Drink Oo Long Tea To Lose Weight

Wu Long tea or commonly called Oolong cha or Oolong tea is a literal translation from the Chinese language meaning 'Dark Dragon Tea' is a traditional Chinese tea somewhere in between green and black in oxidation. There are numerous legends describing the origin of Wu-Long tea.

One story had it that a tea plantation boss was scared away from drying tea leaves by the appearance of a large menacing black snake resembling a small dragon. When he finally plucked up enough courage and returned to his tea plantation a few days later, the leaves had been oxidized by the sun and produced a delightful beverage when brewed. Others say that the tea is called 'wu long' because the leaves look like little black dragons when hot water is poured onto them.

The Oolong is tea commonly served in Chinese restaurants all over the world for its excellent accompaniment to dim sum and almost all Chinese food. Like most Chinese and Japanese tea, wu long tea is unsweetened and goes very well with authentic Chinese and Japanese cuisines.

In recent years, the weight loss medical world have been jolted by some claims that Japanese scientists have found that the wu long tea have excellent weight loss ingredients. Since then, sales of the Wu-Long tea skyrocketed in the Chinese and Japanese community so much so that other nationalities are also picking up the trend of drinking wu long tea regularly to maintain their weight or as part of a weight loss program.

The following are some claims that consumption of Wu-Long tea can bring fast slimming benefits :-

Oo Long tea can burn 2.5 times more calories than ordinary green tea - In a study published in the Journal of Medical Investigation, scientists from Japan's University of Tokushima School of Medicine found that regular consumption of Oo Long tea can experience over twice the calorie burning results of those who consume the same amount of other weight loss tea.

Oo Long tea can reduce the fattening effects of carbohydrates - Eating too much carbs can encourage weight gain by increasing insulin levels in the bloodstream. A study from scientists at the Suntory Research Center in Osaka, Japan, demonstrated that drinking wu long tea 15 minutes before eating carbohydrates helps blunt the rise in insulin you normally get after eating food rich in carbs.

Oo Long tea anti ageing - Free radicals are damaging substances in your body produced by ultra-violet rays, chemical food additives, stress, pollution and many other factors. Free radicals is linked to many signs of ageing, including wrinkles, dark spots and certain diseases, even cancers. In one 2004 study by Dr. Kenichi Yanagimoto and colleagues from the University of California, Davis, people who drank tea Wu-Long daily experienced a 50 percent reduction in free radicals within 15 days. So Oolong tea is an excellent brew for anti aging.

Oo Long Tea strengthens immunity system - In another 2004 study published in the scientific medical journal, Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, patients who consumed Wu-Long tea were found to have a stronger immune system and a significantly lower risk for common upper respiratory tract infection.

If all these claims are true, then we can all switch to drinking wu long tea regularly to maintain a healthy weight level.

Author: Chris Chew---he is a fitness personal trainer and author of “Burn Fat Build Muscles Fast”.

Posted by Lose Weight at 12:17 PM Fast Weight Loss Program

The Weight Loss Plan Used By The Rich And Famous

Are you on the look out for a successful weight loss program? Are you fed up with being constantly overweight? Does your excess weight make you feel depressed? Have you a low self-esteem because of your size? If you have answered yes to any of these questions then this article may well be of benefit and interest to you as am going to write about the best ways to lose weight. These weight loss solutions are used by the celebs, the stars and the rich and famous, therefore why not try them yourselves.

I have been struggling to control my weight for as long as I can remember. I have tried many weight loss programs, all of which have ended up with a negative result. This was mainly I have to admit down to my bad attitude and lack of discipline towards the diets. I am not sure why I did not put more effort into losing weight at this stage of my life, it may well have been because I had a lack of confidence in the diets and a lack of belief that they would actually work.

I then decided to read about how the upper members of society go about losing their excess weight. I have to admit that I am a bit sad really as I love to read the celebrity magazines such as hello etc. This may have been because I always believed that as a youngster that one day I would be rich and famous, my plan you see was to be a top footballer as I was my schools star striker when I was ten!

After reading about these famous people and about how they went about losing weight, I decided to attempt to use the same methods in an attempt to finally reach a weight I was happy with.

Most of these famous people hired a personal trainer to help them to start and sustain an exercise program. I could not afford a personal trainer but thought that I would be my own fitness coach. I started to run a few miles at least twice a day, I went to the gym three times a week and went swimming twice a week.

I allowed myself to eat basically what I wanted but limited especially fatty foods such as a takeaway to just once a week. I also made sure that I was eating far more vegetables and at least four pieces of fruit each day.

These ideas helped me to lose my excess weight.

Author: Steve Jill

Posted by Lose Weight at 6:56 AM Prism Weight Loss Program

9 Easy Ways To Stay Healthy…And Be A Happier Person

An article in Forbes.com with an accompanying slideshow titled “9 Easy Ways to Stay Healthy” really impressed me. It is really about ergonomics–making your body work for you by working in harmony with it instead of fighting against it. The main points: be comfortable, get enough rest, and eat what you body needs. Why is this so hard? I think partially because we want to act like machines instead of humans. We want to push ourselves to the limits until we are broken. Why? Let’s let machines do that so we don’t have to…isn’t that supposed to be the point of technology? If technology doesn’t make our lives better, (in a physical and emotional sense, not a material one) then what is the point?

Because the slideshow is not very user friendly (the page refreshes for each new slide), I reprinted it here. The artwork by Jeff Szuc is also really cool.

Go Ergonomic
How you sit at work can have a big impact on your body. Peter Budnick, Ph.D., founder and president of Ergoweb, says your hands and eyes drive posture, since they dictate where you place your computer. So, make sure your keyboard, mouse and chair face your monitor, with the keyboard and mouse level and within easy reach. He suggests experimenting to find a good screen viewing distance and adjusting the text size to match your vision. Also, avoid using bifocals while at the computer, so you’re not tilting your head to see.

Get The Right Support
The wrong size bra can make for more than an awkward silhouette–it can be a real pain in the neck. An ill-fitting bra can cause rounding of the shoulders and slouching, and make the chin jut out, says Heidi Prather, DO, associate professor in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Some women never get a proper fitting; others don’t realize that their bodies have changed. Fran Musante, a fit expert for Maidenform, recommends getting a new fitting at least once a year.

If The Shoe Fits… Buy It
The best thing you can do to take a load off of your feet is wear shoes that fit properly. Shop for shoes in the afternoon, when your feet are usually a little larger, and only buy shoes that feel good from the start–they shouldn’t need to be broken in. Arnold Ravick, a podiatrist and spokesperson for the American Podiatric Medical Association, recommends switching shoes each day to give sore spots a chance to heal. Women should vary heel heights day to day, too.

Mind Your Ears
You can protect your hearing by spending just a few dollars–on earplugs. Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health recently found that regular exposure to noise levels in the New York City transit system can over time lead to hearing loss. Covering your ears isn’t enough, says Robyn Gershon, DrPH, a professor at the school and the study’s lead author. And plugging your ears with your iPod headphones and turning the volume up high is even worse, because you’re exposed to two noise sources at once.

Commute More Comfortably
To ease the strain of sitting in the car, spend a few moments each time you get in to make the seat comfortable. Hint: The seat should not place any pressure on your thighs. Also, try to change your position every 20 minutes while driving, says Alan Hedge, Ph.D., a professor of ergonomics at Cornell University. If no matter what you do you can’t get comfortable, consider switching cars. “Don’t adapt to products you get,” Hedge says. “Make sure the car fits you.”

Veg Out
The best thing people can do the help their bodies, diet-wise, is obvious–eat more fruits and vegetables. New research shows that just one extra serving of each per day can reduce the risk of heart disease. Cynthia Sass, registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, suggests drinking 100% fruit juice, mixing up the flavor week to week to get different nutrients, and sneaking in a vegetable with lunch and salad with dinner.

Care For Hair
If you aren’t getting enough protein, neither is your hair, which is one reason it can fall out or have structural problems. David Kingsley, Ph.D., founder and owner of hair and scalp specialists the British Science Corporation, recommends nurturing your hair by eating five to six ounces of protein a day.

Earn A Day Off
Recovery time is a key part of a good exercise program, says Conrad Earnest, Ph.D., vice president of the Center for Human Performance and Nutrition Research at the Dallas-based Cooper Institute. Failing to give your body a rest could result in injury. “If you’re an avid exerciser, it’s just absolutely silly not to take rest days,” he says. Rest can include exercising at a lighter intensity or trying another mode. If you’re a runner, spend a day on the bike or swim. It also could mean putting your feet up and reading a book.

Lift Luggage Right
Don’t let your desire to get off the plane cause six to eight weeks of back pain. Dr. Leon Benson, associate professor of clinical orthopaedic surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, urges travelers to wait until they’re next to the overhead compartment to grab their bags. Stand with your feet spread apart and pointed in the direction you’re headed, and try not to bend or twist your waist as you pull down luggage. Let your leg muscles do the work. When packing, place heavier items in the middle of the bag to keep its weight balanced.

Posted by Lose Weight at 6:40 PM Healthy Weight Loss Program

How Many Calories To A Pound

Conventional wisdom, scientific fact and various diet guru’s have allocated approximately 3 500 calories to a pound of body weight. When embarking on a weight loss program for example, one would have to consume 3 500 less calories than is usually consumed over a certain time period to lose one pound of weight. What must be borne in mind however is that this does not necessarily apply in the exact same manner as one continues to progress with the weight loss program. As it happens, unfortunately for the person on the program, that as the body becomes increasingly accustomed to consuming less food, calories are expended at a slower rate.

The phenomenon that has been described above is called diet induced adaptive thermo genesis. This phenomenon can be likened to a slowdown in metabolic rate or the rate at which the body burns calories. The mechanism has been equated to the human body’s innate tendency to protect itself against starvation.

The human body has identified the lower calorie intake and adapts by becoming ultra efficient by maximising on the amount of calories it is currently consuming albeit at a slower rate. The primary manner in which this is achieved is by actually protecting its fat stores or reserves and rather tapping in to lean tissue or muscle to provide it with the calories it will need to continue its day-today functioning. This will inevitably lead to a loss of muscle, and the associated slowing of the metabolic rate, which contribute to the slowing weight loss.

An increasing number of weight loss programs tend to adhere to a loss of not more than 2 pounds or 7 000 calories per week. They also stick to a general rule of thumb of never going below 1 200-1 000 calories per day. Another fact that should however be borne in mind when calculating the rate at which the body burns calories is the amount of muscle distribution in the individual in question.

It has already been established that in general, the more muscle that is distributed in an individual, the higher is the metabolic rate. This is easily explained by the fact that in general men have a higher rate of metabolism than women having a bearing on the fact that they have on average a higher proportion of muscle than women.

Also a twenty year old has a higher metabolism than an eighty year old person because of the fact that they have on average more muscle. Muscle tissue expends much more calories than fat, so when we lose muscle tissue, our metabolic rate becomes slower and fewer calories can be expended. Previous research studies have shown that the body loses a relatively large amount of muscle tissue when a relatively low calorie intake has been registered and once again the metabolic rate has been suppressed.

The good news is that there are various ways to ensure that muscle tissue is not lost when calorie intake has been lowered. The first step is to make sure that you have a sufficient calorie intake with a sensible diet of not less than 1200-1000 calories per day. The other alternative is to build muscle which will speed up your metabolism. Muscle building is enhanced by the increase in exercise levels. Various types of exercise help the body to speed up the metabolic rate in different ways.

The first type of exercise can be classed as aerobic exercise, which includes such activities as jogging, swimming and spinning. This type of exercise tends to tone muscle and burn fat. The lowering of the fat-to-muscle ratio does speed up the rate of metabolism for example to some extent. But the second type of exercise that is strength or resistance training will build muscle and lower the ratio much faster. Some studies document that for every extra pound of muscle that you have, you will lose an extra 50 calories per day!

