How Green Tea Can Help You To Lose Weight

Green tea has been highly valued in Asia for centuries for it's medical properties. In the recent years green tea benefits caught the attention of western scientists. Alongside with confirming many of the green tea benefits scientists indicated that green tea can also help you lose weight.
During their research they've made an amazing discovery. Even though green tea did contain caffeine it have not change the energy expenditure nor it have significantly change a heart rate.

That led to a conclusion that green tea helps to lose weight naturally and safely. In this respect, green tea or green tea extract is different from most of the prescription drugs for obesity or herbal products like ephedra, which can raise heart rates and blood pressure, and are not recommended for many individuals sensitive to stimulants.

The secret of such influence on the body lays in high concentrations of catechin polyphenols. These compounds work with other chemicals to intensify levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis, where heat is created in the body by burning fuels such as fat. Green tea causes carbohydrates to be released slowly.

This prevents sharp increases of insulin in your blood (insulin stimulates the transformation of fatty acids into fat molecules which are stored as fat droplets). As the result fat is burned faster without being "locked" in the fat sells. I want you to remember that even a small effect can go a long way when you are dealing with your metabolism. For example, just by drinking one cup of tea a day or by taking green tea extract in the form of supplement you will burn about an extra 78 calories. This adds up to over 28,000 calories in a year. Which is about 8 extra pounds of weight.

There is also clear evidence that green tea's polyphenols (EGCG) helps depressing leptin (a protein produced by fats that plays an important role in how the body manages fat storage through brain signals). Lower leptin levels decrease the appetite. It means that you will get that "I'm full!" felling faster and as a result consume less food.

It is quite certain that green tea is now holding promise in various areas of weight loss. Drink a cup of your favorite green tea every day and lose those extra pounds easier and faster. Good luck!

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By Arina Nikitina

Arina Nikitina is the owner of the website GreenTeaSecrets.com, where you'll find a lot of free information about green tea, learn how green tea can benefit to your health and how it can help you lose weight. Visit: http://www.greenteasecrets.com

Copyright 2005 Arina Nikitina

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Vinegar and Weight Loss

The Sour Truth

Question: I had a baby 6 months ago and would like to lose some weight. I know that if you're nursing, you're not supposed to diet. I have been eating healthy foods high in nutrients, and I have lost a little weight. Would it be harmful to the baby if I started taking apple cider vinegar pills to help with weight loss?

Answer: A few vinegar pills probably won't hurt you or your baby, but they won't do one bit of good in helping you lose weight either. This old diet fad dates back to the 1970s, when a combination of apple cider, kelp, vitamin B-6, and lecithin was touted as the miracle cure for weight loss. The rationale for this concoction was that it tricked your body's metabolism.

According to the claims, lecithin emulsified body fat, B-6 metabolized the loosened fat, kelp supplied iodine to stimulate the thyroid gland to manufacture more thyroxin to speed metabolism, and vinegar supplied potassium. Like salad dressings where oil and vinegar don't mix, this was supposed to help rid the body of fat.

There Is No Proof

There is no scientific basis, or even rational reason, for any of these claims. For example, a teaspoon of vinegar contains only five milligrams of potassium, a meager amount compared to the 400 milligrams in a cup of grapefruit juice. Swallowing more iodine will jump start a thyroid gland only if you are deficient in this mineral (you'll know if you are iodine-deprived because you will have developed a goiter, or an enlargement of the thyroid gland). When people lost weight on this regimen it was because they also followed the accompanying low-calorie diet. Like all the other diet fads, from starch blockers and collagen products to herbal diet teas and hydroxycitric acid (HCA), the vinegar pills fit most or all the criteria of a useless gimmick:

• They promise to melt away fat.
• They promise fast and effortless weight loss.
• They promise weight loss greater than one to two pounds a week.
• They focus on one or a few foods and limit or exclude whole food groups.
• They are based on pills or "secret formulas."
  

