After focusing on the weight loss benefits of coffee a few weeks back, we decided to take a look at tea. Green tea, in particular, has received a lot of press over the last few years, and tea drinkers will be happy to hear that it is not all hype. Studies and research continue to show that not only can drinking tea improve your health, but it can help improve the results of your weight loss plan, too.

Will Herbal Teas Work?

As an herbal, peppermint tea isn’t technically a tea. However, it still offers weight loss benefits.

For the most part, we are talking about real tea here. Herbal teas are not technically considered to be tea. It is largely teas that come from Camellia sinensis plants that are considered to be true tea, and it is the plant that is likely responsible for contributing the health and weight loss benefits. That is not to say that herbal teas cannot offer help when it comes to losing weight. According to research conducted at Wheeling Jesuit University, the scent of peppermint affects caloric intake by controlling the appetite. So, weight loss definitely belongs on the list of peppermint tea health benefits.

Hundreds of Secret Ingredients

The caffeine and other components in tea and coffee work together in the same way for weight loss.

Some are under the mistaken impression that tea is a viable alternative to coffee when they are trying to avoid caffeine. The truth is that tea has just as much caffeine as coffee–and some types of tea contain even more. That is a good thing, though, when weight loss is the goal. Caffeine revs your metabolism to burn more calories. The two drinks have more than just that one, helpful element in common, however. The United States Department of Agriculture reveals that tea, like coffee, contains a multitude of components that work either on their own or that act with the caffeine to increase essential weight loss factors such as fat oxidation and metabolism.

The Best Teas for Weight Loss

Different teas bring different elements to the table to help you lose weight.

All right, already. You want to know which teas work the best for losing weight. Many health publications in print and on the web have weighed in, listing a good selection of tea varieties that will enhance your weight loss plan. Everyone has heard of green tea for weight loss. It makes all the lists because of the catechins it contains. You remember those from a recent post, don’t you? They are an antioxidant that raises your resting metabolism and triggers your fat cells to release fat. Then they signal your liver to hurry up and turn the fat into energy.

Other teas that are weight loss wonders include

• White tea–weight loss website EatThis! says that it helps with weight control because it prevents your body from forming new fat cells.
• Oolong tea–gives metabolism a boost to increase fat burning.
• Pu-erh tea–this one shrinks existing fat cells, according to TheDailyMeal.
• Rooibos tea–reduces stress hormones that spark hunger and control fat storage.

Steaming Hot, on the Rocks, or Extracted

Brew iced tea extra-strong or substitute ice cubes with cubes of frozen tea.

For those who like variety, the good news is that drinking tea for weight loss and other health benefits can be done in a number of ways. Women’s Health advises that though a hot mug of tea may be the most common way to get your daily dose, you can opt to have your tea iced if the weather is too warm or you just want a change of pace. Remember, though, that the ice cubes can dilute the tea, decreasing its effectiveness. The solution to that is to brew iced tea stronger than you would hot tea, or freeze a tray of ice cubes made from brewed tea to use in your iced drink. Alternatively, green tea extract is a handy way to reap tea benefits if you are not in the mood for tea or simply do not have the time to brew up a pot. According to Keri Glassman, Woman’s Health nutrition expert, taking 1 ml of green tea extract is roughly the same as drinking 8 to 10 cups of brewed green tea.

General Tea Bennies

Even if losing weight is not at the top of your priority list, tea will still do your body good. The University of California Berkley reveals that tea has shown to positively affect a myriad of health issues such as

• brain health–including Parkinson’s Disease!
• bone health
• cancer
• cardiovascular health
• diabetes

The best tea for any health purpose is organic and has no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

Warning: all teas are not created equal. As with anything you put into your body, you need to become a label reader. Whatever variety you favor, whether for flavor or the specific benefits, look for teas with ingredients that are all natural, ones that do not contain artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.

It can be difficult, but it’s not impossible to look great and lose weight during menopause.

