School of Weight Loss

Recently Star Jones and Oprah Winfrey made statements about their weight loss. Neither women really wanted to have to say anything in public, but they are in the public eye and people look to them to be role models.

In towns all over America there are fitness trainers who are not as openly in the public as Jones or Winfrey but they do feel the same obligation to the public to look the way they are expected to look. This puts a lot of pressure on someone and creates stress that isn’t necessary.

Take the case of Jenny who can be in any town anywhere. She is a fitness instructor who is going through a rough patch with her personal life. She has maintained her weight for many years and now she is beginning to gain again. Although she has only gained 20 pounds back she remembers when she started losing and had lost over 100 pounds.

Recently on the television show The Biggest Loser one of the contestants was taken off the show because she had gained weight. They then went back on the show weighing 145 that she had trimmed down to, on her own. She was to return to the show one more time, but now she was back up to 200 pounds.

These stories are here just to say that most people are not sure what happens when they start to gain again, but the truth is that struggle with weight can be a lifelong battle. One of the challenges is that the focus is always on how to lose weight but not necessarily on how to keep it off.

All of these women found that being in the public eye brought about more stress. They admit that they often set the bar too high, and then the pressure to keep the weight off became difficult.

Does that happen to the average person? You bet it does, and many people are finding their way back again to the size they enjoyed. One of the things that people are realizing is that they didn’t really deal with the issues that come up with weight loss.

Beyond your ideas of weight loss you also have to deal with the psychological issues that come up. As an example, Marsha was always told by everyone that she had such a pretty face when she was chubby as a youngster. When she got older and decided to do something about it she got those accolades again. She had a difficult time dealing with this because she felt she was the same person, fat or thin.

Losing weight is always difficult if people are watching you and waiting to see how you are doing. This puts pressure in the wrong places and generally will mean that the individual starts gaining again.

What’s the solution? Lose weight because you want to and not because you are trying to appease a public image. Live your life to the fullest and you won’t have to worry about what other people say at all.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Exercise can be a difficult for people and some do not like going out to a gym. If you are hesitant about going to a gym for any reason, a good way to get started with exercise is to do it at home. There are many things you can do to get started and it can be as fun as going to an outside gym.

Suggested Home Gym Equipment
You do not have to buy a large piece of equipment to have a home gym unless you want to do so. You can actually set up something for very little money if you know what to do. Here are some equipment needs that you can use easily:

A television — most people have a television somewhere and this can now be turned into part of your fitness equipment. This is for DVDs and videos that give you an easy program to use.

Videos and DVDs –there are so many of these on the market today that one of the best ways to get them is to start at your local library. You can try out several of these at once and then decide which ones you like the best; those you like you can purchase.

A great way to purchase videos is through Amazon.com and sometimes you can find them in the grocery store on sale.

Resistance Bands — you might not know what a resistance band is but it is a long cord with two handles. Usually you can find them online or in any retail store. These are inexpensive and they can give you the same type of strength training workout as you could get in a gym. You can usually find videos that tell you how to use them.

Fitness Ball — these have become one of the best ways to get an overall fitness program in. You can usually find these anywhere and they will require a way to pump them up. You should also read the package to get the correct weight. You can also find videos that will tell you how to use them.

Stationary Bike or Treadmill — these are really optional equipment because you will not need them unless you like to have a variety of fitness options. The stationary bike like the Aerodyne are good additions because you can have a total body workout with them.

You do not need to go and buy all of this equipment, but you can start with any of them.

The Benefits Of Working Out At Home
Working out at home is very important to some people because it gives them the opportunity to do this when they want. You do not have to set up a gym exactly but you can have your own space when you are working out. You could invite a friend over or not and you can create a routine using a variety of different videos or DVDs.

You can expand your workout when you are ready by getting a more advanced DVD and by adding a few free weights.

Remember to give these natural energy boosters a try to get more out of your home workouts.

Popularity: 7% [?]

It seems like everyone you know these days is going to some type of gym. Each gym wants to say it is unique and different from all others and it really depends on what you want who you believe. There are gyms exclusively for women and those that are made for anyone.

