Are You Eating Yourself To Death?

Is your current diet killing you quicker?

Could your diet be causing all of your ailments?

Is your diet making you fat?

My immediate answer is YES, you are eating yourself to death!

I can just hear you all shout "Hold on a second there Arlo! I eat very healthy foods, and I only drink healthy fruit juices. I don't eat sweets, I only buy low fat and low carb products. I eat healthy, and don't need to read the rest of this article!" HOLD ON there a moment! You are not eating as healthy as you think! Let me tell you why.

Never in the history of man have we seen more obesity, diseases, syndromes and what not, than we do right now. Is this all thanks to food? No, BUT, a HUGE part is, and if you will indulge me for a short while, I will try my best to explain to you in an easy to understand manner, why this is so.

We live in an instant gratification and microwave society. If it is not quick, easy and now, it is so yesterday. BUT, at what cost?

I can write a whole book about all the "stuff" they put in processed or so-called fast foods, but I don't want to bore you to death with all the scientific names and what it does to your body. Let me rather simplify this for you, and say that if it is processed in any way, it is not good for you, and very possibly bad for you!

So, what exactly is processed foods, and why is it so bad for you?

Does it come in a can, sealed box, sealed bag, or is it ready-made? If so, it is processed. This is the vast majority of the foods that you get at the grocery store! Have a look, the next time you are at the store, and you will see this to be true.

Now onto why it is so bad for you. For this food to last long, have the right color, and not pick up all the bad bacteria associated with keeping food for long, a LONG list of chemicals are added to this food. A lot of these chemicals are known to have very serious negative effects on the human body. To name but a few of these "side" effects: Cancer, High blood pressure, high cholesterol, numbness, burning sensation, tingling, facial pressure or tightness, Chest pain, headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat, drowsiness, weakness, and difficulty breathing for asthmatics.

Now, forget all the "stuff" being added. What about nutritional value? Because of all the processing, there are little, if any, real nutrients left in any of these foods! Not only that BUT, the salt levels are WAY above what a human being should be consuming!

What about all these healthy bran cereals? Are they processed? YES. They contain more sugar than anything else! Your poor blood sugar levels do not know what to do with all the extra insulin that it gets with just about any fast or processed food!

So, what then is safe and healthy?

Anything that is fresh, not processed, and preferably organic. Plain and simple! YES, that means that nice cup of coffee you are enjoying while reading this is not very good for you!

Have a look at your grocery store. The vast majority of the fresh, non-processed foods are around the perimeter of the store, and not in the isles! This makes shopping so much easier!

"BUT, it takes so long to prepare!" The most common complaint I hear! Well, if you plan it properly, you can make all your fresh food in less time than it takes to get all your fast food during the day! Read that again! My wife and I prepare all our meals, for the 2 of us, and our 2 children, in 30 minutes in the morning! All fresh, all healthy, and ready to eat for the rest of the day!

How much, and how often should you eat? This is also very simple. You should be eating every 2.5 to 3 hours. Before you start screaming at me for telling you to eat so much, remember also that these meals should be much smaller portions of your regular 3 meals a day. This will equate to around 6 meals a day.

What will you be eating? Also quite simple. Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fat. YES, fat! You need to eat lean meat, skinless chicken or fish for protein. If you are vegan, there are loads of alternatives. For carbohydrates, you will have fruit and vegetables. For fat, you will have fish, fish oil capsules or flaxseed oil.

That's IT! Sound boring? Believe me when I tell you, it's not!

Celebrity Weight Loss Secrets Exposed

Celebrities are always looking fabulous. Whether appearing on television, starring in a movie or strutting down the red carpet, they never cease to fascinate us with their larger than life presence. The truth is, it takes a lot of effort to look the way they do, and to be the public figures that they are.

A celebrity can not afford to slack off when it comes to taking care of their physical appearances. Their livelihood largely depends on how they look. Aside from the clothes, the hair and the makeup, celebrities have to take good care of their bodies.

So it is no surprise that these stars have their own secrets when it comes to staying fit and gorgeous. Their health routines can range from extreme workouts to well-planned meals. Who doesn't want to know their secrets in staying sexy? Here are some of their SECRETS.

