wingo1's Journal

Good Weather As A Natural Fat Burner
Jul 07 2009 20:55

As this day dawned upon me, I couldn't help but remind myself of how just being outside when the weather is nice and warm and how any activity we do will burn calories at a higher rate.  Of course, hydration IS key in warm, hot, and humid temperatures.   What I want to stress is how simply going for a walk outdoors can help you feel better about burning calories.  Per hour of walking at a moderate pace for a person around 150lbs will burn about 250 calories.  That's excellent, especially considering that you're simply going for a walk.  The more weight you have, the more calories you'll burn.  A person 40lbs heavier will probably burn an additional 50 calories.  That's because the body is working harder.

Every 1 pound of weight(fat) is equal to 3500! This is something that we all must know and remember!  More importantly, when you're being active (walking), you're further working on increasing your metabolism (metabolic rate).  There can be a focus on burning calories, but the bigger positive with that is the fact that you're also increasing your bodies ability to burn fat and calories at a faster rate...something we all would love to attain.  An increased metabolism is generally defined as your bodies ability to burn calories.   Look at it as the bodies internal diet pill.

So getting back to using walking as a means to burn a few calories, overtime, if walking becomes a constant for you, over a period of time, you'll be able to see the result of how just walking helps in maintaining your current weight.  We want to lose weight, and we also want to maintain our current weight...thus not going backwards.

Lets take your lunch break at work where most  of us have an hour to eat.  And lets say that you work 5 times a week.  Can you make the commitment to walk 4 of those times?  And with that 4 times, you can include the hour walks here and there that you'll do while not at work.  Or perhaps, eat for the first 15 minutes of your break, then go for a walk for 45 minutes, give and take a few minutes to freshen back up a bit.   Again, walking is something that's easy that you can do and incorporate into your 'daily' life.  Go at your own pace, but always try and improve your pace.   As a rule of thumb to myself, I always take the opportunity to park the farthest away in the parking lot to the grocery.  Every calorie burnt counts. Especially after every meal, it's encouraged to go for a walk for like 30 minutes.  It's said that being straight up and walking allows for food to past through us faster which doesn't allow for as much time for all the bad and unwanted ingredients to release and attack to us.

Any information provided here has been borrowed from memory and the content found at websites such as caloriecouter and nutristrategy.  Always consult with professional for precise nutrional facts and stats.  I am not responsible for any content of this blog.  I try and prescribe to the reader a dummied down version of health and wellness and weight loss.

My Blog Post:

http://tips4weightmaintenance.com/2009/06/22/good-weather-as -a-natural-fat-burner/

Empty Calories: Get Rid Of Them!
May 29 2009 20:31

We have become a calorie focused society.

This is evident in the number of food and beverage products we purchase which have visible wordings that advertise how it is a reduced calorie product per servings.  Heck, to take this phenomena future, some beer companies have come out with reduced calorie beer. And for those that are concerned with their weight, we have been increasingly educated via various mediums on how fluid intake, over time, in how this can have an effect on pounds gained and pounds lost.

Drinks such as soda/pop and fruit juices (orange juice, apple juice, etc.)  and other beverages are considered ‘empty calories’….calories that you can do without, and have little.............

>>>Read more at my Health & Wellness blog @ tips4weightmaintenance.com

Why Women Should Lift Weights for Fitness
Apr 26 2009 21:49

First off, I'm a guy who has discovered how valuable weight training has been for me in my continued journey to of weight lost, and especially with keeping the pounds off in the long haul.  What weight training has done for me is to allow me to continue with my calorie counting diet and not having to be so stringent with my diet.  Weight training is one of the better exercise methods one can do to increase their metabolism.   HOWEVER, weight loss/gain and weight management has a direct correlation with the balance of total calories consumed versus calories burned.   Metabolism is the engine that burns calories, and it varies from person to person.

See my post about Understanding Calories & Weight Loss for additional info regarding calculating your bodies metabolic rate.

The Mayo Clinic writes about metabolism:

Stated simply, metabolism is the process by which your body converts food into energy. During this complex biochemical process, calories — from carbohydrates, fats and proteins — are combined with oxygen to release the energy your body needs to function.

The number of calories your body burns each day is called your total energy expenditure. The following three factors make up your total energy expenditure:

• Basic needs. Even when your body is at rest, it requires energy for the basics, such as fuel for organs, breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, plus growing and repairing cells. Calories expended to cover these basic functions are your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Typically, a person's BMR is the largest portion of energy use, representing two-thirds to three-quarters of the calories used each day. Energy needs for these basic functions stay fairly consistent and aren't easily changed.
• Food processing. Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume also takes calories. This accounts for about 10 percent of the calories used each day. For the most part, your body's energy requirement to process food stays relatively steady and isn't easily changed.
• Physical activity. Physical activity — such as playing tennis, walking to the store, chasing after the dog and any other movement — accounts for the remainder of calories used. You control the number of calories burned depending on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities.

