When you are considering getting involved with a weight loss program, you are right away going to be bombarded with an extensive amount of questions that you will want answered. It is very important to have all your questions answered, but you may find it is hard to get your questions answered. If this is the case, then you may want to avoid that weight loss program.

With the vast amount of selections available, it is right away hard to make a decision, but at the same time, easy as you have many options available.

The Answers You Need

There are a variety of ways you can understand your weight loss program successfully, and the first step would be asking the right questions.

The following are a few of the questions that you will want to have an answer to:

• Do you offer a meal replacement diet or will I be supplying all the foods?
• What are your recommendations for improving my weight loss?
• What is the support like with your weight loss program?
• Are there any hidden fees/costs?
• Will you help me get off of your weight loss program when I’ve reached my weight loss goal?
• Do I receive free days where I can eat whatever I want in amounts I want?

A weight loss program should have the ability to answer all of these questions for you, and if they can not, then continue on searching for a better option.

A Weight Loss Program That Helps

One program that has the ability to answer all of these questions, plus any other additional questions you may have is the Medifast Diet. They are a diet designed around you, your health and your future. With Medifast, you are NOT going to have any hidden fees or costs, they will help you get off your weight loss program, they will supply you with Medifast meals, they have such an amazing support system behind their program that you’ll never feel alone through your dieting and they will help make the diet work better for you.

Medifast also allows you to eat one Lean and Green meal a day, so you never feel like all you are consuming is diet foods, meaning the likelihood of you wanting that “free day” never happens, especially since a free day is never a proper recommendation for anyone participating in a weight loss program.

When it comes to dieting, you not only want the ability to lose weight, but have all the help you require throughout. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and stressed with your diet, choose something that will help you every step of the way.

It is recommended to discuss with your doctor about your weight loss program before settling with a decision. Your doctor can help you understand your health more thorough and direct you in the right path of losing weight safely. Medifast also recommends that you discuss your weight loss wants with your doctor before starting their diet as well.

Even though it is backed by over 20,000 doctors nationwide, you have to take your health seriously and get the right information before beginning. If your doctor feels Medifast is the right diet for you and your needs, then consider using our Medifast coupon codes to save instantly on your Medifast Diet. It is a great way to lose weight while still saving money.

We have a lot of silly names for it: BMs, caca, doo-doo, turds, and of course, poop.

We don’t generally discuss it in our daily conversations.

But asking some important questions about your bowel movements might give you some insight into your gastrointestinal health. Here’s the scoop on poop.

ABCs of Poop

Bowel movements are the end result of your body taking the nutrients it needs from the food you eat and eliminating what’s left.

“Bowel movements are important for your health because they are the body’s natural way of excreting waste from the body,” says Eric Esrailian, MD, section head in general gastroenterology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

When it comes to frequency, color, shape, and size, a general rule of thumb is that normal bowel movements are defined as what’s comfortable for you. But being knowledgeable about your digestive process can help you identify when normal goes awry.

Frequency: “There is no normal when it comes to frequency of bowel movements, only averages” says Bernard Aserkoff, MD, a physician in the GI Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

It’s average to go once or twice a day, he says, but many people go more, and some go less — maybe every other day, and or as infrequently as once or twice a week. As long as you feel comfortable, you don’t need to give your BMs much thought.

Color: “Bowel movements are generally brown in color because of bile, which is produced in the liver and important to the digestion process,” Aserkoff tells Medifast Health.

The food you eat typically takes three days from the time you eat it until it finishes its journey in your toilet, Aserkoff says. If it takes a shorter time, the result may be greener stool because green is one of the first colors in the rainbow of the digestive process.

Color can be a red flag when it’s a drastic change, Aserkoff says.

“If stool is black, it can mean that you are bleeding internally, possibly as a result of an ulcer or cancer,” he says. Stool that is black due to bleeding is also “sticky” (tarry) and smells bad. However, black stools are common when taking a vitamin that contains iron or medications that contain bismuth subsalicylate.

Stool that is light in color — like grey clay — can also mean trouble if it’s a change from what you normally see. Although it doesn’t happen often, very light-colored stool can indicate a block in the flow of bile or liver disease.

