The Natural Health Blog

Slimming concerns have been on the mind of many women in our modern society. They want to lose weight due to both health and beauty reasons. Being overweight may lead to various health risks such heart disease, stroke or diabetes.

On top of that, our culture appears to reward those who look slim. Those who look slim are perceived to be beautiful. Perhaps that may have something to do with our media. The slim model or the slim actress is beautiful. And as these celebrities are role models, consumers tend to want to be like them. So they go out of their way to try and be slim.

One of the methods that they use is liposuction. Liposuction has become a very popular method to lose excess fat. It is a surgical process that allows the doctor to remove excess fat. This process can achieve dramatic results in a very short time span. However, the cost can be steep, the results short-lived, and there are several risks involved.

First of all, similar to any type of surgery, there is always the risk of infection. Infection occurs when an open wound has failed to heal properly, and bacteria starts to infect the wounded area. A mild infection can cause a lot of pain and irritation, while a severe infection can be life threatening.

Embolism is another type of complication that may arise. Embolism occurs when loose fat enters the blood stream through a punctured blood vessel. Blood vessels may be punctured during surgery. The fat then travels in the blood stream to other parts of the body such as the lungs or the brain. Embolism may cause disability or in a severe case, cause fatality.

During a surgery, visceral perforations may occur. This is the medical term for wounding organs during a surgery. As the surgery progresses, the doctor is unable to see where the probe is, and may end up injuring an organ. If that happens, further surgery may be required to repair the damaged organs. Severely damaged organs may even lead to fatality.

Also, after a liposuction surgery, a patient may experience skin necrosis. The skin directly above the liposuction site is dead and starts to fall off. This, in turn, may lead to infection.

The above are just several examples of the risks that are associated with liposuction. Patients not only have to pay a bomb for the surgery fees, they also have to undertake many risks that come hand in hand with surgery.

Fortunately, there is a safe and painless alternative - the body wrap. A product such as the LIPOWRAP (tm) offers a safe, painless, and cheaper alternative to liposuction. You can apply the wrap to any part of the body you want, at any time of the day. It is easy to use, and convenient to bring along while traveling.

A body wrap like LIPOWRAP (tm) can also be used to firm up loose skin. Women who have loose skin after pregnancy or surgery will most certainly find this slimming solution very useful.

Are you tired of changing in the dark because you are shy to show your husband your post-pregnancy body? These exercises after pregnancy, are designed to define and tone your most problematic areas to get rid of baby lumps and bumps. All you need is 15 minutes daily to win back your body!

For perky breasts after breast-feeding and toned arms:

Wall push ups

For a great arm and breast toning exercise after pregnancy, try the wall push-up. This is an easy yet very effective exercise designed to work the pectoral muscles behind your chest and will work to firm sagging muscles. It also utilizes all the muscles in your arms, from the biceps to the triceps, as you push your body weight against the wall.

Pic 1 - Find a wall and stand at arm's length with feet hip distance apart. Place your hands in front of your shoulders.

Pic 2 - Slowly bend your elbows as you bring your body closer to the wall then slowly straighten out your arms.

Do 6x to start, 3 reps. Slowly working up to 15x, 2 reps.

Plank (intermediate)

The plank is a well-known exercise in both Pilates and yoga. It is one of the most popular exercises for developing core strength and stability as well as the arms, bottom and legs. It is a full body challenge, so please ensure that you read the instructions properly and build up your upper body strength with wall push-ups first before attempting it. You will know that you're doing the plank well when you have good form, feel your centre working and have good shoulder stabilization without being rigid.

Pic 1 - Begin on your knees and walk your hands out on the floor, allowing your legs to stretch out behind you.

Pic 2 - Place hands under your shoulders, keep your body level and your feet hip distance apart. Draw your belly button towards your spine and don't stick your bottom up in the air.

Hold for 5 counts to start, slowly working yourself to 10 then 15 counts.

For a flat tummy:

Roll ups

This is like a sit-up except that it is gentle on your back and works more effectively as there is no pressure on your legs and you are working your abs 100% when you get up. It is a great post pregnancy exercise to do.

1. Lie on floor with feet hip distance apart and arms straight up towards the wall.

2. Take a deep breath and exhale as you "peel" your back off the floor, stretching your arms towards your feet.

Do 10x.

Side-twists

This is a great exercise post pregnancy that works your sides, giving you a smaller waist and works to give you sexy muscle definition on the sides of your tummy.

