Archive for June, 2009

by Christine G. Shannon

Most people have heard of the Atkins diet, but may have no idea who Robert Atkins, the founder is. He was a doctor in the 70’s that was overweight, read a normal diet plan in the Journal of American Medicine and adapted it to fit his own needs and lost weight with it. He started writing books about his weight loss plan and the rest is history.

The Atkins diet or low carb diet, as it is often called, involves restricting carbohydrates, but allows all the protein you want. Some of the items you can eat on the Atkins diet are meats, eggs, cheese and butter, which is why many people try this diet. Of course, you can eat all the seafood you want and vegetables, except for the high carb ones, such as corn, dried beans, and of course, potatoes. You also have to eliminate any bread, pasta, rice and high carb fruits.

Salad vegetables, eggs, some dairy products and most fats are allowed if you are following the Atkins diet. You can also have sugar free salad dressing and some other condiments. You have to be careful with sweeteners and drinks. The Atkins diet also restricts most fruits, apart from unsweetened cherries, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries and grapefruit.

Of course, if you can afford it the Atkins diet program does feature the use of its brand name quick and easy mixes, sugar free syrups, low-carbohydrate breakfast bars, diet shake mixes and various other products to aid you in weight loss. They also offer a 14-day starter kit to encourage you to learn how to start the Atkins diet. However, to really learn how to start the Atkins diet involves reading the books and finding out what you are really involving yourself in with this program to be successful. This can cause a problem for many individuals who want to try this diet program.

Following the Atkins diet means that you will be counting carbohydrates rather than calories. There are different phases to the diet, the first of which is the induction phase. In the induction phase many foods are restricted. With the next phase, you can add more carbohydrates back into your diet. With the final phase, you are allowed more carbohydrates but you are still restricted in the amount of carbohydrates you can consume.

There are online support, chat groups, recipes, menus and frequently asked questions from the Atkins diet support team. Of course, it also involves gaining the support of those around you, as well.

The Adkins diet is a good plan for many individuals to lose weight, but does not work for everybody. Some people are unable to avoid bread, potatoes, rice and pasta and can’t stand it anymore and break down and cheat or just quit. They have to find another diet program that will work for them.

Maintaining a healthy weight or keeping the weight off can be the hardest part of any diet, especially if it is in your genetics or heredity. The main way to succeed in maintaining your weight loss is by committing to a diet plan and changing your habits of eating and your lifestyle. Fat Loss 4 Idiots at the link below may be just what you are searching for.

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by Julie Poundsign

For those of us who are carrying unwanted weight, or those of us who arent carrying enough, obtaining a desirable physique can be very difficult. Simply working out regularly and eating right doesnt necessarily work for everyone.

For people that are too skinny, sessions at the gym seem to achieve nothing except make you feel weaker half the time and you end up tired and frustrated that you have achieved nothing except sweaty pits.

For people who are overweight, working out regularly can be a far more gruelling prospect and will usually make you sweaty, annoyed and breathless before it makes you anything else, so there must be a way to speed the process along?

Things like dieting supplements and protein shakes are things that we have all heard of, but probably dont know much about. A lot of people question whether they work or not, whether they will have side effects etc. and rightly so. The answer is; if theyre used properly, then they can work wonders for your body, but otherwise, the chances are they will not do much.

For the underweight people who are looking to gain some muscle, carbohydrates and whey protein supplements would be perfect. They will naturally help your muscles grow at a faster rate as long as you keep working out as well!

A drink of whey protein consumed as instructed by your particular brand (they vary in strength and concentration) can be invaluable in helping you bulk yourself up. This is because whey protein (which I find is more effective than creatine) can be easily turned into muscle tissue by the body, but will only be fully effective if combined with regular workouts to give the body an incentive to create more muscle.

Unfortunately there is quite a bit more effort involved if you are overweight. The reason for this is that you cant turn fat cells straight into muscle, you have to burn the fat cells off first, then build muscle in its place. A supplement containing Sida Cordifolia would be ideal for this as it improves your metabolic rate, increasing the energy you used when doing anything, meaning fat cells burn off much quicker.

Using a supplement like this can really aid you in your quest for weight loss, followed up by a Whey protein shake of some description, you can have the body you want, realistically in around 8-10 months. As long as you carry on working out on a regular basis, supplements on their own will either have no effect, or just wont do what you want them to, the body needs to stay active for any supplement to have the desired effect.

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by Katherine Crawford M.S.

Many women are focusing on ineffective exercises when trying to crack the “how to lose arm fat” code. Maybe you are one of these women

And it’s not your fault if you are. You see, many of the so called experts can’t come to a common conclusion on the best arm exercises for women.

