Stay on Top of Your Weight Loss Goals with the New and Improved mySENSA.com Community

Manhattan Beach, CA (PRWEB) August 03, 2011

The SENSA® Weight-Loss system is dedicated to providing its customers with the support tools they need to obtain their ultimate weight-loss goals. to help customers take their weight loss journey to the next level, SENSA® has recently remodeled the mySENSA Community (mySENSA.com), an online weight-loss destination designed to help customers lose weight and keep it off.

The new and improved site offers customizable features that are designed to help customers reach their weight-loss goals and stay in touch with SENSA® friends. Customers now have access to improved weight-loss tools, such as progress logs and exercise trackers. There is also a new robust meal plan that enables customers to add and sort food items, track water intake, and view their daily calorie budget and nutrition distribution. Customers also have the option to customize their plan by choosing what foods they would like to exclude, which is beneficial for vegetarians or those with other dietary restrictions.

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Effects of Diet Soft Drinks on Your Health

By Karen Frazier

People often opt for diet soda as a healthier alternative to sugary soft drinks containing high-fructose corn syrup and sugar, but are they really healthier? The answer is not a clear cut yes or no.

What's in Diet Soda

Different soft drink manufacturers utilize varying non-sugar and artificial sweeteners to replace the sugar content in their products. Diet sodas may have one or a combination of sweeteners, including:

Sucralose: Brand name Splenda, sucralose contains chlorinated sugar molecules. Your body does not absorb these altered molecules, so sucralose passes through without calories.Aspartame: With the brand name NutraSweet, zero-calorie aspartame contains methyl esters of aspartic acid and phenylalanine dipeptide.Acesulfame Potassium: Also known as acesulfame-K or ace-K, acesulfame potassium has the brand name Sweet One or Sunett. It has a bitter aftertaste, and no calories.Saccharin: This zero calorie sweetener has been in use since the sugar shortages of World War I. It has zero calories and a bitter aftertaste.Sugar Alcohols: These are neither sugars nor alcohols. Instead, they are polyols, which are natural substancesStevia: This sweet herb provides natural sweetness without calories.

Diet sodas may also contain sodium, caffeine, phosphoric acid, artificial colors, and citric acid.

The may vary according to which soft drinks you choose; however, in general you may expect some of the following health effects from regular consumption of diet soda.

Effects on blood sugar: MayoClinic.com suggests that soft drinks containing artificial sweeteners do not affect blood sugar, while those containing sugar alcohols may cause it to rise. While some sweeteners may not cause a rise in blood sugar, artificial sweeteners may trigger sugar cravings, leading people to eat sugary foods, which will cause blood sugar to rise.Hydration: Sodas that contain caffeine serve as diuretics, leading to dehydration.Addiction: Caffeine is also a very addictive substance, and drinking sodas that contain caffeine every day may lead to dependence. Missing your daily caffeine infusion can lead to exhaustion, headaches, and many other health problems.Sodium: Some sodas contain high levels of sodium, which can lead to a rise in blood pressure and water retention.Cephalic phase response: Your body is an efficient machine. When you eat sweets, your liver and pancreas respond to the sugar in them. When you eat a calorie-free sweetener, your body may prime the organs to respond just as if you had eaten something with sugar; however, when no sugar appears, it triggers insulin release and food cravings, which can lead to weight gain.Dental problems: The acid in diet sodas (and regular pop) can lead to teeth enamel erosion.Gastric upset: Sodas containing sugar alcohols may lead to gas, bloating, and diarrhea.Safety of Artificial Sweeteners

The FDA regulates artificial sweeteners as a food additive, and has generally recognized the ingredients as safe; however, the long-term effects remain largely unknown. No scientific studies show the dangers of the sweeteners, although anecdotal reports suggest a multitude of symptoms including:

HeadachesBody achesNeurological problemsConfusionDizzinessGastric updateThe Bottom Line

An occasional soft drink probably won't lead to health problems; however, drinking several a day may not be your best bet. Instead, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and healthy. If you do drink diet sodas as a regular part of your diet, you may want to talke to your doctor about it as some endocrinologists discourage the use of diet sodas.

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No White Diet

By Donna Sundblad

The is an easy way to eliminate high glycemic foods from the menu. It doesn’t require counting calories or carbs. It’s as simple as recognizing whether or not you can eat something based on its color. However, even though the name of this diet suggests “no” white foods, there are a few exceptions to the rule.