Start Your Weight Loss Program After Breastfeeding

Save your money and follow the advice of thousands of people who have not just lost weight, but maintained the weight loss. Consume daily a wide variety of nutrient-packed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, extra-lean meats and beans, and nonfat milk or yogurt. Watch your portions, and, most importantly, exercise each day. You also are right about not dieting while breastfeeding. It took nine months to gain the weight during your pregnancy. Plan to begin your weight-loss plan after you've stopped breastfeeding, and give yourself at least nine months after that to regain your figure.

Source: WebMD

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

________________________

By Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information on Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health benefits. He has created and edits numerous web sites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer for http://www.ageforce.com and several other websites. If you would like to contact Michael you can e-mail him at Michael@AgeForce.com or if you would like to know more about Weight Loss, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health topics please visit us at AgeForce.com.

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Zone Diet Weight Loss Program

The Zone Diet as a weight loss program has been discussed in detail by Dr. Barry Sears in his book The Zone: Revolutionary Life Plan to Put Your Body in Total Balance for Permanent Weight Loss.

What does ‘Being in the Zone’ involve and more importantly, is it a healthy weight loss regime? Barry Sears, as creator of The Zone Diet was of the opinion that if a person eats carbohydrate, protein and fat in the right ratio of 40:30:30 then he or she will improve his or her health, weight, and performance, because certain hormones will be balanced and therefore be in the preferred "zone."

The hormones focused here are insulin (necessary for glucose to enter our cells) and eicosanoids (hormone-like substances that regulate inflammation). The Zone Diet is a popular choice for some, as it is believed to be a scientific weight loss program.

The Zone Diet works on the theory that excess insulin, a hormone that helps control our blood sugar levels, makes us over weight. So Zone Diet can be defined as keeping the hormone insulin in a ‘tight zone’. Zone diet regulates our blood sugar levels by regulating insulin levels thereby burning body fat more efficiently so that we lose weight.

To control blood sugar and consequently insulin levels, maintaining a perfect balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in every meal is essential. Zone Diet is all about a low carb - high protein diet.

The Zone diet encourages meals every five hours. It also eliminates foods people tend to overeat; such as sweets, chips, certain starches, and other junk food. It concentrates on including a number of healthful foods — low glycemic fruits and grains (such as cherries, grapefruit, nuts, and lentils which help maintain blood sugar levels), vegetables, lean proteins, monounsaturated and omega-3 fats.

Sometimes it may feel difficult to mathematically calculate the food requirements in your diet. This is where the block system comes in. A 1:1:1 ratio of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats constitute what is known as a Zone Block.

Food like white potatoes, corn flakes, and dates are a no-no. The Zone diet works because it is actually a low calorie diet. For instance, the sample meal plans for an average person totaled approximately 1800-2000 calories per day. Most people (men) would lose weight at this level of caloric intake if the zone diet is followed. The Zone diet is best for hypothyroid patients.

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By Lana Hampton

Lana Hampton is the webmaster of http://www.zonedietnews.com. Visit her site today for the latest zone diet information and reviews. Reprinting this article is permitted with this footer included.

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Weight Loss: It's Not About the Numbers, It's Your Approach!

Today obesity, diabetes and heart disease runs through us at epidemic levels. Why? The answer lies not in the thousands of different kinds of diet, weight loss and workout programs offered, the answer lies in the approach. But, no one wants to talk about that. Do you ever wonder why that is?

Do we not want to know, or could it have something to do with the doctor’s and those in the fitness industry not wanting to explain the best approach to us? Maybe they don’t even know the right way themselves? But, I think deep down we want and need too know.

