Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Are All Natural weight Loss Plans Beneficial to Your Health?

All natural weight loss plans sound almost too good to be true. Is it even possible to lose weight, look and feel great without being forced into an unnatural diet or without taking dangerous drugs?

Well, if you want to lose weight, you have to have a plan. You have to set some goals and pursue them. And you have to be patient. There is no such a thing as fast weight loss. You cannot take a pill and get rid of all the fat deposits in a matter of weeks or months. Your body just doesn't work this way.

Here is a good plan with all the things you will have to do to lose weight safely and effective:

1. Exercise.
This is nothing new really, but exercise is probably the most important predictor of whether you will succeed at long term weight loss and weight loss maintenance. In order for exercise to be helpful in weight loss, you should strive for a minimum of five 30-minute sessions per week. The good news is that recent research has shown that three 10-minute sessions in a day are as good as one 30-minute session.

The goal of exercise for weight loss is to burn more calories, although exercise offers many other benefits as well. How many calories you burn depends on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities.

Even though regularly scheduled aerobic exercises are best for losing fat, any extra physical activity helps burn calories. And since lifestyle-related activities may be easier to fit into your day, you should think about ways you can increase your physical effort. For example, make several trips up and down stairs instead of using the elevator, park at the far end of the lot and walk instead of taking the bus.

2. Stay focused on being healthy, not on becoming thin.
Many people become more successful at long-term weight loss when their motivation changes from wanting to be thinner to wanting to be healthier. Change your mindset to think about selecting foods that will help your body's health rather than worrying about foods that will affect your body's weight. The Food Pyramid offers a basic outline of the types and amounts of food you should eat each day to give your body the nutrients it needs for optimal health.

Adopting a new eating style that promotes weight loss must include lowering your total calorie intake. But decreasing calories doesn't mean giving up taste, satisfaction or even ease of meal preparation. One way you can lower your calorie intake is by eating more plant-based foods - fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Strive for variety to help you achieve your goals without giving up taste or nutrition.

3. If you have to use any weight loss pills, don't try those advertised as "fat burners" or other nonsense of this kind. There are plant extracts out there that can help you reduce the sensation of hunger and bind some of the fat in your meals so you get the benefit of a relaxed approach and positive attitude.

A good attitude is essential for your success. A good attitude can help you have patience and not try to see fast results. Fast weight loss will only result in gaining back all the fat and then some.

All natural weight loss plans and baby steps do work wonders!

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Friday, May 18, 2007

Food Addiction

by Michael Messner

Everyone from time to time gets a craving for a certain type of food. Sometimes we just crave something to eat. No real reason, other than to eat. Sometimes this can be because you are bored, or because you seem something suggestive about food. How many times have you seen a television commercial advertising burgers and it made you want one? This is healthy. We all do it. Hell, I'd say that we probably do this several times per week. Did you know, that you can be addicted to food? I know that sounds a little weird, but it is true. How can you tell if you are a food addict? Sometimes it might not be as easy as you think. There are many things that might come in your way of knowing if you are a food addict. You might be depressed or in an emotional downward spiral that will tarnish your ability to see what is going on. Over a period of time, you will be able to tell if you have an eating problem. If nothing else, you will see it in your waist line. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

What foods are addictive? Well, that is a hard answer. There is no hard answer on what is addictive. It is like saying what is more addictive, beer or whiskey. Though there are a few foods that are extremely addictive.

Caffeine.
We all know that this is addictive. I'm sure if you are a coffee drinker, you know how you get the shakes in the morning if you don't have your coffee. Is coffee addiction bad for you? It depends on how much that you drink. If you are drinking a few cups a day, I don't think that it is harmful. If on the other hand you are drinking several pots per day, you have a problem. Even though it is addictive, you can control the amount that you consume. Unless you have a very addictive personality. If this is the case, I would suggest that you avoid coffee and other caffeine containing products all together.

