More Evidence Marriage May Be Bad For Your Waistline

A man puts an engagement ring on a woman's finger during a photo opportunity at a jewellery store in Tokyo June 2, 2009.

REUTERS/YURIKO NAKAO

(Reuters Health) - Need another reason to blame weight gain on your marriage? When one spouse becomes obese, the other’s risk of obesity almost doubles, a U.S. study suggests.

“Normal weight people whose spouses went from being normal weight to obese were more likely to become obese,” said Laura Cobb, who led the study as a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

“This suggests that changes in one spouse are likely to also be reflected in the other spouse, likely because of similar changes in diet, physical activity or other behaviors that impact obesity,” Cobb said by email.

Plenty of research already links marriage and weight gain, and scientists have firmly established the connection between obesity and heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.

What the current study adds is a fresh take on how couples may gain weight in tandem, insight that might help shape more effective obesity prevention and treatment efforts targeting couples, Cobb and colleagues note in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Researchers followed almost 4,000 couples for up to 25 years, starting between 1987 and 1989. After an initial exam, they had three follow-up visits roughly three years apart, followed by a fifth exam between 2011 and 2013.

At the start of the study, 23 percent of the men and 25 percent of the women were obese.

Non-obese men whose wives became obese between visits in the study were 78 percent more likely to become obese during that period than they would have been had their wives not gained so much weight, the study found.

Having a husband become obese was linked to an 89 percent increased risk of developing obesity for their wives.

Not many people who started out obese lost enough weight to be considered no longer obese, but when they did, their spouse was also more likely to become non-obese.

Shortcomings of the study include the long stretch of time that elapsed between the fourth and fifth exams and the large proportion of people who died or left the study before the final visit, the authors acknowledge.

It’s not unusual for married couples to forge common habits over time that influence their weight, said Ivanka Prichard, a weight loss researcher at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia.

“Over time, similarities in diet, particularly any unhealthy aspects, may lead to weight changes,” Prichard, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “There are also a range of pressures in life that could impact this such as having children, work, shared health knowledge, time or finances.”

Like unhealthy habits, though, positive lifestyle choices can also be contagious in a marriage, said Debra Umberson, director of the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

“When married people get in shape or lose weight, it’s often because one spouse takes the lead and urges the other spouse along,” Umberson, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “Even if the person not taking the lead is resistant, over time they will probably be influenced by the kinds of food and activities their spouse is involved with – especially if the person taking the lead is the one who purchases groceries or prepares meals.”

Source:- http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-marriage-waistline-idUSKCN0SD2HG20151019

A Nation Suffering From "Fat Blindness"

Average Briton is only prompted to go on a diet once the scales tip 13st 10lbs

Many overweight people are suffering from 'fat blindness', say experts

Britons are increasingly suffering from 'fat blindness' and are failing to lose weight until they are obese, experts have warned. 

Only when the scales tip 13st 10lb does the average person decide that enough is enough, new figures show. 

And seeing unflattering photographs is the first things that stirs us into action.

Statistics from Weight Watchers, which records the start weights of all new members - primarily women, but also some men -  reveal the average start weight has risen steadily from just over 12 stone in 1989 to 13st 10lb today, an increase of more than 10 per cent.

In Body Mass Index (BMI) terms, the average new member's reading has increased from 29.2 to 32. 

This means that the average new Weight Watchers member, of whom there were more than 850,000 in the UK last year, is now already obese by the time they join.

A quarter of the population has a BMI which classifies them as obese (a reading of 30 to 34.9) compared with 11 per cent ten years ago.

This steady weight gain over the last 20 years, and our inability to acknowledge when we reach an unhealthy weight, supports the government's findings that obesity is rapidly becoming a primary health and economic threat for our modern society. 

In fact, over 90 per cent of people in a recent independent study struggled to identify an obese body.

Even more alarming is that 68 per cent of obese people questioned didn't even know they were obese.

Inspiration: Looking at unflattering photos can be the final straw

Alarming figures released yesterday by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre show that 65 per cent of men and 58 per cent of women now classed as overweight or obese.

Zoe Hellman, Head of Public Health at Weight Watchers said: 'The inability to recognise what an overweight or obese body looks like, is a symptom of how out of touch we are with a healthy weight and shape.

'We're suffering from "fat blindness", which is causing people to delay seeking help until they are significantly overweight.

WEIGHT LOSS TRIGGERS

According to Weight Watchers, members top seven triggers for losing weight are:

Unflattering photos 

Poor health

Friends or family losing weight

Not wanting to be fat for a milestone birthday 

Wanting to keep up with children or grandchildren

Being called names in the street

Getting married

'Where obesity was the exception, sadly it is rapidly becoming the rule. 

'It's time to buck the trend. We're here to help people make a positive change in their lives by teaching them to make smarter, better informed food choices for long term, sustainable weight loss.

