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The decision to lose weight is not one that many people make lightly - excuse the pun. Often, it has been flitting around in the mind for years. It may even have been reached, acted on and abandoned as another fad diet bit the dust. Then, a rogue photograph appears depicting you doing your best whale impression, or you are unexpectedly required to move quickly (perhaps during a fire drill at work, where everyone sees you panting), and almost expire from the effort. Shamed into action you decide once again that another attempt to shed weight will be worthwhile.

The good news is that you needn't do it on your own. A huge range of weight-loss programs exist today - from independent, locally run clubs to the multi-national organizations- all offering weight-loss plans to suit individual needs and budgets.

Arguably, one of the most successful of the large organizations is WeightWatchers. Founded in a New York apartment over 40 years ago by Jane Nedetch, the small support group for friends has grown into the vastly successful international company that it is today. By combining a program of healthy eating and exercise with group support, WeightWatchers developed a 'partnership' approach to dieting which has since been emulated by many other weight-loss organizations world wide.

How does WeightWatchers operate?

Membership:

After locating a local meeting venue via the internet or the local press, members can join the organization for a fee of around $25-$30. This membership fee is often waived during special promotion months, which are generally advertised in the media.

A weekly fee of around $10-$15 is paid at each meeting, although monthly and three-monthly packages can be bought in advance at a discounted rate. Membership lapses if a member fails to attend meetings for four weeks. Members must pay for a missed meeting but if they have missed more than two, they need only pay for the first week missed and for the current week. Each member is allowed to miss two meetings in the course of the year without having to pay.

When a member has reached an agreed 'goal' weight and maintained it (within two lbs or one kilo) for six weeks, he or she becomes a Life member and may attend future meetings free of charge, provided the goal weight is maintained and at least one meeting is attended each month.

Online membership is now available for those who cannot attend meetings or who live in a rural area. A monthly online membership costs around $44.

The Points System:

The dietary part of the WeightWatchers program works on a 'points' system. Every food is allocated a point value according to its fat and sugar content. For example, an apple may be valued at one point, while a sausage may be valued at five. Most vegetables and salad ingredients are 'free' and can be eaten without penalty. Members are given a daily point allocation of around 18-22 points, depending on their current weight. No food is forbidden, as long as the point value is factored into the daily point consumption. Points may be saved for later in a week to allow members to eat out.

Various exercises are also given a point value. Bonus points gained by being active, allow the member to save for later in the week, or may be spent on an extra treat to the value of the bonus on that day.

There are ceilings on the number of points which can be saved or earned in any one week to prevent binge eating, starving and excessive exercising.

All members receive a points-value guide to the basic foods in Week One of the program.

The Meetings:

On joining WeightWatchers, the member's height and current weight are recorded in the 'passport' document, which holds each member's personal details for the duration of the program. The member retains the passport and only has to produce it when being weighed. A general goal weight is then set in consultation with the group leader, based on healthy weight to height ratios. A more specific goal can be set later when the member's weight lies within this ratio.

The member receives the Week One support materials which included a weekly brochure containing a tracker (for recording food intake, exercise and points) a possible weekly menu, some words on the topic of the week and a Quickstart DVD ( a support DVD to be used during the first six weeks of the program).

The member then attends the weekly meeting during which the leader delivers a talk on the week's topic and members are invited to share their experiences, questions and advice.

Why is WeightWatchers so popular?

Many devotees of the organization will answer this in just one word: Flexibility.

The weight-loss plan which runs for 24 weeks can be tailored to meet a wide range of needs. The points system allows for total flexibility of menu. No food is forbidden or compulsory and the menus if used are written with busy lifestyles in mind.

Meetings are also flexible; with members being able to attend meetings at other venues should they find themselves unable to get to their usual meeting. Members are also free to choose the level of their involvement at these meetings. While some need the group support each week, many people opt to just 'weigh-in' then leave. Either is acceptable.

In addition, WeightWatchers offers a wide range of support materials: a points value guide to specific brands of foods, a Supermarket guide, the Eating-Out guide, a monthly WeightWatchers' magazine, WeightWatchers' own food products, cookbooks and scales.

Like any weight-loss program, the WeightWatchers system does have some drawbacks. As it is run at a local level by leaders who have previously lost weight on the program, and current members who volunteer, the effectiveness of the support group is dependent on individual personalities. If a new member has trouble fitting in with the existing group, he or she may choose not to return.

Some people may also argue that the points' system approach to weight control is a short term method and just one of many weight-loss options, although none of these other options are promoted to members.

Finally, for many people the weekly fee is too expensive, especially if the member does not like to attend the meetings. It does seem extravagant to spend $15 each week just to step on a pair of scales.

Regardless of these criticisms, people are still flocking to join WeightWatchers and many similar weight-loss organizations across the globe. In today's world, weight-loss needs to be less about vanity and more about health and well being, with all the benefits of looking good 'thrown in'.

Weight Watchers offers a practical, accessible and structured way forward to a fit, healthy lifestyle.

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Natural appetite suppressants can help you overcome one of the biggest challenges when trying to lose weight: controlling your appetite. If you can control your appetite, you can prevent overeating and you can lose weight easier.

