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Teeny Weeny Bikini Body Tips
Written by Anthony Heredia |
Tag: Weight Loss
Health 101 – Weight Loss
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Health 101 – Weight Loss
Well, aren’t you curious! Fantastic questions! Well, before I get into that, please let me make it crystal clear that there are many reasons why we gain weight and why we can’t lose it, so please don’t let me over simplify anything. I have specialized in weight loss for years, and there are a multitude of reasons. I will make sure to address anything Agenda‘s readers (but only Agenda readers, no one else, of course) might want to know about in this new phenomenal health addition to Agenda. So with that said, I will give some specifics as to how much someone should eat to lose weight with average circumstances given for now. The trick to weight loss is simply to use up more energy than you take in (food and stored fat are energy). Now, you first have to make sure you don’t eat less than your body’s safety point, called your BMR. This is basically how many calories you would burn if you were to just sit for a 24-hour period. If you are not active at all, eating your BMR (basal metabolic rate) calories only is a good start until you get moving more. To find your BMR, simply multiply your body weight times 10, and that will give you a great estimate. If you are fairly active (1-3 workouts a week), add 2-300 calories on top of your BMR to keep everything working properly. If you are very active (4-5 workouts a week) add 4-500 calories so that your body can take the beating. Please note that when you’re very high in activity, your body needs a lot more. If you give it less than what it needs, it will simply rebel by slowing you down to conserve energy. So work with it and not against it. I would recommend getting some professional help to modify some things for you so that you get the best out of your workouts if things get hard. If you just want something to calculate your calories for you, go towww.caloriecontrol.org/calcalcs.html, and the work is done for you. Remember to spread those calories you are supposed to have evenly throughout the day over at least 6 meals so that your body feels safe and gives you the best results. I must urge you all not to cut meals as it will make it longer and harder to lose weight. If you want more results just work out more often or harder, and your body will love you for it, rewarding your efforts with that engaging silhouette you are seeking. Your body doesn’t know you’re working out to look better or feel better, it simply reacts. If you go hard and don’t give your body enough fuel, it will simply rebel and slow your metabolic process to conserve precious energy. A car without enough gas will just stop, but your body will make you tired sooner, sleepier more often, and drain your good moods. This all can be avoided by giving it the right fuel. Hard work and eating frequently are weight-loss’s greatest weapons. If you eat once, twice, maybe three times on a good day, then food is typically scarce in the world of your body; so it holds onto the weight a lot more aggressively for self preservation. You see, one reason your body holds onto the body fat is because it thinks it needs it, like a camel storing water for hard times. No hard times means no aggressive storage, means no muffin top. So eat, for goodness sake! Now that we’ve got you eating, let us address activity a bit more and how hard you should push. This is where many go wrong and have no clue what they are doing wrong. The human body responds best when it is pushed. It’s marvelous! You see, your body is great at doing as little as possible (go figure). Its primary purpose is to be as efficient as possible. Why use 300 calories for that run if we can get it down to 100 calories? That’s what your body was designed to do, so the best way to approach activity is to challenge your body with one notch past comfortable. Problem is that in general we have a tendency not to push ourselves hard enough. You know that’s true, so don’t even start with me. We push as much as we can, and when we get to that comfort border, we stop and take a break until we get back down to the lower end of the comfort gauge. Problem here is that the best and quickest results are past that sweaty border. The best way to overcome this is to take a class at your gym, any class that you want, but stay for the whole class no matter how tired or out of place you feel. This isn’t about being perfect; it’s about progress. The idea is to get an idea of what that border is and learning to push past it, even if it takes getting yelled at for an hour to do it. This is almost always the best way to start. If that isn’t enough, take a boot camp course or get a trainer (article on picking the right trainer to come). Now let’s get more specific on intensity. In general if you are in good health (please consult your physician before beginning a hard regimen), you should be getting your heart rate up between 70-80% of your heart rate for cardio workouts and try to keep it there for as long as you can for now. To find that out simply subtract your age from 220, and that will give you your 100%. Multiply that by 0.7 and 0.8 to give you that range (i.e. 220 – 35yrs = 185 max heart rate, then 185 x 0.7 and 0.8 = a target heart range of 130-148 for a kick-butt fat-shredding workout). Buy yourself a heart monitor if you don’t want to be held to a machine, or you can always use the one built into the machines if that is where you plan to be. Weight training in itself is a whole other article that we will approach later, but for now, find a great class, boot camp, or trainer that will do the trick. Well, that’s it for now ladies. That is how to shred the body fat off your bodies in a nutshell. Fuel your bodies and push them hard, and they will reward you with heavenly curves to die for. Days of starvation and silly diets are numbered if I have anything to do about it (and I do). There is always more depth to all these subjects, so stay tuned and make sure to voice your opinions and questions in Agenda’s health blog. I promise to help as much as I can as our new health relationship develops. Until we meet again, I bid you all adieu, fair ladies. * All Information from this article is taken from Fitness: The Complete Guide, Frederick C. Hatfield, PhD – Edition 8.6.6, 735pgs, International Sports Science Association. By Anthony Heredia |
How to Drop a Dress Size in a Month the Right Way
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How to Drop a Dress Size in a Month the Right Way
I would love to focus on empowering readers of all levels of health awareness, so I have decided to give you a nice, simple general overview of how to drop a dress size in about a month (and keep the weight off). But for those nutrition buffs, I will be adding more technical info in our “Health 101” section, which will include more technical specifics for everything. That way you have a choice on how deep you would like to go into our subject.
