Is Syndrome X Making You Fat?

By: Lee Dobbins Is it getting harder and harder for you to maintain your weight? Maybe you've noticed significant weight gain despite the fact that you haven't changed your eating or exercise habits? Do you exercise every day but can't seem to lose weight? Then, perhaps Syndrome X is to blame.Syndrome X is a serious problem that can adversely affect your health. In addition to weight problems, Syndrome X has been linked to heart disease, hypoglycemia and menstrual imbalances. It is also a precursor to developing Diabetes Type 2.Syndrome X is also referred to as Metabolic Syndrome, Metabolic Syndrome X and Insulin Resistance. It is a very common disease; however it is widely overlooked by many medical professionals. One statistic reveals 1 in 3 people suffer from it. It works like this, lets say you want to talk to visit your friend. You knock on his door but he doesn't answer. So what do you do? You knock again. Still no answer - you knock yet again. Insulin has the same sort of process. Certain foods cause the body to make higher levels of insulin than others which produces not 1 but 2 "knocks". If you are insulin resistant (Syndrome X), your body cannot process the glucose, therefore the pancreas tries to make up for it by producing even more insulin. It thinks "no one is home" and just keeps making more. The main purpose of glucose is to be used as fuel for the cells in the body to produce energy. Unprocessed glucose translates into fat. If the body keeps making it and it's not being processed, where does it go? Hips, thighs, stomach, and buttocks, that's where! Symdrome X can be blamed in part on genetics in some cases. But for many it is simply leading an unhealthy lifestyle that is the culprit. Eating processed foods, too much sugar, not exercising enough, smoking and stress can be causes of Syndrome X.So if you don't want to join the over 4 million Americans that weigh in at over 300 pounds, what can you do? The most important thing is to exercise - if you currently have an exercise program keep it up - if not than start one. Drink plenty of water. Don't eat processed foods, startches, white bread, cookies, cakes, desserts, sugars etc... Limit your caffeine intake. Eat lots of vegetables - try to work your way up to having 1/3 of your daily food be vegetables. One good way to do that is to have veggies with every meal and make sure you cover 1/3 of the plate with them. To see if you are insulin resistant you can ask your doctor to test your sugar levels. Change what you're eating and get walking and you'll be amazed at the pounds start to fall off. The fatigue and fuzziness will start to disappear and in turn you'll feel much better.Article Source: http://www.nulife-weightloss.com/articlesLee Dobbins is the owner of Low Carb Resource where you can find more about low carb eating, the glycemic index and dieting. Visit the dieting article archives for more dieting tips.

The Easiest Way To Lose Weight

By: Melanie Mendelson If you think there is no easy way to lose weight - think again. The easiest weight loss method could have been staring you right in the face all this time. Here it goes: Stop drinking soft drinks. Drink water instead.Dumping the soft drinks from your diet will result in dropping some serious pounds. Think about it: A can of coke packs in 150 calories. Just 3 cans of coke add up to 450 calories. Now, you are in for a shock: a quarter-pound cheeseburger sets you back by only 360 calories, which is less than those 3 cans of coke. Now, what would you rather have: a warm juicy cheeseburger or the sugary water from the can? If you currently drink 3 soda cans a day, you can save 450 daily calories by switching to plain water. Water has zero calories. Let's do the math: since one pound of fat equals to 3500 calories, you will lose roughly one pound per week just by leaving the coke behind. Yes, you've heard it right - you can lose a pound of fat every week while you eat as much as you normally do. No dieting, no starving - don't change a thing about what you eat. The only thing you change is what you drink.Now, let's do some more math, which gets better and better. 1 lb per week equals 4 pounds per month. Multiply 4 pounds by 12 months, and we get 48 lbs of ugly fat per year!Unbelievable, huh? Calorie savings on drinks provide you with yet another advantage: you can now eat more and still lose weight. For example, if you substituted 3 cans of soda every day with water, you have 450 calories to play with. If you eat an extra piece of chocolate that's worth 200 calories, you still save 250 calories and lose 24 lbs per year. I can now almost hear you say - "Well, Melanie, what if I don't drink 3 cans of coke a day? I only drink one soft drink for lunch!" Good for you! Now, consider this: if you swap this lunchtime coke with water, you will lose 16 pounds per year. How's that for a freebie weight loss?Since soft drinks don't make you full, it is very easy to dump them. Drinks are "liquid calories", "empty calories" - calories that are just not worth it. Soda drinks have no nutritional value - just useless sugars and chemicals that rot your teeth, make you gain weight and don't even fill you up. Take advantage of the easiest weight loss tip on Earth -eat your calories, don't drink them.Article Source: http://www.nulife-weightloss.com/articlesMelanie Mendelson has helped hundreds of people lose weight with her rapid weight loss diet. Who else wants to lose up to 25 lbs in 30 days? Read weight loss success stories at www.30-day-diet-plan.com

How I Discovered Tai Chi

Once in a while, I get really bored with my workouts. You know,after a while it gets to be the same old, same old stuff. It isalways weights or cardio machines or the same stuff over andover again. I have worked out for years and sometimes it isnice to have something different to sink your teeth into whenyou go to the gym. Or it is also nice to have something fun andinvigorating to do at home. Something that gets you started offon the right foot in the morning.I recently found something that fits that criteria and it iscalled Tai Chi. You may have heard of it. It has been aroundfor centuries. Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art but differentfrom regular sparring types of kung fu. Some people may call ita soft style of martial arts and I think they have a pointbecause you cant really whack a guy with Tai Chi. But thatdoesnt matter because the point of this exercise is to help aperson relax and to inner reflect, if you will. How to do TaiChi correctly and effectively is a simple matter of finding theright instructor.You see, Tai Chi is all about finding the right balance withinyourself, your Chi or spiritual center. Most people do not doTai Chi for any martial arts benefit. I know I did not start itfor that reason. I did it to have another form of exercise inplace of regular boring stuff I was sick of. The thing is, Idiscovered that it really does help you find peace and improveyour balance.Tai Chi is based on using the whole body, even the innerstrength of the mind and breath, all together as one unit.Think of it as standing yoga or a combination of that andballet. Maybe it seems silly for a tough guy like me to say Ido something similar to ballet, but I tell you, it is not onlyrelaxing but challenging as well. Some people call it movingmeditation. Because that is what you are doing. You are movingyour hands and arms and legs together, but you are relaxingyour mind at the same time to allow deep meditation.Tai Chi patterns are easy to learn and hard to master. They arevery flowing and smooth and develop the internal flow or Chi oryour body and soul. It was tough for me at first, doing allthose weird poses and repetitive moves, but it got easier andmuch more fun once I got the hang of it. I knew I had to be badbefore I good be good.There are a wide range of videos out there to help you getstarted and I tried quite a few before I got hooked on oneinstructor that really blew me away. You have to find someonethat knows what they are doing and can really relate to youwhat Tai Chi is all about.Here is what really struck me...it's something I can do for myhealth for the rest of my life.About The Author: Yoshi I. Kundagawa is a freelance journalist.He covers the mixed martial arts industry. For a free report onTai Chi Videos visit his blog.http://www.martialarts3000.com/taichiqigong.html

Obesity

A person with 20% or more body fat is considered obese. Obesity is one of the major risk factors responsible for developing various health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Today, there are more double income families than ever before. We live in a fast-paced society. We seem to be constantly in a hurry to meet some kind of deadline. Consequently we frequently eat in a hurry. Many of us choose fast foods from chain-operated restaurants.