Many rumors have circulated over the years about the much-dreaded stretch marks that can occur when you are pregnant. Some say they are hereditary and if your mother or grandmother had them, there is a good chance that you will have them, as well. Others say that if you don't nourish your skin properly while you are pregnant you will be more likely to get them. Your diet, the amount of exercise you get, the type of soap you use and hundreds of other factors might also apply.
No matter what the cause of stretch marks, however, no mother to be wants them. Not only do they not go away, but the stretching of your skin can be very painful and who would want to worry about any of that on top of all the other worries that are coming your way with the new responsibility of being a parent?
The cause of stretch marks is still unknown but there are a few things that can not only minimize the appearance of these scars but moisturize and nourish your skin for a healthier appearance. The first one as everyone knows is what their doctor has been telling them since they were small children themselves:
Make sure you drink eight glasses of water per day. Nowadays, everyone's lives have become super hectic and it is much easier for a pregnant woman to find a can of cola instead of a bottle of water, but the truth is that the can of cola that you enjoy with lunch does nothing for your body and it also does nothing for your baby besides give the little one a bad sugar high. If you want to eliminate the possibility of getting stretch marks, drink lots of water.
Water is proven by many doctors to help nourish your skin, hair, and nails. It also can help the appearance of any scar -- including stretch marks -- disappear over time. Water also not only helps your internal organs but it helps nourish and takes care of your little baby that you are carrying, and that alone is a great reason to drink more water.
Source: associatedcontent.com
More than anything you want to make sure that you are getting enough fiber in your diet. When it comes to what foods cause cellulite, anything fatty and sugary you will definitely want to avoid. Chocolate, cakes, biscuits, pastries, all of these should be avoided if you want to have the best skin and avoid problems like cellulite.
You also want to avoid salty foods as dietary salt can cause fluid to be retained in the body and may actually even worsen the visible signs of cellulite.
Add Fiber and Supplements
Fiber is basically the opposite; make sure that as you increase your intake of fiber you also drink more water or you may end up constipated. A high fiber diet means eating foods such as whole grain breads and cereals, fruit and vegetables.
There are also supplements that you can take and you will want to talk to your doctor to get more information on this. Ginkgo bilboba is one herb in particular that can help with cellulite by improving circulation and it may also be beneficial in reducing the severity of cellulite as well.
There are many other foods that you should be aware of when it comes to the topic of what foods cause cellulite. Basically you just want to make sure that you eat a healthy, well balanced diet and drink plenty of water. Exercise is also important of course, and every step you take here will be benefiting you, keeping you looking your very best and reducing your chances of developing something like cellulite.
Foods to be avoided by cellulitics
A detailed list of such foods, which should be avoided by a cellulitic is given here:
- Fish, salted and preserved caviar, anchovies, sardines, cod, tunny, haddock
- Oily fish like eels, mackerel, herring
- Certain meats like foie gras, duck, goose, fatty pork meats, stews, guinea-fowl, high game, tripe
- Shellfish like lobsters, crabs, crayfish, prawns, mussels, scallops
- Vegetables like broad beans, split peas, soya
- Fruit like all dried fruits
- Milk products like strong cheese
- Highly fermented cheese
- Cooked butter
- Confectionary
- Fried foods
- Condiments like mustard, pickles, garlic, spices, salt, pepper and all other spicy things
- Drinks like coffee, tea and all alcoholic drinks
- Tobacco like at the most two cigarettes a day
Myth 1 Low-fat or no-fat diets are good for you.
Fact
Leading dietician Lyndel Costain says: 'People tend to think they need a low-fat diet to lose weight, but you should still have a third of your calories coming from fat.'
The body needs fat for energy, tissue repair and to transport vitamins A, D, E and K around the body.
Lyndel Costain adds: 'As a guideline, women need 70g of fat a day (95g for men) with 30g as the minimum (40g for men).
'There's no need to follow a fat-free diet. Cutting down on saturated fats and eating unsaturated fats, found in things like olive oil and avocados, will help.'
Myth 2 Crash dieting or fasting makes you lose weight.
Fact
This may be true in the short term, but ultimately it can hinder weight loss.
Claire MacEvilly, a nutritionist at the MRC Human Nutrition Research Centre in Cambridge, explains: 'Losing weight over the long term burns off fat. Crash dieting or fasting not only removes fat but also lean muscle and tissue.'
