Archive for September, 2008

What Can You Expect After Obesity Surgery?

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Gastric bypass has been performed for more than fifty years now and, although there are of course risks the majority of patients are more than satisfied with the outcome and enjoy a a markedly improved standard of living. There is however a price to to be paid and you will have to lead a very different lifestyle following surgery which may be very difficult unless you are prepared for the change.

Some of the post-surgical changes are obvious as the principle behind obesity surgery is to vastly reduce the volume of your stomach and to restrict the amount of food which you can eat. This means that the days of enjoying a big meal are gone forever.

But some of the other consequences of gastric bypass surgery are less obvious.

For example, the days of eating foods which are high in fat or sugar even in small quantities are also over. The consequences of eating foods of this nature can be extremely unpleasant as their rapid absorption in your now shortened digestive tract can lead to very nasty feelings of faintness.

You will also discover that the change in your eating pattern leaves you very short of water so that you must get used to drinking small amounts of water throughout the day to avoid becoming dehydrated.

This is all well and good but just what should you expect from obesity surgery in terms of weight loss?

Results will of course vary from person to person but it is important to start by looking at just how post-surgical weight loss is measured.

The starting point is to calculate just how much excess weight you are carrying and this means working out your ideal weight. Working in pounds, for a man this will be 106 plus 6 times your height in inches less 60. As an example, for a man 5ft 10ins tall the ideal weight will be 106 + 6 x (70 – 60) which works out at 166 pounds. In the case of a woman the principle is the same but here a women’s ideal weight is calculated as 100 plus 5 times her height in inches less 60.

Thus, if we take the example of the man and give him a weight of 366 pounds before surgery then he is carrying 200 pounds in excess weight. From this starting point we will measure weight loss in terms of the percentage of excess weight lost over time. Therefore, if after 6 months his weight has fallen by 100 pounds then his weight loss will be 50 percent.

As a general guide you could expect to drop approximately 50 percent of your excess weight within the 6 months following surgery rising to about 70 percent after one year and to possibly 80 percent after 2 years. For the majority of patients weight loss will cease after 2 years and some long-term weight gain will appear. Longer term weight gain is generally about 10 to 15 percent of your excess weight.

Once again, in general, if you are grossly overweight you will shed a greater percentage of your excess weight (possibly as much as 90 to 95 percent) while if you are less overweight you may shed as little as 60 percent within 2 years of surgery.

You will rarely shed all of your excess weight and are not going to get to your ideal weight as a result of surgery. For this reason, it is occasionally said that weight loss surgery is not completely successful. Nevertheless the overwhelming majority of patients would not agree with this and would say that the change in their quality of life is simply unbelievable. Something which is clearly evident to anybody who has seen the many gastric bypass before and after pictures posted online these days.

Blocking Your Head Ache using Acupuncture

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

There are plenty of matters that we have to deal with which involves our health. One very standard thing that is experienced by people in standard are Head Aches. As a matter of fact, numerous people have Headaches so frequently that they simply learn to live with them and deal with the pain as best they can. Still others have Headaches, such as migraines, which are almost intolerable to ignore and become a life altering because of their intensity. As a result of these Head Aches, several people have chosen acupuncture in order to find some respite from their distress.

There are truly two different types of individuals who approach an acupuncturist in order to experience respite from their Head Aches. There are those who are presently experiencing a Head Ache and those that are trying to get some kind of preventive care in order to end the next Head Ache from coming or to decrease its intensity. These are two very distinct situations and are treated differently from the acupuncturist’s standpoint. Depending on your circumstance when you enter their office will make a difference in how you are treated.

