The easiest way to reduce the fat in any recipe is to use a lower fat version of the ingredient. In some cases a complete substitute can be used instead. To reduce the fat in any of your recipes you can use any of the following:

The easiest way to reduce the fat in any recipe is to use a lower fat version of the ingredient. In some cases a complete substitute can be used instead.

To reduce the fat in any of your recipes you can use any of the following:

1. Evaporated Skim Milk: Use in soups or sauces instead of heavy cream to cut the calories and fat.

2. Fat-Free Plain Yogurt: Use instead of sour cream. Much lower in fat and higher in calcium.

3. Prunes: Use pureed prunes or baby food prunes as a substitute in baked chocolate recipes. The prunes are naturally sweet and greatly reduce both calories and fat.

4. Marshmallow Creme: Use this instead of margarine or butter in frostings. Marshmallow creme is fat free.

5. Applesauce: Use applesauce in baked products instead of oil, margarine or butter.

6. Fruit Juice: Use as a non fat salad dressing or marinade.White grape, apple

, orange or pineapple juice can be used instead of oil. You can also combine these juices with de-fatted chicken broth for a less fruity dressing.

7. Egg Whites: Substitute two egg whites for one whole egg. Your big saving here will be cholesterol.

8. Cocoa Powder: To add great chocolate flavor without adding fat use cocoa powder.

9. Low-Fat Cream Soup: Use instead of regular cream soup. You can cut your fat by 99%.

10. Phyllo Dough: Instead of using a regular pastry pie crust make it with phyllo dough.

Experiment with these tips in your recipes and you will find that you will be able to cut a tremendous amount of fat without sacraficing flavor.

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CALORIE; symbol C.; a heat unit and food value unit; is that amount of heat necessary to raise one pound of water 4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now you know that a calorie is a unit of measuring heat and food. It is not heat, not food; simply a unit of measure. And as food is of supreme importance, certainly a knowledge of how it should be measured is also of supreme importance.

You should know and also use the word calorie as frequently, or more frequently, than you use the words foot, yard, quart, gallon, and so forth, as measures of length and of liquids. Hereafter you are going to eat calories of food. Instead of saying one slice of bread, or a piece of pie, you will say 100 Calories of bread, 350 Calories of pie.

The following is the way the calorie is determined:

An apparatus known as the bomb calorimeter has two chambers, the inner, which contains the dry food to be burned, say a definite amount of sugar, and an outer, which is filled with water. The food is ignited with an electric connection and burned. This heat is transferred to the water. When one pound of water is raised 4 degrees Fahrenheit, the amount of heat used is arbitrarily chosen as the unit of heat, and is called the Calorie.

Food burned (oxydized) in the body has been proved to give off approximately the same amount of heat or energy as when burned in the calorimeter.

Approximate Measures1 oz. Fat = 275 C. -about 255 in the body.1 oz. Protein (dry) = 120 C. -about 113 in the body.1 oz. Carbohydrates (dry) = 120 C. -about 113 in the body.

Can you see now why fats are valuable? Why they make fat more than any other food? They give off more than two and one-fourth times as much heat, or energy, as the other foods.See Next Chapter for Definitions

Notice that protein and carbohydrates have the same food value as to heat or energy, each 113 Calories to the dry ounce. However, they are not interchangeable; that is, carbohydrates will not take the place of protein for protein is absolutely necessary to build and repair tissue

, and carbohydrates cannot do that. But fats and carbohydrates are interchangeable as fuel or energy foods.

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When you think on loosing weight and you start searching a solution you will definitely find hoodia.

Hoodia’s potential was detected when the CSIR were making a study on the food eaten by the bushmen from the desert. This plant was recently discovered as a possible option for those who want to loose some weight. Hoodia was used for many centuries by a tribe from the Kalahari Desert from South Africa as a hunger suppressant.

Hoodia’s effect is that the repression of the thirst and hunger. This is the reason why this plant was used by local people on long trips. It seems like they were also feeding their hunting dogs with hoodia so that the animals would not feel the necessity to eat either. Hoodia was also useful during times of famine and it is used nowadays too.

But if you plan to use hoodia you have to be very cautious because on a long term it might be bad for your organism. Hoodia will reduce your appetite but that does not mean that you would not eat food anymore. If you take care not to make from hoodia your only food supply, it will not have any negative effects on you.

Hoodia is very similar to cactus without being related to it. It is definitely not a drug, it is a herb that contains a molecule called P57. This molecule is the cause for the appetite suppressant characteristics of hoodia. It has the effect of glucose, signalizing to your brain that you are full. Another thing that you should know is that P57 is found only in a specific variety of hoodia named gordonii. This variety of hoodia is the only one that has spines and it is succulent.The hoodia’s effects were not discovered until recently but there are already some researchers who try to isolate the molecule P57 to manufacture a pharmaceutical drug. The original taste of hoodia is acrid but the plant is sold as a supplement in capsule or as a liquid. The liquid form works sooner than the pills and has a good taste. It is usually combined with green tea extract because this way the results are accelerated more.

The gordonii variety of hoodia is protected by law in South Africa and Namibia because it is rare. The only way to harvest or grow it is with a permit. This situation makes hoodia gordonii to be quite expensive in its pure form. But the plant has the ability to decrease your appetite by approximately one thousand calories a day.

There were made many experiments, first on animals

, then on humans. The general results show that hoodia really helps in loosing weight. Another result of the tests shows that even people that suffer from diabetes can use hoodia with no problem. Many people that used hoodia were very satisfied with the results this supplement had on them. The supplement is more effective when you combine it with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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