Laurie Brown - Medifast Success Story

If you’re like me, you’ve tried every diet program out there. Seriously, the cabbage soup diet? Or, what about the one where you eat nothing but bacon? I was ready to give up.

I wasn’t always fat. But as you know, it can be harder to focus on yourself once you become a mom. And though I wouldn’t trade my two beautiful children for anything, I decided it was time to start taking better care of myself. And then my friend told me about Medifast.

I did my research, and discovered that Medifast has been around for more than 30 years, and has been recommended by over 20,000 doctors. The program works. With Medifast, I ate six delicious meals a day – no cabbage soup! – and could choose exactly what I wanted to eat, and have it delivered, too!

Medifast meals are so satisfying that I never felt like I was missing out on anything. And the weight just flew off. I went from 182 pounds to 140 pounds in two months, and it was probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done.

I know that you might need a little extra boost to start your weight-loss journey with Medifast. I am excited to share some money-saving coupons with you, just click here for some great deals. What do you have to lose? http://www.medifasthealth.org/blog/working-medifast-coupons/

We love it to read about success stories on the Medifast Plan. Last week, an unemployed mom posted here Medifast Success Story.

Here is her story …

“I recently decided to transition into maintenance mode. While losing a total of 40 pounds would have been a nice even number, I am beyond thrilled with losing 39 lbs! My original goal was to lose 35 lbs, so not only did I achieve my initial goal but I exceeded it!”

Note: Read more about Medifast Maintenance and Lean & Green Meals.

Umemployed Mom Finds Success with Medifast

“Even though I have shrunk in size, I have grown in so many ways! I had some concerns (changing what has worked so well) and shared those with my dietitian. After a pep talk from him and chatting with two Medifast blogging veterans (Kelly who is close to transitioning and Stephanie who has been successfully maintaining her loss for a year), my fears were alleviated. Talk about an enormous support group, with Medifast I have NEVER felt alone!
You know what…I got this! I really do! I know nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.
I have been reviewing the Medifast Transition Maintenance Guide to become familiar with how to gradually introduce foods back into my diet. The guide is easy to follow and breaks everything down. I have no fears.

“I began my Medifast journey on January 1, 2012 (my official starting weight was 179 lbs and I was wearing size 8 – 10 pants and large shirts)!

“Here are current my numbers!
Current weight: 131 lbs
Current size: 4, small tops
Total weight loss: 39 lbs

“I also ran 7 miles the other day like it was NOTHING! My usual running distance is 5 miles at least 3 days per week, my pace is getting faster and easier. I am healthy, fit and feeling phenomenal! I have my eyes on a 1/2 marathon later this year!

“YOU could also be celebrating weight loss success! All it takes is making the decision to change!

Medifast recently introduced a new customer savings program. See all the current Medifast Discounts & Promotions and sign up for the Medifast Advantage. How it works is when you order $250+ of product, you also receive 56 free Medifast Meals and free shipping too! The Medifast Advantage Program has a lot of perks, including free customizable meals and a free BlenderBottle®.

If you get on the Medifast Diet Plan, send in your results to us. We love to hear about the success people are having with Medifast.

Differences Between Butter & Margarine

When it comes to improving your health, the biggest favor you can do for your body is avoid fake food. You’d probably agree that when it comes to food, ants are pretty smart creatures and even they won’t touch fake food. You shouldn’t either. Avoid it like the plague.

But how about some background on the creation and marketing of margarine…

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys, yes, fatten turkeys. When the use of margarine killed the turkeys, the investors who had put all the money into the research wanted a return on their heavy investment so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money out of it.

What may shock you is that margarine was originally a white substance with absolutely no food appeal. Their solution? They added yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. Let’s discuss the main differences…

Believe it or not, both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams per serving; compared to 5 grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods you may consume.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has few and only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine…

• Very High in Trans fatty acids
• Triples risk of coronary heart disease
• Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)
• Increases the risk of cancers up to five times
• Lowers quality of breast milk
• Decreases immune response
• Decreases insulin response

And the most disturbing fact:

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC! And shares 27 ingredients with paint.

