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A Dispassionate Guide For People Who Want to Get Slimmer

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First of all, let's get this straight from the get-go. 90% of the time, people go on diets to get slimmer – not to lose weight. Sure, a few of you are doing it for health reasons. The doctor told you that you had a weight problem that was life-threatening, and you got scared. But let's face it – most of you just want to look better.

Now the next thing to get out of the way is your motivation. Are you willing to end a lot of discomfort? OK, you're not looking forward to it, but the last time you looked in a mirror, you got mad! So you're motivated enough to give dieting your best shot.

Of course you realize in your heart of hearts that if you really want to look slim and stay slim, it's not going to be good enough just to lose some pounds, and then go back to your old habits and ways. Maybe you've done that before. Surely you've seen other people lose weight, and then put it right back on again.

So in this article, I want to explore the various methods that are available for you to get trim, and stay that way – and hopefully you will find a way to do it

1) that does not cause a lot of discomfort
2) that actually works, and
3) that you will be comfortable with for a LONG TIME …

Let's take a look at methods that DO NOT work, and see WHY they do not work. Then we'll use what we learn to see if that can help us find a better way.

Cutting calories does not work

It seems intuitively obvious that if you want to take off some pounds, you can do it by just not eating as much. After all, if your body is not taking any calories, you've got to lose weight. So you start by only having a cup of coffee for your breakfast – you skip the usual bacon & eggs or bagel & cream cheese. Long before it's time for lunch, you begin to feel hungry. Your body is not used to this, and it's reminding you to please put something in your stomach.

That's OK, though, you expected a little discomfort. So for lunch you have just a salad of raw veggies. By mid-afternoon, you're not only hungry … you're running out of energy, and can not seem to concentrate on your work. After a light, but more fundamental dinner, you sit down to watch the news, and find yourself getting a headache, so you go to bed early.

All right. At this point you may just give up. But if you have the power and motivation, you might stick to this punishment diet for quite some time. You keep track of your weight, and sure enough, you begin to take off some pounds. But after a while, you can not seem to lose any more no matter how little you eat!

Why?

* You're losing water-weight, not fat.
* Because when you eat less, your body burns fewer calories.
* Your metabolism goes into starvation mode.

So cutting calories does not work! (scratch goal # 2)

Cutting fat does not work

What if you just cut way back on eating fat? That should prevent your body from gaining fat – if it does not get any, then it can not add any more, right? Wrong. This reasoning ignores the fact that your body can convert other types of food into fat. It does not need for you to eat fat in order to add more. Enzymes in your digestive system can easily convert proteins or carbohydrates (carbs) into fat if your body demands it.

So cutting fat does not work! (scratch goal # 2)

Cutting carbs makes you feel miserable. Several popular diet plans, including the Adkins diet and the South Beach diet, are based on cutting your intake of carbohydrates. This does indeed cause weight loss. However, carbs are your body's main source of energy. So when you cut back on sugars, grains, etc, you feel weak and miserable. This is going to make it very difficult to maintain such a diet. Not only that, even after you've lost the weight, you need to continue to restrict your carb intake FOREVER – it requires a permanent change in lifestyle. Are you really ready for that?

So cutting carbs is not recommended! (scratch goals # 1 & # 3)

Strengthening your abs will not make you slimmer

OK. The original idea was for you to get slimmer. So why not just do what beautiful people do on the late-night TV infomercials? Get yourself an ab machine, and give yourself those 6-pack abs. It looks so simple to do, and just takes a few minutes a day.

You can certainly do this. But that layer of fat covering your abs will still be there when the muscles underneath are rock-hard … UNLESS you go on a diet to lose the fat. The only way to look slimmer is to have a proper program for losing weight.

In fact, even though exercise can help you to burn calories and convert some of your body fat into muscle, it's not enough. You need to do an awful lot of exercise to take off just a few calories.

Here's an example I worked out for you, to make it easier to understand this. A 155-lb man walking his dog for an hour will burn about 250 calories. That's the same as the calories as he took in that morning eating his bagel & cream cheese for breakfast. He'll have to keep walking a long time to burn off all the calories he consumes during the rest of the day!

So exercise alone does not work! (scratch goal # 2)

What can I do?

Let's use what we learned above to see what you can do to get slimmer – without being constantly hungry. And let's find a way to do this without drastically changing your lifestyle.

1) Look for a diet plan that allows you to eat foods from all major energy sources: proteins, carbs, and fat.
2) Spread out your eating over the whole day. Eat smaller, more frequent meals.
3) Use exercise as a means to better health – and to help you to convert some of your calorie intake into muscle instead of fat.

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Source by David Broadhead, Ph.D.

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Nutritional Considerations in Diets for the Elderly

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As the body ages and slows down, nutrition becomes an increasingly important consideration. While proper nutrition is essential to healthy aging, diet planning for the elderly isn’t particularly complicated in most cases. There are simply certain health and nutritional concerns to be aware of so that those specific dietary needs can be met.

Some Common Concerns

The body’s metabolism begins to slow as a person gets older. Because of this, the body no longer processes nutrients as well as it used to. The digestive system also slows, and the stomach produces less gastric juice to digest the food being consumed. In addition, many seniors also struggle with:

– Loss of appetite: Whether due to decreased physical activity, gastrointestinal problems, or age-related dementia, many seniors simply lose their appetite. Because of this, care must be taken to make sure the elderly person is eating regularly and in sufficient quantities.

