Is obesity a world wide problem?

Obesity is a world wide problem. Scientist across our nations is consumed with studying this problem. In just the last decade, obesity seems to be the problem that's causing most of the diseases. It is no longer uncommon to find diseases like diabetes hitting kids. According to recent studies there are millions of kids below 18 who are getting diseases like diabetes. What shocked me the other day was a heart attack of a 22yr old boy. It scared me. With the growing rate of diseases, it seems like reaching the age of 50 in good health seems impossible for some of us.

The need of the hours is weight loss, rapid weight loss. Many people are resorting liposuction and other surgeries. I do not recommend going under the knife. I believe the best way to lose weight is to have a healthy diet and to exercise regularly. I do not recommend pills either. Obesity is a very treatable disease which does not require any kind of medication.

The first step in dealing with your obesity problem is recognizing you have a problem and realizing you need to do something about it. Some people are able to admit this fast enough while still others find it very difficult. Obesity is not always life threatening but if not taken care of it can become lethal. After realizing you have a problem, the nest step is to do something about it. You can choose what your next step will be, be it dieting, surgery, pills, gyming, exercising at home etc.

I recommend exercise. One of the most unconventional types of exercise is dancing. It may sound silly but it works. I have done this form of exercise and was surprised by the weight I lost. For women, I recommend you dance using high heels. It is a great way of exercising. You begin to sweat in just a few minutes. The famous Hollywood actress Kristie Alley knocked of most of her extra pounds doing this form of exercise. She now looks better than ever and is indeed still sexy and appealing to the opposite sex.

Dancing raises your heart rate whish is good. It also tones and tightens your muscles. Dancing helps you burn a lot of calories. You can lose as much or more calories dancing as compared to swimming, walking or riding a bike. Most of us hate the idea of exercising, it just doesn't seem fun. Dancing is unlike any other exercise. It is fun. You get to choose your music and dance according to it. Due its unconventional form, this method of exercise is very appealing. Since dancing does not involve only repeating the same steps again and again, it isn't monotonous. It doesn't seem like a routine and hence is the perfect option for exercise. Mind you, results are ever so fast. I recommend hip hop since the beats are fast and force you to dance fast. Every half hour of dancing will make you shed a few pounds. Go ahead and give this a shot. Dance your way into becoming slim and sexy.

Crockpot Recipes for Low-Fat Dieters

You may not believe this but there are actually a countless number of crock pot recipes for people who are on a low-fat diet. Apparently, such low fat crock pot recipes are intended for people who are watching their health and their weight very carefully. In this regard, we would want to share at least two of the low fat crock pot recipes that most dieters prefer to prepare.

Arroz Con Pollo is one type of a low fat crock pot recipe that we highly suggest. You will need to prepare such ingredients as two tablespoons of freshly chopped cilantro, two cups of cooked rice, ten ounces of frozen peas that have been thawed, two tablespoons of red wine, one half cup of chicken broth, eight pieces of chicken thighs that do not have skin, two teaspoons of chili powder, one teaspoon of oregano, one clove of crushed garlic, one fourth teaspoon of pepper, and one half teaspoon of salt.

Mix such ingredients as chili powder, oregano, garlic, pepper, and salt together in a bowl. Such spice mixture should be sprinkled all over the chicken pieces. Once each of the chicken pieces is sprinkled with the spice mixture, you may place all of them in a crock pot. The wine and the broth should then be poured all over the chicken pieces. Cover the crock pot and let it cook for at least five to six hours using low temperature. After five to six hours, remove the chicken and set the crock pot on high temperature. Add the peas soon thereafter and cover the crock pot again and let the ingredients be cooked for another seven to ten minutes. The cooked rice as well as the chicken should then be added into the crock pot. Before serving, make sure to sprinkle the freshly chopped cilantro on the dish.

Another low fat crock pot recipe that we suggest is the recipe for Basil Chicken. This is also an easy-to-prepare dish as it only requires few ingredients and can also be cooked while the crock pot is running unattended.

The ingredients include one half whole green pepper that is sliced, one can of cream of celery soup, one half teaspoon basil, one half teaspoon of pepper, and four whole chicken breasts that are skinless.