Struggling with weight loss is difficult enough when you’re younger, and your body can work as it should. Add the element of aging to the mix, and you’ve got an uphill battle on your hands. Women experience difficulty losing weight after menopause and even during peri-menopause because not only are they dealing with typical issues such as slowing metabolisms, loss of muscle tone and declining aerobic capacity, but hormonal changes also contribute to abdominal weight gain, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Those issues working together explain why even women who have been active all their lives find losing weight during menopause challenging. The bad news is that experts agree that there is no “magic bullet” for managing menopausal and postmenopausal weight gain. However, there is some good news if you’ll choose to see the silver lining, and it is this: while losing weight during menopause is challenging, it’s not impossible. A study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine concluded that weight gain during peri- and postmenopause can be prevented, but the key is making long-term lifestyle changes. If you’re frustrated with having difficulty losing weight after menopause, committing to exercise and diet plans essentially for the rest of your life shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.

Calorie Needs for Healthy Weight Loss

It’s not rocket science, but there is a calculation to use to figure your personal calorie needs.

Healthy weight loss doesn’t have to be about diet plans that cut out entire food groups or deprive you of an occasional treat. Even when menopause is an issue, how to lose weight is basically about burning more calories than you take it. However, everyone, regardless of age, requires a certain number of calories to exist, so the first step is to figure your personal number before you can start making adjustments to your diet and exercise.

Shape magazine recommends women use the Harris-Benedict equation to figure their base calorie needs, also called your Basal Metabolic Rate:

655+(4.35 x your weight in pounds)+(4.7 x your height in inches)-(4.7 x your age in years)=BMR

Using this equation, a 65 year old woman who weighs 130 pounds and is 5’3″ would have a daily need for roughly 1160 calories to maintain her weight, but that would only be if she literally did nothing each day but exist. Even those with sedentary lifestyles burn calories walking across the room, making the bed and doing other basic life activities. That means there’s still another part to the equation to come up with an accurate BMR. So! Multiply your BMR by 1.4 if you live a sedentary lifestyle, 1.5 if you regularly engage in moderate exercise, 1.6 if you have a physical job in addition to exercising and by 1.9 if you’re very active.

If our hypothetical woman does aerobics or Pilates several times a week plus walks her dog for an hour every day, she can multiply her BMR by 1.5 for a light activity factor to get 1740 calories. Remember, though, that is to maintain her weight of 130. If she’d like to lose a few pounds, she’ll need to reduce that by 500 calories a day to start losing one to two pounds each week. Alternatively, she’d only need to cut 250 calories from her required amount if she wanted to increase her activity each week.

Caveat: now that we’ve done all the math, there’s a critical variable to consider. The number you come up with is a general guideline. It’s average-based, meaning your personal metabolism and varying levels of activity week-to-week will affect how many calories you need at any given time. The best advice is to use the number you come up with as a starting point. Stick to it for a few days and pay attention to how you really feel physically. If you have a hard time taking in enough calories to meet your number, maybe you don’t need that many. On the other hand, if you feel sluggish and lack energy throughout the day (and you’re calories are coming from a healthy, balanced diet), then you may need more–or more of a specific food group like protein. The bottom line is to tailor calorie intake to your specific situation based on the numerous factors that uniquely make up you and your lifestyle.

Best Foods For Weight Loss in Menopause

Fruit is better than sugary sweets, but fruit contains sugar, too, so don’t overdo just because it’s “natural.”

The types of foods you eat will make a difference between continuing to struggle with losing weight during menopause or seeing quick weight loss results. Medical News Today recommends eating more fish, fruits and vegetables and cutting back (notice they didn’t say eliminate) fried foods, desserts, fatty meats and sugar-sweetened drinks. In fact, you’ll probably notice a difference just by cutting out soda and drinking more water.

A lot of the expert advice recommends substituting fruit for less healthy snacks and desserts, but remember that fruit contains sugars and, even though they’re natural, too much will still work against your weight loss plans. When you’re feeling snacky it’s usually not even related to being hungry. Try drinking a glass of water to ensure that it’s really not thirst you’re feeling. If you tend to nosh when bored, get up and get active instead of reaching for a bite to eat.

How to Lose Weight: Eating at the Right Times

Eating early — at least 4 hours before bedtime — will leave you plenty of time to burn off calories.