1. Jennifer Aniston
 
The star of the phenomenal television show "Friends" not only mesmerized audiences with her adorable comic sense and her famous hairstyle. She was also known for having one of the sexiest bodies in Hollywood, as she appeared on countless magazine covers. To stay trim, Jennifer follows the 40:30:30 diet method. The diet consists of:

40% Low glycemic carbohydrates
-Foods such as beans, fruits and vegetables, legumes

30% lean proteins
-Tofu, fish, chicken, turkey, beef and low-fat dairy products

30% essential fats
-nuts and seeds, fish and olive oils

It is essential that every meal should contain macronutrients to attain the balance of hormones and maximum weight loss.

2. Kate Hudson
 
The gorgeous daughter of actress Goldie Hawn gained 60 pounds during her pregnancy, which she needed to shed quickly before moving on to her next film. She switched to a higher protein diet., consuming high protein meals with smaller portions. She combined this diet with an exercise program that includes weight training and cardio. After getting a lot of flak because of her post-pregnancy figure, Kate removed all that baby weight in only four months and has gained abdominal muscles that gained the envy of many in Hollywood.

3. Oprah Winfrey
 
As one of the most successful talk-show hosts in the world, there is no question that Oprah needs to maintain her physical appearance for her millions of fans. Known as one of those celebrities who are constantly battling weight gain, she has recently toned up her figure, by combining a regular exercise regime and diet plan. Oprah works out five days a week, spending 30 minutes on the treadmill and using free weights. Her eating plan consists of legumes, fish, nuts, fruits and vegetables, chicken and dairy products that are low-fat. She limits her consumption of white sugar and flour. Oprah also credits her trim figure to her habit of not eating anything after seven in the evening.

4. Gwyneth Paltrow
 

A lot of people may find it hard to believe that the perpetually slim Academy award-winning actress actually needs to diet. Gwyneth actually follows a healthy eating plan that resembles Oprah's, avoiding sugar and white flour. She usually follows a macrobiotic diet, eating foods like vegetables, brown rice, and lean meat. She also eliminated dairy from her diet, and does yoga every day.

5. Madonna
 

The pop star known as the Material Girl has always flaunted a body that is to die for and has become a true fitness paragon over the years. She keeps herself in tip-top shape by doing Ashtanga Yoga and follows a strict diet that mostly shuns junk foods. She adopted a macrobiotic eating plan that includes organic foods rich in lean protein.

6. Claudia Schiffer
 

The bodacious German supermodel eats salad and steamed vegetables for dinner and eats only fruits before the afternoon. While on locations, she prefers to eat black grapes and drinks tomato juice and herbal tea.

7. Christie Brinkley
 

Long-time supermodel maintains her all-American good looks by being a vegetarian. She does not keep junk foods of any kind inside her home, to make sure that she does not eat them when cravings occur. She snacks on sweet potatoes in place of candy bars, and she adopts a liquid juice diet when she needs to slim down fast.

TO SUM IT ALL UP

Celebrities are ordinary people, they need to maintain their figures and live healthy just like everyone else.

WE SHOULD ALL LOOK GOOD AND LIVE HEALTHY

Create or find a diet plan and workout routine that works for you. Push yourself, "effort always brings change", and stay consistent. Before you know it you will have the Body Of Your Dreams.

8 Reasons To Lose Weight

Obesity is the second leading cause of death after smoking. It is associated with an increased mortality rate of all ages including children. Losing weight though commercialized is still to your benefit if you carry more weight than you should. 

Obesity and Overweight are terms often used interchangeably. However, technically they refer to two different things. 

Being overweight technically means excess body mass. This includes all the body tissues. Obesity, on the other hand, refers explicitly to excess body fat e.g. a professional heavyweight bodybuilder is overweight because of excess muscles but is not obese. 

Obesity is what should concern you. Losing weight is no longer an issue you can afford to procrastinate, and probably a good health scare is in order.

Reason #1 To Lose Weight

Diabetes: It is well known that 80 -90% of type-two-diabetes patients are overweight. Diabetes is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., as well as the leading cause of adult blindness in the world. One of the direct causes of obesity is eating the wrong foods. Some of these wrong foods include high glycemic foods. High glycemic foods are energy-dense foods that quickly increase the level of blood glucose in your body after being eaten. This results in the body reserving the unnecessarily high glucose/energy into fat. This makes losing weight very difficult.

