Fat Kills You

So you’re overweight, “fat”–to be honest–and you want to start exercising. Before you take off like an overlarge airplane and start preparing for the Olympics trials, stop right there. You may have it all figured out by now, after checking with your friends, the media and finally that fickle fiend known as the bathroom mirror, that a regular exercise program is the only way to fly when it comes to permanent weight loss. That entails working out or otherwise flexing your physical and psychological muscles on a regular basis, perhaps three times a week, or maybe even once per day.

But therein lies the rub. How do you get started? How often do you exercise? Most importantly, if you’ve been very sedate or at least somewhat off your feet for awhile, what’s the safest way to begin an effective, weight-loss centered exercise program?

Beginning a Righteous Program–Realistically

First of all, follow the old saw about consulting with your doctor. Don’t start thinking you can just begin running around the block. That’s why the medical profession exists, to advise and keep you safe. You doctor will recommend specific types of exercise tailored to fit your own individual lifestyle, personal health needs and concerns. But you don’t need to make it entirely clinical when you begin an exercise program.

Most importantly, you need to pick something you’re going to stick with. What do you like in the way of sports? If you’re people-oriented, you should look into joining a team sports program of some kind in your area, one created for adult participation. You can look for a local softball league, take a beginning aerobics class at a fitness center, or play regular games of basketball at a gym with your buddies. And then there’s golf, the perennial favorite of people who want to perform fun and interesting mild exercise. All you have to do is motivate yourself and perhaps some friends to get started. Or if you’re a loner, you can take up an individualized sport such as bicycle touring, which can also be done in small groups, or laps swimming at your community pool.

And if you like to be around a humungous amount of people, how about mall-walking, one of the latest in adult and family mild fitness trends, or the more traditional act of partner dancing, which you can do at all kinds of gathering places such as local taverns, senior centers, community halls and social clubs. There’s an almost infinite number of places you can go and groups you can join. Just pick one, and remember to start out with a breezy, fun and easygoing attitude. You’re not punishing yourself; you’re picking up on a lifelong habit of moving your body for health purposes. You’ll feel better, look fitter and maybe meet new people while you’re dropping those needless extra pounds.

But be realistic, and work with your doctor. You want to aim for something fun that you’ll keep committing to doing regularly. If it’s something you hate, perhaps such as running on a track, climbing stairs or using what seems to you to be boring exercise equipment, forget it! Don’t spend all your money on something you can’t keep doing because you feel guilty, or think you have to punish yourself into exercising. Be sure you like what you’re going to do before you get started. Simply walking around the block is a very inexpensive and potentially fun way to go from a sedentary state to a beginning new level of much better health and fitness. You must start with something easy and simple if you haven’t been exercising for decades, and you should gradually increase your level of activity as you feel comfortable with it. Move by inches, not by miles.

Are you a morning or an evening person? If you’re the former, plan to work out in the morning, and if you wake up later in the day, do your routine more near twilight. Also, as your doctor will tell you, start with a small window of time, perhaps only fifteen minutes at first, and slowly increase it every other day or so. In order to achieve a higher level of fitness and to lose weight, you must perform whatever exercise you choose at least three to four times a week. This is better at first than every day, as a rest may be needed between workouts to give your aching muscles a chance to soothe themselves and heal before you bravely saunter forth again or head back merrily to the gym.

Eventually, you can try exercising every single day, anywhere from twenty minutes to a full hour. But especially at first–and that may be for several months–don’t push yourself too hard. Don’t go all out, and get frustrated because you can’t keep it up. You don’t have to be a college athlete, and you can seriously hurt your heart by pushing too hard or overdoing it. Remember, you’re doing this for fun, for health reasons and to feel good about yourself. Don’t try to become an “athlete” unless you think that will be something you’ll want to commit to on a much more rigorous schedule. Later!

Easy Exercise Comes–Naturally

Americans tend to think of exercise as more their duty than as a part of their culture, or “way of life.” But it’s a true lifestyle preference. Throughout the world, many forms of regular exercise are taking hold of whole general populations. Take walking, for example. In Europe, people are flocking to their local well-developed public hiking trails, and there’s quite a few of those spread across the USA as well. Walking of a moderate type is called Volkssport in Europe, and it’s really been around for many centuries.

Easy-going exercise such as walking continues to stave off heart disease, osteoporosis, high cholesterol and many types of cancer, as well as taking care of most of your belly flab. It doesn’t sound like much, but it will really tighten your whole body up. Your legs will especially benefit, and your buns will automatically grow firmer as you stroll. Not to mention that the worst investment you need to make is a pair of comfy, sturdy sensible shoes, preferably made of leather or canvas with rubber soles. You may think that yoga is some uncomfortable form of Eastern self-punishment and mysticism, but it’s not. Yoga is great for toning your body, as it’s extremely gentle when done correctly. It combines traditional breathing and relaxation techniques with simple stretching. It’s good to use yoga during a weight-loss program when you’re sedentary, as it’s very easy on your body, you don’t have to repeat the same exercises every day, and it requires a minimal time commitment. Yoga can be used in conjunction with a more rigorous exercise program to help maintain your overall state of fitness. “Yoga doesn’t take over your life, it enhances it,” says Alice Cristensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association.

