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الخميس، 30 مايو 2019


The effects of a pharmaceutical treatment have until now been evaluated by the field of Health Economics on the patient health benefits, expressed in Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) versus the monetary costs. However, there is also a Human Health burden associated with this process, resulting from emissions that originate from the pharmaceutical production processes, Use Phase and End of Life (EoL) disposal of the medicine. This Human Health burden is evaluated by the research field of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and expressed in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), a metric similar to the QALY.
The need for a new framework presents itself in which both the positive and negative health effects of a pharmaceutical treatment are integrated into a net Human Health effect. To do so, this article reviews the methodologies of both Health Economics and the area of protection Human Health of the LCA methodology and proposes a conceptual framework on which to base an integration of both health effects. Methodological issues such as the inclusion of future costs and benefits, discounting and age weighting are discussed. It is suggested to use the structure of an LCA as a backbone to cover all methodological challenges involved in the integration. The possibility of monetizing both Human Health benefits and burdens is explored. The suggested approach covers the main methodological aspects that should be considered in an integrated assessment of the health effects of a pharmaceutical treatment.

Background

People have a natural (some would say "hard-wired") affinity for nature. Studies have confirmed that we experience health benefits such as stress reduction from encountering natural settings. As our connections to nature decrease, a new disorder has emerged. This "nature deficit disorder" may have far reaching psychological, physiological and educational impacts on humans, including higher incidence of depression and severe non-infectious disease. We may alleviate this emerging disorder by going to parks and interacting with nature and animals. While zoos play leading roles in wildlife conservation, research, recreation and education, and provide important venues for interacting with the outdoor world of animals and wildlife, few studies have assessed the human health benefits zoos can provide. Zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) annually attract 175 million visitors, from infants to the elderly. Zoos also play an important role in researching the health benefits visitors gain by interacting with animals.

Goal

Through this joint study funded by the AZA, scientists will investigate the role that zoos play in stress reduction in a world disconnected from nature. Specifically, the study will evaluate the measurable psychological and physiological health benefits that interacting with stingrays and sharks has on Zoo visitors. The study will lay the groundwork for developing additional projects that explore the human health benefits associated with the wide range of experiences zoos offer.

Conservation Science

This will be one of the first human health studies conducted at an AZA institution to evaluate both psychological and physiological health benefits to visitors from an immersion animal experience in a zoological setting. To carry out this study, we will be monitoring the heart rate variability of visitors as they interact with animals at the Saint Louis Zoo's Stingrays at Caribbean Cove presented by Mercy Kids. We will equip visitors with Polar Heart Rate transmitters and wristbands as they interact with and touch the stingrays and sharks that swim in the shallow waters of the Cove. The monitors will record the activity of the autonomic nervous system to determine whether visitors are relaxed during their time at the Cove. Before and after interacting with the animals, participants will complete a short mood checklist as a self-reported measure of stress relief and a short questionnaire about their perceptions of the aquatic animals and the exhibit. The research team hypothesizes that interacting with the aquatic animals will have a positive effect on the mood and stress levels of visitors; researchers expect this study to shed light on the feelings humans have during encounters with living organisms, clarifying the roles animals play in human health. The results of this study may add human health benefits to the list of important services that zoos can provide to society.
Nothing compares to the joy of coming home to a loyal companion. The unconditional love of a pet can do more than keep you company. Pets may also decrease stress, improve heart health, and even help children with their emotional and social skills.
An estimated 68% of U.S. households have a pet. But who benefits from an animal? And which type of pet brings health benefits?
Over the past 10 years, NIH has partnered with the Mars Corporation’s WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition to answer questions like these by funding research studies.
Scientists are looking at what the potential physical and mental health benefits are for different animals—from fish to guinea pigs to dogs and cats.