Quote:

“While exercise and eating guidelines are based on good scientific principles, they do not go along with human nature or common sense. Recent history is telling us this; we are better off with encouraging the mediocre people who are willing to include exercise in their daily lives, rather than cramming guidelines down throats that are far beyond the reach of the majority of people. In the end, keeping things simple combined with support usually works better.” -- Greg Ryan
From his e-book: “Just MOVE it,” www.resolutions.biz

Over the years most of us who are out of shape and want to lose a few pounds and feel a little better about ourselves, developed many different behaviors toward exercise and food. Some are good ones, but most are just barriers we have built in our minds. I guess you could also chalk it up to pure laziness.

However, the bottom line is we are going to continue down the path of destruction until someone comes up with a plan to help people deal with the reasons behind such behaviors.
No pill will do it long term, no eight minute ab’s routine will concur the patterns; the only thing it will take is introspection. But, do we want to hear that? Maybe, that is just too painful to even think about right now.

Do you mean I will have to take a good long look at myself? Maybe so. At the end of the day, you are going to have to ask yourself, “Do I deal with it now or do I deal with the consequences later? Because that’s really want it comes down to. Face the truth on your terms today, or face the reality on life’s terms down the road in a hospital bed.

I chose to deal with it now.

So where is the magic? It’s not in the pills or programs being fed to us today and it’s also not found so much in the numbers on an exercise chart, the amount of weight you lift, or the miles on a treadmill.

Our success lies in how willing we are to deal with the roots of the unwanted behaviors. Figuring out what truly motivates us and developing a great support system.
Do we really want to continue to put a bandage on bleeding artery? Or do we get serious and do some mental surgery that takes care of the weight problem once in for all.

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By Greg Rryan

Greg Ryan is the best selling author of the Changing from the
“INSIDE OUT”, book series and former Kathy Smith Employee. Discover the five step common sense way to lose weight and get in better shape. A formula the medical and fitness industry DON’T want you to know about!
Visit http://www.resolutions.biz - 4 BONUS Sections

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The Key To Successful Weight Loss - Balancing Blood Sugar Levels

