Biggest Loser Contestants Lose Record Weight

Biggest Loser Contestants Lose Record Weight
We are going to be talking a little bit about the confusion
there was on the show The Biggest Loser, a lot of people
watch that show. In the first week all these people,
extremely heavy people lost a ton of weight and then the
second week really nobody lost any weight.

In fact, to my knowledge, one person gained one pound. So,
I want to explain what the confusion is and what exactly
happens when you have that rapid weight loss. So, why did
people see such amazing results the first week and see none
the second week?

If we just use this show as an example. They saw so much
weight loss in the first week because they obviously tell
you that they are on a special type of diet, they don't
really go into the details of what it is, but I can assume
that it's a higher protein, low carb diet. These people
are obviously 300/400 lbs because they were eating too
much, they were over eating, ingesting thousands and
thousands of calories. So, when they got to The Biggest
Loser, of course they restricted those calories and put
them on a special type of diet.

Glycogen is created from the carbohydrates and starches
that you eat. So, for every gram that you store in your
body, you also store 3-4 grams of water. If you look at it
from the stand point of maybe someone was eating 500 - 700
grams of carbs and they were storing all this glycogen and
they cut it to 200 grams of carbs, well you can also cut
out about 3-4 grams of water for every one of those carbs
you just cut out. And obviously that's weight on the scale.

The metabolism kind of goes into shock when this happens so
you lose all that glycogen and the extra grams of water
which is weight in the end, and then not to mention they
were exercising like crazy which none of them had really
done before, so they're going to lose water weight anyway
from the amount of perspiration and body changes that are
taking place and all the stuff that your body has to do to
adapt to that exercise now. Your body generally fluctuates
about 3-4% on a daily basis anyway. If you look at it from
the stand point of some of those men are 300-400 pounds, a
3 %- 4 % change could be, 12 pounds in either direction.
And obviously women that are 200 lbs or 250 lbs, you're
looking at maybe 10 lbs in either direction, 8 lbs in
either direction, somewhere in there. Women tend to
fluctuate even more then men in regards to water weight on
a daily basis just because of the hormone levels. When you
saw the weight loss they were getting, such as 15 lbs,
18lbs, I think someone lost 29lbs. Most of that is the
initial shift because of eating less carbs, eating less
calories as well as just general water weight loss because
of the increased activity that they were now doing.

It's very important for people to understand that when you
start, you can see these dramatic results but it's
permanent lifestyle changes that allow you to have fast,
safe permanent weight loss but its permanent in the sense
that you can start by taking off 15 - up to 15lbs in 30
days, but things are going to level off, and you have to
make behavioral changes, you have to change your life.
There are no quick fixes for anything.

If you go to the extreme and say, and again we don't know
exactly what diet The Biggest Loser people are on, but a
lot of people go on what they call, a true low carb diet,
and a true low carb diet is, maybe 30 grams of carbs for
the entire day. It's low. It's essentially nothing. When
you go on that type of diet it really wreaks havoc on your
metabolism, Your goal is to be cycling your carb intake
which is going to get you that fast weight loss, but not
sacrifice your metabolism because you want that metabolism
to be fast all the time. That's the number one goal.

Your body works a certain way and that's true for all of
us, so you need to know the science behind it and while you
can lose weight fast, safely and keep that metabolism up,
you're going to need to make those permanent lifestyle
changes to keep it off.

Don't get caught up in these changes, these extreme changes
of "Man how did they lose 30lbs and I can't lose a pound."
You got to compare apples to apples here and see what
positions their in and see what you've been in because as
you noticed as you watched the second week of the biggest
loser, those guys lost 2lbs, 3lbs, someone gained a pound
and that's their body going through that transition and
almost going into a survival mode. I think you'll find
that as you keep watching the show; their weight will start
to be more consistent where they'll consistently lose 2lbs
of fat a week or 3lbs of fat a week.

You won't see this wild swing of losing 30 lbs then losing
0 lbs even though they worked just as hard and ate just the
same, because your body's going to adjust, and your body -
your metabolism will slowly speed back up and the goal is
to try not to get that metabolism to slow down to begin
with, try to keep it up at an elevated rate so that it is a
consistent, permanent weight loss.

