Exercise And Weight Loss

Exercise And Weight Loss
Most people know that exercise is an important part of any
weight loss program, but there is considerable confusion
over what type of exercise and how much is needed to
produce maximum results. Even experts cannot agree as to
what the "right" exercise is to produce weight loss, and in
part this confusion lies in the fact that many experts rely
on only a partial analysis of the available research on
exercise physiology, and there is often a tendency to make
"one-size-fits-all" recommendations, when the reality is
that different people will actually get different results
from different approaches.

Let's begin with what the current research on exercise
physiology tells us. It is well-established that it takes
approximately 30 minutes of any kind of exercise for the
body to burn off its glycogen (stored sugar) reserves and
begin burning fat. So, most experts recommend at least 30
minutes of exercise, and generally 60 minutes or more may
be recommended to get a good amount of fat burning. Now, if
you are going to be exercising for 30 to 60 minutes, or
maybe more, what type of exercise would you be able to do
for that length of time? It probably would have to be low
to medium intensity. In other words, you're probably not
going to be able to run full speed or do any other type of
high-intensity exercise for 30 to 60 minutes without a
rest, unless you happen to be an elite athlete, and even
then you'd be struggling. So, by default, the common
recommendation for exercise to lose weight has been 30 to
60 minutes of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise.
Aerobic means "with oxygen", so you might think of aerobic
exercise as anything you can do without getting seriously
out of breath.

In recent years, some experts have changed their
recommendations to using a more intense anaerobic ("without
oxygen") exercise program for weight loss. This would
include things like intense weight lifting, and something
called "interval training". Interval training involves
brief bursts of high intensity activity with periods of
rest or low intensity activity in between. For example, you
might run full out for 30 seconds or a minute and then walk
for a minute or two until you catch your breath and then
run again full out for 30 seconds to a minute, walk again,
etc.. Since this type of exercise is much more physically
demanding, it is done over a much shorter overall workout
period - perhaps 20 to 40 minutes (with half or more of
that time being rest or low intensity activity), as
compared to the 30 to 60 minutes of continuous activity as
recommended for aerobic exercise. But how do the two types
of exercise stack up when it comes to fat burning?

The aerobic exercise promoters point to the research that
was mentioned earlier that has shown that any exercise, no
matter how intense requires at least 30 minutes to use up
the body's stored glycogen (the body will normally burn
glycogen before it will burn fat) before fat burning can
begin. So, they say, short periods of even highly intense
exercise won't burn much fat and is therefore not a good
choice for promoting weight loss. But they are only seeing
part of the story.

It is true that you must exercise for at least 30 minutes
to begin to achieve fat burning - but that's at the time
you are exercising. Brief bursts of intense anaerobic
exercise does something that even quite a lot of low to
medium intensity aerobic exercise does not. Intense
anaerobic exercise stimulates the production of growth
hormone, which is a strong stimulator of fat burning. The
thing is, the release of growth hormone triggered by
intense anaerobic exercise comes 24 to 48 hours AFTER the
exercise, and then it produces considerably more fat
burning than is possible with all but extremely long
periods of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise.

Because of this effect, most people will lose weight much
more easily by doing shorter periods of more intense
exercise. 20 to 40 minutes of heavy weightlifting, interval
training (which could be done on foot, on a bicycle,
swimming, kickboxing, etc.) , wind sprints, soccer,
basketball, or any other activity with quick bursts of high
intensity with periods of rest or low intensity activity in
between is typically much more effective in the long run
for weight loss than even hours of aerobic activity.

Now, you'll notice that I said "most people". There is an
exception to the rule. People under considerable stress,
either emotional or physical, or both, in their daily lives
are prone to overworked adrenal glands. The adrenal glands
do a lot of things in the body, but with regards to weight
loss, they produce two hormones. One hormone is cortisol,
which promotes fat deposition in the lower abdomen. This is
typically a saggy, pendulous fat held below the waistline.
The other hormone the adrenals produce is adrenaline (also
called epinephrine), which actually promotes fat burning.
Since the adrenals produce cortisol which causes fat
deposition and adrenaline which promotes fat burning, you
might assume that these two hormones cancel each other out.
The thing is, cortisol can be produced by the adrenals for
a much longer time than adrenaline, which is produced for
brief periods, so in the long run, the cortisol effects
(fat storage in the lower abdomen) win out when you are
under chronic stress.

The adrenals are influenced by physical stress as well as
mental stress, so for someone who is under a lot of stress
in general in his or her life, high-intensity exercise will
only add to the total stress and will tend to make the
adrenals produce a lot of cortisol, and therefore will tend
to promote lower abdomen weight gain. That's right - the
wrong kind of exercise in this situation can cause weight
gain! This can result in the frustrating situation in
which one exercises more and more and harder and harder to
try to get rid of that lower abdomen stomach "pooch", but
never can seem to get rid of it. Because the intense
exercise is stimulating more cortisol production, that
person is fighting a losing battle. Because of this effect,
it is recommended that people under a lot of stress and/or
who have most of their weight held in the lower abdomen
stick to relatively low intensity aerobic exercise. This
type of exercise tends to help with stress control and
lowers cortisol levels, allowing the lower belly fat to
gradually be burned off.

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of how to use
exercise to maximum benefit for weight loss.

----------------------------------------------------
Dr. George Best is a holistic healthcare provider in San
Antonio, Texas. He provides information on natural weight
loss through his website:

http://www.TrainYourBrain4WeightLoss.com and is a
consultant to http://www.MyFoodWithThought.com . For
additional information on exercise, Dr. Best recommends you
visit http://docbest.turbulence.hop.clickbank.net/ . He can
be reached at DrBest@trainyourbrain4weightloss.com.

A Comparsion Between Viagra, Cialis, And Levitra

A Comparsion Between Viagra, Cialis, And Levitra
It is hard to turn on the television today without hearing
about Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra. There are literally
thousands of websites on the internet that sell these
products. Most individuals don't really know exactly what
these drugs accomplish. They sound like ancient Greek
mythological characters. So what exactly are these drugs
and what exactly do they specifically do for men? Let's
explore each one individually.

