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1. Dieting Without Resistance Training
2. Focusing On The Scale
3. Focusing On Cardio
4. Skipping Breakfast
5. Relying on Pills
6. Eating Too Little
7. Eating Out Too Much
8. Emotional Eating
9. Lack of Consistency
10. Not Enough Sleep
The government’s medicines advisory agency this month recommended a new medicine that provides fresh hope in the fight against obesity.
Rimonabant, known by the brand name Acomplia, joins orlistat (Xenical) and sibutramine (Reductil) in the range of weight loss drugs available from doctors on prescription.
But Nicholas Finer, consultant in obesity medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, cautions that while all these drugs have some effect, their ability to sustain weight loss is modest.
The bad news is that most other options are even less effective. For the growing number of obese people Finer sees in his clinic, he estimates that diet and lifestyle changes such as increased exercise achieve, at best, a 4 per cent reduction in weight over two years. He says that the most effective interventions are surgical, using gastric bands or bypasses. Such techniques can reduce weight by 30 per cent on average, and significantly cut the risk of cancer and other diseases.
He dismisses almost everything else as “snake oil”, its effectiveness not proved by clinical trials, including over the counter diet pills and supplements such as hoodia.
Orlistat, which in lower doses is available in the US over the counter and could in future be available in the UK, works in the stomach by preventing the body digesting some of the fat in food. The problem is that it can cause diarrhoea.
Sibutramine acts in the brain to enhance the effect of neurotransmitters that allow people to feel full more quickly and for longer. It can be associated with a dry mouth and constipation. Rimonabant blocks cannabinoid receptors in the brain, which help regulate food intake. Some patients have reported suicidal thoughts after taking it, so the drug is not recommended for patients suffering from depression.
Overall, the most disturbing aspect of the obesity epidemic is that it appears to be a one-way street: modern lifestyles and diets easily allow people to gain weight, but few are able to shed it in the long term.
Hoodia Gordoonii seems to be the wonder pill for all those wishing to diet successfully nowadays but how many people actually understand what Hoodia gordonii is, what the Hoodia diet pills is and where historically it comes from?Well as a dietary aid it certainly cannot be disputed as originally it was used by Bushmen of the Kalahari desert in South Western Africa as a method of suppressing appetite when they were about to go on fairly long hunting trips. The Hoodia gordonii plant is a plant that is found growing naturally in the area.
With the holiday season here, you may be tempted to pop an over-the-counter diet pill to help you shed weight. But are you wasting your money? Go into any high street chemist and you can buy a pill that claims to speed up your metabolism, curb cravings or even stop your body absorbing fat.
Those diet pills are mainly plant-based and totally different from prescription drugs such as Reductil and Xenical, which are only given to people who are clinically obese.
Every year, people in the UK spend £75million on natural over-the-counter slimming aids. But do they work or are they a waste of money?
Most of the people think of dieting as equivalent of starving or popping slimming pills. Weight loss can be achieved by pleasurable dieting too. Follow a few simple rules for healthy dieting and you have a wide choice of what you can eat to please your fancy. Healthy diet and adequate exercises are the sure and safe ways to lose weight.
Healthy diet will protect your body from illnesses by providing appropriate nutrients. At the same time you would be able to shed the excess fat gradually in a safe way by maintaining proper balance of the essential constituents; that’s the trick of natural weight loss.
There are many websites that will help you determine what should be your calorie intake, based on your personal details and based on your diet they can also tell you what your present intake is..
A Well-Balanced Diet should include nutrient rich carbohydrates, high-quality protein, and healthy fats.
Carbohydrates
About 40-60% of your calorie intake should come from carbohydrates. That means if you're on a 1500 calories a day diet, you should be striving to get about 800 calories a day from “good” carbs. Restrict or avoid white flour, desserts and ice creams. Cut out soda-pop and candy. They contribute to weight gain and add nothing to health. Use oatmeal or whole grain cereal instead. Include whole grain breads, fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, whole grain cereals. You will be getting sufficient vitamins, amino acids and fiber too; you will feel fuller longer.
Proteins
About 20-30% of your calories i.e. about 375 calories should come from “wild” (not processed or farm raised) animal sources such as fish, meat, poultry, yogurt and eggs and from vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and seeds.
Fats
The balance calorie intake, about 325 in our example, shall come from “good” fats such as “wild” cold-water fish, flaxseed, walnuts, etc. They give Omega 3 essential fatty acid that is very essential for your overall health. Avoid or at least limit use of hydrogenated oils.
