Teens and Alcohol

It's the standard at every weekend party: a case of beer, a keg, many hard liquor bottles and mixed drinks. Alcohol is everywhere these days, and teens (as well as adults) can't keep their hands off it. Teens are getting drunk just about every weekend during the school year, and even more during the summer.

But why do teens insist on drinking? Is it peer pressure? Is it the thrill of doing something illegal? Do they think it will make them cooler in the eyes of others? Most likely, it's one (or more) of these reasons. Teens are easily pressured into things. Almost all of them want to be accepted, and are willing to do just about anything to gain acceptance. Even the smartest student in school could very well be giving in to peer pressure, drinking, doing drugs, and having promiscuous sex.

Most Parents wouldn't like to think of their child being the one to give in. "My child is smarter than that," they say. While it is quite possible your child is very intelligent, it takes a very strong willed teen to just say "no." The fact is that most teens will give in to peer pressure at one time or another, whether it be with alcohol or something else.

Parents need to be on the watch when it comes to their teens. Make sure you know where they're going and verify that parents are going to be there. This will likely assure that drinking will not take place, but it is still a possibility. Make sure your teen knows the consequences and dangers of alcohol over-consumption, such as liver damage and alcohol poisoning. Teens usually have a different attitude about it if their parents explain to them the effects of alcohol. Parents work a lot better than health class in school, and can be more personal.

Can Coffee Be Used As A Fertilizer?

Used coffee grounds have been discarded as trash by millions of people around the world. Is there another use for your used grounds? The answer is "yes," and the more you learn about the used coffee grounds the more sense it makes to use them as a fertilizer. My Grandmother taught me years ago the secret of used coffee grounds. She said that the grounds give your plants more life. I always wondered what she meant by more life. Then as I watched her plants grow I seen some amazing things. Her tomato garden was huge, and much larger than our neighbors. Tomatoes the size of a softball grew in her garden and at a fast pace. When the neighbors would inquire as to her secret she said I have rich soil. She did not lie; because due to those used coffee grounds her soil was rich indeed.

Used coffee grounds are a great fertilizer for gardens because of their high nitrogen content. Of all the mineral nutrients in the soil, nitrogen is generally the most difficult for plants to acquire. The reason plants have difficulty is because of the way they acquire the nitrogen. It is primarily thru their roots, which are buried in the soil. Most plants depend on mineral forms of nitrogen in the soil, and this is where your coffee grounds come into place. Your used grounds give your soil the added nitrogen that your plants need. Coffee grounds also contain potassium, phosphorus, and many other elements that aid in plant development. Many rose gardeners report that used coffee grounds aid in their roses development. Reports also add that when used coffee grounds have made their roses more colorful and larger than normal. In fact, when added to a compost pile used coffee grounds compost very quickly.

Nitrogen is a component of all proteins, and is crucial to life. In several studies, plants that have a nitrogen rich soil grew faster and larger then plants that grew in natural soil. It is clearly wiser to save those used coffee grounds and use them in your gardens or household flowerpots. If you are not using used coffee grounds you are wasting a great resource.

Video Games: Therapy Or Addiction?

By : Joaquin Reveron
If you are one of those video games aficionados currently addicted to shooter games or fighting playing games online, you are not alone. Games like "Fight Night 3" from Xbox 360 or perhaps the worldwide Xbox favorite "Halo 2", that is still making history through the fun play of both national and International audiences through online multi-gaming experiences. Not only can you start having the excitement of playing it with your brother or friend back home, if you are in the states you can play with Canada, Pakistan, China, Australia, Brazil, Puerto Rico and many other places to shout "I beat you and I will beat you again", "Wow you are really horrible, even my 10 years old brother can beat you with his eyes closed", among many other adrenaline "Who is the boss" type of rush comments to a guy thousands of miles away from you.

Personally, one of the best games for Xbox 360 right now is "Fight Night 3". That is if you are into the adrenaline mode and like to sweat when things are not going the way you like in one of those Roy Jones Jr vs. Oscar De La Hoya types of matches. In that video game you can choose from over twenty plus fighters and you get to re-live old time matches along with ESPN commentators, Madison Square Garden at your back and even pre-fight weight count rumbles. It does not get any better when you see our Oscar De La Hoya being beaten in a pre-fight weight certification area, and then you live when De La Hoya hammers and beat to the punch Joe Frazier and Ali. Not sure how that comes close in our reality world, however, I believe that is of interest to any boxing fan wishing to encounter and position themselves in matches where the differences are between 40-50 pounds between opponents. One of the most realistic developments through the game is when a fighter is delivered an uppercut upon being low on stamina and has a major cut in one of the eyes. You will hear the sound of the head currently having a 4th of July explosion while seeing all the ketchup spread all over the air in slow motion before the fighter gets KO to the floor. Some make call this game exciting and others see it just to violent even for grown ups.

