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Weight Loss Exercise

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Over the last several year, probably more than 10 years now, professional athletes have been using Hyperbaric chambers to improve healing from bruising and injuries and it has worked fantstically for them. I am a big fan at leveraging the tech that professional athletes use for recovery from exercise but I was at the FDA consumer site today and saw that people have stretched the idea of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy into a new cure all for almost everything.

We see these kind of things often. A great idea is extended to be a cure all for lots of things that it was never designed for. Steroids for muscle weight gain, Acai berries for anything, and lately hyperbolic therapy for people with genetic diseases. Not sure how this can be extended to the following diseases but it looks like there is some research that may say it works.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy involves breathing oxygen in a pressurized chamber. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared hyperbaric chambers for certain medical uses, such as treating decompression sickness suffered by divers.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has not, however, been proven to be the kind of universal treatment it has been touted to be on some Internet sites. FDA is concerned that some claims made by treatment centers using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may give consumers a wrong impression that could ultimately endanger their health.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves intermittent inhalation of 100% oxygen under a pressure greater than regular air pressure, so in a pressurized tank. Despite over a century of use in medical settings, hyperbaric oxygen remains a controversial therapy. The last 20 years have seen a clarification of the mechanism of action of hyperbaric therapy and a greater understanding of its potential benefit.

I have been able to find some reports of use for these things. Hyperbaric chamber treatment for Autism, and using it for treatment of  diabetic related foot ulcers, and even a treatment for Hypoxia?

As with other things that we see this looks like a technology that may be promising for some things but of course you need to be careful in what you read and be responsible to check the pros and cons of any therapy.


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US Open 2013

If it is late August then it must be time for the US Open tennis tournament.

I have been a huge tennis fan since I played as a kid and have gone through so many US Open tennis tournaments on TV. I have watched everyone from Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, Peter Chang, Pete Sampras, and of course my favorite Andre Aggasi.

us-open-tennis-logoOf course the best mens players these days are Roger Federer and Raphael Nadal.

This year times are changing for the mens draw though with Novak Djokovic being the number 1 seed and Nadal as 2nd seed and Federer is down to 7th seed but I sure would never want to count him out.

I hate to say it but I have not watched too much womens tennis over the last few years but saw tonight that Venus Williams beat  seeded player in the first round and her sister Serena Williams is the number 1 seed again this year.

Are you going to be watching the US Open this year? Are you a tennis fan like me?

Well I know what I will be doing in the evenings this week and next anyway, watching the some of the greatest sports in the world. Night tennis at the US Open!


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The Social Diet

The problem a lot of people have when dieting is the fact that they like going out and being sociable; part and parcel of this is eating out with friends. Now eating out whilst dieting can be hard BUT you don’t have to panic, you can use these five simple tips that will allow you to eat out with you friends without breaking your diet rules or piling on the pounds.

1. Eat A Small Fat Loss Snack Before Eating Out

Some great fat loss snacks include:

  • Nuts
  • Tuna mixed with cottage cheese
  • Carrot sticks with humus

This is so you don’t over indulge at the restaurant, and it will help HOWEVER, the best way to truly conquer this is by mastering self discipline. Another method of self discipline that will help is by stopping eating when you are full; it will be hard at first (especially if your at a nice restaurant) but as with everything, you will get better with practice.

2. Pick Food That Is Comprised Of The 3 Fat Loss Food Groups

fruits-and-vegetablesThe three fat loss food groups are:

  •  Protein: Eggs, Chicken (breast or thigh) Beef, Fish, Pork, Lamb
  •  Legumes: Black Beans, Lentils, Red Beans, Soya Beans, Borlotti Beans
  •  Vegetables: Mixed Vegetables, Peas, Broccoli, Green Beans etc. Any vegetables are allowed

If you pick food at the restaurant that includes protein, vegetables and legumes then you can’t go wrong! These foods make your brain release fat BURNING hormones so no matter how much you eat you won’t put on any fat. Also don’t be shy to request anything, for example “can I have a side salad instead of chips” or “In my burger take away the cheese and mayo, add extra lettuce and tomato.”

3. Eat Slowly

It takes twenty minutes for your brain to realise you’re full, this means if you eat fast you are likely to over eat by about twenty minutes; if you eat slow on the other hand, your brain  will register you are full a lot earlier and you will end up consuming less calories as a result.

4. Drink More Water

When you are mildly dehydrated the brain sends out hunger signals, I recommend drinking a pint of water before you leave for the restaurant (you will get full faster) or next time you are hungry. If you get into the habit of reaching for a glass of water before you reach for the cookie jar your on to a winner!

5. Load Up On Vegetables

Vegetables have a very low effect on blood sugar level and have very low calories. By loading up on vegetables you can kill two birds with one stone as you are adding more of one of the fat loss food groups to your meal.

Ryan Phillips is an online fat loss coach and author of the Rapid Fat Loss System. You can ask him for advice on his blog or download his free report here Free Fat Loss Report to help you drop fat in the fastest and easiest way possible.


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