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

Open a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no value; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny micro-organisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Chinese Proverb:

When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.

Pass the BUTTER PLEASE.

Can a steady diet of bad food like fast food alter your brain? A recent study from Nature Neuroscience has linked high fat diets to neurogenesis and obesity in laboratory mice.

Brain changes: good or bad? What is Neurogenesis?

Neurogenesis is the growth of new brain cells. The adult neurogenesis observed by this study’s researchers is a rare form of brain change which has not been seen until now.

Neurogenesis is one manifestation of neuroplasticity, which can be promoted through good lifestyle choices. On the other hand, poor lifestyle decisions might also trigger unfavorable results. The Johns Hopkins researchers in this study found that a high fat diet could trigger unwanted neurogenesis.

Fact: High Fat Diets Change the Brain

The study which was conducted put mice into two groups: those fed a normal diet and those who feasted regularly on high fat foods. After just one month of chowing down, adult mice on high fat diets had quadruple the rate of new brain cell growth in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain responsible for regulating many metabolic processes.

But did neurogenesis also cause obesity? To answer this question, researchers irradiated the newly created portions of rats’ brains. Not only did radiation inhibit 85% of neurogenesis, but irradiated mice gained significantly less weight and fat mass compared to the group that kept their new neural growth—even though all of them stayed on the same high fat diet. Furthermore, irradiated mice used more energy and were more active despite their unhealthy diet.

Fighting Obesity: Current Methods

The link between diet, obesity, and the brain is thought-provoking. But take it with a grain of salt: the connection has yet to be confirmed in humans. As we wait for more research, consider some current methods that could help change your eating habits.

Many scientists have pointed out that obesity often functions like an addiction to food in the brain. And a 2012 study from the University of Amsterdam found that challenging cognitive training lowered addiction symptoms in individuals with a drinking problem.

As research continues to show that your behaviors change your brain, cognitive training becomes ever more important. Try strengthening your willpower today: exercising your brain is as important as exercising your body.

For help with a low-fat, low-sugar diet full of all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs, turn to the Medifast Diet.

Advertising for diets sometimes reaches an all-time low. Promises off “miraculous weight loss” practically overnight while still eating pizza, chocolate cake and donuts. Aren’t we smarter than this? Obviously not as Americans buy BILLIONS of these scam-type diets.

The old stand by of “diet and exercise” doesn’t work for everyone, and one of the main reasons it doesn’t work is the general food supply has become overly tainted with sugar, which completely kills any chance of normal weight loss.

Liquid diets fail because you crave chewing food. It’s true. The brain will have a fit because the “chewing” mechanism isn’t being used … and cravings to chew get so bad that they are overwhelming.

Medifast has claimed success through their meal replacement system and teaching people how to make one healthy “lean and green meal” per day. This helps them in the “maintenance” portion of the diet where you begin to cook more meals for yourself. You learn how to cook and eat more healthy.

It works. And 20,000 doctors back the diet plan over the last 30+ years.

Medifast is formulated as low-calorie and low-fat meals and by ensuring that all the necessary vitamins and minerals the body needs during the day to properly function are included. The system is basically simple, give the body what it needs and it will get rid of what it doesn’t need (stored fat). For some reason, people think Medifast is a scam because you have to buy their food.

It is far from a scam.

Medifast is a solid company. They are in the 28th position in the Forbes’s list of 200 finest small companies. Johns Hopkins University did a study and did extensive research and found the typical male weight loss was 67 pounds and typical female weight loss was 57 pounds on the Medifast diet.

Want to learn more of the success of the Medifast Diet? See real people in the Medifast Success Stories section.

Staying on any diet consistently is tough, not matter how much will power you have. You may ask yourself, “What about ‘cheat days?’” Will the one cheat day derail the previous six days of being faithful?

Good questions.

First of all, you should realize that the official line from Medifast is not to stray from the diet if you plan on achieving the best results. With that understood, if you are okay with taking a step back with every two steps you take forward, realizing that it will take you longer to reach your goal, then a cheat day can be worked in.