First, let's take a closer look at Viagra. Viagra is the
commercial brand name for Sildenafil Citrate, which is for
treating erectile dysfunction in adult males. It was first
developed to treat angina, or heart disease, by the Pfizer
pharmaceutical company. However, after clinical studies,
it was noticed that drug actually enhanced erections in
men. The drug was patented in 1996, and subsequently
approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) on March
27th, 1998. This was actually the first erectile
dysfunction drug in pill form, to be approved by the FDA.
It is only available by prescription from a doctor.

Viagra works by releasing nitric oxide in the corpus
cavernosum. This activates the enzyme guanylate cyclase,
which results in greater levels of cyclic guanosine
monophosphate. This in turn results in muscle relaxation
in the corpus cavernosum, which increases the flow of blood
into the penis. This drug only works, however, if there is
sexual stimulation and an increase in levels of guanosine
monophosphate. It works in about thirty minutes and lasts
for up to four hours.

Cialis was first introduced in February of 2003. Cialis is
the commercial brand name for Tadalafil. This drug was
developed to also treat impotence, or erectile dysfunction.
It was approved by the FDA on November 21st, 2003. It is
marketed by Lilly ICOS, which is a joint venture between
Eli Lilly and Company and ICOS Corporation. This drug
comes in a pill form, and is taken orally. It is only
available by prescription from a doctor.

Just like Viagra, Cialis works by increasing the effects of
chemicals in the body that are normally released into the
penis during sexual arousal. That in turn, increases blood
flow to the penis, which results in an longer and harder
erection during sexual stimulation. It works in about
thirty minutes and lasts for up to thirty six hours.

Finally, let's take a closer look at Levitra. Levitra is
really the commercial brand name for Vardenafil HCI. It is
marketed by the Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation. It was
first introduced in 2003, and was approved by the FDA in
September 2003. It is only available by prescription from
a doctor.

Like Viagra and Cialis, Levitra works by increasing the
effects of chemicals in the body that are normally released
into the penis during sexual arousal. The big difference
between these drugs is that one can take a substantially
smaller dosage of Levitra and Cialis. The maximum dosage
for Viagra is 100mg, while it is 20mg for Cialis, and
Levitra. Levitra works in about twenty-five minutes and
lasts for up to twenty four hours.

So there you have it. Viagra works in thirty minutes and
lasts up to four hours. Cialis works in thirty minutes and
lasts up to thirty-six hours. Levitra works in twenty-five
minutes and lasts up to twenty four hours. So no matter
which drug you choose, they all work in about the same way,
the only difference is the dosage, the time it takes for
the drug to work, and the amount of time that the drug's
effects last.

----------------------------------------------------
Bryan Pringle, Ph.D., is an author and an webmaster of
websites offering news and information about erectile
dysfunction and pharmaceutical drugs. For more
information, please visit:
http://www.consumersdiscountrx.com/discount_prescription_rx

Bad Breath, Gum Disease and Diabetes

Bad Breath, Gum Disease and Diabetes
If you have receding gums or notice a bleeding gum that is
often red and irritated, and if you've noticed that your
breath is bad, you may have periodontal gum disease. In
fact, periodontal disease may increase your risk for other
health concerns including heart disease, stroke, diabetes,
lung and respiratory disease, and osteoporosis. Today with
cosmetic dentistry and dental implants at the top of the
dental industry spectrum,

Gum disease often progresses silently and without pain.
It's easy to know if you have periodontal disease by paying
attention to these signs. When you brush your teeth, your
gums bleed. You may have gum disease if they are often red,
swollen and tender. If your gums are pulling away from your
teeth, or one of more of your permanent teeth separate from
the gums and become loose, or if you have bad breath all of
the time, these symptoms may be caused by an infection that
causes chronic inflammation of the gums.

Not including children's dentistry, statistics tell us that
more than half of all people over 18 have are in the early
stages of periodontal disease. These numbers increase to
three out of four people who are over 35.

According to several studies, people with gum infection may
be more likely to get heart disease, plus those with
diabetes who also have gum disease may also be at risk for
cardiovascular disease. Heart and blood vessel disease is
the number-one cause of death for people with diabetes.

The researchers wanted to know if gum disease had anything
to do with the higher death rates for people with type 2
diabetes so they studied 628 Pima Indians who were at least
35 years old and had type 2 diabetes who lived in the Gila
River Indian Community in Arizona. Part of a study by the
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases, participants in this study had a physical exam
every two years.

Everyone was grouped into one of three groups: those with
no or mild gum disease, moderate gum disease, or those with
serious gum disease. Researchers then checked on the effect
of gum disease on the death rate. After 11 years, 204 of
the 628 people in the study had died, and it was fifty-four
of them who had died of heart and blood vessel disease.
Most of the 54 died of ischemic heart disease (a type of
blood vessel disease that develops from narrowed heart
arteries). Many of the 204 diabetes-related deaths were a
result of diabetic kidney disease.

Ultimately, the people with type 2 diabetes and serious gum
disease were 3.5 times more likely to have died from
ischemic heart disease or kidney disease than people with
less serious gum disease. Gum disease is that it not only
destroys the gum surrounding the teeth, but the supporting
bone that holds teeth in place. If there are pockets or
spaces between your gums and teeth, your periodontist or
dentist may suggest a course of treatment that will help
stop further damage to your gums and bones.

Beverly Hills dentist Dr. Bijan Afar recommends periodontal
disease treatments at least twice a year or more, with a
dental team to make sure there's no plaque build-up on your
teeth causing gum disease.

----------------------------------------------------
Kristin Gabriel is a social media marketing writer and PR
professional. One of her clients, Dr. Bijan Afar, an oral
surgeon, is based in Los Angeles, and owns five dental
clinics, including the Wilshire Dental
Clinic. For more information, visit
http://www.oralimplants.com

What is an elliptical trainer and should you use it?

What is an elliptical trainer and should you use it?
Elliptical trainers are among the most popular gym
equipment. It is like having two exercise machines in one
because it combines the movements of a stair climber with
those of the exercise bike to give you an excellent impact
free workout. The fact that is impact free is one of its
best qualities. It is ideal for women with any sort of
back, knee, hip or joints problem. For some it gives the
benefit of being a treadmill with a stair climber's edge to
it.

It is no secret you can get a great workout from
elliptical trainers because you are combining movements of
hiking, cross country skiing and of course biking. The
resistance that the machine provides you with is able to
help you not only lose weight but also fight off
osteoporosis. It is also one of the few machines that
will give you a full body workout because you are working
your quads, your back end muscles and if you take
advantage of the handles that most elliptical come with
your arms will get a good workout also.

