Weight Loss Information From Around The Web

Here is some weight loss information gathered from around the web.  I am hoping to make this into a weekly post to bring you relavent news and information about weight loss.  I’ll present each post with a small snippet from the article.

• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1189956/Why-crash-dieting-DOES-work-Surprise-evidence-suggests-best-way-slim.html“Here’s a sobering thought: beach weather is nearly here, and the diet you’ve been meaning to embark on since January remains in the planning phases.

  You really don’t want to expose those extra pounds to the world, but you do want to put on your swimsuit and feel OK about it. A crash diet seems to be your only option, but aren’t crash diets unhealthy – not to mention ineffective – after the first week? Not if you approach them correctly.

  Despite what many nutritionists have preached for years, low-calorie diets can be healthy if you do them right, and can work wonders on pounds and inches in just a few weeks.”

• http://www.canada.com/health/Weight+loss+lifestyle/1628412/story.html

  “Losing weight is all about choices, whether it’s food choices or lifestyle choices,” says Rick Sgabellone, an Ottawa father of two who has struggled for years to keep his weight under control.

• http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151985.php

  The twin epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes will continue to fuel an explosion in heart failure, already the world’s most prevalent chronic cardiovascular disease, according to John McMurray, professor of cardiology at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow, and President of the Heart Failure Association. He reported that around one-third of patients with heart failure have evidence of diabetes, and for them the outlook is very serious. For doctors, he added, effective treatment is “very difficult”.

Here is to your health!

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: diet, lose weight, Weight Loss, weight loss articles, weight loss information

50 Weight Loss Tips – Day 2

Yesterday I mentioned that loosing weight is not about going on lengthy, complicated diets but of making lifestyle changes that in turn promote healthy weight loss.  Long term weight loss, and maintenance are paramount to your success — this can only be accomplished when you make changes changes to the way you eat, and live.

You can’t pretend to make lifestyle changes, if it involves going to fast food 3, 4 or 5 times per week.  You can’t pretent to make lifestyle changes if it does not involve some level or activity.

The math is simple – to lose weight your intake of calories needs to be at an level that will promote weight loss — at the same time, you need to burn those calories as well so that you enhance your weight loss.  Just because you eat less then sit on the couch, in front of the TV or on the computer — the pounds will not come off magically.  There is no magic formula, or pill.

Todays weight loss tip is this…

Break Up With Ronnie, Leave the King And Ditch Those That Are Making Fast Moves On You!

What I’m getting at, of course, is to drop the fast foods.

Lets draw up a breakfast menu from McDonalds.  I have use the Canadian site to obtain nutrition information for their products.  This information is freely available on the Internet through their website.

Breakfast Menu

I selected a small hot chocolate, Bacon & Egg Bagel and one Hashbrown – what may be a typical breakfast for someone on the go.

The total calorie cound is 850 calories, but more startling is the grams of fat in this meal – 39g which represents 60% of your daily intake!  Another stunning number is the mg of cholesterol, the saturated + trans fats (DV) and sodium at 225mg, 53% and 1,720mg respectively.

The amount of saturated fats in this meal is 10g and trans-fats is a modest .5g.

Now just to jog your memory:

• Saturated & Trans Fats – according to the World Health Organization:The relationship between dietary fats and CVD, especially coronary heart disease, has been extensively investigated, with strong and consistent associations emerging from a wide body of evidence accrued from animal experiments, as well as observational studies, clinical trials and metabolic studies conducted in diverse human populations…Saturated fatty acids raise total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol…The most effective replacement for saturated fatty acids in terms of coronary heart disease outcome are polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. This finding is supported by the results of several large randomized clinical trials, in which replacement of saturated and trans fatty acids by polyunsaturated vegetable oils lowered coronary heart disease risk. (World Health Organization, Population nutrient intake goals for preventing diet-related chronic diseases,5.4.4)

Some resources for you from the World Health Organization that talk about Saturated Fats:

• http://www.euro.who.int/HEN/Syntheses/obesity/20060713_10
• http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/facts/obesity/en/

In short Saturated Fats are BAD FOR YOU!

