The Brunette Diaries

Unexpected Weight Loss Could Be a Serious Problem

Many unexpected stuff can make you happy, like getting an unexpected holiday or finding money in your pocket, or like unexpected weight loss.

NO, unexpected weight loss might just be a real serious problem, so while you may be celebrating for losing some weight, get checked up if it isn’t a symptom to any diseases or disorder!

1) Muscle loss (sarcopenia)

People tend to experience muscle loss as they age because they neglect to maintain muscle health. This kind of muscle atrophy is sarcopenia, which can begin as early as your 40s and cause unexplained weight loss and reduced strength, energy, and mobility. To avoid muscle loss, one should add more protein and vitamin D to their diet. Older adults require more protein to build muscle at that age. Also, adding weights to your workouts helps build muscle mass and strength.

2) Cancer

Cancer, in general, can cause weight loss, but there are several types of cancer, such as lung, pancreatic, biliary, and colon, that are known to lead to unexplained weight loss. Abnormally functioning cancer cells grow out of control, speed up your metabolism, and wear out your entire body by using its resources, which causes weight loss. Cancer treatments can also lead to weight loss. Radiation and chemotherapy often cause a decrease in appetite, and it can lead to side effects, including nausea, vomiting, and mouth sores that discourage eating.

3) HIV and AIDS

AIDS, Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, chronic and potentially life-threatening disease that is caused by HIV, human immunodeficiency virus. HIV can make it harder for your body to absorb nutrients, which causes malnutrition and can lead to a decreased appetite. While there’s no cure for HIV or AIDS, there are medications that can dramatically slow the progression of the disease and allow you to live an otherwise healthy life.

4) Depression

Usually, when a person is depressed, he or she losses interest in almost everything that exists in life, even the ones they enjoyed previously. In this mood-disorder, giving up eating is one common thing that is found, whereas many start overeating. But, depression does result in weight loss which isn’t healthy at all. While there’s no one single cause of depression, many cases can be treated effectively with medication and therapy, although some antidepressants can also contribute to further weight loss.

5) Diabetes

Diabetes is often associated with weight gain or obesity, but surprisingly, weight loss can be one of the diabetes symptoms. When the body is no longer able to produce insulin sufficiently, glucose is no longer making it into the bloodstream to be used as energy. When there is an insufficiency in insulin, the body starts burning fat and muscle for energy, causing a reduction in overall body weight. If you are a diabetic and are experiencing weight loss, you need to see your doctor asap.

Let us know if this article helped you in any way, also suggest what you’d like us to write on.

Keep Off These Foods If You Want To Enjoy A Healthy Heart

Your heart is the engine of your body. It is responsible for the circulation of the life of our bodies, that is, blood. Therefore, you have to take good care of it if you want to live a healthy and long life. To help you do this, we have compiled this list of foods you need to avoid to maintain a healthy heart.

1) Cold Cuts

In themselves, cold cuts do not endanger your heart’s health. However, their continued usage means that you will keep exposing yourself to raw salt consumption. By taking too much salt, you expose yourself to heart diseases.

2) Beef Jerky

Even though beef jerky is popular among meat lovers, its continued eating exposes you to excessive raw salt consumption. The results? High risk of developing artery failure and cardiovascular diseases. In fact, a 1–ounce serving can contain up to 700 milligrams of salt, which is more than four times what you expose yourself to when taking the same amount of chips.

3) Margarine

In as much as people love it, margarine is a source of unhealthy trans fatty acids, which make it dangerous for your cardiovascular health.

4) Processed Meats

Even though they are not dangerous in themselves, avoid them when possible. The reason is that they are persevered using salts and nitrites that are responsible for weakening your heart health. Therefore, it is necessary to take a maximum of two servings weekly. This way, you will avoid exposure to these chemicals.

5) Soft Drinks

Soft drinks are not that “soft” on your heart. On the contrary, these simple sugars are rich in soda that is culpable for triggering stroke inflammation and raising sugar level. The result of such conditions is that they strain artery walls and increase your risk of developing heart disease. If it is a must to take soda, then you should limit it to a maximum of seven 8-ounce servings weekly.

6) Added Sugars

Added sugar is another culprit behind increased chances of developing heart disease. The reason is that it increases blood pressure and high triglyceride levels.

Since you know the secrets, the ball is in your court to avoid these delicious and sweet poisons that could harm your heart health. It is now up to you to apply these little secrets and enjoy healthy living.

All About Vegetarian Keto Diet

The vegetarian diet is commonly regarded as one of the healthiest diets for humanity. Many studies have found that vegetarian diets reduce the likelihood of prevalent diseases like heart disease and diabetes and improve health more than the average non-vegetarian diet. However, this doesn’t mean that the vegetarian diet is the best diet for everyone’s health.

The Ketogenic diet, for example, has been found to be more effective than the vegetarian diet for weight loss! And Just because you don’t eat meat doesn’t mean you can’t try this high-protein plan. Here’s how to turn the Keto diet vegetarian:

What is Keto diet?

