How To Quit Smoking Without The Weight Gain

If you want to quit smoking and have a healthy lifestyle you should start by making a firm decision to give up. While the short term effect may be weight gain, this is something that can be overcome after your battle with the nicotine cravings is overcome. Just be aware that you can handle it later as it can be difficult to battle two problems at once.

Your decision should be totally self-determined and you shouldn’t do it because you are being nagged or pressured to do it by somebody else. Giving up based on another person’s decision rarely works.

Secondly, find out for yourself about the effects of smoking on your system. Don’t rely on TV commercials or pictures on cigarette packets for your information. Get a really good idea of how it affects you. For example, the amount of oxygen that your blood can transport is cut down when you smoke. This can result in lower energy, fatigue and general exhaustion as well as an overall lowering of your body’s ability to function properly.

Cigarettes stimulate metabolism. According to research, you burn up to 250 calories in a day if you smoke one packet of cigarettes in a day. When you quit smoking, the body metabolism slows down resulting in those calories burning more slowly and resulting in extra weight. Some people gain 1 kilogram (2 pounds) once they quit for 2 weeks and when this happens, they tend to resume smoking to prevent weight gain. If you stick to your decision to quit smoking, you will be rewarded in the long run as eventually the metabolism will normalise and you can then focus on dropping those extra kilos.

Typically, smokers only gain between 2-4 kilograms (3-7 pounds) throughout the process of quitting. And when you think about the advantages of having a healthy and smoke free body, you will feel great inside and out and not minding those gained extra kilograms, in the short term. You vital organs like the lungs, heart and arteries will be free of the toxins and will start to regenerate new cells after being inundated with nicotine. You can work on losing that weight once the hard task of quitting smoking is achieved.

Gradually, after quitting, you will notice changes in your physical appearance. Your skin is free from stress and will appear to be fairer and smoother. Those yellow stains on your fingers and fingernails will disappear. You won’t have bad breath anymore, and your teeth will be free from stains and you will have healthier gums too. These are some of the physical advantages of your decision to quit smoking.

To lessen the cravings and weight gain, do drinks lots of water – ideally 8 glasses a day to keep you hydrated and to flush out toxins. Substitute healthy food for cigarettes, but do not substitute junk foods like McDonalds or fried chicken because it will blow out the whole weight gain effect. Don’t go for sugar rich and fatty foods. Try also to exercise to keep busy and increase your metabolism. It will also help sweat out toxins. If you do go to a gym try to get into the sauna.

You have to have a very, focused mind to be able to fight the challenging moments that will tempt you to go back to smoking.

Lastly, consider a high quality homeopathic stop smoking aid, such as Smoke Deter.

About the Author

Lachlan Quarry is a strong believer in herbal and homeopathic remedies such as Smoke Deter, available at http://www.smokedeter.com/?aid=639016

You can also read a review of Smoke Deter at http://www.herbalproductreview.com/specific-health-products/smoke-deter.htm

The world seems fascinated with weight loss, some for health reasons and others for cosmetic. Obesity is on the increase and weight can make a significant contribution to serious health conditions. When people are overweight, self-confidence takes a dive and often leads to comfort eating, which in turn increased weight. It should come as no surprise that many people try harsh diets that never work, extreme exercise regimens that may result in injuries or other weight loss programmes that end without success.

The reason why so many of these weight loss methods only seem to provide a short term fix and do not deliver a long term solution is because in order to stay with a diet or exercise programme, you have to really enjoy it. Not only that, but it has to be safe as well. Fad diets, celebrity promoted exercise programmes and weight loss pills and potions will help you to shed a few pounds, but as soon as you start to eat “normally” again, the weight often returns.

So here are 5 genuine suggestions to help you lose weight, which almost anyone can do, without excluding your favourite foods from your diet or spending every spare minute of your time in the gym.

Realistically, any weight loss program will take time. Diets which promise you instant results are either not being completely honest or are simply uninformed. At worst, they may be downright dangerous. As a suggestion, set yourself a realistic target and then follow one single weight loss programme for one month. Don’t weight yourself every day as your weight can fluctuate on a daily basis. I suggest you weigh yourself once a week to check your progress. If you are not losing weight in proportion to your target, first check that you are following the programme correctly. In the meantime, try the following suggestions to help burn off the calories.