Possible Health Effects

Research on human-animal interactions is still relatively new. Some studies have shown positive health effects, but the results have been mixed.
Interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure. Other studies have found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost your mood.
The NIH/Mars Partnership is funding a range of studies focused on the relationships we have with animals. For example, researchers are looking into how animals might influence child development. They’re studying animal interactions with kids who have autismattention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other conditions.
“There’s not one answer about how a pet can help somebody with a specific condition,” explains Dr. Layla Esposito, who oversees NIH’s Human Animal-Interaction Research Program. “Is your goal to increase physical activity? Then you might benefit from owning a dog. You have to walk a dog several times a day and you’re going to increase physical activity. If your goal is reducing stress, sometimes watching fish swim can result in a feeling of calmness. So there’s no one type fits all.”
NIH is funding large-scale surveys to find out the range of pets people live with and how their relationships with their pets relate to health.
“We’re trying to tap into the subjective quality of the relationship with the animal—that part of the bond that people feel with animals—and how that translates into some of the health benefits,” explains Dr. James Griffin, a child development expert at NIH.

Animals Helping People

Animals can serve as a source of comfort and support. Therapy dogs are especially good at this. They’re sometimes brought into hospitals or nursing homes to help reduce patients’ stress and anxiety.
“Dogs are very present. If someone is struggling with something, they know how to sit there and be loving,” says Dr. Ann Berger, a physician and researcher at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. “Their attention is focused on the person all the time.”
Berger works with people who have cancer and terminal illnesses. She teaches them about mindfulness to help decrease stress and manage pain.
“The foundations of mindfulness include attention, intention, compassion, and awareness,” Berger says. “All of those things are things that animals bring to the table. People kind of have to learn it. Animals do this innately.”
Researchers are studying the safety of bringing animals into hospital settings because animals may expose people to more germs. A current study is looking at the safety of bringing dogs to visit children with cancer, Esposito says. Scientists will be testing the children’s hands to see if there are dangerous levels of germs transferred from the dog after the visit.
Dogs may also aid in the classroom. One study found that dogs can help children with ADHD focus their attention. Researchers enrolled two groups of children diagnosed with ADHD into 12-week group therapy sessions. The first group of kids read to a therapy dog once a week for 30 minutes. The second group read to puppets that looked like dogs.
Kids who read to the real animals showed better social skills and more sharing, cooperation, and volunteering. They also had fewer behavioral problems.
Another study found that children with autism spectrum disorder were calmer while playing with guinea pigs in the classroom. When the children spent 10 minutes in a supervised group playtime with guinea pigs, their anxiety levels dropped. The children also had better social interactions and were more engaged with their peers. The researchers suggest that the animals offered unconditional acceptance, making them a calm comfort to the children.
“Animals can become a way of building a bridge for those social interactions,” Griffin says. He adds that researchers are trying to better understand these effects and who they might help.
Animals may help you in other unexpected ways. A recent study showed that caring for fish helped teens with diabetes better manage their disease. Researchers had a group of teens with type 1 diabetes care for a pet fish twice a day by feeding and checking water levels. The caretaking routine also included changing the tank water each week. This was paired with the children reviewing their blood glucose (blood sugar) logs with parents.
Researchers tracked how consistently these teens checked their blood glucose. Compared with teens who weren’t given a fish to care for, fish-keeping teens were more disciplined about checking their own blood glucose levels, which is essential for maintaining their health.
While pets may bring a wide range of health benefits, an animal may not work for everyone. Recent studies suggest that early exposure to pets may help protect young children from developing allergies and asthma. But for people who are allergic to certain animals, having pets in the home can do more harm than good.

Helping Each Other

Pets also bring new responsibilities. Knowing how to care for and feed an animal is part of owning a pet. NIH/Mars funds studies looking into the effects of human-animal interactions for both the pet and the person.
Remember that animals can feel stressed and fatigued, too. It’s important for kids to be able to recognize signs of stress in their pet and know when not to approach. Animal bites can cause serious harm.
“Dog bite prevention is certainly an issue parents need to consider, especially for young children who don’t always know the boundaries of what’s appropriate to do with a dog,” Esposito explains.
Researchers will continue to explore the many health effects of having a pet. “We’re trying to find out what’s working, what’s not working, and what’s safe—for both the humans and the animals,” Esposito says.
The human-animal bond is extremely important to most clients of small animal veterinary practices. Pet ownership, or just being in the presence of a companion animal, is associated with health benefits, including improvements in mental, social, and physiologic health status. This article provides the research data regarding the human health benefits of companion animals, animal-assisted therapy, animal-assisted activities, and assistance animals; reviews measures that can be taken to enable safe pet ownership for the immunocompromised, and discusses the veterinarian's role in supporting immune-compromised clients and clients who have assistance animals. Client education and enhanced veterinary care can reduce the risk from zoonotic diseases, even for the immunocompromised.

