I have to admit that I sometimes find it amusing when someone knows I am a trainer and proceeds to elaborate on the hours that they spend in the gym. One example was a few years back when I was introduced to a nice young women, who proceeded to tell me that she went to the gym twice a day, an hour each time. Unless this second hour was spent in the jacuzzi or making up for lost time due to chatting with fellow gym-goers during the earlier timeslot, I would be leary. Instead of being impressed by her exuberant enthusiasm for working out, my thoughts were that one of those hours might be better spent in a counseling office. Excessive exercising is unsafe and a sign of other deep-rooted problems. So, the question remains how many ticks on the clock should pass before you head for the locker room And what compels a person to go way overboard in their exercise routine
First off, if you are one of our valued clients, you already know that the Mom Looks Great program utilizes the thirty to forty-five minute workout. If you have even an inkling of exercise information in your noodle, you atleast know that even twenty minutes a day can benefit your heart. So why are some people intent on doing more, especially when there are serious consequences
The most common problem with over-exercising is injury to muscles and joints. The idea of regular exercise is to appropriately stress the muscle during exercise. This stress places small tears in the muscle, which upon repair, grow in size and strength, also known as hypertrophy. When the muscle is over-exercised, it goes beyond what is appropriate and can actually damage the muscle. Common areas of injury are legs, feet, back and shoulders as well as joints problems that include knees, ankles, elbows and wrists. This can lead to a lifetime of recurring injuries.
Another negative consequence to over-exercising is the compulsion that usually accompanies it. Eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia and other body starving diet tactics are dangerous enough. When you add an addiction of too much exercise to an already detrimental dieting tendency, you are left with the possibility of heart damage from insufficient fuel and nutrients to sustain the workout. While the aforementioned health issues are serious enough, an individual can also develop frequent headaches, loss of coordination and various stomach problems.
Over-exercising is not a physical disorder. While it will affect you physically, it is more of a symptom of depression or other mental illness. And if you think about it, over-exercising, eating disorders, feelings of inadequacy due to poor body image, poor judgment when evaluating priorities are all symptoms of depression. The bottom line here is when your choices begin to compromise your health, happiness or safety it is time to seek out effective counseling.
A lifestyle incorporating exercise is nothing but beneficial in many aspects. People exercise with a goal in mind whether it is to feel better, defuse stress or build muscle. Luckily, in addition to using an appropriate weight intensity during your workout, over-exercising can easily be detected with a simple time evaluation. I advise my clients not to go beyond one hour a day five days a week in a formal gym-type setting; and that is extremely generous. It is also easily controlled when you follow a specific routine. With the Mom Looks Great Fitness Program, you are guided to work different parts of your body throughout the week and have a variety of activities within your exercise regime. And just for good measure, remember that you cannot possibly overdo it by simply strolling your baby in the park or games of tag with your preschoolers. These forms of exercise are most welcome any time.

About The Author

Sherri Dodd is an ACE-certified Personal Trainer and Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant. She is also the creator and author of Mom Looks Great - The Fitness Program for Post Partum Women. With over fifteen years of exercise experience, she is dedicated to a life of fitness as well as encouraging others to seek healthy habits and a better quality of life.