Size and shape: “We used to believe that size was indicative of a problem if the stool was ‘pencil-thin,’” Aserkoff says. “But recent research indicates that this is actually not true.”

Size and shape are irrelevant, Aserkoff says, if what’s coming out is normal for you.

Odor: Bowel movements usually smell. But is it normal if your trips to the bathroom mean that the rest of the family has to avoid that part of the house for an hour or two?

The answer is yes. It’s normal, and probably a good sign that your gut is abundant with bacteria that is working hard to keep you healthy.

Your intestines are swarming with trillions upon trillions of bacteria that enhance digestive and metabolic processes. They are also the reason why poop smells — a direct result of the bacterial activity in your GI tract. So although it’s no bed of roses, it is normal for your bowel movements to stink.

Poop Problems

So what happens when your poop process gets out of whack? The first sign that your intestines aren’t up to par is a shift from your normal GI routine, and as a result, discomfort below the waist.

Constipation and Diarrhea

Constipation is a concern when you normally have a bowel movement once or twice a day, and that changes — maybe you haven’t gone in three days, or more. However long it’s been, you now feel gassy, bloated, and generally uncomfortable. When you try to go, you have to push and strain, and what comes out is a whole lot of nothin’.

Constipation can have many causes. It might be that you’ve had a shift in your diet, such as a drop in fiber intake, or maybe because you’re not drinking enough water each day, or because your physical activity level has decreased, slowing your metabolic processes down, including digestion. Certain medications (such as narcotic pain medicines and iron supplements) can also cause constipation problems.

Although constipation causes one set of problems, diarrhea can also mean digestive disaster. Whether it’s caused by a meal that just didn’t sit right, or a harmful bacterium or virus, it’s categorized by loose stool, and another hallmark of GI trouble — discomfort.

“Diarrhea can be caused by any number of factors,” Aserkoff says. “But the problem with diarrhea, in addition to the obvious, is that it can cause other health problems, like dehydration, if you’re living with it for more than two or three days.”

Generally, you recoup from a bout of diarrhea or constipation in a day or two, Aserkoff says. If not, it’s probably worth a trip to the doctor for further GI troubleshooting.

Blood in the Stool

“One of the most significant warning signs when it comes to bowel movements is blood in the stool,” Esrailian says.

Blood in your stool could be a symptom of something as significant as cancer and warrants a call to your doctor right away — even if you think it could be hemorrhoids, or tiny tears in the anal tissue, as a result of constipation and straining, he says. If you’re over 50, or if you have a family history of colorectal cancer, a colonoscopy is probably in order.

Other warning signs to watch for when your bowel movements have taken a turn for the worse are fever, abdominal pain, or dehydration — any one of which could be tied to GI trouble, such as a virus, appendicitis, or food poisoning.

Good GI Health

Tricks to keeping your poop on track are simple ones: a healthy diet high in fiber, lots of water, and regular exercise.

“Generally, 20-25 grams of dietary fiber per day is recommended, and for many people, you get this much in a healthy diet,” Esrailian says. “If you are having infrequent bowel movements and are experiencing discomfort, then the first easy way to correct it is to increase dietary fiber through food, supplement, or both.”

High-fiber powerhouse foods are whole-grain cereals and breads, fresh vegetables and fruit, and nuts. Usually, a day or two of a fiber-focused diet will put your trips to the bathroom back on track.

Proper hydration is also key for your colon, ensuring you have enough fluid in your body to move stool through the digestive track and out the other end on a regular basis, Esrailian says.

Exercise is also beneficial for your bowels. It helps improve GI “motility,” he says, and can often alleviate constipation by improving your metabolic and digestive processes.

Overall, normal is a pretty easy mark to make when it comes to your bowel movements, both experts say, and aside from the warning signs they offered, what goes in one end usually comes out the other with minimal problems along the way.

Acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) berries have been making headlines as one of the healthiest foods on the planet. They’re supposed to be good for weight loss, anti-aging, and more. But can acai really help you lose weight, as the online ads promise? Medifast Health asked diet and nutrition experts for the truth about acai and weight loss.