The reason why this is the case is because acupuncture is a way of moving energy throughout your body and it also can increase blood flow to certain areas. The way of treating an existing Headache differs somewhat from the treatment that will assist in blocking future Head Aches. Your doctor will be able to make that determination and to adjust the treatment accordingly.

several people try acupuncture treatments to stop their Cephalalgia, or headaches but they are nervous whenever they enter into the clinic. Perhaps they have never experienced acupuncture earlier and are wondering how it is going to feel or if it is dangerous. The fact is, acupuncture is one of the least hazardous medical treatments that is in existence. Although it is possible for problems to happen, it is very occasional and if the doctor is an expert and utilises sterile means when inserting the needles there is little need for worry. The needles themselves seldom hurt whenever they enter into the skin and often make the individual feel either unwound or even rejuvenated.

So, if you are suffering from Headaches, the ancient Chinese art of acupuncture may be able to assist you in dealing with them. By bringing your body back into balance, you may be able to overcome your Head Aches once and for all.

The Colon Cleanse, A Beginners Guide

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Do you consider yourself open to different alternative health strategies and are searching for something that will make you feel more healthy and energetic than you have been in a while, you’ll discover that one thing that you may wish to consider is a colon cleanse fast.  More and more people are realizing that there are many things that they need to think about when it comes to keeping healthy and happy.  An impotrant thing that they need to take into account is a diet that will help them keep their colon healthy.

There are many reasons why you may wish to engage in a colon cleanse, but constipation is one key that you should look into it straightaway.  Take  note that having a bowel movement is the main way that your body gets rid of waste materials and toxins, and if it cannot do this, you′ll find that you are risking disease and a great deal of discomfort. When you think about the foods that we eat that are not conducive to good digestive health, including things like refined sugar, white flour and meat that is laced with hormones and antibiotics, it is easy to see why our systems might not be coping as well as they could be.

As you address with an unhelathy colon, you’ll learn that there are many symptoms that you might be suffering from.  You could learn that it is difficult to muster up any energy, you might discover that losing weight becomes a problem.  You may also identify that the food you eat is not able to do as much good for you, and that you will find that you are much more likely to get sick and then have a hard time recovering.

There are many different ways of colon cleansing that can help you.  While some diets are made to only last for a short time and require the investment of only a few days, you’ll find that other colon cleansing methods will involve many healthy changes over time.  You may find that you are looking at solutions that involve fasting, that is, restraining from eating for a day or so, or juice fasting, which means consuming nothing but juice.  You can also use a colon cleanser that can help the process, but that is beyond the scope of this article (for more info on colon cleansers.)  As always, remember to think about your own body and what it needs.

You may also find that some colon cleansing diets will ask you to move over to a diet of raw vegetables or at least to a diet that is higher in vegetables.  More cruciferous (leafy) vegetables in your diet will mean an improvement in fiber, which will help cleanse your system very effectively.

If you have been suffering from any of the troubles named above, it might be time for you to start a colon cleanse.  Think about what your options are and how you can ensure that you are going to get the results that you deisre.

The Many Uses of Herbs And Essential Oils

Monday, September 29th, 2008

For thousands of years the human race has used herbs in various ways. These uses can be placed into three distinctive groups; religious, culinary and medicinal. In the following article we will discuss each of these categories in order focusing upon medical uses and essential oils.

Throughout history there have been many other uses of herbs which we will not be looking at here and these include them being used as money, as a disinfectant and as a perfume or powerful smell to smother bad smells. Herbs originate from various parts of the planet and each culture often had unusual uses for them. It is interesting to note that the Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greek and Sumerians, the Romans all wrote about them in detail and other writings exist from Ancient India and China. We shall be concentrating on modern uses.

Herbs And Religion

Herbs are still used in a multitude of across the world.  The majority of Christians will remember myrrh from the Nativity (myrrh is the dried sap of Commiphora myrrha). Hindus will be extremely familiar with the Tulsi plant, which is a species of Basil, as it is grown by many and praised as a Goddess. In Pagan and Wiccan faiths herbs are used widely in spells, rituals as well as for healing.

Herbs In The Kitchen

The leaves of different plants are used in cooking however there is a distinction between leafy vegetables, such as cabbage, and a herb, such as parsley, in that the latter are used in minute amounts due to their distinctive, and powerful flavor. Virtually every person in the world has benefited from the these amazing plants which are capable of lifting the plainest meal into the realms of a culinary masterpiece.

