Herbal Health » Weight Loss

YOUTH NUTRIENTS: FRUIT AND VEGGIE DEFICIENCY & RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCESFRUIT AND VEGGIE DEFICIENCY

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:51:17 +0000

You’ve heard of deficiencies before? That’s when you don’t get enough of a certain nutrient. Well, here’s a Fountain of Youth deficiency and one thj, way too many of us suffer from.Fifty per cent of Americans don’t eat a single veggie or piece of fruit-ever. Ninety per cent of Americans don’t get their five-a-day servings of fruits and veggies.RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCESWell, here’s the beginning of the controversy. What’s an RDA? Recommended Dietary Allowances are “levels of intake of essential nutrients considered … to be adequate to meet the known nutritional need of practically all healthy persons”. The RDA for antioxidants is set in such way as to prevent disease from a serious deficiency. However, the RDAs are not set to take into account special needs such as the fighting of infections, strenuous exercise, chronic illness or injury. The RDA is also not set for longevity doses. So most experts agree that it is safe to get more than the RDA for the major antioxidants. In fact, most experts now recommend a longevity dose of antioxidant protection.*63\323\8*

HYPERTENSION: GET THE CUFFS ON HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

admin — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:05:03 +0000

Fortunately, high blood pressure is not the end of the world. It is easily detected and, though not curable, it is usually controllable. Millions of people continue to lead normal lives after being diagnosed with hypertension. You can, too. What’s important is that you don’t dump the entire job on your doctor’s shoulders. Controlling your blood pressure requires a working partnership — you and your doctor. And some steps only you can take. So don’t sit back — get involved.

Drop that load! If you lose excess weight you immediately

ease the strain on your heart — blood pressure can fall within

weeks of excess weight being shed.

Cut out smoking. We’ve already told you what it does to your heart.

Limit alcohol. Since research findings indicate that drinking alcohol in excess may increase your blood pressure, if you do drink limit your intake to a maximum of two drinks a day (or, better yet, follow your doctor’s advice).

Get Physical. Exercise appears to have a modest effect on hypertension, especially borderline hypertension, though it is seldom enough by itself. But check with your doctor before beginning an exercise programme. Keep the intensity light to moderate. Different kinds of exercise (ranging from aerobic, such as brisk walking or cycling, to strength training with light weights) appear to be beneficial. But strenuous exercise, such as isometric exercises (pushing against a wall or pressing palms together to build strength) is not advisable; studies have shown it can cause a dramatic rise in blood pressure.

Ease off! Meditation has been shown in studies to help lower blood pressure. There are various routes to meditation. Transcendental Meditation is one of them; it involves clearing the mind of all thoughts while silently repeating a mantra. Yoga and breathing exercises have also been shown to be useful routes to relaxation.

However, while all these stress – reducing measures may bring blood pressure down temporarily, their benefit in permanently reducing b.p. is still not known. At the least, though, they are helpful adjuncts to other lifestyle changes.

Get regular medical check-ups. Even if you take regular pressure readings at home, it’s important to also visit your doctor as a back-up. (For one thing, your home b.p. kit may be malfunctioning and you may not even be aware of it).

Also, you need to know what your target blood pressure is and how soon you should try to reach it. The goal of drug therapy is not necessarily to lower pressure as much as possible; one study found that fewer people had heart attacks when they had a moderate — rather than a large — drug-induced drop in pressure.

Tell your doctor about any side-effect or other problem you may be having with the prescribed medication or with any other aspect of the therapy. If one drug or drug combination isn’t working, he may be able to prescribe another. Or you may need to do

some tests. Tell your doctor about any recent symptoms or even

just any changes in the way you feel. Ask any question that you

might want to ask. As they say, the only stupid question is the one

you didn’t ask.

After each visit to your doctor, note your blood pressure and weight on a chart or at least in your diary.

Your active, ongoing involvement in your treatment is essential!

