Medical researchers have proven that all diets work. But research teams have also proven that there are secrets to making those diets work efficiently. In this article we will reveal the secrets of fast, permanent weight loss.

Scientific research at Tufts-New England Medical Center has provided irrefutable evidence that all diets work if you can stick to them. Atkins – low carb; The Zone – low glycemic index; Ornish – low fat; Weight Watchers – low calorie.

But researchers have also proven beyond a doubt that very few people can stick to any diet because of his or her appetite. So to be successful with a diet, appetite suppression is required.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “Appetite” as: “The desire for gratification of some want, craving, or passion.” So “appetite” is eating and drinking for relaxation and pleasure.

It’s a mistake to confuse hunger with appetite. Hunger is defined as “The body’s call for nourishment.” In other words, when the body needs fuel, that’s when you feel bona fide hunger. By that differentiation, it is not possible for anyone to “be hungry” if they are overweight.

However, it is possible for you to have feelings that you interpret as “hunger.” And the stomach contracting in expectation of being fed causes those feelings.

When you were a little baby and you got upset, your mother would put a bottle into your mouth to calm you down. You would get distracted, become relaxed and often fall asleep. That scenario was repeated thousands of times so that your unconscious mind was programmed: When something goes into your mouth, you get relaxation and pleasure from it.

Now that you are fully grown, if you feel tense or anxious, you crave something in your mouth for relaxation and pleasure – food!

People Also Get Cravings and Urges Because Of Conditioning.

When you connect consuming food with any other behavior, the other action will trigger cravings for food and a compulsion to eat.  This is called a conditioned response. For example: If you eat when you watch a movie, you will automatically get an urge to eat each time you go to the movies.

What About Compulsive Overeaters Who Eat Because Of Emotional Reasons?

We define a compulsion as an “irresistible impulse.” One of the presuppositions of NLP is: All behaviors are driven by a positive intention. In other words, our unconscious mind will only motivate us into behaviors that benefit or protect us in some way. In NLP terms, we say that being fat is a behavior when it provides a positive outcome or intention.

By now you are probably wondering what the possible positive outcomes of being fat could possibly be. The list of possibilities is as long as the list of people who have an appetite that is out of control. But I’ll give you a classic example: A person gets their heart broken in a relationship. So to protect the self from getting the heart broken again, the unconscious motivates the self to become fat to keep the self out of relationships and prevent another broken heart.

A big secret to suppressing your appetite is called reframing. With an NLP six-step weight loss reframe, we respect the fact that the subconscious is pushing us to consume our food for relaxation and pleasure. And if we are eating compulsively because being fat is protecting us, we respect that also.

In an NLP six-step reframe we compromise with our unconscious. In the case of eating for relaxation and pleasure, we ask our subconscious to assume the responsibility for making us substitute other behaviors. The alternate behaviors must be as effective and available at providing the same relaxation and pleasure. But they must also be more consciously acceptable to us. When the subconscious is motivating us into alternate behaviors that provide the relaxation and pleasure that we require – we lose our appetite on this score.

If you are a compulsive overeater we do an additional reframe. We ask your unconscious mind to assume the responsibility for substituting new behaviors in place of being fat. These new behaviors must be as effective and available at providing the same benefits and protections. But they must be actions that are more consciously acceptable to you. When your subconscious is motivating you into alternate behaviors that provide the same outcomes that you require, you lose the strong urge to overeat.

As far as feeling cravings because of conditioning (conditioned responses), we utilize various NLP and hypnotic techniques that erase or “extinguish” those conditioned responses. That breaks the connection between the behaviors, and eliminates the urges and feelings of compulsion.

Once your appetite has been eliminated and all of your compulsions to overeat have been dealt with

, you can easily stick to any type of healthful diet indefinitely so that it becomes a permanent lifestyle change.

Weight control and compulsive eating can be a complex topic. I can only broach the surface of it in this article. You can locate additional articles on this topic in the hypnosis article library on my website.

