Blog on weight, How to Lose Fat on the Cheap

First, I should tell you that I wasted a lot of money trying different programs that didn't work. So after 20 years of not losing much weight, I decided that I had to do this my way. I felt like I knew all the ways that don’t work so I thought I could surely do this on my own. After weeks of reading anything I found on weight loss, I knew that I had been concentrating on the wrong thing. I had to lose fat, forget the weight. When you lose inches you will weigh less. You don’t need a scale, you need a tape measure. At first, I thought this would take hours to measure all the different parts of my body, but I learned quickly that you only have to measure your waist. Measure your waist at the navel. You can’t spot reduce. When your waist gets smaller everything else will get smaller. As you probably gather by now, I’m not in favor of paying to lose fat. Of course, I realize some of us need professional help, you just don’t have a clue where to begin. I get in, and there is professiona...

Is all the talk about weight loss just talk? Can a person really keep weight off? Is the Game rigged against you? Well, if you fall for all the advertising, maybe it is.  A recent feature article in the New York Times chronicles the unfortunate fate of participants in The Biggest Loser after the spotlights dim, the TV cameras stop speeding, and time goes by. They regain weight. Some of it, most of it, all of it, or even all of it plus some. What the New York Times tells us, no surprise to those of us who have worked directly with severely obese patients over the years, is that failure overtakes the show participants. Those of us in these trenches have known all along that though challenging, losing weight for these people is not the problem. Sustaining weight loss is where most efforts fall down. Preventing the Problem I think the Times neglects the principal implication. Severe obesity can almost always, and should almost always be prevented in the first place. If ever an ounce of...

You decided to lose weight and your partner is helping you at home, but you just can’t stick to the food plan when you're at work. The temptations are too great. It’s one thing to stick to your diet in the comfort of your own home: You’ve stocked up on cut veggies and fat-free Greek yogurt, and the only person who sees you write in your food journal is your partner, who’s pretty nonjudgmental about the whole thing. But dieting at the office – with the endless supply of home-baked goods in the communal kitchen and the frequent fast-food lunch breaks – is another thing altogether. I wish I could tell you to keep up the excellent work at home and let your guard down when you’re at the office, but because you’re probably spending half of your waking hours at work, that’s not going to fly. Outsmart the whole scenario by doing the following: Eat Breakfast, Seriously Everyone from your kindergarten teacher to your know-it-all best friend has extolled the virtues of eating breakfast. Studi...

If you’re someone who deals with stress fairly often (who doesn’t?), here’s something you may not know: your body produces a hormone called cortisol in response to chronic stress which is associated with causing excess belly flab. The more cortisol you have, the more belly fat you typically gain. Now get this: The New England Journal of Medicine published a study showing that individuals who consumed mini-meals spaced three hours apart each day actually decreased their cortisol levels by 17 percent compared to those who ate the same amount of food in only three meals per day. And here’s some even better news… This cortisol-blunting, fat-burning effect occurred in just 14 days. So if you want to take control of your body’s cortisol levels, one thing you can do is to simply start eating a small mini-meal every three hours to reduce cortisol up to 17 percent on your own. That’s just one of quite a few benefits to eating five mini-meals a day, spaced three hours apart. (Example: Eat a meal...

The word “diet” has a bad reputation in the weight loss community. But the bottom line is that we are all on a diet of some sort. Your diet is simply your eating plan. Even if you eat whatever you want, you’re on a diet, your diet. But in order to lose weight, your eating plan – your diet –  must change . Most Americans today, have no plan unless their doctor puts them on a diet plan. We just eat whatever we feel like and that’s why most Americans are overweight. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight and half of those are extremely overweight.  Here’s why: You need to change your energy balance. The only way to lose weight without medical intervention (like surgery) is to adjust your energy balance. O.k., before I lose my readers I’ll explain. Energy Balance is burning the calories that you’re eating. An energy deficit would be if you burn more calories than you eat and an energy surplus would be if you’re not burning all the calories you eat. That’s how it is for most people...

