MikeCFT's advice column

Hello, I'm a 16 year old female, looking into a Liquid Diet. I'm 5'6 and 150 pounds.

I was wondering if anyone knew any good liquid diets that worked fast and effiecent, also how much it costs and where I would be able to find them.

Also if anyone tried them and had side effects.

Thank you

Everyone else said it pretty good- Don't because it sucks and its dangerous.

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Is there a Diet Beverage that has Artificial sweeteners,no sodium and no caffeine? I started a diet that states I am allowed one 8oz a day does this even exist?

Water.

If you really need a sweet beverage- stick to Crystal Lite

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what will help me lose weight that i can eat?

All I have to say is:

The
Ultimate
Nutritional
Advantage

Tuna and water w/ fat free cottage cheese and u can say bye bye to body fat

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what is a healthy way to loose 5 pounds, or so. not a ton of weight but just some. what has worked for you? thanks in advance!! ill rate high :)

Getting the diet in order is key. Cut out the junk, late night eating and not sleeping enough. Take your time with it as bodyfat takes time to lose. Enjoy your diet and embrace eating healthy instead of seeing it as a chore. You're the guardian of your body; not its prisoner.

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Ok.. I'm 18 Years Old... Im Female Of Course.... I'm Like 5'6 Or 5'7 I weigh anywhere between 120 and 135.. I never stay the same weight... For my question... I want to go on a diet! I feel fat... I look at myself in the mirror.. I see Fat! And I cant stand it! What are some diets I can try that might actually work... I heard the eating small meals durin the day.. but what would i put into those small meals to eat... I work from 12 to 5*30 so its hard to keep up with that.. but thats what I would like to do... hope someone can help!!!

Working and eating is not as hard as you may think. Tupperware is a great invention. Get a bunch of Tupperware containers, grill up a whole bunch of chicken and make a nice amount of a good carb source (Rice, whole wheat pasta, beans) and mix the ingredients together in the separate Tupperware containers and keep them in the fridge...you will at least have 1 meal for when you work all throughout the week

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I've heard that when you're trying to lose weight that it's important to eat several small, healthy meals a day instead of only one or two large meals. What's a decent number of small meals a day to start with? Do you increase or decrease as time goes on?

Excellent question.

Yes it is true that your body can handle several small meals instead of 3 big ones during the day. The ideal amount of meals is around 5 or 6 throughout the day, no need to increase or decrease this total, but it can take some getting used to, so find good foods which you love and eat regularly. This will prevent hunger (By the way hunger in itself means that your body is starting to eat away at itself for energy since you do not have enough food energy.)

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okay im actually a skinny person but my stomach is just round in the front i've been doing 20 sit ups and going to do that all this week and then next week raise it up by 10 and so on every week. will this help give me a nice sized stomach?

First- Sit-ups are not an "Ab-Specific" exercise. Essentially they work the hip flexor muscles. Try this experiment:

-Stand up and hold onto something for support
-Lift up one of your legs and hold your lower stomach as you do this with your free hand
- Notice you feel no contraction in the lower stomach but rather a pull even lower than the abs. Those are the hip flexors contracting because that is their natural movement.

Crunches are the best Ab specific exercise. But you can all the crunches that you want- If your diet is not spot on- you will see no abs at all.

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ok, i've recently decided to become a vegitarian, but i was wondering is chicken considered meat, or poultry, and is poultry considered meat? so basically can i eat chicken?

Yes chicken is polutry and is considered meat. May I suggest that if you are going to be a vegetarian that you back up this diet with a good Time-released, high potency multivitamin/mineral and if you are a woman, make sure it has iron in it since your diet will lack much protein and minerals from meat (That really goes for everyone no matter what their diets are). Bill Pearl who was a Mr.Universe built a world class champion body being a vegetarian.

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Ok people i aint here to be ripped and i aint talking rubbish but im 16 male and started bodybuilding and cycling 3 months ago and do it every day cuz i got told i 'aint buff' and keep being called 'midget' by my peers (only 5'8" you see), but i have noticed im increaasing becoming paranoid and aggressive and feel like making holes in walls defacing people and i get nasty headaches and im always tense. I thought working out and exercising was meant to do the opposite, so is it this or do i have an exceptional case caused by another(serious?) problem. Am i going insane?

Everyone blames aggression on steroids, steroids really don't make anyone have "Roid Rage". Trust me. If you are an asshole before you work out and use the sauce then you're going to be an asshole while you take them. Simple as that. Mostly the aggression from most sauce users comes from them wanting to have that feeling of invincibility and just blaming it on the steroids. Exercise is supposed to relax you since it increases the secretion of Endorphins (Happy hormones) from the brain. This problem is a pre-existing condition. If you are indeed on the sauce...don't blame aggression on it because you aren't fooling people who know what steroids are like (I haven't used a cycle of steroids in my life and don't plan on it, but I know and train all too many users and can speak from experience). Wouldn't hurt to have it checked out.

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I know that to stop drinking soda is good if you want to lose weight. But is it okay to drink diet coke?

This is a very good question. My personal answer- No.

It's carbonated, has a sugar substitute (usually aspartame) and is made by a company which is used to selling garbage drinks.

Stick to water, fat free or whole milk and Arizona makes an excellent No carb Green Tea that you can buy by the gallon which is good hot or cold.

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i have a blister on my toe (1st toe) and it hurts. is there any way possible i can make it so it won't hurt?