How RHow Research Benefits Human

Fundamental discoveries promote healthy living and treatment of disease.
  1. Experiments on animals play a central role in providing insights about the human brain and in helping to make healthy lifestyle choices, prevent disease, and find cures for disorders.
  1. Experiments on animals play a central role in providing insights about the human brain and in helping to make healthy lifestyle choices, prevent disease, and find cures for disorders.
  2. Research on humans is an essential final step before new treatments are introduced to prevent or cure disorders.
  3. Neuroscience research has formed the basis for significant progress in treating a large number of disorders.
  4. Finding cures for disorders of the nervous system is a social imperative.

الاثنين، 9 يوليو 2018


Face Care Tips: 10 Dos and Don'ts for Naturally Beautiful Skin





Face Care Tips: 10 Dos and Don'ts for Naturally Beautiful Skin
Highlights
  • The secrets of beauty lies in ancient Ayurveda.
  • Stress management techniques are the secret to beautiful skin.
  • Eating good is the new beautiful you.
The flawless, blemish and acne-free skin that you've always desired is no more a dream, but reality.Here are brilliant face care tips to get that glow you've always wanted. Browse through our beauty secrets, tackle your skincare issues and follow our tricks regularly to get beautiful skin naturally. Excited, happy or stressed, it’s your face that gives you away. So we’ve rounded up expert tips on daily skin care, keeping blemishes at bay and enhancing your natural beauty. Whether you have time for intensive skin care or not, pamper yourself by acing the basics.

Why God, why? Is flawless skin just too much to ask for? A late night leads to dark circles in the morning. Got an upcoming party? Oh wait, I spy a zit. Yes yes, we are well aware of the basic CTM technique… Cleanser-Toner-Moisturizer. We try every new face wash, sunscreen, anti-ageing cream that hits the market. If dry skin and dead skin, oily skin and patchy skin weren’t enough - you now have combination skin! And we are ever so willing to try anything under the sun to get beautiful skin. But it is not an overnight miracle.

Lucky for you, we make face-care easy.
 

face-care-tips-beautiful-skin1

10 Dos and Don’ts for Beautiful Skin

1. The Golden Rule

Do: Make sure you always (and we mean always) remove your makeup before hitting the sheets. The skin needs to breathe overnight. And makeup prevents that, as leaving it on overnight clogs the pores which may cause blemishes and/or blackheads. Don’t possess a makeup remover? Just put some olive oil on a cotton pad and gently massage the oil onto your face to get rid of the makeup and dirt.
Don’t: Forget that exfoliation is indispensable. At least once or twice a week, exfoliate your skin to remove the layers of dead skin, sure to leave you with a more healthy glow and brighter skin. You can also apply a paste of walnut in powder form with yogurt to exfoliate your skin, as the antioxidants present in walnuts help remove dirt and promote radiant skin.
 

Exfoliate-your-skin-to-remove-the-dead-skin
Never forget to exfoliate your skin and remove the makeup before calling it a night.

2. Sun and Skin

Do: Apply sunscreen with SPF of at least 15 that blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Since a lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots and other skin problems, you have to protect your skin from the sun. Make sure the label reads ‘noncomedogenic’ or ‘nonacnegenic’ so that the product does not tend to block pores.

Don’t: Skip the sunscreen, whether it's cloudy or cold outside (no excuses). If you’re heading to a beach or around reflective surfaces like snow or ice, lather your skin up with some more sunscreen with SPF of at least 30.
 

Sunscreen-is-a-must-if-you-love-your-skin
Sunscreen with SPF of at least 15 that blocks both UVA and UVB rays.

3. You are What You Eat

Do: Keep a note of what you put on your plate. Eat fresh fruits, greens, sufficient protein and vitamins. A diet rich in vitamin C and low in fats and sugar promotes radiant skin. Consider a low-sugar diet, which can keep insulin levels down, allowing cells to maintain a healthy balance.

"Don’t: Eat spicy and fermented foods, salt, citrus fruits, fried food. Instead favour blander foods such as rice, oatmeal and applesauce”, advises American author and Ayurvedic physician, Vasant Lad, in The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies.