With no carbs for fuel, the body produces ketones by breaking down fats in the liver. This helps burn excess fat and jump-start your metabolism, and it can lead to weight loss and increased energy. There is also an emphasis on whole foods with the Keto diet, which means that many types of processed foods are off-limits.

The original Keto diet is extremely high in fatty meats, which is not good for our cardiovascular system, the vegetarian version eliminates these meats and allows for more plant-based options, such as avocado and nuts and seeds. In general, the population is going towards a more plant-based, whole-foods diet, which is why the Ketotarian diet is emerging.

Going Ketotarian:

The diet of the moment is the Ketogenic plan, people turn to it to lose weight, to manage chronic illness, or to find a healthier lifestyle. This high-protein plan focuses on meat, however. The goal is to eliminate carbs, jack up the protein, and force the body to burn fat for fuel (instead of its preferred source: carbohydrates). This phenomenon is called ketosis, but the meat focus prevents vegetarians from experimenting with the plan.

How does a vegetarian Keto diet works?

First, even non-vegetarian Keto eaters shouldn’t focus too much on meat: The misconception that Keto diets require huge amounts of meat or meat products may scare off vegetarians, those concerned about the environment, or people that want to eat healthier. A vegetarian version of the Ketogenic diet may be appealing for its weight loss and other health benefits.

What can you eat as a Ketotarian?

The vegetarian Keto diet menu will include leafy greens and aboveground vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, and green beans, as well as high-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, avocados, berries, sweeteners, oils, and fats. Ketotarians should ensure that they fit plenty of nuts, seeds (including flax and chia), tofu, eggs, cheese, cream, vegetables, avocados, olives, olive oil, canola oil, and butter into their diets for optimal results. You can make “treats” to help cravings, like chocolate avocado ice cream, from compliant ingredients.

What to avoid?

The list is very similar to the regular Keto diet (except you’re avoiding meat): Be sure to steer clear of grains, sugar, fruit (except for occasional berries), and tubers, like yams and sweet potatoes, while following the vegetarian Keto diet.

What are the benefits of vegetarian Keto diet?

One of the most beneficial things about the vegetarian Keto diet is that it incorporates fresh foods and eliminates many processed foods. The parameters of a Ketogenic diet are simply grams of macronutrients—protein, fat, carbs. The vegetarian Ketogenic diet tries to also focus on the quality of foods eaten, increasing the micronutrient content of the diet.

How challenging is it?

Those who are doing the vegetarian Keto diet will have to pay extra attention to what they are putting in their mouths. It can be harder to manage your diet because you might have to spend more time calculating your carbohydrate intake and spend a lot of time planning meals and considering the foods you are eating. Many plant foods contain carbs so it could be challenging to stay balanced, satisfied, and achieve Ketosis. Another challenge is not falling into the trap of eating foods that may be compliant but aren’t actually healthy. As with any diet, the label itself does not make it healthy. The labels of ‘vegan,’ ‘vegetarian,’ ‘Keto,’ ‘gluten-free,’ and many others include a range of food choices that fit the standards of the diet but aren’t necessarily healthy. This is especially true of processed foods that may carry these labels.

These 5 Reasons Are Enough For You To Get Off That COUCH!

Winter is here and everyone loves to sleep in the comfort of their blanket during winter. It is the best time of the year when we get good sleep and don’t feel like doing anything, have a warm coffee or tea or some hot chocolate and binge on to something yummy.

We even get an excuse of not workout or skip workouts because we don’t feel like or basically feel lazy. But whether it be winter, rainy or summer or how much busy you might be one must never miss their workout. Be it for an hour or even half an hour. Working out doesn’t only mean going to the gym but you can do any physical activity like dance, jog, walk, play sports.

So let me list down 5 main benefits of working out:

1. Boost happiness levels

The most important thing that we need in our life is happiness. We’re always looking for how to be happy. And exercise is one of the most obvious steps to take, as it’s not a coincidence that you feel better after a good workout. Working out can make you happy long term adding extra intensity can make you feel even better.

2. Sweet Dreams:

Exercising helps to sleep peacefully. Exercising can help keep you more bright-eyed during the day and bring on sleep at night. You will get a sound sleep. The reaction won’t be instant but after 2 days or so you will experiment it. So exercise and say bye bye to those dark circles.

3. Improve memory:

Exercising regularly can help jog your memory. You don’t need to have almonds every day in the morning to boost your memory. A walk or any physical exercise daily is enough to improve your memory.

4. Bye Bye Stress:

Work stress is the most common thing nowadays. But you can say bye bye to it by working out. It is found that those employees who worked out before work or even after work reported feeling less stress and being happier and more productive than days when they skipped a workout.

5. Live longer:

Keeping your body happy and healthy to help you live a longer, fuller life is one of the biggest benefits of exercising. According to reports, exercising for just 10 minutes a day, or 75 minutes a week, can earn you an extra 1.8 years. The more fit you are, no disease can harm you then.

