Archive for the ‘Weight Loss’ Category

Reasons why the teens turned their weight situations around

December 31st, 2009 Health News

Weight loss for teens

Weight loss for teens

I did it for my health. To be honest, it floored me that the teens mentioned health reasons for losing weight just as frequently as appearance-related reasons, because over and over I’ve read that teens are not motivated by health. (It’s hard to give up burgers and fries because of that heart attack you might have when you ‘re 50 or 60.) Nineteen year old Taylor S, who once weighed 250 pounds, says, “My main concern was to become healthier, rather than losing weight. I didn’t want to die in my forties because of my eating habits. Among the things I stopped drinking and eating were soft drinks, sweets, and any other type of junk food item. I was simply focused on taking care of my body. To my surprise, I began losing weight quickly. and this gave me motivation to continue. Gradually, in a period of one and a half to two years, I got down to my current weight of 150.” (He’s 5′9″) Angel W, who weighed 240 pounds, says that one of her main motivations for losing weight was high blood pressure. Her 65 pound weight loss brought her blood pressure down to a normal, healthy tips number – without medication. Vincent J, who weighed 130 pounds when he was about 5 years old, says, “When I was trying to sleep, it became harder and harder for me to breathe. I was so tired that I’d fall asleep in class. My gym teachers told me that if I didn’t lose weight, I would have a heart attack.” Today he weighs about 145 pounds and is 5′5″.

I wanted to look better. Zack A says, “I wanted to look hot!” Now, there’s honesty for you. Along the same lines, a good number of teens talked about wanting to look good in clothes – or out of them. Lee J says, “I wanted to wear cute, trendy clothes.” The turning point for my son Wes was his first college visit. “It was near the beach, and I wanted to be able to take my shirt off when I wore a swimsuit and look good for girls,” he says.

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I wanted to feel better about myself. Jenni O wanted to lose weight because she was depressed and sad, and wanted to feel good about herself. She also wanted to slim down for health and appearance reasons. Ben G says, “I was sick of being upset and depressed whenever I looked in the mirror or just felt fat.”

I wanted to improve my relationships. Many teens told me that they were motivated because they wanted to fit in better with their peers and/or to attract the opposite sex. Mary N says, “I always had lots of friends, but I could never get a boyfriend. Before I started dating my first serious boyfriend, I remember him telling me about this girl he was obsessed with. He said she was so hot. I asked him what he thought of me, and he said that I was cute. After he broke up with me, I didn’t want to be cute anymore. I wanted to be beautiful. I also knew that if I was to date again, I would first need to build up my self-esteem. At that time, I had lost both my first love and all of my self-esteem. I knew that my poor body image had a lot to do with my self-esteem.” All of this encouraged Mary to start on the path to losing 50 pounds, which she did more than 3 years ago.

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Top 10 reasons why the teens gain weight

December 29th, 2009 Health News

From a list of ten possible causes of weight gain – ones experts feel play a role in the obesiy epidemic – I asked the teens to chec off the five main reasons for their weight gain. At least 75% cited the first three causes; each of the other causes was checked by at least 25% of the teens. No teen gave just one reason for weight gain; some checked them all. Here’s how the reasons rank, according to how often they were checked.

Reason #1: Too much snacking. Molly S feels that oversnacking was the number one cause of her weight gain. Now, her mother says, “we have nothing very snack food related in the cupboard. Ice cream, cookies, chips, et cetera, have been replaced by fruits.”

Reason #2: Portion sizes too large. Erin D says that her portions were three times larger when she was overweight than they are today. “Now,” she says, “when I go to fast-food restaurants, I can’t eat a whole value meal. I’m satisfied with a kid’s meal.”

Reason #3: Not enough exercise. Victor F was able to lose 50 pounds by exercising four or five times a week, as well as by learning about and practicing good nutrition. Three years later, he still finds time to exercise regularly, even though he’s in medical school.

Reason #4: Ate too many sweets and desserts: Wes G, who feels that his number one reason for gaining weight was eating too many sugary foods, says that a major difference for him now is cutting out his nightly “giant bowl of ice cream.” (He still eats occasionally.)