Researchers have found the acai berry has antioxidants that may protect cells from damage caused by harmful molecules in the body called “free radicals,” and may possibly help against diseases such as heart disease and cancer. But when it comes to weight loss, the hype is ahead of the science, because the research evidence for such a connection is lacking. Even Oprah Winfrey has posted comments on her web site disassociating herself with acai products that claim to promote weight loss.

“Acai is a nutrient-rich source of antioxidants, much like many other fruits, but there is nothing magical about the fruit to cause weight loss,” says David Grotto, RD, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life.

“There is not any single food, including the super-healthy acai berry, that can provide the solution to weight loss. To lose weight, you need to control calories with a healthy lifestyle approach that includes plenty of physical activity, nutritious foods, and adequate rest.”

No single “acai berry diet” exists. Instead, you’ll find advertisements for products such as “acai berry detox,” “acai burn,” “acai pure” and “acai berry edge,” promising quick weight loss. Some of the ads promise “450% more weight loss than dieting and exercise alone” and claim you can lose up to 20 pounds in one week.

According to some web sites selling acai products, acai’s fiber and essential fatty acid content contribute to its ability to “burn fat more efficiently, process food more quickly, cut down on cravings, and boost metabolism.” Detox acai products further promise to “cleanse” your system of fat and rid your body of “toxic buildup that is weighing you down.”

How can they make these claims? Unlike drugs, over-the-counter supplements and foods are not closely regulated, so some manufacturers can over-sell health benefits of their products.

Grotto does note that there is something unique about acai: It’s one of the few fruits, besides avocados, that contain monounsaturated fats (MUFAS).

While MUFAS may work to help keep you feeling satisfied if you include them in a calorie-controlled diet, the amount in acai is so small that you would need to consume large quantities to get enough MUFAs, he says. And not only would that be expensive, he says, it would add lots of extra calories. (MUFAS are also found in olives, avocados, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, soybean, flax, and olive and sunflower oils.)

Beware ‘Free’ Trials of Acai Weight Loss Products

Not only has acai not been proven to have the weight loss powers claimed in some of the ads, consumer groups warn that people who sign up for a “free” trial of acai diet products can get burned.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food and nutrition watchdog group, recently issued a warning that many companies offering free trials of acai diet products actually end up charging customers. Customers are asked to supply credit card information for shipping of the “free” sample, and some have immediately been hit with monthly charges of $80-$90.

The Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana offered a similar warning against online ads for acai weight loss products.

What Is the Acai Berry?

Grown in the Amazon River basin in Brazil, acai is a deep purple berry that tastes like a combination of wild berries and chocolate.

The berry’s anthocyanin content gives it its rich purple color. Anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants that may protect the body against cancer, inflammation, diabetes, aging, neurological diseases, and bacterial infections.

A 4-ounce serving of pure acai contains about 100 calories, iron, calcium, fiber, vitamin A, and 6 grams of fat — but because the berries do not transport well, most food products sold commercially use only a small amount of pure acai. Acai is available in capsules, powdered, as frozen pulp, and in bottled smoothies and other drinks.

If you’re considering buying acai products, read the labels, because the drinks may contain lots of added sugars and calories. And, be prepared for sticker shock at the grocery store, as most acai products carry a hefty price.

“Products made from acai are expensive because 95% of the berry is seed, and only 5% is the skin used to make food and beverages,” says Grotto.

Keep in mind that you can get similarly antioxidant-rich whole fruits and vegetables for a fraction of the cost of acai, and in their natural form (without extra sugar or calories). Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are more economical choices that deliver similar health benefits, says Grotto.

The Bottom Line on Acai and Weight Loss

The bottom line, experts say, is that acai can be part of a weight loss plan that includes a calorie-controlled diet, but by itself, it’s just another fruit. If you really want to lose weight, experts say, choose an eating plan that you can stick with long-term, and be sure to get regular exercise.