http://www.momlooksgreat.com/

False campaigns
More than 50 percent of Americans and Canadians are overweight or obese. More than a half the advertising campaigns for diet pills and dietary supplements are intentionally false or fail to reveal the truth, according to the FTC. This enormous proportion reveals the dimensions of this money-generating industry. Consumers in North America spend more than $35 billion each year on weight-loss products.
The FDA investigated 300 weight-loss ads from the radio, television, the Internet, magazines, newspapers, e-mail and direct mail. The FDA report concluded that some ads promised significant results without surgery, diet or exercise. Other companies claimed that taking their product would be enough for a quick weight loss. There was no need to eat less or diet. Just take pills.
Fraudulent schemes
The main frauds:
1. Manufacturers promise that their pills will deliver spectacular results, without any effort or exercise. Diet pills are presented as miracles. Just a few mention the FDA-approved diet pill.
2. They fail to admit completely and honestly the risks and side effects.
Many scams have been revealed so far. Here are a few examples:
* Bentley-Myers and three weight-loss products Zymax, MillinesES both containing ephedra, and Serotril containing St. Johns wort were brought under an intense spotlight when the FTC filed a federal court complaint. The FTC alleged that these diet pills caused rapid and substantial weight loss without diet or exercise and with no side effects. An additional charge referred to another dietary supplement, CartazyneDS, containing glucosamine. This was promoted as having the ingredients to cure arthritis and rebuild cartilage in just a few days.
* CortiSlim Lawsuit July 2004 Some CortiSlim TV commercials claimed that the human body is able to manage and normalize weight through Cortisol, the stress hormone. Charging the producer and distributor, public health officials argued that this supplement has no substantiated scientific support.
* Metabolife supplement and brain damages A jury in Houston awarded $7.4 million to a woman who suffered brain damage in a stroke, as a consequence of taking the Metabolife supplement to lose weight. She had been persuaded by commercials that this supplement was safe and had no side effects.
* Mendacious campaigns for the Ephedra-based supplement Trimspa An American hypnotist, Alex Szynalski, and a former Playboy Bunny Anna Nicole Smith joined in a Trimspa commercial which was considered "deceptive advertising" by the New Jersey Attorney General. The hypnotist was accused of luring consumers to his Goen Lose Weight Hypnosis seminars and then tempting them to buy the Trimspa supplements he produced.
* Kava Kava stop sales. Health Canada launched a public warning that this herb, found in supplements and sometimes in food is under suspicion. Its consumption was linked to liver disfunction and toxicity. FDA warned that the Kava extract is delivered under many other names which are difficult to find on the label kava, kava kava, kava-kava, kava root, kava-kava root, kavain, kava pepper, kavapipar, kawa, kawa kawa, kawa pepper, kawapfeffer, maori kava, rhizoma di kava-kava, ava, ava pepper, ava root, awa, gea, gi, intoxicating pepper, intoxicating long pepper, kao, Piper methysticum, Macropiper Latifolium, Piper inebrians, Malohu, maluk, meruk, milik, kew, Rauschpfeffer, sakau, tonga, Wurzelstock, yagona, yangona, yaqona, yongona.
* The invisible Zoller laboratories. Intrigued by the name of diet pills suggested to be taken by Britney Spears, somebody tried to identify the producer of Zantrex 3. Zoller laboratories, apparently producing Zantrex 3, were not listed in any database. They were just a firm created by Basic Research, the company distributing Zantrex 3, for fear that its real name would sound too scientific to the public. The confusion induced by this phantom company nevertheless affected the credibility of the company.

About The Author

Dana Scripca writes for http://www.dietpillscentral.com where you can find more information about Diet Pills.
Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared. mailto: danascri@gmail.com

Bunbury and the South West area of Western Australia or WA is one of the worlds great places to live, with a Mediterranean climate, sandy-white beaches, beautiful native forests and all the infrastructure expected of a modern western society.
Bunbury is the major city in WAs South West region, that is also home to other centres such as Busselton, Margaret River, Donnybrook, Manjimup, Augusta, Pemberton, Collie, Harvey and Bridgetown.
Located 175km south of Perth, the city and its neighboring suburbs have a population of 52,000 and Bunbury is one of Australias fastest growing cities. Bunbury is the commercial hub to WAs "South West", an area that is home to the Margaret River wine region and major coal, alumina and mineral sands industries; a region that boasts around 8,000 businesses and a GDP of over $5 billion. Presently it is about a 2 hour drive from Perth to Bunbury, but this will be reduced by 30 minutes on the completion of the recently announced Bunbury Highway or Peel Deviation.
Western Australia is Australias largest state, comprising about one-third of Australias land mass and occupying over 2.5 million square kilometres in area. WA is divided into 10 regional areas - the South West, Mid West, North West, Peel, Wheatbelt, Great Southern, Goldfields-Esperance, Pilbara, Gascoyne and Kimberley.
Outside Perth, Bunbury is Western Australias next largest city. It boasts a thriving CBD shopping and business area that is these days more famous for its many restaurants and caf

