Figure out what your BMI (body mass index) is

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bminojs.htm

How to Speed up Your Metabolism Naturally

Research shows it's not just fat burning foods that speed metabolism, metabolism is also influenced by the size and timing of your meals.

So included with these best fat burning foods are ways you need to change your daily eating routines in order to speed up your metabolism.

1. Eat more often. Begin with breakfast and eat at least 4, preferably 5 or 6, meals a day. Every time you eat it revs up your metabolism. On the other hand, skipping or going for long periods of time without eating causes your metabolism to slow down.

2. Have small mini-meals. Eating small, frequent meals keeps your blood sugar stable, fuels your metabolism and gives you sustained energy. If possible, taper calories to fit your daily energy output – breakfast would be your biggest meal (but not too big). And your last meal of the day, at least 4 hours before bedtime, would be your lightest meal.

3. Choose maxi-metabolism foods. Focus on whole food high fiber carbohydrates for fat burning energy. And countless studies show that good quality protein helps you build lean muscle and lose fat, so include enough protein at every meal. Also make sure you take nutritional health supplements to get sufficient vitamins, minerals and nutrients.

4. Spice up your dishes. Hot and spicy seasonings, such as chilies, mustard and curry have been found to raise metabolism by up to 40% for two or three hours. Just make sure your spicy dish is not a high calorie meal or you'll undo the fat burning advantage.

5. Drink ice cold water. Water makes up 70 to 80% of your blood and brain, so it's essential to good health. And now German researchers have found dieters can increase their metabolic rate by as much as 30% by drinking 17 ounces of cold water. Actually, just being cold increases your metabolism. Your body has to burn about 100 calories to get warmed back up to normal temperature. Plus, thirst is often mistaken for hunger, so staying hydrated can help keep you from overeating too.

6. Switch to green tea. Studies show green tea can speed up metabolism and help burn fat. So consider exchanging your morning cup of java for a mug of green tea – especially since it's also been shown to be a good source of antioxidants.

7. Get an optimum level of good fats. According to fish oil and weight loss research, certain specific omega 3 fatty acids are important for their fat conversion abilities. Essential fatty acids are also necessary to keep your thyroid and other hormonal glands working optimally.

Omega 3 and weight loss

recent study that was published in the international journal of obesity, researchers want to find out if by supplementing the diet with omega 3 fish oil (good fat) would increase the number of fat calories burned in a single day.

The two groups were fed exactly the same diet apart from one group were fed 6 grams of fat in the form of butter, olive oil, sunflower oil and peanut oil, the other group were given 6 grams of omega 3 fish oil.
The fish oil group were given 8 capsules per day, 2 in the morning, 3 at lunch and 3 in the evening.

The Total daily intake of omega 3 long chain fatty acids was 1.8 grams.
The out come of the test results were fairly conclusive.

The table below shows you the changes in fat oxidation, body fat, and metabolic rate after three weeks for the groups with or without fish oil

	without fish oil	with fish oil
Measurement of body fat lost	0.7pounds	-2 pounds
Daily metabolic rate	1710 calories	1775 calories

These results show that the group who were supplementing with fish oil burned about 1.1 milligram of fat per kilo per minute. This is roughly 26% higher than the other group who weren’t supplementing with the fish oil.

One of the key reasons as to why omega 3 fish oil has such a powerful effect on fat metabolism is that the insulin levels were 50% lower when subjects used the fish oil. Insulin is a hormone that reduces the use of fat for fuel, while also promoting fat storage in the presence of excess calories.

Insulin increases the activity of an enzyme known to promote the storage of fat.

Insulin inhibits the action of hormone sensitive lipase, which is responsible for breaking down stored fat and preparing it for use as energy.

Insulin also activates an enzyme, which, along with fatty acid synthesis, is responsible for converting carbohydrate into fat.

Simply put, high levels of insulin make it less likely that your body will use stored fat as a fuel source. The drop in insulin levels when subjects used the fish oil would have allowed more fat to be used for energy.

Overweight (excess weight) and obesity (excess body fat) are commonly assessed by reference to the Body Mass Index, which measures the relationship between height and weight. Although the Body Mass Index has drawbacks (eg. it doesn't measure body fat), it is a useful guide to weight-related health risks.

To Calculate Body Mass Index

- Simply divide your weight (pounds) by your height (inches) squared.
Multiply the result by 705.

