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I really like Dr. Phil, so I wanted to like his new book on weight loss. And I do like some of it, however, there’s a big problem with the chapter on what to eat. Dr. Phil proposes exactly the same eating plan for everyone. This will NOT work!

His plan may include too many calories for some people, mostly small-framed people. I was actually eating a very similar amount of food at one time, watching my fat intake carefully, eating plenty of fiber, and my weight wouldn’t budge. When I joined Weight Watchers, I learned that I was eating too much (for someone my size) to lose weight. After following their suggestions, I eventually lost 40 pounds and have maintained a healthy weight for almost 5 years.

Dr. Phil’s plan also actually provides too few calories for many people to be successful. Sound impossible? Let me explain.

Your body needs a certain number of calories to sustain normal functions like pumping blood, breathing, and digesting food (called your basal metabolic rate, or BMR.) This need actually depends on your current weight. The heavier you are, the more calories your body needs just to function, even at rest. There are several websites to visit for a BMR calculator and more information on this subject. You also burn calories during exercise; your adjusted caloric needs including your activity level is called the AMR (active metabolic rate). Some of the sites you’ll find will calculate both your BMR and AMR, so keep looking if you don’t see AMR on the first one you hit. As you lose weight, your BMR and AMR will drop.

We all know that if we eat too much, we gain weight. We also all know that if we eat way too little, we can starve to death. But somewhere in between, we can lose weight healthfully. Our bodies are smart enough to know where that range is and to protect us if we eat too little. (It also tries to protect us from eating too much. That’s what feeling uncomfortably stuffed is all about!) If you eat a little below your AMR, you can lose weight healthfully. If you eat farther below, your body will protect you by reducing your BMR (and AMR) to conserve energy, and you’ll stop losing weight. Eat too far below, and you’ll start losing again-but you’re starving yourself.

What does this mean? You must eat enough to lose weight healthfully! If you eat too few calories, you’ll likely either get stuck on a plateau, or you’ll lose weight too fast with potential health consequences. A healthy rate of weight loss is no more than 2 pounds per week average, after the first 2-3 weeks on a plan. A good recommendation for healthy weight loss is to eat 500 calories under your AMR (not below your BMR!) and to remember to recalculate your needs as you lose weight (recalculate after every 25 pounds lost, if you get stuck and are not losing, or if you increase your activity significantly).

Dr. Phil doesn’t provide different plans based on your starting weight and activity level, and he is against counting calories (or exchanges or Points.) But without knowing your approximate AMR and calculating the calories (or exchanges or Points) in a food plan, it’s impossible to know how much food to eat to start out. And without recalculating your AMR as you lose and adjusting your food plan accordingly, it’s difficult to keep losing weight at the proper rate. He makes no mention of changing your food plan until you reach your final goal. But people who have a significant amount to lose will need to adjust their calorie intake several times before reaching goal.

One size does NOT fit all! Frankly I am quite surprised nobody told him this before he published! If you are serious about losing weight healthfully, either calculate this for yourself or join a program (like Weight Watchers) where they teach you how much to eat without restricting your food choices. With just a little information about yourself and your body, you can do this RIGHT.

About The Author

Dale Reynolds is a weight loss counselor from update New York. She has written a book, “A Slim Book On Weighty Matters”, about weight management and has a website with great tips and a free newsletter, www.slimdale.com

dale@slimdale.com

Tags: Diet, dieting, Dr. phil, Exercise, Fitness, fitness guru, food, Health, NutritionDiet, dieting, Dr. phil, Exercise, Fitness, fitness guru, food, Health, Nutrition

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1. Stop smoking.

All the experts agree on this one. Ever since 1960 when it was announced that smoking was harmful to your health, people have been reducing their use of tobacco products. Just recently, we’ve seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Warn your children of the false romance or ‘tough guy’ image of smokers. Find ways to quit smoking such as hypnosis and support groups.

2. Eat foods rich in beta-carotenes.

They can cut your risk of a stroke by 40 percent. Foods rich in beta-carotenes include carrots, cabbage, winter squash, sweet potatoes, dark leafy greens, apricots, and seaweed.

3. Exercise.

Make it your daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it’s a stress buster. Think ‘move’ in small increments of time. It doesn’t have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that’s great when you’re up to it. Move more and feel better!

4. Avoid restrictive diets.

Frequent dieting, fasting, binging and purging imbalance your electrolyte levels, causing weakening of the heart muscle and damage to the heart.

5. Reduce your exposure to pollution.

If you can’t live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It’s a good pollution deterrent.

6. Don’t drink too much alcohol.

Whilst it is true that a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more alcohol than that, or binge drinking on a night out, can cause other serious health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer.

7. Reduce stress.

Stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e., go back to number one above!, exercise is a great stress reducer, Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible.

8. Cut down on fat.

Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise.

9. Keep a positive mental outlook.

There’s a definitive connection between living well and healthily and having a cheerful outlook on life. Yes, keep on smiling and laughing!

10. Avoid processed foods.

The food industry aims at making products look and taste appealing without thought to the products’ nutritional value. Loaded with chemical additives and designed to be addictive, processed food is manufactured first for profit.

