The basics & the mechanism

Studies and research have shown that obese or abnormally overweight people have lost up to 10 pounds in just 6 weeks by switching to green tea instead of coffee. Therefore, If you’re looking for an easy and simple method to lose weight, you should consider adding green tea to your diet. An effective dietary tool and an efficient fat burner, this delicious and refreshing drink is a lot more than just a part of an afternoon snack. The subjects that took green tea regularly lost fat around their mid section as well as subcutaneous fat.

If you want to know how to lose weight with green tea promptly and prominently, some basic knowledge about its various ingredients will surely help you better understand how this wonderful “natural” supplement helps you get rid of your “unnatural” mass.

Green tea – mode of action
Green tea increases your body heat (thermogenesis) and hence, burns fats, releasing calories in the body. This increase in 24-hour energy expenditure, in turn, speeds up your metabolism. Secondly, Green tea suppresses lipid metabolism by preventing the fat cells from multiplying and enlarging, inhibiting fat absorption. This results in reduced fat accumulation in the body.

There are several ingredients found in green tea that are responsible for its amazing impact on your body such as:

Caffeine: Green tea contains just an optimal amount of caffeine which quickens the rate of your body metabolism. This, in turn, causes a greater calorie burn, helping you lose weight quickly and effectively.

AR25: According to a study, AR25 (Exolise) component found in green tea helps significantly in obesity treatment by directly inhibiting gastric and pancreatic lipases, the enzymes mainly responsible for fat storage in the body.

Catechins: These substances found in green tea can help you lose weight and prevent obesity by inhibiting the movement of glucose in fat cells. This also lowers blood sugar and cholesterol levels, which is great for people with diabetes and heart disease.

EGCG: A compound called EGCG (epigallochatechin gallate) found in green tea acts as an appetite suppressant by triggering the release of the hormone noradrenalin. However, Green tea also contains Vitamin B, C and thiamine. This ensures that your brain cells have sufficient energy all the time which will surely help in achieving your weight loss goals.

Different Forms of Green Tea
Today, you can easily get green tea in a variety of forms like tea bags, diet pills, patches, supplements and even shakes. For the most enjoyable ones, you should look for green tea that you can actually drink. You should, however, make sure that you buy only from established brands.

Frequency of green tea consumption

As recommended by most dieticians, green tea sipped after a meal can significantly aid digestion. While there’s no recommended dosage, studies show that drinking 3- 4 cups of green tea per day is enough to speed up your metabolism. Nevertheless, it should be taken at least twice daily, once during a morning or afternoon meal and once right before going to bed.

Do remember, like any other supplement, green tea is no miracle or magic pill and solely cannot lose your weight for you. Adding green tea for weight loss into an overall balanced diet, exercise program and safe weight loss supplement (such as Proactol), however, will significantly increase your chances to burn fat and drop pounds in a very short time.

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With so many weight reduction tablets and weight loss supplements available in the market today, the choice and the decision of what will suit you the best has become even tougher. Speaking of prescription-based weight loss pills, the same dilemma is faced by the doctor or a physician who has to decide what will work best for his or her patients, considering all the associated factors in mind e.g. patient’s lifestyle, dietary & working habits, current body mass index and health conditions etc.

You should also keep in mind that even if your doctor prescribes certain weight reduction tablet for you, it does not necessarily mean that it is completely free from side effects. In fact, clinical studies & trials have revealed quite the opposite. One of the most recent of such anti-obesity medications is Tesofensine which is currently being developed to be launched and marketed as a powerful weight loss drug.

What is Tesofensine?

Tesofensine is a currently under-developed but soon-to-be-launched anti-obesity drug that is considered as one of the most potential weight loss medications made and used as of today. According to a study published in the medical journal called Lancet (issue 2008; 372: pages: 1906-13), Tesofensine was first given to elderly people who had Alzheimer and Parkinson disease patients, who significantly dropped some pounds after using the medication for 6 months.

How does Tesofensine work?

Tesofensine essentially works by blocking certain specific neurotransmitters (hormones) in the brain. This eventually leads to suppressed or reduced appetite and hunger. Hence, a person does not eat much and yet does not feel hungry as he or she will, otherwise. The drug also seems to reduce overall body mass, which is considered one of the most important determinants of your body weight.

Is Tesofensine safe?

