This post has been sponsored by Somatropin/HGH. I’ve had a little bit of time to look through the scientific studies on the benefits of supplementing with HGH. I’ve always been curious about HGH as well as the hypothalamus gland as it relates to aging and weight loss (or gain, as is often the case). I thought I’d highlight some of the information from Somatropin HGH and provide the links for you to have a read.

HGH is a natural substance that is excreted by the pituitary glands in the human body. As a person ages, the level of HGH that their body produces decreases. However, human growth hormone drugs work to raise a person’s levels of HGH back to a youth-like level, therefore aiding in weight loss.

Human growth hormone works by increasing the amount of IGF-1 that a person’s liver excretes. IGF-1 prevents insulin from transporting glucose to cells. Normally, after you eat, your pancreas releases the amount of insulin necessary to transform carbohydrates into glucose. Your body then stores this glucose in fat cells and uses it for energy. HGH induced IGF-1 prevents insulin from storing this glucose in cells, therefore forcing your body to burn fat for energy.

Normally, a person’s body uses all of their glucose for energy before seeking that energy from their fat reserves. Human growth hormone forces your body to seek energy from the fat reserves first. This results in significant weight loss.

Because human growth hormone forces your body to burn fat for energy, it means that you will lose weight even in your inactive periods. Energy is required for all aspects of living. Therefore, HGH can force your body to burn fat while you are sleeping. Additionally, it allows you to eat large amounts of food without gaining excess unwanted weight. HGH replaces the need to diet.

(http://www.somatropin.net/hgh-weightloss.htm)

in 1981, American pharmaceutical company, Genentech, after collaborating with Kabi, developed the first synthetic human growth hormone. Known as recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH), this form of synthetic GH was produced using a biosynthetic process called Inclusion Body technology. Human growth hormone produced by Inclusion Body technology became known as somatrem. Later, an improved process of creating rhGH was developed called Protein Secretion technology. This method is the most common form of current HGH synthesis; it is known as Somatropin.

(http://www.somatropin.net/hgh-history.htm)

Common Uses of Human Growth Hormone
• Growth Hormone Deficiency
• Treatment for SGA and IUGR
• Idiopathic Short Stature
• AIDS Wasting and Cachexia
• Short Stature Caused by Turner’s Syndrome
• Short Stature Caused by Prader-Willi Syndrome
• Growth Problems Caused by Short Bowel Syndrome
• Improper Growth in Children with Renal Disease
• Body Building Enhancement Drug
• Weight Loss Drug
• Anti-Aging Drug
• Treatment for Children with Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Osteoporosis Treatment
• Treatment for Children with XLH

With side effects like these, it’s worth looking into.

• Greater cardiac output
• Lowered blood pressure
• Superior immune function
• Enhanced human sexual performance
• Improved cholesterol profile
• Reduced body fat
• Higher energy levels
• Increased exercise performance
• Supplement stronger bones
• Hair re-growth
• Younger, tighter, thicker skin
• Wrinkle removal
• Increased muscle mass
• Re-generation of major organs that shrink with age

If you have a few minutes – and the curiousity of a normal person with weight and health issues, take a minute to find out more about HGH. It’s definitely something I’d discuss with my personal physician, and see if there’s a simple blood draw that would let you know if you’re deficient.

Myth 1: Skipping meals helps you lose weight

Fact: Skipping meals will create cravings and cause
you to overeat. But most importantly, skipping
meals causes your body to slow and not burn fat
as quickly as it would if you were eating a several
low-calorie, high-protein meals a day.

Myth 2: Carbohydrates cause weight gain

Fact: Carbohydrates are your body’s premier
source of fuel. If you don’t eat carbohydrates you
will be sluggish and irritable. There are two types
of Carbs: The good and bad carbs. So instead of
munching on sweets and cookies (bad carbs) find
an alternative among fruits, vegetables, whole
grain brown rice and cereal.

Myth 3: No snacks

Fact: If you observed your eating habits and
noticed that you eat at least only three times a
day, then it is probably best to have a snack. The
benefits of snacks is that it helps you to stop over
eating, and plus it gives you more energy and
keeps your metabolism working at its peak!

Myth 4: Fat is bad for you

Fact: This is a common misconception of people
undergoing a diet. What we should strive to get
rid of is the bad cholesterol, and retain the good
cholesterol. Fats are essential for human beings to
be healthy, good cholesterol lowers risk of certain
diseases. The healthy fats are actually called
“essential fatty acids” which is required for overall
health and lowers the risk of heart disease.

Myth 5: Dairy products make you fat

Fact: if combined with calorie control, dairy can be
beneficial for you. This is because they contain the
hormone Calcitriol, that conserves calcium for
stronger bones while sending a message to fat cells
to convert less sugar to fat and burn more body fat.

