Fat Stripping Lifestyle Tips-10 Ways To Stay Lean For Life

Let's get straight down to it: losing fat isn't easy. You've spent hours in the gym slaving away on the treadmill. Your diet consists of bird seed and a few sprigs of alfalfa. You've bought every diet book and exercise gimmick on the market, yet nothing seems to work. Don't despair! There is hope! Arm yourself with these science-based fat loss strategies and keep it off for life!

First off, throw away your bathroom scale. It's not your friend. Don't focus on losing weight. Focus on losing body fat. Your goal should be to maintain or build muscle tissue and burn away stored fat. Muscle is very metabolically active and pays a higher caloric "rent" in the body just to sustain itself. Fat is nothing more than a metabolic freeloader that burns very few calories to keep itself alive. If after four months your scale weight hasn't changed but your clothes fit you magnificently, then chances are you changed your body composition for the better. THAT is your goal.

People trudge along on the treadmill or bike working in what they believe is their fatburning zone. Unfortunately, the so-called fatburning mode on the bike is the very mode that's going to keep you fat. Here's why.

While working at a lower intensity, your body burns more fat as a fuel source for the moment, BUT the cumulative calories burned are actually lower than if you'd opted for the higher intensity "cardio" mode. While in the cardio mode, you will burn less fat and more sugar as fuel sources, BUT your overall calories burned will be much greater. In the long-term, you are served much better by exercising at higher intensities and maximizing the calorie burn than focusing on which metabolic fuel source you're using. Again, the overall CUMULATIVE calorie deficit is what matters and that's what's going to have you looking good for summer!

Follow these 10 fat stripping tips

1. If you're completely new to exercise, you must safely develop your fitness foundation then graduate to higher intensities. Doing too much too soon will leave you sore and discourage you from continuing. Start off with a leisurely pace on the bike or treadmill for no more than 20 minutes and do this 3 to 4 days per week. Each week, increase your duration by 5-10 minutes per session until you are up to 45-60 minutes of non-stop cardio exercise.

2. Now that your fitness foundation is in place, start cranking up the intensity a bit with intervals. Intervals are higher intensity sprints interspersed within your regular cardio routine which are designed to get your heart racing and crank up the calorie burning control knob. During your cardio exercise, start off with 1 to 2-minute high intensity bursts and then give yourself 3-4 minutes of active recovery at a lower intensity (keep walking or pedaling). Perform your intervals at an intensity high enough that you can barely speak to the person next to you, preferably an exercise partner who shares your same fat loss goals.

3. After your body adapts to the intervals, now start trying to maintain higher intensities on a continuous basis. The longer you can exercise at higher intensities, the more calories you burn, and consequently, the more fat you pull out of storage.

4. Increase your metabolism with resistance training. That's right, start lifting weights. If you don't like weights, try something like calisthenics or any other mode of resistance that will stress your muscles to a degree to which they're not normally accustomed. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn both with exercise and at rest.

5. Make small dietary changes you can live with. If you cut out a mere 250 dietary calories per day and burned 250 calories through exercise, this is a daily total of 500 calories. It is known that you must burn 3500 calories above and beyond your normal energy needs to lose one pound of stored body fat. So this 500 calorie deficit over seven days would be one pound of stored body fat burned.

6. Not convinced? One pound of fat loss per week over the course of one calendar year is 50 pounds of FAT LOSS. Notice my terminology did not include the words weight loss. Who cares about losing weight? I can put you on the pigs feet and mayonnaise diet and you will lose weight simply because it's low calorie, but you won't lose much in the way of fat. You'll likely lose your valuable muscle as well as some water weight. Once you go back to eating normal food, you will gain back all the weight and then some. In the long-run the only thing that matters is body composition, and if you can strip fat and hold onto or build muscle, then you are reprogramming your body for life.

7. Waste as much energy as you can. Be as inefficient as humanly possible. In other words, take the long way through life and avoid shortcuts.Do not take elevators or moving walkways. Take the stairs. Walk up steep hills. Carry a heavy backpack. The more effort you spend on activities of daily living, the more fit and lean you will be for life. All calories burned are cumulative.