Unfortunately, even during this published study, Tesofensine did show some significant side effects such as: increased heart rate (abnormally fast pulse) and high blood pressure, as well as reduced muscle mass of the body. It should be remembered that, ideally, any quick weight loss pill should aim to reduce the “fat mass” of the body, leaving the “muscle mass” intact. This was, however, not the case with Tesofensine and it also significantly caused reduction in the much-needed muscle / protein mass.

Some other side effects associated with the use of Tesofensine were dry mouth, headache, nausea, insomnia (lack of sleep), diarrhea and constipation. The study also found that as many as 13 % of the total obese people who took part in the study had to withdraw from the research because of the same safety issues.

For the same reasons, researchers agreed at the end of the study, that Tesofensine needs more clinical research, testing and monitoring, as many of the undesirable effects were found to be potentially hazardous.

Therefore, based on the on the facts and discussion, it is logical to conclude that no medical treatment to date (especially the allopathic drugs) is free of side effects or undesirable potential. In fact, if used for a long period of time, such drugs can even lead to serious health complications and would also tremendously increase your spending on the overall health costs.

Practicing natural anti-obesity measures such as eating a well-balanced & healthy diet, exercising at least 30 minutes a day and choosing a natural weight loss supplement (such as Proactol) still remain the most effective measures to lose weight and gain healthy benefits of life. If chosen wisely, herbal weight loss supplements like Proactol are not only considered relatively safe but are very economical and cost-effective for your savings in the long run.

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Is herbal weight loss really possible?

Speaking of safe weight loss through rapid fat loss, everyone seeks the perfect solution through various diet supplement reviews. . Natural nutrition diet supplements present an option that offers an extra bonus to get into the diet and fitness routine and achieve safe weight loss. Specific herbs and organic, fiber-based extracts have the ability to speed up your metabolism, curb appetite, increase fat burning and boost energy.

However, with countless herbal diet supplements available in the market today, it’s really tough to figure out what will best suit your nutritional needs. From vitamins to minerals to weight loss pills, there are thousands of options to choose from. But do they really work, and if so, which one is the best? Let’s find out.

Definition of a dietary supplement: Any vitamin, fiber, mineral or nutrient that is ingested in addition to the nutrients already being derived from food and beverages alone is known as a dietary supplement.

The substances can be organic in nature or synthetic to function like their organic counterparts. Such substances organically found in many living things are thought to aid the body’s cells, as well as assist metabolism, growth, immunity, organ function, energy levels and weight management. Most importantly, dietary supplements are thought to protect the body from disease and promote overall prime health and well-being.

The recommended guidelines

Experts agree there are some rules of thumb for choosing dietary and nutritional supplements. The FDA’s new good manufacturing practices ruling ensure that dietary / food supplements:

• Are produced in a quality manner
• Do not contain contaminants or impurities
• Are accurately labeled

In addition, you must also consider the following aspects while making your mind to choose one for yourself.

Are ingredients natural: Supplementing with a fiber supplement, for example, can be a good idea as it will fill you up quicker allowing you to eat less (acting as an appetite suppressant as well). It is also good for the digestive system, may lower cholesterol levels and will help you loose weight significantly.

Is it credible?: In this era of evidence-based medicine, you are supposed to consider evidences, pure facts and real testimonials, not claims. Accordingly, go for a dietary supplement that is clinically backed by a number of trials and studies and has been recommended by full-fledged health experts and doctors.

Is it of good quality? Supplements should be tested for potency and potential toxicity and backed up with the best research and science available. Also, a good manufacturing source is a key element in ensuring quality. So, look for trusted brands that have been around for some time to be sure what is on the label is safe and exactly what is found in the product.

Is it safe? Many times you hear “natural” and automatically think it is safe. However, make sure to do your research when planning to take any kind of natural dietary supplements. Read the authentic testimonials, and see if the product has been approved by some major international and credible authority on health. Ideally, it must have a high safety profile i.e. should show no side effects even after long term use. Similarly, user compliance and tolerance is another important issue to be considered while choosing the best suitable dietary supplement.

Look for extra fitness advantages: A natural dietary supplement that offers herbal weight loss (e.g. weight loss drinks, meal replacement shakes & slimming patches) that could eliminate excess body fat, lower cholesterol, and help suppress the appetite should definitely be at the top of your list.

Last but not least, based on the best diet supplement reviews, you should choose a natural dietary supplement that has been proved to have no side effects from long term use and is a viable, 100% safe weight loss supplement to help you achieve a slimmer, healthier body. However, don’t forget that dietary supplements are designed to supplement your diet, not to replace nutritious foods.

