Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Do Weight Loss Herbs Really Work?

More than $30 billion each year is spent on diet remedies and aids. Estimates from national surveys show that at any given time twenty five to fifty percent of adults in American are on some sort of diet. Many people are looking to herbs to aid them in their weight loss.

Permanent weight loss, whether you choose herbs or another solution, requires a commitment to a healthier lifestyle in general to be successful. Common causes for obesity today are poor eating habits, lack of exercise as well as poor diet. Other contributing factors are glandular malfunction, hypoglycemis, diabetes, emotional tension, love of food and boredom. Poor nutrition may be an important factor in obesity. Inadequate intake of certain essential nutrients can cause fat to accumulate in the body. Food your body does not use or cannot use or can be a poison to your system can be stored in body tissues. This can cause water retention.

Obesity can be a serious health problem. Americans are fatter and more stressed out than ever. Today Americans are no likelier to get regular exercise than they were ten years ago. Unhealthy choices in their diets also contribute to this problem.

Basically there are three approaches for managing weight through natural nutritional supplementation. Natural appetite suppressants are used to of course, control the appetite. Diuretic nutrients and herbs are used to decrease water retention. Lipotropic vitamins are used for their ability to reduce fat and cholesterol. These herbs and nutrients can aid with weight loss but once again permanent weight loss requires commitment to healthier lifestyle choices.

Herbs that are often recommended for aid in weight loss are yarrow, alfalfa, hydrangea, white ash, corn silk, hyssop, uva ursi, dandelion, juniper berries, gravel root, thyme, oat straw, seawrack, horsetail and parsley. These can be used as a tea for their diuretic properties.

Astragalus is recommended for increased energy and improving nutrient absorption. This herb should not be used if one has a fever. Aloe vera juice can cleanse the digestive tract, and is also recommended for improved digestion.

The next group of herbs is recommended to aid with weight loss because they aid in the metabolism of fat. Mustard seed, butcher's broom, green tea, cardamom, ginger, cayenne, Garcinia cambogia, and cinnamon that improve digestion and aid in the metabolism of fat. During pregnancy cinnamon should not be used in large quantities.

Guarana, ephedra, kola nut are appetite suppressants. Although it is a natural weight loss herb ephedra should not be used by those who suffer from anxiety, glaucoma, high blood pressure, insomnia, or heart disease. It also should be avoided if you are taking monoamine oxidase (MOA) inhibitor drug for depression.

Siberian ginseng aids in moving nutrients and fluids throughout the body. It also aids to reduce stress of adjusting to changes in new eating habits. This drug however should not be used if you have high blood pressure, heart disorder or hypoglycemia. Fenugreek is useful for breaking up fat in the liver. Fennel is a natural appetite suppressant and also removes fat and mucus from the intestinal track. These herbs help with weight loss in different ways.

This next group is recommended to stimulate the adrenal glands and improve thyroid function. That is how these herbs aid in weight loss. Licorice root, bladderwrack, sarsaparilla, borage seed, and hawthorn berry. Licorice can elevate blood pressure. It should not be used on a daily basis for more than seven days in a row. If you have high blood pressures do not use it.

When it comes to losing weight, weight loss vitamins and herbs can help. At http://www.healthyvitamininfo.com/ you can find information that will help you lose weight naturally.

Personal Trainers Insight into Weight Loss

Unfortunately, in todays world, the easiest way is the best way. Today, if you are overweight, there are a million and one diets, training programs and supplements which guarantee you success. Indeed, many of them deliver and customers have excellent success. But more often than not, those who begin a diet or program fail. They either drop out, or the results don't come.

But why? Why is it that the obesity epidemic is sweeping the world with a force, if there are so many easy weight loss methods available? Because current trends are to let others do the thinking for us.

We follow a particular diet. Foods we can eat, cant eat. Train at this time, run for this long. All you are doing is following someone else's rules without actually learning anything yourself. And this is the key to a new lifestyle and weight loss- knowledge. Understanding which you can act on in any situation at any time in your life.

If you understand how the body works, in relation to nutrition and training, if you become familiar enough to recognise and react to your bodies messages and changes, if you understand enough about yourself- its then, and only then, you can live a LIFESTYLE of healthiness which will keep the weight off with no drudge diet, no starving, no 0 carb or 0 fat menu's.

