spot An Empty Calorie

In a hurried world it is easy to consume many empty calories throughout the course of the day and not even realize it.  This can leave you feeling sluggish and thwart the best of fitness efforts.  Many people trying to achieve weight loss in Fort Worth eat mainly empty calories and do not even know that they do it.  So how can you easily spot an empty calorie?

First off, consider that all ‘junk food’ is empty calories.  Avoid sugar-laden foods and refined grains (white flours).  Eat natural sugars (fruits and vegetables) and whole grains.  Avoid fried foods, candy, and sugary drinks (soda, but also sugary ‘energy’ drinks that are often nothing more than sugar and caffeine).

Also look out for beer and alcohol; these are sources of sugar and stored fats with nothing else to offer.

Depending on preparation, even good calories can turn empty quickly (fried foods and more).  To really learn to quickly spot empty calories you need to get educated—talk to a nutritionist, your doctor, or your personal trainer.  These professionals will give you the basics of good calorie consumption, help you balance out your diet and point you to reliable resources for more information about weight loss in Fort Worth.

Your health and well-being depend on your good diet.  Reaching your fitness goals does, too.  Many a person has found that simple dietary changes, a switch-over to good calorie sources rather than consuming empty calories, has made the difference between a stalled fitness campaign and reaching and exceeding fitness objectives.

Five Tips for Making Fort Worth Fitness a Priority

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Committing to a Fort Worth fitness program is really hard.  It’s tough to stay motivated when you are the only one saying you have to do it.  It’s hard to see the fruit of your labors when some of them are only measurable with a doctor’s complex testing and instrumentation. It’s exceedingly easy to be consumed by the pressing responsibilities of life and it’s really easy to tell yourself that one more day won’t make a difference.

To make Fort Worth Fitness a priority in your life, you need to give yourself as many reasons and as many helpful tools as you can.  Here you’ll find five great tips for making fitness a priority in life, rather than an afterthought.

5 Tips To Make Health And Fort Worth Fitness A Life Priority

Clarify your undeniable need for fitness, enlist some help, and pencil—no pen—fitness in to make sure that you live well and live long.

Write it down—what gets done in the course of your day?  The things you’ve made time for.  Exercise should be top of that list because it is what will ensure that you are around to do more and live better.  Schedule time for fitness just as you would for getting dressed, working, and attending important meetings.  Block out your time for fitness in your daily planner first so that you make the time.  Schedule exercise in at a time that makes sense and the rest around it.

Buddy up—get a friend to be your fitness buddy; or, if a friend isn’t interested or available, partner with a like-minded acquaintance at the Fort Worth fitness  center and make him or her your friend and fitness buddy.  Having a buddy makes fitness fun and (close to) painless and helps you support each other.  You’ll find that the reasons you give your buddy to go on work for you, too!

Make a list—list all the reasons why you want to get fit and be healthy.  This helps you set fitness goals, motivates you with clear reasoning, and works as a reminder for those times when ambition is waning.  Refer back to your fitness list to see what goals you’ve accomplished, what goals need revamping or replacing, and for general motivation.

Reward yourself—create a reward system as further motivation; with one caveat—your reward cannot be food.  Give yourself something worth working for, something that promotes fitness, and something with lasting motivational power.  A spa treatment, new clothes/wardrobe, a long weekend or vacation, or new recreational or even fitness activity are some good rewards to start with.

Look to the pros—the guidance and support of a good personal trainer is unbeatable as a prioritization strategy for Fort Worth fitness.  A personal trainer will help you in innumerable ways by making exercise more enjoyable, more ‘do’-able, providing ongoing information and support, structuring a fitness program tailor-made for you, and being a general source of motivation.  You’ll find that keeping that appointment time and being accountable to someone else helps, too.

You’ll find these five simple tips for prioritizing fitness in your life will go a long way toward your success on the Fort Worth fitness trail.  Small changes like these can make a big impact and really help you keep your good health and well being at the forefront of your list of things that need doing.

Fort Worth Fitness Tips For Beginners

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Starting on the path to better Fort Worth fitness can be a difficult road in the beginning, but those that make the commitment to stick it out will be rewarded not only with better health, but feeling better as well. There are plenty of pitfalls for those that are starting a Fort Worth fitness routine, but being aware of them and working through them don’t have to be a struggle. In this article, we’ll take a look at five tips for people that are starting on the path to better health.

Eating Right

Improving your eating habits is an important part of improving your overall fitness. A great way to think about what you eat is that it is fuel for making your body work better. A diet that is comprised of a healthy balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables will help your body work better, and you’ll be surprised to see how much more you can eat following a healthy diet than one that is made up of fast food or lots of junk food. But changing your diet doesn’t mean starving yourself – if you’re following a Fort Worth fitness routine, your body will need plenty of fuel to run efficiently.

Work Out with a Fort Worth Fitness Trainer

A personal trainer doesn’t have to be a drill sergeant! The relationship that you form with your Fort Worth fitness trainer can be a highly valuable one. Not only will he or she be there to make sure you are working out in a safe and efficient way, but they can help encourage you when you’re feeling down or that you can’t get through the next exercise. A personal trainer can also assess your needs and create an exercise program that is right for your body and reaching your goals.

Stay Positive

It’s easy to lose your enthusiasm for working out shortly after you’ve only begun. You may not see changes in your body soon after starting an exercise program and this can be very disheartening. While it’s true that you might not see changes right away, you are making great strides in ensuring that your healthy lifestyle will have a positive impact on your health and your self confidence! Try keeping track of your progress and you’ll see that, while you may not see changes overnight, the small changes will soon add up.