8. Misery loves company. Find out who your saboteurs and supporters are. Avoid those that will try to undermine and jeopardize your efforts out of jealousy. Surround yourself with positive, supportive people who encourage your efforts.

9. Make it fun. Frankly, it doesn't matter what kind of exercise you like. Find the one you enjoy, the one you'll stick with, and do it regularly. I used the bike and walking example above, but to the extend that you lead an active lifestyle with the calorie burning control knob cranked all the way up, you WILL lose fat and keep it off.
10. The media is NOT your friend. Cancel your cable TV subscription or at least stop watching it. Stop reading fluffy celebrity magazines. These are loaded with unrealistic body images that are merely airbrushed photos meant to provide false hope and sell copies

Gastric Bypass and Lap-Band: Two Solutions to Morbid Obesity

Donna Lambert is a 31 year old school teacher living in Columbus, OH. All her life she had struggled with weight, and her life for the past ten years had revolved around the daily struggle. “I would try some new program or diet, lose 5 or 10 pounds during a month, then watch them come back with maybe an extra 2 or 3 as a bonus.” Donna was one of the approximately 9 million adult Americans who are morbidly obese (bmi of 40 or higher). If all of these were placed in one state, it would be the 12th most populous in the country. It affected every area of her life, and like many others she spent a fortune giving to the thriving (and for the most part useless) weight-loss industry.

It has only been in the last couple of decades that surgical solutions have been created for the treatment of morbid obesity which are safe enough to make it common practice. The two most common procedures are laparoscopic gastric bypass and the lap-band procedure. Both procedures have pros and cons, and Donna weighed her options carefully before deciding to have the gastric bypass surgery. “I knew the risks were a lot higher and that it would take longer for me to get back to work, but the success rate is a lot higher and I didn’t want to have to keep going back under the knife for readjustments.” Indeed, the average weight lost in the two years after gastric bypass is 75% to 80% of excess weight, versus 50% in the lap-band procedure. After consulting with her doctor over her best options, Donna had the gastric bypass surgery in June of 2005. She spent two day in the hospital following surgery for observation and by the beginning of the next school year was back in front of her elementary class.

There will probably be more than 150,000 gastric bypass surgeries and nearly as many lap-band procedures done in the U.S. this year. It is a last resort, and can only be done when the patient’s bmi (body/mass index) is about 40, which qualifies as morbidly obese. For people like Donna, it is a solution she is thankful for when all else has failed. “Weight is no longer a consuming issue in my life. It is no longer the first thing someone notices about me, and is no longer a wall between me and a life. I have never regretted having the surgery, and will always be thankful it was there.”

For many weighing their options between the two procedures, the deciding factor is insurance coverage. Most health insurance plans will now cover gastric bypass when it is a factor in other health problems. This is usually the case with morbid obesity, which is a known cause of such problems as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. The lap-band procedure, however, is rarely covered by health insurance companies. It is a reversible procedure, and its success rate is a little lower.

A year or two down the road of weight-loss another concern often pops up after having gastric bypass surgery. Due to the rapid weight-loss, the recipient of surgery is often left with excessive loose skin and often desires cosmetic surgery in order to correct this. This is the case with Donna Lambert, who has nearly arrived at her target weight of 129. “ I am looking at $14,000 to $25,000 worth of cosmetic surgery. It will be well worth the money, though.” Donna has had no major complications since her surgery, and is living a healthy, happy life in Columbus.

Losing Stomach Fat-Beyond The Lies

One of the great lasting myths of fat loss is that we can lose fat in specific spots with specific exercises – while the fat in other areas goes 'undisturbed'. Losing stomach fat is perhaps the most common problem – especially for men – so it is the most vulnerable to such mythologizing.

Why does the myth of losing stomach fat with such ‘spot training’ exist? Because for every common problem there is an ‘entrepreneur’ who declares a solution to make money from it – even if that solution has no basis in reality.

The first thing to know is that there is a genetic component to fat storage. We are all predisposed to gaining fat in certain areas of the body before others. If you’re a female, you may notice your particular trouble spots as being in the thighs, hips, and arms. If you’re a male, you’re most likely having problems in the stomach and the ‘love handles’ (sides of the waist).