Then there is Halo 2 still with a worldwide video games buzz. This game has been so successful that they are even in the final stages of finishing the production of the soon to be released "Halo 3". If Xbox 360 console was hard to get even four month and even five months later after launch, I can't imagine the best game ever to hit the Xbox market being re-released in a final version shortly. The beauty of this whole Xbox addiction remains through games like Halo and subsequent versions. Not only you get hooked one, two or three hours without having nothing to drink or eat, but time passes and immediately upon finishing or taking a break you think that you have only played 15 minutes.

Are games like these addictive or therapeutic? In my conclusion as a gaming fan and video games addict, it is both therapeutic and addictive at the same time. It is my believe that many of us mix positive therapy and addiction as equal words with the same definitions. In all, Xbox 360 games along with their many competitors will remain a force to a billion dollar market that should never stop growing. Games like Halo and Fight Night 3 are here to stay. Have fun while you have the fortune and time to enjoy them.

Video game addiction: A new diagnosis?

The telltale signs are ominous: teens holing up in their rooms, ignoring friends, family, even food and a shower, while grades plummet and belligerence soars. The culprit isn't alcohol or drugs. It's video games, which for certain kids can be as powerfully addictive as heroin, some doctors contend.

A leading council of the nation's largest doctors' group wants to have this behavior officially classified as a psychiatric disorder, to raise awareness and enable sufferers to get insurance coverage for treatment.

In a report prepared for the American Medical Association's annual policy meeting starting Saturday in Chicago, the council asks the group to lobby for the disorder to be included in a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association. AMA delegates could vote on the proposal as early as Monday.

It likely won't happen without heated debate. Video game makers scoff at the notion that their products can cause a psychiatric disorder. Even some mental health experts say labeling the habit a formal addiction is going too far.

Dr. James Scully, the psychiatric association's medical director, said the group will seriously consider the AMA report in the long process of revising the diagnostic manual. The current manual was published in 1994; the next edition is to be completed in 2012.

Up to 90 percent of American youngsters play video games and as many as 15 percent of them — more than 5 million kids — may be addicted, according to data cited in the AMA council's report.

Joyce Protopapas of Frisco, Texas, said her 17-year-old son, Michael, was a video addict. Over nearly two years, video and Internet games transformed him from an outgoing, academically gifted teen into a reclusive manipulator who flunked two 10th grade classes and spent several hours day and night playing a popular online video game called World of Warcraft.

"My father was an alcoholic ... and I saw exactly the same thing" in Michael, Protopapas said. "We battled him until October of last year," she said. "We went to therapists, we tried taking the game away.

"He would threaten us physically. He would curse and call us every name imaginable," she said. "It was as if he was possessed."

When she suggested to therapists that Michael had a video game addiction, "nobody was familiar with it," she said. "They all pooh-poohed it."

Last fall, the family found a therapist who "told us he was addicted, period." They sent Michael to a therapeutic boarding school, where he has spent the past six months — at a cost of $5,000 monthly that insurance won't cover, his mother said.

A support group called On-Line Gamers Anonymous has numerous postings on its Web site from gamers seeking help. Liz Woolley, of Harrisburg, Pa., created the site after her 21-year-old son fatally shot himself in 2001 while playing an online game she says destroyed his life.

In a February posting, a 13-year-old identified only as Ian told of playing video games for nearly 12 hours straight, said he felt suicidal and wondered if he was addicted.

"I think i need help," the boy said.

Postings also come from adults, mostly men, who say video game addiction cost them jobs, family lives and self-esteem.

According to the report prepared by the AMA's Council on Science and Public Health, based on a review of scientific literature, "dependence-like behaviors are more likely in children who start playing video games at younger ages."

Overuse most often occurs with online role-playing games involving multiple players, the report says. Blizzard Entertainment's teen-rated, monster-killing World of Warcraft is among the most popular. A company spokesman declined to comment on whether the games can cause addiction.

