Press Sit Up

Video: You can strengthen your abdominal muscles and also lose body fat with press sit-up exercises.

Beware the Dangerous Diet Plan

There are many diet books and plans on the market today, each claiming to be the best way to lose weight. If you believe the hype, you can eat only carbs and lose weight, eat no carbs and lose weight, eat only cabbage and lose weight. the list goes on and on. These plans would not be popular if people didn’t follow them, but it is important to be reasonable, as well.

When choosing a diet plan, avoid fad diets. These plans come and go each season, and some can even be harmful to your health. Take the time to consult your doctor, and design a weight loss plan that works for you. Your plan should allow you to lower your calorie count, while consuming foods from all major food groups.

Follow these guidelines to avoid dangerous diet plans:

Avoid Massive Calorie Cuts Some diets drastically restrict the amount of calories you take in per day. These diets can lead to malnutrition, so avoid them at all costs. Instead, consult your doctor for a target calorie count per day. He or she can take your height, weight, age, and medical conditions into account to design a diet plan that is safe and effective.

Avoid Cutting out Food Groups Just say no to diets that cut out entire food groups. Your body is designed to function at an optimal level by eating a variety of foods. Cutting out an entire group can cause severe health issues, such as malnutrition or organ failure. Choose a diet that balances grains, protein, dairy, and fruit and vegetables. Your body needs these nutrients to function.

Avoid Crash Diets or Pills – If your diet comes in a box, it’s probably not the healthiest option. Most diet pills and supplements are not regulated by the FDA, so use them with extreme caution. Avoid stimulant medications and crash “cabbage soup” types of diets. You may lose weight quickly, but it will come back as soon as you’re off the diet or supplement.

Use these guidelines to develop a diet plan that’s right for you. Avoid unhealthy calorie restrictions, cutting out entire food groups, or diet pills. Take the time to consult a medical professional and tailor a diet to meet your caloric needs. You’ll be able to lose weight, and keep it off effectively, if you use a combination of diet and exercise to do so.

This article entitled “Dying to Lose Weight Why Kill Yourself” is not medical advice. It should not be used as or substituted as medical advice; from a medical professional. This article is for informational purposes only.

Upright Rows

Video: Upright barbell rows will help to strengthen your back, which is why it’s one of the best back exercises.

Workout your legs

Video: A personal trainer goes through a leg workout that uses no equipment and little space so it can easily be done at home.

How to Make a Low Cal Peach Shake

Ingredients

1 cup frozen unsweetened peach slices

1 – 8 ounce container low-fat raspberry yogurt

1 tablespoon honey or granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Put the mugs in freezer to chill. In a blender, combine peaches, yogurt and honey. Cover and blend until almost smooth. Add skim milk and vanilla. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses and serve.

Stretch for your abs

Video: A personal trainer shows an effective stretch for your abdominal wall.

About the 3 Day Cardiac Diet Plan

The 3 Day Cardiac Diet was supposedly developed by the Birmingham Hospital in Alabama, though the hospital does not admit its role in the origin of the plan. The 3 day cardiac diet has also been attributed to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

The story is that the 3 Day Cardiac Diet was designed for patients who needed to lose up to 10 lbs weight quickly so they could have surgery.

The 3 Day Cardiac Diet has set menu plans for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days. Each day is limited to about 800 calories. While some claim that there is a special “chemical reaction,” much of the weight loss benefit is likely obtained by the restricted calorie intake. Also, there are very few carbs on the diet which leads to water loss.

You should drink six to eight cups of water a day on the program to speed digestion.

Tuna is the featured protein on the 3 day Cardiac diet. 1/2 cup of tuna is prescribed on the first two days, and on the final day, you will increase that to 1 cup. Variety and nutrition is provided with small to medium sized portions of cheese, eggs, crackers, vegetables, grapefruit, banana, and toast. Coffee, tea, or diet soda can accompany meals but water should be the beverage of choice outside of mealtime.

Some nutritionists express concerns about the restricted levels of calories and lack of a full range of nutritional options. However, considering that the diet lasts only 3 days, these are not dispositive.

People following the 3 day cardiac diet will likely feel hunger pangs and have lower energy levels. This is especially true by the third day. But, keep in mind that the diet is of limited duration and you should be fine unless you have endurance based physical feats to perform.

Your body may start to recognize that only a limited food supply is available when you eat only 3 small meals a day. It may begin to compensate by reducing metabolism and energy levels to conserve fat reserves. This can actually make it harder to lose weight and place the body under additional stress.

The 3 Day Cardiac diet is not suitable for long term dieting. After 3 days you should start on a diet that offers more variety and more calories.

The 3 Day Cardiac Diet provides restricted calories and nutrients for its intended duration. Your body can handle a fast for 3 days, so it certainly can handle a restricted calorie diet. However, the diet is not a long term solution to your weight management concerns.

If you need to lose a few pounds in a short period of time, the 3 day cardiac diet can help to get you there. If you are trying to lose those “last 5 pounds” and nothing else seems to be working, try the 3 day cardiac diet. But follow it up with a sensible eating plan.

Demonstration of a lateral squat

Video: This exercise will build stability and strength in your hamstrings, quads and glutes.

Froggers

Video: Froggers get your heart rate up and help to increase mobility in your hips.

Advice about the Three Day Diet

Are you considering going on the 3 day diet? Reviews are hard to come by, but I’m going to give you my honest opinion of the program. The 3 day diet is a very low calorie diet that claims you will lose anywhere between 3 and 10 pounds (depending on the writer) in just 3 days. Here’s my 3 day diet reviews.

First of all, I’m going to start my 3 day diet review’s with the good points.

The diet is very low in calories. Some versions of the diet include ? a grapefruit at every meal which means the diet has 900 calories. Others feature it at just one meal which takes the diet down to 750 calories. Obviously, these calorie levels are not sustainable, but remember this is just a 3 day diet. You can fast for that long, so having some food to keep you going won’t harm you.

The second positive thing I’m going to mention in my 3 day diet reviews is that there is no fancy cooking required to sustain this diet. If you can boil an egg and cook veggies in the microwave, you can go on this diet. The foods required are basic: cottage cheese, saltine crackers, carrots, apples, etc.

The third thing that is nice about this diet is that the food you are asked to eat in no way harms you. You’ll be eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats, etc. In many ways, you are better off with this program than you would be eating a couple of meals at a fast food joint. There’s no “trick” to the 3 day diet, it’s just very low in calories.

But there are some downsides to the diet. For instance, you may only lose a couple of pounds for all of your starving, not the 10 pounds some proponents claim.

Also, I would be remiss in not mentioning that extended use of this diet program would surely lead to anorexia. The name of the diet is “The 3 Day Diet” for a reason it should only be used for three days.

Another thing worth mentioning in this 3 day diet reviews is that you are probably going to be hungry on this program. The meals are quite small. Breakfast and lunch are about 200 calories a piece and dinner is about 350 calories. If you are used to 2000 to 3000 calorie diets (what most Americans eat), you are going to be famished. If you can suck it up and say “it’s only 3 days” you’ll survive. But, if you are not mentally prepared for the hunger challenges on the 3 day diet, you are likely to give in to your urge to eat more.

In short, the 3 day diet does work. You will probably lose between 3 to 6 pounds. The 10 pound claims are from very large people who try it. Most of the pounds lost will be from water weight. You can’t go on the diet on an extended basis.

My 3 day diet reviews overall picture is that if you want to lose weight for a specific purpose in the very near future (a wedding next weekend, an upcoming high school reunion), it’s worth doing. As an extended diet plan, it won’t work.