Pour Hydrogen Peroxide over the blister so that it starts to puss and will draw it out. Soak the foot in warm water and salt. Bacteria likes dark and warm places, so powder your socks and change them often. Air ir for as long as you can, but if you must wear shoes, powder the socks for one (Goldbond), and cover the blister with a bandage and an antibiotic cream.

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how can you tell if you tore a muscle? and if you do how long does it usually take to heal if you dont go to the doctors?

The region becoming black and blue is a real good indicator. You definitely know when you tear a muscle because it hurts like HELL. You do have to see a doctor and get it treated. I tore my right bicep doing Preacher Curls and believe me it sucks.

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Hi. I'm not on a diet, but whenever I talk to friends who follow a 'healthier diet' than myself, they always, always mention fruit smoothies as a great big help. And they mean it as in home made smoothies. They mention something about a blender fruits, milk and no sugar but I have nooo idea how to make them. Does anyone know how to? And are you supposed to add sugar?

And the evil question: does chocolate cause facial skin irritation?

Fruit smoothies are very good and when made right, provide an excellent source of energy for an on-the-go breakfast. This is the one I make, but you can adjust according to your favorite fruits:

1 cup Skim milk
1/2 cup fresh strawberries
1 sliced Banana
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 cup fat free, low sugar Strawberry-banana yogurt
2 tbsp heavy cream
Ice
Blend and enjoy

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the yellow part of the egg, I know, is the fattest part of the egg. What about the white part? That's suppose to be the healthiest, right?

The yolk of the egg contains a bulk of the vitamins and minerals found in eggs. Whole Eggs as far as their Net Protein Utilization rate goes are rated a perfect 100 since they contain all of the essential amino acids that our body needs and cannot manufacture. Amounts of fat, protein, etc. all depend on the size of the egg. If you are dieting include 1 or 2 yolks in with the whites because they contain good fat as well as bad fat and 2 very good Fat-soluble vitamins in A and E. Contrary to popular belief, ingestion of cholesterol does not raise our bad cholesterol level, but rather ingestion of saturated fats causes this. Definitely include eggs along with the yolks because they are among the healthiest natural foods you can eat.

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Is it true that lifting weights stunts your growth?

No, this is not true. In fact lifting weights will help make you grow better. Weight training helps to make our body's systems work at a high rate. The only thing that should stunt growth of a teenage weightlifter is the use of steroids. Steroid usage between the ages of the beginning of puberty till about 22 is completely unnecessary and may stop your body from actually making its own testosterone, leading to stunting growth.

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i only got 4 hours of sleep last night and im really tired...but some how i cant fall asleep. what can i do to make myself fall asleep? thanks

Nerves and thinking too much sometimes lead us to not be able to sleep. Visit your local vitamin store and ask for Melatonin (Around 2mg) which is good for sleep supporting. If you can't get to the vitamin store, then a nice glass of warm milk will have a good amount of melatonin in it itself to help you sleep.

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just a quick question. i feel really dumb for asking this, but its been bothering my for a long time so what the heck. if you drink a lot of water (I MEAN A LOT) will it make your stomach stretch out and stuff? Because one time i heard about how those people who enter eating contests drink like gallons of water to make their stomachs stretch and able to hold more food. So i drink like up to 12-16 cups of water a day (4-6 bottles of water) to keep from eating everything in my sight and make my stomach full. but if it makes my stomach all stretched out than ew...does anyone know?

Look, water is the transport which everything happens in the body. The more you drink, the more toxins and such you lose and the less the body has to restrict since it is getting enough. I myself drink 1-2 gallons a day and I don't know where the ridiculous claim of "gaining water weight" came from with drinking too much water. Water is the best thing in the world for you and is a very forgotten and essential nutrient to our bodies. Drink up.

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I want to lose weight and I was reading somewhere that you just need to burn more calories than you take in for the day. Is that true? So if I eat, let's say, 400 cals a day and try to burn that much or more w/ exercise, will I lose weight?

Actually your body needs a whole lot more than 800 calories for the organs to function...it needs a lot more. For example, Iam 250 lbs, and the rule is that you times bodyweight x 15, so my body requires like 3700 calories a day to just function properly as one unit since thats how many calories the body metabolizes just doing normal things like breathing and blinking. And yes it is true that you do have to burn more calories than you take in. If you don't then where is the caloric deficit needed to kickstart the burning of bodyfat? stick to 500-700 below your daily maintenance total if you want to burn true bodyfat and not just lose water weight that is going to come right back on. Remember our bodies are mostly water and our muscles are roughly 72% water. When we do not give them the nutrients they need, then they hold back on what they already have (Bloating). If you starve your body of its caloric needs, then you lose around 60% muscle and 40% fat. Not so very good. Don't forget your body burns calories even when doing nothing...you even burn around 72 calories an hour by sleeping! so EAT and eat good.

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im kind of in a problem.. this might not be the right category, but my family's in debt w/ my sister in college and her wedding and we're really in debt so i was thinking i could sell a few cards but i don't know how to know how much they are so is there a site where i could find a price range so i don't get ripped off?

Depends on the cards and their condition. I know Magic:The Gathering cards price ranges can be found at Blackborder.com

Don't got to a card shop because they will rip you off. Try and find something like an autograph club and see what it is they want. Hey, you never know if there is a nutty fan of the athlete whose card you have that will be willing to pay. I know when I had an autographed Duke Snider baseball appraised it was around $500 because its a fairly recent autograph on a new ball. If these cards are originals and not reprints then they will have greater value. Look around autograph clubs and eBay

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