Some resources on saturated fats, and trans fats:

• http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2003/503_fats.html
• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trans-fat/CL00032
• http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3045792

This is not to say that you would not get saturated fats from other sources, but if these fats are coming through normal cooking you have the ability to control how much is entering your diet – with fast foods you have no control.  Well that’s a lie, you do have control – STOP EATING FAST FOOD.

Now to be fair, McDonalds just announced that their cooking oil will be trans-fat free in the US and Canada – http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN2234307520080523 - this just appeared on the Thomson Reuters website.  Here is a brief excerpt of the story:

OAK BROOK, Illinois (Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp has switched to cooking oils free of trans fats in all of its restaurants in the United States and Canada, Chief Executive Jim Skinner said on Thursday.

 

The restaurants made the switch over the past few months, he said.

 

By the end of the year, McDonald’s pies and other baked goods will also be free of trans fats, Skinner told the company’s annual meeting.

 

Consumption of trans fats — often in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils — increases the risk of coronary heart disease, according to health authorities.

But what about salt (or sodium)?  Sodium is needed by the body, however excessive amounts of sodium will contribute to high blood pressure.

According to the Mayo Clinic, 77% of the salt intake comes from processed and prepared foods.

So how much sodium do you really need?  According to the same story on the Mayo Clinic website:

Various organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, have published recommendations on daily sodium limits. Most recommend not exceeding the range of 1,500 and 2,400 milligrams (mg) a day for healthy adults. Keep in mind that the lower your sodium, the more beneficial effect on blood pressure.

In our sample breakfast menu above, we’ve already consumed 1,720mg of sodium — almost enough for the entire day in one meal!

Here is something else about sodium that I did not know:

Your kidneys regulate the amount of sodium kept in your body. When sodium levels are low, your kidneys conserve sodium. When levels are high, they excrete the excess amount in urine.

If your kidneys can’t eliminate enough sodium, the sodium starts to accumulate in your blood. Because sodium attracts and holds water, your blood volume increases. Increased blood volume, in turn, makes your heart work harder to move more blood through your blood vessels, increasing pressure in your arteries. Certain diseases such as congestive heart failure, cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease can lead to an inability to regulate sodium.

In order to effectively loose weight, and manage that weight loss over the long-term you need to make lifestyle changes — not diet.  Diets are temporary, whereas a lifestyle change is long-term and is an ongoing process.

One change you need to make is to slowly but surely eliminate fast food from your diet.  The only way to elminiate it, is to stop eating it.

Plan your meals in advance and prepare items at home the day or night before.  If you must opt for convenience foods, be aware of the contents of those foods so that you minimze your intake of saturated fats, trans-fats, and sodium.

By better monitoring what you eat, you can manage your lifestyle change for optimal weight loss.

We will be taking a break over the weekend, but will present to you with “50 Weight Loss Tips – Day 3″ on Monday May 26, 2008 where the topic of discussion will be “How To Satisfy Cravings Without Binging“.

There are many things that you can do to make a BIG impact to your life.  What have you done?  What will you try to do?  I encourage your participation to help you lose weight and to motivate other readers to do the same!

If you found this post valuable, please consider DIGGing it, STUMBLEing it or promoting it through other social media that you may be using.

Here is to Your Health,

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: diet, eliminate fast food, fast food, Weight Loss

50 Weight Loss Tips – Tip 0

Loosing weight can be very easy for some, and for others it’s a journey through hell.  I’m somewhere in the middle.  I can do it, I know I can – I have lost 100lbs but the next step is the hardest.  Continuing.

I’ve been working on several projects, most notably my make money online, Internet Business Blog and my personal blog Mohamed Bhimji dot com – the Website of an Aspiring Dot Com Mogul.

But that doesn’t mean I have stopped working here – another pet project I’ve been working on are still a bit of a secret, but something you will definately get a lot out of.

No – that’s not me.  That picture is of Manuel Uribe, perhaps the fattest man in the world.  You can read more about Manuel on his Wiki page – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Uribe - he is actually in the 2008 World Book of Records.

Before he went on a diet, here is what he ate:

Breakfast – 20 eggs, beans, 9 tortillas stuffed with cheese and meat, fizzy drinks, coffee, lard.

