healthy body tips

Obese people who went through a weight-management program based at community health centers lost and kept off a couple more pounds than those who didn't do the program, in a new study.They were also more likely to have their blood pressure under control up to two years out, researchers reported this week.

The participants were largely minorities and poor -- representing the Americans most affected by obesity and obesity-related health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, and some of the hardest to reach with prevention efforts.

John Memmer said his light bulb moment occurred when he couldn't fit on an amusement park ride with his son.

The 39-year-old auto insurance underwriter from Bloomington, Illinois, was on a family outing at a theme park in Missouri and his son, Alex, desperately wanted him to share a seat next to him.

"The attendant tried to push and squeeze me into the seat, but to no avail. I was too big to fit," said Memmer. "So there I was with hundreds of people staring at me as all of this was going on, and then I heard my son start to cry as I had to climb off the ride," he said.

A stranger in line agreed to sit with his son, but at that moment, Memmer knew it was finally time to lose weight.

"All the shoulda, coulda, wouldas catalyzed into an intense desire to finally do something about it," he said.

Memmer had noticed before the trip to the amusement park that he would get winded walking up the stairs in his home and had trouble keeping up with his kids while they were playing. And this depressed him. But the incident at the theme park was the "straw that broke the camel's back."

He started his weight loss program during the summer of 2009 and eventually lost about 115 pounds over the course of a year. His initial weight was 300 pounds. Memmer said he kept his plan simple: eating less and consuming fewer calories.

"While I was losing the weight, hunger was always a factor," he said. "So to counter that, I worked in lots of fruits and vegetables, as they provide lots of nutrients and have a lot of fiber and bulk per serving -- it really helped to satisfy me when I was hungry."

Memmer rediscovered his love for soup during his weight loss campaign and has learned his local grocery store stocks a large variety of options to prevent him from getting bored. Although many soups contain a high amount of sodium, Memmer says "this does not weigh on his mind and a recent check with the doctor showed a clean bill of health."

It took some time to adjust to his new eating habits. Snacking became a rare event because he knew he was eating fewer calories and wanted to make each calorie count.

He didn't want to go on a crash diet, so instead he decreased his daily caloric intake so he'd shed about two pounds a week, which many dietitians consider safe.

Memmer changed his mind-set about food, too.

"I realized early on that I would just eat absent-mindedly, and all those calories have to go somewhere," he said. He now makes a conscious effort to be aware of what he's consuming and mostly selects nutritious foods to eat.

"I'm not on quite as strict a regimen as I was when I was losing my weight, but I've found a nice balance that has allowed me to maintain my current weight level and I don't feel deprived at all."

The main staples of his diet are vegetables, whole grains and lean meats, but nothing is forbidden.

"I may have a cookie here and there, or even a piece of pie, but I consider it a special treat instead of a daily food item."

Memmer does not think in terms of "going on a diet" when he eats, either.

"Dieting implies that you're making a temporary change, and what is essential is making a commitment to a different way of living," he noted. "Once you've made the mental leap over that hurdle, you've taken the hardest step."

In moments of weakness, Memmer reminds himself to try to stay focused on his goals -- and thinks of his family and how he wants to stay healthy for them.

Memmer does not consider himself an athlete and doesn't have a regular workout routine. But he has found ways to incorporate activity into his life. He'll use the stairs at work and parks his car farther away from his office than before his weight drop. Work in his garden keeps him active, too.

"If you want an upper body workout, I highly recommend wrestling with a gas-powered tiller on unbroken ground," he chuckled.

He enjoys taking walks and appreciates the fact he can get around without his knees hurting or back aching, which wasn't the case before he shed pounds.

Memmer says his weight loss has inspired those around him and sparked a lot of conversation around his workplace. In fact, some of his colleagues have started their own campaigns to lose weight and achieve a healthier lifestyle.

"Sometimes, all it takes is a spark, someone you can point to and say -- if he can do it, so can I," he said.

As for amusement park rides, Memmer has "upped his game" and recently spent a family vacation at Walt Disney World's theme parks in Orlando where he was able to comfortably get on any ride he wanted with his children.