Another reason why elliptical is so popular is because you
get a great workout for less the effort. Elliptical
machines have what is called a "Perceived Rate of Exertion"
which means you are doing a lot of work and burning a lot
of calories but you do not feel like you are working as
hard as you really are. I used to spend at least forty
minutes on the elliptical and not even feel like I was
working out.

You don't need to belong to a gym to get a good workout on
an elliptical. Go to any sporting store or even department
store to see the styles of ellipticals that are out there.
Most ellipticals are smaller than a treadmill and can be
stored away easily also. When shopping for an Elliptical
machine keeps your budget in mind. How much can you spend?
You can get a good elliptical machine without breaking the
piggy bank. You also want to keep in mind the size of the
model you are looking at. Will it fit in your home. Make
sure it can be folded up like most models and stored away
under the bed or in a closest if you do not have an in home
gym. Also look at the features the model comes with. Is
it important to you that you know how many calories you are
burning? Is having a built in heart rate monitor
important to you? How much extra are you willing to pay
for these features? Lastly you might want to try it out
and see if you like the feel of it. Is it comes with arm
bars, can you reach the arm bars and is it comfortable to
use them? I am fairly petite and have seen a few models
whose arm bars I can't use because my arms are to short for
them. The more comfortable you are using it, the more
use you will get out of it.

Elliptical are great exercise machines and work great for
those of us who don't want to do a high impact workout but
still want to get the benefits of one.

----------------------------------------------------
We have released the official site for more details go to:
http://www.womensfitness-secrets.com

How to Lose Fat From Your Stomach to Look Lean and Sexy

How to Lose Fat From Your Stomach to Look Lean and Sexy
With so many sources of information all telling you
something different, you might be feeling a little confused
about how to lose fat from your stomach permanently. If
you feel like this then you are certainly not the only one!

You simply need to learn how to lose fat from your stomach
the right way by understanding some of the most basic
principles of fat loss. That's right, you need to learn
the basics before you get into tracking the small details.

This article will go over the basics to show you how to
lose fat from your stomach. Once you have a sound
understanding of these principles you will be able to see
how all the small details fit better into the bigger
picture.

Principle #1: Take in fewer calories

This might seem overly simplistic but is one of the most
important things to get a grasp of. You have probably
heard many times before that to lose fat from your stomach
all you need to do is eat less. This is absolutely true,
but you need to have the right perspective on it.

Taking in fewer calories does not mean going on a crazy
crash diet that has you feeling hungry and miserable all
the time. It simply involves taking in fewer calories than
you do right now without going so low that you risk slowing
down your metabolism.

Don't try to all of a sudden eat one meal per day and force
yourself to be hungry. Instead, start by keeping a food
log and then make some small changes one by one. For
example, if you cut out 3 bowls of ice cream per week, you
will be cutting back your weekly calories by 600-1200. A
few more small changes and you could easily lose 2 lbs of
fat from your stomach each week.

So if you are having lots of trouble losing weight and you
cannot figure out what is wrong, it all comes back to the
most simple principle of all that will help you lose fat
from your stomach more than anything else: take in fewer
calories!

Principle #2: Don't do too much slow cardio

Going for a long walk, riding a bike, using a cardio
machine such as a stationary bike, elliptical, or treadmill
are all good ways to get some exercise, but spending 30-60
minutes going at a slow speed is not going to help you lose
weight in the long term.

This is simply because your body will adapt to this kind of
workout very quickly. When you start to adapt to a workout
you burn fewer calories each time you do it because it
becomes less of a challenge. On top of that, trying to
force yourself to spend 30-60 minutes on a cardio machine
is downright boring and will not help you make the kind of
progress you want to. Instead of just focusing on doing
slow cardio, shift your focus to strength training and
interval training.

Strength training will do wonders for helping you lose fat
from your stomach because the extra lean muscle mass will
burn lots of calories when you are exercising and at rest.
You will get stronger, feel better, have a higher
metabolism, and be able to handle more challenging workouts.

And don't worry about getting muscles that are too big and
bulky. Unless you are training and eating very
specifically to gain muscle you will have nothing to worry
about. Women especially do not have enough testosterone to
even begin to build "bodybuilder" muscles from basic
strength training.

Interval training is an awesome alternative to slow cardio
because it is faster, more intense, and has a dramatic
impact on your resting metabolism. It helps you lose fat
from your stomach because you burn so many calories after
you are finished exercising. Slow cardio only burns
calories during the workout session and then stops when you
are done!

Interval training basically consists of alternating between
high and low intensities at specifically points in the
workout. For example, you might get on a treadmill and
walk slow for 2 minutes and then run for 1 minute. The
minute where you are running is an excellent way of taking
yourself out of your comfort zone for short periods of
time. Interval training can be customized for people at
any age or ability level, so don't be intimidated!

Once you try interval training you will never go back to
slow cardio again. It is such a better workout and doesn't
need to last any longer then 25 minutes.

Conclusion

With these basic principles you will have a good base for
understanding how to lose fat from your stomach and other
areas of your body as well. For more information check out
the links below to get some more details descriptions about
losing more fat with diet and exercise. Good luck!

----------------------------------------------------
Want to learn some more awesome tips? Hello, my name is Tom
Gifford and I am a personal trainer who has studied fat
loss extensively. Stop by my website at
http://www.TheGreatCardioMyth.com and check out the first
two chapters of my brand new book for free! You will find
some great tips you can start using right away. I look
forward to seeing you there!

What's Great about the Atkins Diet

What's Great about the Atkins Diet
A diet plan just is not appealing unless one can see that
it has promise in achieving the desired weight loss. This
is one of the things that are great about the Atkins Diet
Plan in that you can see its promise very quickly in the
way of quick weight loss. Yes, it's true that this diet
offers the benefits of better health due to once again
attaining a healthy weight but the promise of rapid initial
weight loss seems to be the big appeal to this diet.

The Atkins Diet is known as the diet that initially cuts
out those bad carbohydrates and replaces the diet with
high-protein / high-fat foods. It's that diet where one
"can eat all the bacon he or she wants." The science behind
the Atkins Diet is when your body no longer has these
carbohydrates it will switch to burning stored fat during a
stage called Ketosis. The tough part about the diet is that
initially in the first two weeks there are no
carbohydrates—practically none at all.

