nacks, that taste good too, can help us meet our daily nutritional needs. Children in particular need healthy snacks that provide the essential nutrients and satisfy their growing bodies. Healthy snacks add extra calories and nutrients to an athlete\’s diet without taking too much time to prepare or eat. Healthy snacks can give kids a boost, especially after school or going to and from activities.

Exercise is a part of a well-rounded lifestyle. No matter what type of activity you participate in, it is important to nourish your body with the right foods before and after you exercise. If you participate in sports, eating the right snacks after the big game can make all the difference to your body.

During any sporting event, whether intramural, or in your backyard, the muscles take a good beating. You feel good afterwards but that doesn\’t mean that your body isn\’t in need of some serious refueling. The body burns a lot of calories with each minute of play.

Perspiration is sticky and stinky at times but it is the body\’s way of cooling off. You lose vitamins and electrolytes through your sweat. These nutrients need to be put back so that the body can recover sufficiently. Recovery involves building stronger muscle fibers and restoring the chemical balance inside your body.

Healthy snacks are the way to go, for sure. But, you still need to be careful about the portions that your child consumes. Healthy snacks are the key to meeting their nutrient needs each day. Most kids need to eat every 2-3 hours to get in all the nutrients and calories they need to sustain adequate growth. Healthy snacks are (not just can be) an integral part of a healthy way of eating. Experience and science show that to maintain good levels of energy – without sharp peaks and valleys we should eat every three hours.

What you eat after a workout is just as important as what you eat before. Eating before consists of foods that will help you sustain a certain energy level during the game. That is mostly complex carbohydrates. After a game, your body is in repair mode and needs foods that will feed the effort. Here are five great ideas for healthy after-sport snacks:

1.Water doesn\’t seem like much of a snack but it is essential for the body to function properly. After a game, the body can be dehydrated depending on how much you sweat. Water is the pure way to get the body going and cooled off after so much activity. Adding a sugar-free flavor packet to the water is okay too.

2.High protein foods such as a piece of turkey ****** on lettuce as a wrap or on a slice of whole grain bread. Protein is needed to repair the muscle and build it up again.

3.Certain fruits such as a banana. It is not especially sweet and it is full of potassium and carbohydrates. Foods that have a high carb count will supply the right type of energy to sustain you after a game.

4. Trail mix is also a good choice to add energy to your body. You\’ve just had fun and played hard so the body needs good things put back in. Nuts provide protein and healthy fats. Pretzels and legumes provide good carbs to keep you moving and not shaky after a sporting event.

5.Dairy products such as yogurt provide protein and other vitamins the body needs, including calcium. A cup of non-fat or low fat yogurt gives your system a boost.

Healthy party snacks provide energy all day long, while sugary or fatty snacks give you a quick energy rush but ultimately leave you feeling depleted. And if you give yourself a variety of choices, healthy snacking is never boring. Healthy snacking can be very beneficial. Not only will it help you reach your nutrition goals, but it can give you that extra energy to help keep you performing at your best.



By: Weight Loss

About the Author:

weight loss is achieved faster with hypnosis. Some people say it feels like magic because it is so easy to make powerful changes. Weight loss is not an easy process. If you want to look more beautiful and slimmer, you need more than just perseverance. Weight loss is a given, but other changes have been freeing. Weight loss is simple, burn more calories then you consume. If you can fully understand that then you are on your way to losing weight. Weight loss is extremely difficult when you feel like you are depriving yourself. Instead of being a positive and exciting experience, losing weight becomes a struggle against yourself.

Additionally, women who want to lose weight fast that skip meals actually lower their metabolism. That means their body needs fewer calories and overeating leads to gaining fat faster. Therefore, you shouldn’t try to lose weight by dieting alone.

Are you ready to lose weight? Do you want to learn the secrets to finally shed your excess body fat while keeping your hard earned muscle? The only way you can lose weight and keep it off is to get your natural fat-burning mechanisms functioning normally and at peak efficiency again. The healthy way to weight loss is to lose excess fat, not lose muscle tissue and water. Crash diets can help you lose weight quickly, but most people gain the weight back. Some of these diets are also unhealthy and dangerous.

