Forpro Muesli BAR Red Berries

The word aerobic comes from the Greek words aero (air) and bios (life) meaning „living in the presence of oxygen”. Aerobic exercise is a type of exercise during which the body uses a lot of oxygen to produce the energy needed for the exercise as well as the body’s metabolic process. It refers to a form of exercise that makes our body’s use of oxygen more efficient and in turn strengthens our heart and lungs.

This is what happens during exercise requiring little to moderate physical effort. When doing this type of exercise, you do not huff and puff or get out of breath. When doing aerobic exercise, the body uses a lot of oxygen to produce the energy required for the exercise. The body produces the energy it needs by using oxygen to burn the fats and carbohydrates available to it.

This is the process that takes place during intense workout. When we do such exercise we have to concentrate on our breathing, as we often start huffing and puffing and get out of breath. During anaerobic processes the body uses carbohydrates very quickly, and lactic acid is produced. In the absence of oxygen our body can only use carbohydrates to generate energy.

Metabolism is the process through which our body burns uses calories, nutrients. Our body needs energy to keep it working, maintain body temperature, replace dead cells, grow and get rid of harmful substances. Although the amount of energy required varies from person to person, most people burn between 1800 and 2800 calories a day. The rate of metabolism depends on whether our body is in carbohydrate or fat-burning mode.

In this mode our body uses body fat as its primary source of energy. This makes our energy level high and we do not crave for more food. We do not experience fatigue and lethargic, even after fewer hours of sleep we feel refreshed and we wake up more easily. Our metabolic rate is higher, we use the fat stored in our body, so we can lose weight.

Insulin and glucagon are hormones that represent antagonistic forces of metabolism, meaning that if the level of one of them rises, that of the other goes down, and as a result our body will either start storing or start burning fat. If we would like to switch from carbohydrate-burning mode to fat-burning mode, we need to increase our glucagon level and lower our insulin level. Since insulin is a fat storage and storage locking hormone, it makes you fat and keeps you fat. In order to lose weight and keep it off we need to keep its level under tight control.

Body Mass Index or BMI is an internationally used ratio used to measure physical condition. We can calculate our own body mass index by dividing our body mass by the square of our body height in meters. The limitations of the BMI formula were first highlighted as early as the 1840s by Adolphe Quetelet the Belgian man who devised it. Since the 2010s researchers have started criticizing its use once again. Mathematicians from the University of Oxford claim that the Body Mass Index makes taller people look fatter and shorter people thinner than they actually are. They argue that after all people are three dimensional and as such a bigger body carries mass evenly distributed on it, which means the cube of the height should be considered as the body grows, but that is not what the traditional BMI formula considers. In addition, the body mass index does not take into consideration either the quality of components that make up the body mass or one’s stature, although fat, muscle and bone has different density and therefore different specific weight. This means that one’s BMI may misleadingly show that somebody, for example a body builder or any muscular person is overweight. Mathematicians from the University of Oxford propose a new formula for computing body mass index: BI = 1.3 x mass (kg) / height (meter)2.5.

The word cardio refers to the heart. We use it as an adjective to describe workout, e.g. cardio workout or cardio machines, and here it refers to exercises that improve the capacity of your heart. There are two categories of cardio workout: long- low or moderate-intensity aerobic exercises with a steady heart rate or shorter, high-intensity exercise with the intensity changing at regular intervals. Exercises performed over a relatively long time at a moderate space improve endurance, but prepare your heart for only a certain pace, while it is harder on your joints. In interval training the periods of high-intensity periods are followed by relief periods, which boosts the generation of antioxidants in your body, improves metabolism and the burning of fat, results in greater weight loss in a shorter time, shapes and builds our muscles and prepares our heart to deal with changing demands more effectively.

Sugar is the simplest form of carbohydrates. It tends to be sweet (table sugar, fructose, lactose also known as milk sugar). Naturally occurring carbohydrates are our main food, but refined sugar causes several diseases. The main reason it can be considered harmful is that the sugar content of naturally occurring plants is significantly lower than that of the white sugar you buy in the shop. The sugar content of sugar beet is eighteen per cent, whereas the sugar content of refined sugar is ninety-five per cent. Our body is simply not prepared to cope with sugar in such density, and the excessive sugar will ferment. (Fermentation: the breakdown of dissolved non-nitrogenous organic matter, usually carbohydrates carried out by yeast or fission yeast.) Sir C. H. Best, the co-discoverer of insulin claimed that sugar has the same effect on the body as alcohol.

It is a number assigned to carbohydrates showing their impact on the blood sugar level. Glycemic index is scale from 0 to 100, where pure glucose is assigned the value of 100, and one unit of every other type of food is compared to it regarding the impact it has on blood sugar levels, how fast the carbohydrate is absorbed after eating, and how high blood sugar levels rise. For example, when you it food with a GI of 100, the blood sugar level will go up incredibly fast and also very high. We talk about food having a low GI-value if it is between 0 and 55, medium GI-value between 56 and 69, high GI-value between 70 and 100. Glycemic index was originally developed for people with diabetes, as it is absolutely vital for them to control insulin activity accurately. In recent years it has also been considered for diets.

