The Ugly Truth about Cellulite

Copyright © Andrew Poole - 2011

There is no medical condition known as cellulite but if you mention the word to any woman, she'll know exactly what is meant by it.

Cellulite is a term used to describe the chain of wrinkled fat cells and subcutaneous connective tissue beneath the skin and which seems to be more prevalent in women and accumulates more in the lower half of the body.

Most people tend to think that cellulites are only present in people who are overweight or obese but that's far from being the case. In fact, there are many people who have cellulite who are not fat at all.

In reality, nobody knows the main reason why some people accumulate cellulite and not others, but there are some factors that health experts are considering such as the structure of the fat cells or toxins that enter the body.

One of the main reasons why cellulite appears to be more abundant in women is because of the composition of the fat lobules which are larger and more rectangular than men's. As the fatty cells swell and get bigger, it creates a protruding appearance to the skin producing the familiar orange peel look. Also, estrogen and progesterone levels determine how much fat your body stores or releases, and it's quite common for women to store fat in cellulite prone areas during pregnancy or while taking oral contraceptives.

Even though not all those who develop cellulites are obese, being overweight can really trigger their development. This is because too much fat under the skin tends to push the connective tissue creating a strain on the skin and the cellulites form. However, this is still dependent on the structure of the cells. If an individual's cell structure does not inhibit the tendency to bulge or expand even if fat deposits accumulate, then there will be no cellulites.

So, the most important thing to remember here is to keep those connective tissues firm and strong and avoid accumulating excess fats which play such a huge role in the development of cellulite.

Losing weight alone will not help you get rid of cellulite. According to research, a large portion of the weight lost by dieting alone, especially rapid weight loss, is active tissue such as muscle and connective tissue, while a smaller fraction is excess fat. Exercise has the opposite effect. It increases the lean body mass and decreases the excess fat.

Transforming food into fat seems all too easy for most of us. Losing fat is far more difficult, and to accomplish this, we have only three alternatives: (1) decrease food intake and keep activity constant; (2) increase activity and keep food intake constant; or (3) combine both approaches: control food intake and increase activity.

Exercise is not for everyone who is overweight and severely overweight people should exercise only under medical supervision to prevent strain on the cardiovascular system and connective tissue. And no one should restrict food intake drastically without a medical consultation. Resorting to this kind of activity will only get the matter worse.

For people who are prone to cellulite, there are no magic cellulite treatment remedies for selective cellulite removal. It can only be reduced as part of an overall weight reduction program through adopting a healthy eating and living plan, together with increasing exercise, so that body fat is reduced rather than connective tissues.

In addition, increasing the intake of water will help cleanse the system and flush out damaging toxins. Stopping smoking or at least reducing it will also be beneficial as smoking impacts negatively on the capillaries in the skin and reducing stress will help lower the level of damaging toxins too.

Andrew Poole is a qualified specialist Weight-loss Coach and the creator of the New-Slimmer-You Weight-loss Support Plan www.new-slimmer-you.com

This article may be copied and used as long as the Author's bio remains intact.

Fire up Your Metabolism and Wave Excess Weight Goodbye

Copyright © Andrew Poole - 2011

More and more, we're coming to understand that for sustained weight loss, without the need to be permanently on a diet, boosting our metabolism is the sensible and sure-fire way to achieve it. To understand why that is, we need to know what our metabolism is and why it's important for weight loss.

In simple terms, our metabolism is the rate by which the body produces and consumes energy and calories to support life. Metabolism takes place 24 hours a day, even while we rest and sleep. As we know, some bodies burn calories more effectively than others and this is down to our metabolic rate - the speed at which our bodies convert food into energy.

We hear of fast or slow metabolisms but in fact we should be referring to efficient or inefficient metabolisms. Having an efficient metabolism enables us to burn fat and lose weight fast with the least amount of activity. As we age, we tend to become less active and lose muscle tissue and increase the amount of fat with a corresponding effect on metabolism but it is possible to counter this, and here are several ways to do this:

1. Build up on lean body mass. The amount of muscle a person has plays a large part in the ability to burn calories and shed fat, so it goes without saying that exercise is essential. We can build strength and resistance by working out at least twice a week, preferably with weights. Do easy exercises in between workouts. Simple tasks such as walking the dog and using the stairs in place of the elevator can already take off calories. The key is to match the amount of eating to the amount of activity we do.

