Ten things to look for to spot a fad diet

Fad diets are everywhere. They come and they go. some simply run their course then disappear forever, while some pop up, go away for a while, then sort of show up again a year or two later and continue to repeat this cycle. the fact is, there are a lot of good, sound ways to lose weight and keep it off for good, but finding these ways to a more fit and trim body means you'll need to be able to spot the "fads" out there that simply do not work long term and can be dangerous to your health in the long run. Here are some tell tale things to look for to help you see your way past the fake and phony gimmicks that are out there and remember, if it sounds too good to be true......

1) A MAGICAL PILL, DRINK, POWDER OR FOOD IS USED: The weight loss industry is a $30 billion dollar per Year Empire. These companies are making massive amounts of money marketing new "breakthrough" potions that make lots of false claims. They know how desperate many overweight people are to lose weight and so they know how easy it is to target this market. the FDA has very little jurisdiction over these kinds of products since the weight loss companies claim that their products are "natural" or "herbal", and only when these products cause health problems or even deaths like in the recent case of ephedrine, the FDA will step in.

2) DIFFERENT FOOD COMBINATIONS SUPPOSIDLY MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT: There is no scientific evidence to support any claims that certain food combinations will induce weight loss. Simply consuming fewer calories than you burn each day with a good balance of nutrients will lead to healthy weight loss.

3) THE PLAN WORKS "WITHOUT EXERCISE": While most people would like to be able to take the easy way out, a little exercise goes a long way in any weight loss effort. Sure you can lose weight without exercise, but if you want to lose mostly fat and not muscle and water, and look healthy and good once you've achieved your weight loss goal, you need at least 30 minutes per day, 4-5 days per week of light to moderate exercise like walking, swimming and even a little weight training.

4) IT PROMISES MORE THAN ONE OR TWO POUNDS OF WEIGHT LOSS PER WEEK: In order for any well balanced weight loss plan to be both affective and healthy, you should not strive to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week. A plan that proposes that you will lose 30 pounds in 30 days is not a good, sound, healthy plan. One pound of fat equals about 2500 calories. This means that if a person were to burn up 400-500 more calories per day with, say, a small reduction in food and a little exercise, they would lose around one to one and a half pounds of fat per week. This is a healthy and ideal way to lose weight.

5) YOU SEE THE WORDS "FAT BURNER", "FAT TRAPPER" OR ANYTHING ALONG THOSE LINES: Run like the wind from these types of products. Most of these products have side effects that would make the most desperate of dieters cringe. All I can say here is, if your really considering any of these types of products, do your homework and read everything you can about them first, or take my advice and avoid them like the plague.

6) IT SAYS IT WILL "BOOST YOUR METABOLISM": Most of these products are little more than caffeine products. A pill, powder or drink cannot speed up your metabolism. There is no logic behind this at all! These products are usually diuretics that serve only to speed up you heart rates in turn making your organs work faster thus flushing water out of your body. The temporary feeling of being thinner will be short lived, and you will only end up fatter in the long run.

7) ONE TYPE OF FOOD IS CONSUMED TO EXCESS: Most of you have heard of the cabbage soup diet. Remember the grapefruit diet? How many people do you know who have tried one of these diets, lost weight, and kept it off? Probably none! I personally know people who have tried these diets, swore by them with complete assurance they would work (against my advice, mind you) and failed badly. Only a few even lost any weight at all, sung the praises of the plan, only to end up fatter in 6 months than when they began the diet. These types of weight loss programs are meant to be discontinued after a certain time meaning that when you go back to your normal routine, you can expect to get a high rate of "return" back for your investment.

8) ITS A LOW CARBOHYDRATE DIET: The long and short of it here is that you need carbohydrates in your diet, particularly if you are trying to lose weight. Removing most of the carbs from your diet means that more fat (at 9 calories per gram) will replace those carbs (at 4 calories per gram) not to mention the wide variety of health issues associated with a high fat intake. Also, excess protein will not help because your body can only use so much protein within a certain period of time. All of the extra protein will just store as fat. Carbs are also your body's main source of energy, and you need that energy to get you through your exercise routines that you should be doing anyway.

