The best day for weight loss

by Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief, PREVENTION, on Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:03pm PDT

I know, I know, the first day of the workweek is tough enough but stay with me on this. Loads of studies show that Monday is really the best time to kick off any get-healthy regimen for this simple reason: it represents a clean slate, which is vital when it comes to embracing a smarter lifestyle plus there’s always another one right around the corner. Not convinced? Here are a few more reasons Monday is the greatest day when it comes to your health:

It’s a fresh start

Just like Friday always begs the question: what will I do this weekend? (i.e., eat, drink and be merry), Monday just naturally lends itself to a more practical point of view—it’s the day you assess your workload, appointments, grocery shopping. Take stock of the week ahead with your new healthy habits in mind and plan accordingly.

The secret to loving your workout

It’s a ‘trigger’ day

Studies actually show that when it comes to embarking on any healthy activity, if you have a so-called trigger day—a set date or reminder—you’re more likely to follow through. Even better? Monday rolls around every 7 days, as opposed to say, once year, like Jan 1st, so even if you get off track, another Monday is just around the corner.

It’s proceeded by 48 hours of free(ish) time

This matters because you have two free days to prepare, and launching into a new healthy routine without planning sets you up for failure—how can you eat healthier if there’s nothing healthier in the house to eat? Use these days to grocery shop, dig out your workout clothes, write up a schedule, give your junk food to the neighbors. Whatever it take to get you into the healthy living mindset.

Burn calories all weekend.

What motivates you to stick with a diet and exercise plan? Looking good in a bikini? Feeling great naked? Just wanting to be healthier?

GUY Wisdom

Boost Your Metabolism

A University of Wisconsin study found that when men performed three "big" exercises, their metab-olisms were elevated for 39 hours afterward. In fact, scientists in the Netherlands calculated that men who lifted weights twice a week for 18 weeks burned an average of 9 percent more calories a day beyond what they expended during exercise--enough to lose 25 pounds in a year.

Fight Off Heart Disease

Researchers at the University of Michigan reported that men who completed three total-body weight workouts a week for 2 months lowered their diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by an average of 8 points. That reduces your risk of stroke by 40 percent and of a heart attack by 15 percent.

Lift For Happiness

In a study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, scientists discovered that men who performed three weight workouts a week for 6 months not only built muscle and lost fat, but also improved their scores on measures of tension, anger, and overall mood.

Drink To Your Biceps

Now you can build muscle at the office. French researchers found that men who drank small amounts of a shake containing 30 g protein every 20 minutes for 7 hours boosted muscle growth more than those who downed the entire drink in one sitting. Want to try it? Mix 30 g whey- protein powder with 16 ounces of water and sip on it during your workday. Besides giving your muscles a steady flow of raw materials for growth, whey protein has been shown to improve immune function. We like Optimum Nutrition 100 percent whey protein, available at www.optimumnutrition.com.

Elevate Your Sex AppealL

You brush your teeth twice a day, shave every morning, and get your hair cut every 6 weeks. But the places you neglect to groom leave a lasting impression on women in your life. A bad one. So tend your lawn, men.

The Instant Turnoff: Dry elbows and feet

Repel Factor: "I don't want a guy's rough, sandpapery skin touching all the places I spend hours on making soft and lovely," says Kate, 27.

The Fix: Slap a moisturizer on the rough spots after you shower. But opt for a hand cream rather than a body lotion. "It has a richer formula that penetrates deeper into the skin," says Brian Boyé, Men's Health fashion director. Try Kiehl's Ultimate Strength hand salve ($13).

The Instant Turnoff: Chapped lips

Repel Factor: "There's nothing worse than a guy going in for a kiss with dry skin hanging off his lips," says Kerri, 24.

The Fix: Make a habit of applying lip balm twice a day, even when your lips aren't chapped. The best times: "In the morning after you eat and at night before bed," says Pirooz Sarshar, cofounder of the Grooming Lounge. We like Brave Soldier Lip Defender SPF 15 ($8, groominglounge.com).

The Instant Turnoff: Neck hair

Repel Factor: "If it looks like a reverse beard, I head in the other direction," says Kristen, 23.