To begin the procedure for this low fat crock pot recipe, you must place first the skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot. The chicken should then be sprinkled with basil and pepper. The cream of celery soup should then be poured over the chicken pieces. Afterwards, the sliced green pepper should be placed on top of the chicken that is covered with soup. Cover the crock pot and let it cook for approximately eight hours. The crock pot should be set on low temperature for this low fat crock pot recipe. You do not have to wait for eight hours for this recipe to be cooked. There are instances when six or seven hours will do. This recipe only contains four grams of fat and is composed of 55 grams of protein and three grams of carbohydrates.

An idiot proof diet? It’s so simple!

This is an extremely popular diet among those who are planning to slim. This diet is also called the Fat loss 4 idiots diet. Why such a weird name you ask? Well this diet is so simple and easy to follow that even an idiot can get through it without any trouble. However, the scientific element is not so easy. This diet is based on the whole shifting calories method. 

The shifting calorie method is no new discovery. The shifting calorie diet works on the principle of our metabolism getting used to the type and quantity of food we intake. It is true. If you give your body a certain amount of time, your body will get accustomed to the diet you are following. That is the reason why you manage to lose weight when you follow low-fat, low-carbohydrates and low-protein diets. Do it long enough and your body will get accustomed to it and you will shed no more weight. Our bodies have been made in such a way that our metabolism adjusts fast enough to the changes we make, be it eating less of carbohydrates, fats and proteins or eating a different quantity of food as compared to before. 

In order for any diet to work, it needs to keep the metabolism of our body at a very high level. Is your diet is giving you a slow metabolism, it just means it is going to take all that more time to burn down your fat. You need a high metabolism in order to burn out more fats. Another minus point about slow metabolism diets is that once you are off the diet, you gain back all the weight and even faster. 

The perfect diet would be, one that keeps changing your metabolism, giving your body no chance to get used to it. That is exactly what the shifting calorie method is all about. You keep changing your eating routine and that indeed leads to high metabolism which then reacts into weight loss. Makes sense doesn’t it? The idiot proof diet is formed along the same lines. The diet offers you a different list of rules to follow. The diet encourages you to eat 4 meals a day. The type of food you eat at every meal will be rotated ensuring that your metabolism is high and your fat is being burned out. 

The good news about this idiot proof diet is that it involves no exercise at all. I’m sure I’ve captured your full attention here. Yes, indeed no exercise. This diet does something special; it claims to help you lose 9lbs in just 11 days. Awesome isn’t it? On an average, many people who have done this diet have lost up to 9lbs in 11 days. That too is good enough. 

The idiot proof diet is everything it claims to be. But remember you are only going to get results if you stay committed to the plan. You need to follow it strictly and religiously.

A review of the fat loss 4 idiots diet

Fat loss 4 idiots is a new diet plan that claims to  help or rather make you lose 9 pounds in just 11 days. Although the advised average weight loss is between 3 to 4 pounds per week this diet is an ideal approach to kick start yourself to a new you. Losing 9  pounds within 11 days would keep King Kong on track so what’s wrong with average Joe or plan Jane jumping onto the bandwagon of slim and sexy forever.

So does this diet actually work? Can you shed 9 pounds in 11 days?

Personally I believe this diet to be great! I think this one diet among several that really advertises the truth. Yes you can shed 9 pounds in just 11 days. Why am I so confident about this diet? I myself have done it. 

Why does this diet work? How is it different from other diets?

This diet is based on the principle of shifting calories. This diet recognizes that our body has an amazing adjusting capacity. Our metabolism adjusts really quickly to the quantity of food we eat and hence speeds up or slows down accordingly. Our body builds a certain tolerance to certain foods and prioritizes what needs to be burned first and what can be burnt slower. Normally calories are first burned before the fat. 

Most diets don’t work because they are aware of the fact that calories are burnt before fats and hence advice lower calorie intake. But what they do not realize is that our body is extremely clever. If you reduce your intake of calories even for a month, your body adjusts to it and your metabolism will not reduce too much fat. 

The fat loss 4 idiots diet is not focused on the calories you consume but works on a special calorie eating system.

