What's Wrong With Crash Diets?

 Many desperate people turn to crash diets hoping they will lose the most weight in the shortest time that way. Perhaps they have had past experiences of losing weight successfully with this type of plan, or they have read about a new diet that some celebrity has followed to lose weight fast. So what is wrong with crash diets? Is there any reason why they have such a bad reputation?

The most obvious problem with crash diets is that the weight loss is almost always temporary. If you suddenly change to a restricted diet, your body will respond by storing less water. You will lose weight and be less bloated, i.e. thinner, but you will not necessarily lose any fat. When you end the diet that weight will go right back on.

Of course, you may lose some fat too, depending on the diet and how long you follow it. However, the body often goes into starvation mode during these diets. It thinks a famine has hit, and it should slow down the metabolism and store as much fat as possible to guard against the hard times ahead. When you increase your food consumption, even if you do it in a healthy way, that famine metabolism can persist and lead your body to gain some or all of the weight back.

Added to that is the psychological effect of breaking a crash diet. Whether this happens at the end of the planned diet or in the middle out of desperation, it tends involve overeating. For this reason alone, many people who follow crash diets find that a month later, they are heavier than they were before the diet.

In addition, there are some significant health issues with crash diets. First, diets that focus on losing weight fast are usually very restrictive in the types of foods that you can eat. Many foods (and sometimes whole food groups) will be cut out. This is not something you could do in the long term without suffering from deficiencies. It is not good for the body in the short term either.

On many crash diets you will not be getting the nutrients that the body needs. It is true that you can take supplements, but many supplements rely on substances in whole foods to make them work most effectively. Nutrient deficiencies lead to cravings, making it harder to stick to the diet and more likely that you will break out in a binge. At the same time, you may be getting more of some nutrients than is healthy.

To summarize, crash diets can only ever be a temporary solution, for example for a situation where you need to lose a little weight for a particular event, and you do not mind if you gain it back - and more - afterward. The healthiest option for losing weight is to make changes that will allow you to lose weight slowly on a healthy eating plan that does not ban any foods completely, but allows you to incorporate occasional treats. In the long term, people who follow crash diets are likely to gain weight, not lose it.

Alli Weight Loss: Does It Work?

 There has been a lot of publicity about alli weight loss plans in the media, but does this weight loss pill really work? The answer from many research studies appears to be yes, but before you take alli weight loss remedies be sure to check out the rest of this article, because there are some things you need to know.

What Is Alli?

Alli is a brand name for the chemical orlistat. It is available over the counter in drug stores in the USA and the UK. It is also available as a prescription medication, often under the name of Xenical. Generic orlistat is also available in some countries.

How Alli Weight Loss Works

Alli weight loss effects have been demonstrated in many research studies and it is approved by the FDA as a weight loss aid. It works as a fat blocker, preventing the body from absorbing a certain percentage of the fats in our food.

At the usual dose of 60 mg three times a day it has been shown to block absorption of around 25% or one quarter of the fat that we eat. This increases to around 30% at a dose of 3 x 120 mg, which is not recommended without medical supervision. Beyond that there is very little added effect, so there is no point in taking more.

One study followed people taking alli in clinical trials over 12 months. Among the different groups of people, between 35% and 55% lost at least 5% of their body weight, which is a significant loss. About half of those people lost 10% of their starting body weight or more. These are very good results for clinical trials.

In addition, alli has been shown to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Whether this is because of alli weight loss effects or whether there are other beneficial effects in alli has not been proved.

However, this does not mean that we can eat all the fat that we want and then take alli to prevent weight gain. It is important to be aware of the side effects of alli weight loss before starting to take it.

Side Effects Of Alli

The most common side effect of alli or orlistat is bowel disturbance. Alli blocks digestion of a lot of the fat that we eat and so that fat has to be expelled from the body in undigested form. The result is loose stools which may cause severe diarrhea in some cases. Many people also suffer from excessive flatulence.

These symptoms are worse when people begin taking alli. It seems that the body adjusts to it after a time. So you could help to avoid the side effects of alli by starting with a very low dose and gradually increasing.