A woman in the New Haven, Conn., area who bought the game for her 15-year-old son last year, says he got hooked on it.

"Now that I look back on it, it's like I went out and bought him his first Jack Daniel's," said the 49-year-old woman who didn't want her name used to spare her son from ridicule.

Dr. Martin Wasserman, a pediatrician who heads the Maryland State Medical Society, said the AMA proposal will help raise awareness and called it "the right thing to do."

But Michael Gallagher, president of the Entertainment Software Association, said the trade group sides with psychiatrists "who agree that this so-called 'video-game addiction' is not a mental disorder."

"The American Medical Association is making premature conclusions without the benefit of complete and thorough data," Gallagher said.

Dr. Karen Pierce, a psychiatrist at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, said she sees at least two children a week who play video games excessively.

"I saw somebody this week who hasn't been to bed, hasn't showered ... because of video games," she said. "He is really a mess."

She said she treats it like any addiction and creating a separate diagnosis is unnecessary.

Dr. Michael Brody, head of a TV and media committee at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, agreed. He praised the AMA council for bringing attention to the problem, but said excessive video-game playing could be a symptom for other things, such as depression or social anxieties that already have their own diagnoses.

"You could make lots of behavioral things into addictions. Why stop at video gaming?" Brody asked. Why not Blackberries, cell phones, or other irritating habits, he said.

The Medical Risks of Owning An Xbox

By : Sandra Stammberger
One of the issues facing today's teen-agers is obesity. Doctors stress that more teen-agers need to exercise more, or at least get their hearts pumping. They note that even a few minutes of cardio-vascular exercise can lead to a number of advantages for them, such as muscle tone, less plaque in the blood, and, of course, less body fat. In order to encourage this, I suggest more Xbox gaming.

Contrary to the rather staid image of a boy with a controller in hand concentrating on the television screen, a group of boys is a far different creature. Pummeling each other's virtual counterparts, they occasionally hit the real-life thing as well. Talking trash faster than they can skate down a stairwell railing, while at the same time communicating with each other to put them in the position so that their team can accomplish their mission.

A group of teen-age boys are not the members of the gang, but a force of nature. They easily expend enough calories to match the same boys on a basketball court. That level of energy expenditure can be a scary, but also works out for the boys health as well. After a good hour or so of gaming, they are out of breath, sweaty, and definitely ready for the showers.

There are other advantages to game-play as well. They are learning how to communicate with others on several levels at once, insulting their friends, insulting people that aren't there, and still finding ways to accomplish their virtual mission. Teamwork is assumed, as is finding the role that they fill better than anyone else. A boy finds out a lot about himself when under any fire, virtual or real.

It can be fun for spectators as well, as four boys running high on adrenalin are on an emotional high as well as physical. Because of that, they feel whatever they feel much more intensely than normal, and can fall faster than a rock, and fly faster than a rocket. There is nothing more fun than watching a group of boys taking names in the safety of their own home. There is nothing more natural or more nostalgic than looking at the four boys holding the controllers and remembering when that was you with a piece of plastic in your hands at the corner store with your friends.

Any game can provide benefits in terms of physical and mental health. There is the charge of adrenalin that gets the heart pumping, causing the blood to speed through the body. It can be interesting to watch the group of boys bond, and in ways that will cement them together in ways that merely going to the same school can't. And it's healthy behavior for boys of that age. Now, when they're doing that a decade later...well, at least they're not out committing crimes...

Coral Calcium Alleviates Joint Pain and More

By : Robert Paris
I was introduced to coral calcium in I'd say, 1999. For years I was experiencing joint pain, specifically in the shoulder(s). Over a ten year period, I had tried chiropractic, massage therapy, kinesiology, etc. I was at wits end, anticipating having to have some sort of surgery to alleviate the problem.

A friend of mine, Joe, who is a massage therapist and practitioner of alternative health, medicine, etc. called and asked me if I had heard of Bob Barefoot.

I replied that I had, in fact, I just ordered his book, The Calcium Factor. Joe then told me that he had Bob on the phone, to say, "hello."

I spoke with Bob for quite some time. I explained my condition, and asked a ton of questions about coral calcium and it's effects on degenerative diseases, like cancer. Bob was intriguing to say the least.

I ordered some coral calcium online, tested my pH and found that my saliva was acidic. According to Bob, an indication that you have some sort of illness, or are developing one.