The Fix: Hair on the neck grows just as fast as facial scruff, so don't rely only on your barber to trim it. When your hair is dry, lift it off your neck and shave any hair that's creeping below the hairline, says Vaughn Accord, a men's grooming specialist at Bumble and Bumble in New York City. Work it into your morning routine twice a week; a regular razor works best.

The Instant Turnoff: Ear hair

Repel Factor: "Once I catch sight of it, I can't look away," says Jaclyn, 23. "And I don't mean in a good way."

The Fix: A certain amount of hair is nature's way of keeping bad things out of your ear canal, but most women have limits to what's acceptable. "It's tough to see in a bathroom mirror, but you should take inventory every time you shave to keep it under control," says Accord. Invest in a Panasonic Nose and Ear Hair Groomer ($20, panasonic.com); it'll clean you up in seconds.

Save Your Skin

Korean researchers found that fish oil may help prevent wrinkles. When the scientists treated skin with eicosapentaenoic acid (an omega-3 fat in fish oil), then exposed the epidermis to light, the number of collagen-destroying proteins dropped by 75 percent. For more on the health benefits of fish oil, see "The Government's Big Fish Story," in this issue.

Gotta Wear Shades

Along with protecting your eyes from damaging ultraviolet rays, sunglasses can help you avoid jet lag, according to Scottish researchers. In a study of 1,000 international travelers, those who wore sunglasses for the first few hours of the morning after arrival recovered from jet lag up to 3 days sooner than fliers who skipped the specs. Choose shades that wrap around your eyes and offer 100 percent UV protection, say doctors at Henry Ford Hospital, in Detroit.

Beat Baldness

Flax may halt a receding hairline. In a recent study, Taiwanese scientists gave a daily 50 milligram (mg) dose of lignans--disease-fighting compounds found in flaxseed--to 10 men who were losing their hair. After 6 months, nine of the 10 men showed slower hair loss. Lignans are found in the flaxseed's shell, so buy ground whole seeds in your supermarket's health-food section. Taking 11/2 tablespoons provides the lignans you need.

Grab Her Attention

Your scent will stick in her memory as much as anything you say or wear, according to a Cornell University study. So choose a cologne she'll remember. Not sure what the ladies like? These three scents have stood the test of time: Acqua di Gio by Giorgio Armani, Eternity by Calvin Klein, and Dolce & Gabbana by Dolce & Gabbana. Have a female friend help you pick the one that fits you.

Extend Your "Smileage"

The sharper you look, the more trustworthy you look, according to a recent Rice University study. Furthermore, the researchers discovered that smiling people are thought to be more trustworthy than those with straight faces. Self-improvement doesn't get much simpler.

Shine On For Years

A brighter smile could mean stronger teeth. American Dental Association researchers found that teeth-whitening products containing "amorphous calcium phosphate" can cut down on enamel damage and tooth sensitivity by 40 percent, compared with other whiteners. Ask your dentist about Nite White and Day White whitening systems ($40).

Do the Ingredients in Energy Drinks Work?

By: Heather Loeb

Apparently, it doesn't take a biochemist to formulate an energy drink. No, according to Starbucks, any guy off the street is qualified. At least that's whose opinion mattered most when the coffee giant recently created the ingredient list for its own concoction.

"There are many energy ingredients on the market, and B vitamins, guarana, and ginseng are the ones our customers are most familiar with," says Ruby Amegah, product-development manager for the team behind the Starbucks Doubleshot Energy + Coffee. Which perhaps in large part explains why the company chose them: It's smart marketing.

Trouble is, by letting consumer research influence ingredient lists, energy-drink companies are helping popularize exotic-sounding compounds that even scientists don't yet fully understand. The approach has worked: Last year, Americans spent $4.2 billion on these supposedly high-octane elixirs. And that's probably why manufacturers haven't strayed far from the best-selling recipe they used when the first energy drinks took off a dozen years ago. It's a formulation that includes a hefty dose of caffeine and sugar combined with smaller amounts of seemingly obscure substances, most notably guarana, ginseng, and taurine.

But do these beverages really energize your body and sharpen your mind? Or should you can the energy drinks for good? To help you separate the science from the sales pitch, we analyzed five key ingredients in the market's most popular potions.

