Water

What is the relationship between drinking water and weight loss. Can something as simple as being adequately hydrated actually affect weight loss? Preliminary research is showing that adequate hydration has a tremendous effect on cell function and metabolism. This in turn greatly affects fat burning and weight loss. Hopefully this article gives you an insight on the water and weight loss connection.

Our bodies are largely composed of fluids. Approximately 55-60% of our body weight is made up of fluids. It helps with many tasks including temperature regulation, cardiovascular function, waste product removal and metabolism.

Water and Fat Burning
The amount of fluid content in a cell relates to the cell-volume. A cell will expand in volume as its water content increases. It will deflate when the water content decreases. This expansion or swelling of the cell relates to how well hydrated it is.

A study published in the Journal Metabolism investigated the effects of cellular hydration on fat burning. The researchers found that increased cellular volume lead to an increase in fat burning. According to another study published in the Journal Lancet, researchers suggested that increased cellular hydration actually increased the activity of enzymes that facilitated fat burning.

Another related study was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This study reaffirmed the effects of hydration on fat burning and prevention of muscle break down. The authors concluded that when the body was adequately hydrated, fat burning increased and muscle break down was reduced. This is essentially what produces sustainable weight loss. Drinking water and weight loss were closely related at the cellular level.

Water and Weight Loss
Researchers conducted a study on 5785 Chinese and published the findings in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. They searched for correlations between energy intake and weight status with nutrient intake. Nutrients here referred to fat, protein, carbohydrates and water. The researchers concluded that higher hydration levels were correlated with lower calorie intake and lower body weight. The researchers also concluded that higher hydration levels resulted in people eating lower calorie density food.

Cell Hydration Affects Its Function
Researchers of a study published in the American Journal of Physiology suggested that cell hydration has a major effect on its metabolism and overall functioning. This in turn also affects fat burning. A cell that is properly hydrated can function at optimum levels. This includes transport of nutrients into the cell and transport of waste out.

Role of Water in Preventing Muscle Loss
Anyone wanting to lose weight should attempt to hold on to their muscles. In fact attempts should be made to increase muscle mass as this helps in maintaining weight loss. A lot of diet programs result in massive muscle loss. This is one of the main reason for rebound weight gain.

A group of German researchers investigated the effects of cellular hydration on muscle break down. The finding of this study were published in the Journal Lancet. The researchers suggested that muscle breakdown was greatly reduced when cells were adequately hydrated. Another article in Ital J Gastroenterol reaffirms the importance of cellular hydration and the role it plays in muscle-building and breakdown.

Hydration and Growth Hormone Release
The Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is a hormone released by the pituitary gland. It greatly facilitates fat burning and muscle-building. HGH also has some amazing anti-aging properties.

Weight training exercises and high intensity cardio exercises induce the greatest release of growth hormones. This is one of the main reasons why these exercises are effective for weight loss. An article published in the European Journal of Endocrinology found that exercise induced growth hormone release was effected by hydration levels. Low levels of hydration resulted in a reduced release of growth hormones during exercise.

This was another way in which inadequate hydration levels could be working against weight loss efforts.

Eating Water Rich Food and the Effect on Weight Loss
A study was conducted that examined the effects of consuming high water containing foods on calories intake. The findings of the study were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers concluded that consuming foods with a high fluid content more effectively reduced subsequent food consumption than just drinking water with food.

Water Before a Meal
Researchers studied the effects of drinking water and weight loss when the water was consumed before a meal. The participants were also on a reduced calorie diet. The findings were published in the Journal Obesity. The researchers concluded that drinking 500 ml of water when on a reduced calorie diet produced greater weight loss.

Water Aids Your Weight Loss Efforts
Most of the preliminary research on water and weight loss has yielded positive results. Water and weight loss are closely connected. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being adequately hydrated. Adequate hydration has been shown to aid fat burning, affect exercise induced growth hormone release and satiety. A lot of people neglect the importance of water on their weight loss efforts. Hopefully after reading this article, anyone wanting to lose weight will better understand the water and weight loss connection.

