Atkins Diet
The Atkins diet has endured much controversy over the past fifteen or twenty years. Experts that recommend low fat diets were shocked that someone could propose a plan that was so high in fat. The Atkins diet has brought results to many, but has it been at the cost of their health?
The Atkins diet is a low carbohydrate, high protein diet plan that was developed by Dr. Richard Atkins. The first two weeks are the hardest as just about every carbohydrate is eliminated. Some vegetables are permitted, but the carbohydrate count each day must remain low.
On the other hand, during those first two weeks, dieters are allowed to eat eggs, bacon, and butter in huge quantities. Fatty cuts of meat in whatever cream sauce you can find are encouraged. This sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen but this was felt to be harmless and necessary to rid the body of its craving for carbohydrates.
The premise of the diet is to eliminate sugars, fast foods, and other undesirable foods. The restrictive phase of the diet is in place to train the body to burn stored fat instead of protein for fuel. No carbohydrates in the diet mean that the body will have to look to its own stores for energy.
Not all of the foods on the restricted list are bad for you. Fruits provide natural sugars that give a boost of energy. Green vegetables are sources of carbohydrates but they also supply the body with healthy nutrients for proper function.
Dieters can jumpstart their weight loss by reducing the carbohydrates they eat says the plan. If you like a lot of meat, then you won’t mind a diet with no significant carbohydrate consumption. The Atkins diet is similar to quitting something cold turkey. This method of eliminating carbs works for some, but others need a gradual approach to be successful.
Atkins’ dieters eat every few hours to keep their metabolism high. Drinking plenty of water is good for flushing out the system. Exercise regularly, but wait until after the first two weeks since you will consume a lot of fat during this time. All that fat floating around in your system is not compatible with high intensity workouts.
Regular foods are eaten on this plan, so no special grocery list needs to be made. For those are in love with bread, it is a good idea to remove all of the carbohydrates that are prohibited by the diet from the home removing the temptation to sneak. For those with children or other family members who are not participating in the Atkins diet this can be a huge challenge of willpower.
Popularity: 37% [?]
Visualization And Weight Loss - See The Pounds Drop Away!
The surprising fact is that many conditions can be improved by visualization and weight loss is one of them. It works like this: you keep a vision in your mind of how you want your body to look, and subconsciously you will begin acting in a way that will go in that direction. You become much more positive about your body, more accepting of your diet or fitness regime, and you will reach your weight goals more quickly and easily.
Effecting change through visualizing desired outcomes has become more and more acceptable in recent years. Psychologists do not understand exactly how it works but clearly the mind and body are not as separate as we often believe. It seems that if you truly want something it is more likely to happen - provided of course that it is something that is possible, and within your control. Visualization helps us to truly want to lose weight by creating a clear and happy picture of our fitter bodies. Without this we can often put psychological traps in our own path.
Many people who are overweight believe they cannot lose weight. Sometimes you may say it out loud, or hear friends say it about themselves. For other people this belief stays in the subconscious. But it is sure that it influences our behavior. Someone who believes it is impossible for her to lose weight will be constantly battling her own negativity when she is trying to diet. Her mind will be constantly telling her there is no point dieting, she cannot lose weight so she should just go ahead and eat everything she wants. Visualization is the strongest technique that we can use to overcome these negative thoughts and impulses.
If you are plagued by negativity either from your own mind or from the reactions of friends and family to your diet, go ahead and visualize yourself at your desired weight as often as you can. It works on the same level as all those negative voices and can annihilate their influence like nothing else can.
It is important to practice every day - morning and evening if you can. You just need to take a few minutes in a quiet place and keep an image in your mind of your body at its ideal weight. Some people can do this easily, others need some help. If you have a photograph of yourself at your ideal weight in the past, you may find it easier to look at that. Or use a photo from a magazine but cut off the person’s face. You need to visualize your own body, but thinner.
You can also visualize from the inside. Close your eyes and let your awareness focus on a part of your body - for example, your right thigh. Imagine it slowly becoming thinner in your mind’s eye. Then move to the other thigh, and on through the body. It may help to start at the feet and move up towards the head, or vice versa.
As you go about your work or daily chores, think of yourself as already at your ideal weight. Create your own affirmations and repeat them often, always in the present tense (”I am glad to be flexible, fit and slim”, not “I will …”). Enjoy the feeling of having a positive self-image. Over time, this will help you to keep to your weight loss plan. You will find that fatty foods are less attractive and exercise is more enjoyable.
While your weight loss will of course be gradual, the wonderful thing about visualization is that it gives you a new body image right away. Use visualization and weight loss to make you happier right now, today!
Popularity: 31% [?]
Does Alli Work?
Alli is the over-the-counter name for orlistat which is also available in prescription form as Xenical. If you are going to ask for it you may like to know that it is pronounced like ally, not alley. It is essentially a fat blocker. It works by preventing the body from absorbing the fat from the foods that we eat, and it is the one freely available drug that has FDA backing for its claims to aid weight loss. You might think you could eat all the fatty foods you liked and then take alli to negate the effect but sadly that is not true. It should always be used in conjunction with a low fat diet plan under the supervision of a doctor.
The amount of weight loss achieved with alli is variable. In one study involving one-year clinical trials, between 35.5% and 54.8% of subjects attained a 5% or greater decrease in body mass, although we do not know how much of this mass was fat. Between 16.4% and 24.8% of the subjects achieved a 10% or more decrease in body mass. In combination with a calorie controlled diet, the effects could be expected to be greater. It was also shown to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The participants regained an average of one third of the weight that they had lost after stopping alli, but this is typical of most dieters.