'Though losing weight may be daunting, especially for those with a significant amount of weight to lose, dropping just 5-10 per cent of your body weight can significantly improve your health.'

Ms Hellman added: 'It's natural to judge ourselves based on comparisons of those around us. 

'So unfortunately, the more people who are overweight and obese, the more 'normal' it becomes. 

'This phenomenon helps to make being overweight much more acceptable, reducing any pressure to make healthy lifestyle changes or seek support. 

'It may also mean those who are overweight fail to recognise they have a problem with their weight at all.'

Source:- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2282200/A-nation-suffering-fat-blindness-Average-Briton-prompted-diet-scales-tip-13st-10lb.html

THE FANTASY OF BEING THIN

I need you all to read this, every day for the next month until you get it into your head!
==========================================

A while back, Joy Nash provided us with this excellent quote of the day:

Obese patients are often encouraged to believe that weight loss is an appropriate way to combat depression, save a failing marriage, or increase the chance of career success. The irrationality of hopes pinned on weight loss is so striking that dieting might almost be likened to superstitious behavior…. Passing from childhood into adolescence, leaving home, marrying, starting a new job, having a baby, experiencing marital difficulties, adjusting to children leaving home, and growing old — all these life situations may become unexamined reasons to diet. In other instances, concerns over weight mask even more serious problems.”

-Wooley and Garner, from “Obesity treatment: the high cost of false hope,” published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 91, no. 10, 1991.

For the last few days, I’ve been thinking I wanted to blog on this subject but haven’t quite been able to pull my thoughts together. (Hence “help me find a dress” post.) Here goes nuthin’.

Once you’ve really started believing in fat acceptance — as opposed to thinking it sounds nice for other people, but you still need to lose X lbs. before you’ll be acceptable — it can be hard to remember how you thought about these issues before (just as it can be hard to imagine what it would really be like to accept your fat body before you’ve done it). I’ve written several times about how I spent ages in the cognitive dissonance phase, thinking it made perfect sense that the OBESITY CRISIS hype was way overblown, and even if it weren’t, dieting doesn’t work anyway — but still wanting to lose weight, still feeling like I, personally, needed to be a size 10, max, before I could really get started on my fat acceptance journey. The thing is, that memory is almost totally intellectual now; I don’t really recall what it felt like to believe those two contradictory things simultaneously.

But then, the other day, I got to thinking about a particular kind of resistance that shows up every single time anyone dares to say that dieting doesn’t work — the kind that comes from other fat people and amounts to, “DON’T YOU TAKE MY HOPE AWAY!” Those of us in the anti-dieting camp are frequently accused of demoralizing fat people, of sending a cruelly pessimistic message. I’ve never quite gotten my head around that one, since the message we’re sending is that you’re actually allowed to love your fat body instead of hating it, and you can take steps to substantially improve your health without fighting a losing battle with your weight. I’m pretty sure that message is both compassionate and optimistic, not to mention realistic. But there will always be people who hear it as, “I, Kate Harding, am personally condemning you to a lifetime of fatness! There’s no point in trying, fatty! You’re doomed! Mwahahaha!”

Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying. *headdesk*

And then I started thinking about what it was really like before I’d actually made peace with my body. And what it was really like was this: The Fantasy of Being Thin absolutely dominated my life — even after I’d gotten thin once, found myself just as depressive and scattered and frustrated as always, and then gained all the weight back because, you know, diets don’t work. The reality of being thin didn’t even sink in after all that, because The Fantasy of Being Thin was still far more familiar to me, still what I knew best. I’d spent years and years nurturing that fantasy, and only a couple years as an actual thin person. Reality didn’t have a chance.

We’ve talked a lot here about how being fat shouldn’t stop you from doing the things you’ve always believed you couldn’t do until you were thin. Put on a bathing suit and go waterskiing. Apply for that awesome job you’re just barely qualified for. Ask that hot guy out. Join a gym. Wear a gorgeous dress. All of those concrete things you’ve been putting off? Just fucking do them, now, because this IS your life, happening as we speak.

But exhortations like that don’t take into account magical thinking about thinness, which I suspect — and the quote above suggests — is really quite common. Because, you see, the Fantasy of Being Thin is not just about becoming small enough to be perceived as more acceptable. It is about becoming an entirely different person — one with far more courage, confidence, and luck than the fat you has. It’s not just, “When I’m thin, I’ll look good in a bathing suit”; it’s “When I’m thin, I will be the kind of person who struts down the beach in a bikini, making men weep.” See also:

• When I’m thin, I’ll have no trouble finding a partner/reinvigorating my marriage.
• When I’m thin, I’ll have the job I’ve always wanted.
• When I’m thin, I won’t be depressed anymore.
• When I’m thin, I’ll be an adventurous world traveler instead of being freaked out by any country where I don’t speak the language and/or the plumbing is questionable.
• When I’m thin, I’ll become really outdoorsy.
• When I’m thin, I’ll be more extroverted and charismatic, and thus have more friends than I know what to do with.