So now back to that pesky weight we want to just fall off. The easiest way to get your bodies to lose those bothersome pounds is to make your body feel safe.
So what do you mean by safe? Why doesn’t my body feel safe?
Good questions, and now here are some good answers. Well, you see, your body holds onto body fat for what it believes to be good reasons and not just to give you a hard time, as you might think. Remember, your body doesn’t care what you look like. It doesn’t care what car you drive, what job you have, what designer name you’re wearing; who you know, what style is in fashion, what color hair you have, or even who you married. Your body has better things to worry about like, hmmm, survival. So you have to work with your body to get it to do what you want. Your body doesn’t like change, such as weight loss if it is forced. It hates unnecessary change because your body sees it as stress. This is why, when you find a quick way to drop some weight, it comes back with a vengeance, because your body is basically rebelling. The question then is, So how do I get my bratty body to do what I want without putting it in self-defense mode? You give it what it needs. Yup, that’s it! The big secret is out now. Cars need gas, oil, coolant, steering fluid, etc.; and your body is a bit more complicated, so it needs a few things, too. Why our bodies hold onto weight is an article in itself, so you can look forward to that in a future article. So get to it, you say. How do I make it feel safe to get what I want!? Well, aren’t you the eager one! That is a fantastic question, and here is the fantastic answer: eat! I know you have heard it before, but it’s true, and here is how. Why will be in Health 101. First thing you should do is start by eating every 2-3 hours. Start with breakfast within 30-60 minutes of getting up in the morning to kick start your metabolism. What this will do is train your body not to hold onto the weight and basically tell your body that we don’t need the extra weight, so it is safe to let go now. If you eat a little something every 2-3 hours, then there is a steady stream of nourishment coming into your body so it has no strong reason to hold onto its storage, your body fat. You can find out how much you should eat at www.caloriecontrol.org/calcalcs.html. Eating every 2-3 hours is easy, so no excuses. It’s as easy as: cereal with milk and a 2-3 egg white omelet for breakfast; fruit and 7 almonds as a next snack; a sandwich or hearty salad with meat midday; fresh baby carrots and celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, or tons of others, as a next snack; a nice 3-part dinner with half the plate being a favorite veggie, one part 3-4 oz. of lean meat, a cup of rice, beans, pasta, or any other starch of your choice; and finally, some cottage cheese with a little fruit as a night snack, and you’ve got a full on-track day. More ideas for menus to come! It can be easy, ladies. You can take control of your bodies if you want to. The basic idea is to eat a little bit at least 6 times a day every 2-3 hours, and your body will feel safe to let that weight go, even without calorie counting (specific calories in Health 101), and watch how your body responds. Don’t just take my word for it. How you feel and the shape of your body will tell all. Step two is exercise, which can be so much fun if you let it be. It’s easier than you think. Exercise doesn’t have to be a dreadful thing. Make it fun or a personal challenge. You don’t have to be stuck in a gym staring at the wall and being gawked at to get a good workout, ladies. Think outside the box and expand your horizons. You can swim, bike, jog; take a hike, take a boot camp; power walk with a friend, fly (well maybe not); roller blade, take up a martial arts, play with your kids, play a sport; or my favorite, dance the night away with a feverish step and a twinkle in your eye and your girls or lucky man by your side . . . Heck! Dance at home for goodness sake! The idea is move! The best way to exercise is to do it in a way that gets you to do it again. So eating sensibly every 2-3 hours is the body’s gas, and the magic comes from your finding a way to get that gorgeous figure of yours moving and sweating (I mean glowing because ladies don’t sweat of course, they glow). These two steps will shed a dress size off you in about a month for sure. Now for the impatient ladies who want more sooner, details can be found in Health 101, but the basic idea will be to push harder. So how do I drop that dress size? Well, O. K., I’ll recap it all for you this once, but only once, so pay attention. Step one is eat, please. Aim for every 2-3 hours, and if