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Health Articles

The Weight Loss Snowball Effect

On a total food replacement plan, many people can lose 1 stone a month, via a safe rapid weight loss process called ketosis. Losing weight with a meal replacement plan is a very effective method of getting to your healthy target weight fast. Total food replacement means that you do not eat any conventional food, you get all your nutritional requirements from a range of food packs.
If you have several stones to lose, losing 1 stone will not make people stop on the street and notice the difference. The first month or so on a diet is hard work for someone who is very over weight, as it takes so much strength, determination and willpower to break old habits and stop turning to food at times of stress or frustration.
After a few weeks, it does become easier, as you start to form new positive habits, you start to form new strategies on how to deal with situations when you would normally turn to food.
It is important to celebrate your success every day, to be proud of every time you said “no” and to build your confidence and self esteem that you are strong and on a journey to become slim and healthy.
Once the results really start to show, the momentum builds and the excitement builds. The snowball effect kicks in, and every couple of weeks you will notice big changes in your health and your body. The weight loss process stops becoming a chore and hard task and it transforms into an exciting fun journey.
When starting out on your weight loss journey, don’t think too far ahead, just take it day at a time, and before you know it, it will become easy, it will become a new way of life, and you will wake up everyday and feel inspired and motivated to continue your journey of health improvement.…

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Health Articles

Salon Quality Hair at Home

Are you jealous of those hair models? Their hair seems to swing easily, shiny, smooth and tangle free. The hair lays well, the curl stays and there is NO air brushing involved – right? Watch any hair care advertisement and you are ready to run out and buy it, try it and pray for that miracle. It can all be overwhelming.
Good hair care begins with knowing and understanding the needs of your particular hair type before choosing the products and equipment you need to wash, condition, dry and style. While we would all like that smooth silky shine, you know your own hair best. You know if it is normally curly and dry, fine and limp or gets greasy quickly. Don’t trick yourself into believing that with a new shampoo, conditioner or treatment you can change the basic structure.
You are striving to achieve the best possible results with the tools you’ve been given. That means getting the best possible equipment and products to give you the best potential.
Start with a good boar’s head bristle brush with a rubber base. This brush has some give and take in the base so you aren’t ripping and tearing at the hair shaft. You also want a good wide tooth comb to use when the hair is wet. No matter how tempted you are to use a brush on wet hair DON’T! No matter how great the brush is your hair is more apt to be damaged when wet. In fact, if you have straight hair you may want to wait until it’s dry before combing through.
Shampoos and conditioners are an essential part of any routine. Shampoos will lift the dirt, oil and environmental toxins from your hair and send it down the drain. Pick the shampoo for your specific hair type. If you have curly hair you’ll want a shampoo that is hydrating; limp fine hair works well with panthenol which help to plump the strands and give you volume; color and treated hair should be washed with gentle shampoo that can be used daily.
Unless you have curly hair or dry and treated hair use your conditioner 2-3 times per week. Those who have treated or curly hair should condition daily – or any time they shampoo. Conditioners help to protect the hair from damage, leaves you with less tangles, moisturized and hydrated.
Now you can experiment with mousse, balms, de-frizz, shine serums and heat treatments. Shine serums help the hair to reflect light giving it that shiny appearance but will weigh down fine hair. Mousse, balms and de-frizz products will help you control your hair on days that are high in humidity, heat or activity levels. And heat treatments will help to protect the hair shaft from the heat of blow dryers, straighteners and curling irons.
When you are purchasing a blow dryer get a good one. Curly thick hair will require 1875 watts while fine hair can get away with a dryer with 1500 watts. A strong dryer with multiple settings will cut the time your hair is exposed to heat and decrease your drying time.
Hairspray isn’t what your mom used to buy – or at least it shouldn’t be! Hairspray can keep your hair under control during bouts of humidity and protect it from the UV rays from the sun. A soft, flexible formula will hold your hair in place during activities but won’t leave you looking like Great Aunt Carol’s helmet head. If you are looking for a bit of extra volume lift sections of hair and spray near the roots. Those with short hair can also spray their hair with their heads upside down.
Keep each of these items in your arsenal of supplies so you can look your best each and every day. Whether you are leaving the house or staying home, looking your best helps you to feel your best!…