My advice is not to do a “cheat day” but focus on a “cheat meal” instead. This way, you can go back to some of the foods you crave, or go out with your friends. The sole purpose of the Medifast Diet is to get you off the bad foods that are actually poisoning your body and beginning to not just lose the weight, but also get healthier as well.

Remember this: this is YOUR diet. It is YOUR body. Whatever you do on the Medifast diet is YOUR business. My attitude is I would rather have you cheat once a week than have you quit the diet completely. Because to me, what is important about cheating is that you return to track as soon as possible. One thing I would like to remind you of, just because you cheat and it doesn’t show up on the scale doesn’t mean you should go for another cheat day. The scale can lie to you. The unhealthy fat that you have been working hard to get rid of will start to come back slowly, then will build. Don’t fall asleep at the wheel. Understand what your overall goal it … to look better, feel better and live longer!

Get your Medifast Diet plan food at a discount with our verified #medifastcoupons.

Up, down, up, down the cycle of weight loss and weight gain is widely known as “yo-yo dieting,” and while no one would argue that being overweight isn’t good for you, it has become conventional wisdom that this particular dieting pattern (which describes a way of life for a whole lot of people) does such long-term harm to your health that it can be even worse for you than just staying overweight.
But is that really true?

EAT THIS, NO REALLY, EAT THIS

A typical yo-yo diet scenario is what happens for a man or woman who works hard for six months to lose 50 pounds, then regains it over the next two years. Nearly every “diet program” available today with the exception of Medifast falls into this category. Why is Medifast immune? Because with their “Lean and Green” program, you learn how to cook better for yourself and your family, so when you are done with the program, your new skills carry you forward and your old habits are a thing of the path. Therefore, no yo-yo occurs.

All that said, there are strong correlations between what happens with mice and what happens with human beings, so researchers at Ohio University divided 30 mice into three groups.

• One group ate a high-fat diet and remained overweight throughout the study.
• A second group ate a low-fat diet and maintained a normal, healthy weight.
• A third group of mice yo-yoed, alternating between the two regimens, with four weeks on one and then four weeks on the other for the length of the study. The study lasted just over two years — until the mice had all died.

Throughout the study, researchers measured several important biomarkers of health, including amount of body weight and fat, blood glucose levels and signs of prediabetes such as glucose tolerance.

As you would expect, the always-overweight mice were consistently unhealthy, while the ones of normal weight had excellent health. As far as the yo-yo group, well, suffice it to say that if these mice wore jeans, their health status would have matched the sizes that fit them at any given time during the study. While they were on the high-fat diet, their weight and blood glucose levels were oversized, they became prediabetic (glucose intolerant), but when they returned to the healthy eating plan and lost weight, their glucose levels slimmed down to normal healthy levels as well.

A GOOD LONG LIFE

But the gold standard for judging a healthful lifestyle isn’t just how your blood looks on a given day, it’s also how long you live. So researchers also tracked the lifespans of all the mice. The result: The always-fat group died prematurely, surviving an average of just 1.5 years. The always-trim mice lived the longest and the yo-yo dieting group, subjected to what supposedly is a very unhealthful way to eat, were in the middle.

MORE GOOD NEWS

Dr. List said that there has been previous research in many laboratories that really underscored the value of losing weight even if you eventually regain it. Excess fat tissue in the body creates protein molecules called cytokines, and these cause inflammation and damage to organs in a variety of ways, he explained. The researchers measured these, too, and found that when yo-yo mice were in their thinner phases, with less fat tissue to create cytokines, they had fewer of them, as you might expect, and then their cytokine levels remained consistently lower than those in the overweight group even during the weeks when the yo-yo mice were eating the high-fat diet.

Dr. List says that his study shows how important it is to never give up trying to achieve a healthy weight. Instead of throwing up your hands and saying “why bother,” he suggests thinking of this as we do of smoking. Any day you don’t have a cigarette is a favor to your health, and now it appears that any time an overweight person loses weight is likewise a benefit, even if history suggests that you will gain it back. And who knows, maybe one day you won’t!

But the key is, if you don’t want to die prematurely, you need to start today with a Weight Loss Plan and Medifast is your answer.