When you talk about losing weight you're really talking about losing fat. Successful weight loss is not just about losing that excess fat, it's about keeping it off.
Diets, be they low fat, high protein, calories controlled don't work. As soon as you come off the diet the weight just starts piling on again. Diets are just a short term fix. They are often boring and may not give your body the full range of nutrients it needs to keep you healthy. Diets do not provide a long term solution to your weight problems.
The answer is really quite simple. It's eating foods that keep your blood sugar in balance.
Why are blood sugar levels so important to successful weight loss? Every second of every day your body strives for balance and if it cannot achieve this balance your health is compromised. Failure to keep your blood sugar levels in balance leads your body to store more fat and can increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease. When you eat carbohydrates your body turns this into glucose and it travels through the bloodstream to your cells where it will be used for energy. Your very own rocket fuel! Problems start, however, when your blood sugar levels go too high. The pancreas produce a hormone called insulin whose job is to move glucose out of the blood. The more glucose in your blood, the more insulin you produce. If your body does not use the glucose for energy then it will be stored as fat. That's bad news but it can be even worse. Too much insulin hinders the body's ability to breakdown fat that has already been stored. That's certainly a double whammy. And let's not forget the risk of diabetes and heart disease. So now is the time to consider the effect of what you eat on your blood sugar levels
Does this scenario sound familiar? You're running late so you pick up a large latte and a bagel on the way to work. Around about eleven you're feeling peckish so you have a coffee and a biscuit or two or three. For lunch it's a cheese sandwich made with white bread and a large cola. Around about three you're feeling tired so it's a large coffee.
Your blood sugar levels have been rising too high and then falling too low all day. Your blood sugar levels have been out of balance all day. It's not just the food consumed that's been playing havoc with the blood sugar levels. The stimulants, including caffeine, found in cola and coffee (remember decaffeinated coffee still contains stimulates other than caffeine) force the body to produce adrenalin and this too raises the blood sugar level.
So that's the problem, now let's focus on the solution.
Keeping your blood sugar levels nice and steady throughout the day is the key to long term weight loss success. The goal is steady weight loss based on an enjoyable, varied eating plan that you can stick to for the rest of your life. You'll eat protein, carbohydrates, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and some fats. Remember, this is not a diet.
You've probably heard of the glycemic index (GI) which rates carbohydrate food for its effect on blood sugar levels. A high GI number indicates the food is fast releasing. A baked potato scores 85, a sweet potato scores 61 but whole-wheat spaghetti would be a better choice at 37. To keep blood sugar levels steady, your carbohydrate intake should be based mainly on slow releasing foods. If eating a fast releasing carbohydrate, and these should only be eaten occasionally, then it must be combined with some protein. There are many books available listing the GI scores of common foods.
There is one problem with GI. It fails to take account of the quantity of food eaten. Carrots and chocolate have roughly the same score, they are both in the high 40s but you may nibble on one small carrot but, let's be honest, you don't just have two pieces of chocolate, you have the whole bar.. That's where GL (glycemic load) comes in. It takes into account both the GI score and the available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate less fiber) in the quantity of food being eaten. This is going to be the next 'hot topic'' in weight loss. There are already a number of books on the subject plus there are GL tables on the Web.
Protein has a role to play, too. Combining proteins with slow releasing carbohydrates helps you to burn fat. Your pancreas will produce a hormone called glucagon and your body will break down your stored fat and burn it for energy when it needs more than it is getting from the food you eat.
Okay, that's the theory but what do you eat? For a start, you are not going to go hungry. You are going to eat three meals and two snacks a day eating between 38-42 GLs a day whilst you're trying to lose weight and 45-50 GLs a day when you've reached your target weight.
For breakfast you must have both carbohydrate and protein. You could have 2oz of porridge, half a cup of blueberries, a dessertspoon of ground flax and pumpkin seeds served with some skimmed or soya milk. Or how about low fat live yogurt with half cup of blueberries (or strawberries or an apple or pear) and a dessertspoon of ground flax and pumpkin seeds. Or try a sugar free muesli, a dessertspoon of ground flax and pumpkin seeds, soft fruit of your choice and skimmed milk or soya milk or natural yogurt. Or would you prefer scrambled eggs on one slice of whole-wheat or rye toast. Aim for a breakfast of between 9 and 12 GL.
For lunch and dinner, imagine a medium sized plate. Your going to fill one half of it with non starchy vegetables such as salad leaves, aubergine, broccoli, cabbage, celery, zucchini, cucumber, mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomato and spinach. One quarter of the plate will be filled with protein. Choose from tofu, skin free turkey, skin free chicken, fish, eggs, quinoa, lentils and beans. You can have lean red meat no more than three times per week. The remaining quarter is carbohydrate such as pumpkin/squash, carrots, corn on the cob, pasta, brown rice or potato. Aim for each meal to be between 9 and 12 GL. These meals may be smaller than you are used to but remember you get a morning and afternoon snack too.
For snacks have fruit such as strawberries, apple, plums, cherries, peaches or some melon. Eat with a few nuts (nothing added) or pumpkin seeds. Or you could have some hummus and raw vegetables such as broccoli. Aim for each snack, to be no more than 5GL
Plan your meals and snacks in advance so that you can make sure you are keeping within your GL limit for each day.
Use GL and count your way to weight loss success and lifelong weight management.

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By Isobel Whytock

Isobel Whytock is the author for http://www.1st-for-weight-loss.com where you can find many tips and inspirational articles on weight loss. This article is Copyright 2005 1st-for-weight-loss.com and may be reprinted and used on other sites providing this information and credit remains on the article with all links intact.

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How The Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health

When was the last time you consumed soda? Most likely, it wasn’t that long ago. You may even drink several cans or bottles each day. In the U.S, carbonated soft drinks are a huge business. Every year, they generate more than $50 billion in annual sales.