"Space Mountain and Tower of Terror were my favorite rides."

It may not be surprising that working women feel more guilt than men do when work intrudes into their home-life. Technology has paved the way for work to make its way into the home after office hours through e-mails, phone calls and text messages, and according to new research from the University of Toronto, women pay a higher toll for these interruptions in the form of psychological distress.

Women are just as proficient as men at managing the responsibilities of both work and home. However, they suffer more twinges of guilt when receiving work-related contact at home. According to Paul Glavin, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto and lead author of the study, “This guilt seems to be at the heart of their distress.” The findings of the study were recently published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

For their study, Glavin and colleagues analyzed data gathered from 1,042 working American adults in the 2005 Work, Stress and Health Survey. Findings showed that women who received frequent contact at home from supervisors, co-workers or clients reported higher levels of psychological distress, whereas men were less affected. The more work-related calls and emails women received after hours, the more guilt and distress they felt.

Upon further analysis, the researchers expected to link the reason for the gender difference to a greater interference of family responsibilities among women, however women were just as adept at balancing their work and family lives as were men. Instead, the difference was observed to be how women felt about being contacted at home. They were far more likely to feel guilty about handling work issues at home than were men, even if there was no interference with their family lives.

Scott Schieman, a co-author of the report and a professor at the University of Toronto, acknowledged, “Levels of distress and levels of guilt are low overall” and that the study findings remained consistent no matter the women’s ages, marital status, parental status or socio-economic level. Schieman also pointed out that even though women have joined men in becoming financial providers, they continue to have different expectations than about the separation of work and home-life. He explained that “These forces may lead some women to question or negatively evaluate their family role performance when they’re trying to navigate work issues at home.”

In their report on the study, the authors wrote, “Our results demonstrate that guilt mediates the impact of work contact on distress for women. To our knowledge, ours is the first study of a broad cross-section of American workers to document the role of guilt in these processes.”

By nature, women are the nurturers and caregivers, and are ruled by emotion. This may offer insight into guilt feelings over work intrusions into home-life. Finding ways to relieve stress and anxiety may help to promote a more positive outlook for dealing with life’s interruptions whether work related or not. Get some exercise, take a little time to relax, and step back to see the big picture in life. In other words, don’t sweat the small stuff, because life is too short.

Sticks and stones may break your bones. But words may hurt you in ways that you didn’t even know.

A Yale University study found that women who’ve reported high levels of discrimination have more visceral fat, a type of fat that lies deep and surrounds abdominal organs.

Unlike the kind of fat that manifests in rolls and flaps, visceral fat can accumulate without people realizing it. Even skinny people can have unhealthy amounts of visceral fat wrapping their organs. This type of fat has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and other major health problems.

A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology examined 402 African-American and white women in the Chicago area. They were asked whether they had been discriminated against based on their sex, age, race and other issues over the last year. This included insults about intelligence, subtle slights, mistreatment in restaurants or stores and harassment.

Researchers did not ask about weight discrimination, because they didn’t want it to bias the results.

Then, the women’s abdominal fat was measured in tomography scans.

Yale researchers found that women who reported more discrimination carried more visceral fat.

It’s widely believed that overweight people are discriminated based on their hefty size. But author Tené Lewis said, “We didn’t find an association with the fat you see – the subcutaneous fat hanging over people’s belt. It’s the fat that’s not visible to the naked eye.”

Her study suggests that discrimination could contribute to increased internal fat. The biological mechanism of how that could occur is unknown, said Lewis, assistant professor at Yale School of Public Health.

But one of their hypotheses is that the body releases a hormone called cortisol under stress. That hormone is believed to spur the accumulation of visceral fat.

Lewis did not find a difference between whites and African Americans in terms of health and discrimination.

“Anyone who experiences this is at risk for health consequences,” she said. “You don’t have to be black, Hispanic or in the ethnic minorities. Having this kind of experience is bad for you.”

She concluded: “The way people treat one another has a real effect on health outcomes. These experiences make a difference. "

A recent study found that in addition to women, more and more men are participating in group fitness classes. By offering a variety of different training techniques, environments, and challenging workouts for all fitness levels, group fitness classes are on the rise. Here are ten reasons to rethink your workout and join the crowd!