9) DRINKING WATER IS NOT MENTIONED: Water is absolutely essential for proper weight loss. If you’re not being told to drink at least 8 glasses or two liters of water per day, you are not getting good advice. Water helps your body to mobilize and get rid of excess fat. It also helps your liver convert fat into energy, which in turn will help you to burn more calories.

10) THERE IS NO WARNING FOR PEOPLE WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS: If a weight loss product or plan yields no warning for people with problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disorders and such, the product or plan should be looked at very suspect. The high fat content of a low carbohydrate diet can be very dangerous to a person with high cholesterol or high blood pressure and someone with diabetes should never tamper with their diets without consulting with their doctor. Any good, sound weight loss program will always be concerned first and foremost with the safety and well being of the people using them. If there are no warnings, then you can rest assured that your health and well being are not an issue that is important to the company that is selling their products to you.

While it can be very difficult to see past all the hype and advertising that gets in the way of the truth behind all of the "fad" diets on the market today with new ones coming all the time, at least now you have some basics to help guide you through the maze of falsehoods out there and lead you on your way to being able to find a weight loss program that truly will give you the long term weight loss results you have been searching for.

The natural way to losing weight fast

Losing weight can be a frustrating and sometimes depressing endeavor. This is probably why most people don’t follow through with a diet plan. However, for those with the will and determination to lose weight, the rewards are tremendous. A successful dieter will not only look good, but feel good too, and will have learned the value of maintaining a healthy body.

When dieting, you might feel you always feel tempted to eat the wrong kinds of foods or overeat. The answer is not to restrain every urge of hunger; that will only end in failure. Instead, learn how to eat in moderation… and not with diet pills (you can shed those pounds through safe, natural means, without harming your vital organs).

Here are some helpful tips to healthy, natural weight loss:

•Eat small meals and eat frequently

Three meals a day may be what you’re used to eating – but that is not the way to lose those extra pounds. Every time you eat, your metabolism starts working, burning those calories and instantly breaking down food for energy and nutritional contents.

With a meager three meals a day, your metabolism has plenty of time to slow down and this is not good if you want to lose weight. You want your metabolism to stay on the job.

If you eat five to six small meals a day, you can burn more fats. Likewise, you also tend to feel less hungry as a result and are less likely to overeat. Protein bars are great to snack on, but make sure they are low in carbohydrates and high in protein (read the nutrition label).

•Drink enough water

Our bodies are seventy percent water and they’re supposed to be that way! In order to maintain this balance, it’s important to drink plenty of liquids. Water helps flush out body toxins and waste and also helps your body to properly utilize all the nutrients from you food. This is essential for dieting.

Moreover, water makes your body elastic and thus minimizes stretch marks that normally occur after weight loss. As well, the cushions for your joints (which are usually weakened when you lose body fat) are also strengthened if you drink lots of water. Not to mention, water enhances your complexion!

•Don’t eat before bedtime

A midnight snack or meal before bedtime is something to avoid when trying to lose weight. Because your metabolism slows down when you sleep, any foods you eat up to three hours before you hit the sack are not metabolized well. They will be stored as fat because they are not burned effectively. If eating before bedtime is unavoidable, at least try to eat light.

•Cardiovascular exercises

Cardiovascular exercises play an important role in weight loss. The best diet regimen in the world may not get you to your ideal weight if you don’t also exercise regularly.

If you do cardiovascular exercise at least four times a week, for at least twenty minutes each session, then it will help your weight loss immensely. You may want to increase the time and intensity after you have adjusted to your workout.

The ideal time to exercise is the in the morning before you eat. This way, your glycogen stores are low and later your body will burn carbohydrates and fats more effectively.

•High Protein Diet

A high protein calorie diet is excellent for retaining muscle and maintaining a fast-acting metabolism. The body tends to burn carbohydrates first, because they are its main energy source.

