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Weight Loss Story: Jennifer Martin

weight loss:  article 
Before: 211 lbs
After: 126 lbs

For most of her adult life, Jennifer Martin hovered around 200 pounds, and it weighed on more than just the scale. Her difficulty finding clothes that fit made her feel uncomfortable and self-conscious, and the stay-at-home mom from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, hated that she never had energy to play with her two kids. In 2009, the scale hit a high of 211 pounds, and Jennifer, who is 5'2", realized she weighed as much as her foot-taller husband. Curbing her sweet tooth and lacing up her running shoes helped the 31-year-old shed 85 pounds and get into the best shape of her life.

The Change
In early November 2009, while bingeing on her kids' leftover Halloween candy, Jennifer was suddenly flooded with guilt. "I saw my out-of-control habits through their eyes and knew I needed to change," she says. She put down a handful of chocolate and vowed to stop her chaotic eating.

The Lifestyle
Logging calories in a food journal and weighing in every week kept Jennifer accountable for what she ate and helped her see when she'd overindulged. "Before, if I wanted it, I ate it. I had no limits," she says. By April 2010, she was 25 pounds lighter, and she started walking every day to get into shape. She decided since walking to lose weight was good, running to lose weight would be even better. She gradually upped her distance and speed until she was running three miles a day. When she hit a plateau of 175 pounds in May, she broke it by adding weight-training DVDs to her routine. "I used to be super self-conscious about my arms, but now they're toned and my favorite body part!" she says. In August, Jennifer ran her first 5-K, and two months later she hit her goal weight.

The Reward
When she was overweight, Jennifer avoided going out, but now she thrives on outdoor activities such as running and hiking. Her new confidence has improved her outlook too. "Exercise makes me feel strong and good about myself," she says. "My thirties are going to be my best years yet!"

Jennifer's Tips
Rearrange your pantry.
"I keep healthy snacks at eye level, and I have a bowl of fresh fruit on the table for my family to munch on."

Do your research.
"Before going to a restaurant, I look at their menu online so I can order a healthy choice when I get there."

Mark your progress.
"I celebrated every 10 pounds I lost by buying new workout gear or jewelry to remind me of how far I'd come."

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Last updated: May 6, 2011   Issue date: April 2011

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Print the Flat Abs Pilates Workout

fitness:  article 
This at-home total-body workout, which gives your abs some extra love without damaging your bottom line. All you need is a Pilates ball. Do the following sequence two or three times a week. Starting with the first move, do eight to 10 reps of each exercise with little to no rest between exercises.

The best part? With this easy printable list, you can get your fitness expert-certified sweat on for free. Learn more about the workout or get the printable version now.

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Last updated: April 8, 2011   Issue date: November 2010

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The Secret to Being Fit For Life: Muscle Memory

fitness:  article 
Five weeks and five days after giving birth, and a full nine months since running a single step, WH's Lesley Rotchford, 34, laced up her sneaks and banged out five miles. Her muscles groaned a bit from the abrupt reentry, but with 20 years of distance running under their belt, they remembered just what to do.

It's a phenomenon aptly called muscle memory. Simply put, when you teach your body how to do something—ride a bike, surf, strike some yoga poses,run a few miles—it creates a physiological blueprint. So even if you take some time off, you'll get back to where you were faster than it took you to learn the exercise in the first place. "Muscle memory stems from your body's learning not just how to perform a task, but also how to break down muscle tissue and then repair and rebuild it," explains William Kraemer, Ph.D., a professor in the department of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. "That physiological knowledge lets you come back from injury, surgery, and even pregnancy faster, easier, and often better than before," he says.

Athletes have taken advantage of muscle memory for decades. Exercise scientists have been studying it just as long. But you don't need to be an Olympian or have a Ph.D. to know how to reap the rewards. Here's how you can tap your muscle memory and enjoy the lifelong body benefits.

How Your Muscles Remember
Not surprisingly, the process of forging muscle memory originates in the brain. When you learn something new, whether it's how to do a split squat or how to snowboard, your brain fires up all the right motor units (nerves that signal muscle fibers to kick in) to help you perform the movements.

Once your muscle fibers get the memo from your brain to move, they start sending messages back. "When you move, you activate sensors (called proprioceptors) in your muscles, tendons, and joints that constantly give feedback to your central nervous system about where your body is in space, so it knows what muscles to fire next," says Adam Knight, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomechanics at Mississippi State University. It's a continuous feedback loop from your brain to your muscles and back. "Your brain creates pathways through your central nervous system, and movements become automatic," adds Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., fitness research director at Quincy College in Massachusetts. Those well-worn pathways essentially become your muscle memory.

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Last updated: May 6, 2011   Issue date: December 2010

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Safe Sex: Lay Down Some Rubber!

sex & relationships:  article 
In terms of safe sex, are you smarter than a 12th grader? Maybe not. Groundbreaking new research on sexual health from Indiana University found that condom use is routine for teens, but not for adults.

While female teenagers use condoms nearly 60 percent of the time, women ages 25 to 34 use this kind of protection for a mere 24 percent of their sexual encounters, according to the study, which was published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. And even though condoms don't offer 100 percent protection against sexually transmitted infections, they're your best bet for helping prevent the spread of chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, HPV, and herpes. "You need to have zero tolerance for anyone who is unwilling to use a condom," says urologist Jennifer Berman, M.D., an expert in female sexual medicine, who points out that one in five adults has an STD and that many of these diseases, such as gonorrhea, are on the rise.

Not-So-Safe Sex
Why are we so passive about protection? For one, many adults in their twenties and thirties are in monogamous relationships. "When you're in a stable relationship, you are less concerned about sexual infections or pregnancy, so you may forgo using a condom," says Michael Reece, Ph.D., director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University and one of the study's authors. Being coupled up can also give some people a false sense of security. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many STDs, including herpes and HPV, can have easy-to-miss symptoms and in some cases no symptoms at all, so you might be unaware that you (or your partner) are infected. Unless you've both been tested, you don't know for sure if you're in the clear.

