Fat Kills You

A really easy, fast way to weight loss is walking a lot. If the other things you’ve tried haven’t worked, or if the results aren’t quite what you’re looking for, try walking twice a day, every day.

This is the time of year when walking outdoors is easier. It’s usually cooler, and less humid, but not so cold as winter.

Aim for walking 2 miles a day. One mile in the morning, and one in the afternoon.

Most people are notoriously bad about mental distance measurements, so I suggest using your car to stake out a full mile.

As an alternative, use the rough rule that most healthy adults walking a fairly brisk pace will walk at 3-4 miles per hour. So if you do a fast 20 minute walk, you’ve probably got your time in.

20 minutes is also good because most people can get their walking in during a break at work in the morning. Even better, probably, would be walking in the early morning before the day gets going (you’re more likely to get it done) but some folks have trouble fitting that in.

Either way, get a mile in during the morning. Then aim for another mile in the afternoon or evening. When walking, breathe deeply and steadily. The results will surprise you.

Jim Huffman, RN specializes in natural and alternative healing therapies. His first book is ‘Dare to Be Free: How to Get Control of Your Time, Your Life, and Your Nursing Career,’ and is aimed at helping other nurses find satisfying, dynamic careers. His website is http://www.NetworkForNurses.com and his health blog is at http://www.shababa.blogspot.com

In one of my recent articles, I spoke about the fact that you must alter your training variables that make up your workouts if you want to continuously get good results, whether it is losing weight, building muscle, or toning up.

While changing your training variables is an integral part of the success of your training program, your workouts shouldn’t be drastically different every single time. If you are all over the place on each workout and never try to repeat and improve on specific exercises for specific set and rep schemes with specific rest intervals, then your body has no basis to improve on its current condition. The best way to structure your workouts to get the best results is to be consistent and try to continually improve on a specific training method for a specific time period. A time period of 4-8 weeks usually works best as your body will adapt to the specific training method and progress will slow after this amount of time.

At this point, it is time to change around some of your training variables as I described in the "exercise variables" article, and then stay consistent with your new training program for another 4-8 weeks. To refresh, some of these variables are the numbers of sets and reps of exercises, the order of exercises (sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training duration per workout, training frequency per week, etc.

For example, let’s say you are training with a program where you are doing 10 sets of 3 reps for 6 different exercises grouped together in pairs (done as supersets) with 30 seconds rest between each superset and no rest between the 2 exercises within the superset. If you are smart, I’m sure you are tracking your progress with a notepad (weights used, sets, and reps) to see how you are progressing over time. Let’s say that after about 6 weeks, you find that you are no longer improving with that program. Well, now it is time to change up your variables, and start a new program.

This time you choose a classic 5 sets of 5 reps routine, but you group your exercises in tri-sets (three exercises performed back to back to back, and then repeated for the number of sets). This time you decide to perform the exercises in the tri-set with no rest between them, and then recover for 2 minutes in between each tri-set to fully recoup your strength levels.

There you have it…a couple examples of how to incorporate both consistency and variability into your training programs to maximize your results. Want to take the guess work out of all of this? Pick up a copy of my book today at http://truthaboutabs.com and try the scientifically designed programs already illustrated within.

Michael Geary is a nationally dual certified personal trainer (NCSF-CPT, AFAA-CPT), and author of “The Truth about Six Pack Abs” ©2004-2005.

Visit http://truthaboutabs.com to receive several free bonuses that are yours to keep with no purchase necessary

Have I become invisible or are people just aiming right at me? It seems to me that in a crowd these days, whether at the grocery store or 5th Avenue in New York City, people will walk right into me if I don’t step out of the way. Or they stand so close to me I have to step backward in order to breathe.

Now, I have never felt that I have such a small area of personal space. A busy street or mall never bothered me. I could walk through the crowd at a museum or a concert without being trampled. Only since losing 110 pounds have I begun to notice how the shrinking personal space has begun to bother me.

When I weighed 277 pounds I always felt emotionally invisible; that no one truly saw me or knew I was there. But while I felt emotionally invisible, I knew I was always physically there. I didn’t get bumped into, people didn’t stand so close to me that I felt the need to step away in order to maintain personal space. In the mall or on a San Francisco street, people gave me a wide berth. Bus passengers would hesitate before sitting down next to me judging just how much space they would have for their ride home.