The majority of people who are trying to lose weight through conventional diets and calorie counting normally dream of food, reflecting on their needs and immediate experiences of food depravation. This creates a food craving that confronts them when they awaken, that regularly leads to them breaking their diet. So forget about all of the fad diets and learn how to lose weight by eating a healthy diet & exercising regularly!

Read more here: http://www.GoodHealthInfo.info

OK, back to learning how to lose weight. The main key to losing weight fast is to create a calorie deficit in the body. We need to look at natural ways to lose weight and find weight loss guides that teach us how to control our weight by making healthy food choices and leading an active lifestyle. The best advice I can give anyone trying to lose weight is to get rid of the tv and take up a sport. A custom-fit diet not only makes sense, it’s also good news for the dieter who couldn’t lose weight on this year’s fad, or who took off pounds quickly and then gained them back (and more).

Since you must burn a phenomenal amount of calories in order to lose pounds, exercise is crucial to long-term weight loss success.

Weight loss simply does not address the long term reasons why we gain weight. Weight loss only erases the evidence of persistent issues to weight control such as aging, processed food, metabolism damage, eating behavior and the fact we all spend long periods of time ‘out of it’ with respect to weight loss and fitness.

Weight Watchers has become a powerful force on the diet scene, bringing millions of people around the world into small group meetings for weekly weigh-ins and diet support and tips. And while today’s Weight Watchers program differs dramatically from years past, the main tenet is still to consume fewer calories than you expend. Weight loss is simple, burn more calories then you consume. If you can fully understand that then you are on your way to losing weight. Weight loss occurs since most of the calories and nutrients are routed into the colon where they are not absorbed.

Weight loss is extremely difficult when you feel like you are depriving yourself. Instead of being a positive and exciting experience, losing weight becomes a struggle against yourself. Weight loss is generally temporary, and unhealthy diet approaches have been linked with health damage and even death.

Losing weight is really hard to achieve by yourself. It takes encouragement, support, and a community of like-minded folks who are determined to make a difference. Weight loss is easy when you integrate hypnosis and coaching. Weight loss is a part of the equation for many women, but much more important is feeling a sense of control over one’s body and one’s health.

Weight loss is far too complex an issue to be dealt with by being preached at. Weight loss is a basic equation based on eating the right foods and doing the right exercises. Weight loss is often treated as a "quick fix" or short-term goal. Yet weight loss is a health and fitness issue, which is a lifestyle issue, one that is quite manageable if handled right.

This research continues here http://www.GoodHealthInfo.info



By: Leo D Pierson, Jr.

About the Author:

all, I want to start by saying that depression can be an incredibly serious illness. Nothing listed in this article is to take the place of the advice or medications as prescribed by a qualified physician. What we will attempt to do in this article is simply provide some things you can do yourself to hopefully overcome the symptoms of depression without having to resort to prescription drugs. If you cannot, do NOT feel like a failure sometimes the illness of depression requires taking more serious action so heed your doctor\’s advice at all times.

I think just about everyone feels depressed at one time or another. Perhaps you don\’t get the promotion you were counting on at work, or you were struck down with an illness that makes you feel hopeless, or any of a number of other things derail you making you feel that life somehow just isn\’t fair and you become sad and overall depressed. This is certainly common because of the events mentioned above, but for some of us, these symptoms come on suddenly often not even associated with any specific event at all. Depression can strike without warning and zap your interest in activities you used to love or even life in general. If you notice yourself not reacting positively to things you used to love and feeling like you just don\’t want to do or become involved in anything at all, you may be feeling the symptoms of depression. If you notice these signs yourself, the thing you NEED to do is take action immediately. Below is a list of some things that may help you bounce back to your old self.