The fact is that the first place that you store fat is going to be the last place where the fat will come off. No exercises supposedly designed for losing stomach fat, or popular diet plan, will change that.

The best thing I can do for you is inform you of what's required in terms of losing fat throughout the body, preventing you from futile attempts to lose stomach fat as you mess around with unproven theories. The best thing you can do for yourself is not waste your time (as millions have done) by spending your days doing crunches in a vain attempt to lose fat in your stomach and love handles.

Don’t get me wrong: doing crunches is not a bad thing; it helps build muscle in that area and is one step in burning calories. But those muscles are not going to be visible if you’re not aggressively burning the fat covering them.

Losing stomach fat will require some form of aerobic/cardio exercise. This is because any kind of exercise that you do will burn glycogen (carbohydrates stored in your body) first, before the fat gets burned as energy. This means that you need to exercise for a certain period of time with an adequate level of intensity before the fat starts to burn in your body. You need to be even more persistent to get beyond the ‘easier’ parts of the body towards a spot like the stomach where the fat storages occur first.

This means that if you were willing and able to do crunches continuously for at least 30 minutes each day, 4 or 5 days a week, you might begin losing stomach fat and eventually see the results you’re looking for. But you’re probably neither willing nor able to do this, nor do you need to.

So, what does need to be done towards losing unwanted stomach fat? In order to answer that question, let’s take a look at what those who are most successful at losing fat do to go from dangerously overweight to fabulously lean:

· A schedule of aerobic exercise at least 3 days a week, in at least 30 minute installments;

· A schedule of weight training at least 2 days a week, in at least 20 minute installments;

· A metabolism-boosting, reduced calorie diet that includes adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and unsaturated fats (ideally spread out over 5 or 6 meals a day);

· About 15 – 20% fewer calories consumed than you do right now to maintain your present weight;

· A written plan that keeps you from veering off course or quitting altogether like the vast majority do.

This may seem like a lot. But, as mentioned, stomach fat is the most stubborn of all body fat to lose – meaning that losing stomach fat requires an equally stubborn effort to match it.

Losing stomach fat does not have to be an unpleasant chore, however. You can always find ways to adjust your lifestyle to achieve great results while not feeling completely deprived. Some things you can do for yourself to customize the above steps include:

* Doing effective exercise that you enjoy. There are a wide range of aerobic exercises that you can do towards losing stomach fat, and having several choices allows you to find the best one for you. They include jogging, spinning, elliptical training, rowing, stair-climbing, and using a cross-country ski machine. With weights, you can use barbells and dumbbells for a combination of lunges, presses, squats, rows, etc. Some will challenge and stimulate you, some won’t. The point is that all of these will be effective, so you can find your own combination.
* Discovering healthy foods that also satisfy taste. In order to lose stomach fat, you need to lower calories, period. You also need to minimize intake of saturated fats and simple carbohydrates, and take in lean proteins instead of getting the majority of your protein from such foods as fatty meats. You can substitute high-calorie foods with moderate portions of things like grilled chicken, turkey, broiled fish, nuts, fruit, vegetables, baked chips, yogurt and other low-fat dairy.
* Stack the spice rack. Spices are a great way to add flavor to food without adding calories as you do when you fry it. You can also purchase things like Molly McButter butter and cheese flavored sprinkles to add these flavors to foods without adding fat. Remember that high fat condiments can often turn a healthy food into one that takes you well over your calorie threshold.

The question you need to ask yourself now is whether you’re willing to spend your time doing things the right way (the way people who get real results do, as described above), or follow the myths regarding losing stomach fat, which will bring you little or no results and waste the most precious resource we all have – our time.

I learn from the very best - the most successful 'fat-burners' who win the battle over failure and self-hatred to lose all those unwanted pounds of body fat...

Its Not What You Eat But How Much

People who want to lose weight usually make two changes in an attempt to achieve this goal. They try to consume less food, and at the same time switch from so-called "bad" food to "good" food. "Burgers and Fries" are swapped for "Lettuce and Lentils" in an attempt to get the weight down.

Lifestyle changes of this magnitude will of course have to made to maintain long term weight loss, but in the initial stages, this "double change" approach may not be the best way to proceed.

