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How long and how often should I exercise to lose fat?
Burning fat takes time. So if you’re just starting a workout program, do short sessions every other day. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it and actually enjoy exercising aerobically, it easily becomes part of your lifestyle! There is no point forcing yourself to go to the gym for two hours of aerobics and strength training if you’re not used to it or worse, don’t like it. So ease yourself into a healthier, more active lifestyle at a pace you’re comfortable with. Otherwise, you will find yourself dropping out and surrendering to fat forever. Start with a manageable ten to twenty minutes of aerobic exercise—anything that you enjoy—two to three times a week with the goal of doing more as time passes. Keep adding five to ten minutes every week, gradually, working yourself up to a level of fitness that allows you to do moderate aerobic activity for forty minutes to an hour, at least four to five times a week. In the fight to lose fat, patience is the key; this is if you want to lose the fat permanently.

Help! I want to become firm but I’m scared of becoming masculada!
Men and women develop muscles differently, mainly because they have a different genetic and hormonal make-up. The truth is, men will always have more muscles than women. Even though men and women’s bodies respond identically to resistance training or free weights, women will never really acquire the same bulk. So calm down. Lifting weights will help you tone up, gain definition and burn fat. If you really don’t want to build your muscles, use lighter weights and fewer reps. Don’t compare yourself to the muscle women of this world! Their lifestyle, diet, and the hours they spend in the gym lifting weights can never be duplicated by the common girl—unless you are really eyeing their titles.

Is it true that to lose weight, I should cut rice out of my diet?
No, you shouldn’t cut rice out of your diet. This is a very popular misconception, and the experts hear it all the time. The truth is rice is a fiber and complex carbohydrate source, which makes it a very good energy booster. One cup of plain rice is only 200 calories, and yet, two slices of white bread can amount to the same calorie count! A person gets more energy and lasts longer without food after a rice meal instead of a sandwich. It’s what you eat with rice (or put on your bread, for that matter) that makes your meal or sandwich fattening. Rice, especially brown rice, undergoes less processing than the bread which makes it healthier. Skipping rice makes you hungrier in the long run and as a result, more susceptible to snacking.

Will drinking a lot of water make me gain weight?
Of course not! Taking your H2O boosts your energy, sharpens your concentration skills, increases the number of calories you burn, facilitates healthy waste elimination, beats the common cold, and provides you with smoother, younger looking skin. Now if you are talking about gaining weight after trips to the sauna, steam, or after body wraps and passive slimming treatments, then yes, you will gain weight. Any weight you lose from these therapies represents a temporary water loss, hence, any liquid replacement will counter that false loss.

Does the six o’clock diet popularized by Christine Jacob really work?
This diet works if it suits your lifestyle and if you make sure to eat nutritious and well-balanced meals in the earlier part of the day. The six o’clock diet is basically a disciplinary technique for those who make the unhealthy habit of skipping breakfast, taking a light lunch and eating like a lion before bedtime. This diet also compels one who does more work in the mornings and afternoons to support that with heavier meals thereby eating less before one retires. The diet may not work for you if you are a night person who works till midnight.

Are crash diets reliable?
Not in the long run. They also give people the wrong notion that dieting is the way to lose weight and maintain a good figure forever. Understand, our metabolism slows down as we age and we’ll all lose a portion of our muscles unless we do strength or resistance training. Also, since 50-70% of our total energy expenditure happens when we are at rest (yes, not in the 30 minutes of treadmill or one hour of aerobic dancing) then what is important is to acquire more lean muscle in our bodies than fat. Why? Fat is inert at rest while muscles even at rest feed on energy. Now, do you understand why lean people can eat like pigs at times and why those who are forever dieting remain miserably dieting forever?

I’ve been exercising for two months. And though I fit better in my clothes, why do I weight even more than I did?
If you are leaner and shapelier but heavier, rejoice you are on the right track! Weight—as in the number that appears on the scale—is really a poor indication of a person’s fitness level, and therefore misleading. Many people who weigh 110-120 lbs constantly diet and don’t exercise. They look flabby and I’m sure if subjected to a body fat measurement would reveal that their fat percentage level are higher than the ideal. Muscle is heavier than fat, but it is also leaner giving you the toned, shapely look.

What happens if I stop exercising after being consistent for six months?
Taking a breather from exercise if not a bad thing to do. What’s deadly is staying away from exercise for good. If you’ve been exercising in the gym consistently for six months, you should feel energized and healthy. You’ll probably be looking for more activity, not less. If you stop forever, eat like a pig and sleep the whole day, you will get fatter and flabbier. If your plan is to relax and take a short break, it won’t be a problem. Being active should be part of your everyday lifestyle…as regular as eating and sleeping. It shouldn’t be a nuisance.

Will I lose weight if I just order salads instead of entrees?
Salads alone won’t do it. Moderation, balance, and a variety of diet is the key to successful weight loss. Do you like salads? Can you survive on them alone? Not many people do. You won’t last on a boring, monotonous diet. You have to enjoy your meals. If you are not satisfied, you will just binge after a while.

