Weight Loss Methods

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Weight Loss Methods


On the market at any given time, there are hundreds of weight loss methods. You will no doubt see hundreds of commercials in your time for a weight loss drug, a weight loss plan, or an exercise machine. They all tell you that they are the best. They will provide for you the best solution for losing weight. Some may say that they will guarantee the weight loss if you follow their so called simple steps. The truth of the matter is that you need to actively work for the weight loss to be effective. Here, we will talk about different methods of weight loss that you can use to help you gain control of your life.

Realize that anyone that needs to lose weight has to fight for it. Sure, it might be easier for some to lose than others, but the bottom line is that there is no easy weight loss solution out there. No magic pill exists to magically melt away the pounds. It all comes from hard work, eating right, and determination. But, let us explore the different methods of getting the weight off! From the simplest to the most difficult, there are really hundreds of ways you can effectively lose weight. Just remember determination is the key to success!

First of all, it just makes sense to talk about the most effective and longest lasting diet ever. You will never believe this but this is such a powerful diet that when most people follow it, they lose weight! Unfortunately, it is the most difficult to do as well. Eating a balanced diet and getting regular, vigorous exercise is the diet in question here. Yes, we all know that you don't want to give up your favorite foods or want to exercise hard and heavy. But, again, this really is the most beneficial diet out there for weight loss. You need to maintain a healthy diet full of vegetables, fruits and the right portions of meats, grains, and dairy. You will need to exercise daily, developing strong muscles and work off that unwanted fat.

So, like many people you didn't stop reading there. You do not want to do that diet because you may have tried and found it too hard. You may have found that you just didn't have time. Whatever you excuse it, you are here and reading on to search for an easier solution.

Many people have tried the limitation diets like South Beach, Atkins, no fat, or no protein. There are hundreds of fad diets out there. Do they work? Maybe, but you need to realize that by giving up an entire food group can do damage to your body later on in life as well. High fat diets can contribute to heart disease and high blood pressure. Low fat diets can cause their own set of problems because your body needs a healthy amount of fat. In order for these diets to work, you will have to give up the "bad" food for the course of your life. This is difficult, but like we said, all weight loss is!

Exercise can be an excellent way to loose weight. You can exercise away the pounds if you like. Things like jogging, swimming, aerobics, Pilates, and all sorts of other exercise routines can in fact help you to lose weight. In many of these situations, you will have to work long and hard at it. Determination, remember? But, what you are doing is building up the muscle mass in your body. Muscles will burn fat twice as fast as weaker muscles. That means that you will burn fat faster when your body is in shape through exercising. It is important to stress that you will need to insure that you are seen by a doctor prior to starting a hard core exercise plan. Also, remember that you can be thin through exercise, but if you are eating the wrong foods, you are likely to have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or many other things.

Herbal remedies are another way to lose weight effectively. Herbal remedies are available in all sorts of combinations. Most of them are healthy and definitely non toxic. They work because they are all natural products like the foods we eat, that our bodies already know how to digest and use. That means they can be twice as effective, in some cases, as medications. But, just like eating a meal that gives you indigestion, while you may be affected, the friend may not. Herbal remedies can be quite similar meaning they are not a for sure thing.

There are, of course, diet pills that do work. Like herbal remedies, they can help speed up metabolism or help to tell you to stop eating. They can trick the mind into thinking you are full. Many of these diet pills are herbal remedies and do work on and off for many people. While there is no proof that they will work in your situation, they may just be what you need in the end.

And, we are back to the good old eating right and getting the exercise you need diet. Weight loss is a lifelong battle for many people, contributing to their death, in some cases. But, by simply eating right and getting the daily dose of exercise that many of us do not get, we can greatly reduce the amount of bad the weight does to us. Heart disease, organ failure, and many more things can be caused in part or fully from being overweight. Whatever method you decide to use as your method to lose weight do so and, remember that it will take a lot of determination and a whole lot of patience to get where you are going. You will lose the weight. You will be proud to look in the mirror, not because you look good, but because you accomplish a huge goal, a difficult goal, and a lifetime goal of losing weight! Remember to talk to your doctor about you weight loss method as well.

Hilda Maria is a freelance writer with 5 children who knows the importance of a balanced diet for them. She enjoys providing useful knowledge about weight loss and exercise to her readers as well as to her children.