Even if you and your guy have been tested, experts say there's still a place for condoms in your relationship. "Condoms are a highly effective form of birth control; they're almost 98 percent effective in preventing pregnancy when used correctly," says Leslie M. Kantor, the national director of education initiatives for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Plus, they're cheap, easy to use, and hormone-free, and they don't require a prescription.

And contrary to popular belief, condoms don't have to stand in the way of good sex. "Some people think condoms detract from the flow of the experience or take away from their partner's pleasure, or their own," says Kantor. But the study also found that adults who use condoms during sex are just as likely to rate the experience positively in terms of arousal, pleasure, and orgasm as when there's no love glove.

Make Protection Pleasurable
Condoms now come with some spine-tingling bells and whistles.

"Many are thinner than the condoms of 10 years ago," says Reece. "They're available in a range of shapes, sizes, textures, and scents. Some even come with vibrating rings that stimulate both the penis and the clitoris."

What's more, you can turn the sometimes-awkward act of putting on a condom into a pleasurable one. Linger for a while, stroking his penis before and as you slip the latex over him. Just be sure to leave some room at the end (if there isn't a built-in reservoir tip) to prevent breakage. To increase the sensation--and pleasure--for both you and your man during sex, Kantor suggests putting a bit of water-based lubricant on the inside and outside of the condom.

A few more perks: "A condom can help a man sustain an erection longer," says Kantor. And many women feel more relaxed and in-the- moment when they know they've greatly reduced their risk of becoming pregnant or contracting an STD. All of these things can make the sexual experience more satisfying for both of you and increase your chances of reaching orgasm. See? Good things really do come in small packages.

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Last updated: February 17, 2011   Issue date: March 2011

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The Big Picture of Permanent Weight Loss

Most people who read my articles and e-books know me as a science guy who likes to quote studies and apply research to everyday problems such as weight loss, bodybuilding, and other health/fitness related topics. However, sometimes you have to step back from the science and look at the big picture to help bring people back into focus, so they can see the forest for the trees, so to speak.

For most people reading this article, finding an effective diet that works most of the time must seem as complicated as nuclear physics. It's not, but there are a bewildering number of choices for diets out there. High fat or no fat? High carbohydrate or no carbohydrate? Low protein or high protein? To make matters worse, there are a million variations and combinations to the above diet scenarios to add to the confusion. It seems endless and causes many people to throw up their hands in frustration and give up. In this article I will attempt to change all that.

There are some general guidelines, rules of thumb, and ways of viewing a diet program that will allow you to decide, once and for all, if it's the right diet for you. You may not always like what I have to say, and you should be under no illusions this is another quick fix, "lose 100 lbs. in 20 days," guide of some sort. However, if you are sick and tired of being confused, tired of taking the weight off only to put it back on, and tired of wondering how to take the first steps to deciding the right diet for you that will result in permanent weight loss, then this is the article that could change your life...

Does your diet pass "The Test"?

What is the number one reason diets fail long term; above all else? The number one reason is...drum roll...a lack of long term compliance. The numbers don't lie; the vast majority of people who lose weight will regain it - and often exceed what they lost. You knew that already didn't you?

Yet, what are you doing to avoid it? Here's another reality check: virtually any diet you pick which follows the basic concept of "burning" more calories then you consume - the well accepted "calories in calories out" mantra - will cause you to lose weight. To some degree, they all work: Atkins-style, no carb diets, low fat high carb diets, all manner of fad diets - it simply does not matter in the short term.

If your goal is to lose some weight quickly, then pick one and follow it. I guarantee you will lose some weight. Studies generally find any of the commercial weight loss diets will get approximately the same amount of weight off after 6 months to a year. For example, a recent study found the Atkins' Diet, Slim-Fast plan, Weight Watchers Pure Points program, and Rosemary Conley's Eat Yourself Slim diet, were all equally effective. (1)

Other studies comparing other popular diets have come to essentially the same conclusions. For example, a study that compared the Atkins diet, the Ornish diet, Weight Watchers, and The Zone Diet, found them to be essentially the same in their ability to take weight off after one year. (2)

Recall what I said about the number one reason diets fail, which is a lack of compliance. The lead researcher of this recent study stated:

"Our trial found that adherence level rather than diet type was the primary predictor of weight loss"(3)

Translated, it's not which diet they chose per se, but their ability to actually stick to a diet that predicted their weight loss success. I can just see the hands going up now, "but Will, some diets must be better than others, right?" Are some diets better then others? Absolutely. Some diets are healthier then others, some diets are better at preserving lean body mass, some diets are better at suppressing appetite - there are many differences between diets. However, while most of the popular diets will work for taking weight off, what is abundantly clear is that adhering to the diet is the most important aspect for keeping the weight off long term.

What is a diet?

A diet is a short term strategy to lose weight. Long term weight loss is the result of an alteration in lifestyle. We are concerned with life long weight management, not quick fix weight loss here. I don't like the term diet, as it represents a short term attempt to lose weight vs. a change in lifestyle. Want to lose a bunch of weight quickly? Heck, I will give you the information on how to do that here and now for no charge.

For the next 90 to 120 days eat 12 scrambled egg whites, one whole grapefruit, and a gallon of water twice a a day. You will lose plenty of weight. Will it be healthy? Nope. Will the weight stay off once you are done with this diet and are then forced to go back to your "normal" way of eating? Not a chance. Will the weight you lose come from fat or will it be muscle, water, bone, and (hopefully!) some fat? The point being, there are many diets out there that are perfectly capable of getting weight off you, but when considering any eating plan designed to lose weight, you must ask yourself:

"Is this a way of eating I can follow long term?"

Which brings me to my test: I call it the "Can I eat that way for the rest of my life?" Test. I know, it does not exactly roll off your tongue, but it gets the point across.