This is the difference between those who lose weight and keep it off and those who are forever struggling. Those who learn not only rules, but the reasoning and the knowledge behind these techniques, who understand bodily processes, how their body works, why it works that way, and how to ensure your lifestyle is optimum for your body, these are the ones who not only will lose the weight, but can simply live a healthy lifestyle armed with this knowledge. Day by day they can live happy and sure, knowing how to treat their body correctly without any crazy diets.

Im not saying that weight loss programs out their are incorrect- they will work in many cases. But your body is a clever thing. It adapts, it resists. Unless you can manipulate your lifestyle for your particular needs, and react to different situations not outlined in a general diet, you wont succeed, or your success will come at a dear price. Who wants to follow a certain menu day in day out? Its bound to fail. Who wants to cut all the carbs out of their diet? The only thing which will happens is your metabolism will slow so much, when you do eat carbs again it will result in weight gain. The cycle begins. It's the knowledge of the science of your body which will allow you to understand EXACTLY why your putting weight on, or why your losing weight, and how to reverse or encourage trends in your everyday life.

In the morning when i wake up, i know if i don't eat within 30 minutes my body will start to tap into my muscle stores and fat stores for glucose. As im trying to gain muscle, this is unacceptable. When my body is overly tired, ill postpone a workout, consume some extra protien and carbs and allow plenty of rest. Its all about understanding your body and meeting its needs. One diet can work for everyone. You need to know your body and know how to treat it in any situation. This is the key to long term weight loss, and a fun, invigorating new lifestyle.

So before your begin your diet or training program, take the time to learn about the science of your body. Research the processes of fat storage, fat breakdown. Research muscle growth, research nutrition. Knowledge. Its worth more than its weight in gold. Aquire it. Understand the world you life in and the body you walk around in. This is your key to success.

Nathan Quigley is a Personal trainer, with a master trainer qualification at the Australian Institute of fitness. He is currently running a weight loss series at http://www.losethefatfast.blogspot.com which seeks to equip overweight people with the knowledge and motivation they need to live a new and amazing lifestyle, all the while seeing the pounds fall away. He also specialises in weight gain for skinny guys, and runs a further weightgain serious at http://www.getbigmucles.blogspot.com

How To Lose Weight Fast And Effortlessly

There a significant number of strategies and approaches being taught about how to lose weight and many of them do work to some extent. The problem with most weight loss strategies is that the people that use them and see results tend to end up gaining the weight back after a few months or so of losing it and sometimes they gain back more than they lose.

Losing weight really comes down to 2 things and that is diet and exercise. However there is a third element that is critical. This third element is your commitment level. The fact is that most people know how to lose weight but they simply do not follow through. It is their lack of commitment that causes them to fail rather than their lack of knowledge. Thus you must first build an unwavering commitment level to losing weight before you start any diet or exercise program.

There are many approaches you can use to build your commitment level. Many people that lose weight and stay at a healthy weight have trained themselves to simply hate being overweight and love being at a healthy weight. Think about the negative consequences that being overweight is bringing into your life right now. Think about all the pain and suffering you are going through just because you have some extra weight.

Think about all the humiliation and the lack of self esteem and confidence that not being fit and healthy has brought into your life. You need to get sick and tired of your current health and fitness level otherwise you will never change. Also focus on the pleasure that having a powerful healthy body will bring into your life. Maybe you will now have more confidence to approach that special someone that you have always wanted to build a relationship with.

Focus on the pleasure of being fit and healthy and focus on the pain that being overweight and unhealthy is having on your life. Use the pain and pleasure to drive you to follow through and stick with a healthy weight loss program. Build your commitment level and grow it each day and you will find that you will have the power to follow through on any effective weight loss program you choose.

There are many effective approaches diet and exercise that can help you to lose weight. The key to diet is to break down your meals into smaller portions and simply eat less but more often. Also try to get as much natural food into your diets such as fruits and vegetables and minimize your consumption of meats and processed foods. This is a great challenge but if you have the commitment it will be easy.

Exercise is composed of two parts and that is weight training and aerobics. Both are important. Weight training will build that all important muscle mass that turns your body into a fat burning machine since muscle burns calories all the time. Simply join a gym or buy a good piece of weight training equipment and do a variety of exercises roughly once a week or even once every two weeks.

It is important to not weight train too much so the more weight you lift the more rest you will need to recover. Do aerobics 3 to 5 times a week however with aerobics the key is simply to move consistently for 30 to 60 minutes. If you work a job where you are always on your feet then you may not even need to do any aerobics at all since your job gives you the aerobic benefits you need. Base the amount of aerobic exercise you do based on your current lifestyle. Follow some of these weight loss tips to help you become thin and healthy.

