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Does Sugar Make You Overweight?

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Yes! Here’s how?

We always hear that sugar is a devil and make you fat. You might also have the same perspective that a diet with high sugar content such as sugary cereals, baked goods, sweetened beverages contributes to obesity, diabetes, and heart diseases. But, it’s really so?

 

Does sugar make you fat? Well, the simple answer is yes! Actually, sugar provides a lot of calories without offering much nutritional value. So, food with higher sugar content means higher calories, leading to weight gain. In other words, you can say that sugar is not the direct source of weight gain. Instead, calories are the real culprit. 

In this article, we will discuss different ways through which sugar makes you fat. Let’s dig into the article to know the surprising effects of sugar.

How does sugar make you fat?

  1. Increase blood sugar level

No doubt added sugar such as corn syrup, fructose, and cane sugar increase the taste of your food. But, the nutritional value of sugar is low. It means you’re taking high calories without getting many nutrients.  

So, sugar is highly palatable and calories dense and leads to weight gain.

To sum up, weight gain due to sugar is a matter of calories.

  1. Increase blood sugar level

Do you love the sweet taste and want to enjoy it the most? Well, beware that consuming a large amount of sugar increases blood sugar levels.  

If the sugar level stays elevated for a long time, it is known as hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia is a real threat to your body, leading to weight gain.

Hypoglycemia actually increases insulin resistance, making the cells highly responsive to fat storage. Ultimately, fat will start accumulating, especially in your belly area.  

  1. High-sugar food is less filling.

Food with high sugar has a poor ratio of fiber and protein. Both these nutrients are essential for keeping you full. It means you will always feel hungry if your food is high in sugar content.

Moreover, fructose in sugar increase ghrelin (hunger- promoting protein) and decrease peptide YY (PYY) (appetite-suppressing hormone). 

To sum up, food with higher sugar content urge you to eat more and more.

  1. Cause chronic diseases

Beverages with high sugar cause several chronic diseases. For instance, it causes Type 2 diabetes, depression, and obesity.

Final thoughts..!!

To conclude, sugar does not result in weight gain directly. But it increases the level of surplus calories in your body, making you fat. Moreover, a diet with a high level of added sugar can also cause several chronic diseases. Don’t let your health be compromised, and use natural substitutes of added sugar instead. 

Intermittent Fasting:  Is It Really Helpful For Weight Loss?

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Are you struggling with high body weight? If yes, you might probably be looking for different ways to lose weight. There are high chances that you came across with word “Intermittent fasting.” Do you know what it is? Well, it’s one of the most popular weight loss techniques.  

In this article, we will discuss what intermittent fasting is and whether it helps lose weight or not?

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a diet plan that involves eating at a specific time after a fasting period. You have to fast for a certain time in a day and then eat. It will surely help you burn fat. You can say that it’s not about which food you eat; it’s all about when you eat food. 

Fasting for a certain time means you will eat minimum calories in a certain time, resulting in weight loss. However, you need to be careful while eating during the eating period. The good news is that intermittent fasting is also beneficial in certain diseases, such as high blood cholesterol levels, sugar levels, and cardiovascular diseases. 

Is intermittent fasting an effective method to lose weight?

 Well, different studies have been conducted to see if intermittent fasting is helpful in weight loss or not. For instance, a 2014 review found that it is possible to lose 3-8% of the bodyweight with intermittent fasting over 3-24 weeks.

Now the question is how much eight intermittent fasting can reduce in a specific time. Well, studies revealed that weight loss of around 0.55-1.65 pounds/ wee is possible with intermittent fasting. Not only this, but intermittent fasting also help in maintaining the waist circumference of the body. 

All these studies clearly indicate how beneficial intermittent fasting is in weight loss. So, you must try it. 

How can you boost the efficiency of intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is not just to set your eating habits according to a schedule. There are several other things that give astonishing results when combined with intermittent fasting.

