Hypothyroidism Diet for Weight Loss

There exists a complex relationship between hypothyroidism, BMR and body weight. Hypothyroidism slows down body’s metabolism as a resulting in weight gain. The extra weight gained during hypothyroidism is also the result of water retention which is very common symptom of hypothyroidism. One has to be careful while attempting to lose weight as in hypothyroidism the person’s metabolism is already low and crash diets can lower it further.

Hypothyroidism causes insulin resistance in the body resulting in weight gain. Carbohydrate intake needs to be monitored to avoid any chances of developing diabetes. To manage weight during hypothyroidism is challenging and therefore requires professional guidance to help you get on track. For thyroid patients simply cutting calories from the diet is not effective in bringing about the weight loss because already their metabolism is on the slower side. They require a combination of diet and exercise to achieve the goal. Exercise is critical to regulate the metabolism and burn calories.

Here are some basic dos and donts of a hypothyroid diet recommended by diet experts:

Diet: The diet for the hypothyroid patient on a weight loss plan should essentially be low in carbohydrates. Avoid pastas, potatoes, yam, and sweet potato, include more of complex carbohydrates in the form of fiber rich foods like whole cereals, vegetables, whole pulses etc. The diet need to be restricted in terms of high glycemic  foods such as corn, white bread, refined flour, muffins, cakes,  rich desserts etc.

The other important food that need to be avoided for hypothyroidism are goitrogens like soya and its products, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, mustard greens, cauliflower, radishes, turnips, spinach, strawberry, peaches, pears, peanuts etc. Goitrogens are the substances that interfere with the thyroid functioning and avoiding them provide relief from the symptoms. Read more

Eat Vegetables to Lose Weight

According to the recently released food plate the average daily dietary allowance one requires atleast 3 portions of  seasonal vegetables to meet the daily dietary intake. Most of us find it difficult to successfully meet this dietary requirement resulting in poor health, weight gain and nutritional deficiencies. Besides eating vegetables can actually help you lose weight.

There are many excuses for missing the most natural foods in their diet, some of which are eating greens is a task and we purposely skip them, they are tasteless, while some people assure you that they have vegetables in their diet and when asked to review their meals that’s the only thing that’s missing from the diet. Before we get started with the tips let us just give you a quick reminder on why vegetables are good for us:

• The most natural  and easily available food that contains different vitamins, minerals and thousands of other plant chemicals.
• Vegetables are low in fat and calories,
• Good source of dietary fiber and provide us with extra energy. Fiber keeps us fuller for long preventing us from overeating and  frequently eating.
• Vegetables provide more energy to the body in return helping us be active and burn more calories.

Vegetables are not tasteless and infact can have better flavor & texture than most meats if prepared well. Besides we know the health benefits of seasonal vegetables. If you are not use to eating them we can suggest easy ways of slowly  introducing them to your diet them and finally develop a taste for them. Once you have them as part of your diet trust us you will wonder what kept you away from them for so long! Read more

Fitho’s Outdoor Training Program is Your Ideal Fitness Buddy

Have tried joining a gym but paid the entire years fee and barely saw the inside of the gym. What you need are like-minded friends that will motivate you towards sticking to a fitness regime. Fitho’s outdoor training program is just the place that you will find these people that will help you get fitter while you enjoy the workout! Besides a lot of research have been confirming the fact that sweating it out in a group of like-minded people helps you burn more calories — here’s how:

We turn you into a regular

The most difficult part of a fitness routine is being regular. Every day you find a new excuse to skip the workout. Joining a group that is friendly and like-minded makes it easier for you to be accountable and stick to your commitment. It helps you be regular resulting in better attendance meaning higher calories burned!

We ensure you get the most out of the session

When you workout in a group you stop paying attention to the time. Your energy is channelized into focusing and completing the fun group activity at hand. Friendly banter while working out further helps time fly and before you know it the session is over! When you are working out alone most of us find it difficult to even complete 15 minutes before getting bored , giving up and getting on the phone!

We plan the sessions for you

Its difficult to put together a fun workout for yourself. Fitho’s group workouts take that responsibility away from you and in return give you one hour of a super fun and energetic workout session. Group workouts are always fun as every session is planned differently. This ensures that you get a complete body conditioning without making it mundane. Read more

Are Salads Healthy?