2. Eat breakfast. The old saying "Breakfast like a King" is based on good sound principles. A lot of people are ignoring the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Surprisingly, those who eat breakfast tend to be thinner than those who do not. Eating well and early gives our metabolism a good kick-start. Metabolism can slow down considerably if food isn't eaten until mid-morning or even later.

3. Avoid sugar. Sugar enables the body to store fat. It's recommended that we eat food that helps sustain an even level of blood-sugar. Additionally, progressive exercise 2-3 times a week should help to stabilize blood sugar levels.

4. Eat spicy foods. Hot cooking with peppers and chillies can increase metabolism through raising your body temperature and heart rate, both of which will burn calories.

5. Sleep more. According to research, it's easier for people who do not get enough sleep to gain weight. We need proper and sufficient sleep for the release of hormones such as melatonin and growth hormone, which our bodies need to operate efficiently. Also, muscles are regenerated during the last couple of hours of slumber.

6. Increase water intake. Water flushes out toxins that are produced whenever the body burns fat. The majority of bodily functions involve water, and lack of water causes the body system's operations to decrease its speed, and produces unneeded stress as a result.

7. Eat smaller meals. It is advisable to consume 4 to 6 small meals that are timed 2 to 3 hours apart. You raise your metabolic rate every time you eat, so eating more frequently gives you a metabolic boost more often, whereas eating one large meal can have the effect of slowing metabolism.

8. Never skip meals. People tend to skip meals in order to lose weight, which is a big mistake since it slows down metabolism. Put some planning into your daily meal pattern to make sure you eat at the right times.

9. Do away with stress! Stress, both physical and emotional, triggers the release of Adrenaline, Noradrenalin, and Cortisol. These hormones switch off metabolic activities such as the digestive system, as it's not needed at times of danger or perceived danger, as we prepare for 'fight or flight'.

10. Don't stint on green tea. It can be used as a substitute for coffee and the catechins in green tea have the ability to stimulate metabolism. Green tea has many other health benefits through its antioxidant qualities.

11. Include more energy foods in the diet, such as fruits and vegetables, beans and whole grains. These foods should be a staple of most diets anyway for their overall health-giving qualities.

Achieving the desired body weight is never easy but if you have a sensible diet and exercise regime which increases your muscle mass and reduces the amount of body fat, this will significantly boosts your metabolism, and make weight loss just that bit easier.


Andrew Poole is a qualified specialist Weight-loss Coach and the creator of the New-Slimmer-You Weight-loss Support Plan www.new-slimmer-you.com

This article may be copied and used as long as the Author's bio remains intact.

The Simple Truth about Water and Weight Loss

Copyright © Andrew Poole - 2011

The role that the consumption of water has on weight loss is much debated but the case for it is very strong.

Water is a vital component of our being alive. Like the oxygen we breathe in order to survive, water and it's effect on our bodies is essential for life. It helps with many tasks including temperature regulation, cardiovascular function, waste product removal and metabolism. Our bodies are made up of between 55% and 60% water in total with our blood being 94% water, our brain 85% water and most soft tissue around 75%.

We constantly rid ourselves of water through our kidneys during our visits to the bathroom, through perspiration and even through breathing. Just breathe on a mirror to see the moisture there to know that is true. So this water we lose needs constantly to be replaced for the body to remain hydrated. The most effective way to replace water that's been lost is simply to drink pure clear water. But we also replace lost water through the consumption of other liquids and through the foods we eat. Vegetable and fruit in particular have very high water content.

In order to understand the benefits of drinking water on weight loss, we need to know what happens when we don't replace the water that we've lost with an equal amount. Our bodies then suffer from dehydration and as well as being unpleasant, being dehydrated makes our bodies function less well. The body will find water wherever it can and it will draw water from the impure waste that's sitting in our intestines, waiting to be eliminated. It will retain water to dilute these toxins and bloating and weight gain will occur. If the toxins aren't diluted sufficiently this can lead to feelings of tiredness and lethargy, the body will be more prone to infection and will operate well below par. Being in this state is not conducive to maintaining a healthy diet or exercise regime.

Without sufficient water for the kidneys to function properly, the liver gets called upon to do some of the work the kidneys should be doing alone. The liver can then not work as efficiently as it should to carry out one of its own functions of metabolising fat and so this results in more fat being stored in the body and thus increased weight.

