If you feel like you are overweight you are not alone. There are thousands of people in the world that feel like they could lose a few pounds. But the good thing is that every year a large percentage of people that feel that they are overweight take the steps necessary to get down to their target weight.

Losing weight does not have to be difficult. Over the years there has been a lot of talk about how hard it is to lose weight, and that it takes a lot of time, hard work, determination, and in many cases money. And sure, this is true. You are not going to lose weight by simply sitting around and doing nothing. But the fact of the matter is that every year people all over the world find a way to lose weight. Why can’t you be next?

The first thing that losing weight will do for you is obvious; it will make you look better. Looks are the number one reason that any person wants to lose weight. Sure, there are other reasons, but most people that want to lose weight do so because they want other people to look at them and say WOW!

On the other hand, looking good is always nice, but a lot of people need to lose weight in order to stay healthy. You need to ask yourself one very important question; am I jeopardizing my health because I am overweight? If you answered yes to this question then you will definitely want to look into how you can go about losing weight. By shedding a few pounds you will be able to lose the necessary weight to keep your body healthy.

Many people feel that the only way to successfully lose weight is to spend tons of money on supplements, and specialty diet products. This is definitely a myth. By using traditional methods you should have no problems losing weight. Instead of wasting your money why not buy a book on losing weight and follow its direction to a T? Also, you can mix in an exercise regimen that will aid you in your weight loss. That sounds a lot easier than spending hundreds of dollars doesn’t it?

Overall, if you are overweight you can get started losing some extra pounds today. There are hundreds of different reasons that losing weight will be of a major benefit to you. All you need to do to get started is come up with a weight loss program and stick to it. By sticking to a program and setting personal goals you will be well on your way to losing weight. There is no reason to wait another day!

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

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Obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Yet more people than ever are on a diet. So what is going wrong? The fact that diet foods such as low-fat and low-carb products are a $7.6 billion-a-year business might have something to do with it. The food industry keeps you fat with processed foods, so it can sell you more diet products. Avoiding both is one of the key factors in fat loss nutrition.

Fat loss nutrition needs to be understood, along with the right kind of exercise, to ensure successful and healthy weight loss. Many diets are not balanced and are not designed to encourage healthy eating habits to help you keep the weight off once you stop the diet. When the weight creeps back on, people turn back to the multi-million dollar diet industry for help. Fat loss nutrition takes a more balanced approach. You should be thinking of about 4 grams of carbohydrate and 1.5 grams of fat for every 3 grams of protein you eat at a meal. The types of fat, carbohydrate and protein you eat are crucial.

The Good Fats, Bad and The Ugly in Fat Loss Nutrition

The secret to healthy weight loss is not low-fat, it is quality fat. The fats to avoid are the toxic ‘trans’ fats or hydrogenated fats in processed and fried foods. We also have an excess of omega-6 fats in our diet which can lead to insulin resistance (see the section on Carbohydrates). It is important to reduce the amount of vegetable oils, grain-fed beef and many processed foods (omega-6 fats) in your diet. At the same time you will probably need to increase the omega-3 fats in your diet to obtain the ideal 1:1 ration of omega-3 to omega-6. Oily fish, fish-oil capsules, or flaxseed oil are the best sources of omega-3 fats.

If I told you of a saturated fat that was good for your heart and increased weight loss, would you believe me? Saturated fats, like coconut oil, are no longer the enemy. Coconut oil has the ability to increase your metabolism and burn fat for energy, as well as helping to regulate blood sugar – an essential in weight loss

Fat loss Nutrition Tip: Use coconut oil for cooking, and extra-virgin olive oil for salad dressings.

Carbohydrate Quality and Fat Loss Nutrition

It is not so much the fat in the foods we eat but the excess carbohydrates from our starchy and sugary diet that is making us fat and unhealthy. The reason is due to insulin resistance. You can reverse this with the fat loss nutrition approach, which is easy to do, and then the fat burns off and you will lose weight in a healthy and controlled way.

Bread, pasta, cereal, rice and potatoes, (and even corn) particularly as processed food, are consumed in excess. Great for the food industry, but not for you. They contribute to the over-production of insulin, leading to insulin-resistance. The over-refined carbohydrate creates a sugar surge in our blood and the body can only respond by converting it to fat and dumping it in the rolls of fat in our bulging stomachs.

Fat loss Nutrition Tip: Fiber plays a powerful role in weight control. Brown rice and vegetables are high in fiber. When you do eat grains, make sure they are whole grains.

