The Atkins Diet

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Fad Diets & Weight Loss

A diet may be a fad diet or a healthy diet. People often start a fad diet for fast weight loss. They do not realize that quick weight loss and a fad diet is not the answer for their weight problem. They may lose weight initially but that may not be permanent. The fad diets recommend to eat a certain group of foods and eliminate some foods or a group of foods from the diet. Such diets are not without a danger.

Some of the fad diets are:

Grapefruit Diet: This diet recommends to eat only grapefruit.

Low Carb Diet: This diet recommends to eat foods low in carbohydrates.

Low Fat Diet: This diet recommends to eat foods low in fats or eliminate fats in diet.

High Protein Diet: This diet recommends to eat only protein rich foods, eliminating carbohydrates

Note that these diets recommend to eliminate some food groups that are essential for a healthy body. These diets may offer only a temporary solution and are not based on the recommendationsof the food pyramid. On using a fad diet, you may lose weight fast, but lateron you may again gain weight and your body may be deficient in many nutrients that can develop health problems.

A good diet should provide all the major nutrients including dietary fibers, carbohydrates, proteins, good fats, minerals, and vitamins. The best way to tackle overweight and obesity problem is to eat a balanced diet and do some physical exercise daily.

You should not start any diet if it does not allow any major group of the food pyramid.The negative calorie diet is based on neagtive calorie foods that include vegetables, fruits, legumes, lentils, and beans, so it allows all the major nutrients in the diet necessary for good health. By eating these foods, you will never feel hungry and you will never gain weight. If you remain physically active and eat these foods, you will deop pounds permanently.

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For more information, visit the web site Fad Diets & Weight Loss.

Toe Tap Your Way to Weight Loss

Toe Tap Your Way to Weight Loss, sounds silly, doesn't it? It does, I admit it. Yet, could there be a kernel of truth there?

How could someone toe tap their way to weight loss? Let's backup a bit. I remember watching a documentary on TV about the obese. There was a study done and something amazing was discovered. Of course, obese people often have different habits from skinny people. I'm not talking about eating habits here, either. The habits discovered in this study had to do with what the two different body types did while sitting around.

Muscles use energy, even when they are not being used. This is good for weight loss because it is a nifty way to lose calories while doing nothing. Unless, of course, you are sitting there eating, in which case you are most likely gaining calories.

What they found was that skinny people tend to fidget a lot, they do things like shaking their leg while sitting. You probably remember someone like that from high school. Remember the guy that sat there shaking his leg all the time, he couldn't sit still!

Thus, he and other skinny people burn a lot more calories while sitting around. You could take advantage of this too!

Here are some ideas. Move around while sitting, fidget, change positions a lot. Actually shake your leg up and down, stretch frequently, pace. These are all calorie burning activities. At least you will use more calories then sitting there without moving at all.

You can also tense and relax the major muscle groups, this might even trigger a feeling of relaxation, almost like a massage would. What do I mean by major muscle groups? The upper arms and shoulders, abdominals, thigh and gluteal muscles, these are all muscles that you could tense and relax repeatedly. Since they are relatively large muscle groups, they will expend relatively more energy. This might even have a slight toning affect at the same time.

True, this alone is not going to solve the weight problem for you, but perhaps it can help. There are indeed many more things that go into weight loss such as drinking plenty of water, eating MORE frequently, working out, eating properly, getting enough protein and essential fats. These are all important and helpful components to losing weight.

That is the point. Weight loss is not some simple formula that you can apply. It is certainly not some fad diet. There is a lot too it. The more you know, the more you can apply your knowledge and make small adjustments during your day. The more knowledge that you have the closer to success you can bring yourself.

It would be helpful to get your hands on as much weight loss knowledge as you can. You don't have to rely on one source only. Just like it was a valid strategy for Bruce Lee to adopt the tactics of multiple fighting styles, it wouldn't hurt to absorb weight loss information from more than one source.

This does bring up a problem, who can you count on to bring you good information? It seems to me that there is a lot of information out there that might be less than helpful. I know of a source or two that can bring you good information on weight loss. More on that later.

This article is for information purposes only and is not intended to serve as weight loss or any other kind of advice. Contact your primary care physician for such advice and before starting any diet or taking up any form of exercise. You should also contact your doctor if you have or think you have a health problem of any kind. Your doctor can provide proper diagnosis and treatment.