Exercise – If you are down, then get up and get active! Physical exercise has shown to be incredibly effective at curing the symptoms of depression. Set a realistic goal for your workout and hit it and this sense of accomplishment will do wonders for your outlook.

Check your diet – Unhealthy eating, especially a diet high in sugar and processed flour has actually been linked to depression in some folks. If your diet resembles the menu of a local bakery, it may be time for an eating overhaul.

Skip the drink – Alcohol is a depressant not to mention it is toxic to your body. If you are looking to kick the blues, then start by kicking the booze!

Give meditation a try – Sometimes the stresses of our daily life can be just too much too bear and if we just had a break to allow our mind to rest and relax, we could get rid of this negative energy that can often lead to a depressed. Meditation can be the perfect answer to help you relieve this stress.

Get your 8 hours EVERY night – Sometimes we become sleep deprived and we don\’t even know it. If your body has not had enough sleep, then you can bet it will catch up with you. Sometimes the symptoms you may be feeling that mimic depression may simply be because your body is exhausted. Try to make sure you get enough sleep every night as regularity is really the key here.

Make a list of things to be grateful for – Listen, sometimes it is hard to see depending on what we have going on in our life, but there is always someone out there who has it worse than us. If you put down on paper the things you have in your life that you are grateful for it can help put your mindset into perspective. Your family, your job, maybe a skill that you posses, put it all down. Keep this list with you and refer to it whenever you are feeling down.

I want to reiterate how serious depression can be. The tips above can and do help some who put them to use. The key thing is to do SOMETHING. If you are proactive and take action at the first signs of depression, then you can overcome it and come out on top!



By: Weight Loss

About the Author:

is our largest organ, and yet it is one that so many of us forget to take care of as well as we should. We douse it with fragrances, lotions, and other beauty products that contain an amazing amount of chemicals, many of which have been proven to cause cancer (like parabans for example). The best way to nourish our skin is the same way we nourish the rest of our body–from the inside out, with fresh fruits and vegetables and plenty of good fats. There are also several ways to feed your skin from the outside too that are easy, cheap, and all natural:

Body Brushing: A wonderful way to detox your body, great for your lymph system, nervous and circulatory systems, dry body brushing is best done once a day to three times a week, preferably before taking a bath or shower. Using a loofah or natural bristle brush, and start at your feet. Brush toward the heart in circular movements for five minutes. After a few sessions you will notice a more natural glow to your skin, increased vitality, and a sense of invigoration, especially if done in the morning.

Masks: Our skin loves good food. Some wonderful masks that help nourish the face:

For dry/ sensitive skin: 1/2 an avocado mashed and mixed with ground oatmeal. The fat from the avocado nourishes the skin while the oatmeal soothes it.

For oily skin: a mixture of french green clay and pulverized strawberries or cranberries act to draw out impurities while giving your skin the astringent benefits it so needs.

For normal skin: A pina colada for the face! crushed pineapple and banana work wonders–the acid in the pineapple exfoliates the skin while the banana soothes and tightens.

Sea Salt Scrubs: These are yet another great exfolient for all skin types. Adding a bit of almond oil to the salt keeps it smooth and glowing. The salt helps relax muscles and detoxes the skin. Adding herbs to the scrub is great too–lavender to soothe, lemon or mint to invigorate, a pinch of cayenne on a cold day to warm you up, rosemary or calendula flowers to heal rashes or other skin problems.

Bug Spray: As the summer months approach, our thoughts turn to mosquitoes and how to prevent their nasty little bites. Most bug repellents are literally awful for you. Natural prevention is the best recourse–taking 3 or 4 capsules of garlic and 100mg of vitamin B1 create a smell that repels mosquitoes while avoiding sugar and fruit juice, to which mosquitoes are naturally attracted can cut down on your victimization. Using certain essential oils—such as eucalyptus, lemon balm, pennyroyal, citronella, tea tree, and geranium also makes effective bug sprays. Simply add a mixture of the above to a water/witch hazel (3 parts water to 1 part witch hazel) solution and transfer to a spray bottle. Several naturopaths say using these oils works as well as commercial mosquito repellent.