The lesson here is: any nutritional plan you pick to lose weight must be part of a lifestyle change you will be able to follow - in one form or another - forever. That is, if it's not a way of eating you can comply with indefinitely, even after you get to your target weight, then it's worthless.

Thus, many fad diets you see out there are immediately eliminated, and you don't have to worry about them. The question is not whether the diet is effective in the short term, but if the diet can be followed indefinitely as a lifelong way of eating. Going from "their" way of eating back to "your" way of eating after you reach your target weight is a recipe for disaster and the cause of the well established yo-yo dieting syndrome. Bottom line: there are no short cuts, there is no free lunch, and only a commitment to a lifestyle change is going to keep the fat off long term. I realize that's not what most people want to hear, but it's the truth, like it or not.

The statistics don't lie: getting the weight off is not the hardest part, keeping the weight off is! If you take a close look at the many well known fad/commercial diets out there, and you are honest with yourself, and apply my test above, you will find most of them no longer appeal to you as they once did. It also brings me to an example that adds additional clarity: If you have diet A that will cause the most weight loss in the shortest amount of time but is unbalanced and essentially impossible to follow long term vs. diet B, which will take the weight off at a slower pace, but is easier to follow, balanced, healthy, and something you can comply with year after year, which is superior? If diet A gets 30 lbs off you in 30 days, but by next year you have gained back all 30 lbs, but diet B gets 20 lbs off you in the next 3 months with another 20 lbs 3 months after that and the weight stays off by the end of that year, which is the better diet?

If you don't know the answer to those questions, you have totally missed the point of this article and the lesson it's trying to teach you, and are set up for failure. Go back and read this section again...By default, diet B is superior.

Teach a man to Fish...

A well known Chinese Proverb is - Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

This expression fits perfectly with the next essential step in how to decide what eating plan you should follow to lose weight permanently. Will the diet plan you are considering teach you how to eat long term, or does it spoon-feed you information? Will the diet rely on special bars, shakes, supplements or pre-made foods they supply?

Let's do another diet A vs. diet B comparison. Diet A is going to supply you with their foods, as well as their special drink or bars to eat, and tell you exactly when to eat them. You will lose - say - 30 lbs in two months. Diet B is going to attempt to help you learn which foods you should eat, how many calories you need to eat, why you need to eat them, and generally attempt to help teach you how to eat as part of a total lifestyle change that will allow you to make informed decisions about your nutrition. Diet B causes a slow steady weight loss of 8 -10 lbs per month for the next 6 months and the weight stays off because you now know how to eat properly.

Recall the Chinese proverb. Both diets will assist you to lose weight. Only one diet, however, will teach you how to be self-reliant after your experience is over. Diet A is easier, to be sure, and causes faster weight loss than diet B, and diet B takes longer and requires some thinking and learning on your part. However, when diet A is over, you are right back where you started and have been given no skills to fish. Diet companies don't make their profits by teaching you to fish, they make their money by handing you a fish so you must rely on them indefinitely or come back to them after you gain all the weight back.

Thus, diet B is superior for allowing you to succeed where other diets failed, with knowledge gained that you can apply long term. Diet programs that attempt to spoon feed you a diet without any attempt to teach you how to eat without their help and/or rely on their shakes, bars, cookies, or pre-made foods, is another diet you can eliminate from your list of choices.

Diet plans that offer weight loss by drinking their product for several meals followed by a "sensible dinner;" diets that allow you to eat their special cookies for most meals along with their pre-planned menu; or diets that attempt to have you eating their bars, drink, or pre-made meals, are of the diet A variety covered above. They're easy to follow but destined for failure, long term. They all fail the "Can I eat that way for the rest of my life?" test, unless you really think you can eat cookies and shakes for the rest of your life...Bottom line here is, if the nutritional approach you use to lose weight, be it from a book, a class, a clinic, or an e-book, does not teach you how to eat, it's a loser for long term weight loss and it should be avoided.

The missing link for long term weight loss

We now make our way to another test to help you choose a nutrition program for long term weight loss, and it does not actually involve nutrition. The missing link for long term weight loss is exercise. Exercise is the essential component of long term weight loss. Many diet programs do not contain an exercise component, which means they are losers for long term weight loss from the very start. Any program that has its focus on weight loss but does not include a comprehensive exercise plan is like buying a car without tires, or a plane without wings. People who have successfully kept the weight off overwhelmingly have incorporated exercise into their lives, and the studies that look at people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off invariably find these people were consistent with their diet and exercise plans. (4)

I am not going to list all the benefits of regular exercise here, but regular exercise has positive effects on your metabolism, allows you to eat more calories yet still be in a calorie deficit, and can help preserve lean body mass (LBM) which is essential to your health and metabolism. The many health benefits of regular exercise are well known, so I won't bother adding them here. The bottom line here is, (a) if you have any intentions of getting the most from your goal of losing weight and (b) plan to keep it off long term, regular exercise must be an integral part of the weight loss strategy. So, you can eliminate any program, be it book, e-book, clinic, etc. that does not offer you direction and help with this essential part of long term weight loss.

Side Bar: A quick note on exercise:

Any exercise is better than no exercise. However, like diet plans, not all exercise is created equal, and many people often choose the wrong form of exercise to maximize their efforts to lose weight. For example, they will do aerobics exclusively and ignore resistance training. Resistance training is an essential component of fat loss, as it builds muscle essential to your metabolism, increases 24 hour energy expenditure, and has health benefits beyond aerobics.

The reader will also note I said fat loss above not weight loss. Though I use the term 'weight loss' throughout this article, I do so only because it is a familiar term most people understand. However, the true focus and goal of a properly set up nutrition and exercise plan should be on fat loss, not weight loss. A focus on losing weight, which may include a loss essential muscle, water, and even bone, as well as fat, is the wrong approach. Losing the fat and keeping the all important lean body mass (LBM), is the goal, and the method for achieving that can be found in my ebook(s) on the topic, and is beyond the scope of this article. Bottom line: the type of exercise, intensity of that exercise, length of time doing that exercise, etc., are essential variables here when attempting to lose FAT while retaining (LBM).

