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Increasing Your Metabolism

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Increasing Your Metabolism

If you are in the process of trying to drop a few pounds, increasing the rate of your metabolism can assist you with losing more weight quickly and without decreasing the amount of calories you consume. There have recently been so many marketing schemes to produce products that are designed to enhance your metabolism that it often confuses something from understanding what is effective and what is an advertising ploy.

 What is Your Metabolism?

The first thing you should do is understand what exactly your metabolism is. Your metabolic rate is the speed at which your body is able to burn calories. Very few people have a metabolism that works quickly. However, it is a surprising statistic that many people who suffer from obesity have a faster metabolic rate. This is because they weight more. If their weight stayed at a constant amount, their metabolism would not be fast enough to burn the amount of calories they ingest.

There are numerous factors that contribute to your metabolic rate. Some of these factors include your age, gender, family history, and weight and thyroid challenges. Your metabolic rate decreases approximately five percent each decade after you turn 40 years old. This is usually because of the amount of muscle mass each person loses. Males usually burn more calories more quickly than females because they have a higher muscle density.

 Increasing Your Metabolic Rate

To increase your metabolic rate, you may want to consider eating smaller meals more often during your day. People will usually eat less food overall when they are consuming smaller meals more often. Consuming healthier snacks will also help to increase your metabolism. It is a common misconception that fasting or restricting how much food you ear will send your body into what is called “starvation mode”. However, malnutrition is never an appropriate weight loss solution.

Drinking more iced water can also contribute to the increase of your metabolism. Not providing your body with enough water can cause your system to hoard calories and fat rather than burn it. When you drink iced water your body will burn calories while trying to get your body temperature back to normal. More than 95 percent of the chemical reactions that occur in your body happen in water, so you want to make sure that you are consuming the appropriate amount of water each day.

You can temporarily boost your metabolism with aerobic exercises. Different activities burn different amounts of calories. The most important thing is to make sure that your heart rate is increased and that you are participating in the activity for more than 30 minutes. Weight training can help increase your metabolic rate eventually. This will take some time, but it will be beneficial to you and your metabolism.

Dealing with Child Bullies

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Dealing with Child Bullies

Bullies

Why do some children become bullies and what are some effective ways of dealing with child bullies?  There can be many reasons why a child becomes a bully to others.

They may start bullying because of the situation at home.  They may live in a stressful situation and may have no outlet for their frustrations. When a child is being abused at home, then they sometimes want another person to also feel their pain.  They may take out their frustration on a smaller, weaker, and more vulnerable child than themselves. If the parents are violent and bully their own child, then the child will usually follow their example.

Common Reasons

The most common reason that a child becomes a bully is low self esteem.  They pick on others to make themselves appear stronger and more powerful.  They think that it will make them feel better. But usually the opposite is true, and their self esteem decreases even more.

Sometimes it is the popular child who becomes the bully.  They want to show their power over the other children.  They want to feel important and impress their friends with their power over others.  Some bullies are just mean people.  Others can be emotionally imbalanced and actually enjoy hurting others.

Some children have developmental problems or inadequate social skills.  Bullying may help them to feel better about their situation and themselves. If a child is themselves picked on, then they will bully another child who is even more helpless and vulnerable.  It is a brutal, but all too common cycle of bullying that continues endlessly.

Dealing With Bullies

When a child is taught how to correctly deal with problems, then they will understand that bullying is wrong.  They will know better than to be a bully. Bullying is extremely serious and a very large problem in the world today.  It can have harmful and even deadly consequences if it goes too far and is not stopped. There is no justifiable reason for bullying.  However, learning and understanding why bullying starts can be helpful in dealing with child bullies, and preventing further problems with them.

You must remember that each bully started their behavior for a reason, but it might not be the reason you expect. To really help the child you must find the real reason for their bullying.  Show them other more positive ways to handle their problems and tell them that bullying never helps anyone.

The child must stop his behavior before there are serious long-term problems for both the victims and him.  It is not uncommon for people who were bullies in their childhood to have drug and alcohol problems later in life.  Many have police records and are constantly in trouble with the law as adults.  Finding the true cause of their bullying is the best way of dealing with child bullies.  A bully must be shown that his actions have severe and harmful consequences.  The cycle of aggression needs to stop.

What to Know About Hot Flashes

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What to Know About Hot Flashes

Hot Flashes

What is a hot flash? A hot flash is defined as very hot and intense feeling on the face and upper body. It can come with symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, sweating, anxiety, weakness, and chills. You might also have feelings of suffocation and dizziness. What causes hot flashes? Well when you reach menopause your estrogen levels decrease. The decrease in estrogen causes the change in body temperature system to become confused. Therefore the hot flashes come. The impact of the hot flash can be even worse when you are being treated for breast cancer.