Continuing Your Program–Goals and Motivation

Okay, so you’ve gotten started, but what does all this have to do with watching your weight? To keep on schedule with this as your original goal, you also have to keep that commitment to lose enough poundage to be a healthy, happy and physically fit person.

First of all, you have to figure out exactly what you’re expecting to accomplish. Are you looking for optimal health, or do you really want to fit into slinky clothes better? Either way, you’re going to have to set goals and try to attain them as you go. It helps to clearly keep in mind what you’re aiming for, and it helps to visualize yourself at your ideal weight several times a day. This image impresses itself upon your subconscious and inwardly motivates you to continue your program with a bulldog’s sheer tenacity and motivation. You want that; whatever happens, you don’t want to stress out and quit. Try looking at old photographs of yourself at your ideal weight and picturing realistically what you’ll look like when you’re back there again. Don’t expect the Fountain of Youth, but you’d be shocked how close you can get to your mental picture, and how good you’re going to feel as you move your body, eat less liberally and become fit and not fat.

Also, you should make a brief list of the five major reasons you’re embarking on an exercise and weight-loss program. Do you want to bring down your blood pressure? Does being fat make you feel too old? Do you want to attract someone new in your life? When you sit in your car, does your stomach practically turn the steering wheel? Make it a point to carry this list with you wherever you go, and when you get in the mood to quit and give up, whip it out and read it aloud, saying to yourself that this is what you really want.

You must also remember to keep it simple when you’re losing weight. In most cases, burning more calories than you ingest is the biggest concern. You have to expend approximately 3,500 calories to lose one pound of adipose fat tissue. Water weight doesn’t count, and that’s what a lot of people lose at first. Also, the important thing about exercise is that you can eat almost normally and still lose the weight at a healthy and reasonable pace. If you don’t exercise and try to lose weight, you’ll be tempted to embark on a starvation diet. This has been shown to make you lose lean muscle mass instead of fat in most cases, and although you’ll drop some pounds, they may be the wrongest ones. Chances are that if you’re unfit while you’re losing weight, you’ll get physically tired, sleep less, become overly emotional, and stress out and become extremely irritable. It simply isn’t healthy to do it that way, so you need at least a moderate exercise program.

Try keeping a journal of your progress every day, and consult with it when you want to know how far along you’ve come. You can also use it to gauge how you’re doing, and whether or not you’re losing weight at a reasonable pace. Congratulate yourself every time you ate the right thing, kept to your walking schedule, or didn’t give in to temptation that day by making a brief note about it. Read the journal to inspire you about what you’re doing whenever you feel the urge to let go.

Meanwhile, as you chart your progress, take the time to reward yourself for everything you’re doing right. Ignore occasional slipups, and don’t let them bother you. Move on and motivate yourself by going to a movie, taking a break from work, going to the beach or whatever floats your boat. Don’t reward yourself with food, ever! Find other methods of loving life and use them. Treating yourself manifests your brain’s reward system and keeps you striving toward your goals.

Don’t forget to share any successes or failures with your friends and family. Tell them all about how proud you are of the new lifestyle choices you’re making, and share in their enthusiasm. They want you to be healthy and go on living, and so do you. But some of them may worry that you’re starving yourself or are in a state of denial. Reassure them, and proceed carefully with your healthy diet and exercise plans, while always knowing that it’s exactly what you need to do to look better, feel stronger and live longer.

Easy Dieting Tips to Live By–Starting Now

? Never eat after 7 pm. Studies prove that your body’s metabolism begins to shut down in the early evening. It needed fuel to function earlier, but at night you’re getting yourself ready to fall asleep. Eat the bulk of your daily food intake around noon–that’s when you’re burning the most calories. But if you work nights, do it the other way around, of course. It’s not the time of day that’s important; it’s the fact that your body is well-adjusted to a cycle where it doesn’t burn many calories before and during bedtime.

? Americans are used to eating super-sized meals, so learn to limit your portion size. Eat smaller meals five or six times a day instead of the standard three huge ones, and grab healthy snacks like vegetables, fruits and yogurt in-between. You want to prevent any binging or “pigging out” that could occur. Eat modestly, but often, and be sure to drink plenty of healthy fluids–mostly, pure cool water.

? Limit your intake of saturated fats, sugars and any other substances in food proven to add empty calories to your daily diet. Don’t drink any pop or sodas at all as they’re very bad for you generally, being full of chemicals. Diet sodas tempt you into drinking the sugary ones, and all soda pop robs water from your system and makes you thirstier. That can lead to eating more food.

? Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. You might want to go easy on some of the higher-calorie fruits such as starchy bananas, and don’t eat lots of high-fat avocados. But in general veggies are a dieter’s best friend. You might want to always eat your veggies with some meat protein to curb any histamines that might ravage your system and make it harder for you to breathe. Also, eating plenty of veggies kills the hunger signals from your brain, due to their sheer bulk and fiber. And the nutrients in fruits and veggies will increase your physical strength. Eat your spinach!

? Also eat lots of whole grains, which provide antioxidants that fight cancer and help you feel satisfied in a manner similar to that of eating veggies. But whole grains are even more filling, and help you digest your food. You want to eat plenty of fibrous foods, plus drinking lots of water, to flush toxins left over in your body from the dieting completely out of your system.

? Take a healthy multivitamin. Don’t go overboard and try to take everything, because some of the substances we need interact non-positively and can cause chemical imbalances. Consult with your doctor and see what’s recommended nowadays. One good wholistic multivitamin and mineral supplement–not a megadose of potentially harmful chemicals–can improve your skin, hair, overall appearance in general, and also your chances of managing on a little bit less food.

Lastly–Remember This

Please remain consistently aware of one thing: these are radical, life-changing choices that you’re making each day and night, and you’ve got to stick with them. Not everyone else in the world is going to live this way, but many people are and it’s a sensational start! Think that you really have no choice, if you want to go on living for many long years and be vibrant, strong and healthy. Realize that your loved ones truly need you, and that the right thing to do is to take the best possible care of yourself. Tell yourself that with honest compassion, every single waking moment of your entire life.

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Over the last couple of years I have taken a number of layoffs, for a variety of different reasons. Many times I wonder why I lift at all. The prevailing belief is that lifting must be one’s top priority if one is to be the best at it. That may be true and that is one of the biggest problems I have had. Lifting is not my top priority, it is more like fourth after God, family, and work. Actually work is only ahead of lifting because I need it to support my family, otherwise it would be further down the list. So given the fact that lifting is not everything to me, why do I do it?

I guess what makes this a complicating situation is that I love lifting. I love competing against myself and others in everything. That’s why I have done so many different kinds of competitions. I have done 3 strongman contests, 2 highland games, and numerous powerlifting contests.

A perfect illustration of this competitive nature of mine was the exhibition that Bill Kazmaier put on in Spokane, Washington in July 2001. I hadn’t been lifting for a couple of months and didn’t plan on doing it anytime soon. But I heard about Kazmaier doing a show in the park and I thought it would be cool to watch him. When I got there, I met him and he invited me to do some dumbbell presses with him. When my turn came, I pressed the 100’s 14 times overhead. I had done more than that in the past, and so instead of being thrilled about lifting with Kazmaier, I was mad at myself for not preparing better (even though I had not planned on being there). I also felt that I could do much better and I was just chomping at the bit to try something else and redeem myself.

A little bit later Bill brought out an 11/16" steel bar and asked if anyone wanted to try to bend it. I jumped at it and did it without a problem. When Kazmaier brought out a ¾" bar and said that nobody had bent that size of bar before, I wanted to try it. Not because nobody had bent it before, or because so many people were watching, but because my adrenalin was pumping and I felt like I could do anything at that moment. I didn’t care if I failed. I would have tried it alone in my garage. That is what I am talking about. It wasn’t about winning an award or having a place in history. It was about being the best on that day and conquering the challenge before me. By the way, I did bend the bar.

I am 6′3" and my weight varies between 295 and 335, so it’s not surprising that I might do well at the activities listed above. Now get this. I like to play basketball and I like to play it well. I don’t post up or play underneath the basket like everyone expects me to. I won’t accept the idea that someone my size is slow and can’t jump. I like to drive to the hoop, taking people off the dribble. I like to shoot 3-pointers and pass the ball. Just like everything else, I want to excel all the time. When I play basketball I get frustrated with myself for allowing myself to get so heavy and out of shape. You see, playing basketball and lifting in the Super heavyweight class do not go hand in hand. Why don’t I give up one and work on the other? Because I love them both!

So to clarify myself to anyone who hasn’t yet figured out what I am talking about, I want to know why I can’t have it all. I don’t want to be limited by other people. Maybe I can’t be the strongest man in the world without becoming obsessed with that goal. But since when is obsession a good thing? Last year I took 10 weeks and worked out with a well-known lifter. I wanted to see how the best train, and what sets them apart from the rest of us. We lifted 3 days a week for 2+ hours per workout. This lifter was in constant pain and talked of the day when he could retire from competitive lifting. Needless to say, I was surprised. I did get stronger in those 10 weeks than I had ever been, but I quit after that. It wasn’t that the workouts were too hard for me. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed them and the opportunity they provided me to compete against a top lifter. What I didn’t like was missing time with my family. At first I was excited and thought about lifting all the time and what great heights I would reach. After a while I was tired of focusing on only one thing at the expense of everything else. I am not writing this to point fingers at those whose priorities are different than mine, but rather to encourage those lifters who feel like I do. I know now that I do not want success in powerlifting at the expense of everything else, but I am not going to quit. I am going to lift the way that I want to lift. The way that will make me happy. I want to use the act of lifting weights to benefit me rather than becoming a slave to that act.

