Bloggy Health!

The 20th century retailing tycoon, John Wanamaker, said “half of my advertising doesn’t work. I just don’t know which half.”The odds are even worse in skin care products–the creams and lotions that claim to clear, lift, firm, tighten, and correct your complexion. Less than 50% of the products you put on your face actually help you look younger. Fewer than that are worth what you pay for them.

Why are skin care products so confusing? Why is there so little brand loyalty? Part of the problem is that the last 20 years have brought a tsunami of new skin care products, new ads, new claims. The splashy advertising, the celebrities and the offers combine to produce instant hype. Every new product promises a new “advance” or “technology” or “significant improvement”. Because this revolution is so new, everyone–retailers, consumers, dermatologists, editors–are struggling to figure it out.

Some cosmetics companies like it that way. They invent funny names for molecules. They retouch the living daylights out of those unretouched ads. They cleverly (yet legally) manipulate the copy. These deceptive practices are called “smoke and mirrors”– the metaphor for deceptive or fraudulent practices. The term was first invented to describe the way in which magicians could make objects appear or disappear by using mirrors amid a sudden burst of smoke. It’s clever, but also deceptive.

It works for magicians, and it works for the skin care industry. So women, the willing and unknowing, plunk down big bucks because they want to believe in magic. It’s a national addiction. People everywhere want to fight aging and are looking for solutions.

If you’re going to spend money on skin care products, spend it advisedly. Make sure that you’re not being conned. Make informed decisions. Invest in products that really work. Discriminate. Know how the channel of distribution affects the quality of the merchandise, and the price that you pay. Understand how ads are delicately written and carefully crafted.

Zein Obagi, MD

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How To Lose Belly Fat, a combination of Diet & Exercise By Spencer Jackson

An easy to follow guide to how to lose belly fat using a combination of diet and exercise. Presented by Spencer Jackson of Heroes Fitness Stores, a fully trained fitness coach and sports nutritionist.

If you want to quickly lose weight or loose fat stomach there a several things you require to do.

The first thing is to get your food intake correct. For fat loss the amount of calories you require is worked out using the formula 10 X your bodyweight in pounds, ie: if you are 10 stone it is 140lbs x 10 = 1400 calories, this should be broken down in to 3 categories

1. Carbohydrate

This should consist of 50% of you dietary content which equates to 700 calories for a 10 stone person, divide that by 4 which is how many calories there is per gram of carbohydrate and that comes to 175 grams carbohydrates per day. The carbohydrates
you should be looking at consuming should come from oats, bran cereals, wholewheat pasta, granary breads, fresh fruit and vegetables, beans and pulses.

2. Protein

Protein should consist of 30% of your dietary content which equates to 420 calories for a 10 stone person, divide that by 4 which is how many calories there is per gram of protein and that comes to 105 grams of protein per day. The proteins you should be looking at consuming should come from poultry, fresh oily fish, some red meats and if working out a high quality whey powder protein.

3. Fat

Fats should consist of 20% of your dietary intake which equates to 280 calories for a 10 stone person, divide that by 9 which is how many calories there is per gram of fat and that comes to 31 grams of fat per day. The fats you should be getting come from sources like nuts and seeds, olive oil, fresh oily fish and essential fatty acid supplements.

The next step is to eat these foods small and often, the best way is to consume food between 6 to8 times per day, if that’s not possible then 4 to 6 is fine.

4. Fitness and Exercise

The second thing is to get yourself a good fitness program, if possible from an experienced personal trainer. The best way to burn fat is to train around 4 times a week, to of these days should consist of a good weight training routine combined with
core fitness exercises and the other 2 days you should workout aerobic and exercise heart rate. If you can only exercise home then get yourself some good core fitness products and use body weight exercises for training strength and do some power
walking for a minimum of 30 minutes using some ankle weights for a tougher more intense work out.

5. Recovery

Lastly it is essential to any diet and fitness regime to get a least 8 hours sleep at night as this is important to recover and get the best exercise benefits.

I hope this is of help to any one wishing to live a longer and healthier lifestyle.