Are you aware that nearly 107 million Americans have total cholesterol of 200 mgdL or higher, a level at which cardiovascular risk begins to rise.

Mike Flowers of you-and-your-cholesterol.com states that “High Cholesterol and Triglyceride blood fat can easily be controlled by following a few simple rules and without giving up some of the pleasures you enjoy most!”

Mr. Flowers also added that ten years ago his doctor wanted to place him on medication due to his high cholesterol levels.

“I was totally shocked because I felt fine, and was going to see him for something unrelated.

At that point, I started thinking about my dad and the Quadruple Bypass he had a couple years earlier.

I convinced my doctor to give me 30 days to reduce my Cholesterol, and get it under control. If not, I would be more than happy to start taking the medication.

When I returned to his office 30 days later, he was completely amazed at how low my levels were and told me to continue doing what I was doing.

To be honest with you, I was more amazed than he was. I was thrilled…not expecting such good results.

It has been ten years since that visit, and each time I visit his office for a check up my levels are consistently good!

A lot of people can lower their levels by incorporating the right diet plan, knowing what foods to stay away from, educating themselves on the benefits of natural herbs and having a simple exercise regiment.

Unfortunately for some, no matter what they do – they will not be able to get their levels under control and will have to seek the advice of their medical professional.”

You can get more information on this topic at www.you-and-your-cholesterol.com.

Although Smooth Fitness has been selling elliptical trainers for a number of years, it is only recently that they manufactured their own models. In the past they private labeled machines from companies like Kettler. In fact, their popular Smooth CE is a Kettler built elliptical, which they have sold literally thousand.

They recently introduced three new models, the CE 2.1, CE 3.2 and CE 74, which are built at the same Taiwanese plant as their treadmills. The Smooth CE elliptical can attribute its popularity to being a solid and reliable machine. It has a very good service record. It is build with a 40 lb. flywheel and an eddy brake system. Both contribute to a fluid and smooth motion, which is what you want in an elliptical trainer.

The new Smooth ellipticals utilize the best qualities of the CE elliptical. In addition, they have improved on several important features. For example, the new models are equipped with pivotal foot pedals. The major benefit of an elliptical trainer is the low impact. The pivotal foot pedal further reduces strain and impact by aligning your feet with the elliptical motion.

Each new model has an upgraded console and display over the older CE. The programs are a vast improvement, and provide challenging workouts. They include an Interval program that combines higher intensity routines with alternative cool downs.

Smooth offers the advantage of selling direct and only on the Internet. They are the only fitness equipment company that sells solely online. This offers two benefits. In general, you are getting a better value. You also are dealing with a company that specializes in online sales, fulfillment and service.

Regarding the discount value, obviously there is a savings when a company does not incur retail costs and the overhead from commissioned sales staff. But dont get caught up with the exaggerated mark downs on their web site. Because you are buying direct you are probably saving about 5-10, not the 30 percentage they suggest. But you also save money from not having to pay a state sales tax Exc. PA. When compared to buying in a fitness specialty store, the savings can be substantial.

If you are considering purchasing an elliptical trainer we suggest you spend a minimum of 1,000. Anything less will potentially have some service issues if used on a regular basis. The Smooth ellipticals offer a good value at the 1,000 – 2,000 price range.

All of the big Las Vegas casinos put on shows to attract crowds to the casino, and instead of hiring new dancers every time the change the show, they hire full time dancers and these girls are called Showgirls.

If you have ever thought about putting elaborate costumes and dancing in front of crowds every night, then becoming a Vegas Showgirl may be the job for you.

Being a Vegas Showgirl is not an easy job. You must be in top physical condition if you expect to be a professional dancer, and it is important to remember that not everyone will make it, becoming a professional dancer is a roll of the dice, you have better odds of winning an
game then making it as a dancer.

There are several things you can do to help improve your chances of getting your carrier as a Las Vegas Casino dancer started

Dance lessons, if you want to be a professional dancer you have to learn several different styles of dance, and dance them all well. This may be the hardest part to becoming a dancer. This part will take many years and require you to spend several hours a day every day taking dancing lessons.

