weight loss pills

Archive for May 9th, 2010

Well, all the Christmas lights and decorations have started to appear in our local malls. It’s probably the same where you live. The competition is really hot this year. Retailers have been suffering because of the credit crunch so they started the campaign to get us to spend our hard-earned dollars really early. But, of course, we first have to get through Thanksgiving. In the midst of all this consumer pressure and the expectations of friends and families, it’s easy to forget one vital ingredient – your health! In the good old days, those Pilgrims had an easy ride when it comes to weight loss. There was little food to last through each year so the idea of celebrating a successful harvest with a feast made sense. Filling up the store houses with grains and cereals really was the difference between life and death. So getting the family together was a way of boosting morale as everyone faced the hardships of the winter to come. Oh, and everyone was as thin as a rake. Today, the story could not be more different. It’s not just the turkeys putting on the pounds for the festive season. We spend the year eating just that little bit too much, not counting the calories and giving in to temptations. At best, our weight stays the same but, more often, it rises slowly but steadily. Then along comes Thanksgiving and Christmas when everyone is expected to binge on more food.

Social gatherings are mixed blessings. It’s good to see everyone and, when they all start eating and drinking together, it makes for a special event as we catch up with news, celebrate all the recent successes and bitch about all the problems. This hides all the hard work that went into making all the food and all the discomfort that comes afterwards – in particular that bloated feeling. There’s another sad truth. When months go by between visits, we forget each other’s look. It can be a surprise when the door opens and a slightly more overweight figure walks in. This can affect how much we enjoy the holiday. Everything about us is wrapped up in how we feel about ourselves and the others we love. The amount of energy we have and level of self-confidence we feel is dictated by how we look. It impacts the choice of clothes to wear, the places to go, and so on. A recent study by the University of Washington found an emerging majority of people do not want these extra pounds. Attitudes are changing with the overweight coming bottom on a scale of sexual attractiveness.

So unless you want to feel really bad about yourself in the New Year, start an active diet right now. The world is going to expect you to overeat on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Start losing some weight now. That way, you will emerge from the binge at the same weight and not carrying even more. That means a calorie-reduced diet starting today. If you feel hungry, take phentermine, the one appetite suppressant that has stayed fit and active throughout the years. Launched fifty years ago, phentermine has seen off all its rivals as the drug most likely to keep morale high and those weight loss blues away.

Over the last eighteen months of the recession, a new term has emerged from the pages of academic textbooks and into the public consciousness. This is “moral hazard”. As applied to banks, large insurance companies and other financial institutions, the debate runs along the following lines. If the free market applies, businesses that fail go through bankruptcy. The market does not forgive bad decision making. So when the state proposes to bail out failing businesses, it distorts the market. Worse, if decision makers believe the state will bail them out, it changes the way in which they take decisions. They can be completely reckless, gamble with the investors’ money, and still have the government rescue them. The morality of their behavior is changed by the belief they will be saved no matter what they do. So now let’s apply this to children and teenagers. The First Lady is leading a campaign to tackle obesity in the young. The figures from 2004 do not make encouraging reading. About 5 million adolescents were then obese. There is every reason to believe this number will be significantly higher today.

Despite the absence of evidence showing bariatric surgery to be safe and effective in adults, there is increasing pressure to allow adolescents to go through the procedures, i.e. between the ages of 14 and 17 years. Not unnaturally, some of this pressure is coming from the for-profit hospitals and clinics that perform the surgery and from the device manufacturers who, amongst other things, make the Lap Bands used to restrict food intake. The adolescents themselves have bad body images and, thanks to peer pressure, also feel driven to “do something” to reduce weight. Parents understand their children’s health is at risk because they are overweight. Many will fall seriously ill before reaching thirty. They feel pressured to spend their money for the surgery – health insurance plans do not usually cover these operations because of the lack of medical evidence confirming safety and effectiveness. This is beginning to form a perfect storm. Except we have this moral hazard. Why are these young people eating so much? Who pays for all this excessive and unhealthy food? Why can they not diet, exercise and lose weight? Put another way: if you were a teen and knew your parents would pay for surgery, would you put any effort into dieting and weight loss?

