OK, you are getting older and you are starting to see the dial on your scale creep up. You know it is not your fault, after all, we all know that slowed metabolism as women get older is something that just happens. Or is it? Is this an inevitable and irreversible side effect of getting older?

Well, I’m not a doctor and I can’t really say for sure but according to what I have read we don’t necessarily have to expect to have slowed metabolism as women get older. As a matter of fact, from what I read, in some ways we are causing the problem ourselves!

You see one of the biggest culprits of a slowing metabolism is the loss of lean muscle mass. As we age we stop being as active as we were when we were younger.

As we become more sedentary the lean muscle mass in our bodies decreases thus slowing our metabolism.

This issue is made worse when we start to see the numbers on the bathroom scale getting higher and higher. Many of us will then mistakenly try to cut down on our food intake.

This only makes things worse because then our body thinks that it is starving so it shuts down as much as possible to conserve energy.

Once that happens we are really heading in a downward spiral. We will continue to gain weight because our metabolism is slowing down so we panic and eat less thus slowing our metabolism down even more.

The good news is that there are a few simple things you can do to combat this trend, it does not have to be an inevitable part of aging.

Here are two of the best things you can do to reverse this trend and keep that trim figure you’ve had up until now:

1. Eat better. That can mean different things to different people. For some of you that will mean to eat less food in general. Some of you may need to cut way back on the amount of bad for you fast food that you eat.

Others may just need to eat more “organic” types of food and steer clear of the overly processed foods. That may include those frozen “good for you” dinners.

As a rule of thumb, anything that is already prepared is not that nutritious. You are almost always better off making all your food from scratch with natural, fresh ingredients.

2. Weight train. If you are wasting hours every week on the cardio machines at your local gym and not doing any weight training, you are wasting your time.

You see endless cycles of cardio can actually burn off your lean muscle mass. Have you ever seen a long distance runner? They look almost emaciated, they sure don’t look healthy. That is because they have very little lean muscle mass.

To really increase your metabolism you should add as much lean muscle mass as possible. And for crying out loud ladies, don’t fret about “bulking up”. You can’t. You don’t have the right hormones to “accidentally” get big. Even if you really wanted to it would be a challenge for most women, you sure aren’t going to do it accidentally.

These are the best ways to combat slowed metabolism as women get older.

Tags: Bathroom Scale, Culprits, Different Things, Downward Spiral, Fast Food, food intake;, Lean Muscle Mass, Losing Weight, Matter Of Fact, Slowing Metabolism, Types Of Food —

Ah, the eternal debate: what are the Advantages of men weight loss versus women weightloss and lack of energy?

There are many elements to this question, do men lose weight more easily than women. And what role does lack of energy play, if any, in weight loss?

First of all, I want to make clear that I am not a doctor, scientist or personal trainer. What I am going to share with you in this article is what I have read and learned. I can not guarantee that it is accurate, but if nothing else, it will give you something to think about.

Ok, do men lose weight more quickly than women? From what I have been able to find out the answer would be “yes”. But it’s not what you may think, and that doesn’t mean it is necessarily “easy” for them either.

You see one of the biggest culprits of weight gain as we age, this goes for both men and women, is loss of lean muscle mass.

This happens for several reasons but the biggest reason is that as we get older we tend to move less. Less movement means that our muscles kind of wither away.

When that happens, and you may not even notice it at first, fat can build up in those “crevices” where the muscle once was. As your lean muscle mass deteriorates your metabolism slows down. This then can become a bad cycle.

Another thing to consider is that being out of shape can lead to a lack of energy. When you are feeling out of energy the last thing you want to do is workout. Again, a downward spiral.

To combat all of this just find the motivation, or hire someone to help you find it, to work out. Eat right, build up your lean muscle mass and you will find that you have more energy and your metabolism will burn hotter making it easier for you to stay at a healthy weight.

To be honest, none of this is rocket science. Today most of us know that a lot of what our parent’s generation thought about staying in shape was wrong.

We know that the idea of eating 3 big meals a day is wrong. All you accomplish by doing that is you flood your body with more calories at one time than it can process.

We now know that it’s better to eat small, healthy meals throughout your day to keep your metabolism burning hot.

We also know that even women need to do some weight training so that they can keep their lean muscle mass too. And we also know that since women don’t have enough of the hormones that build big muscles, it would be impossible for a woman to “bulk up” accidentally.

There may not be as many advantages of men weight loss versus women weightloss and lack of energy as we may have originally thought. To a large degree it seems as if we all have pretty much the same challenges. And it also seems we may all need pretty much the same solutions.

Tags: Calories, Crevices, Culprits, Downward Spiral, Eating Habits, Elements, Eternal Debate, Lack Of Energy, Lean Muscle Mass, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Men And Women, Metabolism, Motivation, Muscles, Personal Trainer, Rocket Science, Scientist, Staying In Shape, Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Weightloss, Workout —

It’s truly amazing there is anything anybody can agree on when it comes to what we eat. It seems as though we are bombarded with new scientific findings and new diet plans on a daily basis. To make matters worse, it often seems as though this information is contradictory. What’s a person to do? Well, you can rest easy, because there are some basic principles of eating that haven’t changed, and aren’t likely to change.

Let’s start with calories. A lot of fad diets do what they can to confuse the issue. They talk of “negative calorie” foods, or how special foods can burn fat. However, it all comes down to this: calories are energy. Therefore, if you want to lose weight, then you have to take in fewer calories than you burn.