Below are some things that you should keep in mind to enhance the weight loss efficiency of intermittent fasting

  • Eat healthy and single ingredient food
  • Don’t go crazy while eating in a non-fasting period. Eat a normal amount of food.
  • Stick to your plan for an extended time to see magical results
  • Give your body some time to adapt the intermittent fasting
  • Adopt healthy lifestyle and do exercise

Final thoughts..!!!

To sum up, intermittent fasting is an effective weight-loss method unless you use it wisely. It not only help you lose weight but also prevent various diseases such as diabetes and other hormonal issues.

What Is Reverse Dieting

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Here’s Everything You Need to Know about It

Have you ever heard of losing weight while eating more? It might seem ridiculous to you, but such techniques really exist. It is reverse dieting. You might be wondering what is it and how it works. Well, we have discussed everything about reverse dieting in this article.

What is reverse dieting?

Reverse dieting is a technique in which you have to increase your food intake to boost your metabolism slowly. After that, you have to follow a calorie-restricted diet. There are chances to lose fat and gain muscle while eating more than before. 

It is a good diet plan for athletes and bodybuilders because their ultimate goal is to increase muscle mass and boost energy levels. 

How does reverse dieting work?

Many people use the name “calories in and calories out” for reverse dieting. And it works in exactly the same way.

  • Firstly, you have to eat more calories than you burn to gain weight.

  • Secondly, you have to decrease the calories intake to lose weight. 

Let’s understand reverse dieting with a simple example. Suppose you have reduced your body weight after lowering the calorie intake to 1200 per day. Now you must eat to increase the calorie intake to 50-100 each weak for about 4–10 weeks.  

The trick here is that you should not resume your previous eating pattern suddenly. Instead, you have to go through this process slowly and smoothly.  

Does reverse dieting help in weight loss?

Well, there is no research that could prove the weight loss effects of reverse dieting. All of its benefits are only backed up by anecdotal evidence. For instance,

  • Higher calorie intake boosts metabolism normalizes the hormonal level, leading to weight loss.

  • Lower calorie intake decreases the leptin and NEAT levels, reversing the effects.  

Reverse dieting is also helpful in reducing binge eating. Theoretically, it allows moving to a regular diet pattern smoothly. 

To sum up, it is still not clear whether it could help in weight loss or not. However, it is a great technique to maintain body weight.

Why should you avoid reverse dieting?

The harmful effects of low calories are the reason why you should avoid reverse dieting. No doubt it helps in weight loss in some people, but it induces emotional and physical side effects in others. Some of these side effects include

  • Moodiness

  • Irritability

  • Depression

  • Nutrient shortfalls

  • Fatigue

Final thoughts…!!!

No doubt, reverse dieting is a great technique to maintain weight. But its effectiveness for weight loss has not been proven yet. Let the athletes and bodybuilders get benefit from it because it is perfect for them. 

5 Tips for Awesome Backyard Camping With Kids

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Are you a nature’s lover and want your kids to be the ones? Only camping and great outdoors can do this wonder. But, you may not find time to take them outdoors due to school activities. So, it’s better to make full use of weekends. 

Yes, you can plan backyard camping. However, you have to ensure that kids are excited enough as they could be on outdoor camping.

Below are the tips that would make backyard camping for kids thrilling as well as excited. 

Let them set the tent

You might be quick and experienced in a tent setting. But, still, you should not set the tent because your lids would love to do it. Let them create and enjoy this amazing experience. It will make the kids excited about backyard camping.  

Build a Fire

Can you imagine camping without a fire? Probably not! So, give your kids a real camping experience in the backyard by building a fire. You can ask your kids to help you. The amazing thing is that they will learn about safety tips and how to start a campfire with this activity. 

Prepare a camp meal

Fulfilling your essential meal needs on a camp stove with limited resources and a bit of creativity makes the camping successful. And it’s exactly what you have to do with backyard camping. 