How many times have lifters been told that if you don’t do something, you won’t succeed? If you don’t use steroids, or buy this equipment, you won’t be the best. If you don’t do a certain exercise you will not be a truly strong person. If you don’t train like a madman you’ll never make it. Well, I know one thing for sure. I am going to do it my way from now on. I will weigh whatever I feel like weighing no matter how it affects my strength. I will not give up family activities or other important things in my life so I can win a contest or make it on the top 100 list.

Don’t get me wrong. I want to be strong and I love to win. But true happiness comes from a well-rounded life. Family, friends, success in all areas instead of one. This may not sound appealing to everyone, but to those who feel like I do, don’t let others limit the way you do things. You don’t have to sacrifice everything to lift. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

I hope that this benefits somebody, but either way, I know I will be happier lifting this way than I was before.

Aaron Anderton competes in both Powerlifting and Strongman and has won several titles. He won the Superheavyweight class at the 2001 Washington State Powerlifting Championships. He won the 2004 Washington’s Strongest Man Contest, and placed 9th out of 43 at the 2004 National Strongman Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. Aaron and his brother Sam own No Limits Physique, which is dedicated to providing effective training information and supplements to everyone. The website address is http://www.nlpbodybuilding.com

We are presently facing a health care crisis that is getting more dire every day. Health care costs are increasing so rapidly that many companies who offered free health insurance to their employees are now passing a lot of the high cost on to their employees. Other employers are dropping their health care plans altogether because they have become too expensive. Millions do not have health insurance because they can’t afford the premiums.

There are many reasons that this situation is escalating out of control.

One reason is that the primary emphasis is on treatment of the symptoms of disease. There is too little emphasis on prevention of disease.

Most people don’t take care of themselves well enough, partially due to insufficient knowledge on how to prevent disease. Many people tend to eat too much and exercise too little. Many others have habits which impact their health, such as alcohol or tobacco.

We have an aging population. We live longer, but require more health care to accomplish that, partially due to insufficient attention to our health in earlier years.

Health care insurance encourages people to neglect their health because they think they can rely on a quick fix when they need it.

Medical choices are often made by others in the name of the patient, rather than the patient being involved in the financial and medical choices.

Many insured patients tend to overuse medical resources since those resources appear to be free or almost free, masked by the cost of the insurance.

What is the solution to this ever-expanding problem? How do we bring health care costs under control and make a better life for people?

There are many facets to the solution, but the most important part is disease prevention. Many of the nation’s biggest health problems can be prevented with proper knowledge and proper habits.

The emphasis for health care needs to be shifted from treating disease to prevention of disease. We need to stop disease before it manifests. This will not eliminate the need to cure disease, but it can diminish that need significantly. One very important by-product of this is a healthier population.

Now that we know the solution, how do we implement it?

It is implemented through proper health education. The knowledge of how to prevent disease has existed for thousands of years. The knowledge has been largely ignored, to our detriment. People got used to the idea of taking pills to treat the symptoms of disease rather than taking proper actions to prevent disease in the first place. This fostered bad habits and people increasingly lost the inner knowledge of what was good for their health and what was bad for their health. People began to crave junk food and a sedentary lifestyle - the opposite of what was good for their health.

How do we gain the proper health education and restore the inner knowledge to help guide our journey to better health? Ayurveda, the science of life, provides a wealth of information for restoring better health and balance to our systems. You can get more information on health at http://www.mindxpansion.com/health/. You can also check the balance of your own system or get a comprehensive Ayurvedic Analysis at http://www.mindxpansion.com/ayurvedic/. The solution to this momentous problem lies in the hands of each one of us. Start doing your part today and you will reap the benefits for many years to come.

Tim Larson developed the first computer program on Ayurveda. His mix of the ancient secrets of Ayurveda with the modern technology of computer programming brought a new interactive experience of Ayurveda, custom-tailored for the user. You can find more information about health at http://www.mindxpansion.com/health

Success stories on the gastric bypass are everywhere, but how about the fatalities from the procedure? Barely mentioned in the magazines and newspapers, there is a serious risk carried by the gastric bypass and that risk is a 1 in 50 chance of you dieing within 1 month of the surgery ? that certainly puts the frights up me. The study by Washington University is shocking to say the least. The figure is apparently four times as many fatalities when patients are in the hands of inexperienced surgeons.

As the money the private surgeries make on the procedure is rising ? over 150,000 gastric bypasses we’re performed in 2004, the claims for compensation from distraught family members rise too. Is gastric bypass surgery worth the risk?

My personal opinion is that if you’re morbidly obese and your health is in immediate danger and your doctor suggests it as an option then research, research and research again. The Internet’s a big place and there are many places to go and talk to professionals in the real world. If you do decide to go ahead with gastric bypass surgery then you must find out all of the statistics and the experience of the surgeon or surgeons that will be operating on you.

After all, you wouldn’t want to gamble with your life with odds of 1 in 12, would you?