Baths: Warm baths are highly underrated. They soften the skin, relax the muscles and release stress from the body, mind, and emotions. Plus you can add all sorts of wonderful things to them– milk to soften skin, sea salt to soothe sore muscles, a tea of herbs such as lavender, mint, rose petals, chamomile, lemongrass, orange rinds to leave you smelling sweet and and all natural.



By: Weight Loss

About the Author:

half the population in most countries being affected by obesity, it has become vital to find a solution for it. In this context, Calotren supplement has been found to be of great use. It is a protein supplement which helps the body to lose fat in a natural way. It works in combination with a healthy diet and regular exercise pattern and works slowly to show its effects. But what are the pros and cons of taking Calotren? We must find out all about the supplement before deciding to take it regularly.

Burning Up The Calories

Calotren is mainly made up of collagen hydrolysate, which is a form of protein. This protein is very essential in building lean muscle mass which is found in the muscles, organs and joint tissues. In the process of developing these muscles, collagen is produced. The more the collagen, the more the lean muscle mass. And this lean muscle mass again burns up more calories, leading to weight loss. Calotren serves as a supplier of collagen to the body. Therefore, it aids in the development of lean muscle mass and consequently in losing weight. The lean muscle mass burns up more calories than other parts of the body. As more calories are burnt, more fat is destroyed which leads to a leaner body.

What About The Side-Effects?

Calotren supplement has zero side effects. This has been confirmed by all the people who have taken Calotren. Since Calotren has no stimulants like caffeine and ephedrine, it does not cause a person to feel jittery or have a racing heart. These are the normal side-effects of weight-loss supplements. On the other hand, Calotren has displayed some positive side-effects. It has been noticed that Calotren prevents wrinkling of the skin. This means that there will be no wrinkles on your face and hands which will make you look much younger than your age. Beauty experts are also pleased with the results.

How Much Weight Do You Lose?

Calotren supplement must be able to achieve the very goal that it has been created for. Unless you lose substantial weight after consuming Calotren, there is no use in taking it. But studies state that you should be able to lose 1 pound every week. A calorie deficit of 500 calories should be created per day. Taking Calotren will add about 12 calories every day which is quite negligible. It is expected that you will achieve 86% success with weight loss after taking Calotren constantly for 90 days.

What Are The Other Benefits?

What can be better than if Calotren supplement can provide other benefits besides controlling your weight. The presence of glucosamine and chondroitin in Calotren is a very good sign. These ingredients aid in developing joint tissue. This means that there will be an increase in joint flexibility and also that you will recover better from joint injuries. Looking at all these aspects of Calotren, one can safely conclude that Calotren is an effective means of controlling your weight. There are only advantages to count.



By: Weight Loss

About the Author:

When you are beginning a new weight loss program (or trying to make your current weight loss program work for you) it can be a big help to have some handy tips to help you along. A weight loss program is almost always a huge undertaking for a lot of people and as such breaking down your program is going to break down your work and it’s going to make sticking to your weight loss program a lot easier for you to stick to, and thus a lot more effective!

Weight Loss Tip #1: Get Real!

This is the first weight loss tip you’re going to see in any article claiming weight loss tips. It’s because setting unrealistic goals in your weight loss program is the most common error that deters a lot of people from really sticking with it. While it’s good to have an ultimate goal, you want to set smaller goals for you to meet along the way. Setting smaller goals allows you to achieve them and get ever closer to your ultimate goal. Baby steps is the key to any weight loss program. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk right?

Weight Loss Tip #2: Preparation! Preparation! Preparation!

