Blog on weight, How to Lose Fat on the Cheap

This article came in a newsletter the other day and is worth reading. If your having a hard time losing weight this lady has the same problem. Read her story Ever notice that sometimes the blubber won't budge no matter how many reps you add or calories you subtract? Or maybe other forces are at work—forces that are invisibly undermining your best efforts to leave that last 20 pounds in the past. Even though I'm an identical twin, I've outweighed my brother John from the moment we emerged by caesarian section. I was a 6-pound little piggy, whereas John was the 4-pound, 4-ounce victim of my embryonic gluttony (or so the family joke/legend has forever maintained). In the decades since our birth, I have regularly climbed into "overweight" BMI territory and struggled to escape. Staying lean has been as difficult for me as it is effortless for John—this despite lifelong eating and exercise patterns that strike our friends as spooky in their similarity. To this da...

One of the more frequent questions I get in my email is "Do I have to diet to lose weight?" The word "diet" doesn't have much to do with losing weight. The word diet really refers to your "Diet Plan" or what you're eating everyday. Most of us have no diet plan, we simply eat whatever we have a taste for. That's the reason so many Americans have a weight problem. Bad sleeping habits is another reason for gaining weight. Sleeping more can keep you from grazing and will reduce your total calorie intake for the day. It's a fact that those people who stay up until midnight or later will consume an extra 1000 calories a day. Cutting calories is the way to lose weight. It has nothing to do with starving yourself. Eating fewer calories is accomplished by eating foods with less calories, not eating less food. Americans are famous for eating loads of high-calorie food, like dairy products, snack foods, fatty fried foods, and high calorie drinks. ...

I think the next time I'm in the coffee shop I'll try tea. Tea can help your heart, boost your brainpower, keep your metabolism humming, and more. Our guide to the supersip covers it all, including how to brew a cup that's fit for a queen. Tea does a body good. "It's also calorie-free if you don't add milk or a sweetener like sugar or honey," says Diane L. McKay, PhD, an assistant professor of nutrition at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. Check out the myriad benefits of that mug: Your brain: A cuppa doesn't just make you more productive at the office (one study showed that tea drinkers have improved accuracy and attention when switching between tasks). It may also ward off Parkinson's disease and slow the progression of Alzheimer's. Your bones: Studies indicate that phytochemicals in tea, such as flavonoids, may protect against bone loss: Regular tea drinkers have higher bone density than ...

Dieting is hard. But avoiding "empty" calories helps you reach a healthy weight without feeling like you're dieting. Your body needs a certain amount of energy each day. Energy comes from food in the form of calories. Calories let you function and keep doing your daily activities. But after your body meets its needs, it stores extra calories as fat. Most of us get plenty of calories in our diet—often too many. Foods with empty calories have lots of calories but very few nutrients like vitamins and minerals. "Convenience foods," like packaged snacks, chips, and sodas, are common sources of empty calories. Nutrient-rich foods, on the other hand, have a lot more nutrients in relation to their calories. A few examples are vegetables, peanut butter, bran cereal with fruit, and fish. Tips for avoiding empty calories Instead of this: Choose this: Sugar-sweetened drinks like soda, energy drinks, and sweetened coffee drinks, not good. Water, no-sugar-added fruit...

In an earlier post, I wrote about extra inches around your waist can shorten your life. And now I found a great article totally separate from the older article and this new one confirms the findings of the other one. More muscle and less body fat and you'll live longer. TUESDAY, March 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The more muscle older adults have, the lower their risk of death, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from more than 3,600 older adults who took part in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1988 and 1994. The participants included men 55 and older and women 65 and older. As part of the survey, the participants underwent tests to determine their muscle mass index, which is the amount of muscle relative to height. The investigators used a follow-up survey done in 2004 to determine how many of the participants had died of natural causes and how muscle mass was related to death risk. People with the highest levels of muscle...

Evidence from a new study published in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, suggests extra inches raise risk of dying younger, regardless of body weight. How many inches are extra inches; your waist should measure one half the inches of your height. For example, I’m 6 foot tall, that’s 72 inches and I should have a 36 inch waist. FRIDAY, March 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Having a big belly means big trouble when it comes to your health, researchers warn. They analyzed data from 11 studies that included more than 600,000 people worldwide and found that people with large waist circumferences were at increased risk of dying younger and dying from conditions such as heart disease, lung problems and cancer. Men with waists of 43 inches or more had a 50 percent higher risk of death than those with waists less than 35 inches. This equated to a three-year lower life expectancy after age 40, according to the study. Women with waists of 37 inches or more had an 80 percent higher ...

I found this testimonial on line and it should be inspirational for everyone. There’s no magic pill or trick to losing weight, you just do it cold turkey. We all have the power to do it, you just have to make up your mind to start. This girl decided to run and change her diet and that’s the fastest way I know to drop body fat, but not all of us can do that. I like the walking method. It takes longer but if your not young anymore walking is easier on your body. Read her story and be inspired yourself. I’ve been heavy my entire life. Even in my kindergarten photos, I was chubby. In late high school, I gained more weight. In college, I reached 260 pounds — I think because I was on my own. I had a driver’s license, a job. I could go out to dinner, eat when I wanted. Nobody was watching over me. Being heavy didn’t make me feel bad, though. I was pretty confident. I didn’t realize I was as big as I was until I started looking at old photos a few months ago. It was pretty shocking. Abo...