I began taking the coral calcium right away. Within 5 days, I found that the joint pain I was experiencing before was gone! I had full mobility in both of my shoulders again.

In addition, I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure. My BP was high enough that the doctor wanted to put me on medication. When I returned to the doctor, just 10 days after taking the coral calcium, my BP had normalized. No medication needed!

So, in less than ten days, my joint pain was gone, my BP was normal and my saliva started testing above 7.0, neutral on the acidic scale. Within a few more days my pH went up to 7.2!

In addition, many have experienced significant weight loss using coral calcium. Studies show that when your body is calcium deficient, it releases a fat storing hormone, called calcitriol. A simple fix - add calcium. Coral Calcium is a good source of calcium!

I started selling coral calcium, and needless to say, sales went through the roof! Our first website went to #1 on Google, and stayed there for over a year. We were selling in excess of 15,000 bottles of coral calcium a month.

Eventually, the FTC, FDA and the rest of some regulatory agencies filed suit against Bob Barefoot and one of his associates. They were forced to shut down their infomercial, being sited as making erroneous claims for the product.

The FTC can say what they want about scientific evidence not existing to support coral calcium claims, I don't need them, I AM ONE!

In addition, of all the coral calcium we have sold, there have been very few returns. Bottom line, for most people, coral calcium works!

Even if there are no evident benefits, coral calcium would be a good product to take for preventative reasons. Coral Calcium contains calcium and 73 trace minerals. In addition, we've added vitamin d, to aid in the absorption of calcium and the other nutrients.

Is Diet Soda Good for Your Diet?

By : Kathryn Lively
When you think of nutrition and eating healthy, most likely you are more concerned about the food you eat than the beverages you drink. You may think having a diet drink could not do any harm at lunch or dinner, but if you indulge too much it could add up to trouble in the long run.

But it's a diet drink...

Perhaps you have seen on television or film a sketch where a person orders a fattening, fast food meal with a diet soda to even everything out. A diet soda has zero calories compared to as many as 300 per serving of regular soda, so you are actually doing yourself a good service, right?

Not exactly. Regular sodas are highly caloric because they contain sugar, whereas diet sodas are manufactured with artificial sweeteners - one of the most popular being aspartame. The validity of aspartame as a health risk has been debated for many years - some claim the sweetener may contribute to increasing toxicity levels and risk of various illnesses, while other dismiss such charges.

What we do know for certain is that aspartame contains phenylalanine, an essential amino acid that does occur naturally in certain dairy foods and green vegetables. On the other hand, one byproduct of aspertame is formaldehyde!

When you shop for "diet" foods it is always a good idea to check for this ingredient on the labels so you know exactly what you are eating and how much.

Too much caffeine?

Just because a diet soda is free of calories, doesn't mean it is devoid of other questionable ingredients. For example, not all calorie-free, sugar-free sodas are caffeine free, check the labels! Did you know, for example, that there is more caffeine in one can of Diet Coke than in regular Coca-Cola? There are almost 46 milligrams of caffeine in this diet soda, and while it's not as much as coffee (which can top 200 milligrams), the tendancy to want to drink more diet soda can contribute to a caffeine overload. You will have energy yes, but will be driven on empty calories and sweeteners instead of something nutritious. You may lose sleep, and suffer incredible headaches through caffeine withdrawal. Caffeine is highly addictive as well, and could lead you on a cycle that is difficult to break without some good will power.

Water, the best "diet" drink

A good percentage of our bodies are water, so it would make sense to constantly replenish your body with the very same substance. Imagine, if you replaced a glass a water for every soda you drink, think of all the calories you save, the less toxins in your body, and the greater improvement to your health. It's the best diet drink there is.

Eight glasses a day...no doubt you've heard it from everybody - your parents, your doctor, talk show professionals. The road to wellness is actually a river of pure, clean water, and while to drink sixty-four ounces daily seems like an impossible task, it is actually one of the simplest steps you can take to starting a sound weight loss program. After all, our bodies are approximately sixty percent water, so it is only natural that we constantly replenish ourselves in order to feel good.

Your Body's Acid/Alkaline Balance

By : Mike Fletcher
Our body maintains a delicate PH balance. Our blood PH should be around 7.365. If we are too acidic, our health is affected and it becomes easier to gain fat and more difficult to lose weight.

