sure is directly proportional to body weight, it means that if your weight increases blood pressure also increases. Overweight people have an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and other diseases. Losing weight reduces the risk, even if you don’t have problems of high or low blood pressure due to excess weight, a healthy weight can help feel assets and reduce your risk of blood pressure and other diseases.

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In the study performed by the US researchers and published in the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC) in October 2008, a total of 3,234 overweight people participated in a three-year diabetes prevention program. The participants were segregated into three groups: The first group, called the lifestyle intervention group, received intensive training in diet, physical activity, and behavior modification. By eating less fat and fewer calories and exercising for a total of 150 minutes a week, they aimed to lose 7 percent of their body weight and maintain that loss. The second group took the popular anti-diabetic drug Metformin (850mg twice a day), and the third receiving a placebo (an inert sugar-type pill labeled exactly like the Metformin drug). The Metformin and placebo groups also received information about diet and exercise but no intensive motivational counseling. At the beginning there was also a fourth group receiving the drug Troglitazone (Rezulin). This group was discontinued when it was discovered that Rezulin has the potential to cause serious liver damage.

After concluding the three-year prevention program, all participants had access to ongoing lifestyle coaching and were frequently monitored regarding their glucose blood levels over a period of ten years.

Dieters gather the most benefit

The study clearly shows that overweight people reducing their weight by 7 percent, combined with a 30 minute daily exercise program, achieve a reduction of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58 percent compared with the people of the placebo group. Weight loss and physical activity improve the body’s ability to use insulin and process glucose and thus reduce the risk of developing diabetes. This finding was true for both men and women and across all participating ethnic groups. Weight reduction in particular was beneficial for participants over 60 years who achieved this way a diabetes risk reduction of 71 percent.

The group applying Metformin also showed a significant diabetes 2 risk reduction of 31 percent. Metformin was found to be most effective in men and women between 25 and 44 years and in those with a body mass index of 35 or higher (i.e. with at least 60 pounds overweight) and least effective in people over 45 years old.

Further analysis of the data also have added to the evidence that changes in diet and physical activity leading to weight loss not only reduce diabetes risk but also risk of cardiovascular diseases, including high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. Participants in the lifestyle intervention group who did not have metabolic syndrome at the beginning of the study?about half of the participants?were less likely to develop it than those in the other groups.

This study is one more proof of the importance of weight control and physical exercises for personal wellness and good health. It clearly shows that lifestyle factors (obesity and sedentary lifestyle) are very important in triggering the genetic elements that cause Type 2 diabetes. People having somebody in the family suffering this disease should pay special attention to these results and considering them as a motivation for applying a rigorous weight control and routinely physical training program.

Building muscle is one of the most popular, satisfying and confidence building aspects of physical fitness. Unlike so much of the bull crap floating around today in the form of information, equipment, or drugs and supplements we prefer to show you the safest and most effective ways on how to gain muscle weight. It is much more simple than the supplement companies are telling you. When you have correct knowledge pointing you in the right direction, building muscle naturally is much more impressive than the 8 lbs per year so many are saying will be your maximum results. So get that bull crap out of your mind right now.

By learning how to build muscle through training and learning the foundational elements of a proper “gain weight diet”, there will be no stopping you from reaching your size goals. The third vitally important element in your muscle building efforts is proper rest. Let’s take some time to briefly lay some ground work for each of these three key areas of muscle building.

We’ll start with diet. This is easily the area where most people’s ignorance lays and where most people give up. Your eating schedule for muscle building will be much more consuming than your training schedule.

You should start by multiplying your current body weight by 16 to come up with your beginning daily calorie numbers (eg. 200lbs x 16 = 3200 calories per day). You should measure your body weight every week. After the second week begin making adjustments to your daily calorie numbers. Your target should be 1 – 2 lbs of increase per week. If your number is above or below this adjust your calories accordingly by 200 – 250 calories per day (eg. less than 1 = increase calories by 200 – 250 per day / more than 2 decrease calories by 200 – 250 per day).

Any more than 2lbs per week and you are going to gain weight in fat too.

Other important numbers for you to pay attention to are these:

3 – 4 grams of carbohydrates per day per pound of body weight. Skinny guys start with the higher numbers and guys with higher percentages of body fat start with the lower. Carbs will provide your body with the energy it needs to train hard and will increase the bodies ability to break down and utilize proteins.

1 gram of protein per day per pound of body weight. Proteins get broken down into amino acids which are the building blocks of muscle.

You should consume a good amount of essential fats every day too. Extra virgin cold pressed olive and coconut oils, flax oil, fish oil, hemp oil, nuts, beans, avocados etc. are great sources of essential fats. You need these fats to boost your bodies testosterone production to maximize muscle growth potential.

Lastly, be sure to eat often. As soon as you get up enjoy a big breakfast everyday and then never go more than 3 hours without eating again right up until bed time. You should be able to eat at least 6 meals per day at that rate.