Those first two weeks are a period of eating a lot of
high-protein, fatty, and oily foods. Most think it's a
great eating a lot of this type of food because it is tasty
too. But as we all know, too much fat of this nature in our
diets can be bad for us in a different way. So you should
eat what we would call "beneficial" fats and keep your
intake low of the other type. Beneficial fats include those
found in products such as nuts, butter (not margarine),
canola oil, and olive oil. Foods containing omega-3 fatty
acids such as fish are also beneficial. Avoid foods with
polyunsaturated fats.

After the initial loss phase, the second beneficial part of
the Atkins diet is the maintenance phase. During this
phase, the goal is to identify the optimum level of
carbohydrate intake a person can have and still maintain a
healthy weight. That level should be one where the person
neither gains weight nor loses weight. So, as mentioned
before, some carbohydrates are allowed back into a person's
diet and results are monitored to identify the optimum
level of carbohydrate intake.

The Atkins diet is also beneficial in reducing the risk of
a person developing diseases associated with being
overweight like Type 2 Diabetes. In diseases like these,
sugar is an enemy. The Atkins Diet is a high-fat and
high-protein diet so there is nothing to affect a person's
blood sugar and insulin levels in a detrimental way. By
losing the weight now, people can avoid all the medical
complications that could come later in life.

And what's really great about the Atkins Diet is that you
as a person will start to look and feel better. Carrying
around a lot of weight is hard. Often people who are
overweight will complain about being tired all the time.
Well, if your blood sugar is unstable and you have to carry
around so many excess pounds, of course you are going to be
tired. People with overweight conditions oftentimes have
problems with bloating from gas and acid reflux disease.
These tend to disappear as the person gets his or her
weight going down because there is less tightness with
internal organs of your body.

----------------------------------------------------
http://health.howstuffworks.com/atkins5.htm

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=266817

http://wilstar.com/lowcarb/

http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/transfat/q_a.html

Effective Body Building Workout Plan

Effective Body Building Workout Plan
A body building workout should be a well-rounded program
that provides an adequate amount of resistance to all areas
of the body and all muscle groups.

It should contain a variety of exercises including weight
training and a cardiovascular rotation as well. If you are
wondering about different types of body building workouts,
there is no one magic formula for everyone.

When you are trying to devise a good body building workout,
you need to consider the current state of your health.

Your health can factor in your recoverability,
susceptibility to injury, and your physical limitations.

If you are beginning a body building workout to get fit,
you will probably have to start slow and work your way up.

Another factor in a body building workout is to consider
what your personal goals are in this endeavor. Do you want
to increase body mass, lose weight, or just become stronger?

Whatever goal you have will dictate what type of workout
will work best to succeed.

You must have a basic knowledge of human anatomy and what
muscles are located where on your body. When you know
where your muscles are, you'll be better equipped to work
them to their maximum capacity.

You can concentrate on the specific muscle groups and use
the weights to tone and sculpt those muscles.

An effective body building workout will be four days long
to begin with. A good idea is to workout on Monday,
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with your rest day on
Wednesday and the weekend.

Here is a good, basic body building workout that will focus
on each part of the body, but not all at the same time:

* Day 1: Deltoids, Triceps

* Day 2: Back, Traps

* Day 3: OFF

* Day 4: Legs, Forearms

* Day 5: Chest, Biceps

* Day 6: OFF

* Day 7: OFF

Working out in this way will work each body group on one
day only which will allow for maximum recovery time as well
as maximum growth potential.

You need recovery time due to the intensity of a strong
body building workout to allow your muscles to heal in
between workout sessions. This is very important in any
body building program.

Keep a log of the exercises you are performing and note
your progress regularly. By doing this, you'll know where
you stand as far as your strength potential, and you can
make changes as needed to realize your personal goal.

Body building workouts vary from person to person, but they
all contain basic components that can help all body
builders grow their muscles and tone their bodies.

When putting together your body building workout, keep your
personal goals in mind and then go for it!

----------------------------------------------------
Revealed: 95% of people who start a muscle-building program
will NEVER see any significant results! Learn how to avoid
these fatal muscle-building pitfalls and finally achieve
the ripped, rock-solid physique you deserve by clicking
here...
http://sean-nalewanyj-a-liar.blogspot.com

Your Diet is Ruining Your Body

Your Diet is Ruining Your Body
You may wonder why someone whose background is a certified
yoga and Pilates instructor would rant and rave about your
eating habits so often. I mean, I'm a weight loss coach,
yes, but I've written no diet books nor do I have a degree
in nutrition, except for everything I've taught myself (if
you get to know me, you'll find I'm a little obsessive
about researching and testing). Why don't I leave the diet
talk for someone else and focus only on my training in
exercise?

To be perfectly honest, I would love to discuss only
exercise. To divulge how various exercises sculpt the human
body into a finely tuned machine of strength and agility is
my true passion. However, it just wouldn't be practical to
ignore your diet.

You see, I write this to benefit you. My purpose is to give
you practical tips that you can use to improve your health
and fitness.

Which leads us to the disturbing truth...

Your diet is ruining your body.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but someone had to say
it. I can talk about exercise until I am blue in the face,
but until you take charge of your diet, it would all be in
vain. And when I use the word "diet" as follows, I really
mean nutrition. Diets don't work.

Today's statistics show that nearly 60% of the population
is currently overweight or obese. While this is shocking,
according to a new study reported by WebMD, three out of
four US adults will be overweight or obese by the year
2015. That's 75% of us.

Wow, those are some scary numbers. I certainly don't want
to become part of that statistic, and I know you don't
either.

So what's the deal? Why are we getting fatter and fatter?
It all comes back to that little word...diet. The diet of
today's adult is simply out of control. Here's why:

-Portions gone wild.

It all started in the 1970's. Restaurants began to increase
their portions and, as a result, the unsuspecting public
ate more. Since then portions have continued to grow and
most people continue to clear their plates despite the
extra calories.

-Convenience food mayhem.

Junk food used to be only found in vending machines-not so
today. Have you ever noticed how the checkout line in the
supermarket has changed in recent years? It used to be
stocked with gum, mints and a few candy bars. Now
everything from potato chips to cookies sit within arm's
reach. Very few people get through their day without
consuming some kind of convenience food.

