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Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts

Saturday, 25 September 2010

Is Weight Watchers Worth it

Are you watching your weight? My dear ladies and gentlemen, what are you doing if you are not doing that? I mean isn't that we all were born to do? Okay I guess I will cut down on my sarcasm! Keeping tabs on your weight is important, but as much as that is essential, ensuring that you don't just lose weight blindly at the behest of your overall health, is equally significant. However, let us deal with weight loss first as that can itself keep a number of health problems at bay. Weight watchers is such a program, introduced by Jean Nidetech which has weight loss products. Interested? Want to know more about weight watchers and its point system and is weight watchers worth it? Coming up!

Is Weight Watchers Effective

There are a number of considerations which will determine about the effectiveness and safety of weight watchers point system. Not to mention there are these pitfalls and thumbs up points regarding weight watchers as any other diet and weight loss program. Let us see what is the good bad and ugly of weight watchers system.

The Highs
The core of the weight watchers system is group counseling and calorie counting. Calorie counting tell you exactly what you need to avoid and what can you afford to eat. Group counseling and watching and meeting people periodically wanting to lose weight can be really motivating. That can sometimes be very effective. Another thing which makes weight watchers such a rage and so popular with the masses is that it helps lose weight consistently and with a stability. You are expected to lose an average of 2 lb per week, as it is not advised to lose too much of weight in a very short period of time. What is more is none of the food items are excluded from your food list when you are in the weight watchers' program. Rather moderation and will full deprivation is the 'mantra'. You can eat everything, but the catch is for high fat and high calorie foods there are more points and you have a daily limit as to how many points can you consume. Check out weight watchers point system chart for details on the points. This is generally why weight watchers is preferred by many people.

The Lows
Is weight watchers good and is weight watchers worth it is thrown in a pool of skepticism if you consider the downside of this program. We start off with the most important, the fact that it may not be suitable for everyone. There is a veil around the discussion - is weight watchers good for diabetics. If someone under the age of 17 wants to join the program, a written permission will be required. Anyone whose weight is within 5 lb (2.3 kg) of the lowest weight in the goal range prescribed by them, or who has been diagnosed with bulimia nervosa (binge and purge disorder) is unfit for this program. This is the basic thing. In addition to this, to make sure is weight watchers safe for people undergoing a treatment or so, they should consult their doctors before joining. Also, what happens is that some people may not need group counseling and meeting other people for motivating themselves for weight loss. Introverts might not be comfortable with sharing their experience with 10 others.

So these were the pros and cons of weight watchers program and that is how the arguments for and against is weight watchers worth it go. Basically what we have here is when we weigh the pros and cons, the situation is a tie-breaker. There are no program spoilers or deal breakers nor are there factors which make you completely ga ga over the weight watchers point system!

It is a completely personal decision whether you think is weight watchers worth it or not! If you think it suits you, go ahead, if it doesn't, there is no dearth of such programs for losing weight! Take care!

Tuesday, 31 August 2010

Prune Juice and Weight Loss

How many diets, drinks, foods, and supplements have you tried in your effort at weight loss? How many of these diets, drinks, foods and supplements have been helpful? A lot of drinks and foods have been related to weight loss, but not much has been spoken of prune juice and weight loss. People are now learning the effects of this wonder drink, and how it can help you shed those pounds effectively, and keep them away. Here, apart from how this drink works, and the benefits of prune juice for weight loss, we will also enlist the other benefits of this drink.

How Prune Juice Enables Weight Loss

While it is now common knowledge that prune juice aids weight loss, it is imperative to know how this happens.
  • Prunes themselves are very rich in fiber. As such, prune juice itself is also a fiber-rich drink, that keeps you fuller for longer hours. This means you don't wind up snacking on the wrong foods at irregular times. The calories consumed are fewer and therefore, it helps with losing weight.
  • Prune juice is also a natural laxative, and a lot of people have resorted to drinking prune juice for constipation. In any case, consuming prune juice is helpful for its laxative effect, thereby helping in the release of toxins and excess fat in the body. By regulating the digestive health of an individual, prune juice enables safe and healthy weight loss.
  • To use prune juice as a natural aid for weight loss, consume it just before a meal so that it reduces your appetite. It can also be consumed in place of a snack when you feel those hunger pangs. Do not consume any more than two glasses a day for weight loss.
Apart from the aforementioned benefits, there are also several other prune juice benefits. They help in regulating cholesterol levels in the body, they are rich in antioxidants that take care of harmful free radicals in the body, they help control acidity, and finally, they contain phenolic compounds that are known to prevent fatal conditions such as cancer. There are also several benefits of prune juice for infants and babies, information on which can be found in this article on prune juice for babies. So not only weight loss, you have a lot of other reasons to consume prune juice.

