Don't Go It Alone

Don't Go It Alone

There's an old story about a child trying to move a heavy stone while his father looks on. The child works and works, but is just not strong enough. Finally, he tells his father, "I can't do it. It's impossible."

His father responds, "Of course you can. You haven't used all the strength you have available to you yet." The little boy answers that he has tried his hardest, and still can't do it, to which the father responds, "You haven't asked me to help you yet."

Sometimes dieting can seem like moving that heavy rock. You struggle and fight, exercise and sweat, but it's so hard to stick to a diet and exercise schedule that you give up. There comes a time to recognize that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Enlisting the aid of friends, family and a good weight loss support group can bolster

your efforts and help you overcome setbacks that threaten to derail your weight loss efforts. Instead of trying to go it alone, try a few of these suggestions to help you stay on track with the help of friends and family.

1. Hook up with an exercise buddy. Making a date and a commitment to help support someone else's efforts will help you stick to yours as well. Think you don't know anyone you can exercise with? You might be surprised. Several years ago, I was commiserating with an online friend about another failed effort to lose weight when she proposed a novel idea. We each got a cell phone with the same calling plan, and every afternoon at 2, we 'met' for a walk. She did her walking in Seattle, and I did mine in Boston - but by keeping each other company, we helped each other lose 25 pounds each, and cemented a friendship that will last a lifetime.

2. Get your family on the right page. Husbands, wives, children and siblings can offer support in unexpected ways. Something as simple as a sincere compliment at the right time can be all you need to nudge you onward. By the same token, refuse to let them sabotage your diet efforts. When you recognize it, point it out but keep in mind that they probably don't think of it as 'sabotage'. If your husband habitually brings you a bowl of ice cream when he gets one for himself, for instance, he probably thinks he's expressing his love. Let him know that you appreciate it, but you'd rather have a kiss than ice cream anytime.

3. Join a weight loss group like Weight Watchers. There's a lot to be said for seeking out the support of others who are fighting the same battle you are. Whatever it is that motivates you, you can find it in a weight loss support group. Healthy competition, companionship, encouragement, applause and practical, common sense advice from others who are also fighting to take off pounds can all make reforming your eating habits considerably easier.

Knowing Our Stomach and Body

Knowing Our Stomach and Body

Will you be able to find another person exactly like you? If the answer is “No,” what made you think that every person’s stomach behaves in the same way, accepting all the inputs in the same fashion. This is a basic mistake we often make.

Believe me, your stomach may not be behaving in the same way as your friend’s stomach does to a particular food item, be it a chicken piece or a burger. We must know that a particular food, which may be good for certain people, may not be suitable for others. Haven’t you heard the proverb, what is wine for Paul may be venom for Peter.

The Indian system of Ayurveda and yoga is considered as the best way

to explain the different types of body nature. The basic constituents are classified as five elements.

Five Elements:

Earth: All life forces become inert and inactive in this element and more energy is used to keep it active. People with more weight, flesh, fat etc. are good example of predominance of this earth matter in their body. They do not show any anxiety and are not eager to acquire anything, they try to keep away from conflict and their life is moving slowly. When there is a disorder of this element in the body people become selfish and get attached to selfish enjoyments. It is a neutral element.

Water: It keeps the flow of body and life. But it has a natural tendency to cool down. As there is more than 70% water in the body it plays a very important role in the maintenance of heat and circulation of blood etc. It is a negative element.

Fire: It is creating fire in the body – heats the water. It regulates sight, provides strength to the body by digesting the food, induces hunger and thirst, and also maintains suppleness of muscles and beauty of complexion. It helps thinking and facilitates the discrimination power of the brain. It helps production of antibodies.

In short it is the starter of our body-car. Defects in the same causes anemia, jaundice and other digestive problems, and also causes fainting, epilepsy, derangement of brain besides diminishing eyesight and causing growth of cataract in the eyes, it produces acidity and also creates skin problems ad depigmentation.

That is why great importance is given in eastern therapies to control and preserve the element of fire. It is a positive element.

Air: Air is life itself. It is the strength and conducts every part of our body. It regulates the function of heart, circulation of blood and maintains balance of the body.

It helps respiration and downward movement of stools and urine. It produces sound. Nourishes mental faculties and also the faculty of memory. It moves bile and phlegm, which cannot move in the body by themselves. It is a positive element.

Space: In order that air circulates in the body and maintains a proper balance, there has to be space. If such circulation is blocked, it creates pain even leading to heart attack, paralysis, fainting etc. It is a negative element.