Article by Beverley Brooke, visit her section on the gastric bypass at her website for more information on gastric bypass surgery http://www.healthandfinesse.com/gastric-bypass.html

Learning Tai Chi
Tai Chi combines movement, meditation and breathing, to enhance the flow of vital energy in the body, to increase both physical and mental well-being.

Tai Chi is one of the most broadly applicable systems of self-care in the world and is suitable for both young and old alike.

In China, it is estimated that 300 million people alone practice Tai Chi.

Tai Chi however is not just practised in China, in the 20th century it spread throughout the world and as we enter the 21st century, it is more popular than ever.

Tai Chi - The Form
There are several styles of movement and approaches to Tai Chi, some of them historic and some developed in recent years.

Each has its own individual charteristics and carries the name of the clan or family who developed it i.e. Yang, Chen, Wu, Sun etc.

All the principles of Tai Chi are put into practice in a non stop sequence of moves called the form.

Each Tai Chi style has its own distinctive way of presenting the form in terms of: The postures included, the order in which they appear, the way they are performed and finally, how long the form actually takes to complete.

Although the different styles of Tai Chi present the form in different ways, the purpose and the philosophy behind them is the same.

Tai Chi & Health
When Tai Chi is practised, the movement creates streams of energy to flow through the body.

In the philosophy of Tai Chi, it is said Chi (life energy) follows the mind, each posture and movement creates a different energy flow that, has a benifital overall affect on overall well-being.

Tai Chi stimulates circulation, aligns the skeleton and joints correctly, stimulates the organs of the body and helps digestion.

It increases muscle tone, strength, improves balance and co ordination and improves breathing.

Tai Chi does not just provide physical benefits; by raising energy levels, it also affects the mind and the spirit.

Tai Chi focuses thought, so that mind and body energy works together as one. When practising Tai Chi, people find that they are not just physically fitter but, happier, more alert, have greater mental focus and are more creative.

It is this harnessing of mental and physical energy that makes Tai Chi not just a form of exercise; it makes it a life enhancing experience.

Learning Tai Chi
Tai Chi is an exercise for people of all ages and all levels of fitness.

The movements of Tai Chi are non-strenuous, relaxed, slow moving, soft, and flowing.

It has often been described as moving meditation, as it relieves stress and improves concentration.

It is the gentleness and slowness of Tai Chi that makes it so applicable to everyone as a form of exercise.

When you watch Tai Chi being performed, it looks effortless but this comes from a considerable amount of practice.

When taking up Tai Chi it is best to pick an experienced teacher, who can guide motivate and encourage you. Simply, go with someone you are comfortable with.

The style of Tai Chi you pick Chen, Yang, Wu, Sun or any other form, is down to personal preference; the benefits described however apply to all styles.

Re Vitalise offer a warm welcome to both novice and experienced Tai Chi pupils. In addition to offering regular tuition there are several weekend breaks available.

To learn more about our services go to:
http://www.re-vitalise.co.uk

You are what you eat is a simple, time tested adage that still holds true today. There are non-medical remedies that can help with many of today’s most common illnesses and conditions. In fact, making simple changes to your food diet to cure your common cold, acne or constipation problems is a much better choice than resorting to drugs. For one, natural food and diet remedies most often do not give you harmful side-effects that western allopathic medicine can bring.

Here are some health ailments that can be easily treated with a simple food and diet remedy:

Allergies. More Americans suffer from allergies than ever before. Perhaps the best remedy for allergies is drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. Garlic and cayenne pepper have been used for years, and a good intestinal cleansing has been shown to provide relief. Almonds and walnuts, as well as sunflower seeds, reduce symptoms, and make sure that you are taking a multi-vitamin with the recommended doses of vitamins C, A, E and zinc.

Acne. Acne in both teens and adults is also becoming more and more common. There are many natural dietary changes that you can make to help clear up your skin. First, drink water. It flushes out the impurities. Soy protein helps, as does increasing your consumption of whole grains, fresh fruits and root vegetables. Have three servings of oily fish weekly and add some cold pressed seed oil daily.

Constipation. To help constipation, increase your intake of folic acid. Apple pectin can help relieve constipation and add fiber to your diet. Try drinking some ginger tea or yerba mate in tea form. Cod liver oil is a tried and true, but hard to swallow, remedy. Warm dandelion tea also helps.

Stress. Holy basil, also known as Tulsi, has been used to relieve stress and normalize cortical levels. Limiting caffeine can help the body to reduce the level of adrenaline. When you’re particularly stressed out, eat carbohydrates and fresh vegetables. They help the body release serotonin which produce a feeling of well-being.

Cancer. Consuming the trace elements that are plentiful in seafood has been shown to help cancer patients. Broccoli, mustard greens, cabbage and turnips have been recently touted as not only preventative maintenance but perhaps even cures for different types of cancers. Limit your fats.

Help your body cure itself by trying some of these simple food and diet changes. By also including them in your regular diet, you also help in the prevention of these health problems and to build a strong immune system.

