Belly Fat

A new study reports that even normal-weight people with belly fat and heart disease have an increased risk of death compared to folks whose fat is concentrated elsewhere.

Belly fat is as significant a risk factor as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day or having very high blood cholesterol, the study said. And the risk is greater for men.

That spare tire is even more significant than your overall body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) in predicting risk of death, the researchers said, noting their findings discount a puzzling theory known as the "obesity paradox." That surprising finding from earlier studies linked a higher BMI and coronary artery disease with better survival chances than normal-weight people.

BMI is just a measure of weight in proportion to height. What seems to be more important is how the fat is distributed on the body," she said in a clinic news release.

The study is published in the May 10 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The researchers looked at data from five studies conducted around the world, involving almost 16,000 people with coronary artery disease. The risk of death was nearly doubled for people with coronary artery disease and central obesity, which was determined by waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, the study found.

What exactly is the difference between belly fat and thigh fat, for instance?

"Visceral [belly] fat has been found to be more metabolically active," Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, the study's lead investigator and director of Mayo's Cardiometabolic Program, explained in the news release. "It produces more changes in cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar. However, people who have fat mostly in other locations in the body, specifically the legs and buttocks, don't show this increased risk."

http://www.acefitness.org/findanacepro/acecertifiedprofessionalprofile.aspx?acecp=282388

Balance Exercises

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWuKEt96Jjs

Exercising Vigorously

Exercising vigorously may boost calorie burn for hours afterward. The calorie-burning benefits of exercise do not stop after the treadmill does. A study finds that after exercising vigorously, a substantial calorie burn may follow.

The small study involved 10 healthy men, age 22 to 33, of various body mass indexes and aerobic fitness levels. Their calorie expenditure was measured after they exercised vigorously for 45 minutes, as well as on a rest day. Activity, rest, plus eating meals and snacks were all done under carefully controlled conditions so researchers could get an accurate assessment of calories taken in and burned.

The 45-minute exercise session (done on a cycle ergo meter) burned an average 519 calories -- not bad for a workout. But the big news is what came afterward. In 14.2 hours following the exercise bout, calorie expenditure was elevated, resulting in about 190 extra calories burned.

While that may not seem like much, think of it as being able to eat about three Pepperidge Farms Milano cookies with no consequences, or getting the calorie burn of a 30-minute walk at 4 mph for free.

The authors wrote that the calorie burn could be substantial if two or three of those high-intensity bouts of exercise are done a week, and eating is kept under control.

The study appears online in the journal of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Strength Training for Osteoporosis Prevention

Some middle-aged women can lose up to 20-30% of their peak bone mass during their menopausal years. Especially if they are inactive, not taking calcium or utilizing hormone replacement therapy. This can increase their risk of fracture by 40% over their lifespan. The best program (Bone, Estrogen, and Strength Training study) began in 1995 to see how strength training may affect bone density.

While weight-bearing exercises are said to have the best value for bone density, strength training is often overlooked. The best program's main objective was to explore a high load, low repetition approach to strength training. Over 260 women ranging in age from 45-65 who were postmenopausal for 3-10 years were used in the study. These women completed 2 sets of 6-8 repetitions at 70% of 1 RM, two days per week or 80% 1 day per week.

The study found that women who lifted weights 2 or more times per week had greater bone density effects. It is important to remember that this program was designed to prevent osteoporosis, not to treat it, since the best treatment is prevention. Therefore, strength training is extremely important for those women who have a family history or medical condition that could lead to osteoporosis in order to decrease the loss of bone density. Not to say, that, if you do have osteoporosis, there is no need to strength train. Lifting weights and walking should help to keep the condition from worsening.

Core Workout

http://www.acefitness.org/workouts/5/

Less Stress, Better Sleep

If you're looking to lose those extra pounds, you should probably add reducing stress and getting the right amount of sleep to the list, say researchers from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland.

In fact, although diet and exercise are the usual prescription for dropping pounds, high stress and too little sleep (or too much of it) can hinder weight loss even when people are on a diet, the researchers report.
It was found that people who got more than six but less than eight hours of sleep, and who reported the lowest levels of stress, had the most success in a weight-loss program.

Dr. Elder, who studied this, speculates if you are sleeping less or more than recommended and if your stress levels are high, you will not be able to focus on making behavioral changes.

These factors may also have a biological impact, he added.

"If you want to lose weight, things that will help you include reducing stress and getting the right amount of sleep," Elder said.

The report, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is published in the March 29 online edition of the International Journal of Obesity

How to lose 1 pound of fat.

To lose one pound of fat, you need to create a 3500 calorie deficit.  You can cut 500 calories per day for a week to lose it.  You can combine it with exercise or with more activity, too. Some people think you need to consume less than 1000 calories per day to lose weight. Keeping your intake to only 1000 calories per day is not a healthy amount of calories to consume, especially when one is exercising.   Some people think that eating a little amount of carbs would help.  Most of the carbs consumed should come from complex carbs, such as grains, fruits and veggies.  25% carbs is barely enough to keep your body functioning properly. Eat closer to 60-65%.  Protein helps build muscle. Excess protein is stored as fat. The body uses carbs to function, digest and burn first. You dont want to put the body into Ketosis with excess protein. Also, by severely cutting your calories to 1000 or under, it puts the body into starvation mode, and actually slows down the metabolism. In reality, it is not a sustainable way to function.  Usually, that triggers more of an appetite and therefore, you will tend to eat much more. Eating in moderation and an increase in activity will help you sustain a healthy lifestyle for life!

Insulin Resistance

What is insulin resistance? It’s when insulin is not able to lower blood glucose as it should primarily because the receptors in the muscle and fat cells for insulin are no longer sensitive to the insulin. This can lead to metabolic syndrome which is categorized as having triglycerides above 150 mg/dL, HDL cholesterol below 40 mg/dL, blood pressure above 130 mm Hg for systolic or 85 mm Hg for diastolic, a fasting glucose greater than 100 mg/dL and BMI greater than 30. Therefore, it's not just about glucose.

Many studies have shown that exercise is the key to preventing or controlling Type 2 diabetes, but that can be challenging to squeeze that in during the day or night for some people. Strong evidence has also found that "unplanned" activity is also very helpful, especially for those who have sedentary jobs. This type of activity can be taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, or park your car further away from the store. One study done on a university hospital setting found employees who took the stairs, increased maximal aerobic capacity by 9% while lowering their LDL cholesterol (the healthy kind), BMI, and blood pressure. A little exercise really can go a long way.

If you have any questions, or if you are interested in setting up a customized exercise program with your time frame in mind, please email:  etrainer1@hotmail.