you’re afraid of heavy calories, then eat 3 square meals a day and graze on fresh veggies all day long, and that will get your body feeling safe with a steady source of food so that it will release that weight. Step two is to work out at least 3 times a week in one way or another, as long as you get moving and sweating (excuse me, I mean glowing) and go back for more. Remember to push hard enough to feel challenged, or else you won’t get enough bang for your sweaty buck. Be kind to yourself. Your body and life will be so much better, ladies, so have fun moving that body; and stay close for more updates on shaping the new empowered you. Also, remember that if this didn’t satisfy your thirst, make sure to delve into Health 101 for the nitty gritty of it all. Until we meet again. * All Information from this article is taken from Fitness: The Complete Guide, Frederick C. Hatfield, PhD – Edition 8.6.6, 735pgs, International Sports Science Association. Written by Anthony Heredia |
Why is He Losing Weight Faster? How Girls Can Catch Up
Why is He Losing Weight Faster?
How Girls Can Catch Up
Welcome to a new year full of prosperity coupled with wonderful new levels of health, dear ladies of Agenda. We address the age-old question of why we cursed men hold this unfair advantage in the battle of the bulge and further yet, how to help you reap said benefits. The truth of the matter is that men do have major weight-loss advantages over you lovely ladies, combined with disadvantages as a woman. Fret not though, as there is always a way. The first male advantage involves body composition, enabling men to burn calories at an accelerated rate in comparison to women. Specifically, I am referring to greater amounts of muscle mass, extremely efficient fat burning marvels. Every extra 1 lb of lean muscle devours an extra 50 calories a day by simply existing. Might not sound like much, but should you add an extra 5 lbs of lean muscle mass to your body (which visually is one toner leg), you would burn an extra 500 calories a day. In one week’s time you will have burned 3500 calories, 1 lb of fat, simply due to you having one gorgeously toned leg. (I recommend you tone both together though. Might look odd if you don’t.) This either means you can eat an extra sandwich with 2 pieces of fruit, staying exactly the same size or change no eating habits and naturally lose nearly 1 lb a week. Not bad.
Men have been genetically designed by nature to hold and build more muscle mass, testosterone being the key player in all this. Women on the other hand are predisposed to store and retain fat due to higher levels of estrogen, a hormone that works to keep the fat on a woman’s body so it’s easier for her to become pregnant. That means women have to work harder to lose weight at the same rate as men. Realistically, women do take longer to add on the same muscle a man undergoing the same approach would; yet she will reap the same benefits once packing that gorgeous muscle. Do take note to remember that the male body originated as an expendable yet efficient hunting, gathering, defending machine. Ladies, you were beautifully designed to survive and bring in new and wonderful life into our world. Aesthetics were unfortunately not part of the original grand scheme of things. Take up any complaints with the big architect on that one.
A second grand advantage revolves around men naturally designed for more active lives, combined with faster response to exercise. Women have a lower tolerance for exercise due to smaller lung capacity, leading women to feel as though they are working harder than men even if the women are working at the same level. This makes exercise feel extra difficult in heat and high humidity. Under strenuous, unbalanced conditions, a woman’s body will enter starvation mode easier than a male’s, slowing the metabolism to hang onto more fat in the hopes of self preservation. Research has found that on average the metabolism of a man is 5 to 10 percent higher than that of a woman of the same weight and height. The American Journal of Physiology found that women burn an average of 16 percent fewer daily calories than men. Researchers found that a woman’s resting metabolic rate was 6 percent lower than that of men, along with 37 percent fewer calories burned during physical activity. They inferred that women were simply not moving as much as the men, thus burning fewer calories.
A woman’s edge in weight management stems from her uncanny intuition. Women tend to be more attentive to what’s going on with their bodies and are better able to make the connection between food and emotions, a male weakness. Bottom Line: How to level the playing field.