How the Works

Many popular diets have implemented the no white foods concept, and gradually people have adapted it to help them eliminate high glycemic foods that lead to weight gain. The by author Paul Array structures an entire diet around the concept. His book equips people to understand what it takes to eliminate these foods from the diet. He teaches dieters to read food labels and how to shop for groceries. His book explains how and why the diet works to eliminate hunger, cravings and to not only lose weight but to keep it off. This diet, like many before it, claims to be a lifestyle change instead of just another diet.

Paul Array is not a doctor, but a layman with much diet practice. His goal was to create a diet that not only works, but is easy to follow. The doesn’t require portion control, counting calories, carbs, or fat grams, or the buying of packaged foods or special products. Eliminating white foods from the diet is as simple as black and white and doing so helps get rid of empty calories from high glycemic foods. This helps people lose weight for more than one reason. The insulin response brought about by such foods as white sugar and flour can trigger cravings for more carbohydrates and the resulting sugar is converted to fat for storage. This leads to weight gain. Removing these foods from the diet helps bring about weight loss as the result of eating fewer calories because it not only works to eliminate cravings, but the foods eaten satisfy for longer.

Foods to AvoidPotatoesSaltSugarWhite flourWhite rice

This basic list make the diet seam easy-to-follow until you realize it means anything made with these ingredients also needs to be eliminated from the diet. This extends the no white list to include things made with them like:

No White Diet

By Donna Sundblad

The is an easy way to eliminate high glycemic foods from the menu. It doesn’t require counting calories or carbs. It’s as simple as recognizing whether or not you can eat something based on its color. However, even though the name of this diet suggests “no” white foods, there are a few exceptions to the rule.

How the Works

Many popular diets have implemented the no white foods concept, and gradually people have adapted it to help them eliminate high glycemic foods that lead to weight gain. The by author Paul Array structures an entire diet around the concept. His book equips people to understand what it takes to eliminate these foods from the diet. He teaches dieters to read food labels and how to shop for groceries. His book explains how and why the diet works to eliminate hunger, cravings and to not only lose weight but to keep it off. This diet, like many before it, claims to be a lifestyle change instead of just another diet.

Paul Array is not a doctor, but a layman with much diet practice. His goal was to create a diet that not only works, but is easy to follow. The doesn’t require portion control, counting calories, carbs, or fat grams, or the buying of packaged foods or special products. Eliminating white foods from the diet is as simple as black and white and doing so helps get rid of empty calories from high glycemic foods. This helps people lose weight for more than one reason. The insulin response brought about by such foods as white sugar and flour can trigger cravings for more carbohydrates and the resulting sugar is converted to fat for storage. This leads to weight gain. Removing these foods from the diet helps bring about weight loss as the result of eating fewer calories because it not only works to eliminate cravings, but the foods eaten satisfy for longer.

Foods to AvoidPotatoesSaltSugarWhite flourWhite rice

This basic list make the diet seam easy-to-follow until you realize it means anything made with these ingredients also needs to be eliminated from the diet. This extends the no white list to include things made with them like:

Are Diet Supplements Safe?

By Karen Frazier

Many people wonder about the safety and efficacy of diet supplements. While asking, "" is a valid question, the answer largely depends on a number of factors about both the supplement and your personal health. When evaluating the safety of diet supplements, it is essential that you take your overall health picture into account.

Types of Diet Supplements

In 33 states across the United States, the prevalence of obesity is higher than 25 percent, showing a significant rise in obese Americans in the past 20 years. Other Western countries have experienced similar rapid rises in the incidence of obesity. With that in mind, many consumers seek to assert control over their weight by taking some sort of a diet supplement. Manufacturers have complied, and the marketplace is rife with products that claim to be a weight loss panacea.

Some of the types of diet supplements you might find making claims to enhance weight loss include:

Fat burnersHerbal formulasAppetite suppressantsCarb blockersMetabolic enhancersIngredients

It seems like every year a new "miracle" ingredient comes along that manufacturers claim will melt the pounds without effort. Some of the ingredients you might see in diet supplements include:

Hoodia (derived from a cactus)Glucomannan (fiber derived from konjac)Caffeine or guarana (stimulants with slight metabolic effects)Bitter orangeL-carnitineChromiumPsylliumChitosan (indigestible fiber from crustacean shells)Conjugated Linoleic Acid or (CLA)Garcinia Cambogia

Safety is relative in this case. Because the supplement industry remains unregulated, the quality of the ingredients may be suspect. In the United States, a supplement can go to market with only manufacturer oversight, and the government will become involved only after the supplement has hit the market and people have begun experiencing adverse side effects. This is what happened with the 2004 ban of the popular diet supplement, ephedra. It appeared in many weight loss products, and the government was not able to affect a ban until after many people had suffered cardiac damage or even died from the supplement. Additionally, very few long-term, peer-reviewed, controlled, scientific studies exist showing either the safety or efficacy of many of the ingredients touted as the next weight loss miracle. With that in mind, the level of safety may vary according to the diet supplement. For instance, current concerns exist about bitter orange, a popular diet supplement additive that is eerily similar to ephedra.

