Does Sweating Result in Weight Loss

One of the most common myths in fitness is that sweating helps you lose weight and burn more fat. There are lot of weight loss companies that use the technology of steam/sauna baths to make you sweat for weight loss. In reality the weight loss experienced with high temperature is water weight lost through sweating.  Sweating is our body’s natural way of cooling the system. Whenever there is rise in temperature which could be due to physical activity or general increase in temperature we break  in to sweat.

Let us give you an example of what we mean by losing water weight. Start with weighing yourself. Then sit in a room, in the middle of summer, without a fan and ac. You will sweat a lot due to the heat. After one hour you go and weight yourself. You will see you have lost a few grams on the weighing scale. Now go and drink a litre of water and then weigh your self. You will see that the weighing scale is back to your original weight. A note that it is impossible to put on weight with drinking water as it has zero calories. So now you might be more wise before you sign for a spa weight loss program.

There are genetic and fitness reasons why some people sweat more than the others. For-eg men sweat more than women because women sweat at higher temperatures than men. Then fitter people tend to sweat lesser than non-fit people doing the same physical activity  and lastly overweight people tend to sweat the most is because fat acts like an insulator under the skin that raises the body temperature a lot faster.

Our body is constantly working and therefore it burns calories, this phenomenon is also commonly known as body metabolic rate. The idea here to make you aware that sweating has nothing to do with weight loss. It is right kind of exercise and diet that help you lose weight. Exercise should be planned around the fitness levels and bodytype of an individual. Lot of people also consider walking as an exercise but it actually a form of physical activity. And you do not lose weight with just walking everyday. Walking is good when you are looking to manage your weight and lose it. Read here to know why walking doesnt help in weight loss.

Lastly one must be careful what you eat when on a weight loss program. Exercise alone will not give you the desired results. Half of your weight issues stem from unhealthy eating. Stay away from generic fad diets easily available everywhere. Not only do they not help in weight loss they also deprive your body of key nutrition. Make sure your diet is well-balanced. Dont hesitate to take professional help to understand what diet is best for you.

Does Low Calorie Diet Work?

Have you ever wondered why you have gained weight over a period of time? Many of your answers would point to not eating healthy food, not exercising or some would say it just happened. If you know the reasons that have resulted in weight gain then working on these factors could help you lose those pounds again. But does it work this way or there is more to losing weight than just eating food.

Lifestyle has a major impact on your weight loss or if you are gaining weight. You were lean before and were eating the same nutrition as now but how did you start gaining weight. Weight gain can happen due to many other factors than just by eating foods that are unhealthy. Your sleeping patterns, stress in work, late nights, changing eating patterns, hormonal change, skipping meals, alcohol, smoking, no workouts, no activity, leisure lifestyle etc. The list can go on as these are some of the factors like many others that are small but have a huge impact on weight management.

Exercise impacts weight management as it helps to improve blood flow in the body and accelerate metabolism for faster calorie burns. Most people who are really not into fitness walk for 20 minutes or jog for a while, do some hand and body movements wondering that they have done their part. What happens after this workout? Drinking some energy drink to refill those calorie burnt and resting for the rest of the day! If you are looking to lose weight then you need to burn the stored fat to see weight loss.

It is difficult to count calories every time as we eat regularly and can be boring at times. Knowing what are healthy foods and unhealthy food is also not enough. Unhealthy foods are fattening but healthy foods could also impact in gaining weight. Dairy is healthy but excess of it leads to weight gain. Eating food more than the body requirement will store the extra calories and over a period of time this will count as a pound and then many more.

If you are looking to lose weight and get fit then look out for a healthy weight management course where the plan is made according to your lifestyle. A successful plan should be able to offer you flexibility as well as a structured routine to compliment your fitness level. This is key to keeping you motivated. Your goal should be fitness and not simply weight loss because the main incentive to lose weight is to be healthy.  Going after only weight loss might deprive you of key elements like exercise and nutrition that might make you look thin on the weighing scale but not fit.