Myth 6: Lose weight is hard and a chore

Fact: All diets require dedication, but no diet is
impossible. Instead of seeing your diet as a chore
or punishment, try to think of it as a way to feel
good about yourself. Imagine yourself walking into
a room with your confidence soaring, turning heads
as you go every time you start to feel discouraged.
It will help you to realize that your not punishing
yourself, your rewarding yourself.

(Received in e-mail from SHC, the Wu-Long Tea People.)

This is long overdue, because of course I am a big procrastinator when it comes to my food and diet plans. You can click on the thumbnail for a full size printable version of my new menu. I’ve got it split into breakfast, lunch and dinner options. These are all food combinations and meals that I am familiar with and wouldn’t have a problem sticking with on a regular basis, so long as I have some variety to choose from.

I have had a lot of success with these foods, and these portions. My problem is, has been, and probably always will be – making bad choices when something isn’t right in front of my nose to tell me what I should have. That’s why I created this menu.

Feel free to use it, print it, hang it on the fridge. I can’t guarantee anything, because I’m not a certified dietician and everyone is different. I know what works for me, and that’s what I built this list based on. I left a couple of blank boxes if you have things that you know work for you, you can write those in.

I’ve just spent some time reading about this product, Dr. Chongs Wu-Long Tea. It’s been given a nod by Oprah as well as Rachel Ray, so of course I’m curious to know more about it!

Dr. Chong’s Wu-Long Tea™ is not a fad diet, it’s not a crazy weight loss gimmick, it’s a century-old proven way to supercharge your body into a lean, mean, fat-burning machine.

This tea is known to stimulate metabolism, and weaken the effects of carbs – which essentially keeps your body burning fat. One cup of tea in the morning (even sweetened with honey or flavoring like cinnamon) should give you a natural increased energy without the strange side effects of many diet pills on the market.

Dr. Chong’s Wu-Long Tea™ has been proven time and time again to increase your energy and boost your metabolism. In the intestine, triglycerides (a type of fat your body stores) are split into glycerol and fatty acids which can then move into your blood vessels. These triglycerides are rebuilt in the blood and become lipoproteins, which deliver the fatty acids to and from fat cells.

The rich antioxidant polyphenols found in Dr. Chong’s Wu-Long Tea™ increase the metabolism of triglycerides. This means that you will burn these triglycerides as energy instead of storing them as fat.

Dr. Chong’s Wu-Long Tea™ also increases your body’s energy expenditure as well as your body’s fat oxidation to promote weight loss.

It even sports a 12 month guarantee. If it doesn’t have a positive effect on your weight loss program, you can return it for a full refund. A twelve day supply is $17, price breaks at higher quantities of course, but you get that money back if you don’t like it or if it doesn’t work for you.

The website offers several testimonials, as well as some other useful tips about dieting like 7 Diet Rules You Must Break, there’s also an article about tea consumption – specifically the benefits of Oolong tea extract and how Oolong tea promotes healthy weight loss.

I’m a latte girl, granted I’ve switched from 2% to non-fat milk – when my latte is running low I always warm it with black coffee. Time for me to switch to Wu-long tea! I’ll be ordering up the 12 day supply and give it a follow up in a few weeks.

This post is a paid review of Dr. Chongs Wu-Long Tea, however I will be personally trying the product and would not provide a review on a product I wouldn’t use.

If you’re looking for some motivational articles that make a whole lot of sense, check out Diet Bites.  There are many free diet plans and lots of encouraging articles that can be accessed without membership.  I spent two hours just reading this evening.  I hope you find something useful there.

Just in case anyone is looking for a ready-to-go shopping list, here’s one I put together for my sister based on my own – which I relied heavily upon the WW Core food list to create. Hope this helps you get started!

BREADS/GRAINS:
whole grain tortillas
success brown rice boil in a bag
whole grain breads, soft bread – natural harvest is a good brand
high fiber cereal – shredded wheat w/grain (8g per serving), fiber one w/ honey crunch is high, but I couldn’t find it
trail mix california blend – no m&m’s
whole grain pastas
vegetable pasta (corkscrew multicolor)

VEGGIES:
green peppers
california blend frozen veggies (broccoli, cauliflower & carrots)
frozen corn
frozen sliced zucchini
carrots
celery
cauliflower
salad mix (bagged premade salad)
mushrooms
onions
delmonte diced tomatoes (italian seasoned, garlic, prepared diced tomato sauces)
dry soup mixes: cream of spinach, non chunky dry mixes for turkey burgers

FRUITS:
lite sliced peaches
natural applesauce (single serving container packs)
bananas
grapes (if they’re on sale, they’re out of season right now)
ruby red grapefruit

DAIRY:
lite ranch veggie dip
fat free or low fat (2%) cottage cheese
eggbeaters (3/4 c. per serving per day per person)
olive oil cooking spray
fat free ranch dressing
skim milk
2% milk
reduced fat shredded cheese – mexican blend
low fat yogurt – we get plain vanilla & fruit on the bottom jewel brand
eggs (for cooking)

MEATS:
canned tuna in water
sliced smoked turkey from the deli
John Soules chicken breast fajitas (chicken breast precooked for fajitas)
ground turkey
turkey medallions
turkey lean cuts
lean pork boneless chops
turkey tenderloins
chicken – breast meat, ground or whatever is on sale

I know I’m not the only one who watched that season finale of The Biggest Loser, man was I motivated! 8 months?! Seriously?!

