Find Out if Weight Loss Pills Really Work

Weight loss pills may seem like an easy way to drop a few pounds, but do they really work? They are often marketed as being the answer to your weight loss problems. They are readily available and promise to give you results and help you lose weight. Before you spend your hard earned money on these pills, find out if they actually work.

Pills Can Be Useful Tools for Weight Loss

The first thing that you need to realize about pills marketed for weight loss is that they are not likely to be your complete weight loss solution. There is no magic pill that will help you instantly lose weight. You need to put in the effort to live a healthy life – eating a balanced diet of healthy food.

The weight loss pills that you may be considering could be a useful tool for helping with your weight loss, but they are not the complete solution. They may help improve your metabolism or help you burn calories more effectively; however, you should look for additional methods of getting in shape.

Pills Often Have Little Research or Verification

The claims made by companies promoting weight loss pills are not always backed by scientific research. In fact, many pills make it to the market with no clinical studies or evidence to support their weight loss claims, other than supposed customer reviews and testimonials.

While these pills often lack scientific research, they could help you to lose weight, when combined with healthier choices. A 2014 study looked at the effects of prescription drugs for helping people lose weight. Researchers found that using a weight loss drug could increase the likelihood of a person losing weight, as long as they included moderate exercise and healthier eating options.

Two Categories of Weight Loss Pills

When you look at weight loss pills, there are two specific categories – nonprescription drugs and dietary supplements. As far as the standards and marketing regulations for these two distinct categories, there are major differences. Nonprescription drugs must use clinical trials to verify the effectiveness of any claims that they make and pass this information to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

Dietary supplements do not have to have their claims backed by clinical research or submit evidence to the FDA for review. This means that they are free to market their product however they choose.

Remember the difference between the two types of weight loss pills. This is the first thing that you should consider, when looking at pills for weight loss. If it is a nonprescription drug, then the claims have been researched and verified. If it is a dietary supplement, the maker of the pill does not need scientific backing to make claims.

Consult with Your Doctor

Consulting with your doctor is always a good idea, whether you are starting a new diet, considering a weight loss pill, or looking for suggestions to start losing weight. Schedule a doctor’s appointment and let them know about any pills that you intend on taking. They may have additional information about the pill and even be able to provide you with some advice about losing weight. This is also important if you take any prescription medications. Your doctor will be able to check and determine whether the pills will interfere with your medications.

Weight loss pills may not be the complete solution to your fitness goals, but they could help you get there. If you take a pill to help with weight loss, consider eating a balanced diet with a variety of foods. You may also want to include moderate exercise in your daily routine. Keep this in mind if you plan on taking a weight loss pill.

Fast Weight Loss – How to Drop 5 Pounds in a Week

Do you want fast weight loss? While taking a slow and steady approach to weight loss is often the best method, there are times when you may want to get rid of a few pounds as quickly as possible. Using the steps below, you can easily drop 5 pounds in a week.

Drink Lots of Water

The first step is to make sure that you drink lots of water. Water has no calories, no sugar, and no harmful ingredients – unless you have unsafe tap water. Drink a gallon of water each day. This comes out to 8 glasses of water. Avoid drinking too much more than this, as there have been cases of people dying from drowning their body with too much water.

Make water the only liquid that you consume for the week. Cut out soda, juices, energy drinks, or anything else, other than water. With that said, you may have a cup or two of coffee or tea in the morning, as long as you do not add anything to it – such as milk, creamer, or sugar.

Cut the Carbs

For one week, remove almost all carbohydrates from your diet. Consuming too many carbohydrates is the primary cause of sugar cravings and over-eating. Remove foods that contain a lot of carbs, such as breads, pasta, rice, and baked goods.

Increase Your Protein

With a reduction of carbohydrates, you need something to fill your body. Eat more protein. Have eggs for breakfast, turkey for lunch, and chicken or fish for dinner. Before you start these steps for fast weight loss, find some recipes for cooking meat in different ways. This will help you enjoy your protein-based meals more, so that you do not get tired of eating plain meat during the week.

Buy More Citrus

Buy oranges, lemons, and other citrus. The vitamin C, antioxidants, and other beneficial vitamins and minerals, found in citrus fruits will help detox your body and flush your system of unneeded waste.

Exercise Each Day

Try to include at least some moderate exercise each day. If you do not normally workout, start by going for a walk. Go for a half hour walk, each day. You could walk around your block or go plan out a short trip.