Symptoms of our bodies needing water are similar to the body's need for food and the two sensations can be confused. We feel the sensation of hunger and automatically feel the need to feed but satisfaction of that hunger sensation can also come from drinking water or consuming high water based foods, such as soups.

Combine that with the facts that water has zero calories, zero fat, is low-carb, helps with digestion and assists the body in metabolising fat and it starts to look like the wonder weight loss factor of all time. Some tests have shown that drinking water at least half an hour before eating has an even greater impact on weight loss.

Instictively we know we should be drinking more water and many of us need to be drinking a lot more on a regular basis than we currently are. Drinking water has to become a part of our daily routine and it's good to get into the habit of drinking a couple of glasses first thing in the morning as a reminder that we need to continue this during the day.

It's not too difficult to replace caffeinated or sugary drinks with a glass or two of water on our breaks, yet the benefits of doing so are enormous. We should keep a water bottle on our desks and in our cars, to make drinking water that much more convenient.

It's not possible to put an exact figure on how much water we should take in on a daily basis, as we all lose water at different rates depending on our build, the environment we live in and the activities we do, but nature has genorously provided us with a simple measuring device and that is the colour of our urine. If our urine is dark and strong then we are certainly dehydrated and need to take on much more water but if it's just slightly coloured that means we are well hydrated.

Water when taken in its proper proportion, makes the body function well, makes us feel and look healthier and has a beneficial impact on our weight.


Andrew Poole is a qualified specialist Weight-loss Coach and the creator of the New-Slimmer-You Weight-loss Support Plan www.new-slimmer-you.com

This article may be copied and used as long as the Author's bio remains intact.

The Benefits of Detoxing for a Healthy Life

Copyright © Andrew Poole - 2011

We hear more and more about the benefits of a detox so perhaps we should really understand what it is, what it does and why we should do it, before we dismiss it altogether.

Firstly, what is detox?

Detox, or to give it its full name, detoxification, is the removal of potentially toxic substances from the body. Detox is often thought of in terms of treatment for alcohol or drug dependence, but the term also applies to removing environmental and dietary toxins from our bodies that we accumulate from the air we breathe and the food we eat.

The effect toxins can have on our bodies shows in our general fitness and health. They can make you feel sluggish and stressful; your body may experience continuous aching, diarrhea or constipation, or lethargy and clumsiness. Rapid weight gain and the inability to lose excess weight easily can also be signs of having toxins in the body.

The toxins are stored in your fat cells. People on a typical Western/North American diet, which typically consists of high fat and highly processed foods, will consume a lot of toxins through eating. This type of diet will produce the types of symptoms previously mentioned and detoxification is beneficial in countering the negative effects of this.

There are specific organs in your body that handle the waste management. These organs play a major role in the detoxing process for a fit and healthy body.

1. Your liver is the organ that recycles the unwanted chemicals in the body. It sorts out the toxins and places them to the organ for elimination during the process of circulation. As well as having very little nutritional value, fast foods, fried foods and processed foods have to be processed by the liver and this take its energy away from other detoxification work it has to do.

2. The lymph glands also play an important role in eliminating the toxins. A network of tubing brings out the excess waste of the cells from the body and to the final eliminating organs. The appendix, thymus, tonsil, and spleen are major lymphatic glands that help the major organs of the body in the cleansing and detoxing process.

3. The kidneys are responsible for the water management of the body. They are the organs that keep the good chemistry of the blood alkaline by eliminating the dissolved acid waste. You can help your kidney to function well by drinking plenty of water. It's much better if you drink fresh alkaline juices made from fresh vegetables as well as purified water.

4. The lungs are the organs that keep the blood aerated and purified. They allow the oxygen to get directly into the bloodstream. They are also responsible for removing waste gases that are found in every cell of the body. Deep breathing and fresh air is very beneficial in keeping the lungs healthy and free from toxins. If you are in an urban area for much of your time, it's recommended that from time to time you find an oxygen rich area where you can perform deep breathing.

5. The colon is the solid waste management organ in your body. Detoxing and cleansing the colon through colonic hydrotherapy and colonic irrigation can be of real benefit in providing a clean and healthy body.

The things you can do to help your body detox naturally are:

1. Exercise is a major factor in having a fit and healthy body. Light exercise such as walking will still be benficial. Many diet doctors also suggest that you drink plenty of lemon water. This is an effective way of maintaining a very good circulation and can increase the rate of detoxification inside the body.