Caffeine

What is it?: A chemical compound that stimulates your central nervous system. Most energy drinks contain between 140 and 170 milligrams (mg) of caffeine in a 15- or 16-ounce can.

Does it work?: Java junkies certainly think so. As for the science, an Austrian study showed that men who swallowed 100 mg of caffeine had a bigger boost in brain activity after 20 minutes than those who took a placebo.

Plus, a new University of Chicago study found that a 200 mg jolt made fatigued people feel twice as alert as noncaffeinated participants. "Caffeine indirectly affects many different neurotransmitters," says Andrew Scholey, Ph.D., an herb and nutrition researcher at Australia's Swinburne University of Technology.

Is it safe?: The most caffeine-packed energy drink contains the equivalent in caffeine of about two 8-ounce cups of coffee. If downing that much joe doesn't make you jittery, then quaffing a can shouldn't pose a problem. Of course, if you combine that with other caffeinated beverages throughout the day, then the sum total stimulation could cause headaches, sleeplessness, or nausea.

On the other hand, if you're not a regular coffee or cola drinker and you battle high blood pressure, the occasional energy drink could be trouble. Researchers in Finland reported that the caffeine in two to three cups of coffee can cause BP to spike by up to 14 points.

Glucose

What is it?: Sugar. Sucrose, another ingredient you'll often see on energy drink labels, is a combination of fructose (the natural sugar found in fruit) and glucose. Many energy drinks contain 50 to 60 grams (g) of glucose or sucrose in a 16-ounce can.

Does it work?: Your body runs mainly on glucose, so topping off your tank with the sweet stuff should theoretically provide an instant boost. And in fact, a recent study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that men who guzzled a 6 percent glucose drink were able to bicycle 22 minutes longer than those who went sans the extra sugar.

Where glucose won't help, however, is with the fog of fatigue from too little sleep. A 2006 British study determined that sleep-deprived people who drank liquid glucose exhibited slower reaction times and more sleepiness after 90 minutes.

Is it safe?: Dumping empty calories down your gullet is never a great idea, and some energy drinks contain nearly as much sugar as a 20-ounce soda. Then there's the fact that a sudden infusion of glucose can cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to skyrocket, signaling your body to stop incinerating fat. A 2006 New Zealand study reveals that caffeine combined with even the 27 g of sugar in, say, an 8.3-ounce Red Bull may be enough to temporarily inhibit your body's ability to burn lard.

Guarana

What is it?: A South American shrub. One seed has a caffeine content of 4 to 5 percent, while a coffee bean has 1 to 2 percent. The amount of guarana in a 16-ounce energy drink ranges from a minuscule 1.4 mg to as much as 300 mg.

Does it work?: Yes, if you don't set the bar too high. A study in the journal Appetite reports that people who took 222 mg of guarana felt slightly less fatigued and were up to 30 milliseconds faster on a reaction-time test than those who popped a placebo.

Some scientists attribute guarana's effect solely to its caffeine content, but Scholey isn't so sure. His team found energizing effects with doses just under 40 mg, which contain very little caffeine. That means there's probably something else in guarana that produces a stimulating effect on its own or that bolsters the effect of the caffeine, he says.

Is it safe?: Scientists at Florida's Nova Southeastern University recently conducted tests and concluded that the amounts of guarana found in most energy drinks aren't large enough to cause any adverse effects. That said, there's still a question mark regarding the safety of higher levels, which could conceivably be consumed by downing a few energy drinks in a brief time span.

Ginseng

What is it?: An extract made from the root of the ginseng plant. Panax ginseng is the species most commonly used. The ginseng content in energy drinks typically ranges between 8 mg and 400 mg in 16 ounces.

Does it work?: Not if you're hoping for energy to burn. A recent review in American Family Physician determined that ginseng doesn't enhance physical performance. But there is an upside: It may boost your brainpower. Scholey and his colleagues found that people who swallowed 200 mg of the extract an hour before taking a cognitive test scored significantly better than when they skipped the supplement. They also felt less mental fatigue.

Ginseng may work by increasing the uptake of blood glucose by cells in the brain and elsewhere, says Scholey. However, the right amount is essential—only two of the eight major energy drinks we examined contained that optimal dose of at least 200 mg.