Sugar.
This is addictive. We try not to think of it as being so, but it is. It is addictive because of the jolt of energy that it gives us. If you haven't had your daily truck load of sugar and you feel tired, worn out, cranky, you are going through withdraw. Did you know that heroin addicts that are going through withdraw consume large amounts of sugar? It is said that sugar helps ward off the cravings of heroin. Sugar is one of those things that is hard to avoid. The best thing that you can do is avoid candy and other sweets. You will digest some sugar, but if you avoid those things, you will cut out a big portion of your sugar consumption. You should also avoid sodas. They are loaded with sugar.

Carbs.
This is one thing that people will get frustrated at me over. I do think that carbs are addictive. For the same reasons that sugar is addictive. The best thing that you can do is avoid eating too much bread and pasta. That is the best way to avoid getting addicted to carbs.

I'm not saying that if you are addicted to carbs you will be like a junky. What I am saying is, that you will become dependant on them. I think that many people are addicted to carbs and don't know it. It isn't something that we think about when it comes to addictions. What should you do if you are a food addict? If you can control it, you should do your best to do so. If you are the type that has a strong will, it shouldn't be too hard.

The problem is, most of us don't have a strong will when it comes to addictions. We are a race of addicted creatures. I'm beginning to think that most of us are addicted to something. No matter if it is coffee, cigarettes, booze and so forth. If you don't feel that you can control it, you need to go to your doctor. You need to tell him what is going on. Don't be ashamed to talk to him about it. You should be more ashamed of yourself if you do nothing about it.

After you talk to him you should look into finding a support group for people who have food addictions. Your doctor will probably point you to a therapist. The therapist will know of a support group you can attend. If you aren't to point that you can talk openly about such a thing in person, you can find support groups online. They are free to use, meaning they don't charge any money. You will begin to find out what treatment and other things are available. These are people who fight what you are going through every day.

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Monday, May 14, 2007

Healthy Cholesterol Levels

Before you start eating your favorite, you might want to know whether you’re having too much cholesterol. Few years ago, many were not aware what cholesterol level is but with all the information everywhere people are becoming aware how their cholesterol levels affect their lives. You have to remember that you are what you eat and what you eat has something to do with your cholesterol. What is cholesterol? How will you know if you have a healthy cholesterol level?

Cholesterol Is…

Cholesterol is a type of lipid needed in all the vital functions of the body. Every single one of our cells is surrounded by cholesterol and its job is to insulate our nerve fibers. By insulating the nerve fibers, the cholesterol ensures that the nerve signals are traveling properly which is extremely important. Cholesterol also produces hormones which are used to carry specific signals around the body.
Too much cholesterol in the body would increase your chances of heart disease. If you have a high cholesterol level, you should bring it down. Even though cholesterol is essential for our bodies to function properly, still it should be controlled properly.

What Is Your Cholesterol Level?

How do you know if your cholesterol levels are high? You have to consult your doctor let you know exactly what your cholesterol level is. Knowing your levels is not really enough to tell whether or not you have a risk of heart disease, you need to find out what your Lipoprotein levels is.

Lipoproteins are molecules which are especially designed to carry cholesterol around the body. They are important because they control exactly how much cholesterol is in your body. Now, there are two main types of Lipoproteins:

- High Density Lipoproteins
- Low Density Lipoproteins

The one which you really need to be aware of is Low Density Lipoproteins. A high level of Low Density Lipoproteins means that you have a bad cholesterol that here is too much of it to build up. High Density Lipoproteins means good cholesterol that they are used to carry cholesterol away from cells and to the liver.

The complicated thing about cholesterol is the right level you should belong. The doctor has the ability to tell you how low your cholesterol levels should be. The average person usually should have around 4.0mmol/l but if you have a low density lipoprotein count, then you should have around 2.0mmol/l. As mentioned, however, each person is different so you need to get your levels checked to see exactly what you should be aiming for.