Two companies – Coca-Cola and PepsiCo -- dominate the soda market. They are in a constant battle for the market share of the product – a conflict known as the “Cola War.” Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually for advertising. Not surprisingly, the companies are always looking for new markets. And, increasingly, they are directing their attention to adolescents and children.

For decades, schools have allowed soda to be sold in on-site vending machines. So, generating income for schools from the sale of soda is not a new policy. However, in the early 1990s, pouring-rights contracts emerged. These put a different spin on the sale of soda in schools. And, over the years, they have increasingly gained in popularity.

In return for the exclusive sale of one-company’s product, pouring-rights contracts give school districts large lump-sum payments and extra payments and/or gifts over a period of five or 10 years. The contracts provide additional incentives for consumption levels that surpass quotas. So, they tend to encourage the consumption of higher amounts of soda, even by the youngest students. In one of the most extravagant contracts, a 53-school district in Colorado, gave up its Pepsi vending machines and signed an $8 million, 10 year agreement with Coca-Cola that included cash bonuses when sale targets were exceeded and a new car for a senior with high grades and perfect attendance. But, even the smaller contracts tend to be generous. The goal is to create brand loyalty among young people – a loyalty that could continue throughout their lives. Without a doubt, administrators in cash-strapped school districts have a litany of reasons to be enticed. But, adherence to the contracts may be taken to extremes. For example, a Georgia student was suspended when he wore a shirt with a Pepsi logo to a student government-sponsored “Coke Day” rally.

So what is contained in a typical soda that may be found in a school vending machine? A 20-ounce screw-top plastic bottle of soda has 275 calories. While there are other ingredients such as flavorings and caffeine, the soda is primarily sugar and carbonated water. High in calories and zero in nutritional value, it is the quintessential “junk food.” The Center for Science in the Public Interest refers to soft drinks as “liquid candy.” Since the bottles have screw-tops, the liquid may be sipped throughout the day, thereby bathing the teeth with sugar and upsetting dentists. While it is unclear how many sodas a typical student might drink in one day, one is not a bad guess. Just one a day means 1925 empty calories per week. Heavy users drink more than one soda per day. Children who begin drinking soda when they are still young tend to increase the amount they consume through adolescence into young adulthood. Many children drink more soda than juice or milk. While juice and whole milk contain about the same amount of calories as soda, they contain useful vitamins and minerals. Juice and milk are far better nutritional options.

Although the relationship cannot be proven conclusively, soda consumption correlates with obesity. Children who drink sodas take in more calories, are fatter and have worse diets than those who don’t. If you need to lose weight, start by replacing sodas with water, fat free or 1% milk, or 100% juice (but not too much).

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By Joey Dweck

Joey Dweck is the founder of http://www.WeightLossBuddy.com committed to helping you find a 24/7 buddy who will not only help you lose weight but who also will get you to change to a healthy lifestyle. You choose your own diet and your own exercise regime, and we find you a buddy who literally will stick with you through thick and thin. Signing up for a buddy is free. Simply go to http://www.WeightLossBuddy.com or call 1-877-BUDDY-UP.

Copyright © 2005, by Weight Loss Buddy Press

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3 Surprising Statistics About Our Weight

To say that Americans are obsessed with dieting is an understatement! Pick up any magazine, tune-in or turn-on any source of advertising and you're bombarded with the latest diet schemes and food fads. More often than not, they are endorsed by some familiar Hollywood celebrity, or promoted using some other cleaver technique.

It's no mystery that the weight-loss industry has built a thriving empire. In America, for example, we spend about 35 billion dollars every year on an assortment of weight loss products and plans. In addition, we spend another 79 billion dollars for medication, hospitalization, and doctors to treat obesity-related problems. Even with this, the obesity epidemic continues to spread. Sadly, we have become the heaviest generation in our Nation's history.

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that we have some very good reasons to be concerned about our weight-gain. Americans, for example are packing-on the pounds faster than ever before and weight-related medical problems are taking center stage. Diseases like heart disease, diabetes and yes...even certain forms of cancer have all been linked to obesity.
Here are a few of the surprising statistics about our weight:

- A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. That's up approximately 8 percent from overweight estimates obtained in a 1988 report.