Many people, like yourself, are either victims of or know people who are victims of diabetes. I myself have been diagnosed as Pre-Diabetic, so I have a chance to reverse things if I modify my behavior.
The Cost of Diabetes
"In a recent speech the United States Centers For Disease Control reported that studies show a third of the people born in the USA in the year 2000 will develop diabetes. The projected lifetime risk is about three times higher than the American Diabetes Associations current estimate.
The total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2002 was estimated to be $132 billion, or one out of every 10 health care dollars spent in America. Consider that a three-fold increase in diabetes patients would severely tax the already overburdened health care system and could create real economic disaster.
Two in three people with diabetes will develop heart disease, while others will go blind, get kidney failure, and require amputations. Diabetes is the fifth-leading cause of death by disease in the U.S.
A man diagnosed with diabetes at age 40 will die 12 years sooner than he would have had he not developed the disease, while a woman diagnosed at that age will have 14 years shaved off her lifespan."
--Dr. Alan Tomlinson
So now you see how important it is to get this disease in check.
Anyone with diabetes, or pre-diabeties should eat sensibly, lower their sugar intake, get plenty of exercise and proper nutrition.
So what does the diabetic need to include in their diet to help them take control
A Multi-Vitamin Complex
Studies have shown that taking a multi-vitamin can increase the overall health prospects of diabetics.
Chromium
Chromium stimulates the insulin receptors on the cells allowing the glucose to be used by the cells. The most beneficial form of chromium GTF Glucose Tolerance Factor.
Vanadium and Molybdenum
These important minerals also assist in the metabolism of sugars. Although they are needed in smaller amounts they are just as critical to the process.
Calcium, Potassium and Magnesium
The electrolyte minerals are essential to many of the biochemical processes that go on every day allowing our bodies to heal and grow stronger. Many of these processes affect the hormonal and immune systems. Proper functioning of these systems is key to a diabetics health.
The diabetes epidemic in this country has not been stopped. The prospects are devastating, but there is hope. Lifestyle changes and proper nutrition can halt this plague.
Part 2 will discuss Chromium and its benefits to the diabetic.
Sources:
The Tomlinson Newsletter
www.yomack.com/defense A forum for diabetics and their families

About The Author

Ms. McDonald is a programmer with 14 years of professional experience. She is also a distributor of natural health products including the Diabetic Pack which has been proven in clinical studies to lower blood sugar 30% in 30 days.
www.DiabeticDefense.com
www.EnterTheFoodMatrix.com
sportron@yomack.com

Both men and women around the world are becoming fatter and its partly because of our modern lifestyle, too much fatty food and too little exercise. Some people say, Why should it matter if Im overweight as long as I feel okay But being overweight does matter because it increases the risk of health problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. Being at a healthy weight on the other hand, can help lower blood pressure, make you feel better and give you more energy. If you need to lose some weight, heres some good advice from the National Heart Foundation.
Change your eating habits gradually
Everyone knows that losing weight partly involves cutting down on foods which contain a lot of fat. But this doesnt mean you have to change your eating habits overnight. Youre more likely to make permanent changes to your diet if you make them gradually. Allow two weeks to stop eating biscuits with tea or coffee, for instance. When youre comfortable with this change, make another such as using less butter or margarine on bread, or switching to using low fat milk.
Remember you dont have to exercise strenuously
The secret of successful weight control is a combination of sensible eating and regular exercise. Aim for 30 minutes at least four times a week. You dont have to do 30 minutes all at once. Its okay to do ten minutes exercise three times a day. Walking, swimming and cycling are good.
Dont expect to lose weight quickly
Its quite common to lose weight one week and then lose none the next week. If you are exercising, you may find your weight doesnt drop at all. This is because your body is gaining more muscle which weighs more than fat. Youll still continue to lose fat and tone up, even if the scales dont show any weight loss. The way your clothes fit is a better guide to weight loss than weighing yourself all the time. As long as you are keeping to your plan of regular exercise and less fatty food, periods of no weight loss dont usually last more than two weeks.
Eating to lose weight
Fruit, vegetables, beans and lentils are the foods to eat most of every day. By filling up with these healthy, satisfying foods, youll be less likely to want fatty snacks. You need only moderate amounts of meat, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, dairy products. A moderate serve of meat, poultry or fish takes up about one quarter of your plate. If you eat dairy foods, choose reduced or low fat varieties. Use only small amounts of margarine, fat reduced spreads, butter, lard and cooking oils. Drink only a little alcohol.
Reducing fat in your meals
Trim all fat from meat and remove fat and skin from poultry before cooking. Use low fat cooking methods such as grilling, steaming, baking, stir-frying in as little oil as possible, microwaving or using non-stick frying pans. Avoid fried or deep fried foods. Let soups, casseroles and curries cool - this makes the fat harden on top so you can remove it before reheating. Snack on fresh fruit but limit cakes, biscuits, pastries, chocolate and packet snack foods.
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You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