Lunch – Half a Chicken, 4 meat and cheese tortillas, salad, fizzy drinks, pasta, bread

Dinner – 3-4 eggs with hamburger, beans, 3-4 cheese and meat tortillas, bread, or pasta, fizzy drinks, coffee, milk

By February 2008, he has lost 570lbs.

One feature project that I am starting tomorrow – hence todays post is Day 0 – is entitled 50 Weight Loss Tips.

I will go over 50 different tips to help you lose weight – but I don’t leave it at that.  I look at each point, and go into detail and where possible I provide additional resources to help you out.  I do my best to NOT give resources that will cost you money but rely on Government and Health websites that are run by non-profit organizations.

This is also YOUR chance to contribute to YOUR WEIGHT LOSS by taking part in the discussion for each point.  If you are truly serious about loosing weight, then I hope you will take part.

Through these posts, if you like what you see I would really appreciate a STUMBLE UPON, DIGG or mention on your blog, FaceBook/MySpace page or other social media you are using.

Here is to Your Health,

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: diet, nutrition, Weight Loss, weight loss tips

Top 10 Reasons You Are A Couch Potatoe

 

Are you a couch potatoe, but don’t even realize it?

How can you tell if you are a couch potatoe?  Well, simply continue reading “Top 10 Reasons You Are A Couch Potatoe”…

 

 

Going To The Health Club Is Intimidating

It’s a daunting task to head out to the gym and you being the only big person there.  Don’t worry, we’ve all been in that boat.  Don’t kill yourself over it.  Go out for a walk.  Walking is great, and very inexpensive.  A good pair of walking shoes shouldn’t cost you more than $80 (and that’s on the high side).  Most areas people live will have schools, and as such there will probably be a track there — just walk around and around and around… or walk your neighborhood!  For example…

walking, 2.5 mph, firm surface	walking	214
walking, 3.0 mph, level, moderate pace, firm surface	walking	236
walking, 3.5 mph, uphill	walking	429
walking, 4.0 mph, level, firm surface, very brisk pace	walking	357
walking, 4.5 mph, level, firm surface, very, very brisk	walking	450
Walking, 5.0 mph	walking	572

That’s how effective walking is.  You save your sanity, and work on loosing the tummy.  I see that as a WIN WIN situation for you!

No More Self Control

You’ve given up.  You have no more self control left.  You walked by the donuts in the office, you evaded the “lets go out to lunch” question and stopped yourself from buying the bag of chips.  Don’t worry – you’re human, and we all loose control every now and then.  The key is to recognize when you are loosing control.  If you’re craving chips, HAVE THEM!  But why not buy one of those small bags that are one serving in size?  I’ve seen pop that’s half the size of a regular can as well.  What you don’t want happening is binging — that is, eating EVERYTHING in site then feeling sorry for yourself.  Nobody else will feel sorry for you, trust me.

I read somewhere that self-control isn’t an unlimited resource. The more self-control you exert, the less you have left. If you’re looking to replenish your supply, get some sleep. 

It Is Painful To Exercise

Speak to your doctor.  It should not be painful to exercise.  Once the doctor has said that there should be no reason for the pain, speak to a trainer that can work with you to come up with a workout that is gentle to your muscles and joints.  Better yet, seriously consider water exercise and low-impact aerobics.

Nobody Else Is Doing It

Are you trying to loose weight for someone else, or for your own health and well being?  Enough said…

Too Damn Expensive!

No, it’s not.  Walking is cheap.  You don’t have to spend $80 on a pair of walking shoes, buy a decent pair of shoes and walk.  You don’t need anything else special.  I’m sure you can pick-up a water bottle for under $5, you should have shorts or sweat pants at home, right?

You DON’T have to go to the gym!

Try water exercises – most facilities will allow you to purchase a daily/weekly/monthly or yearly pass for cheap.  This will typically give you access to any additional programs that they run – so you don’t need to pay extra for a water exercise class or other such classes.

I’m Not That Young Anymore

Friend – neither am I.  I’m pushing 40, and trust me it is VERY hard to get going.  As you start with a regular exercise program, you will find that it does get easier.  Your body will loosen up, and it will slowly become habit to do something.  But the first step is action.

