Why aren’t all morning runners able to burn fat?

An image of your favourite celebrity, with that perfectly slim waist on the cover page of a magazine lures you to attain the same. And you read their fitness secrets, all talking about running as the best workout to shed kilos.

You made up your mind to follow their fitness mantra and start running miles every morning. But you don’t see any changes in your weight or belly size and just feel like throwing away that weighing scale. You are angered!

But no one is at fault – neither you nor your weighing scale and not even the fitness mantra followed by celebrities. What is at fault is your lack of knowledge about the science behind weight loss.

Maximum people think that their big bellies are due to fat deposition around the abdominal skin and running will burn off this fat giving them slim waistline. But the fact is that all belly fat is not subcutaneous fat, it has some proportion of visceral fat too. Human body fat can be divided into two types – body fat, which gets deposited on muscles and can be seen; and visceral fat, which gets deposited on internal organs and tissues and cannot be seen. The latter is difficult to burn and surely cannot be burnt by making rounds of your neighbourhood park.

Now, what is more about this visceral fat and how will you differentiate it from subcutaneous fat?

Visceral fat is the one that is deposited around your body organs like liver, pancreas and intestines and is the culprit for putting you at high risk of diabetes and heart disease. According to the Journal of American Medical Association, waistline above 40 inches in males and 35 inches in females is an indicator of high amounts of visceral fat in the body.

On the other hand, subcutaneous fat is deposited right beneath the skin, helps you keep warm and stores extra calories. It is these calories that can be burnt by running.

To know whether your belly is holding subcutaneous or visceral fat, grasp and roll the abdominal skin and fat together. If you are able to slide the whole thing up and down, it indicates you are holding subcutaneous fat otherwise it is visceral fat.

So, how to lose visceral fat?

1. Keep a track on your daily diet routine

You sweat out daily by running miles and miles.  But that doesn’t make you deserving of eating anything you like. The daily workout needs to be combined with right diet plan too.

Include lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, lean protein and complex carbohydrates such as beans, lentils and sprouted grains for energy and fibre. Use olive, peanut, sunflower or sesame oils for cooking. Cut down on all trans-fats like doughnuts, cakes, cookies etc, processed food and desserts.

2. Increase the intensity of your exercise

Your should exercise daily for about 30-40 minutes, keeping in mind that the daily caloric balance ( calories consumed minus calories burned) should be negative. Exercise routine may comprise of aerobics, yoga, running or brisk walking.

3. Cut down the intake of alcohol

A study conducted by Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Buffalo, USA has implicated that drinking high amounts of alcohol per day are shown to increase the amount of visceral fat.

4. Take plenty of sleep and avoid stress

Researchers have found a correlation between stress hormone cortisol and visceral fat deposition. So, avoid stress and get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.

5. Reap the benefits of these natural products to get rid of visceral fat

Certain natural products like lemon juice, almonds, cucumber, whole grain cereals, green tea and aloe vera juice help boost your metabolism and aid in your fat reduction.

Reference:- http://organicinsights.in/arent-morning-runners-able-burn-fat/

Foods That Should Be the Core of Your Diet During Pregnancy

A whole new phase of your life also brings in a whole new range of challenges for you where you have to consciously take into account all that you eat, forming a very crucial part of this phase. A rich and healthy diet is extremely vital during pregnancy.

The importance of a good diet during pregnancy has been an important component as per a number of studies done on the matter. It found that women with poor diets before pregnancy are more likely to give birth prematurely than women who have healthy diets.

Following are some of the foods that are essential for both mother and her baby during pregnancy.

1. Milk & Dairy Products

Milk and other dairy products are an essential component of the diet for a pregnant woman. It takes care of Calcium, phosphorous, protein and Vitamin B-12 needs of the body. These nutrients are essential for the baby’s development of teeth, bones, muscles and heart.

2. Nuts

A range of essential nuts like almonds, raisins, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios among a combination of others. They supply a variety of nutrients like Vitamin E and minerals like copper, magnesium, selenium, zinc, calcium, potassium and manganese which are essential for a baby’s development and the pregnant woman.

3. Lentils and Beans

A range of lentils and beans like black beans, kidney beans, soy beans are essentials of the diet since they are rich in proteins and fibers and are a good source of calcium, iron, zinc and folate.

4. Poultry, Fish & Lean meats

Pregnant women require more iron than other women. Poultry, fish, eggs and lamp are some of the best sources of iron. Eggs are rich in proteins, omega-3 which is important for the baby’s development of retina, memory functions and brains. Fish contains proteins, omega-3, Vitamin-D and minerals.

5. Fruits & Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibers and provide major nutrients like Vitamin A,B,C& K, potassium folic acid, beta carotene and zinc. The vegetables to be included should be green leafy vegetables, carrots, capsicum, beetroot, and Indian gooseberry among others.

6. Whole Grains

They make up for a balanced diet among pregnant women. They are highly fibrous, provide vital nutrients like Vitamin B & E, carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

7. Water

The importance of water can never be neglected as it is a base for healthy toxin- free body. It aids digestion, blood circulations and becomes a carrier of transporting essential minerals and vitamins to the blood cells which reach the baby through the placenta.

Eating a healthy diet in moderation will help the pregnant woman maintain a balance in diet and keep her active and the baby healthy.

Reference:- http://organicinsights.in/foods-core-diet-pregnancy/