Four Tips to Start Your Exercise Program

Often, the hardest step to take is the first one. Follow these 4 simple ideas to get you started on the road to fitness.

For the beginner, getting to the gym is the hardest part. Most of the time you just don't want to go and when you do, you don't know where to start! There are a million other things you could be doing with that time for work, for the kids, or just to relax. The thought of losing 20 or more pounds can really be overwhelming and that is why most people don't even try. You really just have to buckle down and determine to better yourself so make use of these helpful hints:

Make it Easy: The biggest reason most people don't get to the gym is inconvenience. This can easily be solved by joining a gym close to your house or work so it's not out of your way to get there. That will eliminate probably half of your excuses, which are only making you your own worst enemy.

Get a Partner: Hiring a trainer is awesome, but you don’t have to train with Jillian Michaels to see results. Even a workout partner will do. If you need motivation, team up with someone who can help you.

Make it a Habit: Make your gym time a part of your routine and go every day you say you will. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit, be it good or bad. This is simply you forcing yourself to create good habits. Exercise offers so many benefits for your health that you can't afford to put it off any longer.

Educate Yourself:Invest in magazines, fitness websites, or fitness tv shows to learn more about healthy eating, exercise, and the human body. The more you know, the more you will be able to stick to the plan because you’ll know why.

In order to get somewhere, you have to start. The weight loss may not be fast, but it will be rewarding. Take it one day at a time and eventually you will reap the benefits of hard work, and remember - the most effective piece of equipment you use on your fitness journey is a positive attitude.

Probiotics may help fat and weight loss

Daily supplements of Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (LG2055) may help weight loss in people with obese tendencies, says new science from Japan.

Twelve weeks of consuming a fermented milk product containing the Lactobacillus strain was associated with a 4.6 per cent reduction in abdominal fat, and a 3.3 per cent reduction in subcutaneous fat, according to findings published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Furthermore, body weight dropped by 1.4 per cent and waist size decreased by 1.8 per cent, report researchers from Snow Brand Milk Products, Kyushu University, Nippon Milk Community Co., Iwaki Meisei University, and Isogo Central and Neurosurgical Hospital.

The study extends previous findings from Kyushu University researchers, which showed LG2055 may reduce fat levels (adiposity) and fat cells in animals (British Journal of Nutrition, 2009, Vol. 101, pp. 716-724; 2008, Vol. 99, pp. 1013-7). In addition, Snow Brand scientists have reported that LG2055 in fermented milk "has the ability to establish in the human gastrointestinal tract and alters the composition and metabolism of the intestinal microflora and physical characteristics of faeces", (J. Appl. Microbiol. 2001, Vol. 90, pp. 343-352).

Potential

With the World Health Organization estimating that by 2015, there will be more than 1.5 billion overweight consumers, incurring health costs beyond $117 billion per year in the US alone, the opportunities for a scientifically-substantiated weight management food product are impressive.

A breakthrough paper published in Nature in December 2006 (Vol. 444, pp. 1022-1023, 1027-1031) reported that microbial populations in the gut are different between obese and lean people, and that when the obese people lost weight their microflora reverted back to that observed in a lean person, suggesting that obesity may have a microbial component.

A recent study, published in Science Translational Medicine (Vol. 1, Issue 6, 6ra14), advanced this by successfully showing that the human gut microbiota can successfully be transferred to germ-free mice, and that this can then be passed on from mother to offspring.

Study details

The Japanese scientists recruited 87 overweight people with an average BMI of 24.2 kg/m2 to participate in their multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled intervention trial. The participants were randomly assigned to receive 200 grams per day of fermented milk with or without LG2055 day for 12 weeks.

At the end of the study, significant decreases were observed in the Lactobacillus group in body weight, BMI (1.5 per cent), waist circumference, and in the hips (1.5 per cent). No significant reductions were observed in the control group, however.

"The probiotic LG2055 showed lowering effects on abdominal adiposity, body weight and other measures, suggesting its beneficial influence on metabolic disorders," concluded the scientists.

Source:

http://www.dairyreporter.com/Products/Probiotics-may-help-fat-and-weight-loss-Study