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To learn more about a healthy weight loss program and quick
weight loss diets go to http://thecarbrotationdiet.com for
the 5 truths ever serial dieter must come to grips with.
As a registered dietitian Jayson knows the secrets to
helping anybody lose inches fast, so they can look their
best for any special occasion.

Use More of Your Brain to Get Things Done

Use More of Your Brain to Get Things Done
Recent advancements in brain imaging show us that older
people use more of their brain to perform tasks than
younger people do. Scientists interpret this to mean one of
two opposite things:

First, older people recruit more brain activity to do the
same things in order to compensate for degeneration of
specific brain circuits that can no longer get the job done
by themselves. This is the compensation hypothesis. Think
of it like one brain region asking for help from another
brain region in order to do something that, in its younger
days, it could do on its own.

Second, the older brain may become 'over-activated' when
trying to perform a task because it doesn't do as good of a
job at assigning the task to a specific region. This is the
de-differentiation hypothesis. Think of this explanation as
different brain regions being unsure whose job it is to do
something and then getting in each other's way.

Do older brains cooperate or compete?

A Belgium group used an elegant approach, published in The
Journal of Neuroscience, to try to figure out which one was
correct. The first hypothesis predicts that increased brain
activation is a sign of participation, so should improve
performance. The second hypothesis predicts increased
activation is due to competition, so should decrease
performance.

Researchers asked younger (20-25 year old) and older (62-72
year old) participants to perform a simple motor task while
the investigators watched their brain activity.
Participants simply moved their hands and feet in the same
direction (easy task) or in opposite directions (harder
task) while undergoing a brain scan to determine which
brain regions became active. In the end, the older folks
that performed better had more active brain regions,
supporting the first hypothesis. The increased activity in
older brains, while performing a task, appears due to
participation between different regions.

Tying it back to lifestyle

This study is important because it supports the notion of
cognitive reserve and EPIC performance that we have
discussed in previous articles. To give a brief re-cap, the
more you learn and experience in life, the more connections
you make in your brain, and the more easily it will be to
recruit other brain regions to get things done.

When you give yourself different experiences, you force
your brain to look at new situations from different
perspectives. This may help 'link-up' brain regions and
make it easier for them to communicate with each other as
you age, at a time when they become more dependent upon
each other.

If you create enough different brain connections throughout
your life by committing to life-long learning, you may
protect yourself from losing mental performance as you age.
Even though your brain will inevitably age, you ensure that
the different regions cooperate with each other when
necessary and keep your mental capabilities sharp.

The best way to do this is to adhere to the four
cornerstones of brain fitness that we have discussed in the
past.

1. Feed your brain healthy foods, as they are the raw
materials for building brain circuits.

2. Exercise your body since it improves the blood supply to
your brain.

3. Exercise your brain by continually learning new things
and challenging your mind.

4. Get plenty of rest and sleep to allow your brain to
rebuild and regenerate.

Boosting the odds to maintain life-long brain fitness is
simple. You don't have to understand all the science that
supports these lifestyle choices, but it's nice to know
that it's there.

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Learn to control stress, improve your metabolism and boost
your intelligence with the four cornerstones of Brain
Fitness. Visit http://www.BrainFitForLife.com for FREE
Brain Fitness resources.

Living with Intention

Living with Intention
I committed myself to intentional living over 30 years ago
and what have I accomplished? First I say the actions I
took where only part of the equation. The results I have
experienced were only influenced partly by what I did and
partly by what I believe. The trick here is if you truly
believe you will act according to what you believe. So
here comes what may seem to be double talk so read
carefully. Believing alone makes nothing happen and acting
when you don't believe accomplishes nothing as well. It is
putting action behind what you know to be true that brings
results.

So what am I really talking about? Thirty years ago I was
twenty-three years old; I wanted to be healthy and
prosperous when I reached 50. Today in 2008 I am fifty
three years old; living comfortably in my body and my
external life brings me joy as well. My goal is probably
the goal of every twenty-three year old if thy were asked.
The other options to health and prosperity are not
something you plan on.

Am I healthy and how do I define health; should be the
questions you are asking. Let's start with The World
Health Organizations definition of health, they say "Health
is a state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the absence of the disease or
infirmity". I would agree with this definition and want to
add just for clarity this definition includes the absence
of disease as a given.