However, the best way to avoid alli weight loss side effects is to eat less fat. That way, there is less undigested fat for the body to excrete. Eating less fat also helps with weight loss.

The manufacturers claim that alli or orlistat can improve your weight loss by up to 50%, assuming you are not simply taking alli so that you can eat more. It won't work if you do that. You do need to have some control over your food intake. But if this is true, it means that a person who loses 10 pounds without taking alli would lose 15 pounds in the same time with the same food intake if they add alli weight loss to the mix.

Negative Calorie Foods: Eat As Much As You Want

 With negative calorie foods, you really can have "all you can eat" without worrying about the effects on your waistline! If only every buffet would offer these foods bare and whole, instead of making them swim in mayonnaise, sugar or sauces, none of us would have a problem with eating in restaurants! So let's look at those wonderful negative calorie foods and what they can do for our weight loss.

'Negative calorie' means that you use more calories in eating and digesting the food than it contains, keeping in mind that we burn calories all of the time by simply living, even when we sleep. In practice the term is used for a lot of low calorie foods.

One of the best known negative calorie foods is celery. It is very low in calories and takes a lot of time and energy to eat, as long as you eat it whole and chew on all of those stringy fibers. If you ate celery in this way all day you would be sure of not gaining weight, but it wouldn't be good for you. You would not be getting the nutrients that you needed and you might even starve.

Negative calorie foods are very popular with anorexics, which shows us that it's not healthy to eat nothing but these foods. However, they make great snacks. To get the best effect for weight loss, be sure to chew them thoroughly and do not make them into soup or juice.

Eat them raw when possible. This is easy with fruits like apples, berries, pineapple and grapefruit which are all low calorie, high fiber foods. Be careful with other fruits because most fruits that are not on this list are more calorie-dense.

Eating vegetables raw is more of a challenge, and not always necessary. However, many foods can be grated or chopped very small in a food processor. Take a look at this list of negative calorie vegetables and you will see that most of them could be prepared for raw eating:

- asparagus (break it into bite sized pieces and add to salad)

- beets (grated)

- broccoli (throw it in the food processor with a couple of tomatoes as dressing)

- carrot (grated or whole)

- cauliflower (like broccoli)

- cabbage (used raw in coleslaw, but don't add the mayo!)

- celery stalks

- celery root (grated)

- cucumber

- lettuce

- red onions (sliced thin)

- spinach

- tomato

- zucchini (grate or use a spiralizer to create long pasta-like strings)

A big salad made from 5-7 of those ingredients would give you a super low calorie snack that would keep you munching and feeling full for a long time. You might also want to consider doing a raw or negative calorie detox for a few days - in consultation with your doctor, of course.

However, you will need to use caution when eating a lot of negative calorie foods. First, it is important to vary your diet and not eat too much of any one particular food. Many foods contain substances that can be damaging if consumed in excess, such as the acid in pineapples and grapefruits. Other negative calorie foods can cause allergies or diarrhea if eaten in large quantities.

Are You Making These 3 Diet Mistakes?

 If you have tried one weight loss program after another without ever being successful for long, you are probably making some big diet mistakes. You can be given the best diet plan in the world, but it won't work if your attitude is wrong.

The following 3 major diet mistakes are responsible for hundreds or thousands of people going off plan and failing to achieve the weight loss that they deserve. Take the time to consider what effect they may be having on you.

1. Expecting Perfection

Nobody is perfect. We have all heard that statement countless times, but many of us still find it hard to apply it to ourselves and our diets. We take an all-or-nothing approach, thinking we have to stick to our diet plan 100% of the time, perfectly, or there's no point following it at all.

This puts huge pressure on us and makes us feel terrible if we slip up. It also means that after a slip-up we are likely to think, "I've messed up yet another diet, I just can't do this," or "This diet doesn't work," and abandon it. In short, perfection-related diet mistakes mean that we will use the smallest slip-up as an excuse for a massive binge.