Walking is an ideal form of exercise. If you can set aside 30 minutes every day to enjoy a leisurely stroll, you will be strengthening your legs and your heart while burning some calories in the process. With any exercise, start slowly and build up over a period of time. Your leisurely stroll will soon turn into a brisk walk and 30 minutes transform into an hour of excellent cardiovascular exercise!

A second ideal form of exercise is to get on your bike! I suggest you consult your Doctor BEFORE starting on any strenuous exercise to avoid causing any undue stress on your body, but cycling is a great form of exercise and is great fun. You may chose to cycle to work instead of taking the car, if this is possible, which also helps the environment. If you are fortunate enough to live in rural area, cycling enables you to enjoy the scenery often missed when you are behind the wheel of a car.

The next time you have a choice, take the stairs instead of an escalator or lift. This is a fantastic weight loss exercise which you can fit into your daily routine without even noticing the extra effort. Something as simple as walking up a couple of flights of stairs every day can make all the difference where weight loss is concerned. The next time you go to the supermarket, park in the middle of the car park and walk to the store. Avoid parking in the closest spot to the door, which is tempting, but opt to walk instead.

Do not cut out all of your favourite foods from your diet, but eat them in moderation. There is no single food that will completely hinder your weight loss attempt but, all foods if consumed excessively will certainly halt any attempt at weight loss. Cutting out the foods you enjoy will cause cravings and may lead to binge eating. So there is no reason to cut out your favourite food when a conservative amount of the things we love can still have a place in our lives, including during times when you are focusing on losing weight.

One of the major reasons people give for failure to lose weight when on a diet, or for never actually starting is TIME. Whatever exercise routine you decide to adopt it is imperative that you set aside a certain time each day to do it. Some people decide to get up an hour early to go for a walk, jog or cycle ride. It’s a proven fact that people who set a routine are much more likely to stay with it and find success than those who simply exercise only when they have time.

The secret to successful weight loss is:

• know what you want your ideal weight to be
• prepare a realistic eating and exercise plan to achieve it
• make a commitment to yourself to take consistent action to achieve your plan
• think of ways to make losing weight fun such as walking, jogging or cycling with a friend
• do not give up – you can overcome any obstacle in your way to achieving your perfect weight

Remember, before you begin any weight loss or exercise programme, please consult your Doctor to ensure that you do not damage your health.

About the Author:

Malcolm Riviere is dedicated to providing information to help people achieve their ambitions, dreams and goals in all areas of their lives. He has a specific interest in helping people lose weight as easily as possible and to then maintain their perfect weight. He has produced a free guide – The Keys to Your Success, which is available from his secrets to your perfect weight website.

http://www.secretstoyourperfectweight.com

Author: Roberto Sedycias

Stress is the condition which a person undergoes when he has to deal with situations which are beyond his grasp. He is unable to cope with the impossible circumstances and develops stress. The definition of stress differs from person to person. What constitutes stress for one person might be a normal everyday occurrence for another. But it has been observed that most of us go through stress at various times of the day. It might be due to work or any other state of life. While most of us get used to dealing with stress in our everyday life, it turns out to be very difficult to deal with it in the long run. It might lead to awful conditions which are very harmful for us. For this reason, it is imperative to get self-help for stress management.

Symptoms of stress:

Stress can be identified in many ways. There are many symptoms associated with it, the most common being headaches and muscle pain, dizziness and sweating, nausea and bowel problems, thudding of heart and a shaking of the entire body. You feel tense and very much wanting in self-esteem. This will lead to feeling irritable and wanting to become a typical introvert. Memory seems to fail and you start drinking and smoking all the more. Severe problems of the heart, asthma, migraine and insomnia might also set in if the stress stays for a prolonged time. Self-help to stress management acquires great importance under these circumstances.

Methods of stress management:

Managing stress can have a very significant role in your life. You need to find out the situations or the conditions which trigger stress in your life. After recognizing them, you need to work on how to break free from them. In due course of time, you will get to prevent these stressors from affecting your life too. Drinking and smoking are not the solutions to stress; in fact, they make the situation worse. Self-help for stress management is indispensable and this is how you can do it.

1. Acceptance of the problem is the biggest step towards finding a solution. Half the battle is won if you accept that the situation is beyond your control. Difficulties arise in every person`s life and at this time, the support of friends and relatives counts a lot. Turn to them for advice. Let bygones be bygones and move forward in life taking a lesson from the situation.

2. Now that you have identified your stressors, try to avoid them and stay away from them. If you are away from the environment, you will feel less stressed.