Motivation To Lose Weight

Everyone wants to lose weight but very few people are serious about it. Most people have not found the real motivation to lose weight. Weight loss is going to challenge the core of your character. You are going to need to cultivate habits that may be the exact opposite of your current habits. Without a strong enough “why”, it is very unlikely that you will continue the journey when the going gets tough.

Here are 5 common drivers for most people to lose weight.

1. Losing Weight for Vanity
This is the main reason for many people to lose weight. People want to look good. Carrying excess weight makes one feel miserable and depressed.

Unfortunately, this is the weakest motivation to lose weight unless there is a deep enough desire. Most people who try to lose weight for vanity have to go through a lot of pain. They have to cross a threshold where they can’t take the mental of physical pain anymore. Its only when they cross this threshold that they decide to do something serious about their weight.

2. Losing Weight to Impress the Opposite Sex
This can be a strong motivation for younger people and for those who are looking for partners. Whether one likes it or not, physical appearance does play an important role when trying to woo someone. A lot of people who lose weight to impress the opposite sex do succeed because the desire can be very strong.

3. Losing Weight to Keep up With Spouse
This can be a strong motivation to lose weight for someone whose spouse does not have a weight problem. This desire gets even greater as the couple age. The overweight person tends to age faster than the slim spouse. The slimmer spouse gets more attention from the opposite sex. This can be a very strong motivation for the other spouse to lose weight.

Spouses who try to keep up with each other do end up living very healthy lives. They are able to maintain healthy weight levels as they are constantly competing to keep up with one another.

There are times when the overweight spouse tries to sabotage the slimmer spouse. It is easier for the overweight spouse to drag the other down to his or her level rather than rise up to the challenge and lose weight.

4. Losing Weight for an Occasion
This is an extremely powerful motivation to lose weight. One could be preparing for a wedding, a reunion or a holiday.

People who have such goals almost always achieve them. Setting specific and measurable goals yield unbelievable results. The only downside to this type of motivation is that it is a short term goal. Once the occasion has passed, there are no follow up efforts or concrete steps to maintain the weight loss.

5. Losing Weight for Health
This is another strong motivation to lose weight. Health is something that you do not miss until you start losing it. Most of the time, an increased appreciation for health comes from a wake-up call. This wake-up call could be the sudden death of a friend in the same age group. It could also be attributed to a doctor’s visit.

Increased awareness about health need not come in the form of a health calamity. It could also come from increased awareness via education. People who are lucky enough to have this awareness are the ones who end up having healthy and sustainable weight loss.

Identify Your Motivation to Lose Weight
Find out why you want to lose weight. Make sure that the reasons are not superficial. An example of a superficial reason is trying to lose weight because your friends are doing it. Another superficial reason could be because your spouse wants you to lose weight. Unless there is a deep desire within, you would quit at the first obstacle that comes your way.

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Romeo and Juliet

The sweetest honey is loathsome in his own deliciousness. And in the taste confounds the appetite.

Chow Hor Fun

Ingredients :
Flat Noodle
Prawns
Fishcakes
Fishballs
Chicken slices
Choy Sum
Chicken stock - 2 cups
Eggs - 2 nos
Dark soy sauce - 1 tablespoon
Light soy sauce - 1 tablespoon
Sesame Oil - 1 tablespoon
Cornflour - 3 tablespoon to 2 tablespoon water
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in wok
Add flat noodle, dark soy sauce and light sauce
Stir until noodles are covered with the soy sauces
Remove and place in a bowl
Heat oil in wok
Fry prawns, chicken, fishcake and fishball.
Add chicken stock
Once boiled add in choy sum.
Add in sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Add in cornflour mixture.
Switch off heat then add in eggs while constantly stirring the gravy.

Memory and Food

As we get older, we found that our memory has started to abandon us. No matter how hard we tried, sometimes we just couldn't remember the keys that we left on the kitchen sink that particular evening or the items that we want to buy when we go to 7 Eleven that afternoon. Admit it, some of us if not most of us are having that kind of problem. Well, I do believe that food we consumed does contribute in boosting our memory.

Here are ten foods that may improve your memory, if you can remember to eat them. You might notice that many of the foods on this list are red or purple in color. That's because the phytochemical that colors them, anthocyanin, is the same phytochemical that's good for your brain.