On the today show this morning, the author of “Eat This! Not That!”, which is a great series, was on to give his grades of some of the fast food chains out there and this is what he had to say …

McDonald’s – B+. While the author claims that McDonald’s has gotten healthier in recent years, and while that may be true, they still aren’t that healthy. Take the Egg McMuffin. I don’t know one person who can eat one and feel full, so you end up eating two. Each is packed with 820mg of sodium. If you eat two you have already exceeded your daily allowance in sodium if you have cardiovascular issues. Sure it is just 300 calories, but you need to ensure the sodium levels are normal. They aren’t here.

Olive Garden – D+. They are very high in sodium and most of their dishes are 1,000+mg of sodium. But check this out, if you order the Chicken Parmigiana, you are getting not just 1,090 calories and 49g of fat, but you are getting 3,380mg of sodium! That is more than 1,000mg more than you should get ALL DAY LONG!!!  What is the calorie equivalent? Eating a dozen Rice Krispie treats!

Red Lobster – A-. The most improved award, as they received an F just four years ago. While their calorie counts are low, their sodium levels are still way too high. Their BBQ Shrimp and Scallops packs nearly 1,700mg of sodium. Sorry, but I just can’t recommend a dish where you get nearly a full day’s worth of sodium in an entree.

Chick-Fil-A – A-. They don’t have a single sandwich that goes over 600 calories. While true, calorie count isn’t everything, and one sandwich he praised, the Chargrilled Chicken Club has just 410 calories, but 1,350mg of sodium.

Chipolte – C-. They do a great job with fresh ingredients but their portion sizes are huge. Many of their burritos are over 1,000 calories.

Having a “no diet” solution can help people, but the bottom line is, this isn’t just about weight, it is about your health and you can’t have good health when you are injecting it with the sodium levels that the fast food industry delivers. Be careful out there.

Diets come and go, many of the most popular weight-loss plans these days being a variation on the popular low-fat or low-carb approaches. The exception, of course, is Medifast as it is backed by 20,000 doctors.

Another option you have along with the Medifast Diet is The Perfect 10 Diet Plan, named for the way it helps the body balance 10 hormones that are important to weight loss. Internist Michael Aziz, MD, founder and director of Midtown Integrative Medicine and attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital, both in New York City, developed the program, which guides people in losing weight rapidly and comfortably while also optimizing long-term health. A year after its introduction, thousands of people have successfully lost weight and noticed an improvement in their health.

How the Diets Stack Up

We are a nation in “hormonal chaos” and that flawed research was behind the initial popularity of low-fat diets. Few doctors understood the difference between good fats and bad, so dieters were urged to shun all fats and eat lots of carbohydrates instead. However, eating like this triggers excessive insulin, a hormone that stores fat, makes people hungry, and can start people down a path toward diabetes.

Other disadvantages: Eating so many carbs also negatively impacts other hormones, including human growth hormone (HGH), which helps people stay youthful, leptin (an appetite-regulating hormone), and the sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen and progesterone). All this leads to a sluggish metabolism that makes weight loss harder.

On the other hand, low-carb diets (including the popular Atkins diet) urge people to minimize carbohydrates and load up on fats in order to keep insulin in check. This helps you shed pounds, but doesn’t address the problems related to other hormones. Plus, it also overloads people with unhealthy amounts of protein, slowing thyroid function, which is crucial for weight control. Furthermore, Atkins and these other low-carb eating plans allow lots of nitrite-rich processed meats, including bacon and cold cuts, which are linked to several types of cancer.

In contrast, The Perfect 10 Diet Plan considers all 10 hormones that are key to weight loss and control, which are…

• Insulin
• Leptin
• Human growth hormone (HGH)
• Thyroid hormones
• Cortisol (the “stress hormone”)
• Glucagon (which controls blood sugar)
• Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA, which combats depression and fatigue)
• Testosterone
• Estrogen
• Progesterone

Perfect 10 Foods

In his book, The Perfect 10 Diet, Dr. Aziz explains that calorie restriction is not the key to successful and lasting weight loss, rather the point is to avoid “diet” foods (he calls them “fake foods”) that have chemical ingredients added. Instead choose whole foods that contribute to a healthy metabolism, helping with weight loss while also satisfying your hunger.