The main problem for people in the affluent Western World, where food is available in such abundance, is not so much one of type as amount. The sheer volume of food we consume, both "good" an "bad" is the first problem that needs to be dealt with. Yes we do eat the wrong foods, but I am convinced that the amount of food has to be changed before type.

The reason for this is that in spite of the "bad press" fat and sugar receive, they are very effective at satisfying hunger and supplying energy. If you switch from "Burgers and Fries" to "Lettuce and Lentils" and reduce the amount of food you eat at the same time, you are going to feel mighty hungry.

It is therefore a better approach to reduce the amount of food consumed while sticking more or less to what you are used to eating. It is possible to lose significant amounts of weight this way and you will be more comfortable doing it.

When the habit of eating less becomes ingrained the change to foods that will help you maintain weight loss can begin. This will mean seeking out and experimenting with foods that deliver similar hunger satisfaction and energy to the "bad" food that you used to consume. This becomes necessary when food intake is reduced because the energy available is reduced by the reduction in volume. Unless you make these changes the drop in energy levels will result in tiredness and irritability.

Making changes to your diet in this gradual way allows you to investigate which foods satisfy your hunger and energy requirements best. Low G.I. is an obvious way to go, but so are nuts, raw vegetables and dried fruits. The latter are excellent for supplying energy because of their slow-release, long-grain fructose sugar. Their effects last much longer than the short grained processed sugars of candy bars and the like.

Experimenting with food will enable you to adjust your diet to what is best for you, rather than impose a "one-size-fits-all" regime upon yourself. This in turn, will result in the lifestyle changes that you need to put in place to to secure your permanent weight loss.

We also need to keep in mind that there are no "bad" foods as such, it is the amount in which they are consumed that makes them "bad". We need fat and sugar in our diet so leave room for the occasional indulgence, your body and psyche need it. As I said earlier, it is amount more than type that causes our problems.

Pulverize Fear And Claim A New Year-A Strategy To Lose Weight

We all have fears. We’ve all had those feelings that creep into the pit of our stomach and paralyze us. However, for some, their fears cripple them day in and day out. It’s there upon waking and is with them as they try to retire for the evening. It’s a constant voice that questions everything relentlessly. Did you eat too much today? Did you eat the right things? Did you exercise enough? Then the criticism begins. You’re fat! You’re never going to lose weight. Why are you doing this to yourself..just accept who you are and your body!!

Anxiety and self defeat are common in many overweight people and often it is because of emotional issues. Fear is huge factor but it can be defeated. To walk away from fear and reclaim your true inner voice and the body you desire you need to confront your emotional turmoil. This may take weeks, months, maybe even years. Remember life is a process not a result!

Be patient and work on you every chance you get. Give yourself a hug and learn what triggers your emotional discord. Keep a journal, record your thoughts, and your eating habits and learn to just walk away.

Confront your fears, reason with them, embrace them and then pulverize them. Fear is simply a cognitive reaction of your doing. It is in your locus of control. If you can turn fear into a positive and walk away you will most likely walk away from your weight issues as well. What do I mean? Don’t be surprised to see yourself with a more positive and confident demeanor. You’ll be happy with yourself and it won’t be long until the weight simply disappears.

A Permanent Solution to Weight Loss

We live in a world that is becoming more and more visual. Images of female and male bodies of the perfect form bombard us wherever we go. There is no escape and there is no hope of ever looking like any of these images as most if not all the pictures are digitally perfected. The strange thing is that we know these images are altered, yet we choose to continue to compare ourselves to these images and to pictures of men and women who are younger than us. Why do we consciously set ourselves up for failure? Why are we so hard on ourselves and why do we keep on reaching for perfection whatever that may mean to us?

We have become more critical of our bodies than ever before. We have for the most part lost sight of our bodies as beautiful art forms and a gift that was given to us that provides us with life. Instead of criticizing and berating our bodies for perceived imperfections, shouldn’t we be celebrating our bodies, which in all shapes and forms are true examples of miracles.