About The Author

Paul Marsland and his wife Annette have been working as wellness coaches for the last 3 years. Using scientifically proven, balanced nutritious programmes they help people lose weight and improve their health, energy and vitality safely and effectively. For more information visit:

http://slim-n-trim.org/refid=artcit-30495

ezybucks4u@hotmail.com

Size and Self-Acceptance for Achieving Healthy Weight
If we let ourselves, we may start to believe that magazine cover girls whose photos are air-brushed and trimmed in, mind you! are the norm and that the rest of us are somehow deeply flawed. What we get then is the soundtrack "I hate myself" or "I hate what I see in the mirror" playing over and over again in our heads, fueling our endless dieting cycles and painful frustration.
"If you are caught up in not liking yourself because of your size, it quickly starts whittling away at your motivation," says Marsha Hudnall, MS, RD, Green Mountains program director. "That inner voice makes you feel helpless and hopeless."
Self-Acceptance: The Key to Achieving a Healthy Weight
If we are to have any measure of success, it is crucial that we permanently press stop on that soundtrack and work to genuinely accept our sizes and, by extension, ourselves. Hudnall, who has more than 20 years experience in the weight management field, knows this can be a tough sell for women with lifetime struggles with weight. But shes not suggesting that size acceptance means denying the importance of healthy weights.
Denial is not acceptance. Rather, self-acceptance means adopting a non-judgmental attitude toward yourself. Its the ability to see things as they are in the moment without harmful, self-critical voices interrupting your view of yourself. Hudnall has seen it again and again in women who come to Green Mountain: Self-acceptance is instrumental to reaching your healthy, natural weight. "Size-acceptance means focusing on the things you like about yourself while working to modify what you dont like," she says.
For women who have been listening to the self-disgust soundtrack forever, size acceptance is also pretty scary. Does accepting yourself the way you are imply that change may be impossible Mimi Francis, the behavioral health therapist at Green Mountain, has a simple response to those doubts. It should resonate even with the most diet-savvy cynics. "How well has not liking yourself worked so far" she asks. The truth is, it hasnt. In fact, if you dislike your body, its that much easier to abuse it.
So the aim then is to get your attitude to work for you, not against you. Self-acceptance means acknowledging where you are now, and not repeating the mantra "Ill like my body when

Some things are as boring as the dust that clings to your TV screen.
Take toothpaste, for example. If you happen to be a radical mint enthusiast, brushing your teeth might be the highlight of your day. You might have the shiniest teeth in town. You might not want to interrupt your brushing for dinner... unless the menu includes mint jelly p

Imagine this scenario by the end of next August...
You contact your favorite supplement distributor to purchase some of your usual vitamins and other supplements and you find out that they have all been banned!
Gone.
The joint support supplement you depended upon to keep your knees healing and pain free is now gone. The vitamins you loved to take to keep your energy level high and immune system strong - all gone.

