Blog

Lose Weight, Stay Healthy with Green Tea

Drinking three cups of green tea a day could keep the doctor away—new studies have shown that drinking green tea not only helps you lose unwanted pounds, but also builds up your immunity and keeps you healthier and happier.

Trim Your Waist Line

According to the Journal of Nutrition, researchers found a correlation between drinking green tea and losing weight. It particularly decreases belly fat, often a trouble area for women. To get the full benefits of weight loss, it is recommended that you drink at least five cups of tea a day. Try to buy a loose leaf tea, where you can add as much or as little as you want. The easiest way to integrate multiple cups of tea into your daily routine is to start by replacing a cup of coffee with a cup of tea.…

A Successful Low Carb Diet Plan for Easy Weight Loss

The low carb diet plan is ideal for those who can’t afford to go onto an expensive weight loss program such as the Medifast Diet but want the same amazing results. Today I will arm you with the knowledge needed so that you will also be able to pick out your own foods straight off the supermarket shelf for an almost unlimited amount of dinners and lunches.  You won’t be reliant on expensive, impractical and bad tasting meal replacements or unappealing restrictive ‘diet’ meals on a decent low carb diet plan so let’s get started!

The low carb diet plan is a weight loss solution that in the simplest of terms: employs limited carbohydrate consumption.

There are three different types of carbohydrates, namely, starches, sugars and fiber.…

Regional Diets with Longest Life Expectancy

Although your genes have a lot to do with life expectancy, your habits also have an effect. Even if you’re genetically programmed to live for 90 to 100 years, heavy drinking or smoking can subtract years. Your dietary habits matter not just to your health, but also to organizations such as InsuranceQuotes.org, as those habits can give an indication of life expectancy and affect your insurance premiums. There are some regional diets that seem to affect life expectancy and there are similarities between these diets.

The Mediterranean Diet may increase life expectancy by protecting you from chronic disease such as cancer and heart disease. This diet includes lots of vegetables, beans, fruits and nuts, as well as whole grains and moderate alcohol.…

More Tips On Handling A Chronic Disease Or Illness

Following on from last week’s article on chronic illnesses and diseases, it’s important to deal with the problems mentally so it’s easier to handle physically as well. Anger is a powerful emotion because people feel rage because they’re “victimized” by the disease.

Don’t bottle up the rage or other emotions you feel because that can cause stress, high blood pressure and other symptoms you don’t need. The more support you can get, the better off you’ll be.

Support can come in the form of medical doctors and specialists who’ll tell you what you should and shouldn’t be doing. However, they only see you for a short time every now and then. The crucial support should be from family and friends.

Your immediate family should understand what you’re going through and how they can help you.…

Tips On Handling A Chronic Disease Or Illness

Chronic diseases and illnesses can be very difficult to handle for many reasons. They don’t have to be bad all the time and that’s why they can be deceptive. Here are some tips on handling a chronic disease or illness you may wish to use yourself.

I’m going to start with diabetes because that’s what I have. After my surgery, I managed fine for over three years. My sugars were stable and I controlled it with diet and exercise. But now it’s back, it’s like a kick in the guts. It’s a reminder it will never go away, regardless of how good or bad I feel.

Chronic means it lasts forever. There are stages people go through when dealing with any new problem.…

Diabetes Can Be A Real Monster

Diabetes is a very tricky disease. It might even be called evil for many reasons but I learned this week that diabetes can be a real monster for me personally and I wanted to share the latest part of my on-going battle with health.

When you’re diabetic, you have a regular test called an HbA1c. This test gives you an average blood sugar reading over the preceding 3 months or so. In an ideal world, your result should be between 5 – 6. For the last 3 ½ years mine has been in this range so often that I have not needed to even test my blood sugars daily.

Last week I had my regular HbA1c test and saw my endocrinologist.…

Impulsive People Weigh More

I am probably one of the most impulsive persons on this planet so when I read that impulsive people tend to weigh, compared to cautious people,  22 pounds more on average, my cerebral light bulb flashed on. I weigh, unfortunately, more than 22 pounds over my very deliberate-thinking friend who is ultra-slender. And it’s due to my impulsive behavior?