1. More Cost-Effective: Perhaps the most convincing argument in favor of the group experience is cost. Personal training sessions are roughly three times the cost of a single group fitness class, and many studios offer discounted rates for packages, making the experience even easier on your budget.

2. Efficient and Fast-Paced: Group Fitness Classes tend to feel as if they go by quickly. By changing up the pace, routine and exercises, you’ll be so focused on following the instructor, you’ll find yourself forgetting to watch the clock.

3. Social: Made up of similarly motivated individuals, group fitness classes can be a great way to bond with others over your common goals and experiences.

4. You Can Choose Your Environment: Group fitness comes in a variety of environments, allowing you to choose what best motivates you. Whether you prefer a small local studio or an outdoor adventure in a local park, you can find something that works for you.

5. Motivating: The group experience can help motivate people to work harder. In addition to being lead and challenged by the instructor, working with others offers an additional level of competition and camaraderie.

6. Challenging: Being motivated to keep pace with the group means that you’ll be challenged to work harder. Working out on our own is great, but most of us tend not to work as hard as we can when we’re alone. Exercising with others and having a leader guide the group provides a boost to the workout, making us work harder and push ourselves more.

7. Variety: Group fitness offers so many different options; bootcamp, spinning, boxing, pilates, yoga, running clubs and hiking groups. The newest trend in group fitness are classes that offer a variety of options, like Burn SF in San Francisco, which offers a mix of Pilates, cardio, and weight training, or Burn60 in Los Angeles, which focuses on cardio and strength training combinations.

8. Educational: A good class will not only challenge and motivate, it will teach you new moves and show you how to do them properly. Trying something different is a great way to exercise your mind and your body. 

9. Safety: When beginning a new or different fitness routine, it’s especially important that you do so in a safe manner. The right instructor will be able to help explain what you’re doing, how to do it, and what you should be feeling. Instructors are able to model exercises and use tactile cues to help ensure the safe execution of their routines. Be sure to ask questions or as for alternative exercises if you need additional assistance. 

10. You Can Go at Your Own Pace: An experienced group fitness instructor will be able to offer modifications that allow for different fitness levels among the participants. Most classes will offer beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercise options. If you’re concerned, be sure to show up a few minutes prior to class and chat with the instructor and ask for advice. Developing a relationship with your instructor is key to finding the workout that will challenge you in a safe manner.

Weight loss surgery is the most consistent, effective means of weight loss in the long term, beating out diet, exercise, or any type of pharmaceutical intervention. But not all of the surgical options produce the same results, and while much is dependent on the patient and their behavior, there is one procedure that is head and shoulders above the rest in eliminating pounds and type 2 diabetes.

A study, published in the February issue of the Archives of Surgery, compared 100 patients who had undergone gastric bypass against 100 who had the lap band procedure. Gastric bypass produced a weight loss average of 64 percent of excess weight, while the lap band group lost 36 percent. Also of benefit was the improvement in the participants’ diabetes. Seventy-five percent of the gastric bypass patients had an improvement or elimination of the disease, while the figure was around 50 percent for the lap band patients.

Gastric bypass surgery, first performed in 1966, has for years, been the most popular form of weight loss surgery. Gastric bypass is done laparoscopically, requires a three- or four-day hospital stay, and reversing it can be difficult and is usually only done in cases of medical necessity. Lap bands, also done laparoscopically, require only an overnight stay and are easily reversible. Success rates for both are high, while mortality risk is less than 1 percent.

The surgery is not for everyone. Only people morbidly obese are normally considered candidates for the surgery. The surgeries reduce the size of the “working” stomach. In the case of bypass surgery the “working” stomach is reduced from about the size of quart to about the size of a walnut. After gastric bypass surgery people eat less; but feel full. Gone is the constant nagging hunger. The weight comes off fast, very fast.

Insurance companies typically pay for the surgery only after several other avenues of medically supervised help have been exhausted since bypass surgery is costly, the surgery can pay for itself within a few years by helping to reduce insurance claims resulting from medical conditions that obese people can develop.