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No matter what the reason, successful weight loss and healthy weight management depend on sensible goals and expectations. If you set sensible goals for yourself, chances are you'll be more likely to meet them and have a better chance of keeping the weight off. In fact, losing even five to 10 percent of your weight is the kind of goal that can help improve your health.

Most overweight people should lose weight gradually. For safe and healthy weight loss, try not to exceed a rate of two pounds per week. Sometimes, people with serious health problems associated with obesity may have legitimate reasons for losing weight rapidly.

What you weigh is the result of several factors:

-how much and what kinds of food you eat

-whether your lifestyle includes regular physical activity

-whether you use food to respond to stress and other situations in your life

-your physiologic and genetic make-up

-your age and health status.

Successful weight loss and weight management should address all of these factors. And that's the reason to ignore products and programs that promise unrealistic quick and easy results, or that promise permanent results without permanent changes in your lifestyle. Any ad that says you can lose weight without lowering the calories you take in and/or increasing your physical activity is selling fantasy and false hope. In fact, some people would call it fraud.

Why Fad Diets Don't Work

The world has an unhealthy obsession with 'fad' diets. This is due to the American culture's need for a magic bullet or solution that provides immediate gratification. Technically a diet simply refers to what you eat any day. In the truest sense, we are all on a diet daily - the question is, is it healthy or not.

It can get pretty confusing because one is assaulted daily with claims from diet gurus. Also sky-high book sales from diet plans promoting diets that restrict certain foods or food combining tells us that these diets are healthy. This is not necessarily true. The diet may work for the short term but you could end up with a heart attack, problem skin, kidney failure and even malnutrition!

There is continuing controversy between the "diet" experts about which diet works best. One book advises to avoid all carbohydrates, yet another promotes carbohydrates. Some suggest that you consume a high fat, high protein diet consisting of no carbohydrates, while another may say that eating no fat is the key to weight loss success. Who do we believe, and what do we believe? Im not discred iting all weight-loss programs and products. Those few that focus on permanent lifestyle changes, correct information, and proper nutrition are the weight loss programs that are the most successful.

Fad diets don't work because they cause you to focus more on food than you would if you were not dieting. Most of them are based on self-deprivation. Depriving ones self of a craving usually doesn't last for more than a day. The next thing you know the person is breaking the diet, feeling the failure of that and then giving up altogether. The idea is to adopt a healthy eating and exercise plan to avoid this common dieter's pitfall.

Another drawback of fad diets is that many of them don't work at all. Some, such as those based on diuretic herbs simply cause a loss of water rather than fat. This water is simply regained back by the body and then retained with a vengeance after you are off the diet. This is known as rebound weight gain.

Diets fail because they offer no long-term solution. When people initially start dieting theyre highly motivated. They immediately stop eating fast food, stop-consuming alcohol, stop eating sweets, and start exercising. But as time passes, they fail to exercise, as often, they don't watch calories as closely as they once did, and they lose the motivation they once had. As a result, they fall back into old habits, patterns, and eventually a lifestyle. You can prevent this phenomenon by introducing changes at a gradual pace. Dont attempt to change your entire lifestyle overnight. For example, cut back on sugar consumption and add exercise to your daily routine two or three times a week. A few weeks later add another day of exercise and limit junk food consumption to once or twice a week; continue until a balance is reached and you feel in control.

The reason that most diet gurus sell a lot of books is because they are selling hope, not realistic expectations. Many people place all their trust in the book, and not themselves. As a result, they dont accomplish their weight-loss goal because the secret isnt found in a diet book. Succeeding at weight-loss requires far more than just reading a book, it requires the accumulation of knowledge, patience, planning, good choices, and of course, realistic expectations.

Its essential to make good choices. Once you make a choice, it then makes you. Choices feed habits, habits define lifestyle, and lifestyle determines your future. Learning to make good choices is an important step in establishing long-term weight loss goals.

Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy has an indepth and long established background with the vitamins, minerals and health industry and has researched and experimented with many diets over a thirty year period. Roy is also the author of Safe and Easy Weightloss, a downloadable e-book based on the famous Mediterranean Diet and often used by those with heart conditions and those who seek a safe way to shed weight. It can be viewed at http://www.safe-and-easy-weightloss.com. Further articles, and related health and weightloss sites can be found at http://www.weightloss-diet-health-vitamins.com

The information on this and any adjoining pages may be reprinted and used on other sites providing this information remains on the article and all pages and credits remain as they are found here in its current compilation with all links in tact.