Well, yes, according to a recent study published in AARP magazine. Impulsive behavior is defined as the ‘inability to resist temptation’ so it makes sense that, since I am the impulsive type, that I can’t resist the temptation of delicious food. My need for instant gratification, for wanting things now and not tomorrow is reflected throughout my life- in my paltry bank account, my accumulation of ‘stuff’, so why not on my hips and around my waist?…

Diabetic Stress-Busting Tips For A Healthier Life

When you suffer from stress it’s hazardous to your health. If you suffer from diabetes, it can aggravate existing conditions and create new problems as well. Here are a few diabetic stress-busting tips for a healthier life.

It’s essential you control your stress levels because stress can cause blood sugars to rise. The higher your levels are, the worse off you’ll be. If you have stress at work, find a way to relieve it. If it’s because you have too much work, try to delegate some of it or adjust deadlines so you can cope better.

Stress can be caused by missing meals. It’s vital you eat healthy food regularly. Most diabetics know that anyway. If you’re going out, take snacks so you’re not caught without food when you’re feeling hungry.…

Obesity and Changes In Your Brain

With all of the proven research about the dangerous health effects of obesity, it flies in the face of logic that so many of us just keep on eating. When you consider that obesity can lead to painful and deadly conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and cancer, you would think that, with our strong instinct for survival, we would do all we can to lose weight and stay healthy.

Just what is it about food that causes us to eat ourselves to a slow and painful death? And why is it that once we do lose weight, we so easily gain what we lost and then some? Why is it so hard to lose weight?

Well, interesting research done by the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence at the University of Washington and published in the January 2012 issue of the  Journal of Clinical Investigation hints that the answer may be that obesity might change the area of the brain that helps regulate appetite and body weight.…

What New Year’s Resolutions Have You Made?

The New Year is a good time to start making goals for the next days, weeks, months and years. Millions of people make New Year’s Resolutions each year and many of them are broken. So what New Year’s Resolutions have you made?

A New Year’s Resolution is only serious if you write it down. It doesn’t matter if you write one or 100 as long as you actually write them down. Then stick the list up everywhere you can so you’re always reminded of them.

You can’t be vague. “I want to lose weight” is vague. “I want to lose 30 pounds by a certain date” is specific and something tangible you can focus on. Have you exercised enough this year?…

How Do Diabetics Handle The Period After Christmas?

Now that Christmas day has passed, there are some key factors to consider if you’re a diabetic. These may not apply to everyone but should at least be thought about to ensure you stay healthy. How do diabetics handle the period after Christmas?

It’s inevitable that you’ll eat a bit too much during Christmas and perhaps you’ll have a few things that may be higher in sugar and fat than you would normally eat.

In the days after Christmas, you should test your sugars more often and weigh yourself to see if you have gained any weight. It’s normal to gain a few pounds if you have had some big meals and lots of snacks so you need to do a little extra exercise to drop the extra weight.…

Is Weight Loss Your New Year’s Resolution?

New Year’s is just around the corner and it’s time again to set some resolutions to improve yourself and your life. Perhaps weight loss is one of your goals- again. Ever wonder why you just can’t seem to succeed in your goal to lose weight? Well, maybe you’re just not ready to do what it takes to lose weight. Maybe you’re just not ready to change.

Motivation or Wishful Thinking

One of the first steps to making a change in your life is finding something that motivates you to change. While we can get quite motivated when we try to squeeze into our skinny jeans, most of us end up wishful thinking, not really motivated. We wish our jeans would fit.…

How Many Calories Do I Need To Lose Weight? – Finally an Answer to the Age Old Question…

The amount of calories you should be consuming on a daily basis is 1,877 for women and 2,618 for men, BUT…

The above figures were produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention almost 10 years ago, although they still hold true to this day. However, the vast majority of people don’t tend to keep an accurate record of how many calories they consume per day, and if the truth be told, most of us are completely unaware of the amount of calories that are in the foods we eat.

