What, Why, How
Gathering information I learn and compiling it on this page.
You can find the full articles in the links, I’ve only added parts of them. (In the green parentheses sections is my interpretation of what I’m learning and reading in the linked articles, so if it’s wrong, feel free to let me know and always do your own research to verify things. It’s probably best to research multiple articles and sources but I may not have enough time and just hope that the sources are accurate.)
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Why Drinking Water Really is the Key to Weight Loss
Don’t roll your eyes! The potion for losing that excess body fat is all around you. It covers two thirds of the planet. If you eat right and exercise at the intensity, frequency and duration proper for you, but still can’t get rid of a little paunch here and there, you’re probably just not drinking enough water.
(One of the livers’ main jobs is to convert stored fat to energy(metabolism). It also helps the kidneys when the kidneys don’t have enough water to work properly. We need to drink enough water for the kidneys to function without depending on the liver for help. An overworked liver slows metabolism. Metabolism and fat burning increase with proper water intake.)
Unfortunately, another of the liver’s duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can’t metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but you’re also setting yourself up to store fat.
“I’ve tried it and I couldn’t stand it!” The problem is that, though many decide to increase their water intake, very few stick with it. It’s understandable. During the first few days of drinking more water than your body is accustomed to, you’re running to the bathroom constantly. This can be very discouraging, and it can certainly interfere with an otherwise normal day at work. It seems that the water is coming out just as fast as it’s going in, and many people decide that their new hydration habit is fruitless.
Do take heed , though. What is really happening is that your body is flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years of “survival mode”. It takes a while, but this is a beautiful thing happening to you. As you continue to give your body all the water it could ask for, it gets rid of what it doesn’t need. It gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than you realize. Your body figures it doesn’t need to save these stores anymore; it’s trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing (of both the body and the potty) will cease, allowing the human to return to a normal life. It’s true. This is called the “breakthrough point.”
(There’s a paragraph about not mixing caffeine with exercise. Makes the heart work harder than it needs to and the muscles don’t get the water it needs to work properly.)
Water is the best beauty treatment.
(It flushes out impurities inthe skin, giving you cleaner, clearer, younger looking skin.) Skin that is becoming saggy, either due to aging or weight loss, plumps up very nicely when the skin cells are hydrated. (water improves muscle tone. if your muscles have all the water they need, they contract more easily)
“Eight glasses a day? Are you kidding?!”
(Eight glasses a day is enough for the average person but add another glass for every 25 lbs. overweight you are. Increase water intake if you live in a hot climate and/or if you exercise very intensely. Spread the water intake throughout the day, don’t try to drink it all at once, says that is not healthy but does not explain why. Stop drinking water 3 hours before bed so you don’t have keep getting up to pee! So if this is accurate my calculations say I should drink about 14 cups a day)
(Cold water absorbs in the stomach quicker and some evidence say that it might increase fat burning. But warm water is easier to drink in larger quantities. Drinking water to decreases appetite)
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MayoClinic.com - Water: How much should you drink every day?
Every system in your body depends on water. Water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues.
Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don’t have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.
Several approaches attempt to approximate water needs for the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate.
Replacement approach.The average urine output for adults is about 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) a day. You lose close to an additional liter of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. Food usually accounts for 20 percent of your total fluid intake, so if you consume 2 liters of water or other beverages a day (a little more than 8 cups) along with your normal diet, you will typically replace the lost fluids.Even apart from the above approaches, if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate.
Eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.Another approach to water intake is the “8 x 8 rule” — drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters). The rule could also be stated, “drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day,” as all fluids count toward the daily total. Though the approach isn’t supported by scientific evidence, many people use this basic rule as a guideline for how much water and other fluids to drink.
Dietary recommendations.The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.
(You may need to moderate the amount of water you intake depending on your environment, if you exercise, are pregnant, or nursing. If you sweat during a physical activity, replace the water. Small bouts of exercise needs about 2 cups, and large bouts lasting longer than an hour needs more depending on how much you sweat.
It’s rare but possible to drink too much water.)
Though uncommon, it is possible to drink too much water. When your kidneys are unable to excrete the excess water, the electrolyte (mineral) content of the blood is diluted, resulting in low sodium levels in the blood, a condition called hyponatremia. Endurance athletes, such as marathon runners, who drink large amounts of water are at higher risk of hyponatremia. In general, though, drinking too much water is rare in healthy adults who consume an average American diet.
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Daily Value in nutrients- 146% Omega 3 fatty acids, 21% fiber.
warm, earthy and subtly nutty flavor
Flaxseeds are slightly larger than sesame seeds and have a hard shell that is smooth and shiny. Their color ranges from deep amber to reddish brown depending upon whether the flax is of the golden or brown variety. While whole flaxseeds feature a soft crunch, the nutrients in ground seeds are more easily absorbed.
Omega-3 fats can help reduce the inflammation that is a significant factor in conditions such as asthma, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine headaches, and osteoporosis.
reduce bone loss
reduce the formation of blood clots, which can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with atherosclerosis or diabetic heart disease.
Protection Against Heart Disease, Cancer and Diabetes
Help Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure
Flaxseed Provides Comparable Cholesterol-Lowering Benefits to Statin Drugs ~ In a study involving 40 patients with high cholesterol (greater than 240 mg/dL), daily consumption of 20 grams of ground flaxseed was compared to taking a statin drug. After 60 days, significant reductions were seen in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol-in both groups. Those receiving flaxseed did just as well as those given statin drugs
Rich in Beneficial Fiber
Flaxseed Puts the Brakes on Prostate Cancer Growth
Special Protection for Women’s Health~ Eating about an ounce of ground flaxseed each day will affect the way estrogen is handled in postmenopausal women in such a way that offers protection against breast cancer but will not interfere with estrogen’s role in normal bone maintenance.
