Healthy Weight Loss

Lose Weight Without Losing Health

longevity — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:00:31 +0000

The continual obsession with dieting can have a devastating effect on your health. This is particularly true in the Western world, where body image is of utmost importance, as evidenced by the billions of dollars spent on keeping fit and slim. Given that an ideal body weight not only creates a better body image but also makes an individual seem healthier, many people become obsessed with weight loss that they would do anything just to lose pounds or to lose belly fat.

Are these millions of people really improving their health through their weight loss efforts?

Maybe not! Many individuals simply jump on the bandwagon, oblivious to the fact that drastic weight loss can have detrimental effects on every part of the body, and can even be fatal, including sudden death syndrome.

Indeed, weight loss should be a health-related endeavor, not simply an urge to improve the body image. However, many medically supervised weight loss programs seem to brush aside the detrimental effects with the rational that the end justifies the means. A case in point is that high-risk patients are commonly subjected to high-risk treatments just to reduce their body weight. Maybe this has everything to do with the mentality of the general public—everybody wants a quick fix with immediate results. This mentality is further fueled by the powerful weight loss industry that preys on the gullible public, and its entrenchment with policy makers. The result is an array of every method imaginable aimed at weight loss: pills, surgery, diets, starvation, and purging.

But there is little research to support the effectiveness of these methods at weight loss. And why would money be spent on these research studies when the public is too ready and too willing?

You can lose weight through weight loss exercises, but compulsive exercise may overstress your heart as well as result in stress injuries.

You can lose weight through smoking or not giving up smoking. Nicotine can eliminate calories, but at the expense of damaging your heart and lungs. Give up the nicotine addiction.

Dieting is the most common method of weight loss. There are too many “fad diets” in the consumer market, and many simply “starve” you. Calorie deprivation is the cause of yo-yo dieting and the failure of many weight loss attempts.

Induced vomiting to lose extra pounds is common among adolescents and young adults. Use of laxatives and water pills may lead to eating disorders. In addition, the loss of potassium and dehydration contribute to gallstones, cardiac disorders, and hair loss.

Obesity surgery does not solve weight loss problems. In addition to many complications, obesity surgery can bring weight control only for the first few years.

Weight loss is a complex and complicated health problem. Get a FREE copy of my e-book All-Round Weight Loss to find out more.

There are certainly safe ways to reduce fat and lose weight. Try Fat Loss Secret, and Yoga Weight Loss Secrets to lose weight without health risks.

Stephen Lau

Tai Chi Exercise to Lose Weight

longevity — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:35:02 +0000

Nowadays, Tai Chi is a set of exercises based on the ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, the ancient theories of Chinese medicine, and martial art actions. Originally, it was a combination of philosophy, medicine, and martial art to be used on the battlefield. Nowadays, it is almost exclusively used in exercises for physical fitness and weight loss..

Tai Chi optimizes the body’s circulation system for health and disease prevention. Better circulation means less toxic accumulation, and better fat metabolism. In addition, Tai Chi enhances mental health by keeping the mind alert and sharp. This is important in preventing depression, which often leads to eating “comfort food” or, worse, eating disorders. Furthermore, Tai Chi, as a martial art, emphasizes the discipline of centering the self firmly to create good balance, instrumental in controlling natural movements to deflect an attack or retaliate appropriately, given that the reaction depends on the angle, direction, and speed of an attack. The natural muscle movement of Tai Chi does not rely on the strength of the body but on the power of the mind. This means you can utilize Tai Chi as an exercise to burn calories, irrespective of your state of health or physical fitness.

Tai Chi is a philosophical art as well as a means of fitness for weight loss.

Learn more about Tai Chi from: The Secrets of Tai Chi, and Tai Chi Breathing.

Get a FREE copy of my e-book All Round Weight Loss, click here for your FREE download.

Stephen Lau

The Importance of Body Shape

longevity — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:08:17 +0000

Enhancing your body shape is not just for weight control but also for health management. An ideal body shape makes you not only more self-confident by creating a better body image, but also healthier. Therefore, it is important to keep your body in shape.

If your body shape is like that of an apple—that is, with extra weight in the midsection—you may have a higher risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. The explanation is that in a beer belly, your abdominal fat is more easily converted into cholesterol, and hence ultimately affecting your heart health, leading to other related health issues.

If your body shape is like that of a pear—that is with extra weight around the hips instead of in the midsection—you may be less at risk for heart disease.

Look at yourself in the mirror, and you may not like what you see. But your physical appearance is secondary to your physical health. Loose-fitting clothes can mask the body shape but not the symptoms of heart disease.

In Chinese medicine, your heart is the “emperor” of your whole being, and the health of your entire system depends upon the normal functioning of your heart. Your heart is the “residence” of your mind, spirit, and personality. According to Chinese philosophy, heaven and earth merge to make a human being, and the place where they merge is in the heart, which is the center of the human body, and hence the importance of heart health. If you are healthy, your heart is healthy. A healthy heart means your blood pressure is normal without the need to take medications to control your blood pressure.

The heart pumps blood to different body organs and tissues, and thereby transporting oxygen and nutrients to the whole body. If there is a circulation issue, all the organ systems in the body will be deprived of the nourishment supplied by the blood. Heart health has a dramatic effect on everything else in the body. For example, brain health is essentially heart health; what is good for the heart is also good for the brain. Heart health is not only physical health, but also brain and mental health.

Disturbances in the heart affect the whole body. The movement of blood throughout the body (circulation) is managed by multiple organs, which in turn interact with one another. A failure in any one part of this system can result in pathology that may adversely affect heart health.

How To Prevent Or Even Reverse Heart Disease: Get tips from a former heart surgeon to learn how to prevent heart disease and protect your heart without drugs or surgeries.

Stephen Lau

Freedom To Eat

longevity — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:02:26 +0000

Eating is an important part of life: you eat to live, and sometimes you live to eat (eating is one the many joys of life).

You are what you eat, and you become what you eat. Eating can make you healthy or unhealthy.

Many people may tell you not to eat this or that. But you should eat what you want. One should have the freedom to eat. Ironically enough, freedom of choices in food is the fundamental truth in weight loss. You must feel good about your food choices before you can lose weight.

If you start labeling certain types of food as “good” or “bad,” you may want what you cannot have (that is, after all, basic human instinct: in countries where sex is freely available, there is less pornography).

Forget about counting calories and grams of fats. Just give yourself “permission” to eat what you want to eat. If you are healthy, your body will balance everything out, and you will stop when you think you must. Believe it or not, the “permission” itself may have satisfied your food craving, rather than the “eating” itself.

In addition, the “guilt” from eating what you have considered “forbidden” food may have devastating effect. You need to separate emotions from your eating. Let yourself eat what you want to eat. Indulge yourself with the freedom to eat, but just eat “less.”

Get your recipes from Eating in Freedom.