The challenge for some people with going to a gym is that they are often overcrowded and they always have to wait for a machine.

Most gyms will offer some type of fitness solution and may even offer a personal trainer. Most consumers though get into a situation they were not prepared for when they first started in the gym.

What To Look For In A Gym
Most gyms like 24 Hour Fitness, Curves and sometimes Bally’s will have an introductory offer. These are usually geared to get you in the door but beware: There is usually a bigger cost and a long time commitment to get the best price.

What you can do when you go into the free offer is to really take a look at the gym. Is this the type of atmosphere that you want to be in? Are the people friendly? Is there room for you when you are mobility challenged or if you have other disabilities? These are things to consider as you take your time going to the program.

What do you really want to do? Is there a certain amount of weight you want to lose or are you more interested in toning or strength training? These are questions to ask when you go.

Beware of the hype that they will throw at you also. Some of the larger gyms will let you come in for the first few days and then try to guilt you into buying their program. The problem is that these people are there to sell memberships and they usually get a commission from them. You might feel harassed into joining and then find that you have signed a two year commitment. Make sure that you look at your contract before you sign.

Alternative To Large Gyms
If you are more a person who likes to work out in a smaller setting you might find that a YMCA or a community college has a fitness facility that may meet your needs. They may have less people coming in and they might have a better price.

You can also check with your doctor. Sometimes there are specialty gyms that can be of more help to you than the larger ones. As an example, if you have heart disease, check your area for a gym in a Cardiology facility. In some areas you can work out in the gym and know that you have professionals that can help if there are other problems.

You can also workout at home in a sort of “mini-gym” with a little home fitness equipment and a few videos. This is a great alternative for people who do not like going to a gym; these are also more cost effective.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Have you been the victim of starting a weight loss program with your spouse just to see it go sour? Many marriages can become shaky when one spouse loses weight faster than the other. In most cases it will be the male who actually loses weight fast.

Although most couples will think this is because guys are different in physical ways, research from Brookhaven National Laboratory found that it may have nothing to do with that; it may have to do with the way that the different sexes think about food.

The researchers in this study did a very elaborate process that started with having people fast for 17 hours. They then presented them with food, but would not allow them to eat it. They then instructed them to think about something other than the food. All of this was going on while they were being subjected to a CAT scan because they wanted to see what areas of the brain were affected by hunger.

What happens in the brain is that an individual is presented with a multiple of senses that create urgency in the brain to eat. Hunger and appetitive are actually processed in several different areas of the brain which is linked to emotional aspects of the brain. As an example, the brain records in the orbital frontal cortex our self-control. In the amygdale it records our strongest emotions.

They think that when we crave a certain food all of the areas of the brain that are affected start to scream for food. At this point the study participants were asked to think about something other than the food which they did but which they found difficult to do.  What they found that although both groups could lower the desire for food it was more difficult for women to stop thinking about it all together.

This meant that the women continued to have emotional cravings even after they had suppressed the need to eat. The doctor that conducted the study is not sure why there is such difference, but suspects that this is due to hormones. He also found through doing the PET scan that if the amygdala isn’t working correctly it can be extremely difficult to stop from feeling the cravings since it is the most primitive part of the brain.

The research implies that women have something wrong with the amygdala and it could be a response from hormones. Men on the other hand are able to turn off the amygdala with a lot of effort.

When men and women in a marriage start working out at the same time and are attempting to compete dieting they have already set themselves up for failure. Their brains work differently so when a man can stop worrying about food and move on, a woman may have to have the item in question before they can move on. At least this is what the study implies.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the future.

Popularity: 49% [?]

By now everyone has heard that the way to lose weight is through a nutritional diet and exercise. Kissing the fast foods and the carbonated beverages good-bye is part of the process. However, what happens when you haven’t exercised for years and you really want that piece of chocolate cake?

Step 1: What To Do First
When you decide to start a weight loss plan think of it as something that you are doing for your health. It is going to mean a lifestyle change so you need a baseline to work form. In order to do this you will need two pieces of information: Your BMI and how it compares to a healthy weight and knowledge about your intake of food.

