Hoodia as an appetite suppressant is a tricky thing.  It seems legit, because after all the African bushmen have to go on long journeys and they consume it, so it must work, and they are so skinny!  It couldn’t possibly be because they are starving on a regular basis, that would just defy logic right.  Anyway, if you look at hoodia as an appetite suppressant, you would expect to see clinical studies.

There was actually a lab conducting studies on hoodia, they were trying to create a patented form.  Usually, the ingredient has to have valid clinical studies backing up its weight loss results first.  But they apparently decided they knew better than scientists before them.  They were never able to successfully create a patented version that they could prove would suppress appetite before they were shut down for lack of funding, and this was before the whole hype about hoodia.  Yet, despite the fact that they don’t produce anything anymore, there are people claiming to use a patented form that doesn’t exist.

Just so you know, there have never been any successful clinical studies on hoodia as an appetite suppressant in any form. Likewise, the South African government actually banned anybody from exporting hoodia from South Africa.  So of course, you can’t actually get a permit with a ban on exportation.  All this considered, I would say they’re probably skinny because they are starving, and most likely, the reality is that they don’t feel as hungry because they’re not used to eating on a regular basis like most of us.

I’ll admit, I’ve asked myself before. There are some people who are just freakishly skinny and they seem to eat all the time. I hate it personally, because I hate the idea that some people are gifted. Frankly, I hate the whole genetic approach, because people blame it for being fat as well, which isn’t legitimate. But frankly speaking, even with skinny people, it’s not genetic like you think. People who seem always skinny have a few basic habits that we don’t necessarily notice.

The first is that they fidget. Maybe they don’t watch TV at all, maybe when they’re watching TV or anything else, they are always somehow moving. This being said, it is extremely important to be moving, because you are naturally burning more calories. This is why they are far more likely to be skinny in this particular situation.

Second, they eat all the time. Yes, this seems like a bad thing. But think about it, you always see them eating because they are always eating. Their metabolism is always going, and they are always eating small meals throughout the day, just like you frankly should. If you do this, everything turns out better in your weight loss and fat burning mechanisms.

And finally, they eat more fruits and vegetables. Yes, it may seem like they are wolfing down that pizza with the rest of us. But I can guarantee that maybe when you’re there and just don’t notice or maybe when you’re not there, they are eating more fruits and vegetables to balance it out.

There are various reasons to work on losing 100 pounds if you are seriously obese.  Obviously, not everybody actually has 100 pounds to lose.  But if you do, it’s better for your health, it’s better for your general wellbeing, and it’s definitely something to consider and choose.  This being said, you can obviously really produce certain health benefits and eliminate some serious problems such as heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, and other problems.  Another big thing for some people is being able to fit in a regular chair, whether this is a chair at the store or a chair on the airplane. 

Likewise, it reduces the embarrassment of certain things and actually increases self confidence among other things.  A healthy BMI is not generally something most people think of.  But a healthy BMI is of course a big deal that you should think of.  However, one of the bigger things is sitting on the beach and having a healthy look in a bathing suit.  Just saying the beach is rather self explanatory to say the least.  And frankly, a big motivator for many is being able to be around when their grandkids are growing up.  That should be a big factor to be completely honest.

My dad likes to make fun of me for my vegetarian and at times vegan habits.  I have an easier time being in restaurants being a vegetarian, and I’ve found that though I feel great being vegan, I am not that disciplined in so many ways.  I am far too undisciplined for my own relative good.  His classic joke is that in some Native American language, vegetarian means “poor hunter.”  It’s one of those things that’s not even his own, he got it off a bumper sticker, because he’s lame. 

This being said, I’ve also talked to someone who all he talks about is dieting, and frankly we all know that vegetarians as a general tendency tend to be skinnier, healthier, have less heart disease, etc.  There are various exceptions to this rule.  But for most people turning vegetarian leads them to eat more fruits, vegetables, etc.  My sister told me that this helps, because quite frankly the vitamins that it has can help your body to better absorb proteins and such as if I didn’t know this. 

They are called essential vitamins for a reason, you cannot function and live without appropriate amounts of them.  But this being said, though my dad likes to make fun of me and he doesn’t remember he said he’d stop hunting if I went vegetarian, it’s a better way to go and one that would serve him well to try.

They are somehow obsessed with baby weight in some areas.  But they are now saying that actually probiotics could theoretically at least help women to drop the after pregnancy weight.  For most, you should take them for stomach upset, greater balance when taking antibiotics, or otherwise better digestive health.  This will help you in various ways, and if you are better able to balance out and choose your diet, some may lose weight. 

But they are saying this now in part because of a study in Finland.  Women were given probiotic supplements during their first trimester, and apparently they were discovered to have a lower body fat percentage and a lower amount of abdominal fat at the end of 12 months as compared to the placebo group.  Of course abdominal fat surrounds the vital organs and has been associated in general with therefore heart and liver disease among other things. 

Keep in mind, this study was relatively small, only using 256 women.  However, it provides a certain promise for the future and the possibilities thereof.  So at least theoretically, you could potentially see greater results when using probiotics, and if for nothing else, it is good for your digestive health.