The loss of lean muscle causes a fall in your basal metabolic rate - the amount of calories your body needs on a daily basis.
This means your body will need fewer calories than it did previously, making weight gain more likely once you stop dieting.
It's also why exercise is recommended in any weight-loss plan to build muscle and maintain your metabolic rate.
Claire MacEvilly adds: 'Fasting can also make you feel dizzy or weak so it's much better to try long-term weight loss.'
Myth 3 Food eaten late at night is more fattening.
Fact
Many diets tell you not to eat after a certain time in the evening. They say the body will store more fat because it is not burned off with any activity.
A study at the Dunn Nutrition Centre in Cambridge suggests otherwise.
Volunteers were placed in a whole body calorimeter, which measures calories burned and stored.
They were fed with a large lunch and small evening meal for one test period, then a small lunch and large evening meal during a second test period.
The results revealed the large meal eaten late at night did not make the body store more fat.
It's not when you eat that's important, but the total amount you consume in a 24-hour period.
Lyndel Costain adds: 'It is true that people who skip meals during the day, then eat loads in the evening are more likely to be overweight than those who eat regularly throughout the day.
'This may be because eating regular meals helps people regulate their appetite and overall food intake.'
Myth 4 A slow metabolism prevents weight loss.
Fact
This is a common myth among dieters who are struggling to lose weight.
Studies have shown that resting metabolism - the number of calories used by the body at rest - increases as people become fatter.
In other words, the larger you are, the more calories you need to keep your body going and the higher your metabolism.
Clare Grace, research dietitian at the Queen Mary University of London, says: 'Weight gain occurs when the number of calories eaten is greater than the number used up by the body.
'Unfortunately, people are becoming increasingly sedentary, burning off less and less calories, and it seems likely this is a crucial factor in the increasing numbers struggling to control their weight.'
Myth 5 Fattening foods equal rapid weight gain.
Fact
Believe it or not, true weight gain is a slow process. You need to eat an extra 3500 calories to gain one pound of body fat (and vice versa for losing it).
Lyndel Costain explains: 'If the scales say you've gained a few pounds after a meal out, it's largely due to fluid, which will resolve itself - as long as you don't get fed up, and keep overeating!
'A lot of people feel guilty and think they've blown their diet if they eat rich foods. But, how can a 50g chocolate bar make you instantly put on pounds?
'For long-term weight control, balance high-fat foods with healthy food and activity.'
Myth 6
Low-fat milk has less calcium than full-fat milk.
Fact
Skimmed and semi-skimmed milk actually have more calcium, says dietician Alison Sullivan, because the calcium is in the watery part, not the creamy part.
She says: 'If you're trying to lose weight and cut fat from your diet, skimmed milk is your best bet because it is lower in fat and has 10mg more calcium per 200ml milk than full fat.
'Semi-skimmed is best for maintaining a healthy lifestyle if you're not dieting.
'Full-fat milk is best for children and adults who are underweight.'
Myth 7
Low-fat foods help you lose weight.
Fact
'Low-fat' or 'fat-free' doesn't necessarily mean low calorie or calorie-free, warns Lyndel Costain.
Check the calorie content of foods, especially cakes, biscuits, crisps, ice creams and ready meals.
Extra sugars and thickeners are often added to boost flavour and texture, so calorie content may be only a bit less, or similar to standard products.
Foods labelled low-fat should contain no more than 3g fat per 100g.
'Watching the quantity is important,' adds nutritionist Alison Sullivan. 'People tend to have half-fat spread but then use twice as much.
'And things like fruit pastilles may be low in fat, but are high in sugar which turns to fat.
'With low fat foods, look to see where else the calories might come from.'
Myth 8
Cholesterol is bad for you.
Fact
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is made mostly by the liver.
It can be bad for us, because it forms deposits that line and clog our arteries. Clogged arteries contribute to heart disease.
But we all need some blood cholesterol because it's used to build cells and make vital hormones - and there's good and bad cholesterol.
Lyndel Costain explains: 'Saturated fats found in food like meat, cheese, cream, butter and processed pastries tend to raise low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, known as 'bad' cholesterol, which delivers cholesterol to the arteries.
'High density lipoprotein (HDL), or 'good' cholesterol, transports cholesterol away from the arteries, back to the liver.'
