Weight Loss tips

All throughout my childhood and teenage years I watched helplessly as my mother tried every fad diet under the sun. I recall one time she ate boiled cabbage and nothing else for a whole week. I felt my mothers’ frustration and misery but I could not understand why it was so difficult for her to lose weight and keep it off – until that is I became a weight loss coach.

For the past two years I have been assisting people to achieve their ideal weight and in this time I have experienced what contributes to a successful weight loss story.

Get serious
It all starts with you and how serious you are. The key to successful weight loss is dependent on your level of commitment. How would you rate your seriousness on a scale of 1 – 10 (10 being deadly serious)?

Staying motivated
Always keep the end in mind! Write down all of the reasons why you are motivated to lose weight now. Record these reasons on a piece of card that can be kept in your wallet or purse. Each morning and before going to bed remind yourself by reading aloud why you are motivated to lose weight.

Facing challenges
Every day you are likely to face challenges which can disrupt your focus and get in the way of your weight loss goals. Write down all of the challenges that you know have made losing weight hard for you in the past because this will help you to develop a better strategy this time. Three common challenges are lack of results, boredom and lack of support from spouse, family and friends.

Safe and effective
When choosing a weight control program I would recommend looking for the following:
Balanced nutritious
Provides you with balanced nutritious meals
Teaches you about better eating habits
Choose a weight control program that teaches you how to maintain your weighr t once you have reached your goal.

In order to get extreme weight loss it all comes down to the two most important principles…proper nutrition and raising your metabolic rate to the highest point possible.

The best diet program that is based around those two principles above that I have found that if the calorie shifting diet from Fat Loss 4 Idiots.

The calorie shifting diet will firstly provide you with a diet generator that will create for you four meals that you will consume daily. What this means is you will definitely not have to worry about starving yourself and restricting important nutrients (carbs, fats, etc.).

Now, what makes calorie shifting incredibly effective is you will learn how to do an advanced dieting trick called “shifting” where you will alternate the calories from the foods that you eat which will confuse your metabolism into raising to the highest point possible. The end result with using the calorie shifting diet is that you will have your metabolism running full speed ahead through out the entire day causing weight loss and fat loss…well, throughout the entire day!

So, if you want to get extremely fast weight loss and fat loss and do so 100% naturally, then I recommend you try the calorie shifting diet today.

By Avy Barnes

Most women will lose anywhere from 10-14 pounds within the first 2 weeks of delivery. This weight may be attributed primarily to the loss of excess fluid in the body, the baby’s weight, the placenta and amniotic fluid. Some women might lose a little bit less, and others might lose a little bit more.

As the uterus shrinks back down to its normal size and your hormone levels continue to fall, you will lose weight. Most women gain at least 7 pounds of fat during pregnancy. This fat is meant to help women store energy while breastfeeding. How fast this weight comes off will depend on a number of factors including: genetics, your overall health, diet and exercise.

You should expect that it will take a little bit of time to lose the weight you gained during pregnancy. It did after all take you nine months to put that weight on! Many women have successfully lost weight however, in just a few short months after a delivery.

Some women will hang on to the last few pounds they have to lose until they stop breastfeeding. Your body may want to cling to a few extra pounds to ensure you have enough energy to provide adequate milk for the baby. Every woman’s experience is unique with respect to this.

The good news is that with a solid nutritional program and with moderate exercise, you can expect to lose the weight you gained during pregnancy within a reasonable time frame.

Most women will be back to their pre pregnancy weight within nine months of delivering IF they follow a regular exercise program and eat healthily after delivery. That said some women will lose their pregnancy weight in as little as six to twelve weeks!

by: Beverley Brooke

Fat is generally considered bad for us, but there are different types of fats found in our food. If we know our food makeup well, we’ll be able to discern which fats are good for us and which ones are bad. Here’s a quick guide.

Monounsaturated Fats and Polyunsaturated Fats

The recommended daily percentage of fat in your daily diet and calories should be no more than 35%. Ideally, this 35% should be made up of either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat, also known as “good” fats. These are easily absorbed by the body and provide the best nutrition among the rest. They can be found in nuts, vegetable-based oils, soybeans, avocados, salmon, tuna, and mackerel

Saturated Fats and Dietary Cholesterol

Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol can heighten your chances of health problems like heart attacks, obesity, diabetes and even cancer. Try to avoid food that contain these type of fats, which usually are found in animal-based products. Avoid or minimize eating food high in saturated fats and dietary cholesterol such as hamburgers, steaks, lunch meats, poultry fat, poultry skin, whole milk, egg yolks, butter and cheese.