Protein

Eating a little protein at each meal will help to slow down the digestion of carbohydrate, so you don’t get that sugar surge. Of course this does not mean the high-fat burger and fries meal. Fat loss nutrition means the low-fat protein of lean white meat, fish, beans and lentils. Beware the low-fat processed foods like low-fat yogurts which are high in sugar.

A little bit of protein at every meal is an important fat loss nutrition approach to blood sugar balance. Even a handful of pumpkin seeds eaten with an apple can slow digestion and even out your metabolism.

Balance and Quality

Weight loss has little to do with willpower. Fat loss nutrition is all about the right balance and quality of foods, and the right exercise. This balance is easily obtained by avoiding all the low-fat, low-carb, high-protein, high-fat diet fads and avoiding processed foods as much as possible. If you get the fat loss nutrition right, you don’t have to be overly concerned about how much you eat and you won’t go hungry.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Natalie Beech discovers the truth about fat loss nutrition and healthy weight loss. Get the latest information from a nutritionist’s point of view at the Fatloss-Fitness Website
This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.

The low carbohydrate or low-carb diet has been one of the most influential diet programs of recent years. The demand for other diet products has grown on the back of its success. Just one of the new trends that have been developed is the weight loss patch.

The idea for these adhesive rectangles originated from the nicotine replacement patch that has successfully helped many smokers to quit their habit. Many diets relied on people taking tablets or capsules to encourage a smaller food intake. Not following this regimen would nullify the effectiveness of the diet. The weight loss patch, on the other hand, need only be applied to the skin once a day. This then provides the supplement at a steady rate throughout the day.

Appetite suppressants, such as algae and seaweed, form the basis of many weight loss patches. Further research also discovered that green tea would make an effective ingredient in the fight against obesity. There have been numerous tests into the actual effectiveness of green tea weight loss patches as appetite suppressants. One such study from the University of Chicago showed that rats lost up to 21% of their bodyweight when injected with green tea.

The health benefits of green tea have long been appreciated in Chinese culture. The drink has been prescribed as a herbal remedy and general tonic for centuries. References to this beverage have been traced to the Ming Dynasty, and even earlier. More recently, research has been undertaken into the possible presence of polyphenol in green tea being successful in preventing the growth of cancerous cells.

It is not just in the prevention of cancer that the polyphenols in green tea may have beneficial effects. The high levels of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in green tea contributed to an increased metabolic rate in the body. These findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. As someone with a higher metabolic rate is able to burn more calories than another person with a slower one, this leads to slower weight gain. Of course, these findings led to many pharmaceutical companies developing weight loss products that used green tea, including weight loss patches.

Importantly, other products that are used to stimulate the metabolic rate can have dangerous side effects for people with hypertension or a history of hear problems. This makes green tea a far safer and more popular alternative. It is not just supplements that are used to increase the metabolic rate that have potentially dangerous side effects. Unlike green tea, many other chemically produced dietary supplements can cause problems, too.

Another beneficial factor of weight loss patches that include green tea is that they are effective in combating high levels of LDL cholesterol in the body. LDL cholesterol is the cause of coronary heart disease and other serious health conditions. Antioxidants that are found in the green tea in weight loss patches helps eradicate this bad cholesterol and promote the production of another non- harmful type of cholesterol. This is probably one of the main factors that have led to green tea being associated with maintaining the balance of the body.

Disclaimer: If you need more information about green tea, talk to your doctor or a qualified professional.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Copyright © 2006. The above article with information relating to green tea has been submitted by Heather Colman from: green-tea-shoppe.info.

Why do we always look for shortcuts? Why do we look for the quick and easy fix?

We’re convinced that if we can just find the right diet pill or weight loss program this time, we’ll end up looking like some incredible combination of Pamela Anderson and Jessica Simpson (only without the freaky boyfriends).

Sure, we’ve tried weight loss diets before. We tried the Atkins Diet three years ago, the South Beach Diet two years ago, the Zone Diet last year, and so far this year we’ve been on some crazy thing called the Rice Diet.

Oh, we’ve tried the weight loss pills too. We jumped on the bandwagon and bought up our 30-day supply of hoodia diet pills, prescription diet pills, ephedra diet pills and basically every cheap diet pill on the market. We even lost weight with a few of them.

But it’s time to face facts. The diet programs that promised us we’d lose 20 pounds this week didn’t work. The diet plans that assured us we could eat chocolate cake, and still lose weight, didn’t work either. The low carb diets might have solved our weight issue once and for all, but we just couldn’t stick with anything that required us to give up potato chips.

