Helpful Pointers On How To Lose Weight!

Your path to successful weight loss may become clouded. Your motivation and your interest may falter the longer you get into your weight loss journey. It was easy to start but it may seem hard to keep going. What's a way that you can figure out how to have the same drive as everyone else around you? What are they doing to stay on top of things?

First, identify your weight loss goals. Are you looking for significant weight loss, or are you looking just to tone your body? Is there a target weight that you want your body to have? Perhaps you are one of the many who wants to work for a stronger body, with more energy and endurance.

Making a graph of your weight loss is a wonderful way to stay on top of the progress you are making. Make sure that you weigh yourself each week, so you know what is working and what is not. Writing in your weight loss journal helps you stay accountable and make better eating choices over time.

Being hungry can lead to poor food choices. Try to make decisions about what to eat and when to eat before you are feeling those intense hunger pangs. Be sure you do not wait until you are really starving before you eat. Create your menus in advance, and never be without healthy snack foods. Bring a healthy meal from home instead of going out for lunch. In addition to being low in calories it will also help you save some money. You're much more likely to break your diet if you've gone a long time without eating. Don't wait until you're starving to sit down to a meal. Pre-plan your daily meals and have a few healthy snacks at hand. Bring your own lunch instead of going out to eat. This will be easy both on your wallet and on your calorie count.

A successful weight loss program consists of proper eating habits along with regular exercise. Clear your schedule for a few hours a week to enjoy some fun workouts. If you keep neglecting exercise because it is boring, then use the activities you enjoy to get some exercise. Do you enjoy spending time with your friends? Then you could play a game of basketball with them, or some other sport you like. Is letting your hair down something that you enjoy doing? Dance classes may be the way to go. Do you prefer to escape into the world of wildlife and visit areas of outstanding natural beauty? Put on your hiking boots and enjoy nature while walking toward fitness.

Take all the junk food out of your kitchen. If you have an ample amount of healthful choices on hand, the temptation to reach for junk food will diminish. Once you have gotten rid of all the unhealthy foods from your home, then they aren't readily available as a temptation for you to snack on.

Workout with someone you know. In many cases, if there is nobody to keep us accountable, we tend to slack off and neglect what is best for us. If someone else is exercising alongside you, you'll be less likely to take a break when the workout starts to wear you down. By encouraging one another, you'll increase both of your chances for success.

Tips To Avoid Chronic Acne

Are you struggling with acne problems? These are all common conditions for teenagers, young adults and even middle-aged individuals. You should never be afraid! Every problem has a solution.

Remember the old saying, you are what you eat? It's true! When your diet consists primarily of processed foods, your body will have a tough time keeping your skin in good condition. To differ from this, make sure to eat fruits and vegetables in quantity, quality and variety. Fatty meats and sugary foods should be cut from your diet whenever possible. Adhering to a healthful and nutritious eating plan will give your body the resources it needs to stave off infections, including acne.

Keeping your body hydrated should always be an important goal for your health. The thirst-quenching effect of soda is just an illusion. Be sure to drink more water than soft drinks. If you'd like to enjoy a sweet drink every now and then, prepare fresh juice with a juicer. Freshly-made juice is great for your skin and your body.

You may want to think about using Maca. There are no known side effects, and it works to balance the systems in your body. Maca comes in a powdered form, so it is extremely easy to take. Start with a small dose, and be sure to follow the directions on the packaging in order to get optimum results.

Cleansers with harsh chemicals can damage your skin and should be avoided. Cleansers that contain harsh chemicals can make acne worse. Instead of using harsh, over-the-counter products, try using a gentle cleanser that contains a natural antibiotic, such as tea tree oil.

Garlic is a great home remedy which kills bacteria found in pimples. Crush a couple cloves of the garlic and put it on the areas that are currently suffering from acne. Keep it away from your eye area. You should also be aware that the garlic will sting open sores, but it works to quickly reduce your infection. Keep the garlic on your skin for a few minutes before rinsing it off.

For smaller pores, a mask made from green clay may do the trick. Clay absorbs excess oils from your skin. You should rinse well and gently dry your face after removing the mask. If any traces of the mask remain, remove them with a clarifying agent such as witch hazel.

One big factor on skin is stress. When you are stressed out, your body cannot fight infection as well. Skin can clear up when stress is reduced.

By using the advice in this article, you will start to see an improvement in your skin. To achieve the type of skin that you desire, make sure to cleanse your face two times a day, use a garlic treatment and apply a mask every week. Always remember that consistency is the name of the game.

Cures For Your Bothersome Acne Issues

If you have blackheads or acne breakouts, the following article will help you out. Tons of people have acne. This website can offer you the advice you need to help reduce breakouts.

One of the most important steps you can take is to devise a healthy diet plan. Eating junk food on a regular basis is unhealthy and causes a variety of problems. Consume lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat only portions of meat that are lean and eliminate or reduce sugar from your diet. If your do these things, your body will have the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to function properly.

