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Independent Articles About: 1. Lose Weight Fast 2. Diet fads & Dieting 3. Long Term Weight Loss Lose Weight Fast - Six Sensible Tips for Long Term Weight Loss By Sacha Tarkovsky In this article we are going to show you some sensible PROVEN Ways to lose weight fast. The good news about the diet tips enclosed are they do not involve starving yourself, or using fad diets that can actually be bad for your long term health. 1. Drink water Water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off longer term. Water acts as an appetite suppressant by keeping your stomach full and fending off dehydration which can lead to false cravings/hunger. Water also helps your body metabolize stored fat by helping the kidneys flush out waste. When you don't drink enough water the liver which works to provide stored fat for energy helps the kidneys eliminate waste and becomes less effective at metabolizing fat. Drinking water ice cold burns about 62 calories a day. Your body has to work to raise that waters temperature to your body's temperature. This equals around 430 calories per week. 2. Eat regularly This means eating 5 times a day and the most important meal is breakfast. Make sure you fuel your body first thing in the morning to avoid hunger pangs later in the day. When you eat 5 times a day you will never feel hungry, make sure the total calories consumed are sensible and don't over eat in any of the meals learn portion size control! 3. Eat lots of fibre Eating adequate fiber foods to help keep things moving through your bowel. And like water, fiber rich foods bulk you up and make you feel fuller for longer. Fibre is found only in plant foods our bodies cant digest it to so it simply goes through the body. During the elimination process it cuts calories consumed by attaching to protein and fat that you eat along with it removes that as well In addition, high fiber foods are typically low in calories and filling, so you are reducing your calorie intake overall. Good fibre foods include: strawberries, apples, figs, chickpeas, potatoes, (with skins) broccoli, brown rice, beans, bran and nuts. 4. Consume more good fats There are good fats and bad fats Good fats provide you with essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acids) needed for normal reproduction and growth, as well as for production of prostoglandin, a hormone like compound that regulates blood pressure, prevents blood clotting and lowers the risk of heart disease. For example, the reason oily fish is a great food stems from the fact that the essential fatty acids which it contains can actually help your body burn fat more efficiently and protect against disease. Get at least three portions of oily fish a week with Salmon, mackerel, herrings and sardines being good choices. 5. Get plenty of quality protein Quality protein is an effective weight control tool because of the satiety factor and its ability to keep you full for longer periods. It also balances out carbohydrates by preventing insulin spikes that cause energy loss and sugar cravings Protein helps to maintain muscle mass which is important in the fat burning process. Good choices include: Fish, shrimps, Low fat cottage cheese, low fat yogurt, skimmed milk, egg whites, s Weight gain is caused by consuming too many calories, whether they are from carbohydrate, protein or fat. 6. Carbohydrates can help you lose weight Don't believe what you read about carbohydrates being bad for you, they can actually help you lose weight! A diet containing good carbohydrates such fruits and vegetables, wholegrains and moderate in fat and calories, will result in weight loss Good carbohydrates will also help you combat hunger pangs as they are slowly realized into the body. When eating carbohydrates eat them "from the earth" with no refining or processing. These include whole grains, vegetables; fruits and beans. Sensible weight loss If you have read the above you will see that it is not the food group, but the quality of the food in it that's important for fast weight loss. We have outlined all the major food groups above and providing you eat quality foods in these groups and eat a sensible 5 meals a day you will lose weight and feel healthy and full. For more sensible advice on diet and wieght diet as well free newsletters and ezines go to: http://www.net-planet.org Quality Protein - Eat It and Lose Weight Fast! By Sacha Tarkovsky It provides an immediate satiety factor and because it keeps you full for longer periods. It also balances out carbs by preventing insulin spikes that lead to a drain of energy and cravings for sugar. Protein helps maintain muscle mass which is a very important part in the fat burning process. Lose weight and feel healthier A diet based on increased, levels of protein has been shown in a number of studies to give an added boost to dieters. By helping them increase weight loss, increase loss of body fat, and reduce the loss of muscle tissue. Most experts recommend a diet containing 25 - 35 percent protein for weight loss and between 20 - 25 percent protein for weight maintenance. In the above cases, the protein consumed should be high quality protein. Evidence as to why protein curbs hunger An experiment found that feeding rats a high protein diet increased the activity of genes involved