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Unveiling the ‘raw” myth

According to popular diet reviews, eating the raw food diet is a revolutionary way to eat. Many believe that it keeps them smart and healthy. The focus of this diet is on eating uncooked, highly nutritious foods e.g. fruits and vegetables to lose weight quickly and effectively. Of course, these foods are low in calories and might seem extremely good, but eating them raw or uncooked is favored as it is believed that they lose nutritional value when cooked.

In addition to enabling weight loss, the raw food diet apparently increases one’s metabolism, making calorie burning easier. Some experts have also suggested that a raw food diet is a good antidote to eating disorders. In addition, it can help make your immune system stronger, and helps the body rid itself of harmful toxins. It’s also mentioned in some diet reviews that eating raw foods improves the look of their skin.

Following are some important points that must be taken into consideration before you make your mind for this way of eating.

What is a raw food diet?

The raw food diet, (also referred to as ‘living foods’) consists of food that is uncooked and unprocessed. A food is essentially ‘raw’ if it is kept below 115 degrees Fahrenheit; the temperature above which enzymes are destroyed. It still contains important enzymes which assist in the digestion and absorption of food.

What does the raw food diet consist of ?

Generally, it consists of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, sprouts, legumes and other organic foods that are in their original state and have not been processed. It also includes unpasteurized milk, water, juice, and tea.

So, is the raw food diet all good?

The most interesting yet strange thing about consuming raw food is that, despite of all the said benefits and advantages, there is still no scientific evidence to support the claimed benefits of raw feeding. For example, according to the FDA, health benefits claimed by raw milk advocates do not exist. Therefore, experts are divided on whether it is healthy as a long term way of eating.

Consuming raw food also increases risks of many other associated problems such as:

Increased risk of food poisoning: Food poisoning is a health risk for all people eating raw foods. According to a study, food poisoning attributed to contaminated raw produce has risen ten-fold since the seventies. Salad, lettuce, juice, melon, sprouts, and berries have been most frequently involved in outbreaks.

More chances of malnutrition: While the raw food diet is rich in some nutrients, it lacks others. For example, a raw vegan diet may be deficient in calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron and zinc. Similarly, an important concern in a raw food diet is the lack of animal proteins. It is important to remember that one needs to get all the essential amino acids for proper growth which will not be possible with eating raw food diet alone.

Enhanced risk of chemical toxicity: Most of the fruits and vegetables are loaded with pesticides. So, it’s preferable to go for organic food materials to reduce the chances of side effects and to get the full benefits of the diet. Therefore, it might be best to consume only organic raw food.

Not suitable for everyone: A raw food diet, as a whole, is usually not recommended for children, women who are pregnant, people suffering from osteoporosis, and those who are anemic. There may not be enough vitamin B12, enough vitamin D and enough calories for a growing child on a totally raw vegan diet.

Finally, do remember that you can probably lose weight on the raw food diet, but how much is too much for you? That’s just another risk associated with eating raw food.

So think twice before you decide!

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Everyday there are temptations, but with a goal a day, you can overlook those tempting foods and you can get yourself motivated everyday!

I have set myself a goal of purposely burning 100 calories a day. Doesn’t matter how I do it whether it be walking, or doing my Wiifit or going to the gym….It may not sound like much but it means that on those days that I’m at home with very little to do, it gets me up off the couch and thinking about moving around either doing housework or exercise!

Another goal you can set yourself is “No chocolate today” or “Walking to work today” or “Have fruit for pudding”…something that will be against your normal routine to kick start good habits! Because it’s just for a day it means you are in control, but you are still achieving something positive everyday to help your weight loss, exercise and diet. Make it a challenge if you want to! But just make this the one thing you definitely do today.

Along with my burning 100 galleries a day, I’m adding another goal a day that might be different each day. Tomorrow for example I’m going to do “No sweets/chocolate today”. Each time you can complete this goal, it gives you such a great sense of being in complete control of your decision! It’s no longer something that just happens, because you are consciously thinking “I’m not doing that today”….but it also makes it non-threatening because you’re only not doing it that day. You can set yourself another goal tomorrow and the next day and then maybe go back to a previous goal but maybe make it more challenging!

I’ve been enjoying doing these goals as they help you feel really good about yourself! Walking past the chocolate counters in stores on my “No chocolate days” are so satisfying without saying I can never have chocolate whilst losing weight! It’s good fun and productive so give it a try!

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