Weight Loss Lifestyle

Obesity is counterproductive to a weight loss lifestyle. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. A healthy weight reduction lifestyle is the only way to shed the excess weight. Obesity raises the risk of developing heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, sleep apnea, and other medical conditions. Healthy weight loss... Track weight loss... Obesity rates are escalating...

A 2006 survey listed the 'fattest' states in the country. The 10 fattest states in terms of obesity are: (1) Mississippi (30.9%) (2) Louisiana (30.8%) (3) West Virginia (30.6%) (4) South Carolina (29.1%) (5) Alabama (28.9%) (6) Kentucky (28.6%) (7) Arkansas (28.0%) (8) Tennessee (27.4%) (9) Indiana (27.2%) (10) Texas (27.0%.) A healthy weight loss lifestyle is the only way to reduce these numbers.

Don't blame obesity on your genes or slow metabolism (July 9, 2008.)
Obesity report card for 2011 ... it's getting worse!

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America's seemingly unlimited food supply is one reason people find it hard to adopt a healthy weight loss lifestyle. A RAND Corporation study looked at the growing obesity (See July 11, 2007) rates in America from 2000 to 2005. Americans who had a BMI of 30 or more grew by 24 percent; those with a BMI of 40 or more grew by 50 percent; those with a BMI of 50 or more grew by a whopping 75 percent!

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, the percentage of Americans aged 20 and over who were overweight in 1960 was 45 percent. Americans aged 20 and over who were obese in 1960 was 13 percent. Currently 66 percent of Americans are overweight while 32 percent are obese.

In his book The End of Overeating, David Kessler writes, "In 1960, when weight was relatively stable in America, women ages 20 to 29 averaged about 128 pounds...By 2000, the average weight of women in that age group had reached 157..." The trend was similar in women aged 40 to 49. Average weight spiked from 140 pounds in 1960 to 169 pounds in 2000.

In a survey of the world's fattest countries, the United States was ranked number 9 by Forbes.com. 237 million Americans or 74 percent aged 15 years and over are overweight. Forbes.com determined its numbers by using the BMI which relates weight to height. The countries which had a greater percentage of overweight citizens are almost all located in the South Pacific. The native of the South Pacific islands now need a weight loss lifestyle.

From the mid-1970s to 2003-2004, obesity in America increased from 15 to 33 percent for ages 20 through 74. The rate more than doubled in a little more than 30 years. Here is an obesity rate breakdown for children in that same period: for ages 2 thru 5, obesity increased from 5 to 14%; ages 6 thru 11, obesity increased from 7 to 19%; ages 12 thru 19, obesity increased from 5 to 17%.

Did you know that 'convenience' leads to weight gain? Find out how here

(Below is my class picture taken in the early 60s. Only one person would be considered overweight. It was easier then to follow a weight loss lifestyle. Can you find that person? ('Click' picture to see larger image!)

A recent study found that the one occupation in America which is at the highest risk for obesity is the ministry. When adjustments are made for age and sex, ministers are 20 percent heavier than any other segment of society. A survey found that 76 percent of ministers are either overweight or obese. The typical Sunday meal does not support a healthy weight loss lifestyle.

Being overweight increases the risk of developing many chronic diseases. Following is a list of a few of them. As long as a healthy weight loss lifestyle is neglected, these chronic diseases will increase.

1. increases risk of developing diabetes, gallstones, high blood pressure, heart disease, colon cancer and stroke

2. being 5% to 10% overweight increases the risk of developing chronic disease

3. being overweight by age 50 increases the risk of death by 20% to 40%; obesity doubled or tripled the risk of death

4. increases liklihood of developing asthma by 50%

5. increases risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 300%

6. increases risk of high cholesterol by 200%

7. increases risk of developing heart disease by 200%

8. increases risk of developing arthritis by 200%

9. increases risk of developing high blood pressure by 200%. Weight loss & calories...

America's African-American community has a disproportionate number of members who are overweight. Almost 80% of African-American adult women are overweight and 67% of its adult men are overweight. African-American teenagers haven't escaped this epidemic either. Approximately 20% between the ages of 12 and 19 are overweight. A weight loss lifestyle can reverse this trend.

A French study revealed that overweight men placed on a low glycemic index (GI) diet lost a pound of fat (3,500 calories) from their abdomens. The length of the study was 5 weeks.

A follow-up study conducted in Europe found that people who implemented a low GI diet not only had better blood sugar levels, but smaller waists!

(Read the effect a high glycemic beverage has on blood sugar here...)

The body reacts to sleep deprivation as it does to chronic stress. This is because sleep deprivation puts the body in a stressful situation.

When the body doesn't get enough sleep, it pumps cortisol from the adrenal glands. At the same time glucose (blood sugar) levels rise. In response, the pancreas releases insulin to lower the glucose levels. The cortisol and glucose are the body's response to a perceived 'threat.'

