5. Water and Weight Loss

How much water do you drink each day and how much is enough? It is clinically accepted that an adult, on average, requires 2 litres (8 glasses) of water each day.  An overweight person requires 2 litres daily plus an extra glass for every 20 (10kg) pounds of excess weight - bigger bodies require more water  because they have more metabolic requirements.

A body without sufficient water intake doesn't function well, just like a dry, wilting plant - water it and you see a quick recovery.  The human body is 65%  water - that is 65% of your body weight is attributed to water( 2/3 held in the cells and 1/3 makes up blood and body fluids) and when we look at the role water plays you begin to appreciate why we need to drink an adequate amount and why water is important for our health. Lack of water leads to essential body functions being affected.

Water is responsible for these essential functions;

• Constituent of blood and all body fluids
• Constituent of every cell, tissue and organ
• Regulates body temperature.
• Lubricates and cushions the joints.
• Protects the spinal cord and other sensitive tissues.
• Gets rid of wastes through urination, perspiration, and bowel movements.

From a weight loss perspective, drinking water will make you feel fuller and swell any fibre contained in you meal.  It also increases your metabolism (rate at which your body burns calories) by 30%. Have a look at this interesting article;

"Despite the fact that most diets call for drinking at least eight, 8-ounce glasses of water a day, few studies have been done to determine if the practice actually speeds weight loss. In an effort to answer this question, Michael Boschmann, MD, and colleagues from Berlin's Franz-Volhard Clinical Research Center tracked energy expenditures among seven men and seven women who were healthy and not overweight.

After drinking approximately 17 ounces of water, the subjects' metabolic rates -- or the rate at which calories are burned -- increased by 30% for both men and women. The increases occurred within 10 minutes of water consumption and reached a maximum after about 30 to 40 minutes". S.Boyles WebMD Healthnews

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040105/drinking-water-may-speed-weight-loss

So, as well as speeding up your metabolism, water helps the body burn body fat so that it can utilise the fat as energy (calories).
Does too much water lead to water retention -  abdominal bloating, the puffiness "false fat"? NO! Quite the opposite - if you don't drink enough, your body will go into survival mode and the kidneys will send out the message that the body needs to start storing water and slow down the waste filtering systems that require a lot of fluid. As a result of this the concentration of waste and toxins in the blood grows higher, making you feel sluggish. To keep the vital organs safe, the toxins are stored in the body's fat cells, where they will stay, until the cell's contents are used as energy (calories) when you exercise or energy when you have low calorie intake.
Drink my dears and tomorrow drink again!  Visit us at www.clubmotivita.com

4. Protein - The Body Builder-Literally

Protein is a building block - essential for body function,structure and support. Without protein the skeleton would not have the ability to move or stand and by looking at the list below you can see just how important it is that we eat an adequate amount of protein daily, as protein cannot be stored.

HOW IS PROTEIN USED BY OUR BODIES?

• For the building and repair of muscle
• Production of collagen in bones, ligaments, connective tissues
• The manufacture of body fluids, skin, hair, hormones and enzymes
• Keeping all body cells in good working order
• Producing immune system cells
• Transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the lungs 
• Transporting nutrients, hormones and electrolytes to and from organs and cells

So how much protein do we need? The daily Recommended Nutrient Intake of protein for adults is 45g for women and  55g for men.  It is advised that you slightly increase your intake when pregnant and in older age.  Athletes and those that do regular vigorous exercise usually need a higher protein intake for increased muscle recovery and repair requirements. With some medical conditions you may be advised to decrease your intake, especially when the kidneys are not functioning properly.

Protein - How Much, How Little?

So as with all nutrients, you need to balance your protein intake with your body's requirements. More protein intake then your body can use (see above for advised intake) will have the surplus being filtered and passed by the kidneys, causing the renal system to work harder. The protein that the kidneys doesn't excrete will be converted to glucose and stored in the fat cells, but can then only then be used for energy and not the essential functions that require protein.To avoid overloading the body's system, only consume  20-30g portions of protein at a time, the body can't process larger amounts.Too little protein in your daily diet will result in essential functions not being carried out which could prove to be life threatening.  Low levels of protein could just make you feel weak, as the protein in muscle mass is used by the body to produce more necessary elements for the body to survive and as the protein intake levels fall, more critical functions will start to fail and if left untreated this could be life threatening.