Physical Conditioning, dancing requires lots of endurance and stamina. Besides the workouts you will get from all the dancing lessons you will take you will also need to work out on your own regularly. These workouts should include aerobic and some weight training.

Weight training should not be done to build muscle mass only for building strength and muscle toning. The best way to do this is by doing high repetition counts of low weights. This method will make the existing muscles stronger but will not bulk you up.

To pursue a carrier in dancing in a Vegas Casinos it is important to target the leg, stomach and back muscle groups. It is from these muscle groups that a dancer moves.

Diet, Dancers are required to be tossed around and lifted into the air, not to mention the fact that most dancers are skin tight and for these reasons dancers must always watch their weight.

Many Las Vegas Showgirls have to get on the scale every week and if they gain weight they could get thrown out of the show. Always remember there are many people that dream of dancing professionally, and the casinos will not hesitate to throw a girl out and replace her for the slightest reason.

Once you feel you are good enough you can start sending in resumes. A resume should include each different style of dance that you know and how long you have been doing it, and it should also include all prior dance experience.

A good way to get experience is to get yourself in as many different things you can. Local theater groups are a great way to gain experience. Getting a job as a dance instructor Is also a good way to gain experience and practice at the same time.

By sending your resume to all the different casinos you can greatly increase your chances of getting at least one audition. Do not expect to get hired at the more popular casinos on your first audition. The bigger Las Vegas casinos usually like to hire girls with more experience, so you will probably have to work as a showgirl at a smaller casino first.

If you are trying to lose weight, aren’t getting the results you want and want to give up… stop! Take stock and see if you have fallen foul of these ‘diet traps’.

1. If no one sees you eat it, it has no calories

This might sound ridiculous, but you might be surprised to find that many people act as though this were true! It is easy to turn a blind eye to what we actually eat and drink during the day. Being true to yourself with a daily food diary can do wonders for breaking through a diet plateau. Keep a small notebook in you at all times and make a quick reminder of everything, and I mean everything you eat and drink during the day. It’s just too easy to forget what you eat, especially if you are used to eating on the run. Mothers with small children at home are especially at risk. There are hundreds of unwanted calories lurking in toddler leftovers. Corners of vegemite and toast, half chewed milk arrowroots and the last sips of chocolate milk can wreck havoc.

2. You aren’t diligent about planning your meals and healthy snacks

As a weight loss coach I’ve yet to meet the person who consciously decides it’s their lifetime goal to put on weight until they are obese and desperately unhappy about how they look. Usually it’s a result of one or two decades of no-so-good food choices and not finding time to exercise that leads to packing on the pounds. Once you have five or more kilos to lose, it is going to take a deliberate change in habits over several months to get rid of the weight. This is where many folk run aground in their weight loss journey. They fail to plan. It takes conscious planning to do something different for the length of time that is required to get the results you want.

If you are not the type of personality that plans, ask yourself this. How many times do find yourself looking for something to eat and resort to quick takeaways, vending machines or skipping meals instead? Start planning ahead by keeping a bowl of fresh fruit at home and at work at all times. Fruit is great for a healthy snack. Prepare your lunch to take to work so you won’t be a victim of vending machines. Get up early so that you have time to start the day with a healthy breakfast, instead of grabbing a skinny decaf on the way to work and a diet coke for morning tea.

3. You’ve fallen subject to fad diet ideas

Keeping a balanced view of all the food groups will help you have a big enough repertoire of healthy food choices to keep you motivated and interested longer.

“You can’t look at foods individually,” says Dayle Hayes, M.S., R.D., a nutrition consultant in Billings, Mont., and member of the Council for Women’s Nutrition Solutions. “Any time you eliminate whole food groups or foods that are a major part of your diet, you wipe out important nutrients.” For instance, if you dis dairy, you zap a great source of protein. If you turn your nose up at high-fat fish like salmon, sardines and herring, you eliminate a top source of omega-3 fatty acids.