Et cetera, et cetera. Those are examples from my personal Fantasy of Being Thin, but I’m sure you’ve got your own. (Please do share in comments!)

In light of that, it’s a lot easier to understand why some people freak out when you say no, really, your chances of losing weight permanently are virtually nil, so you’d be better off focusing on feeling good and enjoying your life as a fat person. To someone fully wrapped up in The Fantasy of Being Thin, that doesn’t just mean, “All the best evidence suggests you will be fat for the rest of your life, but that’s really not a terrible thing.” It means, “You will NEVER be the person you want to be! All the evidence suggests you will never find a satisfying relationship or get a promotion or make more friends or feel confident trying new things!”

So if that’s what you hear when I say, “Diets don’t work,” then yeah, I can see how that would be a major bummer.

Overcoming The Fantasy of Being Thin might be the hardest part of making it all the way into fat acceptance-land. And that might just be why I’d pushed that part of the process out of my memory: it fucking sucked. Because I didn’t just have to accept the size of my thighs; I had to accept who I am, rather than continuing to wait until I magically became the person I’d always imagined being. Ouch.

That is, of course, a pretty normal part of getting older. You start to realize that yeah, this actually is it, and although you can still try enough new things to keep anyone busy for two lifetimes, you’re pretty much stuck with a basic context. There are skills, experiences, and material things you will almost certainly never have, period. It’s a challenge for all of us to understand that accepting this fact of life does not necessarily mean cutting off options or giving up dreams, but simply — as in the proverbial story about the creation of the David — chipping away all that is not you. But for a fat person, it can be even harder, because so many fucking sources encourage us to believe that inside every one of us is “a thin person waiting to get out” — and that thin person is SO MUCH COOLER.

The reality is, I will never be the kind of person who thinks roughing it in Tibet sounds like a hoot; give me a decent hotel in London any day. I will probably never learn to waterski well, or snow ski at all, or do a back handspring. I can be outgoing and charismatic in small doses, but I will always then need time to recharge my batteries with the dogs and a good book; I’ll never be someone with a chock-full social calendar, because I would find that unbearably exhausting. (And no matter how well I’ve learned to fake it — and thus how much this surprises some people who know me — new social situations will most likely always intimidate the crap out of me.) I might learn to speak one foreign language fluently over the course of my life, but probably not five. I will never publish a novel until I finish writing one. I will always have to be aware of my natural tendency toward depression and might always have to medicate it. Smart money says I am never going to chuck city life to buy an alpaca farm or start a new career as a river guide. And my chances of marrying George Clooney are very, very slim.

None of that is because I’m fat. It’s because I’m me.

But when I was invested in The Fantasy of Being Thin, I really believed that changing this one “simple” (ha!) thing would unlock a whole new identity — this totally fabulous, free-spirited, try-anything-once kind of chick who was effortlessly a magnet for interesting people and experiences. And of course, the dark side of that is that being fat then became an excuse not to do much of anything, because it wouldn’t be the real me doing it, so what was the point? If I wouldn’t find the right guy until I was thin, why bother dating? If I wouldn’t have a breakthrough on the novel until I was thin, why bother writing? If I wouldn’t be the life of the party until I was thin, why bother trying to make new friends? If I wouldn’t feel like climbing a mountain until I was thin, why bother traveling at all?

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Accepting my fat really wasn’t the hard part. Accepting my personality — and my many limitations that have jack shit to do with my thighs — was. But oddly enough, once I started to do that, my life became about a zillion times more satisfying. I found the right guy, I took up yoga, I started taking my writing more seriously, I stopped apologizing for taking vacations in the U.S. and Canada instead of somewhere more exotic, etc. And lo and behold, things got a lot more fun around here. The thin person inside me finally got out — it just turned out she was actually a fat person. A reasonably attractive, semi-outgoing fat person who has an open mind and an active imagination but also happens to really like routine and familiarity and quiet time alone.

That was never who I expected to be — it was just always who I was.

So giving up dieting and accepting my body didn’t just mean admitting I would never be thin; it meant admitting I would never be a million things I might have been. (Which, I’m told, is a phenomenon sometimes known as “maturity.”) I am absolutely not one for settling — which is where the confusion about pessimism comes in, I think — but I am one for self-awareness and self-forgiveness. Meaning, there’s a big difference between saying you can’t be anything other than what you are right now, and you don’t have to be anything other than what you are right now. You will probably never be permanently thin, unless you are already, but other than that, the sky’s the limit. You can be anything or anyone you want to be, in theory.

