Archive for September, 2008

by Kaye Medalla

You could be suffering from the second most common “preventable” disease and you still might not consider it – obesity. But the good news is, it’s preventable. It’s nice to know that more people are now starting to be more conscious with their diets and their need to get help to lose weight.

People are now looking for solutions for their weight problems because of the wellness awareness campaigns conducted by concerned government and non-government organizations. There are now websites that offer free instructions teaching people to count calories and some even have BMI calculators readily available.

So with regards to calories, every day we approximately need one calorie just to live every minute. We burn 1000 to 1500 calories everyday to keep up with our daily activities.

Here are some activities and the approximate number of calories they cost you:

Thinking=10 calories per hour; sitting at rest=20; standing=25; dressing=35; leisure walking=100-125; light housework=70; light exercise=75-150; vigorous exercise=200-500.

It is hard to find out the exact calories you need each day because there are many factors you will need to consider like your body frame, family genes, your basic metabolic rate and even your present emotional state.

A good way of finding out what type of counting calories diet you need to lose weight is to compute your present bodyweight x 13 = Calorie a day diet. For example, you weigh in around 150 lbs right now; 150 x 13 = 1950

So you’ll need to go on a 2000 calorie a day diet to create a caloric deficit and make your body look for other means to get energy which is from your stored fat. Following low calorie diets is not that simple because to make it effective, you will need to follow some guidelines and additional measures to maximize fat loss instead of just wasting muscle.

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by Ricardo d Argence

Low to no carb diets are said to be even more effective than low fat diets in weight loss according to some studies. However, you must be cautious because these diets can have some very negative side effects.

The question is, will reducing or eliminating carbs help me lose weight? First, it is important to realize that not every carb is the same. They have all been banded together but some carbs are necessary for a healthy and fulfilled lifestyle. But, how will you know which are good carbs and which carbs you should avoid? Well. lets go back to basics. Carbohydrates fall under two different types, to begin with are the sugars, or simple carbohydrate. Starches are next, and these are referred to as complex carbohydrates.

The major difference between these carbohydrates is the time taken by your body to digest them. The simple carbohydrate is digested quickly where as the complex carbohydrate takes longer to be digested.

Many foods that contain simple carbohydrates, like pizza, chocolate and cakes also contain a lot of added sugar. Though contrary to popular belief you cannot get the same results eating apples, bananas, grapes, & raisins. They may not be complex carbs, but they are efficient in that they supply essential nutrients and vitamins.

Going on low carb diet means stopping the intake of carbohydrates and it helps in not putting on weight, but actually everyone must have at least 45% -65%of carbohydrates depending on each individual.

Ketosis is a metabolic disorder resulting from the body being starved of carbohydrates over a period of time. In the event your body is too weak to endure this type of low to no carb diet, you will feel fatigued lacking energy to perform most tasks, and may also cause loss of sleep. But, regaining your weight only needs high carbohydrate foods, just increase your consumption on these foods, like rice and potato, and surely you will have that weight again.

Just picture this cycle as you read. You will need to compensate the weight loss with the low energy level. Your body cannot sustain extremely low carb diets on a long term basis, and if you continue to follow their strict regulations you will find your health negatively affected, eventually leaving you in poor health.

So will cutting carbs help me lose weight? Only if you reduce the correct type of carbohydrate from your diet together with some other changes then cutting carbs can help you lose weight.

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by Reagan Miers

One of the most effective appetite suppressing products out there are hoodia diet pills, however, many dieters are confused about the recommended safe dosage. It’s a good thing to ask though, seeing as hoodia pills are not regulated and can be easily bought without a prescription, which therefore leaves dieters trying to work out the right dosage amount on their own.

It can be extremely hard to work out what dose you should be taking, especially if you visit any websites or read anyone’s experiences with hoodia. You are likely to find that some people say a dose of 1,000mg is enough to stop hunger, while others say it took nearly twice that amount to suppress their appetite.

Experts say that it can take as much as 3,000mg per day to suppress appetite. And according to one doctor I spoke with who has been conducting a clinical trial for almost two years says that his patients have had the most weight loss success with a hoodia dosage in that 2,250-3,000mg range. He was quick to point out, however, that the positive results his patients have experienced were not only the result of hoodia diet pills. His patients also maintained a healthy diet and exercised.

Everyone’s body is different, and therefore the most effective dose of hoodia will be different from one person to the next. You will probably find that the amount that works for one person, would not work for you. You may require a much higher dose, or alternatively you might only need a fraction of what someone else takes. Pills which contain 100% genuine hoodia gordonii have been shown to be safe so you can experiment to find the right dose for you without worrying too much about side effects. However as with anything if you have any concerns you should contact your doctor immediately.

There are also some people who need to consult their doctor first whether they have any concerns or not. These people include pregnant and nursing women, children under the age of 18, people with any kind of health condition, and anyone taking medications. While diet pills that contain 100% authentic hoodia gordonii are safe, these people need to take caution when considering them and should definitely consult their doctor first! Please do not ignore this warning.

