YOGA FOR WEIGHT LOSS - BEGINNERS

hi viewer :) , thank you for viewing my videos and blogs. my daily routine is, in the morning i do the warm up video (doing sun salutation 3 or more times), beginners pt 1, pt 2 and pt3, the cool down, and the guided relaxation. right before i go to bed i do the warm up, the evening practice and the guided relaxation. i wondered if i could get some feedback on wheather this is a good routine or if i should make any changes to it. thanks :)

Before & After

Hey man! whats up..
To gain a motivate on losing the weight,The Biggest Loser
Reality Program can be set as a guidelines..This is
the competitor in 'Before & After' slideshow

Yoga Exercises to Burn Fat and Lose Weight

Check this out for Yoga practise!

STEP ON HOW TO SLIM DOWN

Weight Loss Plan

Step 1: Begin gradual exercise. Instead of trying to change your entire life with an intense weight loss plan, we’re going to start small. All you want to do is make a commitment to get yourself moving for at least 10 or 15 minutes each day for 30 days straight.
Some key points:

• Type of exercise. If you’re already a runner or a cyclist or something similar, then begin a very, very modest program of resuming that exercise. Otherwise, walking, a treadmill, hiking, a cycling machine, rowing, or something similar would work. Mixing it up is a great idea, alternating different exercises on different days. The actual exercise you do doesn’t matter, as long as you get moving.
• Most important here: start out really easy. People tend to start out with a lot of enthusiasm, and then burn out, skip a workout or two, and then the plan has failed. In this plan, you want to go short and slow. If you normally run 3-4 miles, for example, just run 1-2 miles. Go for about half of what you think you can do. You can always add more later.
• It’s important that you try to do it every day. Mark your successes on your calendar — gold stars always work well — and try to keep the marks going every day. If you can do short, easy workouts, and mix up the exercises a little, you can do it every day.
• Set aside some time to do this every day. If you’ve had success working out in the morning before, use that time. Otherwise, do it right after work.
• Strength. Another point is that you can do strength workouts, but don’t do anything too hard in the first couple of weeks. Just some pushups, crunches, lunges, squats, with no weights. That might sound easy to some of you, but the key, again, is to start out slow.
• Just start. Last key point: if you are feeling resistance to exercising, just tell yourself that you have to lace up your shoes and get out the door. How long you do it doesn’t matter — even 5 minutes is good. I bet, though, that once you start, you’ll want to keep going for at least 15 minutes.

Step 2: Replace fatty and greasy foods with healthier foods. You’re not going to go on a diet. But take a look at what you eat, and try to slowly replace the greasier and fattier foods you eat (think: fast food, or fried food) with healthier alternatives.
Some key points for this step:

• Examples: if you cook fried chicken, try baked instead. If you eat burgers, try a veggie burger or a low-fat turkey sandwich. If you eat pizza, try making your own pizza, with a store-bought crust, pizza sauce, veggies, and olive oil, with no cheese. You get the idea.
• Gradual change: Now, you don’t need to change all these foods overnight. But after you do the 30-day exercise challenge in Step 1, do a second 30-day challenge where you replace one fatty food a day with a healthier alternative. Slowly, replace more and more fatty foods with healthier ones. You’ll get used to it over the course of a month.
• Exercise: Also continue the daily exercise in the second month, increasing the duration of your workouts a little at a time if you can.

Step 3: Eat smaller meals, more frequently. Once you start getting used to less fatty foods, try eating smaller portions, and eating 5-6 times per day instead of just 3 big meals.
Some key points:

• The 5-6 meals: A good schedule is to eat breakfast, then a mid-morning snack, then a small early lunch, then a second small lunch a couple of hours later, then a small late-afternoon snack, then a small, light dinner. If that’s too much, just try adding a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack, and make the main three meals smaller.
• Snacks: Make sure that your snacks are healthy ones. Good ones include fruits, nuts, low-fat pretzels, low-fat cheese, low-fat yogurt, cut up veggies.
• Wait: For your meals, try eating just one moderate-size serving. If you feel like a second serving, wait 20 minutes, then see if you’re full. It’s important that you gradually reduce your portions, and learn to eat only until you’re satiated, not until you’re bursting.