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Weight Loss Diets with Negative Calorie Foods


Negative calorie foods are said to use more calories to digest than the calorie content of the foods themselves, resulting in a negative calorie balance. It is therefore natural to consider a diet containing these foods for weight loss.

A diet is a combination of a balanced selection of foods designed for medical or nutritional reasons. A good diet should include all major food groups. The weight loss diets (with or without negative calorie foods) are made to reduce body fat and weight. Some of the popular weight loss diets are: Atkin's diet, cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet, Hollywood diet, negative calorie foods diet, Pritikin diet, the South beach diet and the zone diet.

Most of the weight loss diets promote to eat a particular food group and restrict other food groups. Such diets may show temporary results. If you follow these restricted diets for a long time, you may develop some health problems at later stage as these diets do not contain all the necessary nutrients needed for your body.

The secret to losing weight is to eat and drink the right kind of foods until you are satisfied. Skipping of meals is not the answer for weight loss, it can rather deteriorate your health. A healthy weight loss diet plan should include vegetables, fruits, grains, lentils and beans in your diet. Following is a sample daily diet plan that is good for keeping healthy weight and good health, irrespective of whether you follow a diet plan with negative calorie foods or not.

- Skim milk and skim yogurt.
- Salads or boiled vegetables or vegetable soup as starter.
- Whole-wheat bread/tortila, whole grain cereal and rice.
- Whole grains like kidney beans, chick peas and lentils.
- Lightly cooked green vegetables.
- Any dessert with minimum sugar.
- Lean variety of meat (it is better to avoid).
- The dinner should be light. If you had bread for lunch then have rice for dinner.

Include as much negative calorie foods as possible in the above diet plan. If you are meat eater, choose from a lean variety and restrict to one serving in a day.

A diet with negative calorie foods as main ingredients can include foods that are loaded with carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibers necessary for keeping you fit. The diet with negative calorie foods can be tailored for fast or gradual weight loss. The fast weight loss diet that can lower the weight up to two pounds per day, is not recommended for long term. The gradual weight loss diet can reduce one pound in a week and can be followed until desired weight is achieved. The diet can be made according to ones needs. The negative calorie foods will not give you much benefit if you are eating foods loaded with fats and sugars. If you eat a serving of potato fries, don't think that you can reduce the calories gained from fries by simply eating some negative calorie celery.

Copyright 2004, www.NegativeCalorieFoods.com

[You have permission to publish this article in your web sites, ezines or electronic publication, as long as it is used in its entirety including this resource box), all HTML hyperlinks, references (clickable) and copyright information.]

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For more information on negative calorie foods, negative calorie recipes and diets, visit the web site: Negative Calorie Foods, Recipes, Diet.

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Weight Loss: Carbs? Or No Carbs?


Dietitians just plain don't like low-carb or high-protein diets.

Whether it's The Atkins Diet, The Stillman Diet, The Scarsdale Diet or Eat Yourself Thin Like I Did by Nancy Moshier, a popular, new book that recommends a low-carb regimen, medical experts say these diets are not part of long-term weight maintenance.

"All of these diets, they are warmed-over versions of The Atkins Diet," says Heather Holden, RD, LDN, clinical dietitian at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. "Low-carb, high-protein, it doesn't matter what you call them, they don't work in the long run."

But some aspects of Eat Yourself Thin are useful, says Holden. In particular, the book's focus on calorie counting can be useful.

How Many Calories Do You Need?
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"The best thing about the book is that it teaches people how to calculate an approximate basal metabolic rate," says Holden. "That's the number of calories your body needs every day to maintain a constant weight. The number is different for everyone."

The book, says Holden, tells readers to establish their ideal body weight and then multiply that number by 10 to arrive at the daily calorie intake. For example, if your ideal body weight was 130 pounds, you would multiply that 130 by 10 to get 1,300 calories per day.

"That is a very rough estimate of what you need to eat each day at your ideal weight," says Holden. "So that gives you a place to start. If you weigh 160 pounds, and your ideal weight is 130 pounds, then you start a calorie diary to see how much you're eating each day. Then you can get a better idea of how much you can eat every day to start working off weight to get closer to your ideal weight."