This problem is worst for dieters who like to follow very restricted plans where no treats are allowed. Inevitably, life gets in the way and instead of planning how to cope with the challenge of a party or a wedding, they try to eat nothing all day and then cave in, abandoning the diet completely.

Your weight loss does not have to be a straight downward line. It's OK to have occasional diet mistakes, slips and gains along the way, as long as the overall trend is downward. And it's much better in the long term to lose weight slowly. It's much more likely to stay off that way.

2. The Band-Aid Attitude To Dieting

Many dieters see their weight loss plan as a temporary fix that they will use for a short time and then abandon as soon as they have reached their target weight. We call this the band-aid approach to dieting, and it's the second of our major diet mistakes.

People who see a diet as a temporary measure will often pick very restricted eating plans and then go back to their old eating habits after the diet ends. If you do that, all of the weight will go back on, in 99% of cases.

Unless you only have a few pounds to lose, it is much better to pick an eating plan that gives you flexibility. You need something that you can follow for weeks, months or even years. In fact, you need something that will allow you to live your life.

Instead of using a band-aid, you need a diet that will become like a new skin: a permanent way of eating that will enable to maintain your goal weight after you achieve it.

3. The Wrong Goals

That leads us to the third of our big diet mistakes: setting the wrong goals. In  anything that we do, goals should be clear, set out in steps and achievable. In terms of weight loss, this means that as well as having an idea of your ideal weight or clothes size, you should also set smaller goals along the way, and reward yourself for each one achieved (but not with food!).

Be flexible about your final goal: as you approach it, you may want to change it. That's OK. If you avoid these diet mistakes and have the right attitude toward dieting, you will be able to achieve a weight that you are happy with - and that is much more important than numbers.

Natural Weight Loss Products: Garcinia Cambogia Extract

 Natural weight loss products have seen a big boost in sales in the past few years and near the top of the list is garcinia cambogia extract. This natural weight loss supplement has received a lot of publicity since several studies have shown that it can help people to lose weight. But what is garcinia cambogia and how does it work?

What Is Garcinia Cambogia Extract?

Garcinia cambogia is the Latin name for a small tropical fruit that is found in India and Africa. It is a member of the citrus family, but it is too sour to eat like an orange or even a lemon. However, its rind is used as a spice in Indian cookery.

Researchers into natural weight loss products extracted hydroxycitric acid from the garcinia cambogia fruit. They found that this substance can help to reduce appetite, or more precisely, it can reduce a person's tendency to overeat. It triggers the signal that tells the brain when we are full. This signaling mechanism is delayed in many overweight people so hydroxycitric acid can be very effective for them.

Of course, some of us continue to eat even after we feel full. This is usually known as comfort or stress-related eating. Garcinia cambogia natural weight loss products can help with this too, because hydroxycitric acid (HCA) can give us the same calming effect that food produces.

Some studies have found that the weight loss effects of HCA are increased when it is combined with chromium as a supplement. Many people who overeat have been found to have low levels of the essential mineral chromium, especially as they grow older, so it is added to many natural weight loss products. Chromium helps to regulate the body's blood sugar levels and it may be helpful for diabetics, but see your doctor before taking any supplements or natural weight loss products if you have diabetes or other health conditions.

Most people taking natural weight loss products containing HCA follow a normal diet without eating any special foods. Of course, it helps if this is a healthy normal diet, not the hamburger-and-fries regime that many people consider to be a normal diet in our society, but there are no forbidden foods.

Choose healthy foods and try to stop when you notice that you feel full. This should be easier if you are taking HCA. There will be moments when you want to eat (or continue eating) and you are aware that your body does not really want that food and you have a choice. Learn to stop at that point most of the time, and that's how you will get the most benefit from HCA as a natural weight loss supplement.

Of course, not all natural plant extracts are healthy, some can even be poisonous, but HCA in the form of garcinia cambogia extract has been extensively tested and no side effects have been identified for sure. Since it is a member of the citrus family, migraine and arthritis sufferers may notice a worsening of their symptoms which are often sensitive to citrus. HCA should not be taken by children or by pregnant or nursing women without medical advice, but that is true of all natural weight loss products and other supplements.