Psychology 101 of long term weight loss

Many diet programs out there don't address the psychological aspect of why people fail to be successful with long term weight loss. However, quite a few studies exist that have looked at just that. In many respects, the psychological aspect is the most important for long term weight loss, and probably the most underappreciated component.

Studies that compare the psychological characteristics of people who have successfully kept the weight off to people who have regained the weight, see clear differences between these two groups. For example, one study that looked at 28 obese women who had lost weight but regained the weight that they had lost, compared to 28 formerly obese women who had lost weight and maintained their weight for at least one year and 20 women with a stable weight in the healthy range, found the women who regained the weight:

o Had a tendency to evaluate self-worth in terms of weight and shape

o Had a lack of vigilance with regard to weight control

o had a dichotomous (black-and-white) thinking style

o Had the tendency to use eating to regulate mood.

The researchers concluded:

"The results suggest that psychological factors may provide some explanation as to why many people with obesity regain weight following successful weight loss."

This particular study was done on women, so it reflects some of the specific psychological issues women have - but make no mistake here - men also have their own psychological issues that can sabotage their long term weight loss efforts. (6)

Additional studies on men and women find psychological characteristics such as "having unrealistic weight goals, poor coping or problem-solving skills and low self-efficacy" often predict failure with long term weight loss. (7) On the other hand, psychological traits common to people who experienced successful long term weight loss include "...an internal motivation to lose weight, social support, better coping strategies and ability to handle life stress, self-efficacy, autonomy, assuming responsibility in life, and overall more psychological strength and stability." (8)

The main point of this section is to illustrate that psychology plays a major role in determining if people are successful with long term weight loss. If it's not addressed as part of the overall plan, it can be the factor that makes or breaks your success. This, however, is not an area most nutrition programs can adequately tackle and should not be expected to. However, the better programs do generally attempt to help with motivation, goal setting, and support. If you see yourself in the above lists from the groups that failed to maintain their weight long term, then know you will need to address those issues via counseling, support groups, etc. Don't expect any weight loss program to cover this topic adequately but do look for programs that attempt to offer support, goal setting, and resources that will keep you on track.

"There's a sucker born every minute"

So why don't you see this type of honest information about the realities of long term weight loss more often? Let's be honest here, telling the truth is not the best way to sell bars, shakes, books, supplements, and programs. Hell, if by some miracle everyone who read this article actually followed it, and sent it on to millions of other people who actually followed it, makers of said products could be in financial trouble quickly. However, they also know - as the man said - "there's a sucker born every minute," so I doubt they will be kept up at night worrying about the effects that I, or this article, will have on their business.

So let's recap what has been learned here: the big picture realities of permanent weight loss and how you can look at a weight loss program and decide for yourself if it's for you based on what has been covered above:

o Permanent weight loss is not about finding a quick fix diet, but making a commitment to life style changes that include nutrition and exercise

o Any weight loss program you choose must pass the "Can I eat that way for the rest of my life?" test,

o The weight loss program you choose should ultimately teach you how to eat and be self reliant so you can make informed long term choices about your nutrition.

o The weight loss program you choose should not leave you reliant on commercial bars, shakes, supplements, or pre-made foods, for your long term success.

o The weight loss program you choose must have an effective exercise component.

o The weight loss program you choose should attempt to help with motivation, goal setting, and support, but can't be a replacement for psychological counseling if needed.

Conclusion

I want to take this final section to add some additional points and clarity. For starters, the above advice is not for everyone. It's not intended for those who really have their nutrition dialed in, such as competitive bodybuilders and other athletes who benefit from fairly dramatic changes in their nutrition, such as 'off season' and 'pre-contest' and so on.

The article is also not intended for those with medical issues who may be on a specific diet to treat or manage a specific medical condition. The article is intended for the average person who wants to get off the Yo-Yo diet merry-go-round once and for all. As that's probably 99% of the population, it will cover millions of people.

People should also not be scared off by my "you have to eat this way forever" advice. This does not mean you will be dieting for the rest of your life and have nothing but starvation to look forward to. What it does mean, however, is you will have to learn to eat properly even after you reach your target weight and that way of eating should not be a huge departure from how you ate to lose the weight in the first place. Once you get to your target weight - and or your target bodyfat levels - you will go onto a maintenance phase which generally has more calories and choices of food, even the occasional treat, like a slice of pizza or whatever.

Maintenance diets are a logical extension of the diet you used to lose the weight, but they are not based on the diet you followed that put the weight on in the first place!

Regardless of which program you choose, use the above 'big picture' approach which will keep you on track for long term weight loss. See you in the gym!

References

(1) Truby H, et al. Randomised controlled trial of four commercial weight loss programmes in the UK: initial findings from the BBC "diet trials" BMJ 2006;332:1309-1314 (3 June),

(2) Michael D., et al, Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction. A Randomized Trial. JAMA. 2005;293:43-53.

(3) Comparison of Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction-Reply. Michael Dansinger. JAMA. 2005;293:1590-1591.

(4) Kruger J. et al. Dietary and physical activity behaviors among adults successful at weight loss maintenance. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2006, 3:17 doi:10.1186/1479-5868-3-17

(5) Byrne S, et al. Weight maintenance and relapse in obesity: a qualitative study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 Aug;27(8):955-62.

(6) Borg P, et al. Food selection and eating behaviour during weight maintenance intervention and 2-y follow-up in obese men.Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Dec;28(12):1548-54.

(7) Byrne SM. Psychological aspects of weight maintenance and relapse in obesity. J Psychosom Res. 2002 Nov;53(5):1029-36.

(8) Elfhag K, et al. Who succeeds in maintaining weight loss? A conceptual review of factors associated with weight loss maintenance and weight regain. Obes Rev. 2005 Feb;6(1):67-85

Author Bio

Will Brink is an author, columnist and expert in the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences.

