Weight loss

Now weight loss is not a term I usually use, as we shouldn’t be concerned about our actual body weight, but more What is our total body weight made up of?

What I mean by this is that when we hop on the scales, we are measuring our total body weight.  This means our fat, muscle, tissues and organs, as well as the fluid inside these tissues.  But what we are really concerned about is What is our total fat level? And even more importantly, what is our total Muscle level or mass.

This is important because our muscle mass determines our metabolic rate.  Muscle is where energy is produced.  So if our muscle mass is low, our metabolic rate will be low and slows down, our energy levels will be low (so we can loose that Get up and go) and it will be harder to burn stored fat.  So bottom line is, Any thing you can do to get your muscle mass up (apart from doing dumb things like taking anabolic steroids) you will only benefit from and you will find your weight loss will be more efficient, not to mention those bounding energy levels! weight-loss-image

At Ideal health and Healthyonline, we have So many choices for helping with better fat loss.

Demonstration of weight loss

However, a very important thing to remember is that what these supplements are offering you is a “helping hand”, while you are making all of those much healthier life style changes, such as increasing your exercise level, increasing your water intake and eliminating stress, as well as reducing your carbohydrate levels at each meal.  All of these things are vital, for effective fat loss.

So lets look at the different kinds of products we have

Thermogenics:  A thermogenic is something that increases your metabolic rate, by offering a stimulating effect.  These ingredients could be things like Bitter orange, green tea, yerba mate and Guarana.  These either have caffeine or ephedrine like properties.  So thermogenics work by getting your body to use your stored fat as a fuel source.

So the benefits of a thermogenic include: They can help you if you have started a fat loss or exercise program and you want to “Kick start your metabolism” and get things happening.  Other people use them if they are on a fat loss program and they have plateaued.  They definitely increase your energy levels too, so this can be a bonus.

So the negatives of a thermogenic are:   You cannot take them if you are sensitive to caffeine or stimulants.  So if you cant handle coffee, V drinks etc, then do not use a thermogenic.  Also, if you already have a sleeping problem, a thermogenic will probably make this worse. Of cause, you should not use anything like this if you are pregnant of breast feeding.   Do not use if you already have high blood pressure, as this will make it much worse.  I also would not suggest you take a thermogenic is you suffer with anxiousness, as this could make this much worse, or if you are taking medication for depression. Some of the main thermogenics we stock are these: Thermoslim, Thermax 2 and Slimfast Max.

Appetite suppressants:  One of the main appetite suppressants is hoodia.  Hoodia helps manage appetite and food cravings by “tricking” the brain into the sensation of energised fullness.   Hoodia is a succulent plant, which has a spiny appearance resembling a cactus.  It has been used for centuries by the San bushmen of South Africa as a way of controlling hunger and thirst during hunting expeditions in the Kalahari desert.

It has been shown that Hoodia offers an effective appetite suppressant activity. Research has shown that the steroidal glycosides in Hoodia acts directly on the hypothalamus, raising local ATP (energy) levels and triggering a message that blood glucose is high. In studies, this effect reduced food intake by up to 60 percent and increased hypothalamic ATP by up to 150%.

Hoodia’s non stimulant, non-addictive ability to trick the brain into thinking the stomach is full offers enormous potential for weight control, assisting with establishing healthy calorie conscious dietary habits and also in helping combat insulin resistance (the metabolic syndrome X).

I have taken Hoodia myself and can tell you that what I found was it took about 5-7 days to kick in, but once I had a build up in my body I found that I lost the idle, What can I eat feeling.  You know the one, when you stand in front of the fridge or pantry looking for SOMETHING to eat.  Here are links to the products we stock that contain Hoodia: Hoodia Powerslim, Slimfast Hoodia, Slim Hoodia and Hoodia Trim Tea.

Fat Blockers:  Fat blockers contain Chitosan, which comes from crab and shrimp shells.  Fat blockers work in a similar way to the pharmaceutical drug Xenical.  They are cheat pills, as you take them when you eat a meal containing fat (like fish and chips or a big roast or something like that) and they help to prevent you from absorbing the fat from the meal.   Again I have experimented with these and have found them to be effective. Here is a link to this Fat Binder Max

Another Cheat pill we have is the Starch Blocker.  This comes from a white kidney bean extract and works by preventing your body from releasing the enzymes needed to break down carbohydrates.  It temporarily blocks the absorption of starch, which as a result, travels through the GI (gastro-intestinal) tract undigested. The starch isn’t converted into glucose, so hence excess calories from starch cannot be converted into fat.  Here is a link to this Starch Blocker

Other products that can help with more efficient fat loss are 5 HTP.  We have talked about 5 HTP before, with relation to depression, but interestingly, if you have low serotonin levels, you tend to crave for carbohydrates more.  People who are typically low in serotonin include those who have a low or very low carbohydrate diet, those who work inside and do not see the sun light and as well as this, some forms of medication lower your serotonin levels.  This is our strongest 5-HTP

7 Keto, is a naturally occurring substance found in small amounts in human blood and tissues, including the brain.  Many studies have focused on its ability to safely lower body weight and body fat.   It has also been found to promote lean muscle growth by reducing levels of cortisol, the body main stress hormone.  This is important because cortisol decreases total body energy and stimulates the breakdown of muscle cells.  The same action enables 7 Keto to facilitate weight control since research confirms that higher blood levels of cortisol correspond to a greater intake of food, and particularly high fat foods.  In addition, 7 Keto has been shown to promote thermogenesis.  It also noticeably increased T3 activity – a thyroid hormone responsible for increasing basal metabolism.  A study found 7 Keto to be 3 times more effective than diet and exercise alone, for reducing both body weight and body fat.

We have the NSP 7 Keto, which provides 75mg of 7 Keto per capsule.

Detoxing.  Completing a detox can help with better and more efficient fat loss.  I have talked about detoxing before and the many benefits of this.  The main benefits are that detoxing helps your eliminative organs, such as your bowel, liver and kidneys to eliminate toxins more efficiently.  Because it is your liver that produces bile, which breaks down fat, anything you can do to improve the functioning ability of your liver, will only benefit better and more efficient fat loss.   Detox packs include this excellent one specifically for Dieters from Natures Sunshine Products, called Dieters Cleanse. NSP tell us that Dieter’s Cleanse is an essential first step in any fat loss plan, for use between programs, or for use by any adult desiring periodic cleansing.   So when you decide you want to start a fat loss program, you take this for 1 week before starting and then, once finished, start your fat loss program.  There is enough to do this twice in each pack.

I absolutely love these detox packs from NSP. They are such No brainers.  All you do is open the box and there is your dosage, in a little packet.  There is no need to open this bottle and that.  Just rip open a packet and there is your combination of capsules for that dose.

Lets look at this now.
So in each 1 of these packs you get 3 different packets, marked Am, Noon and PM.  The capsules it contains are NSP Bowel detox, for helping with better digestive and intestinal function. Master Gland formula which helps to strengthen the glands throughout the body. Enviro Detox, which helps better detoxification of bad things like herbicides and pesticides, Liver Cleanse formula to nourish and strengthen the liver. LBS11 to ensure your bowel keeps moving, GTF chromium to help with sugar cravings and carbohydrate metabolism and SF to continue with the detoxing process and help with the elimination of parasites and worms.

One of the most common questions that I get at Ideal Health to do with weight loss is “Why don’t you stock the Lemon Detox Diet?” I have made a video about why here.

Do remember that if you are taking ANY pharmaceutical medication, please consult with your health care provider, before taking any of the supplements mentioned above or making drastic dietary changes.