How can I lose weight when I love to snack?
If you really enjoy snacking, don’t despair. The latest research supports eating six light meals or snacks a day instead of three heavy meals. Eating six times helps increase our metabolism and energy level. Just be sure to choose your snacks wisely and maintain a balance. Healthy snacks include arroz caldo, fresh lumpia, sotanghon, palabok, gelatin, native rice cakes (without grated coconut or not cooked with coconut milk). Stay away from friend foods or oily potato chips, cakes and pastries. Here are more light-weight snacks at just 100 calories—to fill you (not fatten you) up: 1 cup non-fat yogurt, 1 cob boiled sweet corn, 2 pcs. chicken/seafood siomai, 3 squares graham crackers or soda crackers, 3 cups air-popped popcorn, 1 medium apple or pear, 30 pieces grapes, 2 small oranges, 1 medium banana, 2 mango cheeks, 1 plain baked potato, 1 plain boiled sweet potato, 6 steamed large shrimps.

I don’t want to exchange my tasty meals for bland food. Now what?
Eating healthy doesn’t mean eating bland. What’s important is variety, method of preparation, moderation, and balance. Fat, salt, sugar, caffeine and alcohol are often what makes food tasty. You needn’t cut them out, just watch the amounts you atke. Eat less protein-rich food (like meat and cheese) which are high in fat and cholesterol compared to these lower (like seafood and chicken). Go more for fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates. As for food preparation, stay away from fried or sautéed dishes and go more for what’s steamed, baked, poached, broiled, or grilled. Use delicious herbs and spices, not to mention tomato, garlic, onion, and ginger for flavor instead of MSG, salt, and sugar.

If I use the sauna, will I lose fat?
The sweat you release in the sauna has to do with water loss, not fat loss. What the sauna does is aid your circulation and enhance your relaxation.

I want to do aerobics but was told bababa ang matris ko?
No scientific evidence proves this. Bababa ang weight mo, hindi ang matris.

When is the best time to exercise so I lose more weight?
To each her own. Consistency is the guiding principle in exercise, not the time of day. Find a time that is convenient, that fits neatly into your deadly routine…and that will be the best time—for you.

Does walking while shopping qualify as my workout for the day?
Walking is good exercise, and walking while shopping, for so long as it is continuous and well-paced, can certainly serve as a workout for the time being. You have to do it more regularly for at least 30 minutes at least 3 times a week to get desired results.

My gym is air-conditioned: how can I lose weight when I’m not sweating?
A body works harder and burns more calories in the cold so theoretically, you don’t necessarily need to be sweating profusely. Sweating is not an indication of fat loss, but of water loss. Though some people prefer to exercise in a warm place, there’s nothing wrong with exercising in an air-conditioned room. In fact, you’ll be able to increase the intensity of your workout (and thus your burned calories) there compared to exercising in a hot place where the risk of heat stress is higher.

How do I slim down my puson? I am slim all over except there.
Some people are just predisposed to accumulating fat in the midsection. If your puson is significantly bigger compared to the other parts of your body, it may take some time. Exercise generally removes fat stores all over the entire body, not just in specific parts. Regular aerobic exercise will burn the fat, and crunches will develop the muscles beneath it to give you a trimmer look.

Do cellulite creams really work? Will massage remove my cellulite?
Cellulite is simply fat and no amount of cream or massage will remove it. Cellulite can be reduced, however, by the right exercise and attention to what you eat.

Are pills, diuretics, laxatives, ionamin, phen-fen, fibre trim, and slimfast safe to use for weight loss?
Research has demonstrated that these trendy so-called miracle pills, diets and formulations are in fact detrimental to our health and offer no permanent solutions against fighting fat. Regular exercise and watching what you eat are not just healthy methods of weight loss, they are effective methods of weight loss.

What is circuit training?
A circuit training workout is a series of exercises each of which focuses on a particular body part. Completing the “circuit” in fact, means, going from exercise to exercise from beginning to end. A circuit workout combines strength training and cardiovascular activity, making use of various gym equipment. With the guidance of a qualified coach, it can be a very effective fat-blasting workout.

Can I minimize the size of my double chin by doing facial exercise?
If being overweight or obesity is the cause of the double chin, diet and exercise—including facial exercises—will help. However, if the cause of the double chin is genetic, liposuction may be more beneficial.

Is fish necessarily less fattening than beef, pork or chicken?
Compared to other meats, fish is less fattening, though white meat from chicken is equally low in fat. However methods of preparation and sauces have to be taken into consideration. For example: McDonald’s fish fillet is more fattening than its cheeseburger, because the fish is breaded and fried and slathered with creamy mayo. Although there are some varieties of fish like salmon and tuna that are high in fat, this fat is healthy, heartsmart and low in cholesterol.