Most of us just think it’s one of the mysteries of life. Wrong, it’s all about your behavior. What you’re eating and drinking, and how active you are all day long. Weight gain is all about the way you live your life. The reason it’s so hard to lose weight is that weight creeps up on us. For me, it started in my 30’s. For some of us, it starts in College. You might not realize it but most College students are not very active. In Fact, walking from class to class and walking to the cafeteria might be their only exercise. Many of our population work in offices and office workers have about the same activity level as students. Many of us and I’m no exception, are literally tied to our computers a big part of the day. Actually, the housewife and mother may be more active than the office worker, in fact, I’m sure of that. Here is some science for you. After sitting for 20 minutes, your body’s metabolism will shut down and stop burning calories much like when you sleep. It will only burn a fe...

New research on healthy eating has found that home cooking is better than restaurant fare and that kids who are offered more nutritious food in school cafeterias rarely eat it. In the study on meals, researchers found that people who eat the most home-cooked ones end up eating healthier and consuming about 130 fewer calories daily, on average, compared to other people. When people cook most of their meals at home, they consume fewer carbohydrates, less sugar, and less fat than those who cook less, or not at all — even if they are not trying to lose weight. Researchers found that those who cooked dinner six to seven times a week ate an average of 2,164 calories daily, while those who ate out the most, cooking dinner no more than once a week, consumed an average of 2,301 calories per day. The study, based on an analysis of national survey data from 2007-2010, will be published online in the journal “Public Health Nutrition”. Obesity is an escalating public health problem that contrib...

  Things that may be draining your energy without you even knowing it. First blogged on WebMD.com By  Carol Sorgen Sure, we all get draggy from time to time. A sleepless night here and there, a stressful day at the office or one too many doughnuts can take their toll. But when you’re constantly feeling drained, it might be time to look at what’s bringing you down. Check out these energy zappers and see how many apply to you. Sugar provides quick energy, but after picking you up, it drops you hard and leaves you looking for more, says Debi Silber, MS, RD. One key to cutting back on sugar is having the right food with you so you don’t head to the nearest vending machine. “The best intentions go out the window when you’re not prepared,” says Florida nutritionist Pamela Smith, RD. Smith tries to make sure she always has healthy snacks on hand, and she advises making sure they contain at least 1 to 2 ounces of protein to keep your blood sugar stable for several hours, combined...

I write about losing weight, how to lose weight, what foods to eat when you're trying to lose weight, and exercise that will help you lose weight. Today I’m writing about food. Some foods help you lose weight and other foods will only add weight. We all know by this time that when you cut calories in your diet, you have to pack all the nutrition you can in everything you eat. You can’t waste calories on food that isn’t giving you something in return. So, in order to give me energy, I try to eat all I can of the super-foods. You get more nutrition per serving without getting the extra calories. One of the new ones is Quinoa. What is quinoa? Some consider it grain and some don’t. Either way, it’s definitely in the grain/rice/cereal family, and that’s a family I enjoy eating. The even better news is that quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wah) is actually a pretty good source of protein when compared to most grains, packing in 8 grams per cup. The even better news is that quinoa is the only grai...

  We all lose weight for different reasons. Some lose weight for health reasons, your doctor is pushing you. Maybe like me your spouse is pushing you. Maybe you feel funny at work because your co-workers stare, talk behind your back. Or maybe you just want to wear the same clothes others wear. I lost weight because I became out of shape, out of breath when I was working outside, in the garage or mowing the lawn or just vacuuming carpet in the house. My clothes didn’t fit I had to buy pants with a 38 inch waist, and then finally I said “stop”.     I have to stop this insane way of over indulging. That’s exactly what was happening. I was in my 30’s and owned a restaurant that was doing well. Success was going to my head, and all I thought about was the business and shopping for things I wanted but couldn’t afford before. My wife was power walking everyday and wanted me to join her, but I always had an excuse. I stayed at the restaurant about 14 hours a day. I’d take some Su...