herbal weight loss Principle #1
Break the fat storage cycle by making the right food choices and by practicing proper "food combining."
Fat is a concentrated source of calories with about twice as many calories (nine per gram) than are found in either carbohydrates or proteins. Fat-heavy meals also lack fiber, so you can eat hundreds of calories and never feel full. Even worse yet, when fat is eaten at the same time as simple carbohydrates, stored fat increases, blood fat levels rise, and the body's basic blood-sugar control mechanism is damaged. This "destructive" marriage of fats with carbohydrates Actually slows down your metabolism and causes you to gain weight.
To begin your herbal weight loss management program you must reduce your intake of all refined sugars and simple carbohydrates, especially avoiding the fat/carbohydrate combinations found in fried foods, cakes, cookies, sweet rolls, candy bars, and so on.
Vitamins Are Essential part of herbal weight loss Because They:
1. Aid in proper development of the body and mind
2. Optimize the function of nutrients from food and other vitamins
3. Facilitate the maintenance of bodily processes
Minerals Are Essential part of herbal weight loss Because They:
1. Are essential to development of blood, nerves, bones, teeth, and other tissues.
2. Restore an acid-based balance
3. Maintain proper bodily processes
Water Is Essential part of herbal weight loss Because It:
1. Provides a fundamental element in all body cells
2. Aids in the elimination of waste products
Expand your intake of whole grains, beans, lean proteins, and steamed or lightly grilled fresh vegetables. Season these foods with herbs to increase the range of flavors and textures and to reduce your desire for fats.
An effective approach to proper food combining is through a modified zone-style diet.
The Zone Diet for herbal weight loss
Dr. Barry Sears created the Zone Diet. The fundamental theory behind the Zone Diet is similar to that which Dr. Atkins uses to support his diet program: insulin production is greatly influenced by diet. The Zone Diet is less rigid in its point of view than the Atkins program in that Dr. Sears is more interested in creating an effective balance between carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake rather than restricting any one nutrient completely. According to this theory the balance between these three essential nutrients—carbohydrates 40 percent, proteins 30
Percent, and fats 30 percent—supports the body in producing optimal levels of insulin. With insulin at a stable level, what Dr.Sears calls "a therapeutic zone"—neither rising nor dropping too quickly—the dieter can avoid the most common negative side effects of excessive insulin: chronic fatigue and constant weight gain. Be careful of your protein food choices, though. Many protein foods contain excess fat (most meats, eggs, whole milk).
Moreover, some unbalanced protein/carbohydrate combinations may reduce the body's ability to release human growth hormone (HGH), a major fat-burning hormone.
The Zone Diet, when applied with a combination of thermogenic herbs and whole, unrefined foods (consisting primarily of vegetables, grains, beans, and low-fat dairy products), will guarantee that the body receives the proper ratio of the required amounts of low-fat protein at each meal, as well as a rich supply of essential fatty acids and fiber-rich fruits and vegetables. This will help the dieter maintain insulin levels within a therapeutic zone and assist in utilizing excess body fat, thus helping to lose weight.
herbal weight loss Principle #2
Turn on your metabolism herbally and burn stored fat with the proper food choices and herbs. Some foods burn "hotter" than others, i.e., they cause your body to expend more calories for heat, encourage activity, and are not as readily stored. Proteins and complex carbohydrates are "hot" burners.
They are not as easily stored as fat and they tell your body it has plenty of fuel. This is part of the "thermic" or heat-producing effect of eating a high-protein or high-complex-carbohydrate meal, and it "turns on" your metabolism.
Combine lean vegetarian proteins, tofu, tempeh, and grains and beans (or fish, skinless chicken, lean beef, or lamb if you are not a vegetarian), with a variety of non-starch vegetables for especially energizing meals. If a meal does not contain concentrated carbohydrates (breads, grains, potatoes, etc.), you need not be particularly concerned about its fat content. Combine complex carbohydrates (grains and beans) with for tasty and filling meals.
herbal weight loss Principle #3
Exercise to increase your metabolic efficiency and train your body to burn stored fat for energy. Though this book is primarily concerned with herbs and weight management, it is impossible to discuss this subject without talking about exercise.