Cut back on Salt. It is now known that only half of all hypertensives are salt-sensitive, (that is, their blood pressure is significantly affected by their salt intake). Still, physicians advise all hypertensives, and in fact all those at risk for hypertension, to restrict salt intake. With good reason. We have no easy means yet of knowing who is salt-sensitive and who is not until someone is actually battling hypertension and can see how it responds to increased or decreased salt intake. To wait until this happens before cutting back on salt may be bad advice for the high-risk group. It has been noted that, in the industrialized world where salt intake is high, people tend to become hypertensive as they grow older, regardless of other risk factors. It may be that, in sodium-sensitive people, a high intake of salt during the years that they haven’t yet been diagnosed with hypertension may in fact weaken their genetic defenses against the illness. It can’t hurt anyone to restrict sodium intake during the years that their blood pressure is still normal — and it may help at least half of them to stay that way. (Those who are elderly tend to experience greater reductions in blood pressure after they cut back on salt).

Here are practical ways to wage war on sodium:

Toss away your salt-shaker.

Use less — or no — salt in cooking or preparing dishes like salads, sauces and dips, and flavour up instead with a whole kitchen shelf of other options: herbs like coriander, parsley and mint, spices like pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, mustard, flavours like vinegar, lime juice and wine.

Cut back on processed foods which are a prime source of sodium in our diets today: wafers, farsan, ketchup and sauces (some, like soya sauce, more particularly), pickles, packaged soups, baked beans, cheeses, breakfast cereals, cold cuts. The list is endless. (See the box titled, “Sodium Highs & Lows” to get an idea of the range you’re up against).

Read food labels carefully. Sodium goes under many names,

‘salt’ or ‘common salt’ being only one of them. If any of the following ingredients appears high up on a food label, that item is

avoidably high in sodium: monosodium glutamate (or aji-no-moto, the name we more familiarly know it by), baking soda, soda bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate,

Include more fruits and vegetables in your diet. They are naturally low in sodium and have flavours of their own to compensate.

Slowly does it…. give yourself time to get used to a low-salt diet. In a few weeks, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that most foods taste better — it’s just that you’re beginning to savour their natural flavours, unsquelched by the over-powering taste of salt. In fact it’s a safe bet that you’ll begin to find salty foods unpleasant to the taste!

Go Bananas. Four bananas a day can help to keep your heart healthy, says American cardiac specialist Milton Packer of Mount Sinai Medical School, predicting that warnings to hypertensives against potassium deficiency will soon rival those against excessive salt.

His conviction is based on the findings of recent research which indicate that getting enough potassium in your diet is at least as important as cutting back on sodium, if not more. In one investigation at Temple University School of Medicine in the U.S., men with normal blood pressure were divided into two groups, one fed on a normal diet for nine days, the other put on a diet that was deficient in potassium. The latter group showed a significant rise in blood pressure.

Other studies of large populations show that the lower the average intake of potassium, the higher the average blood pressure.

How does potassium help to regulate blood pressure? The thinking is that insufficient amounts of this mineral may promote sodium retention in the body, which can lead to hypertension in the long run. So-called “salt-sensitivity”, it is felt, may actually be an acquired condition caused by chronic potassium deficiency – and not a genetic condition as was initially believed.

Besides bananas, other good sources of potassium are beans, potatoes cooked with their skins, water melons, oranges, apricots and chicken.

(If you’re on one type of b.p. drugs known as diuretics, you may even need a potassium supplement because this drug can deplete potassium stores — but first check it out with your doctor.)

Take your medication regularly. This is one of the most commonly-neglected steps in hypertension control. Though lifestyle changes are necessary and helpful, for many hypertensives they do not go far enough. In fact, treatment for blood pressure often involves taking medication every day for the rest of your life. Sometimes several times a day. Sometime more than one drug. And that’s a daunting prospect for many people. Especially since each drug comes with its own complement of potential side-effects — ranging from headaches and dizziness to insomnia and impotence. Because hypertension usually has no symptoms that would serve as a reminder, some people simply just forget to take their medication. Others feel that because they’re not being in any way troubled by their hypertension, it’s okay to miss a dose now and then.

It’s not: studies show that even short-term bouts of hypertension can accelerate the formation of plaque in blood vessel walls. And there is enough evidence to show that medication dramatically improves survival rates for both, young and middle-aged hypertensives. That is why it’s important to take your medication exactly as your doctor’s ordered it — even if you feel perfectly fit.

Try to develop a way in which you’ll remember to take your medication — use a watch with a timer (or an alarm clock if you must); ask a family member to remind you; take your medication in conjunction with some other activity you engage in everyday — just before you have your morning bath, for instance. If you take a drug in multiple daily doses, ask your doctor if it’s available in a once-daily formulation. It’s easier to remember to take just one pill a day.

