Weight Loss Tips

Weight Loss TipsCopyright (c) 2007 Jon M. StoutGolden Moon Teahttp://www.GoldenMoonTea.comToday, doctors are calling obesity our number one health concernin the United States. Today, about 30% of the adult population inthis country is considered obese. In addition, 16% of childrenbetween the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight. Though it has gaineda tremendous amount of attention in the past few years, theproblem is still on the rise.One of this country's national health objectives is to reducethe incidence of obesity to less than 15% of the adult populationby the year 2010. And, while there is a lot of talk about theproblem, many people don't seem to truly understand the stepsthey need to take to get their weight under control.Most of us understand that in order to lose weight you need toburn more calories than you consume. However, many people attemptto reach this goal by seriously restricting their calorie intake.This type of dieting generally fails for two reasons.First of all, when you begin to significantly reduce the numberof calories you consume, your body goes into starvation mode.When in starvation mode, your body works very hard to hold ontothe fat that you have, decreasing the number of calories you'reburning. This means that your body is adjusting itself to thereduced number of calories you're consuming.Secondly, starvation diets are not realistic. We simply cannotlive on such restrictive plans for any significant length oftime. So, we begin to feel deprived, and before you know it,we've given up on dieting.Doctors believe that just after a starvation diet, our bodieswill quickly accumulate fat when we begin to eat again, as thoughtrying to make up for the famine it just endured. So, often, justa few weeks after ending a diet, we find that we're fatter thanbefore. We feel defeated and as though losing weight is simplynot possible.However, losing weight is possible if you approach the situationcorrectly. There are two important pieces to the weight losspuzzle. The first is adjusting your diet.Adjusting your diet doesn't mean eating so little that you'rehungry nearly all the time. Adjusting your diet for permanentweight loss means replacing your high fat, high calorie foodswith those that are healthier and contain fewer calories. Byeating the right foods, you can easily eat enough to feelsatisfied, but still lose weight. Avoiding hunger will help youstick to your diet long enough to see serious results.Take a look at the way you're eating. Get rid of thehydrogenated fats like butter and replace them with healthy oneslike olive oil. Eat mostly chicken and fish - making red meats anoccasional meal rather than a regular one. Eat lots of freshfruits and vegetables, and make your breads and cereals only fromwhole grains. Avoid processed foods. If you can make thesesubstitutions, you should lose weight automatically.The second part of the weight loss equation is speeding up yourmetabolism. You can make a significant difference in the numberof calories you burn each day, making weight loss and weightmaintenance far easier.The fastest and easiest way to speed up your metabolism is toexercise. Aim for 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.Walking is a great exercise that anyone can do. In addition, tryto make your life more active in general. Take the stairs insteadof the elevator and walk wherever you can.Be sure to get in some resistance training, as well. Muscle, evenwhen resting, burns more calories than fat, so adding someadditional muscle is extremely beneficial. You don't need to aimto be a body builder; just 20 minutes of strength training 3times a week is enough to build some additional muscle. Strengthtraining will also help shape your body, making your weight lossresults more noticeable.It is also beneficial to use foods to your advantage when itcomes to speeding up your metabolism. For example, eat thosefoods that require lots of energy to digest, like raw fruits andvegetables. Many raw vegetables actually require more calories todigest than they contain!In addition, try adding some tea to your diet. Tea has been shownto speed up the metabolism and help oxidize fat. It may also havethe ability to inhibit the absorption of dietary fat into thebody.One research study, conducted at Maastricht University in TheNetherlands, looked at tea's ability to increase thermogenesis,burning fat and speeding up the metabolism. Many studies haveshown that caffeine helps speed weight loss, but tea seems tohave more potential than other beverages with caffeine.Tea's catechins, a potent form of anti-oxidant, seem to work inconjunction with the caffeine in tea to burn fat and speed upmetabolism. The study in the Netherlands came to this conclusion,along with concluding that other substances often used to speedmetabolism, like caffeine with ephedra, simply are not safeenough to be recommended as a weight loss supplement.For those prone to being overweight, keeping the scale in checkis a lifelong project. But, armed with the right tools, includinga sensible diet, regular exercise and helpers like tea,maintaining a normal weight for the long term is entirelypossible.http://ajpregu.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/00832.2005v1---------------------------------------------------------------------Jon M. Stout is Chairman of the Golden MoonTea Company. 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