The question is, who do you really want to be, and what are you going to do about it? (Okay, two questions.) The Fantasy of Being Thin is a really convenient excuse for not asking yourself those questions sincerely — and that’s exactly why it’s dangerous. It keeps you from being not only who you are, but who you actually could be, if you worked with what you’ve got. And that person trapped inside you really might be cooler than you are right now.

She’s just not thin.

source:- http://kateharding.net/2007/11/27/the-fantasy-of-being-thin/

     

Stop Worrying About Your Weight!

Ah, summer, when the heat rises and the clothing shrinks — along with our self-confidence, too. Ads ask if we’re “bikini body ready,” while most summer styles seem flattering for only the smallest figures. If we didn’t already feel bad about ourselves, this time of year will often tip us over the edge.

Surveys show that about half of American women are unhappy with their looks, and up to 80 percent don’t like looking in the mirror. The way we think of ourselves — our body image — can even get in the way of meeting new people, dating, and sex. Men aren’t immune from the pressure of looking like models, either.

All that body anxiety can have real effects on our health, including eating disorders and depression. Plus, feeling fat can actually make you fat. A study of normal-weight teens found that those who thought they were overweight had a 40 percent higher chance of becoming obese by age 30, compared with teens who didn’t think so.

Ashley Heher running in a triathlon. Photo courtesy of Ashley Heher.

Love the bod you’re with

It doesn’t have to be this way, and in fact, the tide could be turning. France just banned anorexic models from runways. Celebrities like Kate Winslet, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Lorde are speaking out against Photoshopping their pictures. Famously-not-size-0 comedian and actress Mindy Kaling appears on the June 2015 cover of InStyle magazine. And on social media sites and blogs, more and more women are speaking out and saying, Enough! I will not apologize for my stretch marks and scars and lumps. These are souvenirs of my life, and they are a part of me.

“Here’s the deal with a bikini body — everyone has one,” says Ashley Heher, a weekend warrior triathlete who leads group runs in Chicago — and wears a size 16 or 18. “It doesn’t matter your shape or your size or your curves or your lack of curves. You get a bikini body by wearing a bikini. Simple as that.”

So instead of feeling anxious about ourselves, let’s celebrate our bodies. They carry us through the world and make it possible for us to do all the things we love — taste strawberry ice cream, swim in the ocean, hold a baby, and dance and sing and laugh and love and play.

Let’s focus on strong, not skinny. Health is about more than weight. It’s about feeling good, being able to do the things you’d like to do, and being confident in who you are. Somewhere along the way we’ve lost touch with that idea of health. Let’s reconnect with ourselves and banish body anxiety. Here’s how.

Let go of the numbers

Even though we like to measure and quantify things, there’s more to health than just digits on the scale. Other things, like stamina and strength, count for a lot. In fact, people with a few extra pounds — especially when they’re older — tend to live longer than skinny people. In that group, muscle mass may be a better predictor of health than overall weight.

Sarah Castimore, an Alaska mom, is an aficionado of Crossfit, a workout that emphasizes teamwork and lifting. She describes herself as 5’2″, 210 to 220 pounds, with “great” blood pressure and “terrific” cholesterol.

“I think there’s been this massive misconception for decades that any overweight person is lazy and unhealthy,” she says. “Athletes come in all shapes and sizes. You don’t need to be a size 2 to be active and healthy.”

Experts support her view.

“When someone says a person is strong, I think of someone who has stamina and is physically active and makes the right food choices,” says Maya Feller, a Brooklyn-based nutritionist.

Ways to be strong and fit

• Eat right. Yes, calories matter, but our bodies process 100 calories of sugar and 100 calories of tomatoes differently. The tomato is better fuel and will probably make you feel better. As the experts say, go for lots of whole grains, veggies, and fruits. Don’t be afraid of healthy fats like olive oil, but stay clear of empty calories.
• Move your body. We’re designed to move, and most of us don’t move enough. Any little bit counts, even dancing with your kids or running a block. A good rule of thumb is 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week (or half as much if you’re running or doing other tougher stuff).
• Get enough rest. Yes, there are lots of fun things to do in the quiet late-night hours, like catching up on Facebook or Game of Thrones. Just make sure you get enough sleep to keep you going through your day. Most adults need 7 to 9 hours to function their best.
• Work on strength. Weight-bearing exercises build stronger bones, especially in women. Lifting weights builds muscle, which burns more calories, creating a healthier balance in your body. You’ll also feel, well, stronger — and likely more confident.
• Create a healthy home. A healthy environment builds success, Feller says. Cook at home. Stock your pantry with good options like fruit and veggies, so you don’t reach for fast, processed snacks.
• Speak up. “I actually got really cranky at a local store in town for advertising ‘summer body’ yoga,” Heher says. “I replied to their Facebook post by saying: ‘Hey guys, bodies are seasonless.’ “

Traps to avoid

While working on the positives, like eating right and getting enough sleep, it’s also important to watch out for doubts and anxieties that can derail your efforts.