Many people may find this disturbing because they already think they know what they eat but keeping a food diary can give you more information. According to the Director of the Center for Human Nutrition, James O. Hill, PhD, at the University of Colorado in Denver, eating is something that most people do without thinking about it. A food diary can help you focus on those things that you eat that are adding calories to your body.

The next step is to make a commitment to yourself to lose the amount of weight you want to lose. This is difficult for some people especially when they want something that isn’t on their menu. This is an important step because without it people usually go back to their old habits.

Step 2: Making Better Food Choices
If you are someone who is very busy it can be difficult to think about eating better. The truth is that today many restaurants have healthy food choices that can be better for you than what you are used to eating. You can choose vegetables and fruit over fried foods and desserts.

You can also start to snack on nutritional snacks like popcorn (without butter), fruits, nuts and seeds. These can make a great in-between meal snacks and many are very tasty. You can also include more vegetables, especially leafy vegetables into your food choices. All of these things will insure that your body is satisfied and also gets the vitamins and other nutrients it needs in a natural way.

Step 3: Exercise
It can be difficult to go to a gym and get exercise while some people find it difficult to walk. You can choose the type of exercise that fits your lifestyle. Activities like dance, swimming, bicycling and tennis may be alternatives to stationary bikes and treadmills. You can choose an activity that makes you feel the best or go back to something you once did as a child. You can also choose to get a few pieces of equipment like a fitness ball and some resistance bands to workout at home; you can always get videos from the library to help.

For guidelines on what to do with nutrition and exercise you might try going to the Healthy Body Revolution website for more information.

Popularity: 5% [?]

It turns out that obesity may not have anything to do with food at all, but it may have everything to do with a virus. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic are discovering that a virus could be the reason why many Americans are obese.

Although most people would agree that the way to keep obesity away is to eat healthy and exercise, this may only be part of the truth to getting in shape. There seem to be other factors that the Mayo Clinic is observing and this idea of a virus is one of them.

Richard Atkinson, M.D., at the Mayo Clinic has been studying research articles on obesity and he is finding there is a correlation between 3 human viruses and 5 animal viruses and obesity.

What They Found
The results of two of these viruses in studies were interesting and worth considering:

AD-36 — they found that by giving this human virus to animals it increased body fat and visceral fat also known as belly fat. They also found that this virus could be transmitted from an infected animal to a non-infected one. Atkinson did a study to look for this virus in 502 patients with varying weights. He found AD-36 antibodies in 30% of the obese patients and 11% of the lean ones; he also found large differences in their BMIs.

SMAM-1 — this was a virus that was found in chickens many years ago, in India. It was responsible for a large percentage of death in these chickens. A study that tested 52 obese people found that about 20% had been infected with this virus because they contained antibodies from it. The people who had been exposed were heavier and had a higher BMI than those who did not have the antibodies.

What They Can Do
At this time there is nothing to do except to continue to watch the virus. Atkinson thinks that there could be a virus vaccine developed to help, but this will take several years. We think this could be an interesting situation if people find out that they are severely obese because of a virus they carry.

This could be a medical breakthrough that is well worth waiting for because Americans are always looking for answers. If it were true that people who are severely obese could be victims of this virus running wild, a vaccine could be an alternative to surgery. It could also explain why an individual’s weight can seem so out of control.

This could answer the question of why some families are prone to weight gain and others are not. Perhaps this is something that happens in utero or it could be something that comes about because of the lack of whole foods that people eat; only time will tell.

Although there never is any substitute for good nutrition and exercise it could be something that if caught ahead of time, could change the course of a person’s life. We think this research should continue, to see what happens.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Many people struggle with their weight and eventually turn to gastric bypass as a solution. Usually this is someone who has a series of life threatening co-morbidities like sleep apnea, high blood pressure, heart disease or asthma that have happened because of their obesity.