Even if you’re on medication, the lifestyle changes we suggested above can help the drug work better, or can help keep the dosage down.

*59\332\2*

HYPERTENSION: GET THE CUFFS ON HIGH BLOOD PRESSUREFortunately, high blood pressure is not the end of the world. It is easily detected and, though not curable, it is usually controllable. Millions of people continue to lead normal lives after being diagnosed with hypertension. You can, too. What’s important is that you don’t dump the entire job on your doctor’s shoulders. Controlling your blood pressure requires a working partnership — you and your doctor. And some steps only you can take. So don’t sit back — get involved.Drop that load! If you lose excess weight you immediatelyease the strain on your heart — blood pressure can fall withinweeks of excess weight being shed.Cut out smoking. We’ve already told you what it does to your heart.Limit alcohol. Since research findings indicate that drinking alcohol in excess may increase your blood pressure, if you do drink limit your intake to a maximum of two drinks a day (or, better yet, follow your doctor’s advice).Get Physical. Exercise appears to have a modest effect on hypertension, especially borderline hypertension, though it is seldom enough by itself. But check with your doctor before beginning an exercise programme. Keep the intensity light to moderate. Different kinds of exercise (ranging from aerobic, such as brisk walking or cycling, to strength training with light weights) appear to be beneficial. But strenuous exercise, such as isometric exercises (pushing against a wall or pressing palms together to build strength) is not advisable; studies have shown it can cause a dramatic rise in blood pressure.Ease off! Meditation has been shown in studies to help lower blood pressure. There are various routes to meditation. Transcendental Meditation is one of them; it involves clearing the mind of all thoughts while silently repeating a mantra. Yoga and breathing exercises have also been shown to be useful routes to relaxation.However, while all these stress – reducing measures may bring blood pressure down temporarily, their benefit in permanently reducing b.p. is still not known. At the least, though, they are helpful adjuncts to other lifestyle changes.Get regular medical check-ups. Even if you take regular pressure readings at home, it’s important to also visit your doctor as a back-up. (For one thing, your home b.p. kit may be malfunctioning and you may not even be aware of it).Also, you need to know what your target blood pressure is and how soon you should try to reach it. The goal of drug therapy is not necessarily to lower pressure as much as possible; one study found that fewer people had heart attacks when they had a moderate — rather than a large — drug-induced drop in pressure.Tell your doctor about any side-effect or other problem you may be having with the prescribed medication or with any other aspect of the therapy. If one drug or drug combination isn’t working, he may be able to prescribe another. Or you may need to dosome tests. Tell your doctor about any recent symptoms or evenjust any changes in the way you feel. Ask any question that youmight want to ask. As they say, the only stupid question is the oneyou didn’t ask.After each visit to your doctor, note your blood pressure and weight on a chart or at least in your diary.Your active, ongoing involvement in your treatment is essential!Cut back on Salt. It is now known that only half of all hypertensives are salt-sensitive, (that is, their blood pressure is significantly affected by their salt intake). Still, physicians advise all hypertensives, and in fact all those at risk for hypertension, to restrict salt intake. With good reason. We have no easy means yet of knowing who is salt-sensitive and who is not until someone is actually battling hypertension and can see how it responds to increased or decreased salt intake. To wait until this happens before cutting back on salt may be bad advice for the high-risk group. It has been noted that, in the industrialized world where salt intake is high, people tend to become hypertensive as they grow older, regardless of other risk factors. It may be that, in sodium-sensitive people, a high intake of salt during the years that they haven’t yet been diagnosed with hypertension may in fact weaken their genetic defenses against the illness. It can’t hurt anyone to restrict sodium intake during the years that their blood pressure is still normal — and it may help at least half of them to stay that way. (Those who are elderly tend to experience greater reductions in blood pressure after they cut back on salt).Here are practical ways to wage war on sodium:Toss away your salt-shaker.Use less — or no — salt in cooking or preparing dishes like salads, sauces