How NOT to Diet

From the pages of Better Fitness.

Many people think the best way to lose weight is to diet, drastically dropping calories or types of food in a desperate attempt to shed the pounds. Others think that exercise is the only way to health, so they exercise frantically for a few months before giving up.

Imagine how much money Americans spend on diet pills, miracle diets, or even just exercise equipment.These people mean well, but don't understand the way the human body works. Their attempts may result in temporary gains, but because they just don't understand, they often end up worse off than before.

Diets are a temporary solution to a long-term problem. Let's say someone, after a lifetime of eating poorly, takes a diet. It's a rough diet, since the calories have to be cut sharply, but it's worth it, right? The diet turns out to be fantastically efficient (which would never happen), and that person loses tons of weight. They go back to their old eating habits, since they're 'in good shape'. But within just a few months, their weight starts ballooning upwards again!

Other people try to exercise frantically, either taking up sports they don't care for or joining an exercise class that they'll skip. These people are somewhat better off than the dieters, as exercise is a good start. But what they don't realize is that exercise should be enjoyable - it shouldn't be painful or uncomfortable. Turn exercise from a chore into a joy!

So-called 'diet pills' simply don't work. If there were such a thing as a pill that could help you safely remove excess pounds, they would be prescribed by doctors across the globe.You have to break out of the cycle of diets and discomfort.

You'll never have to go on another diet! Instead, learn how to eat good food and lose weight - you'll be feeling great, and looking good. By establishing good health habits, losing weight will be like breathing. You won't even know it's happening!

So why wait? You can start losing weight today!

Please visit the links on this page. If you Need a diet, Want to lose weight, Get in shape and Feel better one of these programs is sure to work for you.

Are You Burning Muscle Not Fats?

The danger of any weight loss program is that you may lose more muscles than fats. This is not healthy at all because when you lose muscles, your metabolism will slow down and your body will in turn retain more fats.

So how do you know if you are burning more muscles than fats? There is a simple and inexpensive way to find out.

Firstly, you must know that whenever your body burn fats for energy, a certain chemical call ketones are released. “When your body releases ketones, it is chemical evidence that you’re consuming your own stored fat.” said the famous MD Dr Atkins.

You want your body to burn the food you have eaten and even more so if you are obese, your body fat for energy and not your muscles.

One simple yet inexpensive way of knowing whether you are burning your body fat or muscles is to test for the production of ketones. If you are releasing ketones, you are burning fats instead of your muscles. If you are you are on a weight loss program and you are not producing ketones, then your program is not effective because you are burning other energy sources such as carbs or your own muscles. That means your weight loss program is virtually ineffective and can even be dangerous.

Ketones strips to test for ketones in your urine are readily available in most pharmacies. These strips are usually used by diabetics but are also a wonderful tool to check how effective your weight loss program is.

If you are losing weight and do not include exercises and a healthy diet in your weight loss program or you are actually on a severe caloric restriction diet, chances are very high that you may be burning your muscles for energy instead of your fats. Losing too much muscle is dangerous and may be fatal. Do know that your heart is a muscle. Does this statement give you warning bells?