Researchers at John Hopkins University are testing out a way to suppress the hunger hormone that may be helpful in dealing with some obesity issues. According to their study, they have found that by suppressing the hunger hormone ghrelin they can effectively create a suppression of appetite in the individual.

This research has only been done in pigs for now, but if they can translate it to humans they think it could be a less invasive alternative to gastric bypass.  This new process called gastric artery chemical embolization or GACE actually chemically vaporizes a blood vessel that goes to the top of the stomach. By doing this it cannot create the hormone and the appetite suppresses. Since this is part of what gastric bypass does they are hopeful that this can be done in humans.

The research was conducted over a four week period with 10 healthy pigs. They have a similar anatomy to humans so they were chosen as the best alternative.

This does not seem to be a healthy alternative for gastric bypass patients when we look closer. Obesity is complicated and it is difficult for many people. Gastric bypass is a last resort alternative after an individual has tried many different forms of weight loss.

Being overweight in this case does not necessarily have to do with appetite. Instead, it is an imbalance in their body that the gastric bypass is used to change. There is also the psychological factor of weight loss — the mind tells the body when it is hungry, in a healthy individual; but does not necessarily tell an obese person when they are hungry or when they are full.

Generally, gastric bypass to help an individual change their metabolism to one where weight loss, is now possible. The John Hopkins research seems to imply that the individual who has an eating problem that can be helped by suppression appetite. If that were the only issue patients would have had some other form of weight loss work.

Although gastric bypass may suppress appetite at some point it is the not main focus for this surgery. It seems that the researchers at John Hopkins should study gastric bypass surgery more directly so they understand the ramifications of what they are researching. It did not seem that they were very knowledgeable about bypass surgery since they isolated it to only appetite suppress.

In some ways it seems like they are creating another hurdle for an obese person to have to jump over, and not getting specifically to the real problem.

In order for an individual to have healthy weight loss after bypass surgery, they have to retrain their brain in terms of the amount of food they eat and how often they eat. This is something that many people do not know going into the surgery.

Popularity: 14% [?]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has created guidelines for adults on what physical activity can be done to help them lose weight. The report called Be Active Your Way: A Guide For Adults shows you how to find ways to bring physical activity into your daily routine.

The guidelines are a part of the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and it is geared for adults 18 to 64. Physical activity is defined as anything that moves your body, or exercise. The emphasis is on doing activities from working out in the yard or walking the dog to those that are considered exercise.

The point of the guide is to give you an understanding that doing anything physical will help. Activities like a brisk walk, swimming, dancing, playing sports or bicycling are some examples. Combined with strength training activities you can create an overall body workout very easily.

The booklet is made in four parts:

Part 1: Getting Started — this gives information to people who have had little or no physical activity. They explain the benefits of physical activity and address several reasons why people do not do it. They also give you guidelines for how to approach physical exercise in non-threatening ways.

Part 2: Making Physical Activity a Part of Your Life
This section was written for the individual who is already doing physical activity and wants to increase their time or the amount they do. They also give you alternatives to going out and buying equipment if you want to use weights. If you are wondering how much exercise and what type you should do each week the answer is in this section.

Part 3: Keeping It Up, Stepping It Up
The recommended guidelines for aerobic activity are 2 hours and 30 minutes a week. Of course this means to spread your activity over the course of a week. One way to do this is to increase the way that you do your workout. Instead of only doing a moderate workout, they say to do more vigorous work a couple times a week. You can also add a third day of strength training activities. You can mix up your workout routine by playing different sports, dancing or taking an aerobic class.

Part 4: Being Active For Life
This last section is more of a synopsis of the other three sections, but it also gives you an idea for keeping a chart that tells you what you are doing and why you are doing it. This is a way to remain interactive with your learning to do exercise on a daily basis.

These guidelines are the first of their kind that gives you comprehensive information based on research studies of human exercise and physical activity. It is user friendly and free so you can download your own copy to study. It gives you a variety of ideas to make physical activity more fun. A good exercise program always goes well with proper nutrition to get the most benefit for weight loss.

Popularity: 100% [?]