The main disadvantage of alli is the side effects which center around digestive and bowel problems. The higher the fat content in the diet, the greater these side effects are likely to be, as the undigested fat is expelled from the body. Flatulence, loose stools and bowel incontinence can result, especially in the early stages before the body is accustomed to the drug. The manufacturer’s website warns, “You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it’s probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work.” You really need to want to lose weight to take alli!
However these side effects are reduced if you stick to the recommended low fat diet and as the manufacturers hint, the potentially embarrassing side effects can even be helpful in encouraging you to keep to your diet. Always remember that alli does not claim to work without consistent efforts toward weight loss from you. What they do claim is that it can improve your weight loss by up to 50%. That would mean a person who lost 10 pounds without taking alli would lose 15 pounds taking it. It boosts your weight loss and rewards your efforts with better results than you could get by yourself. Note though that individual results will vary and are not guaranteed.
Sadly there is no magic diet pill that will melt away your excess pounds while you sleep, but alli is a pill that has documented results. If you are determined to lose weight and have been struggling with diets without much effect, it may be a good time to discuss it with your doctor and find out does alli work for you.
Popularity: 36% [?]
Slim Fast
Slim Fast has been around for a long time. It started when the liquid diet was growing in popularity. People followed plans that offered very little caloric intake and that was through beverages that were tasty but provided no lasting substance. Liquid diets are starvation diets that promise quick weight loss.
The Slim Fast plan advocates meal replacement. Flavorful shakes replace breakfast and lunch meals. Dinner is a sensible meal that represents all of the food groups in healthy portions.
The plan has evolved quite a bit over the years. Slim Fast offers not only shakes but also snack and meal replacement bars. They have expanded what can be eaten for the Slim Fast meals. The Slim Fast plan promotes weight loss through eating less and exercising more.
The Slim Fast bars are nutritionally balanced. They contain vitamins, minerals, and protein to help dieters fight off hunger during the day. The plan encourages participants to stay away from high fat foods like fast foods, fried foods, and processed snack foods. By eating healthier foods, weight loss occurs.
The shakes on the Slim Fast plan are measured and ready to drink. There are no powders to mix and no measuring to be done. Each shake contains a list of all of the vitamins and minerals they contain. When they started, the only flavor was French Vanilla. Now there are several chocolate varieties plus strawberry, banana, and orange cream. Slim Fast recognizes that taste is important for people trying to lose weight. A diet plan that sacrifices taste is prone to high failure rates.
Slim Fast also offers support for its dieters. Visit the Slim Fast website to find out more about the tools available to those that follow the plan. The program doesn’t leave dieters stranded after weight loss. They can learn how to replace those Slim Fast products with regular food and maintain their new weight.
Exercise is encouraged on the Slim Fast plan. Be careful about the activity that you choose. Walking is still the best exercise for overall body conditioning. Choosing an exercise program that is high intensity can lead to problems with hunger. The low calorie count of this plan does not fit with those who are professional athletes or who follow an exercise program that requires a greater amount of protein from their diet.
Participants can shop for food as normal. The shakes can get pricey since you are drinking two each day. The sensible dinner suits the entire family since well-balanced meals are healthy.
Popularity: 29% [?]
NutriSystem Diet
This diet has been all over the television. There is even one spokeswoman who says that she has lost weight twice with the program. People have lost as few as thirty-five pounds and as much as 125 pounds with the program.
NutriSystem started off with most of its clients being women. Now, they offer a men’s plan and a senior adult plan for both men and women. Their website also states that they have plans for vegetarian dieters and those suffering from Type II diabetes.
The NutriSystem diet is based on the glycemic index. This number is based on the affect different foods have on the blood sugar. Foods with a high glycemic index cause more insulin to be secreted therefore causing hunger to return quicker when these particular foods are consumed. Foods with a lower glycemic index lead to a more stable blood sugar and energy throughout the day. There are no spikes in insulin levels so you are less hungry and more satisfied with your meals.
This is a meal delivery plan. Food provided by NutriSystem is shipped to your home every four weeks. The process used to package the foods means that they do not need to be refrigerated. Easy to follow instructions tell you how to prepare each dish.
The food is proportioned to provide nutrients and low glycemic index foods. These “good carbs” cause rapid weight loss with very little effort. According to the commercials, those who use the plan say that the weight literally melted off of them.
The plan does encourage participants to add low fat milk and dairy, salads, and fruits to each NutriSystem meal. The main concern is the carbohydrates that we eat. Protein is protein, but carbohydrates aren’t all the same which is evidenced by the numbers reached through the glycemic index. Processed carbohydrates raise blood sugar, while those that are made of whole grains stabilize it.
The plan doesn’t shun exercise but it is designed to work without it. Exercise can only enhance this program since they are already giving you foods that are optimal for you. Whether weight loss will increase with activity is unknown.
The meal delivery program is expensive, but you may qualify for a payment plan. If you can afford to spend a few hundred dollars on yourself and then the same amount on the rest of your family each month, this may be the plan for you. NutriSystem requires no counting, recording of meals, or anything else like that. You just choose your meal, add some healthy extras, and eat.
Popularity: 40% [?]
![[Valid RSS]](images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