in glucose production in the animal's small intestine. The consequence of this led to increased glucose production, which was detected by the liver, and relayed to the brain, causing the rats to cut their food intake. So lets look at some great quality proteins, that if eaten will make you healthier, more energetic and help you lose weight. Chicken and turkey These are excellent their low in fat (without the skins) and you can roast, broil, grill, or sauté them One word of caution: If you're buying ground turkey or chicken make sure its breast meat. Most ground turkey or chicken contains dark meat and skins and other stuff as filler, which is certainly not quality meat! Fish and shellfish You have a huge variety to choose from here. In fish you have salmon, tuna, cod, haddock, halibut, sea bass, snapper, herring, mackerel, sardines and swordfish. In shellfish crab and lobster are good choices. You can't go wrong with these foods, just be careful on the sauce and don't fry them. Red meat Yes you can eat red meat! Contrary to belief it's not all full of cholesterol. You can have lean meat which is only about 7% fat. Choose the round cut, top sirloin, shank, round flank or chuck for meat low in saturated fat. Low fat cottage cheese Of all the protein foods this is one of the best and you don't even have to cook it, it's a tasty quick snack whenever you feel hungry. Egg whites Packed with protein, low in calories and containing no cholesterol another great quality protein choice. Just make sure the egg is well cooked to kill salmonella bacteria. A word of warning Yes quality protein is good for you, but don't go over the recommended proportion in your diet i.e. 35% maximum. You still need fat and carbohydrates for a balanced diet! Diet at the end of the day is all about balance and it's the balance of the food and the quality you eat, which is reflected in your weight and overall health. For more sensible advice on diet and wieght diet as well free newsletters and ezines go to: http://www.net-planet.org Beware of Diet Fads When Trying to Shed Pounds By Tony Robinson It might be actresses such as Suzanne Sommers and Jane Fonda, or models such as Christie Brinkley or Kathy Ireland. It seems that a number of celebrities today offer their own weight loss programs. The programs are appealing because we see these various svelte celebrities and we want to have bodies just like them. The celebrities are also highly likable, so we have a predisposition to be accepting of their products. However, did you ever stop to think whether these celebrities have any nutritional training? Do they have medical training? Is the information that they offer nutritionally sound? Or is it just a good sales pitch? Nutrition experts Annette B. Natow and Jo-Ann Heslin, authors of the book Get Skinny the Smart Way, say that consumers should be leery of celebrity-inspired diet books. They point out that such books are often based upon nutritional fiction and that, while the diets outlined in these books may result in short-term weight loss, they can be far from healthy in the long run. Therefore, you might consider passing up the celebrity diet books and opting for those written by nutritional experts instead. But celebrities aren't the only ones preaching fad diets. For instance, there's the so-called grapefruit diet which recommends consuming a grapefruit prior to each meal. Another fad is the cabbage soup diet, which requires you to consume all the cabbage soup you can handle. Other fads call for eating all the eggs you can...consuming only raw foods...or fasting every other day. Such diets are not only based on nutritional misinformation--they can also be dangerous. For instance, let's take a closer look at the cabbage soup diet. No major health organization has endorsed it. Moreover, the American Heart Association disapproves of it, noting that it can actually harm you. Promoters of this diet say that you can lose as much as 15 pounds a week by following it--what they don't say is that most of that weight is water weight. Once you begin eating normally again, you will see your weight rise once more. Some of the side-effects of the cabbage soup diet include a feeling of weakness, stomach pains, and diarrhea. Yet another questionable diet approach is what's known as food combining. Such a diet assumes that you are overweight because you are not eating the right combination of food. The requirements of such a diet can seem quite arbitrary. For instance, you might be told that you can eat a banana only in the morning. This is rubbish, since your stomach can deal with a variety of different foods at one time. The idea behind such a diet is to eat food with fewer calories, but there are other methods you can use to accomplish the same goals. Some companies even claim that you can shed pounds while you dream. They say that, if you use their product right before bedtime, you will lose weight. In actuality, no company can make such a claim with any degree of credibility. It is impossible to burn a large number of calories while snoozing. In other cases, you may be tempted to try to lose weight by consuming special milkshakes or candy bars. In essence, these products are just milk and candy with certain vitamins and minerals added. However, one rarely feels satisfied after consuming these products. As a