Trans Fats

Found in semi-solid and solid margarine or food labeled hydrogenated. Overall not good for health and should be removed from your diet altogether. Most processed snacks like chips and peanut butter contain trans fats. When in doubt, check the label. Anything hydrogenated should be avoided or discarded altogether.

Trimming the Fat

Lowering fat from your diet is difficult to do, but not impossible. You just need to be more discerning about the food you put in your mouth and how that food was prepared. Here are some steps to keep the fat levels low in your food.

1. Eat food with saturated fat in moderation. If you can’t avoid eating beef or meat, choose the leaner cuts of the beef and remove the chicken skin. Drain off the fat from the beef before eating or cut it off altogether if you can.

2. Minimize or remove animal-based products from your diet. This means switching to low-fat skim milk, eating more fish than meat. Avoiding cheese and butter, or at least low their low-fat counterparts. Choose egg whites over egg yolks.

3. Increase eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Lesser fats for more nutrition.

4. Remove frying from your methods of cooking. Grilling, boiling, steaming and poaching are all excellent ways to cook your food with a minimum of fat.

5. Go for herbs and spices to flavor your food instead of going for mayonnaise or cream-based sauces.

6. Choose vegetable oil sprays over fats or lard-based oil.

7. For snacks, eat nuts and olives in moderation as they are both high in fat. Go for fresh fruits or chips that are baked, not fried.

8. Make it a habit to look at the labels. Low calories does not mean the product is low in fat. Avoid products that are labeled “hydrogenated”. Remember that “good fat” should make up only 35% of your daily dietary intake.

Each day this week I will have targeted a different group of muscles. Each day I will work them, stretch them, and tear them. Each day, I will work so hard that my heart beats a new rhythm into my metabolism. Each day, my body will set to repair the damage I have done in such manner that it does not happen again. Each day doggedly break my body down and force it to improve itself. This is working out, this is getting fit, this is what it takes.

As I sit and stretch between sets, my quads still reeling, I scan around the gym. I take in those around me. At this hour, there are few people willing to brave the cold mornings to make the run to the gym. There are two people working with some free weights near by. They are within earshot and while I am resting I listen to them complain about, work, relationships, their bosses, clothes, their bodies and their friends. The conversation flows from one topic to the next seamlessly and it is clear by their candor that they know each other well; that they have been friends and work out buddies for a while. What grabs my attention however, is not the meandering topics of their conversation, but the fact that conversation is occurring at all.

I ponder this until I start on my second set. As my second set starts, all I can focus on is exercise; flexing my muscles against the weight. During the relatively short time it takes for me to run through my set and completely exhaust my quads, every action, every breath becomes an exercise in methodical control and economy. Every action I make is geared to the exercise at hand.

When I finish and I reengage with the world, I come back to the two people and their on-going conversation. As they chat, they work through a routine of exercises that look habitual and ritualized. When they work their muscles, they go through the motions; intent more on the conversation and company then their bodies.

There is a point to this. There is a myth, an urban legend if you will, that says going to the gym will make you lose weight. It is a logical extension of the same myth that says I need to go to the gym, I am out of shape. These two ideas have become synonymous with healthy lifestyles and fitness. For the two people I observed, simply being at the gym was enough to assuage their concerns for their physical health. The bottom line is that this is an illusion. To make yourself fit, you need to break your body down and force it to rebuild. The idea being that after the rebuild, you will be stronger and fit. This cannot occur by merely being in a gym, or as in the case with the talking pair, this cannot occur by going through the motions of working out.

Before I get accused of being a fanatical meat head just understand that I carry an extra few pounds around my waist. All I know is that to really make progress, to have physical and visible results, you must have an impact on your body. The kicker is that they almost have it made. These people are at they gym early on a cold morning. They are committed to their weight loss goals. They go through the motions of their exercises like a well rehearsed dance routine. Clearly they want to achieve something with their bodies. If they just focused, and worked their bodies just a little more; enough, say, to deny them the ease of conversation, then the results would be tremendous.

The whole point is that you have to be clear about what it is you want to accomplish. I know with every fiber in my being, that I will burn off the extra weight around my waist and that I will firm up my desk loving muscles. But I won’t do it by talking.

by: The Icon Reader

Acid Reflux – Food Not To Eat

Foods commonly known to cause heartburn include dairy products such as milk, ice cream, cottage cheese, and even yogurt. Milk may seem like a quick solution to sooth the stomach and stop reflux. The truth is, it encourages the production of more stomach acid.

