Weight loss patches - how effective are they?

Weight loss patches - how effective are they?

One of the new and greatly touted weight loss fads is the weight loss patch. There are two main types of patches available, The Slim Form Patch and The Diet Patch of which the Hoodia is one of the most well known. The patches are supposed to be all natural and will not cause any health issues or concerns. Supporters state that due to the absorption of the ingredients through the skin, the ingredients can enter the blood stream more quickly than drugs that are ingested and have to be metabolized in the liver to work.

The Slim Form Patch is one type of patch that will be discussed in this article. The patch was developed in Europe by Danish scientists and French biologists. Supporters of these types of patches say that they are better than other drugs on the market as they do not contain any of the harmful stimulants or chemical additives.

The main ingredients in the Slim Form patch are marine algae and several essential minerals which are supposed to work by combining the ingredients above. Once they are absorbed by the skin, they help to increase thyroid function, jump start metabolism, and reduce the person’s appetite.

This patch is stated to be safe for use by anyone over the age of 12 and in good health. It is not recommended for those who have diabetes, hypoglycemia, or have thyroid or heart problems. It is recommended to consult with a physician before starting to use this patch.

The second type of patch that is well known is The Hoodia Diet Patch. Hoodia is derived from a South African succulent plant that is found in the deserts there. Supporters of the patch state that scientists have isolated several elements in Hoodia that are responsible for suppressing the appetite. The way it works is described as the plant extract travels to the brain it then tricks the brain by sending signals that the body is full. This is considered to be a natural supplement and supposedly there are not any known side effects from Hoodia.

It has been reported that even though Hoodia was “discovered recently” that San Bushmen have used this for many years. They cut off the stem and eat it in order to stave off hunger while on their hunting trips. They are reported to also use the plant to help indigestion, stomach cramps, diabetes, and hypertension.

The diet patches are very popular today. Most people say that they find them more convenient to use than taking pills. Applying the patch takes away the need to remember to take pills at different times of the day. The patch works 24 hours a day and is supposed to continuously supply the weight loss ingredients into the bloodstream continuously through the day.

One thing of concern and to be aware of prior to purchasing Hoodia is that there are either fake Hoodia products on the market as well as products in which the concentration of Hoodia is so weak that it is considered to be ineffective. Genuine Hoodia manufacturers will have CITES documents and be able to produce them. These are the documents that are required to export hoodia gordonii from South Africa. They will also have chemical analysis available of their product showing that Hoodia is indeed present in their product as well.

Consumers should do their research and consult with their physician prior to using any weight loss supplement. They should be aware as well that since these are considered herbal supplements, they are not governed by the FDA and have not been tested nor any clinical trials done as is required of any prescription medication. So be aware that there has not been a lot of scientific research done on these types of weight loss products to know their effectiveness as well as potential side effects.

Lower blood pressure with DASH diet

Lower blood pressure with DASH diet

The Dash Diet Plan is a plan written by Marla Heller who is a registered dietician. The diet was designed to help people who have hypertension or have been diagnosed as prehypertensive by their physician. The diet can also be utilized by people who need to lower their cholesterol levels, reduce insulin resistance (which slows fat burning and sugar metabolism by the body) or as a good weight loss program when combined with moderate to brisk exercise.

The diet plan is one that is rich in vegetables, fruits and grains, low fat or non fat dairy, and nuts or legumes. It limits meat consumption to 1-2 small servings of lean fish, chicken or turkey per day. It also severely limits the consumption of sweets, desserts, and fats to less than one serving per day.

The diet plan includes the following servings per day on a 2000 calorie per day diet.

7-8 servings of grains (at least 3 should be whole grains)
4-5 servings of vegetables
4-5 servings of fruits
3 servings of low fat or no fat dairy products
1-2 servings of lean chicken, turkey or fish (Not Fried)
4-5 servings of nuts, seeds or legumes
1 serving of fats, sweets, or dessert (recommended only 2-3 times weekly or less)
Women may need to follow a lower calorie diet per day to facilitate quicker weight loss. Most recommendations for women call for 1200-1500 calories per day. Women wanting to utilize the diet above can follow the recommendations except cut down on the following servings per day:

4-5 servings of grains per day (3 should still be whole grains)
1 serving of lean chicken, fish or turkey (Not Fried)
1 serving of fats, sweets or desserts weekly instead of 2-3 times per week
The diet may seem very simple to follow, however studies have shown that most people only eat two to three servings of fruits and vegetables a day so this diet will take some adjustment. It is recommended to journal your daily intake for a few days and compare it to the DASH diet then see where you can incorporate the changes. Plan your next few days diet and go ahead and shop for those foods and ingredients. This way it will be much easier to adhere to the diets requirements. The biggest issue with most people is cutting down to the appropriate amounts of meats and sweets that are allowed on the diet.