When a thin person sees a fat person, regardless if the fat person is attractive or not, a bit of uneasiness runs through the thin person; "If I wasn’t working out everyday that could be me." "Thank goodness I don’t look like that." "Ok, salad again for lunch."

According to ABC News, the American public spends $33 billion on the ever elusive quest for non-fatness. The billions are spent on fat-free products, exercise equipment, gym memberships, and weight loss programs. Spent on anything and everything not to become that fat person they see on the bus. So it is no surprise that when the one thing they work so hard to avoid is right in front of them they steer clear of it.

As a newly thin person I see the overweight person. I wish I could stop them and tell them how I did it– that I was once overweight and have broken free.

But I can’t. So instead I make eye contact. I smile. I sit next to them on the bus without hesitation.

But it is a different life I am in now. Today I feel like I am physically invisible when walking those crowded streets, and that people are going to literally walk right into me if I don’t step out of the way. I feel like they no longer see me; or maybe they are just no longer ill at ease. Maybe I am now like everyone else and I need to get the hell out of the way if I don’t want to get run over.

Robin McCoy was banded on February 3, 2004. She has reached her weight loss goal of 110 pounds. Robin is Vice-President and Senior Writer for Lapband Lifestyle, a resource and support group for LapBand patients.

http://www.lapbandlifestyle.com
robin@lapbandlifestyle.com

About 12.6 million Americans currently have heart disease.

1.1 million Americans will experience a serious heart event this year.

One in four Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease. Every 34 seconds one American will die as a result of cardiovascular disease.

No other disease claims as many women’s lives as cardiovascular disease. One American woman dies each minute as a result of cardiovascular disease.

Around 700,000 Americans will have a stroke this years. That’s one stroke every 45 seconds.

HEART DISEASE IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST KILLER OF AMERICANS. IT KILLS AS MANY AMERICANS AS THE NEXT 5 LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH.

One important step in reducing your risk of heart disease is to change your diet.

These are what you should consume more of:

1. Vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and fish.

These foods contain monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fatty acids. These are good for the heart.

Monounsaturated fatty acids help increase the level of good cholesterol.

There are three chemical subgroups of unsaturated fatty acids called essential fatty acids. These are omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish oils (docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaneoic acids), plants and seeds (alpha-linolenic acid) and have significant benefits. For example they improve your good cholesterol levels, reduce your overall heart disease risk and may reduce your chances of developing an irregular heart rhythm.

The American Heart Association and other experts recommend that you should get most of your unsaturated fats from omega-3 fatty acids

Omega 6 fatty acids are found in corn, safflower, soybean, and sunflower oil. However a high consumption of omega-6 fatty acids will result in weight gain and will give you a higher risk of getting certain cancers and some chronic diseases.

Omega-9 fatty acids are found in canola and olive oil. They may also contain chemicals that block the harmful affects of omega-6 fatty acids.

Eating fish twice a week will improve your good cholesterol, lower your chance of dying from heart disease, and improve your blood pressure. Choose oil fish like salmon, mackerel, or sardines as they are the most healthy and are high in omega-3. Avoid fish that are high in mercury like shark, king mackerel, tilefish or swordfish. Fish is the best source of protein and is better for your cardiac health than chicken or lean meat.

The amount of polyunsaturated fat that you eat should be up to 10 percent of your daily calorie intake. The amount of monounsaturated fat that you eat should be up to 15 percent of your daily calorie intake.

2. Oats, lentils, potatoes, apples, pinto beans, citrus, black beans and barley.

These foods contain soluble fiber that helps increase your levels of good cholesterol. Soluble fiber may also reduce blood pressure.

When you increase the amount of soluble fiber in your diet you should also increase the amount of water that you drink.

3. Wheat bran, whole grains, seeds, nuts, legumes, and fruit and vegetable peels

These foods contain insoluble fiber. Eating insoluble fiber may help with weight lost and lower your risk of heart disease.

4. Soy products (not soy sauce).

Soy products are rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, as well as providing all essential proteins.

5. Green tea.

Green tea is rich in chemicals that protect against bad cholesterol.

6. Coffee.

Coffee contains phenol, a chemical that helps stop oxidation of bad cholesterol.

7. Potassium-rich food like bananas, oranges, pears, prunes, cantaloupes, tomatoes, dried peas and beans, nuts, potatoes, and avocados.

A potassium-rich diet can help you achieve healthy blood pressure levels and reduce the risk of you having a stroke by 22 to 40%. However too much potassium can cause stomach pain, muscle weakness and in rare cases, dangerous heart events.