This is the most painful part at the start of any weight loss program, but it’s one of the best things to do to get you started on your path to weight loss. It’s time to get rid of your potato chips, your Coke, your hidden treasure trove of chocolate, and anything else you might have stashed away. Having this stuff around makes it way too easy for you to cheat while on your weight loss program, and unless you are a self-control machine then there’s no way you’re going to meet the goals you’ve set for yourself unless you take the precautionary steps to remove temptation. Make a list of the healthy foods you need and stock them in mass quantities. If you’re worried about healthy food not tasting as good, look up some health food recipes because there is good stuff out there!

Weight Loss Tip #3: A Rewarding Weight Loss Program is a Successful Weight Loss Program

It’s something you’ll learn in any first year psychology class, human beings naturally excel at tasks when there is tangible or periodic reward. You want to buy that new CD that just came out? Well if you meet your next goal then treat yourself to your favourite music. Beware with rewards though, don’t reward yourself with junk food, you’ve gotta stick to that weight loss program!

Weight Loss TIp #4: The Most Important Meal Of The Day!

You’ve heard the saying so many times about Breakfast being the most important meal of the day, but why do people say that all the time anyway? It’s because it’s true. Your breakfast provides you with the energy to keep going through the day, and eating a healthy breakfast will actually help you with your weight loss. When you don’t eat breakfast it actually tricks your body in to believing that it could be starving and so it goes in to a mode which not only will hinder your self control around junk food, but it will also try and guard against the burning of precious fats and calories in your body (because you need that stuff to survive if you happen to be starving!) Always make sure to eat a complete breakfast! It really IS the most important meal of the day!

Weight Loss Tip #5: Don’t Just Eat Healthy, ACT Healthy!

Hopefully your weight loss program already includes something about getting plenty of exercise. It’s important to complement your weight loss program with a healthy dose of exercise. In fact, it’s one of the big factors that can make or break your weight loss program. The fact is that if you can stick to a weight loss program which involves a proper diet and exercise, no matter what program it is, you WILL lose weight! It’s what your body needs!

Weight Loss Tip # 6: So You Like To Sleep? That’s Good!

7-8 Hours of Sleep per night. That’s what the average adult needs each and every day. It keeps your body working in perfect order, it repairs all parts of your body and mind in tact and you need to keep both of those at your best in any weight loss program!

If you can follow these six simple tips, I have no doubt that you’re going to see some results in trying to lose weight! The power to lose weight is in your hands though, you’ve got to be the one that makes you stick to both these tips and your own personal weight loss program, if you can do that then you’re going to lose weight! Good Luck!



By: Clara Fields

About the Author:

disorder called hypothyroidism means you have an underactive thyroid gland. If you have trouble losing weight no matter what you do, it could be because you are hypothyroid. There are almost 30 million Americans with thyroid disease and women are 7 times more likely than men to have it. Hypothyroid is the most common thyroid disorder and often misdiagnosed by doctors.

Thyroid is a small butterfly shaped gland located directly below the Adam\’s apple. This gland swells up accompanied by an inflammatory sensation, when not working properly. This can be seen as a small bulge in the area. Doctors might feel the size of the gland by keeping hand around your neck and making you swallow.

Because thyroid disorder causes so many other degenerative diseases, a thyroid that functions properly can restore health in so many other areas of your body. When you neutralize the acids in your body and eliminate acid-forming substances from your diet, you give your thyroid a chance to heal. Improved thyroid function will, in turn, help your other body organs function properly.

To neutralize acids and restore your body\’s pH balance, you need to reduce or eliminate consumption of acidic foods and other acidic substances. Adding more alkaline foods and minerals to your diet can help restore thyroid disorder. As your acid level falls, you\’ll find that your thyroid function will increase.

The thyroid takes in iodine and combines it with tyrosine, an amino acid that then converts it into the hormones T3 and T4. If your thyroid is normal, 80% will be T4 and 20% T3. Both of these hormones travel through the bloodstream, converting calories and oxygen into energy. If this process doesn\’t work properly, then the calories and oxygen cannot convert the energy properly and you have weight gain or inability to lose weight.

