<p>rice gives you a bigger stomach. it's commonly called a "rice pouch". so stay away from rice. lol.</p>
<p>Not drinking soda, helps tremendously. Especially for me(since I always used to drink it). With soda, it's like adding on a little meal everytime you drink. Now that i've cut most of it out, replacing it with water, I can eat more food and still stabalize my weight. :)</p>
<p>Check the calorie content on regular sodas. I find it quite appalling. I don't think it's wise to drink your calories like that when you can simply drink water or diet soda and eat more. I agree with Danny.</p>
<p>Yeah, soda is horrible if you're trying to lose weight. Plus you gain more weight from calories you drink than from calories you eat, so it's even worse</p>
<p>^^why is that so??</p>
<p>It's not so. It's only so if you mean that you can drink more than you can eat. All calories are equal. A calorie is a calorie.</p>
<p>10 weight-loss myths that can ruin your diet</p>
<p>One day, you cant eat carbs; the next day, its snacks. Nutritionist Madelyn Fernstrom separates out the facts from the fiction when it comes to dieting</p>
<p>On Take It Off Today, we look at diet tips and find out which ones are fact and which ones are fiction. Many people have their own opinions when it comes to watching calories and shedding pounds. Madelyn Fernstrom, a Today contributor and director of the weight management center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, was invited on the show to discuss the most common diet myths and to deliver the facts about healthy ways to reduce calories.
Were a nation obsessed with diets and dieting. Every day were bombarded by seemingly new, and most often confusing, information on what is the best way to shed those extra pounds. There are fat-burning pills, exercise machines, low-fat-low-carb snacks, and diet tips galore: Dont eat carbs, stay away from desserts, dont skip breakfast, never nibble after 6 p.m., etc. New diet book are always hitting the bookstore shelves with the latest weight-loss advice, and celebrities feel compelled to share their diet successes. With all this conflicting information, its difficult to find a diet that is right for you and that will work for you!
And its not that all this weight-loss advice is useless or even unhealthy. Its just that one persons diet secret may not work for you. The same doesnt work for everyone. So its important to know the truth behind common diet tips. Here are 10 popular weight-loss myths and the facts.</p>
<p>Myth #1: You dont have to count calories
Fact: Counting calories is important
You definitely need to count calories in order to lose weight. People tend to overestimate their physical activity and underestimate their calories. Dont rely on eyeballing your caloric intake or trying to estimate it. Instead, every day write down what you eat, the corresponding calories, and your physical activity. To make it easier for you to quantify your physical activity, wear a pedometer. Do this every day. Dont do it just once or twice a week. Consistency is important for dieting. Sure, this isnt easy. But if you want to lose weight, this is important to do on a daily basis.
And remember that a calorie is a calorie whether its fat, sugar, or protein. Still, some foods are more calorie-dense than others. That means that they contain more calories per ounce. Carbohydrates and protein have the same calories per ounce. Fat, on the other hand, has twice as many, so the calories found in fat add up twice as fast. Eat fatty foods dairy products, skin on meat, fatty meats in moderation. You want to limit your intake of fat, but you dont want to stop eating fat. Fat increases your sense of fullness. Your body also needs a small amount of fat to function. Fat is part of our cell structure. The body cant make some essential fatty acids on its own, so it needs to obtain them from an outside source.</p>
<p>Myth #2: Always eat breakfast
Fact: Eat some time during the morning
If you wake up at 7 a.m., you dont have to immediately eat a big breakfast. Youre probably not even hungry right after you wake up. You dont have to jump start your metabolism. You simply have to structure your eating throughout the day, so youre not too hungry later on. It's best to eat within three hours of waking. If you get up at 7 a.m., eat something by 10 a.m. Have some yogurt or a piece of fruit. If you dont eat in the morning, you will be too hungry when you finally have a meal, and then youll likely overeat. Remember, what counts is your total daily calories.</p>
<p>Myth #3: Eat three times a day don't snack
Fact: Eat when you want to maintain calorie intake