His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media , MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Exercise For Men Only, and numerous others.

He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. Will formerly trained high level Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness and now runs seminars for (SWAT).

He is the author of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed which reveals exactly how to get lean, ripped and healthy completely naturally.

Find out more at http://www.bodybuildingrevealed.com & his personal website at http://www.brinkzone.com

How to Choose Credible Weight Loss Pills Online?

We all know how huge weight loss market is, offering thousands of different weight loss pills. And it keeps growing every year, as well as the number of people suffering obesity and excess weight. Generally we face enormous offers of amazing results, almost magic capacities and 100% guaranteed weight loss success.

Ok, let's think a little - what really stands behind all those claims? Are those weight loss supplements really matching their claims? Are they really effective and safe for our health? Will we lose weight and become slimmer or just lose our money and give up our attempts to find credible weight loss supplements?

For the moment all the weight loss pills can be divided in two huge niches. First niche is prescription weight loss pills. They are medications with efficacy clinically studied. Basically they are approved by official organizations like FDA. But their use is confined by doctor's prescription, and may be strictly forbidden if we have certain health conditions. Besides, prescription weight loss pills have serious side effects and using them in the long run may lead to tolerance.

The second niche is weight loss dietary supplements. There is really great amount of different types, like fat burners, appetite suppressants, thermogenic calorie burners - all of them apply different approaches to weight loss. There are some risks of using dietary supplements though. They are not strictly regulated by official organizations, and as a rule, don't suffer clinical studies and approvals, so their effectiveness as well as side effects come to light only after the customers have tried them on the market.

The examples are widely known. The great deal of weight loss supplements used ephedra as active component, until ephedra was found to have serious side effects, affecting badly our blood pressure and heart.

Hoodia based supplements is another point of concern when it comes to choosing credible weight loss product. Actually there are around 13 of Hoodia types, but only Hoodia Gordonii has P57 component - exactly the one that provides Hoodia's famous appetite suppression. Artificial Hoodia Gordonii is pretty scarce ingredient, but we see the weight loss market is supersaturated with Hoodia supplements. Certainly there exist pure artificial Hoodia Gordonii that demonstrates its known capacities, but there are a few manufacturers that can guarantee Hoodia Gordonii authenticity and quality.

The huge number of weight loss supplements contains under researched components with the lack of clinical approvals.

At the same time we can find really credible weight loss pills online, that will help us speed up our weight loss.

We offer several steps to define if certain slimming pills worth ordering online.


The official sites selling pills online don't display unsubstantiated claims about their product. Such claims are intended primarily to manipulate ill-advised customer in the rash for easy and fast weight loss solution. But this is not a point yet, as it's easy to change distrustful claims for more adequate ones to avoid any mistrust from the potential customers.
The weight loss products are produced by manufacturers with a strong reputation in the weight loss niche. You can always find the company's site, its contact info, and get all the necessary knowledge of its production process, as well as certificates that prove compliance with manufacture standards.
We can also include money-back guarantees, and wide scope of customer service, for example, advisory services or additional bonuses like free delivery or special re-order conditions. But this is still not enough for a product to be considered as credible.
The strict rule for high quality slimming pills is using only artificial high quality ingredients, proved with clinical studies, and their efficacy and safety is approved. If a manufacturer really uses no fraudulent components, he will let you know by presenting respective certificates.
And obviously the surest sign of slimming pills credibility - the company is free to present its weight loss product for general audience. You can hear about the product not only in the online community, but from reputable experts in the health niche.

We understand how the real quality weight loss product is important for achieving weight loss success. It's been proved many times that the guarantee for real and successful weight loss is combination of healthy diet and regular physical activity. The great aid in achieving successful weight loss results are weight loss pills. And if they prove to be fraudulent, we won't reach such perfect and fast weight loss than we could if using really credible weight loss supplements.

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Reveal Your Abs—for Good!

fitness:  article 
For years, you've curled, crunched, and twisted, but for some reason your pooch hasn't shrunk. Want to know why? To reveal that sexy, sculpted middle, you have to target more than the small section of abs that crunches hit, say Alwyn Cosgrove and Lou Schuler in their book The New Rules of Lifting for Abs. You need to work your entire core by encouraging it to do the job it's meant to do: stabilize your spine.

Cosgrove and Schuler's groundbreaking program is based on the concept that a healthy, sculpted body is the result of your muscles working the way they were intended. Because your core's main function is to keep you upright, each unique exercise in the program falls into one of the three stabilization categories below.

Progressively incorporate the moves on The No Crunch Zone Workout into your regular workout, and in a matter of weeks that stubborn pooch will vanish.

Stabilization
Exercises in this category stabilize your spine and pelvis by holding your body in a static position for a set amount of time. We know what you're thinking: Not that boring old plank! But this much-maligned move develops your deepest core muscles, which cinch in your waist like a corset, and it just may be the key to that coveted flat belly.

Your first goal is to master holding the basic plank with solid form for 90 seconds (45 seconds for side planks). Then you will be ready to move on to more advanced versions—and that's where things get interesting. Minor tweaks, such as holding one of your arms or legs above the floor, become challenging variations that shift your center of gravity and work your deep stabilizing muscles in new ways. Plus, there's nothing boring about holding a plank with your forearms on a stability ball—your core muscles have to adjust to keep your lower back steady and prevent you from face-planting on the gym floor.

Dynamic Stabilization
This category ups the ante: You'll move your arms or legs instead of holding them in a static position. Your core remains still, so those muscles continue to work hard to support your spine, but the added movement forces the surrounding muscles to get in on the action too. The key to performing these exercises successfully is moving the body parts that are supposed to move—and only those parts. It's harder than it sounds, as you'll quickly learn when you try the stability-ball mountain climber and the side plank and row. These moves may take some patience and perseverance, but the payoff—increased coordination, balance, and athleticism (as well as, duh, fantastic abs)—more than make up for the tough learning curve.

