Diet Pills – Do they work? Are they safe? Which one should I use?Written by Mike West
Diet Pills are fastest growing segment of dietary supplement industry. Sales of diet pills and related supplements have been increasing 10 to 20 percent annually to point where last year they reached $2 billion. Considering fact that 60% of U.S. population are overweight or obese, it’s no wonder that several of us are looking for a way to drop extra pounds. Diet pill ads are starting to pop up everywhere, particularly on internet, but before you go out and buy latest greatest pill, do some research.HOW DO DIET PILLS WORK? Most over counter diet pills work by increasing your body’s energy expenditure. One of most common ingredients (caffeine) raises your metabolism by increasing breakdown of fatty acids and therefore reducing appetite. This increase in energy and decrease in appetite is a great combination for burning fat. WHAT’S IN THESE DIET PILLS? In late 2003, based on evidence that it caused heart attacks, Ephedrine was banned as an ingredient in diet pills. Diet pills now generally contain a mixture of vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, folic acid) and of course caffeine or any number of herbs. With any supplement, herb, or medication, best advice is to READ THE LABEL. (As of April 14, 2005- The year old FDA ban on Ephedra has been lifted. The matter has been sent back to FDA for reevaluation – Source: Yahoo News)
| | Staying Toned After Weight LossWritten by Michael Lewis
Staying Toned After Weight Loss ------------------------------- Following significant weight loss, it is vital to have an exercise routine to keep your muscles firm and help to tighten skin. One of biggest drawbacks to significant weight loss is flabby skin that is visible that often can take months to disappear. First pectoral muscles -------------------------- First of all, we recommend performing any exercise that works pectoral muscles will help tone chest, but be careful not to do exercises that work breasts directly. Breasts are not muscle tissue, they are fatty tissue, and therefore do not respond to weightlifting or resistance exercise of any type. In cases where breasts are small, toning pectoral muscles will lift chest and possibly breasts along with it, but if there is a lot of breast tissue, exercises will not lift it. This tissue may disappear over time, or it may not. Your only option would be surgery. How much will my skin tighten? ------------------------------ How much your skin will tighten depends on your age, length of time skin was stretched and how much it was stretched, how much weight you lost (and to some degree how fast you lost it), amount of elastin in your skin, and genetics. Exercise can help as it will tighten skin, plus it will tighten and tone muscles under skin, which can have an affect on your appearance. We generally ask people to wait 8-12 months to see how much skin tightens. If after this time skin is unacceptably loose, then surgery may need to be considered to correct it. In some of these cases, when it is deemed a health risk, insurance may cover surgery. What about my stomach? ---------------------- For stomach, bottom line to weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume. If you eat 2,000 calories in a day and only burn 1,500, you're going to gain weight. On other hand, if you eat 1,500 and burn 2,000, you'll be in caloric deficit by 500 calories. Given that scenario, at end of week, that would be 3,500 calories, and 3,500 calories equals one pound. Diet and exercise ----------------- The combination of modifying your diet and exercise is a good plan. Aerobic exercise will burn lots of calories and help you stay healthy and fit (independent of body weight), and resistance exercise will tone, strengthen, and increase your muscle mass. More muscle mass is important for weight control because it is engine on your body that burns calories. Not only that, but when you lose weight, you can lose up to 25% of your weight from muscle, so you want to keep as much of it as you can.
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