First Lady Michelle Obama launched a worldwide campaign to fight obesity. The White House launched a campaign that focuses on prevention and the weight loss industry is worth more than $61 billion. One would think that with all of the campaigns and billions of dollars poured into weight-loss products and plans, America would be well on it’s way to becoming the healthiest nation in the world. Not so. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), despite recent reports stating that the obesity rate for Americans has leveled off, nearly 34 percent of adults are obese, more than double the percentage 30 years ago. The share of obese children tripled during that time, to 17 percent.

So why is it so difficult for Americans to lose weight or stay healthy? Could it be the large number of food deserts across the nation? Or maybe the lack of grocery stores isn’t fully to blame. Maybe it’s the type of grocery stores that contribute to the problem. Maybe health food stores like Whole Foods, Mothers Market, and Wild Oats can help solve America’s obesity epidemic, or at the very least, help America develop better eating habits. Sure, traditional grocery stores do carry some healthy foods, but they also carry some of the unhealthiest foods you can find. Unless you’re committed to being healthy, it’s just too easy to choose Cocoa Puffs and whole chocolate milk over Kashi and rice milk. Health food stores don’t give you the option to choose one over the other. The only choice is “healthy!”

Health food stores rarely carry household names such as General Mills, Kellogg’s, and Wonder. You’re more likely to find health food brands such as Kashi, Muir Glen, Nature’s Path, Eden Organic, and Stonyfield Organic. Health food stores stock their shelves with foods that contain few to no chemicals, no additives, and no preservatives. Also, foods are mainly organic. Even the non-organic foods are made with healthy ingredients and without harmful chemicals. Meats, poultry, and dairy are usually organic, and the seafood is fresh and wild caught. If farmed, seafood is always antibiotic and hormone free, and raised in an environmentally conscious setting.

Health food store products can do more than just curb obesity. They can help those that are already healthy stay healthy, and they can help individual’s that may be an average weight, get healthy. Health foods stores are also the best places to shop if you have food allergies (peanuts, milk, gluten), if you are on special diet due to a medical condition (diabetes, heart disease, digestive conditions) , or if you’re a vegan, vegetarian, raw foodist, or follow a macrobiotic diet.

How to Locate Health Food Stores

If you live in a major city, chances you have a number of health food stores to choose from. Even some smaller cities have a local health food store. In some areas, finding a health food store may be a bit more challenging. Fortunately, several directories can help you search for health food stores by state. One of the best is GreenPeople.org. You can search for health foods stores by zip code or city, state, and country. The site lists thousands of health food stores. A search in Illinois alone returned more than 100 results.

Saunas are everywhere—at health clubs, spas, in hotel rooms, in apartment communities, rehabilitation centers, sports complexes, swimming pools, and in private homes. The reason saunas are so popular is simple. Lying in a sauna is a great way to relax and unwind, but did you know that saunas are not only good for mental health, but they may also be good for physical health too? Some may disagree, while others offer a convincing argument for using saunas for detoxification, weight loss, cellulite reduction, pain relief, the treatment of respiratory problems, and to help clear skin problems. So how does relaxing in a sauna accomplish all of this? According to Fuller Fitness:

During a 10-20 minute sauna session, your heart rate increases by 50-75%. This provides the same metabolic result as physical exercise. The increased cardiac load is the equivalent to a brisk walk. There is a nominal effect on blood pressure because the heat also causes blood vessels in skin to expand to accommodate increased blood flow.

Blood vessels become more flexible and there is increased circulation to the extremities. During a sauna, blood flow to the skin increases to as high as 50-70% of cardiac output (compared to the standard 5-10%). This brings nutrients to subcutaneous and surface tissue resulting in glowing healthy skin.

Steambaths and saunas induce sweating to provide a comprehensive cleansing of the skin and sweat glands. Skin is the largest organ in the body. Thirty percent of body wastes are passed through the skin. Profuse sweating enhances the detoxifying capacity of the skin by opening pores and flushing impurities from the body.

When taking a sauna, skin temperature rises to 40°C (104°F) and internal body temperature rises to about 38°C (100.4°F). Exposure to the high heat creates an artificial fever state. Fever is part of the body’s natural healing process. Fever stimulates the immune system resulting in increased production of disease fighting white blood cells, antibodies and interferon (an anti viral protein with cancer fighting capability).

Spas and other such therapeutic facilities utilize saunas and steambaths in conjunction with massage to loosen fatty tissue and assist in the battle against cellulite.

The cleansing effect of profuse perspiration helps provide healthy skin and a clear complexion.

Before using a sauna, there are a number of precautions to follow. Harvard Men’s Health Watch offers the following advice:

·Avoid alcohol and medications that may impair sweating and produce overheating before and after your sauna.
·Stay in no more than 15–20 minutes.
·Cool down gradually afterward.
·Drink two to four glasses of cool water after each sauna.
·Don’t take a sauna when you are ill, and if you feel unwell during your sauna, head for the door.

Many people can tolerate the intense heat in a sauna, while others cannot. If you have high blood pressure or a cardiovascular condition, check with your doctor to make sure it’s ok to use a sauna.

