Friday, March 23, 2007

Things You Should Know About Alcohol Detox

First off, when attempting to get off alcohol or drugs, beadvised that medical personnel should always monitor any kindof detoxification in order to provide prompt and educated aidto those striving to rid their bodies of the effects of chronicalcohol and drug abuse. An alcohol detox program is only thefirst of many steps that alcoholics will take on the long roadto recovery.Withdrawal is the first process that an alcoholic must take tobegin the cleansing process that will ultimately remove alltraces of alcohol from their body systems. With alcoholism ordrug abuse, the body becomes dependent on those drugs oralcohol, and during an alcohol detox, withdrawal is the processby which drug or alcohol induced toxins are exorcised from thebody. It isn't easy, and many people aren't mentally orphysically prepared for the process. But with an alcohol detoxprogram, that's only the first step. The next step, therapeuticand emotional counseling, are only begun after the person hascompleted the alcohol withdrawal process. Some well meaningpeople try to skip to the second step first, but such anendeavor is useless, as any remnant of alcohol in the body willcontinue to induce cravings for it, thereby defeating any andall arguments to the contrary.The term, alcohol detox, is officially defined as the period oftime it takes someone to overcome his or her physical dependenceand need for alcohol. In an alcohol detox rehab center, thisprocess is carefully and closely monitored by trained medicalpersonnel experienced in dealing with the moods andtemperaments of alcoholics on the road to recovery. The endgoal of an alcohol detox program is to free the alcoholic ofthe addictive effect of alcohol on their body, in addition tohelping them get through that most difficult process as painfree as possible. An alcohol detox center will offer expertguidance and advice to those wishing to enroll in their programand to help people get a good start on the road to a long-termrecovery. For the most part, an alcohol detox program iscompleted within an in-patient, medical type setting so thatpatients can be closely monitored and helped.Experiencing alcohol detox isn't pleasant and can producesymptoms that express both physically and emotionally. Many whohave completed an alcohol detox program claim the experience,though necessary, was traumatic and withdrawal from alcohol ordrugs can produce both physical and mental manifestations thatrange from mild to alarmingly severe. That's why it's soimportant for people to go through an alcohol detox process ina licensed facility with fully trained medical staff on hand tooversee the process. Some people experience headaches, the'shakes', vomiting, insomnia and even delirium tremors, morecommonly known as the 'DTs' and even seizures. Supervisedalcohol detox is recommended, especially since one in fourpatients may experience severe withdrawal symptoms likeseizures and convulsions.An alcohol detox program can take within three to seven days inmost cases, and then the rehabilitation process begins. It's notan easy battle, but with the help of an alcohol detox program, aperson has a high chance of not only a healthy recovery, butalso a less stressful one.About The Author: Need to know more about alcohol detox? Findout more about alcohol detox and other detox methods athttp://DetoxRevealed.com/alcoholdetox.html.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Diet Plans - Which One Is Right For Me?

How many diet plans are there? Millions literally! So how doyou know which diet plan is the right one for you? First you have to know what your eating habits are? Do you likemeat? Are you a pasta lover? How much will power do you have?Before you start any diet plan not only should you consult withyour doctor but you need to know what you like and how you eat. I challenge you to take a week and do some research online atall the different types of diet plans available. During thisweek write down everything you eat, yes I said everything;including all the add on's such as creamer, sugar, mayonnaise,mustard etc etc. Write it all down so you can see the patternto your eating habits. Below are a couple popular diets plus the diet I created formyself that I find much easier to follow: Atkins Atkins diet is a low carb diet, perfect for you if you likeeating a lot of meat and won't miss pastas. The only drawbackis that many of the foods you can eat actually are high fatfoods. So you need to weigh, no pun intended, the benefitsalong with the high fat eating solutions to see if this is thediet for you. The Sonoma Diet (The diet contains 3 phases). Phase 1 Lasts 10 days and aims to curb specific food cravings.Note that unlike many other diets, this phase does not restrictcarbohydrates but includes whole grain cereals and breads. Phase 2 The primary weight loss phase. A broad range of foods,including wine and many fruits. Phase 3 Once your ideal weight has been reached, this is thelife-long maintenance phase. Draw Backs: do you enjoy eatingMediterranean foods? If you do this is the perfect diet foryou. The Low Fat Diet I personally like the low fat diet, there may be a diet planout there for this specific type of diet but this is the way Ilose weight and to be honest it's the easiest way to loseweight. When I need to lose weight and I just don't feel likefollowing a specific diet plan or spending all that money onnew foods that are not in my house already I choose to countfat grams. I have read that to maintain your normal weightrange you need to stay at around 30 grams of fat intake a day.So when I want to lose weight I go between 20-25 fat grams aday and increase my exercise workouts by one to two days aweek. For instance if I was exercising 3 times a week I go to 4-5times a week, alternating with aerobic and weight training. So for every food item I want to eat I read how much fat gramsare in the food item. Then I write down the food item in ajournal with the fat grams written right next to the food item.Once I have reached the 20-30 grams of fat for the day I startsupplementing my foods with more fruits and vegetables. For instance if I go out with friends to eat and we are eatingpizza I know that I can have one slice of pizza and only haveeaten about 15 grams of fat, so for the rest of the day I needto carefully monitor my fat intake. BUT I was still able to eatmy favorite food with my friends. This type of diet does take some time to get use to but aftertrying so many other diets I like the simplicity of justcounting my fat grams and upping my exercise routine. Here's to your health.About The Author: Rebecca Chan is a freelance writer. She isparticularly interested in diets and weight loss plans. Seehttp://www.weightlossquest.info An example of her work islocated athttp://www.weightlossquest.info/diets/diet-plans.shtml that youcan read and digest in the comfort of your own home. She is acontributor to http://www.nursingprogramsonline.com