• Don’t set impossible goals. You may never hit the low end of your weight range, and your 130 pounds might not look like someone else’s 130 pounds anyway. Crash diets rarely keep the weight off long-term. Focus on reasonable changes you can stick with. Can you start walking more? Eat more veggies? Those are wins.
• Don’t worry about what size you are. Ignore the size on the clothing label, especially since one brand’s L can be another’s XL, and even different styles in the same size might fit differently. If you find clothes that are comfortable and flatter your shape, you’ll look and feel better.
• Don’t give in to excuses. You know those voices that say you can’t find the time, you’ll never be thin, why bother. Flip your script. “Ask yourself this question: Is what I’m about to say going to lead me towards, or away, from my goal?” says Roy Taylor, a personal trainer in Florida. Refocus your mind and your body will follow.
• Don’t be hard on yourself. You wouldn’t call your friend chubby or blimpy, so why say it to yourself? It’s hard enough to juggle the demands of work, family, and everything else in your life — so be kind to yourself. You can do better tomorrow.
• Don’t give up. Just because you’re a few pounds over your goal weight doesn’t mean you should throw up your hands and binge on chips and ice cream. A few little changes can make a difference over time. It’s true!
• Don’t hide. Even Sarah Castimore admits to feeling self-conscious sometimes. That doesn’t mean she stays home. “I’m just not going to be what holds my kids back,” she says. “I’m not going to make them stay home just because I don’t want to wear a swimsuit.”

Source:- https://www.rallyhealth.com/stop-worrying-about-your-weight/

Men 'Need Tailored Weight-Loss Programmes'

Although fewer men join weight-loss programmes than women, they are more likely to stick with them – particularly if they are tailored to their needs, say researchers.

More men in the UK are overweight or obese than women but they are less likely to see their weight as a problem.

However, obesity increases the risk of a number of serious diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and osteoarthritis.

Researchers at the universities of Aberdeen, Bournemouth and Stirling analysed data from around the world on weight-loss trials and studies that have included the views of men.

Their review of the evidence on obesity management is published by the National Institute of Health Research Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme.

The research team wanted to determine which programmes or services would be more appealing to overweight men and engage them in trying to lose weight.

Targeting weight-loss programmes to men

They found that the best results for men who achieved and maintained weight loss came from a combination of diet, physical activity and behaviour changes such as self-monitoring and setting themselves goals.

They highlighted several points, including these:

• Low-fat diets combined with exercise and following advice on behaviour changes is the best way for men to lose weight and can also help reduce the risk of serious diseases such as type-2 diabetes
• Obese men will lose more weight by eating less than by exercising on its own without dietary restriction
• There is no long-term evidence that any one particular calorie-reduction diet is better than another, though intermittent periods of very low calorie intake seemed to be more effective than regular steady dieting
• Compared with women, men preferred more factual-based information in business-like language on how to lose weight as well as more emphasis on physical activity programmes
• Group-based, men-only weight-management programmes showed benefit by providing moral support to men with similar health problems, with some individualised tailoring to their needs
• Obesity interventions in sports clubs – including football clubs – are very effective, with positive responses from men and a low dropout rate.

Tackling health problems

Researchers found that once middle-aged men realised they have a health problem that needs tackling – for example being told they are obese by a health professional – and are informed of the health benefits of losing weight, they are more likely to be motivated to shed the pounds.

Although some men were reluctant to join a group setting, the knock-on effect of having to account for their food choices to others seemed to help them stick to the programme.

That led the researchers to suggest that social settings, such as workplaces or sports clubs, may be better scenarios for weight-loss programmes geared towards men.

Based on their studies, the researchers are advocating men-specific weight-loss programmes.

Professor Alison Avenell of the University of Aberdeen has indicated that one of the main obstacles to men losing weight is that they see these programmes as being feminine activities. She says: "We looked at the outcomes of many previous studies which included men, as well as interviews with men, in order to find out more about how to design services and inform health policy … our findings suggest that men should be offered the opportunity to attend weight loss programmes that are different to programmes which are mainly attended by women.”

Dr Flora Douglas, from the University of Aberdeen's Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, adds: "Men prefer more factual information on how to lose weight and more emphasis on physical activity in weight loss programmes.

“Interventions delivered in social settings were preferred to those delivered in health-care settings. Group-based programmes showed benefits by facilitating support for men with similar health problems, and some individual tailoring of advice helped men. "

Source:- http://www.webmd.boots.com/men/news/20140613/men-need-tailored-weight-loss-programmes

5 Disadvantages of Being Overweight!

There is a big difference between being healthy and being overweight, isn't there? But, sadly most people tend to ignore this difference when it comes to their daily eating habits. The result is that before you know it, you have tipped the weighing scale on the wrong side. Also, the worst part is that you may gain weight easily but losing it is quite a daunting task. As soon as the bulk adds on to the body, it surely affects your cosmetic appearance, doesn't it? However, being overweight goes beyond being just a cosmetic problem. You also end up being exposed to a variety of health risks because of the extra weight.