- Fat-Ravaging Muscle. Build that fat-burning body sculpting muscle mass so that you can eat more guilt-free and reach the highest tiers of your physical goals. I recommend finding a good class in your gym, a credentialed trainer, or a fun DVD program. Strength training can be tricky and one of those things you don’t want to learn by trial and error, as you can get very hurt. Be safe, but go hard. You won’t regret it.
- Extend Your Cardio. New studies reveal that 60 minutes per day minimum for 5 days a week to reap the benefits you seek. Once you are happy with the body that is unfolding, you can pull back to maintenance workout time, which is 3 times a week at your 60 minutes. If you have trouble with that, increase your time incrementally, or dividing up the time in the same day is fine as well.
- Realistic Goals. A realistic rate of loss is 10 percent of your body weight over a few months or 1/2 to 2 pounds a week. Pushing your body to lose too much too fast with unhealthy tricks is the reason people yo-yo. Treat your body right.
Make healthy living a routine. Women are much more disciplined and patient than most men, so make sure to capitalize on this fact. Keep a food diary to keep yourself accountable, make healthy choices a habit as brushing your teeth so that you no longer think about it. It becomes second nature. Choose water over empty calories and educate yourself on all your new changes. Don’t just listen to us health nuts. We read the books, but if your interest should spark, ask why and find your answer. By educating yourself you become that much more committed to yourself. Not a bad investment, I say.
Written by Anthony Heredia
Fitness Book Review 101 Fat-Burning Workouts & Diet Strategies for Men and Women By Muscle Editors of Muscle & Fitness His & Hers
Workouts & Diet Strategies for Men and Women
By Muscle Editors of Muscle & Fitness His & Hers
Muscle & Fitness Magazine has been the leader in health and fitness for nearly 70 years and counting now; so when they speak, we should listen. They have proudly presented two very thorough one-stop-shop-kick-butt fitness books I highly recommend. We are taking a look at 101 Fat-Burning Workouts & Diet Strategies for Women by editors of Muscles & Fitness Hers magazine.
Burn fat and add sexy curves with this progressive eight-week body blast.
-Hers
We are also delving into its male counterpart, 101 Fat-Burning Workouts & Diet Strategies for Men by personal trainer Michael Berg and the editors of Muscle & Fitness magazine.
Ready for a nine-week program that will help you burn off that unwanted flab and get fitter, leaner and stronger than ever before?
-His
I am usually pensive about one-stop-shop books due to the all too often fact that they lean on a gimmick to grab your attention, such as “Hollywood Cookie Diet Plan.” But this is not the case here. First of all, these books are teaming with vivid motivational instructional
photos of exactly what they are asking of you. Gorgeous fit bodies are cascaded amidst the pages to keep you motivated. Along with eye candy, you will find the vital mind candy that will make you eye candy: great realistic and truthful content. The best of information falls on deaf ears if the readers find themselves lost in translation. Clarity is critical to a good workout book. The contents of both publications are organized very effectively, each catering to the needs of its male or female audience. Our guides both include sections dedicated to proper resistance training, nutrition, fitness calendar, cardio, recipes, and very useful tips and tricks. The “Hers” edition is more focused on various cardio, leaning out techniques, and recipes, while the “His” edition is heavier on muscle gaining, performance techniques, and muscle maintenance.
Burn 300 calories in 20 minutes . . .
-Hers
These Muscle & Fitness strategy books have cutting-edge techniques for getting lean fast with real science. They are designed appropriately for those serious about reaching their goals, providing industrial-strength training and professional nutrition advice. “The 101 workouts and diet strategies include expert training advice, cardio programs that incinerate body fat, meal plans to help you look and feel your best, recipes that make eating healthy taste great, and so much more!” I recommend these two programs because of their effective, thorough content, clarity, beautiful layout, and all around intense approach to fitness. You have reading to do. Now get to work. (Sources)
Written By Anthony Heredia
Losing Weight Through Better Sleep
Welcome, Agenda readers, to another exciting look into your health and fitness goals. We are venturing into an absolutely critical aspect of your health this issue, your beauty sleep. Did you know that beauty sleep really does keep you thin, radiant, productive, youthful, and cheerful? Next time someone interrupts your beauty sleep, make sure to make it crystal clear that next time they wake you they will not be around for a second chance. Successful weight loss consists of exercise, nutrition, and self-maintenance. Along with hard hours exercising and proper nutrition, you need to heal and rest your body so that it can make the changes you are asking it to make. Sleep deprivation has been proven to significantly accelerate the aging process, increase fat storage, along with a plethora of other adverse effects. For this article we will focus on weight gain and how to reverse this tragedy. Visit my “Health 101” article for the full story on sleep deprivation and its other vast negative effects on our bodies. Simply to name a few, sleep deprivation results in
o Mood swings
o Accelerated inner and outer aging
o Hindered work performance
o Depression
o Impaired memory
o Magnified alcohol effects on the body
o Inaccurate hunger signals
o Interference with the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates
o Increased craving of carbohydrates and sugar
o Body’s reduced ability to balance fat and muscle
o Possible increased blood pressure
o Increased fat storage
o More in “Health 101” article . . .