“The ‘bad food list’ is one of the oldest gimmicks in the world of fad dieting,” adds Robyn Flipse, RD., a nutrition consultant in Ocean, N.J. “As long as people can blame certain foods or food combinations for their excess weight, they don’t have to tackle the bigger issues, like planning, shopping and preparing meals for themselves and doing some form of physical activity on a regular basis,” she says.

c Kim Beardsmore

Experts tell us we are what we eat. A disturbing thought when we consider how much sugar, fat and white flour is consumed daily, hidden in ready meals and fast foods. Its time to change the bad habits we have developed over the last three decades and start eating to improve health, not destroy it!

A vital area of life that requires our attention is this.learning to answer hunger pains appropriately. If we neglect this, weight can increase and well-being may suffer.

Whether you need to lose weight, maintain weight or tone up your body; inappropriate eating habits can jeopardize your best efforts. This articles will help you start to understand how to manage hunger in a busy lifestyle.

If its sticky and sweet, made with sugar and saturated fat, then you must only eat it as a rare treat. Can the same be said for a delicious bowl of strawberries, or a juicy sweet orange? That is the problem here? Why do we choose cakes and chocolate over natures best offering?

If you do not have a genuine glucose imbalance, one cause perhaps is that sweet treats are deeply connected to our childhood, where frequently, sweeteners were given as a reward for good behaviour, or to placate or console the unhappy child. Our memory will automatically associate sweet foods as a reward or a comfort. That bar of chocolate or sticky bun you devour mid-way through a stressful afternoon could be you rewarding yourself for hard work!

If you think you may be using sweet treats as a reward or comfort and want to kick the habit, simply remember that putting on weight is NOT a reward. Then think of a reward that doesnt involve food!

Guard yourself from the sweet snack attacks by being prepared and planning your day’s food patterns.

1. Incorporate protein in to your breakfast AND lunch. Protein is key to controlling carbohydrate cravings. The RDA of protein for women is 60 grams a day. For women wanting to lose weight, health professionals recommend approximately 100 grams of protein daily. Why? One of the principle advantages of protein is that it creates a feeling of fullness and satisfaction in the body that makes overeating much less likely. Source your protein from ultra lean sources so you don’t pick up unwanted calories and saturated fats.

Even better, than providing a sense of sustained fullness, protein can block the triggering effect that carbohydrates can have on the brain. If you eat protein with a carbohydrate it will reduce the cravings caused by eating the carbohydrate.

2. Never skip meals. Research has shown that people who skip meals are more prone to obesity than those who regularly eat 3 meals a day. In fact, people who space their daily food requirements by making appropriate use of healthy snacks do even better. Why is this? When you skip meals you are more likely to get hungry and fill up on easily obtained fast foods which are often trigger foods.

3. Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water throughout the day. For some people sugar laden soft drinks are a trigger food. Make sure you don’t get thirsty in the first place. Water creates a sense of fullness and has a host of other health benefits.

4. Plan the timing of your meals so that you don’t get hungry. Despite having three healthy meals a day, sometimes your work schedule can mean the spacing of those meals still does not guard against the carbohydrate cravings. If you have a long gap between meals, make sure you carry healthy snacks to cover the distance, otherwise hunger will set in

5. Plan your snacks. Plan out your weekly snack schedule with some delicious, healthy snacks. Purchase these with your weekly shopping so that you are fully prepared. If you need to, get up a few minutes earlier in the morning so you have time to prepare and take your snacks to work. Remember, healthy snacks don’t live in a vending machine! You are less likely to get hungry when you have a ready supply of healthy snacks.

6. Carry emergency supplies of nutritional protein bars in your handbag or brief case. When you feel a carbohydrate craving, eat the protein bar instead and wait 30 minutes before acting on the craving. More often than not the craving will pass and you will be in control again. This truly works.

That’s the question many people ask when their weight loss plan isn’t working.

Asking yourself ‘Why can’t I lose weight?’ is actually one of the best things you can do for yourself. It says you know that what you’re currently doing isn’t working for you.

You’re at the place where you’re ready to look at alternatives – try something different to get a result you want.