Gen Mason runs and goes to the gym everyday. Discover free how to get a 6-pack of washboard abs at Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Posted by Lose Weight at 6:26 AM Loss Program Weight

Herbal remedies grow strong in the fight against common illnesses

Eating organic food isn't the only trend becoming popular with students and residents of Bowling Green - it is being followed by treating common illnesses with herbal remedies.

Building up your immune system or kicking the common cold isn't as hard as it seems.

Sports management major Katy Gilbert said eating right, exercising and using a natural remedy here and there does the trick for her.

"Over the last two years I have read more on natural medicines, eaten healthy and exercised regularly," she said. "I truly believe that natural remedies are better for you, inside and out."

Gilbert added that she rarely gets sick anymore and when she feels a cold coming on she drinks two cups of ginger tea, eliminating cold symptoms within a day. She buys whole ginger at any grocery store, chops it up in small chunks and puts the chunks into an already boiling cup of water.

On top of that, she takes a lot of Vitamin C which helps strengthen the immune system, fighting off the cold faster.

"One more thing for colds is Echinacea," Gilbert said. "This happens to be one of the many plants my dad grows and the medicine comes from the root. This plant also helps the immune system and I usually take a teaspoon here and there during cold season, before I even get symptoms."

Herbal remedies are some people's answer to prescription drugs. Gilbert said research shows that most prescribed drugs do more harm than good to the body, and therefore, she tries to stay away from them.

Heather Andre, owner of Squeakers Vegan Caf� said they sell numerous herbal remedies. She also said they are popular with a diverse crowd including BG students.

"Our selection consists of pills, extracts, liquids and more," she said. "Our products are much safer than prescription drugs because they do not include toxins or synthetic materials."

She added that there has been positive feedback from people taking the products saying they work very well and there are no side effects.

For some, lifestyle changes may need to be made in order to kick colds and sinuses, but for others it is a part of life and have become accustomed to it.

"Growing up I was around natural herbs, medicines, veggies, fruit...you name it," Gilbert said. "My dad is into organic stuff like that and my aunt is also a natural doctor of homeopathy. I think my dad has gotten sick twice in the last 30 years!"

Another student was born at home naturally because her mother believes strongly in home remedies.

Sophomore Darya Ives said at her house they generally used Homeopathy, a type of medicine that supposedly helps your body heal itself. She received homeopathic vaccinations growing up instead of shots.

"Our mother administers a homeopathic remedy for every ailment, from a bump on the head, to fatigue, to a cold," she said. "On the more extreme side she has used homeopathy to help relatives recover from surgeries and helped my grandfather with his diabetes."

Posted by Lose Weight at 6:20 AM Herbalife Weight Loss Program

Nibbles: More people going it alone on weight loss

Weight-loss programs have been much in the news with Kirstie Alley’s weight loss on the Jenny Craig program and the popularity of South Beach, Sedona and other diet plans. But a new survey shows that more people are making up their own diets in an attempt to lose weight and get healthier.

The survey, conducted by Mintel International found that 80 percent of people said they were making their own diet plan, while only six percent said they used a commercial diet like Jenny or Weight Watchers. People are still buying the diet books, experts say, but they are taking what makes sense for them and adapting it to what they were already doing.

Two thirds of those surveyed said they thought of themselves as overweight, and 60 percent said they were limiting food.

Posted by Lose Weight at 6:09 AM Jenny Craig Weight Loss Program

W. Va. Bishop Sets Sights on Health

With American obesity at record levels, it might seem only a miracle can get people fit. The Most Rev. Michael Bransfield, bishop of the Wheeling-Charleston Catholic diocese in West Virginia, hasn't gone quite that far, but he is directing the church's gaze at one of the country's least healthy states.

This month, Bransfield issued his first pastoral letter, titled ''A Church That Heals.'' It's a comprehensive address on health, ranging from public policy to individual spirituality.

Although the Catholic Church has a long history of advocacy on health care as a political issue, this may be the first time an American bishop has devoted a pastoral address largely to healthy living, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bransfield's appeal is part of a trend among Christian churches. Alarmed by national statistics they see reflected in their flocks, some churches are adding personal health to their ministries.

The American Baptist Churches USA, for example, give ''wellness grants'' to promote fitness among their pastors, while Southern Baptist groups offer health screenings and sponsored walks at regional gatherings. And a host of Christian-themed diet books have reached the market, including a few best sellers.

One of the oldest and most far-reaching programs is First Place, which started in Houston's First Baptist Church in 1981 and has now spread to thousands of churches worldwide. First Place combines a focus on healthy eating and regular exercise with a spiritual approach to what it sees as the psychological roots of poor health.

About 500,000 people have been through the program in 25 years, said Carole Lewis, national director of First Place.

Although she can reel off examples of people who have lost dozens of pounds on the program, Lewis said the group is careful only to publish testimonials from people who've kept the weight off for at least five years.

''If you haven't done that, you haven't really lost the weight,'' she said.

Bransfield, who came to West Virginia 18 months ago, addresses a state facing serious public health problems, fueled in part by bad eating, physical inactivity and lack of access to health care.

West Virginia leads the country in high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. It ranks third in adult obesity and cigarette smoking, and West Virginians are likelier to lose all their teeth by age 65 than residents of any other state.

''We are far from the place called health,'' Bransfield wrote.

To help remedy that, he calls for more funding of social services and public health insurance, a transportation system less dependent on cars, and healthy meals in schools.

But Bransfield isn't waiting for others to act. He also announced that $400,000 in grant money will be given to schools, parishes and nonprofit groups working to implement the letter's recommendations.

''It might be as simple as a parish wanting to do a cholesterol screening,'' diocesan spokesman Bryan Minor said. ''People at the local level often have the best ideas about how to proceed.''

The pastoral letter, sent to West Virginia's 100,000 Catholics, has so far been well received.

''It's going to reach a lot of people,'' said Martha Tiu, a parishioner at Our Lady of Seven Dolors in Triadelphia.

''You see a lot of people who don't take responsibility for their health,'' said Tiu, a doctor's wife and mother of two doctors. ''People have to understand not only are you your brother's keeper, you're also your own keeper.''

Church involvement could prove effective where other public health efforts have failed, said Dr. Harold G. Koenig, co-director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University in North Carolina.

''That whole network and belief system, that social factor, can influence people more than public service announcements or doctors people only see every six months,'' he said.


Posted by Lose Weight at 8:23 AM Christian Weight Loss Program

Diet Plans That Work -- PhenForum.com Helps Stop Infamous Rebound Weight Gain For Phentermine Users

Diet plans have been a struggle for overweight people for decades. But the world is full of ineffective and unhealthy diet plans that do more harm than good. Advances in science have opened up new ways to diet, but one thing is always true – the hardest part of losing weight is sticking to the diet plans and maintaining one's weight loss.

Ian Mason, CEO of PhenForum.com, a leader in online weight loss support says, "Diet plans like the PhenForum Weight Loss Program are literally changing the way we diet. Now you can lose weight fast and healthily while we help you form healthy habits to ensure you never regain the weight. Plus the diet plans work with you alone or with all the friends you'll make in the support groups."

The weight loss program is based around proper nutrition and exercise rules that have evolved over many years of use in diet plans such as the South Beach Diet Plan, Mediterranean Diet, Okinawa Diet, and Body For Life programs. This program can take as little as a few minutes a day and members get extremely clear directions to follow as well as 24/7 support and motivation.

essica Lawless, a New Yorker and successful member of the diet plans says, "This is the most amazing diet plan support program ever. They are great to keep you motivated, giving you a kick in the butt when you need it and also a shoulder to lean on. I honestly don't think I would have made it this far without them."

Diet plans with strong motivation and support are essential in helping us stop the infamous 'yo-yo' dieting which seriously weakens the immune system. This vicious circle occurs when dieters aren't given the knowledge and tools they need to form habits that increase weight loss.

The diet plans at PhenForum have become an important tool in fast and permanent weight loss for over 5900 people. The program includes step-by-step instructions and tools from some of the most popular diet plans:

• Diets plans including South Beach, Mediterranean, Okinawa, Body For Life
• Diet journals for instant support and motivation
• How to burn more fat in less time and less effort
• Getting to know your dieting personality
• How to build lean muscle that literally burns fat 24/7
• You own personal trainer, ready to help you lose weight.
• Personal nutrition guidance from our experts.
• Nutrition guidance, exercise video demonstrations with step-by-step instructions.

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:15 AM Online Weight Loss Program

Weight loss by phone: dial-up personal trainers for people on the go

From food to fashion, busy people can order just about anything over the phone these days. Now, a new breed of personal trainer is peddling fitness--yes, fitness--by phone.

These telephone tutors tackle the toughest clients: road warriors that hunger for a healthful lifestyle but battle jam-packed schedules that often hinder them from forming wholesome habits.

Telephone trainers are springing up across the country, announcing a coaching alternative that saves clients time and money. Sounds good, right? But does this dial-up model of physical fitness pay dividends? Or is it just another nutrition novelty?

Promising Results

"Research on telephone-assisted counseling for physical activity has established a convincing body of evidence supporting its effectiveness in promoting long-term physical activity change in adult populations," wrote Abby King, PhD, and Cynthia Castro, PhD, in a recent Stanford University review article called "Telephone-Assisted Counseling for Physical Activity."

The duo's research indicates that phone-based exercise counseling is 75-90 percent effective. The researchers also note that the phone method is convenient, gives participants greater counselor access, saves time and promotes physical activity among those who may not be receptive to face-to-face training.

The Association of Fitness by Phone Coaches is spreading the word, and member companies, such as People Fit USA and Flexible Fitness, are getting calls by the droves from women aged 35-55 who are too busy, too unmotivated or too frustrated to exercise. One 20-minute call per week, coupled with accountability, is leading to results for those who follow the formula.

Goal-Oriented

Keeping an exercise diary is one of the keys to the program's success, and a typical weekly call begins with a review of the past week's diary to measure achievement toward fitness goals, discuss successes and obstacles, and design a new plan for the following week, according to Gillian Hood-Gabrielson, owner of Flexible Fitness in Chico, California.

"Each week, clients are given very specific goals as to how frequently, how intensely and how long to exercise," she says. "We also set goals on how many calories to burn and what their heart rates should be during the exercises."

While the exercise diary and phone calls bring weekly accountability, calorie-counting devices and heart-rate monitors provide concrete evidence of success. Clients are also encouraged to call the coach for in-between-sessions pep talks as needed.

"We are setting goals on a weekly basis, and the goals are daily, measurable and achievable," says Heather Moreno, owner of People Fit USA in Huntington Beach, California. "When people can see that they are burning more calories and getting better with heart rates, they know the weight loss will come. Focusing on the scale alone tends to be a de-motivator."

Most telephone coaches offer 12- and 24-week programs that are about half the cost of an in-person trainer. Phone coaches stress that they are educating individuals on how to become their own coaches so that they can maintain the program long-term without the ongoing expense of a personal trainer.

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:13 AM Easy Weight Loss Program

Meat good for you, say Australian science experts

The first edition of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet has knocked The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter off the top of the Australian bestseller list. Its sequel, launched yesterday, is expected to be as popular. A feature of the revised scientific diet book, which recommends a high-protein meat diet, is a comprehensive six-week exercise program.

The sequel was launched in Sydney by Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training Julie Bishop and CSIRO chief executive Dr Geoff Garrett, who spoke about his own weight loss after using the book's methods. Mrs Bishop said Australians had a long way to go in terms of getting fit. She said 30 per cent of Australians under 25 had high blood pressure and more than half the population was overweight. "Sixty per cent of an adult population [being overweight] in a country like Australia with magnificent weather and the opportunity to be outdoors and be physically fit is just not acceptable," Mrs Bishop said. She said insufficient physical activity caused about 8000 preventable deaths annually and cost the health budget $400 million each year.

