August 15th, 2009
Doctors use several equations to calculate how many calories a person should eat each day to maintain a stable weight. The most precise ones include height, weight, age, sex, activity level, and stressors like an injury or disease. The simplest way to estimate your daily target for calories is to multiply your weights in pounds by :-
- 12 if you are sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 13.5 if you are somewhat active (light exercise one to three days a week)
- 15.5 if you are moderately active (moderate exercise like brisk walking - you break into sweat - three to five days a week)
- 17 if you are highly active (vigorous exercise or sports six to seven days a week)
- 19 if you are highly active (daily vigorous exercise or sports and a physical job)
For example, a somewhat active person who weighs 45 pounds (66 Kg) needs about 1950 calories a day (145 times 13.5) to keep a steady weight.
To lose weight, start by reducing your intake by 250 calories per day. That’s one can of cola and two butter cookies, or 50 gms of potato chips. If you keep that up for a year, you could shed 20 pounds. Add in more exercise, and you could make it 30 pounds.
Tags: Cola, Exercise, Height, Potato Chips, Weight
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July 16th, 2009
If you indulge into high-fat foods occasionally you may be able to avoid weight gain by staying active. A recent study from the University of Wisconsin in Madison found that regular exercise helps the body fire up metabolism more quickly to adjust for an increase in fat intake.
The researchers assigned a group of 10 sedentary women to exercise at two different intensity levels as they switched from a low-fat diet (with 30 percent of calories from fat) to a high fat diet (50 percent of calories from fat). The team then compared the volunteers’ ability to burn calories when the women were sedentary when they burned up 150 calories during an hour on a stationary bicycle, or when they burned 300 calories on the exercise bike over a two-hour period. The more each woman exercised, the faster she was able to burn fat calories after switching to a four-day high fat diet. The team reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
It’s not clear why exercise helped the women burn more fat calories. Dietary fat is often stored in fatty tissue, rather than sent to muscle tissue where it is used for energy. Working out may have helped shift dietary fat toward more metabolically active tissues, like muscle, and could have increased the activity of fat-burning enzymes in muscles, the researchers speculate. So another good reason to get a move on and control one’s own health destiny and at the same time enjoy the taste of favorite dishes which many avoid in order to look good.
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This article is submitted by guest webmaster Rachel. She is a webmaster of weight loss pills website. You can find easy weight loss tips and many diet plans ideas on her website.
Tags: Calories, Enzyme, Fat
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June 25th, 2009
Doctors from the University of California, Los Angele’s (UCLA) David Geffen School of Medicine have, for the first time, successfully proved that obese patients fare better and have more chances of survival when admitted for acute heart failure than leaner counterparts.
In the first-ever extensive study to assess the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and survival in patients hospitalized with acute heart failure, doctors have found the obesity paradox- BMI is inversely associated with long-term mortality in chronic heart failure - to be real.
Doctors have found that by weight category, in-hospital mortality rate was 6.3 percent for underweight, 4.6 percent for healthy weight, 3.4 percent for over weight and 2.4 percent for obese patients. They have also found that for every five-unit increase in body mass, the chances of risk-adjusted mortality fell 10 percent, irrespective of patient age, sex, blood urea nitrogen, blood pressure and additional prognostic factors.
Tags: Blood Pressure, Body Mass Index, Heart Failure, Mortality Nitrogen, Obese
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June 1st, 2009
Plant foods like wholegrain cereals, legumes (beans, peas, lentils, peanuts etc.), fruits and vegetables are good for the heart and decrease the risk of heart disease. Omega 3 fatty acid lowers cholesterol, improves blood vessel elasticity and thins the blood, thereby reducing the chances of blood-clot. Olive oil, tuna and salmon varieties of fish contain Omega 3 fatty acids. About 100-200 gm of such fish should be consumed twice in a week after cooking it in a little oil or by roasting, baking or steaming it. Omega 6 fatty acid can be found in some vegetable oils like corn, soy or sunflower oils.
Fruits and vegetables should be consumed in adequate quantities as the anti-oxidants in them offer protection against heart disease. However, the fiber from wholegrain cereals offers greater protection against the risk of a heart attack than the fiber from fruits and vegetables. Wholegrain breads, breakfast cereals, legumes, unpolished rice and pasta which are sources of unrefined carbohydrate are useful in checking the level of blood sugar. Legumes and soy protein are helpful in lowering the level of blood cholesterol. Nuts like almonds, peanuts and walnuts, eaten unfried and in small quantities, are helpful in giving protection against heart diseases. Green tea is an anti-clotting agent with anti-oxidant properties which prevents the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries. Around three cups of green tea a day are healthy but it should be avoided after a meal as it hinders the absorption of iron. Another good anti-oxidant is Vitamin E which helps protect against bad cholesterol. Dark green vegetables, vegetable oils, wholegrain products, avocado and almonds with skin are good sources of Vitamin E. Again, one or two cloves of raw garlic, taken early in the morning on an empty stomach, helps in lowering cholesterol. Even onions are good for the heart.
Tags: Almonds, Anti-oxidant, Blood sugar, Cereals, Cholesterol, Heart Disease, Peanuts, Salmon, Sunflower, Vitamin E, Walnuts
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