-Fast food fallout.

How many fast food restaurants do you pass on your way to
work? Probably more than you can count. How many times do
you stop in for a quick bite? Probably more times than you
would like to admit. Fast food has never been more
available than it is today-and it shows in the waistline.

Here's something you may not know: If you were to exercise
everyday of the week but failed to change your eating
habits from those listed above, you wouldn't see any
visible results.

Now don't get me wrong-exercise is a vital ingredient for
improving your fitness level, health and the shape of your
body. Exercise and good nutrition go hand-in-hand. You
won't make progress toward your goals without them both.

So where does this leave you? The way I see it, you are
faced with an opportunity. With just a few small changes to
your daily eating habits you could be well on your way to
having an incredible body. Couple this with an exercise
program and you will be unstoppable.

Keeping with my goal to give you practical tips to improve
your health and fitness level, here are three ways to
improve your diet.

1. Slash your portions.

Even though that mountain of pasta looks great, remind
yourself that it is three or four times more than you
really need to eat, and those extra calories are going to
land right on your waist. Consciously make an effort to
reduce your portions at each meal and watch how your weight
shrinks and your energy soars.

2.Pack your snacks.

Instead of turning to a bag of chips or packaged cookies in
mid afternoon, reach for a piece of fruit instead. Nuts or
seeds would be an even better choice with high protein,
high fiber, and healthy fat. It only takes a few minutes
to pack healthy snacks for your day, and it will save you a
boatload of extra calories. Convenience food is packed with
sugar, fat and empty calories that will only leave you
sluggish and uncomfortable.

3.Cut out one fast food meal per week.

If you currently eat 5 fast food meals each week then only
eat four this week. Next week reduce that number down to
three. And then two, and then one. Once fast food isn't a
regular part of your diet you should look at it as
something to be had as a treat-not a dietary staple.

Now that you have three simple ways to drastically improve
your eating habits, this brings us back to exercise. I must
emphasize that you definitely do need regular, challenging
exercise in order to achieve and maintain results. It's as
simple as that.

----------------------------------------------------
If you know what you need to do to achieve healthy, lasting
weight loss, but you still can't seem to consistently do
it, consider trying something different. Visit
http://www.healthyhappyweightloss.com to find unique
suggestions that can finally help you get the body you want.

Extracting Wisdom Teeth

Extracting Wisdom Teeth
The extraction of wisdom teeth, also known as third molars
is a common surgical procedure. Your dentist may recommend
extraction if your wisdom teeth do not fully erupt, when
the alignment of the wisdom teeth damages the adjacent
teeth and when a cyst (fluid filled sac) develops.

The most common reason for extraction is that the mouth is
too small for wisdom teeth to erupt properly. This may
result in a complete bony impaction, when the third molars
still in its developmental sac, remain completely covered
in bone. This sac may develop into a cyst.

Another consequence is a partial bony impaction, where the
teeth only partially erupt. This can lead to gum disease
and decay around the adjacent second molars. Some, although
not all, dentists also believe that misaligned wisdom teeth
may push the other teeth forward, causing misalignment.

As with any surgery, there are complications associated
with removal of wisdom teeth. Some of the most common
complications are: pain, infection, swelling and bleeding.
Pain medication can be prescribed to alleviate pain and
prophylactic antibiotics to prevent infection.

There are also complications unique to removal of third
molars. The removal of the upper third molars may lead to a
communication between the oral cavity and sinus. In this
situation, the area is sutured (stitched) and antibiotics
and decongestants prescribed. Minor surgery may be required
to close the communication.

The removal of the lower third molars may cause the
inferior alveolar nerve (the nerve that provides feeling to
the lip, teeth and tongue), to become bruised. This may
cause a change in sensation, which typically heals itself
within 6 months to a year. In very rare cases, the damage
is permanent. It is important to note that damage to the
nerve does NOT affect mobility.

As with any procedure, the decision to extract wisdom teeth
should be made in conjecture with your dentist. You can
find an experienced dentists by going through the following
steps:

Research local dentists in your area and meet with them
personally for a few minutes; Seek a referral from dental
associations and dental societies; Search the internet and
read up about the dentist's qualifications and specialties.

As with any dental or medical procedure, there are often
risks. Talk directly to your dentist to discuss the risks
and make whatever efforts you can to minimize those risks.
Most importantly, be prepared, educated, informed and
aware; the rest is in god's hands.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information, you may visit
http://www.chicago-dental.com .

Ready, Set, Think

Ready, Set, Think
Studies are piling up showing how exercising your body
boosts the fitness of you brain as well. Exercise has
documented benefits for learning and memory, executive
decision making function, mood regulation, and even
protection against brain injury from an accident.

The latest piece comes from Dr. Ronald Duman's group at
Yale, just published in Nature Medicine. Using a high tech
screening approach, researchers looked at how certain genes
change their activity levels in the brain after exercise.

Working out Your Brain

Specifically, they looked at a part of the brain called the
hippocampus, which has known roles in learning and memory,
the regulation of stress, and is one of the brain regions
targeted by anti-depressants.

In the study, researchers gave mice either free access to
exercise wheels in their cages or not. The study revealed
that several genes increase their activity in the
hippocampus following a week of voluntary exercise.

One gene that dramatically increased its activity was VGF,
or vascular growth factor. This gene was originally named
for its role in inducing new blood vessel growth but we now
know that it has other roles as well. It's not known if
increased blood supply to parts of the brain are involved
in the exercise benefit, but I suspect that it probably is.

Beyond its potential blood flow benefits, VGF is
interesting because it belongs to a larger family of growth
factors that we already suspected to play roles in
depression. Growth factors are involved in the growth and
maintenance of all kinds of things, including neurons and
blood vessels.

Depressed Mice?

Believe it or not, using carefully designed studies,
researchers can actually evaluate depression-like behaviors
in mice. When the authors of the new study looked at these
behaviors, they found that the exercised mice showed fewer
depressive behaviors than their non-exercised controls.

This shows that exercise helps alleviate depression
behavior (which we already knew) but does not show that it
was due to the increases in VGF activity. However, further
studies by the group showed that injecting VGF into the
animals had the same anti-depressive affects as exercise.
Furthermore, when they looked at other mice that have
naturally low VGF activity, they found that these mice had
increased depressive-like behaviors.

