Fat Burn Diet that Really Works.

Ketogenic Diet: What is it?

Doctors have used ketogenic diets for seizures with good results. A third of the children on this diet became seizure free and a further third had improved. Parents admitted that their children were more alert. The diet is used for up to 2 years. Doctors look for unusual complications such as constipation, dehydration and possible problems with kidney stones and gall stones.

So what is Ketogenic Dieting? This is basically starving the body of carbohydrates. Sugars are absorbed through the gut into the blood stream as glucose or fructose and stays in the circulation for approximately 24 hours. The hormones Insulin, glucagon and cortisol control the blood sugar level. Insulin decreases blood level while the other two increase it.

When all the circulating glucose is used up, the body breaks down fats to produce and maintain stable blood glucose levels. This is the process called ketosis and the by products of fat metabolism are ketones. There are parts of the body such as heart, brain, liver, that needs a regular and stable supply of glucose and if you do not supply glucose by food intake, glucose will be obtained by breaking down fats. This is the basis of ketogenic diets.

The liver is the controlling organ that facilitates weight loss in the ketogenic diet plan. If done properly, this weight loss diet plan will work effectively.

A ketogenic diet recipe will contain foods with only meat and fat and devoid of carbohydrates. If you combine a ketogenic diet meal plan with some exercise, then you have the recipe for excellent weight loss.

Do not worry that your keto diet will result in muscle loss. The body uses up all its extra fat store before it attacks and breaks down proteins (muscles) to produce glucose. You would have reached your weight loss goal well before then.

In the first week of being on a ketogenic weight loss diet, you may feel fatigued. This is the body adjusting to the low carb diet plan. You will also be aware of a specific smell to your breath. When the body breaks down fats from ketogenic diet foods, ketones are released and are partly excreted through the lungs and into the air you breathe out. Hence the “Keto Breath”.

You must be careful that you are not missing essential nutrients in your weight loss diet plan. To counteract this, use a supplement with a good mix of multi-vitamins and minerals.

Some women have experienced irregular periods on ketogenic dieting.

A classical ketogenic diet will have restricted calories, high fats, proteins and low carbs.

This type of dieting is such a hot subject in the weight loss sector that over 1500 low carbo weight loss products have flooded the market in three years. When first introduced it had it’s critics but currently over 25 million people in USA are on a low carb diet.

There are three types of ketogenic diets. In the Standard Ketogenic Diet, you only eat ketogenic diet foods. Atkins diet is an example. In the cyclical ketogenic diet, you stay on the ketogenic weight loss diet for three days, then eat normally with carbs in the foods for about three days then repeat the cycle. In the Targeted Ketogenic Diet, you aim for a specific time of the day to consume carbohydrates.

A ketogenic diet is perhaps the best way to effectively lose weight by dieting and if this diet suits you, have a go. If you have any medical issues or you are unsure, have a word with your family doctor.

Dr. Phil H.

Weight Loss: Testant Crystals or Weight Loss Crystals.

Dr. Alan Hirsch has spent several years looking at the effects of smell and taste on a person’s eating habits. His research led to the development of the Testant crystals. This is  scented flavourless weight loss crystals that are meant to fool the brain into thinking you are full earlier than normal.

He conducted a study using the crystals on 1,435 men and women over a six month period using a double blind placebo controlled method. In other words, the participants were given crystals to sprinkle on their food and believed they all had the weight loss crystals but some had just identical looking placebo.

On average the participants on the Testant crystals lost 14% of their body weight while the ones on the placebo lost only two pounds.

Anything new on a hot and current topic as weight loss will hit the news and the Testant story has hit the national press, TV, radios and most of the glossy magazines. The manufacturers claim the crystals are safe and devoid of side effects. This is reassuring.

The company has numerous success stories and although not available in the UK until next year, it is available in the USA and on the Internet. Some believe that enhanced smell and taste may induce hunger in some individuals.

Personally, I believe anything new that is safe and harmless that helps weight loss is welcome. I just hope it is not just another weight loss product for sufferers to spend a lot of money on and not get the desired results.

It is important not to jump in and try something news because it is safe and it will work. Get your head right first. It you are going to try it, use it as part of your entire diet plan. Decide where it fits in your plan. I know individuals who have continued to gain weight after risky gastric band surgery.

Dr. Phil H.

Weight Loss Diet Plan: Has Anything Changed?

It is written in the Ecclesiastas, the book of the Hebrew Bible, “He that dieteth himself, prolongeth his life.”

Hipprocrates, (ca460-ca370 BC), the Greek Physician and commonly regarded as the Father of Medicine said,

“It is very injurious to health to take in more food than the constitution will bear, when at  the same time, one uses no exercise to carry off his excess.”

This great physician clearly was well ahead of his time. He saw the problems of overeating.
Hippocrates laid down the Hippocratic Oath, a seminal document on the Ethics of Medical Practice. The very oath I swore after graduating as a doctor.

Has there been any real change since the days of Hippocrates? We have seen the advent of drugs that reduce appetite and others that speed up metabolism but there is no one drug that is completely devoid of significant side effects. Practitioners use these drugs where the dangers from obesity far outweigh the risk of side effects.

As for diet, has there been any major change? Sadly no. The simple truth is, irrespective of whatever new fad diet you try, if you eat less calories than your body burns, you will lose weight.

There are several websites that promote fat burn diets etc. The bare truth is that if you exercise you will burn calories and if you are eating less, then you will burn up your fat store. In the TV reality show,Strictly Come Dancing, you see several contestants at the start slightly overweight and during the show lose weight because of the long and rigorous dance routines before the next show. Pamela Stevenson said she lost nearly two stones, slimming down from size 16 to 12. Felicity Kendal and Patsy Kensit confessed that not only do they feel toned up but they are thinner.

So whatever new weight loss diet plan you chose, it will work and you will lose weight if you consume in a day less than your body will burn up. This means eating less food and increasing the amount of exercise even if it is just walking.

In the USA, Sensa Testant crystals are now available to dieters. Sensa Testant Crystals are sprinkled onto your food before eating. The weight loss crystals enhance the flavour of food and by doing so, the makers say, the crystals trigger the taste and smell receptors to send satiety messages to the brain. In other words you feel full earlier. A trial of some 1,400 people showed that the crystals helped people to lose weight.

The jury is out on this one. Some experts feel the strong flavour may help to increase appetite in some people. There was a patch released several years ago. You stick it on your arm and this weight loss patch gives off a smell of chocolate. The idea was that this constant smell of chocolate would trigger the brain to not want chocolate. This was on the whole ineffective.

I seriously do not believe that chefs in restaurants remain slim because of the constant strong smell of food around them, but, because, in the course of their day, they burn up a lot of calories in their daily routine.

So if you want to lose weight, you must eat less and exercise more. Sorry but there is no magic formula.

Dr. Phil H.

Next Page »