Ok. So I’m checking this out – The Biggest Loser Club, there’s a community, free profile, personal progress journals and more.

Update: Signup is $19.95 or something a month – looks like it’s all the same thing that SparkPeople provides for free, so it’s all a matter of personal preference.

(Time to throw out the donuts!)

The 2007 National Body Challenge has begun over at Discovery Health. They offer customized meal plans, expert fitness and weight loss information, chances to win $1,000,000 (cough. there’s some motivation!) and a free health club pass. They also have assessments available, if you just want to see where you are from last year.

I signed up last year and there’s a ton of really great info there – plus the before & after pics are pretty motivating!

I’m just curious what everyone is currently doing to get in shape and lose weight?  What are your plans and where are in you int?

Reply

Do you find yourself eating the same old meals over and over because you can’t figure out what else to make — quickly? Or ordering takeout more often than you (or your wallet) would like? Shopping for the right foods can get you out of this rut. Check out our list of pantry staples, then try the 13 quick meal ideas that follow. The most you’ll have to do is boil water!

Smart Shopping List

• Whole-grain breads and whole-wheat pita; whole grains (including whole-wheat couscous), whole-wheat tortillas; prepared pizza crust (e.g., Boboli).
• Canned beans and chickpeas.
• Canned tomatoes; jarred tomato sauce.
• Vegetables (fresh, canned, jarred): red and green lettuce, tomatoes, celery, bell peppers, watercress, red onion, garlic, shredded coleslaw mix, jarred beets, roasted red peppers, pickled jalapeños and canned water chestnuts.
• Fruit (fresh or frozen/canned in its own juice), including lemons and limes.
• Pre-cooked chicken, turkey breast, roast beef and pork tenderloin.
• Canned salmon and tuna.
• Reduced-fat or fat-free cheese, including Parmesan, Swiss and blue cheese, and fat-free sour cream.
• Dried fruit.
• Nuts, including almonds and walnuts.
• Fresh herbs, including cilantro.
• Dried herbs/spices: oregano, thyme, curry, chili powder, cumin.
• Fat-free mayonnaise.
• Mango chutney.
• Prepared salsa.
• Gourmet mustard.
• Barbecue sauce.
• Hoisin sauce.
• Tahini (sesame-seed paste).
• Light coconut milk.
• Baked corn chips (e.g., Baked Tostitos).

13 Quick Dishes
Now that you have your pantry stocked, here are just a few of the delicious dishes you can toss together — no recipe required!

Chicken Salad: Combine pre-cooked chicken breast, diced roasted red peppers, fat-free mayonnaise and gourmet mustard; spoon mixture into a whole-wheat pita.

Hummus: Purée together chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice; serve with baked corn chips or whole-wheat pita wedges.

Tomato Pie: Top prepared pizza crust with garden-style pasta sauce, reduced-fat Parmesan cheese and oregano.

Royal Rueben: Make coleslaw (combine shredded cabbage/carrot mix and fat-free mayo); place slaw on whole-grain bread; top with lean roast beef and reduced-fat Swiss cheese.

Spicy Salmon: Combine canned salmon, diced pickled jalapeños, gourmet mustard and fat-free mayo.

Asian Chicken: Coat cubed, pre-cooked chicken breast with hoisin sauce; toss with water chestnuts and chopped celery.

Chicken Fajitas: Top whole-wheat tortillas with slices of pre-cooked chicken breast, green bell peppers and red onion; serve with fat-free sour cream and salsa.

Moroccan Couscous: Add boiling water to whole-wheat couscous; let stand 5 minutes. Add chopped mixed dried fruit, ground cumin and sliced almonds.

Turkey Wrap: Spread gourmet mustard on a whole-wheat tortilla; top with smoked turkey breast, reduced-fat cheese, shredded lettuce and sliced tomato; roll up.

Mexican Beans: Combine three-bean varieties (black, white, pink), canned tomatoes, diced yellow bell pepper, chopped fresh cilantro and chili powder.

Chicken-Chutney Sandwich: Spread chutney on whole-grain bread; top with slices of pre-cooked chicken breast and red lettuce.

Thai Fruit: Combine fresh and/or canned fruit (such as pineapple, mango, melon, grapes, papaya), sliced almonds and light coconut milk.

Barbecued Pulled Pork: Combine shredded, cooked pork and barbecue sauce; serve on whole-grain bread.

credit: Weight Watchers Online