It is a diet that is rich in protein. Protein diet means a diet in which you increase your protein intake while you decrease your carbohydrate and fat intake to a lesser or greater extent. How much your raise our protein intake and lower the intake of other nutrients depends on your endowments and your personal objectives. There are several calculators on the internet that can help you, but it is preferable to consult a professional who can give you personalized advice. In general, we can say that those who do sports regularly have a higher protein need than those who do not do sports. This is because when you exercise breaks down protein more, so in order to maintain your muscles you need more protein. In addition, regeneration is a process that needs a lot of protein, so extra protein has to be provided. When you are on a protein diet, you take in less carbohydrate, therefore your body needs to find some other source of fuel – mainly fat stored in the body – to work optimally, therefore you will start burning fat. In order to avoid using protein from your muscles, you have to increase your protein intake.

If your energy intake matches your body weight, sex, age, body composition and physical activity and health level, and you use up this amount of energy, we can say that your body is in balance regarding energy, i.e. energy intake and expenditure are in balance. Maintaining your ideal bodyweight is very important if we want to stay healthy, as both being underweight and being overweight carry health risks. Your body weight can be said to be ideal, if the energy you consume by eating and drinking is more or less equivalent to the amount of calories you use by performing physical activities (e.g. sport and work) and the basic functioning of our body (the so called basal metabolism).

Starches are more complex carbohydrates, they are white and powder-like. They are contained in potatoes, maize, wheat and other seed grains. The body converts starch into more simple carbohydrates: sugars. Starch can give you instant energy and can be converted into fat.

It is a potent stimulant that is used to enhance performance and increase your energy levels. Because of these properties, caffeine is an important component of many fat burners, which use it to improve energy use and attain better performance. In addition to promoting the burning of fat, it boosts performance, improves concentration and has a positive effect on metabolism. Its effect on energy levels will be felt especially by athletes who are on a diet or in the cutting phase, which requires great energy expenditure.

The muscle power your muscles are capable of exerting at a given level of fitness by activating the maximum number of operational units at one time. In other words, maximum force refers to the biggest weight we can perform an exercise with. Therefore the exercise cannot last for a long time.

They are the most complex carbohydrates; they help digestion and cleanse the digestive system. Digestive enzymes leave fibers in the digestive tract virtually intact. The soluble fibers found in fruit, fresh, boiled or steamed vegetables absorb water, swell and become a thick gelatinoid substance. The swollen fibers bind certain substances (e.g. glucose) making them absorb more slowly. This mass mixes with the indigestible part of food, and then is passed through the small intestines. One of the substances absorbed by fiber is cholesterol and bile acid, they ensure that less cholesterol is absorbed by the body, which in turn leads to lower cholesterol levels in the blood. Those who do not eat enough fibers may suffer from constipation. In addition to eating enough fibers it is also important to drink enough fluids, otherwise you will not experience their beneficial effects, and without the fluids they themselves can cause constipation.

It is a manufactured product that promotes muscle growth, weight loss, increase muscle strength and regeneration. Supplements include vitamins, minerals, fibers, fatty acids and amino acids. Currently, there are over 50,000 dietary supplements on the market. The most common supplement taken by people is multivitamin. If used as intended multivitamin supplements supply essential nutrients. Dietary supplements cannot protect you completely against the consequences of unhealthy habits like smoking and inactive lifestyle. Taking too much of such supplements can also have harmful effects. Antioxidants help prevent cell and tissue damage caused by toxins.

It shows specifically what percentage of your body is made up of fat in relation to the percentage of lean muscle mass, organs and other non-fat tissues. However, it is only a number, and it is important to remember that we cannot draw conclusions for either men, women or for that matter teenagers only based on the percentage of body fat as single indicator. The percentage of body fat is calculated by dividing the total mass of fat by the total body mass. Body fat includes essential body fats, which are vital. The percentage of body fat should never go below 10% for women. On the other hand, men can decrease their percentage of body fat to 4% without any health risk.

During digestion all forms of digestible carbohydrates – not including fibers which are indigestible – are converted into sugar. It is called blood sugar, because it is supplied to the cells by the blood flow. The body is also capable of making blood sugar from substances other than carbohydrates, mainly from fats. After eating high-carb food, blood sugar levels rise quickly even in healthy individuals, but they also return quickly to normal levels. If blood sugar levels stay high for a prolonged time (hyperglycemia), it is often the sign of diabetes.

It is essential for the proper functioning of the body and the immune system. The lack of vitamins can cause serious illnesses. However, taking too much vitamin (hypervitaminosis) is not beneficial for the body either, but it is nearly impossible to achieve this. Vitamins are divided into two subgroups. There are fat-soluble vitamins (e.g. vitamins A, D, E and K) on which it is possible to overdose as they are not excreted through the urine. The other group of vitamins is water-soluble vitamins (e.g. vitamin B and C). It is virtually impossible to overdose on them, as they are flushed out of the body very quickly.