Is it easier to lose weight in the winter? Or gain weight by eating ice cream? What kind of daily habits make you fat? Is it hard to trim your belly? Traditional Chinese Medicine in Taiwan (Traditional Chinese Medicine) The doctor will clarify the above questions.
Is it difficult to reduce the size of the lower abdomen and shape the abdominal muscles? Fitness trainer Fu Tang also introduced some simple exercises to shape the abdominal muscles.
The first question: is it better to lose weight in winter?
Not only does the cold winter reduce exercise, but it will also increase the desire to eat more food to gain calories. In traditional Chinese medicine, winter is believed to be a good time to lose weight. Doctor Yu Yawen of the Royal Jade Clinic of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Taiwan said that in winter, qi and blood are drawn in, which can activate the internal organs and increase the body’s metabolic rate.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that qi is the “vital energy” that forms life within the body, and in general refers to substances that nourish the body with nutrients such as blood. Qi and blood are interrelated, and both flow through the entire body, nourishing organs and tissues, and maintaining the vitality of the human body.
a study Published in Diabetes in 2009 also found that in wintry weather, the body will increase its metabolic rate. If you follow the same eating habits, your metabolism will be higher in winter than in summer, and you should lose weight, but why do so many people gain weight in winter?
Yu said that people eat more in winter, and consuming more sweet and calorie foods causes weight gain instead. She suggests that controlling food intake in winter is effective Weight loss.
Question 2: Where does the craving for snacks come from?
To achieve weight loss, people must resist the temptation to snack between meals. Yu believes there are two reasons for craving snacks after meals.
The first is not eating the right carbohydrates. Good starches can stabilize blood sugar, while high-GI foods increase insulin and store fat. In addition, the eating order is also a factor affecting the rise in blood sugar. Eating rice as the last few bites of a meal can help your blood sugar level stay stable, so you won’t feel hungry easily.
The second is not eating enough. Fearing obesity and trying to reduce the amount eaten, people eat between meals. Yu suggested that if you still want to snack, you can choose some healthy snacks with low sugar content, such as rice cakes and dried fruits. But beware of choosing foods that contain preservatives and saccharin additives.
Question 3: Are sugar-free drinks or foods safe for weight loss?
Yu said that one should not think that sugar-free drinks or foods are safe and will not make people fat. Although sugar is the key to weight gain, when cold foods or drinks enter the body at 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit) plus, it will affect the functioning of internal organs, slowing down metabolism, which is one of the factors that cause obesity.
a study The publication in the Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Society found that higher temperatures are associated with increased metabolic rates. With each degree Celsius rise in body temperature, oxygen consumption increases by 10-13 percent, while a decrease in temperature slows down the metabolism.
Fourth question: Are salads always desirable for weight loss?
Lettuce salad is high in fiber and low in calories and is the preferred choice for many dieters. However, Yu said that because uncooked lettuce is inherently cold, it is suitable for people who have hot ingredients such as meat eaters. But for people who have a cold, it should not be taken in large quantities as a staple food.
In traditional Chinese medicine, people are believed to have different types of constitutions. The two common types are cold and hot constitution. People with a cold constitution are more prone to cold things and often appear cold in the hands and feet, and their tongues are usually white and swollen. On the other hand, people with a hot constitution are more prone to heat, with symptoms of dry mouth, constipation, and a red tongue. People can find their body structure according to the above symptoms or by consulting traditional Chinese medicine experts.
In this regard, traditional Chinese medicine divides food into different attributes. Most vegetables and fruits tend to be cold by nature. Long-term consumption of raw food and large amounts can easily lead to the accumulation of cold Qi inside the body. On the other extreme, wild animal food such as beef, lamb, and chicken is considered warm.
In addition, salad dressings are generally higher in calories, such as mayonnaise 680kcal / 100g (0.22oz), Thousand Island dressing 380kcal / 100g (0.22oz), Caesar dressing 540kcal / 100g (0.22 oz.). All of these must be consumed in appropriate amounts.
Question 5: Will I become obese if I don’t drink enough water?
Yu said that the body needs different enzymes for digestion and metabolism and needs to remove waste products that have been detoxified by the liver. In this sense, not drinking enough water means slowing down your metabolism and will easily lead to weight gain.
There are many formulas on the Internet that indicate the optimal amount of drinking water required per day. Is drinking around 2 liters (4.2 pints) per person per day normal? The key to drinking water, Yu said, is that every sip of water is fully used by the body. How can it be fully utilized? She added, “Just drink little by little (in sips) when you start to feel thirsty.”