Salads are popularly known as the dieter’s delight. Unfortunately a lot of salads that are often promoted as healthy might not be as healthy as they appear. Infact sometimes might even carry double the amount of calories than a bowl of pasta!  Its very easy to add calories to a dish but how do you make it equally easy to reduce them.

The secret to the calorie count of every salad is in the sauce.  Four signs that make salad fattening are : creamy dressing, red meat like bacon toppings, oily dressings and lastly cheese. Your next question would be how to choose a healthy salad from the menu without compromising on the flavour of it. We have a few answers explained for you right  here:

Combine fruits with vegetables for that extra flavour: Fruits contain natural sugar that adds flavour without burdening the salad with extra calories. It is also the best substitute for artificial sugar. Citrus fruits can be added to enhance the flavour and give it a tangy taste for more variety. Both fresh fruits and dried fruits add flavour, texture and nutritional benefit to the salad. This combination adds antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals to your diet. Besides the reduced calories your body is getting the best of nutrition packed in one meal! Read more

Weight Loss for Overweight People

People struggling with excess weight or simply being over weight find it the most difficult to lose weight even though they know that all they need to do is eat healthy and exercise to lose weight. But despite that why are overweight people considered lazy? Maybe they are not as active as thin people but there is a definitive reason behind it.

As one starts putting on weight is gained it gets difficult to move the body with ease and the easiness that a fit man would experience. The weight is exercising pressure on all the joints in the body impairing agile movements. Carrying excess weight overtime can result in hormonal imbalance causing disorders like hypothyroid, diabetes, PCOS etc. Overweight people also find it maintain body balance . This might prevent them from participating in activities like jogging, running etc. For most over weight people exercise is very stressful for the body. Besides they suffer from high blood pressure, their joints are under pressure and they tend to get tired very easily.

Here are some easy ways to get you started on a weight loss plan with ease:

Managing Nutrition: The ideal way forward is by revising your daily nutrition intake. The idea is not to suddenly cut your calorie intake by half but to slowly start reducing the non-nutritional foods from the daily diet. The main point to be  calorie intake has to be reduced over a period of time yet as all these problems surface before a overweight person while losing weight, there are ways that you can start losing weight. Read more

HCG Diet Plan

Adding to the list of popular diets HCG Diet plan is trending on google by people as it promises fast and effortless weight loss accompanied with a low calorie diet.What is this HCG? HCG is Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is a hormone in the human body which is produced naturally in pregnant women after conception. This hormone converts the fat present in the body into nutrition to feed the growing embryo. Its main function is to support the growing embryo in women.

How does the HCG diet plan work? HCG diet plan is a new concept for weight loss using HCg though injection or orally. Injecting HCG injection everyday and eating a low calorie diet comprising of vegetables, fiber, water etc can help you lose weight very fast. HCG stimulates the hypothalamus to release energy from the unhealthy fat tissues in the body. HCG releases 3000-4000 calories from the fat deposits in the body and keeps you satisfied with just 500 calorie diet.

The course of the HCG diet plan usually lasts minimum for 26 days and maximum upto 43 days and a person can discontinue in between if he/she reaches her target. It takes about three days for the hcg to show its effect and quit it three days before you plan to resum your normal diet so that the body can wash away the hcg from it. It has a limit of 40 days as the body may become immune to it thus reducing its effect. Also if you plan to again take up the plan you need to take a six week break and limiting it to four times in total.

The upside of this diet is that it actually makes you lose weight. The downside is that its like any other fad diet where if you reduce the daily calorie intake to the minimum you will automatically lose weight. Suppressing your hunger can make you go back to eating with a vengeance. Reduced calorie intake might also deprive your body of nutrition and can also trigger deficiencies in the long run. Read more

Interval Training

Among the latest and most effective exercise routine for  fast fat loss, improving performance, raising fitness levels, increasing endurance or getting started on a regular fitness regime interval training has been the touted to most effective routine.

Short burst of high intensity training for a short period of time is known as Interval Training. You can do interval training with almost any kind of exercise. Interval training requires you to do a certain exercise with full power for a small duration and then rest for some time and repeat. For beginners Fitho recommends a 1:3 ratio. It means every exercise is done for 10 seconds, also called a set, which is then repeated three times for ten seconds each without giving a gap.

Interval training helps in burning fast calories and is highly effective for someone who is looking to get into shape fast. You can do interval training with sprinting, cycling training, high intensity interval training etc. Interval training is tough but effective in improving your performance. You can increase the intensity of the exercise according to your capacity and fitness levels. You can do 60 seconds of interval training which will test your guts and then rest. You could do skipping, squat jumps, sprinting etc for high intensity interval training which will quickly burn the energy reserves and then burn the fat in your body.