Source(s):

Edward List, PhD, scientist, Edison Biotechnology Institute, Ohio University, Athens.

It’s bad enough that springtime can bring miserable allergy symptoms like itchy eyes, a runny nose and persistent postnasal drip, but more patients seem to be noticing that their pesky pollen allergies are accompanied by a whole other set of seemingly unrelated problems, including allergic reactions to many of the most popular fruits and vegetables, the healthy foods that we thought were supposed to help us!

While seasonal hay fever and food allergies aren’t associated in many people’s minds, there can in fact be a connection, according to practicing allergist Hannelore Brucker, MD, of the Southdale Allergy and Asthma Clinic in Minneapolis. Dr. Brucker began studying this phenomenon, called “oral allergy syndrome,” when she noticed that more of her patients were complaining about strange symptoms, such as an itchy mouth from eating a banana or hives on their skin from peeling potatoes. According to Dr. Brucker, pollen allergies affect about one in five people and, in her practice at least, about one-third of these unfortunate folks also are having allergic reactions to fruits and vegetables and some nuts and herbs.

A SIMPLE CHEMISTRY EQUATION

It sounds mysterious, but there actually is a straightforward explanation as to why this happens. Chemically speaking, some of the proteins in pollen and certain fruits and vegetables (listed below) are very similar, Dr. Brucker calls them “crossover proteins.” Their purpose is the same, in pollens and in fruits and vegetables, these proteins help protect against pests that would harm the plants.

As we all know, in some people, the body manufactures antibodies to fight off seemingly benign substances (such as pollen) that it regards as foreign and intrusive. This then sets off a chain reaction that releases histamine, which starts inflammation and produces all those irritating symptoms that make spring and/or fall so very unpleasant for affected individuals.

THE FOOD CONNECTION

What happens with oral allergy syndrome is that when susceptible people are exposed to pollen that irritates them (such as birch tree pollen from March through May or ragweed pollen from mid-August to the first frost), their bodies not only build up antibodies but, over time, they also begin developing an allergy to the fruits and vegetables that have similar proteins.

For most people, the problem manifests itself as itching in the area of the lips, tongue and throat (hence the name “oral” allergy syndrome). This usually occurs within a few minutes of eating or touching the offending food and almost always vanishes quickly with no intervention, but, Dr. Brucker said, a small percentage of patients experience reactions that are extreme and dangerous, including constriction of the throat or, rarely, anaphylactic shock. If this happens, it is a medical emergency that requires an immediate trip to the hospital.

THE OFFENDING FOODS

Heat (cooking) alters the chemistry of the proteins and makes them no longer problematic, so for the most part these reactions occur only with raw fruits or vegetables. Carrots and celery are frequent offenders, possibly because they often are eaten raw. Peeling potatoes also can make hands itch or produce hives or watery eyes in those who are sensitive.

According to Dr. Brucker, the stronger the pollen allergy, the greater the likelihood that you’ll have an oral allergy reaction. Time of year is also relevant since the various pollens are seasonal, if you are allergic to birch, you may be more allergic to its cross-reactive fruits and veggies in the spring, when you are having intense allergies. The reactions may vary among different strains of the same fruit and, as noted above, also will be affected by cooking.

If you are allergic to any type of pollen, now you know to keep track of any adverse reactions you get from eating fruits or vegetables, and then to consider limiting those foods, or at least eating them only cooked, not raw. For example, here is a list of foods from Dr. Brucker that are known to evoke oral allergy symptoms in people allergic to birch and ragweed.

Foods Reactive to Birch Allergy

Apples
Pears
Cherries
Peaches
Plums
Apricots
Carrots
Celery
Potatoes (raw)
Kiwi
Hazelnuts
Almonds

Foods Reactive to Ragweed Allergy
All melons, including

Cantaloupe — the most reactive
Watermelon
Honeydew
Cucumbers
Bananas
Zucchini
Chamomile tea
Echinacea (an herb)

A few other interesting facts: There is some indication that yet another common allergen, grass pollen, can lead to oral reactions, for example to tomatoes.

