Healthy Weight Loss Advice – Essential Strategies

September 21st, 2007

Who doesn’t want a healthy weight loss program? Did you know that it is estimated that as high as 54% of Americans are considered overweight, while an alarming 33% of Americans are considered to be obese or 20% over the recommended weight for their height?

Did you also know that of the major causes of death from lifestyle related disease processes, the lack of physical activity and poor diet rank second only to cigarette smoking? In fact, as a result of these lifestyle choices, conservative estimates suggest that over 40% of Americans will die from cardiovascular disease alone.

These statistics should be very alarming to you. In fact, they should be down right scary! Clearly, our lifestyles have caught up with us to the point that we’re paying with our lives for the poor choices we’ve made over the years.

Fortunately, there is an alternative choice you can make that will greatly improve the quality of your life forever. What is that choice? Very simple… You can choose to be healthy.

For this choice of good health to be successful, however, you will need a good plan, have the necessary tools to implement your plan, and be willing to follow-through with each step of the plan.

The purpose of this article is to give you the strategies necessary in developing a healthy weight loss program. My goal is to provide you with the tools necessary to execute your healthy weight loss plan successfully. By equipping you with the essential tools for healthy weight loss plan implementation, you will have the keys to good health and a long life.

For a healthy weight loss and lifestyle enhancement program to be successful, three very specific criteria must be met:
1. The program needs to be simple to use.
2. The program needs to be medically safe and scientifically sound in its principles.
3. The program needs to be sustainable. In other words, you must be able to adapt the program into your lifestyle.

Once a program is found to have met these key fundamental criteria, the combination of the following essential health principles must represent the core values of the program:
* Essential Nutrition
* Essential Exercise
* Essential Health Habits

Extracted from these essential elements of optimal health are the specific program components that include:
* Properly combined meals of protein, carbohydrate, and healthy fats.
* 30 – 45 minutes of an individualized aerobic exercise routine 3 days per week
* Adequate water consumption for your body weight every day.
* Supplements of Vitamins A, C, E along with calcium every day.
* Adequate amount of sleep daily
* Appropriate skin care regimen for your specific skin type

By making small, but consistent changes in your health choices, you can single handedly bring about major lifestyle changes and increase your life expectancy by as many as 10 – 15 years or more, decrease your body fat to a healthy level, and eliminate unnecessary body weight. In other words, you’re going to have more energy, look younger, feel stronger, look leaner, and generally feel better than you can ever remember feeling in your life.

So, what are you waiting for? Begin today!

Author: Malton A. Schexneider

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Is Weight Loss With Thyroid Disease Possible?

September 16th, 2007

As it is, losing weight is a challenge that a lot of people cannot seem to overcome with passing marks. After all, it takes a lot of discipline to stick to a weight loss regimen and adjust one’s diet accordingly. There are just a lot factors hindering one’s ability to get back in shape such as the temptation of that very tasty steak, or the lack of time for proper exercise.

But what if the hindrance is internal? The challenge gets tougher.

The problem within

There are several health conditions that could hinder a person’s ability to lose weight. Weight loss with thyroid disease added into the mix can be a tough nut to crack. A person may have all the discipline in the world to follow those complicated diet plans but if his body cannot control his hormones, then all those efforts would be for nothing.

Thyroid conditions like hypothyroidism can cause weight gain in patients. The thyroid secretes hormones mainly for the modulation of carbohydrates and for fat metabolism among other things. When the thyroid glands are incapable of producing enough hormones, the body balance gets affected which then results in weight gain. At first, this condition looks like a host of other diseases so it’s difficult to diagnose.

Patients suffering from this disease find it difficult to lose weight because their hormones simply are not cooperating with their diet regimen. A special plan for weight loss for people with thyroid disease is then designed to adjust to the body’s hormonal imbalance.

To add insult to injury, there are even some drugs that used to treat thyroid disease that can actually cause weight gain. Weight loss with thyroid disease becomes a never-ending dilemma of split priorities. The patient wants to be treated for the disease but he also wants to lose the excess weight because of other health conditions that may result from it.

Overcoming the challenge of weight loss with thyroid disease

Weight loss with thyroid disease added as a hindrance isn’t as easy as simple calorie restriction. The hormonal imbalance renders diet plans to burn calories useless. This is why exercise is so important in weight loss with thyroid disease patients. Exercise will help them increase their body metabolism and burn calories in the process. Aside from that, it lowers down the body’s insulin levels which can also affect one’s blood sugar level. Normally, twenty minutes of exercise, thrice a week is sufficient but for people with thyroid diseases, they need to do much more.

Since there are some medications that could cause the weight gain, it is advised that patients talked to their doctors regarding possible alternatives. That way, the efforts for weight loss with the thyroid disease in hand will not go to waste.

The right kind of exercise

There are a lot of exercise plans out there that should be able to help burn calories effectively. But to go through weight loss with thyroid disease, the best kind of exercise to do would be the muscle building type. Building lean muscles enables the body to burn more calories and continue to do so even when it is idle. Besides, replacing fats with muscles in itself means burning calories which is why it is so effective.

Water therapy and fiber-rich diet

Another way to increase one’s metabolism is by drinking lots of water. Water makes the body work more efficiently. It can also decrease the appetite, eliminate water retention and do wonders on the digestive process.

Even under normal conditions, one of the most effective ways to lose weight is through a healthy diet. To promote weight loss with the thyroid disease still in the picture, patients should get rid of processed foods, chips and sweets and replace them with organic vegetables and fruits. It also helps to eat a lot of fiber-rich food to enhance the body metabolism. Go for chicken and fish for protein sustenance instead of red meat to regulate fat intake.

Eating frequently and in very small amounts can also help regulate one’s weight. Instead of eating thrice a day, go for eating snack-sized amounts of food four to five times within the day. This would also help moderate the appetite and do away with the hungry sensation that could cause overeating.

Weight loss with thyroid disease shouldn’t be a difficult feat once the patient learns to adapt a well regulated lifestyle.

Author:  Phillip England