Is it safe?: Since the amount of ginseng in an energy drink is minimal, harmful effects are unlikely. And while there have been some reports of negative side effects from ginseng—diarrhea, for example—Scholey points out that those occurred in people taking 3 g a day.

One caution: If you're on any medications, check with your doctor before knocking back an energy drink. Ginseng has been shown to interact with blood-thinning drugs like warfarin, potentially altering their effectiveness.

Taurine

What is it?: One of the most abundant amino acids in your brain, where it can act as a neurotransmitter—a chemical messenger that allows your cells to communicate with one another. You'll find anywhere from 20 mg to 2,000 mg of taurine in most 16-ounce energy drinks.

Does it work?: Scientists aren't sure, but it doesn't seem likely. When taurine is dumped into your bloodstream—when you down a Red Bull, for instance—it can't pass through the membranes that protect your brain, says Neil Harrison, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medical College.

But even if it could, Harrison's research suggests that taurine might behave more like a sedative than a stimulant. When he and his team applied the amino acid to the brain tissue of rodents, they discovered that it mimicked a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a chemical that slows brain activity.

Is it safe?: Taurine is probably fine in small doses, but chug too many energy drinks and the picture becomes less clear. According to a recent case report from St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, three people had seizures after drinking approximately two 24-ounce energy drinks in a short period of time. However, the researchers don't know whether to blame the taurine or the caffeine, or what role preexisting health conditions may have played.

The fact is, there's been little research on taurine consumption in humans, so it's impossible to conclude whether it's safe to consume in high doses. Of course, there's no strong evidence to support its role as an energy booster, either.

Popular Dieting Lies, Myths, and Scams Exposed

It seems that almost with each passing day a new diet plan or product is introduced to the public that promises to be the final solution for people who are looking to shed some pounds. Some new marketing angle or concept that is touted to have finally unlocked the secret that everyone has been looking for. The secret formula or product that will finally do the trick.

Why Not Give It a Try?

What’s the real deal? Wasn’t the last one supposed to be the ultimate diet plan or product? Then you see the testimonials, the before and after pictures and the gears in your head start to turn. “Hey what have I got to lose but excess weight”? “Maybe I can try it for a week or two and if I lose some pounds, what the heck”!!? So you shell out your money and give it a try.

They All Want You to Buy

The truth is that if you are not happy with the way you look or how much you weigh, you are dead center in the cross hairs of some of the slickest, most unscrupulous marketers on the planet. By the way, they are most likely also the same guys that sold you the last diet plan or product that you tried that didn’t work. They know that you are vulnerable and yearning to look and feel your personal best.

Hey Look It’s FDA Approved!!

They went back, got a new name for their company and they will do it all over again next year with a new face on their latest business hustle. As long as they are not marketing a drug, making medical claims and are careful with their wording and promises, getting FDA approval is as easy for them as it is for the people selling apples at your local fruit stand, so don’t be fooled by that moniker.

The Truth About Boosting Your Metabolism

No diet food or product can permanently boost your metabolism. Boosting your metabolism is one very common claim of many diet products or plans. It’s a great hook, because every dieter knows that the higher a persons metabolism, the more calories they will naturally burn. However; you “are” genetically predisposed to have a certain metabolic rate.

How to Lower Your Metabolic Rate

Certain conditions and processes and products such as pills, illness or exercise can “temporarily” raise or lower it but basically your ancestors are the ones that left you with your metabolism, because you inherited it from them. The real irony, is that the best way to lower your metabolism is to go on a fad diet, because your body will automatically slow it down, just like it did centuries back when your distant ancestors ran short on food.

Grape Fruit, Vinegar or High Acid Diets

There is nothing that you can consume that will “burn off” fat. Every now and then another “grapefruit” style diet appears over the horizon with it’s promise that if you consume one food product or another, it will somehow “burn off” fat. Unfortunately, your digestive and biological system are just not that simple. There is no “little furnace” in your tummy that can be “stoked” to burn off fat.

