Qnexa, a diet drug for weight loss and obesity has been rejected after lots of R&D and I’m sure big hopes by the many people who struggle with obesity as well as the drug maker that this would make it to market after promising studies showed a substantial benefit in weight loss.

The drug combines two different drugs, one a stimulant which suppresses appetite and the other a medication that is meant to stop seizures (anti convulsant). The combination had high hopes for helping those that were having a hard time losing weight, but ultimately an FDA panel rejected it and recommended it not be approved to go to market in the weight loss industry.

The reason? Well, even though a pretty remarkable benefit was shown by those that were taking it versus those that were not, the risks outweigh the benefit and when that happens, as expected, the FDA has the right to reject it.

It actually was among several other hopeful diet drugs that were being presented to the FDA for possible approval, so we’ll see if any of the others will get through the fairly rigorous and sometimes considered ambiguous process of approval.

I must admit I find it odd that this drug was rejected and yet very serious medical pain relievers that are causing thousand of people to become almost instant addicts were approved without much ado.

However, I must say that the potential side effects are not good for Qnexa. Some of the ones that were identified were suicidal thoughts, increased heart rate and potential birth defects in women who bore children while on the drug or that had been on the drug (it is not clear exactly which one).

The primary reason behind the disapproval was the concern over safety and the lack of enough data to back up that it was safe enough to introduce to the general public. However, the studies showing it’s effectiveness impressed everyone, pretty much showing that it may have been the most effective weight loss drug on the market had it been approved.

If you want to get right down to it, just about every physical activity carries with it some sort of fairly obscure, rare risk with it. Even running on roads seems to be dangerous sometimes when you hear random stories about people getting hit with cars. But what are you supposed to do, be limited to only working out in your basement for physical activity, and never enjoying the great outdoors and the variety of fun, heart pumping activities it offers?

Heck, weight machines can fall over on you and malfunction if you want to get technical, anyways. The most recent scare tactic was a report that came out saying that people may be getting sick more after they went to the ocean. The trick was that the people that went for a dip in the water instead of just staying on the beach and soaking up the rays, actually had a higher incidence of getting things like stomach problems or even cold and flu symptoms more than the people who didn’t go for a dip.

Apparently the concern is the pollution and bacteria that might be in the water which can enter the body and make one sick. So what are you supposed to do, never go in the ocean even when you’re on a gorgeous vacation where the crystal blue water is beckoning? I don’t know guys, I call foul on this one. I’m going to take my chances, and the next time I’m near the ocean, I’m still going in, sickness be damned!

If anything, it should be a kick in the pants to make sure you work out all the time, and not only that, but that you are also pushing your body to your personal maximum at least a few times a week, to push your metabolism levels up and get the most cardio benefit out of it too.

When testing for the benefits of exercise in various people, it was found that some people experienced a much longer post-exercise period where their metabolisms seemed to be on high than others.  Some may only experience fractions of an hour with a higher metabolism and energy rates, while some may go an hour or more with this higher burning rate.  This also goes for energy levels as well. Some may experience much more profound jumps in their energy levels than others.

As we had talked about before, there is also new research pointing to another interesting fact about working out and burning calories and fat.  Apparently, if you work out on an empty stomach, or at least a few hours after you’ve last eaten, you will probably burn more fat, and hence, burn more calories off your problem areas, than if you work out after a quick snack.

I know I’m going to try to practice this, but it will be hard.  It’s hard to work out without a lot of fuel, but there are times when I haven’t eaten in a few hours where I’m not ready to eat. For people like me, who need to eat every few hours or their blood sugar goes all haywire, this may be a  bit of a challenge, but for others not so much.  Whatever type you are, know that you will get so much benefit from exercising. The evidence is overwhelming that those who exercise enjoy greater physical and mental health, and may also enjoy longer lives with less disease.

They can’t stand to stand still for very long, and this is why they are constantly up and around, moving, nervously tapping their legs or feet even when they are sitting down, or even just nervously twiddling their thumbs.  It’s not that they’ve had too much caffeine (although that can certainly factor into it), it’s more like they’re just naturally more active and can’t stand still for very long because they have a sort of ADD of the mind where they can never truly rest until they have settled into bed for the night.

One of the great things about being a fidgeter is that you may actually burn up to 300 – that’s right, 300 more calories, per day just because you are a nervous person.  I thought this figure might be bunk, but when I really thought about the people I know who fit into this category, not one of them was overweight!  They were actually all some of the thinnest people I’ve ever known.

Actually, there are quite a few things that moving around can do for you during the day that not only may affect your weight or even your weight loss efforts, but also things like heart health and mental health. Moving around frequently, even when in a sitting position, actually helps to stimulate your metabolism and your circulation, which means that it is better for maintaining a healthy weight and a healthy heart.

So, next time you’re sitting still, make it a point to tap your toes or twiddle your thumbs, you never know how many extra calories you may be burning!

We know that if we have a protruding amount of fat on our midsection, it can’t be good. After all, we were meant to be sculpted in this area, like the warriors that we once were, hunting and scavenging for food, being lithe and quick and not having all that fat to bog us down and make us slow. It goes back to survival of the fittest, and when you have too much fat bogging you down, you have a sense that this cannot be good for your body, and that your very survival and disease-free state is at stake.

Sure enough, guts were found to be dangerous to the human body. A strong correlation was found between belly fat (guts) and heart disease and heart attacks.  This visceral fat, which wedges itself in between your organs and causes more stress on everything, including your heart, the very important organ that keeps blood and oxygen pumping through your body, puts stress on the heart.

Now, new evidence shows that there is also a definite link between belly fat and dementia.  Patients who had belly fat were much more likely to develop dementia. Now, heart health and dementia are endangered? Definitely time to do something about that belly fat!

Why does it affect your heart so?  You see, when your heart is under more stress than it is meant to handle, it begins to pump too hard, it has to work twice as hard to do the same job. Your blood pressure goes up, which means that the heart valves and other working parts of the heart are put under constant stress. What happens when something like this is put under constant stress and high pressure?  Well, it wears out more quickly of course.

When your heart simply “wears out”, you start to see evidence of it. You may notice that you can’t do physical activities as nimbly as you used to, you may notice you are out of breath more quickly going up those stairs, and you may not even be able to perform some of the physical activities you used to.  These are all danger signs that your belly fat has affected your heart. The best way to get rid of belly fat is by aerobic exercise and diet.

This helps to get the fat out of the abdominal area and restore your health. Aerobic activity is vital to speeding up the loss of belly fat. Without it, you won’t get the results that will most benefit your heart and mental health.

However, like us women, they find their triceps and other little sinews of the arm muscles a bit tougher to bulk up and lean down. There are actually ways that you can maximize the burn and the bulking up of your biceps if you’re a guy – or a woman, who wants to get this area toned and ripped.

Many times you’ll hear trainers recommend that you alternate very heavy, slow lifting, with lighter lifting and more repetition to help burn the fat layers off to reveal the muscle and to also help bulk up the muscle quickly. This is still a good way to not only get that chiseled look, but also to burn fat off the body in general very quickly, and this of course translates to burning more calories off more quickly, so it’s a win/win situation.

Weight machines are excellent, the kind you find at most gyms, to help vary the weight you’re working with, and the positions in which you are working the muscles, so getting to the gym is a good idea if you’re really wanting to target and blast certain areas. However if you have a great home gym with the right equipment that always works too. It’s all about variation and