Step 4: Intensify exercise slowly. Once you’ve gone a month or so doing very short and easy workouts each day, and your body is used to daily exercise, you can gradually intensify the exercise.
Some points:

• Duration: The first thing you should increase is the duration of your workouts. Without working out any harder, keeping the low intensity of your previous workouts, just add 5 minutes to your workout. Stick to this new duration for 2-3 workouts, then add another 5 minutes. Your goal is to get to about 40-45 minutes (although eventually doing an hour once a week is good too).
• Intensity: After your body gets used to going for longer, once a week or so, try a slightly more intense workout. First, make the duration of the workout much shorter for this intense workout. For example, instead of running or walking for 40 minutes, do 20 minutes. Second, go harder in intervals. For example, do 3-4 minutes at a faster pace, then go at an easy pace, then a faster pace, and so on. Be sure to warm up first, and cool down at the end. When you first start doing the intervals, do them only at a slightly higher intensity, gradually increasing that intensity as the weeks go by.
• Hard-easy: If you do longer or more intense workouts, be sure to follow them with an easy workout. For example, if you do a longer workout of 45 minutes, just do 20-25 minutes the next day. Or if you do interval workouts one day, do a short easy one the next day. Consider the longer or more intense workouts your “hard” days, and never have two hard days in a row — otherwise, you may get injured or burn out.

Step 5: Replace sugary foods with healthier treats. The next target food area is sugary foods. Just as you did with fatty foods, try to replace them with healthier alternatives one at a time. With the combination of lower fat and less sugar in your diet, and your exercise, you should start losing weight much faster by this step.
Some points to make:

• Challenge: Just like with the fatty foods, try another 30-day challenge with the sweets. See if you can go the whole month without sweets! Or try a more gradual approach, and have less each day.
• Cheat day: If you try a month without sweets, I suggest a cheat day. For me, it’s Saturday, when I can eat whatever desserts I want. Interestingly, I don’t eat as many desserts on my cheat days as I used to. It’s not like I pig out, although I don’t restrict myself either.
• Alternatives: Come up with a list of alternatives to sweets, stock up on them, and get rid of the sweets in your house. For example, if you usually have a candy bar for a snack, have fruits or veggies instead. Often we just want something to munch on.
• Drinks: If you drink sodas or juices, cut out those calories by drinking water, exclusively (except perhaps for a single cup of coffee in the morning).
• Whole grains: If you haven’t yet, look for whole grain alternatives to things you might be eating, including cereal, bread, brown rice, etc

HOW TO SLIM DOWN THIGH AREA

According to one of the Q&A in Yahoo Answers.

"" I'm very small-framed and petite, not overweight at all, but I have a little bit of a problem area around my thighs. Like the area in the back and side, JUST below the butt, has a little more...bulge...than I'd like. I want to slim down that area. What's the best way to target that area? More cardio, or do I need to incorporate more weight training for those muscles? ALSO, the inner thigh could use a little toning and tightening..I was told those thigh machines aren't good because they bulk you up there.. so, again, what would be the best way to TONE DOWN that area?? ""

 

regardless of what people say, it is impossible to target fat loss in specific areas, the whole concept of target fat loss is simply a myth, everyone has different areas where their body stores excess fat, but if you continue doing cardio exercise and eating right eventually your problem areas will tone up and look good

Losing Weight in Short Period!

WEIGHT - LOSS PILLS

There are a number of herbal weight loss pills available in the market. Some of those have high records of satisfactory weight loss result. But others have negative side affects. It should be kept in mind that the herbal weight loss pills are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. So there are no restrictions to circulate risky and dangerous herbal weight loss pills in the market.

There are many poisonous plants. Any drug made out of them is dangerous for consumption. Herbal weight loss drugs are not tested and certified before their availability in the market. Such free flow of drugs in the market has lured many unscrupulous businessmen to circulate risky drugs to fetch easy money. The buyers must be very careful before purchasing herbal drugs for weight loss.

Since the obese are prone to many fatal diseases like cardiovascular problems which leads to strokes, diabetes, hypertension, breathing problems and hormonal imbalance any medication for them should be hundred per cent safe. Presence of metals and other unwanted substances are found in some herbal weight loss drugs. The buyers should avoid such drugs. It is always better to consult doctors before using herbal weight loss pills.

It is advised not to take herbal weight loss pills if you suffer from cardiovascular disease, epilepsy, psychiatric disorder, hypertension, Parkinson’s disease, enlarged prostrate gland, glaucoma, diabetes and liver problems. Pregnant women or those who are to undergo any surgery are advised not to take any herbal weight loss pills.