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

A Guide To Discount Treadmills & Used Treadmills

Treadmills are incredibly popular pieces of exercise equipment.They offer multiple benefits such as: + They increase your bodily strength + They build stamina so that you can exercise more and longer + They don't usually take up much space + They are easy to use and require little, if any, instruction + They aren't damaging to the body the way jogging and poundingaerobics can be Unfortunately, treadmills can also be quite expensive - rangingup to a staggering $6,000! However, there is an alternative tothese awesome prices ... the world of both discount treadmillsand used treadmills. Checklist for buying a discount treadmill: You want to minimize the risk of buying a discount treadmill,so beyond the brand, model name & number and the price,consider the following ... 1. Is there a warranty? Frankly, if there is no warranty, westrenuously advise against buying a discount treadmill. Even ifthe warranty is a puny 30 day one, insist on one - or walk outthe door. Then use your treadmill very hard for the duration ofthe guarantee so you can locate any defects. 2. Read any and all reviews you can find on the treadmill youare considering. Especially valuable are online sites thatallow comments from buyers who are not in the business ofselling treadmills because you are much more likely to find anunbiased opinion. Keep in mind, though, that no machine fitseveryone so even excellent machines absolutely will receive anoccasional negative review. 3. Try out your machine personally before buying it. It mightbe too lightweight to be durable, for instance. 4. Are there any additional fees? Often a store will sell thediscount treadmill at a great price - but not mention steepfees for delivery or setup. Checklist for buying a used treadmill: In addition to the concerns mentioned above, like readingreviews and understanding fees, consider these items whenbuying a used treadmill ... 1. Hours of service: you should receive an approximate numberof hours that the treadmill has been used. This will determinehow long you can expect your treadmill to last. so clearly,this is a critical number. Sometimes all you can get is themachine's age so be prepared for this response. And if you discover that the used treadmill was previouslyowned by a gym or fitness center, run quickly for the door. Thehard use of these machines makes them unfit for the next owner.You are only buying yourself enormous trouble. 2. How many owners has your used treadmill had? It is unwise tobuy used treadmills from the second or third owner, even if theyswear the machines are in perfect condition. The truth is thatthey have no idea what happened with the previous owners. Most folks are not qualified to evaluate the condition of anengine and other internal parts, even if they think they are.You do NOT want to be stuck with someone else's problem. The risks and advantages of discount and used treadmills Naturally, there is a risk involved whenever we purchasesecond-hand products of any kind. We can easily notice if ourused our discount treadmill is damaged or defaced in any way.Some kinds of wear aren't so easily spotted, though. If you buy a heavily used, obsolete model, you might expect itto die soon after you buy it. If a treadmill is sold at anyunbelievable discount, it's often because they can't pass aperformance test. The other side of the coin, though, is that you can sometimespurchase a higher quality, brand name treadmill for an enormousdiscount. Considering that treadmills should have a lifespan ofat least five years, you just might get a fabulous deal. If youunderstand what you're looking for, you can minimize the riskand save a good deal of money on a discount treadmill.About The Author: Buying a treadmill is a tough decision. Useour five FREE reports to help you make a smart choice.http://treadmillwinners.com/buyingtreadmill.shtml