The authors of the book, which recommends a 12-week eating plan, Dr Manny Noakes and Dr Peter Clifton, warned Australia would struggle to deal with a looming health crisis. Dr Grant Brinkworth, who developed the exercise regime, demonstrated stretches to be used in conjunction with the diet tips.

Criticisms that the first book recommended a diet that was overly based on red meat are answered in a chapter titled "Is red meat a risk factor for colorectal cancer". "The evidence that eating red meat, or any single food, is a risk for colorectal cancer is weak at best, compared to the proven negative effects of being overweight and inactive," the book states.

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:11 AM Weight Loss Fitness Program

Stigmatizing Overweight People Can Discourage Dieting, Yale Researchers Find

A Yale University study of overweight people tested the claim that weight bias motivates people to lose weight and found the opposite can be the case - individuals cope with weight stigmatization through a variety of strategies, including eating more food and giving up on dieting.

The study by Rebecca Puhl, associate research scientist, and Kelly Brownell, director of Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, was published in the October 2006 issue of the journal Obesity.

In a survey of more than 2,000 members of a weight loss support program, 93 percent reported "heading off negative remarks" as a coping strategy to deal with weight stigma; 91 percent used positive self talk; 89 percent sought social support; 86 percent used faith, prayer and religion, the same percentage that used self-love and self-acceptance. Eating more food in response to discriminatory treatment was reported by 79 percent of the participants, and refusing to diet was reported by 75 percent. A smaller number, 63 percent, said that they had used dieting to cope with stigma.

"We frequently encounter the argument that stigmatization may somehow motivate people to lose weight," said Puhl. "But a large number of people in our study reported that they are less likely to diet and more likely to turn to food as a coping strategy when they encounter weight stigma."

Participants reported many forms of weight bias. The most common was other people making negative assumptions about them due to their weight (68 percent), closely followed by receiving nasty comments from children (63 percent). The sources of the stigmatization were surprising. Family members were the most frequent perpetrators at 72 percent, and physicians closely following at 69 percent. In a smaller male-only group, classmates were the most common source of weight-discrimination, with 68 percent of men saying they had been stigmatized by classmates more than once.

"One of our more compelling findings is that physicians, who could be a helpful resource for people struggling to manage their weight, are not immune from the strong bias present in the general society" said Puhl. "There are clear implications for medical education and sensitivity training."

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:09 AM Release Weight Loss Program

Obese Kids Shed Pounds, Gain Self Esteem At Camp

Annya Magallanes nervously glances down toward the faded yellow-green carpet. Her glasses keep sliding down her nose, the frames straining to reach her ears around her round face.

While Annya can't actually see her shoes because of her girth, the 14-year-old can see the words on the piece of paper she holds. They constitute a statement of personal commitment. It's a statement to herself -- but one she must read out loud to her peers.

A few months earlier, Annya did her best to avoid gatherings of any kind, let alone situations where she was the center of attention, striving to isolate herself from the very events that define being a teenage girl. At 407 pounds, what she wanted most was to be invisible.

Now she is surrounded by a new set of peers, her schoolmates at the Academy of the Sierras (AOS) near the California Central Valley farm town of Reedley -- the kids just call it "Fat School."

Most of the students are older than Annya. Many are from other states, and even other countries. Some hail from backgrounds that include maids and mansions, a far cry from the poor and working-class student body at her old school in nearby Orosi, Calif.

But Annya draws comfort from the thing she and her new boarding school classmates have in common: They all are fat.

Slowly taking a deep breath, Annya looks out at the sea of kindred spirits gathered for the school's weekly "summit meeting" and declares: "I will push myself until I get to the top of the mountain."

Once a week, AOS students, faculty and staff gather for such summit meetings, offering students a forum for grievances, acknowledging peers or staff and even farewell speeches. Teachers and behavioral coaches hand out certificates for excellent schoolwork or community service. School directors announce news, dispel rumors and sometimes deliver serious lectures.

It's also where advances in the school's summit system are announced. All incoming students start as Gumbies, a reference to inexperienced mountain climbers.

To become a Boulderer, the next level up, students must walk an average of 10,000 steps a day for two weeks and log their intake of calories and fat grams. Additional Boulderer requirements include keeping a journal, fulfilling responsibilities, attending personal training sessions and doing well in school. Higher ranks -- Ascender, Belayer and the top rank, Yabo -- carry exponentially harder qualifications.

The rewards for graduating from Gumby to Boulderer include an additional 20 minutes to call home every week, a Sunday movie off-campus with other Boulderers and free time outside the dorm.

At the summit meeting where Annya reads her personal commitment, she receives her white plastic Boulderer wristband. When she talks of scaling a mountain, those around her know she's not exaggerating.

For the past 10 mornings, Annya has pulled on her blue sweat pants, zipped up her XXL sweat shirt, covered her head -- and much of her face -- with the hood of her sweatshirt and headed out to morning activity.

One cool morning in mid-September, Annya walks by herself to the starting line to join other students for a timed mile run. Up front are the thinner kids who have been at the school for a while. At the whistle, about 30 of them take off running. The heavier kids follow at varying paces of speed walking.

At 100 yards, Annya has fallen well behind even the speed walkers. Molly Carmel, the school's clinical director, pulls up next to her. Annya dutifully listens to Molly, trying to ignore the sound of her own thighs chafing.

"She touches me," Carmel says later of Annya. "I used to weigh 325 pounds (and) I know what it's like to cart around that weight There are parts of obesity that only the underground knows about, only the tribe like moving your skin around in the shower; you pick it up and wash underneath.

"There is this heart-wrenching, emotionally dilapidating part of obesity that is just like so sad."

Annya finishes the mile in about 30 minutes, coming in last. But she's a mile closer to her personal summit. And as she begins to shed pounds, she also sheds some of the shell she's built to deflect rude stares and cruel comments.

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:06 AM A Weight Loss Program

Lean System 7 Fat Burner Review

Not surprising considering its name, but Lean System 7 (LS7) contains a proprietary blend of 7 fat burning herbal compounds. The exact blend will differ slightly depending where you buy your Lean System 7. The Canadian version for instance, contains weight loss winner green tea, but not 7-keto because of a difference in laws that regulate supplements.

Good news -- the updated version of the U.S. formula now contains green tea --fantastic news, since green tea is a great fat burning supplement. The foundation of this product lies with old standby ingredients guarana and yerba mate. Both of these ingredients contain high levels of caffeine (as well as other xanthines) which in itself is a decent thermogenic (fat burner). Mate also displays diuretic properties, and, when combined with guarana and damiana, has been shown to delay gastric emptying and promote a feeling of satiety (fullness).

Lean System 7 also contains citrus aurantium or bitter orange (standardized for synephrine, ephedrine's milder, gentler cousin). Theoretically, citrus aurantium extracts should be decent fat burners since the active ingredients (synephrine and phenylephrine) are both sympathetic alpha agonists. However, real solid clinical data validating the effectiveness of this ingredient for weight loss is in short supply.

You'll also find dandelion root/leaf included for its diuretic properties, and bioperine, an ingredient which increases the bioavailability of certain ingredients by enhancing absorption.
Besides that, there's a much more interesting ingredient in this Lean System compilation, namely...7-keto.

i) 7-keto: a metabolite of DHEA, with no apparent side effects - i.e. no conversion to testosterone or estrogen, and no effect on the sex hormones. What's promising about 7-keto is its positive effect on thyroid hormone levels -- without any adverse effects of any kind.

In quoting a recent study in his superb Diet Supplements Revealed (where the control group lost 0.57% of their bodyweight, and the group on 7-keto lost 1.8% - about 6 lbs on average), Will Brinks' says 7-keto is a potentially promising weight loss agent!

The promising beginning aside, these are clearly early days for 7-keto. More studies need to be completed to more thoroughly demonstrate 7-keto's fat burning ability.

For now, what's the bottom line recommendation?

Well, I've had the opportunity to try both the Canadian and American versions of Lean System 7. I found that LS7 worked far better than most ephedra-free products at supressing my appetite. I don't know whether it was my imagination or not, but I thought I felt fuller for longer too. I found three capsules made me too jittery though -- the perfect dose seemed to be two capsules three times a day, as opposed to the recommended 3 capsules 2X a day.

Will Lean System 7 work for you? Well, I can guarantee that if you don't make any changes to your diet and lifestyle, or you continue to consume significantly more calories than you need, it will not do anything for you. This is not a magic pill -- it should be used to supplement a smart diet and exercise program.

Posted by Lose Weight at 2:12 PM Dieting Supplements

Data shows optimism for weight-loss surgery in right conditions

Weight-loss surgery is most successful when experienced doctors follow strict guidelines for performing the procedures and selecting patients, according to data released by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Post-surgery readmission rates dropped when patients sought treatment by 12 surgeons identified by Blue Cross at "centers of excellence," an initial analysis of the data found.

The insurance provider started looking at bariatric surgery in 2004, and identified centers based on the number of procedures and their success rate.

Between October 2004 and October 2005, hospital readmission rates dropped by nearly half among patients treated by the 12 identified surgeons. Less than 5 percent of those patients had to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of the surgery.

In 2003, before the excellence program, the same surgeons readmitted 7.6 percent of bariatric patients and non-center of excellence surgeons readmitted 16.4 percent, according to Blue Cross estimates.

The company said non-center of excellence surgeons have also improved since the program began.

"Physicians are a pretty competitive group. Most are going to want to show improvement," said Dr. Robert Harris, chief medical officer for Blue Cross.

Insurance providers have long been cautious about covering bariatric surgery, which shrinks the stomach and alters digestion to help patients lose weight. The procedure can result in serious complications such as intestinal ruptures, internal bleeding, infection, severe malnutrition, vomiting and acid reflux.

In recent years, many insurers dropped or restricted coverage because of high rates of complications.

"The problem has been that everyone has been doing it and they didn't have the systems in place to ensure quality," said Dr. Walter Pories, a professor of medicine at East Carolina University who performed bariatric surgery from the early 1980s until six years ago. "Once you have the systems in place, the safety is remarkable."

Posted by Lose Weight at 2:07 PM Surgery Lose Weight

Weight Loss Through Hypnosis?

The escalation of obesity rates in this country has sparked a flurry of activity amongst both serious researchers and charlatans to discover the perfect weight loss method. Hypnosis represents one of the more appealing methods dangled before the eyes of those who are hungry for a seemingly easy solution to a complex problem.

Considerable controversy swirls around the mechanisms by which hypnosis actually contributes to weight loss. Leon (1976) suggested that hypnosis can help obese people team new healthier eating patterns and retain them. One author remarked that the hypnotic state is characterized by heightened concentration, suggestibility, and relaxation (Mott, 1982). Certain individuals are thought to be capable of achieving this state more readily than others. A so-called hypnotic "induction" whereby a hypnotist using certain procedures to bring an individual into the hypnotic state is not a prerequisite for achieving the state (Mott, 1982).

Hypnosis, contrary to the claims of some intemet advertisers cannot magically reprogram people's minds. In short, methods of hypnosis run the gamut from simple relaxation techniques to formal inductions administered by hypnotists, but should not be considered supernatural in its effects.

A number of studies indicate that hypnosis combined with a behavioral weight management program contributes significantly to weight loss. Bolocofsky, Spinler, and Coulthard-Morris (1985) revealed that the addition of hypnosis to a behavioral program designed to alter eating patterns increased the amount of weight loss at 8-month and 2year follow-ups. Both the behavioral and hypnosis programs were tailored to each subject individually in the study. Bolocofsky et al. (1984) acknowledged that "the less a person weighed at the start of the program the more likely he was to lose weight and maintain the reduction". Hypnosis combined with behavioral weight management seems to be more effective for small amounts of weight loss.

Posted by Lose Weight at 2:01 PM Hypnotic Weight Loss

Information About Hoodia Diet Pills

Hoodia (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is a cactus-like plant that grows primarily in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola.