If I were to ask you now, “how many calories do you consume per day?” How many of you could answer me? Not many, I’m guessing.

That said, there is much conflicting information out there, as the Food and Drug Administration suggests that a women should be eating 1800-2400 calories a day, whereas men should consume 2200-300 calories a day.…

Yo-Yo Dieting After Menopause

Are you a lifetime yo-yo dieter, always losing weight and then putting it back on? Ever wonder just how dangerous that might be? While researchers have found no significant health problems due to yo-yo dieting, new research has shown that this may not be true of women who ‘weight cycle’ after menopause.

According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, post-menopausal women who weight-cycle may encounter some negative health consequences as a result of yo-yo dieting.

More Fat, Less Lean

In this study, researchers analyzed the body composition of 78 postmenopausal women before and after an initial weight loss of 12% of their body weight, and then 6 months and 12 months later.…

6 Easy Ways to Cut Calories – It’s Far Easier Than You Would Ever Believe

Have you ever noticed that the first thing that most folks do when they’re looking to lose weight is to eat less? Well, that’s not a bad start, but did you realise there are far easier ways to cut calories out of your diet. A prime example would be to swap full-fat milk with the semi-skimmed variety. The same goes for full-fat mayonnaise, and indeed many other foods, which offer some extremely tasty non-fat substitutes.

If you’re looking for easy ways to cut calories from your diet, the following tips are a great place to start:

1) Method of cooking – Do you really need to deep-fry your next meal? There are far healthier alternatives to cooking, and the likelihood is that you will cut a vast amount of calories from each meal.…

Tips To Help Diabetics Get Through Christmas

Christmas time is a challenge for most people when it comes to eating and drinking because people have a tendency to over-indulge. Diabetics have a harder time because of the extra temptations on offer so here are some handy tips to help diabetics get through Christmas.

The key to eating and drinking is planning. It’s OK to have some things you normally wouldn’t eat but only in moderation. If you’re doing the cooking, it’s easier because you have better control. However, your guests will usually bring extra goodies and that causes temptation to appear unexpectedly.

If you’re going to someone else’s home for a meal, take something healthy with you so you can eat your own food as part of the overall meal.…

Hypnosis For Weight Loss

If you are a life-long dieter, you probably know more about weight loss diets that the average dietitian. So, why does permanent weight loss elude you? Because the key to successful weight loss isn’t in the diet. The key to weight loss is actually following the diet.

Researchers from the Tufts-New England Medical Center performed a year-long study with 160 overweight adult participants. The 160 participants were divided into four groups and each group was assigned one of the following diets:

The Atkins Diet (low carb)
The Zone Diet (low glycemic)
Weight Watchers (low calorie)
The Ornish Diet (low fat)

The study concluded that each of these diets is effective for weight loss. However, less than 25% of the participants were able to stay on any of the diets for the full year.…

Who Else Would Like To Know How To Eat Less – ONE Simple Rule With EIGHT Easy Solutions

Before we talk about how to eat less – did you know that men eat 80 calories a minute on average, whereas women consume 52 calories?

Losing weight is typically about eating less and exercising more, but how exactly do you train yourself to eat less. Well, I’m ready to offer you one simple solution – one of the main reasons you have an expanding waistline is the speed at which you consume food.

The Obesity Society recently presented their findings from two new studies at their annual meeting. One study suggests that faster eaters have a significantly higher BMI (Body Mass Index) than slow eaters and the results of the second study appear at the top of this article.

There also happens to be a connection between your emotional state and the pace at which you eat.…

Great Herbal Remedies To Help Diabetics

When you have diabetes, you should try all possible methods to improve your overall health. Here are some great herbal remedies to help diabetics better manage their overall health.

Before trying anything new, speak to your doctor or pharmacist to ensure there won’t be any dangerous side effects. It’s also important your doctor knows everything you’re taking anyway. Try some of these ideas. Everyone is different and you’ll find you like some and not others but you won’t know until you try for yourself.