Here is a brief preview of the 5 major disadvantages of being overweight

Coronary problems: The heart is designed to pump blood in the entire body. But, as you gain weight, the excessive fat ends up being deposited in your arteries. Over a period of time, these deposits tend to harden and therefore interrupt the regular supply of blood in the arteries. As a result of this, your heart has to work overtime making it prone to several coronary disorders.

Diabetes: Being obese also affects the ability of the body to use the insulin properly. In simple terms, overweight people are more likely to have higher glucose levels in the body. This makes them diabetics. With progress of time, diabetes also affects the other organs of the body worsening the condition of the patient.

Infertility: For women, the tendency to become obese also affects their fertility. After all, excessive body weight tends to disturb the hormonal balance as well as the menstrual cycle. There have been several researches as well that have proved this fact.

High Blood pressure: If you think that adding a few pounds every year is not that bad for the body, you are grossly mistaken. Over the years, as these pounds add up they make you obese. Due to this obesity, your heart has to pump blood faster. Given this situation, you are most likely to fall prey to the high blood pressure disease.

Sleep Apnea: Obese people often find it difficult to breathe normally during their sleep. This is a typical condition arising from the excessive accumulation of fat around the neck that narrows the airway. In extreme cases, this inability to breathe can also choke the patient leading to his or her death.

The simplest solution to avoid these problems is to eat wisely, live healthy and exercise regularly!

To know more about weight loss clinic or lose weight, please check our website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aman_Tumukur_Khanna

Fed Up Being Overweight

This is from Yahoo Answers.  Some great tips from a person called Kiri.  Thank you Kiri.

The question was:-

Fed up being overweight - struggle to change bad ways/old habits?

I am borderline between being overweight and obese for my height. 

I am really fed up with myself, but struggle to change my diet to eat healthier. I feel physically sick about what I have eaten today, and whilst I am not actually putting weight on (I have stayed at the same weight for about the last 12-18 months), I feel that if I was able to tweak my diet to eat a bit healthier, I might be able to slowly start shifting some of the weight. 

I don't mind home cooking all that much, but often find that I have little energy to start faffing about the kitchen after travelling the 50 mile round trip to work, with the 9-5 shift in between.

Any advice on how I can stop the junk food/change my lifetime habits for the better?

Update : For the record - I know what I need to do - i.e. cut out the junk food etc, I am looking for tips/advice on how to go about doing it - i.e. breaking the habits of a lifetime.


The answer was:-

I found all of these "tweaks" in my diet to work, and NOT ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Meaning, i did one of these for a while and then noticed a change in weight, then got bored and switched to something else. 
The easiest for me... Drink an entire bottle of water right before every meal. It will make you feel full, faster, and then you will be less likely to over-eat. But that also means you need to stop eating when you are full. You ca't force yourself to keep eating because there is still food left on the plate. 

Replacements. 
1.I replaced my sodas with juices, teas, and especially water. 
2. I stopped eating chips and cookies and candy and replaced them with fruits and vegetables. You can still add sugar to fruits such as strawberries or raspberries in order to make them sweet like candy. 
3. Never drink milk. It is full of fat and sugars so it is really bad when trying to lose weight. Instead, eat cheese with saltines or fruit. 

Portions- 
Sometimes we will sit next to the computer or tv and munch on pretzels or chips and not even realize how much we ate until the bag is gone. Instead of bringing the whole bag to the computer, try taking a small zip lock bag of chips or pretzels, and only munching on that many. 

Useing smaller plates during meals will trick you into grabbing smaller portions. If you grab a small plate and fill it and then eat it all, before grabbing seconds. Stop, and think, "am i actually still HUNGRY, or am i just NOT FULL". It is not a good feeling to be really full, so stopping before you get to that point is actually not that hard. You just have to pay attention. 

If you go to the store and decide you are feeling some ice cream, do not buy the quarts they offer. Instead, just buy one or two servings. That way you will only eat it when you are craving it, and not eat when you just see it in the freezer and don;t think anything else is that appetizing. The same goes with chocolates and cookies. Don't buy enough cookies for an entire classroom of kids. Only get a small amount so you are less likely to eat so much. 
Fastfood- 
Now when trying to lose weight, you should ultimately just not eat fastfood. It does not even taste that great. It's the salts and MSG that gives us the cravings for more. However, even i just can't help but want some of those chemicals from time to time, so, when i DO go to the drivethrough, i order everything small. I never get a large fries or drink. I normally choose from the dollar menu. I think it is best if you replace the fries with their new fruit choices, but i don't do that. If i'm at a place that is meant to make me unhealthy, i'm gonna get the stuff that tastes better. 