The issues surrounding weight self-image and health are climbing to alarming proportions around the globe. It is a sign of the times and what many individuals and societies are not aware of is that these issues are merely symptoms of what is really wrong. In an effort to search for solutions individuals start trying different diets and this begins the yo-yo trend of dieting. These are not only expensive, soul-destroying and temporary solutions, but they are dangerous for our health and can and do affect one’s ability to lose weight permanently. It is common knowledge that many diets help on a temporary basis only. What diets do accomplish is they enslave you whether you are fat and thin by dictating how you should think and feel about food and what a healthy weight perspective is. Is this any way to live? How many more diets will we need to help us lose weight? How much more money will we spend on weight-loss solutions and how much more willpower must we try and muster to lose those extra kilos.

Most diets that I have tried or diet books that I have read and studied suggest that weight is a problem that needs to be solved. Through my experience, however, this could not be further from the truth. We cannot blame our weight for something we are doing to ourselves. Is it possible that it is not about willpower at all? How would you feel if I suggested that weight is not the problem, but rather it is our thinking, our self-image and self-esteem that have caused our distorted thinking about our bodies and our lives?

Keeping that in mind then what is the answer? I believe that we have to start living from inside of ourselves. We have to reach the thin mind inside despite what the outward appearances suggest – that we are fat – and start from there. If we start looking inside ourselves and stop to listen to ourselves, maybe we can identify the reasons for our food addictions and weight issues and in so doing, find a permanent solution to losing weight.

Fast Weight Loss Diet Plan

As the world changes, people are becoming more and more conscious about their physical appearance and their overall health. Knowing that obesity can affect not only their lifestyle and social lives but their total well-being as well, people who are overweight are now determined to seek for solutions that can lead then back to leaner and healthier physique.

Since people are what they eat, one of the most popular weight loss aids today is indulging into weight loss diets. Aside from trying rigorous exercises, enrolling in various weight loss classes and programs, enduring routine workouts, and even trying different weight loss products, having a weight loss diet is one of the effective eats of losing weight.

Here are some diet tips that successful people use to lose weight.

1 EAT BREAKFAST

Do not skip breakfast. If you need to go to bed a little earlier so that you can get up 20 minutes earlier each morning – do it! Breakfast is so important to your good health and to weight control. Eating breakfast is not only good for overall weight loss, it will help you stay on track with your diet the rest of the day. You are more likely to binge on something sweet and in the "bread" group if you skip breakfast.

You can always keep a couple of hard-boiled eggs in the fridge or some high-fiber, low starch fruit around. If you plan to eat fruit at all during the day, breakfast is the perfect time to do it.

2 EAT AT LEAST 3 MEALS AND 2 SNACKS EACH DAY<

Just like eating breakfast will increase your metabolism, so will eating more often. This will also help you curb your bad-carb intake by making sure that your snacks are planned and occur regularly throughout the day.

3 PREPARE YOUR OWN FOOD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

While more and more restaurants are offering low-carb friendly menu items, many of them are still not ideal low-carb fare. There are many recipes for quick and easy meals that you can prepare yourself at home. Try to do this as often as possible.

No matter which weight loss diet you plan to do, bear in mind that food is quite important for the body’s overall well being. It is a must that you become particular about the food you eat because it will determine the success and failure of your weight loss attempts.

Honey and Weight Loss

Honey and weight loss are often associated. Why is honey a smarter choice than table sugar honey a smarter choice than table sugar if you are watching your weight?

Refined dietary sugars lack minerals and vitamins and are often called empty calories. They draw upon the body's nutrients to be metabolized into the system, and when these nutrients are depleted, metabolizing of cholesterol and fatty acid is impeded, contributing to higher cholesterol and promoting obesity due to higher fatty acid on the organs and tissues. The good news is that honey, the natural sweetener, on the other hand, contains 22 amino acids and a variety of minerals essential for its metabolism and hence is helpful in preventing obesity. It is believed that drinking lemon juice with a little honey the first thing in the morning is an effective anti cellulite treatment as it helps to increase body metabolism. If you are determined to shed weight and speed up your sluggish metabolism, try this honey and lemon diet tip. If you like, another very popular recipe associated with honey and weight loss is a drink that uses honey and cinnamon as ingredients. Many people have found this home remedy very effective in losing pounds. The steps are easy: mix a teaspoon of honey and half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder (or ground cinnamon) into a paste in a cup and pour a cup of boiling water. Stir and cover for half and hour. Filter away any big particles before consumption. Take it in the morning with an empty stomach about half an hour before breakfast.