In the last few years, hoodia has been heavily marketed for weight loss and has become immensely popular.

Although there has always been a demand for diet pills, after the ban on the herb ephedra, the market was particularly ripe for the next new diet pill.

Much of hoodia's popularity stems from claims that the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert relied on hoodia for thousands of years to ward off hunger and thirst during long hunting trips.

They were said to have cut off the stem and eat the bitter-tasting plant.

Hoodia gordonii grows in clumps of green upright stems. Although it is often called a cactus because it resembles one, hoodia is actually a succulent plant.

It takes about five years before hoodia gordonii's pale purple flowers appear and the plant can be harvested.

There are over 13 types of hoodia. The only active ingredient identified so far is a steroidal glycoside that has been called "p57". Currently, only hoodia gordonii is thought to contain p57.

How Does Hoodia Gordonii Work?

Despite its popularity, there are no published randomized controlled trials in humans to show hoodia is safe or effective in pill form.

One study published in the September 2004 issue of Brain Research found that injections of p57 into the appetite center of rat brains resulted in altered levels of ATP, an energy molecule that may affect hunger. The animals receiving the P57 injections also ate less than rats that received placebo injections. However, this was and animal study and injections in the brain are different from oral consumption, so it cannot be used to show that oral hoodia can suppress appetite in humans.

The manufacturer Phytopharm cites a clinical trial involving 18 human volunteers that found hoodia consumption reduced food intake by about 1000 calories per day compared to a placebo group. Although intriguing, the study wasn't published or subjected to a peer-review process, so the quality of the study cannot be evaluated.

Posted by Lose Weight at 1:54 PM Hoodia Dieting Plan

Walking Outside vs Treadmill

Our Guide to Bodybuilding uses walking as a way to burn fat. His nutritionist recommends walking outside vs. on a treadmill to burn more fat. Hugo gave it a test and believes that it does burn more calories. Why would that be? He thinks it's due to the motorized treadmill doing more of the work. I think that might be part of it, but there are other factors:

• Up and down curbs, or even stairs, and stepping over small obstacles. A little workout for your climbing muscles.
  
• Sloped sidewalks and road sides. A challenge to your balance muscles.
  
• Dodging people, puddles, and poodles. A challenge to move side to side as well as forwards.
  
• Stops and starts at street crossings. A challenge to the muscles to come to a halt and to start from zero.

You are challenging your muscles in many more ways than on the constant pace/smooth surface of the treadmill. Even if you are using a treadmill workout program that changes pace and incline, it does so smoothly. Walking outside is therefore a more thorough exercise than walking on a treadmill. This is why I recommend doing outside long distance mileage when training for a 10K, half marathon or marathon rather than doing it all on the treadmill. Treadmills can be useful for adding incline if you are in an area without hills, but I'll bet you can work some stairs into your workout if you look for them to help build the uphill and downhill muscles.

Author: Wendy Bum Gardner

Posted by Lose Weight at 12:31 PM Weight Lose Exercises

Best Weight Loss Plan

The best weight loss plans adhere to a few dieting principles that make the difference between lasting weight loss and weight regain, the weight you can back soon after dieting.

When choosing a new diet plan to try, look for the following dieting principles. If you can't obviously recognize these principles within the new diet's structure...drop it and search for another one.

Dieting Principle #1 - Prepare to DietThe most neglected principle of all four principles. If you skip the preparation part (which should be apart of any diet plan worthy of your money) then weight re-gain is almost guaranteed to occur. Weight regain is the weight many dieters gain back soon after completing a diet.

How do you prepare to diet?

1. Start following a strict schedule for eating meals. Eat 5-6 meals per day, spreading each meal throughout the day that fits your lifestyle best.

2. Eat more protein. Add a lean protein source to each meal (usually around 4-6 oz.).

3. Start an exercise program. Are you really out of shape? If so, start walking 45 minutes every other day. In a week or so, add ankle and wrist weights for resistance. Regardless of your current condition, adding resistance to your exercise program is the best way to tone muscle and lose weight...fast!

Dieting Principle #2 - Prevent Weight RegainAs mentioned before, weight regain is the weight you gain back soon after completing a diet. The best way to prevent this from happening is to control the rate of weight loss. Losing weight to fast can lead to diet shock, s state of shock the body initiates, indicating you're starving. This is not a good state to be in...weight regain is guaranteed!

A safe rate of weight loss is around 2 pounds/week. Fast or accelerated rates range from 3 to 4 pounds/week. Do not exceed 4 pounds/week...never! For now focus the two principles above. Prepare properly for losing weight and watch your rate of weight loss.

Posted by Lose Weight at 1:34 PM Best Weight Lose Program

Seduced by Snacks? No, Not You

PEOPLE almost always think they are too smart for Prof. Brian Wansink’s quirky experiments in the psychology of overindulgence.

When it comes to the slippery issues of snacking and portion control, no one thinks he or she is the schmo who digs deep into the snack bowl without thinking, or orders dessert just because a restaurant plays a certain kind of music.

“To a person, people will swear they aren’t influenced by the size of a package or how much variety there is on a buffet or the fancy name on a can of beans, but they are,” Dr. Wansink said. “Every time.”

He has the data to prove it. Dr. Wansink, who holds a doctorate in marketing from Stanford University and directs the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, probably knows more about why we put things in our mouths than anybody else. His experiments examine the cues that make us eat the way we do. The size of an ice cream scoop, the way something is packaged and whom we sit next to all influence how much we eat. His research doesn’t pave a clear path out of the obesity epidemic, but it does show the significant effect one’s eating environment has on slow and steady weight gain.

In an eight-seat lab designed to look like a cozy kitchen, Dr. Wansink offers free lunches in exchange for hard data. He opened the lab at Cornell in April, after he moved it from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he spent eight years conducting experiments in cafeterias, grocery stores and movie theaters. Dr. Wansink presents his work to dieticians, food executives and medical professionals. They use it to get people to eat differently.

His research on how package size accelerates consumption led, in a roundabout way, to the popular 100-calorie bags of versions of Wheat Thins and Oreos, which are promoted for weight management. Although food companies have long used packaging and marketing techniques to get people to buy more food, Dr. Wansink predicts companies will increasingly use some of his research to help people eat less or eat better, even if it means not selling as much food. He reasons that companies will make up the difference by charging more for new packaging that might slow down consumption or that put seemingly healthful twists on existing brands. And they get to wear a halo for appearing to do their part to prevent obesity.

To his mind, the 65 percent of Americans who are overweight or obese got that way, in part, because they didn’t realize how much they were eating.

“We don’t have any idea what the normal amount to eat is, so we look around for clues or signals,” he said. “When all you see is that big portions of food cost less than small ones, it can be confusing.”

Although people think they make 15 food decisions a day on average, his research shows the number is well over 200. Some are obvious, some are subtle. The bigger the plate, the larger the spoon, the deeper the bag, the more we eat. But sometimes we decide how much to eat based on how much the person next to us is eating, sometimes moderating our intake by more than 20 percent up or down to match our dining companion.

Much of his work is outlined in the book “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think” (Bantam), which will be published on Tuesday. The book is his fourth over all, but his first directed at a general audience. It is peppered with his goofy, appealing Midwestern humor and practical diet tips. But the most fascinating material is directly from his studies on university campuses and in test kitchens for institutions like the United States Army.

An appalling example of our mindless approach to eating involved an experiment with tubs of five-day-old popcorn. Moviegoers in a Chicago suburb were given free stale popcorn, some in medium-size buckets, some in large buckets. What was left in the buckets was weighed at the end of the movie. The people with larger buckets ate 53 percent more than people with smaller buckets. And people didn’t eat the popcorn because they liked it, he said. They were driven by hidden persuaders: the distraction of the movie, the sound of other people eating popcorn and the Pavlovian popcorn trigger that is activated when we step into a movie theater.

Dr. Wansink is particularly proud of his bottomless soup bowl, which he and some undergraduates devised with insulated tubing, plastic dinnerware and a pot of hot tomato soup rigged to keep the bowl about half full. The idea was to test which would make people stop eating: visual cues, or a feeling of fullness.

People using normal soup bowls ate about nine ounces. The typical bottomless soup bowl diner ate 15 ounces. Some of those ate more than a quart, and didn’t stop until the 20-minute experiment was over. When asked to estimate how many calories they had consumed, both groups thought they had eaten about the same amount, and 113 fewer calories on average than they actually had.

Posted by: Lose Weight at 1:38 PM Weight Management Snacks

Quick - Fast Weight Loss Diet

When selecting a low fat diet plan, make sure you are consuming a balanced and complete diet. Your assignment is to set realistic and attainable weight loss and diet goals. Start by following the simple guidelines below.

Nutritional and Low Fat Diet Guidelines

Commit to consuming 4 - 6 small meals and snacks everyday.

To succeed, you must plan ahead by packing your foods the night before. Thus, you should always have fresh and low-fat foods around.

Keep it simple. Don't get too caught up on the specifics or your diet. Start by simply just counting calories.

Eat your foods slower.

Make healthier food selections like fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals, and beans, low-fat or nonfat dairy products, low fat meats, fish and skinless poultry.

Avoid foods that are high in fat and calories.

Avoid foods that are high in sugars such as pastries, candy bars, pies and candy.

Use a variety of fruits and vegetables in your nutrition plan. Start by trying to eat 5 total vegetable and fruit servings every single day.

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:48 AM Fast Weight Loss Program

LA Weight Loss Program

The LA Weight Loss program is a center-based program, offering personal counseling, exercise and a diet/behaviour modification program personalized for each individual. A weight loss counselor helps you with diet-motivation and other dieting problems. The weight loss program emphasizes safe, healthy weight loss leading to lifelong weight management. And there is no strenuous exercise required to lose weight.

Drawbacks of the LA Weight Loss Program

The biggest drawback is price. The up-front joining fee for one year can be $350-$400, or as much as $800, depending on how many LA Lites or Nu Lites bars you purchase. LA Lites or Nu Lites are bars which are strongly recommended by LA Weight Loss (the sole suppliers) as an element of the weight loss program.

LA Weight Loss is a franchised diet and weight management operation, based in weight loss centers around America. Thus advice about weight loss and the program itself, may vary.

Posted by Lose Weight at 7:59 AM LA Weight Loss Program

Quick fit: It's really 10 minutes and you need to exercise several times a day

CHICAGO - Fast-fitness guru Minna Lessig knows exercise purists initially mocked the title of her "1 Minute Workout" DVD, which targets busy people with short attention spans. One minute does, after all, sound like a joke.

But Lessig is serious. And her belief that 60 measly seconds can make a positive difference in our health is gaining support from both time-crunched gym-phobes and mounting scientific research.

Several new studies show that shorter bursts of energy - just a few minutes a day - can provide the same benefits as a longer workout session. And a growing body of literature suggests that the cumulative amount of exercise we get during the day and week is just as important as continuous minutes.

There are a few major catches, of course. If the short workouts aren't intense and uncomfortable, the benefit isn't as great. And despite the gimmicky title, even Lessig's unique program, which mixes and matches different minute-long exercises, doesn't let you off the hook after one minute.

Instead, Lessig recommends a bare minimum of three to four minutes for a full-body workout, in addition to a three-minute warm-up and three-minute cool-down, for a total of about 10 minutes.

Still, the notion that less can be more on the cardio front is wildly popular among people such as Kat Carney, of Durham, N.C., who doesn't have the time or the motivation for longer workouts.
Carney, who lost 90 pounds six years ago, has kept it off by doing 10- to 12-minute workouts several times a day, six days a week, and considers Lessig's DVD one of her favorites. She also has a treadmill next to her computer in her home office and keeps 10- to 12-minute blocks of music on her iPod.