While many people have other types of food allergies, such as to peanuts, fish and shrimp, Dr. Brucker told me that these are completely different from, and not related to, pollen allergies and oral allergy syndrome.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

If you’re thinking, “hmm… this itchy mouth stuff sounds familiar,” Dr. Brucker suggests you schedule an appointment with your allergist.

It’s smart to bring along the actual offending raw, fresh food so that your doctor can use it to do an easy skin-prick test, in which the doctor uses a needle to prick the fruit and then the patient’s skin and observes the reaction, a test that has the advantage of producing an immediate result that doesn’t require sending samples to a lab. (Note: Dr. Brucker said that some doctors use commercial fruit extracts for this testing, but since these products have been heated for sterilization, they may not produce a reliable result.)

And Dr. Brucker has one bit of good news for people who are allergy sufferers and also have oral allergy syndrome, the problem tends to fade away about the same time the pollen does.

Source(s):

Hannelore Brucker, MD, is a practicing allergist at the Southdale Allergy and Asthma Clinic in Minneapolis.

If you’re like many people, you manage to exercise almost every day, but you’re not always motivated to do your best. And there are periods when “almost every day” doesn’t happen either. Sound familiar? Well, I’m happy to tell you that researchers have discovered a way that we can all improve our exercise performance merely by teaming up with the right kind of partner, and that partner does not have to be a human being. A “virtual” partner can be just as effective.

All this came to light during recent experiments at Michigan State University, where researchers asked test subjects to compare how well they were able to do plank exercises, in which you strengthen abdominal muscles by lying facedown on a mat and pushing up with your feet and your forearms until your body is suspended several inches above the mat, straight as, yes, a plank. The object is to keep your body suspended for as long as possible.

The main purpose of the research was to show the participants’ level of motivation and persistence depending on whether they exercised with a partner or alone. Results consistently showed greater performance when a participant had a partner. In fact, even a virtual partner spurred performance when compared with a participant exercising alone. How, you may be asking, did the researchers observe the impact of a “virtual” partner?

In several tests, participants could see themselves on a nearby EyeToy, the camera device designed for the PlayStation, the popular video game console. Alongside the EyeToy was a second screen on which participants saw a person, someone they had been introduced to briefly, and in person, as their new exercise partner. What participants didn’t know was that the partner on the screen was virtual. That is, it was a tape of a person exercising, which actually had been recorded the day before. Since the participants would be viewing their partners through a video link connected to a television screen, they wouldn’t know the difference and would, in fact, think of their partner as live.

Participants were told that they and their partners were a team of two whose rating would be determined by whichever team member got the worse score. For example, if a participant was able to stay suspended for 40 seconds, but the partner could remain suspended for two minutes, the team score would be 40 seconds. Results showed that the intensity and duration of exercise were always greater when participating with a partner. In one test, participants were offered a reward (a membership at a fitness club) for getting a high score. In a follow-up test, no reward was offered, but with the partner “present,” the team produced a higher score than when a reward was offered.

REWARDS HAVE LIMITS

Results surprised even the lead researcher, Deborah Feltz, PhD, university distinguished professor and chairperson of Michigan State’s department of kinesiology. Dr. Feltz said, “It appears that working as part of a team and helping a teammate is stronger motivation than the prospect of a reward”, and a good part of that motivation, she said, appears to be based on the concern of letting a teammate down or on being identified as the weak link in the team.

Of course, participants did think that they were watching their partners perform live, but Dr. Feltz said it probably wouldn’t have made much difference if they had known that the video had been taped earlier. Many other studies, she said, have shown that people routinely treat computers, whether robotlike or with screens that display words, as if they’re human. “If you doubt that, just think about all the people who curse the GPS in their cars when it gives wrong directions,” she said. An upcoming study at Michigan State will focus specifically on using computer-generated partners in physical exercise, Dr. Feltz said.