Once it runs out of carbohydrates to burn, it will then burn fats for body fuel. So if you do not have enough protein in your diet, your body will eventually make use of your hard-earned muscle for fuel.

•Lower your carbs

It is important to limit your carbohydrate intake so that your body can burn most of its contained fats. As mentioned before, the body usually burns carbohydrates first before it moves onto burning fats, so simply put, the less carbohydrates burned, the more fat burned.

Carbohydrates, combined with protein, are best to take in the morning, so as to give your body a jump-start. This will give you ample energy for the rest of the day.

•Multivitamins are good for you

While dieting and exercising, it’s also a good idea to take multivitamins. They will help you remain healthy and strong as they provide essential vitamins and minerals to the body. Because certain necessary food groups are often overlooked, these multivitamins can compensate for certain deficiencies. Just be careful when you choose a multivitamin – you want to take what you are lacking in, not what you already have or don’t need.

Calorie counting done the right way weight loss absolutely

You and I know that losing fat and staying in great shape is a difficult task because it is so hard to stay motivated and it is so tempting to cheat, especially when you can hide the cheating. We dieters have all been in a starving situation when dieting and our mind reasons very quickly why that extra piece of pie is not going to hurt us. We take it, forget about it and then wonder next day why we didn’t lose weight.

For most of us dieting is a constant battle between emotion and reason and when hungry, reason is out of the window and emotion just wins. We do not see the immediate effects of our behavior and therefore our brain is fooled into thinking that everything is all right. On the other hand, let’s say you would get very sick when eating more than you need, overeating would stop very quickly.

Getting sick after a little bit of overeating does normally not happen therefore we need to find a different way to show the consequences of our behavior. We need to show this in a factual manner, an immediate visual display of the results of our cheating. It is not punishment right away, but over time our brain will be conditioned such that taking an extra piece of pie will give negative weight loss results. Then we will start to understand why we don’t lose weight and can pinpoint the causes.

What should this visual display look like? First I like charts, they are very easy to understand and can show trends and correlations between variables. In this chart I would like to see over a period of time, the average calories that I take in per day compared with the average calories that I burn per day. If the chart shows that the intake calories are lower than the burned calories, I will lose weight and vice versa I will gain weight. Correlate that with a chart that shows your weight or BMI (Body Mass Index) over time and I have the tool that helps me regulate my food consumption versus my daily activities.

If I add my hunger levels before and after the meals, I can fine tune my meal plans and daily activities. In this way I can sustain my dieting for a long time and preferably it will become my way of life. I have minimized the hunger pain and increase the pleasure of losing weight and feeling more attractive.

There is abundance of free online food calorie calculators. These calorie counters just display nutrition facts and are not going to help you lose weight. Nor is a simple calorie calculator that tries to calculate your calories burned solely based on your weight and average activity level. These are simple little gimmicks that are a waste of your time.

Only when you seriously can track and correlate your calorie intake and calories burned over time, depending on your age, weight, gender, height and individual activity intensity levels can you precisely measure your calorie balance. Seeing visually that your weight loss program works is a big motivator to stay on track. Also you can see immediately when you are off track and you can adjust your situation accordingly.

Acquiring great health is a complex task. Interrelating factors like diet, nutritional facts, meal plans, calorie balance, body reading measurements, supplement and medicine intake, exercise routines, daily activity intensity and costs will make it very difficult for you to see the forest for the trees.

Well designed software that keeps track of all of the above factors and can correlate them will make it very easy to manage your health, fitness, weight loss, muscle mass gain or any goal you have set...

How important is the right diabetes diet

There is nothing more important than the right diabetes diet. Diabetes is a serious disease that you need to learn as much as you can about if your or someone that you care about has been diagnosed with it. Eating right and staying healthy is the only way to battle diabetes and knowing what you can and cannot eat is essential. If you have the proper diet you may be able to have some control over your diabetes.

