Vliescher.Org

How Can The Ornish Diet Help you Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals

In 1993, Dr. Dean Ornish came out with a book entitled Eat More, Weigh Less. The primary focus of the book was to urge people to boost their consumption of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables while decreasing their consumption of fat. Ornish subsequently made headlines by becoming a dietary consultant to McDonald’s, helping the hamburger giant to develop the fruit and walnut salad which now appears on the restaurant’s re-vamped menu.

Ornish’s work began in 1977 when he was studying ways to combat heart attacks. He hypothesized that heart disease could be successfully treated by cutting the fat in a patient’s diet, as well as reducing the amount of unrefined carbohydrates he or she consumes. During his research, he noticed that his patients lost about 25 pounds each and managed to maintain the weight loss for five years.

Ornish offers two different diets, the Reversal Diet and the Prevention Diet. Those who suffer from heart disease and who are trying to decrease their risk of another heart attack would conceivably benefit from the Reversal Diet, while the Prevention Diet is designed for people who have high cholesterol levels, but who have not developed heart disease. Both versions are vegetarian, consisting of 10 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and 70 percent carbohydrates.

If you decide to follow the Ornish diet, you will be eating a great deal of fiber, little fat, and a great deal of vegetables. Under the Ornish program, you can eat as many beans, fruits, grains, and vegetables as you want. However, non-fat dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt should be eaten sparingly. The same holds true for fat-free desserts and yogurt bars.

Still, under the Ornish plan, you will be giving up a great deal. For instance, you will not be permitted to eat meat of any kind, including fish and chicken. You must also pass up oils, avocados, olives, nuts, sugar, and anything that consists of more than two grams of fat for each serving. The diet also forbids the consumption of alcohol. The doctor recommends eating a number of small meals so that you will feel hungry less often. Following this plan, less than ten percent of your calories should come from fat.

Ornish recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, or an hour of exercise three times each week. He also encourages some type of stress management, such as meditation, massage, or yoga. Why? In his book, Ornish writes, “When your soul is fed, you have less need to overeat. When you directly experience the fullness of life, then you have less need to fill the void with food.”

Supporters of the Ornish plan are enthusiastic about its effect on the body. It can successfully combat heart disease, prevent cancer, alleviate the symptoms of diabetes, and help stabilize high blood pressure. In fact, one doctor has said that the Ornish program succeeds because it has a clear scientific basis. Also, the diet is convenient to follow because it does not involve counting calories.

The major disadvantage of the Ornish plan is that it is highly restrictive. This can make it difficult to stay with over the long haul. A number of dieters may be uncomfortable eating food that is so low-fat. The diet also represents a radical change from the typical American meat-and-potatoes fare.

In addition, Ornish fails to recognize that some types of fats are actually good for one’s health. For instance, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils can protect against heart disease. Therefore, Ornish’s prohibitions against fish and nut consumption would seem to be counter-productive.

Is the Ornish diet worth the trouble? If you must not only manage your weight but struggle with heart disease as well, it might be just the diet you need. Also, if you have medical reasons for losing weight, the program is certainly one you should consider. However, if you have difficulty sticking with specific menus–and you love meat–the Ornish diet may be too hard to deal with. When you decide to undertake the Ornish diet, you are making a commitment to vegetarianism. The diet provides you with less protein than the typical diet, which could sap your energy. Thus, a good rule of thumb is to discuss the plan with your family physician to determine if it’s appropriate for your case.

Once a diagnosis of lung cancer has been made, the doctor will attempt to determine the stage the lung cancer is at. The staging system is somewhat like a measurement system, with the numbers indicating: whether the cancerous tumors are localized or whether the tumors have spread to other parts of the body; the tumor’s size; and whether or not the tumors have spread to the lymph nodes. There are four main stages of lung cancer (Stages 1 - 4) and identification of one of the stages is what helps doctors prescribe an appropriate treatment method.