– Eating discomfort: Elderly people commonly have difficulty or discomfort chewing food due to loose teeth or ill-fitting dentures. Some also experience a dry mouth that can make eating difficult. If this is the case, appropriate foods must be provided so that seniors can eat in comfort and without the danger of choking.

– Lack of access to food: Some seniors fail to eat properly simply because they don’t have sufficient finances to provide for themselves. Others can’t drive, thus they aren’t able to shop for their food needs.

– Interaction with medications: Many seniors take one or more prescribed medications, and most don’t realize that some medicines interact poorly with certain foods. Grapefruit juice, caffeine, fiber and milk are common culprits for food-drug interaction. Physicians and caregivers must provide seniors with the proper education so that negative reactions can be avoided.

Meeting Dietary Needs

As you can see, special care must be taken to provide proper nutrition. Of course, if a senior suffers from other conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or arthritis, further considerations must be taken to provide (or restrict) certain foods. In general, however, an elderly diet should include:

– Nutrient-dense foods: Elderly people rarely eat large portions, so it’s vital to include foods that are nutrient-packed. Include unrefined grains, brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and nuts for a good nutrition boost each day.

– Calcium-rich foods: Bone density decreases with age, so calcium is a very important aspect of a healthy senior diet. Seniors should consume at least 3 servings of low-fat milk, yogurt or cheese each day.

– High-fiber foods: Since the digestive system slows down, food takes longer to pass through the digestive tract – often leading to constipation. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help to remedy this, though many seniors do need supplemental fiber added to their diets as well.

– Protein-rich foods: Protein is extremely important as it helps seniors to maintain healthy muscle mass and mobility. Of course, in most cases, seniors should choose lean, low-fat protein sources like fish, poultry, beans and seeds.

In addition to a healthy diet, it’s wise to have elderly folks weighed regularly to make sure they are maintaining an appropriate weight. This will help caretakers to monitor any changes and adjust dietary needs accordingly.

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Source by Ron C. White

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Weight Loss Defined For Everyday People

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It is the heart of summer for the Year 2008. Our bodies are exposed to more heat and therefore, we typically engage in more outdoor activities. This could be yard work, walking, jogging, playing sports, etc. Typically, during the summer months, more beverages are consumed to hydrate our bodies. The common phrase explained for perspiring is for the body to maintain a level of coolness; although it does not feel like it until we catch a good, gentle breeze of air. The summer is the best time for anyone to lose the undressed weight as it is primetime no matter where you are or what you are doing. So, let's dive into the subject matter and examine this fascinating yet overlooked topic.

Weight-loss from a technical standpoint could be considered as losing a certain quantity of body mass. This should be somewhat of a standard definition. Although as the title implies, how can we grasp a meaning and apply it so that it represents something. Here it is; Weight-loss is the reduction of your body's size until it reaches the optimum level of performance. This will have varying levels due to a number of situations and unique to each individual but once your specific weight-loss goal has been achieved; your performance level automatically increases. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule in that this will depend on the method of weight reduction. Performance in this instance is based on the increase in energy levels. The methods that refer to this discussion are the natural ways to achieve weight-loss, ie weight-loss programs that provide high levels of nutrition, change in eating habits, etc.

Now, let's examine the concept of losing those unwanted pounds. This is a simple illustration of understanding how the body works from a digestive point. As we eat food and as it channels down to the stomach, there are two main functions that the body must execute precisely. The body's internal system must consume energy from the food, and then expose the unusable portion that does not serve the body. During the weight-loss process, the second function is accelerated. Similar to serving an eviction notice to the body's fat cells informing them that the lease has expired and escaping them from the current real estate they used to occupy to the designated exit door. To help accomplish this task, drink 4-6 bottles of water along with natural juices continuously throughout the day. Next, consuming nutritional products as part of a weight-loss program designed to facilitate the breakdown of the body's fat cells causing the digestive system to function on a regular basis. This means that consuming 3 meals a day, you will generally have 1 to 3 digestive elimination movements in the course of a day. Repeating this process on a regular basis, you will, without doubt, shrink in size and have more energy !! Now, consider the alternatives that exist which range from the typical "old-fashioned" mentally training (Starvation-type) diets including diet pills to body-invading bariatric surgeries.

Choosing a weight-loss program with a focus on the nutritional aspect is the easiest to implement. In fact, this method is the true path of least resistance, meaning; your everyday foods are affected on a regular basis yet replaced with nutritional supplements that nourish the body to reach its optimum level! This method is for everyday people who want active, healthy lives yet do not have the desire for strenuous workouts or to severely restrict food consumption. There is a place for you in this weight-loss arena. All that is needed is to provide your body with the nutrition it has not been able to get from regular foods combined with desserts and snacks !! The crossroad of choices claims that you make a decision within your conscious mind in order for the body to fulfill the desired action. At that point, doing the necessary actions to achieve your goals will produce the desired result. The answer is PURE NUTRITION. Go out and put some into your body.

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Source by Reggie Greene