The DASH diet has been shown to lower blood pressure readings within two weeks of starting the diet. It has shown most helpful alone for those who are prehypertensive. The diet works well for persons who are hypertensive while utilizing it in conjunction with taking their blood pressure medication and have regular consultations with their physician in order to adjust medications as needed when results of the diet are realized.

The diet has shown as well to lower cholesterol levels which is beneficiary to those concerned about heart and circulatory health. It has been shown as well to decrease insulin resistance. This is an issue with people who seem to have hard times losing weight due to this condition.

A long term study that came out in April, 2008 has shown that following this diet long term can cut down healthy women’s chances of heart attack or stroke. It showed that women who used this diet were 24% less likely to have a heart attack and 18% less likely to have a stroke than other women who ate a more traditional type of diet. This is great news as science is showing that women are much more prone to these health concerns than anyone knew in the past and it is very important for women especially to look to improve their heart and circulatory health now.

Fruits and vegetables diet

Fruits and vegetables diet

The first thing that comes to mind when hearing about a diet of fruits and vegetables, is a vegan type diet. This is not what we are going to discuss here. What this diet intends to do is increase the amounts of fruits and vegetables consumed and decrease the amounts of fat and empty calories in the diet.

This type of diet includes proteins in a moderate amount. It also gives you the best types of fruits and vegetables to include in your daily diet so you can take advantage of natural foods that are designed to be easily digested, increase metabolism, boost the body to break down and process sugars in a better way. way, and give you the nutritional values ​​you need in a healthy diet.

This diet requires 4-5 servings of vegetables per day and 2-3 servings of fruits per day. We will review the best fruits and vegetables to eat to facilitate weight loss and provide all the nutrients you need so that your body is in its best shape.

Vegetables are considered complex carbohydrates and the body does not easily break them down into fats. They consist more of nutrients, water and fiber, which helps to aid digestion and provides vitamins and minerals for our health. In addition to being more difficult to break down, they also remain in the digestive tract for longer, which helps you get hungry again so quickly.

Fruits consist of simple carbohydrates, the body breaks them down into fats and gives the body energy. They are also rich in nutrients that help manage vitamins and minerals. They break down rapidly in the digestive tract, so this diet will limit portions per day to help reduce frequent hunger. Fruits should be eaten raw. Cooking or processing fruits eliminates much of the nutritional value of fruits.

The list of vegetables and fruits that are the best are listed below. They can be eaten in any quantity and considered as a serving. Vegetables should be eaten raw or steamed without using oil or butter. As indicated above, incorporate 4-5 servings of vegetables per day in your diet.

Vegetables

Alfalfa sprouts, Brussels sprouts, broccoli
Collard Greens, Eggplants, Kale, Okra
Summer squash, spinach, leeks and chives
Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion
Zucchini, Turnips, Green Turnips, Artichokes
Green Beans, Carrots, Celery, Mushrooms
Peppers
Fruits

Apples, Oranges, Grapefruit, Strawberries
Cranberries, pears, blackberries, blueberries, cranberry juice
Blackberries, Melon, Melons
Fruits to eat in limited quantities

Grapes, Coconut, Bananas
Dried Fruits, Dates, Canned or Processed Fruits
A sample diet is provided below to give you a guide on what you should eat daily:

Breakfast

1 cooked or scrambled egg
½ brown bread with 1 teaspoon of low-fat cream cheese
½ orange or 1 8-ounce glass of orange juice or cranberry juice
2 slices of tomatoes
Water, coffee or tea without sugar
lunch

4 ounces lean chicken, turkey or fish
Mixed salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green pepper.
Low fat / low calorie salad dressing
5 wholemeal cookies
Water, coffee or tea without sugar
Afternoon snack

Bowl of berries of your choice
Or 1 sliced ​​apple
Dinner

4-6 ounces of lean meat
Green beans
Broccoli, carrot, steamed cauliflower mixture
1 dinner roll
Snack

2 servings of raw vegetables

Mediterranean diet recipes

Mediterranean diet recipes

The Mediterranean diet is a diet plan that is based on what people who live in the Mediterranean basin eat, such as in Italy, Greece and Crete. What studies have found is that although people there eat high-fat diets, their incidence of heart and cardiovascular disease was much lower than their counterparts here in the United States. Studies claim that they believe the difference is that those in the Mediterranean eat olive oil as their main source of fat, while here in the United States they mainly eat animal fat.