This mode of training is effective for beginners as well as regular fitness enthusiasts. Interval training increases the heart rate and builds enduarance and strength. It must be noted that a high intensity workout must be alternated with rest or moderate workout for recovery. Read more

Are Vegetable Soups Healthy

Soups are often categorized by general people as non-fattening or healthy foods. But are they as healthy as they are known to be. Popularly soups can be divided into two groups: clear and thick soup. Clear soup are generally more healthy as they have the least amount of calories while thick soups are usually contain a lot of starch, sometimes cream and other high carbohydrate ingredients.

To help you further explain the difference clear soups do not contain anything else except for the strained liquid. Any liquid that has vegetables, meats or even noodles is considered a thick soup.

A bowl of clear soup can help you lose weight. This doesnt mean that you get on a only soup diet. It means that adding a bowl of clear soup before your meal can help you prevent from overeating while adding important nutrition. A clear vegetable soup contains vitamins & minerals while a bowl of non-vegetarian clear soup has zinc, protein besides vitamins & minerals.

Vegetables and poultry can be added to your soup to make it a healthy meal but it might add to the calories count of the food. You can then prepare the soup with enough vegetables and poultry to work as  a substitute for a meal. While it control the calories it adds the correct amount of essential nutrition to the diet. Also often soups especially served in restaurant carry cornflour, high sodium to make it more appetizing also add empty calories to the soup. High sodium content in the soup often results in water retention leaving one feel bloated.

While eating out choose the healthier soup option to avoid putting on weight and adding empty calories to the diet. Following ingredients that are often added to the soup like milk, cream, butter are fattening and should be avoided.Avoid packed and processed soups as they are high in sodium and contain no antioxidant properties.

To summarize it stick to clear soups that are made of clear, strained broth. If you want to add vegetables & meat to your soup then make the soup as your meal and not an appetizer, incase you are watching your weight. Check the ingredients of the soup before ordering. If you can ask the chef to prepare you a clear vegetable soup without any corn flour and low salt in it.

Hope this article helps you chose better while eating out or wondering what can be eaten when you are on a weight loss program.

Spinning for Weight Loss

Spinning is a popular group  stationary cycling session which promises to make your fitness goals a reality. Spinning involves different techniques like interval training, high intensity and variations in cycling for burning calories, building endurance and stamina and strength. Spinning is a hybrid form of stationary cycling that is conducted by an instructor to the beat of fast music.

Spinning is getting popular  as many find spinning a fun way to lose weight. But is spinning as effective for weight loss like other forms of exercise? Does it focus on overall body toning? Does it exercise every muscle of the body and support a complete body workout.

The basic position of the body is sitting and cycling all the time pedaling with a few variations to keep the sessions interesting while cycling to the music. Therefore spinning is mostly a lower body workout. The  leg muscles are worked while the upper body is neglected. It is an incomplete workout for those looking for an upper body toning or overall body muscle development. This routine burns quite a few calories at a moderate level of intensity but you could literally burn more calories and get a better toned body with running with same the effort put in a spinning session.

As every form of exercise has advantages and disadvantages the biggest plus point to spinning is that it is highly motivational  as it is a group training session which keeps you pushing harder to be more competitive. The cycles can be adjusted to ones comfort levels and the entire concept is a lot of fun. It is basically cardio exercise that  can be compared to running. The only difference being you engage your entire body while you run but here you only move your legs. Read more

Cross Training for Weight Loss

Cross training is one of the most popular fitness trends world-over. What is cross training and what makes it so popular? To put is simply cross training is a creative way to make your workout more beneficial and enjoyable by combining different forms of exercises. Your body has a tendency to get use to the same physical activity done over a period of time. This is phenomenon is also commonly referred to as hitting the “plateau”.

Cross Training beautifully cuts this plateau out of the way by working out different muscles of the body  at the same time adding variety, challenge, excitement to a workout routine resulting in more effective weight loss, better toned muscles and uniform development of the body.

Let us explain the benefits further. Doing same exercise repetitively can cause wear and tear of joints and leave other muscles without  any exercise causing unbalance in workouts and disproportionate muscle growth. We require full body workout to keep our muscles conditioned and reduce injury as well. Cross training benefits the body in improving flexibility and increasing general fitness levels.