Diagnosis may be carried out through a series of blood tests but since many doctors remain unaware of thyroid problems or recent changes in medical definitions of normal range, many women still struggle to be taken seriously. If you are not satisfied with your doctor\’s diagnosis, always remember that you have the right to a second opinion. Online research can also help you locate doctors in your area who specialize in thyroid disease. Ask for a thyroid antibody test, as well as the other selection of thyroid function tests usually offered. Once a doctor has diagnosed a thyroid problem, you can begin appropriate treatment.

The thyroid, typically enlarged, pale yellow, and lumpy on the surface, shows dense lymphocytic infiltration, and the remaining thyroid tissue frequently contains small empty follicles. The goiter (gradual painless enlargement of the thyroid gland) is usually asymptomatic (no symptoms), but sometimes patients complain of dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing) and a feeling of local pressure.

Thryroiditis is the general term used to describe three different disorders in which the thyroid becomes inflamed. Most commonly, the inflammation takes the form of a chronic, progressive disease known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis or Hashimoto\’s disease. This condition may be so mild that it may go unnoticed for many years, but eventually it may destroy so much thyroid tissue that hypothroidism develops.



By: Weight Loss

About the Author:

stimulant can be supposed as one of the best means to achieve admirable aglow and alive skin. Comparing it to a bubbler of youth will not be an overstatement. In this commodity we shall attending at the assorted kinds of natural stimulants alternatives that are accessible in the medicine industry.

There are abounding derma affliction articles getting alien by corrective companies, but a lot of them are articles that accept collagen as an additive in them. But in fact, there is no collagen access in the physique by the use of these so alleged “collagen stimulant” products. Your aboriginal footfall should be to lower your all-embracing analogous of anxiety. This abandoned will admonition to abate the abundance of your all-overs agitation attacks.

To lower your anxiety, pursue the afterward steps:

Reduce or bigger still annihilate altogether the natural stimulants in your diet. This includes caffeine, which can be beginning in colas, tea, coffee, amber and activity drinks. Even “healthy” drinks like blooming tea can accommodate caffeine. If you acquaintance an agitation attack, your physique is abounding with adrenaline, your body\’s accustomed analeptic hormone. So you charge to accomplish abiding that you don\’t accord your physique even added stimulants to cope with. Apprehension your accent levels afterwards bistro and analysis the capacity of the aliment you accept just eaten if you alpha to apprehension an acceleration in all-overs afterwards bistro assertive foods.

Herbs are one of the best accustomed remedies for agitation attacks and back they\’ve been acclimated for bags of years, you can be abiding they accept little or no ancillary effects. One of the easiest means is to pour them in a tea. Or if that\’s a bit too awkward, a lot of them can be begin in drops or abridged format.

Once you\’ve abandoned natural stimulants, you should alpha to cover abstracted herbs in your circadian diet. Other abstracted herbs you could investigate are valerian, kava and passionflower. Naturally, you should consistently yield your doctor\’s admonition if you are demography any decree drugs in case there are any ancillary effects. Purchasing weight loss supplements after accomplishing your analysis is the agnate to just lighting about to your money.



By: Weight Loss

About the Author:

can Cancer Society Suggests you get to and maintain a healthy weight, exercise vigorously at least 30 minutes a day (preferably 45 to 60 minutes) and eat healthy diet including at least 5 or more servings of a wide variety of fresh fruit and raw vegetables each day. If you drink alcoholic beverages limit yourself to 1 glass a day for women and 2 glasses daily for men. Preferably avoid alcohol all together.

This is the formula they suggest and I recommend if you want to know how to reduce your risk of cancer cells in the body.

Healthy Weight. Often people have in their mind what weight is healthy for them. Medically speaking, if your body mass index is rated 25 or higher you have an increased risk for many health issues. There is no specific link to cancer other than the fact that there is a greater percentage of people with cancer that are overweight than not. The higher your body mass index is the greater your risks are. There is also a connection to your waist size. For men if your waist is over 40 inches and 35 inches in women, you will have additional health risk as well. Generally, people that carry more weight in their waist are overweight but not always. If they are overweight and have an extra wide waist the risks of health problems are even greater. I know because I have been there personally (waist and weight).