(Also Read: Turmeric Powder for Beauty: How To Use it For Your FaceAnd Skin)

You-are-what-you-eat
Fresh fruits and greens is what healthy skin needs.

4. Sweat It Out!

Do: Exercise regularly. Running, jogging and yoga will give your body the necessary blood circulation, and also accelerate the cleansing process of your entire body. You will notice a glow on your face after working out. Racing against time? Just take a brisk walk around the block.

Don’t: Skip skincare before and after a workout. Apply a toner to help minimize oil production before heading out. Exfoliate after, and then apply shea butter or olive oil to moisturize the skin.
 

Running-will-give-your-body-good-blood-circulation
Running, jogging and yoga will accelerate the cleaning process of your body.

5. Beauty Sleep

Do: Try to sleep at least 8 hours every night. If you don’t get enough shut eye, your skin gets tired just like you - it sags and you get bags. So don’t risk it. You can also apply honey on your face twice or thrice a week to naturally soothe and heal your skin.

“Don’t: Forget to wash and moisturize your face before going to bed”, recommends Dr. Rahul Nagar, Dermatologist, Max Hospitals. “For dry skin, use milder cleansers that are free from alcohol. Apply lots of moisturizer, and avoid hot water as it dries out the skin excessively.”
 

8-hours-sleep-is-a-must
Never forget to wash your face before sleeping and moisturize well.

6. H2O to The Rescue

Do: Hydrate yourself. Drink lots of water daily, at least 8 glasses if not more. Also, eats fruits and vegetables that have a high water content such as watermelon, cucumber, orange, strawberry, grapefruit and cantaloupe. Ayurvedic physician, Vasant Lad recommends to “drink water from a blue coloured bottle”, since it has a cooling effect.

Don’t: Ignore rose water. It helps prevent and reduce eye puffiness in the morning, maintains pH balance and naturally hydrates your skin if you spritz it on during the day.
 

Drinking-8-glasses-of-water-is-a-must
Rose water maintains pH balance and  naturally hydrates the skin.

7. Goodbye Acne

“Do: Wash your face with warm water, three times a day, and gently massage your face in circular motions, ensuring that the cleanser contains alpha hydroxyl acid or beta hydroxyl acid. Face packs that contain multani mitti (fuller’s earth) work really well too. After cleansing, pat dry and apply a lotion which contains benzoyl peroxide”, suggests Dr. Zaheer Ahmed, Dermatologist, Max Hospitals. Benzoyl peroxide appears to be effective due to its antibacterial actions.

Don’t: Pop pimples because it can lead to more swelling, redness, and even scarring. Feel a pimple is on its way? Just clean the area with rose water, and place a chilled green tea bag for 10 minutes. Also, if you wear glasses or sunglasses, make sure you clean them frequently to keep oil from clogging the pores around your eyes and nose.
 

Multani-Mitti-works-wonders-for-the-skin
Never pop your pimples. Use rose water or chilled green tea bags.

8. Go Back to Your Roots

Do: Use Ayurvedic scrubs to nourish the skin, and help it breathe better. Luckily for you, everything you need is already in your kitchen. 2 tbsp chickpea flour, ½ tsp turmeric powder, a pinch of camphor and sandalwood with some rose water/milk/water is your perfect skincare pack. Yes, the secrets of beauty lies in ancient Ayurveda.

Don’t: Neglect the basics. Make Sudarshan Kriya your beauty mantra. Yes, it’s that easy. Just breathing right could rid you of spots and pimples. Nidhi Gureja, Art of Living, says “Sudarshan Kriya is a breathing technique which incorporates specific natural rhythms of the breath that harmonize the body, mind and emotions. This helps releasing accumulated stresses, and each individual’s experience is different.”
 

Ayurvedic-scrubs-can-be-used-for-cleansing
Sudarshan Kriya is a breathing technique which incorporates specific natural rhythms that helps in releasing accumulated stresses.

9. Spa Day Everyday?

Do: Have a regular skin care regimen. “For dry skin, use a fresh cherry mask. Apply the pulp of fresh cherries on your face before going to bed. Leave for 15 minutes and wash with lukewarm water”, adds American author Vasant Lad.