If you want a little more intensity from your workout, you could consider running, cycling, or swimming. These are all simple ways to include a bit of exercise without learning an entire routine. Whichever form of exercise you choose, try to get a half hour to an hour of exercise each day, depending on your fitness level.

Avoid Snacks and Fast Food

The final step is to avoid snacks and fast food. Cut out anything that you do not need, including candy, cookies, and other junk food. Skip the fast food restaurants. Plan meals that you can make at home and lunches that you can take to work. The entire focus of your diet for the week should be protein, complex carbohydrates, and other healthy options.

By following these steps, your body will flush out your water weight and reset your metabolism. Most people that follow these suggestions end up losing anywhere from 5 to 7 pounds by the end of the week. Use this is a springboard for a healthier lifestyle.

This is a short term solution for fast weight loss and should be used as a long term method of losing weight. Once the week is over, you may want to consider making changes to your diet or including regular exercise in your daily routine to continue losing weight in a healthy manner.

Discover the Most Effective Weight Loss Exercise

A quality weight loss exercise can be just as important as the food that you eat – in helping you drop some unwanted pounds. Getting exercise is one of the healthiest ways to lose weight and get in better shape. Before you decide to start a diet or purchase weight loss pills, discover the most effective weight loss exercises.

#1 – Walking

This first exercise is something that most of us do every day – walking. You do not need any special equipment, other than a comfortable pair of shoes. It has less impact on your knees than running and is a simple way to start adding exercise to your daily routine. This is especially beneficial for people that do not regularly exercise.

Try to walk for at least 30 minutes, 4 or 5 times a week. Take a walk around your neighborhood. To make the trip a little more enjoyable, take your dog with you or find a walking friend. Walking can help you burn between 5 and 8 calories per minute.

#2 – Swimming

Swimming can help you lose weight, gain muscle, increase your flexibility, and improve your cardiovascular system. It does not even matter what type of stroke you use, whether you use a breast stroke or dog paddle. It is a very low impact exercise. You do not need your own backyard pool to go swimming.

Check and see if there is a YMCA near you or a health club. The YMCA is often more affordable than a gym membership, but if you do not have one in your area, you may be able to find a deal on a health club. You could even pick up some swimming tips at a health club or the YMCA, from a trained instructor.

#3 – Cycling

Riding your bicycle is another low impact weight loss exercise. Riding a bike can help you burn up to 1,000 calories per hour. Cycling is fairly easy on your joints and a growing number of cities are making their roads more bike friendly. Being able to cover a variety of terrains in the city will help provide you with a well-rounded workout than riding on flat terrain the entire trip.

If you do not own a bike or do not want to ride around your town, you could take a spinning class or use a cycling machine at the gym. Many people enjoy the group activity of joining a spinning class, as it helps the time go by quicker.

#4 – Running

Running can help improve your cardiovascular system and burn calories, but it can also have an impact on your knees, if you do not have a good pair of running shoes. When running, you could either set a time limit or map out your destination using a web-based map, such as Google Maps, to determine how many miles your path takes you.

An old myth about running is that you should warm up before you run. This could increase your chances of injury or knee damage. Instead of stretching, you should jog in place for a minute or two, or simply start with a light walk and then pick up the pace.

#5 – High Intensity Interval Training

High intensity interval training will definitely help you lose weight, but you need to make sure that you are in good enough shape. If you are obese, do not work out regularly, or have a heart condition, you may want to consult with your doctor before performing interval training.

Interval training involves working out at high intensity for a short period of time and then switching to a lower intensity. This back and forth helps increase the amount of calories that you burn and is one of the most effective weight loss exercises.

Choose at least one weight loss exercise to get started on a path towards a healthier lifestyle. You may also want to consider making changes to your diet, cutting back on sugary foods and eating more fresh produce. If you stick with it, you are sure to see some great results in a relatively short period of time.

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Compare 3 of the Most Popular Diet Plans and Choose the Right One

Every time you turn around, there seems to be a couple more diet plans being discussed online. The abundance of diet plans that you have to choose from can make finding the right one incredibly challenging and frustrating. How do you know which is the right one for you? For starters, you can take a look at this comparison of three of the biggest diet plans – learn more about Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and the Bigger Loser Diet.

How Long Do These Diet Plans Last?