Diet Pills A Lot Of Risk For A Little Loss

There are a number of products on the market - both prescription and non-prescription - which claim to be effective weight loss aids. Many of these have been associated with serious medical risks, including heart attack, heart abnormalities, tachycardia, stroke, seizures and death. The side effects can be daunting, but how realistic are they?

Diet pills fall into several different classes. Most are appetite suppressants of one kind or another, generally stimulants with effects similar to those of amphetamine. They are approved for treatment of obesity, where it's considered that the health risks associated with gross overweight outweigh the risks associated with the medication.

For someone who has less than 30 pounds to lose, the risks are far less cut-and-dried. While the FDA and manufacturers closely monitor the effects of prescription weight loss medications, over the counter medications and their risks are far less well-documented. They're even less well-documented for herbal preparations, especially those whose makers don't officially make weight loss claims for them.

While makers of pharmaceuticals must meet stringent labeling requirements and tests for safety and effectiveness, those who make weight loss 'supplements' are not regulated in the same way. As long as they don't contain a 'new' ingredient, or one that has never been marketed for weight loss purposes, they are not subject to FDA review. Instead, the manufacturer is held responsible for the safety and effectiveness of their products. Often, that means unregulated dosages, unhealthy additives and ineffective ingredients.

In an effort to encourage improvement in the reporting standards and the pharmaceutical standards for weight loss medications, the United States Pharmacopoeia has introduced the Comprehensive Dietary Supplement Verification Program.

Currently voluntary, it involves certification by the USP of certain labeling and practice standards, including that the product contains the ingredients stated on the label in the strength declared, that they are within limits for impurities like metals, pesticides and bacteria, that the medication will be absorbed by the body according to USP criteria, and that it has been created with all safe precautions.

Until the day that all over the counter medications and herbal preparations marketed as weight loss supplements and aids are labeled and tested by impartial researchers, there are some things that you can do to lessen the risks associated with using diet pills.

Research is your best friend. There's a lot of information out there about drugs and herbs like ephedra, ephinedrine, phentermine and sibutramine. Know what you're taking and what the risks are so that you can watch for side effects.

Always talk to your doctor before you start taking any drug or herbal supplement. Many of them interact poorly with other medications, or have an adverse effect on chronic conditions.

Follow dosage instructions. Overdoses of stimulant medications, which are a component of most weight loss preparations, can be serious and severe.

Don't take any weight loss pill or supplement for more than a few weeks without it being prescribed by a doctor.

Check with your pharmacist when purchasing over the counter weight loss preparations to be sure that the ingredients don't interact with other medications you may be taking. Include both prescription and nonprescription medications in your questions.

Ideally, don't take weight loss pills. The effectiveness of most have not been proven at all. It's an awful lot of risk for such a little loss.

Different Combination of Elements In the Body

Different Combination of Elements In the Body

If these five basic elements are maintained in proper proportion in the body, a proper metabolism is ensured and the body remains healthy. However due to heredity, eating and living habits more often than not, we disturb one or two of these elements and thus upset the metabolism and there is a predominance of three different types of combinations. Such combination of these elements decide our types-prakrutis. Aurveda, the Indian medical therapy, has divided people into three types:

1) Combination through excess of Earth +Water

2) Combination through excess of Fire + Air, and

3) Excess of Air element

This therapy advocates that while treating the patients, one must keep in mind their respective types. For those people having kapha prakruthi, milk will only create problems.

People, therefore, having bronchitis or asthma indigestion should avoid milk. For people with pitt prakruti, spicy food will enhance their problem. Therefore, what is good for one type could be harmful to another.

Kapha Prakruti

It is a combination of earth and water. These elements occupy the major portion of our body. Sweet foods and drinks when properly digested are reduced to saline and the blood becomes alkaline.

It sustains the body system, Increases vigor and there is a marked growth of happiness. It lubricates the joints of bones and keeps them working properly. However, this is possible when there is proper element of fire – heat in the body.

However because of lack of exercise, overheating, eating between the meals when not hungry, eating more indigestible foods like concentrated sweet-fried things causes problems of indigestion and fail to produce enough heat in the body.

This leads to increase in water content and reduction of heat in the body, resulting in problems like dullness, heaviness, increase in fats, common cold bronchitis and later on asthma, arthritis rheumatism etc.

The best way to cure the above ailments of kapha prakruti is to reduce the intake of undesirable foods, cold drinks and foods that only aggravate the problems. They should eat only light digestible food when hungry; avoid sleeping during the day and over sex. Even milk is harmful to them. They should also take physical exercises.

Pitta Prakruti

It is a combination of fire+ air. Excess of heat damages the working of brain – leads to acidity – ulcer, cold due to heat, skin problems, even sexual weakness, short temper and falling of hair.