Drinks that can increase the secretion of stomach acid include beer, wine, and soda pop. Drinking beer can double your stomach acid within an hour. Caffeine, if you are drinking too many cups of coffee in a day to kill sleepiness or simply just addicted, you can now start looking for something else that can substitute it. Your cup of coffee is one of the causes of acid reflux.

Another group of unhealthy food that causes acid reflux are chocolates, alcohol and tobacco. If you take any of these regularly or in big amounts, it is about time you avoid it.

You may discover that reflux occurs after eating foods that are not on a typical “acid reflux food not to eat” list or that you can eat certain foods on the list with no problems. For example, eating chocolate may not trigger an acid attack in you, but may have the opposite effect on others. Keep a record to see what you can and cannot eat.

The best way to avoid acid reflux is to eat smaller meals throughout the day instead of three big meals. This will reduce the amount of acid required to digest the food. Foods such as bread, pasta, and rice have a tendency to absorb the acid and are prone to be easier on the stomach.

Do not lie down soon after eating, wait at least an hour. Avoid heavy meals in the evening. The more food you eat, the longer it takes to digest and thus produces more acid. Elevate your head six inches or more when lying down.

According to some studies, there is no evidence to support the claim that acidic fruit, coffee, and spicy food trigger acid reflux. In fact, many claim that citrus fruits such as lime actually reduce their acid reflux. However, many people with acid reflux can not tolerate these foods and they are leading contributors on their “acid reflux food not to eat” list.

The symptoms of reflux can be very painful. Most people take prescriptions or over the counter medications such as acid reducers to alleviate the symptoms. The condition can be controlled by making diet and behavior changes. Learning the foods you need to avoid, eating smaller meals, elevating your head at night, and not eating too soon before bedtime. Consulting a doctor at the earliest can help you get the exact information on what is to be included and avoided in your daily routine to get rid of acid reflux related problems.But you must keep an “acid reflux food not to eat” list to know for certain what foods your own body can handle

There are several acid reflux symptoms that often severe enough to decrease the quality of life for those who suffer from the disease.

Heartburn: The burning sensation in the chest is commonly referred to as heartburn. It is one of the major symptoms of this condition. Ironically, heartburn has absolutely nothing to do with heart.

Other Symptoms include: Pain in the abdomen, Nausea, Acid taste in the mouth which at times can lead to vomiting too, Sleeplessness due to the discomfort and pain, Difficulty in swallowing etc.

Some people also experience symptoms like asthma like coughing or wheezing, sore throat, bad breath and in some cases heart attack like pain in the chest.

Often the above symptoms can be often mistaken for something mild and are ignored which over a period of time ends up complicating the condition more and in some extreme cases, surgery is the only option available.

To avoid such a situation, not only is the correct identification of the symptoms necessary but also the correct treatment too.

Upset stomach is yet another common symptom. Soar throat followed by husk voice are also its symptoms. Severe chest pain, minor heart attacks, vomiting, narrowing of the esophagus, shortness of breath and pre-malignant condition of the esophagus are some of the major symptoms.

Gastro esophageal reflux disease mainly occurs due to weakening of sphincter muscles as a result the stomach acid  flow backward into the esophagus. Some of the major things to avoid acid reflux symptoms are stop smoking, reduce over weight, avoid tight clothing, elevating the head of the bed, and avoid eating two to three hours before going to sleep. We can also reduce acid reflux symptoms by less consumption of chocolate, coffee, peppermint, spicy foods, tomato products, and alcoholic beverages.

Battling Cancer is a tough time in anyone’s life. Perhaps the toughest. That’s why we’ve decided to write this article on how to care for yourself during radiation for Breast Cancer.

It very important to properly care for yourself during radiation for breast cancer. Keep in mind that after radiation you could feel fatigued for up to six weeks. Sleep as much as you like during this time – one thing you really need is your rest.

Also, make sure after radiation that you wear a comfortable bra. Making sure your bra fits properly and doesn’t rub in any way is all part of good care for yourself during radiation for breast cancer. If a part of your bra rubs place a soft cloth between the bra and your skin.

Weight loss can be a problem after radiation treatment. In order to properly care for yourself during radiation for breast cancer make sure you eat a balanced diet. This will help you to avoid weight loss and keep your energy levels as high as possible.