You might notice a surge of quick weight loss if you retrain yourself to eat at the right times. That means not skipping breakfast, and not eating right before bed. Actually, the longer you can go between your last meal of the day and bedtime, the better. If you’re planning on eating a heavy meal, like Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, schedule it early, like around 4:00. The lighter the meal, the later you can eat it, but try to get in 4 or more hours between dinner and bedtime.

Get Physical

Participate in resistance training twice a week and get at least 150 minutes of cardio exercise, too, to help with weight loss during menopause.

All effective weight loss programs include exercise along with diet advice. The Centers for Disease Control have guidelines for optimal physical activity for people of all ages, and recommend that older adults, such as women in menopause, get a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week along with two days of resistance training exercise. If you can double that, you’ll enjoy comparatively quick weight loss. Don’t worry about trying to carve out hours at a time for exercise. It’s been shown that people still see results from working out as little as 10 minutes at a time, just as long as the total at the end of the week adds up to 150 minutes or more.

Snacking doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker for your diet plan.

When you’re feeling snacky, what do you reach for? It may depend on the mood you’re in, or you might be the type to have a go-to nosh. Kids Health reported on a study that found that salty, crunchies are what people crave when they’re bored. Additionally, crunchy snacks alleviate stress for the anxiety-ridden. However, reaching for a nibble, no matter what is driving your need, often results in diet plan guilt. We’ve been conditioned with a negative connotation on snacking. While the benefits of eating more frequently for a successful weight loss program is a topic for another article, it’s only common sense that eating healthy snacks won’t derail your health and fitness goals. Healthy snacks are where almonds come in. They’re not simply “OK” to eat — with  superior nutritional value, low calorie count and the health benefits of almonds, eating them should be more of a requirement than an option.

Vitamin and Mineral Packed

Bursting with vitamins B and E, and a healthy assortment of minerals, almonds keep you healthy inside and out.

OK, almonds don’t carry every vitamin and mineral you need, but the ones they do contain are important ones. They’re known to be one of the best sources of vitamin E. That’s the vitamin that provides your body with alpha-tocopherol to defend against free-radical damage to your muscles, as well as protecting your skin from the sun. It’s also been shown to help prevent memory decline and increase alertness.

With a more than healthy dose of vitamin B2, almonds help keep your hair, eyes and skin healthy on the outside while producing energy and benefitting your liver on the inside. Additionally, the calcium, potassium and magnesium found in almonds keep your bones strong and healthy.

However, here comes the bonus round: the combination of vitamins and minerals that almonds carry work together to provide even more health benefits. According to Fox News, vitamin E and the minerals in almonds aid in producing testosterone, a handy little advantage for men over 30. Plus, the fusion of vitamins B and E with magnesium boosts your immune system, especially useful when you’re stressed out or feel a cold coming on.

Disease Deterrent

Almonds are super-heroes at reducing risks of cancer, heart disease, diabetes 2 and other illnesses.

The presence of vitamin E in almonds takes the healthiness of the nutty snack up a notch to disease deterrent. Medical News Today reveals that the antioxidant effects of vitamin E are useful for defending against cancer and other cell-damaging diseases. It’s also what makes almonds effective at lowering cholesterol. Nuts and seeds in general, but specifically almonds, have been associated with warding off heart disease. Additionally, a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that eating almonds reduced the risks for Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome.

Satisfying Without the Weight Gain

Almonds pack more hunger-curbing punch and with fewer calories, so they don’t promote weight gain.

According to Shape magazine, almonds are some of the lowest-calorie nuts you can eat. That low calorie count is behind one of the almond weight loss tips you probably didn’t expect:  eating almonds will curb your appetite and won’t promote weight gain. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that a snack of almonds as small as 1 1/2 ounces satisfied the urge to nibble, but that it also resulted in decreased appetite during subsequent meals. But the kicker is that the participants didn’t gain weight, even though they consumed 250 calories per day in almond snacks. Researchers attribute that to the fact that eating almonds made them less likely to overeat during meals, resulting in an overall decrease in caloric intake. Remember that, to enhance the health benefits of almonds, eating them slowly will increase the amount of time you remain satisfied by your snack.