2. A healthy low fat diet, which includes lots of whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables supports the liver with nutrients and easy-to-digest food. Making such a diet part of your lifestyle should be the first step in an over-all detox program and it has the additonal benefits of giving you more energy, helping you to lose weight and feel younger, healthier and fitter.

We each have to make our judgements on whether detoxing is worthwhile but logic says that removing potentially harmful substances from our bodies and our systems can only be a good thing.

Andrew Poole is a qualified specialist Weight-loss Coach and the creator of the New-Slimmer-You Weight-loss Support Plan www.new-slimmer-you.com

This article may be copied and used as long as the Author's bio remains intact.

Fast Food - Hidden Dangers

Copyright © Andrew Poole - 2011

In a fast-moving, high-paced World, anything which offers us convenience and at a low cost has to be a winner. And that is how the fast food industry has taken such a stranglehold on our lives, because they meet those needs precisely.

So, given that our needs are for speed and convenience and that they are being met so readily by the fast food industry, it would appear to be a win/win situation wouldn't it?

On the face of it yes, but unfortunately that's only a part of it. Health experts have been saying for some time that there are massive problems associated with so called convenience foods, due to their reliance on unhealthy ingredients.

Most of us now know the documentary film Super Size Me", in which film maker Morgan Spurlock set out to investigate whether or not there was any substance behind these warnings. His journey took him around the US on a fact finding mission during which he also put his own body on the line, living on nothing but McDonald's for an entire month with three simple rules:

1) No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter
2) No super sizing unless offered
3) No excuses: he had to eat every item on the menu at least once

Prior to the journey, he'd been thoroughly checked medically and found to be in good health but within the course of a month, his health disintegrated rapidly and he had chest pains and trouble breathing. He also suffered from depression, insomnia and the shakes. His liver functions deteriorated and his liver specialist begged him to quit 20 days into the experiment. But he persevered and finished 25 pounds heavier and much poorer.

So what is it about the food he was existing on that caused this dramatic effect? Fast food is also known as convenience food because it's just that - convenient for us. But it's also convenient for the manufacturer and their convenience comes from mass production with a reliance on cheap, processed ingredients. The nutritional value of the product is sacrificed for this convenience. To give back the flavour which is lost through the use of such ingredients and the processing, they use high proportions of fats, sugars and salts, as these foods trigger the right sensations for us. But these ingredients when used excessively are known to have the following consequences:

Saturated and especially trans fats, which are used widely in processed food, can raise cholesterol, clog arteries and raise the risk of coronary disease.

The excess of sugar in fast foods is a big concern. Not only for the well documented impact on dental welfare but it has also been linked to obesity, heart disease and even cancer.

Salts taken to excess play a huge part in raising blood pressure and increasing the risks of strokes.

Spurlock's experiment meant he was subjected constantly to very high levels of these high risk foods, but for the potentially dangerous consequences to be so obvious in such a short time is a lesson that we should all be heeding. That's not to say there's no place in our lives for convenience foods; it's just to say that our reliance on them should be minimal and they should be viewed as an occasional alternative to a normal healthy diet.

The argument is often used that to cook your own food from healthy ingredients is just not practical in a modern world but with so many simple healthy recipes available to us in books and on the internet and the fact that in most parts of the world, good locally grown ingredients are readily available, there is no excuse for not taking the warning provided by Spurlock's film to heart.

We have choices and we must for the sake of our health and the health of those around us, choose wisely.

Andrew Poole is a qualified specialist Weight-loss Coach and the creator of the New-Slimmer-You Weight-loss Support Plan www.new-slimmer-you.com

This article may be copied and used as long as the Author's bio remains intact.

The 7 Point Blueprint for a Healthy Life

Copyright © Andrew Poole - 2011

Any new weight-loss plan has to be viewed against the failure of the diet industry to provide a long term, sustainable means of enabling us to maintain a stable weight. The simple facts are that most people who lose a significant amount of weight will eventually put it back on. Also, the Diet Food and Drink Market alone is worth Billions of Dollars annually and increasing, and yet according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2005, 1.6 BILLION people globally were classified as overweight and that growth is set to continue to $2.3 Billion by 2015. So, the Diet Industry is huge and is predicted to get even bigger but the number of people classified as overweight is going to increase dramatically too.

