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Weve all heard stories about people getting lost in the jungle or wilderness for weeks with no food at all but only with water, or old tales of prisoners in war camps who are confined for years with only pathetic amounts of food. Ever wondered how these people survived?

Firstly, you've got to recognise that your body is an amazing thing. So amazing that sometimes I think we're almost at the point where mankind is ready to evolve to the next level.. but I probably think that because I've watched too much of X-MEN, so let's not take it that far for now.

Your body not only looks good when you're fit, but your body has the amazing ability to ADAPT to the environment. If we're looking from the point of food intake, your body is actually able to slow down its rate of burning calories if it needs to. When you're faced with a situation where food is limited, your body senses this and tells itself -''Hey, we better stop burning all these calories so quickly because it looks like we're having a shortage of calories lately, and this may go on for some time. Let's slow down and start saving more energy so that we can survive longer under these conditions with the little food we're getting''.

As a result, your metabolism slows down too, and your body is no longer at peak performance. This is THE VERY REASON why you can never starve yourself to lose fat. Yes, you'll lose weight dramatically, and some fat together with it, but you'll eventually reach a point where you're getting nowhere, and just be a miniature version of what you previously were... and not a transformed physique. For example, if you're not satisfied with your car right now, let's say you drive a Kelisa... and you wan't a bigger car. What do you get? A BIGGER Kelisa? No.. you get a different car that looks different and gives you what you want, and performs differently. That's what change is all about. You wan't to lose FAT, not 'weight'... not be a bigger or smaller version of yourself.

Okay, so let's say if somehow you manage to starve yourself to a size you want... and now you want to 'resume' your eating habits... well, I've got news for you. You're just gonna pack on the pounds all over again, and gain weight faster than you ever have! Why? simply because you've successfully managed to trick your body into functioning with lesser calories.. and anything more would simply make you gain fat because you're consuming MORE than what your body needs.

The starvation response evolved in humans basically to ensure the survival of the species... not for you to fit into a dress or an outfit. It IS a blessing if youre stranded out in the wilderness with no food, it keeps you alive longer. However, this same life-saving mechanism WILL work AGAINST YOU when youre trying to lose fat because your body cant tell the difference between dieting and starving.

Until today, every single person I know who tried to starve themselves to a better physique are either back to the shape they were before, or fatter than before (most of them are fatter now and find it even more difficult to do anything about it). Who is to blame when this happens? What more proof do you need?

I'm actually quite annoyed with people who choose to starve themselves. It's SO SILLY. I've got a friend who just realised she gained 4kgs over 2 months (well.. thats what eating Chicken Crispers at Chilis once a week does to you my dear.. so don't come complaining to me). She's now decided to starve herself. I've talked to her many, many, MANY times before on the right approach to losing fat, but she's never listened to me. So basically, I've given up on giving her advice. I'm just gonna watch her.. and let her be a guinea pig to everything I've told her not to do. She's now on a diet of tea (with milk, sugar), biscuits, 1 or 2 bananas a day, no rice. In other words, she's on an ALL CARB, severely low calorie diet. Oh, the fun I'm gonna have observing her.

To everyone else out there... especially my readers - don't you dare consider starving yourself. I'd get upset too.

Josh Stone, also known as DM, is the author behind the site http://www.dailymuscle.com which offers the author's personal views on real-life fitness, bodybuilding, sports nutrition, cardio, fat loss, training information, and on all things that surrounds fitness.

posted by 55208  # 9:00 PM 0 comments

With society's focus on physical fitness and well being, it really isn't a wonder why a number of exercise regimens are up and about. From tae bo to yoga, the list of exercises could go on and on.

Pilates would be one of them. Pilates could be easily defined by calling it as yoga but with movement.

With Pilates, breathing and the body are both seen as one unit. The exercise focuses on proper form, as well as breathing, making it popular as tae bo or small time gymnastics.

Originally developed by Joseph H. Pilates, the exercise method has become a successful alternative to high impact exercises, like aerobics, and yields pretty much the same results an aerobics class would result to.