8. Water

Many heart risk factors are made worse by dehydration. In a 2002 study it was found that if you drank five or more glasses of water a day you had lower risk of a fatal heart event than if you drunk two or fewer glasses a day.

9. Alcohol.

One or two glasses of alcohol a day will help protect your heart. However heavy drinking will harm your heart.

The DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)

The DASH diet is a diet that is clinically proven to significantly reduce blood pressure. It emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products. It recommends:

- Avoiding saturated fat and choosing monounsaturated oils such as olive or canola.

- Choosing whole grains over white flour or pasta.

- Eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day.

- Eat nuts, seeds, or legumes daily.

- Eat modest amounts of protein, preferably from fish, poultry or soy products.

To get the DASH diet click here or point your web browser to :

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf

You can also find information on lowering your blood pressure here or by pointing your web browser to:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/hbp_low/hbp_low.pdf

Kevin Davies is webmaster of preventingheartfailure.com and author of “Preventing Heart Failure” eBook. In this eBook you’ll learn how to significantly reduce your risk of heart disease. To buy “Preventing Heart Failure” please visit http://www.preventingheartfailure.com

Running with knees that hurt and are not getting better trough time is no fun, and being addicted to running doesn’t help either.

Fortunately, pain isn’t always a definite sign of tissue damage; instead it can be protective pain that is coming from entities called myofascial trigger points.

Pain from trigger points can feel like its coming from knee joint or patellae, while it’s actually coming from contraction knots in the quadriceps muscles.

What makes things quite enigmatic is that these knots can sometimes reside high in quadriceps muscles, far from where the actual pain symptom is felt.

It’s not uncommon for knee pain to be solely or partially muscular. It’s also common for doctors to overlook trigger points as a possible pain cause, because at this point there is no imaging equipment in use, which could verify their existence.

For now, only way to find out if trigger point are part of the pain equation, is manually palpating and searching for them from the muscles. There are not many doctors who do this, or know how to do this, or think that it’s even beneficial to do this.

Fortunately finding and treating trigger points is quite easy, and you don’t need an expert to do it for you.

You just find tender spots which refer pain to your knee when pressed, from those muscles that are reported to be involved in knee pains.

Usually, even a few days of self-massage to those points, can make them stop referring pain to your knee area. And make it evident that they where indeed behind the pain.

Finding and massaging trigger points in the quadriceps and calf muscles, and the small muscles behind the knee (plantaris & popliteus), should give you good results.

More information at pain relief guide site, quick links below

Related resources back at pain relief guide site, quick links below. Also, remember to download trigger point pain charts (beta) - available at home page.

Glucosamine chondroitin for arthritis - Pain-relief-guide.com

Liquid glucosamine chondroitin sulfate

Glucosamine chondroitin tablets/capsules/pills

Diet drop out, a significant problem for all types of diets, requires a new dieting strategy. Exchange it…and watch diet drop out rates plummet.

What is Diet Drop Out?

To stop a diet plan before reaching your goal or before reaching a pre-defined time limit is called diet drop out. Not one diet succeeds at keeping diet drop out rates low. One or more of the following strategies are used by diet plans in attempts to eliminate diet drop out:

In order to provide a strategy that works, diet plans should ask dieters why they drop out. Then simply provide a solution for the reason dieters drop out, problem solved.

Why Dieters Drop Out

When dieters are asked what is the hardest part about dieting, the response is surprising. Most dieters say that following strict diet menus, not exercise, is the hardest part.

A good strategy for decreasing diet drop out rates would address the menus. This is exactly what Exchange It accomplishes…giving dieters more control over what they eat.

The exchange process involves substituting healthy food choices for harmful ones. For instance, substitute a healthy fat, like Omega-3, for saturated fats. This allows you to eat more fats, and still remain on your diet.

To learn more about Exchange It! and other new dieting strategies, click…

Exchange & Other Dieting Strategies

To Healthy Living!

Michael A. Smith, MD
Chief Medical Consultant
Diet Basics Website

Dr. Smith is the Chief Medical Consultant for Diet Basics, a content rich website dedicated to your weight loss success. Quickly becoming known as the net’s primary resource for weight loss issues, his RSS Feed and News Blog are received by thousands of e-zine websites, medical centers, and individuals. The interactive content is original and informative, challenging readers to act and maximize their weight loss efforts.

To Healthy Living!