Integrated Stabilization
The goal of the moves in this category is to challenge your core muscles to support your spine under conditions that most closely resemble what you encounter in everyday life—from carrying groceries to lugging a suitcase to chasing after a toddler. So while the dumbbell offloaded farmer's walk and the suitcase deadlift and lateral step-up may not look like traditional core exercises, to pull them off you have to engage your entire midsection. And rather than moving on to a tougher variation, you add weight, reps, or distance to make these exercises more difficult.

Relax, you don't need to commit all this to memory: The No-Crunch Zone workout makes it a breeze. Just head to the gym, and you'll be on the fast track to a tight, toned tummy.

Adapted from The News Rules of LIfting for Abs: A Myth-Busting Fitness Plan for Men and Women Who Want a Strong Core and a Pain-Free Back, by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove (Avery)

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Last updated: May 6, 2011   Issue date: January/February 2011

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A Fun and Healthy Way to Lose Weight - Enrolling In a Weight Loss Spa Vacation

Pain Tolerance: Outsmart the Ouch!

health:  article 
Childbirth. Menstrual cramps. Migraines. If you were born with XX chromosomes, you're probably well acquainted with all kinds of discomfort. Women are more likely to suffer chronic pain than men are, thanks in part to certain female-centric conditions (think: endometriosis, fibromyalgia). But new research shows that pain can be a mental game, and that you can up your tolerance by retraining your brain.

A World of Hurt
When you stub your toe or sprain your wrist, the millions of nerves in your skin and tissues register the sensation and carry it to your brain for decoding. Your mind gets the message and immediately shoots back a "danger!" signal in the form of a sharp ache. All of this happens in a matter of milliseconds and sends your body into fight-or-flight mode, which can cause rapid heartbeat, sweating, hyper-breathing, and lightning-speed reflexes (the reason you can whip your hand away from a hot stove), says Teresa D. Long, M.D., director of the Persistent Pain Management clinic at the University of Kansas Hospital.

How much you wince (or wail!) over that stubbed toe comes down, in part, to your parents' ability to handle hurt, since one aspect of pain tolerance is genetic. (Researchers are still working out the particulars, but studies show that the gene that gives people red hair can also spell an increased sensitivity to pain.) Estrogen fluctuations also might play a role in magnifying aches, says family physician Rob Danoff, D.O., of the American Osteopathic Association.

"Boys and girls have similar pain detection until puberty," he explains. "After that, the perception of pain seems to be more intense for women when estrogen levels drop, like right before menstruation."

Send Pain Packing
Still, women can increase their tolerance by using their head. "Your pain threshold can be significantly altered by your emotions," says Beverly E. Thorn, Ph.D., chair of psychology at The University of Alabama. "And over time, the brain can rewire itself to be more or less responsive to certain kinds of pain." For example, women who choose to run long races with sore hamstrings, bum knees, or serious side cramps may experience less pain sensation because they actually want to be running—their positive attitude can overpower the brain's danger signals and activate the pain-thwarting chemical serotonin.

Last updated: May 27, 2011   Issue date: May 2011

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Mammograms: What's Best For Your Breasts?

health:  article 
To test or not to test? Or more specifically, when to test? That's the crucial query. Last November, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that women swap their after-40 annual mammograms for biannual ones starting at 50, and quit breast self-exams altogether. It cited evidence that less frequent mammos could be equally effective at catching cancer. (Fewer tests would also save money, though the group insists it didn't consider cost.) Plus, the USPSTF argued, self-exams haven't been proven to reduce deaths but can lead instead to lots of unwarranted doctors' visits.

The screening revisions ignited a firestorm of controversy (after all,some 40,000 women die of breast cancer each year), thanks to conflicting data on mammogram efficacy. Current research hasn't yielded any hard conclusions, leaving patients confused and aggravated. "One disturbing aspect of the guidelines is that they're based on the idea that having a mammogram is anxiety provoking," says Karen L. Hiotis, M.D., a breast surgeon at the New York University Cancer Institute. "That's almost an insult to me as a woman."

Hiotis continues to favor self-exams and annual screenings for average-risk patients starting at age 40 (high-risk patients should start earlier). Yet she has noticed that fewer of her younger patients have booked mammos since the USPSTF recs were released. "Those happened to coincide with the recession, when more people were without work and health insurance," she says. "So, many thought it was OK to have fewer tests. I've spent the past year telling patients, no, it's not OK."

The majority of top doctors agree, despite evidence that benign tumors are being misdiagnosed as cancer, sometimes resulting in unnecessary biopsies or mastectomies. The problem, notes the USPSTF, is that women under 50 tend to have denser breasts, making malignancies harder to spot. On the other hand, cancerous tumors in women under 50 can be much more lethal, and overlooking one could be a fatal mistake. "Ethically, you don't want to be a doctor who misses cancer," says Sharmila Makhija, M.D., the director of gynecologic oncology at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

For its part, the American Cancer Society issued its own review in September, reinforcing 40 as the recommended age to begin annual mammos. The group neither endorsed nor discouraged self exams-- essentially, it says, they won't hurt you, but they won't help you either. Hiotis disagrees. "I can't tell you the number of patients I see who have noted masses in their breasts themselves," she says. Adds Laura Lawson,M.D., a breast surgeon at Baptist Hospital in Nashville: "I have many breast-cancer patients in their twenties and thirties. And these are not women who were getting mammograms, so self examination is crucial."

The bottom line for now is that while mammos aren't perfect, they're the best breast-cancer detection we have. Research on new tests is in the works, and more precise digital mammogram technology is already out. Because the breast-care debate will likely wage on, it's up to you to be proactive and talk to your doctor about your individual risk, and to weigh the pros and cons of early testing. Lawson points out you can never be too careful: "For the person whose cancer is caught early, regular screening is lifesaving."

What About the Pap?
Last year, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) called for a rethinking of the Pap smear, a screen for cervical cancer: Instead of getting their first annual test after their initial sexual experience, women should start biannual screenings at age 21. And those over 30 who have had three consecutive "normal" results can wait three years between tests.