When it comes to natural appetite suppressants, you have three options: supplements, whole foods, or a combination of both. Supplements can be more convenient but they can also be very expensive. Whole foods are excellent because they're inexpensive and provide additional nutritional benefits you can't get from a supplement. You need to decide which works best for you. Here is a list of some of the most effective natural appetite suppressants:

Supplements as Natural Appetite Suppressants

Hoodia Gordonii Hoodia Gordonii is a cactus-like plant that is found in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa. It has been used by the Bushmen of South Africa for centuries as a powerful appetite suppressant. They eat a small piece of the hoodia plant before long hunting trips and their appetites are suppressed for hours.

You can't find hoodia gordonii in its raw form, but you can find hoodia diet pills that contain it. You need to be careful when you buy hoodia supplements as most of them contain very little hoodia gordonii. Those that do contain authentic hoodia gordonii can be effective appetite suppressants. While they are convenient, they are very expensive. At the time of this writing, they cost around $60 for a one-month supply.

Whey Protein Whey protein powder has been used for years by dieters as an effective natural appetite suppressant. Whey protein powder is also excellent for muscle growth, which is crucial because muscle burns fat. It is also very cheap, convenient, and comes in a variety of flavors. You can drink it as a delicious shake or add it to smoothies or any variety of food recipes.

Whole Foods as Natural Appetite Suppressants

Water This is probably the least expensive option of all the natural appetite suppressants you can choose from. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day will do wonders to curb your appetite. Often times hunger is mistaken as thirst so simply drinking water at the first sign of hunger can quickly keep your appetite in check. Another technique is to drink an eight ounce glass of water before each meal. You'll be surprised at how much less you eat.

Green Leafy Vegetables Lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and bok choy are terrific natural appetite suppressants. They are remarkably low in calories and are a good source of fiber. And here's a bonus - these are considered "negative calorie" foods because it can take more calories for your body to digest these foods than there are in these foods themselves!

Pickles I know what you're thinking, pickles? Yes, pickles - but not the popular commercial brands you're used to. They often contain artificial colors and sugar. You want to look for the natural organic pickles found in health food stores or in the health food section of your favorite grocer. Natural pickles, which are essentially small cucumbers, only have a few calories each. An entire jar will have less than 100 calories! You can snack on these powerful appetite suppressants all day long without any guilt.

Apples You know the saying, but now there's another reason why you should eat apples - they're great natural appetite suppressants. Apples contain only about 100 calories each, are a good source of fiber, and have very little carbs. Apples are perfect for a snack and make a great substitute for more calorie dense foods like candy bars and potato chips.

These are some of the most effective, "guilt-free" natural appetite suppressants you'll find. You'll be able to control your hunger and prevent overeating by including these in your weight loss program. More importantly, your weight loss efforts won't be as challenging!

Many people are always searching for something to assist them in losing their weight. Everyone is being crazy about diet pills nowadays. There are roughly hundreds of various brands of weight loss diet pills that claimed to shred off your unwanted fats. However, recently, there is a new discovery on one cactus plants that can help you in reducing your weights effectively. These miraculous plants are known as Hoodia Gordonii.

Let’s start on the basic. Hoodia Gordonii is a succulent plant that can be found in the South Africa especially the Kalahari Desert region. Hoodia Gordonii is categorized as cactus plants due to its spiny appearance. For hundred of years, Hoodia Gordonii has been used by the San Bushmen tribes (South African Natives) to assist them in controlling their hunger especially when they are on long hunting expeditions.

Hoodia Gordonii is claimed as the most powerful hunger suppressor that can be found in our planet. The plants can stop a person’s craving for food. Moreover, Hoodia Gordonii can make its user feel full after taking it. Until now, there are no side effects discovered for Hoodia Gordonii. The plant naturally has the same effects as an aphrodisiac, but it does not have any stimulants in its ingredient. According to medical researches, Hoodia Gordonii has the ability to reduce its user’s appetite by 1000 calories per day depending on the quantity of supplements taken. The main ingredient of Hoodia Gordonii works by replicating the same effects of glucose on our brain and as a result, fooling our brain thinking that we are full. What is more, the molecule produced by Hoodia Gordonii is 8,000 times stronger than the normal glucose.

Many people found that they only need to take supplements of 500 milligrams Hoodia Gordonii diet pills to experience its amazing effects. However, you will need to keep in mind that there are some weight loss companies claim that they have original content of Hoodia Gordonii but in fact, they blended their diet products with Hoodia. Try to conduct a small research before getting one. A Hoodia diet pill is not a ‘quick slim’ pill and this will not be an excuse for you to continue your eating habits. The best method on applying Hoodia Gordonii supplements in our daily life are maintaining our regular exercise and lowering down the calorie intake.

On the other hand, you will still have full control of your food choices with Hoodia supplements. Hoodia like stated before, is an appetite suppressor. Hoodia Gordonii does assist you in controlling your appetite but this will only work if the supplement is taken right. It is not like what many people thought. Hoodia Gordonii is not a diet pill that can dissolves your fat and it does not raise your body metabolism. You will still gaining weights if you still continue with your current eating habits. Moreover, Hoodia Gordonii does not have the ability to control your body’s shape. It all depends on you. You will have to boost your body metabolism by building up your muscles through extensive workouts such as cardiovascular training, running or walking.