Don’t try to run a marathon on your first day.  Start of slow, and easy.  10 minutes on day 1.  15 minutes on day 2, 20 minutes on day 3.  By the end of the week set a goal of doing 30 minutes per day.  Also break up your time.  I do 30 minutes in the early morning, and 30 minutes in the evening.  During lunch, I try and go out for a walk.  Mix it up!

Exercise Is Boring

Yes, it is boring.  That’s why you have to mix it up!

Something else that I found…

When it comes to choosing between sitting on the couch or taking a walk, some people just prefer the sedentary option. That’s a shame, researcher say, since apart from being a great way for people to lose weight, exercise has been shown to improve cognitive function, help control hypertension and reduce the risk of developing depression.

No Time

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

It’s the most common excuse people use to explain why they’re not working out, trainers say. People are just too busy. Women, in particular, tend to say they feel too overloaded to find time to hit the gym, according to research from the Saint Louis University School of Public Health. Experts say people need to schedule time in their days to work out, just as they would a meeting, and make an effort to take brisk walks during the day.

Too Hot Outside, Too Cold Outside, Too Rainy, Too Humid, Too Dry, Too Sunny, Too Cloudy…

See above.

OK, so the weather does play a big role in whether we will exercise or not; but come on – if you’re constantly making excuses then something is wrong.

I Don’t Feel Safe

People with lower incomes tend to be less physically active. New research from Harvard University suggests one major reason is that people living in low-income areas may not consider their neighborhoods safe enough to perform outdoor exercise. In a 2007 study, women in a low-income section of Boston who reported feeling unsafe at night took 1,000 fewer steps per day than other women–that’s 20% less physical activity.

What can you do?  Try exercising with a group of people.  Many shopping malls have mall walker programs, consider joining them.  Check out your local YMCA or other fitness facility to see if they offer low cost or free programs.  I’ve even seen some commercial organizations (The Running Room) offer group programs.

While your safety is extremly important, so is getting exercise.  There are always options available, you just need to put in a little leg work and find them.

So, what’s YOUR reason for not exercising?

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: diet, Exercise, health, nutrition, Weight Loss

8 Reasons Why You Should Watercize

Lets get the disclaimers out of the way.  Before YOU start any exercise program, speak to your health practitioner (i.e., doctor) about the program in which you wish to undertake.

Now that that is out of the way…

So I take my son (who is now 5 years old) swimming every Saturday.  He goes for lessons, but we go at least 2x per week outside of the lessons so he can practice, have fun and become one with the water (he is still a little scared of sinking).  I go with him as well, since parent/guardian needs to be with any child under the age of 7.

One thing that I notice is the B-I-G men/women, only because I’m big and it’s good to see that they are working on improving their health.  But one piece of advice – DON’T WEAR THOSE DAMN TIGHT SWIMMING OUTFITS!!!  Sorry to shout, but nobody wants to see every roll or bulge.  It’s just disgusting.  Yes, I know full well that we need to be happy with the body we have, but come on — some decorum, please? 

Regardless of your size, you should always wear clothing that complements your body shape.  Do you really want to see someone in skin tight clothing that weighs 350lbs?  It obviously looks better to see someone that’s at their ideal weight (or close to it) wearing some form fitting clothing, so long as it complements them.

Anyway back to swimming.  While splashing around in the pool is fun, and sitting in the hot tub is heaven, you should also think about watercize.

Watercize is basically exercise, but in the water.  For us big folks, this is a great alternative to heading to the gym.  I hated going to the gym, and haven’t gone for years.  You really stick out, since generally you’re the biggest of the bunch.  And head into the changerooms!!  I won’t even go into THAT discussion… I’m sure you can see the picture.

I’ve gone to a few watercize classes, and have really, really enjoyed them.  Most of the attendees were big folks trying to get into shape and loose weight.  There were a few skinny folks there, but they were there to support their significant others — cool!

Most major cities will have public pools that offer water exercise programs, you should look into what your local facility offers and attend a few classes to see if it is for you.  If you intend to follow your own exercise regiment, you can purchase your own equipment as well — though I would not recommend you go that route even if there are no programs in your area.  Basically what you do on land, in terms of aerobic type exercise can be done in the water – obviously sit-ups are out of the question.