Shakil is an online researcher, author and a regular contributor to a site that shows people how to attain better health and wellness. Be sure to stop by and learn how to lose weight too.

A Negative Calorie Food List

To make a negative calorie food list, we must be precisely clear on what we mean. There has been some confusion about this phrase. Some have thought that this kind of food contains no calories at all. This can't be right as long as all kinds of food contains at least some energy.

We're going to present you with a list of this kind of food. If you follow it, not necessarly without any other kinds of food, it will increase metabolism naturally, and the result will be weight loss - especially compared with eating a meal where these foods are not included.

Now, it's time for a definition. When we say nagative calorie food, we mean foods which contain so little energy that the body actually uses more energy to digest and absorb the nutrients. So if you subtract calories you'll burn from the calories you eat, the result will be negative. Only by digesting the food you have eaten, there will be a net loss of energy or a negative energy balance. This is what must happen if you want to lose weight but with this food you don't have to do anything but eat it to accomplish that.

You can also eat protein in combination with such food. Good protein will help you control your appetite as well as increase your metabolism because the total amount of calories are not reduced too much.

Here is the list:

Vegetables

Fennel, aubergine, gourd, broccoli, leek, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, marrow, cauliflower, peppers, celery, radish, chicory, spinach, cress, tomato, cucumber, turnip.

Fruits

Apricot, mandarin orange, blackberry, melon canteloupe, blackcurrant, peaches, clementines, plums, damsons, raspberry, grapefruit. rhubarb, guava, strawberry, honeydew melon, tangerine, lemon, watermelon.

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet marketer. He runs the website 11-Weight-Loss.net. Terje enjoys to help people with negative calorie food diets and workout to increase metabolism naturally.

Fat Loss - Food Nutrition For Rapid Maximum Fat Loss Program 4 Idiots

Fat loss has become an issue with a lot of people. They all want to loss fat and become the person with their desirable weight. What they are looking for is a nutrition or food program which they can eat to do the magic of loosing all the fat rapidly with maximum weight loss, whereby even an idiot will be able to use it effectively.

The truth is such a nutrition programs are available and can be used by every one who desire to lose fat. The nutrition when used in most cases will give you maximum weight rapidly. Most of these program even an idiot can use it to reduce fat. You do not need a degree in food nutrition to use it. Any person can use it.

You are overweight for the simple reason because you are eating the wrong food, the wrong type of calories per meal, and you are also eating meals in the wrong pattern of the day.

Food is more powerful than any prescription fat loss pill because we are what we are because of the food we eat. The food we eat can either make us thin or fat. The overweight has come as a result of the food you have eating. And guess what? You can lose the fat and get slim by eating the right foods at the right intervals each day.

The pattern that you use to eat your meals is more powerful than any prescription fat loss pill. Because your body is like an engine and it only needs certain foods at certain intervals each day and if you do not eat the right food at the right times then it won't burn those calories as fat tissues.

You need to eat more than three times a day to lose fat, but we will show you the way latter on. There are many systems which are so different from each other and I believe each one has its merits and may be different from anything else you have ever. The key is find the nutrition program that you will notice a change in your body in a few days when implemented. Food is not the enemy.

Reginald Ross has put this article together to help us in our quest to loss fat. If you are interest and want to know more then visit: http://www.waterhousegold.blogspot.com for more valuable information on fat loss.

Healthy Weight Loss Requires Motivation

Healthy weight loss is a popular goal for countless people. And today, more than ever, we are heavier than at any time in history. And even though it seems that everyone is on a diet these days, the majority never seem to understand how to lose weight and keep it off for good.

Part of this lack of understanding is due, in part, to having too much information. With all of the resources available including countless diet books, magazines and all of the information available online, knowledge is definitely not the problem. However, too much of a good thing is.

With so many sources, it's difficult to know which weight loss program to follow and who to listen to. In reality, there are a lot of good plans out there and if you happen to choose one of those it would be difficult to go wrong. If you actually manage to get to this point, program in hand, the key to success is learning what to do and then doing it. Really - it's that simple.

So many people like the idea of learning and reading about the latest and greatest diet plan but never put any of the recommendations into daily practice. They become extremely knowledgeable about weight loss and know how many calories the most popular foods contain. What they fail to do however, is make use of that information. Instead, they buy another diet book because the first one didn't work.

If implementation is the real problem, how can you beat the odds and solve it for your own situation? The answer is simple, really. Once you determine the best plan for your needs, you must find a way to constantly motivate yourself to stay on track. Because everyone is wired a bit differently, this will be a highly individual undertaking.