Try to keep your body well hydrated at all times. Drinks full of sugar will only make you feel more thirsty. Sugar and caffeine do not help the cause, so you should always just drink water. If you want flavor and like juice, try juicing your own veggies and fruits. Fresh juice is better for you and your complexion than store bought juice.

Try out the great supplement called Maca. Maca powder is a great equalizer when it comes to a number of different bodily systems and functions. There are no adverse side effects. It is important that you begin with small doses and follow the manufacturer's supplied directions.

Always try to avoid harsh chemicals for your skin. If your skin is stripped of it's natural defenses, it can become dry and open to infection. Always try to look for natural, gentle cleansers that do not employ harsher chemicals. Have you considered tea tree oil?

Another thing you can use to kill the bacteria found in pimples is garlic. Mash up some garlic cloves and apply it to the irritated patches. Always avoid your eyes as they are quite sensitive. This will probably sting a little, but getting rid of the infection is worth the momentary pain. Be sure that you rinse your face well and dry it after a few minutes.

Lather a green clay mask onto your face to make pores smaller. People with excessively oily complexions will find that a clay mask can be an effective way to deal with the oil. You should thoroughly rinse your skin as soon as the mask is dry. Witch hazel can remove the clay mask from your skin after you dry it.

If you are under stress, one of the first places it will show is your skin. Stress causes your skin to breakout and puts a strain on your immune system. When your immune system is compromised, it is not as able to combat infections, skin problems, and so on. If you can lower your stress levels, you will notice skin improvements.

Your skin will show great improvements if you start incorporating these ideas in to your skincare routine. By maintenance and a routine, you will have healthier skin. A facial mask on a weekly basis, combined with a routine that cleanses your skin day and night, will keep it at its optimum.

Surgical Tools, From Beginning to Now

The history of medical devices and surgical tools spans back much further than most in modern times give it credit for. In-fact, there is emerging, new evidence that shows that humans have been using tools to perform surgical operations since we were still cavemen. Though these tools were rough, and only polished throughout many centuries, these first tools inspired man and taught us that lives can be saved, and quality of life can be increased through the correct use of inanimate objects.

The original surgical tools were actually little more than rocks that peoples had found, and had a utilitarian shape. Sharp edges, tube-shapes, and blunt-edges all soon served their own medical purposes. As a matter of fact, the Mayans reportedly used conical rocks as drills, both for carpentry purposes, and as a drill to bore through skull and bone.  Around the 16th century, the first hypodermic needles began to take shape. The gargantuan needles were up to a centimeter in diameter, and destroyed more veins than they did save lives.

Coupling syringe technology with classical medical and surgical instrument designs, Karl Storz and other physicians interested in advancing medical equipment design, began toying with a new kind of medical equipment that they deemed "endoscopy equipment." The main aim of this equipment was to allow physicians to look inside the body by making tools more minute, so that they could be delivered into the body via a syringe-like tube. These inventions revolutionized the medical industry and showed us that innovative new technology can be dreamed up, that builds upon existing technology.

CT Scans That Reveal Historical Mysteries

The recent unveiling of the bones of King Richard the III, whose remains were unearthed underneath an English parking lot, has revealed much to the world. We now know that the King's painfully advanced scoliosis was in-fact real, and we can see it on the curvature of the spine -- in the reassembled bones. We can also see the gruesome marks from his death, including a sharp-edged crack to the top of the cranium, and slice marks on the pelvic bone (which suggest that the King may have had a more graphic demise than just the blow to the head).

All of these discoveries came to light with the use of CT scanning equipment an other nuclear medicine devices. As a matter of fact, there are hundreds of ancient mysteries, the truth of which are beginning to unravel to us through the use of nuclear medicine services. Not only is the same technology used for find buried remains, and located evidence below the surface, but when it comes time to determine prior medical conditions and cause of death, CT scans show the rich history that took place in a flash.

Though King Richard III's discovery and examination was hundreds of years in the waiting, homicide investigators and crime scene forensic professionals use the same techniques in investigating more recent homicides and crimes. This shows the insurmountable evidence that these nuclear medicine technology machines can not only save lives, but can also tell the untold stories of victims whose lives were not able to be saved. Giving the dead a voice, and keeping the living with a voice -- it's all in a day's work for these miracles of modern medical technology.

Terrifying Side Effects of Synthetic Marijuana

Health professionals never like to show the terrifying effects that drugs can and will eventually have on a person, but it is a necessary evil in order to warn others of the dangers and convince them to stop. There have been many campaigns published and marketed over the years that use frightening pictures of weight loss, or tooth decay, or tumors; all of those campaigns were meant to show just exactly how scary drug use and addiction can be. The newest push to show the dangers of synthetic marijuana, however, are not a campaign, it is the true story 17 year old Emily Bauer, as told by her family and loved ones. You see, after experimenting with some synthetic marijuana that the teen bought legally at a gas station, she is blind, brain damaged, paralyzed, and likely will not ever speak again.