The Medical Uses of Herbs

As well as being powerful in flavor herbs can also have a profound effect upon the human body. Some types are used as recreational drugs, such as cannabis, which can cause legal problems as they can also have useful medical properties which are still being studied.

Essential Oils

An essential oil is the oil extracted from a variety of plants. Essential oils are commonly created by the process known as distillation but some need a different method of extraction such as by using solvents or expression.

Essential oils have a variety of uses, such as perfumes, bath oils, flavorings, burning (for scent) and in cleaning products. However most folk know of their use in medicine and especially in aromatherapy and other forms of alternative medicine. I use lavender oil in a variety of ways, I add it to my mixture for my oil burner to make the room smell nice but I also use roughly three drops in a bath when I suffer from aching limbs. When my legs are very painful I gently massage it into the muscles but only when it is mixed with a carrier oil. As well as helping to relax the muscles it also helps me sleep more soundly.

Herbs should be used with immense care as some can be extremely harmful to the human body (in large quantities). Special care should be taken if you are about to have a baby as something that is otherwise safe could be terribly problematic, such as peppermint oil which should be totally avoided in its dilute state. However spearmint and a few other mild oils can be used however to avoid the risk of miscarriage I advise that you avoid all herbs and essential oils unless you know for certain they are safe.

The awesome thing about herbs is that growing your own is as hard as buying a herb kit and placing it near a window. To discover more visit http://store.landscapinginfo4u.com/

Latest Trends In Dieting - The Cookie Diet Plan

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

Have you ever heard of The Cookie Diet Plan? People in the Miami area have been benefiting from the Dr. Seigal Cookie Diet for decades now.

Once, the cookies were available only to the patients of his obesity clinic, but now the rest of the country can reap the rewards of this crazy but effective diet, as well.

So, you remember that you love aunt Mary’s delicious cowboy cookies, and you can′t believe that you could actually lose weight by eating these tasty treats, right? Well, these are no ordinary treats, my friend.

The Dr. Seigal Cookie Diet plan requires that you eat one cookie six times per day, whenever you feel hungry. These amazing snacks not only taste great, Dr. Seigal designed them himself with a formula that actually curbs your hunger pains.

By incorporating special amino acids and proteins, the cookie diet allows you to stick to your diet by keeping you from being hungry all the time.

Along with the cookies, you eat a healthy dinner of six ounces of lean meat, such as a chicken breast, and a cup of delicious vegetables. At only about ninety calories per cookie, the cookie diet cookies suppress your appetite and keep you from blowing your diet because of the hunger pains that would emanate from your growling tummy without eating something.

The Doctor’s secret recipe does not curb your appetite with medications or drugs; the protein ingredients in the cookies are very well known for their appetite suppressant qualities, and there are no drugs involved. With the recommended six cookies, light dinner, and vitamin supplements, the cookie diet plan can help you lose weight in a healthy way.

Eating a tasty treat instead of popping an overpriced pill whose main ingredient is caffeine seems like a superior option to me; all those drugs that claim to help people lose weight make me a little nervous, but really, what is there to be nervous about over a cookie? Not much from what I can tell.

Where can you get the Dr. Sanford Seigal’s Cookie Diet? It used to be quite difficult to get the cookies unless you happened to be in the Miami area and happened to be a patient of his, but now, thankfully, the cookies themselves are available with a click of the mouse online.

Dr. Seigal’s patients tend to lose weight at the rate of about fifteen pounds per month, and the plan is meant to be followed under the care of your regular physician or nutritionist. Six cookies a day and at the end of the month I will be about fifteen pounds lighter? Sign me up.

Learn more about the cookie diet plan and get the latest information at http://MyDietWithCookies.com.

Tyler Tefit is a fitness and health enthusiast. He enjoys sharing his experience and research with others on the internet. Visit his site for additional information on this important weight loss topic.