Have you ever heard of Hoodia Diet before? Hoodia Diet pills can be a big help to you if you want to lose weight by reducing your appetite.

Anyone who watches news, must have heard of the Hoodia diet, either on BBC, the Today Show, Oprah, CBS or through the Internet. Every year, many types of diet programs or new weight loss supplements get introduced and hit the market promising sensational results. However, what is the specialty of this Hoodia Gordoonii if compared to other weight loss supplements that you have heard or tried in the last few years?

Well, to reveal the truth on Hoodia Gordonii, let us go for some short history of the astonishing Hoodia Gordonii plant which has been a long, solid secret of the South Africa tribe, San Bushmen for thousands of years.

The Discovery of the Modern Hoodia Diet

The Hoodia Gordonii plant’s secret recipes were known specially to the Sans Bushmen tribe for thousands of years. The effectiveness of Hoodia diet was revealed when the South African Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has conducted a research on Hoodia Gordonii in late 1990’s. Hoodia Gordonii reduced the quantities of food taken and decreases your appetite as well reducing your weights. What is more, Hoodia diet was also known as the San Bushmen Tribe diet since they are the first who discovered the benefits of Hoodia Gordonii. In few years after the discovery, the South African Council of Scientific and Industrial Research managed to separate the main ingredient in Hoodia Gordonii plants which is responsible for its special effects of appetite suppressing. This main ingredient was known as P57.

The Overflow of Hoodia Media

As we know, the media will always look for any interesting story that they can find. Hoodia Gordonii plant’s special properties have caught their attention. Major media sources started to do more stories and articles on the Hoodia diet since obesity is such a big crisis in Western countries especially United States. Not only that, there are few media sources traveled to South Africa by themselves to get more review on the Hoodia Gordonii plant.

As a result, after these reports and review of the effects of Hoodia plant’s hit newspapers, magazines and televisions, Hoodia diet pills as weight loss supplements has been introduced and started to rise up rapidly among the dieters.

One good thing about Hoodia Gordonii is that is not kept as a secret anymore and at the same time it has high possibility in assisting millions of overweight people in reducing their weight.

However, there are numerous of fake Hoodia diet products too and have conquered the market to exploit on these Hoodia diet craze. This is because Hoodia Gordonii is unique and it is hard to export from South Africa.

As a conclusion, for consumers who are really interested in trying these Hoodia diet pills must prepare themselves with proper knowledge on Hoodia Gordonii so that they can avoid these fake Hoodia diet supplements.

TrimSpa found itself being investigated by the FTC after its popular advertising campaign claimed that the late Anna Nicole Smith had lost 69 pounds after using TrimSpa's signature product, TrimSpa X32. During its investigation, the FTC found that the ads didn’t explain that Anna Nicole was paid — and more importantly, the TrimSpa claims were not backed up by any scientific research.

The FTC ultimately brought a case against TrimSpa and it was announced in January of 2007 that TrimSpa settled with the FTC for $1.5 million. In addition, TrimSpa was banned from making any further claims about the "health benefits, performance, efficacy, safety or side effects" of Trimspa’s supposed miracle ingredient, hoodia gordonii, unless it came up with some evidence.

Although hoodia is extremely popular today, very few people actually know much about it. As a result, there are many companies out there who are taking advantage of this and are marketing hoodia gordonii as some kind of miracle weight loss pill. Despite all the hype, all hoodia gordonii does is suppress appetite. It does not burn fat, increase metabolism, or "magically" melt the fat away.

All these claims being thrown around have really got the FTC's attention, as shown by the TrimSpa case. The TrimSpa case is sure to be just the beginning of more cases to come. The hoodia industry is in complete disarray right now. Most companies are exaggerating what hoodia gordonii can do. Certainly, TrimSpa is not the only one. Even more disturbing than all these exaggerated claims is the authenticity of the hoodia diet pills that are sold today.

A consumer advocacy group did a study in 2006 where 17 of the most popular hoodia brands were tested for authenticity. Only six brands were shown to have authentic hoodia gordonii! That's a shocking statistic when you consider the failure rate was slightly higher than 60%.

So just what does all this mean to the hoodia weight loss industry?

It means there could be a dramatic change in the landscape of the hoodia industry if the TrimSpa case is any indication. Currently, almost every company that sells and markets hoodia diet pills exaggerates to some extent what hoodia gordonii can actually do. Furthermore, the majority of the hoodia diet pills on the market today contain very little, if any, hoodia gordonii.

The crackdown by the FTC on such prominent companies as TrimSpa is good news for the consumer. With future cases that are certain to be brought about by the FTC, companies will have no choice but to straighten up their act or face stiff fines or possibly be forced to quit selling their hoodia products all together.

The only companies left standing will be those who are honest about what hoodia gordonii can do and who sell authentic hoodia gordonii. We may be surprised to find only a few left standing given the current state of the hoodia weight loss industry!