3. It is very important to talk about your problems to someone who will understand you. Seek out a friend and let go of your feelings.

4. Take charge of your feelings. See if you can control your feelings related to stress. Inspire yourself by constantly reassuring that it is only a passing phase and you will emerge stronger from it. Try to develop interest in other things which will divert your mind from your problems. Exercising and eating a balanced diet is good for your system. Meditation will also give you respite. When your body and mind are at rest, you will never be stressed. Self-help to stress management is best for you.

5. Keeping an optimistic view will help you manage things better. If you always think with a negative attitude, then you will only be hurting yourself more. Try to think positively and defeat stress.

6. Take plenty of rest and have at least 6 hours of sleep. A body which has been rested will never be irritable and so will help you to recover fast.

Learn to relax yourself and you will see that self-help to stress management will indeed make you a more complete person.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Self-Help To Stress Management – 6 Sure-Fire Ways

Author: Stephen Smith

Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Smith

It was previously thought and to a large extent still is, that simple carbohydrates are absorbed and utilised quickly in the body and complex carbohydrates are absorbed and utilised slowly. This belief originated from the fact that simple carbohydrates are individual molecules or two molecules bonded together whilst complex carbohydrates are made up of many molecules bonded together.

However, in 1981, Dr David Jenkins (a professor at the University of Toronto) found that this was not actually true. At the time, Dr Jenkins was examining the best foods for diabetics and from his research he discovered that certain complex carbohydrates, like potatoes, were causing rapid rises in blood glucose, whilst some simple carbohydrates, like certain fruits, were being utlised slowly.

Since many carbohydrate-containing foods weren’t acting as expected, the Glycemic Index (GI) was devised. The GI indicates how rapidly a food increases the blood glucose level. If a food causes a rapid rise in blood glucose, then it is referred to as a high glycemic index food and is given a value between 70 and 100 depending on how rapidly the blood glucose level increases.

Glucose (GI of 100) is the standard and all other carbohydrate-containing foods are compared to it. If a carbohydrate-containing food causes a moderate or slow increase in blood glucose, then it is given a number that corresponds to the rate (moderate GI: 50-69 and low GI: less than 50).

A slow passage of glucose into the bloodstream means that it is easier to maintain a stable blood glucose level, and in turn, keep insulin to a minimum. This situation is ideal for fat loss because a high level of insulin promotes fat storage, increases the conversion of carbohydrate into fat and inhibits the use of fat for fuel. As a result, it would appear that low GI carbohydrates should be emphasised in the diet. However, as we will examine in a moment, this is not the most important factor that needs to be considered.

A number of factors affect the GI (its absorption rate) of a carbohydrate-containing food. They are the following:

- Its chemical composition (Is it composed of glucose, fructose or galactose molecules?)

- The amount of fibre (particularly soluble fibre), protein or fat contained in the food

- How the food is cooked/ prepared

Composition

Carbohydrate-containing foods that are composed mainly of glucose molecules (including complex carbohydrates) and that have little fibre, protein or fat in them have a high glycemic index. For example, glucose, malt, bread, potatoes and white rice all have high glycemic indexes and cause a rapid rise in blood glucose and therefore insulin levels when they are consumed on their own. Since they promote the production of insulin, the carbohydrate in them has a greater likelihood of being converted into body fat.

Fibre and protein

Fibre, particularly soluble fibre, is a component of food that has the effect of slowing down the absorption rate of carbohydrate and therefore lowering its GI. For example, an apple has a much lower GI than apple juice simply because there is fibre in the apple and the apple juice has had its fibre component removed. Fibre has a tendency to ‘dilute’ the carbohydrate, which slows absorption. Protein may have a similar ‘diluting’ effect on carbohydrate.

Fat

Fat also lowers a food’s glycemic index by slowing down its passage through the gastro-intestinal tract. This slows the absorption rate of carbohydrate. Good examples of this are chocolate and ice-cream. Both of these foods contain a considerable amount of fat along with carbohydrate and both have relatively low glycemic indexes. However, this certainly doesn’t mean you should increase your intake of these foods because both are very ‘calorie dense’ due to the large amounts of fat and sugar contained in them. They are good examples, however, of how fat slows down the absorption rate of carbohydrate.