Dangerous and Extremely Unhealthy

However; if you consume only certain foods for instance and nothing else, your body can be tricked into temporarily shedding weight. The Atkins diet is a prime example of this but along with the “temporary” weight loss comes malnutrition, possible permanent internal organ damage and extreme food cravings that make these types of diets almost impossible to stick to.

Eat Cookies and Chocolate Shakes to Lose Weight !?

“Goody” or cookie diets have always been around and the diet shakes were the first. What a wonderful concept for a person with eating issues that need resolving! The diet shakes and other “goody” makers replace the sugar with an artificial sweetener and the thick cream with cellulose, which is the same thing that paper is made from. These diet products and plans are designed and marketed by only the most cynical of diet scam artists.

Indigestible Edible Oils

Indigestible, edible oils actually made the headlines when they were first introduced. Scientists and food manufactures had been working to discover this holy grail of dieting for decades and they were rewarded with international publicity when they finally found it. Then their next task was to find a way to sweep the people that began to use them under the rug, because what they had to say wasn’t good.

You Don’t Want These Side Effects !

If you don’t mind being doubled over with extreme stomach pain and a never ending bout of extreme, uncontrollable diarrhea then dig in, because these oils always come in junk food products like potato chips and brownies. Also, the amount of oil that they can replace is minimal at best, lest the people who eat them mind spending their days sitting on a toilet bent over in pain or walking back and forth from their bedroom changing their underwear.

Drink Up and Lose Weight

Liquid diets also have come and gone over the years. The reason that they work, is that any liquid tends to contain a minimal amount of calories. That is unless it contains alcohol, sugar or oil. So they replace the sugar with artificial sweetener, the oil with cellulose and of course leave out the alcohol and presto you have a liquid diet product.

The Joke Is On You

The real joke, is that you can get the most effective liquid diet product for free right out of your tap. it’s called water, because that is mostly what you are buying when you purchase a liquid diet product. By the way, once you buy the liquid diet product, it will also come with a food restriction plan, because that is what is really responsible for any weight loss.

Flushing Away Excess Pounds

Laxatives will have you losing weight in the time that it takes you to go to the bathroom and it doesn’t get much faster then that. However; it won’t be fat that you will be losing but water and the more you take them the worse the case of dehydration you will have. They do help to flatten your stomach though, because they completely vacate your lower intestinal tract which helps to perpetrate the illusion of weight loss.

They Just Don’t Work

The people who use laxatives for dieting assume that the faster the food they eat is eliminated, the fewer calories their digestive system can absorb. However; the problem is that calories are absorbed from food in the stomach and the small intestines, so by time food is where a laxative can have an effect on it, (the lower intestine), it has been fully digested. Besides, laxatives are addictive and once you begin using then your digestive system loses it’s ability to function naturally.

Replacing One Problem with Another

Prescription diet pills do work fantastic if you don’t mind being strung out on drugs. They function by causing you to run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, while at the same time completely eliminating your appetite. Besides, a doctor that really has your best interest in mind won’t prescribe them, because he or she knows that they are temporary fix that can leave you a totally addicted basket case.

Another Temporary Fix

Non prescription diet pills also work but nowhere near as good as their prescription cousins. They use caffeine and or ephedrine, both of which are mild stimulants and appetite suppressants. They both also cause stomach and headaches and you fast develop a tolerance to them, meaning that you will have to gulp them by the handful in as little time as a few short weeks.

Not At All Worth the Risk

Ephedrine has also been directly linked to sudden heart attack and permanent heart muscle damage. The real scary thing is that you will most likely get no prior warning of impending problems if you develop any. What this means is that if ephedrine is causing problems for a persons heart, their first symptom is all too often sudden death. Bear in mind that even perfectly fit professional athletes have dropped dead from taking ephedrine.

Not a A Diet a Cardiologist Would Recommend

The Atkins Pyramid

High protein diets such as the Atkins or liquid protein diets work by tricking your system into shutting down it’s system for storing fat on your body. This is why you can eat all the meat and eggs you want on these diets and still shed the pounds. However; these diets have been linked to organ damage and take a week or so to begin to work. Also these ultra high cholesterol diets are a possible one way ticket to the cardiac ward at your local hospital.

People Actually Do Buy Them !