So choose unsaturated fats such as vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.
Myth 9
Vegetarians can't build muscle.
Fact
Vegetarians can be as muscular as meat eaters by getting their protein from vegetable sources such as cheese, nuts, pulses and grains.
Claire MacEvilly says: 'You need protein to build muscle, but too much can lead to long-term side effects.
'The body can only store a certain amount of protein, so too much can damage the kidney.
'The Department of Health recommends that 50 per cent of energy should come from carbohydrates, 35 per cent from fat and the remaining 15 per cent from protein.'
Myth 10
You always gain weight when you stop smoking.
Fact
Some people gain weight when they stop smoking, some lose weight and some stay the same.
While nicotine does increase the body's metabolism, its effect is small. It's far healthier to be an overweight non-smoker than not bother giving up because you think you'll put on weight.
Alison Sullivan says: 'Where people tend to fall down is when they replace a cigarette with comfort food.
'Chewing sugar-free gum or snacking on vegetable strips kept in the fridge is a good idea because you can have these instead of reaching for the biscuit tin.
'And something like a satsuma keeps your hands occupied until the craving goes away.'
Source: netdoctor.co.uk
Myth 1: Training the abs will give you a flat stomach.
You simply can't spot reduce fat. When you exercise, fat is removed from all areas of the body. The calories expended during ab exercises are very low. If you are looking for a high calorie burner, there are better exercises. Working the abs will develop the underlying muscle, but if there is a layer of fat obscuring your "six pack" neither you nor anyone else will ever see it.
Myth 2: The lower and upper abs are separate from one another.
The abs are one long sheet of muscle. They aren't separate. Any ab exercise you do is going to involve both the lower and upper abdominal areas. You can shift the emphasis more toward the lower or upper regions by performing specific exercises. To target the upper abdominal area, you use exercises that bring the chest towards the pelvis (crunch-type exercises). To target the lower abdominal region, use exercises that bring the pelvis toward the chest (reverse curls).
Myth 3:You should perform ab exercises every day for best results.
If you train your muscles every day, you are going to be short-changing yourself. The muscles develop during rest. When you train them every day, you're actually breaking down muscles. It's best to allow 48 hours for the muscle to recuperate and provide optimal results.
Myth 4: During the crunch, you should place your hands behind your head for support.
You should never put your hands behind your head for support. When you put your hands behind your head and clasp there is a tendency to pull on the neck muscles. This puts you at a greater risk for straining the neck muscles, especially when the repetitions start getting difficult and you are fatiguing and want to get out the last few reps. The best advice is to place your hands behind your chest or put your fists at your ears.
Schoenfeld emphasises that to achieve a super-sexy stomach you first have to shed the layer of fat covering the muscles. The best one-two tactic? Good nutrition and regular physical activity. Without proper nutrition, you aren't going to see the fruits of your labour, he says.
For an extra boost of fat burning Schoenfeld advocates an aerobic activity. The combination of a healthy diet and cardio exercise will speed up your progress and help burn extra fat.
Schoenfeld suggests performing the following three exercises as one giant set. Do 15 to 20 reps of the toe touch. Without resting, do 15 to 20 reps of the reverse curl. Then do 15 to 20 reps of the twisting curl. Rest 30 seconds and repeat the giant set two more times.
Toe Touch
Begin by lying on the floor with arms and legs straight upwards, perpendicular to your body. Slowly curl your torso up and forward, raising your hands as close to your toes as possible. Contract your abs and then reverse direction, returning to the starting position.
Reverse Curl
Begin by lying back on the floor. With your hands at your sides, raise your butt as high as possible while keeping your upper back pressed to the floor. Contract your abs and then reverse direction, returning to the starting position.
Twisting Crunch
Begin by lying face up on the floor with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Your thighs should be perpendicular to the ground and your hands should be folded across your chest. Slowly raise your shoulders up and forward toward your chest, twisting your body to the right. Feel a contraction in your abdominal muscles and then slowly reverse direction, returning to the start position. After performing the desired number of repetitions, repeat the process, twisting your body to the left.
Source: ivillage.co.uk
Jessica Alba
From the early age of 12 Jessica Alba decided to modify her diet so she wouldn't follow in the foot steps of her heavily overweight family. She eats a balanced diet and shies away from eating carbs to keep her body in svelte shape for many of her more revealing roles.
