Due to the enormous amount of information about diet universal on the internet, people who want to lead healthy lives end up being confused as to which diet will help them achieve their goals – mostly weight management.
The pendulum of which “diet” works keeps swinging back and forth. People try changing to different diets but only a few are lucky to find one that helps them to successfully manage their health.
Diet debate almost dying
Every now and then, people trying to reduce weight through dieting confess “cheating on their diets”.
The major reason for failing to keep up with a diet plan is that the plan is not parallel to the person’s lifestyle.
Often, lifestyle is the best partner when it comes to eating and living healthy. A diet that goes well with your lifestyle is easy to maintain.
The realization that lifestyle comes before diet is triggered by the knowledge that the body is not a machine that efficiently produces output according to the input.
Body systems are integrated in such a way that improvement of the whole depends on how well all the systems are coordinated. For example, a person desiring to reduce weight may take healthy food always but fail to handle emotional distress.
According to research, stress leads to weight gain in some people. Having a lifestyle that supports the well-being of the entire body is the only way to achieve healthy living.
Researchers suggest that lifestyle comes before diet
World-renowned researchers like Bradley Appelhans of the Rush University Medical Center and Sherry Pagoto of the University of Massachusetts Medical have suggested an end to the diet debates that are so frequent in weight management circles.
In their journals, they write that different diets are equally good as they are bad in helping one lose weight. They support their case that lifestyle changes can collectively handle diet and other aspects of healthy living.
Starving yourself is not a healthy way to restrict how many calories you consume. Research now shows that eating 6 smaller meals a day can help you achieve your summer weight loss goals, as opposed to the traditional thinking that 3 complete meals a day is best. You can seriously put your health at risk if you limit your calorie consumption too drastically.
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More and more people are victims of a “roller coaster diet” while trying to lose weight. Diet plans that restrict your calories decrease your body’s metabolism, and as a result your body will experience starvation. When this occurs, your body doesn’t use a lot of calories, and that leads to extreme hunger.
To increase your body’s metabolic rate, you should eat 5 or 6 smaller meals each day. Your metabolism will increase, and thus burn more calories all day long. You can further increase your metabolism by eating foods high in protein during your 6 meals.
Eating regularly will boost your metabolism due to the thermic effect of food.
You need a lot of calories to digest and absorb food, creating the thermic effect.
Different foods have different percentages of thermic effect, ranging from 3 to 30 percent. High protein foods have a 30 percent thermic effect. Some examples are turkey, salmon, and tuna. By simply digesting, 30 percent of the calories in these foods are burned. 20 percent of the calories found in fibrous and complex carbohydrates are burned during digestion. Some examples of these foods are corn, broccoli, green beans, and spinach. Foods with a very low thermic effect include refined carbohydrates and fats. This is the reason why dietary fat is stored so easily.
Your level of hunger will diminish while your energy level rises when you eat 5-6 smaller meals each day. You will also be able to maintain balanced blood sugar levels, which will help prevent hunger.
You can develop muscle to increase your metabolism. By eating regularly, you can maintain insulin levels which produce amino acids into your muscle’s cells, thus promoting muscle growth. Eating every 3 hours will yield a steady output of insulin. This is good for muscle growth and storing glycogen. As a result of eating healthy foods regularly, your summer weight loss goals will be easier to accomplish, and your body will be able to process vitamins and minerals more effectively.
The trick is to make sure you have a constant eating schedule. It might be difficult at first, but planning your meals will be well worth it. To prevent cravings and hunger, it’s good habit to feed your body foods that are rich in nutrients. A summer weight loss plan including a diet of healthy fats, vegetables, fruit, and lean protein is the best way to go. Eating such a diet with 5-6 meals each day can accelerate your muscle growth. It can increase your energy level, increase your metabolism, and you’ll burn half of the calories by eating regularly, and store very little fat.
Combine your diet with strength training and cardiovascular exercise to make it even more effective! Using these three methods, you’ll be on the fast track to burning fat and accomplishing your summer weight loss goals.
Bikram yoga was founded in the 1970s by the yoga teacher Bikram Choudhury. It is also commonly referred to as hot yoga, though there are other types of yogas also being done in hot studios these days. Bikram is also referred to as “boot camp” because it drills students in every 90-minute lesson using the same two breathing exercises and 26 Hatha yoga postures done in the same pattern.
Hot Yoga
In the studio, temperatures range from 80F to 110F, with a relative humidity of around 75%. This is thought to mimic the conditions in India, the birthplace of Hatha yoga, the most ancient form of yoga which dates back to around 1500 BC.
The second theory behind the heat is that it relaxes and lengthens muscles to give a better workout. It is also said to promote weight loss and release toxins from the body. Those who favor Bikram also say it boosts the immune system.