result, you may find yourself actually consuming additional calories during the rest of the day. While you might be able to theoretically lose weight in the short-term, you'll find it difficult to maintain the weight loss over the long haul. The fact of the matter is that there is a great deal of money that can be made through the sale and marketing of diet products. As long as America has a large contingent of overweight people, companies will try to make a profit off of overeating. It is up to you to be savvy enough to recognize a diet fad when you see it and opt for a different approach to losing weight. You'll find that there are really no short-cuts to weight loss. Any successful diet program takes time, patience, and determination, along with a willingness to change your eating patterns. As a Teacher of Sport and Physical Education, Tony Robinson has a keen interest in Health and Weight Loss issues. For handy hints and tips for weight loss visit http://www.weight-loss-arena.com Need To Lose Weight Fast For A Special Occasion? By Kirsten Hawkins If you have just a little weight to lose, and want to take it off fast (say, so you can fit into those great pants for your cousin's wedding), there are a number of diets that you can use. Most of these wouldn't be recommended for long-term weight loss, as they substantially restrict your intake of some essential nutrients, so using them habitually may not be healthy. But if you're normal diet is healthy, and you just want a quick boost to drop 8-10 pounds quickly, or to kick off a new diet with a bang, the Cabbage Soup Diet actually works. The cabbage soup diet has been around for nearly 30 years. It's based on the notion that your body actually uses more calories to digest cabbage than the amount that it derives from cabbage. It's a so-called 'negative calorie diet', and includes many foods that, like cabbage, are high in fiber and very low in calories. The base of the cabbage soup diet is - what else? Cabbage soup. There are several recipes for cabbage soup available. Essentially, the soup is made with onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, celery and spices to taste. You'll be eating the soup every day - as much of it as you want. In addition, there is a seven day routine of foods to supplement the cabbage soup. Day One: All the fruit you want (except bananas) along with all the soup that you want. No caffeinated beverages or sodas. Drink only water, tea and cranberry juice. Day Two: Eat all the vegetables that you want, but avoid dried beans, peas and corn. Eat veggies raw, fresh or cooked. No fats, no sauces, no butter. At dinner, you may have one baked potato with butter - and of course, all the cabbage soup that you want! Day Three: Eat all the fruits and veggies that you want from day two and day three - but NO baked potato. Day Four: Bananas and skim milk - yes, all the skim milk you want, plus up to eight bananas, along with -- you guessed it, all the cabbage soup you want. Day Five: Eat ten to twenty ounces of beef (or skinless chicken, or broiled fish). Drink at least 10 glasses of water, and eat up to six fresh tomatoes. (if you substitute for the beef today, you may not tomorrow) Day Six: Eat all the beef, vegetables and cabbage soup that you want. No baked potato. Lots of leafy green vegetables. Day Seven: You can have all the unsweetened fruit juices, brown rice, and vegetables that you want - and at least one bowl of soup. That's it. Remember - this diet is NOT recommended for long term weight loss, or long term use. It doesn't contain enough complex carbohydrates to be healthy for longer than a few days. But if you just need a jump-start or a quick fix, it's a good way to pick up the pace for a week. Kirsten Hawkins is a nutrition and health expert from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.popular-diets.com/ for more great nutrition, well-being, and vitamin tips as well as reviews and comments on popular diets. Lose Weight Fast - 5 Detox Tips To Speed Metabolism & 5 Tips To Lose Weight Fast! By Sacha Tarkovsky The enclosed ten tips are designed to help you lose weight fast. The first 5 will get your metabolism working quickly to burn fat quicker and then you the 5 tips that follow will help you lose weight easily. These 10 tips can be incorporate in sensible any diet and will see you shed pounds and lose weight fast! 5 Detox Tips The body needs to be working as efficiently as possible to lose weight fast; as if your body organs are working at maximum efficiency you will shed weight quicker. Logical but not many people think about this when dieting So here are your 5 easy natural detox tips Eat cherries and strawberries These foods are rich in ellagic acid a nutrient that helps mop up free radicals and help combat pollutants such as alcohol and as a by product they boost brain power. You can also add raspberries an alternative to the above 2 choices. Eat Grapes These are rich in flavinols, which help your arteries work to their maximum and make blood run smoothly and quickly around the body. Eat citrus fruits such as berries These foods are rich in vitamins C & E, which will help cleanse and detoxify the liver making it work more efficiently. Prunes & Fibre Eat prunes as they will naturally cleanse the colon stimulating the gut and help expel waste quicker, you should also