It was mentioned above that breast cancer treatment can worsen your hot flashes. Such treatment can include:

  • Chemotherapy
  • Ovarian removal
  • Hormonal therapy

Hormonal Therapy

The hormonal therapy can include things like Evista, Femara, Aromasin, and Arimidex. If you are about to go on breast cancer treatment, please talk to your doctor about it being possibly effected from your hot flashes.

Now if you are having very intense hot flashes then take the time and talk to your doctor. If you are on hormone therapy for your hot flashes then you might want to alternate your doses. By doing this your body can have an easier time adjusting to change during menopause.

You can ease hot flashes by:

Avoid things that might trigger your hot flashes. These can be things like stress, alcohol, caffeine, diet pills, hot drinks, and spicy food. Also avoid things like hot showers, saunas, and hot weather if you find that they bring about your hot flashes.

Keep ice or cold water nearby. That way you can have a cool drink to sip in order to cool yourself down. Pack up a bag or cooler of water to bring with you during the day.

When you go to bed at night, sleep in cotton pajamas or a night gown. If you sweat and have hot flashes during the night it will be easier to change your clothes. In fact your clothes will be easier to change than the sheets.

You might want to try lowering the temperature in the room. Turn down that thermostat, air conditioner, or even put on the ceiling fan.

Get rid of some of that fat in your diet. A diet that is low in fat can help reduce the amount of hot flashes that you get. By getting rid of some of that fat you can also get rid of  some of that excess weight too.

So get rid of those hot flashes and cool yourself down today.

Treatment of Panic Disorder

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Treatment of Panic Disorder

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is a disabling condition consisting of panic episodes that begin without warning, lasting a few minutes to half an hour or even longer. Not knowing when these panic attacks might hit can keep the sufferer from enjoying life, as they avoid activities or situations that have triggered the panic attacks in the past.

Symptoms

Typically, panic disorder and the associated attacks affect more women than men, and the disorder comes on in young adulthood. Untreated, panic disorder can lead to more severe conditions, such as agoraphobia. Symptoms of panic attacks include shortness of breath, sweating, heart palpitations, trembling, chills and hot flashes, nausea, cramps, chest pain, throat tightness and trouble swallowing, cramps and dizziness, although everyone who suffers from panic attacks feels different during one.

Treatment

Panic disorder treatment usually involves a combination of 3 modalities – education, medication and psychotherapy.

The first psychotherapy session will generally center on educating the patient about the disorder. By being able to recognize the symptoms of a panic attack and the reasons behind the symptoms, a panic attack can be made significantly shorter and less severe. When the onset of a panic attack is felt, utilizing techniques such as controlled breathing and progressive muscle relaxation can keep it from getting worse.

A panic attack sufferer will typically meet one-on-one with a trained therapist on a short-term basis, usually for 12 sessions or fewer. During these sessions, a patient will learn more about the disorder and how to prevent and cope with attacks more effectively. By being able to recognize the symptoms of a panic attack and the reasons behind the symptoms, a panic attack can be made significantly shorter and less severe. When the onset of a panic attack is felt, utilizing techniques such as controlled breathing and progressive muscle relaxation can keep it from getting worse.

Patients and therapists will also discuss the patient’s irrational fears he or she experiences during an attack, usually of embarrassing themselves or of dying or passing out. This helps the patient see that these fears are not valid, further diffusing the intensity of an attack. It may also be recommended that a patient gradually expose themselves to the object or situation that triggers the attacks to enable them to gain control little by little.

The last facet of panic disorder treatment is medication. It is not always necessary to use medication, and it should be avoided if possible due to their negative side effects and their potential for addiction or dependence. However, in the event that therapy and education are not enough, benzodiazepines (ie, Xanax, Klonopin, Valium) and SSRI anti-depressants (ie, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil) are the most commonly prescribed medications. Most doctors will hesitate to prescribe medication without therapy, as medication treats only the symptoms, while therapy treats the underlying cause of the panic disorder.

There are also some self-help techniques that can be utilized without the help of a trained professional. There may be support groups within a patient’s community or online that can offer help with panic disorder treatment, connecting people through shared experiences and feelings, while also allowing a discussion of possible treatment methods. Also, getting regular massages or acupuncture can help manage stress and reduce the occurrence of panic attacks.

Panic disorder treatment can be very effective in reducing the intensity and frequency of panic attacks. By meeting with a therapist, becoming educated about the condition, talking to others with the disorder and taking medication if needed, panic attacks need not interfere with daily life.

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