Thus, I have decided to do an ongoing analysis of every single arm toning exercise I can get my hands on. I want to see what the facts are, not the opinions.

I want to do this so that you don’t have to waste all the time, energy and money that I had to waste. Thus, here is today’s analysis:

1. Quick snap-shot. Most fitness buffs do low pulley curls towards the end of a workout to “finish off” their biceps. In other words, it’s mainly used as a depletion exercise. The biggest positive about using a pulley is the reduced stress on the joints.

2. Technical overview. Stand erect and face a pulley machine. Grasp a bar with an underhand grip (i.e., palms facing up). Keep your elbows frozen in place and raise the bar. Then slowly return it to the starting position.

3. Most common technical issues. Allowing the chest to cave in and the shoulders to come forward. This puts your lower back in a bad position. Heave-hoeing the weight up. And raising the weight too high.

4. Bottom line. This exercise doesn’t really have anything very negative or very positive about it. For the most part, it’s simply average. There are better exercises out there that will tone your arms a lot quicker. Nevertheless, this would be a good exercise for a woman with some type of limiting injury that required reduced joint stress.

Make sure you don’t miss my next review. The more you learn about arm toning exercises, the faster you’ll get results. Learning how to lose arm fat doesn’t have to give you a mental hernia. Good luck!

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by Curtis Ludlow

If you want to improve nearly every aspect of your life, you may want to consider trying the newest fitness craze, boot camp workouts!

The benefits of boot camp workouts are too numerous to list here. However, here are five big benefits of boot camp workouts that you may not be aware of.

1. You will make new friends.

Many people find it challenging to make friends and develop friendships as they get older. Boot camps facilitate team work, play, and fun so you have no choice but to interact with and meet new people.

2. Fat loss.

This one is a no-brainer. We all know that if you workout harder you will burn more calories. Well, boot camp workouts are intense workouts that burn a TON of calories. This means that you can potentially lose more weight.

3. You will sleep like a baby.

If you are having problems getting to sleep and staying asleep, boot camp might help. Intense exercise can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep.

4. Better sex life.

Boot camp will give you more energy and you will look better, this alone can improve you sex life. However, there is more to it than that. Boot camp exercise improves circulation which can lead to more satisfying sex.

5. Boot camp is fun!

Most people are too scared to try a boot camp program. They think that they’ll be yelled at and taunted etc. Unless you’re joining a military style boot camp – this probably won’t happen to you. Most boot camp programs are actually a loving and supportive environment full of people just like you. People who just want to get in shape and have fun doing it!

Are you ready to start a boot camp program? Google “boot camp” + your city to find one that looks like a good fit for you!

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by Jason King

Fitness fanatics all over the world desire information on the way models obtain their six pack abs. Some of them attempt the misinformation they study for months on end before they determine what they are attempting is not doing anything. A set of six pack abs is gained by way of a first-rate work out system and a healthy diet.

What models with flat stomachs don’t perform is hours of cardio every week. Cardio is the largest waste of time when it comes to shrinking the fat on your stomach. Cardio burns away your muscle mass, and you require your muscle mass to speed up your metabolic rate a sufficient amount to position your body in a constant fat burning condition.

You don’t have to bulk up like a body builder. You just need to keep your muscle to fat ratio high so your body is always burning more calories, and these will come from fat. Muscle naturally burns more calories than fat so the higher percentage your body is the more calories it will burn even while you’re asleep.

Resistance training with weights a few times a week will get you a flatter stomach a lot faster than an hour of cardio every day. Training with weights will put your body in a fat burning state for up to 48 hours after your gym session. The time between your workouts is the time that your body needs to be burning fat in order for you to start seeing your abs. An hour of cardio only burns calories while you’re doing the cardio, it does nothing for fat burning between your workouts. In this time your body will start storing fat.

Getting your eating habits correct is also vital. Consuming a great deal of rubbish food will prevent you from shedding the fat from your belly even if you’re exercise routine is rigorous. You need to consume 5 to 6 healthy meals every day that offer your body enough carbs, protein and fats for it to perform suitably and provide you the energy you want to train and recover. Consuming a burger at mealtime will not get cancelled out with an extra 10 minutes in the gym.

Models with six packs don’t stick to any silly diets. They go after work out and diet procedures that have been created to award them the outcome they need. All what they do is aimed at burning fat, and that is the only way to get your abdominal muscles to be exposed. Once you get the balance right you’ll soon see your six pack stomach.

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