For Weight loss

You hear about them all the time. Low carb diets this, low carb diets that. Every celebrity is on this diet and everyone you know at work, at school or anywhere is on this diet. Well, if that’s all they’re using, they’ve been on it for a while and they’re completely healthy, then they must not be following it completely or they’re lying!

Why? Because low carb diets, for a short period of time do work to help you lose weight, but only for a short period of time, like 2-3 weeks. But if you stick with low carb diets for a longer period of time, you’ll definitely be losing something other than weight and you’ll see negative side effects with your health.

Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of foods out there that you should avoid, and most of them are very high in carbs. And these foods are great to avoid for just general health, not only just to lose weight.

But the other side of that coin is that carbohydrates are also a very necessary nutrient for your body to function properly. So a long term weight loss diet completely devoid of carbohydrates is not a good idea. A short one is fine since it’s pretty much like fasting for a few weeks, which won’t do much damage.

Here’s another fact that will show you how bad long term low carb diets are, outside of weight loss. There is a risk of osteoporosis for women from long term low carb diet use. Most low carb diets will tell you to increase the amounts of protein you eat.

Normally, that’s a great thing because one of the building blocks of your body is protein. But, like anything else, too much protein spells disaster. Excess protein from meat can leech calcium from your bones, which can increase the risk of osteoporosis. Why does your body do this? Because protein can cause acid build up in your blood and your body removes the calcium to balance out your blood.

Okay, so you say that’s a woman’s problem. Here’s one for both. Your brain uses about 20% of glucose from your body. Now, glucose is a simple sugar. Simple sugars are carbohydrates.

Get the connection? If you decrease the intake of carbohydrates from your diet, you are starving your brain of an important nutrient for healthy brain function. That’s definitely not something anyone wants, whether you’re trying to lose weight or not.

But specifically with weight loss, low carb diets stop working if you use them over a long period of time because at that point you won’t be losing weight or fat. At that point, you’ve already lost most, if not all, of the fat stores in your body. The reason low carb diets work so great in the beginning is because your body is using up the fat stores in your body since you aren’t eating carbs, which provide energy to your body.

So naturally, your body uses up your fat stores. But once those are gone, your body turns to muscles and body tissue. So clearly, you are not losing fat at that point, which is what you would want. You’ll be losing the parts of you that are helpful to real weight loss. Carbs are sources of energy for your body so after the initial 2-3 weeks of the low carb diet, re-introduce healthy carbs to your body and you will be in good shape and on the path to healthy weight loss.

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Fish oil is one of the most popular and hotly debated supplements of all time but what about the side effects of fish oil? Look at all of the benefits, some proven in research, that omega-3 fish oil supplements may have on the body

-Improved blood sugar regulation
-Increased fat loss
-Lowered cholesterol
-Improved mood
-Decrease inflammation

As we can see, fish oil has a whole lot of positive health benefits but is there any side effects of fish oil? Are there really any negative consequences that come from taking this very beneficial supplement? Well first we have to define who should be using fish oil.

Now I believe that everyone should be taking fish oil. The bigger question is why aren’t you taking fish oil? Taking away all of those health benefits that I mentioned earlier, fish oil is a healthy source of fat. Most people’s diets are just too low in fat in general, not to mention healthy fats. These fats will also help people who are dieting and eating a low amount of calories stay full and not cheat on their diets.

What about the downsides though? If fish oil were really the magic pill then we’d know if there were any negative consequences right? Wrong, while I love fish oil and recommend it highly in the Physique Formula, I think we need to watch out about believing that fish oil is all good.

First, fish oil may not be the best thing for building muscle. I see some crazy high recommendations for the amount of fish oil that people should take and it makes no sense. To build muscle we need a pro-inflammatory substance known as arachidonic acid, which fish oil actually lowers. Arachidonic acid is found in red meats and actually increases our natural testosterone production so we can build muscle and lose fat. This can lead to side effects with fish oil

Using high doses of fish oil for prolonged periods of time will decrease arachidonic acid which isn’t good for muscle building purposes.

Another side effect of fish oil is that it can disrupt the absorption of certain important nutrients such as vitamin D and E. Vitamin D and E have numerous healthy benefits including reducing free radical damage, inflammation, and even cancer. Large amounts of fish oil may actually decrease the beneficial properties of these nutrients so we would need to supplement with vitamin D and E individually.

Vitamin E also helps with the ability for the body to absorb fish oil. Just popping fish oil doesn’t do it anymore. It’s the amount that we absorb not the amount that we take that matters.

While those two side effects of fish oil may seem small, we need to be aware of them. I’m not saying not to take fish oil, I take a good amount every day but we must be aware of the side effects of fish oil.

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If you are considering the lap band procedure, a type of gastric bypass surgery, you are likely trying to find out everything that you can about the surgical process. Lap band surgery falls into the category of bariatric surgical procedures and there are three main categories of bariatric surgical procedures, which include predominately malabsorptive procedures, predominately restrictive procedures, and mixed procedures, which include some characteristics of the two previous types.

Predominately malabsorbative procedures are rare, but used to be the most common type. Due to the long term need for nutritional follow up care, and other health and safety factors, most physicians will not perform these procedures. As dramatic as the results achieved through bariatric surgery may be, it is important to remember that it is only a tool, and does not fix weight problems in and of itself.

Predominantly restrictive procedures are performed with the goal of reducing the size of the stomach and include adjustable gastric or lap band surgery, and gastric bypass surgery, in addition to mixed procedures.

Lap band surgery is generally recommended for patients who are morbidly obese, defined as having a BMI of 40 or greater. It is less invasive than gastric bypass and the lap band procedure involves the placement of a gastric band around the upper part of the stomach, creating a small pouch that limits food intake. Like gastric bypass surgery, lap band surgery is also performed laproscopically. Patients have reported a faster recovery time, and faster results in some cases when dietary guidelines for post surgery are adhered to.

Before your lapband surgery, it is recommended that you continue or begin an exercise program , make healthy food choices, and give up smoking and drinking all carbonated beverages, including alcohol. The amount of weight you lose depends on your adherence to the instructions set forth by your physician. While the transition may be difficult at first, it is important to keep your weight loss goals in mind.

Keep in mind that the lap band procedure involves dramatic lifestyle changes, as described above, and that the success of your surgery is dependent entirely on your willingness to adopt healthier habits and work towards adopting a healthier lifestyle overall. The lap band procedure involves a commitment on the part of the patient, but with hard work and dedication it is possible to achieve dramatic results and reshape not only your body but your mind as well.