The evolution of the male’s diet has led us to a small selection of

testosterone approved vegetarian recipes.

We found a list of easy vegetarian food for even the most manly of appetites!

Follow the link for easy healthy recipes.
The Conquistador

John Deere Sandwich

Smoking Barrel Burritos

4×4 Pizza

Most quick weight loss programs last a few days up to a maximum of two weeks. In either case, the duration of most quick weight loss diets is not long enough to do any permanent damage. If you remain on the diet longer than two weeks, however, you may develop nutritional deficiencies. Most quick weight loss programs are not balanced, so they can never satisfy all of your nutritional needs.

Quick weight loss programs focus on one or two types of foods and eliminate the rest. According to the American Heart Association, no one type of food has all the nutrients you need for good health. Take the cabbage soup diet for instance. Although the diet also includes fruit and other vegetables, it eliminates protein on most days. One day even calls for eating only bananas and skimmed milk.

Cabbage is packed with vitamin K and C, as well as dietary fiber, vitamin B6, calcium, and omega 3 fatty acids. You can get plenty of nutrients from cabbage but it lacks vitamin E, protein, carbs, and calories—all things the body needs for optimal functioning. You will lose large amounts of weight on the cabbage soup diet if you can last 2 weeks, but continue beyond the 2-week period and you will also lose energy and muscle, and your body will be missing out on the other vital vitamins and nutrients it needs to survive.

Quick weight loss diets like the cabbage soup diet are not designed to be a permanent weight loss solution. The cabbage soup diet is used to prepare overweight heart patients for surgery. During the seven days before surgery, patients typically lose 10-17 pounds. Keep in mind that most of the weight loss during the initial stages of any diet is usually only water weight.

Other quick weight loss diets or extreme low-calorie diets are used to help ease symptoms from certain conditions or jump start weight loss for overweight or obese patients. These programs are carefully monitored by physicians. This means patients are usually given prescription grade supplements to make up for vitamin and nutrient loss.

Scarsdale Diet fans might point to this diet and say that it’s balanced because it includes foods from all major food groups, but there’s only one problem–weight loss occurs at a average of 1-1.25 pounds per day, so this is also a quick weight loss diet. The rapid weight loss occurs as a result of severe calorie restriction. The diet averages around 800-1,000 calories per day. Because each individual’s calorie needs are different (even a 2-3 year old child requires 1,000+ calories per day for good health), 800-1,000 calories per day isn’t sufficient for the average adult. Remember, healthy weight loss occurs at a rate of 1-2 pounds per week, and calorie needs are based on age, height, weight, build, activity level, and any medical conditions.

The good news about quick weight loss programs is, they definitely work short-term. So if you plan to take a trip to a tropical island and you want to be bikini ready, or you want to slim down for a college reunion, or you’re getting married and want to look slim and trim in your wedding gown, a quick weight loss program might a temporary solution. If you need or want to lose weight, but you also want to keep it off permanently, a quick weight loss program just won’t work. Unfortunately, as soon as the diet ends, the weight will return.

For a weight loss program to be successful long term, it must be customized to fit the individual. According to renowned personal trainer Angelo Sorrenti, who charges around $10,000 for a personalized diet, supplemental recommendations, and 30 training sessions, “There’s no such thing as a diet for everyone.” This may be the reason why 90 percent of the people that go on diets regain the weight, plus a few pounds, shortly after the program is over.

Sorrenti’s success is based on simple science. He states, “Your metabolism is different than mine; your needs are different. There are diets that can be good for 10 people but can harm 10 million people.” And it makes sense. Not just the metabolism part, but also because people have allergies, ailments, and other issues that dictate what they can and cannot eat. So a diet that calls for a boiled egg, grapefruit, and coffee for breakfast could be harmful for an individual with egg allergy and/or interstitial cystitis.

For this reason, Sorrenti, and other successful weight-loss experts, will not recommend a diet and exercise program until they have thoroughly analyzed your blood work, medical history, and current physical condition. Sorrenti states that once a client has been analyzed, he can then create an all-encompassing diet and exercise plan calibrated for the individual’s needs.

So when searching for a weight loss program, consider taking a personal, not a packaged, approach. Contact several trainers, weight-loss experts, and weight loss centers and interview them. The goal is to find a program that is made just for you in order to avoid a devastating failure shortly after the program is over.

To recap, make sure the weight loss center or expert:

·Requires a physical exam
·Evaluates your blood work and physical condition
·Asks about ailments or allergies
·Evaluates your metabolism
·Will work with you one on one to create a safe and effective weight loss program

Successful weight loss programs always include exercise. You may start out with light exercise while your body adjusts, then the exercise regimen will gradually increase as your weight and energy levels increase. A weight loss program that claims to help you lose weight without exercise is a program that should be avoided if you are interested in permanent weight loss.

If you want to seek out Mr. Sorrenti, we wish you all the luck, but if you have trouble signing with the most sought after trainer in New York City, don’t worry. There are literally thousands of trainers and weight loss centers and experts around the world. It really doesn’t matter how popular they are. If they take a custom approach to individual weight-loss and former clients have walked away (and stayed away) with good results, it’s worth giving it a try.