The latest weight loss advice

Latest weight loss advice

Feeling fat? Forget the diet and dump your tubby friends instead. That's the conclusion of a study reported widely today that looked at the social networks of 12,067 people researchers followed for 32 years. The American research found that obesity can spread from person to person, much like a virus.

"People were most likely to become obese when a friend became obese. That increased one's chances of becoming obese by 57%," reports the IHT.

"There was no effect when a neighbour gained or lost weight, however, and family members had less of an influence than friends. It did not even matter if the friend was hundreds of miles away - the influence remained. And the greatest influence of all was between mutual close friends. There, if one became obese, the other had a 171% increased chance of becoming obese too.

"The same effect seemed to occur for weight loss, the investigators say, but since most people were gaining, not losing, weight over the 32 years, the result was an obesity epidemic."

The researchers say that they do not want people to drop their fat friends, because friendship is good for overall health. Instead, they suggest, "why not make friends with a thin person, and let the thin person's behavior influence you and your obese friend?"

Weight-loss pills

Popular weight-loss pills

A number of weight-loss pills are available at your local drugstore, supermarket or health food store. Even more options are available online. Most haven't been proved safe and effective, and some are downright dangerous.

Herbal or dietary supplement	The claims	What you need to know
Bitter orange	Decreases appetite	Touted as an "ephedra substitute" but may cause health problems similar to those of ephedra Long-term effects unknown
Chitosan	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause constipation, bloating and other gastrointestinal complaints Long-term effects unknown
Chromium	Reduces body fat and builds muscle	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Long-term effects unknown
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)	Reduces body fat, decreases appetite and builds muscle	Might decrease body fat and increase muscle, but isn't likely to reduce total body weight Can cause diarrhea, indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems
Country mallow (heartleaf)	Decreases appetite and increases the number of calories burned	Contains ephedra, which is dangerous Likely unsafe and should be avoided
Ephedra	Decreases appetite	Can cause high blood pressure, heart rate irregularities, sleeplessness, seizures, heart attacks, strokes and even death Banned from the marketplace because of safety concerns, but may still be legally sold as a tea Despite the ban, many ephedra products still sold on the Internet
Green tea extract	Increases calorie and fat metabolism and decreases appetite	Limited evidence to support the claim Can cause vomiting, bloating, indigestion and diarrhea May contain a large amount of caffeine
Guar gum	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat and increases the feeling of fullness, which leads to decreased calorie intake	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause diarrhea, flatulence and other gastrointestinal problems
Hoodia	Decreases appetite	No conclusive evidence to support the claim

Lose Weight in a Busy Schedule

1. Commit to a specific schedule

When you fail to plan you plan to fail. Don't try to haphazardly fit your workouts into your schedule without any rhyme or reason. Don't think you're guilty? If you've every told yourself "I'll workout as soon as I get some time", you were in direct violation of this key principle.

In order to set yourself up for success, you will need to take the time to literally write your workouts into your weekly schedule. In order to be effective, you will want to be following your exercise program at least 3 days per week. Anything less would be kidding yourself.

Therefore, right in the midst of all of your appointments, "to-do" lists, etc., should be a written plan for your weekly workout routine, so that you will never be in the dark as to when you committed to yourself to go.

2. Utilize the weekend

Take advantage of the fact that it only takes 3-5 days per week to put together an effective, results-producing workout. One trick to help you pull it all off is to workout on the weekends. One of the benefits to this course of action is that your schedule is more flexible and under your control during this time.

What is also means is that when the hectic weekdays roll back around, you will only be responsible for working out 1-3 days during the work week.

3. Keep your workouts as a high priority

One of the biggest mistakes that even many people who have scheduled a workout program into their schedule make is allowing it to be bumped off of their schedule to easily.

Although things will occassionally come up that will cause you to have to reschedule the workout you had planned, you must be vigilant in making sure that only the most important emergencies are allowed to temporarily take you off of your plan.

In the event that one of those important emergencies does happen and you can't make it to your workout, reschedule with yourself to make it up on the next possible day that you are available to do so. If your own health, fitness, and efforts to lose weight are not a priority to you, they certainly won't be so to anyone else.

4. Enroll others in your goals

Don't go at this alone. Let the important people in your life know what you are up to. You love interest, spouse, parents, children, co-workers, and close friends will often pitch in and help you to meet your fitness or weight loss commitment to yourself if you make them aware adn ask for their support.

Leverage these relationships to delegate some of your normal responsibilities or even allow you to shift appointments that you have with them as you restructure your schedule for your workout. If any of them are into exercise or trying to lose weight themselves, don't hesitate to form a buddy system with them as you move forward with your program.

5. Don't beat yourself up

No matter who you are, there will be times in your workout program that you just aren't able to keep it up as you would like due to outside demands. Don't be too tough on yourself on this.