SURGERY

To reduce body weight Bariatric surgery is often a popular choice by many medical practitioners. It is considered to be the safest surgery than other weight loss surgery like Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RNY), biliopancreatic diversions and stomach sapling, also known as vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG).
For most of the obese people, the adjustable gastric band surgery is the most common in European countries and Australia. The USA Food and Drug Authority approved this type of surgery in 2001. But other nations, mostly the developing countries, have been practicing this type of surgery since the early 1990s. Unlike other surgeries, the band surgery does not reroute any of the digestive tract and is fully reversible.
All of these surgeries require a short amount of time to be performed since they are done laparoscopically. However, for these particular types of weight loss surgery an experienced physician must perform the operation.
However, these surgeries are not free from risks. A study by the US Department of Health and Human Service showed 40 per cent complication within 180 days of Bariatric surgery. Adequate weight loss may not be achieved through this surgery by the obese individual.

Morever, the obese having this type of surgery may require a severe diet change. It is thus advised that the obese individual opting for these types of surgery evaluate their lifelong food demands to keep the weight off for a long period of time.

DIET DRUGS

Many diet drugs must be prescribed to an individual by a licensed doctor. Usually the drugs that are prescribed have few side effects since people suffering from obesity are easy prey to serious diseases like diabetes, heart attacks, and hypertension and hormone imbalances.
Drug Administrators and Controllers regulate the prescribed drugs. An obese is advised not to go for drugs which are not prescribed by authorized practitioners. The doses are also closely regulated since an over or under dose may create trouble.
Anorectic drugs are usually suggested for the obese. This particular drug has two categories – noradrenergic agents and serotonergic agents.
Noradrenergic drugs work in the appetite center to reduce weight. Phenylpropanolamine (Dexatrim), a sympathomimetic drug and a synthetic derivative of ephedrine, may also be used as appetite suppressant and decongestant. Studies have shown that those who take this drug does lose weight. But the drug has some adverse effects and those include nervousness, insomnia, dizziness, palpitations and headaches.

FDA Warning On Phenylpropanolamine Usage

Serotonergic drugs act on the hypothalamus to decrease satiety. However, it has some adverse impact on heart and blood pressure. Fluoxetine (Prozac) is a highly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that has been recommended for the treatment of obesity.
Fluoxetine may enhance energy go by raising body temperature. However, the obese have reported inconsistent weight loss by this drug. Sibutramine (Meridia) is an adrenergic/serotonergic agent recommended for the obese weight loss. However, the drug has side effects too. It causes serious hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia.
The most commonly prescribed drugs to curb obesity are orlistat (Xenical, which lessens intestinal fat) and sibutramine (Reductil, Meridia, an anorectic).

Adverse Side Effects of Meridia; 2 Death Cases Reported

It was found that consumption of anti-diabetic metformin (Glucophage) often adds slight weight to an obese than sulfonylurea derivatives and insulin, which often lead to further weight gain.
Thiazolidinediones (rosiglitazone or pioglitazone) can cause slight weight gain, but decrease abdominal fat.
People who are overweight should not become addicted to the above mentioned drugs. No drug will work if it is not also supplemented by a healthy diet and regular exercise program. And did we mention the side effects?

“We suggest you stop taking the drugs immediately and use an alternative.”
- FDA Warning

Many diet drugs must be prescribed to an individual by a licensed doctor. Usually the drugs that are prescribed have few side effects since people suffering from obesity are easy prey to serious diseases like diabetes, heart attacks, and hypertension and hormone imbalances.
Drug Administrators and Controllers regulate the prescribed drugs. An obese is advised not to go for drugs which are not prescribed by authorized practitioners. The doses are also closely regulated since an over or under dose may create trouble.
Anorectic drugs are usually suggested for the obese. This particular drug has two categories – noradrenergic agents and serotonergic agents.
Noradrenergic drugs work in the appetite center to reduce weight. Phenylpropanolamine (Dexatrim), a sympathomimetic drug and a synthetic derivative of ephedrine, may also be used as appetite suppressant and decongestant. Studies have shown that those who take this drug does lose weight. But the drug has some adverse effects and those include nervousness, insomnia, dizziness, palpitations and headaches.