David Snape is the author of What You Should Know about Gum Disease - an important book considering that the majority of adults suffer from some form of gum disease. David also answers questions on any health, fitness or wellness topic at his blog: http://tobeinformed.com . David believes in oral irrigation to help fight against gum disease and that the premiere oral irrigation device on the market is the Hydro Floss Oral Irrigator

Weight Loss Allies

These are your weight loss allies;

Healthy food,
Tolerance for hunger,
Physical exercise.

Most weight loss dieters experience increased-efficiency, as calories are restricted. The quality of food choice at this restricted level of intake is crucial. Fat, sugar, and high protein are definitely avoided. Sugar in excess is converted directly to fat. High sugar foods are addictive and maintain cravings for more sugar.

Diets that depend on fruit and fruit juices, high in sugar are not desirable for weight reduction. Weight loss is directly equated to exercise; not food deprivation. The jogger or swimmer is losing weight. Even the walker is losing weight, although more slowly. Hunger must be restored as a normal, welcome feeling. There is nothing wrong with hunger! In order to establish new healthy eating patterns it is essential to practice being comfortably hungry for periods as long as 4-6 hours before eating. A normal rhythm might be 4 hours between meals.

The less you move, the longer you should stay hungry; another way of looking at weight loss. Of course, weight gain is a feature of a sedentary life style and the problem is that everyday you move too little and eat too much you are gaining weight.

Diets that emphasize changes in the proportions of protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre, and so on do not have special properties for weight control. Vegetables foods have the most to offer a weight loss program since they have low nutrient density (you can eat a lot more) and seldom trigger cravings and compulsive eating.

The timing of meals is relevant to regulating eating behaviour. More food should be eaten earlier in the day. Compulsive eating is often more difficult to control at night. It is often necessary to restructure evening activities; start new and physical activities instead of sitting all evening. Avoid alcoholic beverages. The social context of drinking alcoholic beverages is seldom conducive to selective eating and impulse control.

Eat Foods with a High Nutrient Density

A key concept in weight management is that appetite and weight regulation is largely determined by the adequacy of the incoming nutrient set. A low nutrient to calorie ratio means you will eat more and gain weight. Remember your appetite control system does not like starvation. Low nutrient density means starvation.

Realistic motivation begins with knowing that it is not easy to change even when the change is beneficial. You do need help.

You need the right information. You need to understand how you got to be overweight. You need a map to guide you to the next state you wish to occupy. You need the right tools. When difficulties arise, you need problem-solving methods and you need to persevere. All worthwhile endeavours require commitment, dedication, and perseverance.

To lose weight you must exercise! The energy cost of physical activity must exceed the energy supplied by your food intake. Remember that weight loss is directly equated to physical exercise, not food deprivation.

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Healthy Weight Loss - The Way Weight Loss Should Be Achieved

Magic diets do not exist. Crash diets or bursts of exercise are not the healthiest way to lose weight. For a successful, healthy weight loss, just follow basic mindful eating and smart nutrition suggestions. The body likes slow changes in terms of food and exercise. If you set sensible goals for yourself, you are more likely to meet them.

Your weight is the result of several factors like how much you eat and what you eat, your age and health, your genetic and psychological makeup etc. All of these factors should be addressed for a successful weight management.

There are many health benefits of weight loss. Losing excess weight considerably reduces the risk of developing diseases like diabetes and heart problems. Keeping your weight in the healthy range now, means you are less likely to be troubled by illnesses in later.

Make your lifestyle healthy. Here are a few tips:

Start with a realistic goal, which is easier to keep.

Think of weight loss in terms of permanently changing your eating habits.

Always stock the house with healthy foods. Keep the fatty foods and sweets to a minimum and fill the fridge with fruits and vegetables.

Avoid second helpings, especially at dinner. Fill up with soups, salads, raw vegetables and fruits instead.

Drink lots of water instead of high calorie soft drinks.

Minimize the use of sugar in tea and coffee.

Use skimmed milk instead of whole milk.

Avoid eating processed food

Do not snack on sweets, fries etc in between meals.

Never skip breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day. Eat lesser portions at lunch.

Avoid beer and alcohol.

Don't burst into a frenzy of exercise. Those who haven't walked for years should not tread miles on a treadmill or do a 100 push ups right at the start. Its more likely to cause you injury apart from leaving you tired and disheartened.

Start slowly. Set a realistic goal like walking 30 minutes a day and slowly increase the distance and time as and when your body gets used to it.