Eating fish is very healthy for you, tastes great, and is not fattening. So when I am feeling like pigging out, i choose sushi. Also, if you like salad, you can have a bunch of it and it's still very good for you. 

Ultimately these all worked for me and i didn't really feel like i was missing out on anything. For quick improvements, there is the "no-carb" diet and the SERIOUS portion controls, but i hate those because they either leave me hungry or i feel like crap watching other people eating what i can't have. Good luck with the weight loss. Hope this helped a little 
You can read this infromation here:-
 https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100817123711AARbH2W

The 6 Weight-Loss Tips That Science Actually Knows Work

Some of the weight loss articles out there these days are getting a little nutty. New scientific studies that shed light on how metabolism works are wonderful and valuable in their own right, but when findings get morphed into magical new “tips” for losing weight, something’s amiss. Some recent pieces in prestigious journals, which have sought to dispel the myths of weight loss and of the individual diets themselves, suggest that the medical community is also getting tired of the hype and the unfounded assumptions that permeate the public discussion.

When it comes down to it, the things we know to be true about weight loss are relatively simple, and certainly few. They’re also extremely effective when actually carried out. So, from the researchers who have studied this stuff for decades, here’s pretty much everything we know about weight loss today, whittled down to six points about how the body actually gains, loses, and maintains its weight.

(Photo credit: Wolfgang Wildner)

1. Dieting trumps exercising

We hear a lot that a little exercise is the key to weight loss – that taking the stairs instead of the elevator will make a difference, for instance. But in fact it’s much more efficient to cut calories, says Samuel Klein, MD at Washington University’s School of Medicine. “Decreasing food intake is much more effective than increasing physical activity to achieve weight loss. If you want to achieve a 300 kcal energy deficit you can run in the park for 3 miles or not eat 2 ounces of potato chips.” It’s as simple as that. Some studies have borne out this dichotomy, pitting exercise against diet and finding that participants tend to lose more weight by dieting alone than by exercise alone. Of course, both together would be even better.

The problem is that when you rely on exercise alone, it often backfires, for a couple of reasons. This is partly because of exercise’s effects on the hunger and appetite hormones, which make you feel noticeably hungrier after exercise. “If you walk briskly for an hour and burn 400 kcal,” says Klein, “and then have a beer and a slice of pizza afterwards because the exercise made you feel hungry…you will eat more calories than you have burned.” It may not always be beer and pizza, but people do tend to naturally compensate for the calories they expend.

“This is an adaptive system,” adds David Allison, PhD. “For every action there’s a reaction; that’s a law of physics, not of biology, but it seems that it also works in biological systems. This is why we often overestimate quite radically an effect of a particular treatment.” He points out that public health campaigns that, for example, urge people to take the stairs instead of the elevator or go on a nightly stroll – or, for that matter, even eat fewer calories – are unlikely to work, since they may fail to take into account the body’s compensatory mechanisms that can totally counteract the effect.

The other problem with exercise-without-dieting is that it’s simply tiring, and again, the body will compensate. “If the exercise made you tired so that you become more sedentary the rest of the day, you might not experience any net negative energy,” says Klein. Some of the calories we burn come from our basic movements throughout the day – so if you’re wiped out after exercise, and more likely to sit on the couch afterwards, you’ve lost the energy deficit you gained from your jog.

2. Exercise can help fix a “broken” metabolism, especially during maintenance

“People used to come into the doctor’s office and say, ‘My metabolism is broken!’” says James Hill, PhD, at the University of Colorado. “We never had any evidence that it actually was, until recently. We were wrong – it was!” While exercise may not be as important for weigh loss as calorie restriction, as Hill says, it’s important in another way: It begins to repair a broken metabolism.

“A lot of what we know in this area comes from NASA, of the bed-rest studies,” he says. “Within a couple of days of non-activity, the metabolism becomes inflexible. You start moving again, and it does start to change.” Your metabolism may not ever go back to “normal” (more on this below), but the evidence indicates that it can indeed pick up again, in large part through moving your body every day.

This is a large part of why exercise is critical in the maintenance phase, which is well known to be more difficult than the weight loss phase. Essentially, it buys us some wiggle room, says Michael Jensen, MD at the Mayo Clinic. “Exercise is very, very important for maintaining lost weight, and people who are not physically active are more likely to gain weight. We think it’s partly because in the extra calories burned from physical activity, you have a bit more flexibility in food intake, so you’re not so much relying on ridged changes in eating habits; it makes it more tolerable.”

3. You’re going to have to work harder than other people – possibly forever

Though exercise can help correct a metabolism that’s been out of whack for a long time, the grisly reality is that it may not ever go back to what it was before you gained weight. So if you’ve been overweight or obese and you lose weight, maintaining that loss means you’re probably going to have to work harder than other people, maybe for good. “The sad thing,” says Hill, “is that once you’ve been obese or not moving for some time, it takes a little more exercise to maintain. It doesn’t come back to normal.” It’s not a pretty reality to face, but coming to grips with it is important, he says, so that you won’t get frustrated when you discover that you have to do more work over the long term than your friend who was never overweight.