Bitter melon has a high amount of insulin in it so it can help reduce your sugar levels when you eat. You can either squeeze the juice or cook it as a vegetable, depending on your preference.…

The Whey To Fast Weight Loss

If you could increase your fat weight loss by simply adding a daily drink to your diet, wouldn’t that be great? That could be possible with whey protein drinks.

Recent studies are showing that whey protein may be great for weight loss.  There are a variety of protein drinks available with the sources of protein being whey or soy. Studies comparing the two sources show whey protein to be the winner when it comes to weight loss.

A six month study resulted in more weight and fat loss in the participants drinking the whey protein shake versus the participants drinking the soy protein shakes. Those drinking the soy protein shakes stayed about the same weight. The participants drinking the whey protein lost about two pounds of weight and about an inch off their waists. …

Best Stretches For Before and After a Run

A perfect day has popped up and the streets are calling your name. Your body wants to run. You want to ride that wave of enthusiasm and just get out there. But you know warming up and stretching will help you prevent injuries. What pre-run routine is an absolute must-do before heading out for to run?

Philadelphia, PA area trainer JoAnn Meyer says warming up muscles is key. “You don’t want to stretch cold muscles. I have my runners walk 5-10 minutes before running,” says JoAnn, who has completed marathons and teaches a couch-to-5k running clinic year-round.

After a nice walk to loosen up the muscles, Ms. Meyer suggests stretching as the next step. “The new way of thinking is dynamic stretching before running and static stretching after running,” Ms.…

3 Holiday Weight Gain Fallacies – Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa … When Will The Eating Ever Stop?

Late November till January typically signifies the “holiday season” for many of us, and this, unfortunately, is usually associated with overeating and over-indulgence in general. However, there are a number of fallacies/myths, call them what you will, that we also associate with this time of year, and this often leads us to believe we are going to put on weight … no matter what!

1) I may as well accept that I’m going to put on loads of weight

Probably not as much as you think, in fact, the United States appears to be one of the nations that will celebrate all of the holidays mentioned in the title, and it is estimated that the average American will put on half a pound to a pound in weight between November and January.…

Alternative Therapies Can Be Great Ways To Help Diabetics

If you have diabetes, or any other serious disease, you should keep an open mind about all possible options for improving your health. Alternative therapies can be great ways to help diabetics if used wisely.

There are lots of different alternative therapies so we will only focus on a select few that can offer the most effective benefits. Obviously everyone is different so you need to decide for yourself whether you wish to try any of the ideas here.

Massage is a wonderful way to ease stress, pain, headaches and tension within the body. Being diabetic has lots of symptoms and just the fact that you’re diabetic and have to cope with everything that represents is stressful enough in itself.

It can cause headaches, stress, high blood pressure, high sugar levels, severe muscle tension and a range of other issues that can all be fixed or at least reduced by having a good massage.…

Headfirst Into the Holidays With A Plan In Hand To Avoid Unwanted Weight Gain

Uh-oh, here it is again- the holidays! And many of us never lost the weight we gained during last year’s holidays. Don’t make this another holiday season of uninhibited eating and drinking, telling yourself you’ll start that final diet on January 1st! Go headfirst into this holiday season with a plan in hand to enjoy the holiday season AND avoid unwanted weight gain.

Don’t Be A Stuffed Turkey- Beef Up That Exercise!

Perhaps the number one way you can eat those extra calories without gaining weight is to increase your activity and burn off that serving of home-style dressing and mashed potatoes. Make a holiday season commitment to do more than your normal exercise. If you walk once a day, get out there twice a day.…

Easy Ways to Eat Smart on a Road Trip

Road trips have a terrible reputation regarding food – it’s expensive and it’s ridiculously unhealthy. Hundreds of fast food restaurants dot our nation’s highways, beckoning to weary travelers who just want to eat and get back on the road. Fork over your money and you’ve got your very own grease burger and fries. Twenty minutes and 1,000 calories later you’re on your way.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. With a little foresight, you can save time, money, and your health by bringing nutritious snacks with you in the car. These easy tips show you how.