To follow the Perfect 10 Diet, you should base your daily caloric intake on a 40/40/20 formula, get 40% of your calories from carbohydrates, 40% from fats, and 20% from protein. You can select from the following foods:

Vegetables: you may have unlimited amounts of greens (including peas and beans) and other nonstarchy veggies, while starchy ones (such as potatoes and corn) are allowed only occasionally, in very small amounts.

Fruits: especially berries and citrus fruits packed with vitamin C. Limit yourself to two servings a day since fruit is high in fructose, which is used only by the liver, leaving the excess stored as fat.

Proteins: mostly seafood, poultry (including zinc-rich dark meat, important for the productions of sex hormones), whole eggs, and if you like it, a serving of red meat once in a while.

Saturated fats: you may have one serving per day of butter (one pat) and use coconut oil (one serving is one tablespoon) as needed both for cooking or to spread on vegetables. Dr. Aziz explains that many studies over the years have confirmed that saturated fats can be helpful because they boost production of sex hormones, thus contributing to more rapid weight loss. Other allowable fats: Olives and olive oil, avocados and avocado oil, and nuts, all of which are rich in nutrients.

Forbidden Foods

The Perfect 10 Diet strictly forbids foods that act against good hormone balance. In addition to those fake fats, you should avoid…

Artificially “fat-free” and “low-fat foods” (including dairy). Foods in this group are manipulated to have less fat than their unprocessed forms, and as a result, they usually have higher amounts of sugar that spike insulin release.

Soy protein isolates. This food ingredient may sound healthful, but it is in fact highly processed and may disrupt hormonal balance due to increased concentrations and potential imbalances in isoflavones (antioxidants found in plants). Be on the alert for this ingredient in weight-loss shakes, protein bars, low-carb products and many other processed foods that are labeled “healthy.”

Off to a Quick Start

To help you take off and then keep off excess pounds, the Perfect 10 Diet includes three stages:

Stage One gets you off to a rapid start. Each day, you may have three meals plus one or two snacks from the accepted food list, but no grains of any sort or alcohol. Follow this for about three weeks.

Stage Two supports continuous weight loss but provides additional choices (whole grains and a bit of alcohol). Once weight loss has begun in earnest and you have grown accustomed to following the diet regimen and exercising regularly, you may add one to three servings of whole grains per day, including whole-grain pasta, and an occasional glass of organic wine.

Stage Three is a weight-maintenance plan that also is an excellent choice for general good health, says Dr. Aziz. Now you may add yet another whole-grain serving each day and even have an occasional sweet treat such as a piece of dark chocolate.

In summary, eating whole foods that nourish rather than challenge your body will result in naturally balanced hormones, which will help you lose weight and feel great. Since it is smart to continue to keep a close eye on your hormone balance, in his book Dr. Aziz also provides advice on what lab tests you should ask your doctor to perform at the start of your diet and periodically thereafter. He also includes recipes and other suggestions for making this way of eating satisfying and one that can be healthfully maintained as time goes on, the true measure of a successful diet for health!

Source(s):

Michael Aziz, MD, attending physician, St. Vincent’s Hospital, and founder and director, Midtown Integrative Medicine, both in New York City. He is author of The Perfect 10 Diet(Cumberland House).

The average American woman eats 70 percent of her body weight in added sugar each year. How much is too much and what effect does it have on your body?

Sugar is the James Bond of food: It has code names, appears where you least expect it and leaves a trail of destruction in its wake. Oh, and we kind of have a thing for it. “It tastes good, and the more that’s produced, the more we eat,” says George Bray, M.D., chief of the clinical obesity and metabolism division at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since 1970, the amount of sugar in processed foods has nearly doubled, largely because sugar is cheap and readily available. Today it’s pumped into pretty much everything to make food products more enticing—even ones that are already sweet, such as fruit juice. As a result, the average American gobbles up 43,800 more calories from added sugar (meaning sweeteners, like high fructose corn syrup and honey, that are added to packaged foods) per year than we did in 1977.