Sandra Kim Leong publishes information on food diet and nutrition remedies for common health ailments. For free articles and resources, please visit http://www.food-diet-remedy.com

The gastric bypass procedure isn’t for everyone, but those who’ve had it ? an you will of heard of the success stories tooted by the marketing wizards and infomercials, the gastric bypass achieves maximum results and starts ‘working’ right away after surgery. Well it would, since patients are unable to eat more then a few spoon fulls of food per serving!

For those that endure this mental torture (I’m kidding, I just can’t imagine eating so little with my personal love of food!) weight is lost extremely rapidly. Right after surgery most patients generally lose around 9lbs per month for the first two months, then steady weight loss from then on as long as patients stick to the strict diet ? oh yes, its certainly not an easy life after gastric bypass surgery.

If you’re currently morbidly obese or your doctor has suggested the gastric bypass for health reasons then you may be weighing up your options and the risks involved in the surgery. You can find much more of what’s to know about the procedure on my website where I try to answer all of the common questions relating to the gastric bypass.

The weight loss after gastric is fast and some may call it the miracle cure for obesity, but if you hack a rigid exercise and diet that’s not too dissimilar to the diet and schedule that’s suggested to you after surgery, then I’d have a serious think and talk to friends and locate actual patients who’ve had the gastric bypass. Remember, losing weight the ‘normal’ way you can still achieve 8lbs/month and it doesn’t carry the risks the gastric bypass does.

Article by Beverley Brooke, visit her section on the gastric bypass for more information on gastric bypass surgery http://www.healthandfinesse.com/gastric-bypass.html

Okay, so some of you are familiar with hypnotherapy. You’ve heard it can be used for curing a number of ailments including stress, alcoholism and the like. But, if I were to ask, how many people do you know who’ve been treated by a hypnotherapist, it’s possible you may not recall any! Of course, you’d know those, who regularly visit a shrink or associations like the Alcoholics Anonymous. So, why don’t people make a beeline for hypnotherapy? To find out the answer to this question, and also about what hypnotherapy has to offer, just read on.

Hypnotism defined

Mention hypnotism and you’ll straightaway relate it to occult or magic, probably influenced by the famous magicians who manage to make whole buildings disappear right in front of your eyes! Despite these fantastic feats, hypnotism remains simply a method of bringing on an artificial state of sleep in the subject by the power of suggestion. That’s why the word hypnosis, derived from the Greek word hypnos, means sleep. It induces a state of reduced consciousness, where the subject remains awake, can talk and move, but becomes highly susceptible to suggestions.

The origin of hypnotism

Hypnotism is nothing new. It has always been a powerful tool of the occult. Witchdoctors and shamans have used it for thousands of years. However, the first use of hypnosis was in the seventeenth century and that too on animals. It was successfully used to calm chickens by balancing wood shavings on their beaks or tying their heads to the ground and drawing a line with chalk in front of their beaks. The French farmers even used it on hens to sit on eggs not their own!

The modern history of hypnotism is nothing but a seesaw battle between the believers and the skeptics. Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer applied this science to humans, though he termed it as magnetism. James Braid, a Scottish surgeon, introduced hypnotism as a modern day concept in 1843. Prior to Freud, this was the only known method of psychotherapy and was even used for performing major surgical operations, including amputations!

The power of hypnotherapy

Why hypnotherapy is preferred to other forms of healing is because it usually speeds up the therapeutic process. What might take months or years of regular psychotherapy can usually be accomplished within weeks with this therapy.

Hypnotherapy is effective in curing addictions, phobias, stress, anxiety and insomnia. It has been used for providing motivation, and building self-confidence and self-esteem. It has even come to the aid of those wanting to lose weight, stop smoking, become a better public speaker and overcome fear of heights.

However, hypnotherapy is no magic. And it certainly can’t make you a superhero! For example, it can’t make you run a cross-country out of the blue, unless you are already a runner. But to a cross-country runner it can give a psychological edge that may make a difference between a gold and a bronze medal. Hypnosis can be likened to a tool, like a knife. You don’t expect a knife to cut vegetables for you. But its availability makes it a whole lot easier to cut them the way you desire, rather than using your own hands! So, in other words, hypnosis is the tool that a hypnotherapist wields in curing your ailments.

This brings us to the important issue of selecting the right hypnotherapist.

Selecting a hypnotherapist

A hypnotherapist is a person who induces hypnotic state in you. Now, this sounds dicey, because, once hypnotized, you may come under his will and bidding. It’s this feeling of vulnerability, which discourages most from preferring this kind of therapy. And that’s probably why people don’t usually make a beeline for a hypnotherapist! However, the answer to the question, "Can I be made to do things against my will?" will come a little later in this article.

So, what’s the method of selection? Well, there’s no foolproof method of selecting the right hypnotherapist any more than there is a guaranteed way to select the right physician, lawyer, accountant or a mechanic! However, reputation counts and you may get to know of good hypnotherapists from your personal physician, family or friends, workplace or the Yellow Pages. You can also get hold of a list of professional associations or go through the International Registry of Professional Hypnotherapists.