The Side Effects of Natural Health Remedies

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

One of the basic principles about natural health remedies is that they are food. Natural remedies come from plant roots, stems, and leaves. These plant parts, herbs, are then dried and have very little other processing that would affect their potency. Of course, you have some manufacturers that may apply excess heat or vacuum in their processing, which would reduce the herbs quality.

Natural remedies are also considered all those products, single or formulations that consist of herbs, minerals, vitamins, and special natural products.

Remedy History

Natural health remedies have a long history with all cultures. In fact before drugs ever existed the only medication available to doctors was natural remedies. These natural health remedies were the plant themselves, teas and tinctures.

The Start of Drugs

Once drugs started to appear on the market, doctors and patients found these to be easy to apply and use. All drugs at the time came from processing plants and extracting the active ingredient for a specific condition. Later drugs started to appear that were synthetic and chemical similar to the active ingredient in plants.

Any food or chemical that is synthetic is processed differently by your body. It may cause an allergic reaction or it may produce a side effect. Even drugs produced from plants will produce side effects. This is an important consideration when taking drugs, since some drugs have side effects equal to the body condition they are trying to eliminate. For example a high blood pressure drug may cause high blood pressure if it is used to long.

All drugs have side effects if used to long. Drugs should only be used for a short term. Use of drugs for a loing time will kill you with their side effect. Once a doctor puts his patient on one drug, it sometimes wouldn’t be long before they are on 3 or 4 more drugs. Many people are on 10 and sometimes even more drugs at the same time.

When you are on one drug, it can produce a side effect that requires another drug to suppress that side effect. Most drugs do not cure, but suppresses the body’s illness or condition so that the body has a chance to heal. After that time, you should come off that drug, but many doctors continue to prescribe these drugs, even after you don’t need them.

Using Natural Remedies

Natural health remedies typically don’t have side effects. If you use them in high concentration and too often, then you could have side effects. Or, if you are allergic to a specific plant, then, you could have side effects.

Natural remedies have not been known to kill people. Drugs have a horrible history in that thousands of people have been kill by the use of drugs. Remedies have such a long history that every type of illness or diseases has a remedy that is useful for that illness.

You can always research what remedies you need to help your condition. Doctors don’t like that you do this, since you take away business from them when you find a remedy that works for you.

Natural remedies are also used for preventing disease, whereas drugs are not design for this purpose. Drugs suppress a symptom; remedies give whole body support and specific support for the indicated illness that they target.

In his book, Herbal Pathfinders, Robert Conrow and Arlene Hechksel describe the lives of many herbalists. Here are a few comments from this book.

Vasant lad, says that “Ayurveda sprang from cognitions that occurred in the meditative minds of the ancient seers of truth…”

Wabum says that “usually herbalists are considered to be medicine people of a certain degree… their work in the past could be considered the work of a doctor, psychologist, counselor, or teacher.”

Ellwood Carr says that “out of all the plants on the face of the earth, 90% of human energy around the world comes from only 15 species of plants…”

Natural Health Remedies such as herbs, herbal formulations, minerals, vitamins are now finding new application by consumers. Consumers are slowly becoming more independent and are questioning the excess use of drugs by doctors. They are returning to the use of natural remedies that have been effective for centuries and have little or no side effects.

How Does The South Beach Diet Work?

Friday, September 26th, 2008

The South Beach Diet is another one of those diets that works off of a strict low carb-eating plan. This is especially true during the first phase. However, this diet is not as strict as the Atkins Diet.

In my opinion, the South Beach Diet is much too strict. The limits on carbs are too high and isn′t practical for the everyday dieter. The first phase of the diet is based off of a severely reduced carb diet as well as foods that cannot be eaten.

For example, higher carb foods on the South Beach Diet menu are very limited in portions, mostly during the beginning phase. This does not allow the body to be able to obtain a normal amount of carbs each day.

Many of the foods that this diet allows dieters to eat are foods that are high in protein, and vegetables that are very low in calories.