Jessica sticks to a diet of lean meats, vegetables, egg whites and cottage cheese, and snacks on dried fruit and frozen yogurt to satisfy her sweet tooth.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer stays fit by exercising and eating a balanced diet. Everything in moderation is her motto! She doesn't drink alcohol at all and When she does need to lose weight she cuts back on her carbs.
Jennifer incorporates regular cardio and weight resistance training into her life. I suppose with no hangover to deal with, she's always in top form for an exercise routine..
Oprah
The queen of celebrity weight loss. She avoids carbs like the plague, including bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. She also works out everyday - she's testament to the fact that dieting isn't easy, but if you work hard you can do it.
Oprah said recently, "My one regret in life is wasting years trying to control my weight." Well it looks like she has it all figured out now.
Heidi Klum
Heidi lost 30lbs in the first 6 months after her pregnancy. How did she stay motivated?
She took photographs of herself in the buff every week, to keep track of the way her body was changing!
Angelina Jolie
A strict protein-rich diet of lean meats and fish, plus lots and lots of water. Eating more high quality protein is one celebrity diet tip that we should all take note of.
Angelina has also dined on cockroaches, crickets and bee larvae - all excellent sources of protein. However, we don't all need to go that far to stay slim!
Janet Jackson
Janet's dramatic weight loss in 2006 captured the attention of the world. Besides a full exercise routine, she has a personal nutritionist who determines her diet.
She drinks 2-3 custom-tailored liquid meals each day, containing all the nutrients she needs. As her diet progressed, she introduced vegetables, berries and frozen fruit.
Christie Brinkley
Christie keeps all junk food out of the house. When she wants to snack, its on sweet potatoes, not sweets!
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon controls her calories and portions by eating jars of baby food. It's a great idea as top quality baby food is tasty and nutritionally dense. It's also very convenient as a snack - take it with you when you're on the go.
Marcia Cross is another fan - instead of eating fruit candy, follow her lead and replace it with a healthy pot of strawberry-banana puree.
Ashley Judd
The star of A Time To Kill and De-Lovely eats no dairy at all. Her celebrity diet starts each day with hot water and lemon, and she puts Soya milk in her cereal.
Claudia Schiffer
Eats nothing but fruit before noon. She has a light dinner of salad and steamed vegetables, and snacks on tomato juice, black grapes and herbal tea. She sticks to 3 meals a day to keep a healthy metabolism.
Demi Moore
Demi drinks herbal tea to curb her appetite. And she stays healthy by taking vitamins with her tea between meals.
Jennifer Aniston
The Zone. She lost 30lbs by cutting out mayonnaise, sandwiches and fried food. She is also a yoga fanatic.
Drew Barrymore
Drew sticks to a sensible 3 meals a day, and snacks on Diet Coke or low fat Jell-O when she's hungry. For exercise she makes sure that she enjoys herself - by going jogging, dancing and playing crazy golf!
Fergie
With such a busy schedule Fergie orders her meals delivered by Diet Designs. She also forces down 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar each day. This home remedy tonic has been used for 10,000 years for a variety of health problems. It is also thought to speed metabolism, break down fat and even block fat formation.
Tori Spelling
Tori Spelling gained 40 pounds from her recent pregnancy. She has already dramatically dropped it all and then some, thanks to the new advanced Nutrasystem plan. She loves the taste, diversity, and convenience of this diet plan and is now the celebrity spokesmodel for The Nutrasystem Diet.
Source: modeldietplan.com
Being obese can increase the risk of Alzheimer's Disease by as much as 80 percent, according to a study published Wednesday in the May issue of Obesity Reviews.
But it's not just weight gain that poses a risk. People who are underweight also have an elevated risk of dementia, unlike people who are normal weight or overweight, said the research papers.
U.S. researchers carried out a detailed review of 10 international studies published since 1995, covering just over 37,000 people, including 2,534 with various forms of dementia. Subjects were aged between 40 and 80 years when the studies started, with follow-up periods ranging from three to 36 years.
All kinds of dementia were included, with specific reference to Alzheimer's Disease and to vascular dementia -- where areas of the brain stop functioning because the blood vessels that supply them are damaged by conditions such as high blood pressure or heart disease.