Cholesterol is important and you should know what levels you have for you to know what you can do about it. More and more people are developing heart disease due to high levels of cholesterol so it is advisable to go to your doctors to know your cholesterol level.

There are many ways to improve your cholesterol level. Eat healthy food that can help lower your LDL cholesterol level. With a healthy diet, your body is protected from the damaging effect of cholesterol. You should quit smoking, lose weight and exercise to raise your HDL cholesterol level.

Following a healthy low fat diet can lower cholesterol levels. If healthy eating and exercising don't work after about six months, consult your family doctor of the medicine to lower your cholesterol level.

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Proactol™ can help you trim down your dietary fat intake by up to 28%. It is a clinically proven fat binder that helps you to lower your blood cholesterol level by slowing down your glucose absorption.

Health experts recommend people to have healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise and a balanced diet. Proactol™ is here to provide you the healthy life you want to achieve.

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Saturday, May 12, 2007

Fad diets

Every now and them we all tend to look into the mirror and cast a critical eye on our bodies. The internal monologue goes something like this: “I’d say that my ass looks… biggish. Could be the clothes are badly designed. Oh, who am I kidding? I’ve been eating a lot of sweets and junk food lately, so no wonder I’m putting on weight.” The usual result of these pangs of culinary guilt is a hasty decision to swear off junk food and an evening or two spent searching the Internet for diets and eating plans. This is the way people run into the latest dieting craze that can make anybody slim and vastly improve the quality of life, too.

Unfortunately, the first thing people do when they accept that a couple of extra pounds have found their way around the waist is to panic and look for the fastest way to get rid of them. This is a big mistake. The quick fix is just that and it will always and forever be nothing else. And any problem that gets a quick fix is not really going away at all. So, instead of going for the latest diet that will make you lose and incredible number of pounds in just a few days or weeks, try to chose a diet that takes a little longer and is not nearly as hard on you.

The “lose weight instantly” diets are based mostly on losing body water. This is a silly idea because you will put the weight right back on with a couple of glasses of water. You’re not trying to lose water, but body fat so stay away from these diets. Good diets need time to work for you and losing one pound per week is actually a good rate. Losing three pounds per week sounds way better, but it’s a big mistake. Anything more than two pounds per week is bound to be loss of lean tissues that make up the muscles. The basic idea is that the faster you go, the more muscle mass you lose; slow diets make sure that what goes out is fat.

The biggest problem is that quick weight loss schemes can turn into a vicious circle. The more muscles mass one has, the faster the metabolism and very little of the food intake gets to be stored as fat. But if the diet makes you lose muscle mass, then your metabolism slows down and the accumulated fat is burned slower and slower. As you can see, a bad diet makes it harder for you to lose weight. Starving yourself is a bad idea because your metabolism has to function at the proper speed in order to help you lose weight.

Not to mention that eating the right kind of food is important because you need calories to give your body the staying power it needs through the diet. There is a difference between feeling hungry while your body adjusts to less food and feeling starved because you’re not getting the required daily amount of calories. The food you eat also gives you the energy needed to burn fat through physical effort. You can’t go to the gym or run in the park if you’re about to faint every time you get up from the chair. So the next time you feel like diet time, chose wisely. There’s a big difference between dieting and starvation.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2007

More Benefits of Exercise

Health experts encourage us to include exercise as a necessary part of our daily routine to promote our general well- being. Together with healthy and balanced diet, adequate rest and relaxation, exercise is recommended to promote optimal health.
People who are usually inactive can improve their health and well-being by becoming even moderately active on a regular basis.
Physical activity need not be strenuous to achieve significant health benefits.

Greater health benefits can be achieved by increasing the amount (duration, frequency, or intensity) of physical activity.
There are many benefits of exercise, not only as an aid in effective fat/ weight loss, but also in reducing our risks of developing or dying from some of the leading causes of illness and death. Here is a general overview of what exercise can do for us.