This diet encourages you to have not 3 but 4 meals everyday for the 11 days. It does not restrict you from many foods. It encourages you to eat a certain type of food one week and eat a different type of food the next week. It basically aims at tricking our metabolism which indeed is a quick and clever learner. If we eat different types of food every week, our body will not have room to adjust to any type. Thus our metabolism will be high and hence causing the burning of fats. Remember the higher your metabolism, the more fats will be burned. Say for example we eat about 2,500 calories and suddenly switch to 200 calories, our body may still read it as 2500 calories and thus burn fat in the bargain.  

If you are overweight or obese, and you want to lose weight, give this diet a try. It is only an 11 day diet. You can also resume the diet after 3 days. And on those 3 days you can eat whatever you care to eat. This diet is fairly easy to follow. It allows you to eat fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates and proteins. Believe you me, this is a very easy diet to follow and what is more, the results actually show at the end of the diet.

A Fitness Routine for Six Pak Abs

The goal of six pack abs mainly depends upon losing weight by completing exercises that focus on the muscles in the abdominal area. There are literally dozens of such exercises including many that are meant for other major muscle groups, but that can be modified to include a workout for your abdominal muscles. Here are just a few of the major abdominal emphasis exercises.

CRUNCHES

Crunches are done by lying on the floor either on a mat or not, with your arms crossed in front of your chest. Many people do crunches with the hands behind the head, but this can create lower back problems because of the pull on the head and neck. A slightly different position has the finger tips placed behind the ears, rather than crossed on the chest. It is important not to pull on the neck or on the ears for assistance in rising off the floor. Instead, suck the abdomen back toward the spine and inhale through the nose at the same time. Raise the shoulders toward the knees using only the muscles in the abdomen. The entire back should not be lifted from the floor, as this is likely to create back strain. No additional benefit to the abdomen is gained by raising the entire torso. The key part of the crunch is the initial flexing of the abdominal muscles as the shoulders are lifted off the floor. As the shoulders clear the floor, exhale through your mouth. Complete the exhalation with a gasp to expel the last of the air from the lungs as your shoulders stay clear of the floor. Lower the shoulders back to the point where the shoulder blade touches the ground while inhaling. It is important to maintain the proper breathing control and muscle flexing to get maximum benefit from crunches.

SIT UPS

Once again start in a position on the floor with your feet flat and your knees bent. The fingers should be placed behind the ears, or you can cross your arms on your chest. Slowly raise the entire back off the floor while inhaling deeply and exhale as you reverse the move. This exercise can be made more challenging in several ways. For instance, you can do sit ups from an incline with your head lower than your lower body. You can then add weights on the chest to lift while you are sitting up. Weights can become heavier on an incline bench. The next difficult step can be attained by holding the feet off the ground while doing sit ups or making a bicycle peddling motion while doing sit ups with your legs. These exercises may not be easy, but are very beneficial to the abdominal area.

LEG LIFTS

Leg lifts begin with the legs straight and the hands at your sides while lying on the floor. Lift both legs up at the same time without bending the knees until the legs are at a ninety degree angle or a close as possible. Not everyone is flexible enough to reach the ninety degree angle. Lower the legs as close as possible to the floor without actually touching and repeat several times. Increase the challenge of this exercise by adding weights to the legs while lifting them. Another challenging exercise for improving definition and musculature in the abdomen is to hang from a pull up bar while lifting both legs to a ninety-degree position. As with most other exercises, try to stay conscious of breathing while slowly doing the routines.

JACKKNIFE SIT UPS

This exercise begins by lying flat on the floor with the hands at your sides in order to provide better balance. At the same time you raise your knees, bring your torso up slowly till the face and knees meet. Return slowly to the original position while in full control of the movement. The jackknife name comes from the natural tendency of the legs to bend at the knee with the feet dropping to the hips presenting the shape of a jackknife. The difficulty level of this position can be increased by holding a weight between the feet while performing the sit ups.

V UPS

This exercise begins with you on your back on the floor with the arms extended over your head. Bring both legs and torso up at the same time without bending the knees or the arms. Keep the pace slow and steady and reach for your feet with your extended hands at the top of the arc. If possible, try to touch your feet, but this move can be tricky until your level of flexibility increases. As with other exercises, adding weight between the feet increases the difficulty level.

Weight Loss Plan

The voluptuous, round women and sweaty, husky men stood in rows, shoulder to shoulder, jammed into what was normally considered the "aerobics" room. The only exit was a small glass door in the back corner so anyone who dared to enter was stuck in a crowded room to jump-start their new years resolutions. Sweat poured as my mother shouted commands at the crowd of the throng of men and women in colorful spandex.