If you want to gain weight, then you do the opposite. Also, if you restrict your caloric intake too much, your body will go into starvation mode, and will burn off calories much more slowly, making it harder to lose weight (if that’s your goal). So, that means you shouldn’t go too low in how much you eat, but rather take a sensible approach to your diet.

The other important aspect of calories is that all of them should count. That doesn’t mean you should count your calories and become obsessed with them. What it does mean, however, is that all of the calories you take in should have some nutritional value, or that they should count for something. That means getting rid of any empty calories. One of the biggest culprits here are sweetened soft drinks. these often are loaded with sugar and have zero nutritional value.

Now let’s turn to the fat in our diets. It wasn’t all that long ago that food manufacturers decided to roll out low-fat versions of many different products. This was in the hopes of capturing a share of the health-conscious market. While it is a fact that fat has 9 calories per gram (protein and carbohydrates only have 4), not all fats are the same.

For example, it is widely accepted that there is no healthy amount of trans fats; therefore you should do your best to completely eliminate them from your diet. Saturated fats are the next worst, but you can have some in your diet without too much worry, though you should limit them. Then there are the two categories of healthy fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. You can’t necessarily eat as many of these as you want, but if you are going to be eating fats (and you should get some), then these are the better choices.

All eating really comes down to these two basic things: calories and fat. What diet plan you follow doesn’t matter as much as how you eat. So, when choosing an eating plan, be sure to look it over and that it also takes a sensible approach. When you do this, you will not only feel better about being on a healthy plan, you will also be much more likely to stick to it.

Tags: Atkins, Caloric Intake, Calories, Conscious Market, Count Calories, Culprits, Daily Basis, Diet Plans, Different Products, Eating Habits, Empty Calories, Fad Diets, Fats, Fewer Calories, Food Manufacturers, Healthy Diet, Healthy Eating, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Negative Calorie Foods, Nutritional Value, Protein, Sensible Approach, Soft Drinks, Starvation Mode —

Gastric bypass surgery is a weight loss procedure that results in major changes not only in the body, but also in ones lifestyle. To be able to adapt well to those changes, a patient needs to bear in mind these guidelines that ensure success after the surgery. Success means maintaining a healthy weight and preventing the possibility of regaining weight.

1. Avoid foods that are not nutritious. The culprits for weight gain are foods and liquids that are rich in calories, fat, and sugar. These include soda, milk shakes, alcohol, and sugar-rich desserts. These foods do not provide nutrients; instead, they cause hunger pangs and vomiting. Avoid them so that you do not out your weight loss effort to waste. Make sure that your diet is rich in protein, and include lots of fruits and vegetables.

2. Avoid foods that cause discomfort. Sticky, dry, and fibrous foods such as pasta, rice, bread, and meat are usually a no-no for bypass surgery patients. Soda is also not allowed because it causes bloating, gas pain, and even pressure in the stomach.

3. Avoid snacking between meals. This will only hurt your chances of keeping a healthy weight.

4. Avoid drinking liquids immediately before, during, or after meals. Filling your stomach with liquids instead of foods will deprive you of your much-needed nutrients for healing and recovery. Be sure to drink fluids at least 30 minutes before and after your meals. And of course, avoid drinking fluids while eating meals.

5. Refrain from drinking alcoholic and caffeinated drinks. Alcohol does more harm than good for people who have gone through weight loss surgery. Devoid of calories, alcohol can cause stomach ulcers. Caffeine have the same effect, aside from working against hydration in the body.

6. Contact your surgeon if problems arise. If you experience one or more of the following problems, call your surgeon immediately: extreme pain in the legs, shortness or difficulty of breathing, fever, bleeding of the incisions, and dark stools.

7. Maintain your follow-up visits after the surgery. This will make it easier for you and your surgeon to monitor and assess your progress. Also, this will result in early detection of problems such as surgical complications and nutritional deficiencies.

8. Keep yourself from getting pregnant for two years following surgery. Because your body is undergoing weight months after the surgery, it may not be able to support a baby. This will be unhealthy for both of you and the fetus. Ask your surgeon for advice in case you plan on getting pregnant.

9. Join a support group. Coping with the aftermath of the surgery may be much easier if you do it with the help of other people. There are many support groups formed to provide emotional support and advice for people who have undergone weight loss surgery. Search for these groups on the Internet; for sure, you can find one within or near your locality.

10. Find ways to cope with stress. Stress usually leads to comfort eating, which is not good for people who have had weight loss surgery. Listen to your favorite music, read books, meet up with friends, and do whatever you can to effectively deal with stress.

You will get the best results from gastric bypass surgery if you follow the guidelines mentioned above.

Tags: bloating;, Bread And Meat, Bypass Surgery, Caffeinated Drinks, Cause Discomfort, Culprits, Extreme Pain, Fever, Fibrous Foods, Fruits And Vegetables, gas pain, Gastric Bypass Surgery, Hunger Pangs, Hydration, Inci, Incisions, Liquids, Maintaining A Healthy Weight, Nutrients, Nutritional Deficiencies, Pain In The Legs, pain;, Rice Bread, Stomach Ulcers, surgeon, surgery, Surgery Patients, vomiting, Weight Gain, Weight Loss Surgery —