Buy some precooking hotdogs or roasting sticks and let the kids play with their cooking skills.

Offer them a real camping bedtime experience

Get them sleeping bags, blankets, and comforters that you prefer to tale on real outdoor camping. An exciting idea is that you can buy some stuffed animals to be around your tent. Moreover, a battery-powered nightlight is fun.  

Be flexible

The ultimate goal of backyard camping is to create excitement about camping among children. And it would seem like an even more real camping experience if you take them only a few feet away from your home. 

Ensure that you plan this incredible experience on weekends so that kids can enjoy it to their fullest. 

Sometimes it becomes challenging to arrange it home because your kids may not want to leave their bed even when they’re home. But you can change their mind by sharing your interesting camping experiences with them. 

Final thoughts…!!!

Backyard camping comes with the fun of traditional camping. And sometimes it can be even more exciting than you have imagined. Do everything to create an environment that makes your kids fall in love with camping! 

 

What Are Antioxidants?

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Here’s Why You Should Add Them to Your Diet

Have you ever heard the word “antioxidant?” I am sure you have seen that in any health magazine or your doctor’s office. But do you know what antioxidants are? Why are they important?

Well, it’s the subject of today’s article. We will discuss the importance of these essential nutrients in this article. Let’s start.

What are antioxidants?

Antioxidants are nutrients that help you slow cell damage. Even these could also prevent cell damage. They work against the cell damage caused by the free radicles.

Now you might be wondering what free radicles are? Well, these are unstable molecules produced by the body under environmental stress. Mostly, cigarette smoke, UV exposure, and pollution are some factors that induce the production of free radicles. 

Basically, antioxidants destroy these free radicals while preventing your body from cell damage. That’s why some nutritionists also call them “free radical scavengers.” 

When it comes to examples of antioxidants, flavonoids, beta-carotene, selenium, lutein, lycopene, and Vitamins A, C and E are all antioxidants.  

Why are antioxidants essential for your health?

As we have discussed above, antioxidants destroy free radicals. In case there are antioxidants, it means free radicles will start accumulating in your body. These free radicles are harmful to your body and cause oxidative stress.

Ultimately, your immune system will get weak, and you will be an easy target for many diseases. So, it’s very important to have antioxidants in your routine diet.  

Here are some benefits of having antioxidants in your diet. Antioxidants

  • Either stop or slow down the damage caused by the free radicals
  • Boost immunity
  • Protect the body from several chronic diseases, such as cancer, stroke, and other heart diseases. 
  • Provide the strength to fight mood swings and neurological disorders
  • Help improve eyesight and overall eye health
  • Offer vibrant and glowing skin

What are the sources of antioxidants?

Since you know how important antioxidants for your health are, you might consider adding them to your diet. Therefore, you must know the sources of antioxidants.

Well, you can get the antioxidants from both natural and artificial sources. The antioxidants produced inside our bodies are known as endogenous antioxidants. On the other, antioxidants that we take from outside the body through our diet are exogenous antioxidants.

Generally, food obtained from plants has the highest content of antioxidants.

Here’re some sources of the antioxidants:

  • Walnuts
  • Strawberries
  • Dar chocolate
  • Oranges
  • Spinach
  • Berries
  • Broccoli
  • Potato
  • Carrots and
  • Many more

Final thoughts…!!!

Antioxidants are good for health. But it does not mean you can uncontrollably take them. A high dose of antioxidants in the body is risky. For instance, a high level of beta-carotene means a higher risk of lung cancer among smokers.  

To sum up, you can’t ignore the antioxidants in your diet. But you should take them in moderate quantity.  

How to run properly: A beginner’s guide

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So, have you decided to start running? Great!

As a beginner, you may don’t know how to run properly? If you want to learn, you’re in right place. 

In this article, we will help you run properly to avoid injury. We have some amazing tips for you to make your running training injury-free. 

Let’s start it!