For people who tend to overeat or feel discomfort in the stomach after meals, honey can be taken for better digestion. Honey is a simple carbohydrate because it contains easily digested sugars. Foods that are rich in sugars or complexes of sugars are carbohydrates. How the sugars are arranged will determine whether we call a food a source of simple or complex carbohydrates. When sugars are bound into rows, as they are in starches such as whole grains and legumes, they are called complex carbohydrates. It takes the body much longer to digest the sugar from a complex carbohydrate.

The latest theory based on the hibernation diet also builds a link between honey and weight loss. It suggests taking a generous spoonful or two of honey at night, either as a warm drink or straight from the jar, and promises to help us sleep and lose weight at the same time by fuelling the liver, speeding up fat-burning metabolism and easing stress hormones.

Lose Weight With Herbal Treatment

If one really wanted to lose weight, there are heaps of ways to do so.

Some people decided to use and purchase exercise machines, for several minutes of daily use, can help loosen the fat. Others try Atkin’s or South Beach diet, which verified to be helpful.

But these factors cannot actually work to everybody. So a few suggest the use of herbs and supplement. This was origin at western and eastern which are proven to be safe and helpful as long as one uses it properly.

Hydroxycitric acid is one of the herbs aids which are taken from a Garcinia cambogia tree that can be found in India. Lot of Indians make use of this in curry dishes, in fact US restaurant also uses this.

The three things that hydroxycitric acid does are, first, it works by converting carbohydrates to fat, in doing so the enzymes are blocked in the body. Next, it suppresses the appetite by letting the brain think that it is full and finally, it can burn fast sooner.

So a person can visit restaurants that serve Indian cuisine or can purchase such ingredient and can do same dish at their home.

But for those people who have high blood pressure, diabetes, should stop first in using such. To pregnant or lactating women should stop, because this can affect the baby. And for those who use this should take lot of water and should lessen the use of alcohol, since this will delay the weight loss process.

Gugulipid is another ingredient used by Indians. Mukul myrrh tree is where this herb comes from, and this it’s used for centuries.

First they though that this herb was only for treating people with lipid disorders and obesity, but test revealed that this can also be use in lowering bad cholesterol and enhance the good kind that is formed in the body.

It can lead to weight loss by stimulating the thyroid gland. In this way, it will accelerate the metabolic rate in the body then burn the fat. For those who wanted to try this, they should not mix it with anything because it can cause diarrhea and rashes, and also keep a low fat diet.

Another natural herb that can be located in India and some pats of Africa is Gymnema. The leaves are identified to hinder the ability to taste sweetness of a person and because of that it reduces the sweet intake of one person who uses this herb.

People who can’t resist the sweetness o9f chocolates should take this herb before having a huge meal. And for those who have diabetes, can moderately use this herb.

You can mix Gamma-linolenic acid, a type of Omega 6; originate in evening primrose oil and borage seed oil in a meal before eating. Person’s metabolisms will increases which result to burning extra fats. Pharmaceutical companies sell these in bottle form. And should be refrigerated and be consumed soon as possible because this decomposes rapidly.

Fibers can also help in loosing weight naturally, this are typically fund in herbal teas. The ingredients such as psyllium, guar gum, pectin, glucomannan or chitin are found in these products which can stimulate bowel movement and finally get rid to excess fat. Those who use these products should take a lot of water to pay off the fluid lost.

A Little Known Way To Lose Weight Without Even Trying

Now, for the first time in the history of medical science, a substance has been found and isolated about which it is possible to say: If you lay the foundation of your slimming diet on this food you should lose weight more quickly and easily than on a diet based on the same quantity of any other foods.

A very good diet is one which has all the elemental vital nutrients proportioned correctly.

No single food contains all the elemental nutrients we need. Different foods contain different essential nutrients. We therefore need to consume a wide variety of foods so that we obtain all the basic basic nutrients.