However, doing vigorous yoga poses in such conditions can cause severe dehydration and pose a serious health risk for anyone who has any heart health issues. Therefore, while Bikram studios are popping up everywhere these days, is not recommended for seniors or anyone with an underlying health concern.
Physical Emphasis
Yoga means union – the union of mind, body and spirit. Bikram, on the other hand, is a modern invention that emphasizes physical strength. Yoga is supposed to be non-competitive, but the founder encourages yoga pose competitions to see who can come up with the perfect pose, in order to win various awards.
Bikram Pros and Cons
Bikram came from Bengal on the Indian subcontinent and brought his version of yoga to the US through Hawaii and California. It has gained in popularity due to the novelty of the hot studios and the ease of only having to learn 26 Hatha yoga postures out of the thousands available. These poses can give a good workout in themselves, with little need for a hot studio.
In addition to the health benefits mentioned above, the heat is also supposed to help increase willpower as people struggle to carry out their practice in such difficult conditions. Willpower or not, excessive sweating can cause electrolyte imbalances and result in heart rhythm issues.
If students don’t drink plenty of water before, during and after their workout, they can experience dehydration, which can also pose a serious health risk. Dehydration can lead to an irregular heartbeat and to lower blood volume. Low blood volume can in turn lead to hypovolemic shock, which can even lead to death if not treated promptly.
Bikram Asanas
If you like the postures of Bikram, you should be able to do them anywhere to improve your body without dying of heat prostration. You can find simple posters with each of the asanas listed that you can follow along with. There is no meditation component with Bikram as there is with other forms of yoga.
Is Bikram Right for You?
In addition to the hot studios and asana drilling, Bikram is often referred to as “cult-like” rather than warm and welcoming. The founder and the teachers on his teacher training program have also recently been accused of systematic sexual misconduct with their students.
Any exercise is better than none in most cases, of course, but there are a range of yogas to choose from. Pick a style that matches your age, fitness level and interests. Compare and choose the safest and healthiest for you, with a studio to match.YOGA
There are a number of different kinds of yoga – some ancient, and some modern inventions which emphasize different aspect of yoga.
What Is Hatha Yoga?
Yoga means union; the union of mind, body and spirit. Hatha is the most traditional of the yogas and has been practiced for thousands of years in India and the Far East.
The name Hatha means willful or forceful. The word is also a combination of hat (sun) and ha (moon). It works with the energy centers of the body, flesh and bone. The main focus is on surrendering to and perfecting the many poses, and using yoga for health, healing and personal transformation.
Hatha yoga is part of traditional Ayurvedic, that is, Indian medicine. In traditional Eastern forms of medicine, doctors treat not just the physical body but the energy body, also called the subtle body. It is thought to be comprised of channels, loops, meridians and chakras – that is, energy centers in the body.
If a surgeon cut you open, they wouldn’t see the chakras, but Hatha posits that they are there and balance the energy for healing purposes and overall wellbeing. Chinese acupuncture and acupressure, Reiki, Shiatsu and other healing modalities also work on the theory of balance and stimulating the energy in the body.
Hatha Poses
Many modern types of yoga focus mainly on the poses, or asanas, the physical side of yoga. Hatha yoga aspires to create balance in all things. There are different levels of poses, and therefore different classes and DVDs you can try.
Improved Concentration
Hatha improves mental concentration through meditation, chanting mantras like OM, and to some extent, breath work. With breath work, you learn how to breathe in different patterns with different purposes, such as a cooling breath or a heating breath that increases energy.
At One with the Breath
The Sanskrit word for breath work is pranayama. Prana means life-force, ayama to regulate or lengthen. In other words, practicing pranayama can improve one’s health and vitality through the breath. The breath work is very useful for eliminating toxins from the body and improving the immune system.
A Union of Body, Mind and Spirit
Yoga is not just about the body beautiful. It is considered to be a way of connecting with our inner selves so we can open up to connecting with others. This can be achieved through meditation. Meditation can also include breath work and chanting.
The Benefits of Hatha
Hatha has been shown to offer increased energy, less stress, better moods and sleep, and decreased anxiety. It lowers blood pressure and can help you lose weight more easily by boosting your metabolism.
Who Can Practice It?
Hatha is ideal for people of all ages because it is low impact and you can work at a safe and sensible pace. Even those with health issues can benefit from Hatha yoga. When done carefully with the help of expert guidance, Hatha can help relieve back, joint and muscle pain. The pranayama can help with allergies, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD.
Meditation helps improve focus, concentration and memory, all ideal for seniors who want to maintain a busy, active lifestyle no matter what their age.
With all of these benefits, now might be the best time to check out your local yoga studios to see which of them offer Hatha. Try an introductory class and see what a difference Hatha yoga can make to your health.
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