Everywhere you look you are surrounded by constant reminders which tell you that in order to be happy, successful, respected and have strong personal relationships you need to be thin and beautiful.

However from this description alone, this desire to fit into what is considered ‘beautiful’ can undermine your self esteem, your confidence and how you actually perceive yourself.

It is no wonder with such constant pressures that the following statistics have emerged:

• In the past 20+ years, the centrefold for Playboy has lost 25lbs and weighs 18% less than the medical ideal
• Fashion models are a staggering 23% below the average weight of an ordinary woman. In a recent BMI study many actresses and models were found to have 10-15% body fat compared to 22-26% for a normal, healthy woman
• In the Miss World contest a few years ago it was discovered that the average contestant weighed below the US’s standard weight for anorexia
• In a 1994 survey by Glamour (conducted on 33,000 women), 75% thought they were overweight when in fact only 25% fitted into this category
• Placed in a hall of distorting mirrors, of the women surveyed, the vast majority believed the mirror which made them look fatter was their real selves whilst the mirrors which reflected their real selves or made them look thinner they thought were false

More worryingly, as the ideal body becomes thinner, we as a nation are becoming bigger creating an even more substantial gap between the two.

How to lose weight

If you are genuinely interested in losing weight, it is important that you don’t get caught up in these preconceptions of what is or isn’t considered to be beautiful.

As the above statistics prove, an unhealthy obsession with your weight can result in dangerously low BMI’s or even anorexia; neither of which are not good for your overall health or wellbeing.

To achieve your why lose weight goal you need to plan a proper diet, exercise regularly and possibly use diet pills to help you experience a safe, steady weight loss of 1-2lbs a week.

Natural herbal supplements such as Proactol can help you to reduce your dietary fat intake by up to 28% whilst suppressing your appetite, thus helping you to naturally decrease your meal portions at a pace that is right for you.

Of course back then there weren’t an abundance of artificial sweeteners available at the supermarket, so sugar was the sweetener of choice. Unfortunately, consuming large amounts of sugar will add extra calories to our food and which causes us to gain weight. This is why so many people choose sugar substitutes or low cal sweeteners instead of sugar. They can enjoy eating their favorite foods without worrying about consuming extra calories. Diabetics may use artificial sweeteners to give their food a sugary taste without raising their blood sugar levels. However, if you are diabetic you’ll want to keep in mind that some foods like sugar free yogurt can actually raise your blood sugar levels. This is because of other carbs and proteins mixed in. Other sugar free products may also contain flour which is known to raise blood sugar levels too so be sure to check the ingredients first. You’ll also want to remember that foods containing sugar substitutes may also contain calories which you don’t need if you are trying to lose weight.

Artificial Sweeteners
We’ve added a list of artificial sweeteners that the FDA or Food and Drug Administration have approved of. The (ADI) is the “acceptable daily intake” for each sweetener listed. This is the maximum amount considered safe to eat each day.

Artificial Sweetener ADI Estimated ADI OK for cooking?
Equivalent

Aspartame 50 milligrams per NO
(NutraSweet, Equal) kilogram (kg) 18 to 19 cans of diet cola

Saccharin
(Sweet’N Low, SugarTwin) 5 mg per kg 9 to 12 packets Yes

Acesulfame K
(Sunett, Sweet One) 15 mg per kg 30 to 32 cans of diet soda Yes

Sucralose (Splenda) 5 mg per kg 6 cans of diet soda Yes

Many of the weight loss medications available on the market today are labeled as appetite suppressants and are approved by the FDA. Appetite suppressants are usually available in the form of tablets or time released capsules. They can either be prescribed by your doctor or purchased over the counter. Diet pills work by making your body believe that it is either not hungry or very full. This is done by suppressing your appetite with the increased production of serotonin or catecholamine, two chemicals in the brain which affect both your mood and appetite. Fat absorption inhibitors are also used to prevent weight gain. These diet pills prevent your body from degrading or absorbing lipids or harmful fat molecules inside you body. After taking the inhibitors any harmful or unwanted fat eaten during meal time is eventually discarded by the body during bowel movements.

Consulting with your doctor is the first step to take before choosing a diet pill. Your doctor will know which medications will work best for you based on your current medical evaluation. Once you choose a diet pill that’s right for you will notice that your maximum weight loss will occur within 6 months. After six months your weight loss will begin to decrease. This is because weight loss pills are not to be used long term.