Regular Physical Exercise. We all should be intentional and serious about our regular physical exercise program. Not only will exercise help maintain our healthy weight and great looks but our body releases chemicals that help our immune systems fight disease when we vigorously work out. Do not over do it though. If you require a personal trainer please seek professional help. But, you know your body and you know when to quit. If you are currently suffering health issues make sure you consult your physician before you start a rigorous exercise program. It is always important to discuss your diet and exercise plan with your doctor. Ultimately, you must exercise and increase your daily physical activity to reduce the risk of cancer cells in your body.

Eat A Balanced Healthy Diet. The emphasis is on fruit and vegetables. Have you noticed in the last few years all the claims of super foods, super fruits, antioxidant, and superior disease fighting fruit and vegetables. This is true. The American Cancer Society does not endorse one fruit or vegetable as one that will reduce the risk of cancer cells in the body. As you research you will learn that these fruit and vegetables will dramatically help prevent disease and they should all be a part of your regular diet. These are some fruit and vegetables known to fight cancer (in no particular order):broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussell sprouts, tomatoes, blueberries, cantaloupe, carrots, cherries, chilli peppers, figs, garlic, grapefruit, mangoes, oranges, strawberries, sweet potatoes, etc. Then add herbs, beans, nuts like peanuts and whole grains like oats and wheat and you will have a balanced diet of many foods to help prevent cancer. Even water boosts your metabolism, strengthens your immune system and helps fight disease. There are even fruit that are new to us in America like acai berries that help prevent cancer.

Avoid Alcohol and Other Unhealthy Food and Drinks. Not just alcohol but sugar, artificial sweeteners, soda and processed foods as much as possible if you want to reduce risk of cancer cells in the body.

Following this outline will help you live a long, active, healthy life avoiding and preventing cancer and many diseases.



By: Weight Loss

About the Author:

Most diet and weight loss programs have a depressingly high failure rate, with people either never reaching their weight goals or reaching them and regaining all the weight they lost (and sometimes more) in about one year.

Getting the weight off fast is so desirable that many of us are willing to sacrifice health and ignore common sense in the hope that some new weight loss program or scheme will work. This pipe dream can unfortunately outweigh the negative consequences. So let’s examine the downside of dieting.

What Is An Unhealthy Weight Loss Program?

* Any weight loss program that is not nutritionally sound;

* One that works against what the body naturally needs like vitamins, minerals, and a minimum number of calories a day;

* One that requires you to go without eating (for example, fasting or meal replacement drinks);

* One that puts your body into an unnatural state, such as starvation or ketosis.

Your body can only lose a few pounds a week on a consistent basis. If you lose more than that initially, it’s likely just water loss. So any weight loss program that promises you will lose five pounds a week, or 25 pounds in 3 weeks, is guaranteeing you will be losing water and muscle mass not fat.

Almost every popular weight loss program out there falls into one of the following diet categories: low calorie diets, meal replacement drinks, packaged foods, unbalanced nutrients, and ketosis diets. Let’s see how they stack up.

LOW CALORIE DIETS

Whenever you drastically reduce your calories, the body enters an unnatural state and its defenses kick in. So when calories drop below, say, 1000 calories a day, your metabolism will shut down in an effort to conserve energy. And weight loss with a sluggish metabolism is very difficult.

Your body will start using muscle tissue to provide energy, which again leads to a decrease in the metabolism. Taken to an extreme, the body will break down its vital parts (such as the heart muscle) trying to meet its energy needs.

In addition to these drawbacks, trying to maintain the weight loss over time is nearly impossible because your body is now used to making do with very few calories. Going back to “normal” eating causes the weight to pile back on.

For this reason, low cal weight loss programs rarely work over the long haul.