However, whether the recommended hypnotherapists measure up to your requirement will depend entirely upon you. Their suitability depends upon various factors like personality, ideology (that may affect a good rapport), and also the nature of your problem. Although the best indication of a good professional is his satisfied clients, in this case, this isn’t so, because of the highly personalized nature of this therapy. That’s why someone’s recommended hypnotherapist may not, at times, turn out to be good enough for you.

So, what’re you to do? There’re a number ways in which you can choose a good hypnotherapist. In your first meeting have a long chat to find out your comfort level with him. Answer questions like: Do I feel welcome and accepted? Does their nearness give me pleasant vibes? Does their office feel like a haven? Do they seem knowledgeable enough? Are they genuinely interested in my problems and me? Do they ask a lot about me and really listen? Do they appear hopeful?

You may also need to find out about his background, professional qualifications, years in practice and experience with your kind of problem. In addition:

-Find out if your problem can be treated without hypnosis.

-Be clear about the hypnotherapy procedure. Will hypnosis be physically induced or help of audiotapes be taken.

-Know if personalized service, tailored to your needs, will be provided. Settle for nothing less.

-Ask if someone can accompany you for the session. Genuine hypnotherapists would be delighted to find a friend or relative with you.

-Find out if the session can be tape-recorded. Well-meaning hypnotherapists would let you do it for later use at home, as reinforcement.

-Ask for references and memberships in hypnotherapy associations.

-Know whether self-hypnosis will be taught. Hypnotherapists with your interests at heart will automatically do so to help you become self-reliant.

-Find out about the fee structure, but don’t be overly concerned with the per session fee. If you’re able get cured in the appropriate number of sessions, a high fee would seem like a bargain!

However, don’t be overly concerned about the time or the number of sessions your problem may take, as there are far too many variables. Also, don’t ask about the success rate, as this is no indication for your chances of success.

The methods employed by hypnotherapists

A hypnotherapist has a choice of a number of techniques for hypnotic induction. The six main induction categories are:

a. Eye fixation or fixed gaze method: As the name implies, in this method the subject is required to gaze at a spinning disc, or some such thing, to get into a trance. However, it’s not a very successful method as most subjects fail to respond to it.

b. Progressive relaxation and imagery method: This involves having the subject imagine being in a safe or peaceful place, and then awakening him or her to full consciousness.

c. Mental confusion method: This is designed to confuse the conscious mind, so that it simply becomes easier to just relax the mind and make it ‘let go’ into hypnosis.

d. Mental misdirection method: This employs active use of the imagination, coupled with response, to hypnotize through responding to suggestions.

e. Loss of equilibrium method: This makes use of gentle rocking to get the subject into a trance.

f. Shock to nervous system method: This employs a sudden emphatic command given in a surprising manner. The subject experiences a moment of passivity during which he’ll either resist the trance, or let go and drop quickly into hypnosis.

Hypnotherapists may combine two or more methods to achieve the desired results. The combinations of methods may be as limitless as the imagination of those employing them!

What to expect in hypnotherapy

To find out how it feels to be under the sway of a hypnotherapist, let’s see how a hypnotherapy session is conducted:

-First, the hypnotherapist will discuss in detail the problems afflicting you to determine the nature of your problem.

-Next, he will explain the process to ease your anxiety and prepare you for hypnosis.

-This done, he will guide you through some exercises to determine the degree of physical and emotional suggestibility to gauge your threshold to suggestions.

-After this, he will put you into a hypnotic state by using individualized methods and techniques.

-As you begin to slip into the hypnotic trance, your body will relax and your mind will detach from everyday concerns and responsibilities. This’ll be accompanied by increased muscle relaxation, a feeling of well being, increased threshold to pain and diminished ability to vocalize.

-Now, the hypnotherapist will apply his power of suggestion, telling you to focus on things you’d like to change. He’ll then proceed to show you the way to achieve those changes. You may have flashbacks of stressful memories and you may become almost childlike in accepting ideas or suggestions about yourself.

So, when’ll you start noticing the changes? It depends upon the intensity of your session or the number of times you’re made to listen to your audiotape, which can be for up to a month. You’ll begin noticing behavioral changes spontaneously popping into your conscious mind almost immediately. Your subconscious mind will help you out of your old patterns with these cues.

The risks of hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is not dangerous and, till date, no one has been seriously hurt (except some in the region of the pocket because of unscrupulous hypnotherapists!). Even the Council of Mental Health of the American Medical Association has approved hypnosis as a safe practice with no harmful side effects. The reason is the great resilience of our subconscious that always has our best interest as its main concern. The only danger is from ignorance and misconceptions about this procedure.

Coming to the most dreaded question, "Can I be made to do things against my will?" The answer is a resounding no! Most people develop these false beliefs by witnessing stage hypnosis performed by magicians, which is pure fun and entertainment. Under hypnosis, no one can make you do anything against your will or contrary to your value system. No one can make you unknowingly reveal your deepest secrets either. People are also known to tell lies under hypnosis, and that’s why, the court of law doesn’t admit testimony under hypnosis!

