Why Diets Don't Work
One of the biggest scams ever successfully pulled on the American public is - somewhat appropriately - a 4-letter word. That word is, of course, Diet. By now you have seen advertisements for more diets than you can easily remember, and have also most likely seen an article or television show debunking some of those diets. Unfortunately, the art of shooting holes through the credibility of a diet plan is normally done by ANOTHER diet company, solely for the purpose of getting you to use their product instead. Well, this article has nothing to sell, nor really anything to gain, save the knowledge that hopefully the reader - that's you - will put down the Diet Madness Menu, and get a real world point of view on why diets don't work, and what you can do about it.
Eating, the Lost ArtIf you are considering a diet, or have in the past, your primary motivation was most likely to lose weight. What if I was to tell you that in order to lose weight, you actually need to eat MORE than you have in the past? You would probably shake your head at that crazy idea, and think that it was some new fad that could in no way assist you in your weight loss goals. Of course, the fact that every diet you've ever heard of was at one point "some new fad" would probably never even cross your mind. Nonetheless, the fact remains that most people do need to eat more than they presently are in order to lose weight, but the trick comes in eating the right kinds of foods, in the right ratios of nutrients, and at the right times of day. Sound tricky? Perhaps, but I assure you, it is really quite simple.
However, the purpose of this article is not to inform you of the benefits of eating, but merely to let you know that eating is indeed a very effective way to lose excess bodyweight, and to explain how diets keep that from happening. Stating the ObviousAlthough most people do not think of the "latest diet" in these terms, hopefully the following question will make you consider what is pretty obvious if you stop to think about it. If the new "Last Diet You'll Ever Need" was really that good at making you melt away pounds while sitting on the couch munching "Carbo Craze Chips" or was even remotely effective at burning off your spare tire while inhaling the sweet scents of "Aerospace's Aromatic Air Baubles", then why isn't everyone already thin??Seriously - think about it. Every time you hear about the latest diet or the most up to date exercise device that only takes 20 minutes per day, they always say that you will never need another system! The advertised system - no matter how logical or even outlandish as it may seem - is always touted at being better than ever, and the last system you will ever need. Well, if that were true, don't you think that the manufacturer of that system would not only become wealthier than anyone in history, but would also become famous as the person who FINALLY solved the obesity problem in our world? Don't you think that person could also afford to advertise their product during prime time on TV, instead of late at night? Don't you think that system would become known throughout the world - throughout history itself - as a turning point in human development? So, I'll ask you the same question again: If the solution is already out there, why do we need to keep coming up with new solutions?? The answer is, of course, very simple - these systems don't work, and the human populace is simply looking for a non-existent quick fix to getting rid of too many late night excursions to the local burger joint, or to the fact they should have taken stock in beer while they were in college.
Then what does work? Human physiology. MetabolismMetabolism is defined as the rate at which your body processes food. In other words, how fast your body burns calories. The faster your metabolism, the more food you can eat without gaining weight. How do you control your metabolism? By eating a nutrient-dense meal every 3 to 3 ? hours.
This practice "stokes your internal furnace", for lack of a better analogy. Think of your body as an old-style locomotive that had coal shoveled into the combustion chamber one shovel at a time. If you didn't shovel in coal fast enough, the locomotive would slow down, and your body is no different. If you don't eat often enough, your metabolism slows down and you don't burn through calories very quickly. In addition, not only does your rate of calorie consumption go down, but your body starts storing almost everything that you do eat as bodyfat! So, in essence, every time you starve yourself in your honest effort to "stick to your diet", you are actually slowing down your metabolism as well as making your body more efficient at building padding for you to sit on at baseball games.Muscle"I don't care" you say.
You believe that in order to lose weight you need to starve. Okay, that's wrong, but I'll explain why that thinking is flawed. Your body needs energy so you can live through any given day. The amount of energy that you need is determined by your Basal Metabolic Rate, and by your activity level for that day. For most people, this amounts to between 1,500 and 2,500 calories per day.