A few general comments:
Fish: Fish is low in fat, high in protein (as red meat), and provides omega 3 fatty acids which few other proteins would. Also as a general rule fish has fewer calories. Try to eat at least 2-3 servings of fish per week as replacement to meat.
Spinach: This is the cheapest source of nutrition for your body. It is rich in folic acid, minerals, and vitamins. You can prepare it in a variety of ways. Use it often in your diet.
Olive Oil: It is a “good” fat with loads of benefits to the body. This is a basic source of fat in the Mediterranean diet.
Follow these simple suggestions, and happy dieting!
There are many people who are not really obese, or even overweight, but have fat in the regions of the buttocks, the knees, and the thighs which they cannot get rid of even with targeted exercises. There are other areas of the body such as the abdomen or the chin or the cheeks from where getting rid of stubborn fatty tissues is difficult. These localized fatty areas give a very ungainly look to the person.
A surgical procedure that was evolved in the 1980’s can solve this problem. It must be realized, however, that these surgical procedures are not alternatives to proper diet and exercises – it is only a solution of the last resort. This is an invasive procedure and like all surgical procedures it also has some risks involved.
In liposuction procedure tubes are inserted into the target skin by making tiny incisions and fat is sucked out through the tubes. This procedure generally does not take a long time and is performed as an outpatient procedure. In case the volume of fat to be removed is large, it may require an overnight stay of the patient in the hospital. Liposuction is generally done under local anesthesia.
People who are suffering from diabetes or have some other surgical issues are not suitable foe liposuction. Those desiring liposuction should not be overweight and they should have firm and elastic skin. Plastic surgeons would generally advise a patient to try weight loss diet and exercises before considering liposuction. Even though Liposuction removes fatty deposits which cannot be removed by exercises, we should bear in mind that it can never be an alternative to healthy eating and exercising.
Liposuction is not a procedure for overweight people, it is meant to remove fatty tissues from localized areas. For highly overweight or obese people there is another surgical alternative. It is called bariatric (weight loss) surgery. Among the different techniques of bariatric surgery, the most popular one is Gastric Bypass. Some people call it Obesity Surgery.
In this procedure anatomy of the digestive system of the patient is altered; stomach and a part of the small intestine are bypassed and the food directly enters the lower part of the small intestine. By this arrangement the amount of food you eat and digest gets reduced. Gastric bypass operation can result in a substantial loss in weight of the patient especially for those patients who are overweight by more than 100 lbs.
Gastric bypass isn't for everyone with obesity, however. As with any surgical procedure there are risks involved in this procedure too. Moreover, this procedure alters the gastric anatomy permanently. It requires a permanent lifestyle change to be made by the patient. It is essential, therefore, for the patient that before committing to the gastric bypass operation he/she should fully understand what is involved and what lifestyle changes he/she will have to make. In the final analysis, the success of the surgery is up to the patient.
Before considering ways to “detox”, let us first understand what toxins are. Without getting involved into scientific terminologies we could look upon anything that is capable of causing a disease on contacting or on being absorbed by body tissues, or simply put anything that is poisonous to our biological functioning, is a toxin.
From this point of view our body also produces a lot of waste matter which can be termed as toxin; fortunately our biological system is so programmed that it gets rid of these toxins as a normal function.
A detox diet, then, is a dietary system that involves introduction or elimination of certain items of food or drink for the purpose of assisting the body to “purify” itself, or cleanse itself, of toxins, the poisonous substance(s). Detoxing is believed to improve health, resistance to diseases, energy, and aid in natural weight loss.
However, many dieticians and doctors regard “detoxing” as no more effective than drinking a glass of water and as such regard detoxing as a fad.
Usually "Detox" diets suggest that majority of your food intake should be restricted to fruits and vegetables, and water. Alcohol is totally eliminated. There are many variants of detox diet plans including juice fasting, water fasting, lemonade diet, etc. There are many advocates of these various detox diets and plans. However, most of them are a little harsh for a common man.
The following 7 day detox plan follows the basic tenets of detox but is safer, more flexible and hence sensible and will ensure sufficient nutrients to the body while still aiding to lose weight.
Your diet may include:
Fruits: Apples, bananas, pears, oranges, etc. either fresh, frozen or dried, or canned in natural fruit juice;
Fruit juice: Homemade fresh fruit juices or smoothies – not sweetened;
Vegetables: AlmDetox ost any vegetable such as carrots, turnip, sprouts, cabbage, onions, peppers, sweet corn, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, salad, etc. – fresh or frozen.