Weight loss drugs have been known to help you not only lose weight but also help reduce the number of health risks associated with obesity. Unfortunately, there are a few risks associated with diet pills that you should be made aware of by your physician.

Addiction- Like any other drug, whether prescription or OTC, diet pills can be potentially addicting when used long term. By consulting with your physician you can avoid addiction, lose weight effectively and be healthy for the long run.

Tolerance- For most people taking diet pills, weight loss seems to level off after about 6 months. It is not clear if this is due to your body’s developed tolerance or the medication’s limit.

Side Effects- It’s rare that any serious life threatening side effects of slimming pills will occur from the use of weight loss drugs. However, most side effects are mild and sometimes unpleasant and usually improve over time as your body gets use to the medication. The following are a list of potential side effects of slimming pills:

• Increased heart rate
• Increased blood pressure
• Sweating
• Constipation
• Insomnia
• Excessive thirst
• Lightheaded
• Drowsiness
• Congestion
• Headache
• Dry mouth

The answer to this question is “yes”. You can lose weight quickly, effectively and naturally. There are many different ways to lose weight that are both safe and effective with long lasting results. The first is with weight loss medications. For those who are interested in taking this route, a variety of natural weight loss pills are available to you in two main categories. One category is the prescription weight loss medication also known as appetite suppressants. Appetite suppressants are usually prescribed by doctors and work by manipulating the hormones which control mood and appetite. Over the counter or OTC drugs are weight loss pills available without a prescription. This group of pills is commonly known as dietary supplements. Dietary supplements work by helping you to feel full. A good example of a dietary supplement would be a fat binder. Fat binders work when the fiber molecules in diet pills combine with the fat molecules you ingest with your food. Once the harmful fat molecules and the fiber are combined they become too big for your body to digest and are then discarded as waste.

The second way to achieve quick weight loss is with good old fashioned hard work through diet and exercise. It is always very important to not only monitor what you eat but how much you eat as well. Everything you eat should be in moderation. When you decide to diet you should not skip meals or eat from just one food group and avoid the rest like some fad diets suggest. This is dangerous because your body requires a specific amount of vitamins and minerals. Skipping meals or eating from just one food group may help you lose weight but will eventually cause health problems and nutritional deficiencies.

One of the best ways to achieve quick weight loss is to exercise a little each day by performing 10 minute work out routines. It’s been reported that women who exercised for just 10 minutes a day lost approximately 30% more body fat than those who exercised for 35 minutes 3 times a week. That’s right! Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh conducted a study and found that multiple short workouts can be just as effective as longer less frequent workouts in men. They found that men who did two 15 minute workouts 4 days per week improved their cardiovascular endurance twice as much as men who worked one 30 minute workout routine 4 days per week.

So remember that quick weight loss and fitness is possible. It really doesn’t take much to lose weight and feel great. The key to quick weight loss is to be persistent. Consult with your doctor, find a diet and exercise routine that’s right for you, and don’t give up.

A diet is not something which should add stress to your life. It should help to improve your overall health and maintain a reasonable body size. According to the people I come in contact with on a daily basis there are two main reasons why people choose a diet. 1- To maintain good health and avoid medical problems and 2- to lose weight. However, before you choose a diet program there are a few things to consider.

What’s your motivation? There are some people who think that losing weight will help them to get a certain job or help meet Mr. or Mrs. Right. You should remember that a diet program should be chosen for good health reasons and will not guarantee you success in anything else.

Why have I failed at diets before? Some of you may have tried fad diets in the past. Unfortunately, fad diets may work for a short period of time but they are not meant to sustain good health. Fad diets may be popular and some of them may even work for a while, but they are not encouraged by doctors ore any other health professionals. So watch out for them.

What are your family members like? You might want to ask yourself, “Is my body built like my other family members? Check out some of your close relatives. Take note of your similarities and differences. It doesn’t matter how much you diet, you just can’t change you genetic make up but by choosing a proper diet and exercise program you can help sculpt your body into the best possible shape you cam be in.

Do I have specific health issues? Some people are more at risk for certain diseases than others. You should examine your family health history to see what diseases run in your family. Does anyone in your family have heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes? Are you allergic to certain foods or ingredients? Do you have high cholesterol, or high levels of glucose? If so consult with your doctor on how to choose a diet and nutritional plan that’s right for you.

1-Natural weight loss supplements or pills: These pills are sold over the counter (OTC) and are as near as your local drugstore, where you’ll find an aisle offering everything from pills to teas that promise weight loss. They are usually safe and a few of them are also backed by solid scientific evidence and clinical trials.