CLA Supplements: Do They Work?

CLA supplements are a popular choice for anybody interested in fat loss, but what are they and do they really work to help you lose weight? Let's take a close look at CLA supplements.

Despite its chemical-sounding name, CLA or conjugated linoleic acid is not artificial. It is found in many naturally occurring foods, especially meat and dairy products. It can be extracted from those products or created in the laboratory to be taken as a supplement.

CLA supplements are often recommended for men who want to build muscle mass while losing fat. They appear to work by converting mass into lean body tissue. People who take them without making other changes in their diet might be more likely to see results in the mirror and in clothes sizes without necessarily seeing a change in the numbers on the scale. This is because muscle weighs heavier than fat, although it has less bulk, so we look thinner even if we stay the same weight.

Anybody wanting to lose weight can benefit from having a leaner body. It is healthier and it also increases the metabolism, so we are likely to burn more calories. But most dieters want to reduce their weight too.

The best way to use CLA supplements is to take them at the same time as you follow a healthy eating plan. It could be a low fat diet, a calorie controlled diet or any type of weight loss plan that you can stick to. That way you are likely to lose weight as well as reducing body fat.

Experts agree that the most important issue in choosing a weight loss plan is finding one that you can be happy with for the long term. Crash diets do not work because as soon as they finish, most people return to their old eating habits. The only way to lose weight permanently is to change your eating habits and avoid the yoyo dieting trap.

There has been plenty of research aiming to show how conjugated linoleic acid works. The Journal of Nutrition published a study finding that subjects taking CLA supplements lost an average of 6 more pounds of body fat than a control group taking a placebo.

How much conjugated linoleic acid can you take? The researchers in this study found that the best level of supplementation was 3.4 grams of CLA. There was no increased effect from having more than this.

CLA supplements can have other beneficial effects too. A study at Purdue University in Indiana found that CLA had a positive effect on insulin levels in diabetics, as well as reducing their blood glucose level and triglyceride levels slightly. Of course, it is important to consult with your doctor before taking any supplements.

There is no magic pill that will spirit away 50 or 100 pounds of excess weight overnight, but if you are willing to commit to a healthier way of eating, CLA may help you to lose body fat and achieve your goals sooner than you would without it. CLA supplements are most effective when used after consultation with your doctor alongside your diet plan to boost your fat loss while you lose weight.

Avoid Winter Weight Gain

Winter weight gain is something that happens to many people who live in climates with cold winters. If you track your weight you may notice that it's harder to lose in the fall. It's not your fault and it's not a myth. Most people, even those of normal weight, gain a few pounds when the weather begins to turn cold. But it is possible to avoid winter weight gain.

To do this, we first need to understand what causes winter weight gain. There are two main factors. The first is a biological tendency that is carried in our genes and is there to help us survive in cold climates. Our bodies are simply programmed to store more fat as winter approaches. And we're not the only ones. Most animals do this too.

It's easy to see why when you think about it. More fat means more protection from the cold and more stored nutrients that the body can access if food is hard to find in the winter months. Our bodies don't know that we can walk into a store and buy polar level winter clothing and any food we need, no matter what the weather is like outside.

In primitive societies, there was always plenty of food in the fall, the time when nuts, fruits and grains are ripe. It makes sense that we would feel hungrier at this time and crave 'warming' high carbohydrate foods that can easily be converted to fat and stored ready for the late winter and spring when plant-based foods are hard to find.

Hormonal changes caused by the shortening days are a second factor that can cause winter weight gain. These changes affect our eating habits as winter approaches.

It is well known that having less natural light can cause depression and low energy (SAD or seasonally affected depression). Most people who are overweight tend to eat more when they feel low. We also turn to food (especially refined carbohydrate foods like chips, chocolate, cake or white bread) for a fast energy boost when we feel tired. These foods cause blood sugar swings that lead to more lows and cravings.