"The new guidelines are right on the money," says Sharmila Makhija,M.D. "The rate of cervical cancer in women under 21 is less than 1 percent. That's a very low-risk category we've been heavily screening." Most docs say patients have been OK with having fewer Paps, though some women still request annual screenings. "I'll tell them why frequent testing might not be vital, but if they still want one, I'll do it," says Makhija. The big caveat: You should not interpret the ACOG recommendations to mean you can skip your...but the type of breast cancer that affects younger women tends to be more aggressive. annual exam altogether. You still need to head to your gyno regularly to discuss birth control, STD prevention, and overall breast health.

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Last updated: May 6, 2011   Issue date: December 2010

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Tyler Florence: Celeb Chef, Locavore

nutrition:  article 
When it comes to food, the people of Marin County, where I live, are pretty darn lucky...and we know it. We have the benefit of living in the heart of California's bounty, and to ignore that would be a crime. So the concept of being a locavore, or one who chooses whenever possible to incorporate locally grown or locally produced food into one's nutrition plan, is of great importance.

Now, I certainly didn't invent this concept, but over the past few years I've had many discussions with colleagues, friends, and family about what being a locavore means exactly, and how it can best be applied to cooking. And being a locavore doesn't simply stop at addressing the proximity of your food source. Rather, it encompasses, both directly and indirectly, such concepts as sustainability, organic farming, and being "green," among others. This is all important stuff, and as I grow as a chef, a businessman, and a father, the impact of these choices takes on greater and greater significance.

Coined by a Bay Area chef and author named Jessica Prentice in 2005, the term locavore has picked up steam in the past few years and, in fact, was chosen by The New Oxford American Dictionary as the 2007 word of the year. This concept has become somewhat political of late, as some critics have called the movement to eat local, organic, and sustainable food an elitist and impractical pursuit.

Look, I get it. The best of the best of anything I could ever want to eat literally comes from just around the corner and, thankfully, I have the means to obtain it. But not everyone is so lucky. Organic foods are more expensive—they just are. And if you live in the middle of Nebraska, when February comes, that frozen corn-sicle just isn't going to cut it. So I understand that this concept can seem a bit out of reach for many people.

But the truth is that as long as we all recognize the concept and factor it into our food choices, we're on the right path. Let's talk about a few things that make the locavore concept important and worth your time to consider:

Locally produced foods—defined as those harvested within a 100-mile radius of one's home—have a lesser impact on the environment because of the decreased need for transportation from source to consumer. Another plus for local foods is that they are generally of superior quality because they get to the consumer very shortly after harvest.

Eating local foods also supports local economies, keeping the money cycling through the community. It's important that our restaurants not only delight our community's collective palate but also enrich the lives of our neighbors.

When people turn to local foods, the benefits are felt up and down the food chain, and even if you don't live in a place where you can take full advantage of the idea, I encourage you to think about ways that you can apply the same principles to your family's dinner table. Despite the controversies—organic versus local, and sustainable versus cost-effective—the bottom line is that we'd all benefit from a locavore way of life. Even if it isn't completely practical for your household all the time, there are pieces of the concept that you can take away, wherever you live.

Hungry for More?
Excerpted from Tyler Florence Family Meal: Bringing People Together Never Tasted Better, by Tyler Florence (Rodale 2010). Florence owns and operates the Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco.

Roasted Kale Chips
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Farmers' market finds can be used in countless ways. This is one of our favorite recipes from Tyler's new book—roasted kale chips. They're health food disguised as junk food. Brilliant!

3 bunches kale (dinosaur kale, curly kale, or a mixture
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/ Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash and dry kale very well. Cut kale into chip size pieces, discarding the thick stems, and arrange evenly on a baking sheet.

2/ With a pastry brush, gently paint the top of each kale leaf with a little oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until crispy, 30 to 35 minutes.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Be a Local Hero
Follow Tyler's tips.

1/ Visit your local farmers' market. And next time you're thinking about a day trip with friends or family, head out to an area farm to see exactly where your food comes from.

2/ Seek out the restaurants in your area that support local farmers.

3/ Talk to your supermarket's manager about bringing in local products if the store doesn't do so already.

4/ Get involved with a local community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. In this arrangement, you pay farmers a flat fee and get fresh, in-season produce every week or so. To find a CSA in your area, visit localharvest.org.

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Last updated: November 16, 2010   Issue date: December 2010

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Be on Time: How to Never Run Late Again

life:  article 
You'd think punctuality had become passe. After all, we're now a country of perpetual latecomers and, ironically, we have modern technology to thank. How so? Because we have multiple ways to send a "Sorry—be there soon!" message, a lot of the shame we used to feel over wasting someone's time has been removed.

Texting, in particular, offers a perfect way to broker a little leeway. You can relay whatever's holding you up ("Alarm snafu!") without having to hear the annoyance in your pal's voice. And you can pre-apologize for keeping her waiting. "You may have every intention of arriving on time," says William Powers, author of Hamlet's BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age, "but the presence of a mobile in your purse makes you think it's not a big deal if you're late."

What's the Holdup?
The reasons we're late in the first place are as varied as our excuses—and many of those reasons operate just outside of our awareness. Dan Ariely, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and economics at Duke University who studies irrational behavior, says a major cause of lateness is believing that "things will go smoother than they actually do throughout the course of a typical day." More specifically, people fail to plan for the varying nature of the delays they'll encounter. While they know they should tack on a little additional time for traffic tie-ups on the bridge or a lost set of keys, he says, they routinely ignore the fact that, on average, other stuff can—and usually does—go wrong: For example, you rip your skirt getting into the car, run inside the house to change, and accidentally let the dog out.