1. Lie down and bring knees 90 degrees to your tummy and support your head up with your hands.

2. Take a deep breath and exhale as you point your opposite elbow to your opposite knee and vice versa, making sure to keep your lower back against the floor.

Do 6x, working your way up to 10x slowly.

For nice, firm bottoms:

Squats

This post pregnancy exercise utilizes the abdominals for stability and is mostly a lower body exercise. Initiate the squat from your hips by sitting back and down, keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet. Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately parallel to the ground, then press back up to starting position. Keeping your weight more towards your heels is the key factor to protect your knees from injury and develop strong injury-resistent knee joints.

Pic 1 - Standing with feet hip distance apart and hands on hips or straight for balance.

Pic 2 - Slowly lower yourself until thighs are parallel to floor then slowly stand upright.

Do 6x to start, 3 reps. Slowly working up to 15x, 3 reps.

Lunges

The benefits of lunges, when done correctly, include well-defined thighs and a bottom that will defy gravity! It also works your abs as you keep your balance while performing your lunges. Always stand upright with chest out and head up. When you lunges forward, you want to stay tight with your abs firmly drawn in. You should feel a stretch in your bottom and front thigh and try not to take too big steps such that you are one-step away from splitting your pants.

Pic 1 - Standing with feet hip distance apart and hands on hips.

Pic 2 - Take a big step forward, bending the front knee and lowering the back knee towards the floor, keeping front heel down and knee directly over the center of the foot.

Do 6x to start, 3 reps. Slowly working up to 15x, 3 reps.

For sexy, defined legs:

This is my self-designed Pilates routine to stretch every muscle in your legs - from the toes to your hamstrings. It is an easy to do post pregnancy exercise that will tighten your bottom, work on your thighs and calves as well as define your waist.

Single leg stretch

Pic 1 - Lie on your side in a straight line with legs on top of each other and hand in front of chest for balance. Keep abs and bottom tight. Raise top leg until it is in line with your hips.

Pic 2 - Then bring bottom leg up to touch top leg.

Do 6x

Double leg stretch

Pic 1 - Lie on your side in a straight line with legs on top of each other and hand in front of chest for balance. Keep abs and bottom tight.

Pic 2 - Raise both legs until they are in line with your hips.

Do 6x

Leg scissors

Pic 1 - Lie on your side in a straight line with legs on top of each other and hand in front of chest for balance. Keep abs and bottom tight.

Pic 2 - Scissor legs slowly from front to back.

Do 6x

When it comes to the world of dieting you will find that there are many diet, weight loss, and fitness plans on the market. It takes years for some to become a contender and others remain a best-kept secret of sorts. One such 'best kept' secret would be the 3 Hour Diet that was designed by Jorge Cruise. I am sure that there are many reading along and chuckling under your breath that there is no way one can lose weight by eating every three hours however the science behind the theory is fairly common and Jorge Cruise is a mainstay in the fitness industry.

The long and short of this diet operates with the knowledge that if you do not feed your body accurately and regularly your body will go into what is called 'starvation mode'. In this mode your body holds onto the fat rather than burning it up and consuming it for use. This means that your body is burning muscle rather than fat to take the energy it needs in order to function.

With the 3 Hour Diet you will not feel hungry all the time, in fact, there are many who claim they are constantly setting alarms and reminding themselves to eat. You will also learn the proper foods to eat in order to achieve the best possible results. The key is in learning which foods are right for you when dieting with this plan. You can purchase the book The 3-Hour Diet by Jorge Cruise and you can sign up online for more information about the weight plan itself and how to incorporate it into your busy routine.

I do recommend purchasing the book if you are seriously considering this as your method of dieting as there are many wonderful hints, tips, and tricks that are mentioned in the book to help you keep things going no matter how busy and hectic your lifestyle may be. One thing you need to keep in mind is that dieting with a program such as this is no small commitment. You need to stick to the timetable as much as possible in order to achieve the results this plan is famous for. If you aren't willing to eat every three hours then this plan really may not be the plan for you.

Otherwise, if this is something you would be interested in, I highly recommend it. There are special considerations based on the amount you weight currently and the amount of weight you are hoping to lose. It is best if you are honest throughout the process in order to achieve the best possible and most immediate results. The claim is that you can lose as many as 10 pounds in the first two weeks and there are those that have claimed to do just that over and over again. This is a diet that even many celebrities endorse for quick and immediate results.