Building muscle can help your body burn a few more calories throughout the day, but it’s also likely that you’ll have to work harder aerobically in the long run. “It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is,” adds Hill. “Once you understand it, though, you know it and it’s better. Because you can work with it.”

4. There’s no magical combination of foods

We often think that if we can just discover the “right” combination of foods, we’ll magically lose weight or maintain what we’ve lost. There are low-fat diets, low-carb diets, low glycemic diets, Paleo diets, and a lot of iterations of all of these. Jensen points out that in fact there doesn’t seem to be any “right” diet, and there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that one particular diet will work better with an individual’s specific metabolism. “The big myth out there,” he says, “is that there’s a magical combination of foods – be it protein, vegetarian, and what have you – that’s going to be unique because of its unique interaction with your metabolism. We know pretty much that any diet will help you lose weight if you follow it. There’s no magic diet. The truth is that ALL Diets will work if you follow them.”

5. A calorie IS a calorie!

And for energy balance, it’s the number of calories that matters. Weight loss on the Twinkie Diet proves this principle: Last year, Mark Haub at Kansas State University lost 27 pounds eating junk food. And this is pretty good proof of concept, says Yale University’s David Katz, MD, who has written extensively on the futility of the “is a calorie a calorie?” debate.

It’s certainly true – at least in theory and sometimes in practice – that all calories are created equal. “From the standpoint of body weight,” adds Marion Nestle, PhD, of NYU, “a calorie is a calorie no matter what it comes from. You can gain weight eating too much healthy food as well as unhealthy. From the standpoint of health, it’s better to eat your veggies…. It’s just a lot easier to overeat calories from junk food than healthy food. But it can be done.”

But the source of calories obviously matters for other reasons. One, says Katz, is that “the quality of calories is a major determinant of the quantity we ingest under real world conditions.” First of all, no one overeats veggies, so on a practical level, that’s a non-issue. “But where the calories come from does matter in that they influence satiety,” he adds, and this is partly psychology and partly biology. In fact, the food industry has carved out a whole new area of food science to study the “bliss point,” in which foods are created to increase the amount it takes to feel satiated and full. On one hand, says Katz, “we have the ‘bliss point’ science to tell us that the food industry can process foods to increase the calories it takes to reach satisfaction. We have the reciprocal body of work, including the Harvard study of the ONQI, showing that ‘more nutritious’ means, among other things, the opportunity to fill up on fewer calories.”

It’s true that types of foods you eat may, over time, affect your metabolic profile, so they may also matter in this way, but when it boils down, sticking to any reduced-calorie diet will create the energy deficit needed to lose weight. So the point is not to question what a calorie is, but rather to understand that we need to “trade up” our foods, says Katz – exchange the very dense, calorie-packed foods for foods that are less calorie-dense and more nutritionally dense: these are the ones that are bulkier, less energetically rich, have more or higher quality protein, are lower on the glycemic index, and more fibrous.

6. It’s all about the brain 

As my colleagues have reported (here and here), when it comes down to it, it’s not the body or the metabolism that are actually creating overweight or obesity – it’s the brain. We all know intuitively that poor decisions are what make you gain weight and better ones are what make you lose it. The problem is that over time, the poor decisions lead to significant changes in how the brain governs – and, amazingly, responds to – the hunger and satiation processes. Years of any kind of behavior pattern lay down neural tracks, and overeating is no exception.

The good news is that there’s increasing evidence that the brain can, in large part, “fix” itself once new behavior patterns emerge (i.e., calorie restriction, healthy food choices, and exercise). While there may be some degree of “damage” to the brain, particularly in how hunger and satiety hormones function, it can correct itself to a large degree over time. The key is that the process does take time, and like any other behavior change, is ultimately a practice. “We want to change behavior here,” says Hill. “Anyone that tells you it’s going to happen in 12 weeks, that’s bogus. We’re trying to rewire the brain. Neurobiology has told us so much about what’s going on in weight gain and weight loss. It takes a long time to develop new habits, rituals, routines. This takes months and years. But it will happen.”

*  *  *

So boiling it down even further: reduce calories, eat better, exercise, and most of all, remember it is a practice that has to be repeated over time – months or years. The fact that you’ll have to work harder at maintenance than your never-overweight best friend is depressing, but it’s worth coming to terms with. And, most important to remember, your brain (the organ behind all this, after all) is plastic, and it will respond to the changes you make – better than you think. And so will your body.

This article is by Alice G Walton, a contributor to Forbes, and you can read it here:- http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2013/09/04/the-6-weight-loss-tips-that-science-actually-knows-work/