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With obesity rates continuing to rise rapidly many people will welcome the fact that the US Food and Drug Administration has finally licensed a diet pill for use by obese adults. But is this really to answer to a prayer or does this simply raise expectations and give those who are seeking a solution to their weight loss problem a hope which is not going to be met?

At long last the US Food and Drug Administration has finally approved a diet pill which can be bought over-the-counter and which is aimed at adults suffering from obesity. But just how effective will this new drug be and is it going to be the answer for the many thousands of obese individuals who find that losing weight is extremely hard work?

To some extend we already have the answers to these questions because this is not a new drug at all but one that has been widely used in the United States since 1999. The drug, known as Orlistat, is in fact nothing more than a half-dose version of the prescription drug Xenical.

The traditional route for weight loss in cases of obesity is for doctors to start by recommending a regime of diet and exercise and, where this doesn’t work, to move on to assist the dieting process with drugs such as Xenical. Finally, if this still proves unsuccessful, patients may be offered gastric bypass surgery as the ultimate weight loss solution. This background gives a clue to just how this new diet pill is designed to be used.

This is certainly not a case of taking a pill once a day and magically losing weight. Orlistat works by partially blocking the absorption of fat that is eaten and is most effective when it is taken three times a day with meals containing about fifteen grams of fat. If taken will meals containing more than the recommended fifteen grams of fat Orlistat can lead to bowel problems which, depending on who you talk to, may or may not be harmful.

Use of Orlistat can also interfere with the absorption of some vitamins and users should therefore take daily multivitamin tablets. The drug is not recommended for people taking any form of blood thinning medication or being treated for thyroid problems or diabetes.

Without an accompanying program of diet and exercise Orlistat will have little if any effect at all and you are only likely to derive any benefit from its use alongside a strict diet and exercise program. However, even here the results are likely to be marginal and many question whether the likely results (predicted from the known results from Xenical) make the use of Orlistat worthwhile.

Perhaps one further question we should ask is just why the FDA has approved this drug for over-the-counter use at this time. Obesity rates are now growing at epidemic proportions and there is mounting pressure to find a solution to this problem before it literally runs out of control. Many people would argue therefore that the licensing of Orlistat is nothing more than the FDA bowing to public pressure.

If, as many predict

, Orlistat proves to be of little or no use at all it could actually do more harm than good as people suffering from obesity turn their attention towards the drug as the answer to their problem and away from the need to set themselves a strict program of diet and exercise.

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If you are looking for weight loss gradually without much compromising on diet and exercise then Xenical weight loss pill is the best alternative for you.

Fats start getting stored due to excessive eating resulting in weight gain. There are many weight loss pills and herbal medicines are available, but Xenical weight loss pills are quite popular among the people. Xenical makes wonder if taken with meals. It attaches to the lipases and blocks them from breaking down some of the fat you eat.

What is Xenical Weight Loss Pills?Xenical is an oral prescription medication that helps the body to eliminate unwanted fat. It is highly popular among the people who needed additional assistance beyond taking low-calorie diet and exercise. Study has shown that even low-calorie diet and exercise alone can not produce desired results. Since it is a prescription medication, it is advisable that you must show your medical history to the doctor to make sure Xenical weigh loss pills are suitable for you.

Human body contains enzymes that break down the fats we eat. Xenical weight loss pills attaches itself to the enzymes, which prevents fats from being absorbed. In fact, it eliminated in your bowel movement. Xenical blocks up to 33% of the fat, which comes from the food you eat. This helps great in preventing from gaining access weight and encourages body to control weight naturally over long time.

Xenical Weight Loss Pills Results

In many medical tests, it was observed that patients who continued to take Xenical weight loss pills for one year had shown noticeable weight loss than those who did not use Xenical at all and remained on low-calorie diet or moderate exercise. Such patients could be able to shed weight approximately 6 lb whereas those who added Xenical weight loss pills to their low-calorie diets had significantly reduced weight approximately 13.5 lbs.

How to take Xenical Weight Loss Pills?