The good and the bad about 3 hour dieting is that it is effective but takes a very real commitment on the part of the one that is dieting. This diet is one that is taking the world by storm. If you haven't heard of it before now, please take the time to check it out and see if this is something you could incorporate into your life. The results that have been reported as a result of this diet as nothing short of phenomenal. If there were one diet I would recommend above others for those who hate feeling hungry, it would be this diet.

You have long been told that excess weight leads to health problems but even more significant to your health is how that fat is distributed on your body.

Researchers who followed 360,000 people for 10 years found that having too much belly fat doubled the person’s risk of dying prematurely.

And this risk increased with belly fat, whether the person was overweight or within a normal weight range.

So how do you know if your belly is too fat and becoming a health risk? The answer can be found not by stepping on the scale but rather by pulling out your measuring tape.

How much you weigh is not as strong of a factor as how big your belly is. To determine if your belly is too fat measure your waist circumference. Simply place a tape measure around your waist at a level one inch above your belly button. A waist measurement of 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women puts you in the higher risk category.

Men and women with waist measurements above 40 and 35 inches respectively have nearly double the risk of premature death as men and women with smaller diameter waists.

Researchers also found that risk increased with every 2-inch increase in waist measurement. And the risk increase was significant with close to a 17% increase in death in men and a 13% increase in women.

With the right combination of diet and exercise along with the right mindset belly fat can be reduced, reducing the risk of premature death. The solution doesn’t have to be hard but you must work to make weight loss fit into your lifestyle. Short-term weight loss programs will not rid your body of the deep belly fat that is called visceral fat. Visceral means organs so this fat is deep and wrapped around your abdominal organs making in more dangerous than other fat found below the skin.

This type of deep belly fat responds best to long-term weight loss; in order to achieve this you must not only change your diet and exercise but also your mindset when it comes to food, eating and moving your body. To do this you need to develop a strong desire to lose weight, believe that long-term weight loss is possible, commit to a plan and be flexible enough to see that plan through. Make sure that you find a weight loss program that addresses your mindset as well as proper eating and exercise advice.

While many overweight people find it difficult to shed extra pounds, those who are underweight face their own challenges trying to keep each pound and add more. The good news for those trying to gain weight is that adding pounds is easier than losing pounds.

Why is it so tough to gain or lose weight?

When I was under-30, I weighed in at 142 lbs at 5 feet 8 inches. I was pretty lean and could eat everything that wasn't nailed down, withour gaining an ounce! I wanted to gain weight in the worst way but there just was not any information available about how to do it. When I crossed the 30 mark, mysteriously I began to put on weight.

I found out that the culprit was my metabolic rate. Metabolic rate is simply how quickly the body burns calories. My metabolic rate had simply slowed down after I hit the big-three-o.

Your metabolism is responsible for regulating the rate at which your body consumes food or stores food as fat on your body. If you have ever wondered why some people are able to pig out and never gain a pound, or why some people put on several pounds simply by eating normally, the answer is the body's metabolic rate. The more efficiently your metabolism functions, the more efficiently it burns through calories. It follows then, the more you understand how to manipulate your metabolism, the easier it will be to gain weight.

Weight gain can come from eating more rich and tasty fat-laden foods; a decrease in activity level; a subtle change in the rate that your body burns calories. Studies show that even the most inactive people can gain significant health benefits if they accumulate 30 minutes or more of physical activity per day. Whether you are trying to lose weight or gain it, you should understand the important role of physical activity and include it in your lifestyle.

Genetics and other factors affect how your body uses the calories you consume. Still, the only way to gain weight is by taking in more calories than you burn.

In a study of holiday weight gain, people who reported being much more active maintained their weight or even lost weight during the holidays. Those who reported being less active gained the most during this period.

Gaining any more than 1 or 2 pounds a week is unhealthy and means you're putting on way to much fat. So look for a 1 or 2 pound gain at the end of the week. I know that does not sound like much but it works out to gaining 5-8 pounds a month!

So, you want that perfect bod? First, ask your doctor! Do it yourself weight manipulation can cause serious health problems. You knew that, right?

A good approach might be to venture into the bodybuilding community. There you will find many people, like yourself, also seeking ways to put on lean muscle mass (weight). You will also find many products marketed to help you gain weight. Be very cautious when looking at these products. Gaining weight may not be as in demand as losing weight but it is still big business and there are a lot of companies out there looking to take your money. While some of these products can help, others aren't necessary.

The best advice? Always, always, always, ask your doctor before trying to become the next Ms. or Mr. Universe!