The general consensus from women is that, 'I don't want to get bulky.'  Or, 'I want to have that feminine look and not too much muscle.' On the contrary to these beliefs, fitness expert Jim Karas states that, weight and strength training makes you smaller."  In addition, Karas believes that walking, running, and spin classes do not burn up nearly as many calories as we've been led to believe, which is why strength conditioning should warrant more attention from women.

Elizabeth Quinn, an exercise physiologist, says that you will gain muscle tone and definition, particularly for women when including weight lifting in their program.  Researchers state that 'women typically don't gain size from strength training, because compared to men, women have 10 to 30 times less of the hormones that cause muscle hypertrophy.'  Quinn says, "this is a bonus."

I can't express to both women and men how much weight training has played with me keeping off the pounds.  I've used a combination of cardio and strength training.  I wish I could say that I've been consistent with my workout routine.  But over time, the close to 90 pounds I have lost, has been fueled by some weight lifting. The bottom line is muscle develop, which also increases your metabolism, which in turn helps your body burn more calories per day! Generally speaking, for each pound of muscle you gain, you burn 35 to 50 more calories each day.

So what are the ladies thinking at this point?  Again, the key to weight management, in my opinion, is a combination cardio and weight training.  People who do both are better equipped to control their weight and not worry about whether that hamburger or small french fry order will put on pounds!  Most women only do cardio.  This is evident when I go to the fitness center.  If there are, say 12 women in the gym, I'd only see about 2 of them doing any weight training.  Women love the treadmills and stairmasters and elliptical machines.  That's great.   But, don't forget to lift some weights.  With my weight training, I'm allowed to eat foods other the veggies and other healthy choices here and there, and not gain a pound....because of my increased metabolism.

Ladies, do not be afraid to visit the weights section of the fitness center! That area belongs to you just as much as it does the fellas!  I'd encourage you to do some research on finding good weight training exercises to do and how you carry them out.  If you're doing only 3 weight training exercises each time in the gym, you'll be fine.  Start out with the lowest weight possible, and gradually increase in small increments over a period of time.  And never hesitate to ask any of the patrons or staff at your fitness center for help and guidance while lifting weights.  Everyone is willing to help; never forget this!

And remember, the easiest way to improve your metabolism(metabolic rate) is to alter what you eat and increasing routine activities.  I list 25 non-exercising ways to help increase your metabolism in another one of my blogs here.

Thanks much,

Mr. Keri

25 Easy Ways To Cut Fat Without Exercising
Apr 13 2009 04:19

These are my 25 Easy Ways To Cut Fat

Without Exercising;

Easy Things That I've Tried and Do:

• Drink cold water—at a rate of 8 8oz. of ice cold water/day, you can burn almost 500 calories in one week.  The body is burning calories by warming the cold water to you body temperature.  Try putting 5 rubber bands on your risk per day.  Take one off each time your drink a 16oz. glass of water.  Plastic bottle waters are king.  Water helps to keep you feeling empty stomached and helps increase the metabolism.
• No rice/noodles–one of the worse foods you can eat. Too many bad carbs.
• Less/No cheese
• Walk the stairs instead of the elevator, especially if you don’t work pass the 5th floor
• Stand on your feet as much as you can. Supporting your own weight is the cheapest calorie burner.  Always prefer to stand up whenever possible, whether you’re at the bus stop , reading a book, or using a laptop computer. You can burn around 130 calories/hour of standing.  Not bad.
• Less/No breads—I don’t want to throw out an important item that helps us to take a healthy prepared meal to work for lunchtime, instead of spending extra money for a meal, and not knowing how many calories are in it.  Sandwiches are okay with me, as long as the bread is low fat.  Cheese isn’t really needed if you spice up the sandwich with some oregano and pepper and sweet onions and zero calorie spray butter, etc. Try low card flour tortillas.
• Sleep at least 7 hours—the body is still burning calories as we sleep, on average about 60-90 calories per hour of quiet sleep.  Wow! 
  