That is a mental picture of what I remember from the late 1980s when my mother was an aerobics instructor. I was left to fend for myself in the children's room and watch Nickelodeon while she would teach the sweating masses how to use a step bench. The classes held right after New Years Eve were not only the most crowded, they were also the most entertaining. I watched in amazement in the 1980s and I am still amazed to this day what people will do to lose weight. What is more shocking is how people who want to lose weight will allow their dreams and resolutions burn out quicker than a cherry bomb on New Years Eve. Days would pass and the classes would dwindle down with only the regulars left over, still maintaining their already svelte physiques and a few men occasionally joining in for a 15-minute abdominal work-out.

No one should let their resolutions die like those huffing and puffing patrons in the back of the aerobics room in the 80s. With all the diet and exercise hype surrounding us as we approach 2008, is it logical to assume that losing weight shouldn't be so complicated? Diet and exercise plans can be impractical and overwhelming, causing people to lose faith and motivation. Houston Weight Loss Centers have finally come to the rescue in Houston, Texas with answers and solutions for a variety of people who want to lose weight and look great in 2008! With its popularity increasing at a rapid rate on the Internet and by word of mouth, many people are flocking to see what Houston Weight Loss Centers have to offer. 

Houston Weight Loss Centers have an easy start up plan for $99 in 2008! This includes a consultation, blood work, body composition analysis, appetite suppressant prescription and free Lipo B injection! Of course that's not all, Houston Weight Loss Centers have experienced staff to help and support you on your journey to losing pounds and keeping them off. 

Maybe the crowded aerobics room is a familiar picture for you, something you have seen one too many times every year you try to start a new weight loss program. There is a possibility that the crowded aerobics room is only another weight loss clinic that makes cattle calls for it's new patients waiting in line, only leaving them feeling drained and frustrated. It is time to put the visions of colorful spandex and round bodies to rest. Be the healthy, fit person you are on the inside and let Houston Weight Loss Centers show you how to be healthy and fit on the outside. Happy New Year!

Using Hypnosis to Lose Weight - How Effective is It?

Why does hypnosis help with weight loss?
It’s becoming more and more common nowadays to turn to hypnosis when we want to achieve a goal. We may want to quit smoking, rid ourselves of phobias or lose weight – in all these cases hypnosis offers a proven and successful solution. So why does hypnosis work?

If you look at hypnosis for weight loss then the reasons behind the success of this method becomes clear. If you suffer from weight problems – whether you yo-yo diet or can’t seem to find the motivation to get on a diet that suits you – then you probably already know that your problem isn’t really your weight at the end of the day. The problem is more likely to rest with you.

In the majority of cases people cannot lose weight effectively because of some psychological issue that prevents them from achieving their goal. You may, for example, naturally crave unhealthy foods rather than healthy ones. Eating unhealthy foods here may make you happier and more comfortable. Or, you may eat the wrong foods or the wrong amount of food whenever you are stressed, unhappy or uncomfortable. In either case hypnosis can help.

Hypnosis helps here because it goes straight to the root of the problem – your unhealthy eating patterns – and helps modify your behavior. So, after this kind of treatment your mind won’t tell you to eat sugary or fatty foods – it will tell you to eat healthy ones. And, your mind won’t tell you to reach for a snack when you’re worried or stressed but instead will give you an alternative ways to manage stress. This behavior modification is the key to successful weight loss – and keeping it off.

How do I know hypnosis works?

Hypnosis is a scientifically accredited method of helping people overcome all kinds of difficulties. For example, in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (Vol.64, No.3) in 1996 a study showed that the average weight loss without hypnosis was 6.03 pounds. With hypnosis average weight loss came in at 14.88 pounds. So, with hypnosis you can double your weight loss with no extra effort.

And, because hypnosis modifies your behavior at source then you stand a far greater chance of keeping the weight off rather than putting it on again. A study that appeared in the Journal of Clinical Psychology (41) in 1985 tested a group of people who used hypnosis to lose weight and a group who did not. Whilst both groups lost weight during the study the hypnosis group continued to lose weight after the study had finished and achieved their weight loss goals. The group that did not have the behavior modification benefits of hypnosis did not achieve this.