Well, if your calorie-restricted diet doesn't allow you that many calories, your body will find a way to survive anyway. It does this by breaking down your muscle tissue and using it for energy. "So what?" you say. You don't care, as long as the scale says you are losing weight, right? What if I told you that the ONLY place on your body that you can burn bodyfat for fuel is your muscles? What if I told you that the more muscle tissue you lose on a calorie-restricted diet, the fewer calories you can eat after the muscle loss? What if I told you that after losing 20 lbs on a calorie-restricted diet, your total bodyfat level will have dropped very little, if at all? What if I told you that by using muscle mass for energy, you have literally crippled your body's ability to burn bodyfat in the future, and that by the laws of Nature (which we can't change, by the way), you will absolutely put the weight back on, and probably gain more weight than you ever had before? If I told you all of that, would you still want to burn muscle tissue for energy while starving yourself to stick to your diet, paying $8 a bag for Carbo Chips, and $20 a session for Aromatic Air Baubles? On the other hand, perhaps the laws of Nature don't apply to you. In that case, be sure to tune in tonight - I believe the "Lose Weight While You Eat Butter Fried Bacon" diet is going to be featured on a new infomercial.
It is, after all, The Last Diet You Will Ever Need!.
Aaron Potts is the owner and creator of Fitness Destinations. Aaron's experience in the health and fitness industry includes one on one personal training in many different environments, maintenance of several health-related websites, and authoring of many fitness-related products for consumers and fitness professionals. http://www.fitnessdestinations.com.info@fitnessdestinations.comLow Carb Diabetic Diets
Thanks to Jennifer Aniston, Dr. Atkins' low-carb diet is the latest craze among weight watchers.
However, the furor it has caused in the medical circles is also due to the fact that it is steeped with immense benefits for diabetics. In fact, it is fast gaining precedence over the traditional low-calorie, low-fat diet once prescribed for diabetics?a diet that has now been conclusively proven to be detrimental to the diabetic patient's health.
This all-out attack on carbohydrates is understandable, as diabetes is a condition where sugar and starch are not properly absorbed from the bloodstream. And when the body is incapacitated in this way, an excess of carbohydrates can be harmful.
Anything more than 5%-10% carbohydrates in your daily caloric intake is a taboo in all the low-carb diets. These place emphasis on consumption of protein and fats so that the body is full and doesn't experience hunger pangs. For it is only when the body feels that...
Diets > Low Carb Diabetic Diets
Exercise and Diet
A good many men and women are paying out good money -- sometimes thousands of pounds -- to purchase home fitness and personal gym equipment.. They've abandoned public health clubs and gyms in favor of working out in the privacy of their own homes.People who do purchase home fitness equipment tend to take one of three courses after their workout or gym purchases. In reality, only one of the three courses many of these people take actually will end up producing results when it comes to improving health and fitness.One group of people who purchase home fitness equipment take off and begin using the gym equipment with a passion -- for a few days. In little time, the luster of the gym equipment wears off. In short speed, these men and women lose interest in their home gym equipment.
These people end up working out sporadically, if at all. In the end, the home fitness...
Exercise and Diet
Diets > Exercise and Diet
Low Carb and Lowfat Diets...A Scam?!
If anyone knows anything about fitness, it's that a low fat diet is the healthiest way to avoid serious diseases, right?
Maybe wrong.
In many instances quality research has shown just the opposite?that a low fat diet, sometimes even a vegetarian diet, can be harmful to your health.
Although vegetarian and low-fat diets have been proven to reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels, they have not demonstrated significant reductions in deaths from any disease.
The Low-Fat ApproachPopular diets of today encouraging low-fat approaches, such as the diets of Dr. Pritkin, Dr.
Ornish, Macrobiotics, and Weight Watchers, are generally effective with weight-loss and reduction in blood fats.
The low-fat approach has even been proven to overcome serious illness successfully.
But the majority of dieters find these plans
difficult to stick with.
And most research trials have not shown these diets effective in decreasing...
Diets > Low Carb and Lowfat Diets...A Scam?!
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Crank Yankers put the ?Hell? In Hello
(ContentDesk) March 14, 2004--"Crank Yankers" is a new show on the Comedy Central cable network that features outrageous crank calls from real comedians to real people, portrayed through puppets ? imagine "Sesame Street" all grown up and demented! Now you can wear a t-shirt to show off your favorite character on the show.Fans are not only tunning in, they are collecting an assortment of t-shirts depicting "Crank Yankers" characters. "It's a great way to show the world you love to laugh at life,"...
Why Diets Don't Work Crank Yankers put the ?Hell? In Hello
Diets > Crank Yankers put the ?Hell? In Hello