The mankind has never stopped searching for the scerets of youth ever since the dawn of intelligence. The tales date back to at least the time of the Alexander Romance in the West. In the East, the efforts of searching for permanent youth were recorded in the Huangdi Nei Jing (the Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine) - the earliest medical classic in China, written 2000 years ago. Gerontology now reveals that the secrets of youth are the Human Growth Hormones (HGH) and the genes inside every man and woman’s body.

Hormones are chemical messengers that help your body perform functions necessary for health and well-being. One such hormone that is much talked about is the human growth hormone (HGH). Produced by the pituitary gland in our brain, this hormone is responsible for the health and vitality associated with youth.

Several studies show that the body produces roughly 15% less HGH with each successive decade. Therefore, as you get older and your body produces less HGH, you start to notice that you look and feel older. The original belief was that the pituitary gland simply didn’t have the capacity to produce large amounts of HGH as you grow older. However, recent studies report that aging pituitary glands are actually capable of producing as much HGH as a young pituitary gland; only it has to be adequately stimulated. Now, this is where the HGH supplements come in.

The best means of elevating HGH levels is to stimulate the body to produce more HGH. Instead of introducing more of the hormone into the body, the role of HGH supplements would be to stimulate your pituitary gland to produce more HGH. HGH supplements eliminate the worry of side effects because you will not be introducing foreign HGH into your body. Also, your body is adept in self-regulating, so it’s not likely to produce an excessive amount of HGH which could be harmful.

You have probably heard enough about HGH to know that there are a lot of HGH supplements available now. Besides making you feel and look younger, they are also known to make you lose weight, gain lean muscle, lower blood pressure, boost your immune system, and improve your memory and mood. Could HGH supplements indeed be the “miracle pill” that everyone says it is? There’s only one way to find out.

Copyright @2005, Natalie Aranda

You have permission to publish this article electronically free of charge, as long as the bylines and links in the body of the article and the bylines are included.

Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She writes about family, online dating, health, beauty and HGH supplements.

Once upon a time, I fretted about going to a family wedding because I was ? gasp ? 142 pounds. I am five foot three. The ideal weight for me was 115 pounds using that old rule of thumb for women ? 100 pounds for the first five feet and then five pounds per inch after that. I think I was a size 11.

I still remember the dress I wore. Red and white squares in a very 70s pattern. Just past the flower child stage and slightly reminiscent of the art deco style. I was almost sick at the thought of going to the wedding looking like a whale. Ha ha ha ha. If I knew then what I know now, it would have been sheer joy. Today, my goal is to get down to 150 pounds.

I really chunked up in my thirties and decried the paternalistic pressures to be thin. I embraced my voluptuousness. I was healthy. What more did I want?

Well, I can tell you now what more I could have wanted? I could have wanted the kind of sense of self that would allow me to say to the men I met, hey, just because I am fat does not mean I am willing to settle for second best. I could have wanted to believe my own b.s. about my size. I could have wanted my blood pressure to remain low. I could have wanted to be taken seriously when I went into the boss’s office to say I had a problem with a co-worker. (It was really bad and I had to say something. She was and is a very slender and attractive woman and that was the issue as far as the boss was concerned. The real issue was something else entirely but as I stood there, I saw myself as my boss saw me. Wake up call!! Woo hoo. Reality calling Joanne.

A long time ago, ironically, I studied nutrition at university. Right up to the point of taking chemistry courses to understand it. I should have studied psychology as well. I know the facts of life. Garbage in ? big fat bum.

The one thing I did do right is know that just because I am plus size, I need to wear pretty things. Still I have trouble finding pants that fit. Short legs, wide hips. Ha. Wide, did I say? Well. I was visiting this buddy of mine who is a creative genius with the sewing machine and asked him to measure me up for pants. Hips? Fifty-four inches. And I was mortified at the size 11 dress I wore to that wedding so long ago. Where did I go wrong?

I intellectualized myself into all kinds of nonsense so I have begun to intellectualize myself out of the same nonsense. I have tried so many diets over the years, I consider myself just about an expert in what works and why. Over at my Chaos Queen site, http://chaosqueen.biz, I share my best research with you, along with some ways to look gorgeous while you work your way into fine shape.

Joanne Reid’s reviews of the best and worst diets can be read at http://chaosqueen.biz. It’s her opinion that as the Chaos Queen, everything is her business. Her sisters are too grown up now for her to boss around and for some reason, her friends have all taken assertiveness training and smile nicely when she offers advice on how they should run their lives.