up your intake of fibre as well to cleanse the colon further. Apricots If you are smoker this food is particularly useful, apricots are rich in beta-carotene and vitamin C which helps repair smoke damage to the lungs. Cranberries or juice Contains proanthocyanidin which are antitoxants that will help cleanse and flush out the kidneys. You can also add a couple of supplements if you wish top the above list to help detoxify further. Alfalfa and milk thistle are good choices. The first acts as a general cleanser and the second as a cleanser for the liver. Your organ will be working more efficiently with above foods and this will help you get rid of weight faster as your kidneys and liver in particular will work more smoothly. Now here are 5 tips to lose weight fast 5 Easy weight loss tips Drink Iced Water Two litres a day minimum. Water has to be iced as the body will burn 100 calories just heating the water to normal body temperature. Also hunger pangs are very often thirst pangs, so this will help you stop over eating. Add lemon to flavour if you wish and gain the added benefit of cleansing your liver at the same time. Water also helps your body metabolize stored fat by helping the kidneys flush waste quicker. When you don't drink enough water the liver needs to help the kidneys perform this function. When the liver has to help the kidneys its normal function of providing stored fat for energy is slowed down. Green tea Drink 5 cups a day. Research shows this can burn a massive 80 calories a day! It is believed the antioxidant catechins in green tea boost the metabolism and help burn fat. Chilli sauce & mustard These foods increase your calorie burning capacity by between 5 - 10% for up to 2 hours after eating. This is because they contain capsaicin which speeds the metabolism, so if you enjoy hot food your in luck! Low fat diary foods Can increase fat burning in the abdominal area. Why? Because these foods are rich in calcium which encourages the release of fat from fat cells and also reduces the amount of fat absorbed. Eat Fibre Eating fiber foods to help keep things moving through your bowel as stated above and makes you feel full. The average person can lose 9-10 pounds in one year just from doubling their fiber intake aim for 25grams per day ( the average for most adults is just 8grams ) fiber rich foods include strawberries, apples, brown rice, chick peas, potatoes ( with skins ) and brown rice. The above tips should be incorporated into a sensible diet and they will enhance it and help you lose weight fast. For more sensible advice on diet and wieght diet as well free newsletters and ezines go to: http://www.net-planet.org Little Tricks To Help You Lose Weight Fast By Spencer Fogliano Little Tricks To Help You Lose Weight Fast Yeah we all know that we are supposed to cut calories, do cardio and hit the gym to get in shape, but there are lots of little tricks you shouldn't ignore if you want to slim down quick. Take The Stairs Taking the stairs instead of the elevator every day can help you burn some extra calories. It may not seem like a lot but it adds up. Over a period of a year, taking the stairs can burn off an extra five lbs. of fat. Snack on Pickles Pickles are delicious and they have only 1 calorie each! Drink H20 Before You Eat Drinking water before you eat will fill you up so you don't eat as much. Try to down 2 glasses of water 10 minutes before each meal. You'll notice that you can't down that entire pizza if you do, and you definitely will skip deser. Skip The Soda If you do nothing else, at least skip the soda for 1 meal a day. This can save you up to 3,000 calories per week! Don't Shop Hungry When you are about to go to the supermarket to pick up food for the week, make sure you eat a big meal before you go. You'll notice that suddenly all of those junky foods won't have the same appeal and you'll be more likely to make wiser decisions. Don't Be Fooled By The Fat Free Phenomenon Skip the fat free frozen yogurt and other sweets that are loaded with sugar. Very often these fat free sweets are filled with sugar to make up for the taste they lose with the fat. Put Up Photos Put up some photos on your refrigerator of how you want to look and/or pics of you when you were in great shape. This will help motivate you to resist every time you feel like reaching for that gallon of ice cream. You can also put a pic of you when you looked really out of shape to show you how you DON'T want to look. This can be even more motivating. Eat Slowly It takes a while for the brain to register that it's full. If you eat slow enough you'll give your body time to notify the brain that you've had enough and you'll eat less because you'll feel full Don't Eat With Fat Friends Yeah, we know Joey's been your friend since the first grade but that doesn't mean you have to go eat with him. Getting into the eating pattern of fatter friends can be a quick road to destruction. Don't Eat Everything On Your Plate Americans have the habit of finishing everything on their plate even when they are full. It probably stems from our mom telling us that we need to finish everything because there are starving kids in Ethiopia that would do anything for our food. Forget about all of this guilt. Your mom will be much happier when you eat less and live much longer to take care of her when she's old.