and dips, and flavour up instead with a whole kitchen shelf of other options: herbs like coriander, parsley and mint, spices like pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, mustard, flavours like vinegar, lime juice and wine.Cut back on processed foods which are a prime source of sodium in our diets today: wafers, farsan, ketchup and sauces (some, like soya sauce, more particularly), pickles, packaged soups, baked beans, cheeses, breakfast cereals, cold cuts. The list is endless. (See the box titled, “Sodium Highs & Lows” to get an idea of the range you’re up against).Read food labels carefully. Sodium goes under many names,’salt’ or ‘common salt’ being only one of them. If any of the following ingredients appears high up on a food label, that item isavoidably high in sodium: monosodium glutamate (or aji-no-moto, the name we more familiarly know it by), baking soda, soda bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate,Include more fruits and vegetables in your diet. They are naturally low in sodium and have flavours of their own to compensate.Slowly does it…. give yourself time to get used to a low-salt diet. In a few weeks, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that most foods taste better — it’s just that you’re beginning to savour their natural flavours, unsquelched by the over-powering taste of salt. In fact it’s a safe bet that you’ll begin to find salty foods unpleasant to the taste!Go Bananas. Four bananas a day can help to keep your heart healthy, says American cardiac specialist Milton Packer of Mount Sinai Medical School, predicting that warnings to hypertensives against potassium deficiency will soon rival those against excessive salt.His conviction is based on the findings of recent research which indicate that getting enough potassium in your diet is at least as important as cutting back on sodium, if not more. In one investigation at Temple University School of Medicine in the U.S., men with normal blood pressure were divided into two groups, one fed on a normal diet for nine days, the other put on a diet that was deficient in potassium. The latter group showed a significant rise in blood pressure.Other studies of large populations show that the lower the average intake of potassium, the higher the average blood pressure.How does potassium help to regulate blood pressure? The thinking is that insufficient amounts of this mineral may promote sodium retention in the body, which can lead to hypertension in the long run. So-called “salt-sensitivity”, it is felt, may actually be an acquired condition caused by chronic potassium deficiency – and not a genetic condition as was initially believed.Besides bananas, other good sources of potassium are beans, potatoes cooked with their skins, water melons, oranges, apricots and chicken.(If you’re on one type of b.p. drugs known as diuretics, you may even need a potassium supplement because this drug can deplete potassium stores — but first check it out with your doctor.) Take your medication regularly. This is one of the most commonly-neglected steps in hypertension control. Though lifestyle changes are necessary and helpful, for many hypertensives they do not go far enough. In fact, treatment for blood pressure often involves taking medication every day for the rest of your life. Sometimes several times a day. Sometime more than one drug. And that’s a daunting prospect for many people. Especially since each drug comes with its own complement of potential side-effects — ranging from headaches and dizziness to insomnia and impotence. Because hypertension usually has no symptoms that would serve as a reminder, some people simply just forget to take their medication. Others feel that because they’re not being in any way troubled by their hypertension, it’s okay to miss a dose now and then.It’s not: studies show that even short-term bouts of hypertension can accelerate the formation of plaque in blood vessel walls. And there is enough evidence to show that medication dramatically improves survival rates for both, young and middle-aged hypertensives. That is why it’s important to take your medication exactly as your doctor’s ordered it — even if you feel perfectly fit.Try to develop a way in which you’ll remember to take your medication — use a watch with a timer (or an alarm clock if you must); ask a family member to remind you; take your medication in conjunction with some other activity you engage in everyday — just before you have your morning bath, for instance. If you take a drug in multiple daily doses, ask your doctor if it’s available in a once-daily formulation. It’s easier to remember to take just one pill a day.Even if you’re on medication, the lifestyle changes we suggested above can help the drug work better, or can help keep the dosage down.*59\332\2*

