Women’s Health Blog

When Mike turned 65, he was 25 pounds overweight. By strict dieting, he shed the extra pounds, but he lost more weight; he also lost his energy and vitality. He was always exhausted, and his friends, seeing his gaunt, drawn face, worried about his health.

By the time volunteered for a particular fitness program two years later, he had put 25 extra pounds back on. After 6 months of exercise and some willpower at the dinner table, Mike slimmed down again. This time he felt better than he ever had, brimming with energy and glowing with good health.

What made the difference? The first time Mike lost weight; the second time he lost fat. The distinction is important. According to research, a large portion of the weight lost by dieting alone is active tissue, such as muscle and connective tissue, while a smaller fraction is excess fat. Exercise has the opposite effect. It increased his lean body mass and decreased his excess fat.

Same thing goes with cellulite. Most people tend to think that cellulites are only present to people who are obese. That is why they sometimes associate cellulite with fats and obesity.

Actually, even if cellulite refers to the chain of wrinkled fat cells and subcutaneous connective tissues beneath the layer of the skin, it should never be associated with people who are fat or obese. In fact, there are many people who have cellulite but are not fat at all.

In reality, nobody knows the main reason why some people accumulate cellulite. However, there are some factors that health experts are considering such as the structure of the fat cells or the poison that entered the body. Some experts say it may be caused by some hormonal changes in the body. But none of these things has been proven to cause cellulites.

However, the only main reason why most of the cellulite cases are abundant in women is that the connective tissues of women are more rigid and firm than men. Hence, whenever a woman gets fat, the fatty cells tend to swell and get bigger. It creates a protruding appearance to the skin producing an orange peel look.

For this reason, women are more prone to cellulite than men. That is why it is important for women to be more careful on their body as they have higher chances of accumulating cellulite.

Fats and Cellulite

With the many cases of obese people having cellulites in their body, most of them believed that their cellulites are caused by being too fat.

Even though not all those who are obese develop cellulites, being overweight can really trigger the development of cellulites. This is because too much fat under the skin tend to push the connective tissue creating a strain on the skin. Thus, cellulites form.

However, this is still dependent on the structure of the cells. If an individuals cell structure does not inhibit the tendency to bulge or expand even if fat deposits accumulate, then there will be no cellulites.

So, the most important thing to remember here is to keep those connective tissues firm and strong and avoid accumulating excess fats so as to avoid the development of cellulite.

How? Start an exercise routine program.

Transforming food into fat seems all too easy for most of us. Losing fat is far more difficult, and to accomplish this, we have only three alternatives: (1) decrease food intake and keep activity constant; (2) increase activity and keep food intake constant; or (3) combine both approaches: diet and exercise.

Physical activity can help reverse the results of inactivity. An hour of vigorous exercise burns up 300 to 600 calories. If you also cut 300 to 500 calories from your daily menu, you can also lose weight at the rate of one to two pounds a week.

Without exercise, you would have to eat 500 to 1,000 fewer calories a day to lose the same number of pounds in a week. Exercise is not for everyone who is over-fat, however. The severely obese person should exercise only under medical supervision to prevent strain on the cardiovascular system and connective tissue. And no one should restrict food intake drastically without consulting doctor.

Resorting to this kind of activity will only get the matter worse. Remember what happened to Mike? He thought that when he started dieting, he would eventually lose all the excess fats he has accumulated. The problem is that he lost those connective tissues rather than excess fat.

For people who are prone to cellulites, this will be a greater problem. Losing connective tissues instead of fat by strict dieting can only make the skin more prone to greater problems but the fat cells are still there. That only means that the problem is not solved at all.

Hence, if you wish to loose those cellulites, it would be better to loose those fats first. The idea here is to burn those fats by increasing your metabolism by 7.5% to 28% more than your normal rate.

It is for this reason that exercising is an important factor in losing cellulite. So for a more cellulite free body, always engage in an exercise routine.

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Bones provide the overall structure and connective tissue that keeps your skin and other organs intact. Without bones, you are unable to lead a physically active life. Fractured bones are always extremely painful, and they compromise quality of life until they are repaired. It is then exceedingly important to maintain healthy bones throughout your lives. The care begins from the time you are young and continuing through the senior years.