Consult your doctor before you start your exercise regime.

All these things will influence your physical and psychological health positively.

What you should not do while on a diet is to starve yourself. It may help you shed some weight, but chances are you will regain that weight as soon as you start eating again. Your body does not get enough nutrients. It can cause numerous negative health effects like gallstones, fainting, malnutrition etc. Also, rapid loss of weight usually means you're losing muscle and water rather than fat.

There are a lot of quick fix diets and supplements promising you a stick thin body. Diet supplements do not really help lose weight if it is not accompanied by healthy eating habits and exercise. The bottom line is that you need to burn more calories than you consume.

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5 Super Weight Loss Tips For Beginners

There are many theories in the world on how you can lose weight easily. 90% of people who haven't got any problems with genes, maintain fit body if they exercise regularly. Same amount of people don't exercise regularly and the quickly gain weight they wanted to lose and they gain even more weight. In both cases if you are a person who wants to lose weight quicker and easier I recommend to read these five, free weight loss tips.

Weight loss tip number one: Choose your food carefully. A lot of people go to gym, work very hard but they don't care about their diet. They eat same amount of food whey they weren't aware that they are overweight and that is why they don't achieve the results they want. Did you know, that if you want to lose one kilogram in a week, you have to reduce your weekly calorie intake by 9000 calories! Even tho, scientists and doctors recommend that a person shouldn't lose more than one kilogram per week, half of a kilogram a week is a great achievement!

You should note that you should not eat less, but you should eat healthy food.

Weight loss tip number two: Do aerobic exercises. When you will do aerobic exercises, you will achieve your results quicker. Aerobic training is the simplest way to get rid of unwanted calories. If you want to lose weight for ever, you should combine weight loss tip number one and two and do them all the time!

Weight loss tips number three: Be patient. You won't have a six pack in two days time. Everything requires time. Trees don't reach their full height in a day. Yes, I am not saying that there aren't ways how you could speed up your weight loss, but anyway like I sad before, everything requires some time.

Weight loss tip number four: Don't forget about anaerobic exercises. If you add some weight training exercises into your weight loss program. Bodybuilding and weight loss are part of the same thing - improving your body and they are related to each other very strongly. Naturally if you do some bodybuilding, you will lose weight and this process will make your program more effective!

Weight loss tip number five: Exercise in the morning. There is one fact you should know. After training your metabolism increases and it stays the same for the next twelve hours after exercise! If you will to exercises in the morning, you will burn more calories during the day. The main mistake all people do is that they exercise the evening then their metabolism is increased without no reason. During the next twelve hours people will sleep.

You should remember that you are responsible for everything. To achieve the most you have to do everything regularly and by doing so, soon you will see how your body shape is improving!

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Fat Loss Secrets - 3 Secrets That Won't Cost You a Dime

The weight loss industry wants to keep you in the dark. They don't want you to be educated or learn any of the so called fat loss secrets. Why? Because if you knew that you could have effective fat loss on your own why would you need their expensive monthly membership programs, specialty meals, and supplements.

I want to help you, I want to show you that you don't need to spend big bucks to lose belly fat and enjoy the figure and target weight you strive for. The follow three fat loss secrets can be implemented by anyone, anytime and they won't cost you a dime.

Secret #1 Your metabolism is everything and you can speed it up

The consensus on metabolism is you either have a fast one or a slow one, and it slows down for everyone as we get older. NOT TRUE. People who discover that by spacing their meals out through the day, eating more smaller meals rather then 3 big meals you can increase the rate of metabolism.

Secret #2 Counting calories not just eating "healthy"

Do you know how many calories you should be eating each day based on your age, weight, and activity levels? How about how many your currently eating on average each day? You need this information, and you need it now. So starting today in a journal write down everything you eat for 7 days and the calories you take in from it. At the end of 7 days get the average.

Next, search for a calorie calculator on the web, and find out what your suggested calorie intake is for each day. You want to modify your daily calorie intake to be below this number, about 250-500 calories is enough to make a difference, anymore then that and you risk not losing weight because your body thinks it might be starving.

By cutting the number of calories you eat each day you will create a calorie deficit that in turn will burn fat to make up the difference. As far as fat loss secrets go, this is what most diets are based on.

Secret #3 Exercising and dieting is the real catalyst

Not all diets stress the importance of exercise but I will. If you implement the tip above of counting your calories, tracking what you take in and then measuring that against what you should be eating exercise will make a profound difference in your fat loss.