So why can’t you lose weight? Here are 3 possible reasons you may not be losing weight – and some suggestions on what you can do about it.

1 Medical Reasons

Now this is not the same as saying you’re genetically programmed to be overweight. That is hogwash. In fact scientists estimate that even if you do have a genetic propensity to gain weight, your genes only account for 15 – 25 of your current weight. So forget the genetics excuse.

But there are medical reasons that some people can’t lose weight. Low thyroid, adrenal exhaustion, insulin resistance and other medical conditions can make losing weight near to impossible.

That’s why before starting any weight loss plan, you should talk to your doctor first. Have a full workup and make sure that you don’t have any health issues standing in the way of your weight loss.

There’s nothing more frustrating that trying to lose weight, doing all the right things and not losing an inch – all because of a medical condition. Get the medical condition cleared up first and then address the weight in fact, the weight may just go down on it’s own once you get the medical condition addressed.

2 Emotional Eating

I recently read an article where a nutritionist estimated that 75 of overeating was due to emotions. 75! Can you imagine what would happen if you learned to eliminate emotional eating and cut out all those calories? What a weight loss impact! The weight would be falling off.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, emotional eating is on the rise. Most people today are feeling the pressure of an increasingly hectic lifestyle. We hardly have time to tie our shoes, never mind deal with our emotions.

Because of this, our emotions get stuffed down and ignored until finally they explode and we’re face-down in a bowl of Rocky-Road ice cream with extra chocolate sauce.

Here’s the bottom line you are human and you have emotions. Your emotional needs are important and need to be addressed properly with love. You need emotional nurturing and proper emotional care.

If that means you take a 5 minute break every few hours at work to regain your emotional balance, do it. If that means you need to unwind by doing a mall walk and window shopping after work – don’t let anything stop you.

Learn to nurture your emotional health and you’ll nip emotional eating in the bud – and start losing weight FAST.

3 Mismatched Weight Loss Plan

There are many different ways to lose weight and dozens of weight loss programs to choose from. Some plans emphasize a change in diet, others emphasize a change in exercise, others focus on the inner reasons for overeating.

Every person is different and will lose weight in their own unique way. If what you’re doing now isn’t currently working, it may be a simple case of personality-plan mismatch.

Maybe instead of a diet-focused weight loss plan, you would feel better with a fitness-focused weight loss plan or a psychological weight loss plan. There are lots of plans to choose from and you deserve to take your time and find one that fits your personality and lifestyle best.

If you think this is the case, take some time to review different diet or weight loss plans. Find one that you can get excited about, one that makes sense to you and that fits your belief system and personality. That’s when you’ll make real weight loss progress!

So those are 3 possible reasons for your weight loss plateau. You don’t have to stay stuck in a weight loss rut. You don’t have to keep asking yourself the frustrating question Why Can’t I Lose Weight?’ Keep believing in yourself and in your dreams. Don’t give up and you will get there!

If only we could solve this question, the world for many would be a better place! Well, the reality is that there are real answers to this question that will apply to many people. It will take a good dose of reality and a brave heart to stop denying what really happens. Read on to discover some answers that may change your life forever and give you the impetus to lose weight and keep it off!

Justification?

Being overweight can be used as an excuse for being unhappy, especially when you do not do anything to help yourself. Subconsciously, over-eating is a comfort for many people and this then allows them to hide behind their weight problem and helps them to justify rejection and avoid being hurt. They can then shift the blame of rejection on their weight-problem, without addressing other aspects of their fears. Sometimes it seems easier to hide behind your weight problem, than address other matters where you may have a greater fear of failure.

Eating Without Thinking?

If you are concentrating on another activity while you are eating you are more likely to overeat because you are not fully aware of how full you are feeling. This factor can be difficult to change because it is not a conscious action. Try to only eat when you dont have a lot of other distractions. Sit down, eat slowly and enjoy the food you are eating, and remember that it is not always necessary to go back for seconds. It takes 20 minutes for food to reach your stomach and for your brain to register that you are full.

Cravings?

