Inside your body lie a host of organs which are indispensable members of the weight-loss bandwagon. Liver the leader of them all was discussed in the last issue. But there is more to this orchestra than just the liver, and when this orchestra plays at its peak performance, it creates a grand symphony, called weight loss. Prominent members of this band are: brain; heart; kidneys; stomach and intestines; lungs; and skin. The key to their good health lies in a good diet, healthy lifestyle and regular exercise.
ROLL CALL OF ORGANS
If the brain remains active, even dying cells can be revived. The heart is your blood-pumping muscle delivering oxygen and nutrition to all parts of the body and removing waste. Kidneys are the filters in your body that remove waste from blood, give strength to your bones, make red blood cells and keep the system clean. Stomach and intestines are your digestive organs which break down the food into fuel to be used by the body or deliver it as waste. Your lungs do the work of pumping out the carbon dioxide and supplying oxygen into the bloodstream. The most widespread organ, your skin is the shield that lies between you and the external world. This in a nutshell is the orchestra of your organs. As long as your weight stays down their harmony is undisturbed.
FAT THE TROUBLEMAKER
If for women their waistline is expanding beyond 35 inches and men’s stomachs are hitting the 40 inch mark, you can be sure your orchestra is in trouble. There is fat surrounding your internal organs. This is called visceral fat. This is an extremely unhealthy fat that swarms around your organs and it is different from the one that lies beneath your skin, the type that you can pinch between your fingers, called sub-cutaneous fat.
VISCERAL THE VILE
Visceral fat can be highly toxic and it has to watched out for, as it keeps pumping poisons into the bloodstream. This creates severe problems such as heart disease, diabetes, even cancer. It also gets into your intestines causing inflammation there. Hormonal secretions are disrupted causing mood swings and increased stress, as cortisol goes up.
THE GOOD NEWS
Visceral fat can be shed at a greater rate than other body fat. Simple diet and lifestyle changes can bring visceral fat loss. Reducing calorie intake and increasing calorie burn helps mobilise this fat.
ROLE OF YOGA
Research shows that visceral fat starts getting hit within the first hour of yoga. Metabolic changes are triggered by the performance of asanas and breathing. The advantage of yoga is that it combines all required aspects for visceral fat burning.
1 It gives adequate cardiovascular benefits with sun salutations helping to burn calories.
2 It combines weight training as it has a range of load bearing, muscle building postures. Every pound of lean muscle added to the body burns 60 calories per day.
3 Yoga builds lean muscle which is stronger, gives greater speed, is more flexible and gives long-term fat loss. So the extra muscle you build starts burning visceral fat even when you sleep.
4 The stretching advantage of yoga postures is unparalleled. It elongates your muscles as it strengthens them and the increased blood circulation aids increased nutrition and metabolic waste removal.
Tip of the week: To get best visceral fat burn, do the following routine: four fast rounds of sun salutations, two rounds at half the speed. Repeat this loop four to five times.
Practice of the week: For visceral fat, start with 25-30 rounds of sun salutation and then practise the routine below:
1 Trikonasana
2 Santolanasana
3 Purvottanasana
4 Paschimottanasana
5 Gomukhasana
This is an interactive series, in which we will bring you practical tips that you want to get on daily living, inspired by the vision of yoga. Write in to tabloid@gulfnews.com with your questions and doubts about how to enhance your lifestyle through yoga. For more information, call 800-YOGA (9642) or log on to artisticyoga.com