Pack what you actually will eat. This goes for the adults in the car as well as any children you are traveling with.…

Finding a Workout that Suits You

Summer provides us with the most body-conscious months of the year. I’m sure, while many people were disappointed to say goodbye to the warm weather, there are some that are pretty glad swimsuit season is behind us. However, just because summer has passed does not mean you can shirk exercise altogether. In fact, I’ve found the habits that you are forming right now are what will guarantee or forgo a beach body next year. Getting fit isn’t about crash dieting or making New Year’s resolutions – it is about lifestyle changes. As someone dedicated to fitness and raising a healthy family, I am committed to teaching them that working out and eating right can be fun! They may seem more extreme initially, but creating healthy habits that are easy to maintain is much easier than chasing every diet fad that graces a magazine cover.…

Don’t Be Afraid Of Seeing The Doctor

It’s natural that you’ll get sick from time to time. Some get sick more frequently than others. However, many people don’t like to do anything about it. Don’t be afraid of seeing the doctor because your fear could be very dangerous to your health.

Generally you’ll have symptoms when you’re sick. Some are more severe than others but they’re a good thing to have because they’re a warning sign that you need to do something about your health.

If you didn’t have symptoms, you could easily not see a doctor and then become seriously ill and possibly even die. So symptoms are not to be treated lightly.

Diabetes is a serious disease with a wide range of symptoms, not always obvious as being related to diabetes.…

The Amazing Stories of the Heaviest People in the World

I wanted to write about something a little different for this week’s article – most of you who are looking to lose weight are regularly bombarded with information about diet (and the foods you should and should not eat) and exercise. However, no-one ever seems to focus on the effects that carrying a few (or a lot) of extra pounds has on your mind.

Admittedly, I have written about the “Mental Side of Weight-Loss” in the past, but today I wanted to share the stories of others who have battled severe obesity … and have won their battle. What you are about to read is completely true, and are likely to be two of the most heart warming weight-loss stories you will come across.…

Think Twice Before Downing That Diet Soda

Diet Soda May Cause Weight Gain

How many times have you seen overweight people push a grocery cart full of Lean Cuisine dinners and diet soda? While their intentions are noble, their weight never seems to change. In fact, their weight keeps on going up. Perhaps this is even happening to you and you are totally mystified as to just what you are doing wrong.

Well, your weight gain could be due to drinking that diet soda. Despite the fact that diet soda has zero calories, recent research shows there may be a link between weight gain and consuming artificial sweeteners. This was the conclusion of a study done at Purdue University and published in the 2008 edition of Behavioral Neuroscience.…

How to Avoid Weight Gain on Your Next Vacation

Vacation: It’s time to indulge ourselves.  Stay up late, sleep in and eat anything we want.  Right?

Of course!  However, it’s no fun facing the scale when you get home is it?   Here’s a question for you; could you avoid weight gain on your next vacation and do it without feeling deprived?  Is it possible?  Of course it is.

Here Are 5 Quick Tips to Avoid Weight Gain On Your Next Vacation:

1. Set yourself a goal of maintaining your weight while on your trip.

Prepare for a little indulgence by adding in some extra exercise a few weeks before you leave.  If you usually walk every day, walk twice a day two days a week or add an exercise class once or twice a week.   …

Staying Active in Your Car

Many people begin and end their work day in the car, driving for what seems like endless miles and hours. Time spent in a car in a sedentary position can literally create aches and pains as well as tension. Feelings of helplessness and exasperation are quite common among commuters. Road rage is likely expressed as the final straw. Road rage occurs when a person’s passion for everything wonderful turns to rage and others hear screams break the relative silence of the morning and then look around to see the smoke and the fume emitting from the car next to them. Everyone knows that someone is going to ‘get it;’ their hope is that it is just not them.

Preparing yourself for your commute is an excellent idea.…

A Positive Attitude Will Improve Your Health

Being diabetic can be depressing, frustrating, scary and can also make you angry at times. It’s important not to let it get to you because a positive attitude will improve your health.