- The percent of children who are overweight is also continuing to increase. Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent or almost 9 million are overweight. That's triple what the rate was in 1980!

- Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese. At present, 31 percent of adults 20 years of age and over or nearly 59 million people have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, compared with 23 percent in 1994.

(The BMI is a number that shows body weight adjusted for height. For adults, a BMI of 18.5 - 24.9 is considered normal. A BMI of 25.0 - 29.9 is overweight and 30.0 or above, is considered obese.)

Modern life both at home and at work has come to revolve around moving from one "seated" position to another: whether it's television, computers, remote controls, or automobiles, we seem to be broadening the scope of our inactive endeavors.

At times, life seems to have gotten almost too easy! For entertainment, we can now just sit-down, dial-up our favorite TV program or DVD movie and enjoy hours of uninterrupted entertainment...

And all those simple calorie burning activities that were once a normal part of our daily routine not so long ago? Long gone! You know the ones I'm talking about...activities like climbing stairs instead of using escalators and elevators. Or, pushing a lawn mower instead of riding around on a garden tractor. And what about that daily walk to school? Now, our kids complain when the school bus happens to be a few minutes late getting to the bus stop!

Along with the convenience of our affluent lifestyle and reduction in energy expenditure, have come changes in our diet. We are now consuming more calorie rich and nutrient deficient foods than ever before.

Here are a few examples of what we were eating in the 1970's compared to our diet today (information is taken from a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture survey):

- We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption has jumped 45 percent since the 1970s, from 138 pounds of grains per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of the wheat flour is consumed as whole wheat.

- Our consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased, but only because the U.S.D.A. includes French fries and potato chips as a vegetable. Potato products account for almost a third of our "produce" choices.

- We're drinking less milk, but we've more than doubled our cheese intake. Cheese now outranks meat as the number one source of saturated fat in our diets.

- We've cut back on red meat, but have more than made up for the loss by increasing our intake of chicken (battered and fried), so that overall, we're eating 13 pounds more meat today than we did back in the 1970s.

- We're drinking three times more carbonated soft drinks than milk, compared to the 1970's, when milk consumption was twice that of pop.

- We use 25 percent less butter, but pour twice as much vegetable oil on our food and salads, so our total added fat intake has increased 32 percent.

- Sugar consumption has been another cause of our expanding waistlines. Sugar intake is simply off the charts. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people are consuming roughly twice the amount of sugar they need each day, about 20 teaspoons on a 2000 calorie/day diet. The added sugar is found mostly in junk foods, such as pop, cake, and cookies.

- In 1978, the government found that sugars constituted only 11 percent of the average person's calories. Now, this number has ballooned to 16 percent for the average American adult and as much as 20 percent for American teenagers.

The days of the wholesome family dinners so near and dear to our hearts, where we all sat around the kitchen table to discuss events of the day, are now a part of our sentimental past. They have been replaced by our cravings for take-out and fast-food. We have gradually come to accept that it's "OK" to sacrifice healthy foods for the sake of convenience and that larger serving portions mean better value.

And, since I have been throwing-out statistics, here's one more: Americans are consuming about 300 more calories each day than we did twenty years ago. We should actually be eating less because of our decreased activity level, but instead are doing the opposite!

Decide TODAY that healthy eating and exercise habits will become a permanent part of your life!

Begin to explore your values and thoughts and other areas of your life where change may be required, and then take action. Begin slowly, but deliberately to make improvements in the areas you identify. And remember, it has taken a very long time to develop your habits, and it will take some time to undo them…so be patient!

The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any health care program.

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By Emily Clark

Emily Clark is editor at Lifestyle Health News and Medical Health News where you can find the most up-to-date advice and information on many medical, health and lifestyle topics.

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