When we become too acidic, some of the acid is stored as fat to protect the body. For our body to maintain homeostasis, calcium and other alkaline minerals are depleted from our bones and are used to raise our PH. This depletion of calcium from bones can increase risks of osteoporosis and other negative health conditions.

There are many who believe that nearly all diseases are related to being too acidic. It has been found that yeast, bacteria, viruses, cancer and other diseases thrive in acidic, anaerobic (lacking oxygen) environments and can't live in an alkaline environment. Being too acidic is also associated with arthritis and inflammation.

How do you find out if you are too acidic? The easiest way is to test your PH using test strips. These strips can be used in saliva or urine. The first urination of the morning is usually the most accurate. If you test your saliva, be sure to not eat or drink anything at least 30 minutes prior to testing.

You can help to raise your PH by diet. Meat, dairy and eggs are acidic in the body. Sugars, processed foods, alcohol, and many fruits are also acidic when consumed. Green vegetables are probably the most alkalizing foods we can eat. Surprisingly, acidic foods like lemons and limes have an alkalizing effect after consumption.

A convenient and healthy way to boost your PH and to protect your body from being in an acidic environment is to supplement PH Drops, minerals and green foods to the diet.

PH drops are affordable and easy to use. Simply drop 4 drops per 8 ounces of water to change the waters PH to 9-10. This is the easiest way to raise your PH. Consuming the alkalized water flushes out the acids and raises the body's PH. Drinking alkalized water has been compared to putting clean water into a dirty fish bowl and changing out the dirty water. If the fish bowl had dirty water, the fish will be unhealthy, flush out the dirty water with clean fresh water and you can expect the fish to regain its health.

Most people are the most acidic in the morning. Taking calcium and magnesium at bedtime is a great way to both help relax your muscles before bed, and to help keep your body alkalized overnight.

Green vegetables are also highly alkaline. It can be difficult with today's busy lifestyles to find the time and have the access to the recommended amount of green vegetables to the diet. Luckily, there are green drinks available. These drinks are powdered vegetables that mix easily with water and are a great way to add greens to the diet and raise your body's PH.

It is a good idea to consider testing your own PH and seeing where you acid/alkaline balance is. If you are acidic, it is time to start changing your diet and eat more fresh greens and less acidic food. It is also worth considering supplementing PH drops, calcium magnesium and a green drink to your diet to help alkalize your body and improve your health.
Author Resource:- The author of this article recommends visiting Jeffs Healthy Living Blog for more on natural health and alternative medicine.

Beauty should be in the eyes of the beholder

By : Jan brunkco
Marilyn Monroe had six toes. Connie stiler also has six toes ... Which fact do you find more interesting? My guess is it's Marilyn, and thats mostly because she was packaged (and still is) as a model of stunning beauty, desire and perfection. Yet, the truth is that Marilyn was not perfect by the very standards of the business that convinced everyone that she was the woman men wanted or that women had to look like to BE wanted. Still, most believed it then, and continue to believe this fantasy today.

Ever heard the old saying "If I want your opinion I'll give it to you"? Well, the fashion, beauty and Ad media industries are constantly presenting appealing ads to every man, woman and child hoping to giving us our opinion of what beauty is. And the truly sad thing is most people accept this lofy standard, putting an incredible amount of pressure on people to be "perfect" and "desirable" 24/7.

Remember this commercial? Mabey you don't remember this one in particular, but they all pretty much follow the same format ... A very pretty woman smiles at a man, obviously interested in him, and he smiles back only to realize she has a flake of dandruff on her shoulder! He walks away totally turned off now. Why? Because she didn't meet the advertiser's (and yours, if you buy it) standards for beauty. Does this seem reasonable to you? Or does it seem like a snobbish, self-centered and "holier-than-thou" attitude for a person to have?

Consider this ... If you accept big business's standards of beauty created to sell thier products, then you are isolating yourself from most of the population of the world. If you try to live up to a profit generated opinion of what is beautiful, then you have set yourself up to fail. For proof of this, just check out the tragic lives and failed relationships of the world's most beautiful, admired entertainers and models.


Here is something else to think about ... Do you know the definition of brainwashing? No, it's not a new surgical procedure! Brainwashing means: "Inducing a person to modify his or her beliefs, attitudes, or behavior by conditioning through various forms of pressure."