Reason #5: Emotional causes (eating when lonely, bored, or sad). Sari M became overweight when her father left the family. Now when she feels like eating for emotional reasons, she usually goes to a coffee house, “where the drinks are all fairly low calorie and I can be around people and friends who will hopefully cheer me up.”

Reason #6: Spent too much time in front of the TF, computer, and/or video games. Christine F says that too much TV and computer time were the major culprits in her weight gain. The most important thing she did to lose weight was “exercised! It took a while to get motivated, but as soon as there were visible results, I was hooked.”

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Weight loss strategies

December 14th, 2009 Health News

Each of these weight loss strategies takes advantage of the different ways the body used these nutrients to help you lose weight.

Strategy #1, eating a low-fat diet, ensures that you add less fat to the fat stores. The less fat you add, the less you will have to remove later. Strategies #2 and #3 are aimed at removing the fat that already pads your frame.

Strategy #1: Eat a low-fat diet

Fat is the villain. Fat makes you fat. Unlike carbohydrates and protein, fat is not burned off when you eat it. Almost all (97%) of the fat you eat slides right into the fat stores that pad your body. It is as if you took the hamburger you just ate and wadded it onto your belly except that it is happening from the inside.

The capacity for storing fat knows no bounds. The normal lean person stores about 140,000 calories of fat. Contrast this to the body’s limited capacity to store carbohydrate (about 1200-1500 calories). And with fat storage, there is no upper limit. A person who weighs 300 pounds is storing about 200 pounds of fat.

Whereas it is extremely difficult to overeat carbohydrates if you are eating nutrient dense, fiber rich food, there are no mechanisms to protect you from overeating fat. You can overeat fat one day, and the next, and the next, and the fat stores grow larger and larger.

In short, you are overweight because you have put too much fat in cold storage.

Creating a deficit
Each day fat from the foods you eat is added to your body’s fat stores. Some is removed to furnish energy not supplied by the carbohydrates you eat. Your weight is determined largely by how much fat you add to the fat depots versus how much you remove.

If you eat just the amount of fat that is removed from the fat stores to furnish the energy not supplied by the carbohydrates, your weight will remain the same. If you eat more fat, the excess will go into the fat stores and you will gain weight. If you eat less fat than is required to satisfy your energy needs, then the body will have to make up the deficit by removing fat from the fat stores and you lose weight.

Strategy #2: Eat plenty of nutrient-dense, fiber-rich carbohydrates

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Weight loss: Energy supply and demand

December 11th, 2009 Health News

Your body needs energy to operate
We will start with energy because weight loss is all about how your body uses and stores energy.

Basal Metabolism: Your body needs a certain amount of energy to function – to power your heart, lungs, brain, kidneys, and other organs and keep them in good repair. The amount of energy you use when you are completely at rest is called your basal metabolism. The rate at which you burn energy when you are completely rest is called your basal metabolism. The rate at which you burn energy when you are completely at rest is called your basal metabolism rate (BMR).

Each person has his own BMR determined partly by heredity and partly by lifestyle. Your heredity sets the upper and lower limits of your BMR. You can maximize your BMR within this range by doing daily aerobic exercise and by eating a lot of nutrient-dense, fiber-rich carbohydrates. The higher your BMR, the faster and more easily you lose weight.

Physical Activity: Unlike your basal metabolic rate, physical activity is not fixed within a range. The more exercise you do, the more energy you need to fuel it.

Total energy needs: Your total energy needs are the sum of your basal metabolism plus the amount of physical activity you do. The higher your BMR and the more active you are, the more energy you need.

Food Supplies Energy
Where does your body get energy to power your basal metabolism + physical activity? Just as energy stored in batteries powers machines to do work, energy stored in the food you eat powers your body.

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Understanding the Code and the Secrets to Fat Loss

October 30th, 2009 Health News

What does it really meant to conquer the fat-loss code? You’re about to find out. Here are the real “meat and potatoes” of how you’re going to reprogram your metabolism to melt fat and lose weight – forever. A big part of the program is to understand the body’s seventy-two-hour/forty-eight-hour response pattern to eating. Yes, there is a specific pattern to how your body responds to what you eat, and 72/48 is the code for losing fat.

