Losing weight according to your metabolism

Do you want to get rid of your double chin without reducing your bust size or to slim your thighs while holding your head in a positive manner?

PLANTIA's experts provide you with the best advice possible to succeed!

First, you are master of your destiny. To begin with, ask yourself the question: what is your metabolism?

PLANTIA shop classifies 4 categories:

• Bulges under the belt
• Disproportional bust
• Heavy legs
• Fat belly

Bulges under the belt

Bulges in the lower part of the body are a problem experienced by many women, even the slimmest ones. Every woman secretes a hormone produced by the ovaries: folliculin. This hormone enhances weight gain in the hips and the buttocks. It is often characterized by flabby thighs that may begin at any age, whenever hormonal life is modified (pregnancy, puberty, gynecologic problems…). It is often hereditary. A type of fat called "cold fat" is formed in the thighs and buttocks. This fat is not vascular and is unfortunately difficult to eliminate.

PLANTIA shop recommends you tone up this zone through physical activities: you must work on your leg and buttock muscles. These efforts must come with healthy way of living. Dieting only is not enough for this type of figure.

• Avoid sugars and bad fats, because they will accumulate directly in your hips and belly.
• Keep to a diet that is rich in proteins, as it will help you lose fats while keeping your muscles firm.
• Avoid excess salt as much as possible in your food, since salt generates water retention. It then makes your body bloated in an unaesthetic manner. Get used to not adding salt in your dishes and avoid industrial meals that are very rich in salt.

At the exercise level:

• Give priority to cardio-training, like jogging, which is always effective in losing weight.
• To reduce flabby thighs, you must practice exercise in a static position, because this kind of exercise forces your body to get the maximum out of your muscles. Water gym or Pilates are very effective.
• At home, you may perform some easy exercises:
  "The chair": back against the wall, you stay still, with bent legs. Keep this position for one minute a day.
  "The plane": Stay on your hands and knees on the ground, elbows touching the ground, raise one leg at a right angle, toward the ceiling. On a daily basis, if you live upstairs, climb up the stairs.

Disproportional bust

This type of body shape is often the result of overeating. Therefore, you must learn how to eat right and moderately. In order to avoid over consumption, here are some tips to start your fitness plan:

• Do not have second helpings
• Eat on smaller plates
• Do not drink water during your meals (but drink before and after meals). Water during meals distends the stomach and misleads you to think it may contain more.
• Prefer foods that fill you up, like soups and raw vegetables, and do not hesitate taking PLANTIA
• Avoid all kinds of quick acting sugars (candy, cakes..).
• Less slow acting sugars (starchy food…).

Regarding exercising:

• When you carry your shopping bags, balance them and carry them lightly away from your thighs.
• As always, cardio-vascular exercises are good for any kind of weight loss (walking).
• Focus on exercises that work on the upper body and the arms, and particularly the triceps behind the arm that tend to easily sag amongst women. Example of exercise: lye on your back, knees bent and feet on the ground. Take a weight in each hand. Begin with bent elbows and straighten out them toward the ceiling.
• For the biceps: stay in the same position, weights in your hands, but with your elbows close to your side. You then take the weights away from you and back again.
• For the elbows: stand up, weights along your body. Then raise the weights outwards from your sides.

Practical tip: for women, it is preferable longer sessions with lighter weights.

Heavy legs

Body shapes with heavy legs may be problematic: cellulite, veined skin, calves with the shape of a football, bulge. The reason for all these problems is, again, female hormones, and more particularly, the enemy we have already mentioned, folliculin, that stores fats on the lower part of the body and in the blood circulation. These symptoms may increase during pregnancy, following the taking of contraceptive pills, static positions – either sitting or standing – for too long, floor heating or smoking. The most important tip:
Try to reduce your salt consumption as much as possible. For instance, avoid industrial foods and sparkling water.

But also:

• Reduce fast-acting sugars (candies, cakes…) and low-acting sugars (pasta, rice…). To decrease fats, you must reduce your insulin rate and therefore you must reduce your sugar intake.
• Choose “absorbing” foods in order to eliminate water, such as vegetables: celery, cauliflower, cucumber.
• Proteins are also important to your diet because they take care of edemas (pitting of the skin).

This kind of body shape is very receptive to cellulite, and therefore, you must pay attention to these details because once you have cellulite, it is difficult to get rid of. This type of figure is linked to problems of blood circulation but there are a few exercises that develop leg muscles or improve blood circulation. For example:

• Aqua gym develops legs muscles and improves blood circulatio
• Immersion in cold water is excellent for blood circulation.
• Cross-country skiing is an excellent radio-training exercise, as well as walking.
• Bicycle.
• At home, lay on your back, one leg bent, the other one doing flexing up and down.
• Lymphatic draining is also an interesting option, it is a soft massage usually performed by a physiotherapist, which helps the small lymphatic vessels to return the lymphatic liquid back up toward the veins and the heart. This is ideal for blood circulation and for elimination of water and toxins.

Fat belly

At last, here is an exercise that is not only dedicated to women only. Men are also concerned. For some people, sugar turns very rapidly to fat that is directly positioned on the abdomen. The reasons are heredity, stress, lack of activity or bad nourishment.
The fat gained is hot, which explains bloating and a sensation of heaviness after meals. This type of activity may lead to diabetes, high cholesterol or cardio-vascular diseases.

Our tips:

• Here again, try to eliminate quick sugar from your diet. Sugar is clearly our major enemy!
• Do not overindulge in slow sugars either.
• Beware of raw vegetables and dairy product that are difficult to digest.
• Your diet must be rich in proteins and in unsaturated fats and must also include cooked vegetables, fruits, wholegrain bread, pasta and not too much cooked rice.

Exercises:

• Abdominal exercising will develop muscles but will not make your belly fat disappear: what a pity! However, this is a good way to regain a good posture of your body. In order to make these exercises properly, let the upper part of your back and the lumbar vertebra touch the floor.
• For lower abdominals, keep this position but raise your legs and do scissor kicks.
• Prefer walking and biking, all radio-training exercises are good to eliminate fat.
• Make it a habit to practice breathing exercises: inhale and exhale deeply while releasing the shoulders and the other parts of your body in order to empty your lungs.