"During the day when I'm working, I'll take a `workout break' and walk for 10 to 12 minutes," said Carney, creator of a Web site (theweighwewere.com) that collects weight-loss success stories. "Other times, after I'm warmed up, I'll do a few minutes of squats and/or lunges. Or another session, some upper-body work."

Quickie workouts can help relieve stress, refocus your energy, increase blood flow, provide a break from work and engage less-used muscles, said Mari Croz, a health and fitness professional at Central Michigan University's Central Health Improvement Facility.

But while elite athletes commonly use interval training and short workout bursts, the value for average exercisers has been debated for years.

Recently, the pendulum has swung in favor of fast fitness, based partly on work by researchers such as Martin Gibala, an associate professor of kinesiology at Ontario's McMaster University.

Last year Gibala's team found a few minutes of high-intensity exercise could be as effective as an hour of moderate activity.

This year Gibala compared sprint versus endurance training and found that a few minutes of vigorous exercise per day can produce the same results as traditional endurance training, according to the research published last month in the Journal of Physiology.

In another study that looked at the value of quickie workouts, Indiana University researchers recently found that three or four short, brisk walks throughout the day can be more helpful to people watching their blood pressure than one continuous bout of exercise.

"The biggest problem for most people is they don't have time," said Janet Wallace, a kinesiology professor at the IU School of Health and the lead author of the walking study. "Four 10-minute walks is ideal," she said, for people who think they don't have time to get to the gym and work out for 40 minutes.

Still, although quickie workouts are starting to show some benefits, many experts recommend against making them a habit. "For cardiovascular improvements or weight loss, a few minutes is not enough time," said Croz of Central Michigan University.

Unfortunately, no one is certain what the optimal time is. Cyndi Targosz, author of "Ten Minute Tone-Ups for Dummies" (Wiley, $19.95), says 10 minutes gives you just enough time to do enough exercises and repetitions while working your major muscles, "as long as you use the correct technique with the right combination of moves."

But exercise physiologist Geralyn Coopersmith says fitness is like a drug: Each person needs a different dose.

"It truly depends on the person, their current fitness levels, their individual needs and goals," said Coopersmith, author of "Fit + Female" (Wiley, $16.95). "It also depends on what type of exercise we're talking about. Five minutes of core training each day goes a long way. Five minutes of cardio does not, unless you are doing it at least four to five or more times in the course of the day."


The lowest dose of aerobic exercise you need to see health improvements is equivalent to walking or jogging 12 miles per week or about a 17- or 18-minute session each day, according to Duke University researcher Brian Duscha. This doesn't include a warm-up or cool-down.
The optimal time also depends on whether you're trying to burn calories or prevent a heart attack, Duscha said. "In theory, if all you want to do is burn (calories); (time) doesn't matter.

But if you want to reduce cardiovascular risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol, visceral fat and blood vessel health, continuous exercise would be preferred."
Still, Duscha agrees with the fast-fitness philosophers on one point: "Anything is better than nothing."

Lessig, a personal trainer, fitness supermodel and former Ms. Fitness USA, simply believes every minute counts. If you have more time to spend on exercise, by all means, do it.

"Shorter duration isn't necessarily better," she said. "But it is realistic in today's lifestyle."

Posted by Lose Weight at 10:22 AM Quick Weight Loss Program

Weight-loss pills: What can diet aids do for you?

The appeal of losing weight fast through over-the-counter weight-loss pills is often hard to pass up. But are these products safe and effective?

It's the latest weight-loss pill or herbal supplement that has people talking and you wondering whether it really works. Certainly the appeal of losing weight quickly is hard to pass up.
But do these pills and products lighten anything but your wallet? And are they a safe option for weight loss? Here's a look at some over-the-counter weight-loss pills and what they will and won't do for you.

A number of weight-loss pills are available at your local drugstore, supermarket or health food store. Even more options are available online. Most haven't been proved safe and effective, and some are downright dangerous.

Dietary supplements and weight-loss aids aren't subject to the same rigorous standards as are prescription drugs or medications sold over-the-counter. Thus, they can be marketed with limited proof of effectiveness or safety. Vendors can make health claims about products based on their own review and interpretation of studies without the authorization of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, the FDA can pull a product off the market if it's proved dangerous.

For the consumer, it's hard to know what you're getting, or even if the list of ingredients matches what's in the bottle. Many weight-loss pills contain a cocktail of ingredients — some with more than 20 herbs, botanicals, vitamins, minerals or other add-ons, such as caffeine or laxatives. How these ingredients interact individually and collectively with your body is largely unknown. And using them can be a risky venture, especially if you're taking other medications.

Your own scrutiny and curiosity are your best protection. Read labels closely and talk with your doctor or pharmacist about any dietary supplements you're taking or considering taking.

Posted by Lose Weight at 10:31 AM Nutri System Weight Loss Program

The #1 Secret to keeping off weight!

A lot of things go up and down other than your weight. An elevator, a roller coaster, the stock market, a yo-yo! But you never worry about anything else. Well.. that's understandable.

You have tried everything from very common to very strange and sometimes downright crazy. Restricted foods, unbalanced diets, drugs, supplements, surgery, strenuous exercise are just a few to mention. But no matter what you do, your excess weight keeps coming back.

Everyone knows what to do but nobody really knows! Everyone has heard how to keep weight off. "Eat sensibly and exercise". But, few people manage to do it.

That's because no matter how much advice they have heard, and no matter how motivated they are to succeed, most people still don't know the #1 secret to keeping off weight. What is that #1 secret?

The #1 secret to keeping off weight is maintaining an 'Energy Balance'. Your energy balance is simply the balance between how many calories your body absorbs and burns. Absorb more calories than you burn, and you gain weight.

No matter what you eat or how much you eat, and no matter how active or inactive you are, your inability to properly modify your energy balance is the primary reason you can't keep the weight off!

And, if there is one thing that diets never tell you, it's how to properly modify and maintain your energy balance. In my opinion, they purposefully skip over all that 'boring energy balance stuff'. Why would they want you to know about it instead of keeping you going back to them to lose same 10, 20, 30 or more pounds over and over again.

So, how do you go about properly modifying your energy balance? By feel? No way! If that was possible, you would never have the weight problem in the first place!

Eating perfectly isn't the answer either. It's impossible for most people to eat perfectly most of the time. Even those people who manage to keep their weight off don't always eat perfectly. But nevertheless, somehow they still manage to keep their weight off.

Just exercising more isn't the answer either. Think about this. The more you exercise, the hungrier you get. And the hungrier you get, the more you eat! How do you manage weight then?
What's actually needed in order to keep a perfect Energy Balance is to have the right information with the right tools to assist you with determining your exact calorie and exercise needs and designing your daily diet menus. Only then, will you be able to keep off weight permanently!

Author: Sherali S Bharwani

Posted by Lose Weight at 10:36 AM Free Weight Loss Program

Diet Patches Make Big Promises But Are The Diet Patches Legitimate?

Diet patches are everywhere you look nowadays, in magazines, online, in infomercials, etc. But are the diet patches an honest and effective way to lose weight or body fat or is the only thing you'll lose, end up being your money?

There are several different brands of patches for weight loss all with different ingredients and sales pitches. But the main theory behind all of them is that you place one of these patches on various parts of your body and over a period of several weeks you body is supposed to absorb the various ingredients.

The makers of these diet patches make the claim that the ingredients contained in the actual diet patches, when absorbed into your skin, will assist in weight loss.
First of all, there is no clinical evidence to support the theory of diet patches. Yes, a couple of the ingredients in some brands of diet patches have been shown in clinical studies to aid in fat loss or weight reduction.

But none of these studies ever included diet patches. And in fact the amount of the ingredients needed for fat loss must all get into your system in a short time period to have any effect at all.
So even if all the brands of weight loss patches did include clinically proven fat loss ingredients, which they don't, it would be impossible to get the amount into your system for a positive result!
Taking a tiny, microscopic amount of a fat loss ingredient through your skin over a long period of time won't do a thing.
And don't think that covering your entire body with weight loss patches will give you the steady supply of fat burning nutrients you need. Doing something this irresponsible may cause you an endless number of health problems.

Again, there have been no clinically proven studies to support the combination of ingredients or the delivery system of these weight loss patches or to prove that any weight loss patches even work.

You should avoid fat products like diet patches, at all costs. There is no practical use for diet patches so save your money and your health.

One of your first indications of diet patches just being all marketing hype is the fact that most of the manufacturers of weight loss patches claim that you will start to notice results in as little as 3 days.

They claim that the weight loss patches will stimulate your metabolism and help you to start losing weight this quickly. This is physiologically impossible.

Even with some of the most powerful illegal fat burning drugs (certain steroids) that body builders use, such as winstrol and clenbuterol take at least 2 weeks for you to notice results. And these are extremely powerful and potentially dangerous illegal drugs.

So how then, can so-called natural weight loss patches achieve results in as little as 3 days? Simple, they can't!

Another thing, even if you exercise religiously and have a perfect nutritional plan it will still take at least 30 days for your body to start making improvements. Any weight loss you notice in the first 30 days is just water weight, nothing else.

Posted by Lose Weight at 10:41 AM Weight Loss Program

Faith vs. Fat: Condemn, Condone or Transform?

Obesity has been declared an epidemic in America, with 64 percent overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 1998 Purdue University survey showed that obesity is associated with higher levels of religious participation - more so than education or income level.

In response, religious weight loss and exercise programs have found firm footing in congregations across the country. Yet many have come under fire as people question their messages. Does God want people to be thin? Is being overweight is a sin? Is a fat Christian is somehow not as "good" a Christian as a thin one? Or are programs properly encouraging people to draw on faith as a source of support and encouragement in their quest for a healthier body?

The faith-fat question raises other questions, too. Do religions have a moral obligation to address obesity? Should religions preach acceptance of overweight people, who are often the subjects of prejudice? Does spiritual practice demand disciplined eating and exercise?

Attitudes toward obesity matter. According to a national survey conducted by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, 16 percent of adults would abort a child if they knew it would be untreatably obese. A National Education Association position paper says, "For fat students, the school experience is one of ongoing prejudice, unnoticed discrimination, and almost constant harassment."

Posted by Lose Weight at 7:24 AM Christian Weight Loss Program

"Jenny Craig"

"Jenny Craig" is a commercial diet center in the mold of Weight Watchers and Diet Workshop. The fundamentals of the program have not really changed over the years, but they have offered different plans and continue to refresh their marketing. The most recent plans are called "Jenny TuneUp", "Jenny OnTrack", and "Jenny Rewards". "Jenny TuneU" is a trial membership that runs from 30-60 days and includes one-on-one consultations, planned and personalized Jenny Craig menus, personalized activity and motivational plans, and other weight loss tools. "Jenny OnTrack" is a 6-month plan that includes all the above, plus a personalized profile and weight loss success manuals. "Jenny Rewards" offers up to a year of weight loss and maintenance, including everything provided with "Jenny OnTrack" plus product discounts, weight maintenance support, and increasing discounts for ongoing participation in the program.

All membership options are offered at Jenny Craig Centres or over the phone through their at home "Jenny Direct Program", and require the purchase of Jenny's Cuisine, which averages $11-$15 per day in the US and slightly higher outside the US. Basic program fees start at $6/week.

Review: Jenny Craig is a reduced calorie diet that focuses on balanced nutrition (60 % carbs-20% fat-20% protein) which follows the Food Guide Pyramid. This basic strategy is where your focus should be and is much better than other programs and of course diet pills. Jenny Craig's approach does focus on the consumption of pre-packaged meals, which can be convenient and helpful in dealing with controlling your portion size, but it often fails to prepare the dieter for food preparation and life once the diet ends. Learning the proper habits, which are essential for long-term success, takes a back seat to short-term weight loss goals.

Another problem with pre-packaged meals is their considerable expense, especially when they are "Jenny Craig" products, which are often more expensive than pre-packaged meals in the grocery store. During the first phase of the program you are required to purchase a set number of meals.

