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Should Know - Bad Exercise Techniques »

Between running errands, attending late night meetings and trying to unwind after a stressful workday, finding time to work out can be quite a challenge. But here’s the real downer: Experts claim that many of us are wasting our efforts on exercises that don’t deliver, or even worse, cause harm.
“Too many Americans come to the […]

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Top 8 Fitness Myths Debunked »

When it comes to getting in shape, losing weight and toning up, the conventional wisdom can sometimes be a little weak. Here, Jan Wyche, a certified personal trainer with Chelsea Piers Sports Center gives you the real skinny on some of the most common fitness myths out there.
It’s important to stretch before a workout
1. […]

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Do Fad Diets Help You To Lose Weight? »

If you want to lose weight fast, you may be tempted to look for a weight loss miracle cure - a fast, easy diet that melts fat like snow off a roof top in the first days of spring.

A fad diet seems to be the answer. “Fad diets” are the popular diets that hit the newspapers and that every second celebrity seems to be on. They’re fashionable while the trend lasts, often for a year or two. Then they fade away, when the next big fad diet hits.

Fad diets often focus on a single food - “The Hard-Boiled Egg Diet”, or “The Watermelon Diet”, or several foods, like “The Israeli Army Diet”. The Israeli Army Diet was a classic, simple fad diet which lasted four days. The first day you ate apples, the second cheese, the third day you ate only chicken and the fourth day you ate only salad.

Other fad diets demonize certain food groups, like carbohydrates.

Yes, you’ll lose weight fast with one of these diets, but they’re dangerous and unhealthy. You can’t keep them up forever. They also have a rebound effect - you always seem to put on more weight after a fad diet, so you end up with more weight to lose than you did before.

How Do You Know Whether Your Diet Is A Fad Diet?

Here are clues to look for:

* The diet bans certain foods or severely restricts them;

* There’s a food list of foods that you must include in your diet;

* A diet suddenly seems hugely popular;

* The diet promises huge weight loss - “a pound a day”;

* Newspaper articles are critical of the diet.

Your Doctor Knows Best

If you’re looking for a way to lose weight fast, go to your doctor first, and have a complete checkup. There may be medical reasons you’re overweight. Ask your doctor’s advice on a healthy weight loss diet for you.

You can lose weight, but you want your weight loss to be enjoyable, and permanent. A good, healthy diet not only helps you to lose weight fast, but it also teaches you how to eat for health and vitality. Skip fad diets. You don’t need them.

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Tips for Finding Effective Weight Loss Diets »

Are you looking to lose weight for the summer? How many pounds do you need to lose? Why do you need so badly to lose weight during the summer? Is it all about the sun and the shiny beaches? Or are you just dreaming about buying trendy swimwear? Oh, don’t tell me it is all about a trendy bathing suit! Don’t you wish to be in shape during the winter as well? It is true that winter clothes cover up your physical form. What does it matter that nobody sees your body during the cold months? After all, isn’t it good to stay in shape year round?

If you prefer to preserve your wonderful summer form for the whole year, you will have to work hard. Working out will help a lot but it is not enough. If you want your perfect body to become a reality, you will have to try some weight loss diets.

I do not recommend working for your body just until the spring end. Why is all this fuss? When the summer ends, this is still your own body after all! You have to believe that weight loss diets will work if only you keep them for the whole year. Now, let us talk about your usual eating habits.

I remember when I was a child that my parents were always trying different weight loss diets. I was always wondering why they were doing all this. I will never forget one of my father’s weight loss diets. I remember once when my brother and I were eating our usual lunch. We were cramming ourselves with ham and cheese sandwiches. But what about my father? He was eating just saltine crackers and tuna. My father looked so hungry. And probably he was!

I can think of loads of different weight loss diets. When people decide to try weight loss diets, he or she can think of so contrary weight loss diets and they will do anything to lose some pounds. From eating just meat and no bread, to living on fruits and vegetables, so many different weight loss diets have been developed nowadays. But when you are searching for your weight loss diet, it is important to judge your current condition and to be sure how many pounds you need to drop. All weight loss diets serve for different needs. Your own diets must be s nutritious one. Consult a dietician. Have you even discussed weight loss diets with a dietician? I assure you that a professional dietician will help you to choose the best one of all weight loss diets.

