Generally, using the larger muscles in the body burns more calories than using the smaller ones.  The smaller muscles in the body become tired much quicker than the larger ones. So as it stands, a good way to do resistance training is to start with your larger muscles groups and work your way to the smaller ones.  It's always great to alternate between the groups in order to let one area rest before going back for the next round, but leaving a few more exercises or spending more time on the larger muscles will burn more calories during your workout. By the same token, whole body exercises that work multiple groups simultaneously are the best calorie burners.  Of course they are the ones that leave you the most winded and require slightly longer recovery periods between sets.  That's good and your heart welcomes this.  

Always do a warm up before resistance or weight training.  A warm up is simply anything that slowly builds heat in the body.  Slowly building heat over the period of 5 to 10 minutes before adding resistance to the muscles will enable them to work more efficiently and will prevent injury.  When the body is 'warmed up' through light exercise, the muscles are allowed to respiratory system is challenged to deliver more blood to be delivered to the muscles. When the body is 'cold', and you put a load on it, the muscles create little tears within themselves and they take longer to heal since blood is what feeds them.  When the body is cold, the blood vessels constrict; when the blood is restricted, the nutrients don’t get in efficiently.  So remember to WARM-UP BABY!

The energy or calories in the food we eat comes from three macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Macro means large, and these nutrients are needed in large quantities to sustain our growth, metabolism, and other bodily functions.

In order to truly understand the food you’re consuming you should be aware of the caloric expenditure of the food. One gram of Carbohydrate equals 4 calories, one gram of Protein equals 4 calories, one gram of Fat equals 9 calories.

One pound of body fat equals about 3500 calories. So, there is a logic of if you can create a deficit of 3500 calories, you will lose 1 pound of body weight. This is a flawed logic though since our bodies don’t operate in a vacuum.  That logic works on paper, but doesn’t take into account that our bodies are working with many a various systems and we are not linear. Be careful when losing weight thought, because when you lose weight, you are also losing lean body mass. That’s when exercise comes in. Exercise will enable you to retain and gain lean muscle mass.  You cannot just reduce caloric intake and expect to lose weight.  Caloric modification has to be done in a way that will work together with your metabolism and not against it.  If you just reduced calories without regard, you may end up slowing your metabolism, keeping weight on, and doing more harm than good.  It’s best to pay attention to how and when you consume your calories, and increase ways to burn the calories (energy).   Some ways to do this is by eating small portions more frequently.  Many times when embarked on properly, a fat reduction plan, which will include exercise, will require more calories instead of less.  This is so because as you exercise, you build lean muscle mass and reduce fat mass.  Lean muscle mass requires more energy (calories).  The more you move (exercise), the more you burn.
 
Over the years, many a various diet has been suggested and tried. The human body has and continues to be studied to understand it’s process of energy, which mainly comes from the ingestion of food. After all that’s said and done, it is widely agreed that the most effective healthful diet is a 40% carbohydrate-30% Protein-30% Fat diet. This practice is endorsed by The American Dietetic Association and has been followed by Europeans as the Mediterranean Diet.

Here are some steps for eating in proper proportions:

1. Study the labels on food products. They are mandated by law in the United States, many countries in Europe, as well as many other countries of the world. Use them to make wise judgements on the portions of what to ingest with each meal. If you take the time to learn about the foods you eat, what they are made of, you will understand how to gain control of your energy, your weight, your body fat, your metabolism, your sugar levels, your thinking power, your efficiency, your overall wellness!

2. In the beginning, don’t change your diet. Just take the time to write down the items you eat and in the portions you eat them. From the food labels, write down the carbs, protein, fat (and what type of fat!), and calories. I know it’s a pain, but make a chart and keep this food log for a minimum of 2 weeks.

3. Study your food log and then decide what items you can change around, minimize, maximize, replace, allow every now and then…etc. All things in moderation. MODERATION!

4. Since every body is different, there is no one exact caloric consumption level you can set to lose weight.  For the most part, you can forget counting the calories.  Yes, that’s right, forget counting.  Instead, pay attention to the balance of the food choices and the quality of the foods.  Pay attention to when your body is hungry.  Pay attention to the cravings you get (these tell you the types of foods you may be over or underconsuming…see ‘what do these food cravings mean?’

5. For the most part, eat whole foods.  Eat foods that have been minimally processed.  Generally, the more the food is to its original natural state, the more nutritious and healthy it is. Remember this at the supermarket.

       Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is the main regulator of how much calcium is absorbed or released from your bones.  Calcium is the main structural component in bones which give them their rigidity. If your cells get too much parathyroid hormone, the bones will release too much calcium into the bloodstream resulting in a condition known as osteoporosis.  Osteoporosis is a condition wherein bone mass is reduced due to the depletion of calcium and bone protein.   Osteoporosis can leave a person susceptible to bone fractures and postural abnormalities.  Osteoporosis is a progressive condition that worsens with age.  To understand osteoporosis, it is helpful to understand the basics of bone formation.  Bone is living tissue that is constantly being renewed. Old bone is broken down and removed and new bone is built to replace it.  During the first third of our life, more bone is produced than is removed, reaching its maximum mass and strength by the mid-30s. After that, bone is lost at a faster pace than it is formed, so the amount of bone in the skeleton begins to slowly decline.  Most cases of osteoporosis occur as an acceleration of this normal aging process, which is referred to as primary osteoporosis. Other causes of this disease may be brought about by other disease processes or prolonged use of certain medications.  That is called secondary osteoporosis.  Here we are talking about secondary osteoporosis since we are referring to a diseased parathyroid gland.  The sole purpose of the parathyroid glands is to control calcium within the blood. Calcium is essential to life, and is used primarily for three things

1.   To provide the electrical energy for our nervous system. Calcium is what the nervous system of our body uses to conduct      electricity.