It has been found that olive oil lowers cholesterol, blood sugar and lowers blood pressure. It has also been found to be useful in the prevention of peptic ulcers, as well as useful in the treatment of ulcers that are already present. It is also being studied for its properties to prevent cancer. Wine that is consumed in moderate amounts in this diet has also proven to be a powerful antioxidant.

The diet consists of these components:

Foods that are eaten in large quantities

Olive oil

Vegetables

Cereals and unrefined grains

Fruits

Vegetables

Fish

Foods that are eaten in moderate quantities

Dairy products (mainly cheese and yogurt)

Wine

Foods that are eaten in small quantities

Meat and meat products

In this type of diet, desserts generally consist of fruits or fruit-based products. They use things like honey to get extra sweetness in their food.

Here are some common foods that are found and consumed in the Mediterranean diet.

Olive oil

Cheese and yogurt (keep in mind that it is goat and sheep cheese)

Seafood, Sardines

Chicken

Eggs

Cakes, Ice cream, Cookies

Veal and lamb

Bread, pasta, rice, couscous, polenta, potatoes, olives, avocados, grapes

Spinach, Eggplants, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Peppers, Mushrooms, Garlic

Almonds, nuts and other nuts; Chickpeas, white beans, lentils and other beans; Misery

Here are some tips to help you begin to transcend more than the Mediterranean eats. Use olive oil instead of butter, lard or butter in your food and cooking. Try to eat nuts or fruits as snacks instead of chips, crackers or cookies. Use a low-calorie spread, mustard or something similar to avocado cream instead of putting mayonnaise on your sandwich.

The Mediterranean are also people who believe in staying active. They don't have all the modern comforts in many of the smaller villages like the one we have here in the United States. They still do by hand what we have many machines to do. Then, instead of watching television all night, go for a walk and watch nature closely. If you are looking to find something beautiful you will do it. A lot of success or failure is our mentality and how we feel about what we are doing.

If we believe we will succeed, we will work hard and achieve a lot, however, if we begin to doubt that we will achieve our goals in things like this, we have already lost half of the battle.

The Slim Fast diet plan

The Slim Fast diet plan

The Slim Fast diet has been around for many years and many people have used it to lose weight. The plan is formulated instead of replacing Slim Fast Shake or Meal Bar with two meals per day and then eating a sensible meal and two snacks per day. Slim Fast has many products that can be purchased in most supermarkets or chain stores. They have their traditional smoothies and fruit drinks. They also offer food bars or snacks and pasta dishes for the convenience of the dieter. This type of diet is designed to help a person lose an average of two pounds per week.

Originally, most people felt that Slim Fast was a difficult diet to follow, since they originally only had shakes for dieters. Many people found smoothies constantly difficult to drink and also discovered that sometimes they also felt hungry between meals. Now Slim Fast offers more products to offer its customers more variety and offer even more incentives to help people achieve their weight loss goals.

Slim Fast offers dieters an excellent program that can be accessed online. You can register on the site and complete your personal information, as well as your weight loss goals. Then your information is compiled and a personalized program is developed for you, which gives you instructions on what to eat per day and what exercise is necessary to help you stay on track with your diet.

Recipes, meal plans and instructions are offered through this program. There is even an area for you to choose your own substitutes, giving you more control over what you want to eat than is allowed in the diet. A typical day menu includes the following:

Breakfast
Thin, fast and low carb smoothie with instant oatmeal and nuts 340 calories

Morning snack
1 sliced ​​tomato 30 calories

Lunch 350 Calories
Fast slim low carb smoothie and tuna salad
(tuna, light mayonnaise, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, onion)

Afternoon Snack 60 Calories
Vegetable juice (low sodium) 6 ounces

Dinner 430 Calories
Creamy Chicken Dijon
Roasted asparagus
Mixed Vegetable Salad

Afternoon snack 70 calories
Raisins

They recommend with the previous diet plan to include up to 30 minutes per day of some type of cardiac exercise such as walking. The best thing about this plan is that you can adapt the diet to the foods you enjoy eating. You can plan up to a week in advance, allowing you to go to the market and buy the Slim Fast food and products you need. This keeps temptation down if you don't have food that you shouldn't eat at home.

As stated earlier, this is not a fad diet. It is designed to allow gradual weight loss while following a nutritional diet that gives the body all the necessary vitamins and minerals, but does not participate in fatty foods.

Sleep deprivation and weight gain

Sleep deprivation and weight gain

Studies have shown that there is definitely a correlation between people with lack of sleep and weight gain that can lead to obesity. Reports on this subject are mixed due to the fact that obese people are more likely to have respiratory problems and sleep apnea that can lead to sleep deprivation. However, there is also a strong trend among people who do not sleep a regular amount of hours during the night to eat more and gain weight faster than others who do sleep well.