So, how does the ad agencies and big business pressure us into modifying our beliefs, attitudes or behavior? Lets say ads start coming out on tv, radio, print all over the world, and these ads are constantly implying that if you do not own this product, you can't be popular, desired or accepted. As more and more people accept the ad's conditioning, the pressure builds for the rest of us to conform or be isolated from the crowd.

I'm sure as a child, and growing into adulthood, you've experienced some conditioning to modify your beliefs, attitudes, or behavior because of this kind of peer pressure. We all want to fit in and be accepted, so we may change our beliefs to conform to the majority despite that it may be uncomfortable. Even when it's uncomfortable in a physical way! Females can understand this ... extremely tight clothes, high heels, bras, makeup and the incredible pressure to always be "beautiful".


Reality ... What a concept: The truth is, Nobody on this planet has ever been, nor ever will attain big business's standard of what is beautiful, and trying to live up to someone else's standards of beauty causes far more problems for generations to come than it is worth. The simple fact that you are alive, and able to think makes you a beautiful and interesting person, not what you wear. And all of the things that make someone beautiful are the things that come from within a person. Big business and the ad agencies cannot create and sell love, kindness, understanding or attractive personalities. Only you can, and it doesn't cost you a dime.

It comes down to this .. Enhance, decorate and discover what makes you beautiful as a person from within and then your REAL beauty will shine in the eyes of ALL beholders.

Author Resource:- Jan Michaels is truly in love with the truth. When not writing myth busting articles, he doesn't do much of anything really important, unless feeding the cat counts.
You can see more of his musings or various and sundry humorous items at: http://www.brunkc.com

How to Lose 10 Pounds Or More Quickly and Safely

By : Ken Black
As reported in the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations recently published Calories Count - Report of the Working Group on Obesity, people who are overweight is a serious public health problem in the United States. Since the late 1980s, adult obesity has steadily and substantially increased in the United States. Today, 64 percent of all Americans weigh too much and over 30 percent are obese; in 1988 through 1992, fewer than 56 percent were overweight and fewer than 23 percent of American adults were obese.

The trends for children are even more worrisome. Recent research by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 15 percent of children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 are overweight - double the rate of two decades ago. As Americans get heavier, their health suffers. Overweight and obesity increase the risk for coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. According to some estimates, at least 400,000 deaths each year may be attributed to obesity.

What people must know is that you can improve your health quickly with just a small amount of weight loss. We know that physical activity along with reduced calorie consumption can lead to the 5 to 10 percent weight loss necessary to achieve remission of the obesity-associated complications, says William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Most doctors agree, losing one to two pounds a week is safe and recommended by most doctors for most people. This breaks down to 250 to 1,000 calories per day. You can achieve this easily if you follow some or all of the following guidelines :

1. Use skim milk instead of whole milk or cream in your coffee.
2. Eat low fat yogurt instead of ice cream.
3. Eat more bright colored (green, yellow, orange, red) fruits and vegetables.
4. Eat more lean fish, chicken, or turkey and cut down on red meats.
5. Eat whole wheat or multigrain bread, instead of white bread.
6. Use a sugar replacement instead of sugar (avoid Aspartame).
7. Drink water instead of soft drinks.
8. When you eat out, avoid fried foods.
9. Walk or do similar exercises (e.g. Golf, Tennis) at least 20 minutes a day.

If you do even just a couple of these every day for the next month, you will feel much better and you will lose weight.

And if you are concerned about getting hungry all the time, or losing your energy, try taking a safe appetite suppressant, like Hoodia Balance. This supplement is South African Hoodia from the Kalahari Desert, which makes it more effective. This type is a non-prescription medication and has been tested for years to be safe for most people. It can control your appetite, yet increase your metabolism and energy.

However, do not take any herbal supplement without checking with your Doctor first, if you are on any prescription medications, due to possible interactions between the two, or if you have a special medical condition.

If you follow these simple steps, you will surely reach your weight loss goals and become a much happier, healthier, and oh yes, lighter person.

Author Resource:- Ken Black is the founder of Weight Loss Discovery, a site all about http://www.weight-loss-discovery.com.

Your Fastest Easiest Weight Loss Ever!

by Brian Bonito

These days everyone wants to lose weight in a hurry, without any pain. No struggles, just a quick zap and bang, and presto: weight loss magic occurs. Of course that’s not very realistic, but there is a way to lose weight fairly simply and keep it off. I call it the fastest easiest weight loss plan ever.