But less obvious things can also cause you to fall behind schedule. Let's say you're on your way to see a friend whose overbearing personality has always made you feel a bit uneasy. "Those ambivalent feelings can actually make you later than you normally would be," notes Elizabeth Fitelson, M.D., director of the women's program in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University. Even though you may not be fully cognizant of these feelings, your reluctance ends up slowing you down. Suddenly, everything from finding a different shade of lipstick to checking that long list of e-mail messages seems more important than getting out the door at the time you know you should.

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Last updated: April 21, 2011   Issue date: April 2011

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How to Be Brave And Unmask Your Inner Hero

life:  article 
When Maureen Connolly was 33—and seven months pregnant—she jumped out of her seat at a crowded restaurant, grabbed a toddler from a stranger's arms, and performed a lifesaving maneuver that prevented the child from choking. Ask her what made her do it, and she humbly says anyone else would have done the same.

But not everyone would have. When it comes to answering the call of duty, many people would rather let it go to voicemail. On the ABC show What Would You Do? hidden cameras capture nice, ordinary folks ignoring the bullying of an overweight stranger or saying nothing as a waitress is sexually harassed. "Fear, conformity to authority, and aversion to risk run deep," says Frank Farley, Ph.D., a psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia. "Most people don't want to take heroic action if it will put them in danger."

In fact, he adds, some people may be, in part, genetically predisposed to avoiding such action or the risk-taking that he believes is a necessary component of it. Even those who have Wonder Woman DNA may still be held back by the "bystander effect," the psychological phenomenon that occurs when multiple witnesses to a crime or confrontation each assume someone else will intervene—so no one does anything.

Sounds bleak, but despite the natural human instinct to flee danger rather than put ourselves in the middle of it, 20 percent of people have intervened in "heroic fashion," according to a Stanford University study of 4,000 adults. Asked whether they had ever accomplished an act or deed that other people considered heroic, respondents noted a range of behaviors, including helping another person in a dangerous emergency, blowing the whistle on an injustice, and sacrificing for a stranger. "It's not always a big physical risk," says Christine Carter, Ph.D., a sociologist at the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley. "It can be just as heroic to take a big emotional or social risk."

It's still not totally clear whether heroism is something you're born with (or without) or a quality you develop over time, but more experts are beginning to believe it's the latter. "Many different traits go into being a hero, and some of those can be learned," says Farley. He estimates that anywhere from 20 to 60 percent of risk-taking characteristics can be inherited. "That still leaves quite a range for environment and upbringing to play a role," he says. Last updated: June 17, 2011   Issue date: June 2011

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Hypnosis Weight Loss Is The Best Natural Diet Program

What is Safe Weight Loss? Is Losing 10 Lbs a Week Like the TV Show 'Biggest Loser' Safe?

“The Super-Tough Workout” Playlist

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Relationship Advice: Can Love Come Back from the Brink?

sex & relationships:  article 
In a way, his affair, the revelation of all his sex secrets, was the best thing that could have happened to her. When he left, those years of trying to be the good girl, to keep a low profile, to fit in—all that was gone. At last she could be her own person. She filed for divorce in November, and it was the most euphoric day of her life, better even than her wedding day. "I was free," she says. "I could feel the sunshine again." But then you have to wonder: If it was such a joy to be rid of the guy, why did she take him back? With the answer to that question comes a rare opportunity: to look inside a marriage that was bound for the rocks and see how it was saved.

At the beginning it was an opposites-attract kind of thing, says Gina, age 35. They met during their sophomore year of high school. Bryan was a clown, a kidder, a cutup. Picture a young Nicolas Cage, handsome in a dorky way, always yapping, full of wisecracks and noodley little movements.

"I was the shier kid," she says, "the quiet one sitting in the back of the classroom who people would cheat off of because they thought I was smart."

Of course, she was smart. She just wasn't loud about it. She sheltered herself behind a wall of propriety, and she could tell he found this provocative. He was always teasing her, hounding her, secure in the knowledge that, bound by that politeness, she wouldn't strike back. Eventually, though, her dry wit would snake through, and he liked that too.

Despite herself, she liked him as well. Sometimes you need a clown in your life, someone to make you laugh, to relieve you of the weight of your intelligence and bring your buried nature into the light. It was Bryan who challenged her to a race that day, through an undeveloped area on the outskirts of Plano, Texas. Even today the memory is bright. Hair churning in the wind, speedometer clocking 124. She even slowed down once to let him catch up. Then the turbo on her Chrysler kicked in, and she smoked him all over again.

Everyone dreams of the perfect match. The One. It's an idea as dangerous as it is appealing. Appealing because it suggests the possibility of a tidy solution to the staggeringly complex challenge of finding a worthy mate. Dangerous because it reduces us to static quantities, like a foot size, awaiting the perfect fit. You step into it and voila, your troubles are over. But weall know that relationships don't work like that. Not even shoes work like that.

Even with all their differences, after graduation it seemed natural for Gina and Bryan to go to the same college—him for business, her for English and journalism, both of which she loved. By junior year they were already discussing marriage. True, they were young, and research suggests that the younger women marry, the greater the likelihood of separation or divorce. But by 21 they'd already been dating for five years, and it was hard to imagine that another five would change anything.

She still has the cheesy video somewhere, shot by an Olive Garden employee hiding in the bushes. A waiter sets a Dr Pepper before her, and as Bryan descends to one knee, she notices the diamond ring casually hanging on the soda straw. Another video preserves highlights from the wedding, including their departure, wearing Mickey Mouse ears, bound for a Disney World honeymoon. Never guessing the pain that lay ahead.

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Last updated: January 28, 2011   Issue date: December 2010

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Easy Healthy Recipes

nutrition:  article 
We've put together 40 recipes that use 10 main ingredients. Meals just got a whole lot easier!

These foods are easy to find: just about every grocery store keeps them on hand all year long; they're easy to use--in fact, they're as close to ready-to-eat as you can get without ordering takeout; and they're easy to love because they taste delicious together.

The best part? You can print the entire list to take wherever you go.

Learn more about the list.

Last updated: June 20, 2011  

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