GETTING READY FOR A NEW LIFE: HOW THIS PROGRAM DIFFERS FROM OTHER DIETS YOU’VE BEEN ON

admin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 09:54:20 +0000

I am sure that what you want out of this program is to overcome your binge-eating problem, lose weight, and be able to keep your weight off and under control. All of these results are possible. However, this is a program of total change and not a diet.

You must realize that your major problem, the problem that keeps you from losing weight and keeping it off, is binge eating. Binge eating and not being overweight is the problem we will focus on. Of course, the two are related and as you control your binge eating you will lose weight. You must remember that no diet will help you as long as you binge. This is very important because in the past you have tried to solve your problem through dieting. This program will help you control bingeing and lose weight but changing the binge eating is our first priority.

Because of this, you will not be following a strict diet on this program. This will be new to you at first. Strict diets actually have been your downfall and have been responsible for your binges. There are three forms of dieting that have hurt you in the past. We must change all of these and not allow them to happen ever again. They are:

1. Avoidance of eating for long periods of time

2. Excessive restriction of total number of calories

3. Avoidance of eating “forbidden” foods

*58\358\8*

GETTING READY FOR A NEW LIFE: HOW THIS PROGRAM DIFFERS FROM OTHER DIETS YOU’VE BEEN ONI am sure that what you want out of this program is to overcome your binge-eating problem, lose weight, and be able to keep your weight off and under control. All of these results are possible. However, this is a program of total change and not a diet.You must realize that your major problem, the problem that keeps you from losing weight and keeping it off, is binge eating. Binge eating and not being overweight is the problem we will focus on. Of course, the two are related and as you control your binge eating you will lose weight. You must remember that no diet will help you as long as you binge. This is very important because in the past you have tried to solve your problem through dieting. This program will help you control bingeing and lose weight but changing the binge eating is our first priority.Because of this, you will not be following a strict diet on this program. This will be new to you at first. Strict diets actually have been your downfall and have been responsible for your binges. There are three forms of dieting that have hurt you in the past. We must change all of these and not allow them to happen ever again. They are:1. Avoidance of eating for long periods of time2. Excessive restriction of total number of calories3. Avoidance of eating “forbidden” foods*58\358\8*

THE WEIGHT IS OVER

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:10:42 +0000

I’ve written quite a few words, explained many principles, and reviewed scientific studies. Now there’s only more thing to say. Actually, I’ve already said it but I’ll repeat myself, for it is the single most important part of this or any other program: You can do it! As Ralph Waldo Emerson noted, we are what we think all day long. If we think of ourselves as being slim and healthy, easily able to follow the Fat Blocker Program, then we are well on our way toward accomplishing our goals.

But, of course, Emerson didn’t mean that we could accomplish the impossible. To fly, you need an airplane. Believing otherwise is delusional madness. And to lose weight and keep it off permanently, the equivalent of the airplane is Chitosan. With the means to succeed and the belief in ourselves, success is all but assured.

The first step in losing weight and living healthfully is to master the principles of blocking fat and to establish clearly the ultimate goal—that lighthouse beacon I wrote about earlier—by which we should steer. As Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else.” So, keep your goals in mind. With your mind’s eye, see yourself as being slim and healthy, confident and relaxed as you enjoy healthful, tasty, low-fat meals that satisfy and please you. Without Chitosan, this might be an unrealistic goal, a fantasy bound to lead to disappointment. But with this product, your dream can be simple reality. You can now afford to walk, talk, act, think, feel, and behave as if you were already successful at losing that undesired weight. You can act on the assumption that you will soon be slim and need never be fat again. And the reason you can act with such assurance is that with Chitosan it is true. Slowly and

steadily, you will lose weight—and keep it off.

You now have the everyday tools for success. Move in the direction of the dietary plans I’ve laid out. If you don’t get all the way there, don’t worry about it. You’ll still lose weight, only more slowly. But you have a long life ahead of you, so whether you lose weight a little faster or slower is really not that important. (You’ll probably live longer now anyhow, so you’ll still have the time to enjoy your slimmed down body.)

To the extent that you (like most of us) cannot stick to the ideal diet, use Chitosan to compensate. And use some extra to help you with occasional splurges. In other words, live an ordinary, sensible life, enjoy your food, balance it as well as you can, eat less than you did before, and keep doing it indefinitely because it is easy and practical to do so. Gradually, but inexorably, your weight will drop to safe and healthy levels. More important, your overall health will improve as you absorb less fat, thus reducing your risk of suffering from the killer diseases such as heart and brain attacks, cancer and diabetes, gallstones, arthritis problems associated with obesity, and other ailments.

Don’t forget to exercise regularly. Once you get into the habit and see how great you feel, you’ll want to exercise. Don’t push too hard; the desire will grow organically, in spite of itself. In fact, as long as you do more exercise than before, you will be all right. Pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone will prove counterproductive. You want to keep exercising. You won’t be able to do that unless you enjoy it. Eventually, exercise will become an important part of your life, not just an adjunct. For it really is important: It can save your life.