Don’t: Forget to pamper yourself. A gentle facial massage with oils could work wonders. Depending on your skin type, choose oils from mustard, coconut, almond or Kumkadi as they are excellent nourishing agents which help to get glowing skin. Better still – switch on some soothing instrumental music. After 20 minutes, what do you have? Beautiful skin and a relaxed you.
 

Gentle-facial-massage-with-oils-could-work-wonders
Pamper yourself occasionally with spa treatments.

10. Healthy Habits

Do: Take out time for yourself, and try to avoid stress as much as possible. Have you ever noticed that when you are stressed, you tend to break out more? This is because stress causes your body to produce cortisol and other hormones, making the skin more oily. Practice stress management techniques like breathing exercises, yoga and meditation. The more you meditate, the more you radiate.

Don’t: Neglect your jawline and facial muscles. For just 5 minutes a day, perform a few facial exercises. You can jut out your lower lip in such a way that wrinkles are created on the chin, then lower your chin to your chest. Another exercise that works wonders is to look up towards the ceiling and pout. It stretches out the muscles making the skin more firm. “18 till I die”, why not?
 

Practice-stress-management-techniques


Dove Beauty Bar, Sensitive Skin, 4 Ounce, 20 Bars
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Dove Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar brings you classic Dove cleansers and ? moisturizing cream in an unscented, hypoallergenic bar that?s gentle enough for sensitive skin. Dermatologically tested and suitable for daily use, it can be used on your body and hands, and is great as gentle face cleanser. Good sensitive skin care depends on having a cleanser that truly cares for your skin and won?t dry it out like ordinary soap can. Dove Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar gives you a truly mild cleansing that leaves sensitive skin feeling soft and smooth. It's not a soap ? it?s a beauty bar. Washing with regular soap can cause skin to feel dry, tight. What makes Dove different? Its the combination of gentle cleansers and moisturizing ingredients help to nourish skin and are proven to be more gentle and mild than ordinary soap. For best results, rub your Dove Sensitive Skin bar between your hands and spread the rich, creamy lather over your body before rinsing away with warm water and enjoying your soft, smooth, clean skin. At Dove, our vision is of a world where beauty is a source of confidence, and not anxiety. So, we are on a mission to help the next generation of women develop a positive relationship with the way they look - helping them raise their self-esteem and realize their full potential.

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Mild Cleansers and Moisturizing Cream
The harsh ingredients in ordinary bar soap can strip your skin's natural moisture and leave a soapy residue, making skin feel tight and dry. With mild cleansers and 1/4 moisturizing cream, Dove Sensitive Skin Unscented Beauty Bar cleanses gently and rinses completely. That means your skin will look and feel softer, smoother, and more radiant.
Unscented Formula for Sensitive Skin
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Dove launched in 1957 in the US with the iconic Dove Beauty Bar, and it continues to focus on real care with products that tangibly improve the condition of skin or hair. From the beginning, Dove has drawn inspiration from real, diverse women and celebrates real beauty, which it defines as feeling and looking your best. Dove is committed to helping women and girls build positive self-esteem, develop a healthy relationship with beauty, and reach their full potential. Through the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, the brand has provided self-esteem tools and resources to reach over 11 million girls and counting.

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Olay Face Moisturizer Cream, Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream, 1.7 oz 
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The Benefits of Losing Weight

              The Benefits of Losing Weight  
Are you thinking about starting a weight loss program? Before you set a weight goal, it’s important to understand the benefits of losing weight. Understanding the wide range of weight loss benefits may help to keep you motivated during the challenging moments of your diet and exercise program. And every weight loss journey hits the skids at some point.
So to set yourself up for success, consider all of the different ways that losing weight may improve your social life, your medical and psychological health. Make a list of the weight loss benefits that mean the most in your life and keep it in your weight loss journal. Then visit the list on the days when you feel like quitting.
Health Benefits