Different Cancer, Different Stages of Lung Cancer

The staging system is a bit more complicated than simply assigning a number. First of all, the stage numbering system differs slightly depending on whether the lung cancer has been diagnosed as small cell lung cancer or non-small cell lung cancer.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer is the more common form and it progresses more slowly than the other type. Non-small lung cancer can be broken down into 4 stages. Stage 1 means that the tumor is local; it has not spread to the lymph nodes. Adding the letter A or B to the stage 1 classification indicates the size of the tumor (”A” means it is less than 3 cm across) and whether it’s larger and growing in a sensitive area (”B”). Stage 2 means the tumor has spread into lymph nodes or the chest wall. Again, an “A” and “B” designation determines the size and the location of the tumor. Stage 3 is more complicated and can mean several things. For example, it can indicate that the tumor has spread, but it’s still only affecting one side of the lung, or that tumors have spread to other nearby body parts such as the chest wall, or that fluid is collecting in the lungs. Stage 4 is of course the worst stage and means that cancerous tumors have spread into a whole other part of the body like the pelvis or liver.

Small-Cell Cancer

In cases of small-cell cancer, there are two stages of lung cancer - Stage 1 and Stage 2. These stages are used to designate whether the cancerous cells are limited in number or whether there exists an extensive amount that have invaded the chest and other parts of the body. When they’re limited in number, patients have a good chance of receiving effective treatment and possibly even resuming a near normal life. An extensive amount however, means treatment options are very limited.

The Staging Challenge

Although the stages of lung cancer seem well-defined, categorizing a person’s cancer into one of these stages is often challenging. Each case of cancer involves so many different factors and the combination of factors can be interpreted in many different ways by different doctors. Proper diagnosis and classification takes time and may take several rounds of testing. CT scans, MRIs, blood tests, bone scans and even testing the pleural effusion (if present) may all be needed.

“If you and I want to change our behavior, there is only one effective way to do it: we must link unbearable and immediate sensations of pain to our old behavior, and incredible and immediate sensations of pleasure to a new one.” - Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within

Why isn’t every person who wants to be fit and healthy exercising on a consistent basis? If we know what we should be doing, then why aren’t we doing it consistently? Fitness Motivation Coach Lisa Nordquist calls this “The Fitness Gap” and many of us suffer from it.

Knowing that we SHOULD be exercising rarely makes any of us do it on a consistent basis. So, how can we motivate ourselves to practice optimal self care - which includes exercising and eating right CONSISTENTLY? For those people who weren’t born loving exercise, it takes more than JUST DOING IT (at least at first).

We start to practice optimal, and CONSISTENT, self care (even if we find aspects of it painful at the beginning) through a process I call Pain to Pleasure Conversion (PPC). So, as the Robbins quote above suggests, we must find pleasure in what we change our behavior to. But I think he misses a step in getting there. Before we find pleasure in something, we must (even if subconsciously) find MEANING in it.

So, the conversion begins with assigning MEANING to the very concept of exercising. For some, examples of meaning can be stress release, longevity, optimal health, strength development, or even the pursuit of spirituality. Or it could be simply being in a social setting or knowing that you’re doing ‘the right thing’. The meaning that we assign to exercise gets us into the gym and helps us TO BEGIN exercising (after all, how do we know if it will give us pleasure if we don’t try it first … and, in order to be motivated to try it in the first place, we must assign meaning to it). But, finding exercise meaningful alone won’t lead you to do it consistently forever. Now, this is where Robbins comes back into the equation.

The ‘doing CONSISTENTLY’ conversion is complete once the ACT of exercising itself becomes pleasurable. For some, examples of pleasure can be the ‘pump’ from lifting weights, ‘runners high’ from running really long distances, or simply sweating.

Well, what about those of us, you ask, who have never experienced that kind of pleasure from exercise? Most people who don’t find the process of exercising to be pleasurable, will exercise occasionally, but not consistently enough to maximize its benefits. If you can’t stand to sweat or get frustrated by your lack of strength or lack of endurance, how can you start enjoying each and every workout? Who’d blame you?

So, how do we make this entire conversion happen so that we start exercising consistently and make fitness a lifestyle change, even for those of us who don’t find exercising all that pleasurable?

