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How To Lose Weight (And Look And Feel Good)

by Mark Cammack May 25, 2018

smiling healthy and fit blonde lady in red exercise clothes holding dumbbells

If you want to lose weight, make sure to build muscle. Looking and feeling good come from a healthy lifestyle.

The general advice promoted for weight reduction is to reduce calories. This is what scientist Dr. Richard Muller of the University of California at Berkeley refers to as the physics diet. The idea is that we reduce the energy source going into our system and we then burn the stored energy or body fat as fuel. It is a very simple and useful concept. Does caloric restriction work for everyone?

We now add biochemistry to the equation. Along comes endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig of the University Of California at San Francisco. He has experience and firm results in dealing with obesity. Dr. Lustig points out that added sugar exists almost everywhere in our food supply. The form of sugar fructose inhibits the hormone leptin, which is responsible for our feeling satiated following a meal. This means that a cycle is formed whereupon a person eats, is overly hungry, eats again, and on it goes into the land of obesity. A lack of exercise only adds to the dilemma. Does caloric restriction and sugar elimination work for everyone?

We are not done yet. What type of weight do you want to lose? If I ask,”Do you want to lose muscle?,” most people respond emphatically,”No, I want to lose fat!” Suppose the goal is reached and the person is nice and trim. Have they gained the health and appearance that they desire? Some will say that they still want to look or feel better. The answer is often a form of resistance exercise. This can be with barbells and dumbbells or bodyweight movements. They are usually performed with short rest periods of 25 to 45 seconds. In this way we gain both muscle building and cardiovascular advantages.

If we intend to lose we must also build. Muscle burns calories even at rest, which is a great benefit. The most effective method I know of is lowering junk calories, eliminating sugar, increasing nutrient dense foods, using muscle building exercises, and repeatedly visualizing the desired outcome. With this complete approach many people will say that is how I want to look and feel!

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