Best Exercises for Butts

We have written a lot about how to work your abs, biceps and even back and whip them into shape in our various articles on Fitho’s exercise routine. Its time we gave the “butt” the importance it deserves. A good butt doesnt only look good on women but men need it as much to complete the look. You can work your butt according to your body shape, meaning whether you are a pear shape or straight shape this routine will even out your minus points and highlight your plus points.

The idea is to target the relevant muscles directly to first lose the fat  and then tone up. These set of exercises can be done any where at anytime without any equipment. 15 minutes a day for 5 days a week and you should see results in just two weeks.

Squats: One of the best exercise which will not only train your butts but your hips and thighs. They also help build body strength. Stand with feet apart and bend your knees while going down. Keep your butt out and torso straight. Do 10-12 reps and 2-3 sets in a day. You can do it in the morning before leaving for office or in the evenings. This exercise will tone your butt quickly.

Lunges: Another highly effective butt exercise which works the hamstrings, quadriceps and calves. It is easy to perform and its intensity can be varied by holding weights in the hand. To perform this exercise stand straight. Take one step forward and bend the front knee along with the back knee.  Keep the front leg put and move your back leg up and down. You could do lunges while walking, doing alternate legs in the same exercise.

Step-ups: You could do this exercise on any platform that is not very high. On stairs on a step box. Like we climb steps put your feet on the platform and pull your body help pushing the heels. Do as many reps you can though 30-40 would be sufficient for the day.

Hips Raise: Lie down on a floor and keep the knees bent while keeping your back touching the floor. Slowly raise your from your butts and hold it for a few second. Get down to normal and repeat 10-15 times. You could not let the body touch the ground holding it in the air. Count it as one everytime you near the ground. Keep your glutes squeezed while doing the exercise.

Planks: This is a great core exercise as it works your abs, obliques, legs and your butts. Lie down on the ground on your stomach. Place your forearms on the ground and lift your body with it keeping toes on the ground and keeping the body straight. They help build strength and stamina.

Include these exercises in your schedule and see the difference. Do the exercises in the correct posture. Stay tunned if you want to increase the intensity and graduate to the next level of fitness.

 

Five best exercises for weight loss

Exercise is a weight loss booster as it accelerates burning of calories and the fastest mean to burn fat and lose weight. You can choose exercise according to your body type for losing weight from specific areas like glutes, thighs, belly etc. Playing sports or lifting weight is equivalently beneficial in dropping some extra pounds from the body. More muscles induce higher metabolic rate and exercise helps build muscle for you to burn more calories while resting.

The idea behind losing weight with exercise is to cut down on accumulated fat. As our body needs fuel for daily functioning we have to eat a certain amount of calories to meet the requirement. Diet can make us lose weight but exercise accelerates the weight loss process. Balanced diet with exercise is the best combination for weight loss. Start your exercise plan
according to your body type and shape up your self from losing the hanging belly to bulging biceps and a toned body.

Shake yourself and get started with your exercise plan for quick weight loss and define your own body. Here are some exercises for weight loss.

Planks: Start your exercise routine with plank exercises as it warms  up the body while stabilizing the muscles. Planks are one of the best exercise for building abs and building core strength. Core is required in anything that we do from lifting, walking etc. Strong core with help  move the body with ease and be active for intense workouts. Most of us have hanging bellies which start getting conditioned and toned with plank exercise. Include side planks to further increase the benefits.

Squats: Toned legs get many eyeballs rolling down and squats is a super exercise to work the legs. Less people work on their lower body which makes the body look uneven. Toned legs will give you are better and confident walk. Squats work the entire body and can be done in variations. It tones and burns fat in the glutes, thighs and hamstring areas. You can use weights to make squats intense or can do it using body. Check whether you are doing the right posture otherwise you could complain for back ache.

Push ups: The exercise works the upper body and increases the strength of forearms, wrist, upper arms, shoulders and chest. They accelerate the blood flow in the body and improves heart health. Using various grips like diamond pushups, close grip, wide grip benefit and work different muscle in the upper body. If you are a women you can do women pushups to slowly strengthen your upper body.

