Weight Loss Sunglasses

This is such an interesting article by
By Glenn Mueller
eDiets Senior Writer/Editor
It doesn't seem to be mentioned in the hit song from the early '80s, but maybe the real reason Corey Hart wears his sunglasses at night is to keep his appetite under control. If you've been following the latest headlines, you'll know that a Japanese company is currently marketing a special line of sunglasses to help dieters lose weight. (As the popular humorist Dave Barry is fond of saying, "I am NOT making this up!")

The Japanese company, Yumetai, claims their magic glasses work in two ways:

Since the lenses are blue, they make food look extremely unappetizing. The company claims that the color blue suppresses the appetite sensors in the brain.
The lenses also block red light, which is said to stimulate the appetite center in the brain.
And to think, all this time I thought the secret to losing weight was to burn off more calories than you take in. I have been wasting valuable time trying to follow a healthy meal plan and get to the gym, when all I really have to do is wear blue sunglasses. Where do I sign up?! I'll wear two pairs at the same time... that way, I'll be sure to lose twice as much weight.

Oh well. In a culture obsessed with instant gratification, I guess it is not surprising that companies keep marketing absurd diet gadgets. After all, they wouldn't keep creating them unless people were buying them. As the great P.T. Barnum once said, "There's a sucker born every minute."

Now, I'm tempted to say that weight-loss sunglasses are the most ridiculous weight-loss product of all time, but I know they have stiff competition. There have been slippers, earrings, patches and even insoles for shoes that were marketed to help people lose weight. Not to mention sauna suits, soaps, stimulating electrodes and vibrating belts.

5 Ultimate Regimes for Lifetime Weight Management

1. Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise has been known as a key to effective fat burn. A fitness program with the main goal of achieving weight loss must include at least three weekly cardio workouts. This translates into 20 to 30 minutes of any physical activity that gets your heart to beat at a rate that's 60 to 90 percent of its maximum.

Cardiovascular exercise involves working the major muscles of the lower body in a continuous, rhythmic fashion. Activities such as brisk walking, jogging, riding a bicycle and jumping rope all qualify as aerobic exercise and should be incorporated into your weekly fat-burning regimen.

2. Strength Training
When you lift weights (or engage in any other type of strength training), you push your body against a challenging (but controllable) level of resistance. If done right, muscles will adapt and grow stronger as they anticipate a progressively more difficult workout.

This muscle growth will take the form of a sculpted and more toned physique, and unless taken to an extreme, will usually not materialize into big and bulky muscles(so women out there, please don't worry). But what about that layer of fat that floats over every inch of your otherwise sculpted body? An increase in lean muscle, if only slight, will result in an increased basal metabolic rate, your body's requirement for fuel at rest. You need your muscles mass to burn up the fat cells. That's the reason why everyone should perform strength training at least twice a week.

3. Flexibility Training and Yoga
Many would question the connection between stretching and fat burning. Flexibility training increases the effectiveness of the rest of your fitness program in many ways. It cuts down on injury and recovery time, reducing next day soreness, getting you back in the gym sooner. Stretching improves performance, balance and speed of motion, allowing you to perform more work in less time.

Incorporating some stretching exercises into an otherwise strength training routine keeps you moving between sets, adding to the overall caloric consumption of your workout. Yoga, with its unique blend of stretching and strengthening exercises, has gained unprecedented popularity. Many fitness enthusiasts, who at one time wouldn't be caught dead in a cat pose, now find themselves attending regular yoga classes -- and looking as lean and fit as ever. This is what I believe to. Yoga actually helps me to understand each part of my body more.

4. Sleep, Rest and Recovery
Lack of sleep or rest is the culprit behind a failed weight loss program. A fitness and weight loss plan, be sure to include adequate recovery periods between workouts. Rest at least 48 hours between full body strength training sessions and limit cardio to no more than 3 to 6 hours a week. If over-trained, your body will break down, you'll lose precious lean muscle mass and actually get fatter. I have experienced that myself when I spin 2 hours a day. I put on weight easily on my waistline.

During sleep, the body's recovery processes go into high gear. Depending on activity levels and individual requirements, get 7 or 8 hours of sound, restful sleep every night. It is essential for good skin too.