I am a very healthy fifty-three year old woman and I have
done my part to arrive here. I now plan to be healthy at
70 and am very certain I will arrive at that goal as well.
What do I see as my part? I want to list some basic
minimal areas of life where you must be intentional as well
as enjoy committing your self.

Generally your diet is critical; an alkaline diet in right
proportions is a must. Begin to educate yourself on the
benefits of vegetables, fruits, grains and how to cook them
in interesting ways. If you are making excuses as to why
you cannot cook or get these foods prepared for your
consumption I would have to say you are not committed to
your personal wellness at any age. This may sound strong
but I have seen that only straight talk to those who will
hear is gong to motivate you before the diseases set in.
Disease is a strong motivator but I have been committed to
learning from others mistakes and avoiding them for myself.
That would be the second must in you quest for wellness.

You must listen and learn; commit to lifetime learning.
Information is all around us and easy to obtain. Personal
practice will let you know what is right for you. Practice
without a coach is no where as effective as coaching. A
coach who has personal experience in the area you are
planing to master is important. That may be hard to find in
the area of wellness. I did not listen to anyone who was
not healthy and that often sent me to books and tapes by
people who were not close to me. With the technology today
it is easy to communicate with a coach on line or by
telephone. Your coach will not do the work for you but
give you feed back and exercises in action to take. In the
beginning the coaching may need to happen weekly but as you
get acquainted with the goal you will need the coach less
often.

Third is an exercise program that you enjoy is a must.
This can be a little as three time a week for an hour when
that is all the time you have. If you have more time of
course that would be great. Any good program includes
aerobic and anaerobic parts. Aerobic exercise strengthens
the cardiovascular system and anaerobic exercise builds the
muscles and bones. There are fitness clubs and YMCA's all
across the country with exercise and fitness trainers
available to their members as well. Exercise has to be
scheduled into you week and committed to like any other
appointment. I call it an appointment with health.

Prayer, rest and meditation are as important as exercise.
Meditation does not have to be a formal technique it simply
involves being quiet and away from the pressures of your
life. It could be a walk in a park at lunch or a quiet cup
of tea on the porch but it is an intentional stop of
activity with a deep breath and a long exhale. Rest comes
with the meditation and is a must at night. If you do not
sleep well make it a priority to investigate the things
that interfere with sleep and overcome any issues necessary
to get restful sleep. Prayer is knowing there is a power
greater than yourself and deciding what you are going to
believe your relatedness to that power is; then living out
what you believe.

Diet, exercise, learning, rest and positive attitude is the
last commitment I will discuss here. What you focus on in
life becomes larger. If you have expectations of others
they will usually fall short. Plan to appreciate the
benefits you receive from the relationships you have with
other individuals but not expect them to provide you with
any thing. Even in a marriage if you are grateful to your
spouse for the things they bring into the relationship you
will have a peaceful rewarding relationship. Focus on the
benefits at work even if it is only the pay there is a
benefit. You will become a better employee, spouse, or
friend and you will see other ways to grow yourself through
these lasting relationships.

I am fifty three an free of any physical,emotional or
spiritual burden. I have had issues and my issues have
shown me my excess baggage. As I unloaded my bags and only
kept what would benefit my future and the future of my
children and friends my load became lighter and my
journey's potential became greater.

I encourage you to get intentional, enjoy the journey and
let the joy and love of this lifetime bring you peace. The
above areas of action can and must bring you joy. A great
coach will help you understand the power of being what you
need to bring what you want into your life.

----------------------------------------------------
Kathy Wright Nutrition coach and owner of Anti-aging
skincare line can be reached at http://www.frownies.com
Free Newsletter at http://frownies.com/tips
Coaching information at http://bkathywright.com

Overweight Can Lead To High Blood Pressure

Overweight Can Lead To High Blood Pressure
Carrying excess body weight presents any number of risks to
one's health. Though it's a debatable point, the greatest
risk from being overweight may be the increased likelihood
of developing high blood pressure. High blood pressure has
earned the nickname "the silent killer" because though it's
often asymptomatic, its effects can have a devastating
impact on the body.