Tips on how to run properly for beginners

  1. Initial conditioning

Do you think you only need a pair of comfortable shoes and a track where you would run? You are mistaken. 

Yes, you must be fit enough to bear the strain of running on your legs and knees. For this purpose, you must

  • Strength train yourself 
  • reduce the calorie consumption
  • Start with a low impact activity like walking
  • Transition running with walking when you start running

Once you’re ready to run and have a solid foundation, you should move on.

  1. Warm-Ups 

It’s never a wise decision to start running immediately. You should always do a warm-up session. 

By warm-up, you might be considering doing static stretching for at least 10 minutes. But, it’s not warm up. You must go for a dynamic warm-up to prepare your body for the rigors of running.    

  1. Run with correct technique

Running requires proper technique. If you don’t know how to run properly, you will definitely injure yourself. 

Let’s learn the right technique to run properly. 

  • Position your legs properly
  • Lean your legs from your ankle. It will align your body and help your muscles work efficiently.   
  • Stand properly
  • Stand straight from your ankle up to head

  1. Boost your cadence.

Cadence refers to the steps that you take in a minute. Shorter foot strikes put less stress on your legs. It means you can increase your efficiency with shorter foot strikes. 

You might be wondering what should be your cadence rate in the beginning. Well, we suggest you take at least 170-190 steps in a minute. However, it will keep increasing once your running speed starts increasing. 

  1. Strike foot at right time:

When you strike your foot on the ground, make sure it’s under your body. Moreover, you should make practice landing on your mid-foot. It will prevent you from getting inured because it absorbs all the shock.

  1. Keep arm swing symmetrical

Ensure that your arm is bent at 90 degrees. And always swing the arm front to back not, side to side.

  • Always walk before you start running 
  • An ideal way to start running is to alternate between a jog and walk. 

Final thoughts…!!

Are you afraid of injuries while running as a beginner? You must follow this beginner’s guide on how to run properly to avoid injuries. All these techniques will help you run at a constant speed and efficiently.

3 Best flat stomach workouts that will transform your body

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Do you want a flat stomach to look beautiful? Or its association with strength appeals to you the most? Whatever the purpose is, it demands struggle, dedication, discipline, and consistency. 

There is an endless list of workouts that you can do to get a flat stomach. But the truth is you can’t do all.

How to choose the best flat stomach workout?

To ease your worries regarding this, we have enlisted some flat belly workouts. These exercises will help you burn fat, define your abs and build muscle. The amazing thing is that you can do all these exercises at your home. Not only this, but we have also shared some tips to increases the chances of having a flat stomach.

 Let’s learn all these workouts one by one.  

Side planks 

Follow these steps to do side planks

  • Support your knee to the floor
  • Raise your top leg
  • Lower your hips such that it touches the floor and then take the hips up again 
  • Ensure that your right arm is below your shoulder
  • Extend your legs such that the left foot is present on the top of the right foot. 
  • Take your hips up such that it comes in a straight line with your body
  • Raise your left arm up
  • Rotate your torso first toward the floor and then again to the starting point     
  • Repeat this 8-12 times
  • Repeat all the steps on the other side 

Boat pose

This flat belly workout builds the spinal muscles. Therefore, the key step in this exercise is to elongate your spine and broaden it across your chest.  

    • Sit properly and lean on your tailbone
    • Form a V shape pose by raising your legs in the air
    • Extend your arms such that they are parallel to the floor
    • Stay in the same position for 1 minute
    • Repeat the workout 2-3 times.

Burpees

This flat belly exercise can burn away all your fat quickly. 

  • Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Bent and put your palms on the floor in front of you
  • Keep your legs back into the push-up position 
  • Do push up
  • Return to the initial position  
  • Do it 12-25 times

Final thoughts…!!!

Getting a flat stomach will no more be a dream for you if you’re consistent in doing workouts. You can do all the flat stomach workouts discussed in this article to get a healthy and aesthetic belly that will also indicate that you’re strong.

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