Both Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers are diet plans that you could stick with for life, or as long as it takes for you to reach your fitness goals. With the Biggest Loser Diet, you will follow a 12 week program. While Weight Watchers has no specific end date, after 6 weeks you can become a lifetime member.

How Expensive Are These Diet Plans?

At all three of these options, the Biggest Loser Diet is the one with the lowest cost. To join the online club, you will be charged a weekly fee, but you could also just purchase the book. Jenny Craig has the highest membership fee. With Weight Watchers, you will also pay a membership fee, but only for the first 6 weeks.

Can a Vegetarian Follow These Diet Plans?

If you are a vegetarian, you may have difficulty following the Biggest Loser Diet. There are a few vegetarian recipes, but the majority of the diet is focused on protein from animal sources.

The Jenny Craig plan includes Jenny’s Cuisine, a selection of meals approved for the diet, and there are some vegetarian options. If you follow the Jenny Craig plan, and purchase your own meals, you should not have too much trouble sticking to a vegetarian diet.

Weight Watchers offers the easiest transition for vegetarians, with a large selection of tips and suggestions for totaling points for veggie meals.

Do These Diet Plans Require Exercise?

Exercise is a major part of the Biggest Loser Diet. As for Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, the choice is yours, but they do provide some tips for including exercise in your daily routine. Weight Watchers provides some workout ideas and even some guidelines for your workouts.

With the Biggest Loser Diet, the 12 week program also includes a detailed workout schedule. If you pay for the online membership, you will have access to a variety of additional workouts and video instructions.

Do They Provide Suggestions and Advice?

The Biggest Loser Diet does not really offer any additional suggestions, other than the instructions detailed in the 12 week program. If you choose Jenny Craig, you will find a variety of training modules that provide suggestions on how to socialize without over-eating, how to get the best results from the diet, how to stick to your diet, and more.

Weight Watchers has the largest amount of advice, as well as one-on-one sessions. Weight Watchers can be more of a group experience, if you follow the online club or join a local Weight Watchers group. Their website is also full of articles with weight loss advice and tips for avoiding the common causes that often lead people astray from their dieting plans.

Consider one of these 3 diet plans, to start losing weight. Finding the right diet does not have to be a major challenge, if you know what to look for. If you do not feel that any of these diet plans are right for your situation, then use the categories and the questions asked to evaluate other popular diets and make a more informed decision.

7 Secrets to a Healthy Diet to Get in Better Shape

Finding a healthy diet to lose weight and get in better shape may not be as difficult as you think. By following some basic guidelines, you can increase your chances of success and start losing weight in a healthy and effective way. Before you choose a diet, look over these 14 secrets to a healthy diet.

#1 – Eat a Balanced Diet

First off – your diet should contain a balance of substances. If the diet that you are considering completely removes a food group, you may not get all of the nutrients that you need for a healthy body. Certain foods contain disease fighting properties and vitamins or minerals that can improve your health. The best diet will be a balanced one, with a large variety of foods.

#2 – Pay Attention to Portion Sizes

Paying attention to portion sizes can have a major impact on your weight loss. Even if you are eating healthy foods, you may gain weight, if you end up eating too much. Take a look at the serving size, when reading food labels to determine nutritional values. If you are not used to looking at the recommended serving sizes of common foods, you may be surprised by the portion size.

For example, most condiments recommend a serving size of one tablespoon. It is very easy to pour two or three tablespoons of salad dressing on a salad – which could derail your weight loss goals.

#3 – Eat Plenty of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Fresh produce provides the healthiest sources of essential vitamins and minerals that your body requires for proper function. Generally, it is recommended that you eat two cups each of vegetables and fruits each day. Pay attention to the color the fruits and vegetables that you buy, as it is often an indicator of what types of nutrients they contain. Make it your goal to eat a rainbow of produce, throughout the day, or at least throughout the week.

#4 – Cut Back on Refined Sugar

Refined sugar, found in white bread, pasta, and the majority of processed foods and candies, have relatively no nutritional value. Foods that are high in carbohydrates tend to have a lot of refined sugar and basically contain empty calories, resulting in weight gain.

#5 – Eat More Fish

Most fish contain unsaturated fats, including omega-3 fatty acids. The majority of Americans have an improper balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, both of which are polyunsaturated fats. You should strive for a more equal balance of these two fats, by eating more fish and other foods that contain an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids. This can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and heart related issues.