2-Weight loss medications: These pills are available only by prescription from a physician and, although have been proven to be effective for weight loss, they have also been shown to have potential dangerous side effects. Therefore, they are only prescribed when obesity becomes life threatening.

Natural diet pills are very easy and effective way for people who wish to loose weight within a short span of time. Some of these diet pills also help you to attain a control over your body and act as appetite suppressants enabling you to control your hunger. They also help your body to cut down the intake of fat in the body while also providing you with surplus energy in order to do other activities of your day. By such ways, you can lose weight without doing much effort.

Quite a few good diet pills are backed by some very plausible evidence, and do contain ingredients that have been shown to have effects on weight loss. As they are 100% natural and pure, they are virtually free of all related side effects and interactions.

Such diet pills are not only the easiest way to lose weight; they also make your life easier, simpler and more enjoyable. Just imagine, for a second…

No more spending hours in the kitchen cooking meals for the week. No more getting up early to prepare your breakfast and pack lunch. No more using your brain so much to calculate just how much you need and no more waiting for equipment at the gym.

Remember, since the weight loss diet pills are designed to work with the body in eliminating fat, they cannot do wonders on their own. There is no positive result if you are taking the weight loss pill while living a sedentary life and feasting numerous times a day. A weight loss diet pill works best when a healthy lifestyle is added to the mix. A healthy lifestyle includes healthy eating, and an exercise program. The combination of the two, as well as a prescribed pill, can bring about much needed weight loss.

1-To reduce your health risks: Remember, the more extra body fat you have, especially around your waist, the higher your health risks for certain diseases may be. Simply having a higher than normal BMI (a ratio of weight in relation to height) suggests that you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and cancers of the breast, endometrium, prostate and colon. Risks increase with waist sizes larger than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. Weight loss may be one way to help lower blood pressure and to improve abnormal cholesterol levels. Even if you don’t have any problems right now, but your BMI is in the “obese” range at 30 or above, your health risks may still be considered high if you aren’t physically active on a regular basis, or if you have high serum triglycerides (a component of a cholesterol blood test).

2-To improve your health: How weight loss works is you need to burn calories to lose weight and exercise is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories and lose weight fast. Incorporating enhanced physical activity or exercise into your day by walking more, running or exercising to a fitness video can strengthen your heart and lungs and the efficiency of your energy metabolism. This will also help lower your blood pressure, improve your HDL, or “good” cholesterol, and reduce your risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Besides, increased physical activity has been thought to be associated with lower anxiety rates and it also brings peace and calm to your mind and body.

3- To make yourself happier: Losing weight, when done responsibly, definitely benefits your physical health and your emotional and spiritual life as well. One of the first things dieters report is how much extra energy they have after they’ve lost even 5 or 10 pounds. They also sleep better and enjoy enhanced sex lives.

4-To discover the “genuine” you: And finally, you should definitely lose weight because it’s your “natural” right to get rid of that “unnatural” mass and also because…

You deserve to be slim.
You should live longer.
You will have to take control of you body & life.
You will be proud of yourself.
You won’t feel so self-conscious.
You will be in better health.
You will feel better physically.
You will have more confidence.
You will be less self-critical.
You will feel more comfortable, especially in Summer.
You will be happier when you look in the mirror.
You will feel more outgoing.
You will feel that I have accomplished something important.
You will have more energy.
You will be able to get down & play with the grandkids with comparative ease.
You will enjoy wearing nice clothes.
You will be more physically fit.
You will feel more in control.
You will do more things like go to the beach.
You will be able to dance in public without feeling self-conscious.
You will feel better about yourself.
You would not feel uncomfortable when people hug you.
You would not feel that you are letting yourself down.
You would not feel ashamed.

Therefore, don’t “wait” to lose “weight”.

I read in a recent article of a popular women’s magazine that 85% of women can’t sleep at night due to worrying. Also, about 70% of women become irritable due to stress and because of the economy about 52% of women are under more stress today than they were six months ago. Unfortunately, quite a few of us tend to overeat and gain a few unwanted pounds during stressful times. This is the last thing we all need, especially when we are trying to lose weight.

I know that whenever I am stressed I try my best to schedule time to wind down from a hard day at work. In my spare time there are lots of things to do help cope with the stress. Here are a few good ideas to help you ease the stress of everyday life so that you could stay focused on keeping in good shape.

