Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight Loss - Part 8 Surgical options

8. How many pounds overweight should I be to be considered for a surgical weight loss program?
Weight loss surgeries-also called bariatric surgeries-can help treat obesity. You should only consider surgical treatment for weight loss if you: have a BMI of 40 or higher, have a BMI of 35 or higher and weight-related health problems, or you have not had success with other weight-loss methods.

Body mass index is a key index for relating a person's body weight to their height. The body mass index is a person's weight in kilograms (kg) divided by their height in meters (m) squared.

Common types of weight loss surgeries are:
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The surgeon uses surgical staples to create a small stomach pouch. This limits the amount of food you can eat. The pouch is attached to the middle part of the small intestine. Food bypasses the upper part of the small intestine and stomach, reducing the amount of calories and nutrients your body absorbs.

Laparoscopic gastric banding. A band is placed around the upper stomach to create a small pouch and narrow passage into the rest of the stomach. This limits the amount of food you can eat. The size of the band can be adjusted. A surgeon can remove the band if needed.

Biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) or BPD with duodenal switch (BPD/DS). In BPD, a large part of the stomach is removed, leaving a small pouch. The pouch is connected to the last part of the small intestine, bypassing other parts of the small intestine. In BPD/DS, less of the stomach and small intestine are removed. This surgery reduces the amount of food you can eat and the amount of calories and nutrients your body absorbs from food. This surgery is used less often than other types of surgery because of the high risk of malnutrition.

If you are thinking about weight-loss surgery, talk with your doctor about changes you will need to make after the surgery. You will need to: follow your doctor's directions as you heal, make lasting changes in the way you eat, follow a healthy eating plan and be physically active, and take vitamins and minerals if needed.

You should also talk to your doctor about risks and side effects of weight loss surgery. Side effects may include: infection, leaking from staples, hernia, blood clots in the leg veins that travel to your lungs (pulmonary embolism), dumping syndrome, in which food moves from your stomach to your intestines too quickly, and not getting enough vitamins and minerals from food

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Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight Loss - Part 7

7. Does quitting smoking lead to weight gain?

Yes and no. Not everyone gains weight when they stop smoking. Among people who do, the average weight gain is between 6 and 8 pounds. Roughly 10 percent of people who stop smoking gain a large amount of weight-30 pounds or more.

When smokers quit, they may gain weight for a number of reasons. These include:

Feeling hungry. Quitting smoking may make a person feel hungrier and eat more than usual, but this feeling usually goes away after several weeks.

Having more snacks and alcoholic drinks. Some people eat more high-fat, high-sugar snacks and drink more alcoholic beverages after they quit smoking. Some feel the need to snack absent-mindedly to keep their mouths busy on times that it is supposed to be pursed over a cigarette stick.

Burning calories at a normal rate again. Every cigarette you smoke makes your body burn calories faster, but is also harmful to your heart. Once you quit, you are no longer getting this temporary effect. Instead, you are burning slightly fewer calories on a daily basis.

Physical activity and a healthy eating plan may help you control your weight. In addition, being physically active may ease withdrawal symptoms during smoking cessation and help reduce the chances of relapsing after quitting.

While it is a good idea to be physically active and eat healthy foods as you quit smoking, try not to worry about your weight. It may be easier to quit first and focus on controlling your weight when you are smoke-free.

To lower your chances of gaining weight when you stop smoking:

Accept yourself.
Get regular, moderate-intensity physical activity.
Limit snacking and alcohol.
Consider using medication to help you quit if you feel you are about to get derailed from your plan.
Consider getting professional advice about weight control if the weight gain caused by quitting smoking will send you over the overweight standards.

Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight Loss - part 6

6. Are over-the-counter weight loss supplements helpful?

Weight loss supplements can be prescribed by a doctor or bought over the counter in many stores. Prescription weight loss drugs are used to treat obesity, while over-the-counter supplements are generally used for cosmetic weight loss. Non-prescription weight loss supplements include herbal weight loss pills, fat-burning pills, and many other diet and sports supplements.

Most clinical tests for weight loss supplements only last for a few weeks. For this reason, long-term benefits and side effects are often unknown until consumers get hold of a product and begin to use it for months at a time. The human body adjusts quickly to the effects of many weight loss pills, which is why many consumers may notice that a weight loss supplement may only work well for them for a few weeks.

Because weight loss supplements are often used to reap benefits quickly and with little effort, many consumers do little to change their lifestyle while using weight loss supplements.