FDA Warning On Phenylpropanolamine Usage

Serotonergic drugs act on the hypothalamus to decrease satiety. However, it has some adverse impact on heart and blood pressure. Fluoxetine (Prozac) is a highly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that has been recommended for the treatment of obesity.
Fluoxetine may enhance energy go by raising body temperature. However, the obese have reported inconsistent weight loss by this drug. Sibutramine (Meridia) is an adrenergic/serotonergic agent recommended for the obese weight loss. However, the drug has side effects too. It causes serious hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia.
The most commonly prescribed drugs to curb obesity are orlistat (Xenical, which lessens intestinal fat) and sibutramine (Reductil, Meridia, an anorectic).

Adverse Side Effects of Meridia; 2 Death Cases Reported

It was found that consumption of anti-diabetic metformin (Glucophage) often adds slight weight to an obese than sulfonylurea derivatives and insulin, which often lead to further weight gain.
Thiazolidinediones (rosiglitazone or pioglitazone) can cause slight weight gain, but decrease abdominal fat.
People who are overweight should not become addicted to the above mentioned drugs. No drug will work if it is not also supplemented by a healthy diet and regular exercise program. And did we mention the side effects?

“We suggest you stop taking the drugs immediately and use an alternative.”
- FDA Warning

Obesity: Effects On Health

An obese person is prey to certain critical health disorders. These disorders include cardiovascular problems like stroke, diabetes milletus type 2, sleep apnea, depression, osteoarthiritis, cancer, hormone deficiency, especially a sharp fall in testosterone level in men, fast ageing and Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome (OHS).
Obesity raises cholesterol and triglycide levels and lowers HDL good cholesterol leading to stroke. It also raises the levels of blood pressure and blood sugar. This combination increases the risk of heart attack.
Obesity also causes osteoarthritis in the hand, hip, back and knee. Obesity issues affect post-menopausal women by increasing their chances of having breast cancer. Obese men may also suffer from breast cancer. Increased BMI may cause cancer of the esophagus. A person with super weight may have endometrial and renal cell cancer particularly for women.
Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic venous insufficiency, gallbladder problems, daytime sleeping, fatigue, gout, hypertension, pancreatic problems, infertility and low back pain. Obstetric and gynecological complications in women are also reported.
Other obesity related diseases are abdominal hernias, acanthosis nigricans, endocrine abnormalities, chronic hypoxia and hypercapnia, dermatological effects, depression, elephantitis, gastro esophageal reflux, heel spurs, hirsutism, lower extremity edema, mammegaly (causing considerable problems such as bra strap pain, skin damage, cervical pain, chronic odors and infections in the skin folds under the breasts, etc.), large anterior abdominal wall masses (abdominal paniculitis with frequent panniculitis, impeding walking, causing frequent infections, odors, clothing difficulties, low back pain), musculoskeletal disease, prostate cancer, pseudo tumor cerebri (or benign intracranial hypertension), and sliding hiatil hernia.
The cause of Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome (OHS) is generally unknown, but is likely related to a combination of a disorder in the brain’s control over breathing and the effects of obesity on the chest wall. With the excess weight of massive obesity, the muscles of the chest wall can have difficulty expanding the chest enough to exchange air efficiently. This results in a decreased ability to oxygenate the blood, and the retention of carbon dioxide. Affected people suffer from chronic fatigue due to sleep loss; poor sleep quality, and chronic hypoxia meaning decreased blood oxygen.

Obesity Treatment

Obesity Treatment

For most people who are overweight or obese, the safest and most effective way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more. If you eat less and exercise more, you will lose weight. It is as simple as that. There are no magic pills. Diets that sound too good to be true are just that.

Medical Treatment

Medical treatment of obesity focuses on lifestyle changes such as eating less and increasing activity level. There are medications that can promote weight loss, although they work only in conjunction with eating less and exercising more.

Most medications that promote weight loss work by suppressing the appetite. Some medications used in the past have been shown to be unsafe and are no longer available. The newer appetite-suppressing medications are thought to be safe, but they do have side effects and may interact with certain other drugs. They are used only under the supervision of a health care provider.

For more information about weight-loss medications, go to the article Medication in the Treatment of Obesity.

Some weight-loss products are known to be dangerous. The safety of others is in question. This includes certain prescription and over-the-counter drugs and herbal supplements. Avoid them.

       "Phen-fen" and Redux - These prescription drugs have been removed from the market in the United States and many other countries. They are linked to heart valve problems and pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension affects the blood vessels in the lungs and is often fatal.

      

       Ephedra - This natural substance is essentially an herbal phen-fen. It is the active ingredient in MaHuang and is used as a stimulant and appetite suppressant. Ephedra resembles the amphetamines-the popular "diet drugs"that were banned in the 1970s-in that it ishighly addictive.