The key to the success of this diet is the transitional period where the client goes from pre-packaged to regular, prepared meals. You are assisted by a weekly journal and one-on-one sessions with a counselor, who is not a registered dietition, but a person hired and trained by Jenny Craig. The primary focus of these sessions is teaching a healthy relationship with food and behaviour modification, which includes living a more active lifestyle. This is the best part of the program and more than helpful.

The diet consists of 1200 calories/day, give or take a few hundred calories based on weight and age, which is a bit aggressive for the long-term. Exercise is not a primary focus, which makes it similar to most commercial diets, mostly to avoid frightening away prospective clients/customers. But regular exercise is the most prominent trait in those who lose weight and keep it off (5 years and beyond). Specifically, those who have learned to make exercise fun and a part of their daily lives.

Jenny Craig is more expensive with the food compared to other programs, but it does focus on the things that are important. They are clearly one of the good guys in this industry of pill pushers and scam artists. Similar programs like eDiets are offered online that are less expensive, avoid pre-packaged foods and are more convenient.

Posted by Lose Weight at 7:39 AM Jenny Craig Weight Loss Program

Weight Loss Products and Programs

Diets
Approximately 50 million Americans go on a diet each year — yet only 5 percent keep the weight they lose off. Many trying to lose weight continually struggle to find an effective weight loss method. Unfortunately, there is no “magic-bullet”. The only proven way to lose weight and keep it off is by making permanent lifestyle changes. You must eat healthier, watch portion sizes and be active.

Even if you choose to use an over-the-counter weight loss product or participate in a weight loss program, the bottom line is that you still must eat fewer calories than you burn to lose weight. When selecting a weight loss product or program, gather as much information as possible. Beware of high costs, pressure to buy special foods or pills, and fraudulent claims.

Examples of Ineffective Diet Products

Diet patches. Removed from the market by FDA in the early 1990s because they were ineffective as a diet aid.
Magnet diet pills. Purportedly flush fat out of the body.
Certain bulk fillers (such as guar gum) may cause internal obstruction.
Electrical muscle stimulators. FDA may remove from market if promoted for weight loss.
Appetite suppressing eyeglasses. Claim colored lenses project image on retina and decrease appetite.
Magic weight-loss earrings. Supposedly control hunger by stimulating acupuncture points.

Weight Loss Products

Diet drink powdered formulas usually are mixed with a glass of milk and are substituted for one or more meals. Many users of these shakes report feeling constantly hungry and regain the lost weight when they give up the shakes. By relying on shakes, dieters follow artificial dieting methods and avoid learning how to work food into their lives.

Many prescription diet medicines have side effects and may not work for long-term weight loss. Over-the-counter pills containing the appetite suppressant PPA (phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride) can raise blood pressure. Over-the-counter pills containing ephedra may cause serious side effects, including dizziness, increased blood pressure or heart rate, chest pain, heart attack, stroke, seizure and even death. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking action to limit and/or ban the use of PPA and ephedra in over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements.

Herbalife Nutritional Program

Characteristics: Replaces 2 meals a day with Herbalife "shakes" and tablets.
Strengths: One meal per day of regular food advocated. Shakes generally include nonfat dry milk.
Weaknesses: Heavy reliance on Herbalife powders and tablets. Suggested rate of weight loss is too high (2 1/2 to 7 1/2 pounds/week).
Comments: Weight loss is never "fun and easy" as claimed. Reliance on a specific product does not teach healthy, lifelong eating habits.

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:13 AM Herbalife Weight Loss Program

Prism Weight Loss Program

The PRISM Weight Loss Program is a Christian oriented program. It is a complete, 24 plus weeks program divided into four or more six-week phases. Enrollment is optional for each six-week phase, enabling you to choose how long you will participate in the program. Each phase includes a curriculum that participants read on a daily basis. For those who choose to attend a PRISM support group, weekly meetings are offered which include a video presentation and encouragement from your group leader and fellow class members.

The PRISM Weight Loss Program is based on the belief that people with weight problems and poor eating behaviors can be restored to emotionally whole, right-weighted individuals. Through the use of seven key principles, we desire to give everyone the ability to become the person they were created to be. Any program can help you lose weight, but most leave you unprepared to continue after weight loss. You must learn to accept and identify with the "TRUE YOU," the person you were created to be. PRISM focuses on transforming your attitude about food, the activity of eating, and most important, your attitude about you! The daily curriculum, video series, CD or audio tape focus on your attitude becoming right and true. This attitude transformation will produce the right actions to support the person you were created to be!

The PRISM Weight Loss Program was created to be the last weight loss program you will ever join. It is not our desire that PRISM become just another "annual diet." It is meant to be a vehicle for lasting change. Thousands of lives have been transformed through PRISM and we believe yours can be too! You are invited to join the PRISM program for a time of restored hope, discovery of the "TRUE YOU" and successful weight loss!

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:18 AM Prism Weight Loss Program

Can weight impact your ability to get pregnant?

Obesity has been linked to multiple medical problems including infertility. Infertility in obese and overweight women is primarily related to ovulatory dysfunction. Anovulation often results in irregular menstrual cycles. Indeed, studies have shown that 30 percent to 47 percent of obese women will have irregular menstrual cycles. The likelihood of irregular menstrual cycles increases in direct proportion to increases in weight. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that weight reduction often leads to resumption of normal menses and increased pregnancy rates.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a specific medical condition associated with irregular menstrual cycles, anovulation, obesity and elevated levels of male hormones. While some obese women have PCOS, many do not have this condition. In addition to anovulation, there may be other mechanisms by which obesity interferes with the ability to achieve pregnancy. For example, in one study, it took obese women undergoing intrauterine inseminations with donor sperm longer to conceive than normal weight women. There is limited data that obesity negatively affects male fertility as well. Hormonal changes in obese men and increased scrotal temperature are potential underlying causes of impaired semen parameters.

What can women do?

First line treatment for obesity-related infertility is weight loss and lifestyle modification. While any amount of weight loss in obese women may improve fertility, a loss of 5 percent to 10 percent in overall body weight can result in spontaneous ovulation in 60 percent of patients. Efforts should be made to restrict calories to 1000 to 1200kcal/day, and to exercise at moderate intensity for at least 30 minutes, three times a week. Participation in a formal weight loss program can be very helpful. Weight loss medications and bariatric surgery (gastric bypass or gastric banding) may be recommended as well, if lifestyle modifications fail to result in sufficient weight loss.

Apart from weight loss, treatments for infertility in obese women do not differ substantially from treatments in non-obese women. For anovulation, first line treatment generally consists of ovulation induction with oral medications such as clomiphene citrate. Women who fail to achieve pregnancy with oral medications are often treated with injectable ovulation induction agents such as recombinant or urinary gonadotropins. In vitro fertilization is often performed if these treatments fail or if there are other factors contributing to infertility.

It has been shown that obesity is associated with a longer duration of treatment, increased dosage of medication, and an increased risk of treatment cancellation due to poor response. Studies have also shown that pregnancy rates are approximately 30 percent lower in obese women undergoing IVF compared to women of normal weight. It has been proposed that the IVF is less successful for several reasons. Some of these include impaired absorption of medication due to increased fat stores, limited ability to visualize ovaries during ultrasound monitoring, and more challenging egg retrieval.

Moreover, once pregnancy occurs, obese women have a higher rate of pregnancy loss. In fact, studies show they have up to a two-fold higher risk of miscarriage compared to normal weight women. It is not clear why this occurs. Nonetheless, weight loss can dramatically decrease the risk of miscarriage.

The bottom line:

Obesity is a major health problem that is associated with infertility and miscarriage. Weight loss is extremely valuable in the management of such patients and can enhance fertility and decrease miscarriage rates.

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:25 AM Loss Program Weight

Healthy Weight Loss Tips

The most important thing to remember as you begin any weight loss plan is that there is no quick fix or magic pill that will help you lose your extra pounds and keep them off.

The most successful weight loss plans combine healthy eating, balanced nutrition and regular exercise to help you lose weight.

Often, people find themselves in a perpetual diet cycle, always thinking they have a few pounds to lose, or yo-yo dieting – losing weight and then gaining it right back, only to start dieting again. By putting more emphasis on improving your health, experts agree that you can raise your overall self–esteem, resulting in healthier eating habits, long-term weight loss and improved health.

Successful weight loss over the long term will likely include:

adhering to a healthy lifestyle (including nutritious foods and physical activity),

making changes in the way you think about food, and

paying attention to reasons why you eat (emotions, boredom, or reward vs. actually being hungry).

To lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than your body uses. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to eat less food. There are many ways you can continue to enjoy foods you like while working towards your weight loss goals, creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle:

Create lower-calorie versions of some of your favorite dishes by substituting low-calorie fruits and vegetables in place of higher-calorie ingredients. The water and fiber in fruits and vegetables will add volume to your dishes, so you can eat the same amount of food with fewer calories. Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling.

Choose sensible portion sizes. Using your measuring cups at home will help you learn how large a recommended serving size really is.When dining out, try splitting an entrée with a friend or family member or saving half of your food for later.

Choose low-fat dairy and meat products. In addition to helping you lose weight, low-fat dairy products can help to prevent and lower high blood pressure.

Engage in daily physical activity. Engaging in some kind of physical activity – whether it be gardening, dancing, walking, or playing golf or tennis – will enliven your physical and mental health and help to keep the extra pounds off.

Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time and tune into the feelings you experience while eating. By planning your meals ahead of time, you will be less likely to binge on less healthy foods and more inclined to eat in moderation and when you are truly hungry (not when you are feeling unpleasant feelings such as boredom, stress, or loneliness).

Posted by Lose Weight at 8:47 AM Healthy Weight Loss Program

Choosing A Safe and Successful Weight-Loss Program

Choosing a weight-loss program may be a difficult task. You may not know what to look for in a weight-loss program or what questions to ask. This fact sheet can help you talk to your health care professional about weight loss and get the best information before choosing a program.You may want to talk with your doctor or other health care professional about controlling your weight before you decide on a weight-loss program. Even if you feel uncomfortable talking about your weight with your doctor, remember that he or she is there to help you improve your health. Here are some tips:
Tell your provider that you would like to talk about your weight. Share your concerns about any medical conditions you have or medicines you are taking.
Write down your questions in advance.
Bring pen and paper to take notes.
Bring a friend or family member along for support if this will make you feel more comfortable.
Make sure you understand what your health care provider is saying. Ask questions if there is something you do not understand.
Ask for other sources of information like brochures or websites.
If you want more support, ask for a referral to a registered dietitian, a support group, or a commercial weight-loss program.
Call your provider after your visit if you have more questions or need help.

Posted by Lose Weight at 12:06 PM A Weight Loss Program

Diet Blogs Make Waves For New Weight Loss Methods

Diet.com has recently seen a surge in popularity of blogging on its website among members by providing an open forum to share personal weight loss efforts.Diet.com allows all users to publish their own blog on topics they create themselves. The blogs provide a safe place for members to rant, vent and get support from others. Diet.com also features two blogs written by two of their own. While Dr. Robert Kushner, medical director for Diet.com, gives an expert's take on a healthy lifestyle, Ms. Shanna Schultz, registered dietitian for Diet.com, gives you the skinny on dietary recommendations.Being a part of a diet community has been proven as an effective means to aid weight loss efforts. The communication between members of Diet.com has increased, creating unique personal relationships."Our members have responded with great enthusiasm in regards to being able to create their own blogs," says Mike Zhang, president and CEO of Diet Health. "We hope it will provide another means of support for members to share their experiences within the Diet.com community."A recent study in the British Medical Journal suggests people are more likely to stick to a weight loss program when it is done in a group. The Internet provides convenience for people who are constantly busy and trying to multitask. The personalized blogs provide a community forum for those trying to diet so they do not feel alone.Diet.com is an online weight loss destination site that offers an active user-driven support community along with a lifestyle-based weight loss program. It was the first major online diet company that took the initiative to offer podcasting. The website currently features free expert advice and diet tools through boards, daily blogs, diet podcasting, and other community channels.