Probably you need some help when it comes to weight loss diets. Some research on the internet will be a good beginning. There is plethora of information about weight loss diets on the World-Wide-Web. Your computer is just next to you. You may find weight loss diets that work. Get online and search for weight loss diets. Stop mumbling about your extra pound and try to take them off with weight loss diets that work.

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Fad Diets and Weight Loss »

Learn Why Fad Diets Fail Miserably At Keeping the Weight Off

Everyone likes to part of the “in crowd,” even if it costs more than they’re willing to pay. Fad diets are very popular and very destructive to your health. Sure, you can diet for a week and lose 10 pounds, but as soon as the diet ends, you will gain it all back. Because weight loss is such a big topic these days, fad diets are right there to trap the unsuspecting, desperate dieter.

What are some fad diets that are unhealthy?

Fad diets work. You didn’t expect to hear that, did you? Well, any diet works… as long as you are on it. But you need to be realistic – can you live the rest of your life on a diet that excludes most food groups? Of course not. Your body wasn’t made to work that way. Here are 7 recognizable fad diets that fail miserably at keeping the weight off:

1. The Blood Type Diet
2. The Cabbage Soup Diet
3. South Beach Diet
4. Atkins Diet
5. The Grapefruit Diet
6. The Zone
7. The Hollywood Diet

What’s the big deal? Learn why these fad diets are so unhealthy.

Many so-called doctors claim that a specific food is the enemy and should be discarded from one’s diet. This is a huge myth because there is not a single food product that is capable of causing weight loss or gain. Fad diets promise immediate results; which prove to be true, but are not supported by scientific evidence or research.

Fad diets are very extreme and irrational plans that are unhealthy and often ineffective. Most fad diets are high in fat that promote short-term weight loss, but most of the weight loss is caused by dehydration.

How can I recognize these fad diets so I can make sure I’m safe?

Most, if not all fad diets have these “promises” or “guarantees” that are harmful:
- Fad diets claim that you will lose weight very quickly.
- Fad diets promise that you will lose weight and keep it off without giving up your favorite “fatty” foods or exercising regularly.
- Fad diets base claims on photo-shopped “before and after” photos.
- Fad diets offer testimonials from their clients or “experts” in weight loss that are paid to claim these diets work.
- Fad diets draw very simple conclusions from very complex medical research.
- Fad diets limit your food choices and “prison” you to their foods.
- Fad diets require you to spend your hard-earned money on things like their seminars and their pills or prepackaged meals in order for the plan to work.

What do I do if I want to lose weight? Below are some healthy tips that you can do everyday to lose weight:

- Eat breakfast every day (don’t skip any meals).
- Eat a variety of healthy foods so that you get all of your daily nutrients.
- Limit your intake of saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar and sodium.
- Limit sugary soft drinks and juices, and limit alcohol.
- Be aware of the size of your food portions.
- Exercise daily. 30 to 60 minutes 4 to 6 times per week is recommended.

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Side Effects Of Low Carb Diets »

Low carb diets are diets with reduced carbohydrate intake that result in the using up of insulin from the fat and protein reserves in the body. It forces the use of body fat that happens to be the energy source for most parts of the body such as the brain and the red blood cells. However, a total cut off in the intake of carbohydrates from the diet can result in many side effects. Before going in for low carb diets, it is necessary to be aware of these side effects.

Dieters using this method virtually do not consume any bread, rice or alcohol, all of which are rich in carbohydrates. Additionally, some of the low carb diets also involve large amounts of meat, cheese and butter in the diet.

These diets do have some limited, short-term effects in terms of reducing body weight, which is the reason for their popularity. Research has proved that weight is lost during the period of low carb diets due to the reduction of water and muscle tissue from the body. Unfortunately, the fats in the body are not reduced, which is necessary for permanent weight loss. People have a tendency to regain weight when the low carb diet is discontinued.

There has been medical evidence of severe side effects in individuals put on high protein and low carb diets. This has been noticed even in the case of people who have had a good health history. There has been little research done to actually pinpoint the occurrence of ill health in dieters on low carb diets.

Feedback from low carb dieters has been collected on a regular basis to make a comprehensive study about the side effects. Low carb diets are in the controversial terrain until research finds some tangible evidence to find their positive or negative effects. Usually, these side effects are seen on a long-term basis and many dieters are actually content with the fact that they have lost weight rather quickly.

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