This provides strong evidence that VGF plays a role in
mediating the anti-depressive affect of exercise.

I'm sure that pharmaceutical companies are now looking at
VGF related compounds for new anti-depressants. But the
point of this article is not to suggest that you can get
all the benefits of exercise by injecting VGF (It's not
available anyway, yet).

The point is that exercise is incredibly beneficial to your
brain and body. VGF is just one example of many protective
systems turned on by exercise.

Just Move

In our part of the world, we're moving into the winter,
making it more difficult to get outside and run around. But
there are still many things that you can do to keep your
brain and body fit through the cold months.

You could: join a gym, get exercise equipment into your
house (and use it), buy an exercise tape or DVD, join a
recreational volleyball or basketball program or other
sport you enjoy; take a local fitness class or just brave
the weather and go for a brisk walk.

Making exercise a habit will help you keep your brain
healthy throughout life. Many people today don't get much
exercise once they reach middle age. This may have been
fine 100 years ago when the average life expectancy was
about 55. Today, many of us will likely live past 80 or 90
years old. How many years do you have left? How many of
those years to you want to have a healthy brain?

----------------------------------------------------
Master Brain Fitness techniques for you and your family.
Your Brain Fitness holds is the key to unlock your maximum
potential. Dr. Simon Evans and Dr. Paul Burghardt at
BrainFit For Life put together the right ingredients in
right amount to create the recipe for success. Visit
http://www.BrainFitForLife.com for FREE Brain Fitness
resources.

Holiday Attitude-Be Real

Holiday Attitude-Be Real
Last week I had two clients come in, at different times, to
discuss their diets, their weight, and how to handle the
holidays. Neither of them had lost any weight, but, (and
more importantly as we go through all these holidays)
neither of them had gained weight.

What struck me was that their attitudes were totally
different, and I could see it in the way they behaved in my
office. Let me first tell you that in my practice, I like
to talk for a while with my clients before I weigh them.
It helps me get a sense of how they are doing, what's going
on in their lives that may affect their weight plans. It
also helps me when it comes time to set goals for our next
visit.

He had decided he was "not going to follow his meal plan"
for three weeks. He had several family weekend activities
and he also loves Halloween. So he had no guilt associated
with the eating he was doing. He was quite surprised, and
pleased to discover he had not gained an ounce since our
last appointment. He had, in fact, continued his activity,
but he had stopped following any kind of eating "plan".

She, on the other hand, came into my office feeling very
frustrated. Keeping food records is one of the methods she
uses to help herself "stay on track." It had worked for
her since we started meeting, and seemed to be something
she wanted to continue doing. However, she had stopped
keeping records two weeks before our appointment (we were
meeting every 3-4 weeks). She felt she had been
overeating, and just didn't want to see it on paper. She
was feeling out of control and very guilty about her
behaviors. She had injured her shoulder and couldn't
exercise regularly, and she felt in a downward spiral. I
tried to make several suggestion, such as taking small
walks, setting less ambitious activity goals-anything to
help her pull herself out of this slump.

But she didn't want to hear any of it. After a short
while, we took her weight, and she discovered she had not
gained an ounce. Suddenly, her entire demeanor changed.
She was smiling, and open to many of the suggestions we had
just discussed! She said that she felt optimistic and now
thought she would be able to start keeping records and
becoming active. She was a different person.

Why was he so positive when he first came in, and she so
negative? The answer is easy- attitude.

His attitude was much more realistic than hers. He had
decided NOT to diet, and so if there were no "rules" to
break, he was still in control. He had no reason to feel
disappointed, because he had done nothing "wrong."

She, on the other hand, had a much more negative attitude.
While she had given up keeping food records, she had not
given herself permission to stop dieting. Her attitude was
that she was out of control, and so she had failed.

It is important to be realistic about your behaviors,
especially around the holidays. I tell my clients the goal
is to work to stay active and to maintain weight. He was
being realistic about his behaviors, and so was much more
pleasant not at all disappointed. She, unfortunately, had
been unrealistic, and so disappointed herself.

Don't set goals you cannot keep. Maybe it is best to
forget about your eating behaviors for the next few weeks.
Set yourself activity goals instead. Walk around your
living room for five minutes before you go to bed. It may
turn out that five minutes is goes by really fast
(especially if the TV is on), so you'll walk for
ten…fifteen. You get the idea.

You may also find that if you allow yourself to eat what
you want, when you want to eat it-your need for the food
may decrease. When foods are not forbidden, the need for
those foods becomes less and less. And, the amount of food
it takes to satisfy you becomes less as well.

Try it-and have a wonderful holiday season.

----------------------------------------------------
For free tips to becoming At Peace With Food, articles, and
links to nutritional resource websites, visit
http://www.AtPeaceWithFood.com/freetips.html

The Liver And Natural Weight Loss

The Liver And Natural Weight Loss
The liver is a very commonly-overlooked source of weight
problems. Most people are aware that the liver is involved
in detoxifying certain chemicals in the body - the most
familiar being alcohol, but the liver does many other
things. With regards to weight control, liver function is
extremely important from two perspectives - water
retention, and the production and/or activation of ALL of
the body's fat-burning hormones. Good liver function is
absolutely essential to being able to achieve natural
weight loss.

Because of poor lifestyle choices, such as excess alcohol
consumption, the use of drugs and medications (even
over-the-counter medications), and poor diet - particularly
eating a lot of fat and animal proteins, it is common for
the liver to become overworked and irritated. This results
in an inflammatory response in the abominal cavity, which
results in an accumulation of fluid (called ascites). This
accumulation of fluid causes the abdomen to bulge outward
in what is commonly called a "potbelly" or "beer gut". In
women, the problem can get bad enough that the protruding
belly makes them look pregnant when they are not. For
people with this water weight deposition, weight loss can
be frustrating because exercise will not "burn it off" -
because it's not fat. Since natural weight loss approaches
fail to get results in these situations, some people resort
to diet drugs, which may work at first, but ultimately harm
the liver even more and create even more abdominal water
retention.