As said earlier, it is a prescription medication and you must share your medical history with your doctor. However, doctor generally prescribes Xenical to be taken three times daily during the meal. If not then maximum upto one hour after the meal. It is imperative to take with meals only because Xenical weight loss pills absorbs the fats produced by food and enzymes. If you wish to lose weight faster with Xencial weight loss pills then concentrate on eating low-calorie food only.

Before taking Xenical, inform your doctor about all the medicines you use (prescription and nonprescription) especially if you take cyclosporine, pravastatin, and warfarin. Consult with your doctor if you have an under active thyroid, chronic malabsorbtion syndrome or cholestatisis, gall bladder problems, gallstones

, pregnant or breast feeding.

Please visit at http://xenical-weight-loss-pills.blogspot.com/ to know more about Xenical Weigh loss pills and weight management.

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Although laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery has become a firm favorite since it was licensed for use in the Unites States in 2001it is not suitable for everyone and this article looks at some of the reasons for refusing gastric band surgery.

Since it was approved for use in the United States by the Food and Drink Administration (FDA) in 2001, the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band has become a firm favorite as the safest and least invasive of all forms of weight loss surgery. However, despite its popularity, the gastric band is not suitable for everyone.

The list of contraindications for the use of the gastric band is lengthy, but here are just a few of the more commonly seen reasons for refusing gastric band surgery.

Reason 1. You are suffering from an inflammatory disease or other condition affecting the gastrointestinal tract, such as ulcers or Crohn’s disease, a condition affecting the small intestine and, on occasions, the colon.

Reason 2. You are at risk of developing bleeding within the esophagus or the stomach as the result of such conditions as esophageal or gastric varices (dilated veins).

Reason 3. You are suffering from portal hypertension. Portal hypertension is a condition in which, for example as a result of venous obstruction, pressure builds up in the group of veins which carry blood from the stomach, intestine, spleen and pancreas to the liver.

Reason 4. You are suffering from cirrhosis, a condition resulting in widespread disruption to the normal structure of the liver and caused by a variety of chronic and progressive conditions including long-term alcohol abuse and hepatitis.

Reason 5. You are suffering from chronic pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas, which secretes digestive enzymes into the intestine to break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates.

Reason 6. You are undergoing long-term steroid treatment.

Reason 7. You have suffered a gastric injury, such as gastric perforation, as a result of previous surgery and the site of this injury is close to the intended location for gastric band placement.

Reason 8. You have an esophagus, stomach or intestine which, either since birth or subsequently, is abnormal. This might for example include such things as a narrowed opening into the stomach or from the stomach into the intestine.

Reason 9. You are pregnant or are contemplating pregnancy.

Reason 10. You are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Any one of these reasons, and several others, would rule out the possibility of gastric band surgery but perhaps the most important reason of all for excluding you from surgery would be a lack of motivation. Any form of weight loss surgery can present a host of problems, including considerable problems in adjusting to a new lifestyle following surgery

, and your surgeon will normally only permit you to go forward with gastric banding if he is fully satisfied that you have the right motivation.

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Although gastric bypass surgery is still not commonly performed on adolescents, the growing problem of obesity in teenagers has resulted in a significant rise in the number of teenage weight loss surgeries, with the number performed tripling between 2000 and 2003. But is surgery a suitable option for a teenager?

Although the number of gastric bypass operations being carried out each year is growing as obesity rates continue to rise in many Western countries, weight loss surgery is still not considered by many to be a suitable solution for obesity in teenagers. This may however be changing and, while numbers still remain small, the number of teenage weight loss surgeries tripled between 2000 and 2003.

At present there are two issues as far as many surgeons are concerned when it comes to teenage obesity surgery. The first is whether or not the procedure is safe in adolescents and the second is how adolescent patients will fare in the longer term.

As far as the longer term effects of surgery are concerned this is a question that will only be answered in time and once a large enough group of adolescents have been through surgery and meaningful statistics are to hand. In 2003, for example, more than 105,000 bariatric operations were performed but, of these, less than 800 were performed on adolescents. Even though some consider that this is a meaningful sample size on which to draw conclusions about the longer term effects of surgery, we will nonetheless still have to wait several years before any conclusions can be drawn.