A number of medical studies have established a correlation
between people who are overweight and elevated blood
pressure levels. As with anything else, there is variety in
terms of how the effects are presented: specifically, the
more overweight a person is, the more likely they are to
have elevated blood pressure. Additionally, a person who is
severely overweight or obese is likely to have higher blood
pressure levels than a person who is modestly overweight.
Variation or not however, the findings are mostly certain
and the bottom line is being overweight increases high
blood pressure risk.

Breaking it down into actual percentages, men who are obese
have high blood pressure roughly forty-two percent of the
time. Women who are obese have high blood pressure roughly
forty percent on the time. While on their face these
percentages may not seem outrageous, consider that men and
women who aren't obese have high blood pressure only
fifteen percent of the time roughly. Carrying too much body
weight can then potentially triple the risk of high blood
pressure.

Though the reality that being overweight can lead to high
blood pressure is the most important point to consider, how
overweight leads to high blood pressure is information
worth knowing. Essentially what happens is people who are
overweight tend to have higher blood sugar levels than
normal, and their pancreas function produces extra insulin
to cope with breaking down sugar in their bloodstream. The
increased insulin production adversely affects several
bodily functions: increased insulin can lead to blood
vessels become thickened and rigid; increased insulin can
lead to adrenaline surges, which places extra burden on
heart functioning; and increased insulin can lead to extra
levels of salt and water absorption by the kidneys.

The typical response to overweight is that it's a problem
of appearance: losing weight means having a better body
image. While body appearance can be meaningful to people,
the risk of overweight is far more than just an issue of
how one's reflection appears in a mirror. Overweight and
obesity are legitimate threats to an individual's health
and life, both from the risk of increased blood pressure as
well as from other medical conditions.

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Zinn Jeremiah is a freelance writer. Find help for weight
loss by visiting http://www.hubonline.biz/lose-now.htm or
http://www.hubonline.biz/get-fit.htm .

Why The Slippery Slope Is Not A Fallacy (In Fitness)

Why The Slippery Slope Is Not A Fallacy (In Fitness)
The "Slippery Slope" is not a diet fallacy!

First, what is the "Slippery Slope. The Slippery slope is a
fallacy in logic which assume taking a first step will lead
to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented.

The Slippery Slope may be a fallacy in logic, but it
certainly is not in dieting.

Have you ever had one of those dieting slippery slope
moments?

Maybe your going over to your family potluck, or an office
party at work.

You feel good and have had a great day. You got some
exercise in the early morning at 6AM and you've eaten
several quality meals since then.

All of a sudden you reach the gathering inside, you see
tables and trays and masses of sweets, candy, your favorite
foods, goodies galore. Your taste buds start to water and
you're ready to throw your diet out the window.

And your off....

The feasting begins, you see everyone else going to town
you get in line to get a few snacks, then your favorite
uncle offers you a try of his famous wolfberry pie.

(Yes, wolfberry is an actual berry)

In a moment of weakness you wolf down that wolfberry pie,
then out of the side of your eye you catch a glimpse of
your sister's cookies. You then dive into that bag of
cookies. Grandma's spaghetti is right in front of you, that
sounds good too.

Your diet is now out the window!!

It is a slippery slope from there, in that once you pop you
can't stop type of thing. A temporary loss of self control
can result in a day long binge or even a weekend eating
fest.

You see, once you are on that slope, it just keeps going
down hill from there. In the case of eating, the slippery
slope certainly is valid and true. The first step of
tempting food can and will lead to subsequent steps that
cannot be prevented.

The simple solution, don't approach the crest of the hill,
stay back, and resist that first urge even if it is done in
innocence. Stay on track for your diet.

Do you ever feel like you are on a slippery slope in life?

One slip after another leading you down a slippery slope
into greater confusion and no results in your dieting and
fitness program.

Continuous accountability can keep you up on your feet
moving forward every single day of the week on your diet
and have you living a better life.

----------------------------------------------------
Zach Hunt is the owner and head fitness coach of Physzique
a personal fitness coaching firm in Spokane, WA. Go here to
find out more:
http://www.spokanefitnesscoach.com/index.html
For more dieting tips go here:
http://www.spokanefitnesscoach.com/articles/spokane-diet-in-
spokane.html

3 top tips to reduce your Daily Caloric Intake

3 top tips to reduce your Daily Caloric Intake
All successful diet programs involve some form of calorie
restriction. Without restricting your caloric intake you
will not achieve your weight loss goals in the long term.
In this article I discuss calorie restriction in greater
detail and explain how it can help you lose weight.