You don’t have to lose hundreds of pounds to enjoy the medical benefits of weight loss. If you are currently overweight or obese, you may be able to lose just a small amount of weight to improve your overall health. In fact, some studies show that just a 5 to 10 percent decrease in your weight can change your health. These are some of the benefits you may see:
  • Decreased risk of diabetes
  • Lowered blood pressure
  • Improved cholesterol levels
  • Decreased risk of heart disease
  • Decreased risk of certain cancers
  • Improved mobility
  • Decreased joint pain
  • Improved blood sugar levels
  • Decreased risk of stroke
  • Reduced back pain
  • Decreased risk or improvement in symptoms of osteoarthritis
  • Decreased risk or improvement in symptoms of sleep apnea
Your doctor can provide more personalized information about the health benefits you can expect to see when you lose weight. For example, you may be able to decrease or eliminate certain medications or reduce your risk of disease. Your doctor may also be able to provide a recommendation or referral to a registered dietitian or physical therapist to help you build a healthy weight loss program.
Lifestyle Benefits
In addition to the medical benefits of weight loss, you may also experience an improved lifestyle if you slim down. Many successful losers report improvement in these areas:
  • More active social life
  • Greater confidence
  • Better sleep
  • Improved energy
  • Improved sex life
  • Decreased stress
  • Improved body image
  • Improved vitality
  • Improved mood
Social Benefits
The medical and lifestyle benefits of losing weight may be enough to motivate you to stick to a diet and exercise program. But some dieters also lose weight to improve the quality of a relationship. For example, you might want to lose weight to save your marriage
This is an area where the benefits of losing weight get tricky. While some people have better relationships after weight loss, losing weight to make someone else happy is not always a smart idea. There may be other relationship problems that weight loss won't solve. And when you diet to make someone else happy, you might lose weight in the beginning, but the weight often comes back.
How to Enjoy the Benefits of Weight Loss
If you decide that there are significant reasons for you to lose weight, then there's no time like the present to start your weight loss journey. Your first step should be to set a reasonable goal. Then make small changes to your daily routine and eating habits. Ask for weight loss help from your health care provider and from friends and family to make the process easier


slimming world before after

You’ll have to excuse the brevity of today’s post but it’s Sunday afternoon and I’ve come back to bed as I’m still hanging from last night. I went out to celebrate a good friend’s birthday and I’m living to regret it today, but it was worth it. I’m never drinking again though etc.

So this week has felt super busy. I had the interview on Tuesday that I mentioned last week, which I don’t feel went particularly well, and I haven’t heard back from them – so I think they may have thought the same. But I think it’s always good to test yourself, push yourself and get out of your comfort zone now and again, and an interview will do all of that!


Exercise wise, I made a point to work extra hard this week. So I did three Zumba classes and sweated an actual river of sweat out of my body each time – the sweat literally falling onto the ground it’s that bad. Or good, depending how you look at it. But I do work really really hard in the class, not holding anything back, and not caring what I look like. I just don’t have it in me to do anything else. I cycled there and back each time, and wrote about what happened after one Zumba class which you can read HERE, and I increased my cycling this week and cycled 22 miles, my highest yet.

In between that, I used my two little exercise accessories at home – my thigh toner that I use when I’m sitting down on the sofa working/watching Masterchef, and my elastic band with handles that I use every day for my arms. I still think they were both fantastic investments and if, like me, you’re quite concerned about loose skin after weight loss in your upper arms and thighs, I think these contraptions can only help.

After realising that perhaps I’m not eating enough, particularly as I’m exercising, I made a real effort to make sure I ate three meals a day this week. When I come home from Zumba class, it’s around 8pm and I’m just not hungry, but this week I made sure I had a speed food-filled omelette, fruit and yoghurt before bath and bed.

Another thing I did differently this week was have a massage. Twice during the week my back has gone into a little spasm, both times just beneath my shoulder blades, and which made me scream out in pain. Luckily it, for want of a better word, released itself and the pain went quite quickly, but it felt like it was a bit of a warning sign. So I had just a 30-minute hot stone massage on Saturday and the massage therapist explained that when I exercise quite a lot, my body is storing toxins and they need releasing. And that’s exactly what she did – it bloody hurt! But I think it’s something I need to consider perhaps once a month going forward, because I don’t have anyone at home to give me a rubdown after a hard week of exercising (woe is me), so I’ll just have to pay someone to do it.

Food wise – I ate well, usual stuff, but I am finding that as my stomach shrinks, I can’t eat as much as I used to. Admittedly, I would have, for example, two pieces of salmon and two boiled eggs with a salad, but now I can only manage one of each. Which is no bad thing, but something interesting to note.