We want to fast weight loss so bad, we can almost taste it! Unfortunately, the weight loss supplements didn’t work. The weight loss products didn’t work. The diet products didn’t work. The weight control diets didn’t work.

Like many of our friends, we’ve tried almost every diet food and weight loss drug on the planet. The results? Nothing. Nada.

Where’s our shortcut? Are we going to have to resort to weight loss surgery? That will cost us forty grand, and then there’s the reports that just a couple years after the surgery people have a tremendous weight gain. No, we’d better forget about that option.

So where’s our shortcut?

If we’re being honest, we’ll have to admit that the diet supplements didn’t work for us. Either did the weight loss medication we got from that pharmacy in Mexico. The weight loss hypnosis was an absolute disaster! (What was that guy thinking, trying to suggest to our subconscious that we don’t really like chocolate cake? Yeah, right!)

Come to think of it, every time we’ve tried to achieve easy weight loss by using a shortcut, we’ve been disappointed with the results.

Maybe, just maybe, a shortcut isn’t the best answer. Maybe the best weight loss plan isn’t an online diet pill or even a diet patch like the one we borrowed from our friend last week. Maybe, just maybe, the way to attain quick weight loss isn’t quick at all. Or at least not as quick as we’ve been led to believe.

It took years (maybe even decades) for us to get in the shape we’re in, so what made us think we could reach our ideal weight in just a few weeks?

You know what? We’ve gotta go with what we know and have experienced, and what we know is that a shortcut isn’t the best idea when it comes to weight control strategy. We’re tired of trying to achieve rapid weight loss without any effort, only to fail (again). We’re tired of fad diets that don’t work. We’re tired of spending hundreds of dollars on weight loss diet pills that don’t deliver results. We’re tired of relying on shortcuts but still gaining weight year after year. Most of all, we’re just tired of being overweight.

Okay, so weight loss shortcuts aren’t the answer. At this point it is essential that we finally agree (and admit) that maybe our doctor was right. Maybe exercise is the key to successful weight loss.

Exercise is one weight loss method that has never been banned, has never led to an investigation, and has never been been listed on a ‘whistleblower’ fraud report.

Exercise is the only path to health and fitness that virtually every doctor in the world agrees upon. Exercise is safe, effective, and brings many more benefits to our lives than diets or drugs ever will alone. Exercise is fun, invigorating, motivating and the single most powerful way to improve our life and well-being.

Are all diets just a rip-off? Of course not. We know people that have lost weight with dieting, so they can’t all be bad. Besides, if the ‘major’ diets didn’t work at all, they would never gain the popularity that they have. You can’t sell thousands, or millions, of diet plans if there’s absolutely nothing to it.

But what we need to realize is that dieting is not a get-thin-quick shortcut. We’ve tried the shortcuts, and they didn’t work, remember? Real, lasting weight loss can only come about by a combination of a health diet plan and regular exercise.

It will take work. It will take effort. It will take time. But it will happen.

Diet and exercise combined will help us burn fat faster than we thought possible. Weight loss achieved by regular exercise and diet will be healthy weight loss because of all the benefits we receive from exercise:

1) Strengthens muscles
2) Strengthens bone
3) Strengthens ligaments
4) Strengthens tendons
5) Strengthens immune system
6) Improves muscle tone
7) Improves endurance
8) Improves strength
9) Improves self esteem
10) Improves confidence
11) Improves balance
12) Improves physical appearance
13) Improves physical performance
14) Improves glucose tolerance
15) Improves circulation
16) Improves memory
17) Lower risk of heart disease
18) Lower risk of diabetes
19) Lower risk of cancer
20) Lower blood pressure
21) Lower cholesterol
22) Lower risk of stroke
23) Lower risk of osteoporosis
24) Lower risk of osteoarthritis
25) Lower requirements for medication
26) Lower risk of injury
27) Lower bodyfat
28) Helps with sleep disorders
29) Reduces frequency of illness
30) Prevent Alzheimer’s disease
31) Prevents muscle loss
32) Increases metabolism
33) Eases symptoms of menopause
34) Healthier pregnancy
35) Fewer problems with childbirth
36) Reduces ovulation problems
37) Prevents heartburn

Without a doubt, regular exercise is the most important piece of the puzzle and the best way to achieve rapid weight loss. Exercise is the safest way to achieve permanent fat loss, and when combined with a sound diet program the body is turned into a virtual fat-burning furnace.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

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Pharmacies have been selling orlistat, a fat-blocking diet pill, since 1999 under the brand name Xenical. Made by Roche, this prescription diet pill has been used by more than 22 million people worldwide. Now GlaxoSmithKline is seeking FDA approval to manufacture and market an over-the-counter (OTC) version of orlistat under the brand name Alli (pronounced “ally”).