Flaxseed Reduces Hot Flashes Almost 60%
Fend Off Dry Eyes
Egg Substitute ~ (I don’t know about the blender thing. Maybe a coffee bean grinder or mortar and pestle. They seem a bit difficult to grind)
For each egg needed, place in blender:
1 heaping tablespoon of whole organic flax seed, blend until it becomes a fine meal. Add 1/4 cup cold water blend 2-3 minutes until thickened and has the consistency of eggs. Each 1/4 cup of Flax seed mixture will replace one egg in baking
Be sure to read the Safety section about cyanogenic glycosides compounds, gastrointestinal symptoms, and the safety of high-dose flaxseeds during pregnancy.
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http://3fatchicks.com/diet-blogs/inkheartmeg/2009/03/28/leptin-vs-ghrelin/
What I’m learning from the book I’m reading, You on a Diet.
Two hormones dictate our hunger and satiety levels- leptin and ghrelin.
Leptin-Fat produces a chemical signal in your blood to stop eating. Leptin is a protein secreted by stored fat. If leptin is working the way it should, it gives you a double whammy in the fight against fat. The stimulation of leptin shuts off your hunger and stimulates you to burn more calories.
Ghrelin- This chemical is released in your stomach when it’s empty. It sends the desperate message that you need to eat something urgently. When you diet through deprivation, the increased ghrelin secretion sends even more signals to eat, overriding your willpower and causing you to eat. Your stomach secretes Ghrelin in pulses every 30 minutes, sending subtle chemical impulses to your brain. When you’re really hungry or dieting, those messages come fast- every 20 minutes or so- and they’re also amplified. So you get more signals and stronger signals that your body wants food. After long periods your body can’t ignore those messages.
It’s impossible to fight the biology of your body. The chemical vicious cycle stops when you eat; when your stomach fills is when you reduce your ghrelin levels, thus reducing your appetite. So if you think your job is to resist biology, you’re going to lose that battle time after time. But you can reprogram your body so that you keep those ghrelin gremlins from making too much noise, then you’ve got a chance to keep your tank feeling like it’s always topped off.
Ghrelin works in the short term, sending out those hunger signals twice an hour. Leptin works in the long term, so if you can get your leptin levels high you’ll have a greater ability to keep your hunger and appetite in check. If you focus on ways to influence your leptin levels, your brain will help control your hunger.
At least as far as your body is concerned, food are drugs; they’re foreign substances that come in and switch around all those natural chemical processes going about their business within your body. When the body receives foods, different chemical reactions take place, and messages get sent throughout your system- turning some things on and some things off. While your body internally gives orders, you set the tone and direction of those orders through the food you’re feeding it. Eat the right foods (like nuts), and your hormones will keep you feeling satisfied. But eat the wrong foods (like simple sugars), and you’ll cause your body to go haywire hormonally.
A major gang leader against your body is fructose, found in hig-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a sweetener in many processed foods. When you eat calories from healthy sources, they turn off your desire to eat by inhibiting production of NPY or producing more CART. But fructose in the HFCS, which sweetens our soft drinks and salad dressing; isn’t seen by your brain as a regular food. Because your brain doesn’t see any of the fructose in the thousands of HFCS-containing foods as excess calories or as NPY suppressants, your body wants you to keep eating (which means that even low-fat foods can have extremely bad consequences, calorie- and appetite-wise) Americans have gone from eating no pounds of this stuff per person in 1960 to eating more than 63 lbs of it every year (that’s 128,000 calories). That’s a contributor to weight gain. Foods with fructose- which may be in fact labeled as low-fat- make you both hungry and unable to shut off your appetite.
YOU tips:
Avoid drinking excessive alcohol- not solely because of its own calories, but also because of the calories it inspires you to consume later.
Choose unsaturated over saturated fat- meals high in saturated fat produce lower levels of of leptin. You can increase your satiety and decreased hunger levels by avoiding saturated fats found in such foods as high-fat meats (like sausage), baked goods, and whole-milk dairy products.
Read the labels. Don’t eat foods that have any of the following as one of the first five ingredients.
simple sugars
enriched, bleached, or refined flour
HFCS
Don’t confuse thirst with hunger. The reason some people eat is because their satiety centers are begging for attention. But sometimes, those appetite centers want things to quench thirst, not to fill the stomach. Thirst could be caused by hormones in the gut, or it could be a chemical response to eating; eating food increases the thickness of your blood, and your body senses the need to dilute it. When you feel hungry, first drink a glass or two of water to see if that’s really what your body wants.
Watch your carbs. Eating a super-high-carb diet increases NPY, which makes you hungry, so you should ensure that less than 50% of your diet comes from carbohydrates. Make sure that most of your carbs are complex, such as whole grains and vegetables.
Stay satisfied. Sex and hunger are regulated through the brain chemical NPY. Some have observed that having sex could help you control your food intake; by satisfying one appetite center, you seem to satisfy the other.
Manage your hormonal surges. There will be times when you can’t always manage your hormone levels; when ghrelin outslugs your leptin, and you feel hungrier than a lion on a bug-only diet. Develop a list of emergency foods to satisfy you when cravings get the best of you- things like V8 juice, a handful of nuts, pieces of fruit, cut-up vegetables, or even a little guacamole.