Frank’s 85 year-old father was in advanced stages of Parkinson’s.

Confined to a wheelchair…his speech jumbled…his face frozen in a Parkinson Mask…he was hardly more than a vegetable.

Day after day, he sat, unmoving, unable to communicate. It broke Frank’s heart to see the once robust, active man he always loved reduced to such a tragic state.

One day, a friend mentioned that simple sugars might help his father. Frank had never heard of them and was more than a bit skeptical. After all, they had already tried everything modern medicine had to offer.

But desperation drove Frank to check it out.

He was impressed with the logic of the science and the volume of clinical research available. This was obviously not some new miracle food with extravagant claims, backed by little or no real medical research.

Furthermore, he understood that simple sugars would be no more harmful than giving his dad a blueberry muffin. They were a food. Nothing more…nothing less.

He began with small doses. Then gradually increased the amount his father was taking until they reached the amount suggested by their Recovery Coach.

The results were amazing. Slowly, Frank’s father was able to speak more normally. His face lost its frozen expression. And he regained some of his old energy and animation.

One afternoon, Frank’s father asked to go bowling. This had been one of his favorite activities before the disease forced him to quit.

Frank was astounded and a bit apprehensive. After all, his father was still in a wheelchair. But the desire on his father’s face was so intense he couldn’t refuse.

The sound of rolling balls and flying pins was like a tonic to Frank’s father. He sat up in his chair and looked around with excitement. After Frank placed his favorite bowling ball in his lap, he rolled himself up to the line on one of the lanes, swung the ball several times beside his chair and let it go.

Frank watched in amazement as the ball hit the pins. On that first try, his father had rolled a perfect strike.

When his father turned his chair around, he gave Frank a grin that split his face from ear to ear. It was one of the most precious moments in Frank’s life.

WHAT ARE THESE SIMPLE SUGARS?

Just that. Simple one-molecule sugars. But eight sugars so essential to the body that they must be internally manufactured if not supplied in the diet…which seldom happens.

Although the simple sugars have no healing power, they are a vital part of every cell’s communication system. Without them, a damaged cell cannot signal a need for resources to repair itself. Nor can good cells recognize bad cells, such as cancer cells, and trigger the immune system.

When a body becomes starved for simple sugars and does not have the resources to manufacture them, disease is often the result. By the same token, supplying the simple sugars, sometimes in large doses, often reverses the disease and the damage that has been done.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THESE SIMPLE SUGARS

There is a great deal of information available from both medical journals and consumer scientific magazines. It is worth looking into.

Simple sugars could be the key to renewed health for you, a family member, or a friend.

To find out more about simple sugars, visit this web site: http:http://www.GrantForHealth.com

The nutritional support in critically ill patients can be explained in 2 ways

1.Enteral Nutrition

2.Parenteral nutrition

It is worth remembering that enteral nutritional is always the preferred route. The reason is clear.

1.Enteral nutrition helps mucosal integrity and thereby it minimizes the risk of bacterial colonization.

2.Reduces gastro-intestinal bleeds

3.Sepsis and its complications are reduced.

There has been an extensive study done on the role of aminoacids and fatty acids but the conclusions have been inconclusive.

Now lets talk about the 2.Parenteral nutrition

If the enteral nutrition is not applicable or worse has failed then parenteral nutrition is the way to go.

But remember that its costly affair and not many patients may be able to afford it especially if you are a doctor in the third world country.

Problems with parenteral nutrition {complications}

1.Catheter related sepsis

2.Intestinal mucosal atrophy

3} Standard solutions related problems.

Apart from Nutritional support lets consider the other support a critically ill patients need.

1.Ventilatory Support

Modes-Controlled mandatory ventilation

—Synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation

—Positive pressure ventilation and

—Positive controlled ventilation

2.Circulatory support

—Use of inotropes like adrenaline and nor-adrenaline and dobutamin

3.Renal Support

Dialysis in critically ill patients is very helpful to maintain renal perfusion, treat sepsis and provide renal replacement therapy.

Remember in the management of critically ill patients the identification and admission of such patients in High dependency units called the Intensive care units is the first step.

The rest should be the Ventilatory support, Circulatory support, Renal and nutritional support.

Abdul Matynne
Visit our site http://www.nutritioninfopage.com to learn about all forms of nutrition. http://www.homegymsforyou.com http://www.exercise-equipments101.com