Once again, its all about calories. You can eat three times a day or six times a day, as long as you have the same caloric intake. However, you should have at least three meals a day. That structures your daily eating, so dont become too hungry. And if you eat six times a day, you wont be having six full meals.</p>
<p>Myth #4: Carbohydrates make you fat
Fact: Carbs are necessary for a balanced diet
Carbohydrates do not make you fat. Calories make you fat. Often its the sugar and fat contained in carbohydrates that make you fat. Also a lot of carbohydrates are processed, so you dont get the advantage of feeling full from fiber found in unprocessed carbs. For example, whole grain pasta is more filling and makes you feel satisfied longer than white pasta, though both have the same amount of calories. What will change the number of calories is the amount of sauce and butter you put on your pasta. What you want to do is eat carbs in moderation. </p>
<p>Myth #5: Avoid fats
Fact: Fats increase your sense of fullness
Fat is twice as fattening as carbohydrates and protein, but you dont want to avoid them. Studies show that fat gives you a sense of fullness and adds flavor to many foods. Eliminating fat from your diet will increase your hunger. Fat keeps you fuller longer, because it prevents your stomach from emptying out too quickly.</p>
<p>Myth #6: Cut out desserts
Fact: Dont deprive yourself sweets
Deprivation is the downfall of all diets. You can have a small portion of dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth and still stick to your diet. You just dont want to eat a large portion, or more! Food is pleasurable for many people. So, treat yourself but dont overindulge. You can create a diet that lets you eat a sweet once a day or once a week. Dieters who deprive themselves tend to go overboard when they have candy, cake, or cookies. So make a good choice of what you include in your diet. Maybe you can have a small dessert after dinner or lunch.</p>
<p>Myth #7: Dont worry about dieting just exercise
Fact: Exercising alone is not enough
You probably wont be able to work out enough to make up for eating a huge meal. Exercise just does not burn enough calories. If you eata slice of apple pie a la mode that is 500 calories, youll have to walk briskly for two hours to burn those calories. So, you wont lose weight unless you also cut calories.</p>
<p>Myth #8: Dont weigh yourself
Fact: Get on that scale!
You really need to weigh yourself to keep your weight in check. Sure, you can notice if your belt is getting tighter or looser but chances are you dont have an accurate assessment of your weight. Weigh yourself at least once a week. If you dont have a scale at home, go to your doctor or health club and weigh yourself.Weighing yourself shouldnt be seen as punishment. Its just a way to keep an eye on your weight. And your scale doesnt always have to tell you bad news. You may not have noticed that you lost two pounds the other week.
You can weigh yourself once a day or once a week. But dont weigh yourself more than once a day. (That means youre obsessing about your weight.) Get on the scale the same time every day, so you have some consistency. You can record how much you weigh, but its not necessary; you probably wont forget the number. </p>
<p>Myth #9 Never eat at night
Fact: Calories dont know time
Whats important is how many calories you consume; not when you eat them. Many successful dieters save 200 to 300 calories to eat at night. Sure, eating a big steak before you go to bed may give you some indigestion, but it wont ruin your diet. Eating at night may be the best time for you. Youre at home, the kids are in bed, and you have time to enjoy your food. Oprah says she doesnt eat after dinner, but that doesnt mean that you cant have a late snack and still stick to your diet. </p>
<p>Myth #10 No snacking between meals
Fact: Calories are calories
Snacks arent the culprit; calories are. You can have a small container of yogurt for breakfast and a piece of fruit for a snack before lunch. Some dieters prefer to have more structure and limit themselves to three meals a the day and no in-between-meal snacks. Others are more comfortable having small, low-calorie snacks between their main meals. What counts is the total number of calories.</p>
<p>Dieters tip: Reduce calories
The best way to think of cutting calories is to go backwards. Add up your daily calories. If you eat 500 fewer calories a day, you can expect to lose a pound a week, which is considered to be fairly fast weight loss. If you cut out 250 calories a day, you will lose two pounds a month. Of course, this depends on your body type, age, health, gender, and level of physical activity. Men typically need to eat from 1,600 to 1,800 calories to lose weight; women need 1,400 to 1,600. If you want to lose weight at a faster or slower rate, you can adjust your calories.</p>