In January 2006 federal health advisors voted to recommend FDA approval of the new weight loss pill Alli. Although the approval process may take months, the FDA typically follows the recommendations of advisory committees. If approved by the FDA, it will mark the first time weight watchers can legally add the diet drug orlistat to their weight loss program without a prescription.

Pharmaceutical industry observers expect the FDA to approve OTC sales of Alli, but not everyone is convinced that they should.

Health and fitness experts are concerned that Alli isn’t right for the average consumer. Tracie Johanson, a health club owner in Nampa, ID agrees with that assessment: “People looking for fast weight loss will be disappointed if they rely on a fat loss supplement like Alli. Orlistat and other diet products are never the answer to lifelong fitness. We like to see our gym members maintain their weight with a healthy diet and exercise rather than a diet supplement.”

Unfortunately, many Americans seeking honest weight loss information will purchase Alli and add it to their diet plan without having any knowledge of the potential problems presented. “The company estimated 5 million to 6 million Americans a year would buy the drug over the counter. Those numbers could mean at least $1.5 billion a year in retail sales” (Source: CNN; Tuesday, January 24, 2006).

The potential problems associated with this weight loss product are numerous and daunting:

Results Are Mediocre At Best:

Consumer looking for quick weight loss results may be shocked to find that Alli cannot deliver those results. “In six-month clinical trials, obese people who took orlistat lost on average 5.3 pounds to 6.2 pounds more than did those who were given dummy pills” (Source: MSNBC; January 24, 2006). Losing just five to six pounds in six months is hardly a weight loss success story worth bragging about.

Users Will Gain Weight After They Quit Taking Alli:

Buyers tempted to add Alli to their diet program on the assumption that some weight loss is better than none will be annoyed to learn that any weight lost with Alli is not likely to be permanent. “’The pill’s effect ends once its use is stopped’, said Dr. Julie Golden, a medical officer in the FDA’s division of metabolism and endocrinology products. ‘A previous study showed a progressive weight gain in patients after they stopped using orlistat,’ Golden said” (Source: cnn.com; Tuesday, January 24, 2006). In other words, in order to maintain the minimal weight loss they’ve achieved, the consumer will need to keep using Alli forever. Not only would this solution be expensive, but it is also discouraged by the manufacturer of Alli (GlaxoSmithKline).

Weight Loss Drug Alli Is Not A Long Term Answer To Obesity:

With approximately two-thirds of the population overweight, customers in America want a weight loss plan they can stick with for life. Alli is not the answer, at least according to the maker: “Glaxo wants people to use it for only six months at a time, but as an over-the-counter item, its use would not be policed” (Source: MSNBC; January 24, 2006).

Alli Is An Expensive Way To Achieve Moderate Fat Loss:

While consumers pursuing easy weight loss will often pay more than they can afford to solve their weight issues, many will find the relatively high retail price of Alli prohibitive. The average consumer will pay $12 to $25 per week for product, much more than the average $29 monthly price for a gym membership. At prices ranging up to $100 per month, Alli is not a cheap diet pill at all.

Alli Effective Only When Combined With Diet And Exercise:

Doctors and medical experts have long held that the best weight loss program is regular exercise, a point validated by the manufacturers of Alli. “Glaxo said the drug helps the overweight slim down only when combined with a diet and exercise regimen. The drug’s actual effect on weight loss is ‘gradual and modest,’ said Steve Burton, Glaxo’s vice president of weight control” (Source: CNN; Tuesday, January 24, 2006).

Alli Contains Only ½ The Potency Found In The Prescription Product:

Another reason why Alli may not help users lose weight fast is that it would contain just a half dosage of the active ingredient orlistat when compared to the prescription capsule. Half the dosage means half the results, which may not lead to the weight control success users are hoping for.

Alli Blocks Only 150 to 200 Calories:

Consumers seeking a weight loss supplement that will allow them to eat whatever they want and still drop the pounds will be displeased with Alli. “When taken with meals, orlistat blocks the absorption of about one-quarter of any fat consumed…..the equivalent of about 150 to 200 calories” (Source: MSNBC; January 24, 2006). Since there are 3,500 calories in a single pound of fat, Alli users can expect to lose one pound of body fat every 23 days assuming a constant diet and level of activity. Using the retail price estimates provided by GlaxoSmithKline, this translates into an investment of approximately $75 for each pound of fat lost, a hefty investment by any standard.

