We know that exercise can help you burn calories to lose weight. However it has a great effect on burning calories; it can stimulate hunger as well. You end up eating more calories than what you have burnt in the workout. It is possible that once you exercise heavily, the release of appetite hormone level (Ghrelin) will be increased in your body which will make you eat more.

Recently, PLoS a nonprofit Public Library of Science published a remarkable study on negative effects of exercise on weight loss. During the study, overweight women who didn’t exercise regularly were assorted into four groups. Women in three groups were asked to exercise regularly with a personal trainer for six months and women in the fourth group named as control group were asked to maintain their usual routines. All the groups were asked not to change their dietary habits for six months. Finally, women in all the groups including the control group lost weight, but the women who exercised regularly did not lose significantly more weight than the control group did. As the control group did regular activities, they consumed less food. It is important to note that some of the women in each group except control group actually gained weight!

Exercise is good for health but it is better to have a good control over amount of exercises. Less exercise means less in hunger stimulation so then you can consume fewer foods and maintain your shape perfectly.

Weight loss surgery also known as bariatric surgery or gastro intestinal surgery, which will alter the digestive process to achieve rapid weight loss. The operations can be divided into three types namely restrictive, malabsorptive, and combined restrictive/malabsorptive.

Restrictive surgery

This kind of surgery will reduce the stomach volume to limit the intake of food. Less food means a reduced calorie intake which will lead to quick weight loss.

Malabsortive surgery

Malabsortive surgeries will shorten the length of the digestive track to reduce the amount of food that the body can absorb. Remember, this surgery results in the absorption of fewer calories and nutrients in the body which leads to vitamin/mineral deficiencies. So it is not suggested by most doctors for their patients. There are four procedures which fall into this category namely Roux-en-Y, Biliopancreatic Diversion, Fobi Pouch and Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch.

Combined restrictive/malabsorptive surgery

Combined surgeries use stomach restriction and a partial bypass of the small intestine as well.

Is the weight loss surgery safe?

Yes, it is safe only when the operation is done by a skilled surgeon. ” Severely obese women are at an incredibly high risk for multiple cancers, primarily breast and (uterus) cancer but also colorectal and other gynecologic cancers,” Dr. Susan C. Modesitt from the University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville said.

Nothing in life is free from risks; however there are more advantages to bariatric surgery like improved blood sugar control or even reversal of type 2 diabetes, some risks may arise after surgery. Possible risks include development of blood clots in the deep veins of the legs or in the pulmonary artery of the lungs, reoperate surgeries, bleeding, etc.

In a nut shell, Bariatric weight loss surgery is the next step for people where nonsurgical approaches like exercise, dieting  etc have failed.  It is safe if you consult a professional doctor and follow their advice after surgery.

Exercise doesn’t mean that you need to visit gym and get assisted by the exercise practitioner. You can do some simple exercises at home. If you are put up in a sedentary lifestyle, then you must add some physical activity to your life.

Here are some easy-to-follow exercises in your daily life to increase your physical activity:

Walking - A foremost exercise that is followed by most of living beings in the world for leading a healthy life. Try to go for walking in the morning or evening. If you can’t allot any specific time for walking, then just take a walk at lunch, use the stairs instead of the lift and walk instead of driving to the local store.

Super brain Yoga - A simple yoga performed by most of Hindus in Temple, generally called as ‘Thorppih: Karnam’ (Thorppih: = with the hands, Karnam = ears, in Sanskrit), to energize and recharge the brain. It is purely based on the principles of subtle energy and ear acupuncture.

Swimming - Apart from a fabulous workout, it is the useful and recreational activity that can be performed regularly in your life. It helps to maintain the blood pressure and cholesterol of a person. If you have a pool at home, then swimming must be your regular activity.

Cycling - It is a fantastic workout done with a great fun. It minimizes the risk of coronary heart disease and assures you trimmer and toned muscles.

Play - Nowadays kids are struck to TV and computer; take them to garden or playground and play with them instead of sitting on the sideline. This is a great way to burst stress and strengthen your relationship with children.

Fortunately, effective treatments for tension-type headaches are available. If you have symptoms of a tension type headache often, you must meet your family doctor for treatment. Don’t expect your doctor to be able to guess that you have tension-type headache just by looking at you. You need to tell them the symptoms you have so that he or she will prescribe the proper medicines to abate the pain.

We know that Prevention is better than cure. Reducing stress will help you avoid the tension-type headaches. Here are some natural ways to reduce stress and lead a healthy life.

For starters, lie down in a dark and quiet place and try to relax.

Studies have shown that vitamins like B complex, C and E along with minerals like manganese, selenium and zinc are helpful in relieving stress. So eat fresh fruits, vegetables rich in vitamins and meat and dairy products as much as possible.

Sleep deprivation is one of the chief aggravators of stress. Practicing sleep tactics along with stress-lowering tactics can help improve your quality of sleep.

Avoid caffeine as it increases stress levels by stimulating the central nervous system. Remember, an excess intake of caffeine will result in hyperactive moods and stress.