#6 – Get Rid of Trans Fats

Trans fats are modified fats that have been hydrogenated, using a process that involves hydrogenating vegetable oils. Trans fats are normally added to food to increase the shelf life of products, but they have been found to be harmful to your health. Food manufacturers now have to list the amount of trans fats contained in a product on the food label. Consuming trans fats can raise your bad cholesterol and reduce your good cholesterol, causing an increased risk of heart disease.

#7 – Limit Your Consumption of Sodium

Consuming too much sodium can raise your blood pressure and lead to other harmful medical conditions. Most people should consume 2,300 milligrams or less of sodium each day. For people over the age of 50, and people with hypertension should consume 1,500 milligrams or less per day. Foods that often contain a lot of sodium include cookies, junk food, and soda.

Along with a healthy diet, you should do your best to follow these suggestions for a healthy diet. This will be key to your weight loss. By paying attention to what you put in your body, you will boost your chances of reaching the fitness goals that you set.

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6 Simple and Easy Weight Loss Tips

With the right weight loss tips, dropping a few pounds or reaching your ideal weight does not have to be an overly complicated process. You may not even need to follow a specific diet. If you are trying to find some simple solutions for weight loss, then take a look at these 6 easy tips.

#1 – Eat a Filling Breakfast

Before heading to work, eat a filling breakfast. You have all day to burn off the calories that you consume for breakfast. Make sure that your breakfast is filling and contains a healthy amount of carbohydrates. These carbs will give you energy to get through the day without having to rely on a variety of snacks and a heavy lunch.

#2 – Take a Snack to Work

Avoid the vending machines at work or the fast food restaurants for lunch. Bring a snack to work, so that you can stay away from junk food and other unhealthy options. Some simple snacks that you could pack with your lunch include peanuts or beef jerky. Both options are low in carbs and contain a healthy amount of protein. Eating a snack that is low in carbs will help fill you up without causing a sugar crash later in the day.

#3 – Drink Plenty of Water

Drinking plenty of water will keep you hydrated, which is good for your skin, your metabolism, proper blood circulation, and a variety of other body functions. It will also help you avoid food cravings throughout the day and between your meals. Try to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day.

#4 – Ditch the Soda

Soda, carbonated beverages, soft drinks, pop, whatever you want to call them – get rid of them. There are healthier ways to get your energy boost using caffeine. In fact, a cup or two of coffee each day has a number of health benefits. Drinking a limited amount of coffee can improve brain function, boost your metabolism, and get you going in the morning.

Ditching soda is one of the best weight loss tips. Soda, unless you drink diet soda, typically contains a lot of sugar. If you regularly drink one bottle of soda each day, simply replacing it with water will almost guarantee that you start to lose weight.

#5 – Have Dinner with the Family

When it comes to dinner, eat together as a family. Plan your meal in advance and try to eat dinner at least several hours before you intend to go to bed. When you eat together as a family, you are less likely to grab fast food on the way home from work. If you live by yourself, you can still plan on eating at home. Prepare your own meals and avoid eating out or grabbing a quick meal at the nearest fast food restaurant.

#6 – Eat a Light Lunch

Along with eating a filling breakfast, you should eat a light lunch. If your breakfast is satisfying enough, a light lunch and a simple snack should be enough to keep you energized and alert for the entire work day. Some ideas for a healthy, light lunch include a simple salad, yogurt, or a small serving of leftovers from the previous night’s dinner.

These weight loss tips are relatively easy to follow. You do not need to make drastic changes to your lifestyle, in order to start losing weight and improving your health. Actually, you will be better off making small changes, one at a time. Trying to change too much at once is a recipe for disaster, which is why many people fail at dieting. Instead of finding the perfect diet, you may be better off adjusting your daily lifestyle.

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30 minutes of exercise a day is not enough

Well here’s an article that might serve as a wake-up call for you too, meaning that if you don’t exercise at all or think (like me) walking around the block for 15 minutes will keep you in good condition you should definitely read about the new study which is referred to in the Washington Post article here below:

If you’re among of the millions of Americans who dutifully carve out 30 minutes a day for the moderate-intensity exercise recommended by experts based on the idea that you’re doing all you can for your heart, you’re in for some disappointing news.

A new analysis published Monday in the journal Circulation finds that that amount of activity may not be good enough.