With liver-related water retention, many diet programs and
weight loss aids also actually make things worse. Diets
that are high in protein and fat, such as Atkin's, further
overload the liver and create even more water retention.
Some weight loss aids contain drugs or chemicals that the
liver must process, and again, create even more liver
irritation and subsequent water retention.

In addition to the water retention issue, good liver
function is necessary for the proper production and/or
activation of the hormones that stimulate fat burning. For
instance, the liver is needed to convert the inactive form
of thyroid hormone (T4) to the active form (T3). When the
liver is overworked and cannot do the hormone conversions
efficiently, the body cannot burn fat efficiently, no
matter how much exercise you may do or what other natural
weight loss steps you take.

The liver also produces a fat-burning hormone of its own,
called insulin-like growth factor (IGF). IGF controls blood
sugar during the relatively long-period that you go without
eating during sleep. As your blood sugar level falls while
you are sleeping, the liver produces IGF to burn fat
reserves to mobilize stored energy. Again, if liver
function is not as good as it should be, this hormone is
not produced efficiently and you don't burn as much fat.
The other thing that occurs is that your blood sugar will
go lower than it should and you wake up in the morning
feeling very fatigued and irritable.

So what do you need to do to help your liver so that you
can lose the retained water "potbelly" and produce/activate
the necessary hormones so that you can burn fat and achieve
natural weight loss more efficiently? The first step is to
minimize the amount of work the liver must do in
detoxification. This means cutting back on alcohol and any
unnecessary drugs and medications. If possible, I recommend
avoiding alcohol and non-essential medications entirely for
at least a few weeks to give the liver an opportunity to
recover.

The next step is to clean up you diet to make things as
easy as possible on the liver. The ideal approach is to go
vegetarian for at least a few weeks and eat primarily fresh
vegetables, and fruits, and use nuts, seeds, and beans as
your primary sources of protein. If you can't do that, it
is advisable to at least cut out fried and greasy foods and
high-fat meats for a while. The better your diet, the
faster you'll lose the retained water in the abdomen and
the faster you'll make real progress on losing weight.

There are various "liver de-tox" products on the market
that contain some combination of herbs and/or nutrients
that are reputed to be beneficial for the liver. These can
be useful in more extreme cases or for those who simply
aren't willing to take the dietary and other lifestyle
measures just described. In my opinion, changing the diet
and implementing the other natural weight loss lifestyle
factors is a much more effective way to go, but using a
liver detoxification product is probably better than doing
nothing. Because some of these products contain herbs that
can interact with certain prescription medications, it is
strongly recommended that you consult with a physician or a
pharmacist before using any of these products if you are on
prescription drugs.

In addition to weight loss, as liver function improves,
your skin usually becomes clearer and your mood and energy
level will typically improve, especially in the morning.
People with chronic headaches often notice that the
headaches become less frequent and may go away altogether.
Likewise, people with chronic pains in the upper back along
the right shoulder blade often report that those pains go
away as they begin to take better care of the liver.

It should be noted that as the liver recovers and the body
stops retaining water in the abdomen, you will typically
lose weight very rapidly (it could be 5 pounds or more per
day!) and you will need to urinate frequently (that's how
the body gets rid of the excess water). Once the extra
water is gone, the weight loss will slow down. If you
continue on a natural weight loss program, a reasonable
expectation after you have lost the water weight is about 1
to 2 pounds per week.

----------------------------------------------------
Dr. George Best is a holistic healthcare provider in San
Antonio, Texas. He provides information on natural weight
loss at http://www.trainyourbrain4weightloss.com and is a
consultant for http://www.myfoodwiththought.com - a service
that customizes recipes and meal plans for weight loss and
other health needs.

Crunch Time!

Crunch Time!
Do you notice how much time people spend in the gym on the
floor doing crunches? Bobbing away, 10, 30 sometimes even
100's of crunches.

Funny how those people down there on their backs seem to
have the biggest bellies!

My new clients will often say;

"I do 100 crunches a night but I still can't lose my tummy?"

"Can we do crunches because that's the area I need to
improve?"

"I really want six-pack abs so I know I've got to do a lot
of crunches."

Crunches are by far the most overrated exercise, one of the
most risky for your spine, useless for weight loss and
worst of all they don't even work your core musculature
that well. No matter how much you want to believe it, doing
thousands of crunches is not going to take off any inches
from your waist or fat from your abdominal muscles.

In a recent study 13 Male subjects did a total of 5000 sit
ups over 27 days. At the end of the study, biopsies
examining the rate of change in fat cell diameters showed
that the subjects lost NO fat around their abs.

This goes back to the infamous fitness myth of spot
reduction. You cannot spot reduce fat on your abs by doing
sit ups, fat is not utilised by the body in a localised
manner. Basically working a specific muscle does not burn
the fat around that muscle. Leg exercises wont remove fat
directly from you're your legs, arm exercises wont remove
fat directly from your arm and ab exercises wont move fat
directly from your abs!

Surely it can't be all bad, crunches must do something?

Crunches will provide a training stimulus for your abs to
get stronger and probably grow. A crunch is basically a
weight training exercise for your abs, the same basic idea
as doing a triceps extension for the back of your arm. You
are working the muscle, which will eventually make it
stronger and make it grow.

Well this is a good thing isn't it?

Maybe not as recent research shows that the crunch may not
be the safest exercise for your spine and lower back. The
growing body of research shows that a crunch is in fact one
of the worst positions you can put your spine in. Doing
excessive amounts of crunches could very well lead to
imbalanced abs and core development as well as potential
lower back and spine pain.

Your abdominal muscles are meant to assist in the
stabilization of your trunk/core musculature. In other
words they are meant to simply hold your trunk in place as
your arms and legs move and do work such as running,
jumping, throwing and lifting. All of these motions will
work your abs without forcing you into the potentially
dangerous position of a crunch. What's more they will work
your other core muscles, oblique, TVA, and low back muscles
equally well.

Functionally the abdominal muscles are not meant to pull
your body into a forceful curling or crunching position.
Exercises need to have some functional carry over into
sport or everyday life, otherwise what's the point?

A pull-up; for rock climbing, gymnastics or getting out of
a swimming pool.

A squat; for a powerful karate kick, Jump power in
basketball or picking up a parcel on your doorstep.

Can you think of a practical or sporting situation where
you really need to crunch?

Crunch Ball? Crunchnastics?