In terms of surgical success adolescents have proved to be excellent candidates for surgery, requiring less time in hospital, recovering faster than adults and experiencing fewer surgical and post-operative complications. This is perhaps not too surprising when you consider that most adolescents enter surgery without the other major medical problems which are often seen in adults. Most importantly the death rate from gastric bypass surgery in teenagers is very much lower than that seen in adults.

In addition to the two concerns related directly to surgery itself there is also the wider question of whether or not we should be following this route at all with teenagers. Weight loss surgery requires patients to make considerable changes to their lifestyle and there are psychological issues to be faced both before and particularly after surgery. It is one thing for adults to tackle these issues

, but many people question whether this a burden we should be placing on adolescents.

At this point there seems to be little doubt that gastric bypass surgery is an effective solution to the problem of obesity in teenagers but time will be needed to assess the longer term effects of surgery and to allow for further studies to be carried out into the psychological aspects of surgery.

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The mental side of dieting is often forgotten but ultimately it can be just as important since it is not your stomach that decides if a diet will be successful but your mind. Here is how to put together a powerful armory of mental weapons that will see you through from beginning to successful end.

Athletes swear by it and even astronauts use it so why not you? For super performance they can pick from, and use, a variety of powerful mind-enhancing tools that allow them to consistently perform at their best and beyond. There really is no magic to it and if it works for them it will work for you. To apply these techniques to slimming, follow the ideas below and supercharge your own diet program.

The visualization

Firstly, you need a strong picture in your mind which describes how you will look at your ideal weight. The way to get this is to sit somewhere on your own and think. Picture in your head how you’d like your body to look; at some point in your life you probably were slimmer than you are now so this should not be too hard. Try to see yourself – this new slimmer you – doing things in real life as if you were watching a movie.

Now expand this view to different situations such as going to work, shopping, going out with friends and whatever else you do. This isn’t a chore, this is fun so take your time and enjoy it.

If daydreaming doesn’t come naturally, allocate a time slot of 10 to 15 minutes for this activity and do it three days a week until you have the picture firmly in your head.

What you are doing is training your mind to think of you as a slimmer person so that as you begin to lose weight your mind will not panic thinking you are wasting away and try to increase your calorie intake to compensate.

As you do these visualizations (for that is what they are called) try to introduce the thought of exercise. It might be jogging in the park, working out at home or something that is more fun like dancing. But whatever it is, try to incorporate it into your mental videos. You want to really see this wonderful slim person working out and enjoying life to the full!

The affirmation

Now we need an affirmation. If you have not tried affirmations before then this will sound silly but trust me, this is a proven technique that really works so try it. To aid the visualization you need to say this to yourself just a couple of times a day.

“I always think of myself as a slim and successful person”

We all know that if you keep telling yourself something eventually you will come to believe it and this really does work so tell it to yourself and then write it down and put it where you will see it throughout the day.

Try to say it to yourself a few times every day until it becomes a routine; now you are ready to begin your diet but, instead of taking each day as it comes, you are simply following a path that you have already told your body about. Now, as you lose weight and build up your fitness levels, your body will respond positively and try to help you rather than worrying that something is wrong.

Learn more about visualizations and affirmations and, as the diet progresses, continue to use them but now you can begin to expand on them and use them to help you in other areas. This will grow your own self confidence to help you as a person as well as helping you slim.

If you never thought that mental activity and preparation was needed before a diet, I hope that you can now see how important and how useful this is. The mental side of dieting is often forgotten but just try to keep in your mind that, not only are you what you eat

, but you are also (and can become) what you think you are!

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Gastric bypass surgery is becoming increasingly common as obesity, and morbid obesity, continue to rise. However, in order to appreciate just how gastric bypass surgery works, it is necessary to understand the digestive system.

We tend to use the term gastric bypass surgery somewhat loosely these days and include both true bypass operations such as the Roux-En-Y and popular and less radical forms of weight loss surgery such as gastric banding. While both have a role to play in curing the problem of obesity, bypass surgery takes full advantage of the body to affect weight loss and, in order to understand just how gastric bypass surgery works, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of the digestive system.