When you’re first diagnosed with diabetes, it may terrify you, depending on how much you already know about the disease. As you find out more, it can easily depress you and make you feel sorry for yourself.

A negative attitude towards your own health will only make you feel worse and amplify any symptoms you may feel. If you stay positive, it’s easier to get through each day. If you do feel down, take things a day at a time until you feel better because it can be overwhelming.…

Mariah Carey Shows All Mums How To Lose Weight after Pregnancy

Mariah Carey gave birth to twins Monroe and Moroccan just over 6 months ago, and has since shed 70 pounds in weight. No mean feat, although she did have a little help from “Jenny”.

Jenny is, of course, the new brand name for Jenny Craig, the weight-loss company, and they certainly have helped Mariah lose weight after pregnancy. In fact, I’ll go as far to say that she looks absolutely stunning, and probably better than I’ve ever seen her.

Mariah recently appeared on “The Rosie Show” and spoke to host, Rosie O’Donnell, about how she suffered from oedema during her pregnancy, which caused excess fluid to build up in her body. Immediately after giving birth she lost 40 pounds in water weight, whereas the rest was lost primarily through diet.…

Vitamin D Deficiency and Obesity

Medical professionals are just discovering the importance of optimal Vitamin D levels in preventing dangerous diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease. Research done within the past few years has shown that the previous RDA for vitamin D was too low and that vitamin D deficiency is more common than originally believed.

Lab tests to determine your vitamin D level are being ordered almost routinely. And that is a great idea when you consider the number of diseases that could be prevented with simple Vitamin D supplementation.

Obesity as a Cause of Vitamin D Deficiency

There are a number of causes of Vitamin D deficiency. One of these is obesity. People with a BMI of 30 or more frequently have low levels of vitamin D.…

How to be a “healthy” mommy and keep your sense of humor in tact!

For all those moms out there, taking time to follow a fitness regimen or put your health and fitness first is always a challenge.  However, there is a way to add “fit mom” to one of your multiple personalities, and have a great time while you’re at it.  First, lets be honest . . . we all covet the hot body of our pilates instructor.  But, lets also be real . . . more times than not, that pilates instructor did not have an actual person pulled out of her body, not just once, but for some of us two or three times!  Repairing the damage from that adventure can take years.  But, it can be done.  You’ll still have some giggly parts, but with a bit of perseverance, we can get back to some semblance of the 20 year old body we once had.…

Imagine Losing Weight with the Help of Your Dog and Loving Every Minute of it

We all know that obesity has been an ongoing problem in the United States. From late-night infomercials to reality TV shows, we can’t get away from the importance of maintaining a healthy body. It makes sense to exercise with our best friends so we’ll have some accountability while enjoying each other’s company. Since it’s equally important that we maintain the health of our pets, who else should we exercise with than “man’s best friend?”

Obesity is not only a problem in humans, but it’s also been reported as a problem in dogs. Well meaning owners show love for their dogs by feeding them too much food, the wrong kinds of foods, or both. Exercising with your dog will help keep its weight down and can encourage a stronger relationship between the two of you.…

Weight Loss Surgery – My Story

If you’re diabetic, obese and on high doses of 2 different insulins and 2 different oral tablets, you may be considering weight loss surgery. This was exactly the situation I was in, back in mid 2008.

My sugar levels couldn’t be maintained at a safe level and we kept having to increase the insulin I was taking. It got to the point where I had to seriously decide whether to undergo weight loss surgery.

I knew virtually nothing about it but began researching it on the net to get some idea of what it was all about. You have already read last week about the main options I had to choose from.

