Finding a Real Weight Loss Program in a Sea of Fad Diets

Finding a Real Weight Loss Program in a Sea of Fad Diets

If you’re overweight and serious about taking action, it’s important that you choose the right diet for your needs. Choosing the wrong diet can not only hinder your ability to get the weight off, but it can also make it near impossible to keep it off. The fastest fat burning diets are not necessary the best. Studies show that the most effective and long-term weight loss programs are actually the ones that cause you to lose weight more slowly. The long-term results are the most important when it comes to your health and well-being. While it can often be difficult to stay motivated when only losing one or two pounds per week, this is the number one way to get the weight off, keep it off, and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Consider these three diet programs when choosing your method of weight loss.

Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers works on a points system. While you are allowed enough points to stay full throughout the day, this program focuses on what you’re putting into your body, rather than how much. Food items are awarded a certain amount of points based on factors such as protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber, calories, and the amount of time it will take to burn. Generally, the lowest costing products will be more nutrient rich and fill you up for longer. This system owes its success in part to the accountability aspect. While participating in the Weight Watchers program, dieters are regularly weighed in and attend meetings with other dieters. This aspect of the program offers an incentive to stick to the program and strive for results before the next weigh-in.

The Biggest Loser Diet
The Biggest Loser Diet is a weight loss program series of books that are associated with “The Biggest Loser” TV show. The idea behind this diet is simple; reduce your caloric intake and be physically active. It doesn’t take a weight loss professional to know that you will lose weight if you consume less calories than you burn. The downside to this diet is that average Joes like you and I don’t have the motivation and incentives that the contestants on the show have. Cameras, monetary incentives and an array of experts coaching them through the process might give them a leg up on us. However, if you can keep yourself motivated, the idea behind this weight loss program is about as basic as it gets, and it will work if you put the effort into it.

Raw Foods Diet
The Raw Foods Diet requires a disciplined individual in order to be successful. Dieters are required to cut out foods that have been processed, cooked, irradiated, microwaved, or genetically engineered. This diet works on the knowledge that cooking destroys the vitamin and nutrient content in foods. By committing yourself to eating only fruits, vegetables, sprouts, nuts, seeds, unpasteurized milk, raw fish, and other qualifying raw foods, you will consume a considerably small amount of calories and almost certainly lose weight. However, you will also have to learn how to prepare your foods and drinks in order to adhere to the diet’s strict guidelines.

No matter how much weight you would like to lose, there is a diet out there for you. While fad diets are often a waste of time and money, some diets seek to simply provide guidelines for what and how much you should eat in order to gain their benefits. No matter which diet you choose, reducing portion sizes, reducing calorie intake, and maintaining an active lifestyle is the number one way to live a healthier, longer life.

What Your BMI Really Means

BMI - Body Mass Index - is a quick and easy way of identifying potential weight problems in adults. To calculate a person's BMI, you take their weight in kilograms and divide it by their height in metres squared.

Although a person's BMI does not provide clear measure of exactly how much body fat is present in an individual, studies show that people with higher levels of body fat will also have higher BMI figures, making it sufficiently reliable in most circumstances.

A 'normal' BMI value is between 18.5 and 24.9. A person with a BMI value below this range would be considered underweight, while anyone with a figure higher than 24.9 would be considered overweight.

An individual with a BMI of more than 30 would be classified as obese and therefore at increased risk of weight-related health problems, while anyone with a value higher than 40 would be considered extremely obese and advised to take immediate action to reduce their weight.

The higher your BMI figure, the more likely you are to develop weight-related health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and certain forms of cancer.

The idea that the ratio of a person's height and weight could be an indicator of health was first developed by Belgian statistician Adolphe Quetelet in 1832. Initially known as the Quetelet Index, the system was adopted by the World Health Organization in 1995 and renamed the Body Mass Index.

Although BMI provides a broad indication of the level of body fat in most individuals, it does have a number of limitations. Most crucially, BMI is not able to account for muscle mass and, as muscle tissue is denser and therefore heavier than fat tissue, certain individuals can receive results indicating they are overweight, despite being in excellent health.

In particular boxers, weight lifters, rugby players, and other athletes with low body fat levels and large amount of muscle will often register readings suggesting they are overweight. One study of gold medal winners at the 2004 Olympics in Athens found at least 15 had such high BMI figures that they would actually rank as obese.

Age and gender also play a role. If a woman and a man have the same BMI, the woman will usually have a higher proportion of body fat. Similarly, an older person with a particular BMI will generally have a higher proportion of body fat that a younger person with the same BMI figure.

BMI also fails to take into account the way fat is distributed around a person's body. Someone with a large amount of excess weight around their waist will considerably be less healthy than someone whose excess weight is spread evenly over their entire body.

However, two such individuals could have identical BMI figures - despite having completely different body shapes and therefore different levels of health risk.

The best way to approach BMI is to see it as just one of a number of measures that you can use to assess the state of your health.

Written by Dan Richard, a sports and gym enthusiast writing about weight loss.

Make Up Trends Over The Years

Today, it seems that with your eye make-up, almost anything goes.

You can go for the natural look like Jennifer Anniston,  enhance your eyes and lashes with just a flick of mascara – the whole effect being that you are just working on your natural beauty rather than creating a whole new look for yourself.

At the other end of the scale we have the Goth make-up look. Think heavy black eyeliner, pale white skin, dramatic lashes and dark, dark lips.

How Flappers Changed Make-Up In The Roaring 1920s

In the 19th Century, make-up was frowned upon and women strived for a natural look. Then in the roaring 1920s the flapper girl ,with her new sense of emancipation and fashionably short shingled hair, started to wear heavy eyeliner to enhance the eyes.

In the 1930s the film star Marlene Dietrich made heavily plucked eyebrows fashionable and the whole aim was to have eyebrows that were just a thin line – overplucked eyebrows sometimes never recover however as some women found to their costs.

Black Eye Liner Was A Must In The 1950s

Bold eyemake up became less popular in the 1940s, with lipstick becoming a favourite cosmetic but with the rise of rock and roll in the 1950’s and the beehive hairdo, black eyeliner again became right on trend, flicked up along the outer corners of the eye to achieve a cat’s eye effect, along with heavy black eyelashes.
In the 1960’s false eyelashes and big, big eyes were the look to have, populised by famous models such as Twiggy. A long heavy fringe accentuated the eyes too, as did shimmery eye shadows.

The 1970s lessened the look of eyeliner and eyelashes but instead coloured eyeshadows, particularly in shades of blue, was a key look. Watch the original episodes of the TV series Charlie’s Angels and you’ll see what was right on trend.

Men In Eye Make Up

The 1980s saw New Romantic music take centre stage and along with this came the popularity of eye make up for men, who started to sport kohl –rimmed eyes – think Duran Duran, Adam and The Ants. Women also weren’t considered properly made up without thick kohl eyeliner and despite the best attempts of beauty editors, many women would rather not go out than be seen without eyeliner and mascara, as it enhances features and gives confidence to many.   Coloured mascaras in blues and purples was also popular – the Princess of Wales was a keen user of blue mascara who used it to enhance her bright blue eyes and give them extra depth.

Come the 1990s and the Millenia, the focus on the eyes seems to settle a bit. However cosmetic procedures on the eyes, for example removing under eye bags and tightening lines, also using Botox to tighten up the facial skin became increasingly popular and more affordable.

Charlotte blogs about fashion and beauty for leading provider of glasses online Direct Sight.