And she stressed that when drinking water, do not swallow it in large quantities, as water easily turns into urine and is excreted by the body. In addition, drinking too much water at one time will affect the concentration of ions in the body, and this will make people with weak stomachs feel uncomfortable.
Sixth question: Does staying up late lead to obesity?
And about whether there is a close relationship between staying up late and obesity, Yu said that staying up late will make you fat because the human body will secrete an enzyme called leptin.
a study Published in PLOS Medicine found that the more often a person stays awake, the less leptin is secreted, which suppresses appetite less effectively, causing the metabolic rate of fat cells to decrease, affecting hormone secretion and leading to weight gain.
Question 7: Can exercise speed up weight loss?
Yu said exercise isn’t the only way to lose weight. For example, jogging for an hour consumes about the calories gained from a bowl of rice. She suggests that diet is more effective than exercise.
However, Yu encourages people who want to lose weight to exercise, because exercise will increase pleasurable substances, such as serotonin, which will help people become more stress-resistant during the weight loss process. Moreover, exercise can increase blood circulation and help the internal organs run more smoothly.
She suggests first cutting back on fat before weight training. If the fat is not reduced, the muscle from weight training will make you look stronger instead.
Question 8: Does constipation lead to an increase in the size of the lower abdomen?
Yu said that constipation is the main reason why it is difficult to lose belly fat. Sitting in the office for a long time without much exercise and genetic problems are all factors that affect the efficiency of reducing the abdomen and / or the size of the waist.
Yu added that there are many ways in traditional Chinese medicine to solve waist and abdominal obesity. These include Chinese herbal medicine to regulate and support the functions of internal organs by targeting Embed Acupoint Catgut (ACE) in the lower abdomen. ACE is an alternative therapy that continuously stimulates acupoints by implanting absorbable cotton threads into acupuncture points. These two methods can strengthen the function of the corresponding organs and improve the problem of lower abdominal obesity.
Eight exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles
Fitness instructor Fu Tang said that it is difficult to reduce the huge lower abdomen because the belly accumulates most of the body fat to protect the internal organs.
To shape your abs, Fu shares eight exercise routines below. It also reminds us not to put pressure on the neck when doing the exercises. In addition, doing it slowly, applying proper strength during each angle of the movement is most effective in shaping your abdominal muscles.
Exercise 1: Dead insects
While lying on the floor, raise your hands and bend your legs 90 degrees.
Extend the left hand and right foot at the same time, straining the center and lower abdomen hard, keeping your waist and abdomen close to the floor.
Then change to right hand and left foot, repeat as above.
Exercise 2: belly roll
Lie on the floor with your hands under your hips and your feet slightly off the ground.
Lift the feet, keep the butt off the floor, stay in the pose and feel the core in a tense state.
Pull both feet up, straighten the legs without touching the floor, and then lift them up again.
Exercise 3: Get up and rotate the stomach
Lie on the floor with your arms outstretched.
When doing an abdominal roll, lift the upper body as if in a seated position, keeping the feet off the floor as you bend.
Exercise 4: Banana style
Lie on the right side, straighten your right hand on the ground at an angle of 90 degrees to the body, and raise the left hand to form a straight line with the body.
When pulling the abdomen sideways, lift the feet, keeping both legs straight without touching the floor, and extend the left hand towards the feet.
Repeat the above procedures on the other side.
Exercises 1-4, illustrated in the video:
Exercise 5: Touch the ankle from the side
Lie on the floor, bend the knees, touch the heels with the hands, keeping the head slightly off the floor and being careful not to strain the neck.
Feel the central part of the tension.
Exercise 6: Turn the body over and rotate the stomach
Lie on the floor, knees bent, hands crossed in front of your chest.
Turn first and let one shoulder touch the floor. After forcibly lifting your upper body, let the other shoulder touch the floor.
Exercise 7: Touch the knee plank point
Stand on the floor with your hands in a plank position, hip arched back, and make a straight line with your hands and the back of your shoulders.
Let the right hand touch the left toe, then return to the plank position. After the left hand touches the toe of the right foot, return to the plank position again.
Exercise 8: Knee Plank Extension
Place your hands on the floor in a plank position, and raise the left knee near the left elbow, then raise the right knee near the right elbow.
Exercises 5-8, illustrated in the video:
Amber Yang has worked as a marketing director for natural skin care products for years and as a health and beauty reporter and editor for ten years. She is also the host and producer of the YouTube shows “Amber Running Green” and “Amber Health Interview”.