I was talking to a few friends the other way, and they have come to the conclusion that Marilyn Monroe was a size 12.  It varies, I’ve heard it before, and it’s either a size 12 or a size 14.  Then it came out that for some reason, no matter the size, the proportion and measurements of your hips in comparison to your waist matters.  Apparently, if they measure a certain way, then you are automatically considered to be attractive.  I don’t know about that.  

I mean obviously there are some cultures that like women with bigger hips, bigger breasts, etc.  But frankly, there are quite a few cultures that look on that as fat plain and simple and therefore something that is highly undesirable.  This in mind, Marilyn Monroe was a size 12 or 14 for a certain period of time.  But in most of the periods of her career, she was known to be a size 6.  While it makes some of us feel good to think that a bigger woman like the average American girl now was considered to be that kind of sex symbol, we use it to excuse a certain amount of inactivity or otherwise bad habits, which is not acceptable to any degree.  So really, I don’t know about this whole measurement and comparison thing.  But in many ways, to me it seems like just another excuse.

There are certain scams out there for weight loss.  There are fad diets of course, and there are various ways to pick them out.  But outside of that, there are some that claim that by sticking a safety pin essentially speaking in a certain part of your ear, you can hit the pressure point that controls your appetite and therefore you can lose weight.  However, infections are far more likely.  Then there’s hypnosis.  Hypnosis is the idea that you can mess with the mind and undo a lot of past damage by just hypnotizing them. 

This doesn’t do the whole job, and if you have those kinds of issues, you should actually be going to serious therapy on a regular basis to correct your methods of thinking that are causing you to maintain obesity or otherwise gain weight rather than losing weight and achieving the goals you want.  You should also seek a qualified dietician and personal trainer to help you along the way. 

And finally, there’s the HCG diet.  It holds a special place all things considered.  If you use a 500 calorie diet made up of all nutrient dense foods that tend to fill you up faster while using their supplement, apparently you should lose up to a pound per day, especially if you exercise.  Just think about that diet!  With nutrient dense foods, you fill up faster, and with 500 calories a day flat, even if you don’t exercise, you should be losing more than 1 pound per day, which with the injections which are extremely expensive, you don’t.

There are various benefits to breastfeeding for both the mother and child.  They claim that breastfeeding for children prevents obesity because frankly the formulas have quite a bit of sugar among other things.  They also claim that if you use breast milk on your skin, it has antibacterial benefits that allow it to actually get rid of acne to some degree.  But when you are breastfeeding, actually you burn about 200-500 calories per day, which is a big deal if you are actually exercising too and following a better diet plan in general.  It can definitely burn off some extra calories, and even that amount can help you to lose weight over the long run in and of itself. 

There have been some celebrities that have credited it with being able to lose the baby fat afterward, which really isn’t all that surprising.  In addition, it actually increases hormones in your body that relax the body and reduce stress levels in general.  So that definitely helps with depression for one thing, that could cause you to eat more junk food and otherwise and gain weight.  So there are various weight loss and other benefits associated with the right kind of breastfeeding.

Unfortunately, the problem with losing weight or rather with gaining weight in the first place is sometimes the problems you suffer because of obesity don’t go away.  Generally speaking, when you lose weight, your cholesterol goes down, your blood pressure goes down, and moreover there have been many incidences of type 2 diabetes actually actively reversing itself, which obviously helps many to be motivated to actually get down and dirty and do the job, even if it takes surgery to properly discipline themselves and motivate themselves.  But unfortunately, sleep apnea, which is caused largely by obesity, is not one of these things. 

The most obvious thing would be that stretch marks and maybe loose skin would not necessarily go away just like that.  But sleep apnea is the same way.  It happens basically when you stop breathing in your sleep.  It may happen for just a few seconds, but in that few seconds, your brain is not actually getting the oxygen that it needs.  In some cases, unfortunately, they don’t start breathing again, and it’s scary every time it happens.  But either way, while you would expect most things to go away if they should choose to lose weight, that is one of those long term ones that you will suffer because you made that generalized mistake before.

The best weight loss tips it seems sometimes are the simplest.  There are simple ways to lose weight, and so often we don’t even think about them, because we are honestly so caught up in just going with the fads, achieving fast and extreme weight loss, etc.  But overall, weight loss should always be gradual.  You should never lose weight too fast, or else you are going to gain it back and it’s just not healthy.  But here are a few really good weight loss tips.

1. Drink more water while dropping carbonated and other sugary drinks.
2. Choose your nighttime snacks wisely, stay away from the junk food
3. Use your favorite foods, don’t completely eliminate them, just limit them to certain times during the week or otherwise
4. Eat more meals throughout the day, 5-6 in fact would be good
5. Eat protein during every meal, and it can come from various sources to increase your level of satiety
6. Use spices, studies have shown that the taste often increases the rate at which you get full
7. Have healthy and convenient foods on hand that you can just grab if you are in a hurry
8. Order from the children’s menu at restaurants to get smaller portions
9. Instead of eating pasta, eat an extra cup of veggies, they are better for you