For the paper, researchers reviewed 12 studies involving 370,460 men and women with varying levels of physical activity. Over a mean follow-up time of 15 years, this group experienced 20,203 heart failure events. Each of the participants self-reported their daily activities, allowing the team to estimate the amount of exercise they were doing.

They found that those following the 30-minutes-a-day guidelines issued by the American Heart Association had “modest reductions” in heart failure risk compared to those who did not work out at all.

But those who exercised twice and four times as much had “a substantial risk reduction” of 20 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

The findings challenge the notion of a 30-minutes-a-day magic number for exercise. Instead, research found that physical activity and heart failure may be what they called “dose dependent,” meaning that higher levels of physical activity appeared to be linked to a lower risk of heart failure. That association appeared to hold across age groups, gender and race.

Jarett D. Berry, senior author of the study and an associate professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, said the study shows that physicians and health policymakers should consider making stronger recommendations for greater amounts of physical activity to prevent heart failure.

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Enlarged Prostate Treatments

The prostate gland is responsible for secreting fluid that aids in discharging sperm. It is located below the bladder and surrounding the urethra – the tube that transports urine from the bladder through the penis. When the prostate gland enlarges, it gives stress on the urethra, narrowing the passage of the urethra. As a result, men with enlarged prostate glands experience problems associated with urination.

A male’s prostate gland commonly starts to enlarge upon reaching the age of forty. Considered as the most common prostate treatment performed among men aged at sixty and older, this condition is called BHP, which stands for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

When the prostate starts to grow, muscles of the bladder powerfully push urine into the narrow urethra. Because of this, these muscles become relatively thicker and more sensitive, causing patients to urinate more frequently. Without proper prostate treatments, the patient’s condition can lead to kidney problems, repeated urinary tract infection and bladder damage.

Majority of patients suffering from enlarged prostate reported no symptoms. Some men had trouble starting and stopping the flow of urine, leaking or dribbling urine, frequent urination, blood in the urine and a feeling that the bladder does not empty.

Surgical and Non-Surgical Enlarged Prostate Treatments

Choosing between surgical and non-surgical prostate treatments depend on the level of inflammation, defects associated with the prostate enlargement and other factors. For earlier stages of enlarged prostate, one of the most used non-surgical treatments is thermotherapy.

This therapy uses different kinds of energy for heat to destroy tissues of the enlarged prostate. Before recommending other enlarged prostate treatments, most doctors prescribe medication to alleviate the symptoms and reduce swelling. Unfortunately, drugs used for treating enlarged prostate should be taken each day for the patient’s entire life. The large costs of medication and associated side effects like dizziness, fatigue, headache, loss of sex drive and impotence can be a problem to most people.

When the swelling of a patient’s prostate gland do not respond to non-invasive treatments, a surgical prostate treatment is the best option. Although surgery is the most effective treatment for prostate inflammation, not only is it costly, but it comes with possible risks like incontinence, erectile dysfunction, blood transfusion and retrograde ejaculation. Two most common types of surgical prostate treatment include transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and laser surgery.

Both treatments are very effective, but traditional TURP requires the patient 2 to 3-day hospitalization and restriction of activities for weeks. Because of this, laser surgery is now commonly used because since the tissues are removed using laser, only a day of hospitalization is needed with the same results provided by TURP. Prostate treatment to cure inflammation is important to decrease the risks of kidney or bladder damages, defects of prostate glands and prostate cancer. If you are having problems with urinating, it is best to seek medical attention and undergo examinations to check if your prostate gland is free from unwanted swelling.

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Make Sure to Test Your Prostate

As we work to study cancer and try to educate about the different kinds of cancer, as well as how these cancers affect the body, discussion about prostate cancer has grown. The mere mention of cancer tends to bring up images of situations that are often life-threatening, but as it turns out, prostate cancer is one of the few kinds where doctors need to balance the need to test your prostate with situations where it’s not necessary. While you have every right to be worried about prostate cancer, knowing some facts about it will help you to understand when the time is right to test your prostate.

It’s a Matter of Time

With prostate cancer, timing seems to be everything. It affects more men over age 50 than any others, which is why doctors recommend this as the magic age when you start to test your prostate regularly. But prostate cancer is a slow-moving disease, and one of the big balancing acts among doctors is whether or not to work to rid the body of cancer when the treatment may in fact shorten life expectancy. It moves so slowly that many men who have prostate cancer never have the disease develop to where they show symptoms from it. Because of this, the older the individual is, the less likely doctors are to suggest treatment. Men over the age of 75 in particular often do not test their prostates anymore because it’s more likely that they will die of other things before prostate cancer is advanced enough to kill.