The Link Between Almonds and a Long Life

A handful of almonds a day will help keep you lean and healthy, ensuring you’ll have high quality of life well into the golden years.

According to Medical News Today, people who include nuts in their daily diet plan not only tend to be thinner, but they’re also more likely to live longer than people who don’t eat nuts regularly. The numbers showed that those who ate nuts at least once a day had a 20 percent reduction in the risk of death due to health issues. If a snack is satisfying, nutritious and can help you live longer, where’s the downside? Dry roasted or raw, lightly salted or al fresco, grab a handful of almonds today and start munching.

——————–THIS is the year you’ll get fit!———————-

Just about everyone  makes a fitness or weight loss resolution on January 1. For some, it’s an annual ritual that doesn’t get past January 2 while others actually take a stab at finally doing “something” to lose weight and/or get into shape. Even though it’s pretty much become a cliché, resolving to work out in the new year is a respectable decision. You’re probably already aware of the benefits of getting fit but, because they’re not all centered around preparing for swimsuit season, they bear repeating. According to Health Guidance, some of the top reasons for getting in shape include lower healthcare costs from improved immunity and reduced chances of disease such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. You’ll have improved memory and concentration, will sleep better, breathe easier and will be in a better mood in general, too, if you work out regularly.

If you’re already convinced and are wondering what workout routine is best to lose weight quickly, you need to know about HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT alternates short bursts of all-out effort with longer periods of reduced  exertion considered “rest,” even though you’re constantly moving throughout the workout. IDEA Health and Fitness reveals that, way back in 1912, Hannes Kolehmainen, an Olympic long-distance runner from Finland, was incorporating interval training into his workouts. That means the HIIT exercise workout craze isn’t exactly a new one. It is, however, a workout trend fitness enthusiasts have been tweaking for decades to customize it to their goals and preferences.

It’s wise to get the green light from your doctor before staring an intense workout program. Image by Vic

HIIT, in general, is good news for those who want to lose weight quickly, but HIIT workout plans that incorporate resistance training are terrific news for those who think they don’t have enough time to work out. Performing a resistance workout routine as a high intensity interval workout gets your heart rate up to satisfy your need for cardio exercise and, since the exercises are weight bearing, you’ll reap the benefits resistance training provides while you’re at it. If you haven’t been exercising consistently, it’s a good idea to see your doctor first. It’s a wise move whenever you want to embark on new, intense training, but it’s especially important for people who’ve been inactive.

Benefits of HIIT Training

The fat-burning benefits of HIIT continue on long after you’re done working out.

High Intensity Interval Training may have been around for over a century, but it’s just been in the last few years that serious research has been conducted to determine its benefits and the level of them. Studies from 2000 on forward have proven that HIIT is superior to traditional fitness training for improving metabolic and physiological functions including fat burning effectiveness and oxidation of fatty acids. Even after you’ve completed a HIIT workout, the elevated caloric expenditure and oxygen consumption continues. Those benefits of HIIT training are what help you lose weight quickly, but there are even more advantages of HIIT. Dr. Mercola favors HIIT because it boosts the body’s production of human growth hormone, which is better than taking a load of muscle building supplements. HIIT has also shown to improve blood sugar regulation for up to 24 hours, and it reprograms your body at the genetic level to produce lipolytic enzymes, otherwise known as natural fat-busters.

HIIT and Your Training Schedule

Just 30 minutes 2 or 3 days a week is all you need to schedule for HIIT to be effective.

High intensity training is ideal for people who are short on time. You can get all the resistance and cardio you need in two or three days of 30 to 45 minute HIIT training workouts. Remember that “high intensity” is built right into the name of the workout. You’ll be pushing your body during each session, so take at least one day of rest in between HIIT workouts. An effective schedule might be focusing on two or three muscle groups and breaking them down to Monday, Wednesday and Friday workouts while taking the other four days of the week off. Alternatively, you could do two full-body workouts, incorporating different exercises for each workout, and do them any two days of the week that is convenient for you. Just make sure it isn’t two days in a row.

Effective HIIT Workout Routine

The TargitFit Trainer makes your HIIT workouts a snap.