A persons bones are at their strongest at ages of 20 to 30 years old. After that, you lose bone continuously for the rest of your lives. Any activity helps keep bones strong, but exercises that put extra pressure on specific areas can give extra benefits. Weightlifting is a very good exercise for strengthening bones. You are never too old to start an exercise program that includes weight training to strengthen your bones. Aim to get 30 minutes daily of moderate exercise like walking, aerobics, or jogging to promote bone health and strengthen them. When you exercise, muscles move against your bones and this will make them both stronger. It does this because it causes new bone tissue to form.

Your bones are constantly changing. Doctors dont understand or know why bone remodeling happens. It takes about 2 to 3 months for a full cycle of bone remodeling to complete. When you are young, your body builds faster. By the time reach your mid 30s, you reach your peak bone mass. Bone remodeling doesnt stop, however. It simply slows down after your peak.

Keeping your bones healthy is a must. It is just as important to starts as soon as you can so that you can prevent any problems later in life. Aside from exercise and weight training, you also need to take in a lot of calcium. By the age of 17, most people have about 90% of their adult bone mass built. As you age, your body will gradually remove and replace small increments of calcium from your bones. If your body cant replace all the calcium it took, then your bones will become weaker. After the age of 18, your body stops taking in calcium. The only way to move forward is to maintain the supply that is already there.

As you all well know, the best source of calcium is milk and dairy products. These products are easy for the body to absorb. Vitamin D helps the body absorb the calcium. Dark green veggies such as broccoli and spinach have a lot of calcium in them as well.

Bones just really need calcium and other nutrients to become and remain strong. Lacking proper nutrition makes everything go downhill. Eventually the bones will begin to decay. This, of course, can lead to serious problems like fractures, falls, and immobility. As the medical community becomes more knowledgeable, they will keep informing people about simple but basic lifestyle changes that can have a positive impact on your skeletal framework.

Ask your doctor what you can do at whatever stage of life you are at to protect and preserve your bones. Following a general plan should have a good effect on your bones. Avoid osteoporosis and take care of what you have before its too late.

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Older men and women now use skin care products to achieve that youthful glow. It has become common practice to buy a variety of items that claim to help your skin look and feel young. One of the reasons behind this rage is that people associate youth to longevity. If they look young, they will feel that they still have more years ahead of them. Beauty products that target this need generally works by enabling the synthesis of collagen.

Collagen is the main protein of connective tissue in humans, and this is most abundant in our body. In reality, almost 25% of protein found in skin is actually made from collagen. Collagen is also related to other anti-aging substances that are known as antioxidants. These elements are present in the body so that it can slow down the aging process.

Vitamin C is the most popular antioxidant. The other is Vitamin E, which is known to repair the skin at the cellular level. It also a component of the human blood whose purpose is to help increase the bodys immune system. In fact, this is believed to prevent is certain types of cancer. Recently, people have also realized that Vitamins B5, B6, and B12 also help reduce the effects of aging. Skin products try to outdo each other by claiming to have all the necessary nutrients to help the person look young. However, not everyone has the luxury to buy all these expensive products anytime they need. Skin care products cut a big chunk off a persons budget. In fact, you need to really set aside some of your budget to keep your supplies constant.

However, there is no need to fret. You can look and feel young without having to spend a lot on the products that are out in the market. What are basically involved are right diet and regular exercise.

First, you have to think about the vitamins and minerals in your diet. Free radicals lower the bodys resistance against disease. Premature aging sets in when your health is constantly at risk. You need to fight off sickness and arm your immune system so that it easily fights the diseases floating around. Of course, you also need to get enough sleep. When your body is at rest, you allow it to heal. While these two methods are great, you need to back up your efforts with proper water intake. What this liquid does is wash out the toxins out of your body while rehydrating your skin. Wrinkles are less likely to appear when your skin gets the moisture it needs.

Your efforts dont have to stop there. In fact, you can take it a step further by working on your psychological and emotional needs. Give in to lifes pleasures and enjoy every moment. People who feel good about life look younger. The glow shows in their face, making them even more attractive. There is also exercise! When you work out, you are able to release the tension from your system. You get a healthy heart as an added bonus, and you will definitely have the body to show.

Try all these and notice the changes in you. With these habits in your life, you will never have a need for expensive products.

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