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Tools for Weight Management

Healthy Weight Loss

It's the time of year when the shorts, t-shirts and beachwear come out and everyone wants to be in the best shape possible. For many people, that means losing weight in a hurry. While health professionals agree that weight management is a long-term commitment, there are ways to speed it up.

Successful weight loss and healthy weight management are within everyone's reach. The problem is that almost everyone who decides to take off weight wants to do so quickly.

Quick-fix solutions to weight gain rarely work. In most cases, the weight that is "lost" is very soon "found" again.

Nonetheless, almost everyone at one time or another wants to speed up the process of losing weight. A wedding, graduation or looming vacation can all be excellent incentives along with the general warm-weather desire to shed a few pounds. Here are some ways to accelerate weight loss, without compromising your health.

Pump Up Physical Activity
Whatever your daily caloric intake, you will lose more weight if you expend more energy. Physical activity does not have to take place all at once - studies show that splitting up exercise sessions burns just as many calories as if you packed all of your activity into one session.

What does this mean? That several 10 or 15-minute walks added to your daily routine will soon add up to lost pounds.

Extra activities to consider include:

Parking the car at the far end of the parking lot and walking.
Walking up and down escalators, instead of standing.
Taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Walking on sand instead of pavement.
Walking with a friend, and challenging yourselves to walk further.
Investing in a pedometer and challenging yourself to increase your steps by 10 - 100 a day.

Weight Loss Versus Fat Loss
Remember that what you are really trying to lose are inches, not pounds (although for most people, weight reduction and loss of inches go hand-in-hand). People who drastically reduce calorie intake and do not exercise, usually lose muscle weight as opposed to fat weight. Since muscles burn more energy than fat, this is counter-productive and will result in weight gain.

Never cut back so far on calories that your body begins to break down muscle tissue. Your family doctor, a weight management centre or nutritionist can help you determine the correct number of calories that will result in weight loss for your body type and activity level. (Nutritionists often caution that the average woman should not consume fewer than 1200 calories a day and a man no less than 1400 calories daily.) Keeping active will also help you maintain muscle mass.

Consider a Weight Control Supplement
Many of today's weight loss supplements contain ingredients that have been scientifically demonstrated to increase the metabolism. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, for example, has reported a study in which green tea extract was shown to increase the metabolism of fat*.

*Dulloo, A.G., Duret, C., Rohrer, D., et al. Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechins, polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dec. 1999: Vol. 70, pp1040-45.

The Thinz^TMWeight Management Plan, available from London Drugs, includes specially formulated caplets that contain 300mg standardized green tea extract.

The seven-day eating guide included in the package helps dieters to consume fewer calories and to develop better eating habits. The easy-to-swallow caplets are drug-free and ephedra-free, helping to control weight naturally.

Please note that this plan has been designed for healthy adults whose overweight is due to overeating. If you are under the age of 18; pregnant or nursing a baby; excessively overweight or not normally in good health, you should utilize this product only under a doctor's supervision.

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