Having diabetes is a balancing act and it is one that you can manage if you take the time to learn how. As long as you are eating the right amount of healthy foods and you are avoiding all of the sugar that you are not allowed to eat you will be well on your way to staying healthy in spite of diabetes.

Keeping an eye on your sugar intake is key to good diabetes diet management. This will mean learning all of the best sugar replacements and sugar free foods. This used to be a lot harder than it is now. These days there are all kinds of great sugar replacements, many are even perfect for baking, and the sugar free products are becoming ever so popular. Even people without diabetes are choosing them over the sugar filled alternatives. Sugar free products taste delicious, which makes the easy to eat and enjoy while still maintaining a good blood sugar level.

You will also need to watch how much food that you eat. Eating too much or too little can have a negative impact on your diet and health. Talk to your doctor about how much food you should be eating each and every day and what times are optimal. Your diabetes diet will have to be set just right if you want to stay in perfect control and health. As long as you eat right every day you will stay feeling good and healthy for years to come.

Phentermine a strategic step towards weight loss

In recent times obesity is a problem facing by majority of the masses through out the globe. Over the short term many pharmaceutical companies are jumping into the bandwagon for manufacturing diet pills and claims to be the best. But the question that now arises which one to choose. Studies claims that, if a particular diet pill doesn’t help you in decreasing your weight within 4 weeks, it’s better to discard it. How ever doctor’s consultation is a must for a safe health.

Particularly diet pills for obesity helps obsessed people loose weight by suppressing appetite and crabbing their desire to have food everytime. Several diet pills are also available on the internet nowadays. But one such diet pill that is proving to be very effective is Phentermine. Approved by the US FDA as a treatment for obesity, Phentermine diet pills help over weight patient’s loose significant amount of weight within a span of 3 weeks. Anyone who uses Phentermine should always keep in mind that to loose weight it requires a mixture of well balanced diet with some exercise regimes.

Phentermine diet pills are short term treatment for obesity. It targets our neurotransmitters in the brain and changes the Serotonin levels in the brain and releases Adrenaline and other related chemicals. As a result, there is a increase in blood pressure and loss of appetite.

Since phentermine diet pills are short term and effects fast, obsessed patients can expect a considerable amount of weight in a very short period of time. This is a very important advantage over other diet medicines. Side affect like dizziness, upset stomach, nausea, and heavy sweating. But slowly and steadily as the body gets used to the drug, these affects disappears for good.

Generally a dose a day in an empty stomach is enough to receive the desire result. In case of a missing dose, don’t try to over dose it. It’s better to skip over that dose and then continue the regular schedule. For further information and for the right amount of dose consult a genuine dietician.

Lose weight without starvation

Everyone at one point in his or her life needs or wants to loose weight. Whether it is for health reason, or just to feel better about you, deciding on a weight loss plan is not as easy as it sounds.

There are literally thousands of plans and products on the market today designed to help the overweight shed unwanted pounds.

One such plan is the low carb diet plan. On this plan, carbohydrate intake is limited to a few grams per day. By limiting breads and pastas, the body uses the fat that stored and there by the dieter starts to loose weight within weeks. Some of the foods that should be avoided when on a low carb diet are; Candy, Donuts, Cakes and Pastries. Anything containing white flour such as bread, rolls, bagels, pasta and white rice should also be avoided.

Although this may seem like a lot of choices to give up, all of these foods are very high in carbohydrates. This is particularly dangerous for those suffering from diabetes. Health expert theorize that a high carbohydrate diet could raise their blood sugar levels to life threatening levels.

There are good carbohydrate choices. Meat is naturally low in carbohydrates. Liver is the exception to this rule. Egg’s, poultry, fish, shellfish are good menu choices. They are easy to prepare and are full of vitamins. Green vegetables that are low starch include broccoli, asparagus, spinach, salad vegetables; cauliflower, green beans, Brussels sprouts and celery are also good choice foods that compliment any meal.

There are so many good choice foods to choose from, and so many ways to prepare them that the bad choice foods will not be missed when on a low carb diet.