Are you aware that one of the most important indicators of heart disease is homocysteine -1
A naturally occurring amino acid in your body, homocysteine can cause inflammation and damage to your blood vessels when levels become elevated because of a functional deficiency of B vitamins and Folic Acid. -2
Every week we read or hear about heart disease being one of the biggest health concerns facing America today. Most people have experienced this problem because they know a friend or family member with one of these health problems.
In many cases, they may be facing one of these conditions themselves.
Would it be fair to say you really want to take control of and improve your health
All it takes is a special blood test just like a test for cholesterol levels, to measure the level of homocysteine in your blood. It is NOT a routine test so do yourself a favor and ask your Doctor for the test.
Also this test may not be covered by your insurance

The overweight and obesity epidemic is a worldwide problem. There are no official statistics for spending on diet products, but estimates vary from $40 to $100 billion in the US alone, much of that on scams and fad diets that promise the impossible.
Research shows that 95% of people who have lost weight find that they regain it back when they return to their normal eating habits.
According to the Center for Disease Controls Chronic Disease Center, in 1991 in the United States, only four states had an obesity prevalence of 15 percent to 19 percent. In 2003, 15 states had an obesity prevalence of 15 to 19 percent, 31 states had an obesity prevalence of 20 to 24 percent, and four states had a prevalence of 25 percent or more.
Major medical problems associated with obesity include gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, and osteoarthritis.
If that isnt incentive enough to lose that excess weight statistics show that overweight people are usually given lower paying jobs, get lower salaries, receive little in raises, and are, as a whole, looked down upon by 40 percent of fellow employees and employers.
In 2002 The American Heart Association reported that more than 10 percent of US children ages 2 to 5 are overweight. That is up from 7 percent in 1994. The situation is probably even worse now, said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, president-elect of the heart association and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado.
The obesity problem among children has increased with school-age children as well. Four million children ages 6 to 11 and 5.3 million in age group 12 to 19 have increased by 75 percent from 1991.
Food habits adopted in childhood can be hard to change. As a result hypertension and high cholesterol leading to heart disease, strokes, and diabetes are going to become the nations top health problem with people of all ages within 10 to 30 years. These are ailments that usually afflict the middle age to elderly population. More than a million new cases of diabetes are already being diagnosed each year, says the American Diabetic Association.
Nearly 30 percent of American adults are overweight and another 30 percent are obese, according to University of Minnesota researchers. Obesity is usually described as a weight 20 percent greater than the persons desirable weight.
A study by the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle revealed that 60% of overweight women, and 70% of obese women, are likely to become pregnant while taking the pill. The researchers suggest that a higher metabolism is the reason, causing the medication to be effective for a shorter length of time. Or, that the drug interacts with the bodys hormones in a way that the drug becomes trapped in the body fat instead of circulating in the bloodstream.
Studies with obese pregnant women show they are 50% more likely to die during pregnancy than those of normal weight. Complications such as miscarriage, gestational diabetes, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, pre-term labor, and stillbirth are also more common. Preliminary evidence shows that babies are also adversely affected, and are more likely to be obese themselves in later life.
Fast foods: Studies show that people who frequent fast food outlets twice a week or more gained 36 pounds over the course of 15 years compared to 26 pounds for those that frequented them once a week or less.
A major factor for the obesity crisis is a sedentary lifestyle, not enough exercise, and the eating of high calorie fast foods in place of nutritious natural food products.
Fast food is designed to promote consumption of the maximum number of calories in the minimum amount of time. This upsets the bodys normal metabolism. One solution is to eat smaller, more nutritious, meals more frequently throughout the day.
Physical activity reduces the effects of being overweight, but healthy eating habits have to be followed to prevent disease associated with poor nutrition according to an expert of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.
The new diet guidelines set by the Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is basically a balanced diet and good old fashioned exercise. They stress more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and limit fats, sugar, alcohol, and salt.
Many supermarkets are open 24 hours a day making a choice of healthy food available at all times.
For more tips on how to lose weight safely see The Secret to Weight Loss at: http://www.apluswriting.net/diettips/diettips.htm
Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney

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About The Author

Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment. Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
marilynp@nctc.net