The exercise method borrows its major movements from dance therapy steps, as well as yoga exercises, and is known to improve ones body performance, as well as body appearance. Celebrities like Vanessa Williams, Patrick Swayze and Jaime Lee Curtis have been known to promote Pilates, as the exercise is quite effective, strengthening not only ones body, but ones mind as well.

abdominal exercise Pilates are quite ideal for those aiming to strengthen their abs, as Pilates focus on the abs, lower back, buttocks and hips. abdominal exercise Pilates go beyond working on the rectus abdominis, known as the six pack area, including the deeper muscles as its focus areas. Being known to tone the general torso area, abdominal exercise Pilates strengthen the powerhouse region of a body, as the torso area is considered the core of strength when it comes to Pilates.

One of the plus features of Pilates would be the fact that the exercise doesnt cost much. Sure, one may have to spend for classes, but after that, the most that would have to invest in would be exercise mats. Though it is generally much better to take guidance from an instructor, an exerciser could readily do abdominal exercise Pilates, and reap the exercises benefits without one. abdominal exercise Pilates also dont generally result to muscle stress most abdominal aimed exercises are known to put muscles.

Another great thing about Pilates is the fact that the exercise leaves no room for comparison with others, as one determines his/her improvement with the exercise, where its benefits exude from within. As the mind is highly involved with the exercise, it also workouts ones mind, during the exercise flow.

abdominal exercise Pilates are truly ideal for those aiming to form abs of steel.

Milos Pesic is a professional fitness trainer who runs a highly popular and comprehensive Abdominal Training web site. For more articles and resources on abdominal exercises, abdominal workout tips, abdominal fitness equipment and much more visit his site at:

http://abs.need-to-know.net

posted by 55208  # 3:50 PM 0 comments

One of the most common complaints people come to my clinical hypnosis practice with is weight. They want to lose some weight and become thinner. A lot of these people are eager to be thinner, but few of them want to do any work. Usually, these are people who have tried a lot of diets and for whatever reason, they cant quite lose weight or lose the weight they want.

hypnosis is a very powerful technique for helping people like you lose weight easily and quickly. There is often stigma attached to hypnosis due to misunderstanding and mis-information, but hypnosis is an incredibly effective way to help with weight loss.

weight gain is often due to excess eating and lack of exercise. The problem is, these are the symptoms of the problem and not the cause. The cause is hidden beneath the surface and almost every diet only addresses the surface symptoms and not the real cause.

The excessive eating and lack of exercise that causes weight gain is usually caused by emotional or mental issues. This could be a desire to hide yourself from the world and not be noticed, so you gain weight. It could be a desire to punish yourself for some real or imagine sin in the past. It could be almost anything, but it will be a mental or emotional cause.

Whilst you can lose some weight by dieting and increasing your exercise, you will find it difficult to keep the weight off unless you also address the psychological issues that initially caused the weight loss.

This is where hypnosis comes in to its own. hypnosis helps to delve into your sub-conscious mind and resolve these issues that are causing the weight gain.

There are two ways of getting help with hypnosis.

Firstly, you can go to see a clinical hypnotist and have one on one sessions. These are very effective, though can be a bit costly. You need to make sure you find a hypnotist who is suitably qualified and professional. Typically, you wont need more than 5-8 sessions for permanent weight loss. If you are told you need more than that by a hypnotist then shop around a bit more. Personal recommendation is the best way to find a good clinical hypnotist.

The second option is much more affordable and available to everyone. You can use a weight loss hypnosis cd or mp3. Typically, these are based on the one to one sessions but are slightly more generic so more people can benefit from them. Music For Change has a number of these in both vocal hypnosis format and subliminal format.

Using both vocal and subliminal gives the most rapid effect. The vocal version guides you through a hypnosis session and is best listened to when you are not going to be disturbed. The subliminal version usually can be listened to anywhere, providing it doesnt have binaural beats in. If it has binaural beats then these speed up relaxation and shouldnt be listened to whilst driving or operating machinery.

Weight loss hypnosis mp3's really work well. One client of mine reported losing thirty pounds in a month just from listening to the subliminal CD whilst she drove to and from work each day. She found that her eating patterns started to change and she started to "think thin" rather than eat how she used to.

With weight loss hypnosis mp3's costing under ten dollars, they really are an affordable way to get the benefit of hypnosis into your life.

Jason E Johns is a clinical hypnotist specialising in weight loss. His weight loss hypnosis cd programs are based on his successful one to one sessions and are now available in downloadable mp3 format from http://musicforchange.com/cms/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25. Benefit from easy weight loss today with Music For Change and the Weight control program.

posted by 55208  # 2:40 PM 0 comments