Another concern about diet supplements is that they may be contraindicated for certain health conditions, or they may have adverse interactions with medications. For instance, a simple ingredients such as fiber from psyllium or glucomannan may interact with thyroid medication and render it inactive. Likewise, chromium may interact with beta blockers, corticosteroids, insulin, and other drugs to amplify the effect of those medications on the body. Additionally, people with heart conditions or high blood pressure may interact negatively with guarana and bitter orange, and those with shellfish allergies may have a severe allergic reaction to chitosan.

Use Caution

The bottom line is this. If you are trying to lose weight, the best way to do so is through a combination of a healthy diet and exercise. To date, no magic pill exists that will make you drop pounds without any effort on your part. Some of those magic pills may be dangerous to you. Even if you have friends that take the supplements and don't have problems, it doesn't mean that you won't. Your individual health picture may be different than theirs, and certain ingredients may affect you adversely. If you absolutely feel you must take a weight loss supplement, never do so without going over the ingredients with your doctor, and discontinue the product and seek medical attention if you experience adverse effects.

Losing weight requires more than a miracle supplement; however, by following the principles of a healthy diet and pursuing appropriate activity, you can lose weight without having to resort to taking potentially dangerous pills.

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Steps for Starting the Daniel Diet Fast

By Donna Sundblad

While some people may try the Daniel fast for weigh loss purposes, for most it is meant to be a spiritual experience that draws them closer to God. The fast is a partial fast based on accounts found in the biblical book of Daniel, of a time when Daniel refused to eat the king’s food to follow God's ways. Instead of eating from the king's bounty, he opted to eat only vegetables and water. His decision to do so is a lesson, for people today, in learning to deny self and to seek God’s will. For anyone thinking of embarking on this spiritual/physical journey, there are a few steps to take before getting started.

Before You Start the Daniel Fast

Before you start the Daniel fast, it is important to take into consideration the influence such a change in diet will have on your body. For example, giving up caffeine can lead to side effects such as severe migraine-type headaches and nausea. Eliminating sugar from the diet all at once may also lead to undesirable symptoms as the body detoxifies. The most common symptoms associated with the Daniel fast include:

HeadachesFatigueLeg crampsMalaiseSix Wean Off Caffeine and Sugar: With possible side effects in mind, one of the first should be to wean off caffeine and sugar before you start the fast to avoid these debilitating symptoms.How Long to Fast: Decide how long you plan to follow the fast. As a partial fast, the body does get adequate nutrition and can be followed for weeks. It is typically followed for 21 days.Check with Your Doctor: Check with your doctor before starting the Daniel Diet. Let your doctor know what you'll be eating and how long you plan to follow the fast. Your doctor will know your medical history and whether or not the fast should be modified in some way to fit your physical needs.Prayer: The Daniel fast is a physical as well as a spiritual experience. Through prayer, the dieter should ask for God’s guidance and strength as they prepare to deny self and battle physical cravings.Set Spiritual Goals: Also as a matter of prayer, spiritual goals to be accomplished while fasting should be set. These often include prayer, Bible reading, study and medication.Stock Your Kitchen: The Daniel Diet is a fast that limits many foods. Before you get started, stock your kitchen with fresh fruits and vegetables. The fast is difficult enough without running out of the foods you need to eat.Daniel Diet for Weight Loss

For people interested in following the Daniel fast for weight loss, it can be done, but this approach is not really considered a fast. As a weight loss plan, it would be considered the Daniel Diet and a form of a vegan diet. It is often used by people who want to lose weight or improve their health.

What Daniel Ate

More than one version of the Daniel fast exists because no one knows for sure exactly what Daniel ate when he turned down the king’s food. The premise for this partial fast is found in Daniel chapters one and 10. Some versions of the fast also follow Jewish fasting guidelines. Some people restrict the fast to only vegetables while others include fruits. This choice is based on early translations of the Bible that translate vegetables as foods grown from seed which can also include nuts.

No matter which version of the fast a person follows, it shouldn’t be as much about the food as it is about the spiritual journey to become closer to God. A fast takes the focus off food and physical things and places it on things eternal and the relationship one has with God. The basics of all these versions of the Daniel fast are similar. There is no profit in becoming legalistic about what to eat or not eat. The purpose is deny the physical self as a matter of discipline in order to strengthen the spiritual.

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