In the west, large nutrient deficiencies are usually never seen. Our problem is that we tend to consume too much of some essential essential nutrients and not enough of others. This imbalance can lead to a number of diet-related diseases. Guidelines on good eating suggest that we consume the right amount of energy (calories) to keep us at the correct weight, eat less fat (particularly saturated fat), consume more fibre and eat less sodium (salt) and sugar.

SO... WHAT SHOULD WE EAT?

In the past, many pronouncements have been made saying that "Including some particular foods in a reducing diet would specifically help overweight people to shed weight more quickly and effectively". Grapefruit was a classic example. Grapefruit meals were the rage for years. More recently, in an American bestseller, pineapple, had magical weight-shedding properties. Unfortunately, all these pronouncements in the past were based on fiction rather than fact certainly not on any established medical fact! Apart from caffeine (which does have a small effect in speeding up the metabolism) no one item we eat or drink has been by scientific methods to have any realistic effect in speeding away our surplus fat. Weight loss depends entirely on the calories we don't consume.

The substance is dietary fibre. Now it’s possible to cut your calorie consumption and at the same time increase your consumption of dietary fibre from the unrefined cereal foods and the fruits and vegetables which provide it.

If you follow a high-fibre diet you should find that you are more satisfied on less calories. And more of the calories that go into your mouth will, to put it bluntly, go straight through and down the lavatory.

Of course, the fewer calories the body uses from food the more it must pull from from your surplus body fat, so this adds up to faster weight loss.

Another simple definition which will appeal to everyone who has ever tried to slim: More weight loss for less will power!

When people consume high-fibre diets they excrete more calories in their stools (faeces). In several experiments, scientists have engaged in the task of evaluating the stools of those following high-fibre meals and have found that the calories excreted are measurably greater in number than the calories excreted by those on the normal, varied Western meals, rich in refined carbohydrate foods or, indeed, on any other pattern of eating. Tests conclude that the increased calorie content of the faeces amounts to nearly ten per cent when people follow high-fibre diets.

Suffice it to say, those calories which are being flushed away are not being used by the body which means that the body is having to use more of its own surplus fat to combine in for them. So on a 1,000 calorie high-fibre diet the body is going to shed weight more quickly than on a normal 1,000 calorie diet of varied food or on any other 1,000 calorie diet.

Before the high-fibre research findings it was concluded that weight loss depended entirely on the number of calories consumed compared with the number removed by the body. Now we have to factor in another addition to this simple statement....

Weight loss depends on the number and the source of calories eaten. The rate of weight loss will be influenced not only by the amount you consume, in terms of calories, but also by which foods you choose to make up that calorie intake.

In recent years the evidence for the health benefits of fibre, or roughage as it used to be called, has grown so strong that it has filtered through from the medical journals and is now well known to the British and American public.

What's the Deal With Weight Loss Pills?

Dieting is hard, and it's not uncommon for people to turn to weight loss pills to give them an added boost when trying to shed unwanted pounds. It's hard, though, to know which pills, drugs, and supplements will really work for you. Everyone is different, and your body chemistry and underlying medical issues will always influence the way these drugs work on your body.

Most people, when thinking about weight loss drugs, first look in the pharmacy department of their local supermarket. There are dozens of different choices, but if you read the package carefully, you will find that most over-the-counter (OTC) weight loss pills use caffeine as their primary ingredient. Caffeine works to increase your overall metabolism, and also acts as a diuretic, helping you to shed water weight while giving you energy to exercise and shed the fat that you really want to eliminate.

Other ingredients found in OTC weight loss supplements are less benign. Hoodia seems reasonably safe, but has not been thoroughly studied; research at Pfizer, however, indicates it may have negative effects on the liver. Most older weight loss pills use substances that mimic amphetamines in their effects. It's been known for a very long time that amphetamines will make you lose weight, but with serious side effects such as nervousness, tremors, racing heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, diarrhea, and even heart failure and death in the worst cases. For this reason, you should always tell your doctor when you're using OTC weight loss pills.

The same rule goes for OTC weight loss supplements. For the most part, the word "supplement" in OTC products is used to wiggle past some serious rules set up by the FDA to control dangerous substances. That does not mean that weight loss supplements are going to harm you, necessarily; it does mean that you should treat them as drugs, just like any other weight loss product.