Some people fear that hypnosis may weaken their will and make them dependent on the hypnotherapist. Nothing can be further from the truth. Hypnosis is, in fact, a tool to gain more self-control, and can actually help improve one’s focus in life!

What if you don’t wake up? There isn’t a single case where someone has refused to rise and shine after the session. Hypnosis, as explained earlier, is akin to falling asleep and you get up, as if you’ve awakened after a nice long nap.

So, for those in dire need of help and wanting to try out something different, hypnotherapy may come as a shot in the arm. It’s quick, it’s safe and it’s effective.

One of the most apparent influences modern times has brought to people is their realization of going back to the basics, to the natural, and to the organic. Although the advances brought by technology has made life easier to people, many are still looking for better organic alternatives that are proven to be more effective in their most natural of form, like Ganoderma Lucidum or commonly known as "Ganoderma."

Believed by the Chinese as the "Miraculous King of Herbs," Ganoderma Lucidum is highly-regarded for its medicinal properties that help improve human body’s healing ability while helping its user to maintain good physical shape. Aside from promoting longevity, Ganoderma Lucidum has unique properties that contribute much to the strengthening of the immune system. Somewhat rare in the West, Ganoderma Lucidum has been worshipped as a kind of herbal medicine the emperors of the great Japanese and Chinese dynasties drank with their special teas and mushroom concoctions to achieve greater vitality and longer life. Ganoderma Lucidum was also believed to be visible in the "elixir of eternal youth" that the ancient Taoists constantly searched for.

A fungus known by its many names like "Reishi," "Ling zhi," and "Mannentake," among others, Ganoderma Lucidum, for hundreds or even thousands of years, is recognized as powerful medicinal fungi because it has properties often associated with health and healing, long life, knowledge, and happiness. In fact, during the ancient time, it is believed that the Ganoderma Lucidum in medicine was considered so promising that its medicinal value has been attested in a 2,000-year old Chinese medical text-known as an authentic textbook of Oriental medical science. For years, medicinal mushrooms such as Ganoderma Lucidum have long been included in the history of folk medicine for contributing much to curing cancers of all sorts and for showing positive effects to the development of the immune system.

Aside from contributing a lot to the treatment of various diseases, Ganoderma Lucidum has also become popular because of its promising properties that might extend life span while increasing vigor and vitality.

Mushroom miracle

The role of Ganoderma Lucidum in the medical field is quite impressive. Even if its role in the treatment of cancer doesn’t have a strong and solid medical backing yet, Ganoderma Lucidum is still recommended to prevention because of the absence of unfavorable side effects. While people from different walks of life take interests and contribute a lot in the rediscovery of herbal treatments, the popularity of Ganoderma Lucidum increases steadily.

Under the extensive research continuously done so many scholars, as well as the cooperative analysis and clinical experiments conducted by people in the hospitals, inside the colleges and universities, and even by pharmaceutical manufacturers, Ganoderma Lucidum’s potential as an effective medicine is becoming clearer and defined. And like in ancient China-where Ganoderma Lucidum is considered not just a symbol of ‘prosperity and peace’ or an ‘item of tribute’-the so-called ‘miracle herb’ is now also seen by the people in the modern world as a potential elixir for immortality.

With so many research and emerging evidence how Ganoderma Lucidum helps the body work more effectively, efficiently and optimally, the people who do these extensive and never-ending researches continues to hope that Ganoderma can bring a brighter view to humanity on its conquest for longevity.

Terry Dunn is Webmaster of http://www.Ganoderma-Online.com - a Informational Resource about Ganoderma

Gastric bypass patients face a great task in the following months and years after surgery, most of which includes monumental lifestyle changes in comparison to their old habits and methods. The most important of all, given that gastric bypass patients have a new, tiny stomach to fill is diet. Similar to how those on a diet of any kind, the body will be taking in less food then usual and so it’s crucial to ensure that the food and nutrients you’re feeding your body are packed with goodness.

This can be a difficult task for the gastric bypass patient, but help is always at hand from the dedicated nutritionists and physicians after surgery. The Internet is also jam-packed with information for healthy diets specifically for patients.

Most of all, as the general gastric bypass diet lacks minerals and vitamins, patients must take extra vitamins to supplement their diet and ensure their body gets all that’s required. Among the vitamins recommended are multi-vitamins (chewy if possible!), then calcium, iron and patients may be advised you also take vitamin B-12.

Its important gastric bypass patients don’t slip up on taking their vitamins ? certain conditions can develop soon after surgery if the body isn’t getting the required vitamins and minerals. Patients should always keep in touch with their doctor and follow the guidelines set out post-surgery.

Article by Beverley Brooke, visit the section on the gastric bypass at her website to learn more about the procedure and what’s involved post-surgery http://www.healthandfinesse.com/gastric-bypass.html