The easiest way to find the correct hoodia dosage for you is to follow the instructions printed on the product label. Reputable companies will always suggest a steady dose of between 800-1,500mg of hoodia, which is about 1 or 2 capsules per day for the first 7 days or so. They will usually then recommend that you slowly increase your dosage until you reach the maximum daily amount, which is typically 4,500mg per day, so that you can find the amount that works best for you.

When you are taking hoodia gordonii diet pills, they may also decrease your thirst along with your appetite. You should always drink plenty of water when you are supplementing with them. That is why the product labels always say to drink 8-10 ounces of water when you take your capsules. People who are dieting should be drinking at least eight glasses of water a day anyway!

Something to remember is that hoodia gordonii is not going to be an effective way to suppress the appetite for everyone. Some people simply do not respond to it at all. If you are taking the upper limits of hoodia per day, but are having little or no noticeable difference in your appetite after a few weeks, then hoodia capsules are probably not going to work for you.

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by Travis Killian

It seems as though the only advice that someone offers when you ask them how to lose weight is to diet and exercise. Don’t you feel like slapping someone and saying duh? Obviously this is what you need to do, but how should you diet, how should you exercise? The next thing that you hear is that there is some sort of “miracle pill” that will melt the pounds off. Does anyone know what they are talking about anymore? Read on and listen to an expert at losing weight fast and supplement free.

In business you learn that it is important to leverage other people, or even technology, so that they do the work for you while you are free to work on other projects. Without going too in depth, we can make our bodies work the same way. What if you could burn an extra calorie a minute doing what you usually do by simply exercising for 15 minutes that day? Although I’m not sure exactly how much more calories a minute you will burn, I do know that this process of “turbo charging” your metabolism exists and I know how you can do that. That is called being efficient because you are not only burning calories while you exercise, but throughout the day you burn more total calories than you would jogging for an hour. That’s leveraging your body to work for you towards your goals.

So, what exactly do you need to do to have these results? It’s called High Intensity Interval Training. Basically what you will do is perform a physical activity, such as sprinting in this example, and do it at 90-95% of your max heart rate. Do this for about 15-20 seconds and then slow your pace for a minute. Then do it again. Do about 15 total short sprints, cool down, stretch and walk away you are done.

This type of training is very hard to do. Just like people usually don’t squat, people will not do this either. No one wants to work hard but everyone wants the results. Well here is the proven formula, take it or leave it for some miracle pill. Just don’t act ignorant when you are not getting the results that you want. This method is proven, so proven in fact that Laval University performed a test to validate HIIT’s effectiveness. The results were astonishing – the tested group lost 9x more fat than the control group who performed traditional 30-60 minute moderate exercise.

If you are ready to exercise to lose weight, perform high intensity interval training. Don’t let your laziness stop you from getting you results. After every workout you will feel both wiped and accomplished. But you know what? You will not be wasting your time and you will look great in a matter of weeks provided that you take this serious. Get ready to look and feel phenomenal!

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by Ricardo d Argence

Are you generally beginning to gain a reputation as a muscular guy that people aspire to look like? Have you packed on at least a good 15-25 pounds of clean, muscular body weight since you began your muscle building program? Have you added at least a couple of inches or more to all of your major muscle groups?

Worrying about the smaller details of your physique is a waste of time if you didn’t easily answer “yes” to all of the above outlined questions.

If you’re still in your bodybuilding “youth” and don’t already have a considerable amount of muscle mass to show for your efforts, I would strongly suggest taking these types of questions and eliminating them from your mind until you do.

Why is this? It is for the reason that diverting your attention onto such small and insignificant issues will only serve to distract you from the most essential and immediate job at hand. And what is the most vital and urgent job necessary at this time? Let’s develop as much muscle and strength for your body that can feasibly be accomplished!

Don’t worry about matching your biceps to your triceps, and forget about matching your chest to your back. It’s simply not worth worrying about these issues until later on, after you’ve significantly thickened up your entire body.

If you have been training consistently for less than a year and are still a beginner then you should stop obsessing over details. You should rather focus your attention on the most pressing and fundamental problems. Move to a good weight training routine and be very determined to stick with it.

Write down every single workout that you perform and place every ounce of energy you can muster on adding as much weight to the bar on a consistent basis as you possibly can. Grind out all of the biggest, most difficult compound exercises and blast through those discomfort zones with passion and intensity.

Go to your kitchen and eat as many as six well balanced meals full of muscle building foods each day for a year.

Drink your water, get your rest and take your supplements whenever necessary. In other words: PAY YOUR DUES FIRST!

If you’re in this for the long haul (and you should be, as there are no temporary fixes to be had here), then get yourself on to the most efficient path possible. And the most efficient path possible is the one that focuses on the fundamentals first and the details later.

You must bring this mentality into your bodybuilding program. You don’t want to attempt to fine-tune and balance your physique until you have a considerable muscle foundation to work with. You can’t play that awesome guitar solo before you know basic chords, after all.

Building muscle is not rocket-science, but it is a task that requires consistent willpower and determination. And until you’ve been “in the trenches” and have earned yourself an impressive and muscular body. Stop over-analyzing. Get into the gym and train!

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