1. Exercise reduces our risks of dying prematurely.

2. Exercise reduces our risks of dying from heart diseases, cancers (including uterine, colon, and breast), stroke, diabetes and arthritis.

3. Help us lose weight, especially fat weight by decreasing our Body Mass Index (BMI), reducing our total cholesterol and reducing the circulating levels of triglycerides in our blood and increasing our metabolic rate. Perhaps this is why active people can "Eat anything and not gain weight." and why other folks "Gain weight just by looking at food."!

4. Exercise improves the functioning of our Immune System as well as blood and oxygen circulation for our vital organs.

5. Exercise increases our insulin sensitivity to prevent against type 2 diabetes.

6. Exercise increases our energy and endurance level.

7. Exercise slows down aging by improving our physical, mental, emotional and psychological well- being.

8. Exercise reduces our risk of developing many bones and joints diseases or disorders.

9. Exercise even helps in enhancing creativity and imagination. It is also linked with improved mental vigor, including reaction time, acuity, and math skills.

10. Exercise helps in providing physical and mental rejuvenation, making us feel good about ourselves and thus improve our esteem and confidence.

11. Exercising improves mood and due to the chemicals it releases in the brain called endorphins, it gives you an overall feeling of well-being. This is the same chemical that being in love or eating chocolate induces!

12. Exercise will help you sleep better. Just be sure not to exercise too close to your bedtime if you exercise at night, because it may keep you awake. If you need to exercise within a few hours of going to bed, make sure it's only a brisk walk. Experts say you should allow yourself about three hours between exercise and going to bed.

So get off that couch and start moving. Remember, the time and effort that you put in exercising today may spell your health and well- being tomorrow. Take our word for it!

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Monday, May 7, 2007

The Epidemic called OBESITY

Obesity has become a global pandemic affecting the lives and health of millions of people, according to the World Health Organization. It is an accelerating social problem in industrialized countries and is also growing in the former colonial world.
Obesity is very often defined as an eating disorder. However, it is not a simple condition of eating too much. Health experts believe that obesity is a serious and chronic disease prevalent in today’s society.

As the “obesity epidemic” increases, so is the number of people that suffers from it. Approximately 300,000 adult deaths in the United States alone each year are directly attributable to unhealthy dietary habits and physical inactivity or sedentary behavior or obesity. In the United States alone, nearly one third of the adult population is obese. In the Europe, they have a similar encounter of the disease. An astonishing 58 per cent of Britain’s adult population is considered overweight or obese, a report published in England said. The National Audit Office of Britain reported last year that 20 percent of British women and 17 percent of men were as much as 70 pounds heavier than the recommended weight for their size.

Obesity is not just a health issue. It is also considered as a socio-economic problem that utilizes $117 billion per year in the United States alone. In Britain, obesity cost £2.6 billion in NHS bills and indirect losses to the UK economy. At least 18 million sick days a year can be attributed to obesity, it says, and the increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer and stroke reduces life expectancy by around nine years.

When it comes to explaining these trends, not only media reports, but many scientific articles disparagingly refer to a combination of fast food, increasing car ownership and a sedentary lifestyle in front of television sets or computer monitors.

In the first place, such generalisations are often backed by little substantiated data. Some studies have found that the prevalence of obesity among children is directly related to the hours of television viewed, for example, but other studies have failed to establish a correlation.

More fundamentally, these observations ignore the economic and social driving forces behind the changes in diet and lifestyle—including the profits generated by the food and entertainment industries—and the intense pressures caused by increasing working hours and declining living standards for the majority of working people.

Obesity can also lower the life expectancy of individuals. In addition to this, obese people are increasing their susceptibility and risks to a number of diseases directly related to obesity. This includes: type 2 (adult onset) diabetes; high blood pressure; stroke; heart attack; heart failure; cancer such as cancer of the colon or rectum; gallstones; gout and gouty arthritis; osteoarthritis; sleep apnea; and pickwickian syndrome.

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Diet myths debunked

The dieting world is full of myths, hearsay and soundbites. We all have heard them a thousand times, but does that make them true? Is it really a good idea to ban sugar completely from your diet? Is it really a good idea not to touch fat and alcohol ever again? This seems to me like an invitation to failure.

Few people can swear off certain foods forever and stick to the oath. The rest of us need a little treat now and then. And there’s nothing wrong with getting a treat once in while, provided that treats don’t happen every day.

The basic idea of any diet is to eat food that contains fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight. This way, the body is forced to use the accumulated fat in order to make up for the energy it doesn’t get from food. But a diet also has to be tasty and nutritionally sound.

Simply banning certain types of foods and ingredients is not a solution because anybody following such a diet will have to acknowledge sooner or later that he or she wants those foods and ingredients badly and a relapse into the old eating habits becomes inevitable.

People should also learn not to put their faith into meal replacements, such as Mypoplex, Slimfast or Eat-Smart. These combinations of low-fat and high-protein substances cannot substitute a proper diet. They should never be used for more than 4 four weeks in a row. Calories are important to the body and nobody can go on for long without them.

Cutting calories out of the long-term nutrition is a huge mistake because the internal organs and muscles need them to function. Using meal replacements for a week or two, as a shock treatment, is fine. Relying on them for two months is asking for trouble. And the same goes for single-food diets, such as the cabbage soup diet, because they are based on the same idea.

Another widespread myth is the idea that the best approach to weight loss is a low-carb, high-protein diet. This is one of the myths that emerged from the Hollywood slimming industry. Nearly all movie stars and singers are on some such diet. However, this approach is not exactly good for you because a diet low in carbohydrates and calories forces the body to use existing carbs located in the liver and the muscles. In time, this diet leads to weight loss mainly from water stored in the body, instead of fat, and also strains the internal organs.

And people should not be so afraid of potatoes, bread and pasta, the leading sources of carbohydrates. Carbs are actually good for you because they quell the feeling of hunger without bringing in too many calories. So you can safely eat moderate amounts of potatoes and bread as long as you don’t use butter or sauces, which are laden with fat.

Naturally, you also have to pay attention to how these foods are prepared. French fries are not a low-fat food. Still, a high-carb, low-fat diet is far better than banning potatoes and bread from your daily meals and it’s also easier to stick to.

Drinking a certain quantity of water every day is a good idea because it keeps the body hydrated and fills the stomach. Water also keeps the intestines healthy by facilitating the movements of undigested food to the exit point. However, simply drinking water does not trigger weight loss.

There is only one way to lose weight and that is to burn up the existing fat and water cannot do that. Nor should a diet be judged solely by how much weight is lost per week. Some people claim that a diet can be considered effective if the weekly loss of weight is above two pounds. Frankly, two pounds per week is a lot of weight to lose and you can be sure that not all of it is fat, but also the lean tissue that makes up the muscles.

Another myth claims that fat is absolutely bad for you. It’s not. Quite on the contrary, the body needs some fat in order to get the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K circulating through the cardiovascular system. Moreover, fat also brings into the body the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 that cannot be synthesized in the body.

The word “essential” means that these fatty acids simply have to be present in your daily food since they play an important role in your health. The recommended dose of fat is 35 percent of your daily calories.

And last of all comes the idea that a diet or eating plan is enough in itself and does not have to be coupled with exercising. But exercising is the most effective way of burning up the extra calories stored as fat. Simply sitting at your desk all day long is not going to do the trick, regardless of what diet you’re on.

Remember that a diet that has plenty of food (the right kind of food) and plenty of exercise is far better than sitting on the sofa and drinking cabbage soup every six hours. It works faster and is less stressful to your body.

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Sunday, May 6, 2007

Diet secrets of Hollywood stars

Diets come a dime a dozen in Hollywood. They practically fall out of the sky. Any doctor or layman who manages to have an original idea or, at least, a new twist on an old idea, and is marginally successful in selling it to the public is thinking of setting up a shop in Hollywood.