Let's assume you cut your daily calorie intake by 500 calories below you suggested limit. You then exercise for 30 minutes that day. You've suddenly created an even bigger calorie deficit of 750 or maybe even 1000 calories depending on how hard you work out was. This will make a big difference at the end of each week when you weight in.

So maybe these fat loss secrets aren't all that "SECRET" shall we say. How ever their smart practical education about fat loss as a whole. I suggest you continue learning about how we gain and lose weight, and how you can lead a healthier lifestyle.

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3 Steps To A New And Faster Metabolism

With the way the world is today there is no wonder that almost half of the people are obese. People are always on the run and they never have time to stop and eat a healthy meal. I mean come on who really has time to cook when there are fast food restaurants everywhere you look.

Then you look in news stands and see all skinny people and you realize I want to be like that. So you go home and try dieting but every single diet that you try seems to take too long and we get discouraged because we are not seeing results quick enough.

I'm going to tell you the secret to losing weight quickly without having to starve yourself like some of the people we read about on those magazines. The secrets are drinking lots of water, exercise, and eating in moderation.

The first key to the secret of losing weight is drinking water. You want to make sure that you are drinking 8 glasses a day of water. That is about 64 ounces of water a day. This way you are flushing your system out by getting all the bad nutrients out and leaving all the good nutrients in. Also water is good because it will keep you hydrated and will cool you down when you are exercising.

The second key to losing weight is exercise. You want to make sure that you are staying active so that way you are burning fat cells. I would suggest doing 30-45 minutes worth of cardio a day to keep your body in shape and start getting toned. What also will really help your body out is some weightlifting. You don't have to lift 100 lb weights either; starting with 5 lbs weights will definitely help you to see results quickly. You should try to make it to the gym at least 2-3 times a week.

The last key to losing weight is eating in moderation. So make sure that you proportion out your meals. The key is to make sure that you are eating to survive not living to eat. If you used to eat 2 cheeseburgers then only eat one.

So those are my keys to losing weight I would suggest that you stay focused and make sure that everyday your drinking water, exercising, and eating in moderation. If you stay true to this philosophy you will start shedding off the weight in no time.

For more information, you can check out: Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle

Weight Loss - The Importance of Realistic Expectations

If you are attempting to lose weight and body fat it is critical that you have realistic expectations for the how quickly you want to lose the weight and subsequently reach your goal. Today we live in a "microwave society" in which people want instant results and instant gratification. These ideas are further exacerbated by companies in the wellness industry who market products promising great results in "no time at all." Weather it be the magic pill or the latest fad diet these products are everywhere and it's important not to buy into the hype and allow it to impact your expectations.

Realistic expectations are very important because if you set your goals and they are unrealistic, you may begin to work towards them, fall significantly short of them, get frustrated and upset, and quit. I have seen this happen time and time again and these people are victims of unrealistic expectations. It can be very deflating if you set your expectations very high (lose 15 pounds this month like the man or woman on TV) and then only lose 4 or 5. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people get so dejected and quit when they were in fact making nice progress towards their goals.

The truth is a lot of people develop unrealistic expectations about the amount of weight they want to lose and the time they want to lose it in due to the marketing of companies out to make a buck. You can't let these companies whose products seemingly deliver the world impact the types of expectations you set for yourself (by the way, ever notice that at the bottom of all those infomercials and commercials it has a line saying, "Results not typical.") If you do you are setting yourself up for failure and disappointment.

When setting your expectations for any weight loss or fat loss program, it is critical that you factor in the amount of time you can commit to exercise, how committed you are going to be, how much weight you have to lose, etc. Do you think it's logical for someone who has 6 days a week to commit to exercise and someone who can commit 3 days a week to have the same expectations about the results they will get? Of course not! This is why it's very important to look at your own situation and set your expectations accordingly.

By setting realistic expectations, you are far more likely to keep the course and continue to work towards your goals. You will be encouraged with your progress and want to continue putting in the work because you are seeing results. Be sure to take into account your individual situation and set of circumstances when setting your expectations as well.

Brody Beach has a passion for helping others achieve their weight loss and fitness goals. Brody's mission is to help as many people as possible to develop the bodies they truly desire. For a free copy of one of Brody's ebooks and to receive a free personalized weight loss/fitness program designed by Brody to fit your individual needs, visit http://www.weight-loss-truth.com