First, assign a meaning to exercise that is important to you. Second, start making some progress towards what is meaningful to you through exercising. Once you start getting the results you want, the MEANS of getting those results (in this case, exercising) will then start becoming pleasurable to you.

The Pain to Pleasure Conversion (PPC) Equation at Work An example of the Pain to Pleasure Conversion at work can be demonstrated through a series of “if/then” statements.

In the Beginning:

Weightlifting (”pain”) = Don’t DO*. *For example: “I don’t lift weights because I’m not very strong and get intimidated by the weights at the gym. But, I want to reduce my stress and get stronger.”

So, if: Living a less stressful life/having strength = Meaning

And if: Weightlifting = Burns off stress/gives strength

Then: Weightlifting = Meaningful

Then, after I start lifting weights and getting stronger and alleviating stress over time (i.e. progressing towards what is meaningful to me) I might find that: Weightlifting = Pleasure

And if: Weightlifting = Pleasure

Then: I will lift weights CONSISTENTLY and start loving every minute of it! And, if I start loving every minute of it, I will do it consistently the rest of my life!!** **Because, as the equation above shows, every single thing we do consistently in life we find pleasure AND meaning in it … somehow, some way.

I know this sounds a little black and white, but if you think about it it’s true. For example, you might say, well, I know people who CONSISTENTLY complain about everything. Isn’t that oxymoronic? My response: absolutely not. That makes perfect sense. I’ve known plenty of people who find intense pleasure in complaining about everything. And so they do it … all the time!

So, by going through the PPC process, you can associate pleasure with exercise and start CONSISTENTLY practicing optimal self care the rest of your life even if it was once very painful for you.

It’s that simple. I’ve seen it work over and over again. In fact, it has worked for me in my life and many of my clients. If you struggle with exercising or eating ‘right’ consistently, try PPC out and let me know how it goes.

One among many ways you lose money in non-indexed mutual funds is the tax trap. You may have to pay taxes even when your mutual fund loses money! To many people this is painfully unexpected. Here is how this counter intuitive event occurs. By law, mutual funds do not pay taxes. Instead, they pass on those taxes to you, the shareholder in the mutual fund.

If the fund manager sells a stock for more than it cost the fund a profit is generated. This profit is called a capital gain and it is taxable. Capital gains are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate which is between 28% and 38.6% for most investors if the fund held the stock for less than a year. If the stock was held for more than a year, in other words long term, the tax is 20%.

There are a couple of reasons why mutual funds pay taxes. If the fund does poorly investors will bail out. The mutual fund has to sell off stock to pay the investors who leave. Even if you are not one of the investors jumping ship you will still have to pay your portion of the capital gains tax.

Dividends are another reason that taxes come due. Dividends are taxed at the per-share earnings distributions that companies make out of their quarterly earnings. Many investors instruct their mutual fund to automatically reinvest their dividends. This means that the fund uses the money to buy more shares in your name. Even if you reinvest and never get a penny of the dividends, they are subject to tax, according to the IRS.

Another reason you may get a tax bill is due to high turnover. Turnover measures the frequency with which a fund manger buys and sells shares, sometimes in search of the next high-flying stock or undervalued stock on the verge of taking off. According to Lipper, the average fund in 2000 showed a turnover rate of 122%. This means that the entire portfolio changed between January and December, and 22% of the replacement shares changed as well.

This is the ultimate case of account churning! You simply have to understand that when you buy into a fund you are buying into a tax liability. The best way to avoid these taxes altogether is to restrict your purchases of mutual funds to your 401(k) and try to only buy indexed mutual funds such as the Vanguard 500 (FINX).

By: Jim O’Connor - The Fitness Promoter August 5, 2005 (c) Jim O’Connor/Wellness Word, LLC - All Rights Reserved

So you want to save valuable time traveling to the gym by building your own home gym. Do to the long hours worked, and strenuous commutes, more and more people are opting to squeeze there workouts in by exercising in the comfort of their own homes.