Tune up. Listening to music is a great way to relax. At times my job can be stressful. I can’t always take a break and walk away whenever I want to so I can always turn on the radio to my favorite station. If I want to listen to my music in private I just take out my MP3 player and listen as long as I want.

It’s your call. Sometimes during the middle of the day I call up a friend or a family member just to say hello. It only takes a few minutes and I make sure that I time myself for about 15 minutes which is just enough time to get my mind off of the pressures at work for a few minutes.

Sweat it out. By exercising for at least 30 minutes each day you can cut your level of stress anywhere from 40 to 50%. Remember, you don’t have to be a member of a gym. You could do what I do and go for a quick, brisk walk at the job. If possible, take a walk outside or around the block if time allows. If not, then take a quick walk around the office. Just make sure your work is getting done first.

You can try any of these ideas today. You may not be able to eliminate stress completely but it’s important to keep your stress level to a minimum. Good health is just as important as losing weight and both will help you to live a long and prosperous life.

Celebrity Diet Tips

Jessica Alba
Since the age of 12 Jessica Alba has been on a strict diet and exercise program. Determined not to follow the patterns of her heavily overweight family, Jessica always eats a well balanced diet and avoids eating carbohydrates. She also has a diet consisting of lean meats, vegetables, egg whites and cottage cheese. She also likes to snack on dried fruit and frozen yogurt when craving sweets.

Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer likes to stay fit and trim by exercising and eating healthy, well balanced meals. Everything in moderation is the code she lives by! She drinks alcohol and when she feels the need to lose weight she reduces the amount of carbs she consumes. J-Lo’s exercise program includes daily cardio and weight resistance training.

Oprah
Oprah tends to avoid carbs at all cost. In particular she stays away from bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. She has a daily workout routine and says that dieting isn’t always easy, but if you work hard at it you can do it.

Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer lost 30lbs by eliminating mayonnaise, sandwiches and fried food from her meals. Instead of mayo she uses mustard. Mayo has very little nutritional value and is saturated with fat.

Heidi Klum
Heidi lost 30lbs within the first 6 months after giving birth. How did she do it? She took photographs of herself in the nude each week, in order to keep track of how her body was changing.

No matter how tempting a crash diet may feel you should never give me. The scales may be telling you that you are losing weight, but this weight loss is not all that it appears to be.

For example if you are losing more than 2 pounds a week, the reality is you are probably losing only water weight and muscle, not that much needed fat.

What is water weight loss?

According to recent research diets that promote weight losses of 10 pounds a week, actually consist of 60% water weight loss. And the problem with this type of weight loss technique is that the moment you re-hydrate your body you WILL put this weight back on.

The truth is your body needs a certain level of hydration in order to function, so when you choose to dramatically modify your calorie intake and eating habits, what you are actually doing is promoting water loss.

The science

When your body becomes deprived of calories, it immediately seeks a quick energy supply to fulfil its needs, more often than not from your carbohydrate and glycogen stores.

However when glycogen is used, this biochemical breakdown causes a substantial amount of water to be lost which results in rapid weight loss. Sounds good, it isn’t.

The problem is as soon as you begin to deprive your body of your glycogen stores, you immediately start craving sugary, carbohydrate rich foods which will cause all that water weight to be regained and then some.

Natural route to lasting weight loss

To successfully lose weight and ensure you are losing only fat, not water or essential muscle tissue, you need to find the right balance between your calorie intake, your diet and your exercise levels.

To burn just 1 pound of fat you either need to cut your calorie intake by 3,500 calories a week (500 a day), or burn an extra 3,500 calories a week over the course of 8-9 workouts.

REMEMBER: fat can only be burned at a certain rate. You can not force it to lose more without facing the negative consequences of other tissues being thrown into the weight loss mix i.e. protein and carbohydrates which can result in dramatic water loss.

Combating muscle loss

It is true that within the first stages of weight loss you can lose muscle tissue. However by quickly developing a routine of resistance and weight training you can help minimise the amount of muscle tissue lost whilst you are dieting.

Clinical studies have found that by the 3rd week of weight loss – if powered by a modest calorie reduction and exercise routine – 90% of your weight loss will be pure fat.

Read more about weight loss work outs

Why Lose Weight Recommends

If you are looking for a natural solution to assist your weight loss, we thoroughly recommend Proactol. Formulated using 100% organic ingredients, through its unique composition you can bind up to 28% of your dietary fat intake without having to go on a diet.

So if you are concerned about the potential effects water weight loss or muscle deterioration, Proactol can give you the helping hand you need to remain in firm control of your weight loss.