Russian Twist: If fat on your sides and belly is troubling you and you want to increase your enduarance  then do Russian Twist. This exercise works the core and obliques working for a flat and defined waist and stomach. Include the exercise in your routine and burn fat around you belly. Use swiss balls or snay thing to hold between your hands to increase the intensity of the exercise.

Bur pees: It is a great aerobic exercise that works the entire body and tests your guts too. It involves your legs, back, torso, neck and arms. It involves in jumping, squatting and stretching in one exercise. It accelerates the calorie burn as it involves many muscles and involves lots of fast movements. To intensify the exercise set time limit to perform a definite number of repetitions.

Diet for Diabetics

Dealing with a therapeutic condition can be difficult. Managing the diet is of utmost important but it mostly comes at a cost of either following a very difficult routine or being given options that are unappetizing making it difficult to manage the condition through diet.

Diabetes is one such therapeutic condition where managing the diet is critical to ensuring that the insulin levels are in control. Diabetes is relatively easy to control with a help of correct diet and exercise program.

The rise in blood sugar is seen due to eating unhealthy, not exercising and consuming fattening foods. This can be managed or controlled by eating foods that slowly breakdown in the body and slowly release the glucose in the body preventing the blood sugar levels to rise quickly. These particular kind of foods are also known to have a low-glycemic index. Every diet program also needs to be customized your body type and physical needs. People that are more active require different calorie intake versus people who are not so active.

Some of the foods highly recommended for diabetic patients are vegetables like green peas, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bitter gourd, garlic etc are some of the healthy options. Eat beans, green vegetables, chickpeas, dals etc which will keep you fuller and maintain blood sugar levels. Include fengureek, Basel leaves and some quantity of lean meat and fish.

Diet alone will not be as effective. Exercise fit for your physical ability and body type is essential to show results. If you find it difficult to get started then condition your self slowly to set a routine. Tell yourself everyday in the evening you will go for a walk, water your plants or just engage in mid intensity household chores. Slowly increase the intensity and explore activities that will keep this routine going. Better still you can even get together with your friends or family to play a light sport or go for a walk /jog in the evenings or early mornings.

Lastly maintain a strict routine for your meal timings. Even if you watch what you eat and exercise regularly but don’t care about your meal timings it can completely harm the momentum. Make sure you dont skip your meals and eat them at recommended intervals so that the body is able to function normally.

In case you find it difficult to get started on your own then you can get professional help. This can help you atleast get started on a routine and get you on track before you can independently take charge of your health  and adopt a healthy lifestyle for good.

Knee Exercises

Do you have pain in your knees and have problems walking? Does your knee pain in the mornings and cause trouble while walking down the stairs? You probably have some inflammation in the knees and needs to be looked into.

Exercises for knees help in strengthening the knees and connected muscles to the knees as weak connecting muscles would not absorb the shock which would further increase knee problem.

Tips to Reduce Knee Pain

1.Dont run on the metal as it  stresses the knee causing further pain. Metallic surfaces are all hard surfaces like road, cemented surfaces and tough surfaces.

2.Manage your weight – The more you weight the more prone are your knees to injury.

3.Eat anti-inflammatory foods- The foods will naturally heal the inflammation reducing the pain and helping the kne recover.

4.Light Eercises: Don’t go for heavy weights or doing high intensity exercises because it will increase the problem. Do light exercises to strengthen it and increase blood flow, do warm water bath to increase blood flow again.

Knee Exercise with Elastic Band: Sit on a chair with the elastic band tied to the front foot. Attach one leg with the elastic on the same side and lift your ankles up and hold for 3-4 sec and bring back to normal. Perform 10 reps with both legs.

Knee Exercise with Chair: Stand behind the chair and hold the top of the chair back. Now lift your heels up keeping your tes touching the floor. Hold for 5 seconds and come back. Do 10 repetitions.

Bent Knee Exercise with Chair: Stand behind the chair and lift your knees. Hold one leg and bend it making the ankle touch your glutes. Hold on for a few seconds and then change legs. Perform 10 repetitions.

Side Leg Lift: Stand besides a chair while resting one hand on it. Spread one leg on the side lifting it in the air while the other leg is on the floor. Make sure the knee is not bent.