Now, in modern times more anxiety – worries- eating more of fried and spicy foods- more exposure to sun, excessive use of antibiotics indulged in by people increases their problem. It is, therefore essential to avoid these habits as much as possible.

They should take sweet fruit juice as the first thing in the morning and have more fruits, sweet desserts after eating and drink more green juice.

Air Vayu Prakruti

This condition prevails when there is an excess of the element of air. People belonging to this category are more talkative and have day dreams. They need more sleep and have more gas trouble. These imbalances lead to fainting.

The tendency to eat heavy-oily foods- like fried and foods made out of gram etc. increases this tendency. People in such condition should avoid constipation and sleeping during day time, have more physical exercise so as to increase heat and circulation and should avoid unsuitable foods.

Don't Obsess About Food

Don't Obsess About Food

One of the dangers of dieting is the 'diet mentality'. The constant need to weigh, measure, count and account for food that most dieters feel can become an obsession with food that comes close to that experienced by someone with an eating disorder. Is it possible to lose weight without becoming obsessed with food?

Dr. David Katz, author of "The Way to Eat", suggests a better way. While it's important to balance the calories you eat with the calories you burn, he says, it's not necessary to obsess about food by counting every calorie. Instead, he suggests, focus on eating well for your health and permanent weight loss will follow.

Dr. Katz's suggestions include replacing highly processed foods which contain added sugar, fat, starch and salt with more wholesome foods with short ingredient lists. Avoid foods with added 'flavor enhancers' like monosodium glutamate and high fructose corn syrup which tend to stimulate the appetite and make you want to eat even more.

Instead, focus on healthier alternatives within food groups. That's far easier to do than you'd think. A simple change in your diet like replacing the light cream in your coffee with low-fat milk can save you 50 calories per cup. If you drink a lot of coffee, that could add up to a substantial lowering in your overall daily calorie intake - with the added bonus of giving you all the calcium and vitamin D you usually get with less than half the fat.

But, you say, you just can't drink your coffee with skim milk? That's fine, too. We all have little luxuries that we think we can't live without. Take a few minutes to analyze your diet and figure out which things you just can't give up - then make adjustments in other areas to account for them. Can't live without cream in your coffee? Skip the muffin you usually have with it, or replace the butter you use on it with a low-fat margarine substitute. Eating healthy is about choices - not obsession.

Here are some other suggestions to help you stop obsessing about calories and start eating healthier:

1. Toss out sugared breakfast cereals in favor of a whole-grain cereal that has little or no added sugar and drop a few berries into your bowl instead.

2. Switch to an all natural, no additive peanut butter instead of a highly processed one that contains added sugar and oils for stabilization.

3. Keep a baggie of dried fruit in your desk drawer for a high-potassium pick-me-up at mid-morning. You'll be far less inclined to overeat at lunch - and you won't find yourself yawning at 11 A.M.

Dangerous Weight Loss Methods

Dangerous Weight Loss Methods

We're all looking for the magic bullet. You know - the one that we can take and lose weight without really trying! What would you give up to be skinny? How about your health? Some of these methods of weight loss just may cost you exactly that. Before you decide that the way to lose weight is to follow one of the below regimens, take a second look. Do your research and be sure that you understand the risks.

• Prescription diet pills

Amphetamines are available only by prescription, and most doctors are leery of handing them out these days. While they do suppress appetite, you learn nothing about healthy eating, don't change your eating habits and are likely to gain the weight back the moment you stop taking them. In addition, they can be habit forming. The side effects include high blood pressure, heart arrhythmia, sleeplessness, hallucinations and delusions

• Ephedra
  

This all natural Asian herb is found in many herbal remedies and weight loss powders. It has a powerful appetite suppressant effect, but has been implicated in over 70 deaths.

• Phentermine Fenfluramine-phentermine (fen-phen)

Fen-phen was a popular weight loss supplement in the 90s until it was implicated in deaths due to heart-valve damage. Phentermine alone is still sold in many weight loss aids. The side effects include headaches, dizziness, heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure and insomnia

• Laxatives

One of those popular home remedies, used for purging. Regular use and abuse of laxatives can result in low potassium’s, arrhythmia and pancreatic damage

• Artificial Sweeteners

Aspartame, the most commonly used artificial sweetener, has been implicated in multiple lawsuits alleging damages that include blindness, seizures and brain damage

• Smoking

Afraid you'll gain weight if you quit smoking? The National Institute of Diabetes says that you'd have to gain 100-150 pounds to match the health risks you invoke by smoking. Instead, set up healthy strategies to help you deal with food cravings and put down the cigarettes.

