Archive for September, 2009

It is not surprising that many people wonder why fad diets are bad when they seem to get results. You will find many sites on the internet claiming significant weight loss in just a few days. That type of weight loss is always temporary. It is usually 90% water which will be put straight back on as soon as your body rehydrates, which it must do if you are not going to suffer severe health problems or die.

Other fad diets are not so obviously crash diets with outrageous claims but they are over hyped diet plans that tend to be fashionable for a while and usually make a lot of money for the inventor in associated product sales. In the best cases these are good nutrition plans which will help you lose weight, but which you could probably have gotten for free from your doctor. In the worst cases they will prove so difficult to follow that you will give up after a week.

The Bad Part of Fad Diets

1. Diets that promise quick and easy weight loss are usually based on eating more of one food type and none of another. These do not give the benefits that you would get from a balanced diet. They may suggest you take supplements but many supplements are not absorbed by the body unless they are taken along with the foods that the diet has banned. After a few weeks, if you stick to it that long, you may begin to develop nutritional deficiencies.

2. Fad diets are often boring and over restrictive. After the novelty of the first day or two, you will not enjoy your meals. You will then start to crave food constantly and will break the diet. You may even feel guilty, thinking it is your fault that you did not lose weight.

3. Most fad diets do not follow recommendations of the American Heart Association and similar bodies for fat levels in the diet. Often the diet will recommend high fat foods and low carbs which if taken long term, could result in heart disease. The promoters may tell you that the diet is only intended to be followed for a short time. But you probably will not reach your goal weight in that time, and then what? You either continue with a plan that is not good for your health, or stop and probably gain back what you lost.

4. Many fad diets do not help you to incorporate enough servings of fruits and vegetables in your weight loss program, or give you the variety of foods that your body needs.

5. Quick weight loss diets are just a temporary solution and do not help you to make permanent changes to your eating habits. Permanent changes are the only way to remain at your target weight once you reach it. Fad diets encourage yo-yo diet-binge cycles of fast weight loss and equally fast weight gain. This is worse for your health and your self esteem than if you had stayed overweight all the time.

Whatever the publicity materials may say, these diets will not help you in the long term. The best way to sustain weight loss is to eat a varied and healthy diet, do not overeat, exercise regularly and avoid fad diets.

TAGS:  Fad diets, quick weight loss, diets that work, overweight diets, weight gain, lose weight, quick diets, healthy diets, diet trends.


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Obesity has become an epidemic across the United States and other countries. To remedy this, there has been an influx of different weight loss programs in the industry aiming to help individuals suffering from obesity or being overweight. In the military service, being overweight is a big no-no!

Even extra little fat is not tolerated, that is why soldiers have to be very careful with their physical care. As what they say, a fit army is a combat-ready army. So, for the reason of keeping every military man healthy and fit, a program called, army weight control, is formulated to help maintain weight those who have excess body fat, or are overweight.

What is the objective of army weight control program?

The primary objective why this program was formulated is to ensure all military personnel and soldiers control their weight. This is very important so they would be able to meet physical demands, which are required of them especially when under duties of combat conditions. The secondary objective is all for appearance. The program aims to present each soldier in their best military appearance or look at all times.

The program is also promoted to avoid military personnel from being sanctioned with limitations, which include non-promotable, not given authorization to attend civilian or any professional military schooling, and not being assigned to any command positions, when they are overweight or have excess body fats.

How does an army qualify for the program?

As soon as the soldier is found guilty of such body condition, he is automatically made a candidate to undergo with the program. Basically, there are two ways how to determine if a soldier is a candidate. All soldiers are measured in terms of their weight and height using a standard screening table weight. If the weight of a certain soldier exceeds body fat standard, he is going to be given notification or recommendation letter stating the need to undergo army weight program to correct the problem.

Unlike civilian citizens, an army is considered overweight already when his percent body fat reaches more than what is stated in the standard screening table weight. However, in such condition when a unit commander decides a soldier looks his body fat is excessive, the former may automatically recommend him to undergo the same program.

There are reasons why the service has to be strict in implementing this program. Needless to say, soldiers or any others who are in the military service are supposedly the image of strong and at all times combat-ready individuals. Therefore, the concern with which arising from excess body fat is strongly advocated is to primarily avoid the representation of lack of personal discipline, lack of proper military appearance, and poor physical fitness, stamina, and state of health.

An army candidate for weight control program starts undergoing the training the day he has been informed by his unit commander or the day when he has been enrolled. During the program, an army is expected to be measured monthly to track his body fat changes. The circumference sites to be measured include neck and abdomen for male soldiers, and neck, wrist, largest part of the buttock, and forearm for female soldiers. A tape test is conducted through the use of non-stretchable material, mostly made of fiberglass and administered by two persons.

Tags: army weight control, weight control with exercises, army weight control programs, weight control training, healthy diet weight loss.


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Does alli work as a weight loss pill? The quick answer seems to be yes, but there is a downside, so read on.

Alli is the over-the-counter name for orlistat which is also available in prescription form as Xenical. If you are going to ask for it you may like to know that it is pronounced like ally, not alley. It is essentially a fat blocker. It works by preventing the body from absorbing the fat from the foods that we eat, and it is the one freely available drug that has FDA backing for its claims to aid weight loss. You might think you could eat all the fatty foods you liked and then take alli to negate the effect but sadly that is not true. It should always be used in conjunction with a low fat diet plan under the supervision of a doctor.