Weight loss is a craze in the United States rather than something important for most people. There are many who want to lose those 10 or 15 pounds of unsightly fat and others who want to lose more.

Most people spend a lot of time talking about it instead of changing their lifestyle, so they actually start losing. There are many ways that people sabotage their efforts over time.

Since so many people are focused on losing those extra pounds you may wonder why they aren’t successful. Here are a few reasons that sabotage people from their weight loss goals and what you can do:

Reason #1: They Go In With The Wrong Attitude
Many people want to lose weight, but they do not want to deal with the fact that it will require a change in attitude. They want to comfortably look like they are trying to shed extra pounds but in reality it doesn’t matter to them much. They would rather eat the unhealthy foods than to work for their goals.

What you can do: If you fall into this category take a look at your reasons for losing weight. Do you want to look your best? Is it for overall fitness? Or is it just to say that you are doing something? The way you feel about the whole weight loss agenda will determine whether you stick to a diet or not.

Reason #2: Failure to Adopt a Different Lifestyle
It is common knowledge that in order to lose weight you have to adopt a different lifestyle. If you continue eating the way you have been eating or ignoring exercise you will either maintain your weight or not lose anything. You will need to make some changes in order to move forward.

What you can do: Check out the FDA’s Food Pyramid and the Glycemic Index. Both have guidelines for the different types of foods to eat. Instead of eating fast food, replace it with snacks from these two guidelines. Learn to eat five or six small meals so that you do not get hungry during the day. Experiment with new foods, especially in vegetables and fruits to see what you like best. Consider the things that you would like to do once you get to your goal weight.

Reason#3: Failure to Exercise Properly
Exercise goes along with proper nutrition in order to get your body moving and help it burn fat. Unfortunately most people do not like exercise and it seems easier just to sit around and watch television. You don’t have to do anything fancy and many things can be done at home.

What you can do: Instead of worrying about it find an exercise that is fun for you to do. There are a variety of things you can try. Start at home by investing in a full program like the Turbulence Training Program that can get you started and moving well. This will work if you have just a little motivation to get started.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Millions of Americans are overweight by at least ten pounds. This means that at any given time there are millions of Americans looking for ways to lose those extra pounds and create a shapely figure. They may start out doing well and then something happens, and they stop.

Weight loss doesn’t have to be a problem if you understand more about it. Your mindset has a lot to do with what will happen in your body, and if you only think that you are being deprived of food, your weight loss program will fail.

Weight loss is a billion dollar industry which shows you how much people are interested in the subject. The challenge is that most do not know that they can do simple things to lose weight.

If you are looking for a weight loss program here are some tips to find one that is right for you and that is healthy:

Put safety first – Although you might not think about safety in a diet plan it is as important as any other type of safety. A weight loss plan should include the essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Most often you will get these from the foods that you eat instead of taking dietary supplements. If you are counting calories it is a good idea to check with your doctor about the amount of calories that are right for you.

Slow and steady wins the weight loss – Just like the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, slow and steady progress is better than rapid weight loss. Many programs say they can lose weight fast which can be good for some but difficult to others. A weight loss of about a pound or two a week is sufficient.

Commercial Weight Loss Programs Vs. Natural Weight Loss
There are thousands of people using commercial weight loss programs every day. These are very costly when you add the cost of membership and the cost of buying special food. Statistics show that these types of weight loss programs are not working for the average person, unless they have a lot of internal motivation to do them.

A better idea is to create your own program that includes eating more vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and low calorie beverages. You can use the FDA’s Food Pyramid and the Glycemic Index as your guides for better nutrition and weight loss.

Attitude and Weight Loss
The mindset that you go into any weight loss program with will determine how successful it is for you. If you decide that you are depriving yourself of certain foods chances are you will eat those foods anyway. Instead, look for ways to improve your overall nutrition, and you will see your weight drop.

You might also try an exercise program that fits with your needs. There are a variety of in home programs that will help you get into shape in your own living room. They can provide support through the program and keep you going whether you have a few pounds or many pounds to lose.

Popularity: 1% [?]