"Our analysis showed that obesity increased the relative risk of dementia, for both sexes, by an average of 42 percent when compared with normal weight," says Youfa Wang, lead researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "And being underweight increased the risk by 36 percent."
"But when we looked specifically at Alzheimer's Disease, the increased risk posed by obesity was 80 percent. The increased risk for people with vascular dementia was 73 percent," said the authors.
The detailed analysis clearly shows a "U-shaped" relationship between weight and dementia, with people who are obese or underweight facing a greater risk, they concluded. "We believe that our results show that reducing the prevalence of obesity is a promising strategy for preventing the progression of normal aging into Alzheimer's Disease."
Source xinhuanet.com
Avoid these 5 types of diets for best weight loss results:
1. Diets that focus on only a few foods or food groups (like the cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet, strict vegan diets, raw food diets, and many low-carb diets). Beware of any diet that rules out entire food groups. People need to eat from a variety of food groups to get all the nutrients they need, says ADA spokeswoman Andrea Giancoli, MPH, RD.
Yale University's David Katz, MD, author of The Flavor Point Diet, says that while restrictive diets do work initially, they fail over the long haul. You can lose weight on diets that focus on single foods (like cabbage soup), but how much cabbage soup can a person eat? Before long, you grow weary of eating the same foods every day, and cravings for favorite foods lead you back to your former eating behavior.
Keep in mind that all foods can fit into a healthy lifestyle in moderation -- even things like bacon, super-premium ice cream, and chips. And when diets forbid certain foods and dieters envision a life without their favorite treats, those diets usually fail. "Any time you restrict a certain food, it triggers cravings for the forbidden fruit and sets up a restriction-binge cycle," says Blatner.
And what about restrictive diets that offer a rewarding "cheat day"? May labels them "absurd."
"It just doesn't make sense to try to be perfect (whatever that is) on Sunday to Friday while obsessing about everything you are going to eat on Saturday," she says.
2. "Detox" diets (like Master Cleanse, the Hallelujah Diet, and The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox). Extreme regimens calling for procedures like liver flushes, bodily cleanses, colonics, hormone injections, and more are highly suspect, experts say.
"All the flushes and cleanses are pure nonsense, unnecessary, and there is no scientific basis for these recommendations," says Pamela Peeke, MD, chief medical correspondent for the Discovery Health channel. "Your body is well equipped with organs, such as the liver and kidneys, and the immune system, to rid itself of potential toxins and does an excellent job of cleansing itself without needing flushes or cleanses."
3. Diets with 'miracle' foods or ingredients (like supplements, fructose water, bitter orange, green tea, apple cider vinegar). Dieters are always searching for the food, pill, or potion that will help them lose weight, but unfortunately, there are no such miracle ingredients. "No one single food or group of foods eaten together or at a certain time of day has any impact on weight loss," notes May.
Be leery of any plan that recommends a shelf full of supplements, enzymes, or potions (especially if you purchase them from the diet book author or company).
"You don't need expensive supplements," says Blatner. "If you want to take a once daily multivitamin for nutritional insurance, that is fine, but otherwise, we recommend you get your nutrients from food."
4. Fasting and very low-calorie diets (like the "Skinny" vegan diet, Hollywood Diet, and Master Cleanse). Fasting has been a cultural and religious tradition for centuries, and is fine for a day or so, but fasting for weight loss is counterproductive, Giancoli explains.
"When you ... consume too few calories, your body thinks it is starving and adjusts the metabolism," she says. "But when you go back to eating normally, your metabolism doesn't readjust and therefore you need fewer calories than before -- otherwise known as the yo-yo syndrome."
What's worse, weight loss during a fast is usually a combination of fat, fluid, and muscle, but the pounds regained will probably be all fat. Not convinced yet? Giancoli says you won't feel good, nor will you have much energy to be physically active while fasting.
And what about very low-calorie diets? Blatner say that diets promising losses of more than a half to 1 pound per week are simply not realistic.
"When you see diet books touting 5, 10 or 15 pounds in a short period of time, it is unrealistic," says Blatner. Depending on how much you have to lose, you may experience some initial water loss. But over time, weight loss averages out to around a pound per week, she says.
5. Diets that sound too good to be true (like The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About.) If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Diet plans that claim to have a "secret," that make dramatic statements against respected health authorities, or make recommendations that contradict those of scientific organizations are suspect.
Source: webmd.com