HIIT is so effective when performed on cardio equipment — or even when running and biking outdoors — that many people associate it exclusively with cardio fitness workouts. Adding to that misconception is the difficulty most people assume they’ll have working between exercises and changing out equipment if they try to adapt their free weight workout to high intensity interval training. Resistance bands are the ideal solution to modifying resistance training workouts to HIIT. Equipment such as the TargitFit Trainer makes it easy to move between exercises with little or no adjustments, and the linear variable resistance the bands provide will ensure an effective workout for building muscles and strength. It’s not just an assumption, either. This HIIT workout was developed using TargitFit to get a full body workout — cardio and all — in just about 30 minutes:

• step ups — 2 minutes, moderate effort (this is your warm up)
• chest press — 60 seconds, full effort, 90 seconds, moderate effort
• seated row — 60 seconds, full effort, 90 seconds, moderate effort
• overhead triceps extension — 60 seconds, full effort, 90 seconds, moderate effort
• flys — 60 seconds, full effort, 90 seconds, moderate effort
• crunches — 60 seconds, full effort, 90 seconds, moderate effort
• biceps curls — 60 seconds, full effort, 90 seconds, moderate effort
• seated military press — 60 seconds, full effort, 90 seconds, moderate effort
• squats — 60 seconds, full effort, 90 seconds, moderate effort
• 3 minute cool-down, perform step ups again or do the stationary bike, jog in place or on the treadmill or jump rope

When there’s no gravity, muscles don’t have anything to work against and can atrophy. Image courtesy of Sujin Jetkasettakorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you think of astronauts you may picture the moon landing or you might start craving a cold glass of Tang, but you probably don’t think much about fitness. The fact is that resistance training is vital for helping astronauts avoid muscle atrophy, according to NSBRI. Books such as “Discovering Biological Psychology” by Laura Freberg and “Packing for Mars” by Mary Roach reveal that astronauts coming back from a short visit (as little as six months) to a space station have up to 20 percent less bone than they had when they left the earth, and it takes just two weeks in outer space to lose up to 20 percent of their muscle mass — the equivalent effects of aging to 80 years old. (!)

Those are dangerous conditions for a body, as weak muscles and bones are more susceptible to injury and contribute to fatigue. NASA knows this, and sponsored research to determine how to best minimize the effects of zero gravity on their astronauts, according to Science Daily. As a result, more intense resistance training was recommended to maintain and increase muscle mass and improve bone density as part of outer space fitness.

The Issue of Tissue

When you take away the gravity factor, the stress on your muscles and bones is vastly reduced, leading to tissue loss first of muscle and, eventually, loss of bone density. Gravity here on earth helps work your muscles. It’s what makes body-weight exercises effective, and resistance training with equipment even more effective. Gravity pulls the weight of your body or the equipment down and, as you work against gravity, it turns the activity into a resistance exercise. Building muscle mass helps to maintain and even improve bone density. The Mayo Clinic reveals that resistance training puts stress on your bones which encourages them to build more tissue and increase density.

Problems With Working Out in Zero Gravity

OK, so astronauts need more intense workouts to keep from losing their muscle mass and bone density when they’re in space, but there’s a problem with traditional resistance training: zero gravity means that a 50 pound dumbbell doesn’t weigh anything, so traditional free weights aren’t effective for resistance training in outer space.

TargitFit Trainer to the Rescue

Because the usual weightlifting equipment isn’t an option, NASA has had to be creative in providing alternatives for resistance training in outer space, such as experimenting with equipment that uses pistons for resistance.  Then in 2012, while working with the Mars mission simulator, NASA stumbled upon the TargitFit Trainer and added it to their simulator training protocol. NASA has used band resistance machines in the past, according to PC Mag, because resistance from bands remains constant even in zero gravity,  but the TargitFit Trainer is much smaller in size than most workout equipment with the same capabilities. At only 42 pounds, it’s far lighter, too, meaning it won’t significantly add to the weight of shuttles, rockets and other space vehicles. The size and weight are just the icing on the TargitFit cake. With over 115 club-quality exercises and up to over 400 pounds of resistance, the TargitFit Trainer is more than equipped for getting and keeping anyone in shape — on or off the planet.