The South Beach Diet menu allows an unlimited amount of lettuce in the first phase, but then places limits on the amount of onions, tomatoes, and peanuts that can be eaten.

The sweet snacks that we all crave are limited to a measly 75 calories per day during the first phase.

Even though the diet lets dieters eat junk food, they are very limited. This provides for a lower amount of calories that is in one single large cookie.

Though this diet is not as strict as the Atkins diet, each depends on a diet that is extremely low on carbs. Both plans are very difficult for the average dieter, even if they are truly committed during phase 1.

Both the South Beach Diet and the Atkins diet appear to have no end.

Neither of the diets provides a time when the dieter can return to a normal eating plan that includes a time where the amount of carbs taken in does not have to be watched so closely.

As the dieter uses the diet for a longer period of time, there are more carbs that are allowed to be eaten. As time passes, rules are slightly relaxed, but even after 6 months has passed, dieters still have to watch their carb intake.

These diets seem to need a lifetime commitment, which many people are not looking for.

These diets both beg for a permanent lifestyle change, simply because it is required. Many dieters who try these diets find that it is difficult to keep up with because it allows no place for a stretching of the rules. A dieter can’t go out to dinner and order a decent meal.

Overall, both of these diets are highly impractical for the average dieter to follow and continue on with for a long period of time. These diets both require long-term sacrifices. These diets assume that dieters are looking to have a permanently changed lifestyle. Because of this, I recommend that you do not try either of these diets.

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Health Benefits of Soy Candles

Friday, September 26th, 2008

            Soy is everywhere these days, including in your milk, chips, nuts, and even burgers adding health benefits through and through, now it seems soy is also in your candles. Soy candles are a new and emerging type of candle the offers great benefits to those candle heads in the world that can’t live without fresh aroma burning each and every day in their homes.

 

            “If it lasts longer it’s okay with me” said a friend of mine once during a casual dinner. Take that comment for what you will, my friend could’ve meant a variety of things by it, but in general consumers prefer long lasting items to those that are short in life span. Soy candles last 30 to 50 percent longer then traditional candles. Your average 14 oz candle, similar to a Yankee candle large size, will last about 75 hours. If you were to have that candle be a soy candle, it would last over 100 hours and smell just as sweet as the traditional candles do.

 

            Traditional candles are known to cause soot in and around the general area they are burning. For those that aren’t familiar with our friend soot, think grayish black smoky smelling fog that clouds the top of your candle jar, on your walls, and even on ones ceiling. Soot is caused by the toxic elements in the traditional candles that are released when ignited. Soy candles are all natural and do not contain any toxins, thus no soot will come of them.

 

            Carcinogens are released into the air when a traditional candle is burning. Carcinogens can cause cancer, and other health related problems. New research is showing links between candles, charcoal, and other burning devices we use in our home lives as cancer causing. Research is just beginning on this issue; however it is a fact that soy candles do not produce carcinogens. When thinking about buying soy candles think of the old cliché, better safe than sorry.

 

Does the Hollywood Diet work?

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Well, it depends on what your definition of “work” is. As most of us already know, the ONLY way to lose weight is to create a calorie deficit. We have to use up more calories than we consume.

That leaves us with two choices: Diet and weight loss products that “work” by helping with creating a calorie deficit- and those that will never work because they don’t do anything. Let’s get started with diet pills, then move on to popular diet plans. So do diet pills work? Again, it depends. Some are powerful stimulants that will artificially boost your metabolism and suppress your appetite. Others are nothing more than a mix of fiber or useless herbs, these are the ones that don’t do anything- except lighten you wallet. However,  an appetite suppressant wil help you create a calorie deficit, if it’s powerful enough.

So bottom line, do diet drugs really work for weight loss? Only if you like the idea of being constantly filled with powerful stimulants for weeks or months. I would encourage you to research some of the side effects of powerful stimulants. Then you have to ask yourself this question: If I did not keep the weight off before I went on that stimulant pill, why would I be able to keep weight off after I stopped using it? Something to honestly think about.