2.   To provide the electrical energy for our muscular system.  Our muscles require calcium to contract. When calcium levels are not correct, people can feel weak and have muscle cramps.

3.   To provide strength to our skeletal system. 

The single major disease of parathyroid glands is over-activity of one or more of the parathyroids which make too much parathyroid hormone causing a potentially serious calcium imbalance (too high calcium in the blood). This is called hyperparathyroidism.

Calcium is the only mineral that has its own regulatory system. (the parathyroid glands) It is not a common cause of osteoporosis, but an important one to be aware of when facing symptoms for diagnosis and treatment. 

Symptoms of parathyroid disease are:

Loss of energy                                                Loss of memory

Loss of concentration                                    Heartburn

Depression                                                     Thinning Hair

Osteoporosis and Osteopenia                         Kidney Stones

Bones hurt                                                     High Blood Pressure

Trouble sleeping                                              Recurrent Headaches

Tiredness                                                        Arrhythmia

Irritable                                                            Decrease in sex drive

Most people with hyperparathyroidism will have about 5 of these symptoms. The only treatment available is to have the parathyroid glands removed.  Fortunately, if you choose an experienced parathyroid surgeon, a minimally invasive operation can be performed to remove only the gland that went bad.  If you’re reading this and you’re in the first third of your lifespan, then make sure you build your bone density now while your bones are still growing, by getting enough calcium in your body.  If you’re out of that first third, then continue to get your calcium with foods such as dark green vegetables, nuts, orange fruits, sardines and dairy. As you age, consider a calcium supplement, especially if you are a woman.  Woman are more susceptible to osteoporosis due to their hormonal make up.

Not getting enough sleep is dangerous to your health.  Sleeping is essential to keeping our bodies running optimally. Our immune system functions optimally if we go to sleep by 10 p.m. As we sleep, physical repair takes place between approximately 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Our immune system kicks into high gear, eliminating cancer cells, bacteria, viruses, and other harmful agents. Then from about 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., we enter a stage of psychic regeneration. During this time, the brain releases chemicals that enhance our immune system. Throughout the night, we experience rapid eye movement (REM) sleep states and non-REM sleep, alternating between light sleep and deep dream states. This is how we process the mental and emotional events of the previous day and refresh our minds for the day ahead.  Most people need a minimum of seven or eight hours of sleep to repair and refresh the body and mind. Without sufficient sleep, the immune system suffers because it can’t keep up with its repair work. This creates the opportunity for disease processes to begin. Moreover, if cortisol is elevated at night-say, because you are anxious, these immune functions can become compromised, which ultimately leads to illness and disease. 

Cortisol is a hormone which has many functions. It helps the body use sugar (glucose) and fat for energy (metabolism), and it helps the body manage stress. Cortisol regulates the immune system. In normal people, cortisol levels are very low at bedtime and at their highest just after waking.  Have you ever wondered why your cold or flu symptoms get worse at night? It's because cortisol production regulates your immune system on a 24-hour cycle. As cortisol levels drop at night, your immune cells become highly active. The immune cells kill large numbers of bacteria and viruses, causing greater mucous production. As a result, you experience more congestion and coughing as your body attempts to get rid of the mucous.  At daybreak, when cortisol levels rise, the activity of the immune cells tapers off. The immune cells then reset and recondition themselves in preparation for the next nightly cycle.

Growth hormone released during sleep is also important for fat loss

It is not just lack of sleep that negatively affects body fat percentage and the risk of chronic disease—poor sleep quality does as well. Deep sleep is accompanied by an increased secretion of growth hormone necessary for repairing and rebuilding body tissues like muscle and bone. It also helps to negate the bad effects of cortisol. Growth hormone naturally decreases with age and also with increased abdominal fat, leading to a viscious cycle of fatigue, excess stress hormone and increased abdominal fat.
As you can see, sleep is essential for our bodies to repair and maintain optimum immune function.

How do you get a good beauty sleep?

1. Get enough sleep. Seven to nine hours of sleep per night is optimal for adults. For most persons schedules, aim to get to bed before 10 or 11 pm.  Listen to your natural circadian rhythms, as this is the body’s recovery period. Make sleep a priority!

2. Improve the quality of your sleep. Do not exercise too late in the evening—it elevates your stress hormones and raises your body temperature which may make it difficult for you to fall asleep. Be sure to sleep in complete darkness to optimize the release of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone which is essential to healthy sleep patterns and it also helps reduce the negative effects of cortisol.

3. Reduce your stress and adopt methods to manage your stress more effectively. Massage, exercise, acupuncture, meditation—even kissing—all are effective ways to reduce levels of stress. Some herbs have stress reducing qualities. These include herbs like ashwagandha, Siberian ginseng, relora and plant sterols as well as the supplement phosphatidylserine.

4. Regulate blood sugar levels. Eating regularly will avoid swings in blood sugar levels. Stay away from sugar and excess caffeine and follow a healthy eating plan that balances protein, carbohydrates and fats.