<p>(source: <a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13897378/wid/11915773/%5B/url%5D">http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13897378/wid/11915773/</a>)</p>
<p>Ok, I know this is totally unrelating to the present topic, but what just popped up in my mind when I read the word belly was the one commercial with Mini-Me and the one fat guy who's all "GET IN MY BELLY! I WANT MY BABY BACK BABY BACK BABY BACK!"</p>
<p>somewhere along this thread i read that sprinting on treadmill is better than jogging. why is this so?</p>
<p>Sprinting? Nah, unless you can sprint better than you can jog. Sprint of course burns more but how long can you endure it? Considering that, jogging would be a better alternative. I read somewhere that if you jog most of the time but take occasional sprints while jogging it helps more, too.</p>
<p>Running+sprinting breaks is very good thing to do and in fact, this is how we were trained for wrestling. It's also a fun thing as at some moments you're almost flying :)</p>
<p>Yeah, it sounds like what you might be describing is some variation of HIIT (High intensity interval training, I think). Basically, you start off at a good pace and do very short intervals of sprinting. This works because your body "adapts" to the exercise you are doing if you're jogging at the same pace and therefore tries to become more efficient and save calories. By, constantly switching it up with these fast sprints, you decrease the chance that your body will become more efficient. Personally, I've found HIIT works really well. You can do it on pretty much any machine (treadmill, elliptical, exercise bike) and it really helps the boredom.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Myth #2: Always eat breakfast
Fact: Eat some time during the morning
If you wake up at 7 a.m., you dont have to immediately eat a big breakfast. Youre probably not even hungry right after you wake up. You dont have to jump start your metabolism. You simply have to structure your eating throughout the day, so youre not too hungry later on. It's best to eat within three hours of waking. If you get up at 7 a.m., eat something by 10 a.m. Have some yogurt or a piece of fruit. If you dont eat in the morning, you will be too hungry when you finally have a meal, and then youll likely overeat. Remember, what counts is your total daily calories.
[/quote]
Not true. After the first hour of waking, if you don't get in food, your body starts slowing metabolism.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Myth #9 Never eat at night
Fact: Calories dont know time
Whats important is how many calories you consume; not when you eat them. Many successful dieters save 200 to 300 calories to eat at night. Sure, eating a big steak before you go to bed may give you some indigestion, but it wont ruin your diet. Eating at night may be the best time for you. Youre at home, the kids are in bed, and you have time to enjoy your food. Oprah says she doesnt eat after dinner, but that doesnt mean that you cant have a late snack and still stick to your diet.
[/quote]
True, calories don't know time, but your body does. Metabolism slows when you sleep. If you eat a big snack before you go to sleep, not all of it will be metabolised by the time you wake up. This is especially bad when you don't eat breakfast, because all of that will just be converted into fat.</p>
<p>yeah some of those "facts" are "myths" :)</p>
<p>Morning workouts are better--they up your metabolism for the whole day and you're burning off fat (b/c you haven't eaten since dinner the previous night).
Eat regular meals--it's not just about total calories. Eating good amounts at regular times keeps you from being hungry, or eating more often. If you eat a solid breakfast after you wake up, you won't be tempted until lunch. Then, eat a healthy snack in the afternoon, and eat a good dinner a couple hours before bed. It's too easy to graze if you don't have regular mealtimes.</p>
<p>anybody know if there is a way to make stretch marks on your body disappear after you lose weight???</p>
<p>yeah I always wondered that too. Does anybody have an answer to it?</p>
<p>I've heard that cocoa butter works.</p>
<p>"Because stretch marks form in the dermis (the middle layer of the skin) this makes it very hard to remove them. While many treatments and creams claim to get rid of stretch marks very few of them actually work. However, there are plenty of products that will help to prevent and improve the appearance of your stretch marks."
