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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