That much, she says, is useful. But the book goes on to tout the wonders of low-carb eating as the best way to maximize loss of body fat.

"That's the part you want to avoid," says Holden. "Low-carb diets provide quick weight loss but do not help you maintain weight loss."

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) says that both low-carb and high-protein diets are bad.

"These diets are not safe, they are not healthy, and they are not a good way to try to get healthy," says Leslie Bonci, RD, nutritionist with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Complex and a spokesperson for the ADA. "They provide short-term, rapid weight loss by causing the body to shed water weight and muscle. But that is no way to keep weight off for very long, and it's dangerous to your body chemistry."

Dangerous Process
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According to the ADA, low-carb diets and others like it trigger short-term weight loss through a process called ketosis. This process kicks in when your body is in short supply of carbohydrates, a prime source of energy for the entire body, but especially for the brain, which operates exclusively on carbohydrates.

During ketosis, your carbohydrate-depleted body grabs other sources, including ketones from stored fat or protein, to satisfy daily energy needs. This leads to ketoacidosis, a state similar to that seen with type 1 diabetes. This type of diet can have a negative long-term impact on health.

"Next time you talk to someone on one of these diets, pay attention to their mental state, how alert they seem," says Holden. "The lack of carbohydrates tends to make them seem a bit fuzzy mentally because the brain is not getting enough fuel. Is that any way to diet?"

New Research Supports It
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But a study in the July 2002 issue of the American Journal of Medicine showed that the most famous of low-carb diets, the Atkins diet, does work.

Study participants lost an average of 20 pounds while on the Atkins diet for six months, but they were not followed longer to see if they kept the weight off. Most people also had improved cholesterol levels at the end of the study, even though the eating plan permits unlimited quantities of cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs and meat.

The study was funded by a grant from the Robert Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine. Duke researcher Eric Westman, MD, says he became interested in studying the Atkins diet after several of his patients lost large amounts of weight on it.

But though researchers were impressed by the weight loss, they say more study is needed to pronounce the carbohydrate-restricting diet safe.

Safe Dieting
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Here's how the American Heart Association says to take weight off, and keep it off.

Be active: try walking 30 minutes a day most days of the week.

To lose weight, most women should eat 1,200-1,500 calories per day.

To lose weight, most men should eat 1,500-1,800 calories a day.

A loss of one to two pounds per week is considered a healthy weight loss.

People who lose weight gradually are more likely to keep the weight off.

Eat no more than 30% of your total calories from fat.

Include at least five servings of fruit and vegetables in your diet each day.

Examine your eating habits -- keep a written journal of what and when you eat.

Weigh yourself only once a week.

Eat breakfast to curb binge eating.

"There are still a lot of things we don't know about food and nutrition," says Holden. "Nutrition is a relatively young science, but we do know that you can trick the body's mechanisms in the short run. In the long run, however, those short cuts catch up with you in the form of weight gain."

Source: WebMD

You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as long as the bylines are included.

Original URL (The Web version of the article)
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Weight Loss: Carbs? Or No Carbs?

About The Author
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Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information on Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone and related health benefits. He has created and edits numerous web sites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer for http://www.ageforce.com and several otherwebsites. If you would like to contact Michael you can e-mail him at Michael@AgeForce.com If you would like to know more about Weight Loss, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health topics please visit us at AgeForce.com.

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Weighing-In On Low Carb Diets


With all of the conflicting studies and fuzzy interpretation of information, it's no wonder that confusion reigns when it comes to the value and safety of low-carb diets. It seems like heated debates are raging everywhere! Whether it's Atkins, the South Beach or some other low-carb plan, as many as 30 million Americans are following a low-carb diet.

Advocates contend that the high amount of carbohydrates in our diet has led to increasing problems with obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. Critics, on the other hand, attribute obesity and related health problems to over-consumption of calories from any source, and lack of physical activity. Critics also express concern that the lack of grains, fruits, and vegetables in low-carbohydrate diets may lead to deficiencies of some key nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, and several minerals.

Any diet, weather low or high in carbohydrate, can produce significant weight loss during the initial stages of the diet. But remember, the key to successful dieting is in being able to lose the weight permanently. Put another way, what does the scale show a year after going off the diet? Let's see if we can debunk some of the mystery about low-carb diets. Below, is a listing of some relevant points taken from recent studies and scientific literature. Please note there may be insufficient information available to answer all questions.