• Purging

Like laxatives, purging by forcing oneself to vomit or taking emetics can have very damaging effects on health. Depletion of nutrients like potassium and vitamins, damage to the esophagus from stomach acids, and esophageal rupture are all possible side effects

• Diuretics

Taking diuretics encourages your body to rid itself of fluids - including vital electrolytes. The depletion can lead to dehydration, and cause your body to start retaining water, starting a vicious cycle. Repeated or prolonged use of diuretics can lead to kidney damage and serious electrolyte imbalances, which may result in kidney or heart failure.

• Herbal Remedies

We have a tendency to equate 'herbal' with 'harmless', but say nutritionists, this isn't always the case. Remember that many medications are derived from herbs, and because of the lack of regulation, dosages of active ingredients can vary widely from one manufacturer to another. Below is a list of some of the most common ingredients found in herbal weight loss powders, along with cautions about their effects in certain conditions.

Ephedra (ma huang, ephedrine, ephedra extract, epitonin, ephdra sinica and sida cordifolia) should not be taken by people with heart, thyroid or kidney disease, or with hypertension

Cascara and Senna should not be taken by people taking diuretics (both are often found in herbal weight loss teas)

Selenium and Capsaicin should not be taken by people with bowel or digestive disorders

Kava should be avoided by people with mood disorders who are taking mood altering medication, and people with Parkinson's disease.

Gingko biloba, licorice root, and dong quay should not be taken by people who are taking blood thinners or anti-coagulants.

While weight loss is a worthwhile goal, guarding your health is an even more important one. Be sure that whatever weight loss method you choose won’t lead to other serious medical conditions.

10 Real Life Diet Tips

10 Real Life Diet Tips

Are you tired of diet tips handed out by someone with apparently unlimited income and time? For some of us, it may just not be practical to spend half of our Sunday preparing carefully portioned meals for the rest of the week, or financially feasible to buy all our meals prepackaged in just the right portions. And there are those of us who cringe at the thought of weighing food to achieve 'optimal portion sizes'. Here are 10 real life diet tips for the rest of us.

1. Eating out? Restaurant portions tend to be enormous, and if it's on the plate, we tend to eat it. If it's possible, order from the kid’s menu, where portions are more reasonably sized. Be reasonable when you eat.

2. Keep healthy snacks around and easily accessible. A bowl of fruit on the kitchen table, a container of celery or carrot sticks in the refrigerator, or a couple of pop-open cans of fruit salad in your desk at work will help you grab for something healthy when those first hunger pains begin. In other words, you'll be more likely to grab something low-calorie and good for you if it's easy to eat.

3. Substitute frozen vegetables for canned. Canned veggies tend to be high in sodium, which you don't need, and low in real nutrition, which you do. Buy economy size bags with zip closures to make it easy to pour out a single serving for a meal.

4. Buy a vegetable steamer. Steaming is one of the healthiest ways to cook vegetables. The food retains nearly all of its natural nutrients instead of leaching it out into the cooking water. Even better, it makes your veggies taste great - which means you'll be more likely to eat them instead of filling up on fatty foods that pack on weight.

5. Never eat standing up. Your habit of eat standing up have to go. One of the easiest ways to sabotage your diet is to 'eat without thinking'. Treat eating with the respect that it deserves. Fix yourself a plate. Sit down and eat properly. You'll be less likely to just pop food into your mouth without paying attention.

6. Spread your meals out. When you eat three meals a day, your body tends to store whatever it doesn't need right that moment. By adopting a 'grazing' habit, you'll keep your metabolism working throughout the day. Have a small breakfast, a piece of fruit with crackers or toast at mid-morning, a light lunch and an 'after school snack' mid-afternoon. Just remember that you're breaking up the same amount of food into smaller meals, not ADDING more food into your daily diet.

7. Grab a fruit juice or flavored water instead of soda. Soda is nothing but empty calories. No nutrients, lots of sugar. Instead, grab a bottle of 100% fruit juice, or water flavored with a spritz of fruit.

8. Drink water. Even the FDA recommends at least 8 full 8 ounce glasses of water a day to keep your body working right. When you're dieting, you should drink even more. It's not just that full feeling - water helps your body digest foods properly and cleans out your system.

9. Can't afford a gym membership? Make a pact with friends to exercise together. Make a date at least three times a week to play volleyball, take a walk or spend half an hour doing something active. The key is exercise regularly and constantly.

10. Skip the potato chips. Fatty snacks fried in hydrogenated oil like potato chips contribute fat and calories and not much else. Instead, grab a handful of dried fruit or a cup of yogurt for the same amount of calories and a lot more nutritional benefit.

Hope this tips are useful.