(source: <a href="http://www.pinkfridge.com/hab_stretchmarks/%5B/url%5D">http://www.pinkfridge.com/hab_stretchmarks/</a>)</p>
<p>"Unfortunately, skin will not bounce back in its pure state if it's been stretched by rapid growth due to pregnancy, weight gain, or extreme weight loss. Instead, it becomes decorated by a form of scarring called stretch marks, or striae. Stretch marks often start off as reddish or purplish in color, then become glossy skin that appears streaked in silver or white.</p>
<p>Stretch marks occur in the dermis, the elastic middle layer of skin that allows it to retain it shape. However, when constantly stretched, the dermis can break leaving behind stretch marks.</p>
<p>Men and women can get stretch marks on several areas of their bodies, including the abdominal area, thighs, hips, breasts, upper arms or lower back.</p>
<p>How Can I Get Rid Of Stretch Marks? </p>
<p>There are several treatment options for stretch marks. If you are serious about dealing with unwanted stretch marks, it's best to be in the care of a surgeon or dermatologist who can recommend your best options. He or she will take a detailed medical history, including medications you are taking. Some medications can cause stretch marks, and it is very important to be open and honest with your doctor. Those medications include hormones and steroids.</p>
<p>Surgical Methods </p>
<p>Dermabrasion or chemical peel can be used to address unwanted stretch marks, and there are new advances in laser surgeries. The degree of success with any treatment will be impacted by your age, your skin tone and even your diet. It's important to note that insurance coverage probably will not cover stretch mark removal because it is a cosmetic procedure (even if the stretch marks are particularly severe).</p>
<p>Lotions and Creams </p>
<p>There are plenty over-the-counter treatments for stretch marks. If you are a woman who is pregnant and you are concerned with stretch marks, let your physician know before you want to begin preventative treatment before your stomach starts growing. Often, your physician can recommend creams.</p>
<p>Diet and Exercise </p>
<p>Make sure you are maintaining healthy skin! Mama always told you to drink plenty of water. Maybe she knew this: it helps prevent stretch marks, too! Proper water intake keeps your skin soft and less likely to develop stretch marks. Caffeine can increase your risk of stretch marks. If you're stuck on your caffeinated coffee or tea, make sure you balance the fluids. Drink just as much - or more - water as you drink coffee, tea or soda.</p>
<p>Remember, stretch marks can also result from nutritional deficiency. Be sure to consume foods that promote skin health:</p>
<p>Zinc-rich foods such as nuts or fish
Foods high in vitamins A, C, D, such as carrots, citrus fruits and milk.
Protein-rich foods (such as eggs)."
(source: <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/stretch_marks/article.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.medicinenet.com/stretch_marks/article.htm</a>)</p>
<p>"A few studies have shown that applying 0.1 percent tretinoin cream may help with stretch marks. In one study, using this cream reduced the length of the stretch marks by 14 percent and the width by 8 percent. In another study, it decreased the length by 20 percent."
(source: <a href="http://www.babycenter.com/expert/baby/postpartumbeauty/2432.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.babycenter.com/expert/baby/postpartumbeauty/2432.html</a>)</p>
<p>AND FROM WIKIPEDIA...
"The only reliable treatment for already-existing stretch marks is surgery. While several topical applications exist, they're only effective in fading the stretch marks; they do not cause stretch marks to completely disappear."
(source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stretch_marks%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stretch_marks</a>)</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bodybuilding.com%5B/url%5D">www.bodybuilding.com</a></p>
<p>If you search the site, there are over 1000 effective articles that can help you</p>
<p>I have some stretch marks. I gained a lot of weight last year very quickly when I got injured, and I lost it relatively quickly afterward, but the skin was still stretched. I have basically just started to ignore them because they can't be helped, though I hear it's better to do topical treatments WHILE the skin is being stretched (for pregnancy, "quick development", etc).</p>