July 30, 2007

Weight Loss Program For Life!!!


People who are overweight have tried many diet and weight loss plans, from the low-carb diet to the low fat approach in the diet. But whatever be the plans they may not have achieve success and are still trying to lose weight. That's not surprising, most of the people who diet find weight loss a never-ending roller coaster ride.

That's where this weight management program can help you. This approach to weight loss is not a diet. It is a lifestyle program that can improve your health and help you maintain a healthy weight for a lifetime. This weight management program can be summarized in four essential components.
  • Eat well with the Healthy Diet Pyramids:


Use this pyramids to help you select the right kinds and amounts of food. If you eat the recommended number of servings, use the proper serving sizes and be physically active every day. This pyramid approach will surely help you to lose weight at a safe pace of 1 to 2 pounds a week.
  • Increase your physical activity:

Being active, either through physical activity or through a formal exercise program, is the next essential component of this weight management program. When you are active, your body uses energy(calories) to work, helping to burn the calories you take in with food you eat. Whatever activity you choose, the key is to doing it regularly. Aim for 30 to 60 minutes of moderately intense physical activity every day.

  • Set action goals:

Goal setting provides focus and path to achieve a healthy lifestyle. With a clear goal, you can readily turn your thoughts into action. When setting goals, focus on specific activities rather than pounds lost. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable and realistic so that you are able to reach them.

  • Get Started and Stay Motivated:

Motivation is the final essential component of this weight management program. It is natural to encounter mental roadblocks and resistance when you undertake a major lifestyle change. Once you are ready to get started make strategies to help strengthen and sustain your motivation.

Achieving a healthy weight takes continuous effort or more correctly, good planning and consistency but the rewards are clear: better health and more enjoyment from life. Over time, these steps will become a sustainable healthy lifestyle based on proper nutrition and increased physical activity. This change in lifestyle can be an enjoyable way for you to live.

July 23, 2007

Creatine: Muscle Enhancer or Kidney Killer???


Creatine works. Lifters know this, Researchers know this, and the marketers who sell the stuff know this. But nobody should put anything in their body without knowing the benefits and risks first. That goes for everything you eat, drink and to the amazing amino acid called creatine.


Creatine - typically bought in flavoured powders and mixed with liquid which increases the body's ability to produce energy rapidly. With more energy, you can train harder and more often, producing faster results. It's as simple as this If you can lift one or two more reps or 5 more pounds, your muscles will get bigger and stronger. Research shows that creatine is most effective in high intensity training and explosive activities. This includes weight training and sports that require short bursts of effort, such as sprinting, football, and baseball. There is less support to indicate that creatine improves endurance performance and aerobic-type exercise.

One thing is almost certain: If you take creatine, you'll gain weight. It'll happen quickly, While the initial gain is water (about 2 to 4 pounds in the first week of supplementation), subsequent gains are muscle due to the increase in the workload you can handle.

Because creatine is an "osmotically active substance," it pulls water into your muscle cells, which increases protein synthesis. Researchers found that muscle fibers grow when a person takes creatine.

The catch: This only happens if you take advantage of the boost in energy and hit the gym. Otherwise, it is just water weight.

The Other Side of the Story:

There have been unreliable reports of kidney damage, heart problems, muscle cramps, dehydration, and diarrhea, in addition to other negative side effects.

Some of these conditions can be caused by consuming too much of certain vitamins. Too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea, and too much iron may lead to stomach problems.

To be safe, use creatine only if you are healthy and have no kidney problems. That's because your kidneys excrete creatinine, a breakdown product of creatine.

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