Water exercises can be done in shallow, or deep pools.  When I attended, the instructor suggested to go into water that is at least chest deep so a few inches below the neck.  As I don’t swim, it was a bit scary for me and I had to pay special attention to balance — which is difficult in water.  But as I said, you can do many of the exercises in shallow pools as well.

As with any type of exercise you need to warm up.  This helps flex and extend your joints so that you don’t hurt yourself.  As you are warming up, you are also getting yourself ready to exercise as such through the process of the warm up you are:

• Increasing heart rate
• Increasing respiration (breathing)
• Mentally preparing you for a water workout
• Increasing blood flow to muscles
• Promoting body awareness

The primary session should last between 20 and 40 minutes.  The sessons I went to were 30 minute long, including the warm up.  The nice thing with these sessions is that once you pay to get in, you’re not kicked out at the end.  You can continue with your exercises (provided the pools are not booked for other programs).

The watercize program that I was in followed other exercise programs:

1. Endurance training Perform movements at a consistent pace. Incorporate long body movements, and keep breathing comfortably during your water workout.
   Objective: Increase cardiovascular endurance, improve body composition and burn fat.
2. Interval training Alternate between moderate speeds and faster sprints. Use smaller movements at a faster pace with rest intervals ranging from 30 seconds to 2 minutes in duration.
   Objective: Increase anaerobic capacity, muscular endurance, alleviate boredom and burn fat.

My instructor mixed things up to keep us actively involved.

Finally at the end you want to go through a cool down period.  For our group this was 3 to 5 minutes of easy fluid movements in the water.  Decrease speed and perform movements which emphasize those muscle groups worked out during the session.  The objective is to return heart rate to normal range, prepare the body to leave the water, complete the session, increase flexibility.

Most programs offered, will also provide some equipment for you to use and that’s why I do not suggest you buy the equipment right away.

Tomorrow, I’ll go over some leg and arm exercises you can use in the water.

I am also looking at purchasing several copies of an excellent water workout DVD and offering it either for sale here (at a HUGELY discounted price) or for a contest.

Why Water Exercise?

So now we’ve discussed what it is, and what you should be doing lets quickly go into WHY.  Well, we all know why – to get into shape, loose weight and to increase our level of health and well being.  But specifically why water exercise?

1. Effective and Safe for all Populations.
2. Less than Low Impact.
3. Buoyancy and Hydrostatic Pressure presents support and reduces the force of gravity.
4. Shallow Water Calesthenics or Deep Water Movements offer Strengthening and Cardio-Respiratory Fitness.
5. Flexibility Classes are supreme for people with arthritis or like disabilities.
6. Deep Water Aerobics Calories burned – 400-500 per hour or 9.8 calories a minute; that’s about the equivalent of calories burned during a 10-minute fitness walk. If you walk 3 miles an hour, you burn up to 300 calories an hour.
7. Advantages: No-impact workout. 12 times the resistance of air, evenly in all directions. Promotes muscle balance because you use more than one muscle group at a time.
8. Socialization – make new friends.

Additional Research on Water Exercise

Here is some research on water exercises – these are only from “trusted” sources, such as government websites or other authority sites.  I avoid providing information from commercial sites, unless I can find the information as back-up from another authority site.

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17719306 - Land versus water exercise in patients with coronary artery disease: effects on body composition, blood lipids, and physical fitness.
• http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/aqua.html - Water exercise is rapidly growing in popularity. Exercise enthusiasts, athletes, elderly, and the physically challenged are discovering aquatic exercise programs that suit their fitness desires. An advantage of aquatic exercise is that it can involve the upper and lower extremities through optimal ranges of motion while minimizing joint stress.
• http://www.dukehealth.org/HealthLibrary/News/363?search_highlight=swimming

Some of the information is obviously aimed at medical professionals, as there are a lot of charts, numbers and equations — but you should be able to get the gist of the articles.

If you are looking for DVD and other information, here is a GREAT website that sells some products that may be beneficial to you – WaterWellnessWorkouts.com.

Enjoy!

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: diet, water exercise, watercize, Weight Loss

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