Sugar and Your Health – When It's Not So Sweet

Most of the time those fat free snacks you nosh on taste so sweet because they're actually made with a lot of extra sugar. Fat free cakes, cookies, breakfast bars, power bars and cereals that claim to be healthy often contain incredible levels of sugar or high fructose corn syrup. When you shop for food, it is important to read the ingredients listed on the label carefully.

Avoid buying those snacks that have extra sugar because it ultimately leads to fat – which is exactly what you don't want!

Excess sugar in your body that can't be burned off builds up in your blood and insulin is released to store it. Only a bit of the sugar that is not burned off is stored as glycogen in your liver and muscles. The rest of the accumulated sugar is stored in your body as saturated fat.

Increased insulin levels can cause serious health problems besides storing fat you don't need, such as insulin resistance, diabetes and osteoporosis. Also, too much sugar in your system causes sodium retention. Excess levels of sodium in your body can cause water retention. Retaining water will make you look and feel bloated. Further, water retention can lead to high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.

Sometimes people choose sugary snacks to give them a “boost”. A “sugar rush” is an unnatural, temporary burst of energy that ultimately leaves you feeling sleepy, foggy, stressed, anxious and even depressed. Add to that the potential health problems that result from too much insulin in your body, and clearly sugar is not the answer to energizing yourself. Rather, you can realistically attain increased levels of energy through nutritious food, exercise and self-awareness.

Sugar is alluring because it tastes sweet, but eating too much is detrimental to your health and body. Choose what you eat carefully, read the labels on everything you buy and stick to wholesome foods with few additives.

By replacing those sugary snacks with nutritious alternatives, you will look better, feel healthier and have plenty of energy everyday.

Lose Belly Fat in 5 Easy Steps

There are many reasons you have a bit of extra fat around your belly. You may have overindulged during the holidays or missed your regular fitness routine while working overtime. To add to these factors, your metabolism naturally slows down as you get older. In fact, starting at the age 25, our metabolism declines about five percent each decade. So how do we burn off this unwanted fat? There are several natural, easy ways to lose belly fat for good:

Eat Breakfast

As simple as it sounds, eating breakfast every morning is important because it actually “turns on” your metabolism. The earlier you eat, the quicker your metabolism with run to burn off fat.

Work Out in the Morning

If you work out at least 30 minutes right after you wake up in the morning, you can burn off up to three times more fat. Because your body burns most of the previous day's carbohydrates during the night, working out in the morning burns fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. Remember, don't eat breakfast first – that will give your body additional carbohydrates to burn. Work out and then eat breakfast for the perfect fat burning routine each day.

Sleep

Another simple but necessary step to burning fat is regular sleep. A study done by the University of Chicago revealed that losing sleep affects how our bodies metabolize carbohydrates, resulting in glucose intolerance, a slowed metabolism and possible increased hunger. Not getting enough sleep can also make you feel “too tired” to exercise. At least six to eight hours of sleep every night is essential to keep the body's metabolism functioning properly and give you enough energy to function properly.

Be Active

Engage in regular exercise routines, such as a half hour power walk before breakfast. Remain active all day by taking the stairs, cleaning, gardening, standing while you talk on the telephone, sitting up rather than lounging as you watch television and periodic stretching when for extended periods of time. Staying active throughout the day in small ways is a beneficial, easy way to burn fat all day.

Protein

The building blocks for muscle are proteins and without protein you can actually lose muscle mass. A person should consume .4 -.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Having muscle is important because it burns up to 90 percent more calories than fat.

With a few easy lifestyle changes, you can lose belly fat and build muscle. The benefits of burning fat include improved overall health and a more attractive body.