Physical activity is the best tool to reduce your stress. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week.

]]> http://exercisefocus.net/simple-ways-to-reduce-tension-type-headache/feed http://exercisefocus.net/obesity-the-new-burden-of-the-21st-century http://exercisefocus.net/obesity-the-new-burden-of-the-21st-century#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:24:57 +0000 peter http://exercisefocus.net/?p=322 Obesity is recognized as a disease since 1997 by WHO. The increasing number of obese people around the world obliged WHO to take measures against this new burden.

In 2005, the estimated number of obese persons was about 400 million adults and 20 million children. It touches developed countries in particular but is on an increase in the developing nations too. This disease can have a lot of other health effects as well.

How is that explained? We can find food 24/7 and unless checked, it leads to snacking of particularly sweet and fatty foods. A lot of people criticize the role of television in the growth of obesity, as it provokes inactivity and calls to consume more. Contemporary societies are sources of stress and food unbalances to add to it all.

Obesity can lead to different diseases like high cholesterol levels, hypertension, or rheumatic fever. Death occurs often before time. The discrimination is a real problem too because obese people can’t continue to work, and start to find themselves useless.

Governments try to check this phenomenon and launch some programs in school and television advertisements.

Solutions however, lie in habits: you have to eat balance meals with vegetables and fruits, and avoid sweets. Practicing some kind of sport is essential to stay fit and preserve a good health. Snacking is prohibited if you are obese. Healthy eating has to be a part of education for your children.

Show them you can be an example by walking to school, taking the stairs and indulging in sports. You can do a jog every day, even if it’s short, it’s always efficient. Your heart will work better and your body will delete the too much sugar. Organize swimming outings with your friends; you will protect yours joints by using your muscles and losing weight! Go hiking; it could be a good mean to relax on a weekend and discover nature.

Your body will use some calories to adapt your internal temperature to your environment.

Cycling is a free, easy and eco friendly mean to fight obesity too. It will help you avoid cardiovascular problems. Dance with your partner, you will use all your muscles and release stress.

]]> http://exercisefocus.net/obesity-the-new-burden-of-the-21st-century/feed http://exercisefocus.net/zone-diet-and-weight-reduction http://exercisefocus.net/zone-diet-and-weight-reduction#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:32:23 +0000 peter http://exercisefocus.net/?p=316 Do you know people who’ve suddenly had a brilliant brainwave and decided to go on a crash diet and survive on a little more than water? We all do, and honestly, it is anything but a brilliant brainwave. We humans beat ourselves at the kind of things we do. We create a problem, and then break our heads trying to solve it.

While the perfect model like figure for everyone has been widely criticised, it is a known fact that overweight is a bad thing, as is an unhealthy lifestyle. An unhealthy lifestyle would be something that is primarily sedentary, does not have the right food intake, no exercise, terrible sleep patterns, terrible eating patterns and all that.

Millions go to gym, visit various dieticians, and try all sorts of possible measures to shed some extra weight. We are not saying any of them is good or bad, we’re just saying an extreme of anything is never good. Losing weight requires a combination of changing food patterns to suit individual bodies and metabolism rates, and changing lifestyle a bit to include some activity or the other, once again differing from person to person.

Zone diet is s special kind of diet that focuses on weight reduction and a healthy food intake. It has been widely popularised by Dr. Barry Sears, a biochemist who has done an immense amount of study in this field. The zone diet promotes a fixed proportion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in ever meal; the ratio being 40:30:30 respectively. Research has said that this proportion, if followed can produce satisfactory weight loss results without being too drastic. It does not allow fat to be stored, and instead uses up the stored fat for energy, resulting in reasonable weight loss.

Many celebrities are known to have followed the zone diet and found it successful. It is all about balancing your hormones, most importantly, insulin levels. It consists of, in the above mentioned proportions, low-fat proteins, low glycemic-load carbs, and heart healthy monosaturated fats.

For those who wish to try the zone diet, there have been many many successful cases of weight reduction, and the diet is fairly simple to follow once you set your mind to it. There are enough recipes that could be looked up to go about making the perfect zone diet meal.

Today, a whole load of people are affected by hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension is often called the silent killer because you have no early significant symptoms. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and renal failure.

What causes hypertension?

Heredity: If your parents have high blood pressure, you have a greater chance of inheriting it.

Age: The older we get, the greater the risk of developing high blood pressure.

Obesity: Overweight people are at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure.

Heavy alcohol consumption: Several studies have found that intake of excessive amounts of alcohol can raise your blood pressure. Keep in mind that heavy drinking and high blood pressure may damage the heart and can lead to heart attacks.

Diabetes: People with diabetes often have high blood pressure. Having both diabetes and hypertension will increase the risk of developing heart related problems.

Research has proven that an hour of exercise a week can reduce high blood pressure. With regular exercise, you can reduce the risk of developing hypertension by 19 to 30 percent. So there is that ray of hope for all those who have given up on it; it really is not very hard.