Weight loss always begins on the inside. You need to make a mental shift in order to be able to create a physical shift. So here’s weight loss rule number one: if you think about taking a short cut, in the long run you will have wasted time.

Simply don’t do it! The back-end result of a shortcut is very often the yo-yo dieting syndrome so many people face. A person will think he can cut corners with diet and exercise, but in the end the weight is back on, and usually more than before.

That’s an ugly thought. And you know you’re better than that, anyway. So what you do is gear up for proper weight loss from the beginning. How? By shifting mental gears and realizing an important point: you will probably be alive four months from now, so if you look your best ever in four months, as opposed to trying to manipulate your body in 4 weeks, you will be much happier with your results.

The fastest easiest weight loss plan ever should yield permanent results, not temporary fixes. Here are 5 steps for your best body ever. Follow these steps and you will lose weight.

Step 1. Assess yourself. Start a journal and take measure of your beginnings. Write down your starting weight, your end weight, and all the things you think you might need to accomplish your weight loss goals. Make a list.

Step 2. Work from that list daily. Things on the list might include beginning daily walks, reducing late night snacks, eating less sugary foods and foods with saturated fat. Increase your water 10-12 cups a day. Cut out sodas, etc. Good diet habits.

Make a daily diet checklist and cross things off as you go.

Step 3. Change your perception. It’s not what you do that makes you overweight. It’s what you’re not doing. What I mean is, the bad foods, although they’re bad, if you added a brisk 20-30 minute walk after your last meal you would help that food digest and filter through your system faster.

You would lose weight, where right now, you are actually gaining it.

Step 4. Stick and move. Most people have a resistance to beginning any activity that might be hard. Stepping out of a comfort zone can be tough. So whether its exercise or diet, or something you’re not comfortable with, get into it slowly, be gradual, warm up to it. This way you can get your weight loss efforts on track in increments.

This takes the pressure of you, and any time limits you set for yourself.

Step 5. Understand progression. Your body is an adaptive mechanism. You may not be efficient at exercise at the beginning, but if you can leverage yourself to take action it gets easier.

Once it does get easier, you must push a little harder, and then a little harder. And you keep going from there. Losing weight gets easier as you progress. You can do more, have more energy, and shrink your waistline very quickly once you get moving.

The fastest easiest weight loss plan ever, starts out slowly and then revs up like a high performance engine in the race of your lifetime. Are you ready take it to the next level?

How To Lose 20 Pounds Quick!

by Brian Bonito
How do you lose 20 pounds quick? Good question. It all depends on where you start. It depends on where you’re coming from and what kind of sacrifices you’re willing to make.

You can lose 7 to 10 pounds in a week, very easily, if you just clean up your eating. I mean really clean it up! We’re talking about drinking clean fluids…that means water. No saturated fats. No processed sugars. Lots of veggies…oh, and a tad bit of exercise. Say walking for 20 minutes a day after your last meal.

That’s a simple, good start. Easy stuff, too.

To lose 20 pounds quick you will need to hold steady on the above plan just a little longer. The first 10 pounds will disappear in about a week or ten days. Much of that will be water. When that’s done, you move a step further.

Next phase: exact same stuff. We’re not talking about killing yourself, here, especially if you haven’t been active for some time. An injury? That would be foolish. What good will the weight loss do if you’ve hurt yourself in the process? I’m guessing it might be depressing.

For your purpose: to lose 20 pounds quick, you don’t even need to join a gym, or lift a single weight. It’s called cleaning up your habits, if only for an abbreviated period of time. To lose weight, a small altering of your mindset is really the only essential. Begin and just stay the course, which is not always easy.

You must follow through. Action is a verb. It is continuous. Small daily adjustments, like the few outlined above are all that’s necessary. We’re talking about how to lose 20 pounds quick, not 100 pounds. You are always moving. The world spins and we move along with it.

We change our circumstances over time, mostly without notice. To effectively lose 20 pounds quick, you need to begin to take notice, to become more self –aware. It starts with the foods you eat, the fluids you drink, and the small steps you decide to engage in.

But it won’t take long. You can truly lose 20 pounds quick if you’re willing to take the very first, magical step. Simply begin.