5. Relaxation such as Massages are nececessary
Stress has been found to generate dangerously high levels of the naturally occurring hormone cortisol, which is produced by the adrenal glands. Cortisol has a major role in the regulation of blood pressure and cardiovascular function as well as regulation of the body's use of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. When cortisol is secreted, it causes a breakdown of muscle protein, leading to the release of amino acids into the bloodstream. This process can also raise blood sugar levels.

Massages can help us to relax as well as soothe those sore muscles. Going for massages regularly will not only ease muscles soreness, it is also beneficial for our overall well being.

Best Crunch Exercise

Crunches on the fitball is now one of my favorite ab exercises. My instructor, Jeff has been training me on this movement one week ago and I start seeing my lower abs toning up. This exercise really helps define abs more than most of the other exercises. Position yourself with back on the ball making sure that it is adequately inflated. Be sure your low back is well supported. Position your hands behing your head and slowly roll your back down over the ball then begin to lift up feeling a strong abdominal contraction by lifting your lower abs simultaneously and repeat the movement 12 times. To increase difficulty, you can complete one crunch by counting 3 or 4 counts before lowering yourself. Perform three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Be sure to relax your neck and your arms are always parallel to your ears.

Tight and Toned Abs again

NUTRITION:

This is the most important component to achieving a flat abs. First, you'll need to control blood sugar levels in order to lose body fat. This is best accomplished by consuming four to six meals per day. Don't mistake the definition of a meal for a six-course extravaganza. They are actually feedings. Each of the meals is comprised of protein, a little carbohydrate and a little fat.


RATIOS:

It's unlikely that you'll get tight abs and a flat stomach by consuming 80 percent of your calories from carbohydrates. Ratios can vary quite a bit, but consuming more than 55 percent of your calories from carbohydrate will not be optimal for fat loss.



TIMING:

I realize four to six meals sounds like a lot, but you must keep in mind that the body is always seeking to store body fat. It (the body) doesn't care if you want to lose fat. In fact, your body would prefer to keep fat in order to accomplish its number one goal of keeping you alive in case of a future famine or drought

Always consider the body from the inside out and not the other way around. In order to control blood sugar, eat every two to three hours throughout the day. When using the most effective nutrient ratios, this helps to control blood sugar (which, in turn, assists in body fat loss).



CALORIES:

Many of us are still consuming too many calories. It doesn't matter how healthy your nutrition program is if you're eating too much. It's important that you find maintenance calories first. Maintenance represents the amount of food you consume without any change in your weight. This will take some experimentation and some effort. Observation and trial and errors are what you need to do. Until then, you will not know what is the right amount of food to consume without putting on weights.


SLIGHT CALORIC DEFICIT:

After you have found maintenance, simply reduce your calories by 200. Our goal is to have you eating as much as possible and still losing fat and retaining muscle. But you must not starve yourself and thereby slowing the metabolism and losing valuable muscle tissue. The goal is to preserve muscle and make your body a metabolic inferno.


CONSISTENCY:

You'll need to be on this nutrition program six days a week with one day being somewhat of a cheat day. Unlike many, I'm not a big fan of the "cheat" day. I find that people tend to use it as an excuse to gorge themselves.

So, on Sunday for example, you're allowed to have some pizza, a bit of ice cream, etc. But nothing extreme! When you pig out, blood sugar levels can be elevated for seven hours or more. This will absolutely halt your body fat loss and actually backfire.



WEIGHT TRAIN:

At this point, you should be aware of the importance of resistance training. Just three to four workout sessions lasting no more than 35 minutes to an hour will do the trick. For every pound of muscle on your body, you'll burn 30-50 additional calories per day.

Part of your program should include abdominal exercises to strengthen and build the abs. That way, when you achieve your low body fat level, your abs will be tight.

By the way, there is one great movement to help pull the stomach inwards; however, I'll cover that in a future abdominal exercise article. I have to give you some reason to come back, right?



CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE:

Perform three to five days per week of moderate cardio exercise for approximately 30-40 minutes. During two of the days, you can exercise at a higher intensity level to accelerate fat loss -- but, only if you reach a sticking point. Do this consistently, keep adjusting calories SLIGHTLY and change your routine every three to four weeks. You will get a flatter stomach!


Extracted from an article contributed by Raphael Calzadilla.

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