Regular exercise makes your heart strong. A strong heart can pump more blood with less effort. Therefore, the pressure on your arteries decreases, and lowers your blood pressure.

If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure at some point, engaging in regular exercise will help you maintain and achieve a healthy blood pressure level. You don’t need to spend hours in a gym every day. Simply adding moderate physical activities to your daily routine like walking, cycling, swimming etc will help you reduce hypertension and lead a healthy, happy life.

You can also do some Yoga for reducing hypertension; asanas such as, Surya Namaskar Asana, Santulam Asana, Pawanmukta Asana, Uttanpada Asana, and Shava Asana are immensely helpful.

It is however, best to check with your family doctor before you jump into an exercise program, especially if you’re unsure about your health, or feel any warning signs like chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, an irregular heartbeat etc.

Today, Asthma is a common disease that affects many people. The number of people affected by Asthma is now increasing all over the world. In the United States, over 22 million Americans have asthma.

So, what exactly is asthma? Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory respiratory disease that makes patients to find difficulty to get air in and out of the lungs. When a person is affected by asthma, the breathing tubes (alveolar tubes) become sensitive and inflamed. The muscles around the airways tighten and become narrow, thus making it difficult to breathe fresh air in and exhale air out.

The most common symptoms of asthma are wheezing, constant coughing, and chest tightness during the cold weather and shortness of breath.  Things like smoking, pollen, environmental pollutions, etc can trigger asthma.

Well, how can you treat asthma? Breathing exercises have become a very popular solution to reduce Asthma. Researchers from the UK University found that breathing exercises reduces the severity of asthma and improves quality of life with the help of anti-inflammatory medication treatment.

Effective breathing exercises commonly followed are:

• Pranayama (A Breathing exercise in Yoga)

• Buteyko (A Russian method of breathing exercise)

Pranayama: The regular practice of Pranayama helps us breathe deeply from the stomach. Pranayama is the art of breath control.  The word ‘Prana’ signifies’ breathe’ and ‘yama’ means ‘control’. Thus, the word Pranayama can be understood as “Control of breath”. There are four stages of breathing in pranayama.

1. Inhalation

2. A pause before exhalation

3. Exhalation

4. A pause before inhaling again

Repeat these four steps fifteen to twenty times. With the regular practice of Pranayama you can reduce asthma disease.

Buteyko: Buteyko exercise will reduce and control asthma and other respiratory disorders. In Buteyko techniques, you must inhale through the nose (not mouth), and exhale for as long as possible. You can repeat the process for 5 to 10 minutes and achieve better results.

Do you really think that gaining weight with over consumption of alcohol is good for health? The answer is no, as alcohol contains empty calories, which means it provides very little or no nutritional supplements like minerals and vitamins which are necessary for good health. Alcohol consumption has been linked with cirrhosis, cancer in liver and stomach, fertility difficulties, heart attacks etc.

Studies have shown that, alcohol stimulates food intake because it increases your blood sugar levels which makes you feel hungry. As a result of this you may gain weight. So Alcohol is not considered a necessary component of a healthy diet. It is better to follow a healthier way to gain weight. Most experts agree that having regular meals, especially breakfast, are important to gain weight.

Eat healthy food frequently. Exercise regularly to keep fit. Some thin people think that exercise is not effective for them. This is not true; exercise keeps your metabolism high. Remember that eating alone is not sufficient to be healthy, so exercise regularly as well.

According to a research, consuming a moderate amount of alcohol may protect against Coronary Heart Disease and type-2 diabetes. It is still not entirely clear how alcohol reduces the risk of CHD and diabetes. But remember it is harmful, if consumed in large amounts. So keep it as moderate as possible.

It is important to remember that there are 22 vitamins and minerals which are essential for the control of our weight and metabolism. The most important ones are: Vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, Vitamin C, choline, and inositol, and minerals such as chromium, manganese and zinc. When you eat a wholesome meal and your overall diet is healthy, all of these go into your body in some form or the other.

Have omega 3 fatty acid food such as oily fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel etc at least twice a week. It protects your heart as they contain certain anti-inflammatory substances which help in preventing inflammation of the arteries.

Use olive oil while preparing salads as it reduces the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels and thus helps in reducing the risk of heart disease and getting rid of excess weight as well.

Include nuts like walnuts and almonds in your diet, but in moderation. It will raise HDL (high density lipoprotein — the good cholesterol) levels in your body.

To reduce your hunger between meals, drink a lot of filtered water and frequently chew sugarless gum. It will greatly minimize the feeling of hunger and reduce the desire to snack.

Consume green leafy vegetables. These contain folate, a nutrient that reduces homocysteine levels (homocysteine is a molecule that’s a risk factor for cardiovascular disease).

Have green tea. A recent study proves that green tea could reduce body weight by increasing energy expenditure and oxidising fat.

In addition to consuming fewer calories, you have to indulge in some form of exercise as it burns off calories and increases the metabolism rate.