The process of digestion begins as soon as you start to eat when, as you chew your food in your mouth, saliva, which contains the digestive enzyme amylase, is mixed with your food and starts to break down carbohydrates. Although it may not seem an important part of the digestive system, the saliva glands produce about 40% of the amylase used in the digestive process and so chewing your food properly is an essential part of the process.

Food is then passed down the esophagus and into the stomach where muscular contractions mix the food as digestive juices and pepsin are added. In adults the stomach typically holds the equivalent of about 3 pints.

Once thoroughly mixed the food is passed out of the lower end of the stomach through the pylorus, a circular muscle which opens and closes rhythmically to control the flow of food from the stomach.

Having left the stomach food enters the duodenum, which is about 2 feet in length and it the first of three sections that together form the small intestine. Here two other organs of the body come into play – the liver and the pancreas.

The liver passes bile, which is an essential enzyme used in the digestion of fat, into the duodenum and also receives essential nutrients from the duodenum through a series of veins known as the portal veins. The liver itself is thus also responsible for processing food products.

The pancreas, which is principally known as the organ which is responsible for producing insulin, also produces a number of digestive enzymes, including lipase, which mixes with bile in the duodenum to further assist in breaking down fat.

Once food has been mixed with various digestive enzymes in the duodenum it then passes into the jejunum, which is about 6 to 8 feet in length, and then on into the ileum, which is about 10 to 12 feet long, where the digestive process continues and nutrients are extracted.

Once digestion is complete the remaining waste products are passed into the large bowel which plays an important role in absorbing water to prevent excess water loss. Waste products are then held in the large bowel until they are released from the body.

Gastric bypass surgery by bypassing part of the small bowl (the duodenum, jejunum and ileum) restricts the body from absorbing calories from the food that is eaten which, in turn, leads to weight loss. However

, it also restricts the absorption of a variety of necessary vitamins and minerals and this explains the need for life-long supplements following surgery.

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Although obesity in teens is rising and surgery is increasingly being seen as one solution, many surgeons are nervous about performing weight loss surgery on adolescent patients. A recently announced study should however provide answers to many of the surgeons’ questions within the next few years.

The number of bariatric surgeries performed for obesity in teens has risen markedly in recent years but still represents only a fraction of the total number of weight loss surgeries carried out each year.

While surgeons are increasingly coming to the conclusion that many obese teenagers will ultimately require surgery, and that this is perhaps best performed sooner rather than later, there are nonetheless concerns about the safety of bariatric surgery in adolescents and about the longer-term effects of performing surgery at such an early age.

In 2003 a study known as LABS (Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery) was launched to look at the benefits and risks of bariatric surgery in extremely obese adults and, since its inception, some 4,000 patients have been enrolled in a series of both short-term and long-term studies. No results have yet been released as the study is still ongoing and it is expected to continue through 2007 and into 2008.

As an extension of this study a new study has now been launched, known as Teen-LABS, which will examine the benefits in risks of bariatric surgery in teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19. The study may also look at younger patients if they are considered to meet the strict criteria laid down for the study.

Teen-LABS will study adolescent patients being treated at hospitals in Birmingham, Cincinnati, Houston and Pittsburgh and is expected to enroll a total of about 200 patients over the next 5 years.

The aim of the study will be to assess the benefits and risks by comparing the data collected from the 200 teenagers in the study group with that of 200 adult bariatric patients who have suffered obesity since their teen years. In other words, it will compare the outcome of carrying out surgery in the teenage years to that of waiting until patients reach maturity before performing surgery.

The study will look at a very wide variety of data collected pre-operatively and in the two years following surgery including not simply weight but also such things as body fat, indications of diabetes, episodes of sleep apnea, depression, eating habits, nutrition, the quality of life and much more.

Although we will clearly have to wait some time before the results of the study are published and clinical decisions can be made based upon them

, this is nevertheless a step in the right direction in tackling a growing problem.

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Are you frustrated and stopped losing weight? If so, you need to read this article.