How do you beat this code? The 72 refers to your body’s response to food intake. Every seventy-two hours, your body analyzes the energy you take in and calculates how it can reserve as much of that energy as possible to allow it to function as it should. The 48 refers to your body’s response to energy expenditure. Every 48 hours, your body slows certain functions, or readjusts the amount of energy it uses, so that it has enough in reserve to keep functioning based on what it thinks you’ll expend. To survive, your body has to keep the amount of energy it takes in and the amount of energy it expends in balance. The secret to conquering fat loss is to manipulate where your body get its energy, and we’re going to trick it into using fat as its energy source.

Macro-Patterning to Manipulate Energy Stores
Now that you know the secret to fat-loss code, you should also understand another concept called macro-patterning. This is the process of manipulating energy stores so your body can use all its excess fat, as well as the food you eat, much more efficiently as immediate energy and not store fat.

Macro-patterning means carefully regulating and alternating protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake to combat your body’s adaptive response to your eating patterns; this allows you to manipulate something called glycogen. Glycogen is just a fancy word for the stored energy that comes from carbohydrate consumption. Your body automatically chooses carbohydrates rather than fat as its main source of energy because carbohydrates are instantly available.

Remember, your body is a machine with many operating functions, and if food is its fuel, what happens when you’re not eating? Where does it go to get fuel, and what does it use once it get there? Your body is still functioning even when you’re not putting food in your mouth, and the next source of fuel it taps into is the glycogen stored in your body’s muscles and liver. Only when glycogen stores are low – from reducing carbohydrates or creating an energy deficit through exercise – will your body find and use excess fat for fuel. Understanding the 72/48 code lets us manipulate and reduce glycogen stores in the body and use excess fat.

Remember, the minute your body thinks you’re on a diet, it will do anything and everthing it can to hold on to as much fat as possible because it knows you’re going into starvation mode. Your brain will send the rest of your body a signal to conserve energy for the coming dry spell. That means it shuts down body temperature, reduces the absorption rate of food, and slows down your metabolism, all with the intention of storing more fat so it will have plenty of energy “just in case.”

By focusing on good nutrition and macro-patterning, you can trick your body into using fat as an energy source and feel great while doing it! With my new meal plans, you also take fat loss to a more advanced level, forcing your body to “melt” fat more efficiently and stop its automatic conservation of fat.

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Why loose weight? – The benefits are great, or Good-bye, Heartburn

October 29th, 2009 Health News

Here are some of the benefits you can except to achieve after loosing some pounds off your weight successfully:

  • Reduced risks of heart disease, cancer, diabeter – you’ll be so healthy your doctor will ask you for advice.
  • Incrased energy and endurance – you’ll have to find younger friends to keep up with the New You.
  • A more attractive you – you’ll look in the mirror and like what you see.
  • No more heartburn – throw away your lifetime supply of antacids.
  • Increased self esteem – you’ll be in control and it will show.
  • Improved sex life – you’ll have more vigor and stamina, and you won’t crush your partner.

A friend confided to us that the reason he started loosing weight was because of his sex life. He huffed & puffed so much during sex he thought he would have a heart attack. Loosing weight turned his problem around. Not only did he loose weight & gained energy and could also enjoy sex again. Loosing weight will improve your stamina, your outlook and your love of life!

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The Ins & Outs of Weight Loss Surgery

October 28th, 2009 Health News

Making the decision to have weight loss surgery is a major commitment to your overall health. It’s usually the last resort after years of struggling and trying other methods to lose weight and live a healthier life. Weight loss surgery, also known as Bariatric Surgery, is currently the only treatment available that has been found to be effective as a long-term treatment for morbid obesity. The results after surgery are, for the most part, extraordinary, not only in terms of appearance but also in terms of the improvement or removal of health risks associated with obesity.

If you’re considering weight loss surgery, being well informed about the procedure and how your life will change following surgery is essential. The procedure itself is only a tool to assist you in losing weight and modifying your behavior. Success is up to you. After weight loss surgery, you have to be careful about choosing foods wisely, taking your vitamins and supplements regularly, making exercise a part of your daily life, and being certain to follow your doctor’s directions. You’ll need a support system of family and friends to get through the emotional and physical ups and downs.

With any surgery, risks are involved. Before you decide to have weight loss surgery, you need to understand – and accept – the risks and benefits. For many patients the risk of death from not having the weight loss surgery is greater than the risks of having the procedure itself.