Help me! What is going on inside me?
Deep sleep is repair time. Your body needs to catch up from the day’s toils. Should you deprive it, it has no choice but to defend itself, resulting in a destructive attack on your health and beauty. This is not personal, ladies; it is survival. Yes, I know that in today’s fast paced busy world sleep can be a very inefficient part of your schedule, but consider the price you are paying. “Sleeping is so overrated” seems to be the LA mantra. Sleep deprivation interferes with the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates and causes high blood levels of glucose (sugar), which leads to higher insulin levels and greater body fat storage. The hormonal imbalance between leptin and ghrelin is actually the largest internal battle, transforming you into a carbohydrate/sugar craving, fat storing machine. You also begin to produce reduced amounts of growth hormone, which is what helps regulate the body’s proportions of fat to muscle. This is reducing the muscle that helps you burn that evil fat in the first place.
What is all this hormone imbalance talk about?
Leptin and ghrelin are our focus. They work in a kind of “yin and yang” system to balance the feelings of hunger and fullness. Ghrelin is produced in the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates appetite, while its counterpart leptin is produced in fat cells and sends the signal to our brain that we are full and have no need to store fat. Leptin and this full feeling are triggered exclusively by good fats (Omega-3s, fish, nuts, oils, etc) and fiber. This all ties together as we introduce low amounts of sleep. Sleep deprivation drives leptin levels down, resulting in its taking longer to feel satisfied while eating, driving you to overeat. Lack of sleep also causes ghrelin levels to rise as a self defense mechanism, increasing your appetite for high-fat foods to hit that satiety sweet spot. I am sure I do not need to clarify how stressful it can be not to be able to get much needed sleep. Stress itself increases your cortisol levels, a stress hormone that also puts our bodies in self defense mode by turning the fat storage dial up a few notches in bad times. I hope by now I have convinced you that sleep is not a luxury, it’s a necessity, ladies and gentlemen.
You win, I am listening. How do I fix this?
Sleep! More specifically you need deep recuperative sleep, also known as Delta sleep or NREM sleep. This is the stage in sleep where you dream. This is also the time all repairs take place. Deep sleep is your goal to reverse this process. “Infants can spend up to 50% of their sleep in the REM stage of sleep, whereas adults spend only about 20% in REM,” states the National Sleep Foundation. Please take the time at night to make an event of sleep. Turn off all ambient light and rude distractions in the room (including those you share your bed with) so that your body can reach this delta stage of sleep. If you need white noise (TV or sound) in the room to fall asleep, you will be fine as long as you set a timer for your appliances. You will need to consistently achieve a full night’s sleep for at least one solid week for your body to begin to regulate itself once more. When your body receives consistent rest, it will do the work for you. Combine good rest, proper nutrition, and some regular fun exercise, and I guarantee you a summer body to die for. Look forward to a future article on tips and tricks to getting in a full night’s sleep without sleeping the whole night.
So how much sleep do I need?
According to the National Institute of Health, infants usually require about 16-18 hours of sleep per day, while teenagers need about 9 hours per day on average. Most adults need about 7-8 hours of sleep per day. According to Dr Colette Bouchez of WebMD, “A presentation at the 2006 American Thoracic Society International Conference showed that women who slept 5 hours per night were 32% more likely to experience major weight gain (an increase of 33 pounds or more) and 15% more likely to become obese over the course of the 16-year study, compared to those who slept 7 hours a night.” Reaching your 6-8 hours of sleep a night I know is easier said than done, but as you can see, it is critical to your health, beauty, and in this case, your waistline.
If you enjoyed the information here, make sure to take the in-depth tour in “Health 101” for more reasons to treat yourself to a good night’s sleep.
Sweet dreams, Agenda readers. (Sources)
Written by Anthony Heredia