There are several small things that you can do to break your weight loss plateaus. I’ll reveal 3 of them: 1. exercise 2. nutriton 3. motivation

1. Exercise

Perhaps your tired of the same fitness routine and tired of taking the same fitness classes. Have you ever considered fitness boxing? It’s known to burn about 800 calories per hour. What you want to do is shock your body because it has adapted to the exercise stress that it currently receives. Fitness boxing is fun, different, and feels like a breath of fresh air. The punches you land are like contractions on your arms creating a resistance training affect. The rotations you do while punching is working out your core so you get that benefit as well.

2. Nutrition

It’s time to clean out your cabinets. Clean out all the processed sugars. Look out for these ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, maltose, fructose, sucrose, and some companies might be so bold to simply state sugar. If these ingredients are the first several ingredients (first 3) then chances are this food is loaded with processed sugar. Substitute with natural sugars such as fruit sugars, evaporated cane juice, and honey. As long as the sugar is not highly refined.

3. Motivation

Are you a bad person? Chances are you will say no. When you eat unhealthy and you refer your behavior as being bad how does that make you feel? Not good I bet. When you use words such as good and bad to refer to your dietary habits you are judging your behavior. When you eat “bad” you judge yourself and say that you are bad. Your motivation and self-esteem goes down. What you simply did was eat unhealthy. The goal is to stay on track with healthy foods. For your sake don’t judge yourself and say that you ate “bad”. You’re not a bad person. We are all going to make unhealthy choices. Your strength is going to be measured to how fast you get back on track.

Ok

, there you have 3 plateau busters revealed. Implement them into your fitness and weight loss routine today. Visit my site for more information:
www.josuecano.com.

No sweat.

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Most people would not argue with the routinely quoted figure of 40 percent for the chances of encountering complications during gastric bypass surgery, or in the months immediately following surgery. However, despite being generally accepted, this figure is without doubt well wide of the mark.

Not surprisingly anybody contemplating gastric bypass surgery does not simply want to know what the risks of surgery are, but also wants to know what their chances are of encountering these risks. The general answer that most patients receive is that they run about a 40 percent chance of running into complications either during surgery or in the months immediately following their operation. But just how accurate is this figure?

Well, according to a recently released report it is pretty accurate. In a study of more than 2,500 insurance claims submitted by gastric bypass patients who underwent surgery during 2001 and 2002 it was found that just over 20 percent of patients encountered complications during surgery and this figure rose to 40 percent when looking at claims covering a period of up to six months following surgery.

However, is this really an accurate reflection of what patients can expect today?

In looking at the results of this study you have to start by considering the complications which the study took into account in its findings. These included such things as leakage and strictures arising directly from surgery as well as dumping syndrome, vomiting, reflux and diarrhea in the post-operative period.

The four post-operative complications noted here accounted for nearly half of all the complications seen and, in the vast majority of cases, were minor, transitory and did not require medical treatment. In other words, they were nothing more than the normal and expected result of weight loss surgery and might be compared to the risk of encountering a stiff and sore arm after a vaccination.

In addition, you have to consider the timeframe for the collection of the data used in this study. In 2001 and 2002 when the study data was collected many hospitals and surgical centers were only just beginning to perform weight loss operations and there were few, if any, agreed standards. Most of the surgery conducted was also open surgery and this form of surgery lent itself to complications such as leakage and strictures.

Today, the number of weight loss surgeries being performed has increased dramatically and laparoscopic and robotic surgeries have come very much into vogue, as has gastric banding and such procedures as adjustable laparoscopic gastric banding, which was only approved for use in the USA in 2001. These procedures do of course themselves carry risks, but these are quite different both in nature and frequency to those seen in open surgery.

Currently about 60 percent of all weight loss surgery is carried out laparoscopically and this figure is likely to rise rapidly within the next two or three years to over 90 percent.

So what is the true figure for the risk of gastric bypass surgery today? Well

, we don’t really know because no current figures at presently available. What we can say however is that it is certainly a lot lower than the 40 percent figure which is frequently quoted.

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