Cooking/ Preparation

How a carbohydrate-containing food is cooked or prepared also affects its absorption rate. Overcooking increases a carbohydrate-containing food’s glycemic index because some of the bonds between the glucose molecules will be broken down, making absorption easier (less digestion is required). Similarly, preparation may also affect a carbohydrate-containing food’s absorption rate. For example, mashed potatoes are absorbed faster into the bloodstream than whole potatoes. On the other hand, adding vinegar (acetic acid) to a food lowers its GI.

Now before you start thinking that your days of eating bread and potatoes are over, consider the fact that carbohydrate-rich foods with fibre, protein and/ or fat already in them are low on the glycemic index. Therefore, the glycemic index of high glycemic index carbohydrates may be lowered if fibre, protein or fat is added to a meal with them.

Therefore, if you add vegetables or salad (high fibre foods), meat (protein), oil (fat) or oil-containing foods (nuts, seeds or avocadoes) to the foods containing carbohydrate, the rate of absorption of the carbohydrate will be slowed down, limiting insulin secretion and in turn, limiting fat storage. So there is no problem in having high GI ‘starchy’ carbs as long as you slow down their absorption rate by adding lots of fibrous (containing fibre) vegetables or salad, protein or fat (preferably only the essential fatty acids) to the meal.

Remember though, it isn’t just the rate of glucose entering the bloodstream that dictates how much will be converted into body fat but also the amount of carbohydrate consumed. Even if you have a slow influx of carbohydrate into the bloodstream by consuming low-glycemic index carbohydrate or high glycemic index carbohydrate with fibre, fat or protein, a large amount of carbohydrate in a meal will still need to be stored in the body and if the glycogen stores are full the only other storage site is in the adipocytes (fat cells).

Plus, a large meal will have a greater impact on insulin response than a small meal and since the main benefit of eating low GI foods is in limiting insulin response, it makes sense to reduce portion sizes of meals.

If you choose to emphasise low-glycemic index carbohydrate in your diet, then fine. However, don’t neglect eating some complex carbohydrates as well. Complex carbohydrates provide your body with many essential nutrients. Pasta for example provides your body with 6 out of the 8 essential amino acids (in small amounts though) and some contain both B vitamins and iron.

The bottom line is this, if you are eating complete meals, which means meals with carbohydrate, protein and fat then the GI becomes irrelevant since the protein and fat as well as fibre will slow down the absorption rate of the carbohydrates, lowering the GI. As covered earlier, of far greater importance is the portion size of the entire meal and the carbohydrate-density of the food. Since insulin responses are important, portion size will have an impact on this and carbohydrate-density will affect overall calorie intake. Therefore, focusing more on these areas will offer greater benefits than simply the Glycemic Index alone.

About the Author:

To discover the ’7 Most Effective Weight Loss Tips’ to help you lose weight fast , click here. To find out more about the author of this article, Stephen Smith, and to get free access to all of his articles and useful weight-loss information, click here.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Glycemic Index- How Important Is It ?

To drink or not to drink – it’s all about moderation

I love red wine. Red wine just doesn’t love me. Of course, that doesn’t stop me from enjoying a good glass from time to time.  I was told that my post consumption sinus congestion headache was a result of the sulphites and while wine naturally contains these, modern viticulturists add additional sulphites in the wine making process.  It was suggested I try organic wines as these contain a lower percentage of these aggravating supplements.

I decided to do a little reading on the matter and came across the Vrede En Lust blog, which not only expounds the health benefits of a few glasses of wine, it also says the following:

‘The articles also cover the much debated issue of what causes headaches for some after drinking wine. This is obviously for causes other than too many bottles of wine! The finding is that the much maligned sulfides and histamines in wine are unlikely to be the cause, as they appear in many other popular foods in much higher levels.’

Now I know dried fruit is one such food that I need to be wary of, however, it has never had the same headachy effects on me.  Could it just be that it is worse for me in liquid form?

So I decided to try out a bottle of Organic wine this weekend (with an anti-histamine precautionary tab) and was delighted to find no detrimental side effects from a couple of glasses.  So if you’re like me, and have been avoiding that glass of red for similar reasons, may I be so bold as to suggest you try out a few glasses of Dixon’s Peak organic wine.   If you’re not like me, Vrede En Lust has a wonderful range.

If you Google ‘Red wine health benefits’ you will find tons of information on it’s health benefits from raising good cholesterol, lowering bad cholesterol, good for arthritis, heart disease etc.

We’d love to hear from you…

Has your health care professional recommended you drink wine?

S2S Editor © 2009