Fiber is another essential part of dieting. Fiber helps the body in many different ways. When you do not get enough fiber it defeats the purpose of a diet.

Some of the health benefits that come from a low carb diet are; Lower insulin levels and stabilized blood sugar, which is a great health benefit to diabetics. Lower blood pressure, Lower Cholesterol, more energy, and perhaps the most important reason for dieting, keeping the weight off.

Unlike other diets, the low carb diet is safe for everyone. There are no side effects from being on this diet as there are not any food limit restrictions for a low carb dieter.

There are so many menu choices that a different meal can be prepared every day and the dieter would not have the same meal twice. For someone who has made a serious commitment to loose weight, a low carb lifestyle should be seriously considered.

Holiday meals can be prepared following low carb diet recipes that are easy, elegant, and very tasty. With all of the sites on the Internet dedicated to low carb cooking, there is no reason to fear dieting any longer.

Gone are the days when dieters had to starve themselves and suffer the pains of hunger all for the sake of loosing weight. The low carb offer a healthy alternative to dieting.

Outsourcing your weight loss

Outsourcing your weight loss, now that would be the ultimate time and effort saver. In a world moving to outsourcing, why not outsource weight loss too? All you would need to do is get a group of those “workout loving people.” You know the type. The ones that would be in the gym 6 hours a day if they could.

You would charge a small fee and have the workout lovers do the workout and the clients get all the results. You could have various levels too. The starter level, for people that want to do most of their own workouts, but would like some help on the weekends or busy days.

Then there would be the power level for the working man or woman. At that level, you can outsource up to 5 workouts per week, Monday through Friday. Finally, you could have the ultimate level, where you get 2 people to workout for you, 5 days a week and you can eat anything that you want while you stay fit and trim.

It would be the next craze. Who wouldn’t want to sign up? Just think, the body of your dreams without having to do the work or try to find the time to fit it into your schedule. No more diets. No more denying your cravings, no more unwanted increases in size.

If you want to change your look, just call the 800 toll free number and order the plan that you want. Got a big party this weekend? Just call the number and order up a couple extra workouts to take care of it. Imagine the freedom you would have in your life.

We all know that you can’t have someone else workout for you and you get the results. Unfortunately, the body doesn’t work that way. Oh well, outsourcing your weight loss would have been a great idea.

But, what if I told you that you can still outsource your weight loss? It wouldn’t be directly to other people, but they would play a role. What if I also told you that your outsourcing partner likes to work 24 hours a day?

Are you interested in knowing who this mystery outsourcing partner is? To give you a clue, you are already using him or her and he or she has been performing wonders. Actually, if you didn’t already have this relationship, you would have never made it past your birth. Have you guessed yet?

Your mystery partner is your subconscious mind. It’s successfully regulated your breathing, your heart rate, your body temperature, your immune system and more. Basically, it keeps everything going and performs extremely well considering the magnitude of what it takes care of.

Have you considered that it is also regulating your metabolism, your digestion, and your cravings? Are you starting to see the power your subconscious mind is wielding? Now imagine if you can get it to be your outsourcing partner for your weight loss?

It is the one that tells you when you are hungry, when you are full, what type of foods to crave and how much of it will be deposited as fat. It is working 24 hours a day, and get this, it is open to requests.

Wait a minute! Are you saying that you have the power to control your subconscious mind? Control might be too strong of a word, but you definitely have the ability to influence your subconscious mind and influence it extensively.

It’s YOUR subconscious mind. It was given to you, solely for your purposes. Unfortunately, we are not taught its power or how to effectively influence it. And here is the kicker, it is easily influenced.

So, if you haven’t been directly doing the influencing, who has? Well, if you find yourself overweight, a lot of that influence has come from those that profit greatly from all types of food you eat, the “diet” products you buy, and the health and fitness services you purchase.

Your subconscious mind performs much better then any service you could purchase. Regain control of it and watch the pounds melt away with ease. No more struggle, no more denying yourself, no more unwanted pounds.