Get Plenty of Rest

While exercise is an important part of improving your health, getting plenty of rest is just as important. Sleep deprivation has lots of had effects, from temperament to loss of memory and concentration and can even reduce reaction time. Try to avoid exercising right before sleeping, as well as caffeinated products, and try to get eight hours of sleep every night.

Make a Lifestyle Change

Those that are willing to make a lifestyle change, rather than those that only want to lose a few pounds for an upcoming event, are much more likely to succeed. Crash dieting may help you reach a short term goal, but what will happen when you go back to your regular eating habits? Most people will put the weight they lost right back on. Making the commitment to change the way you eat and your exercise habits will not only help you reach your goal, but you’ll be much more likely to retain the good results.  There is no better way to stay on track, than to hire a Fort Worth fitness trainer!

Why Strength Training is Beneficial to Fort Worth Fitness

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A Fort Worth Fitness Expert Reports! There’s a common misconception that muscle is heavier than fat, so why bother with strength training? The truth of the matter is a pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat. Muscle just happens to be leaner than fat and looks a whole lot better on the body. This isn’t the only reason to incorporate strength training into your Fort Worth fitness routine. In this article, we’ll take a look at more reasons why strength training is beneficial to those that wish to improve their overall health.

Beneficial for Weight Loss

Strength training is a very important factor in weight loss because the metabolism is increased as muscle is increased. The metabolism is the rate in which calories are consumed, and the rate and efficiency of the metabolism is greatly increased depending on how much muscle is present in the body. Simply put, the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn. It has been estimated that for every pound of muscle, the body will burn 35 to 50 more calories a day. This not only helps reduce fat, but helps keep it off.

Helps Prevent Osteoporosis

Not only can strength training help with losing weight, it can also help prevent osteoporosis, which is especially important for women. Strength training can help prevent loss of bone density, which can lead to brittle bones and a host of other health issues. Not only can strength training help prevent the disastrous effects of osteoporosis, but those that are already suffering from osteoporosis and benefit from it as well, as strength training not only helps prevent bone loss, but it can also help increase it.

More Good News

While helping with weight loss and preventing osteoporosis are two big advantages to incorporating strength training into your Fort Worth fitness routine, there are many other benefits as well. It can help with cardiovascular health, prevent Type II Diabetes, and even make great strides in protecting joints. Perhaps the greatest advantage is that it can help reduce the bane of many a woman’s existence – belly fat.

Believe it or not, abdominal fat is often the result of not just overeating but stress. Our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol when we are under stress, and this hormone can increase the appetite and convert calories into abdominal fat. This fat is possibly the most dangerous of all the fat the can develop on the body because it is so close to several vital organs, putting undue pressure on them and perhaps causing them to malfunction. Not only does strength training use up cortisol, but it helps reduce the appetite and also helps reduce the dreaded belly fat.

Incorporating strength training into your Fort Worth fitness routine has so many benefits that it would be foolish to dismiss it. If you don’t know where to start in your strength training, why not consult with a personal trainer to get you started? Anyone can take advantage of a personal trainer’s expertise to make sure they are making the most of Fort Worth fitness and strength training, and to ensure they are working out safely and effectively.

Choosing the Right Fort Worth Fitness Program to Meet Your Goals

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Before embarking on a Fort Worth fitness program, it’s important to sit down and outline your goals. What do you want to accomplish with your fitness program? Are your goals to lose weight, or increase your strength, or simply to benefit from a healthier lifestyle? Knowing what you want to achieve before you start will start you on the path of choosing the right fitness routine to help you reach your goal. In this article, we’ll take a look a few different exercise routines, their pros and cons, and how a Fort Worth fitness trainer can help direct you on the path to reach your goal.

Walking Routines

Walking is a great, balanced exercise for people of all ages, but those that truly wish to benefit from this routine will have to do more than take a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. Walking at a faster pace than normal will help burn calories and keep the muscles working. Picking up the pace can be as simple as lengthening the strides and keeping the arms moving – not necessarily swinging but by bending the arms at the elbow.

For older folks, walking is a great way to help keep the body in shape, but younger people may not gain as many benefits and might want to augment their Fort Worth fitness program with another exercise. Walking may also be difficult for those that suffer from joint or muscle problems.

Swimming Routines

Those with joint or muscle problems may benefit from a swimming routine, which works the entire body without putting undue stress on joints and muscles. Swimming is great for those that want to work at their own pace, and beginners can slowly build up their endurance and eventually be able to swim continuously for as much as thirty minutes at a time.

However, if the goal is weight loss, swimming may not be as affective as choosing a workout routine outside the water. One of the benefits of working out outside of water is that the body temperature rises and the metabolism is increased for upwards of eighteen hours after exercise, but exercising in water results in the water conducting the heat away from the body, which means that the body temperature will not be raised and neither will the metabolism.
Resistance Routines

If your goals include increasing strength and muscle mass, doing a resistance routine may be the best choice. Not necessarily the best choice for losing weight or improving cardiovascular fitness, resistance training can at least help maintain body weight, as the muscles will use more calories than the fat. Resistance training can also be increased in difficulty with added repetitions or less time between exercises.

Trying to decide the best path to take isn’t always as simple as choosing a favorite sport or routine. Consulting a Fort Worth fitness trainer, who can assess your present fitness, strengths and weaknesses, can be a valuable asset to any one seeking to improve their health. Not only can a Fort Worth fitness trainer set you on the best path to reach your goals, but he will be with you every step of the way, to make sure you work in the safest way possible and to encourage you.

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