The famous Pavlovs dogs were conditioned to eat at the sound of a bell, and we human are much the same when it comes to habitual cravings. If you wonder why you always feel like a chocolate when you sit down to watch a movie, or you have to have a box of popcorn.think again. You are not necessarily craving these foods because you are hungry, but rather consider force of habit. During the time when you have a craving, try to ask yourself whether you are really hungry or not. If you are hungry, reach for a low fat snack rather than a chocolate bar or bag of crisps.

Indulging?

Eating or thinking about food can be a distraction from your troubles and you may therefore be unnecessarily over-eating. Emotions and hormones can trigger certain cravings, for example, if you are feeling low, chocolate and carbohydrates assist the production of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin helps you feel happier. This is why we might crave sweet or starchy foods during times of sadness or stress.

If you identify with any of the above factors, you could be on your way towards discovering what is triggering you to overeat.

Ten Tips on How to Establish Lasting Weight Control

1. Walk a lot. Leave the car at home, catch the bus or train.

2. Try not to eat pork at least for three or four months, then decide.

3. Eat red meat only once or twice a month. Take your time and coach yourself. If red meat is a daily habit for you, take your time and coach yourself. Go off the red meat for 3 or four months and then decide what you want to do.

4. Take liquid vitamins very important try not to put undo stress on your digestive system by expecting it to digest massive vitamin pills.

5. Hold your stomach in and breath deep, as often as possible.

6. Eliminate waste from your body, often. In fact, learn how to give yourself a high colonic to clean your colon. This alone can help you drop up to 10 pounds in a week

7. Talk to your body; ask it if its OK to eat something You will be surprised at how your intellect will respond over time to questions that you ask your inner self.

8. Love your body just as it is and it will change for you.

9. Do not covet your neighbors slim body, however, see yourself thin, and if you need a little help look at your neighbors thin body and know that in time, that will be you. Then believe it.

10. Do not diet. You loose the entire battle if you diet. I realize this may be hard for some of you to realize. To diet is in direct conflict with the love your body just as it is Use common sense when eating, however, do not diet.

Depending on how much weight you have to loose, it could take 3 months or 3 years. Take your time, meditate a lot and if you pray, then do so. If not, then meditate and listen to what the universe has to say. I cannot stress how important this step is.

The trick is to believe that you can and faith will come into play. Once you are in the faith zone it is only a matter of time. The only physical requirement consult with your doctor would be to continually remove waste from your colon. The rest is what we call natural weight loss. For more information about this methodology visit

Recently I hit my goal weight and moved to the Weight Watchers Maintenance Program. I’ve been thinking about it a lot as I continue to do my best to follow the program, and wondering how it is I was able to lose nearly 33 pounds in 8 months. So, I decided to write my Top 10 Strategies. I’ll list them Dave Letterman style.

Top 10 Weight Watchers Weight Loss Strategies That Worked for Me

10. I make sure to have lots of 1 and 2 point treats in the house. I work at home and I’ve learned that I like to snack and nibble during the day so it’s important to have low point treats available so I don’t feel guilty.

9. I let other people know my friends, family and colleagues what I’m working on so they can support me and give me kudos when I succeed.

8. I share my success and challenges on a blog

7. I use the Weight Watchers online etools. I’m a nut for details so the online program is great for me. I work at home and sit in front of a computer all day. It’s no problem for me to add my food immediately to the online points tracker. I also enter my weight every Saturday after my weekly Weight Watchers meeting. I get an immediate visual representation of how I’m going as I view the graph.

6. I attend the weekly Weight Watchers meetings without fail. I think in 8 months I’ve only missed two due to being out of town on business and unable to get to a meeting. Though, when I know I’m going to be out of town, I will usually at the very least go the day before and weigh in.

5. I weigh and measure my food. I learned quickly that what my eye thinks is 2 ounces usually is a lot more. I’m not consistent about this but more often than not I do weigh or measure what I’m eating and drinking.

4. I track my points. I write down what I eat. I hear Flora in my head saying, “You bite it, you write it.” I’ve learned that when I slack off from writing everything down, I either don’t lose or I gain weight that week. Again, my eyes are not a good judge of quantity.