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How To Lose 80 Pounds Fast!

by Brian Bonito
I had a girlfriend who was 80 pounds overweight. At one point she tipped the scales at 230 pounds. Great girl. She had a lot of guts. She worked hard and was able to lose a ton of weight. She has kept most of the weight off to this day. I’m going to outline her program for you here.

Here are 7 surefire tips on how to lose 80 pounds fast.

Step 1: Get clear with yourself that this is going to happen. For you, failure is not an option. Be strong. Do this by creating a weight loss journal. Write down your starting weight and the weight loss amount for which you desire to arrive.

Step 2: Begin by walking, or cycling, 30-minutes a day, five days every single week. Unlike resistance exercises, this is something that you don’t need instructions for.

This will help you lose weight quickly by kick-starting your metabolism.

Step 3: Do not eat within 2-hours of your bedtime. New dieting method: this is where you start. You’re not going to cut the bad foods out cold turkey, but you can discipline yourself to stay out of the kitchen before bed.

Trouble sleeping? Take Melatonin. It’s found in your health food store.

Step 4: Increase your water intake up until 2 hours before bed. Drink 10-12 glasses of water throughout the day, but stop drinking fluids before bed to avoid having to get up in the middle of your sleep.

Stay sleeping. This will help fend off those midnight snack demons.

Step 5: Join a gym, and go to that gym. You really want to know how to lose 80 pounds fast? Join a community, become a member of a gym. Hold yourself accountable and get to that gym 5 days a week, even if it’s just to walk on the treadmill, for now.

You must be diligent on this one. Push through any known insecurities.

Step 6: Dieting tip. Cut back desserts to just one day a week. This is another tough one. If you can’t do one day right away, make it two days. The 3rd and 7th day of each week, this builds discipline.

When you’re feeling stronger make it just one day. Then decrease the bad foods.

Step 7: Lose weight faster. Be progressive. When the activities on this list become manageable, stretch your efforts further. Not so far that your progress suffers, but make a push to do more. Always be on the lookout to get better.

Add more exercises, get a personal trainer to assist you and begin resistance training.

My girlfriend knew the real secret on how to lose 80 pounds was simply sticking with it. She didn’t do any exotic. No crazy dieting. No weight-watching counselors, no weight loss extravagance. She just decided she was going to do it and then carried out her weight loss plan. You should do the same.

Natural Weight Loss with Raw Foods

by Lambert Klein
Now is the time to think about your weight and health. Is a raw food diet right for you? Well if you want to keep the weight off and remain healthy then it just could be.

Many believe that a raw vegan diet is the natural diet for humans. It seems like people on raw food diets can eat almost as much as they want and still maintain a healthy weight.

Cavemen didn't eat cooked foods until after they learned how to use fire. Then they slowly started to incorperate it into their diets. Once they begin using fire they slowly incorporated cooked foods into their diet.

This appears to make sense. Raw foods contain all the natural enzymes that assist you to completely digest your food without putting excessive strain on your body. Cooked foods have most if not all of the enzymes destroyed. You have to try your best to cut back on processed food. Stay with the healthier fresh fruits and vegetables.

We are all aware of the hormones, preservatives and other unhealthy additives that are in our foods today. This is a significant reason to try to eat organic foods as well.

People on raw food diets seem to be healthier, happier and hardly catch a cold. You do have to make sure you have enough vit-b12 though. Have this checked and take a supplement if necessary.

One healthy food that may be particularly good in helping with weight loss is parsnips. They are high in fiber which makes you feel fuller. Parsnips can lower cholesterol and keep your blood sugar even.

If you definitely want to lose weight and keep it off, then you need to follow a healthy lifestyle. You must get enough exercise and eat healthier. Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs. The only caveman you will see on an elevator or escalator are those on the silly Geico commercials.

Make sure you include healthy oils and fats that contains omega 3. Stay away from the unhealthy ones. Avocados also contain healthy oils.

Try your best to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Slowly start to cut out the cooked foods and meats. Continue on this path and you will start to feel great and wonder why you haven't started this long ago.

After the cavemen discovered fire they had to chase their dinner. Sometimes their "dinner" would chase them. Before they ate meat they had to thoroughly search for other food. I suppose they exercised a bit more than we do today.

We can exercise more by going for walks, swimming, jogging and enjoying sports. Maybe those cavemen aren't receiving all the credit they deserve after all.

You can learn more about natural weight loss at
http://www.1thinkhealthy.com/weightloss-cures-book.html

Article Source: ArticleBazaar.net