Diet Exercise Directory

Archive for November 26th, 2009

The key to successful weight loss is of course to expend more calories than you take in. Normally however, our bodies resist giving up their fat reserves; HCG Diet Plans help overcome this biological tendency, making calorie reduction and exercise more effective.

When it comes to the latter however, it is important not to overdo it. In fact, exercise while on the HCG program should be kept to a minimum.

What?!?

You read that correctly – exercise while for those on HCG diet plans should be low-key and not strenuous.

This is because of the way HCG works with our biological tendencies rather than against them, which is unfortunately what most diets do. In understanding how HCG helps dieters to achieve weight loss goals, it helps to take a look at our natural history and how we evolved as a species.

Before Agriculture

Humans in their current form have been around about 100,000 years – but for 90% of that time, were obliged to hunt and forage for their food. Agriculture has had a profound impact on humanity for better and worse, but biologically, we are not so different from the mammoth hunter of the Stone Age.

Because food sources are unreliable in a state of nature, our bodies evolved certain protective mechanisms to keep us alive during times of food shortages. When caloric intake is reduced, an almond-shaped gland in our brains, known as the hypothalamus, begins to back off on our physiological “throttle,” or our metabolic rate. The reason is to conserve energy.

The Role of HCG

HCG, or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, is a hormone that governs the functions of the hypothalamus. On its own, the hypothalamus will go to great lengths to conserve energy and the energy resources stored in our fat cells. It’s why losing fat is so difficult for most of us when we restrict our caloric intake the way you will on the HCG diet.

HCG literally forces your hypothalamus to use those fat reserves in order to burn the calories required to maintain normal bodily functions. So:

your body requires about 1,500 calories a day you will eat no more than 500 calories a day on the HCG diet HCG forces your hypothalamus to obtain 1000 calories from fat reserves

This is how weight loss occurs naturally on HCG diet plans. Of course, a certain amount of exercise is necessary for overall well-being; just make sure you can carry on a normal conversation during the activity and are not becoming winded.

The informational website at http://www.hcgdietdirect.com has a great many tips when it comes to the HCG diet and exercise as well as sample recipes and more.