Trouble is, our body isn’t equipped to handle this amount. If a woman’s intake of added sugars increases by more than 20 percent, her body-mass index rises 2 to 3 points, which is enough to shift from the normal weight to the overweight category or from overweight to obese, a 27-year study from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has found. Research has also linked increased sugar consumption to higher rates of diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome.

But before you envision a sad existence devoid of chocolate, know that we would never suggest such a thing. (We love chocolate, too!) Besides, “cutting out sugar completely isn’t necessary or even possible,” says Suzanne Farrell, R.D., of Denver. What is: indulging wisely, by curbing cravings and eliminating hidden sources. On these pages, we make eating a lot less sugar a cakewalk.

How Much Sugar Is Too Much?

Our bodies rely on natural sugars to function, yet eating too much can lead to serious health issues.

It’s complicated. To function, our body relies on natural sugar in vegetables and carbs (glucose) and dairy products (lactose, which converts to glucose as it’s digested). Glucose is the body’s main fuel source and the brain’s only one. As for the sugar in fruit, “the body uses fructose only in energy crises—like running a marathon,” says Robert Lustig, M.D., a spokesman for the Endocrine Society. “It’s really nature’s way of tempting you to eat fruit to get the nutrients.” The liver can easily dispose of such a small amount. (An apple has 11 grams.)

Added Sugars Are the Issue

Most consist of about half glucose, half fructose: Table sugar is 50-50; high fructose corn syrup is 45-55. Both glucose and fructose get turned into fat when we eat too much of them. (This is also true of natural sugars in healthful foods like fruit, but would you ever scarf five apples in one sitting?) Excess glucose can up your risk for hypertension and metabolic syndrome; and when the liver can’t handle more fructose, the remainder converts to triglycerides, a type of fat that can build up around organs. “This prevents the liver from processing insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar, so your pancreas makes more,” Dr. Lustig says. “High levels can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes.”

Where to Draw the Line?

The USDA groups together added sugar and solid fats such as butter (both have empty calories) and advises you to get less than 15 percent of your daily calories from them. The experts polled say to aim for less than 10 percent of calories from added sugar. If you’re eating 1,800 calories, that’s 180 calories, or a can of soda and four Life Savers. Be cautious with what you are consuming daily and be aware of the amounts of sugars your body is intaking daily. You don’t want to exceed and you want to be smart to ensure you don’t have low sugar as well. Eat healthy and your sugar intake will remain healthy as well.

Almost every diet book, nutrition guide and weight-loss manual includes the information that one pound of body weight equals 3,500 calories, and then comes the advice that for every pound that you want to lose, you must either eat 3,500 fewer calories or use up that amount with extra physical activity.

It’s a simple, straightforward formula, but there’s one problem: It’s simply wrong.

Why? Stretch out the numbers over time, and you can see that the math may make sense but the science doesn’t work. If you reduce your average daily caloric intake by 100 calories (one less snack pack per day, perhaps?), you should shed one pound of body weight every 35 days. This would add up to almost 10.5 pounds per year. Keep it going for 10 years and you’ll lose, almost 105 pounds? It can’t be true.

The New Math

While it has been the conventional diet wisdom for decades, this calculation is “obviously ridiculous,” according to Kevin Hall, PhD, a physiologist and investigator in the laboratory of biological modeling at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health. The problem with the 3,500-calorie formula, said Dr. Hall, is that it is predicated on the idea that metabolism remains constant, and it does not.

Metabolism is affected by gender, by age, by size and weight loss, and by stress and lifestyle. Your metabolism and my metabolism may be as unalike as are your eight-cylinder, four-wheel-drive SUV and my Mini Cooper, not to mention that even that SUV “metabolizes” gasoline differently while puttering around in town than it does at 60 mph on the highway.

So What Can You Do?

According to Dr. Hall, even when an eating plan is followed religiously, every dieter’s weight loss eventually slows and then reaches a plateau. The point at which this occurs is both highly individualized and affected by the changes in body composition. He said that people who are very obese, for instance, will lose weight faster than those who aren’t. “They tend to burn more fat during weight loss, which helps preserve their muscle mass,” he explained, “so they lose more overall weight than someone who is leaner.” Even so, Dr. Hall noted that the 3,500-calorie formula grossly overestimates how much weight will be lost in a year even for that population.