There are many reasons for this. Our bodies have emotional and psychological clocks integrated in them. The circadian rhythm is the natural rhythm that is integrated into our brain. This tells us that we should relax and sleep when it is dark and then arise when the sun shines in the morning.

People who work night shifts on a regular basis and sleep during the day report marked sleep disorders, headaches, TMJ dysfunction, as well as an increased appetite. Our brain and our natural rhythm tell our bodies to eat when they are awake to keep our energy levels high. This trigger makes people who wake up in the middle of the night want to eat while they are awake.

Foods that are eaten in the middle of the night, just before returning to bed to try to sleep, are not digested properly. This leads to greater storage of fats that are then deposited in the blood. They are also deposited around the vital organs of the body, especially in and around the liver.

People who cannot fall asleep are also more likely to eat late at night, which leads to the same problems as mentioned above. Foods that are eaten late at night are not digested or properly metabolized into energy that can be used in the body. This also leads to increased fat deposits.

As humans we are creatures of habit. Habits can be good or bad. The inability to sleep for the required period of time each night can lead to other harmful misbehavior. Our body can get used to waking up after a few hours of sleep, then hunger is triggered, we eat and then go back to sleep. This is a very bad habit that can lead to being obese very quickly if this habit does not break. There are over-the-counter sleep aids that can help with sleep patterns. Prescription medications are available to help with this. Check with a doctor to see if these are an option for you if you have these problems.

Alcohol should also be avoided. It tends to relax and numb a person, however, the high fat content in alcohol makes it a bad choice to drink just before bedtime because it is not metabolized by the body and can cause increased fat storage. People who drink alcohol also before sleeping tend to wake up after short sleep intervals. Alcohol consumption can lead to increased snoring and sleep apnea if ingested in large quantities, which can cause lack of sleep.

Some natural alternatives are available to help with sleep patterns. These are herbal supplements designed to cause relaxation and sleep. These can be used by people to help improve our sleep patterns. They are not addictive or addictive by nature, so they are generally safe to use for this purpose.

As indicated above, we react to the habits to which our systems are accustomed. To improve sleep patterns, try to go to bed at the same time every day and wake up at the same time. This helps the body and mind to develop new routines that are healthy. A hot bath with some essential oils can also help people relax.

It has been reported that stress is one of the main factors for not sleeping well, so reducing stressors in a person's life will also help patterns of relaxation, appetite and sleep. It has been reported that learning to eat small meals at regular intervals is the best way to avoid hunger. In addition, refraining from eating for at least two hours before bedtime will help increase proper digestion and metabolism of foods that have been previously ingested.

Top Secret Fat Loss

Top Secret Fat Loss

This is a program developed by Dr. Suzanne Gudakunst that takes a very new and extremely different approach to weight loss. The program works under the premise that today we ingest many toxins in our food, including preservatives, pesticides, artificial colors and flavors, chemicals in the water we drink, meat and dairy parasites, and other environmental toxins.

Our liver works to rid our bodies of these toxins. One way to achieve this is to store extra fat around our vital organs to prevent toxins from invading them and causing damage or disease. When a person loses weight, fat is removed from the body and this releases these toxins into the bloodstream. This can cause symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, lethargy and even changes in our mood.

Our digestive system tries to fight these toxins by secreting a thick mucus that lines the walls of the intestine and traps the toxins. This leads to a very good breeding ground for the parasites we eat to thrive and grow. The parasites then multiply in this environment.

The mucous lining may harden by trying to trap more toxins and parasites in the lining. This becomes plaque that in turn reduces the amount of nutrients our body needs from our diet, which can lead to other health problems due to the poor absorption of our food. This in turn tells the body to even store more fat because the liver tries to keep toxins and parasites at bay. That is why most people tend to gain weight very quickly after completing a diet or weight loss program.

The parasites are ingested in meats and other products or transferred from our hands to the mouth like eggs or larvae and then installed in our digestive system. These parasites tell the body that it wants sugar and starchy products, which in turn causes food cravings that most people who try to diet should not eat.

Dr. Gudakunst's program is one that encompasses a detoxifying cleansing for the body that is performed before, during and after a weight loss program. This allows the body to get rid of the toxins and parasites that are present. According to his theory, once they have been removed, the body can lose fat safely without the liver giving it a signal to store fat once more as soon as it is lost. It also stops the symptoms that occur when toxins are released into the bloodstream.

Dr. Gudakunst even states that incorporating this program into a person's life can reduce their chances of future illness and organ damage. This includes the poor absorption of food and nutrients, as well as damage to our vital organs, including our heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys and our digestive tracts. She states that these toxins are responsible for problems such as cardiovascular diseases, including strokes and heart attacks, type two diabetes, kidney disease and colon problems.