MEAL REPLACEMENT DRINKS

One of the most unnatural things for your body is to go without solid food, which is what meal replacement plans ask it to do. Some people think that dieting will be easier if they aren’t confronted with daily food choices and the pounds will just fall off. This may be true while they are on the liquid diet. But what about afterwards?

Where will the good eating habits come from after you’ve lost the weight? This is something that takes time, practice and knowledge. Dieters need to establish a healthy attitude towards a life-long eating plan. And no “fad” weight loss program or liquid lunch can help you with that.

Getting hooked on meal replacements can become a destructive way to view food. It often leads dieters to fear food or binge to “feed” their cravings after a long period of deprivation. And that’s just the psychological side of the equation.

The lack of fiber in such weight loss programs can be a threat to good physical health. And when the body is denied enough solid food, the intestines go into overdrive absorbing calories and nutrients. This helps you during the diet period, but later it makes it much easier to regain the weight.

Another yo-yo weight loss program that hurts you in the end.

UNBALANCED NUTRIENT PLAN

Be cautious about any weight loss program that has strict rules about good foods and bad foods. Sure, high fat and high sugar foods might be considered bad for the waistline, but moderation not abstinence is key to success.

Why? Because eating the same foods every day (say, grapefruit or high protein meals) is going to result in two things: nutritional imbalance and boredom.

All foods are made up of the same nutrients in different amounts: fat, carbohydrates, and protein. It is the right proportion of these nutrients that will bring about weight loss – not the avoidance of “bad” foods and the consumption of only “good” or magical foods.

In the world of dieting, no one food or nutrient group is magical. Variety and moderation are the keys to a healthy diet and a successful weight loss program.

PACKAGED FOODS

To stay at your ideal body weight, you have to learn how to make proper food choices. By following a packaged food weight loss program you are postponing the inevitable, and spending plenty of $$$ in the process.

Another problem with this kind of weight loss program is that the foods provided are not always healthy. Read the package label and you will see chemicals, preservatives, sodium, sugar and saturated fats. And when all you can eat is packaged food, how do you plan meals with other people? Going out to restaurants and parties and enjoying family meals becomes a big hassle.

Your weight loss program then becomes a burden, not only to you, but to those around you.

KETOSIS DIETS

Ketosis has been defined as:

“An abnormal condition marked by excessive production of ketone bodies. Often caused by high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins diet.”

Atkins and certain other weight loss programs are based on the principle of restricting carbohydrates to the point that the body enters into ketosis. On the surface, a ketogenic diet seems to work for two reasons: First, you’ll lose large amounts of weight, which is very pleasing to the dieter. Secondly, you don’t experience hunger.

But there are serious drawbacks. Your weight goes down due to water loss (which occurs when you restrict carbohydrates) and a loss of lean muscle tissue. This is NOT true, lasting weight loss.

The loss of appetite comes from having ketones building up in the body, which can harm your health. Side effects of a ketosis weight loss program can include fatigue, kidney stones, gout, and muscle loss. The longer you follow such a diet, the greater the risk to your health.

Clearly not a wise choice of weight loss program, not for the short term or the long.

WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM QUESTIONNAIRE

There are always new weight loss programs coming onto the market and going in and out of style. To evaluate if a weight loss program is healthy and sensible for you, ask yourself the following questions:

* Is the plan nutritionally sound?

* Will it help improve my weight, metabolism, cholesterol level, blood pressure, energy level, and general health?

* Will I be eating real food and not have to buy special formulas, drinks, etc?

* Will I be eating a wide variety of foods rather than just a few “diet” foods?

* Am I allowed to have some treats and eat my favorite foods?

* Can I eat out in restaurants, have a glass of wine with dinner, or some dessert?

* Can I follow this weight loss program without it interfering with my lifestyle?

* Can I lose weight without feeling hungry?

* Will l develop eating habits for life-long weight control with this weight loss program?

* Is this the last diet I will ever need to finally reach and maintain my ideal weight?



By: Antonio LeMaire

About the Author: