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Archive for May, 2011

Weight loss has a lot to do about what you put in your body and spending it. If you eat lots of calories and you successfully burn them, you won’t gain weight and you won’t get fat. If you just eat and eat but you don’t spend them, chances are great you’ll store fat with time and you’ll gain excess weight. When you spend your calories by means of exercising, you’ll sweat and the excess calories and fat in your body will gradually disappear.

You absolutely need to sweat and burn those extra calories and your weight loss goal will become a reality. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing you were big some time back and you’ve been able to lose that weight with exercise, sweating and hard work. This is a natural method of losing weight and not believing that you can lose weight very fast without any effort. Everything has a price in life. You can’t lose your excess weight just by sitting and doing nothing.

You need to take action and be persistent and consistent. Exercises like cardio are ideal to lose weight ie jogging either treadmill in the gym or running in nature. Stationary bike in the gym or cycling with a real bicycle are good as well. Swimming and brisk walking are recommended too.

Even normal exercises like body weight exercises will tone up your muscles and make you sweat if you do them for a reasonable amount of time in several sets. Eg push ups, squats, leg raises, pull ups, dips. The only downside is that they can be hard for beginners. So maybe it’s wiser to stick to cardio exercises first and with time you can include some of these exercises in your routine to tone your muscles. So now, be active and sweat and spend your calories.

Weight loss hypnosis is an effective tool in helping us shed the pounds for a very good reason. This arises because we all have a natural ability to control our body fat. The ability is inbuilt in our brain and is part of the regulatory system (in the hypothalamus, which is the reptilian part of the brain) that determines our temperature, blood pressure and level of physical activity. For this reason the facts strongly point to mental processes as being the things that cause weight gain as well as ultimately give us the ability to become thin. This happens unconsciously, so we are generally unaware of it.

The truth is even more fascinating than this. For the mental processes regulating weight are in themselves influenced by what we eat, as well as physical factors that would appear completely unrelated. The implication of this can be serious when we try to diet however we attempt to do it. For instance weight loss hypnosis is most likely to fail not because of the hypnosis itself, but because of other hidden factors that block its effectiveness. Let me give you three examples of this:

1. Fructose: this is a kind of intensely sweet sugar manufactured from corn syrup. It does occur naturally but only in very small quantities in fruit such as apples and figs. When the human species evolved exposure to fructose was very limited and as a result the human digestive tract does not handle it in the same way to sucrose and glucose (which are the other kinds of simple sugars) but instead it is absorbed in the liver rather than the intestine. The result of this is that you tend not to notice the quantity of food that you are eating and instead remain hungry. The message that your intestine is filling never reaches the brain. The solution is to cut down on heavily sweetened ready prepared foods and soft fizzy drinks.

2. Thirst: level of hydration and the need to drink occurs in the hypothalamus as well as the regulation of food intake. Though these use different systems they are closely related. The problem is that it is very easy for a kind of “cross wiring” of the two to occur in the brain. The result: you mistake the feeling of thirst as a sign of hunger. The solution is that if you are aiming to lose weight you should ensure that you also drink an adequate amount (ideally water). Curiously, there is also some evidence that lack of sex (sex is also regulated by the hypothalamus) can also be mistaken for lack of food in a similar way.

3. Lack of sleep: scientists discovered that levels of two chemicals in the body alter following sleep loss. These are leptin — the hormone that tells the brain how much fat you possess — and ghrelin which signals emptiness of the stomach. By effectively tampering with these chemical levels the natural fat regulatory process in the brain is effectively working blind — it is simply not correctly receiving the information it needs to ensure that you become or remain a satisfactory weight. The solution in this case is not as straightforward as the two previous examples. However, there are a number of basic measures that can assist sleeping including: not be too physically or mentally active for an hour or so before going to bed; going to bed at a regular time each night; and drinking a hot milky drink before you try to go to sleep. There are also methods such as hypnosis and self-hypnosis that may help.

In summary the regulation of body fat is, fundamentally, a mental process. For this reason hypnosis is a highly relevant tool to use for weight loss. In order to increase the probability of success certain basic steps are advisable as part of this program. These include reduction of fructose, ensuring a good level of hydration, and placing emphasis on good quality sleep.

The state of denial is a defining characteristic of drug and alcohol addiction. It can also be a very difficult concept to understand.

Denial can be described as a way in which the mind refuses to accept a problem. It is a safety valve for handling stress. One way to handle an overwhelming problem that causes a great deal of fear is to deny that it exists. That belief can be so strong it is impossible to distinguish what is true and what is false.

In people with chemical dependency, denial grows to the point where they lose the ability to accurately cope with daily situations. They try to twist fact to conform to give them permission to continue using.

There is an old adage “a shiker is a goy” (only gentiles are alcoholics); this profoundly biased and inherently wrong saying has been the progenitor of an almost cultural imperative that the diseases of alcoholism and addiction have bypassed the Jewish culture without even sullying the perceived holiness of the “chosen people”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yet this self inflicted delusion has kept may Jews who suffer from this very real and terminal disease from ever getting help or even having proactive referrals from their Rabbis and spiritual leaders.

The fact is that this “shanda” (shame) factor is responsible for the deaths of perhaps thousands of Jewish addicts who kept their secrets sublimated and ended up in the grave.

There is also a misconception in the general public that alcoholism and addiction are not medical diseases, but rather a question of moral character and will power. This idea has helped to reinforce the widely held cultural belief that Jews are immune to the ravages of this deadly affliction. Addiction is a disease that can be diagnosed by the disease model criteria held by the AMA (American Medical Association). It is not the addict or alcoholics fault that they have this disease (the same way diabetics are not to blame for their ailment), yet it absolutely the addicts obligation to recover. Alcoholism and addiction like diabetes is an incurable, eventually terminal disease that can be treated, and with vigilance be arrested for a lifetime.

Some 76 million Americans have experienced some form of alcoholism or addiction in their families according to the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

Wild salmon is a delectable dish that is often reserved for a special occasion. But this valuable protein source really deserves a regular place on your dinner table. Salmon is a nutritional powerhouse and an ideal source of protein for those who are watching their weight or trying to drop some pounds. It might even be considered a weight-loss superfood. Let’s look at why this food has earned such a title.

Abundance of omega-3 fatty acids

Probably the greatest selling point of wild salmon is its abundance of omega-3 fatty acids. Some dieters are wary of any type of fat and believe it should all be avoided. This is completely wrong. A very low-fat diet deprives the brain of the essential healthy fat it needs for normal function and can damage other systems in the body as well. Furthermore, one particular type of fat, omega-3 fatty acids, is very good for your health. Unfortunately, few people consume a sufficient amount of omega-3s. Generally speaking, the more frequently you can get this type of fat in your diet, the better off you’ll be.

Omega-3s promote weight loss

Omega-3 fatty acids actually promote weight loss in several ways. They help the insulin in your body work better and decreases insulin resistance. They improve blood sugar control, which helps reduce food cravings and overeating. Omega-3s help your body to burn off calories before they get stored as fat.

Omega-3s reduce something known as cellular inflammation, a condition that promotes weight gain. This type of fatty acid also stimulates the secretion of leptin, which is a hormone produced by fat cells. Leptin is one of the body’s natural weight control devices. When working properly, the hormone acts to suppress your appetite and burn stored fat so that your body moves back to its ideal weight. It facilitates the loss of body fat while maintaining muscle mass, which is exactly what you want.

Losing fat and reducing inflammation both help to decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease. Omega-3 fatty acids have other health benefits too, including improved mood, better attention span, increased energy, and a healthier immune system. It’s easy to see how important this fatty acid is to your well-being. Most people will benefit from eating wild salmon several times a week. Other fatty fishes can stand in for salmon once in a while: tuna, sardines, mackerel, trout, and sablefish make good additions to the menu when you need a little variety.

Tips for buying salmon

Although you will find plenty of farmed salmon in the stores, it’s not up to nutritional par with wild salmon. Both types of fish have about the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids. But only wild salmon contains the ideal proportion of omega-3s to omega-6s (another type of fatty acid). In addition, wild salmon has much less saturated fat than farmed salmon. Saturated fat is the type that raises bad cholesterol levels, so you want to limit your consumption. Farmed salmon also has higher levels of suspected carcinogens than wild salmon does. For these reasons, as well as its superior flavor and texture, look for wild Alaskan salmon when you go shopping.

Avoid salmon patties, breaded salmon. and other processed salmon products. The good fatty acids are almost nonexistent in processed salmon. Instead, choose whole salmon, frozen steaks and fillets, or canned salmon.

There’s nothing fishy about it – wild salmon is an ideal protein source for those watching their weight. It’s low in calories and low in saturated fat, but abundant in valuable omega-3 fatty acids. Put salmon on your shopping list and start enjoying the proven health benefits of this weight-loss superfood.

Fish oil omega 3 mental benefits children in many ways however the most provocative way is said to be the promotion of healthy brain development and growth. Yes fish does make you smarter! As well, current research highly indicates that omega 3 fatty acid deficiencies are a number one cause of learning difficulties.

When put to the test, fish oil omega 3 mental benefits children who were typically consuming these heavily fat fortified, over processed foods and the results were amazing although not conclusive to indicate that children benefit highly from the added fish oil omega 3 mental benefits children.

Fish Oil Omega 3 Benefits Children with ADD

There is potential for fish oil 3 benefits children with ADD however it is imperative to specify that it is not a cure nor is there any conclusive proof. Omega 3 is one of several crucial fatty acids that are completely needed for adults as well as children and the latest studies are showing that children until age two should have more omega 3 fatty acids for the DHA content to promote healthy development of the brain. The reason it can’t be irrefutably said to be a remedy is because it, in a perfect world, should already be part of your daily diet.

However, the foods of today are almost impossible to acquire the level of omega 3 like our ancestors did so if you add it to a child’s diet that has been deficient in omega 3, of course they will improve. Fish oil 3 mental benefits children with ADD treatments have shown significant progress and helpfulness in aiding this treatment and condition.

Whether you are going to experience the fish oil omega 3 mental benefits for children or take the omega 3 supplements for your own health, there are a couple of things you should bear in mind.

The first being that before you purchase fish oils, be sure that you are getting a high quality product that has been molecularly distilled. Any fish oil product that has been molecularly distilled will be sold as a pharmaceutical grade supplement because it is the only process that effectively removes all the toxins and contaminants. Look for the New Zealand seal of safeness and effectiveness in the fish oil as well as the pharmaceutical grade.