Next, does ANY popular diet or weight loss plan really work- permanently?

For example, does the South Beach Diet REALLY work? If it creates a calorie deficit for you, yes it can work. You will loose weight.

However…

Extensive research from UCLA has shown that people on popular did lose weight, but within 2 years 83% had gained back more weight than lost. Their research determined people who did not go on a diet, were better off from a health standpoint than those who did.

If you need more proof, just look at the facts:  Nearly two out of three Americans are overweight or obese while spending 40 billion dollars annually on fat loss products. Think about that, if any advertised diet plan worked permanently- would so many people still be overweight?

So rather than ask yourself: Does the South Beach Diet really work? Does the Hollywood Diet work? Does any fad diet really work? Or do crash diets really work? Ask yourself: How can I permanently lose weight?

If you answered “I need to create a small daily calorie deficit,” you’ve taken the first step towards becoming a weight loss success story. Burning off more calories than consumed can only happen one way: You have to change your past weight gain habits over to better weight loss habits.

If you can do that totally on your own, that’s awesome. If you can’t, there are books that can help. I failed at losing weight for 30 years. Over those 30 years, I lost and gained back over 300 pounds. I tried a fews diet shortcuts. And yes, I wondered; do weight loss pills or fad diets really work? I was temped to see if there was a shortcut to burn off fat.

In the end, the only weight loss “system” that worked for me was the one I put together myself with the help of an e-manual called New Body New Life. It taught me how to recognize my weight gain habits, and most importantly, it taught me how to change them over to weight loss habits.

As I said, if you can recognize and change your habits on your own, that’s all you need to do for permanent weight loss. The amount of time and money you’ll save by avoiding diet pills will be tremendous.

On a VERY interesting side point, when you change those habits, it will give you the self discipline to do whatever else you put your mind to. So even if some diet pill like Alli really did work- it can’t give you what changing your habits does:

A whole new level of self respect, confidence, and discipline. And most important the knowledge of how to keep weight off for the rest of your life.

Weight loss Ideas

Friday, September 26th, 2008

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Many peoples goal is weight loss, unfortunately they will fail before they reach their goals. You must be dedicated and focused to be successful at weightloss. if you do succeed you will have more health and fitness and feel heaps better.

While many people want to loose weight not that many will actually succeed the problem is loosing weight is hard. To be successful you have to be one dedicated individual and you really have to stick to your goals. If you are able to succeed the benefits of reduced weight will far out number the benefits of staying fat.

Diet

Whether you like the word or not the first thing that you need to do to start to change is to accept the word. Just because the traditional diet consisted of lettuce and carrot sticks, you must look past history and change your outlook. Successful strategies consist of multiple angle attack, meaning you do exercise, detox, cut fat and eat healthy. In many cases it will make an instant difference.

The next step Exercise

When adding an exercise program to your diet you need to know that it has to provide or more importantly take a bit of effort. While some exercise is better nothing, the real secret is to increase the heart beat and add a bit of effort to the breathing, so when walking make it brisk or even use a treadmill.

Exercise of the aerobic type are the best way to burn that fat, this will remove fat and get rid of flab together. While there are lots of different exercises the facts are you wont see any changes is reasonable amount of time unless you do exercises that make you work. While strength and flexibility work, nothing will show unless the fat starts moving.

Supplements That help

Actually loosing weight is a simple calculation, take in less energy than you burn, for some people this is easy. But for most of us mere mortals it is to hard, and that where we need the help. A pill, something easy that will provide that little bit of added assistance to dull that troublesome appetite.

A supplement that provides an effective fat burner combined with an appetite suppressant may provide the needed edge to achieve weight loss goals. There are many of these supplements on the market, but the best will combine these two substances into a single product.

Weight loss is never easy, but there are ways to increase your odds of success. A reasonable diet, daily exercise and an effective supplement may be just the ticket to drop those pounds and achieve your weight loss goals.