Tips to Remember While Consuming Prune Juice for Weight Loss

As you consider the benefits of prune juice and weight loss, there are certain considerations that need to be kept in mind.
  • Firstly, since it is so rich in fibers an excess consumption of this drink can lead to diarrhea and weakening of the digestive system. As such, do not assume that if you drink more prune juice you will lose more weight. An excess of anything can be harmful for the body, and so is the case with prune juice.
  • Secondly, solely drinking prune juice and remaining on your regular diet is not going to help you lose weight. You must follow a healthy diet, cut down on foods rich in fats, simply eat right and exercise so as to help prune juice be an effective remedy for you.
  • Another important consideration when it comes to the use of prune juice and weight loss, is that an excess of prune juice can in fact, cause weight gain. This is because prune juice is made up of simple sugars, an excess of which is directly stored in fat cells.
  • If you are purchasing commercial prune juice ensure that there are no added sugars in it, else it can do you more harm than good. Not only does it have added sugars, it can also have other unhealthy additives in it.
Finally, all that can be said is that there is no miraculous drink that will work overnight and help you shed those excess pounds in a jiffy. The same is true for prune juice and weight loss. Prune juice will aid your efforts at weight loss, but it alone cannot have any substantial effects. However, when combined with any of the good weight loss diets, along with a suitable exercise routine, prune juice is bound to help you restore those curves.

Saturday, 28 August 2010

Losing Weight During Ramadan


Ramadan is the holiest month of the Islamic calender. This is the month in which all muslims over the world fast and pray and seek forgiveness from Allah, the Almighty. The fast begins at pre dawn almost a little more than an hour before the day break and ends at sunset. Contrary to what most people tend to think, Ramadan is not just about fasting but more essentially it is an attempt to stay away from all the vices of the world so as to purify your inner self.

Muslim, around the world wake up and have food before dawn after which they perform the Fajr prayers. After this prayer or salat is performed, you do not eat or drink anything till the fourth salat of the day, Maghrib is due after sunset. This is called the month of bounties and every muslim understands the importance of this month in his life. The significance of this holy month can not be overemphasized.

Though it is the time when most devout muslims pray religiously and recite as much Holy Quran as possible, and give alms to the poor which is called the Zakat, this is also the time when many people try to lose weight. This is perhaps a very good opportunity if you are trying to get slimmer. As a muslim myself, I have often found that after a day of fasting your appetite naturally decreases and you do not feel like eating as much as you would otherwise. However, there is quite a large number of people who tend to overeat during this month.

This is where a natural pills like Proactol can really help you get into shape. A day of fasting combined with a natural appetite suppressant can really help you reduce that extra weight you might have put on. Proactol is a fat binding pill that limits the amount of fat in your diet form being absorbed by your body, thereby limiting your fat intake. It is completely natural and does not have any sort of negative side effects. This pill is clinically approved and recommended by doctors for safe and natural weight loss. It fact it is so safe that it is recommended to help women lose weight after pregnancy as well.

Wednesday, 25 August 2010

pH Miracle Diet


Most of the times we invite sickness into our lives by consuming unhealthy foods. When we realize the problems caused by our poor dietary habits, we look for a perfect diet plan that will undo the harm caused by consumption of unhealthy foods. Most of the times, these diet plans are used by people to get rid of fat. You might have heard of low carb diet, low fat diet, Atkins diet and several other diet plans that are employed under weight loss programs. One such diet plan that has caught the fancy of health experts is the pH miracle diet. This diet plan aims at maintaining the pH balance of the body. This diet plan is also known as alkaline diet or Young diet. If you have been looking for a healthy diet plan for weight loss, you must find out more about the pH miracle diet.

What is pH Miracle Diet?

The concept of pH miracle diet has been developed by Dr Robert Young. In his book, The pH Miracle, Dr Young explains the need to change the way we eat and cook. This diet plan includes the use of high alkaline foods along with certain supplements to ensure better health. Let me explain the concept behind this diet plan. When we eat, the food gets digested and leaves behind a residue which might be neutral, acidic or alkaline. Since our body's cells are bathed in alkaline fluid, having alkaline foods supports the balance of pH in our body. Whenever we eat acidic foods, this pH balance gets disturbed and we might develop serious medical conditions. Excessive intake of acidic foods also adversely affects our body's ability to use minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. Thus, it is very important to maintain the pH balance by cutting down on our intake of acidic foods and include alkaline foods in our diet. So, following this diet means consuming foods that leave an alkaline residue.