I rang to make an appointment and was told I must attend a free seminar to learn more about what’s involved first.…

EXPOSED! The 5 Biggest Fitness Myths That Are Killing Your Weight-Loss Progress

I guess it’s about that time again – there is a constant barrage of advice and information when it comes to health, fitness and nutrition … and, unfortunately, much of this is untrue. Therefore, allow me to dispel some of these fitness myths within this article:

1) Women will get big and bulky if they weight train

Firstly, it’s important to know that women have approximately one-third the testosterone of men. So, in other words, it’s going to be extremely difficult to pack on a huge amount of muscle. Granted, you may have seen big, bulky and muscular women in magazines, but nine times out of ten this is induced by steroids and growth hormones. You may actually appear bulky due to excess body fat, although once you reduce this body fat your lean and defined muscles will be on show.…

Yo-Yo Dieting and Your Hormones

The New England Journal of Medicine recently reported on a study called ‘Long-Term Persistence of Hormonal Adaptations to Weight Loss’ that implicates appetite-regulating hormones as the trigger behind regaining weight in yo-yo dieting.

Remember our articles on leptin, insulin and ghrelin? Yep, those are among the hormones that this Australian study found that may be the culprits behind the fact that more than 80% of obese dieters regain weight after dieting.

About The Study

In the study, 50 overweight or obese adults were enrolled in a 10-week weight loss program. The diet they were given was a very low energy diet. The diet was 500 to 550 calories per day, with a meal replacement and only vegetables for eight weeks.…

Fitness on a Budget

A few months ago, I was watching TV, and an infomercial for an expensive exercise program began enticing me with “not typical” results and tempting payment plans. I was instantly in a trance watching women my age and older doing fitness moves I have only done in my dreams. As I watched, I began to rationalize spending almost one week’s salary on this crazy exercise program if it meant that I could lose 5 inches in one week. Don’t worry, though. I stopped myself from making 8 payments of $19.95 and got real. If you find yourself tempted by fancy exercise infomercials or an expensive gym membership, stop now and step away from the television. The answer to your fitness dreams is all around you AND it’s free.…

There Are Numerous Weight Loss Procedures

Many people believe there’s only one type of weight loss surgery known as Lap Banding. This is because it’s the most commonly discussed procedure. However, there are numerous weight loss procedures that are available to you.

Before explaining the most popular procedures, it’s important to understand they have one common goal. They restrict the amount of food your stomach can hold so you only eat very small meals. This leads to short term weight loss and can get you off all diabetes medications and improve your health in many other ways.

Lap Banding is the most common form as it’s reversible. The surgeon sews a silicon band around the stomach near the top, reducing its size. It contains a balloon which is joined to a tube that goes to a port that sits under the skin and just above the abdominal muscles.…

The Ultimate Fast Diet Plan

If you are looking for the ultimate fast diet plan  that will help you to lose weight fast and at zero expense, look into water fasting for weight loss. Water fasting will result in superfast weight loss- about one pound a day to begin with. As you continue in the fast, your metabolism will slow and you will then lose about ½ pound per day.

Your initial weight loss will, of course, be water weight. However, after the first day or two, you will begin to lose excess fat. In the past, many people thought that fasting causes your body to lose muscle. However, studies have shown that the weight loss is actually due to fat loss because of a process called ‘protein sparing’.…

Is Surgery A Smart Option For Diabetics?

Many diabetics are grossly obese and take high doses of insulin and oral tablets to control their blood sugars but nothing seems to help. In these cases, surgery is thought to be a possible solution but is surgery a smart option for diabetics?

Firstly, it’s essential to realize all surgical procedures have risks. You can’t have bariatric weight loss surgery just because you “believe it’s the answer to your problems.” There are many steps to go through to see if you even qualify and to ascertain whether it’s going to be safe.

There are a few types of weight loss surgery but I’m not going to cover the differences until my next article. The premise is basically the same with the different versions and that’s to reduce the amount of food you can eat by restricting the size of your stomach on a permanent basis.…

Alcohol and Weight Loss – Is There a Place for Alcohol in Your Weight Loss Plans?

It’s often been said that alcohol lowers your inhibitions, although many of us took this to be some kind of sexual reference. While this may be true – drinking alcohol typically decreases your inhibitions when it comes to controlling your food intake … and this is not good if you are currently on a diet or following a weight loss program.