-

For example:

- if you weigh 160 pounds with a height of 5 feet 4 inches (64 inches), the body mass index formula runs:

Step 1. (160) divided by (64 x 64 = 4096) = 0.039
Step 2. 0.039 x 705 = 27.4
Result: Your body mass index is 27.4 (overweight).

Normal Weight, Overweight or Obesity

· Normal weight means having a body mass index of 19-24.99

· Overweight means having a body mass index of 25-29.99

· Obesity means having a body mass index of 30+

Facts About Overweight

· Less than half of U.S. adults have a healthy weight.[9]

· Almost two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight. [8]

· All adults (20+ years old): 129.6 million (64.5 percent)
Women (20+ years old): 64.5 million (61.9 percent)
Men (20+ years old): 65.1 million (67.2 percent)

Facts About Obesity

· Nearly one-third of U.S. adults are obese (BMI > 30).[8]

· All adults (20+ years old): 61.3 million (30.5 percent)
Women (20+ years old): 34.7 million (33.4 percent)
Men (20+ years old): 26.6 million (27.5 percent)

Overweight and Obesity Trends

· The prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults has steadily increased over the years among both genders, all ages, all racial/ethnic groups, all educational levels, and all smoking levels.

· From 1960 to 2000, the prevalence of overweight (BMI > 25 to <>

· The prevalence of obesity (BMI > 30) during this same time period more than doubled from 13.3 to 30.9 percent, with most of this rise occurring in the past 20 years

· From 1988 to 2000, the prevalence of extreme obesity (BMI > 40) increased from 2.9 to 4.7 percent, up from 0.8 percent in 1960.

· The prevalence of overweight and obesity generally increases with advancing age, then starts to decline among people over 60.

The facts about carbohydrates

Carbohydrate foods have been misunderstood for years. Numerous scientific studies show that healthy carbohydrates are an essential part of a nutritious diet

Bad carbs (high glycemic index cabs) cause dangerous spikes in blood sugar. While good carbs (low glycemic index carbs) keep you healthy and fit.

Low glycemic healthy carbohydrates, such as whole grains, beans and most vegetables, are slowly absorbed into the blood stream. But high glycemic carbs, like sugar, white bread, white pasta and white rice, are rapidly absorbed, causing high and low blood sugar swings.

Eating high glycemic carbohydrates forces your pancreas to produce an insulin surge to lower your blood sugar as fast as possible. Your body does this by converting sugar into fat.

Your blood sugar then drops way down out of the high danger zone into the low blood sugar zone. The spiking-then-dropping insulin workout your body goes through makes you feel ravenously hungry.

What's more, insulin keeps you from metabolizing the fat you've got stored. And, when you're feeling hungry, since you can't burn your excess fat, you have to eat more food for energy.

Make smart choices!!!

Inadequate Sleep Undermines Fat Loss Efforts

Authors of a research study published in the latest issue of the medical journal, Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that a lack of sleep has a profound impact on the fat loss process. Researchers compared the difference between receiving 8.5 hours of sleep per night and 5.5 hours per night. Study subjects slightly reduced caloric intake (the amount of calories consumed on a daily basis). The results were incredibly interesting: Subjects who received less sleep lost a significant amount of lean muscle tissue (not good) and lost very little fat tissue (also not good). Those who received 8.5 hours of sleep lost primarily fat and retained muscle tissue.

The take home-message of the study: When we try to lose weight, it is imperative that we are receiving adequate sleep. If our sleep is compromised, we will find it very difficult to lose fat and will be much more likely to lose muscle tissue (our ally in fighting fat long term).

New Year's Resolutions

January, the month of new beginnings, resolutions, life changing goals. Make them last through the year and you got something. Most of us pick goals too lofty or unrealistic. Or worse yet choose a goal but do not choose the proper path to get there.

Weight loss has to be the number resolution out there.

In our office we have a fantastic No Fad Weight Loss plan. It is not a fad because we will find the areas that need changing in your life and give you the solution for it. You have gotten the way you are by doing certain things. If you keep doing those same things, you will not change. According to Einstein expecting to change as such is the definition of insanity. It might be the type of food you are eating, the quantity, the lack of proper exercise, the type of exercise; it could be a hormonal issue, a candida issue or issues with toxicity in your system. Something is preventing you from losing weight. Let’s find out what it is and correct it. We will help you look AND feel the way you want to.

During the month of January I will devote this blog to tips about weight loss.