pH Miracle Diet for Weight Loss

Did you know that consumption of acidic foods can lead to weight gain? You might be wondering how consumption of acidic foods is linked toobesity. When we eat acidic foods, it results in acid build-up. To protect the cells from this acid, our body uses fat deposits for neutralizing the acid. If the intake of acidic foods is very high, a lot of fat gets stored in the body. Well, if you are grappling with the problem of obesity, you can follow an alkaline diet for weight loss. The pH miracle diet plan includes the exclusion of foods that leave an acidic residue and consumption of alkaline foods. Foods such as coffee, soft drinks, black tea, meats, eggs, dairy products, yeast products, soy sauce, vinegar, alcohol, sugar and high-sugar fruits are highly acidic in nature and must be avoided. Certain food products such as maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, high-sugar fruit and vegetable juices cause excess fermentation in the blood. The process of fermentation is greatly responsible for causing acidity in the body fluids. So, excessive intake of these products will induce the body to create fat to protect the cells. You can prevent weight gain by avoiding these foods.

Besides avoiding such foods, you also need to be aware of the foods that leave an alkaline residue. Alkaline foods list includes vegetables such as cabbage, spinach, carrots, celery, eggplant, broccoli, mushrooms, turnips and cauliflower. Having fresh vegetables in the form of salad is also a great idea. Fruits form an integral part of the alkaline diet plan. You must consume fresh fruits such as banana, orange, avocado, raspberry, strawberry, peach, rhubarb, and grapes. It is also important to hydrate the body with alkaline water that has a pH between 9 and 11. This will help in getting rid of the acid wastes stored in the tissues. Drinking fluids in the form of herbal tea, vegetable broth, non-sweetened soy milk and almond milk will also be beneficial.

So, this was some information on pH miracle diet and alkaline diet benefits. Those of you who are planning to follow the pH miracle diet can also read the pH miracle diet reviews to find out more about its benefits.

Saturday, 21 August 2010

Lose Inches Off Your Waist

It is common, that most of the people pile on weight around the waist. It is mainly attributed to the sedentary lifestyle. Since we sit in front of the computer all through the day, it makes us round, around the waist. I will not say it is really easy to lose inches off your waist, but remember it is also not possible. However, if you are the kind, who wants to lose inches off your waist overnight, then let me tell you this is certainly not possible. In this case, I have a simple question to ask you. How long did you take to pile on all the weight you have piled on around your waist? Did it happen overnight? Then why is it, that you expect you would lose weight overnight?

Most of the people are not able to stay on their goal of fat loss because they are impatient. If you are impatient, you will expect instant results, which may not come. This may de-motivate you. Hence, it is important to set realistic goals. If you have set realistic goals and are working towards them, you certainly will certainly be able to lose inches off your waist. Let’s find out, how to lose inches fast.

Tips to Lose Inches Off Your Waist

The best way to lose weight is to have a healthy diet plan. You may want to follow weight loss diets to lose inches. To trim your waist line the first food item to be thrown out of your diet is junk food. More often than not junk food is the cause of the problem. Replace junk food with a lot of vegetables, fruits, lean meat, etc. There are foods that burn body fat, which you should include in your diet plan. Once you change your diet pattern, you will be able to lose inches off your waist in a week. If not inches, at least one inch, which is good to start off with.

If you have three big meals a day, you will want to divide the meals and have six small meals a day. Eating smaller and frequent meals helps to increase metabolism. Increased metabolism burns a lot more number of calories and helps in the weight loss process.

Most of us want to lose inches off your waist, exercise is something, which we do not do. Without exercise it is indeed difficult to lose flab. It is important, you have a proper exercise routine. Cardiovascular exercises and strength training is what should be included in this routine. You do not have to necessarily have to go to a gym for the same. You can pick up a cardiovascular exercise of your choice. The best of the exercises to lose weight are walking exercise, running and jogging and swimming. You will have to pick up any one these activities and do it for a minimum of 45 to 60 minutes. Remember consistency is the name of the game. You cannot keep missing your exercise schedule and expect to lose inches off your waist in 2 weeks or 3 weeks, etc.

Along with the cardiovascular exercises, there are also abdominal exercises, which will also help trim the waist line. One simple core exercise, that you may want to try is vacuum pose. This is a simple pose, which can easily be done, while you are working as well. Sit erect and suck your belly button in as much as you can. However, you will have to make sure you suck your belly button and not your upper stomach. Also suck the lower belly, around the belly button. Hold the position for anywhere between 15 to 60 seconds. Rest for a small bit and repeat it again. You can do this waist exercise as many times as you want, but do it at least for a total of 5 minutes a day.

The measures to lose inches off your waist are very simple. You will only have to be consistent with the efforts. Make sure you also consume at least 8 to 10 glasses of water. This will help in reducing some of the junk food you eat as well. All the best with the fight against inches around the waist.