Remember that it is what you do consistently over a long period of time, not what you do in spurts, that truly counts. Just make sure that you get back on the horse full force as soon as you can and continue to press forward, doing your best to avoid slacking off again.

No matter what goals you have for health, fitness, or weight loss, you CAN fit an effective exercise program into that hectic schedule of yours and be amazingly successful at getting the exact results that you want!

LOOSE WEIGHT BY DRINKING WATER

Don't roll your eyes! The potion for losing that excess body fat is all around you. It covers two thirds of the planet. If you eat right and exercise at the intensity, frequency and duration proper for you, but still can't get rid of a little paunch here and there, you're probably just not drinking enough water.

No need to get defensive. You're actually quite normal. Most people don't drink enough water. Most people are also carrying around a few more pounds than they would be if they did drink enough water. If you can't seem to get that weight off, try drowning your sorrows in nature's magical weight-loss mineral. It works, and here's why:

"What on Earth is 'metabolism', anyway?" People use the term all the time, but ask them what it means and you'll get all kinds of answers. Merriam Webster defines it as, "The process by which a substance is handled in the body." A little vague, but that's really all it means.

There are many forms of metabolism going on in your body right now, but the one everyone is talking about it the metabolism of fat. This is actually something that the liver does when it converts stored fat to energy. The liver has other functions, but this is one of its main jobs.

Unfortunately, another of the liver's duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can't metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but you're also setting yourself up to store fat.

"I've tried it and I couldn't stand it!" The problem is that, though many decide to increase their water intake, very few stick with it. It's understandable. During the first few days of drinking more water than your body is accustomed to, you're running to the bathroom constantly. This can be very discouraging, and it can certainly interfere with an otherwise normal day at work. It seems that the water is coming out just as fast as it's going in, and many people decide that their new hydration habit is fruitless.

Do take heed , though. What is really happening is that your body is flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years of "survival mode". It takes a while, but this is a beautiful thing happening to you. As you continue to give your body all the water it could ask for, it gets rid of what it doesn't need. It gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than you realize. Your body figures it doesn't need to save these stores anymore; it's trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing (of both the body and the potty) will cease, allowing the human to return to a normal life. It's true. This is called the "breakthrough point."

One recent finding, as irresponsible as it may be, that caffeine increases the body's fat-burning potential has many people loading up on coffee before going to the gym. This finding may hold some degree of truth in it, but caffeine is, in essence, a diuretic, and diuretics dehydrate. Caffeine may increase the heart rate, causing a few more calories to be burned, but this is at the expense of the muscles, which need water to function properly. This isn't doing your heart any favors, either. It's already working hard enough during your workout. Never mix caffeine and exercise. In fact, your best bet is to stay away from caffeine all together. It's a big bully that pushes your friend water out of your system.

Water is the best beauty treatment. You've heard this since high school, and it's true. Water will do wonders for your looks! It flushes out impurities in your skin, leaving you with a clear, glowing complexion. It also makes your skin look younger. Skin that is becoming saggy, either due to aging or weight loss, plumps up very nicely when the skin cells are hydrated.

In addition, it improves muscle tone. You can lift weights until you're blue in the face, but if your muscles are suffering from a drought, you won't notice a pleasant difference in your appearance. Muscles that have all the water they need contract more easily, making your workout more effective, and you'll look much nicer than if you had flabby muscles under sagging skin.

"Eight glasses a day? Are you kidding?!" It's really not that much. Eight 8-ounce glasses amount to about two quarts of water. This is okay for the average person, but if you're overweight, you should drink another eight ounces for every 25 pounds of excess weight you carry. You should also up this if you live in a hot climate or exercise very intensely.

This water consumption should be spread out throughout the day. It's not healthy at all to drink too much water at one time. Try to pick three or four times a day when you can have a big glass of water, and then sip in between. Don't let yourself get thirsty. If you feel thirsty, you're already becoming dehydrated. Drink when you're not thirsty yet.

Do you think water is yucky? Drinking other fluids will certainly help hydrate your body, but the extra calories, sugar, additives and whatever else aren't what you need. Try a slice of lemon or lime in the glass, or if you really think you hate water, try a flavored water. Just make sure you read the labels. Remember that you're going to be consuming a lot of this fluid.

It's probably a good idea to stop drinking water a good three hours before you go to bed. You know why.

"How cold should it be?" This is debatable. Most experts lean toward cold water, because the stomach absorbs it more quickly. There is also some evidence that cold water might enhance fat burning.

On the other hand, warmer water is easier to drink in large quantities, and you might drink more of it without even realizing it. Do whatever suits you, here. Just drink it!

When you drink all the water you need, you will very quickly notice a decrease in your appetite, possibly even on the first day! If you're serious about becoming leaner and healthier, drinking water is an absolute must. If you're doing everything else right and still not seeing results, this might just what's missing.