The above exercises will build the adjoing knee muscles providing support to the knee by absorbing shocks and share the knee tension before it reaches the knees. If knee pain is due to your weight then get started with a weight loss program to lose weight.

Can Exercise Make You Fat

Some researchers are of a belief that exercise makes you fat. And if we continue to be moderately physically active it is enough to maintain the weight. According to them sweating it out in the gym only makes you fat and does not really help in any weight loss.

We partially agree to this theory about moderate physical exercise is enough to keep you fit. Like most things there is a condition that too applies to moderate physical activity, which is  if you are also watching what you eat. Even if you are exercising and at the same time eating more than you are actually burning you are bound to not lose any weight. Keeping this logic in mind we further explain how exercising is really making you fat.

We see a lot of people compulsively exercising at the gym over a period of time without losing any weight. Well there could be two reasons for it. First either you are following a wrong routine which is similar to ‘eating empty calories’ or you are still eating more than you are burning. Like doing a twist with a long rod on the shoulder or walking on a high incline while holding the rod in front. Infact  talking on the phone while walking on the treadmill, elliptical, slow cycling is as useless as sitting on a chair. There is a study that states that while you exercise you need to focus at the activity at hand for best results.  Have you ever seen a sports or a fit person be on a phone while exercising ?

Read more

Push Up your Fitness & Fat Burn

To be fit is to be healthy and able to do work efficiently. To do work you need muscles. To do more work you need to develop muscle strength through exercise and weight training. Muscles are all over the body useful in performing various movements like running , walking, lifting, pushing etc.

Have you been doing your push ups ? Whether you are male or female, performing push ups in your workout schedule will help you burn fat & tone your arms, shoulders, abdominal, mid section and Read more

Household Chores to Burn Calories

Does signing up at the gym seem like a herculean task? Maybe regaining your energy levels by actively participating in daily chores can help you finally get on with your life and get fit. Interestingly doing basic chores at home or office can help you burn off those calories and help you get more energetic. Here are a few basic chores to get started with:

Wash your Read more

Jump Start Your Workout

From now on doing proper workouts will not be a problem once you learn a few basics for workout which you should know. Understand how you can start exercising with some suggestions.

How to start?

Divide up your time through out the day any way you want. 4-6 ten minute workouts can do the wonders Read more

Running Tips and Hazards in India

As bizarre as it might seem, running in India is unique in certain ways as compared to running in the West. So, here are a few tips for people who plan to start running in India: 1. Street Running is not easy: In most residential areas of cities or towns, sidewalks/footpaths are blatantly missing. If there are sidewalks, then they might be potholed or covered with parked cars or stalls. They can start and stop abruptly, and you can’t run on the road which takes us to the next point.

2. No runner-friendliness: People are not runner friendly. If you’re running on the road, cars will honk at you, they will try to whiz past you and not give you much space. Basically its not a good experience. But there is a rationale to it- running on the road might have been acceptable in a place where there isn’t so much of a fight for space. The roads in India are already congested with cars, trucks, autos, bikes, cycles, people and cows. So, everyone on the road is already fighting for their space. Now, you add runners to the mix. Clearly, they will not be welcomed. Now, we can understand not being runner friendly on the road, but we’ve experienced this in parks also. Walking is a huge health phenomenon in India. So most parks have walkers in them, but many of these walkers are here for a social activity, where they meet friends, family, etc. Since there might be upto 6 in a group of walkers, and talking in the main exercise, they’re all grouped up on the running routes and trails. So to pass by them, you would have to break up the group. But then there are many old uncles and aunties who refuse to budge and try to stare you down for asking them to give way. 3. Small Parks: There are few park trails covering significant distances. In Delhi, the longest running park route, is Jahanpanah City Forest- almost 7 km, in the middle of busy south Delhi. Even better about the Jahanpanah City Forest is that since its such a long trail, there aren’t too many walkers In Calcutta, the longer running trails might be around Victoria Memorial and the Lake Gardens (again, very congested with unfriendly walkers). 4. Heat: Most of you know this, but it is unbearably hot in the most places in India, for most of the year. Here are running tips for hot Indian weather. Though winters are perfect for running outside. 5. Pollution: Pollution levels are high in the big Indian cities/towns. So, that makes running on the roads even tougher, since they have the highest concentration of pollution levels. Also, running in the day is tough, since pollution levels are at their peak then. Recent study showed that running by a polluted road increases your pollutant intake upto 8 times, as compared to if you were walking on the road These factors make a difference, but at the end of the day we want to run, so we figure out a way to get around them. We don’t run on the streets. We’ve found good running tracks in Delhi parks. Run to avoid the heat, or just hydrate really well if its very hot. And running in parks, you feel the pollution less. If you have any tips on running, or would like to share your experiences, please leave comments for us and our readers.