Stay clear of them!!!

Tim Godfrey is co-author of the healthy dieting book -’Mediterranean Diet Secrets’.

To receive all the latest dieting news and learn more about the book visit: http://www.mediterraneandietsecrets.com

Tags: Diet, mediterranean diet, Nutrition, weightlossDiet, mediterranean diet, Nutrition, weightloss

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Reproductive health problems are increasing dramatically.

Breast cancer has reached epidemic levels in the U.S. and is increasing globally. Fibroids, cysts, endometrial cancers, menopausal problems and PMS are everywhere increasing.

Estrogen dominance is not just a women’s health problem. Men, believing themselves exempt from the above, are actually equally at risk.

A large number of men, (and their women) are dissatisfied with declining male sexual performance. Ads everywhere promise renewed vigor: Viagra is a $1 billion producer.

In recent years, scientific evidence has accumulated concerning hormonelike effects of many common chemicals in animals and humans.

Birds, panthers, turtles, fish, and people have turned up with deranged sex characteristics.

Perhaps the best known of these studies involves the alligators in Lake Apopka, Florida.

Now, being a male alligator was never real exciting, but now it’s intolerable. These dudes have a bad case of what may be politely termed “shrinking gonads.”

A pesticide, now demonstrated to be a powerful xenoestrogen, was dumped into the Florida lake.

But the ‘gators had it better than the fish in the Potomac River, where fishermen found male bass laying eggs.

Xeno is the Greek root word for foreign, and Estrogens are a group of female defining hormones found in most vertebrate creatures. Xenoestrogens are external chemicals that enter the body, attach to receptor ports on cells, and assume control over growth and development. Estrogens are growth stimulants: tumors, fibroids and general swelling are the result.

This hormone imbalance, now affecting nearly everyone, of both sexes, is called “estrogen dominance.” Other names for these active chemicals are “estrogen mimics”, “hormone imitators”, and “endocrine disruptors.”

Natural hormones are subtle, needing only tiny concentrations to work. They are short lived, easily metabolized when their job is done.

Xenoestrogens are strong and long-lasting. These chemicals bind permanently to receptor sites and accumulate in fat tissues. Over a lifetime, levels build from what seem like inconsequential exposures.

Hormones come in matched pairs, each opposing the other, in balance. Progesterone, the natural balancer of estrogens, has no power to match the persistent synthetic estrogens, and is soon depleted.

Most xenoestrogens are petroleum derivatives.

Hormones are fed to livestock raised in feedlots or factories. Xenoestrogens are in all conventionally raised meat and dairy products. Estrogenic insecticides are applied directly to the animals, often by machines.

Pesticides are dumped on vegetables and fruit many times in a growing season.

Birth control pills and “Hormone Replacement Therapy” (HRT) estrogen are synthetic hormones, just more xenoestrogen added to the excess. Could this contribute to the incredible percentage of surgical births and hysterectomies (both 30%)?

A high fat, carbohydrate rich diet and resultant weight gain increase estrogen levels. An enzyme in fat cells changes adrenal hormones into estrogens. Caffeine intake from soft drinks, coffee, and tea is associated with higher estrogen levels. Coffee may contain additional xenos.

Soft plastics, made into everything from food wrappers to baby bottle nipples, contain estrogenic chemicals. Plastic coatings, used to protect canned goods from heavy metal contamination, contain hormone like molecules. Plastic cookware, Teflon-lined pans, and kitchen storage gizmos, test positive for the xenos.

Plastic wrapped food, heated in a microwave oven, has some of the highest xenoestrogen levels.

Most people now drink water from plastic bottles. The big five gallon polycarbonate plastic bottles used for water coolers are especially high in bishpenol-A, a potent xenoestrogen.

Detergents, carpets, furniture, insecticides, wall paneling, hot computers, and other electronic gadgets outgas hormone mimics. Estrogenic detergent and fabric softener makes laundromats, freshly washed clothing, and dishwasher vapors so sexy. Dry-cleaning chemicals are inhaled and absorbed through the skin. You guessed it: X-rated.

Lotions, sunscreens, shampoos, makeup, and other cosmetics, often contain Methyl Paraben, an estrogenic preservative.

Perfume, hair spray and room “air fresheners” are suspects. Nail polish and removers are loaded.

Indoor insect sprays are often estrogenic.

Reducing xenohormone levels is a long term process. It involves getting rid of all the sources above and many more.

Guys, I know lots of us are using male-enhancing vitamin formulas to increase virility and build muscle. Do we really want high estrogen levels doing the opposite?

Women smell and look better without hairspray, painted nails, and petrochemical based scents. Natural soaps with subtle traces of real flowers are much more attractive. To maintain feminine health, natural progesterone can accompany xenoestrogen avoidance.

Click for the web’s best Air Purifier Reviews.
The Author, Ed Sherbenou, is an experienced air purifier user, with 40 years of direct experience due to chemical sensitivity and severe allergies. He writes indoor air quality articles, posts blogs, and maintains a leading air purification website:

http://www.air-purifier-power.com

Tags: air purifier, xenoestrogensair purifier, xenoestrogens

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