Some people find that having another person hold them accountable works well. They will generally confide in a friend that they are trying to lose weight and ask the friend to give a gentle reminder when it appears they have slipped up in some way. Alternatively, the friend may occasionally ask about how things are going as a subtle reminder to stay on track. The friend may even be an exercise buddy and you can hold each other accountable for fitness activities. If this strategy works for you, then use it to you and your friend's best advantage. If not, there are many other ways to stay motivated.

The most important component of a motivational tactic is that it have meaning to you. You must be able to identify with and internalize it. Ideally you'll want to find several different motivators to have in your arsenal in case one isn't working particularly well at any given moment - you can just trade it out for a new one. Develop a list of motivational tips and you'll be well on your way to a successful and healthy weight loss.

Need additional motivational tips to stick with your weight loss program?

Visit WeightLossSolutionsOnline.com for more information and diet plan reviews.

Diet And Weight Control

Ongoing diet and weight control are not easy. Most people think that once they reach their weight loss goals that they can stop their diet and magically maintain the weight loss. Weight loss is not something you do for a couple of months; it is a change in your life style for the foreseeable future. It takes continued diet and exercise to get the best weight loss. The upside is the scientists and doctors understanding of diet and exercise is increasing daily, but many dieters can not balance their low calorie diets and so their diet is actually unhealthy. Make sure when you diet that you are getting the nutrition your body needs, balances with exercise to keep up your metabolism. Approximately ninety-five percent of repeat dieters fail, putting back on the weight they lost and a lot of times more. So after you achieve your goals, live in moderation to maintain the success.

All too often adults find themselves in midlife with a widening tummy and larger sized close in the closet. Dont we all wish we were the same size and weight as when we graduated high school or maybe college? This happens because our metabolism slows down and we spend less time in active tasks, mostly we sit at a desk all day. Regardless of your weight loss goals, a basic understanding of how the body uses nourishment and metabolism will be required in order to reach your goals as well as understanding how this changes as we get older.

Try choosing a weight loss plan that includes: balanced nutrition, adequate exercise, a good support system, and regular follow-up. It is well know that a good weight loss plan has both diet and exercise, but a University of Illinois study found that exercise is more effective if it is supported by a protein-rich diet. Hypnosis can also be used to change your outlook about food and help to alter your eating habits. Another study showed simply by eating slowly and allowing yourself to feel full will encourage you to eat less and therefore loss weight. There are plenty of fad diets out there for those who have the time and money, but typically they are popular because they advertise effortless weight loss. Most often the weight lost by these diets is the loss of body water and it will come back. Seek a balanced diet with proper nutrition and exercise.

An ability to alter lifelong attitudes toward diet and exercise may ultimately be the key to successful weight management. You must be motivated enough to change habits not for a few weeks or months, but for a lifetime. The better you become at doing these things, the longer, and healthier the rest of your life will be. Good luck and good health.

Simon Volk has been a contributing author for websites and is an acknowledged expert in the field of health and fitness. He can be found on the internet at the website: Health Fitness Articles | Health Fitness Exercise or Mega Traffic Site | Blogs

Diet And Weight Control

Ongoing diet and weight control are not easy. Most people think that once they reach their weight loss goals that they can stop their diet and magically maintain the weight loss. Weight loss is not something you do for a couple of months; it is a change in your life style for the foreseeable future. It takes continued diet and exercise to get the best weight loss. The upside is the scientists and doctors understanding of diet and exercise is increasing daily, but many dieters can not balance their low calorie diets and so their diet is actually unhealthy. Make sure when you diet that you are getting the nutrition your body needs, balances with exercise to keep up your metabolism. Approximately ninety-five percent of repeat dieters fail, putting back on the weight they lost and a lot of times more. So after you achieve your goals, live in moderation to maintain the success.

All too often adults find themselves in midlife with a widening tummy and larger sized close in the closet. Dont we all wish we were the same size and weight as when we graduated high school or maybe college? This happens because our metabolism slows down and we spend less time in active tasks, mostly we sit at a desk all day. Regardless of your weight loss goals, a basic understanding of how the body uses nourishment and metabolism will be required in order to reach your goals as well as understanding how this changes as we get older.