Releasing a hormone called insulin does this. Type-Two-diabetes occurs because the body cannot produce enough insulin to remove the excess blood glucose and store it as body fat. This will occur after straining insulin production for some time. And that’s how you end up being fat and diabetic. 

Reason #2 To Lose Weight

Stroke: Obesity is associated with arteriosclerosis, the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries throughout your body. This makes them narrow slowing blood flow and among other things increases the risk of blood clotting. Arteries at risk include those supplying blood to the brain. If clotting occurs due to a narrowed artery, it blocks the blood supply to an area of the brain resulting in stroke. Losing weight reduces this risk. 

Reason #3 To Lose Weight

Cancer: The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates between 25% - 33% of cancer worldwide are overweight and physical inactivity related. Body fat evidently promotes higher levels of insulin production and excess estrogen, a hormone. Both insulin and estrogen accelerate cell division.

As research has indicated, the faster cells duplicate the more they increase the chances of cancerous cell development. The situation is further complicated as the rapid cell division caused by the excess hormones lead also to rapid cell reproduction of the one cancerous cell, hence cancer starts to develop actively. In addition fat cells tend to keep carcinogenic i.e. cancer-causing agents, trapped in the body which increases the chances of developing cancer. 

Types of cancers you will be at high risk to get include:

Breast Cancer- affecting the breast possibly in both men and women. 

Colorectal Cancer- affecting the colon and rectum. 

Prostate Cancer- affecting the prostate gland in men. 

Endometrial Cancer- affecting the uterus. 

Esophageal Cancer- affecting the esophagus. 

Renal Cell Cancer- the cancer of the kidney, etc.

Reason #4 To Lose Weight

Respiratory Problems: Obesity causes the lungs to “become smaller” in size and the chest wall to become heavier to lift in the process of breathing in. The most common respiratory problem is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where an individual stops breathing for some time while asleep. A soft tissue in the throat collapses around the airway. For the severely obese sleep apnea may get more complicated with hypoventilation. Hypoventilation is an accumulation of toxic levels of carbon dioxide (the gas we breathe out) in the blood, due to inadequate breathing. Losing weight would be the only permanent safe and healthy solution to sleep apnea. 

Reason #5 To Lose Weight
Urinary Incontinence: This is the involuntary release of urine. Being overweight can contribute to urinary incontinence. A heavy abdomen due to body fat deposits may cause a valve in the bladder to be weakened. The weight also exerts pressure on the bladder to push urine out. This results in leakage of urine when coughing, sneezing or laughing. This is because of a slight relaxation of the bladder valve that normally would not result in leakage. It can even result in bed wetting at night. This particular problem can be a very effective motivator to lose weight. 

Reason #6 To Lose Weight

Varicose Veins: Also known as Venous Stratis Disease. The leg and thigh muscles assist the heart in blood circulation just like most large muscles in the body. They are involved in pumping blood against gravity back to the heart with the help of valves that close to avoid a backward flow. Pressure as a result of a large abdomen may increase the workload on the valves eventually causing damage. Damaged valves then allow for blood to back up, due to gravity, causing high pressure in these veins leading to swelling, thickening of skin and skin ulcers. 

Reason #7 To Lose Weight 

High Blood Pressure: The BMI (Body Mass Index) and age together are the strongest indicator of risk of hypertension or high blood pressure. At least a third of hypertension is related to obesity. 

Reason #8 To Lose Weight

Other Diseases: Other diseases which MAY occur as a result of being overweight include

• Gout 
• Coronary Heart Disease 
• Lower Back Pains 
• Osteoarthritis 
• Rheumatoid Arthritis 
• Gall Stones 
• Pregnancy disorders such as
• Neural Tube Defect 
• Prenatal Mortality 
• Maternal Hypertension
• Gestational Diabetes 
• Impaired Immune Response 
• Liver Disease 
• Pancreatitis 
• Bad Body Smell 
• Depression 

Research shows that modest weight loss of even 10 pounds, significantly reduces the risk of developing these diseases. Weight loss is, in fact, a challenge taken by many every year. 

Unfortunately many fail in this healthy endeavor, all because of one thing; they lack proper information on effective weight loss. Effective weight loss is permanent. 

Weight Loss Is Serious

Your Life Depends On It

I hope this helps some of you out.

Effort Brings Change