Is Weight Loss Surgery Right For You?

For people who are morbidly obese, trying to lose weight without surgery isn’t as effective when it comes to achieving significant long-term weight loss. The majority of morbidly obese people who try to lose weight without having weight loss surgery regain all the weight they’ve lost over the next five years. Surgical treatment is the only proven method of achieving long-term weight control.

So how do you know if you’re morbidly obese? In general, individuals are considered morbidly obese if their weight is more than 100 pounds over their ideal body weight. But a more common way to define morbid obesity is to use the body mass index (BMI). If your BMI puts you in the morbidly obese category, you may be a candidate for weight loss surgery. If your weight is lower, but you have other health problems related to obesity; if you’ve tried to lose weight and failed; and if you’re aware of all the risks and rewards of weight loss surgery, it may be the solution for you.

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Difference between people interesting in losing weight and committed to losing weight

October 28th, 2009 Health News

Below is a summary of the differences between people who are interested in their goal of losing weight, compared to those who are committed.

People who are interested in losing weight:

  • Stick with it until something better comes along
  • Take action only if they “feel like” doing it
  • Need to see results in order to stay motivated
  • Blame people or circumstances for their struggles
  • Easily give up when they face challenges

People who are committed to losing weight:

  • Stick with their plans no matte what
  • Take action whether they feel like doing it or not
  • Assume that if they stay motivated, results will follow
  • Take responsibility for their own actions
  • Keep going in spite of challenges and setbacks
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Eating as a tool against weight loss

October 28th, 2009 Health News

Eating. Yes, eating has been the hardest part of every attempt to lose weight. Eating the right foods in the right amounts and at the right times based on the diet you are following can be very tedious. Eating becomes confusing and difficult when we have many external rules to follow and we aren’t following the wisdom of our own bodies. We have been sold a bill of goods about why we are overweight. Every new diet sells us a new reason why we can’t lose weight and how, for a small price, their diet is the answer. The best suggestion for you is to forget every food combination fad scam you have ever heard and just remember the truth.

The reason you are overweight is because:

YOU EAT MORE THAN YOUR BODY REQUIRES FOR FUEL.

Period.

End of the story.

Though it seems basic, but it is amazing how easily we forget the basics. We start believing the sales pitch for the diet products and stop believing the truth. There are two parts to this basic truth that we need to evaluate. The first part is that you eat more than is required.

There are two reasons why people overeat and both reasons include ignoring your body:

The first reason people overeat is due to too much deprivation. They restrict their food intake for a period of time by going on a crash diet or trying not to eat at all. Inevitably, they end up overeating because for each unrealistic restriction there is an equal and opposite “overeat.” By going on a highly restrictive diet you must disconnect from your body’s signals of hunger and feed it according to some external plan. This is painful for both you and your body. Once the disconnection has been maintained for a certain amount of time, the urge to eat becomes unbearable for your body, whose job it is to keep you from starving. You end up eating much more than you need. The disconnection from your body has now exacerbated this issue because the denial of the hunger signal now leads to denial of the full signal and the overeating is rampant. This is why you end up eating much more than you normally did before you went on the diet.

Your body is primal. It thinks you live in a cave with limited food available.

When we don’t honor our hunger and eat accordingly to our body, we create problems with our metabolism. When we deprive the body of food, it’s designed to slow down, conserve energy, and hold on to fat. It does this to protect us and to keep us alive when there is little food available. It’s a brilliant design. When we were cave dwellers, our body needed to adjust between times of feast and times of famine. When there was no food available, our cave-dwelling body adjusted its metabolic rate, the rate at which it used up food. Our metabolic rate, the rate at which it used up food. Our metabolic rate went down and we hung on to every calorie we got to use and store nutrition for later. Fortunately, we aren’t cave dwellers any more and we have plenty of food to eat (and we don’t use up the calories trying to catch it). For example, when we choose to strictly diet and eat very little food, our body turns into a cave dweller and adjusts our metabolic rate downward. We hold on to every calorie. When we keep our bodies reasonably fed, they know that there is no need to keep extra fat around because there is plenty of food coming at regular intervals. Your metabolism speeds up and the fat comes off.

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