Quick Fitness Quiz

What’s your Health IQ?

Try this quick myth buster fitness quiz, and test your fitness knowledge. For each question, note down your answer (True or False). Once you complete all 9 questions, check your answers with the correct answers given below.

The best part about this fitness quiz is that if you crack it, you can gloat in the glory of being a myth-buster And if you don’t crack it, then read the answers to become a myth-buster.

State whether the following statements are True or False -

1. Toe touching helps to reduce fat?

2. Potatoes are fattening?

3. A non-vegetarian diet makes you fat?

4. By doing a 200 crunches a day, I can lose my paunch and get a six pack?

5. Eating Banana and Milk will make me fat?

6. Walking is a great exercise to get in shape?

7. I’m diabetic. I should avoid sugar, but refined flour (Maida) is okay for my diet?

8. Nuts are high in fat, and thus bad for you?

9. Running is only for kids and athletes?

Answers are given below -

If you score:

0-3: This is the average score for this fitness quiz. Don’t believe any information without understanding why it is so. You should read the explanations below to understand better.

3-6: Congratulations, you are above the average fitness awareness levels. Read the answers below to understand more.

6-9: You are well aware of fitness information. You should educate the people around you with this information. Hope you are using your knowledge of fitness information to your benefit.

Answers -

1. False

2. False

3. False

4. False

5. False

6. Partly True

7. False

8. Partly False

9. False

Answer Explanations -

1. Yoga has some toe touching exercises. From that a common myth has spread in India that toe touching will help lose fat from the belly. But what does toe touching do?

- Every time you bend to touch your feet, you stretch your back muscles, and compress your belly. So, your belly fat is getting compressed.

Now, think about an analogy – take a rubber ball. Compress it 20 times. Has the rubber reduced? Similarly, by compressing your fat, it doesn’t reduce. You might burn some calories doing this, but that calorie burn is minimal.

2. Potatoes are very healthy vegetables – they’re loaded with energy providing carbohydrates, fiber, protein, iron, Vitamin C and other minerals. They Glycemic Index of a potato is not high.
But potatoes absorb fat, so depending on the cooking process they might absorb the oil/butter. So, its the potato concoction that can be fattening, but not the poor spud by itself.

3. Many meats like fish and chicken are high in protein, and low in saturated fat (bad fat). The protein helps to build muscle, which in turn burns calories.

Again, the cooking process might make it fattening. If you eat butter chicken, its not the chicken itself that is fattening, but the curry that is loaded with cream and fat.

4. Crunches help you work those abdominal muscles, but not lose fat on that belly. Read on to see why crunches won’t help you get that six pack.

5. Banana and milk are not fattening. Both banana and milk have a relatively low Glycemic Index, so its not the carbohydrate content that makes you fat. The total calories from this concoction are lower than a bag of chips. Besides, it provides you with lots of nutrients.

6. Walking is an exercise and may help you burn calories. But the calorie burn is not significant enough to make a big enough dent in your fat loss plan.

Also, your body gets used to walking very fast, so it burns fewer calories when walking the same distance. What do you do then? Read to find out how to overcome weight loss plateau!

7. Maida (refined flour) has a very high Glycemic Index, and has the same effect on your body as sugar.

8. Nuts are loaded with unsaturated fat (good fat) and have cholesterol lowering power, along with protein.

9. Most adults in India assume this. But why should running be limited to kids and athletes. According to a recent study, running can actually help you live longer and healthier.