What combination would you call a good cross training routine. Essentially six different types of exercise techniques like reistance training to, plyometric, strength training, interval training, resistance training, isometric are included in a  good cross training routine. Each of these forms of exercise have unique benefits and when combined can deliver some measurable results. Here is how each of these techniques work, what part of the body they work out and what are the main benefits of adding them to your exercise routine. Read more

Is Flavored Yogurt Healthy

We require 2 teaspoons of sugar in a day if you are looking to lose weight and  about 4 teaspoons if you just want to manage your current weight. But don’t just count the sugar consumption in your tea and coffee but all the other sources that you might consuming sugar indirectlylike your sweetened soda’s, colas, candies, sweetened cornflakes and flavoured yogurt. Often diet programs and nutritionist brag about eating yogurt in the diet as it has probiotics, vitamins and minerals, protein etc which promote better health and is low in calories as well. But is flavored yogurt as healthy as non-flavored yogurt?

Flavored yogurt which come in a variety of mouth watering flavors don’t contain the real fruit in it but conatins the pureed form which is high in sugar content. Compare the ingredients of regular yogurt and flavored yogurt to understand the difference in  calorie intake. Around 200 gms of flavored yogurt contains 25 grams of added sugar. The extra sugar gets stored in the body as fat and over a period of time this continuous weight gain can cause health complications. The sugar in the flavored yogurt increases the calorie intake by 100 calories for a 200 gm serving.

We are not saying that flavored yogurt is the main reason behind your weight gain. What we mean is that foods like flavoured yogurt are often marketed as health foods. They might be relatively more healthy than the other processed foods but they still are hidden source of high calorie food that are often misunderstood as fat free.

When talking about weight loss it is not just important to eat healthy foods but manage calories either by portion control or choosing healthier options. Sugar provides instant energy and no nutrition. People who have blood sugar problems could experience a sudden increase in sugar levels with flavored yogurt. Instead flavor your yogurt seperately with fruits that you want. Flavored yogurt is also high in sodium content causing water retention in the body and resulting in bloating. Read more

Lose Weight Without Running & Lifting Weights

Most fitness experts and trainers recommend running or weight training for faster calorie burn, especially for people looking for weight loss and building muscles. Building muscles helps rev up metabolism for effective fat loss and faster burning of calories in the body even while you are resting.

But what if you don’t enjoy running or cant lift weights due to medical condition. Is there still a set of exercises that can help you lose weight? For those desperately seeking an exercise subsitute to help them lose weight then we are glad to introduce Plyometrics to you. Plyometrics are extremely effective to improve flexibility and strengthen muscles. Plyometrics work on the basic principal of  loading the muscles and then contracting them in rapid sequences. This movement adds strength and elasticity of the muscles and the tissues that surround them in order to develop more strength to perform any activity.

If your muscles have become weak and find it diffiult to do your workouts then plyometrics can take you out from this phase and power you for higher performance and athletic movements. Using muscle mechanism like stretching and contracting in rapid sequence allows the muscle to reach maximum force/power. Stretching the muscles just before contracting allows the muscle to increase its power. The muscle must contract within the shortest time to express this power which is the underlying factor of plyometrics. Stretching the muscle while in tension is known as esscentric contraction and concentric contraction is when the muscle shortens in length and develops tension for movement.

There are different forms of exercise that you can do according to your objective of muscle gain, muscle strengthening, weight loss etc. Many people are also stuck in the myth that a bigger body signifies more strength which is untrue. You could have the explosive strength with a lean body without much muscles in your body. Performing plyometric exercises can boost and produce powerful movements and increase performance. Read more

Weight Loss Diet Program

Weight Loss is a big concern for many people as too much weight is directly linked to health disorders like diabetes, hypothyroid and heart illness etc. When you are young the weight doesnt hold us back but as you get older you start realizing how its slowing you down both physically & mentally.  Did you know extra weight makes you look & feel older than you actually are!

Losing weight and getting fit is not about being a size zero. Its simply about managing your food habits and adding some amount of exercise to your daily routine to achieve an ideal body weight as per your body structure. The best way to get started is to either develop a fitness routine for yourself or get professional help to start a  weight loss diet program.

The most recommended way to get started on a weight loss diet program is to get your self educated. Read on food that are good for your health. But dont get carried away and start believing everything that you read as true and relevant to you. Always remember most of the information given is very general and not specific to you. Secondly pay attention to your body and see how different healthy options make you feel. Not everything that is healthy will add great benefits to your health, some might suite you more than others. This awareness will also help you chose the right professional help in the long run.