Let's start by explaining calories and what they actually
are. A calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. In
nutritional terms a calorie often refers to a kilocalorie
(kcal) which is the approximate amount of energy needed to
increase the temperature of 1kg of water by 1 degree
Celsius. The body absorbs calories and energy in two ways;
- 1) From the food that you consume. - 2) From the fat that
is stored in your body.

As you can probably see, the ideal weight loss situation is
to force your body to burn fat for energy. This can be
achieved by eating less than your normal appetite i.e.
reducing your caloric intake. Your body will then be
forced to burn stored fat to get the additional energy it
requires. If you think of the body like a car it may be a
little easier to explain. Let's imagine that this car
requires twenty gallons of petrol every week but you
purchase twenty four gallons instead. Every week you build
up a reserve of four gallons which you can use at a later
date if needed. However, if you do not use up these
gasoline reserves soon you will quickly find that you need
a large storage tank. Similarly with your body, if you
burn as many calories as you consume you will be fine. If
you consume more calories than you burn for an extended
period you will find your fat stores rapidly expanding. To
lose this excess weight you will have to consume less
calories than you burn.

So now you understand the theory behind calorie restriction
you probably want to know how many calories should you
personally eat to force your body to burn fat? One
suggestion is to eat fewer calories than those needed to
fuel your basal metabolic rate (BMR) i.e. the calories you
need to survive. You can calculate your BMR with the help
of BMR calculators which are available for free online.
Once you have your BMR number you should focus on consuming
less calories. This will then force your body into fat
burning mode. However, I understand that this can often be
easier said than done so here are a few tips to help you
restrict your daily caloric intake:

1) CURRENT DAILY CALORIC INTAKE:- What is your current
daily caloric intake? How different is this to your BMR
number? By looking at your existing caloric intake you
have a base to work with which makes the whole calorie
restriction process a lot more manageable. For example,
let's say your BMR is 2000 calories a day. You write down
all the foods you eat in a week and it turns out you are
consuming an average of 2500 calories a day. From this you
can see that you need to lose 500 calories a day. You can
look at your existing diet and remove these calories
instead of trying to build a 2000 calorie a day diet from
scratch.

2) PLAN YOUR MEALS:- If you are following a restricted
calorie diet you need to plan everything you will be eating
each day. Otherwise you cannot be sure how many calories
you will end up eating that day. For example, if your BMR
is 2000 calories a day and you plan meals for breakfast,
lunch and dinner all containing 500 calories plus three 100
calorie snacks you will be well on your way to burning fat.
However, if you pop into the cafe for breakfast before
work and then again for lunch how can you be sure how many
calories you have consumed? It is inevitable that you will
not stick to this plan at all times but those who have a
meal plan and follow it most of the time will be a lot more
successful than those who count the calories as they go.

3) AVOID FAD DIETS:- Fad diets do get results and do reduce
your daily caloric intake. However, they are very rarely
good for you in the long term. In fact, certain fad diets
can be seriously damaging to your health if taken up for
prolonged periods. A healthy, well planned, balanced diet
is the best option for both long term health and permanent
weight loss.

Calorie restriction is one of the most straightforward
weight loss solutions out there. Simply calculate how many
calories you are burning using a BMR calculator, make sure
the food you are eating each day contains less calories
than your BMR number and your body will be forced to burn
fat. Yes it takes a little planning on your part and yes
you may have to give up some of the foods and snacks that
you enjoy but if weight loss is your ultimate goal then
this is a relatively small sacrifice.

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The Free Fitness Tips Blog provides you with fantastic,
free advice on all aspects of fitness. For more detailed
information on how to lose weight visit
http://blog.freefitnesstips.co.uk/

When You Drink When Pregnant, So Does Your Baby: Dangers Of Drinking When Pregnant

When You Drink When Pregnant, So Does Your Baby: Dangers Of Drinking When Pregnant
Remember that when you drink alcohol, so does your baby.

According to leading experts, the consumption of alcohol,
during pregnancy is the leading known preventable cause of
mental and physical birth defects in the United States. It
has also been shown to be the leading known cause of mental
retardation in the Western world.