Keep the skin fold area under your breast clean and talk to your doctor before using any powders, lotions, deodorants or perfumes. As part of your care for yourself during breast cancer radiation you need to make sure you are not using any products that might react with your skin at this time or do something to affect the radiation treatment in any way. Because of this it is best to avoid deodorants. Deodorants contain magnesium, and this can inhibit the effectiveness of the radiation treatment. To avoid reactions with the treated area, also avoid starching your clothes.

As part of care for yourself during radiation for breast cancer bathe the treated area in lukewarm water. This is because hot and cold water can damage your skin.

Article by health writer Kate Wiley of http://www.healthy-shopper.com Health in 1 http://www.health-in-1.com and Advice on Health http://www.advice-on-health.com
You may use this article on your website providing you include the above author bio and active link to our health sites.

Symptoms of arthritis can happen in any part of the body that includes a joint. However most often these symptoms occur in these particular body parts: the thumb, finger, foot, back, knee, shoulders, hip, or neck.

Symptoms do vary. However usually, patients complain that they experience inflammation in the joint area, swelling, or warmth. Patients often complain that they feel pain or redness or swelling in the affected area. They also say that their range of motion is inhibited. Arthritis symptoms can hit a person all of a sudden or they can progress slowly over a long period of time. Often arthritis symptoms can interfere with daily and normal tasks such as going up the stairs or playing with pets.

Arthritis can be caused by a severe traumatic injury or disease. Doctors can diagnose arthritis by giving patients X rays or other physical tests. People who suffer from arthritis can rest assured there is help out there.

They’re different kinds of creams that can be purchased in stores for all arthritis pain. Also, every day doctors are coming out with new and improved medications to tackle arthritis symptoms.

Arthritis symptoms are normally experienced by people who are over the age of 45. However the symptoms can affect people of even younger ages.

]]> http://www.diabetes-stroke.info/pain/common-symptoms-of-arthritis/feed/ 0 http://www.diabetes-stroke.info/pain/5-tips-for-dealing-with-rheumatoid-arthritis-pain/ http://www.diabetes-stroke.info/pain/5-tips-for-dealing-with-rheumatoid-arthritis-pain/#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:55:16 +0000 http://www.diabetes-stroke.info/pain/?p=70 Do you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and have had to quit taking your prescription pain medication because of harmful side effects? Are you looking for natural alternatives to help you deal with the pain that you face doing everyday tasks? If the answers to these questions are yes, then the following tips for relieving rheumatoid arthritis are just what you have been waiting for.

1- The most important thing that anyone can do for their bodies is to exercise. This includes those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis as well. However, not every exercise is suitable for sufferers of arthritis pain. The exercises that are done need to be good for the muscle, while not being damaging for the joints. A great exercise for those who are living with rheumatoid arthritis, in fact for everyone, is walking. Walking is a good low impact activity that does not put unneeded pressure on the joints. Other alternatives to walking are biking or walking in a pool.

2- The topic of exercising as a way to relieve the pain of arthritis leads into another tip. It is very important to incorporate balancing exercises into your daily routine. For example, water aerobics and Tai Chi are two types of balancing exercises. The reason for these types of activities is that balancing is a very effective way of strengthening without undue pressure on the joints. However, if the joints do begin to hurt, the activity should be stopped. If the pain continues more than a couple of days, it would be wise to consult your physician.

3- If you are suffering from the pain of rheumatoid arthritis, it is a good idea to concentrate on your overall body weight. If this is an issue for you, speak with your doctor about ways that are suitable for you to take it off. When you are dealing with any type of arthritis pain, the extra weight makes it worse. Consider this; there is about 30 pound of force placed on the knees for each ten pounds of weight that is being carried. Therefore, the ability to lose ten pounds will effectively result in 30 pounds of force being lifted from the knee.

4- Some rheumatoid arthritis sufferers find that applying hot or cold compresses can help to alleviate some of the pain that is associated with their condition. When using this method of pain relief, there is a simple rule to remember, ice reduces pain while the heat will loosen the joints and boost blood flow.

5- This next tip, while not an actual treatment option, is very important to your emotional well-being. Educate yourself regarding your condition, this will improve your attitude as well as eliminate the element of surprise. Many people are afraid to ask questions when they are faced with a debilitating illness, they just wait for the bad stuff to start happening and many end up depressed. Don’t be one of those people, ask your doctor, ask friends, do research, learn as much as you can about rheumatoid arthritis so that you can better deal with it.