• Eating smaller portions per meal, about 5 short meals a day.
• Eat slower—-Have  you ever witnessed that thin people eat their meals slower? Eating slowly is one way that can help take off pounds. From my readings, I know that the brain takes 20 minutes to start signaling feelings of fullness.
• No eating after 9pm. When this becomes a non-issue, try increasing that to 8pm.  Fruits and microwave popcorn and low fat tortilla chips are a quick substitute for a food craving after these hours.
• Park further away from the store.
• Walk during your lunch breaks at work. If you take a 1 hour lunch, try to walk for that entire hour or very close to it.  <u>Get into the habit of walking</u> for lunch breaks. The rougher the surface you’re walking on, the more calories you’re burning.  Effort equals calories burned in whatever we do.
• Walk after every meal.  I love this one folks! It’s Chinese custom to walk for 30 minutes after each meal.  It helps move food through the body faster, thus getting rid of sticky calories quicker.  And take this opportunity to aim for a brisk walk, not just leisurely pacing.  Walking also helps in increasing your metabolism.  There’s almost never an excuse to not walk for an hour a day.
• Don’t overeat. I like this one because when you consistently stop overeating, your stomach lining naturally shrinks, thus giving you a slighter trim line around your trunk areas.   Also, before you start eating, tighten up your belt.  It helps me to feel fuller faster when eating
• Eat something for breakfast, such as some adult brands/grain cereals, oatmeal, cream of wheat, fruits, skim milk, a white or egg beater omelet(with less or no meat/cheese), or yogurt.  Skim milk is not tasty to many people.  The way I switched to skim milk was to mix whole milk and skim together, drink it that way for a week, and after that, simply go strictly to skim milk.  For some, it will work, as it will somewhat taste that there’s little different between the two.
• Green tea(bags) helps boost metabolism. 3 times a day is recommended.   Hey, a glass if ice cold green tea can take the place of one of those glasses of water.  I mean, who the heck is able to drink 8 8oz. glasses of water a day, lol.
• Fidget…..whatever you can do to cause body movement or support of your body weight.  People who are appearing nervous by bouncing their knees while sitting, or playing with their fingers can burn many calories a week, perhaps up to 1 pound lost.
• Increase your protein intake. Good items are boneless/skinless chicken breast, tuna in water, some protein snack bars (always look for the lowest ‘calories’ number/serving), or protein shakes/drinks.  As well, protein helps with muscle tone and metabolism!
• Always think of easy ways to burn calories! Yeah, that’s it.  Meaning, as long as calorie burning is on your mind, try as much as possible to do activities, regarding of how minimal, that will burn calories.
• Think healthy eating ALL the time. It helps to increase the percentage of times you eat healthy foods.   It’s as simple as that.
• No diet pops, energy drinks, and fruit juice drinks. All of these are considered “empty calories.” Many, they serve no purpose and can be avoided.  Now I’m a realist, so, this will be difficult doing for some of you.  But, I mainly drink water.  Try adding fresh fruit pieces to your water.  I also like the Vitamin Water.
• Those frozen healthy microwavable meals come in handy both at home and at work.  Look for the best prices with these.  Be careful with the sodium levels, fyi.
• Only buy what’s healthy as much as possible.  If you’re a mom, well, the other housemates will have to get use to it, or buy there own darn heavy-calorie foods and snacks.
• READ THE LABELS of everything you buy!
• Find ways to rid your body of retained water. This helps when you’re weighing yourself and every little pound means something.

Check out my blog related to this post:

Health & Wellness & Weight Loss Tips

Fluids & Weight Lost
Jan 20 2009 01:39

One thing that I think has helped me is that I've reframed as much as possible from consuming any fluids other than H2O, water that is!  I never buy any type of juices, which includes orange juice, apple juice, etc.  These juices are loaded with sugars which directly pounds on the calories and carbs on ya!!!  Pop/Soda.....NOPE!   The only time I will buy pop or a fruit juice is if I need a chaser......  

Many people like/love to drink their diet pops.  I look at pop and fruit juices as empty calories....calories that ya can do without.  If it's caffeine you're looking for, go with coffee, imo.  The artificial sugars that are put in those diet pops, is well documented as not being good for the body.  You can cut off a TON OF CALORIES by simply cutting out all these types of 'empty' calories.  Trust me, ya can do without!  

With milk, I only buy skim milk.  Is skim milk nasty?  Well, it's not as tasty as regular milk, that's for sure.  But, someone gave me a hint on how to make this dreaded switch from whole and 2% milk, to skim milk.   What ya do is.......for a week or two, simply combine 50/50 skim to whole milk together, and drink together, whether you're just drinking it or mixing in cereal.  Then, after this amount of time has  past, go cold turkey to skim milk.  It will almost taste as if you're still drinking whole milk.  Well, it definitely worked for me. 

Lastly, I'd challenge all to mainly drink water as their source of  hydration.  Vitamin water and low calorie sport drinks are good too, but, in moderation.  

How Does A Wok Help Ya To Lose Weight....
Jan 20 2009 00:40

Okay people, take the title of this journal entry figuratively!    A wok isn't going to serve as your fitness coach, persuading ya to put down that cheeseburger and head to the gym.  Heck, anyone telling me to put down a cheeseburger isn't a friend of mine, lol.   OT; if you're gonna have a cheeseburger, make it yourself; buy the highest (lowest fat content) ground beef possible; eliminate the cheese; and ask me for my wonderful recipe I call a "Dirty Burger!!!"      Utt, I digress.  

