Skinny on Fats in the Diet

November 30, 2011

After talking about body composition last week and how a high percentage of body fat can poorly influence overall health, I decided it was important to clarify the role of fat in the diet. If you’ve been confused about what type and how much fat to include in your diet, you’re not alone. Yet one thing is certain: after many years of being told to avoid fat because it will make you fat, we now realize that fat is absolutely necessary as part of a healthy diet, and if eaten sensibly, will help to keep you lean and looking and feeling good.

In general, our diets should include approximately 20 – 35% calories from fat. So for example, in a 2,000 calorie/day diet, this would amount to 400 – 700 calories. At 9 calories per gram, this converts to 44 – 78 grams of fat per day. If that sounds like a lot to you, consider why fat is so important in the diet:

It’s a source of concentrated energy
It is a major structural component of cell membranes
It’s a source of insulation
It’s necessary for healthy skin and nails
It slows down digestion
It’s needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients
It keeps our vision strong
It’s involved in cell signaling
It’s a major component of the central nervous system and necessary for proper brain function

(more…)

Burn Belly Methods

October 6, 2011

How to burn belly fat? I think that may be one of the biggest questions out there with the broadest answers of how we can do it. I think there is no quick fix on how to do it. I think to burn belly fat you need to begin every morning with your routine and how you are approaching your fat loss. Now, the hard part. What can you do and where do you start to burn belly fat? Let’s take a look into the causes of belly fat to better understand what is actually making you suffer from this.

The obvious reason for your need to burn belly fat is the lifestyle that you are leading. You know you need exercise to create a higher metabolism which will begin the fat burning within you. But it is always easier to just sit and think about your fat loss, instead of actually taking the steps needed to do this. You would be amazed at the outcome of a simple walk each evening. To burn belly fat you need this. Maybe, instead of taking the car 4 blocks to the super market you could walk there? How about instead of having the remote right next to you it is set down 20 feet from the television. I know this sounds stupid to some, but you have to actually exercise to get your television channel changed. Fill an empty milk jug with water when you are finished with it. When you watch television, simply lift it now and then with each arm, this is making your metabolism increase, which in turn will help burn belly fat. Keep it simple, make up your own routine that will get you moving. The more you move, the more you increase everything good in your body.

(more…)