Try choosing a weight loss plan that includes: balanced nutrition, adequate exercise, a good support system, and regular follow-up. It is well know that a good weight loss plan has both diet and exercise, but a University of Illinois study found that exercise is more effective if it is supported by a protein-rich diet. Hypnosis can also be used to change your outlook about food and help to alter your eating habits. Another study showed simply by eating slowly and allowing yourself to feel full will encourage you to eat less and therefore loss weight. There are plenty of fad diets out there for those who have the time and money, but typically they are popular because they advertise effortless weight loss. Most often the weight lost by these diets is the loss of body water and it will come back. Seek a balanced diet with proper nutrition and exercise.

An ability to alter lifelong attitudes toward diet and exercise may ultimately be the key to successful weight management. You must be motivated enough to change habits not for a few weeks or months, but for a lifetime. The better you become at doing these things, the longer, and healthier the rest of your life will be. Good luck and good health.

Simon Volk has been a contributing author for websites and is an acknowledged expert in the field of health and fitness. He can be found on the internet at the website: Health Fitness Articles | Health Fitness Exercise or Mega Traffic Site | Blogs

Cabbage Soup Weight Loss Fast And Easy

Cabbage soup weight loss is a quick and easy way to drop about 10 pounds in a week. This isn't a long-term eating plan. It's just a way to drop some pounds in a hurry. Sometimes that is just the motivator a person needs to start dropping toward an ideal weight. A quick weight loss in just a few days gets you started off right.

After you get started with the cabbage soup diet, you can shift to a more sustainable long-term plan combining sensible eating with exercise and over a longer period of time, you can attain your weight goals. Even though we all know that short-term diets don't produce long-term weight loss, as a motivator this plan makes perfect sense.

This diet is the first phase of a lifestyle change that will once and for all let you get your weight where you want it. And any time during your long-term weight loss plan where you need a motivational boost, drop back to the soup diet for a week and drop some more pounds again. Then go right back to your sustainable plan.

So what is a cabbage soup diet? Do you just eat soup for a week? That doesn't sound very appetizing does it? Actually that isn't it at all. The plan is that you will eat specific foods on each of the days of the diet. Then you eat all the cabbage soup you want. So the soup is a filler so you aren't empty with gnawing hunger pains. You're full all the time.

Now what kind of food can you eat on this diet? You get fruits and vegetable on some days. Beef or chicken with tomatoes is another day. One day you can eat bananas and drink milk. It varies day by day but in the week you get a wide range of choices. And there is no set cabbage soup recipe. You can vary the recipes to suit your taste. Make it bland or spice it up.

You can lose 10 pounds in a week. Then go on to lose as much weight as you choose with a sensible diet and exercise plan.

Visit our site to get great cabbage soup weight loss ideas and the detailed free 7 day diet plan.

Go to http://www.cabbagesouprecipediet.com and drop that ten pounds next week.

Al Bullington constantly is struggling with weight gain simply because he likes to eat too much of his wife and daughters' outstanding cooking!

After WLS: How To Avoid Mourning The Loss of Food

A frequent question brand-new gastric bypass patients ask is How do you deal with the loss of food?

In the first few weeks out of surgery when patients can only eat is Jell-O or protein shakes or broth patients frequently report grieving for food. After all, food is a beloved friend of the morbidly obese. Now its gone and emotional grieving results. The sense of loss is magnified during the post-op healing phase because patients dont feel well enough to do anything. That leaves time to focus on the foods we loved but are no longer allowed.

How can a patient distract their thoughts from food? Here are a few suggestions to help newbies get past this stage!

Read fashion magazines and daydream about your new body in the seasons latest fashions.

Practice accepting compliments graciously so you are ready when the cheers start coming your way.

Read a book about nutrition so you are well informed and ready to take care of your new body.

Visit gyms in your area, meet trainers and consider how you are going to exercise the minute you get released for activity.

Read LivingAfterWLS.com for information & inspiration. (Ok, so I had to plug my own site SMILING!)

Network with other WLS people and share your common experience.

Begin a journal of your weight loss experience. Be sure to include statistics like weight, BMI and measurements.

Begin your walking program most patients are instructed to start walking the day after surgery.

Enjoy yourself! This bland phase of eating is the start of your brand new life.

Kaye Bailey 2005 - All Rights Reserved

Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com

LivingAfterWLS is a no-nonsense resource for people Living After Weight Loss Surgery. Our community is growing in numbers even as we are shrinking in pounds. Together we support one another in this lifestyle, that it turns out, is NOT the easy way out.

Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often. To subscribe to the LivingAfterWLS monthly newsletter "You Have Arrived" click on http://www.livingafterwls.com and enter your details in the subscription box.