In light of this research and other studies, Dr. Feltz had this advice for anyone who wants to exercise more effectively…

Instead of giving yourself a reward for exercising, choose a partner with whom you can work out.
The best exercise partner is someone who is slightly more fit or proficient than you are. This is because doing as well as, or better than, the partner becomes a goal. Conversely, it can be discouraging to work out with someone who is far more competent than you are. In fact, the study found that participants lost motivation if they believed that they could never keep up with their partners, and working out with someone who is far less competent than you isn’t great, as it’s all too easy to become bored.

In the next few years, Dr. Feltz expects we’ll see many video health games that take advantage of the notion of working out with virtual partners. Imagine a brave new world where we’ll all be exercising often and more effectively, not wanting to let our partners, virtual though they may be, feel that we haven’t done our utmost!

Source(s):

Deborah Feltz, PhD, an expert in sports psychology, is a university distinguished professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing and chairperson of the department of kinesiology.

When it comes to personality and weight control, there are certain things that make perfect sense. Those undisciplined types who mindlessly eat whatever is in front of them while they watch TV or purposefully stuff down food at the kitchen counter tend to be heavier, while the organized, conscientious people out there are the ones who measure out their portions, are more likely to keep the pounds off. But apparently, not all personality-weight associations are quite so logical. Now scientists are learning that some surprising personality traits may lead to a growing waistline.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) recently studied the relationship between personality and weight over a substantial period of adulthood. The findings reveal that people who are aggressive, cynical and competitive are prone to gaining extra weight. That didn’t make sense to me as I am all of those things and I don’t have an issue with keeping weight off because I watch what I eat and exercise regularly. Take it from me, competitive types do whatever it takes to remain in control, and that includes one’s weight.

But according to lead investigator Angelina Sutin, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the NIA’s Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience in Baltimore. She said that the research, which appeared in the July issue of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, produced a mix of results that don’t always add up as easily as we’d expect.

“We know how complex the reasons for weight gain can be, and we were extremely interested to see how psychological factors might contribute,” Dr. Sutin said.

Dr. Sutin lead the observational study, which examined data from the NIA’s Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), an ongoing research project that addresses normal aging. In the BLSA, 2,000 men and women were weighed and their body mass index (BMI) and other markers for excess fat were measured over the course of 50 years. Participants were generally healthy and highly educated. All were evaluated on what personality psychologists call the “Big Five” domains of personality, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness and openness, along with 30 subcategories of these traits. Researchers measured which personality traits were associated with weight gain, and which ones weren’t.

Among all personality traits, and this was not unexpected, the biggest contributor toward weight gain was impulsiveness (a subcategory of neuroticism). Those who fell into the high end of the impulsivity range gained, on average, an extra 22 pounds over their life spans. “Individuals with this [characteristic] tend to give into temptation and lack the discipline to stay on track amid difficulties or frustration,” Dr. Sutin found. “To maintain a healthy weight, it is typically necessary to have a healthy diet and a sustained program of physical activity, both of which require commitment and restraint. Such control may be difficult for highly impulsive individuals.”

What other traits influenced an accumulation of pounds? Some others were obvious, like extraversion, which I can easily associate with a certain joie de vivre that could lead to weight gain. Neuroticism, conservativeness, warmth and a tendency to take risks were also traits that (unsurprisingly) were associated with weight gain. It isn’t that hard to picture a heavyset, warm, conservative person, especially if he is also a risk taker, Winston Churchill, anyone? But then there are the antagonistic people (those who are aggressive, competitive and cynical). We might expect them to be thinner because, after all, no mere plate of food is going to get the best of them! But they actually tended to gain more and more weight over the decades, until they became clearly too heavy for good health. And there may be a physiological reason for that, Dr. Sutin told me. “Antagonistic people can be very reactive to stress,” she said, “and stress increases the production of hormones that can lead to weight gain.”

And who consistently maintained their weight over the decades? No surprise here. It tended to be the people who were open, agreeable, conscientious, active, straightforward, modest, orderly and/or dutiful.

More research may yield clues as to how to apply the personality traits of thinner people to those less likely to resist fried chicken and Oreos. Until then, if you’re having trouble watching your weight, watch your stress level. It may be turning your battle of the bulge into a war.

Source:

Angelina Sutin, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow, National Institute on Aging, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Baltimore.