The constant 'stress' caused by sleep deprivation brings about insulin resistance. Unchecked and uncontrolled, insulin resistance can lead to pre-diabetes, and then to diabetes. This also leads the body to store fat. A weight loss lifestyle under these circumstances is all but impossible.

A person needs an average of 7 hours of quality sleep per night.

A University of Chicago study reveals that a few sleepless nights strung together dropped leptin levels by 18%, and boosted ghrelin (hormone that triggers appetite) by about 30%!

Hoodia The hoodia plant is native to the southern part of Africa. Specifically, it can be found in the Kalahari desert which covers much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa. The Kalahari desert comprises 362,500 square miles.

The San people (commonly known as Bushmen) of the Kalahari desert have been eating the hoodia plant for hundreds of years. The hoodia plant has been a part of their diet NOT to lose weight, but to suppress their appetite. This was necessary on hunting trips when the game was scarce.

The hoodia plant was analyzed by a South African laboratory in the 1960s. It was part of a study of indigenous foods. When the plant was fed to laboratory animals, they lost weight.

It seems that hoodia mimics glucose (blood sugar) and its effects on nerve cells in the brain. It tells the brain that you are full even though in reality you are not. There are no side effects.

Hoodia contains an active compound which has been named P57 which can effectively turn off hunger and thirst. The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has $21 million invested in hoodia so that it can be manufactured as an appetite suppressant.

Important Note about hoodia. Hoodia is not a weight loss plant even though it can be used as part of a weight loss lifestyle. It doesn't speed up the metabolism to burn fat. As a matter if fact, it doesn't affect the metabolism at all. It merely suppresses the appetite!

Hoodia is not some magical one-shot weight-loss cure all. It can be effective in a healthy lifestyle already consisting of proper nutrition and exercise. Nutrition plus exercise plus hoodia is an effective weight loss/weight maintenance combination.

The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. There is plenty of deception and fraud in the marketplace. Some hoodia products currently on the market contain bogus ingredients, artificial sweeteners, and fillers.

If you are considering hoodia as part of a weight loss lifestyle, do your homework. This site is dedicated to the truth about hoodia, and recommends genuine products.

Serotonin

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas discovered that the neurotransmitter serotonin is not only a mood enhancer, but also assists in decreasing the appetite. Specifically, serotonin activates certain neurons that slow down the appetite while at the same time blocking the neurons that increase it.

While pharmaceutical companies will undoubtably try to formulate drugs to mimic what serotonin does, there are safe and natural ways to increase serotonin levels. The first thing to do is avoid all foods containing MSG (monosodium glutamate) and yellow dye #5 (tartrazine.) Yellow dye #5 is used in cereals, custards, beverages, ice creams, and preserves. By law it has to be listed on the ingredient label.

Make certain to get B complex vitamins. The body utilizes vitamin B-6 and other compounds to convert naturally occurring 5-HTP into serotonin. Get plenty of sun exposure. Last but certainly not least--exercise! Exercise boosts serotonin levels in the brain.

According to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone, commonly known as DHEA, significantly reduced abdominal fat and improved insulin levels. MRI images showed that DHEA reduced both subcutaneous and visceral fat.

Study participants were men and women from 65 to 78 years of age. Levels of DHEA reach their peak at the age of 20, and then slowly decreases. At the age of 70, there's only about 20 percent of the peak levels left.

The volunteer women who were given supplemental DHEA had a 10.2 percent decrease in visceral fat and the men experienced a 7.4 percent decrease. Both men and women experienced a 6 percent decrease in subcutaneous fat.

Dennis T. Villareal, M.D., assistant professor of medicine said, "Among different fat stores, visceral fat is specifically considered potent and metabolically active because its blood drains directly to the liver. Fatty acids from visceral fat get deposited in the liver and other organs and then mediate the decrease in insulin action that leads to an increased risk for diabetes."

The use DHEA as a fat reducing supplement has a champion in Dr. Mark Stengler, one of America's leading natural physicians.

According to an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a plant-based diet can be used to effectively build and maintain muscle.

The study used 400 male and female volunteers 65 years old and up. A group was given a high potassium diet to eat. A potassium diet comes from eating fruits and vegetables-an alkalizing, plant-based diet.

The group that ate a plant-based diet had 3.6 additional pounds of muscle (lean tissue) than the group that consumed half as much dietary potassium.

The following chronic diseases are directly related to being overweight or obese:

dangerous hidden fat
obesity and body shape
the fat to get you thin
portion sizes growing
fast food
the glycemic index
artificial sweeteners
the dangers of fructose
lose weight with CLA
protein essential in weight loss
understanding nutrition labels
mind makeover
understanding fat-free/low-fat labels
reduce stress
overweight and kidney disease
fat skinny people

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