Weight loss is a billion dollar industry and it is, frankly, depressing we should be even discussing the possibility of surgery for our children. It is bad enough when adults risk their health by going through surgical procedures not justified by scientific research. That we should be proposing the same unproven surgery for our children is morally indefensible. Parents should control their children from young and teach them good food habits. Schools should reinforce these habits and government should regulate the quality of food for children. If all fails, the children can take responsibility for their own health when they become adults. That means they diet, buy phentermine online and lose weight the hard way. Unfortunately, phentermine hcl is not suitable for children and adolescents, otherwise its power as an appetite suppressant could help children to eat less. The drug helps people when their own self-discipline is low. As it stands, the promotion of bariatric surgery is the latest bailout scandal and is introducing moral hazard into the behavior of our young. Government should step in and stop this.

Here are a few simple things that you can learn that will allow you to calm down and relax. Take Deep Breaths: Breathe from your diaphragm. When you breathe from your chest, it won’t relax you like deep breathing will. Picture in your mind your breath coming up from way down in your abdominal area.

Slowly repeat a calming word or phrase such as “relax,” “take it easy”, “it’s ok.” Repeat the word or phrase to yourself while breathing deeply.

Imagery can help to relax you. Visualize a relaxing experience. You can think of something that is a memory of a fun and relaxing time you had – like at a beach. If you can’t think of a memory, use your imagination.

Try doing yoga-like exercises that relax your muscles and make you feel much calmer.

Practice these techniques on a daily basis, so they become second nature to you. Then you will be able to use them automatically when you’re in a situation that may make you angry.

Change the Way You Think

People who express anger often tend to curse, swear or speak in highly emotional ways. This response reflects the way they think. When you become angry your thoughts can tend to become overly dramatic.

Try replacing these dramatic thoughts with more rational ones. An example may be instead of saying: “This is just unbelievably terrible. It’s a disaster,” you might think this instead: “It’s an upsetting situation and it’s certainly understandable that I am upset, but it’s not the end of the world. I can deal with this. My getting angry is not going to solve this problem. I need to stay calm and think rationally in order to find a solution.” Be aware of using words like “never” or “always” when you are talking or thinking about yourself or others. This leads to negative thinking and is counterproductive and usually not accurate.

Words like these can also fuel your anger and alienate others around you who might otherwise want to help you to come up with a solution. In situations where you are upset, having others around who sympathize with you and can help you to solve the situation is preferable to alienating others and scaring them away.

Expressing anger in a non-productive manner is not going to solve the problem and it is not going to make you feel better about the situation or about yourself. Expressing anger in an uncontrolled manner may make you feel worse about yourself and the situation. You could even make the situation worse during your outburst.

Thinking the situation through in a logical manner can defeat feelings of anger. Anger, even when it is understandable and justified can easily become irrational, uncontrolled, and unproductive if not contained and redirected.

Unpleasant situations happen to all of us. Who hasn’t been ill-treated by a consumer-related incidence? It happens, and while in the midst of situations like these; keeping your cool and staying in control, will assure that you will have the best outcome possible.

One good strategy to master is – Problem Solving

Taking positive steps to coming up with a solution to what is upsetting you can help to make you feel better:

1. Analyze what the problem is by identifying all participants and events that created the problem

2. Gather information regarding the subject of the problem

3. Understand the dynamics involved from all angles.

4. Brain-storm all possible solutions and scenarios or consequences.

5. Make a plan of action and a goal as to when to accomplish your solution.

Not all problems have solutions despite our hope that they do. Sometimes all we can do is learn how to cope with the situation in a healthy, positive manner; if a solution is not possible.

Another good strategy is to be able to listen well and to communicate with all parties involved in the event or situation. Take the time to really hear what others are saying. Others who are involved can help you to understand the problem better. Having the ability to be able to communicate both your feelings and your thoughts on the matter will allow you to express your feelings in a constructive manner.

Try not to get defensive if others criticize what you say. Not everyone agrees with everyone else. We as individuals will naturally have different opinions. A discussion is only a discussion if all parties remain in control and can actively listen to what others are saying without judging too quickly.

A little bit of humor can diffuse a potentially explosive situation at times. Being able to laugh at yourself can at times help to make you feel better about something that may otherwise have upset you. We’ve all made mistakes, right? It happens, it can’t be undone, and sometimes the best thing we can do is say “wow that was a dumb thing to do, but it happened and I’ll just fix it and laugh at my clumsiness.”

Give yourself a break from the rigors of life. Working too hard can make us grumpy and more easily prone to bouts of anger. Make sure you schedule some personal time for rest and relaxation.

Use these strategies for controlling your anger. Check out some anger management books from your local library for some more great strategies.

Scott Meyers is a staff writer for Its Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Anger Management.