Next, let’s go over some important tips on building muscle through training. This will be a much simpler part of your efforts in comparison to diet. First of all, unlike having to eat 6 times per day every day your training should only be done 1 time per day 3 days per week with at least one day of rest between training days.

Your goal for the gym should be to get in, get done, and get out. We recommend you design routines that take no longer than 30 – 45 minutes to finish. To help do this here are some simple recommendations:

You should use super sets. This not only gets your workout done quicker it keeps you heart rate elevated and blood pressure up forcing more blood into your muscle as you work them.

You should use multi-muscle group exercises to train several of your bodies muscles at the same time. Exercises like squats, dead lifts, clean and presses, rows, bench and military presses, dips, chin and pull ups etc. all work lots of muscle groups. This not only cuts down on training time it also builds a more functional benefit from your training. That is, a benefit that increases your ability to control, manipulate and use your body to perform life’s tasks outside of the gym.

Keep your weight high and your reps low. For muscle mass building you should keep your weight at approximately 80% of your maximum lift ability for that exercise. You should only be able to do 4 – 6 reps of each exercise per set. Do just three sets of each exercise and as mentioned above this is best done in super sets.

Training like this maximizes the benefit of your muscle building efforts and decreases the amount of time you have to spend at the gym. The best of both worlds!

Finally, how to get bigger muscles by doing nothing. One of the biggest mistakes people make when they are trying to build muscle is over train, under eat, and leave no time for recovery. Your actual muscle mass doesn’t increase until you are resting and your body begins to repair the tiny tears that you make in your muscles when you train them.

There is no point in training to build muscle and then missing out on the benefits of your hard work because you failed to give your body adequate time to recover.

Those are the three keys to making massive gains. Simple, but proven.

* LOSING WATER WEIGHT AS PART OF A LOSE WEIGHT PROGRAM

Water weight can be really hard to shift, but many people are going about trying to lose it the wrong way! If you are trying to lose body weight, around your legs, ankles, wrists, feet or even hands, it could be caused by many different things. For many, it is often caused by an increase in sodium, such as salt. Too much salt causes water retention because it causes our bodies to store water in our bodies, as it triggers our thirst mechanism.

There are many different ways to lose water weight, as part of a weight loss program, but first it might be worthwhile pinpointing the exact reason. As I already mentioned, it could be due to higher intake of salt recently, or even if you have recently started taking different prescription drugs. Medicines such as steroids, estrogen replacement hormones or Blood Pressure tablets can cause you to gain extra water weight as opposed to lose body weight.

So the first step is to consult your doctor about the medication you are on. Sometimes, Blood Pressure Tablets can often cause excessive water weight gain around the ankles, making movement uncomfortable, and sleep difficult, as ankles often have to be raised. You may be able to change medication.

* DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

Secondly, it is important that you drink plenty of water. Many people believe that drinking lots of water is the opposite of what you should be doing to lose water weight, when really, drinking less water can be very counter productive! If you are not drinking enough water during the day, your body will go into ‘Survival Mode’, retaining every drop you drink, making your water weight problem even worse! Water is the best diuretic you can give to your body, and it is all completely natural, so you should be drinking between 8-10 glasses a day, or enough so that you rarely feel thirsty.

* LIMIT YOUR SALT INTAKE

Make sure your salt intake is limited. High sodium, salt in particular, can cause you to retain water. A bad diet, involving high levels of salt, is often the main cause for water retention. Always check the labels of whatever you buy for salt content, and go through your cupboards at home, you will be surprised which foods contain salt, and a lot of it at that! Aim to buy food products that have a low sodium content in order to reduce the amount of water your body retains.

If you find your water weight is quite bad or you are serious about getting rid of water weight, as part of a lose weight program, it might be worth considering using herbs. Certain herbs help to flush water from your body. Natural herbs can be gentler on the body then your typical over-the-counter methods.

* GINGER IN SMOOTHIES – HMMM

Ginger is great for this usage, you can add it to smoothies if you find the taste a bit harsh. Green tea is also very popular, as not only can it help you to lose water weight naturally, but it has lots of great anti-oxidant properties too, all you need to do is drink a cup or two of it a day.

Another great, but rarely done trick, is just to eat a well balanced diet! Some people forget this factor, but it’s actually very important as part of any weight loss program. If you do not get enough protein in your diet, this can cause water weight too, so it is important you try to include fruits and vegetables in your diet, as they can help treat and even prevent water retention.

* HOW ACTIVE ARE YOU?

Increasing your activity levels can also significantly increase your chances of shifting that difficult weight! If you engage in exercises such as bike riding, tennis, or just walking and running, you could help get rid of excess water in your legs and ankles, which is one of the most common water weight areas!

If you still continue to retain water, your final step is to talk to your doctor, usually, these techniques should be working, and if you feel you have given your lose weight program a good run and nothing has improved, there may be an underlying health issue you might need to address!

But, if you follow these tips, you are sure to notice that you will lose water weight, and you will soon be back on the road to being healthy and happy! Whatever you do, it is important to remember you can lose body weight and water weight without having to starve!