Gastric bypass surgery also increases survival rates for the morbidly obese. Two long-term studies, published in the New England Journal of medicine, found that obese people who had the surgery cut their risk of dying within 7 to 10 years by 30 to 40 percent over those who did not have the surgery.

Having more calories from food, than you need to maintain your weight can lead to obesity. If food is consumed in excess of requirements, the excess is converted into fat and stored in the adipose tissues. Normally adipose tissues constitutes about 10 to 15% of the body weight. In obese people, it increases up to 30%. 

One can assess if one is over weight, by knowing your required body weight and estimation of the total body fat. If your body weight is 40- 50 % in excess of the required weight you are severely obese. Your total body fat should be less and no more than 30% of the overall diet and about 50% of that fat itself should be vegetable oils rich in Essential fatty acids (EFA). 

Obesity can lead to several complications - metabolic disorders such as Diabetes, atherosclerosis, cardiac disorders; low life expectancy, physical disability etc. 

In order to loose weight you need to reduce your calorie intake but only slightly below your maintenance level. Alternatively, You can keep your calorie - intake the usual and increase your activity level. You can raise your metabolic rate (the basic rate at which you burn calories) by increasing your exercise. So if you want to lose fat, maintain your energy level and improve health, get active and take regular exercise. Aerobic exercise burns a lot of calories. Exercise combined with eating fewer calories promotes weight loss.

A reducing diet should normally provide only about half the daily calorie requirements. But remember that a minimum amount of at least 1200 calories of nutritious food is needed for an adult. Fewer than that would lower iron level and actually slow down metabolism. The goal is to get maximum nutrition with minimum calories. So increase your intake of low calorie, health enhancing fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans etc and avoid excessive and frequent eating of foods rich in calories and poor in nutrients like fried and fatty foods, sweets and nuts. Eat fish and poultry instead of red meat, limit your egg intake to four per week, include adequate fiber in your diet. Use unsaturated oils such as corn, sunflower, safflower etc as the cooking medium and cut down on your overall salt intake. Take a multivitamin tablet along with your reduced diet

The rule should be to maintain your body weight constant at the normal level by adjusting the calorie intake. Here is the distribution of food stuff in two calorie reducing diets.

Looking for the most natural and effective way to keep your body in shape? Next, a green tea diet is the perfect solution for you! There have been findings and reports that green tea extract can increase metabolism, thereby helping to burn fat and lose weight much faster. Now, can you believe? It is also completely safe and affordable drinking because it is 100% natural and much cheaper than other weight loss supplements.

Green tea has been considered a natural remedy for pain and other medical problems. It has been used even in ancient times and is still doing wonders for us today. Apart from its healing abilities, this herbal drink also contains antioxidants that protect against free radicals and slow the aging process. Therefore, not only helps you lose fat, but it makes you look younger too.

The researchers believe the normal rate of 8-10% burn calories, but when it experimented with tea, they were delighted with the results because the percentage rises to 14%. This result can be achieved if you take the drink daily, preferably during the day because that is when the metabolism works better.

One of the reasons why green tea increased calorie burning is because it contains a special ingredient called catechin which prevents free radicals from damaging your body after a heavy workout. The drink also has large amounts of potent antioxidants that help fight aging. These natural elements that protect us from harmful diseases and illnesses, keeping your body fit at the same time.

For best results, drink a cup of tea every day after every meal and you'll quickly realize that your body has become much thinner and healthier. Being fit not only increases your self-esteem, but also makes you feel good inside because the herbal ingredients are always cleaning your system from bacteria.

This herbal drink to lose weight should always be part of your daily intake so that you can take advantage of its natural elements and achieve a sexier body in no time. If you are a body builder or just someone who wants to get rid of unwanted fat, a diet of green tea is the right answer for you! Now no need to waste your money on ineffective products because you can easily stay in shape with this wonderful tea.

Why not be achieved today a green tea diet in order to receive the incredible benefits of a world famous beverage and medical resources. It is the gift of Mother Nature to stay healthy and fit!