For this reason, even those who see somewhat dramatic weight loss results might find that they gain the weight back over time. This is because achieving long-lasting weight loss requires that a person change their entire lifestyle. Crash-dieting for a few weeks may help you achieve your goal weight at first, but clinical tests show that in the long run the only way to maintain a healthy weight is to have a healthy lifestyle. This means eating properly and exercising regularly. Walking, hiking, dancing, and swimming are just a few of the activities that can help you lose weight and maintain weight loss.

A genuine candidate for weight loss supplements is a person who is seriously obese to the extent that it affects their health and their daily life. In these situations, the risks of obesity often outweigh the risks of using a weight loss supplement. This should be a person who is ready to commit to a lifestyle of healthy eating habits and regular exercise.

It is important to always talk to your doctor before using a weight loss supplement. Your doctor should know your medical history and perform a medical exam to determine your current health needs.

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Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight Loss - Part 5

5. How can I prevent regaining lost weight?

For most dieters, a regaining of lost weight is an all too common experience. Indeed, virtually all interventions for weight loss show limited or even poor long-term effectiveness. Some lose as much as 10 percent of their weight only to gain back 15 percent by the time they've given up on dieting.

If you've just lost weight and are trying to keep it off, don't rely on diet alone to keep those unwanted pounds at bay. It may not be enough, no matter what kind of "maintenance" diet you follow.

To avoid regaining weight, the best plan is to stick to a diet that works for you -- in combination with exercise.

Do not underestimate the power of eating breakfast as well. Researchers from Queens College of the City University of New York and other facilities collected data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, including more than 12,000 men and women. Their study was partially supported by the Breakfast Research Institute, sponsored by Quaker and Tropicana, which make breakfast foods. Those who ate breakfast tended to eat healthier foods during the rest of the day. Women-but not men-who ate breakfast had a lower body mass index than women who skipped breakfast.

Those findings may be especially good news for women. "Simply eating breakfast may help them control body weight and appetite throughout the day," the research concludes.

You can lose weight and keep it off long term, but to achieve that you must persistently have a low-fat, high-fiber diet, exercise a lot, eat breakfast, and monitor progress regularly and be prepared to tighten the reins if straying off the rails. Success is achievable without having an overly restrained lifestyle and improved quality of life is guaranteed. People who succeed will tell you how a great deal of effort is required but that at the end of the day it is all worth it.

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How to burn stored fat

The human body has evolved over the years to store fat in preparation for times of food deprivation. That is one of the reasons why it is so hard to burn off stored fat. This video explains how to solve this puzzle.

Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight Loss - Part 4

4. How do I spot a fad diet?

Fad such as grapefruit. These diets lack major nutrients such as dietary fiber and carbohydrates, as well as selected vitamins, minerals, and protective phytochemicals, such as antioxidants (substances found in vegetables, which are protective against disease). Over the long term, by not receiving the proper amounts of these nutrients, you may develop serious health problems later in life.

Also, by not being allowed to eat foods from food groups that are "banned," your body will tend to crave for them and cause you to lose control and start an overeating frenzy, which is worse than the diets take form in many ways: low-fat, low-carb, high-protein, or focusing on one food item case that you have begun with. Remember that a balanced diet is still key to full nourishment whether you need to lose weight or not.

Other tell-tale signs include:

Recommendations that promise a quick fix. Beware of advertisements that say "eat all you want and still lose weight!"

Dire warnings of dangers from a single product or regimen. You have to read the fine print on labels and booklets.

Claims that sound too good to be true. Like "lose 25 pounds in two weeks."

Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study.

Recommendations based on a single study or testimonials. Home TV shopping networks are full of these. Remember that these people are paid to appear in these infomercials.

Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations.

Lists of 'good' and 'bad' foods.

Recommendations made to help sell a product. If the study is made by the weight loss program creator or product manufacturer, take it with a grain of salt.

Recommendations based on studies published without review by other researchers.

Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups.

Eliminating one or more of the basic food groups.

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Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight Loss - part 3

3. How much exercise should I do?

Provided you're not consuming too many calories, any amount of exercise may help. About five hours of weekly exercise may bring the biggest weight loss for obese adults who are also watching their intake of fat and calories.

To maximize weight loss and minimize weight regain, it appears that overweight individuals should supplement dietary changes with approximately 300 minutes of exercise each week, which is twice the amount recommended for health for the general public.

Remember that we lose weight if we burn more calories than we take in. Normal maintenance activities like muscle repair and regular physiology and simple walking uses about 15 calories per pound. Someone who does not move around much all day might only needs about 13 calories per pound and someone who moves all day might use 17 or more calories per pound.