There are more benefits but these 5 will be enough for you to start working out. So don’t just sit in front of your phone, laptop or TV, go out and refresh yourself and have a healthy mind and body.

Happy Exercising ?

Things Your Doctor Wishes You Knew About Losing Weight

Consulting a doctor or a dietician is the smartest way of losing weight to achieve the proper and RIGHT guidance towards your goal weight. But often 20-30 minutes of meeting isn’t adequate enough to know everything there’s to know about losing weight. We asked doctors, dietitians, therapists, and other weight loss experts the key facts their clients most often miss. Make sure to master these often misunderstood facts if you’re looking to shed a few pounds.

1) Food that seem healthy may also make you gain weight

Many people think if it’s healthy, you can eat as much as you want, but it’s important to limit ‘recreational’ eating, no matter how healthy the snack is. When you do snack, make sure you’re choosing the right kind.

2) WHEN you eat is as important as WHAT you eat

When you eat is important for weight loss. Starving all day and eating a big meal at the end of the day is counterproductive. No matter how nutritious a meal is, if eaten too late in the day, one does not have the time to burn it off and use it for fuel for the day. It ends up being stored in a body gas tank (the fat cells) you can’t readily access.

3) Reaching your goal end isn’t the end

It takes fewer calories and more energy expenditure to maintain weight loss than it takes to initiate weight loss. So if you let up once you start losing weight, you will gain it all back and then some! The good news is that when you start losing weight, it becomes easier to do more things like spending extra time on the treadmill or doing more resistance training reps. The idea is to continuously challenge yourself.

4) The right thyroid test

If you’re having a hard time losing weight, get a proper thyroid assessment. Most people need a test that goes above the standard medical thyroid profile. A standard thyroid test reads as ‘normal’ in 80 percent of overweight individuals, which is incorrect. A proper thyroid assessment includes checking eight different parameters of thyroid function and comparing them to optimal, not normal, values. Evaluated this way, over 80 percent of overweight individuals will actually be properly identified as being hypothyroid. This is a key contributor to overweight.

5) Alcohol prevents weight loss

Alcohol does not only empty calories but also has a huge effect on the weight loss process. It can interrupt and inhibit fat metabolism, making it harder to lose weight. Alcoholic drinks also contain a lot of added calories and carbs that will make it harder to lose weight even when you’re reducing your caloric intake. At the very least, order something you sip slowly, such as wine, rather than something you may drink larger amounts of such as beer.

Be Beautiful Without Having To Sacrifice Your Health

You don’t need to undergo extreme or painful measures to be beautiful. Being good to yourself and maintaining your health are important ways to accentuate your appearance ― it will make you gorgeous inside and out.

Look Younger, Naturally!

You might undergo youth-boosting treatments for your skin but these can be damaging to your health. An example is using chemically-enhanced skincare products that spread toxins into your skin and body. These can cause illness or adverse skin reactions. A much better option is organic skincare that looks after your skin with gentle ingredients while keeping your body free of harmful chemicals. Nutritional ingredients such as Vitamin C and Vitamin A, both in your diet and beauty routine, will also keep your skin firm and young without you having to resort to invasive procedures. Looking after your skin will keep your body functioning healthily so you can be naturally beautiful all over.

Is the Gym Your Friend or Enemy?

You know that it’s important to exercise daily ― when you get your heart pumping, this increases the oxygen in your body and activates your immune system. It also leads to weight loss. However, working out too much can disintegrate tissues, it can release the stress hormone called cortisol that can lead to disease, cause muscle tears that increase injury risk, as well as put your body under strain so that your immune system takes a dive.

How do you know if you’re exercising too much? If you get sick easily, you feel short-tempered, exercise makes you feel really tired all the time, or your body takes days to recover after a session, these symptoms mean you have to scale down your workouts.

Fashion Faux Pas to Avoid

Wearing clothing and shoes that make you look stylish but aren’t comfortable or put pressure on your body in various ways can harm your health. Are you guilty of these fashion faux pas?

Wearing High Heels Regularly

Yes, they’re gorgeous and make you feel like a million bucks, but they also strain your feet because they put your feet into an abnormal position. This can lead to pain, joint inflammation, and pinched nerves. High heels can also harm your spine because they alter your posture. Your lower back will feel the strain as it tries to deal with the unnatural position, causing pain.

Wearing Too-Tight Clothing

You might be trying to squeeze yourself into tight clothing over the holiday season when attending all the festive season parties, but this is dangerous. It can lead to numbness in your body because of constriction. Over time this can cause chronic problems. Tight clothing around your abdomen prevents digestion, so it can lead to problems such as burping and discomfort, which is exacerbated if you already have a health issue such as heartburn. Avoid anything that’s too tight and remember this isn’t flattering― instead of hiding any extra weight on your body, it will actually accentuate it.

Being beautiful should never be about harming yourself. Remember: health and beauty go hand in hand for best results!