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Health Articles

How to Calorie Shift

Calorie shifting seems to be getting a lot of attention lately, but many are confused about how to do it. This dieting technique is fast, safe, and best of all…relatively easy! The best part about calorie shifting is that you don’t have to cut out any of your favorite foods, and if done correctly you can lose as much as 10 lbs in less than two weeks. This article will explain how to accomplish that goal.
The key to calorie shifting is that you have to eat more than four times a day, but for maximum results, you should eat six small meals a day. With this plan no snacks in between are allowed, but you will not feel hungry if plan your meals accordingly. Each meal should have different caloric values, and is is stressed that it must be a MEAL… so try to include at least a few food groups. And, as with any diet you should try to drink at least eight glasses of cold water a day. Diet Sodas, Coffee, and Juices can be contributed to your 8 glasses of “water”, but personally I like to drink ice cold water since it actually burns calories, while when you drink juice or soda you are consuming calories.
Drinking lots of ice cold water during your calorie shifting diet helps speed up the process and increase your metabolism by flushing out all of the unprocessed calories. And, because you are eating meals with varied caloric values, your body will get confused, and cause a unique reaction that will jump start your metabolism and keep fat burning at an all time high, even while you sleep! Again, the key to this diet is eating meals with varied caloric values, and drinking plenty of water.
Since this diet is so unusual and goes against the dieting norm (it calls for you to eat some high calorie foods) most people are quick to dismiss it as a scam. But, it has been clinically proven that calorie shifting is a safe, healthy and easy way to get in the best shape of your life and follow a healthy diet without feeling deprived of your favorite foods. Anyone who gives this diet a try quickly realizes that it is the real deal.
If you are interested in trying a calorie shifting diet, it is essential that you have a guide to help you out. If you want to try it on your own, you can, but many people waste a lot of time and money trying to figure out this diet on their own.…

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Health Articles

Men’s Hair Care Tips To Use

Many men do not have a routine that helps them deal with their mane and some even have unkempt tresses which make them look bad. Women on the other hand really try to have a presentable look, especially when it comes to their locks. Unknown to many people, there are men’s hair care tips which can be used by the average male who wants to look sharp.
The first thing a man can do to his tresses is to keep them clean. Some men may fail to keep their lock clean as they do not wash frequently. It is advisable to wash one’s tresses at least three times a week. This will remove any dust or accumulated oils from the head and give one a fresh look.
It is also important to use lukewarm or cold water when cleaning your locks. Hot water robs the tresses of important nutrients and contributes to a dried scalp. This also makes the locks weak and may result in loss of tresses. Using a good shampoo will always be an added advantage for your head as it will provide nutrients to your scalp as well as clean it.
Choosing the best style for your head will enable you to maintain a good image. Most males do not have any particular hairstyles and this makes it difficult for them to maintain a good look. It is advisable to visit a barber who can help you and advise you on what style would best suit you. When choosing a hairstyle, you must pick something that will not trouble you and you will manage easily.
After washing the tresses, then it is best not to rub it using a towel. This causes breakages and damages it resulting to loss of locks. You should use a blow drier which is lowly heated or let the tresses dry by themselves. Caution must be taken when using heated appliances. These may cause excessive drying of the tresses and cause irreparable damage and loss.
Men also need to get scalp massages so as to enhance growth of tresses. This will also help in dealing with the dandruff problems. The dandruff can also be dealt with by washing tresses and using the anti dandruff products.
By wearing hats and caps during very sunny weathers, men will be able to protect their tresses from damage and drying which occurs when there is too much heat. This also causes lots of sweating. During the hot weather it is recommended that they wash their scalps at least once daily.
Besides all the above, the most essential men’s hair care tips is that regarding the diet. The food that one takes largely contributes to the growth of the tresses and it is recommended that all the men eat balanced diets which can provide nutrients to their tresses. High water in take will also create a balance in the body nutrients and it is recommended for healthy tresses. Remember that the tresses are not just about women. Even men require to be conscious about their image and this includes how their heads look.…

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Health Articles

Andis Professional Products Review

Andis’s first hair clipper, a favorite in its time and known as a quality product today, was originally known for its smaller, faster model that delivered a higher performance than other clippers available at the time. Today, Andis is still a company that prides itself on quality products and is well known among hair professionals worldwide.
Andis Co. is successful today and uses the same fundamentals and foundation as its prior generations. The brand is customer oriented and strives to make the best possible products for their customers.
Andis offers many products including professional-use, consumer-use, animal care, and hotel grooming tools.
For professional use, Andis offers hair clippers, hair trimmers, men’s shavers, blow dryers, curling irons, and hair straightening irons. Andis also sells replacement clipper and trimmer blades.
For consumer use, Andis offers clippers, trimmers, hair dryers, and styling irons. For animal care, Andis offers clippers, dryers, and light clipping and trimming tools. They even offer products for horse grooming and sheep shearing.
For the hotel industry, Andis provides hair dryers, steam irons, and coffee makers.
It is so important that individuals and hair professionals find quality tools that have endurance. Many other bands produce products are sold at high prices and stop working after the tenth use. Knowing what products are made with high quality components usually takes trial and error, but Andis is a well known, established, family-owned company that has been delivering quality products for generations.
It is equally important for individuals and stylists to buy the best hair care products for themselves and for clients. Basic hair care starts with quality hair products such as shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, gels, or mousses. When shopping for products, look at the labels for information about what hair type the product is made for just to be sure you are getting the right product for your hair or your customers hair.
Whether you are a hair professional, individual, or veterinarian cosmetologist or grooming specialist, Andis has a professional hair care appliance for you or your business. With their long withstanding reputation of quality and value, Andis is a brand to look for when looking for hair trimmers, hair clippers, or other appliances for you or your business.
Quality products are sometimes hard to find, but brands with history and experience always seem to have a solid reason for their success. You can trust the Andis brand and start your shopping experience with them today.…