Every mile walked or run burns 100 calories more or less. Another way to look at it is every half hour of brisk activity burns about 300 or so calories, depending on how much you weigh now and how vigorous the activity is.

If you increase your activity by 500 calories a day and do not increase your eating, you will lose 3500 calories a week, the equivalent of 1 pound. Alternatively, if you reduce your eating by 250 calories per day and increase your activity by 250 calories, it's still a net loss of 500 calories per day or 1 pound per week.

The gym is not always the answer to exercise. You can do a lot of calorie-burning activities inside your house, like dancing, cleaning, or even gardening. But if you want to make sure that you burn this amount of energy in a specific amount of time, a gym membership would definitely help. You may also check out calorie counter sites to know how much energy a particular activity spends

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Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight Loss - Part 2

2. What steps should I take to lose weight?

Aside from regimented diet and exercise, a few adjustments in how you live your life can create a great impact on your weight loss efforts. Try the following:

• Walk to work. 
• Use fat free milk over whole milk. 
• Drink water before a meal.
  
   
• Eat leaner red meat & poultry. 
• Eat half your dessert. 
• Avoid food portions larger than your fist. 
• Mow lawn with push mower. 
• Increase the fiber in your diet. 
• Do yard work. 
• Eat off smaller plates. 
• Don't eat late at night. 
• Skip seconds. 
• Work around the house. 
• Grill, steam or bake instead of frying. 
  
• Go for a half-hour walk instead of watching TV. 
• Use vegetable oils over solid fats. 
• Sit up straight at work. 
• Wash the car by hand. 
• Don't skip meals. 
• Pace the sidelines at kids' athletic games. 
• Take wheels off luggage. 
• Choose an activity that fits into your daily life. 
• Make time in your day for physical activity. 
• Exercise with a video if the weather is bad. 
• Keep to a regular eating schedule. 
• Take a walk or do desk exercises instead of a cigarette or coffee break. 
• Perform gardening or home repair activities. 
• Avoid laborsaving devices. 
• Take small trips on foot to get your body moving. 
• Play with your kids 30 minutes a day. 
• Dance to music. 
• Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes in your car and office. 
• Walk briskly in the mall. 
  
• Choose activities you enjoy & you'll be more likely to stick with them. 
• Take the long way to the water cooler. 
• Vary your activities, for interest and to broaden the range of benefits. 
• Choose fruit for dessert. 
• Consume alcoholic beverages in moderation, if at all. 
• Take stairs instead of the escalator. 
• Conduct an inventory of your meal/snack and physical activity patterns. 
• Share an entree with a friend. 
• Grill fruits or vegetables. 
• Eat before grocery shopping. 
• Buy 100% fruit juices over soda and sugary drinks. 
  
• Stay active in winter. 
• Flavor foods with herbs, spices, and other low fat seasonings. 
• Remove skin from poultry before cooking to lower fat content. 
• Eat before you get too hungry. 
• Stop eating when you are full. 
• Snack on fruits and vegetables. 
• Top your favorite cereal with apples or bananas. 
• Try brown rice or whole-wheat pasta. 
• Include several servings of whole grain food daily. 
• If main dishes are too big, choose an appetizer or a side dish instead. 
• Park farther from destination and walk.

Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight Loss - Part 1

This is a long series so I'm going to break it up into easy to use chunks of information.


1. How do I know if I'm overweight and really need to lose weight?

People used to believe there was an "ideal" weight for every height. If you were 5'4", you were supposed to weigh X. If you were 5'0", you were supposed to weigh Y. Now we know better.The numbers on the bathroom scale don't tell you whether you are overweight. And there is no set number that says you are too thin, too heavy, or just right. Scales may be handy, but a better way to tell if your weight is healthy is to measure the proportion of fat in your body to lean body mass. Health professionals look at your body composition-including your muscles, bone, and body fat-for someone your age, sex, and height. Some people use a tool called the body mass index, or BMI, to help decide whether they are overweight. For example, if you are a woman and your BMI is 27 to 28 or higher, you are considered overweight.

Body mass index is a key index for relating a person's body weight to their height. The body mass index is a person's weight in kilograms (kg) divided by their height in meters (m) squared.
Overweight is defined as a BMI of 27.3 % or more for women and 27.8 % or more for men. Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 and above. (A BMI of 30 is about 30 pounds overweight.) Note, however, that some very muscular people may have a high BMI without undue health risks. 