      

       Ephedra is often combined with caffeine and aspirin ("the Stack"), which increases the thermogenic (fat-burning) effect of ephedra. Ephedra increases the risk of high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, insomnia, seizures, heart attack, stroke, and death. The FDA has recently banned ephedra because it has been linked to more than 100 deaths.

      

       Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) is often found in appetite suppressants as well as over-the-counter cough and cold remedies. The FDA has recommended that products containing PPA be removed from the market. Studies have suggested that this product is associated with an increased risk of hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke in women.

Some people have tried combining more than one weight-loss drug or combining a weight-loss drug with other drugs for the purposes of losing weight. The safety and effectiveness of such drug "cocktails" is not known.

What Is Obesity?

Overview

The foods we eat every day contribute to our well-being. Foods provide us with the nutrients we need for healthy bodies and the calories we need for energy. If we eat too much, however, the extra food turns to fat and is stored in our bodies. If we overeat regularly, we gain weight, and if we continue to gain weight, we may become obese.

Obesity means accumulation of excess fat on the body. Obesity is considered a chronic (long-term) disease, like high blood pressure or diabetes. It has many serious long-term consequences for your health, and it is the second leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States (tobacco is the first). Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30. The BMI is a measure of your weight relative to your height.

Obesity is an epidemic in the United States and in other developed countries. More than half of Americans are overweight-including at least 1 in 5 children. Nearly one third are obese. Obesity is on the rise in our society because food is abundant and physical activity is optional.

Each year, Americans spend billions of dollars on dieting, diet foods, diet books, diet pills, and the like. Another $45 billion is spent on treating the diseases associated with obesity. Furthermore, businesses suffer an estimated $20 billion loss in productivity each year from absence due to illness caused by obesity.

CAUSES OF OBESITY

Weight gain occurs when you eat more calories than your body uses up. If the food you eat provides more calories than your body needs, the excess is converted to fat. Initially, fat cells increase in size. When they can no longer expand, they increase in number. If you lose weight, the size of the fat cells decreases, but the number of cells does not.

       Obesity, however, has many causes. The reasons for the imbalance between calorie intake and consumption vary by individual. Your age, sex, and genes, psychological makeup, and environmental factors all may contribute.

Genes: Obesity tends to run in families. This is caused both by genes and by shared diet and lifestyle habits. Having obese relatives does not guarantee that you will be obese.

Emotions: Some people overeat because of depression, hopelessness, anger, boredom, and many other reasons that have nothing to do with hunger. This doesn't mean that overweight and obese people have more emotional problems than other people. It just means that their feelings influence their eating habits, causing them to overeat. In some unusual cases, obesity may be used as a defense mechanism because of the perceived social pressures related to being more physically desirable, particularly in young girls. In these cases, as with the other emotional causes, psychological intervention may be helpful.

Environmental factors: The most important environmental factor is lifestyle. Your eating habits and activity level are partly learned from the people around you. Overeating and sedentary habits (inactivity) are the most important risk factors for obesity.

Sex: Men have more muscle than women, on average. Because muscle burns more calories than other types of tissue, men use more calories than women, even at rest. Thus, women are more likely than men to gain weight with the same calorie intake.

Age: People tend to lose muscle and gain fat as they age. Their metabolism also slows somewhat. Both of these lower their calorie requirements.

Pregnancy: Women tend to weigh an average of 4-6 pounds more after a pregnancy than they did before the pregnancy. This can compound with each pregnancy. This weight gain may contribute to obesity in women.

       Certain medical conditions and medications can cause or promote obesity, although these are much less common causes of obesity than overeating and inactivity. Some examples of these are as follows:

Hypothyroidism

Cushing syndrome

Depression

Certain medications (examples are steroids, antidepressants, birth control pills)

Prader-Willi syndrome

Polycystic ovarian syndrome

       "Glands" (hormonal problems) are rarely the cause of obesity.

       Obesity can be associated with other eating disorders, such as binge eating or bulimia.

       The distribution of your body fat also plays a role in determining your risk of obesity-related health problems. There are at least 2 different kinds of body fat. Studies conducted in Scandinavia have shown that excess body fat distributed around the waist ("apple"-shaped figure, intra-abdominal fat) carries more risk than fat distributed on the hips and thighs ("pear"-shaped figure, fat under the skin).