On topic:  I personally think that I wouldn't have lost all the weight I have if I hadn't had a wok.  Basically, roughly 90% of the things I eat and cook at home can be prepared in a wok.  I guess my preference of consumed foods consist of anything healthy that's stir fried.  I love my veggies.  (Hey, can someone tell my mom that I just said that, haha.   I love buying my vegatables, which consist of bell peppers (red, green, yellow, and orange), onions (sweet and green scallion), brocoli, green beans, and cabbage (I make a mean cabbage soft taco).  I encourage all to find a very cheap produce store with cheaply priced veggies. I prefer the Mexican groceries (i.e. Cermak Groceries)....hint, hint!!!! 

Any combo of these vegatables may be combined with boneless/skinless chicken breast(grilled or sauteed), or some other meat (albeit rare). 

Cooking with a wok doesn't require you to use grease or heavy butter.   Like we all see on t.v. I cook with high heat while using the wok.  Having a glass cover helps thicker veggies to cook faster.   Having a good wok is KEY!  Here's an excerpt from an article about the benefits of having a good wok:

Remember that old adage “You get what you pay for?” This is one of those rare cases where it doesn’t apply. There is no substitute for a good carbon steel wok. Not only is it relatively inexpensive, but it conducts heat evenly.. While there many other types of woks on the market today - aluminum, stainless steel, even copper - every experienced Asian cook I’ve spoken with still swears by carbon steel, and I have to agree. 

Click here, for further quick general info about woks.

It's just so easy for me to throw foods in the wok and let it sizzle.  It's fun cooking.  I love to take a day (Sunday) and cut up my veggies and store them in storage bags.  I do the same with my chicken breast; I'll cook it on Sunday and store for the week.  With doing this, and having a wok, you'll have a very healthy meal cooked in 5 minutes tops!  With this as well, you leave very very little excuse for not feeling like preparing food to cook.  When you're coming home from work, and having to deal with whatever you have to deal with, it's wonderful to basically have your meals already prepared.  Try it!  

There are so many different varieties of herbs and spices to taste your stir fries with, personally, I haven't gotten tired of cooking my favorite home cooked  healthy dish.  Now, there are all those prepared sauces and sodium-infested packages and bottles that are labelled to be for stir fry flavoring, imo, I'd stay away from.  Buy your own lil' crushed herbs and spices and/or buy them fresh.  I haven't stepped my game up yet to consistently want to buy my spices and herbs fresh.  lol, I'm a bachelor, and buying them fresh is just time consuming.  I will use some low-sodium teriyaki sauce here and there, in addition. 

Lastly, if ya don't own a wok, and you're trying to either lose weight or maintain healthy eating, shame on you!     

Please....ask me any questions on this topic of woks!  THANKS MUCH. 

Wingo

The Scale Is Your Friend! Take Advantage of'em!
Jan 14 2009 21:35

Contrary to popular belief, I'm an advocate of weighing yourself as much as ya want, within reason of course.  For one, it's important to know when and when not to weigh yourself.  For the most part, the scale has been a MAJOR motivator in my weight lost!  Now, some of the experts aren't liking me with saying this!

I think weighing yourself 2-3/week has been sufficient for me!  The scale is a direct measure of success for weight lost!!!  However, I've had to learn that, as I develop more muscle tone, the scale might not always be reflective of what I think it should be.  The scale will tell me, however, if I'm not working hard enough with my diet and activity level.

-Always weigh yourself in the morning, before you eat anything!  Why weigh yourself after you've eaten something.  Hey, so what if you're psyching yourself out with the scale.  I've turned this all into fuel for motivation.   Sometimes, I like to weigh myself after a good workout at the gym. 

-Don't weigh yourself if ya know you haven't been living up to your diet and/or exercising for a period of time.  Why feed yourself voluntary negative feedback.  However, with this, if you've lost focus for some extended period of time--say 2 weeks plus, weighing yourself can be a great motivator in helping ya get back on track. I had to do this today.  I knew I wasn't working well on my diet and exercising.  Well, I had gained 7 pounds.  I didn't get discouraged; it made me so eager to get back into the gym.  As easy as I can gain 7 pounds, I know I can lose it.  A lot of those 7 pounds is just retained water and food on the belly. 

-Write down on a calendar, your weigh-in weight!  This is good to see your progressions(or regressions) over time. 

So, what works for me, is what I've stated above!  Us humans are built to have a need for validation.  The scale gives me this validation in concrete numbers.  I welcome all opinions on this topic!  Other measurable entities regarding body mass and weight lost may be more pertinent, but the old fashion scale is our most readily available tool to us.  I try to look at weighing myself in a very superficial way, meaning that I block out all other opinions and facts related to weighing oneself.  It's all about me, and what the scale says.  The scale doesn't lie, however.  It might not solely tell the whole truth.    

Thanks,

Wingo