Another way to determine your fat-to-lean muscle mass ratio is through the use of a caliper. A caliper is an instrument consisting essentially of two curved hinged legs, used to measure thickness and distances. It is used to pinch a part of your arm to see how much fat and lean muscle you have.

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Hottest Quick Weight Loss Diet - The 5 Factor Diet

The latest and hottest quick weight loss diet - the 5 factor diet works on the simple 5 points principle:

o 5 meals a day
o 5 ingredients per recipe
o 5 minutes preparation time

Devised by Harley Pasternak, the 5 factor diet is designed to help you lose weight quickly and effectively. This quick weight loss diet allows you to have five meals every day by following 5 different criteria's for each meal. The diet program needs to be coupled with a 25 minutes workout schedule that will be split up in to 5 days a week, for 5 weeks. The better part of the program - that no other diet program will offer you - is that weekly once you can indulge in a 'cheat' day and have your full!

Now let us look at what are these 5 criteria that will guide your 5 meal preparations. This quick weight loss diet concentrates on fiber, healthy fat, low GI carbohydrate, sugar-free beverage and finally low-fat quality protein as well. For breakfast you can take egg whites or apple-cinnamon oatmeal frittata, sugar-free cereals with fresh fruits like strawberries or blueberries, and use non-fat cottage cheese instead of yoghurt. In the hot cereals you can add some oatmeal and scoop in some whey protein as well.

At lunch time, use lots of soups and salads along with no-flour bread, or even a rice cake. Finally for dinner you can take lean chicken/steak/fish and moderate GI vegetables like wild rice, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, and other fiber foods. You can similarly plan out your diet for the rest of the days except one day a week where you can eat whatever you like to your heart's content. However, make sure to stick to this 5 factor calorie diet throughout the rest of the six days as it will help you see good results in a very short period of time.

The quick weight loss diet from Harley uses five fat-loss keys to unlock the mystery unknown to man regarding weight loss. This includes higher metabolism, good exercises, right calories, glycemic index watch and rest as well as recovery from such diet period. You need to improve your metabolism rate since that will burn away all calories and reduce fat inside your body. Similarly, consume right kinds of foods that give you least calories and use low GI foods to keep your blood sugar levels at a steady rate.

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How to get better sleep

Getting quality sleep is vitally important for being healthy. Lack of sleep can cause many problems including weight gain. If you find yourself struggling to get better sleep try these tips (although done for comic effect they really work!)

The Hunger Games

I am now 2 weeks info the fast and guess what? I still don’t feel hungry. Even the thirst has vanished. I wasn’t expecting this. After all the fasts this year are about 19 hours long here in Manchester and yet......

It seems it truly is mind over matter. It’s strange that every year this happens, almost as if a switch is flipped inside me that says “time to fast so no point in being hungry or thirsty”. Of course it helps that the weather this time has been kind as well. Although there have a few hot days, overall it has been fairly pleasant. In addition the rest of the household is also fasting so that too helps.

The only downside has been the lack of energy. Although I am moving around as much as usual, or some days more than that, it just seems more difficult. Getting up in the morning to start the day is also much more difficult.usually these have been the days when I have missed the alarm for the pre-dawn sehri and have had to leap out to get something in me before the fasting begins. This is approximately at 2:00am so I get generally about 2 hours sleep before waking, eating, prayers and then hope to get my head down for a couple of hours before the day properly starts.

But the hunger is totally abated. Maybe it is the fact that at iftar (the time at sunset when the fasting is over for the day) I am eating more than usual. This has been the same in the past, however, so something else is going on. Strangely I feel hungry in the minutes just before the fast breaks, maybe because I know that I will be eating soon.

It is always these last few minutes which are the hardest anyway as the stomach prepares to gladly receive the food which is on its way!

Liquid intake has been more than adequate as shown by the fact that I don’t feel thirsty at all. I am also drinking more plain water (hurray) so that cannot be a bad thing. The only exception to this is with the sehri where I am drinking a chilled drink of fruit flavour dextrose powder mixed with water. The reason is to top up my glycogen levels in my liver ASAP. Cool grapes straight from the fridge also make a delicious dessert. This has meant that my urine is almost colourless, which is the true sign of hydration. In normal circumstances you need at least 3 colourless urinations per day to show you are adequately hydrated. This is a lot more reliable indicator instead of the assertion to drink X glasses of water (what size?) or X amount (which depends on how big/old/sex you are) and so forth.

Sipping the water helps me to hold onto more of it. So after my meal and as soon as I wake at 2:00am I tend to sip instead of gulp. Every little helps as they say!

2 weeks down, another 2 to go.