Beans and lentils: Any beans such as haricot, cannelloni, red kidney, black eye, red lentils, green lentils, etc fresh, or dried or canned in water;
Potatoes – all types
Brown rice and rice noodles
Fresh fish: Any fresh fish cod, salmon, lobster, plaice, mackerel, crab, trout, haddock, tuna, Dover sole, red mullet, prawns, etc;
Unsalted nuts: Brazil, cashew, hazel nuts, peanuts, almonds, pecans, pine nuts, macadamia, walnuts, pistachio, etc;
Live natural yoghurt;
Garlic, ginger and fresh herbs;
Honey;
Water: Tap or mineral water at least 2 liters a day;
Herbal or fruit teas
Avoid the following:
Chicken, turkey, Red meat, and meat products such as burgers, sausages, etc;
Milk and milk products such as cheese, cream and butter;
Eggs;Bread, etc. that contains wheat;
Salted snacks, salted nuts;
Sweets, jam, chocolate, sugar;
Alcohol;Coffee, tea;
Fizzy drinks and squashes;
Processed foods, Sauces, salad dressing, pickles, mayonnaise;
Salt.
The detox diet suggested here is easy to follow, and will permit enjoyable meals without violating the requirements of detoxing.
Health concerns and desire to look attractive are two major factors that are driving the weight loss industry. Some people are tempted to use OTC medications and weight loss pills to achieve fast results. It should be realized that there is no magic formula or magic wand for losing weight. Healthy eating, low-calorie foods and regular physical activity are the effective ways to lose weight and keep it off.
Remember that even if you take weight loss pills it will be necessary to consume low calorie diet. Also remember that taking pills forever for controlling weight is neither practical nor safe.
Here we shall look at some of the popular diet pills presently in the news:
Clenbuterol
Alli
Xenical
Ephedra
Ma Huang
Bitter orange
Hoodia
Clenbuterol
This drug has been in the news recently under its nickname Size Zero Pill or Size 0 pill. It has earned the nickname because of the extremely undernourished and starved look of some of the fashion icons in Hollywood who have been using this pill. This drug is not meant for human consumption; it is a FDA approved drug for treatment of horses. This drug increases heart rate and body temperature thus help burn fat; it suppresses appetite for as long as nine hours after its consumption. It is an extremely unsafe drug.
Alli
Alli is not a medicine; it is a fat burner or fat blocker. It is a FDA approved OTC weight reduction product. Weight gain is caused by excess calorie intake, and consumption of fat is the main cause of excess calorie intake, Alli blocks about 25 % of the fat consumed from being digested; the undigested fat passes through the body in the natural way. Since the fat is prevented from being digested, Alli is effective in weight loss.
When you use Alli you are required to limit your meals to 15 gms of fat each, failing which you are likely to have extremely unpleasant side reactions such as bowel movements, loose stools, very frequent visits to “loo”, “farting” with oily discharge, etc.
Since even a popular burger exceeds Alli’s limit of permissible fat content, it is a serious limitation the dieter has to contend with.
Xenical
Alli and Xenical are similar; their composition is the same so their limitations and usefulness (!) will be similar.
Ephedra
Ephedra (ephedrine alkaloid) used in dietary supplements suppresses the appetite. Many popular products used for weight control were found to be using Ephedra at one time. However, it has now been totally banned due to safety concerns. In spite of the ban many ephedra products are still sold on the Internet.
Many athletes considered Ephedrine as a performance-enhancing drug. Due to safety concerns it has been prohibited in most competitive sports.
Ma Huang
This is the Chinese name for Ephedra. It also has been banned in USA.
Bitter Orange
This non-prescription OTC product is claimed to increases the number of calories burned and thus help weight loss. It is being sold as a substitute for Ephedra. It may also cause health problems as Ephedra does. Its long term effects are not known.
Hoodia
This is an extract from a cactus-like succulent plant from deserts of South Africa. It is being sold as natural appetite suppressant. This has not been evaluated for safety, effectiveness, or purity by the FDA and it is a potentially risky product for weight loss.
There is a great benefit acquired from losing weight. Though losing weight is not easy, the long term effects brought by it would probably be of help to anyone considering to shed those unwanted and unhealthy pounds.
Studies show that if you are overweight, losing just 10% of your weight can make a significant improvement to your life satisfaction. Beside helping you look and feel better, 10% weight loss will also reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.Result from survey show that people with an oversized waistline are more likely to be satisfied with their life and hence, are less happy.
Proven Health benefits with weight loss of 10% in obese patients
Diabetes related mortality -30%
Blood pressure -10mmHg
Total cholesterol levels -10%
LDL-C -15%
Triglycerides -30%
HDL-C +8%