Exercise burns calories, and the greatest benefit comes after the exercise has ended. If you walk briskly for a mere thirty minutes per day, you will increase your calorie burning for the rest of the entire twenty-four-hour period. Adding a moderate amount of upper body exercise or weight lifting will improve your energy expenditure even more by adding calorie-burning lean muscle tissue to your body.
your last meal of the day. Walking after meals is a particularly good practice for diabetics and for those genetically prone to developing diabetes.
An effective exercise program can be as basic or complex as you wish. It all depends on you. Its consistency and regularity are the defining factors in your success. Many people who are in too much of a hurry to lose weight are also too eager to exercise without using common sense. When developing your exercise program it is important that you remember the following:
1. Make sure that you pick the appropriate exercise regime for you. Don't do what someone else does without thinking it out first.
2. Once you have designed your program, perform your exercises correctly.
3. Take your time. Working out vigorously without attention to the movement is a prescription for injury.
Begin any exercise by warming up slowly. Non weight-bearing, range-of-motion exercise will bring more blood to your muscles while slowly increasing your heart rate. After doing the non-weight-bearing movements, then you may gently stretch to increase muscle flexibility and reduce the chance of Injury. Absolutely avoid bouncing or ballistic movements during this exercise since this can lead to injury.
As you lose weight, your center of gravity will shift. For this reason, it is important that you strengthen both your back and abdominal muscles. When doing abdominal strengthening exercises, it is essential that you keep your knees bent.
Avoid these things(Herbal Weight Loss) :
• Deep knee-bends and toe-touches when your legs are locked (straight)
• Jogging or running on hard surfaces
• forcing yourself beyond what is comfortable
herbal weight loss Principle #4
Add fiber to your diet. The best choice in dietary fiber comes in the form of lightly cooked green vegetables and high-fiber herbs. Avoid refined and processed foods whenever possible.
What exactly is dietary fiber? Quite simply, dietary fiber is derived from the portion of a plant that has not been digested by enzymes in the intestinal tract.
Fiber is an essential element of any healthy diet and effective in Herbal Weight Loss. Hot and cold breakfast cereals (especially those with added psyllium seed husks), noodles, pasta, and various whole grains, including breads and especially brown rice, will give you many of the essential nutrients you require while reducing fat intake and still giving you a sense of fullness. Fiber slows down food consumption so that your body has a chance to signal that you have eaten enough. It adds bulk to the meal to give you a feeling of satiation. It slows the increase in the blood sugar level that follows any meal. Fiber carries waste products from the body and, especially if it comes from lightly cooked vegetables, supplies important minerals and antioxidants.
As in every other aspect of this program, it is essential that you avoid going to extremes. Many people will use large amounts of bran, especially wheat bran, to speed up weight loss. The problem here is that bran and bran-rich foods contain naturally occurring substances called phytates. Proper levels of various minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and phosphorous are essential to good health and effective weight loss. Phytates can reduce the absorption of these minerals in the intestinal tract. Vary your fiber sources. Avoid too much scratchy wheat bran, but eat grains, such as oats and barley, and starchy vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and yams (without adding butter and sugar). Try to eliminate all canned and frozen foods, as these often contain hidden fats andsugars. The key then is to avoid mono-diets, or diets where large amounts of any one food dominate. If your diet is varied, then phytates do not pose a problem.
Some herbal sources of fiber include psyllium seed husks and the use of the clear sea vegetable derivative agar-agar in preparing low-calorie desserts and custards.
herbal weight loss Principle #5
Use anti-fat nutrients and herbal thermogenic enhancers for Herbal Weight Loss. Many individuals who are overweight find that they need a little help to jump-start their ability to burn fat. Certain herbs can promote thermo genesis, which occurs in brown adipose tissue and reverses the body's tendency to store fat by increasing the production of heat-energy, which burns calories.
One of the chief drawbacks of calorie-restricted diets is their tendency to lower the body's rate of energy production. Mahuang, with its active ingredient, ephedrine, is the most effective thermogenic. Many herbal weight-loss products contain mahuang in large doses. However, the consumption of mahuang can result in unwanted side effects. Pregnant women, diabetics, and people with serious hypertension should not use thermo genesis.