A major factor in this is we are encouraged to engage in short term dieting - the rapid weight-loss and quick fix diets - to meet our short term needs, without giving too much thought to what happens once we've achieved that weight. Nothing stops us from going back to our old habits and that's how the inevitable cycle progresses.

It's obvious that we need to reconsider this and view our approach to weight-loss as a permanent change and not just a short term expedient. Permanent change involves looking at an overall method which will not only lose us the weight we need to shift to get down to our desired weight but with just slight adjustments, as opposed to radical changes, will enable us to keep at or around that weight indefinitely.

It's becoming more and more recognized that a combination of the right foods and some form of exercise are the only way to provide this desired outcome.

With so much misinformation out there, knowing the right foods and exercise is a hard task but the following 7 point plan meets healthy eating requirements without taking the pleasure of out of eating; it provides the essentials to enable our bodies to function properly without reliance on supplements and it gives some pointers to the level of exercise necessary.

The 7 Point Plan:
---------------------------------

Point #1 - eat regularly and have nutritious snacks. Your body is programmed to recognize starvation symptoms and will stop burning fat as a survival mechanism. Eating regularly will keep you blood sugar levels stable and you'll be less likely to want to binge on sugary foods.

Point #2 - avoid sugary refined foods, alcohol and caffeine as much as possible as these lower your metabolism and encourage your body to store calories. Caffeine also increases the reactivity of the body to the stress of everyday life and increased levels of stress negatively affect weight-loss and although it is included as an ingredient in many weight-loss aids, caffeine actually stimulates appetite.

Point #3 - eat plenty of protein. Protein slows down the release of sugars into the blood as it takes longer to digest than carbohydrates. The need to eat protein every day is worth emphasising, because your body can't store it - you can't stock up on it by bingeing on protein once a week, for example. Vegetarians needn't panic as foods such as nuts, seeds, beans, pulses, vegetable protein foods and soya products all contain protein. There are also small amounts in grains and dairy products.

Point #4 - eat complex carbohydrates as they provide sustained energy through releasing it slowly. Complex carbohydrates are often confused with unrefined carbohydrates, but complex in this case refers to how complicated the chemical structure of a carbohydrate is.

There are three kinds of complex carbohydrates:

Glycogen - Which is your body's major fuel source and is converted into energy.

Starch - which is only a no-no when things like sauces and oils are added to bread, pasta, rice etc.

Fibre - as is found in fruit and vegetables, and which helps your body to process waste and also makes you feel fuller for longer.

Point #5 - eat plenty of essential fats.
Fats and weight-loss - are you kidding? There are bad fats that clog up the arteries and cause all sorts of problems and there are good fats which the body simply can't live without and it's these we're concerned with. The Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9 fatty acids are among the good guys and are also known as essential fatty acids. These EFA's help keep blood sugar levels stable which we know is important for weight-loss.

Omega 3 fatty acids come from foods like flaxseeds, extra virgin olive oil, green leafy vegetables, and cold water fish such as tuna, sardines, salmon, herring, and lake trout. Omega 6 fatty acids are found in seeds and nuts. Some fish and animal meats also provide a derivative form of Omega 6.

Point #6 - exercise regularly. The good news is you don't
have to become an Olympic athlete. Any exercise for weight-loss and maintenance should be at a level that keeps your body in its fat-burning zone. And this is quite a low level of intensity such as swimming and power walking or even low-intensity aerobic workouts. Consistency is important with exercise and it needs to be done every day or at least every other day.

Point #7 - drink water. Drnking water is being recognized as an important part of weight-loss for a variety of reasons. In simple terms, drinking water before a meal gives the sensation of feeling full which means you will eat less. Water increases metabolism thus burning off fat more quickly and it helps maintain muscle tone. It also aids elimination of toxins released from fat cells as they are used as fuel. The volume of water needed will be determined by a person's own body size and the amount they are overweight, as well as other factors such as climate or needing to re-hydrate after exercise.

Those 7 points are the basis for a diet and exercise regime which will initially lose you the weight you want and then be adjusted for weight maintenance. Make it the blueprint for your life and say goodbye to serial dieting forever.

Andrew Poole is a qualified specialist Weight-loss Coach and the creator of the New-Slimmer-You Weight-loss Support Plan www.new-slimmer-you.com

This article may be copied and used as long as the Author's bio remains intact.