Understanding all of this makes it much easier to avoid winter weight gain. We have a natural tendency to eat more and to eat the wrong foods at this time of year. We cannot expect to hold out against a biological need but we can be careful what foods we choose.

It's fine to have high carbohydrate foods in the fall if that is what you crave (and as long as you are not on a low carb diet) but be sure to choose whole grains and starchy vegetables over sugar and refined carb foods. The fiber in brown rice, whole grain bread, pumpkin etc helps to slow down the absorption and keep our blood sugar stable.

At the same time, avoid winter weight gain by being careful not to take in any unnecessary fats. Don't slaver butter thickly all over that whole grain bread or pumpkin, or smother your whole grain pasta in a cheese sauce. Choose low fat dairy products and use them sparingly.

And of course, it's important to keep our exercise levels up. Primitive people would have gotten a lot less exercise in the cold winters, but we don't have to rely on outdoor activities for our fitness. We can go to the gym or keep a stationary bike in the basement. That way, even if we eat a little more, we don't have to let it settle on our waistlines. We can avoid that pesky winter weight gain easily.

Green Tea For Weight Loss

Drinking green tea for weight loss is a popular option for anybody who wants to lose weight naturally. It is a simple, natural and cheap weight loss aid that can be drunk like any other herbal tea, sometimes with lemon, but usually without milk or sweeteners. You will find it in most grocery stores. And if you do not like the taste, you can find green tea extract in health food stores that can give you the effects of green tea for weight loss in capsule form.

So how does green tea help you to lose weight? First let's be clear that all weight loss aids must be used in conjunction with a healthy eating plan and/or an exercise program. To lose weight, a person must either eat less or exercise more. Nothing can help a person to lose weight if they keep on adding more and more fats and sugars to their diet and become less and less active.

Most weight loss aids work either by reducing the appetite, so that a person eats less, or by increasing the calorific output so that they burn more calories. Research studies have shown that green tea has the second effect: it is believed to help you to burn more calories by increasing the metabolic rate.

It does this by stimulating the body's thermogenesis process, which turns fat into energy. So using green tea for weight loss is believed to help your body burn fat. It works a little like the drug ephidrine but is not considered to have the same risks for heart health. Nevertheless, you should consult with a doctor before taking green tea for weight loss, especially if you have heart problems or other heath issues.

In theory, green tea can have a weight loss effect even if you do not change your diet. However, in practice, this effect would be slow, and there is a risk that a person who was not paying attention to their diet would simply eat more to compensate for the energy that is burned. So it is important to exercise some control around food and at least be sure that your calorie consumption has not increased.

You might also want to apply that extra energy by starting an exercise program. Regular exercise can assist with weight loss in two ways: first by burning calories while you exercise, and second by increasing the metabolic rate so that there is a slight increase in calories burned even when the body is at rest.

A good time to take green tea for weight loss is around 30-60 minutes before a meal. It does contain caffeine so it is best to reduce your consumption of coffee or regular tea by replacing those drinks with green tea. If you don't usually consume any caffeine, it is better not to drink green tea after midday so that it does not affect your sleep. Decaffeinated green tea is available but studies suggest that the fat-burning catechin is often removed along with the caffeine so using decaffeinated green tea for weight loss is not so effective.

How To Avoid Menopause Weight Gain

Menopause weight gain is something that many women experience. Men as well as women have a tendency to gain weight as they grow older and less active, but there is something special about the menopause for women. Not only are we likely to gain weight around age 50, but it starts to appear in different places. Even women who stay at the same weight will often find their middle section getting fatter.

This happens because the female hormone estrogen is present in much lower quantities in a post-menopausal woman. So the distribution of weight on a woman's body changes at this time to be more like a man's, that is, centered on the belly rather than the hips. Low estrogen may also be the reason for some extra weight gain, or at least a tendency to put on weight more easily. Dieting can become more of a struggle, too.