Be sure to talk to your doctor about the antioxidants and
other supplements discussed in this book. I have described a minimum amount that I believe is necessary to promote optimal health, to slow the aging process, to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other problems, and to keep the immune system strong. Your needs may vary, so talk to your nutritionally oriented physician soon.

Remember, always keep your larger goal in sight. It is excellent physical health and a body that is naturally well-proportioned, energetic, and smoothly functional. If you are seriously overweight now—and especially if you have been for quite a while—this may seem farfetched indeed. But don’t worry. As Shakespeare said, “Assume the virtue, if you have it not.” Approach the program with enthusiasm. How can you not feel enthusiastic about a program that, perhaps for the first time in your life, offers you an easier, realistic way to eliminate that excess fat without surgery, without dangerous drugs, and without a diet plan so intense you know going in it won’t work for very long. But if you’re enthusiastic now, just imagine how enthusiastic you’ll be as you find yourself losing weight and gaining health … as you realize that Chitosan really does work as I’ve assured you it will.

*160\29\2*

THE MCDOUGALL PROGRAM FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS8

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:08:04 +0000

Dr. John McDougall is a very likable man. I’ve been a guest on his radio program and I admire his desire to prevent disease. At the age of 18 he suffered a stroke that left him partially

paralyzed on his left side, and at 25 he underwent exploratory surgery for severe abdominal problems. He developed his McDougall Program to help himself heal, and later prescribed it to his patients. I like the basis of his plan, which emphasizes vegetables, fruits, and complex carbohydrates. For most people who simply want to lose weight, however, his otherwise sound program is too difficult to follow because it’s too restrictive. However, without the excessive restriction and with the addition of Chitosan, this program is really sound. It happens to be what the Fat Blocker Program is all about!

The zone¹²-Barry Sears’ best-selling diet asserts that carbohydrates are the primary villain in the battle against fat and disease. “All conventional weight reduction diets are hormonally incorrect,” he says, insisting that the key to achieving great physical, mental, and emotional health is learning “how to control hormonal responses to food.” That’s your passport into what he calls the
zone. To get into the zone, Dr. Sears tells you to eat a Zone-favorable diet from which you receive 30 percent of your calories from fat, 30 percent from protein, and 40 percent from carbohydrates. Unfortunately, bread, pasta, rice, and other grains are restricted, which robs the dieter of many nutrients and health-enhancing properties. This diet is actually a step backward toward the standard high-fat, high-protein diet that propelled so many millions of Americans to early encounters with heart disease, cancer, and sometimes death.

*147\29\2*

THE MOST COMMON DIETING MISTAKES: FORGETTING TO REWARD ONESELF

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:05:32 +0000

Following even a sensible, “easy” food plan can sometimes be tough. The Fat Blocker Program permits rewards in the form of “splurges,” but it also recommends that we reward ourselves in non-food ways. Take a walk, buy yourself something new to wear, arrange a romantic getaway to a fancy hotel. Above all, treat yourself well. Patting yourself on the back, telling yourself you’ve done a good job and doing something just for the fun of it are all integral parts of a successful weight-loss program. Reward yourself; you deserve it.

You Can Do It!
When you embark on your healthy-living, weight-loss program, this time things will be different. Perhaps for the first time in your life, you will be starting on a program that will last you for the rest of it. This is because the Fat Blocker Program has it all—a healthful, easy-to-follow, nutritious eating program, an excellent, invigorating but easy exercise program, a positive attitude, and the extra help you need from Chitosan.

So, go for it. With these four vital tools, you can conquer your weight problem and give your body the irreplaceable gift of superb health.

*134\29\2*

STAYING MOTIVATED TO LOSE WEIGHT: DEALING WITH SITUATIONAL TRIGGERS

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:02:57 +0000

When I realized I was eating cookies just because I had entered my house, I decided to change my homecoming routine. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, I went straight for the shower. A hot shower relaxed me and refreshed me much more than the cookies ever did.

Everybody has situational triggers. One of the most common is what I like to call monkey see, monkey do. This trigger has gotten to all of us. We walk into the coffee room at work. Everyone is standing around munching on doughnuts. Since everyone else is eating doughnuts, we start munching one, too. Or perhaps we go into the kitchen at home and our child is having a peanut butter sandwich. Suddenly, we feel as if we must have one, as well. Social gatherings especially encourage overeating. It’s easy to eat compulsively when we’re feeling nervous and ill at ease at a cocktail party. Eating gives us something to do.