It all started in December of this past year. When Emily and some friends went to a local gas station and purchased a small packet of "Klimax Potpourri," a name brand for a blend of potpourri that is marketed as a "legal smoking alternative to  marijuana." They returned home, and the teens smoked a small amount each of the drug. While most showed signs of intoxication that could be compared to that of marijuana use, Emily quickly developed a migraine, within fifteen minutes of smoking the drug. The side effects of the synthetic marijuana increased dramatically within a small space of time, and Emily told her boyfriend that she wasn't feeling well, and was going to lay down for a while.

Emily Bauer Before the Drug-Induced Strokes -- Courtesy CNN

It only took a few minutes for Emily's friends to become worried about her, and when they went into the room to check on her, they found her in the middle of a psychotic episode, thrashing violently and urinating on herself. Thinking that she was just "freaking out," or having a bad trip from spice drugs, friends tried to calm her down. Her friends did not realize that Emily had suffered from two separate strokes; caused by the extreme dilation of her blood vessels as the drugs entered her bloodstream. This extreme dilation caused the blood flow to her brain to narrow and finally become completely stopped. The lack of oxygen to her brain next caused hallucinations, sending her into a violent panic.

When friends found Emily in the midst of her K2 overdose, they immediately called police and paramedics; police were needed to hold Emily down, through her psychotic state, and make sure she made it safely to the hospital. Once at the hospital, doctors quickly realized that Emily had had two strokes, and began treating her for the strokes. At first, doctors and Emily's family were hopeful that everything would be okay... That the hallucinations would stop, and she would come down from the drug and be back to normal.

Emily Bauer After  -- Courtesy of CNN

3 months later... Emily Bauer never "came down" from the drugs. She is now partially paralyzed, blind, and has severe brain damage that leaves even the simplest tasks difficult.

Emily's parents had no idea she was smoking "legal marijuana." They had caught Emily smoking real marijuana on a few occasions, and had done their parental duties to try and deter her from its use. Emily stopped smoking illegal drugs, but had decided to try this legal alternative to marijuana sold in stores instead.

Obviously distraught by the entire situation, Emily's parents are on a mission to let other parents know about this dangerous drug. Her parents had never heard of K2 or Spice, or other synthetic drugs before that night when Emily suffered her strokes. Now, they have heard of many studies and other teens that have had their lives ruined by the drugs, and Emily's parents simply want to know how it is that this drug can be sold legally in stores.

For now, Emily is making slow progress; and, while she is expected to survive, she has a long path of recovery ahead of her, and she will never recover 100%. The hope is, that Emily's story will make its rounds across the news, and inform parents of the very real dangers posed by this drug, and the rampant availability of it. There are many drug addiction treatment and counseling programs for synthetic marijuana around the country, and these addiction specialists are seeing a high rise in the cases of spice addiction and overdoses. With Emily's story now coming to light, it is essential for parents to be knowledgeable about this drug and its effects. As we now see, this is a powerful and dangerous drug, and parents and children alike need to be warned of the consequences of its use.

For detailed information on Spice, K2, and other synthetic drugs and legal substances, please visit drugrehab.us for our literature for parents and children.

***Photos Courtesy of CNN**

Food Poisoning Food Types

If you were asked, "What are the most common foods that give you food poisoning?" Would you know how to answer this? Well the newest studies show that the foods we are still worrying about homogenized and other treated products, that are no longer as much of a safety/health issue, and not realizing the products that have a true potential to make us sick.

Mayonnaise has long been considered as one of the most potentially dangerous foods, when it comes to food-borne illnesses. This is not the case anymore, though. For years now, food scientists have been working on making mayonnaise (which is a naturally made dressing from egg whites, vinegar, and salt) into a safe product. This has led to many preservatives and processes being used to ensure that that mayonnaise has to be far past its prime to be of any danger, even when left in the heat.

Chicken and other raw meats (especially fish) will always carry a risk of illness with them, as they are pieces of living creatures which had microorganisms living in them when they were killed. Cooking to the correct degree will ensure that these foods are safe to eat.

One food that you should very much be concerned with, though, is any product that is raw, and will not be cooked -- primarily fruits and vegetables. More people are sickened every year by fresh fruits and vegetables (that had been cross-contaminated), than by chicken, fish, and dairy products combined; though, it is essential to remember that those sickened by meats and dairy products had a much higher chance of death, than those sickened by fruits and vegetables.

CDC estimates state that 48 million Americans contract a food-borne illness every year -- with 128,000 of those sickened requiring hospitalization. The biggest concern for the CDC, in recent years, has not been for mayonnaise, or beef products, or poultry, or even shellfish... The biggest cause of sicknesses from food (including the Norovirus) is salads.

But, before your decide that salads are no longer healthy for you, realize that CDC experts stress that the dangers stemming from salads are only due to lack of correct handling, and that all of the ingredients in a fresh salad are much better for your body than any other choice. What they hope the public will realize -- consumers, growers, transporters, and purveyors alike -- is that much more care is needed when preparing these fragile foods. People need to realize that anytime they see a fruit or vegetable, it is "ready-to-eat," and it needs to be treated as such throughout all stages of preparation and cooking.