Despite these very real and frightening dangers, many
pregnant women still drink alcohol. Statistics indicate
that every year in the United States, one out of every 750
infants is born with this pattern of physical,
developmental, and functional problems, while another
40,000 are born with what is referred to as fetal alcohol
effects (FAE). The main effect of FAS is a permanent
disability caused by severe and permanent central nervous
system damage, especially in the brain, leaving no way to
effect a cure for FAS.

Children who are affected by the syndrome usually exhibit
multiple signs starting with facial abnormalities,
including smaller eye openings, flattened cheekbones, and
an indistinct philtrum (an underdeveloped groove or divot
running between the nose and the upper lip). A thin upper
lip and smooth philtrum are signs used by a professional to
diagnose FAS. The presence of FAS facial features indicates
brain damage, though brain damage may also exist if they
are not. The risk factor for brain damage increases
significantly as the eyes get smaller, the philtrum gets
flatter, and the lip gets thinner. In fact in studies, the
more the face presents these FAS-like attributes, the more
likely the brain is to be abnormal.

Individuals with FAS also exhibit learning disabilities,
poor impulse control, do not understand personal
boundaries, cannot manage anger, show signs of
stubbornness, tend to be far too friendly with strangers,
show poor daily living skills, experience delays
developing, have poor attention or concentration making
them easily distractible. mental retardation, epilepsy,
display confusion under pressure, show trouble trying to
distinguishing between fantasy and reality, have slower
thought processing, display poor judgment, and lack fine
motor and gross motor skills.

Since the problems associated with FAS tend to intensify as
children go into adulthood, these people also show an
increased incidence of mental illness, are more likely to
be suspended, expelled from school or dropping out of
school, and are more likely to be charged or convicted with
a crime. FAS-affected individuals are more likely to
exhibit inappropriate sexual behavior through sexual
advances, sexual touching, or promiscuity, and suffer from
alcohol and drug abuse or dependency. Children with FAE
display the same symptoms, but to a lesser degree.

Every pregnancy is different. Drinking alcohol may cause
damage to one baby more than another. You could have one
child who is born healthy and another child born with
problems. Mothers consume alcohol during the first
trimester of pregnancy have kids with the most severe
problems because that is when the brain is developing. The
connections in the baby's brain don't get made properly
when alcohol is present.

Brain cells and structures are underdeveloped or malformed
by the prenatal exposure. The risk of causing brain damage
exists throughout the entire pregnancy, though, since the
fetal brain develops continually through each trimester.
Although full-blown FAS is the result of chronic alcohol
use during pregnancy, FAE and ARND may occur with only
occasional or binge drinking, seriously damaging a
developing nervous system.

Clearly, abusing alcohol during pregnancy is dangerous. No
evidence exists which determines exactly how much alcohol
ingestion will produce birth defects. Individual women
process alcohol differently, and many women don't even know
they're pregnant in the early months.

Alcohol is a teratogen, and the only certain way to prevent
FAS is to avoid drinking alcohol anytime before becoming
pregnant or during a pregnancy. Since experts do not know
whether the difference in the quantity of damage done to
the fetus is caused by the amount, how frequently alcohol
is consumed or at what time during a pregnancy the alcohol
is consumed, the current recommendation first made by the
Surgeon General in 1981 and again in 2005, is for a woman
not to drink at all while she is expecting or planning to
become pregnant.

Alcohol easily passes the placental barrier and the
developing fetus is not equipped to eliminate alcohol so,
the fetus tends to receive a high concentration of alcohol,
which lingers longer than it would in the mother's system.
She runs the risk giving birth to a child who will pay the
price for her alcohol consumption, both in mental and
physical deficiencies, or behavioral problems throughout
the course of his or her entire life. People with severe
problems may experience physical and emotional
disabilities, may not be able to take care of themselves as
adults, and quite frequently, they may never be able to
work, causing a burden both to the prospective parents and
society, as a whole.

----------------------------------------------------
Tell your story! Pick up recovery tips and tricks to
enhance your life in recovery. Bill Urell MA.CAAP-II, is an
addictions therapist at a leading residential treatment
center. He teaches healthy life styles and life skills.
Visit our growing community at:
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