Weight Loss and Protein Intake
Ok, so now we appreciate the importance of protein, the highs, the lows and the essentials. 1 gram of Pure Protein = 4 Calories, some protein rich food may have added fat calories ( 1 gram of fat = 9 Calories) , always trim the fat, remove skin and limit your consumption of saturated fat (animal fat).  
Some proteins have added carbohydrate calories ( 1 gram carbohydrate = 4 Calories) such as starchy beans and peas.  Look at Google Nutrition Search, for the nutrition break down of each food and you can calculate the calories coming from each food group. 
In a weight loss program you may start to burn some muscle tissue as well as body fat cells. To avoid losing muscle, it is important to start doing some exercise to strengthen them and ensure that you have adequate protein in your diet.  Eating protein takes longer to digest and will help you feel fuller longer in conjunction with a balanced diet.  There are other weight loss benefits too; 

•  For every pound of muscle gained, your body will burn an extra 70 calories per hour in metabolism.( the automatic working of the inner body for normal function)
• Protein boosts metabolism by 25% for up to 12 hours
• 25% of the calories from the protein you have eaten is used by the body to digest it, whereas fat requires 2% and carbohydrates 6% of the calories from the food you have eaten, to digest it.
• Protein increases levels of Glucagon (responsible for decreasing levels of hormones responsible for storing fat in body fat cells and the liver) which encourages greater body fat loss

FOODS THAT CONTAIN PROTEIN

 Meat, fish, shellfish, dairy products, beans pulses, eggs and for further information visit

http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html


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3. Good Carbs - Bad Carbs

If you are planning to lose weight, you need to look at what your body requires to ensure that you have a balanced diet.  Your three main food groups are fats, protein and carbohydrate, all essential to keep our bodies working healthily and effectively.
Today we're looking at CARBOHYDRATE - the Slow carb, the Fast carb, the Necessary carb.  What does it do for us?  Well it has a pretty important job and is responsible for;

• Energy- carbohydrate is used as fuel. It feeds every cell in the body
• Keeping blood glucose levels normal for metabolism
• It helps with absorption of calcium
• Lowering cholesterol levels, but only carbohydrate containing fiber (fruit, vegetables, beans, oats, whole grains). Cholesterol sticks to fiber in the gut, this prevents the absorption of cholesterol and then it is passed through the bowel as waste.
• It nourishes gut bacteria which are necessary for a number of very important functions.

When you eat carbs, they are converted into glucose for energy use or stored.  Different types of carbohydrate are converted at different speeds;

Slow Carbohydrate - Fruit (not fruit juice) vegetables, beans, whole grains like barley, wild rice, pasta, nuts and seeds.
Slow carb has a slow conversion time and affects insulin production at a slower, balanced rate.  There is less fat storage due to the slow release of glucose. Slow carbs are more filling,they contain more fibre and soak up water, hence you eat less and feel more content.

Fast Carbohydrate - White bread, biscuits, white flour, crisps, corn flakes, sweets, fructose, rice cakes, fruit juice(fresh or concentrate)
Fast carbs convert quickly and have a rapid effect on insulin levels, which can be toxic on the body unless you are an athlete requiring energy immediately. If it isn't required for energy it is stored in muscle, liver and body fat cells. Please look at my previous Posts for an explanation on the balance of glucose and insulin.  This type of carb does not stay in the stomach for long, there is no fibre content and it is quickly absorbed, leaving you feeling, less full and possibly craving more fast carbohydrate

The G.I ( Glycemic Index) of carbohydrates
The G.I of carbohydrate indicates how fast or how slowly it is converted into glucose, once in the blood stream. The Index compares the effects on blood sugar after eating carbohydrate and after eating pure glucose. A food with a G.I of 30 raises blood sugar levels 30% as much as pure glucose.  A Low G.I carbohydrate gives a low rise in blood glucose and in turn a low rise in insulin levels and a High G.I carbohydrate produces high levels of blood glucose and insulin - the higher your blood glucose level, the more insulin is produced to reduce it to "normal levels".

To keep your blood sugars stable it is advisable to choose your carbohydrates between the Low G.I - 55 or lower ranking and the Medium G.I ranking 56-69.  This will also help to keep you to feeling full if you are on a reduction diet, keep lower blood sugars so you won't be building up stores of fat, it can also help prevent carb cravings and hunger.

To search the G.I of other foods click on  www.glycemicindex.com 

You may also find this film by The University of California, informative.  I know I did!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moQZd1-BC0Y
Let me know what you think.  We need to talk about the Food Industry and it's effects on Global Health. Who is responsible?