Looking good this summer

I swear that almost every male that I saw today had their shirt off. It was not a hot day but warm. I can only be thankful that most of them were in very good muscular condition. I even saw one guy that was washing his car and until he turned around and I saw his full gray beard, I would have sworn he was in his twenties.

Yes I was looking, I am allowed, aren't I? It was not as if I had binoculars and was looking through windows, nope this was all on display in a small town.

It did get me thinking about men and women and how most men do tend to take better care of their bodies than most women do. I think that has to be how men are raised in the school system. There are more physical fitness opportunities and availability for boys and men than there are for girls and women. Women are taught that the face is the important part of their bodies for glamor. That is why cosmetics are a big industry. While men are taught to be strong and muscular.

I wonder if and when that will change? Your guess is as good as mine I suppose.

One food that can help your body and skin

There are lots of foods that profess to help you lose weight. I can think of one main one off hand and that is grapefruit. I remember my mother eating a grapefruit for breakfast and drinking grapefruit juice for lunch as a method of weight loss. I asked her once if she liked grapefruits enough to eat them twice a day, everyday and she told me NO! She only ate them because she heard that they would help her body burn off fat. She did lose weight with her fruit diet but not because it was grapefruit but because she was almost starving herself in the process. If you are wondering if she put those pounds right back on after eating grapefruits for almost 2 years, she did. She did not learn to eat a balanced diet that she could maintain.

One food that I have found that worked for me was yogurt. I ate that for lunch along with a piece of fruit when I was at work. It was not only a quick and easy lunch to make but it kept me from feeling starved all afternoon long. I have also heard that yogurt is one of the best acne treatments around. Of course for acne, you don't eat the yogurt but put plain yogurt on your face after you wash it. Something about balancing your ph levels on your skin.

How losing weight can save you money

Did you know that overweight people pay more for lots of things? Health care is one. I bet you didn't know that many medical insurance policies did not cover doctors visits if obesity is discussed. Life insurance is another one that overweight people will pay more for. Many life insurance quotes require a physical to be done prior to issuing the policy and often that policy costs more if you are overweight.

Of course there is also those issues with airline seats that pop up in the news every once and awhile but they are often aimed at the severely obese people and not just those who are overweight. While the medical and insurance industry tend to penalize those who are just overweight.

Being uncomfortable during a heat wave

I can personally vouch for the fact that when it gets hot, you are more uncomfortable when you weigh more. I think it has to do with the fat in your body acting as an insulator and not allowing your body's natural cooling system to work properly. It is times during heat waves that most people end up drinking more water and eating less. It is one of the quick weight loss programs that will work for a short period of time. Most of the weight lost will be water weight, but considering that the human body is made of 90% water then that is a lot of weight.

Stay cool and drink lots of water.

Another diet product

I was talking over the back fence to my good friend a few days ago. The weather was nice and not too hot and we had just finished doing some yard work. I had remarked at how good she looked and she told me she had lost 10 pounds. I asked her if it was some miracle diet pill and to my surprise she said yes. When I asked her what it was she answered vigrx, which I know is NOT a diet pill but one of those male enhancement drugs. Since she is now gone for the long holiday weekend I will have to wait to ask her again what that diet pill really is. I can't wait to find out.

Midnight snackers

I have a dear friend that always seems to be on a diet of some sort. I have known her long enough to see her go through the very obese times to the very slim days. She is currently back to her overweight time and until recently I was unaware that she was a closet midnight snacker. Her husband told me that he would be getting ready for work one day and found all kinds of food left out in the kitchen. He put it away and thought nothing more about it. Then a week later it happened again. He thought it was one of his teenage sons and confronted him. It was then he found out that his wife was the sneaky snacker.

My friend and her husband had a huge argument over the issue. She refused to admit that eating 2 sandwiches at 1am in the morning was contributing to her almost 280 pound problem. At one point he threatened to put a lock on the refrigerator or figure out a way to keep her out of it during certain hours. He even wondered if any company made such a thing like refrigerator filters that detected who was opening the door and what they were getting out or putting in.

What he finally did in the end was make an appointment for her at the doctor and not tell her about it. The appointment was around lunch time and he made arraignments that it looked like he would be taking her out to lunch and instead they ended up at the doctors office. After the appointment her midnight snacking stopped......at least for now it has. She dropped 30 pounds since not making those midnight runs.

A balanced diet is extremely important

While dieting, everyone should take a physical inventory or their current health. Before the diet how was their skin condition? What was the condition of their hair and nails? Nail and hair growth along with skin condition are great indicators of health problems. Lack of certain vitamins in the diet can cause red flaky skin rashes and excessive hair loss for women. While hair loss in men also occurs, it is often put down as male pattern baldness and the dietary factor is often overlooked. Nail growth patterns to look for include nails that are progressively getting thinner and or break easily than they did before the diet. The rate of hair and nail growth should also be noted. Has it slowed down or sped up?

Eating not enough fiber on a diet that is rich in natural vitamins can cause a host of problems ranging from dandruff to digestive problems.

Eating a balanced diet that is low in carbs and calories can still be achieved with ease if you eat more vegetables and fruit with very lean non-processed meats.