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Health Articles

Weight Loss Basics – Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

(Eleventh in a Series)
Metabolism – Converting Food Into Energy
As covered in the Tenth Article in this series, the body needs fuel and oxygen to operate, and the process by which the body changes the food you eat into energy and internal building material is called metabolism (from the Greek metabole “change”).
This conversion is achieved by a complex biochemical process, where calories from carbohydrates, fats or proteins are chemically combined with oxygen to form cellular building blocks while also releasing the energy your body needs to function.
Let’s take a closer look.
Catabolism and Anabolism
Our food consists of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, usually in the form of large, complex molecules. The body cannot build muscle, nor can it maintain organs, with the proteins it consumes, but must first break them down into amino acids, which are then combined to form proteins the body can use as building blocks.
Exergonic Reactions
An exergonic chemical reaction is one where large molecules (such as food) are broken down into smaller molecules with the release of energy. The word comes from the Greek, ex- out, ergon work, meaning energy (work) is released; energy, of course, is most commonly measured by the work it can perform.
This process is also known as Catabolism (Greek, cata- down, ballein to throw).
Endergonic Reactions
An endergonic reaction is one where new proteins are built from amino acids, and is a process that requires energy. The word, again, is from the Greek, en- in, ergon work, meaning it takes in-uses-energy.
This process is also known as Anabolism (Greek, ana- up, ballein to throw).
So, depending on which way the “throw” is made, down for breaking down and releasing energy, or up for building up and using energy, it’s either Catabolism or Anabolism.
Combined, Catabolism and Anabolism make up Metabolism (Greek root, meta- along with, among, ballein to throw).
And the messenger service which carries released energy from the point of catabolic extraction to areas of need is called ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate, an intermediate molecule capable of storing large amounts of energy in its chemical bonds for relay to anabolic processes or other areas of energy needs such a muscle contraction.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Also called Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), BMR indicates the amount of energy used by the body while at rest in a neutrally temperate environment (too hot or too cold places additional energy requirements on the body), in a post-absorptive state-meaning the digestive system is also at rest, which usually requires about twelve hours of fasting.
The energy consumed in this state of rest is to fuel the basic (basal) needs of the organism, such as the heart, the lungs, the brain, and the rest of the nervous system, the liver, kidneys, the sex organs, muscles, and skin.
During any given day, the basal life processes (BMR) use about 70% of the body’s total energy requirement, the digestive processes use 10%, and the remaining 20% goes to power our physical activities.
Of the 70% used by BMR, the liver uses 27%, the brain 19%, the heart 7%, the kidneys 10%, skeletal muscles 18%, and other organs 19%.
Knowing how much work the liver has to perform constantly, that’s hardly surprising. It is surprising though that the heart, which never ever rests, uses only 7%-a very efficient muscle, that.
BMR Measurement
An accurate measurement of BMR is a complex process that involves a gas analysis through either direct or indirect calorimetry (the measurement of quantities of heat)-don’t try this at home.
A rough estimation of BMR can be made through an equation using age, sex, height, and weight. Many online tools are available using these factors to calculate your BMR. Use them.
BMR can also be estimated by the determining the amount of lean tissue that makes up your body. Lean tissue at rest, whether male or female, burns roughly 16 calories per pound per day, so once lean mass is determined and multiplied by 16, you’d have the basal caloric need for that person.
Why Do You Care?
That takes us back to our old friend 1LTD, the First Law of Thermodynamics. To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume; and in order to establish exactly how many calories you burn during any given day, you need to account for BMR, which is 70% of that amount.
The proud owner of a body containing 125 pounds of lean mass would have a BMR of roughly 2,000 calories. Another 300 or so calories are spent by the digestive system. The rest is physical activity; say 600 calories depending on what you do.
This person would burn 2,900 calories a day, so in order to lose weight he or she would have to consume less than 2,900 calories. 1LTD.
Exercise and BMR…