Posted by Lose Weight at 11:06 AM Release Weight Loss Program

12 Weeks to Weight Loss

If your goal is to lose fat, have I got a deal for you. How about a free 12-Week Program you can follow that will provide:
Cardio, strength training and flexibility workouts
Information to help you eat healthy and reduce your calories
Weekly calendars to organize your workouts and nutritional goals
Motivational tips to help you get your mind excited about exercise
The tools you need to lose body fat.Before you even lace up your workout shoes, the first thing you have to do is to commit to your program every day. No matter what else is going on in your life, remind yourself of your fitness goals and give your workout the priority it deserves. Write it down in your day planner or Palm Pilot and treat it just like any other appointment that you wouldn't miss. And, if you find yourself falling off the fitness wagon, don't give up. You may find it helpful to keep a workout journal to track your progress and keep you on the right track.*Check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program!*Take your measurements and make a note of them. Re-take them every 4 weeks to track your progress*Decide when you will workout (in the morning, at lunch or after work) and write it down in your calendar or fitness journal*Plan and prepare your meals for the week beforehand.*Use every resource you have to motivate you, including your friends, family, and co-workers*Reward yourself at the end of each week if you completed all your workouts.

Posted by Lose Weight at 12:16 PM Weight Loss Fitness Program

Gastric Bypass Surgery: The N.E.W. Program at Huntington Beach Hospital

Have you been considering obesity surgery? We have the information you need about lap band surgery and alternate forms of weight loss surgery that will work for you.
The N.E.W. Program at Huntington Beach Hospital offers the most experienced laparoscopic bariatric surgeon in Orange County; Dr. Brian Quebbemann. To date, 100% of all bariatric surgery performed at Huntington Beach Hospital has been done laparoscopically. We offer the Lap Band surgery and the laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. Obesity surgery for weight control is the only medically-accepted treatment with a high proven rate of long-term success. For minimally invasive (laparoscopic) weight loss surgery, the choice is clear—the N.E.W. Program at Huntington Beach Hospital.


Posted by Lose Weight at 12:30 PM Weight Loss Program Huntington Beach

Weight Loss Programs: Tips On How To Chose The Best One For You

What would you say if you were asked to share the most difficult challenge you have had with weight loss? Maybe you have a hard time giving up favorite foods, or maybe you find the task of counting calories to be tedious, or maybe you hate to exercise. No matter what you might say, I can guarantee you there is something more difficult.
After days, weeks, or months of dieting you reach your weight loss goal. What is it like? You look better, feel better, and life is great! How long does that last? If you are like most dieters, the answer is not very long. All too soon the weight comes back on.
The most difficult part about weight loss, by far, is keeping the weight off. And the ONLY way you will succeed in maintaining weight loss is to change your eating habits and lifestyle choices for the rest of your life.
So when you look for a weight loss program keep in mind the need to find a healthy strategy that you can see yourself continuing for a long time. These are some basic features to look for with any safe and healthy weight loss program:
1. The weight loss program must provide diet plans that are well-balanced and include a variety of foods from each of the different food groups. No food group should be left out.
2. The program promotes a safe and realistic weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week.
3. Diet plans should include a minimum of 1200 calories for women and 1600 calories for men.
4. Is there and exercise component? Don’t kid yourself. Your best chance for success will include exercise.
5. Assess the credentials of the individuals who developed the program and of those who provide counseling or other support services.
6. What are the costs? Will the expense fit your budget?
7. Does the program offer any support for the long term?
In addition to the basic features, look for a program that most closely matches your lifestyle, preferences, and schedule. Here are some additional benefits and features to keep in mind:
1. Is there an offline program only, online program only or both?
2. If you like a group setting for encouragement and support, a traditional program such as Weight Watchers that offers an offline meeting is a good choice.
3. If you prefer anonymity or are too busy to attend meetings, online programs such as eDiets or the online version of Weight Watchers are available.
4. The features of online programs vary greatly. Listed here are some you might find with the better programs:
*Message boards*Chat rooms*Buddy system*Recipes *Meal plan*Shopping lists*Brochures (or downloadable PDF files) with tips*More than one diet plan*Exercise videos*Direct access to health professionals (Nutritionist or Dietician, Exercise Physiologist, Certified Personal Trainer)*Tips and support for behavior modification and lifestyle changes*Food diary or journal
Weight loss is never easy. But if you pick your program and diet plan wisely, the structure and support of a good program will reward you many times over!
posted by Lose Weight at12:46 PM Online Weight Loss Program

Easy Weight Loss Tips

Losing weight is a very challenging task. Many people who try to lose weight have been undergoing many weight loss programs. Weight loss programs and diet tips are most likely your best option for a faster weight loss. You may try some weight loss tips that can help you achieve a physically fit body.
There are weight loss tips that enable you to learn how to step down on those weight loss equipment slowly and steadily. You will also undergo a training program for a low fat eating plan and practice a healthy way life.xercise and proper diet is the best alternative in losing weight. One of the keys for weight loss is to know the right weight loss tips accompanied by a proper exercise program.
There are no magic solutions or diet supplements that can reduce your weight in an instant. Motivation and dedication are also important aspects when you engage yourself in a weight loss and diet program.
If you are experiencing weigh loss problems, whether it is an extra 15 pounds or an extra 40 pounds, you should realize that it is important to reduce those extra pounds. You need to lose weight to avoid and prevent diseases and heart problems.
Here are some weight loss tips that will help you to lose weight easily.
1. You should have a positive approach towards your goal to lose weight. You need great amount of perseverance and consistency in order to follow your exercise routines and diet programs. This is very important for you to succeed. You are the only one who can convince yourself to look better and physically fit.
2. Eat low fat food and healthy foods in your diet. It is advisable that you also include foods that are rich in carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. These foods are considered high in bulk. This means that you would feel full even with few calorie intakes.
3. When you are feeling hungry, drink plenty of water. Water can help you lessen your cravings. It is recommended that you drink at least eight glasses of water everyday.
4. Even if you are eating foods that are low in fat, make to check on your calorie intake. Calories can add up to your weight, and there are fat free products and low fat products out there that would allow you to gain more weight.
5. Walking is an effective way of exercise. Walking has been proven to effectively burn the unwanted fats in the body. Leg muscles are also toned up when you do a lot of walking. It also strengthens the bones and helps you improve and develop a positive concept on your weight loss exercise program.
6. Engage yourself in daily activities to keep your body always active. You can enroll in an intense work out training program or aerobic workout sessions.
When setting your goal in achieving your ideal weight, you should be realistic on the weight that you want to achieve and maintain.
Always remember that having a healthy lifestyle is the best weight loss tip many experts advise. Nothing is better than having a physically fit and a healthy body.

posted by Lose Weight at 1:19 PM Easy Weight Loss Program

TV Stars Tout Hoodia Weight Loss

Lesley Stahl of CBS's 60 Minutes told viewers it worked for her. Actor Joseph Gannascoli of The Sopranos says Hoodia has helped curb his cravings for pasta while he sticks to a sensible diet and exercise plan.

The fuss is over a traditional remedy made from Hoodia gordonii, a cactus-like plant used for generations by the San people of southern Africa to stave off hunger during long hunting trips.

Only one peer-reviewed study of Hoodia's effects appears in the National Library of Medicine's online database, PubMed. That research, conducted on rats, found that P57 increased the content of energy-carrying molecules called ATP in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain thought to control hunger. Doctors don't know if Hoodia is safe or effective in humans.

Slim-Fast maker Unilever hopes begin testing its safety and effectiveness in the U.S. -- meanwhile dozens of firms crowd the Internet claiming to sell Hoodia.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has logged at least 100 complaints about Hoodia sellers and products through its consumer-fraud monitoring system, as many products currently sold on the internet contain little or no Hoodia. Because they are sold as dietary supplements, not drugs, the FDA does not require testing of Hoodia pills before they are sold.

Hoodia has been proven to reduce appetite, but there is not a great supply of the innocuous cactus that grows naturally in Southern Africa, and much of the controversy now is over suppliers pushing the product with little of the active ingredient.

Opportunists are rushing to try and grow Hoodia in China and Mexico, but Hoodia takes at least five years to mature, and no one is sure what the proper growing conditions are to produce its active ingredient.

posted by Lose Weight at 2:07 PM Hoodia Dieting Plan

Obesity rates still climbing

By PATRICIA NORRIS

pnorris@repub.com

SPRINGFIELD - Put the doughnut down and move away from it!

Although Massachusetts' obesity rate is among the lowest in the nation, public health officials say the battle of the bulge is not over, and in many areas it hasn't even begun.

Thirty-one states across the country showed an increase in obesity last year, including Massachusetts, according to a report released yesterday by the advocacy group Trust for America's Health. The ever-expanding national waistline has led some public health experts to conclude that being fat is not all about personal choice.

Higher-priced healthy foods, unsafe neighborhoods and the addictive-like properties of some sugary foods are worsening the problem, they say.

"There are a lot of great efforts out there, but in order to curb the overall obesity problem, there need to be some comprehensive federal- and state-mandated changes that occur communitywide," said pediatrician Dr. Crystal Wittcopp, director of the Pediatric Weight Management clinic at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Wittcopp likens obesity's effects to the public health problems tobacco has caused. Changes in healthy food pricing and the way food is labeled would go a long way in building an arsenal to fight fat, she said.

Safe neighborhood initiatives would also be a plus because it would help free people up to exercise, public health officials say.

"If we're urging people to walk more, and their streets are not safe, that's an unrealistic expectation," said Jeff Levi, Trust for America's executive director. "If we're urging people to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, and they don't have access to a supermarket or the cost is beyond their capacity, then we're not asking them to take responsibility for something they have control over."

But Sally Fogerty, assistant commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said Massachusetts' low ranking in the report shows progress is being made here.

"We have been working hard over the last several years to get the message across that individuals need to be eating fruits and vegetables and need to increase their amount of physical activity," said Fogerty, adding that the state has expanded nutrition initiatives in its Women, Infant and Children programming and is partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield to bring nutrition and exercise programming to 112 middle schools. "We are really looking at the programs and how we can continue to get our message across," she said.

posted by Lose Weight at 2:05 PM Hypnotic Weight Loss

Healthy breakfast best for managing weight

TORONTO -- This isn't new, but it's simply a reminder: breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.

Toronto dietitian Zannat Reza, a consultant for Dairy Farmers of Canada and General Mills, lists five reasons for Canadians to find time for a healthy breakfast:

- Weight management: Studies show that people who eat breakfast regularly have healthier body weights than those who skip it.

- Nutrient boost: Studies also show that people who start the day with a healthy breakfast have better nutrient intake levels throughout the day.

- Concentration: It's been proven that it's hard for people to concentrate on their daily tasks when they start the day on an empty stomach. A healthy breakfast feeds your body and your brain.

- Metabolism: Eating in the morning revs up your metabolism and helps with weight management.

- Role model: Children observe and imitate their parents. By eating breakfast together, you're helping your kids develop healthy habits at a young age.

posted by Lose Weight at 2:00 PM Surgery Lose Weight

AMS Health Sciences Taps The Catevo Group for Branding and Marketing Communications

Global Consulting Firm Will Assist in Creation of New Brand and Product Line Communications

OKLAHOMA CITY and RALEIGH, N.C, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AMS Health Sciences, Inc. (Amex: AMM - News), a 19-year-old nutritional network marketing company based in Oklahoma City, announced today that it has chosen The Catevo Group to help re-brand the binary compensation division and the products marketed under that division's banner, in the first quarter of 2007.