Therefore, as far as alcohol and weight loss goes you should attempt to limit your alcohol intake. That said, you should be realistic, as alcohol may form part of some of our lifestyles. Let’s face the facts – many of us love a glass of wine to help us unwind after a long day … and it definitely helps to take the edge off.…

The Right Diet Plan For You

One of the most frustrating things about losing weight is finding the right diet plan that works for you. With all the diet plans you can choose from, how do you know what diet will help you to not only lose weight but do it with the least amount of ‘pain’ and inconvenience? And what diet can help you to keep off the weight you do lose?

When you make the decision to lose weight, the next thing you need to decide is how you are going to do it. Develop a plan that includes the dietary changes you need to make and the exercise you need to do to reach your weight loss goal. Basically, set a goal and decide how you are going to reach that goal.…

Healthy Fast Food Restaurants – 10 Tips That Prove You Can Eat Out Without Piling on the Pounds

Eating out at a restaurant is a part of our lives – whether it’s for a business meeting, a romantic meal, or simply fast food with the kids. Let’s face the facts, eating out is fast, easy, fun … but is it healthy?

Well that depends! If you plan ahead and make sensible choices, healthy fast food is fairly easy to find, no matter which restaurant you happen to be in. In fact, restaurants are becoming far more clued-up about diners looking for healthy fast foods, and you will typically find food choices that are low in cholesterol, fat, sodium, calories, and high in fibre.

So, in reality there is such a thing as “Healthy Fast Food Restaurants”, but only if you know what to look out for:

1) Words such as giant, jumbo, deluxe, super-sized should be avoided at all costs.…

Natural Weight Loss Supplements

Natural weight loss supplements are a great thing to use if you are looking for ways to support weight loss either by controlling hunger, boosting your metabolism, curbing cravings or burning fat.  But, of all the hundreds of products out there, what’s hype and what actually works? Of course we can’t cover all of them here in this article but let’s take a look at three popular ones.

First of all, the majority of the natural supplements for weight loss work by suppressing your appetite. When your appetite is suppressed, your body thinks you’re not hungry and, so you are less apt to eat or think about food.  Appetite suppressants can be very effective, even those natural appetite suppressants you can purchase without a prescription.…

Did You Drink Your Water Today?

Drinking plenty of water every day can help you keep your waistline small. When you take sips of water during your meals, you start feeling full faster and you eat less. Drinking water also aids in burning fat by helping your liver metabolize fat more efficiently.

Water is the second most essential substance your body needs, next to oxygen. Our bodies are 60 percent water. Water makes up a large percentage of your organs. Over two-thirds of your brain is  water. Your lungs are 90 percent water. Three-fourths of your muscles is percent water. Your bones are 22 percent water and body fat is 10 percent water. Your blood is about 83% water. Seeing how much of your body is water makes you want to go and get a nice cold, tall glass of water, doesn’t it?…

How Much Water Should You Drink A Day (Part 2)

Hi, and welcome to part 2 of – “How Much Water Should You Drink a Day“. In part 1 we looked at various rules/formulas, as to how much water should be consumed on a daily basis. However, we also discussed the potential factors that may affect your daily water consumption. Therefore, in today’s article I want to look a little closer at these “factors”. And just in case you missed part 1, you can read it here.

You will need to modify your water intake depending on certain factors, such as how active you are, your health status, whether you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, and the climate within which you live:

- Physical activity

If you engage in any physical activity that makes you sweat, you will need to consume additional fluids to compensate for this loss.…

Top 10 BEST Health Foods

There are certain kinds of foods that pack more of a nutritional punch than others. Of course, everyone knows that raw, living fruits and vegetables have more health and nutrition than processed, packaged foods, but did you know that there are other kinds of foods even more powerful than health foods? These foods are called superfoods, and they have such a high nutrient and antioxidant density that they are in a class above all others. If you can’t get enough superfoods, then take a drink like Monavie to speed things up. Monavie is a drink with tons of fruits and the most potent form of an antioxidant and nutrient-rich fruit called Acai. Let’s go through a short summation of some of the more popular superfoods.…