Vitamin Deficiency A Risk For Alli Consumers:

Although Alli may help some users lower their body fat percentage by a few points, the orlistat that prevents some fat from being absorbed into the body also prevents some vitamins from being metabolized. “Half of the patients enrolled in trials of the drug failed to understand labeling directions that they should take supplemental vitamins at least two hours before or after using the pills” (Source: CNN; Monday, January 23, 2006). Consumers are cautioned to take vitamin supplements two hours before or after using Alli, but with fifty percent of patients in the trial failing to follow these instructions it’s difficult to imagine that Alli is the healthy weight loss answer for most people.

Alli Could Cause Further Complications For Special Populations:

Purchasers looking for rapid weight loss may find themselves unable to use Alli if they have had an organ transplant surgery or are on the medication warfarin. “The drug also could cause problems for organ transplant patients taking the drug cyclosporine as well as those on warfarin, a blood thinner. The drug’s label would warn such patients against taking the weight loss pill” (Source: MSNBC; January 24, 2006).

Serious Side Effects Frustrate Alli Users:

Diarrhea, gas, incontinence and oily spotting are among the Alli side effects listed by GlaxoSmithKline. Unintended consequences such as these may hamper the lifestyle of the Alli customer, making this weight loss diet pill less than appealing. “After taking this pill you may have urgent needs to run to the bathroom, oily and uncontrollable diarrhea – all for the sake of avoiding 150-200 extra calories a day” (Source: Bedros Keuilian).

Alli Users Still Miss The Benefits Of Regular Exercise:

Even those customers who do find it possible to attain their ideal weight using Alli alone will still be passing up the multiple advantages of regular exercise. Because prescription weight loss pills don’t actually cause the body to work, they will never be able to impart the same benefits as exercise. Only consistent exercise has been proven to help the user lose fat while at the same time lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, strengthening bones, etc.

Weight loss medications like Alli are not the best weight management solution because simply losing weight, while healthier than being obese, will not give us all the benefits of exercise. So even if Alli worked perfectly for all users without any side effects, it would still be inferior to achieving our health and fitness goals with exercise.

Consumers seeking weight loss tips and accurate diet information would do well to stop looking for the best diet pill and start a weight loss exercise program. The greatest fat loss supplement is still regular exercise, and no rapid weight loss pill will change that.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit www.letspickupthepace.com/ for more information.

Stay away from fried things. Fried things are an absolute no-no. The more fried things that you avoid, the lesser weight you will gain. Fried things are called so because they are fried in oil or fat. And even if the external oil is
drained away, there is still a lot of hidden oil in it so stay away from it.

Do not skip meals. The worst thing you can do while watching you diet is skip a meal. It has just the opposite effect of what you want. You need to have at least four regular meals every day.

Fresh vegetables are better than cooked or canned vegetables. Try to eat our vegetables raw. When you cook them, you are in fact taking away nearly half the vitamins in them. And canned vegetables too are processed and are not nearly half as good as fresh vegetables. When you buy your vegetables it would be a good thing to see if the label says that it is pesticide free.

Do not eat more than an egg a day. Eggs are not such a bright idea. It would be best to reduce your intake of eggs to maybe three in a week. But for those of you die hard egg fans, you may have up to one egg a day but nothing more than that.

Make chocolates a luxury and not a routine. Chocolates are not or at least they should not be a part of your diet. So do not indulge too much in them. Even the bitter chocolates are not good for you because though the sugar is less there is still the cream in them.

Choose a variety of foods from all food groups every day. This is a fine way of keeping deficiency diseases at bay. Change the items included in your diet every day. This is an excellent way of keeping deficiency diseases at bay and it helps you to experiment with a variety of dishes and there by you do not get bored of your diet.

If you can say no to alcoholic beverages please do. Alcoholic beverages too are not good for you. Beer can be fattening and the rest of the alcoholic drinks may not be fattening by themselves but after a couple of swigs you will be in no position to watch your diet and your appetite too will be something to battle with.

Try to have breakfast within one hour of waking. It’s always best to have breakfast within an hour of waking so that your body can charge itself with the energy it needs for the day. The idea is not to wait for your self to get really hungry. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but that does not mean that it should be the most filling meal of the day.

Following these tips will go a long way to helping you achieve good results on your diet.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. For quality diet products go to www.shop4diets.com