However, this does not mean that you should quit trying to have a healthy body within the normal weight range. It is possible to avoid menopause weight gain if you are aware of the dangers and resist the temptation to indulge in more high calorie foods. At the same time, it is important to keep up your levels of exercise.

This is important for other reasons as well as avoiding menopause weight gain. Exercise can help us to maintain a healthy heart at a time of life when the risk of heart attack for women rises massively. Women of childbearing age who carry fat on the hips rather than the belly have a lower risk of heart attack than men, but that changes at the menopause when more fat is stored on the torso.

Hormone replacement therapy or HRT can prevent these changes and help you to avoid menopause weight gain. However, it is only available in consultation with your doctor and is not recommended for everybody because there can be other risks associated with it. Besides, you cannot put off the menopause forever.

So what are some of the ways that you can avoid menopause weight gain? Here are a few tips.

1. Eat healthy, increasing your intake of fresh vegetables and fruit while reducing the amount of fat, sugar and packaged foods in your diet.

2. Take regular exercise including maintaining your muscle mass with strengthening workouts. It's natural that we take a little less exercise as we grow older, but it's important not to stop. Muscle that is not maintained will turn to fat.

3. Accept that there will be some changes in your body at this time. If your weight is within the normal range, do not panic if your weight measurement increases a little. This is redistribution of weight, not gain. If you are overweight, do not look for a crash diet but find a healthy eating plan that will serve you well for the rest of your life.

Of course, it is important to consult with your doctor before starting any weight loss or fitness program, especially if you have any health conditions. Your doctor will also be able to help you with menopause weight gain and how to avoid it.

10 Tips For Fast Weight Loss

 Check out our 10 tips for fast weight loss if you want to lose a few pounds quickly. There's no need to starve yourself or go hungry. Simply be more aware of what you eat, reduce your intake of fat and sugar, and fill up with vegetables and fruit. Here's how:

1. Write down everything that you eat or drink that contains calories, even if it's just a splash of milk in your coffee. You don't need to count the calories. Simply writing everything down will help you to see when those sneaky high calorie foods are creeping in and sabotaging your fast weight loss.

2. Make your own meals instead of relying on TV dinners and other packaged foods. Food manufacturers add salt and sugar to almost everything to make us want more and more.

3. Include at least two servings of vegetables in every main meal (not counting potatoes), or add a large salad with low fat dressing. Aim to eat more green, leafy vegetables. Fresh vegetables will help you to feel full and satisfy your body's need for vitamins and minerals, reducing cravings.

4. Cut your fat intake in half. Since you're not eating packaged foods any more, it's easy to do this. Measure the oil that you use for cooking and only use half as much. Spread butter very thinly. Switch to low fat milk. Cut visible fat off meat before cooking, and don't eat the skin.

5. Have sweet treats containing sugar no more than three times a week. If you are a sugar addict you may find this difficult at first but you will soon have much more appreciation for the sweetness in fruits and vegetables, and fast weight loss may be your reward.

6. Indulge yourself with plenty of fresh fruit. Grapes, cherries, berries, apples, mangoes and bananas are delicious replacements for the unhealthy desserts that most of us eat. Try them chopped into low fat sugar-free yogurt.

7. Try grated carrot for a snack. Mix in a chopped apple if you want. Grated carrot takes longer to eat than a whole carrot and because of this, it's way more satisfying.

8. Choose food that you can chew, and eat it slowly, putting down your fork between bites. Go for brown rice instead of white, whole fruit instead of juice, chunks of whole foods in your soup. The added fiber will fill you up and help the body to eliminate waste, and the act of chewing will make you feel more satisfied with your meal.

9. Plan your meals and your shopping. Think ahead and make a list of what you will need, then stick to it. To make this easier, never go to the grocery store when you are hungry. Or order your shopping online for delivery.

10. When you eat, just eat. Sit at the table, even if it's just for a snack. Don't eat while doing something else at the same time (watching TV, driving, reading, checking email). If you eat with others, of course you may talk, but try to avoid bringing up heavy or contentious subjects at meals. Arguments are not good for anybody's digestion and won't help your fast weight loss.