There are many advantages to creating your very own home gym. It is shown that people who have home gym equipment in their homes tend to exercise more often. Let’s also not forget about saving valuable time, and money on monthly health club dues. It seems like all the new estates being built in Los Angeles plan for a room to be used for their own, personal home gym.

The only drawbacks to owning a home gym are its overwhelming cost, and space limitations. But wait, maybe not! Sure you can purchase individual station machines, a treadmill, a bike, and dozens of free weights. However, is that really needed to get outstanding results? Do you have to spend $10,000 plus to get yourself a home gym that really delivers results? The answer is absolutely not!

Yes, you can treat yourself to state of the art equipment, but will you get better results than a gym which costs less than $100? The answer is no!

Being an Exercise Physiologist in Beverly Hills, California, and author of Home Gym Shopping Secrets, I have proved you can achieve outstanding results using a home gym which costs less than $100. I see that proof each and every day while consulting with motivated clients throughout Los Angeles, California.

What I see daily is people not having the space for many pieces of home gym equipment, or not willing to make a big investment.

Listed below is one of many home gym solutions I mention in Home Gym Shopping Secrets. http://www.HomeGymShoppingSecrets.com/

The $100 Home Gym Solution

Dave, an Oscar winning screenwriter whom I consult with, uses his $100 home gym twice per week, and gets amazing results. As a matter of fact, he pays me much more each week for my services than he did for his complete home gym. His strength and endurance has tripled over the past year, all while losing 6% body fat. This has all been accomplished using his $100, cost effective, space saving home gym. As a matter of fact, we exercise outside, year round, in his driveway! His home gym is comprised of the following equipment which I have listed below. If your goals and medical history are compatible with this type of program, you too can do something similar. Please refer to Home Gym Shopping Secrets and Wellness WORD Multimedia Newsletter for additional fitness programming information.

**LIST OF EQUIPMENT**

1 Large Swiss Ball Stretching Mat Pair of 15 pound dumbells Pair of 20 pound dumbells 1 Heavy Black Ther-A-Band 1 Resistance Band With Handles 10 Pound Medicine Ball

That is it; simple as that! Now what you do with all this equipment is specific to your medical history, and personal, primary goals. For more information on individual fitness programming, please visit Wellness Word Newsletter, and Home Gym Shopping Secrets.

The program Dave uses is more of a core strengthening regimen using various functional movements. We even have him doing in the neighborhood of 250 pushups throughout his circuit training routine. Just remember, programs are created on an individual basis, and are not so called canned as one routine fits all. The two resources I have mentioned above will help you get started on creating the your proper program.

So the next time you think you can’t afford a home gym, think again. YOU CAN!

__________________________________________________

To receive your complimentary subscription to Wellness Word Newsletter (multimedia), visit http://www.WellnessWord.com right now!

Discover all the tips, tricks, and truth in multimedia video, audio, and text. ________________________________________________

*** Attention: Ezine Editors/ Website Owners *** Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your eZine, Blog, Autoresponder, or on your website as long as the links, text, and resource box are not altered in any way.

Jim O’Connor - Exercise Physiologist/The Fitness Promoter

Copyright (c) - Wellness Word, LLC 9461 Charleville Blvd. #312 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 1-866-935-5967

http://www.HomeGymShoppingSecrets.com http://www.WellnessWord.com http://www.HomeGymResources.com

Copyright 2005 Mukee Okan

My extensive experiences with tantric yoga, ancient sexuality practices, and contemporary western therapeutic paradigms have exposed me to many ‘tricks-of-the-trade’ when it comes to coming.

In this article I’ll attempt to distill some of this simple but powerful wisdom. Hopefully men seeking to improve their sexual stamina, or even just to educate themselves sexually, can begin to use this as a roadmap for their quest. And a very worthy quest it is too, (speaking as a woman).

If there is one thing I cannot resist it is a man who is dedicated to learning more about his body and sexuality in general.

I know I speak for a lot of other women when I say that the most important quality in a lover is a commitment to improving the quality of his, and his partner’s, sexual experiences.