Blueberries
Blueberries have been shown in numerous studies to do wonderful things for memory and the brain in general. Old rats that were fed blueberries scored the same as young rats on memory tests. Blueberries contain anthocyanin, a known memory-boosting phytochemical. They also contain many other phytochemicals that may contribute to healthy brain function.

Apples
Apples contain high levels of quercetin, an antioxidant that has been shown in recent studies to protect against Alzheimer's disease. Although it is also present in the flesh, the most quercetin is found in the skin. Red apples also contain anthocyanin in their skins.

Spinach
One study found that feeding rats spinach prevented and even reversed memory loss. This may be due in part to its high folic acid content, a nutrient that is believed to be protective against Alzheimer's disease and age-related memory loss. Just a half-cup of cooked spinach provides two-thirds your daily requirement of folic acid.

Onions
Red onions contain anthocyanin and quercetin. Yellow and white onions also contain good levels of quercetin. In India, where onions are an important staple, onions have been used as a folk remedy to boost memory for centuries.

Broccoli
Broccoli contains quercetin. It's also a good source of folic acid.

Red Beets
Beets are a good source of anthocyanin and folic acid.

Grapes
Red, purple, and black grapes all contain quercetin and anthocyanin. Red wine also contains good levels of these phytochemicals, but overindulging in red wine may negate the benefits so keeping consumption to one glass per day may be wise.

Cherries
Another red food that is a good source of anthocyanin.

Eggplant
Eggplant is a great source of anthocyanin. It also contains nasunin, an antioxidant that protects the lipids in brain cell membranes.

Rosemary
Researchers have found that the carnosic acid in rosemary is neuroprotective and may play a role in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative brain disorders. One study even found that just the scent of rosemary improved the memories of office workers.

Ironically, there are times when we want to forget certain memory, yet it came crawling back into our mind like it just happen yesterday. Just like Kate Morton's quoted in her book titled The Forgotten Garden, "Memory is a cruel mistress with whom we all must learn to dance".We got to embraced it and let it passed us by like a wind blowing in cold windy night.

Care to dance?

Dancercise has become the new craze among fitness freaks. Right from helping you lose weight and tone muscles to inculcating grace and poise, dance is an inexpensive and fun way to keep fit. Here’s how:

• Burns calories: Dance, unlike any other exercise form, involves movements that are isolator and coordinate almost every part of the body. In fact studies show that, dancing can burn up to 300 calories per hour.

• Stress buster: Dancing feels like fun rather than exercise, which is good thing since exercise can become a chore after some time. Moreover, dances such as the rumba or jazz are as aerobically challenging as jogging, and the tango can work your heart harder than a game of squash. Those with hectic schedules often look to dance as a stress buster. Experts say, relaxing and de-stressing dancing releases tons of good endorphins, which simply keep you happy and put you in a positive frame of mind.

• Inner massage: Dancing rejuvenates the internal organs. If internal exercises such as vigorous sport, weight training, aerobic classes, running, etc, are not balanced by internal exercises, the organs will be depleted and result in premature ageing. Dancing harness vital energies to rejuvenate the internal organs that produce hormones and thus replenish the overall hormonal balance in the body. It energizes the body and heals the internal organs at the same time.

• Mental stimulation: Trying to remember each move and step not only ensures a good physical workout, but a sound mental state as well. Researchers have found that dancing also reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

• Grace and poise: Dancing helps you to develop grace and poise. Dancing has the power to change your body language and makes you stand out in a crowd. It teaches you to stand taller with your shoulders held back, your tummy in and your chin held high. So if you’re yearning to add grace to your carriage, fit into trendy designer wear and stays stress free, try adding dance to your fitness routine and feel the difference.

• Muscle power: Dancing is a form of weight bearing exercise and helps to strengthen the weight bearing bones.

• Healthy heart: Dance boosts your cardiovascular system by getting your heart pumping as you keep up with the moves, swinging and swaying from hips to shoulders. It is also a great way to build endurance and energy levels.

You don’t have to be Madonna or a Shakira to get your body grooving. All you need to do is put on your dancing shoes and whirl away not just your blues, but the extra kilos as well.
Well, it would be more fun if you have someone to dance with you...wink!

Courtesy of maxabout.com