The Tests

There are two tests for prostate cancer that are common today, the digital rectal examination (DRE) and the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. The DRE is just what it sounds like, a test for your prostate that involves inserting a gloved, lubricated finger into the rectum in order to check for lumps. If you’re over the age of 50, this test might be part of your annual exam. While this particular prostate test isn’t very pleasant, it can catch the most advanced and life-threatening cancers.

The PSA test, in contrast, can alert physicians to prostate cancer well before the advanced stages. The advantage to this prostate test is that it can also detect other conditions, such as infections of the prostate, that also have adverse effects on your health. The drawback to the PSA test, from a physician’s point of view, is because it detects problems at such an early stage, some patients will demand treatment for prostate cancer before the benefits outweigh the health risks.

Just as mentioned before, prostate cancer is a slow-moving disease, so be sure to talk with your physician about the risks and benefits of the different kinds of prostate tests as well as what he recommends in the event that prostate cancer is found. With a little care and sound medical advice, both you and your prostate will remain healthy for years to come.

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What is a Low Carb Lifestyle?

A low carb lifestyle in one in which those who wish to slim down or improve their health cut the amount of carbs, or carbohydrates, that they consume every day. Carbohydrates are present in a range of foods, particularly those made with grains and sugars.

Carbohydrates can provide valuable energy when eaten in moderation. Healthy carbs include wild rice, quinoa and brown rice. The trouble is that in the modern world, we are surrounded by les healthy carbs, most of them derived from white wheat flour and sugar.

Complex carbs such as brown rice release their energy slowly over time. Simple carbs such as sugar drinks and candy release them rapidly, providing what is commonly referred to as a sugar rush. The energy release cannot be sustained, however, leading to tiredness, food cravings, and even a ‘carb hangover’ for those very sensitive to carbs.

Eating a high carb meal such as pizza and pasta can leave you feeling bloated and full, but hungry a short time later.  Excess energy that is not burned through physical activity such as exercise will be stored in the body as fat and over time, will cause noticeable weight gain.

Lifestyles high in carbohydrates have been linked not just to weight gain and obesity, but to serious medical conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.  Studies have shown that the average American eats between 200 and 300 grams of carbs per day. Therefore, you owe it to yourself to try to be the best and healthiest you can be by cutting carbs and maintaining a healthy weight

Even if you have tried other diets in the past and not succeeded, a low carb lifestyle is guaranteed to help you shed pounds quickly and keep them off provided you stick to it. There are a number of popular low carb, high protein plans you’ve most probably heard of, such as Atkins, Dukan, South Beach and Paleo. The last 3 are variations on the original Atkins plan from the 1970s which has been improved over the years.

Eating the Atkins way is easy thanks to all the free information and recipes online. Atkins also produces a wide range of pre-packaged foods to help people eat low carb even on the go. Carbs are all around us, in everything from cereal to salad dressing. The Atkins food line provides low carb substitutes for a range of products, from ketchup to pancake mix.

The Atkins program has 4 phases that take you from losing weight to keeping it off.  The most significant weight loss should happen in Phase 1, Induction. During Induction, you will be expected to cut your carbs all the way down to only 20 to 22 grams per day, 15 of them from permitted leafy greens and vegetables on the allowed foods list. This many sound impossible given the average carb consumption statistics we mentioned above.

Induction is tough, but in just a few days you should see a significant drop in weight. The reason for this is that body will undergo significant chemical changes which will trigger it to shed water weight and begin to break down fat.

You can choose to stay on Induction as long as you wish depending on your weight loss goals and how long you can tolerate eating so few carbs. The recommendation is generally 2 weeks before moving on to Phase 2, Balancing. During Balancing, you are allowed to add 5 grams more of carbs as you choose, for example, adding 5 more each week per day as you continue eating low carb, from 20 to 25, to 30, up to 60 grams per day.

Low carb is not for everyone because Induction can be so tough, but if you are concerned about your weight, you owe it to yourself to try, if only to make you more aware of how many carbs you are eating and what carbs are your ‘kryptonite’ when it comes to shedding pounds especially at the holidays when you are surrounded by so many tempting treats.