3. I work out 4 times per week. Before Weight Watchers I took Pilates classes 3 times per week. Though I was getting stronger, I was not losing weight. In fact I was gaining weight due to hormones, a sedentary job and eating too much. I switched to 2 days of Pilates and 2 days of cardio workout. I started the cardio workout the same day I joined Weight Watchers and I know it has make a big difference. Last week I even started walking to my Pilates studio since it’s only a 10 minute walk. Up until now I’ve been driving, if you can believe that.

2. I have a buddy. My dear friend and I joined Weight Watchers together, as well as joined the gym together. We go to the meetings together. We work out 2 times per week together. We talk about food and how we’re doing all the time. We evangelize about Weight Watchers. Without my buddy I don’t think I would have stayed with the program. No, I know I would not have stayed with the program.

1. And number 1. I made the decision to join Weight Watchers. I had heard a lot of success stories about Weight Watchers and after putting on 30 pounds over the course of 3 years, I decided it was time to take action. I had been telling myself it was age and hormones that contributed to the weight gain and that may be partly true, but I had to take action and do something so I could feel good about myself, my body and my health.

That’s it. There are probably more things that could be added to this list. Now my challenge goal is to maintain for 6 weeks and get to Lifetime Member.

Oh, I just remembered one more thing I did. I read an article, I think on Weight Watchers Online, about rewarding yourself when you do well. So I set up a savings account and deposited 10 every time I lost a pound. I call it the “Pamper Me” account. Now, I will add 10 every week I maintain my weight. Then, eventually, I’ll do something wonderful to pamper myself!

Good luck and best wishes to you in your journey to weight loss!

Winter weight gain of a few pounds over the winter, happens quite often. It seems that every winter we acquire a few pounds, and come summer we don’t lose them all again either. A few of them always stick around, adding to our weight every year. They can be quite hard to lose, those extra pounds!

Why does this happen and what can we do?

There are quite a few things involved. First, it seems likely that we have an inherited trait to store more fat as winter approaches. Several animals do this and it was probably necessary to survival for our antecedents. More layers of fat on the body protect us against the winter temperatures and then can be used as fuel in the late winter and early spring when food stocks would historically be very low. We likely have a tendency to eat more in the fall, when food is abundant after harvest time, to help this process along. We may also probably choose foods that are higher in fat
content at this time.

Hormone levels can also affect our weight gain. The interaction of hormones and other chemicals in the brain can bring about changes in appetite and desires. Some neurotransmitters can also affect the way we eat. People who have difficulty losing weight often have low levels of these neurotransmitters and the consequences can include excessive appetite, depression and sleep disorders. At the same time, the lack of daylight caused by the shortening days during late fall and winter can bring on Seasonally Affected DisorderS.A.D. or winter depression.
question-Does vitamin D play a roll?
One of the fastest ways to give a lift to the energy levels and emotions is to eat foods, that have a high carbohydrate level, including sugar treats, chips and cereals that give us a rapid blood sugar ‘fix’. So people who feel down in the winter will tend to overeat or eat the wrong foods, leading to weight gain, more depression and a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.
note S.A.D. shouldn’t be confused with clinical depression or bipolar.

So altogether there are plenty of reasons why we eat more high carbohydrate foods such as cookies, pies and chocolate in the winter, and to make matters worse, most of these foods also have high levels of fats. The best way to handle this is generally to substitute other foods that are also high in carbohydrate so that we get what our body craves, but which are fat free and have plenty of fiber. This means potatoes, wholegrain bread without butter, wholegrain rice, cereals, and fresh whole fruit.

It is also important to take more exercise. Often our physical activity levels reduce in the winter and we have a tendency to want to stay home and rest. This is common when it is cold outside. But we are not our ancestors! We have heating in our homes and can be sure that there will still be adequate food in the stores come February. We do not need to store fat the way that they did. Join a gym or get a stationary bicycle for the den. Transform those carbs into energy now instead of keeping them on the waistline until spring. Winter weight gain is easily avoidable this way.