- Differences Between Low-Carb Diets

There are many popular diets designed to lower carbohydrate consumption. Reducing total carbohydrate in the diet means that protein and fat will represent a proportionately greater amount of the total caloric intake. Atkins and Protein Power diets restrict carbohydrate to a point where the body becomes ketogenic. Other low-carb diets like the Zone and Life Without Bread are less restrictive. Some, like Sugar Busters claim to eliminate only sugars and foods that elevate blood sugar levels excessively.

- What We Know about Low-Carb Diets

Almost all of the studies to date have been small with a wide variety of research objectives. Carbohydrate, caloric intake, diet duration and participant characteristics varied greatly. Most of the studies to date have two things in common: None of the studies had participants with a mean age over 53 and none of the controlled studies lasted longer than 90 days.

Information on older adults and long-term results are scarce.

Many diet studies fail to monitor the amount of exercise, and therefore caloric expenditure, while participants are dieting. This helps to explain discrepancies between studies. The weight loss on low-carb diets is a function of caloric restriction and diet duration, and not with reduced carbohydrate intake. This finding suggests that if you want to lose weight, you should eat fewer calories and do so over a long time period.

Little evidence exists on the long-range safety of low-carb diets. Despite the medical community concerns, no short-term adverse effects have been found on cholesterol, glucose, insulin and blood-pressure levels among participants on the diets. But, adverse effects may not show up because of the short period of the studies.

Researchers note that losing weight typically leads to an improvement in these levels anyway, and this may offset an increase caused by a high fat diet. The long range weight change for low-carb and other types of diets is similar. Most low-carb diets cause ketosis. Some of the potential consequences are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and confusion. During the initial phase of low-carb dieting some fatigue and constipation may be encountered. Generally, these symptoms dissipate quickly. Ketosis may also give the breath a fruity odor, somewhat like nail-polish remover (acetone).

Low-carb diets do not enable the consumption of more calories than other kinds of diets, as has been often reported. A calorie is a calorie and it doesn't matter weather they come from carbohydrates or fat. Study discrepancies are likely the result of uncontrolled circumstances; i.e. diet participants that cheat on calorie consumption, calories burned during exercise, or any number of other factors. The drop-out rate for strict (i.e. less than 40 grams of CHO/day) low-carb diets is relatively high.

What Should You Do? - There are 3 important points I would like to re-emphasize:

- The long-range success rate for low-carb and other types of diets is similar.

- Despite their popularity, little information exists on the long-term efficacy and safety of low-carbohydrate diets.

- Strict low-carb diets are usually not sustainable as a normal way of eating.

Boredom usually overcomes willpower.

It is obvious after reviewing the topic, that more, well-designed and controlled studies are needed. There just isn't a lot of good information available, especially concerning long-range effects. Strict low-carb diets produce ketosis which is an abnormal and potentially stressful metabolic state. Under some circumstances this might cause health related complications.

The diet you choose should be a blueprint for a lifetime of better eating, not just a quick weight loss plan to reach your weight goal. If you can't see yourself eating the prescribed foods longer than a few days or a week, then chances are it's not the right diet. To this end, following a moderately low fat diet with a healthy balance of fat, protein, carbohydrate and other nutrients is beneficial.

If you do decide to follow a low-carb plan, remember that certain dietary fats are associated with reduction of disease. Foods high in unsaturated fats that are free of trans-fatty acids such as olive oil, fish, flaxseeds, and nuts are preferred to fats from animal origins.

Even promoters of the Atkins diet now say people on their plan should limit the amount of red meat and saturated fat they eat. Atkins representatives are telling health professionals that only 20 percent of a dieter's calories should come from saturated fat (i.e. meat, cheese, butter). This change comes as Atkins faces competition from other popular low-carb diets that call for less saturated fat, such as the South Beach diet plan. Low-carb dieting should not be considered as a license to gorge on red meat!

Another alternative to "strict" low-carb dieting would be to give up some of the bad carbohydrate foods but not "throw out the baby with the bath water". In other words, foods high in processed sugar, snacks, and white bread would be avoided, but foods high in complex carbohydrates such as fruit, potatoes and whole grains, retained.

Tim Robinson is the owner of Weight-Loss-Diet-Search.com

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