Another common situational trigger is watching television. It’s easy to shift into the automatic-eating mode when our minds are elsewhere. Have you ever noticed how much food you can pack away (without even noticing it) when you eat while watching TV? To make matters worse, we’re exposed to countless food commercials that are themselves triggers for overeating. Plus, time spent sitting in front of the TV is time not spent participating in calorie-burning activities. No wonder a study done at Auburn University found that men who watched television for at least 3 hours a day were twice as likely to be obese than men who watched for less than an hour.

Just as I was able to break my cookies-and-milk habit by changing my routine once I walked through the front door, many of your situational triggers may be defused just by making a little change. Try and pinpoint what sets you off. Once you’ve figured out what, where, and when you eat, as well as your emotional state before and after eating, you can plan strategies to help you avoid these weight-loss land mines.

*121\29\2*

THE FAT BLOCKER EXERCISE PROGRAM: THE ELEMENTS OF A GOOD EXERCISE PROGRAM

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:59:51 +0000

Probably the single most important factor in a successful exercise program is identifying the kind of activity that you’ll actually do. Joining a fancy gym or purchasing all the latest running gear isn’t going to do anything for you if you give up after 3 weeks and go back to being a couch potato. So, first find something that you love.

Now, of course, here’s the problem: Many of us simply don’t enjoy any form of exercise. Fine, if that’s you, you’ll have trouble with reaching an optimum exercise level. But, remember, it doesn’t matter. You will still lose weight and improve your health as long as you do a little more exercise than you did before.

On the other hand, many people who say they hate to exercise are casting their net too narrowly. Do you hate to ski, bicycle, run around playing touch football with your 10-year-old, play tag with your grandchildren or squash with a friend? Do you really hate walking briskly on the beach at sunset? Do you . . . well, you get the idea. Any of these activities, and dozens more, are an excellent way to reach the ideal training objective of at least half an hour a day, 4 days a week.

A 37-year-old patient of mine named Jeannine told me that
she had always been enamored of the ballet, even as a little girl. But it wasn’t until the age of 20 that she took her first lesson. “That first year of ballet lessons was hard. Even though I went to class 3 times a week, I always felt like such a klutz. I couldn’t do anything and everything hurt.” But one day, after about a year, the teacher asked Jeannine to demonstrate a certain step to a new student. “I was so shocked. I thought, ‘She thinks I can do this!’ ” After that, Jeannine was asked to join the intermediate ballet class. Today she has 17 years’ worth of ballet classes under her belt, and although she will never be a professional dancer, she has reaped tremendous rewards from her effort. She has the strong, firm body and the good health of someone 15 years her junior. She thinks of ballet class as “taking a break from the world.”

“Ballet has been so wonderful for me, physically, mentally, and even spiritually. And it doesn’t even feel like exercising. I spend so much time focusing on the artistic side of it, on doing a step perfectly and beautifully, that I don’t even think about the fact that I’m moving my muscles.” Jeannine plans to dance for the rest of her life. “I just can’t imagine giving it up,” she says.

Jeannine found the key to lifelong fitness: She fell in love with a form of exercise. She had to work at it, especially in the beginning, and she took a bit of a risk by starting that quickly. She might have given up before she ever really got going—beginning a bit more slowly would have worked just as well and wouldn’t have been as tough. But with perseverance she overcame her temporary stumbling block. And so can you.

Go to the gym, if that’s what you think you’ll enjoy. But if not, look for something else. Perhaps you’d enjoy country and western dancing. Try it once. Or maybe you’ll get an idea by watching the sports channels, reading fitness magazines, or talking to your friends. With luck, you’ll find an activity you love. It may be as common as jogging or as exciting as fencing, as beautiful as ballet or as warlike as karate. Or you may decide to indulge in a variety of different exercises: a tennis game on Monday, a brisk walk on Tuesday, a day off on Wednesday, chopping wood on Thursday, a workout at the gym on Friday, and romping with the kids on the weekend. There, that’s more exercise than you need!

Whatever you choose, if you decide to try for a full exercise program there are 3 things that need to be figured into your program: frequency, intensity, and time.

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