THE TRICKS TO LASTING LONGER

1. Relax and increase your body awareness

There are very many techniques out there to help you relax and be more able to ‘feel’ your body. As a yoga practitioner I have experience with very many powerful relaxation, meditation and breathing techniques.

Perhaps the simplest one is just paying attention to your breathing during sex. Not controlling it, just noticing it.

Masters and Johnson also developed a technique known as “sensate focus exercises” which I use extensively in my practice as sexual surrogate therapist and sex ‘coach’.

2. Focus on pleasure in sex, rather than sexual performance.

Let go of any expectations about the outcome of sex. Going into a sexual experience with a ‘plan’ robs you of any ability to be open minded.

You cannot learn from sex if you are focused on how it should look.

Instead, notice the pleasure as it is happening. The pleasure will show you what is good. It is the ultimate teacher when it comes to sex.

3. Increase awareness of your sexual arousal.

Again, open your awareness to your feelings of pleasure and pay close attention to your arousal levels. Awareness is the first step to understanding; which is itself a step towards mastery.

Focus on your pleasure during sex, during masturbation, or even the subtle pleasure you experience when a gorgeous woman gets on the bus.

4. Extend your sexual arousal to higher levels.

There are many techniques you can learn to extend your pleasure. As you become more aware of your sexual arousal a natural increase in your arousal level is inevitable.

This will happen because you will become familiar and comfortable with your pleasure, and your body will propel you to greater heights naturally.

Be sure to practice sex and pleasure often, so your body can keep teaching you.

5. Master your sexual arousal consistently at higher levels.

As your sexual pleasure naturally increases with more practice, you will begin to ‘play’ with it.

Manipulate your breathing patterns, sexual energy field and subtle internal sensations, to the point that you can begin to feel mastery over them.

Again, ancient wisdom, sex manuals and other people’s experiences are full of eye opening possibilities.

6. Become accustomed to a steady level of intense arousal.

Get into the habit of building your sexual pleasure and indulging in it fully. Let the moments you feel pleasure expand.

Let the arousal continue as if it didn’t need to end ever. It will of course, but you don’t care when … just let it happen.

7. Stop thinking

Drop your conscious mind out of the picture. Investigate or experiment with techniques to get your internal dialogue to shut up.

Experience all of this intense and joyous pleasure, not in your head, not by thinking about it … but in your body. Feel it!

THE KEY is connecting more deeply to your own sensations and feelings.

Here’s a bonus tricky tip for you. It’s also the most important one.

8. Remember your own commitment to learn and grow.. . it all comes back to you.

By the way, if some of these tricks seem to be a bit of a tease it’s because they are. Each one could be the subject of several very in depth articles or sexuality workshops.

I want you to take the time to ponder these tricks and look further. I wish you well on your adventures and I wish you very much pleasure.

Love, Mukee

Train Muscular Strength, Muscular Power and Muscular Endurance for Functional Strength Performance… Not Muscular Size for “Appearance”.

Training for muscular strength, power and endurance will bring about more functional improvements than training for muscular size or appearance.

There is a big difference between training for muscle mass and training for muscular strength, power and endurance.

Each type of muscular strength must be trained for optimum performance under any circumstance.

Fitness is a compromise between the physical abilities of cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, power, speed, flexibility, balance, coordination, agility, accuracy and toughness… and muscular strength is a compromise between maximum strength, power and strength endurance.

Maximum Strength Maximum strength is how much force can be generated by the muscles and skeletal system for one, all-out effort.

You One-Rep Max is an indicator of this type of muscular strength.

Power Power is strength per unit of time… I like to call this Explosive Power.

This type of muscular strength is measured by the ability to move a weight from one point to another with speed… therefore it is often called Speed Strength.

Strength Endurance Strength endurance is the ability to be as strong as possible… for as long as possible.

This type of muscular strength is characterized by the ability to perform a strength movement repeatedly for an extended period of time without giving into fatigue or sacrificing form.

An effective physical training program should address the improvement of each type of muscular strength… Not just one type of strength at the expense of the others.

