Welcome to the health and fitness web site. It is designed for those of us who are interested in health & fitness issues, diet and nutrition, weight loss, detoxing and general well being. You can find weight loss information, types of weight loss diet such as the GI diet and low carb diets, details of weight loss equipment (such as exercise bikes, rowing machines, abdominal exercise, the exercise ball and aerobic exercise), and diet nutrition.

Most of us at one time in our life decide that we would like to lose weight.

Why do we gain weight?
In simple terms we gain weight by taking in more calories than we burn off. For example, A person that consumes 2500 calories a day but only burns off 2000 calories will gain weight at the rate of about 1lb a week. However, weight gain can caused also be caused by health conditions such as Thyroid hormone deficiency (hypothyroidism), food sensitivity, prescription drug use, organ disease, blood sugar imbalance or anxiety

Why do we want to lose weight?
Weight loss usually falls into two categories.
Weight loss for health and weight loss for self confidence.

Weight loss for health
We are constantly bombarded with warnings on television and in the media that being "over weight" is bad for our health. Obesity affects more of the population than ever before, and children are affected too (you only have to look at the amount of press that removing junk food from the school meal menu has generated). Studies suggest that we as a nation are more obese than ever before, both adults and children. Carrying around excess weight can also be physically uncomfortable.

Weight loss for self confidence
Many of us like to look good. Having a trim, defined figure gives us self confidence. Perhaps you would like to lose weight so that you look good on your wedding day, or perhaps you want to get back into shape after child birth.

How can we lose weight?
Put simply, there are really two main methods of weight loss, exercise and diet. We are still waiting for a weight loss pill despite what spam email might say!
The ideal weight loss programme in many cases will be a combination of both increased exercise and dieting.
Some diets claim that you will experience fast weight loss, but this isn't necessarily the best way of acheiving healthy weight loss.
Weight loss may also be acheived by surgery.

Weight loss by increased exercise
Exercise burns calories. Increasing exercise will increase the number of calories burnt. If we burn more calories that we take in through food and drink we will lose weight. It can be as simple as that. The reccommended daily intake of calories for men and women varies by country. In the UK, it is generally accepted than a woman's daily intake should be around 2000 calories, and a man should consume around 2500 calories. This is only a rough guide as many factors can affect these reccomendations.

Weight loss by dieting
If you reduce your daily intake of calories you will decrease the rate of weight increase, or lose weight. Again, there are many factors that influence your individual weight loss, so this can only be taken as a guide.

Weight Loss Surgery
Probably the most well know form of weight loss surgery is Liposuction. Liposuction is generally performed under anaesthetic An incision would be made and fat removed through a fine hollow needle.. The amount of fat removal will vary and depends on the size and number of areas to be treated. If there is a significant amount of fat to be removed, the surgeon may recommend a two-stage or three-stage removal procedure.

How can we keep the weight off?
Once we have lost the desired excess weight, we all want to keep it off and not balloon backup up to our pre-weightloss weight!

Maintenance of exercise regime
If, after losing the desired anount of weight, we reduce the amount of exercise we undertake, we risk putting the weight back on, or even worse putting on more weight than we lost in the first place! Don't just increase your exercise during your weight loss period, make your new exercise regime a lifestyle change and make exercise part of your new life!

Maintenance of diet
If you increase the calorific value of the food and drink that you intake once you have lost the desired amout of weight you risk putting the weight back on. Make the changes you made to your diet whilst dieting a permanent change!

What are the disadvantages of weight loss?
You may need to spend money on a new wardrobe of clothes!

Seriously though, losing weight can bring its own problems. Sometimes people find that they develop excess abdominal skin, fat or stretched abdominal muscles.

This should be improved by regular exercise, concentrating on toning, and a careful diet.

If this doesn't work, and you are still left with unsightly folds of abdominal skin then cosmetic surgery could be the answer. The "tummy tuck" or Abdominoplasty can help address these problems as it removes excess skin and fatty deposits.