The amount of weight loss achieved with alli is variable. In one study involving one-year clinical trials, between 35.5% and 54.8% of subjects attained a 5% or greater decrease in body mass, although we do not know how much of this mass was fat. Between 16.4% and 24.8% of the subjects achieved a 10% or more decrease in body mass. In combination with a calorie controlled diet, the effects could be expected to be greater. It was also shown to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The participants regained an average of one third of the weight that they had lost after stopping Alli, but this is typical of most dieters.

The main disadvantage of alli is the side effects which center around digestive and bowel problems. The higher the fat content in the diet, the greater these side effects are likely to be, as the undigested fat is expelled from the body. Flatulence, loose stools and bowel incontinence can result, especially in the early stages before the body is accustomed to the drug. The manufacturer’s website warns, “You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it’s probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work.” You really need to want to lose weight to take alli!

However these side effects are reduced if you stick to the recommended low fat diet and as the manufacturers hint, the potentially embarrassing side effects can even be helpful in encouraging you to keep to your diet.

If you don’t want to have these side effects of a drug diet pill then this is the time for you to look at what really works a Diet Plan for real success!!

Always remember that alli does not claim to work without consistent efforts toward weight loss from you. What they do claim is that it can improve your weight loss by up to 50%. That would mean a person who lost 10 pounds without taking alli would lose 15 pounds taking it. It boosts your weight loss and rewards your efforts with better results than you could get by yourself. Note though that individual results will vary and are not guaranteed.

Sadly there is no magic diet pill that will melt away your excess pounds while you sleep, but alli is a pill that has documented results. If you are determined to lose weight and have been struggling with diets without much effect, it may be a good time to discuss it with your doctor and find out does alli work for you.

TAGS: DIET PILLS, DIETS, WEIGHT LOSS, MELTING POUNDS, LOSE WEIGHT, HEALTHY DIETS.

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Get Help Now ! Click here:  Diet Plan


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The Sodium Surprise for Moms -Check the Food Labels Before you Buy for Your Kids

At your next trip to the grocery store and before you buy your kids some snacks check the labels for sodium or salt content.

High Salt Foods are made Worse By Adding Salt at the Dinner Table

High Salt Foods are made Worse By Adding Salt at the Dinner Table

Today’s prepackaged foods are all over salted and can cause blood pressure problems in children. Snacks like potato chips, fast foods, soft drinks are laced with tons of sodium or salt.  In the natural state even vegetables contain natural salt therefore there is no need to add more salt.  Even a fresh tomato from your garden has sodium already in the tomato yet people add more salt.  The sodium surprise is that foods from the ground already have salt content.

In Canadian studies it is revealed that Canadian foods have more salt that foods sold in the United States and Canadian children have a higher rate of hypertension or blood pressure problems. This is called the Sodium Surprise in food labels. Even pet foods have high sodium content which causes dogs and cats to have kidney or attention problems.

In homes people add salt to already high salt content foods which makes the matter worse.  Even soft drinks and juice drinks contain far too much salt which is added to bottled water.  Manufacturers of foods must be held accountable for the addition of salt which is not necessary in human foods but are added in the manufacturing process. Everything from crackers, chocolates, chips, soft drinks, take out foods, TV dinners, pre-packaged dinners, pizza, lasagna, burger mixes, candy, nuts, and even bottled water contain too much salt which is not needed for kids or adults.

Pizza, Chips, Soda Pop are all High in Salt or Sodium Content

Pizza, Chips, Soda Pop are all High in Salt or Sodium Content

SIDE EFFECTS OF TOO MUCH SALT IN KIDS DIETS:

1) Hyper tension or High blood Pressure

2) Kidney damage or kidney failure.

3) Excessive thirst which leads to more drinking of salty water or soda pop.

4) Kidney stones which are painful, cause blockages and must be removed.

5) Learning disabilities in kids and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorders.

6) Memory problems in kids.

7) Difficulty assessing goals and mental difficulties in learning.

8) Brain Damage.

These are rather severe side effects for a mom to know and if she is feeding her kids salty foods these are the side effects of a high sodium diet.  Studies have proven even breakfast cereals are high in salt.

Kentucky Fried Chicken has been studied including their kiddie menu called Popcorn Chicken, and Burger King’s Onion Rings as well as Special K cereals are high in salt.

If you wish to keep your kids healthy -always check the salt content of the food your kids are eating by reading the labels on each product.

TIPS ON REDUCING SALT IN YOUR KIDS DIETS

1) Read FOOD LABELS.

2) Do not purchase high salt products.

3) Ask your grocer for non-salt products.

4) Reverse blood pressure problems by reducing salt intake.

5) Add flavors such as herbs or vegetables to your kids daily meals.

6) Put away the salt shaker and add natural snacks.

7) Buy only unsalted nuts or pretzels which are low calorie and salt free.

By increasing your own awareness on products that contain high salt you will be protecting your family from diseases that will surely cost more money in the long run for your family.

TAGS: too much salt in kids diets, high salt diets, healthy diets for kids, increased ADHD in kids, the causes of hypertension in kids, Canadian foods high in salt, kids foods high in salt, high sodium in processed foods, healthy diets, diets for health, low salt diets.

See: Canadian Study in High Salt Content in Food for Kids and Snacks


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Pregnancy transforms a woman’s body like no other life event. When you were pregnant, you ate for two and made sure that your baby got what it needs.

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