Bodybuilding type training focuses on building muscle mass… and improvement in performance and muscular strength is secondary.

This leads me to an interesting question… will your muscles get bigger by training all aspects of strength?

The answer is yes… they will get just as big as they need to get to optimize performance!

Optimize muscular strength performance… don’t Maximize muscle mass.

After all, it is always better to be stronger than you appear… than to appear stronger than you are!

One final note…

You must always keep in mind that muscular strength training is only one of many components of a well balanced physical fitness training program.

You should strive to optimize your muscular strength in conjunction with the other physical abilities… Not maximize your strength at the expense of them.

After all, meeting the challenges of sport, work and life with excellence is done through the combination and seamless flow from one physical ability to another… Not by relying on one physical skill at the expense of all the others.

While medication has long been used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, Behavioral Therapy has proven to be incredibly effective as well and is now being used in combination with its long utilized counterpart. There are many aspects of Behavior Therapy, but the overall purpose is to train the individual to improve their behavior and be more effective.

There are basically three principles to a behavior therapy approach: set goals that are specific, provide consequences and rewards, and consistently utilize consequences and rewards. Basically, you should lay specific groundwork for acceptable and unacceptable behavior; when either is realized, the consequences, be them positive or negative, should be utilized consistently and continually.

Examples of consequences are time-out, which removes the child from their surroundings for a specific period of time; positive reinforcement, which rewards positive behavior; or a token reward system; which can be added to or taken away from depending on behavior.

There are more in-depth behavior modification techniques that should be utilized to help you child control their behavior. Remember, ADD children suffer from forgetfulness, inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and distractibility. Utilizing a system to reinforce the child’s ability to complete daily activities in spite of these shortcomings will be the most effective. For example, keeping your child on a schedule is a very effective way to keep their activities organized. If they wake up at a certain time, get dressed, take baths, do homework and go to bed at specific times, they will begin to function out of habit, at which point forgetfulness and distractibility become less of an issue.

Likewise, organization helps a child with ADD stay focused and reduces key items being misplaced. Have a set place for books, backpacks, clothes, and toys so your child will react out of habit in returning these items. Typically, routines prove to be an effective treatment course for children with ADD.

You should also be aware of the difficulties your child has, such as distractibility. Limit external stimuli during times when concentration is necessary, such as homework time, or during times when attention is necessary, such as mealtimes.

Help your child stay on task with the use of checklists, charts, or organizers to track responsibilities and monitor progress; as your child ages, this will teach them to function on a daily basis regardless of their disorder. They will learn to write down important tasks and to keep track of things they must accomplish.

With increased availability of food and modern mechanisms, our bodies have got used to a comfortable lifestyle. However with this comfort, our bodies have become less fit than they used to be. Thus it’s become essential, that we exercise to keep our bodies fit. Thus fitness rowers are a great way to cut the flab and keep the calories burning. There are innumerable fitness rowers, which are available in the market. Fitness rowers can be used at home as well as in the gym. A word of caution, before you start any form of exercise, it’s important to ask the advice of the doctor.

There are many options, which are available in the market. The difference between the cheaper and the more expensive models are the range of functions that they offer. Thus when you are looking at buying, its important that fitness rowers reviews and functions are noted. For this you can visit several websites as well as physical stores, where the range is on display. Purchase a fitness rower after doing a thorough market research dependent upon whether you want it for home use or professional use, the price and your personal budget, the functions and the material used in the fitness rower.

Fitness rowers provide a great cardio vascular workout. Since at the same time, one works out the arm as well as the calf muscles, it’s a complete workout for the whole body as say compared to a treadmill. As with swimming, it gives a complete body workout, therefore its essential that fitness rowers be incorporated. for those who want to shed their calories. Fitness rowers are also known by other names such as stamina air rower or simply air rower. The more compact air rowers can even be folded away, thus making the space usage optimum.

If you enjoyed this article check out this list of fitness rowers related articles. And here you’ll find our most recently added fitness rowers article for your reading.