(And yes, I’m still eating banana pancakes every day, although I may well experiment with the oat, syn-free pancakes this week, as I’m feeling a little dangerous.)

Results:


So remember I went to Bristol last weekend and ate off-plan for the whole weekend? Well I always wonder if I did enough to counter eating things I shouldn’t. Did I do enough to then lose weight on top of balancing out the naughty food I ate?
Well … I lost 3lbs!
That brings my total weight lost 3 stone, 3lbs.
I can’t quite believe it but I’m obviously delighted. It’s the biggest weight loss I’ve had in months, because I’m normally dicking about with 1lb off/1lb on, so I think what this shows is that by taking my exercise up yet another level, it reflects on the scales. I mean, who knows, because really this is all new territory to me, and, God forbid, I may well put a stone on next week, but I don’t think I will. I worked really hard, ate really well Monday to Friday and the scales have rewarded me.
I also took the liberty of taking my measurements again, as it has been two weeks since I last checked.
I’ve lost another 4″!
The inches have come off from my upper arm, above my knees and my thighs, and again, when I look in the mirror, I can really see my shape changing. For the first time ever, it really feels as though my hips are finally getting smaller and I’m just feeling fantastic right now. I mean not right now because I’m in bed hungover, but generally speaking!
In fact, in the photo at the top, of me in last night’s going out (out) outfit, I’m wearing a new size 16 pair of jeans from Primark. I still can’t get my head around it, particularly when the scales still say I weigh so much, but there you have it – they fit, were comfortable and after always finding Primarni clothes on the less generous side, I’m delighted they fit me so well. And also, I bought a few pairs of sports leggings in there and found a pair of size 14 leggings in the sale for £3 – figured I’d save them for a few months’ time, but tried them on in the meantime, and they fit too! Granted, they’re all lycra and were a little tight (I can feel the yeast infection growing as we speak – gross (and not really, but they were tight), but they were lovely and I think my legs look rather good in them!
slimming world before after

I might add a face pic from this week but quite frankly, I look pretty minging today so it’s unlikely.
So that’s about it for this week – the week ahead is just going to be focused on work predominantly in the mornings and exercise in the evenings, with occasional appearances in the kitchen by Dexter in between.
As a quick aside, I find the summer holidays so difficult when it comes to lack of routine and food, but I have really made a concerted effort to try not to let it affect me too much. Yes I want to eat occasional treats when I’m out and about with Dexter but the good thing is, he rarely wants to leave his Xbox so there’s not too much temptation! Having said that, we’re off to the cinema this evening (for a nap) so there maybe some popcorn involved, but I won’t go too mad.

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The Benefits of Losing Weight

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What is Lean Mode?
Lean Mode is a stimulant-free fat burner that can be used by the casual gym-goer to the professional athlete – and everyone in between. If you’re looking to shed unwanted body fat, the profile in Lean Mode can help you achieve your goals.
What does Lean Mode do?
It helps take stored body fat (even around your abdomen) and convert it to a usable form of energy to help energize you throughout the day as well as fuel your workouts. The objective is to use body fat and burn it, not store it.

What makes Lean Mode unique?
Most fat burners on the market today are slammed with stimulants that can cause many negative and undesirable side effects. Lean Mode is a stimulant free fat burner that gives you the ability to burn fat, increase your energy levels, improve your mood, control your appetite, and boost your metabolism without any jitters, crashes, rapid heartbeat, irritability, or sleeplessness.

The Benefits of Losing Weight
The Benefits of Losing Weight
The Benefits of Losing Weight
The Benefits of Losing Weight

CLA

Supports metabolism and usage of stored fat for energy during exercise.*

GARCINIA CAMBOGIA

Sourced from the tropical fruit also known as tamarind, contains premium 60% Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA) level.

ACETYL-L-CARNITINE

Supports performance levels while supporting utilization of fat for fuel during exercise.*
        

GREEN TEA/GREEN COFFEE

GREEN TEA EXTRACT 
Supports metabolic rate to help burn fat as well as boost antioxidant levels.* Contains premium 60% level of EGCG Polyphenol, which is the most important antioxidant and active ingredient in green tea.*

GREEN COFFEE BEAN EXTRACT
Supports fat burning and glucose metabolism via Chlorogenic Acids contained in decaffeinated Green Coffee Bean.*



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