Topical creams, lotions or sprays that are touted by their marketers to effect a persons weight can be described in one word and that word is “scam”. Fortunately, the people who market them are generally decent enough not to insult your intelligence with any phony explanations of how their products supposedly work. The “only” thing that you can apply to the surface of your body that “will” effect your weight is a piece of tape over your mouth.

Just Another Diet Product Scam

Then there are the diet products that supposedly absorb and hold fats in your digestive system after you consume them. Unfortunately for their makers your stomach uses hydrochloric acid, (which will dissolve steel) to digest your food. What this means is that the only thing that can survive passing through your digestive system without being dissolved is glass. So once again, only one word is needed to describe them and that word is “scam”.

Riding Up and Down On the Diet Roller Coaster

Fasting works great. Eat nothing and your body is forced to live off it’s stored fat. In fact, if you can stick to a total fast you can literally lose pounds in a day! Unfortunately your body reacts to a fast by going into “starvation mode”. Your metabolic rate will plummet and won’t come back up until the pounds you lost are packed back on. This is why fasting and sudden weight loss is always followed by sudden weight gain.

The Most Delicious Diet Plans

Mediterranean or other “regional food” diet plans are the latest angle that diet plan marketers have pulled out of their hat. Most all of them do in fact work, as long as you stick to them. Authentic Greek, Chinese and Japanese food is delicious and generally low in fats, processed starches and sugar, so there is absolutely nothing wrong there.

Why Pay When You Can Get Them for Free ?

They also tend to be high in fiber and contain lots of healthy fruits and vegetables. However; if you are foolish enough to pay for one of these plans, a good percentage of the fat on your body is between your ears. that’s because you can easily find loads of great delicious low cal recipes from all four corners of the planet right on the Internet free of charge.

Not a Magic Bullet

So start browsing and start munching but save your money for the new clothes you will need once you shed some weight. However; be aware that just because a recipe is Greek or Chinese, doesn’t mean that it will magically work. So skip the baklava and and twice fried sweet and sour pork and you will be OK.

A Boost For Regional Eateries!

Or better yet, start scouting out local regional eateries and let them do the cooking. Ask the waiter or waitress what their low cal dishes are and they will be glad to help you out. No doubt Greek, Japanese and Chinese restaurateurs have also heard of this latest diet fad, are surly tickled pink and have a list of all their low cal favorites all ready for you to brows through.

Headache Remedies

Understanding your headache's source is the key to easing the pain

by Sara Vigneri

Headaches can be triggered by any number of factors, including lack of sleep or food, anxiety, or even medications. But when the pain

in your head won't go away, try these remedies, specific to the type you're expecting.

TENSION HEADACHE
Symptoms: Pain on both sides of your head. These are the most common type — affecting 70 percent of men — and are usually triggered by extreme stress or neck strain.

Treatment: Over-the-counter drugs are usually all that's needed (aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen). But you may also find relief with a massage to loosen tight neck muscles.

Prevention: Sit up straight at work. Sitting hunched over your desk all day can set it off, especially if you're under stress. Keeping tension headaches at bay may be as simple as a quick walk outside away from the tumult of the office.

MIGRAINE
Symptoms: Intense, throbbing pain, usually on one side of your head, accompanied by nausea and/or sensitivity to light or sound. Not fun. It's uncommon for men in their 20s or over to start developing migraines, so if you've never had one before, that pain is probably something different.

Treatment: Prescription meds such as sumatriptan are most helpful. So is rest in a quiet, dark room.

Prevention: Identify and eliminate your triggers (the most common are red wine, cheese, and caffeine). Regular exercise has also been shown to reduce frequency and severity.

CLUSTER HEADACHE
Symptoms: A sharp pain behind one eye that strikes suddenly, and goes away just as quickly. The headaches come in groups — or clusters — and can reoccur for days or months. Cluster headaches are rare, affecting less than 1% of adult, but men in their 20s are more likely to get them.

Treatment: Oxygen therapy has been shown to help alleviate the pain. You also may want to get checked for sleep apnea — up to 80% of cluster headache sufferers also have the condition, and treating one may help eliminate the other.

Prevention: They are hard to predict, but there are several drugs, including Sansert (methysergide maleate), that your doc may recommend as a preventive measure.