"After an exhaustive search, we are delighted to have solidified a relationship with a trusted, outstanding marketing partner," said Dr. Jerry Grizzle, president, chairman and chief executive officer, AMS Health Sciences. "The Catevo Group's strategic and integrated approach, joined with its outstanding creative team, will allow AMS to successfully evolve our business and reach new customers as we move into a new marketing plan and the global marketplace."

The new marketing plan and its product line will build on AMS's national success in the creation of adaptogen products, including Prime One and Prime Delight, which have been proven to help maintain optimal health by combating stress at the cellular level. The product line will include nutritional supplements as well as weight loss and weight management formulations.

"We are pleased to add AMS to our client list," remarked Dr. Mitch Javidi, president and chief executive officer, The Catevo Group. "Our experienced strategists and talented creative team have already begun work with the AMS team, putting into place our brand crystallization process, and we look forward to creating a dynamic value proposition for potential AMS clients worldwide."

About AMS Health Sciences Inc.

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, AMS Health Sciences Inc. is a leader in the development of exclusive peak performance and weight loss nutritional products and systems. AMS sells more than 60 natural nutritional supplements, weight management products, and natural skincare products including the world's number-one all-natural stress reliever, Prime One, through independent distributors across the U.S. and Canada. With more than 500 million servings sold to date, AMS is the exclusive provider of the "AM" family of weight loss solutions. More information is available at http://www.amsonline.com.

About The Catevo Group

The Catevo Group - catalysts for business evolution - leads the next generation of business consulting firms, integrating diverse business functions such as marketing strategy, integrated communications, branding, research, technology development and supply chain management under one roof. In addition to traditional research, branding, marketing and public relations consulting services, The Catevo Group offers a comprehensive suite of proprietary e-learning products, a competitive business intelligence portal, and business and supply chain optimization analytics and solutions designed to enhance financial and performance benefits.

Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., Catevo has offices in Charlotte, Washington, D.C., Miami, London, and Media City, Dubai. The firm also is a founding partner of The WORLDCOM Group, the largest international consortium of independent marketing and public relations firms.

More information can be found at www.catevo.com.

posted by Lose Weight at 1:37 PM Dieting Supplements

Herbalife Expands Nutrition Advisory Board with Doctors in Europe and Argentina

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), a global nutrition direct selling company, announced the addition of six doctors to its Nutrition Advisory Board (NAB).

The appointments of Drs. Julián Álvarez García (Spain), Laszlo Halmy (Hungary), Patricio Kenny (Argentina), Nikolaos Sitaras (Greece), Pierre Zelissen (Netherlands) and Jean de la Tullaye (France) reflect the company’s commitment to supporting its independent distributors more closely at both a regional and local level.

The NAB is made of leading experts around the world in the fields of nutrition and health who educate and train Herbalife independent distributors on the principles of nutrition, physical activity and healthy lifestyle. The board is chaired by David Heber, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Alicante-based Alvarez specializes in sports medicine and physical education. Over the past 20 years he has advised a number of professional and Olympic sports teams in triathlons, mountain biking, football and basketball. He currently manages sports medicine at the Mediterranean Clinic of Neurosciences.

Halmy is based in Budapest, Hungary where, in addition to his medical practice, he conducts scientific research into a number of different areas of human metabolism, including nutrition, obesity and hypertension. In 1995 he won the Hungarian Nutritional Society prize for his work on the short and long term effects of Herbalife meal replacements and multivitamin and mineral supplements, concluding that food supplementation plays a major role during a weight management program. He will assume the presidency of the 15^th European Congress on Obesity in 2007.

In Argentina, Kenny is an adolescent and young adult gastroenterologist. He currently serves at the Buenos Aires British Hospital, as director of the Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Digestive and Nutritional Diseases. He is a faculty member at the Argentine Catholic University, serving as associate professor of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition.

Sitaras, based in Athens, Greece, is associate professor of the department of pharmacology at Athens Medical School. A practicing physician, author and lecturer with an interest in digestive disorders and nutrition, he has published extensively on the subject of nutrition and, since 2002, has focused on the effects of dietary supplements in healthy adults, 50 and older.

Zelissen, based in Utrecht, Holland, specializes in neuroendocrinology in obesity and has practiced in the department of endocrinology at Utrecht’s University Medical Center for more than 20 years. He spent 15 years as medical advisor to the Dutch Society for Addison’s and Cushing’s Disease and is on the board of the Netherlands Association for the Study of Obesity.

Tullaye is an associate professor at the University of Montpellier in France where he specializes in the teaching of nutrition, food and health. He is a member of various scientific committees associated with the Department of Agriculture and Food looking at subjects including food safety and quality and public research investment in nutrition.

About Herbalife

Herbalife (http://www.herbalife.com) is a global network marketing company that sells weight-management, nutritional supplements and personal care products intended to support a healthy lifestyle. Herbalife products are sold in 62 countries through a network of more than one million independent distributors. The company supports the Herbalife Family Foundation (http://www.herbalifefamily.org) and its Casa Herbalife program to bring good nutrition to children. Visit Investor Relations (http://ir.herbalife.com) for additional financial information.

posted by Lose Weight at 3:46 PM Dieting Supplements

Let's talk ... life - Weight problems

Dear Counsellor:

I have a weight problem. I am diabetic and obese. The doctor says that if I lose weight my blood sugar level will come under better control and my heart will be in better shape.

- Maria

Dear Maria:

A healthy lifestyle is important. Weight management is just a part of the problem. You need to think of your health as the whole. This involves physical, emotional, social, spiritual and financial. When our life is in balance then our weight will not be a problem. Losing weight can be considered as eating less than we need so that the body can use up some of its reserve. We need to view food as a drug that is taken to treat various conditions. People eat to relieve tension, to celebrate life and to treat anger and depression.

Food is an essential item as we need calories, vitamins, minerals, nutrients and supplements for our body to function well. There are carbohydrates, proteins, fats and water as basic essentials. We also need enzymes and a functioning metabolic system. The hormones are important and play a part in the functioning of the body. Our body needs to partake of these items to produce other chemicals which are needed in the brain and other organs.

The body detoxifies itself and we should take nutrients that help the body to clean itself. Some food items help with the metabolic functions while others are important as allies. Therefore, the quantities and qualities of food are important. We need to educate ourselves about the caloric content of the foods that we eat. Some foods are low in calories whereas others have a high caloric content.

Exercise is also important as this helps to burn calories, tone muscles and improve the function of our heart. It is also a good antidepressant and an energiser. Walking for half an hour each day will help an individual to function well.

Our emotions are important to our appetite and food intake. Our food intake varies with our emotions. Our emotions can increase or decrease our appetite. Therefore, control of our emotions and its management is important in weight management.

Last, but most important, is our spirituality. We serve a God and we need to have a healthy relationship with Him. We need to fast for a morning each week and during this period we communicate with God. Daily worship and praise is important.

Financial stress

Dear Counsellor:

I am having a difficult time. This is because I am undergoing financial stress. My salary is small and my expenses are great. Could you make suggestions as to how to cope?

- Elaine

Dear Elaine:

Financial problems have always been with us. In today's world one needs to make a budget and work with it. In balancing our finances, we need to feel in control and on top of things. Making a budget can be easy. Make a list of your expenses - daily, weekly and monthly. We have mortgage to pay and car loan each month. Food and entertainment can be reduced according to our discretion. When you have itemised the expenses you will see clearly where the money is going.

Income is important and we should try to find ways to increase our income. Some people turn their hobbies into money-making ventures. Brainstorm with others to see ways of increasing your income. Many people are going back to school to prepare themselves for other jobs. It is good to educate yourself in order to increase your income.

Saving is a reality, no matter how small. Saving can be either for the short term or the long term but the money will be useful some time in the future.

Dr. Yvonnie Bailey-Davidson; 9274824; yvonniebd@ hotmail.com

posted by Lose Weight at 3:53 PM Weight Management Videos

Hospital set to break ground

By Kathy McCabe | September 10, 2006

Beverly Hospital on Thursday will break ground on a new $30 million medical-surgery center planned for 7 acres on the lower portion of the old Danvers State Hospital property on Route 62. The ceremony, scheduled for 5 p.m., will include Steven Laverty , president of Beverly Hospital, and Wayne P. Marquis , the Danvers town manager.

Work crews started clearing the land about a month ago. Concrete will soon be poured on the foundation of the outpatient center.

``This is more of a ceremonial groundbreaking," said Heather Jones, a hospital spokeswoman. ``We want the public to know we are ready to go"

The 80,000-square-foot center is expected to open early next fall. Day surgery, women's breast health, weight management, and other programs now based at the Beverly Hospital Hunt Center, across town on Lindall Street, will relocate to the new center. Most geriatric health programs, such as the Center for Healthy Aging, will remain at the Hunt facility, Jones said.

Beverly Hospital is owned by Northeast Health System Corp., which also owns Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, CAB Health & Recovery Services in Peabody, and BayRidge Hospital, a mental health-substance abuse facility in Lynn.

N.H. bank rolls out

First Hampshire Bank , a start-up in Manchester, N.H., is gearing up for an initial public stock offering in the fall. The bank must raise enough money to satisfy equity capital requirements it submitted in its application for approval to the New Hampshire Board of Bank Incorporation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission.

Organizers include Meridian Interstate Bancorp., parent of East Boston Savings Bank, which will acquire a 40 percent stake in the new bank. Others include 10 people chosen as directors of the First Hampshire Bank.

The bank already has filled several key administrative jobs. John F. ``Jay" Dinkel Jr. has been named director of community banking and lending. He most recently was a senior vice president for government banking at Ocean National Bank in Manchester, N.H. Katherine C. Meyer has been named vice president of operations. She's a 10-year banking veteran, with stints at Ocean National Bank and Granite Bank.

Red Sox trainee

He didn't meet Big Papi. He doesn't know what caused the August swoon. But Ben Vainer of Melrose knows a whole lot more about the Red Sox' marketing machine than the average high school student.

Vainer was ``drafted" as a Red Sox summer intern. He was one of five winners of the ``Break Into the Business of Baseball Challenge," a national essay contest for high school students sponsored by Bentley College and MLB.com. More than 1,000 high school students submitted 100 -word essays explaining why they should intern with one of five big-league teams -- the Red Sox, Mets, Cubs, Phillies, and Nationals.

``I wrote about how the Red Sox are such a great organization and team, because of how they bring so many different kinds of people together," said Vainer, 18, a senior at Melrose High School. He is the son of Elizabeth and Gadi Vainer.

Vainer, the only New England winner, spent five weeks volunteering for the Sox. He spent three weeks working for Fenway Sports Group , a sports marketing subsidiary of the Red Sox. He researched companies considering sponsorships with NASCAR, Boston College team sports, even other pro baseball teams.

``I did a lot of research and spread sheets on Fortune 500 companies," said Vainer, whose usual summer job is at Mount Hood Golf Course in Melrose. ``A lot of research goes into sponsorships. For a Nascar sponsorship, you literally count the number of times a car goes around the track, the number of viewers, . . . and the camera angle. It was pretty interesting."

Vainer spent his final two weeks following around two reporters for MLB, Ian Browne and Howard Kussoy. He watched games from the press box, visited the clubhouse, and sat in on postgame press conferences. But his best memory of Fenway? ``I stood up on the Monster seats a lot," said Vainer, whose employee badge was like a free pass to every game. ``I saw a bunch of walkoffs."

Datebook

Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday will hold ``Back to Work & School," a networking mixer, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Bill DeLuca Chevrolet Cadillac at 112 Bank Road in Haverhill. The cost is $10 for members, $20 nonmembers. For information, call 978-686-0900 or visit www.merrimackvalleychamber.com .

The Homebased Business Women's Network will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Village Green Restaurant on Route 1 North in Danvers. Pat Shea, owner of Total Harmony in Georgetown, will speak on ``The Synergy of Personal Image." Free for members, $10 for guests. For more information, visit www.h-b-n.org.

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.

posted at 3:42 PM By Surgery Lose Weight