Sometimes its difficult to identify the right combination of diet & exercise to help you get healthier. This shouldn’t discourage you in seeking professional guidance to help you get started by identifying the right diet & exercise combination personalized to your lifestyle and food preferences.

A good weight Loss plan helps manage your calorie intake through healthy food options that are low in calories but packed with nutrition for better metabolism and weight loss.

Choosing a Weight Loss Diet Program

Choose a program which combines diet program and exercise program for weight loss. Sometimes people get on diet plans for weight loss and expect quick results which is difficult. Regular diet plans are able to only manage the daily calorie intake. But they don’t help you lose the stubborn fat from your problem areas. Exercise is the most effective & quickest way to attack your problem area. Therefore choose a weight loss diet program which includes both exercise and diet.

Sometimes people don’t want any weight loss diet program yet want to lose weight and fall prey to the experimental fad diet available for free online. General Motor Diet plan, No Carbohydrate Diet Plan, Lemon Water Diet plan are some fad diet which people try for weight loss but end up with more problems and less weight loss. The fad diets are not balanced diets and therefore should not be considered when seeking for a good weight loss program.

Lastly look for weight loss programs which are supported by personalized support . Imagine the help and support you would get when someone externally motivates you to follow your weight loss program. Not only that personalized service makes the plan flexible ensuring that you stay on the program longer to derive maximum benefit.

List of Healthy Snacks

Are putting on weight due to snacking? We all know that eating at odd hours leads to weight gain. But how do you deal with hunger pangs without starving yourself. To answer one of the most common dilemmas of how to control snacking we have put together a list of healthy snacks alongside some not so healthy snacks. This is done to explain why you should be eating this and not that.

Before we move on to the healthy vs unhealthy snack list you need to understand snacks are just fillers or small bites. Most people eat snacks like a meal and thats where the problem starts. When one samosa becomes two or one sandwich becomes two sandwiches.

To elaborate a little bit more here are some points to note

While snacking eat slowly and enjoy every bite that you eat. Eating slowly makes you chew the food properly and eat less also. This helps you in managing portion and not over eating.

Don’t snack on empty calories even though you can manage the portion because it will add no nutrition and only calories.

You could choose low fat dairy, eggs, seeds and nuts, fruits and veggies as a snacking option.

Lets further explain it with an example on how to control your calories better if you are on a weight loss routine. A man weighing 80 kgs and 175 cms would approximately require 2000 calories in a single day. To break it further he would have a daily quota  of 250 calories for 2 snacks in a day. While a women weighing 50 kg and 5 feet 2 inches would require approximately 1400 calories in a day and 175 calories each for snacking twice in a day. This means you can divide your snack for once during mid morning and once in the routine evening. But remember snacking includes your tea/coffee/coke/lemonade etc! Read more

Best Exercises for Abdominal Fat or Love Handles

After belly, thighs and arms and butt the other common weight gain area is your waist. Over a period of time weight starts to collect on the side of your stomach which is also known as “love handles” or “tyres”. All these terms are nothing but common slang for abdominal obesity.

Eating unhealthy food and no exercise is the most common cause of love handles. These tyres were mostly seen on women in the past but now more and more men seem to develop it in their late twenties & early thirties. Indians are genetically inclined to accumulate fat around their waist which is also linked to Type 2 diabetes and heart health.

The simplest way to check for abdominal fat is to measure your waist. Run a tape measure around your waist at about the level of your navel. Breathe minimally, and make sure not to pull the tape measure so tight that it depresses the skin. The average BMI  (Body mass Index) of an Indian woman ranges from 18-24.9 , a waist circumference greater than 34-35 inches is considered high risk to lifestyle diseases.

Another way to measure abdominal fat is by calculating the waist to hip ratio. This is done through simple calculation of taking the ratio of the waist and hip. The healthy range in women is less than .7 and men is less than 1.

The best way to lose weight is to exercise and watch what you eat. Ensure that your body is getting adqeuate nutrition to improve the metabolism. Do not resort to fad diets as they might show you weight loss in the short term but in the long term you put the weight back on besides depriving your body of important nutrition resulting in multiple deficiencies in future. For healthy weight loss consult a good professional weight loss expert to help you lose weight and get fit. Read more

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