There’s probably no other place on Earth where diets and any other idea that could keep a body slim are so venerated as in Hollywood. Hundreds of young women and men (and some of them not so young) employ personal trainers and are up to date on the latest dieting trends because it’s good for their jobs to do so.

The general public is also interested in finding out the dieting secrets of movie stars and singers. They think that actors might have some tricks up their sleeves if they manage to stay so slim and good-looking through the years. Actually it’s not quite like that.

Actors and singers are normal human beings. They have their unique genetic make-ups which means that no single diet works for everybody. So each one of them tries a couple of diets in order to find out which one suits him or her. Moreover, not all Hollywood stars stick to their diets. The crave for a treat does not discriminate.

Celebrities don’t have some sort of secret knowledge that opens the path to a beautiful body. Most of them get their tips just as the rest of the people do. They hear them from hairdressers and make-up girls. They get them from agents and publicists. Or they follow the latest fashionable trainer or dietician, just as they pick up on the latest philosophies or mystical experiences.

Moving from Atkins to cabbage soup is not more complicated than dropping Buddhism in favor of Kabbalah. Some stars hire people who know a lot about diets to make these decisions for them.

All these famous people have to deal with the same kind of issues we all do. Sticking to a diet is hard on them, too, so they eat things they shouldn’t and resent the fact that they can’t do it all the time. They worry about the effects of such and such diets on their skin and they don’t look all that great all the time.

But for every star there’s a small army of lighting experts, make-up artists, beauticians, image editing and visual effects people who work hard to make sure that the faces we see on screens and in magazines look perfect. No blemishes, no unsightly skin, no sagging anywhere. Just perfection.

One thing that could be said for Hollywood stars is that they work harder at their diets than most people. It’s very important for their jobs and popularity and so they try really hard to stay in shape and look good everyday. They’re not dieting experts and it’s unrealistic to expect them to be so.

They’re good at other things and we’re content with them being that way. So, the bottom line is that there really is not secret to Hollywood dieting. Just the will to carry on and the struggle to stay fit.

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Saturday, May 5, 2007

Do Men Burn More Fat than Women?

Men and women are not built the same way. There is something different in our bodies due to the way hormones change the balance between muscle and fat and shape the size of our bones to respond to different needs later on. In men, the testosterone hormone determines the size of bones, causes hair growth and deepens the voice. It also regulates the size of the muscle mass, which it turn regulates the metabolism. The more muscle mass, the faster a person burns the calories obtained from food, which is one of the big differences between men and women and between overweight people and those who are fit.

It’s an easily recognizable fact that men and women training side by side do not have the same results. Recent studies have found that women gain weight faster than men and that they have a harder time getting rid of it through exercise. It seems that women have the misfortune of being stuck with the worst part of the weight loss process and also with having to work twice as hard as men to stay in shape. And since this is no easy task for men, you can imagine how bad the ladies have it.

Another thing that makes it even worse for the ladies is the modern obsession with a thin body. Repeated attempts to drop the extra pounds teach the body to hang on to the existing fat and so weight loss becomes harder and harder as the years pass, while the women become more and more desperate and willing to try even half-baked ideas that should simply be avoided. This leads to dieting that makes the person thinner, but not healthier. Quite on the contrary actually, since there are enough emaciated, rail-thin ladies around to serve as example.

A recent study published by the BBC showed that 62 obese women who exercised 4 hours per week and learnt how to cook healthier meals felt a tremendous improvement in their self-image. They lost only 9 pounds over three months, but their blood pressure, cholesterol and heart rates were far better. And they felt much better. So, maybe women should start to move away from achieving a certain weight to just staying healthy and feeling good regardless of weight. Maybe this is indeed the future of the weight loss industry: to help people feel better about themselves instead of harming their bodies while chasing a dream.

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