Or as most people do 20-200 repetition endurance crunches
can you think of a situation where you might need to crunch
repeatedly over 50 times?

A Crunchathon? Iron- crunch?

Ok so I'm being a bit silly now but the truth is people
spend far too much time on ab specific training especially
when someone's main goal is fat loss.

So how should you train your core muscles then?

Well first of all ignore all the ads for- 6 min abs, ab
rocker, ab curler, ab rack (think I made that one up!), and
don't bother with that TOTAL abs aerobic class with the
chubby instructor, and definitely stay away from that ab
crunch machine in the gym that's been designed by Alton
Towers theme park.

Perform exercises that work your core muscles in a pattern
they are meant to be used in. Exercises such as planks,
side planks, stability ball roll outs, all forms of push
ups, medicine ball throwing, squatting, running, swimming.
The list could go on, but I think you get the idea. All of
these exercises will work the muscles of your core in a
balanced manner (unlike crunches which do not work your
oblique or your lower back muscles).

So these exercises will get rid of body fat around my
stomach and give me a thin waist or a six pack?

Well not really, they will strengthen your core in a
functional manner, help with postural alignment and
sporting performance, but now we get to the bit you
probably didn't want to hear. To get rid of that unwanted
stomach fat its simple, eat less food and burn more
calories.

Being able to see a well defined 6 pack has nothing to do
with doing any sort of ab exercises. It is all about
burning fat. You already have a six pack, when you strip
off enough fat you will eventually see it. Instead of
wasting too much time on direct abdominal training you want
to train your whole body to become a 24 hour fat burning
machine!

To do this use full-body weight training sessions 2-4 times
a week that elicit a great hormonal response and increase
fat burning. Combined with short (10-20mins) interval
cardiovascular sessions 2-4x a week to give maximum
metabolic boost. But of course the most important part of
getting that 6-pack is keeping to a diet high in natural
proteins like chicken and fish, combined with natural
unrefined carbohydrates such as brown rice and good fats
like nuts and olive oil.

It seems to be the people who are obsessed with ab training
that have the worst ab definition. Thinking of your body as
a whole and not isolating certain areas is the key to a
toned tummy; you might be surprised at what happens.

Carl, a client of mine, was surprised! Carl came to me to
lose weight and get fit enough to join the British
Paratroopers. When he started his training the last thing
on his mind was to get a six-pack. After 12 weeks of
excellent training and eating like I have described above
he was fitter than he had ever been in his life, passed the
paratrooper entry test and had a bonus prize, a rippling
six pack! Carl said he had been working on his stomach for
years and got no where so gave up. He certainly never
thought he could get a six-pack without doing a single
crunch!

So in summary ignore the fitness industry hype and stop
crunching. Start training your abs in a functional manner
that will benefit your whole core musculature. Stop
focusing on you midsection, think of your body as a whole
and train your body to become a 24hour fat burning machine.
Healthy eating combined with exercise will get you there,
so what are you waiting for get up off the matt and burn
the fat!

----------------------------------------------------
Mark Lawrence is an experienced fitness professional
specialising in fat loss. He runs his own Personal Training
business in Greenwich, London along with his partner and
women's fitness expert Judit Rago. To find out more and to
download a free report on The Truth About Weight-loss go to
http://www.lawrenceandrago.com

Prescription Drugs From Online Pharmacies: Is It Legal?

Prescription Drugs From Online Pharmacies: Is It Legal?
Since the inception of the internet, the modern marketplace
has gone from walking around the corner to buy something,
to globetrotting the ends of the earth with a mouse click.
Anything can be found on the internet, from movies and
electronics, to clothing and dating services. The modern
day entrepreneurs of marketing, are utilizing the internet
in ways that no one could have ever imagined. Nothing is
too big or too small, to be sold in the cyber marketplace.
Today, this even includes prescription drugs from online
pharmacies.

Online pharmacies are certainly the wave of the future.
More and more online pharmacies are springing up every day.
Normally an individual would get into their car and drive
to a doctor's office, to get a prescription for medication.
Nowadays, one only needs to turn on the computer and get
onto the internet, to get a prescription medication.

Today's modern online pharmacies have employed doctor's
that can prescribe prescriptions to patients, right over
the phone. Imagine, no more waiting for hours in a
doctor's office, for your name to be called, while
listening to cheesy elevator music. Just about every
medication imaginable, can be acquired on the internet.
Anything from high blood pressure medication, to allergy
medication, to medications that treat sexually transmitted
diseases, are available online.

So one has to ask the question: are these online pharmacies
legal? Well, the answer is really not that simple. For
example, in Mexico, one can obtain nearly any type of
medication possible, without a prescription. Say you
wanted Xanax, all you would have to do is to go down to the
local pharmacy and buy it. In the United States, however,
you would have to go to a doctor's office and have the
doctor prescribe it to you, because you cannot purchase
Xanax in the United States, without a prescription. On the
other hand, if you live in the United States, then you can
order Xanax online from a pharmacy, that is located in
Mexico, without a prescription, and usually pay
substantially less than what it would cost in the United
States.

One way that online pharmacies circumvent the prescription
requirements in the United States and other countries, is
buy employing staff doctor's, to prescribe medications to
consumers, who wish to purchase them. So, if you contacted
an online pharmacy in an attempt to purchase medication
which you didn't have a prescription for, then all they
would do, is have you speak with one of their staff
doctor's. This doctor could then prescribe the medication
for you, thus making the purchase legal.

Many opponents of the online pharmacies, say that this is
an unethical way of doing business. However, the laws of
the United States, don't govern other countries where the
online pharmacies are located, and the online pharmacies
that are located in the United States, are complying with
the laws by having doctors prescribe the controlled
medications.

Many proponents of online pharmacies, say that it gives
consumers who don't have the money to purchase expensive
drugs in the United States, a way to get the drugs that
they need for a substantial discount. The truth is, that
medical care costs in the United States, have skyrocketed
in recent years. Many financially strapped individuals,
can't afford health insurance, much needed medications, and
expensive doctor visits. So whether you are for or against
online pharmacies, the bottom line, is that they are
certainly here to stay.

----------------------------------------------------
Bryan Pringle, Ph.D., is an author and an webmaster of
websites offering news and information about online
pharmacies. For more information, please visit:
http://www.consumersdiscountrx.com/discount_prescription_rx