Dr. Hall said that a simple, quick formula for sustainable weight loss is to reduce intake by 10 calories per day per pound you’d like to lose (for instance, to lose 30 pounds, you could cut your calorie intake by 300 calories per day). But this will be slow, he cautions, at this rate, significant weight loss takes years to achieve.

You can lose weight faster if you cut back more calories and/or add more physical activity, of course, and you don’t have to be a sophisticated scientist to figure out how to do that.

But for those who really like to work with more precise calculations, Dr. Hall and his team have developed a mathematical formula that takes into account the various complexities of body composition and metabolism to more accurately predict how many calories a particular individual will have to cut back, or use up, in order to reach a weight goal after a desired period of time. The model also calculates what permanent changes of diet or physical activity will be required to maintain that weight for many years. Dr. Hall told me that he hopes to have his calculator, which is already being used by researchers and clinicians around the world, available to the public online by mid-2011.

Source(s):

Kevin D. Hall, PhD, physiologist, laboratory of biological modeling, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

Paul Mason (no, not the California winery), is suing an organization who has tried to help him battle is weight.

Paul Mason Sues Over Weight

Mason, formerly the world’s fattest man, is doing like so many in the world do today, blame someone else for their own problems.

Mason, from the UK, stated that he was told in 1996 by a medic of the NHS to “ride your bike more” on how to battle his growing weight problem. No pun intended. When his weight continued to escalate, the former postman again asked for help in the form of seeing an eating disorders specialist. Instead of giving him what he wanted, they had him see a dietitian instead.

So, let me get this straight, Mason went for help, wanted serious help, but instead of taking the advice of the dietitian he had a “fat chair” built. Come on Paul, we all feel bad for your condition, but you need to put in some effort, don’t you think? Now, Mason will point to the fact that he had life-saving gastric surgery last year, but surgery is not going to keep the weight off. Changing your lifestyle and eating habits will. You have to change what you are doing as a person Paul instead of looking for the “button” to push.

Mason said: “I want to set a precedent so no one else has to get to the same size – and to put something back into society.” Put something back into society? How about all those second, third and fourth helpings? This is not the fault of anyone but you Mr. Mason. Period.

"Weight gain like this happens from eating too damn much."

How bad did the weight gain make Mason feel? So bad that he tried to kill himself three times. It should be noted that none of those suicide attempts included going without food. Big surprise. And how much was he eating? Are you ready for this? Mason was consuming 20,000 calories a day while just sitting in a chair doing nothing. That is TEN TIMES what is normally consumed and Mason is blaming someone else. Paul, you know how you got fat, you watched yourself put the food in your mouth. Take some responsibility already!

And that isn’t the worst part. In order to perform the gastric bypass surgery on Mason, the hospital floor had to be reinforced in order to take his weight.

Unreal.

See the complete story.

Many runners accept the wear and tear on their joints with the understanding that the cardiovascular benefits of running outweigh the ultimate risks.  A new study, however, may throw this line of thinking into question; recent research indicates that intense exercise may actually be harmful to the heart.  While it was no surprise to researchers to find that a group of long-term, regular marathon runners had less body fat and slower heart rates than patients undergoing tests for heart disease, they did not expect to find that the runners had more plaque in their coronary arteries, a known risk for heart attack. But that is what they discovered…not exactly what you would expect from a group of elite athletes. Robert S. Schwartz, MD, a cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute discussed his views about the research and his theories about the results.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

The study compared 25 men (average age 60) who had run at least one marathon each year since 1985 with 23 sedentary patients of the same age who had suspected heart problems. Dr. Schwartz and his colleagues examined both groups and performed CT angiography on them to generate pictures of their blood vessels.

On the plus side, investigators found that the marathoners had lower heart rates, blood pressure, weight and body fat than the non-athletes, along with higher levels of HDL (the “good” cholesterol). But they also had…

• Significantly more plaque in their coronary arteries
• Higher calcium scores (reflecting calcium buildup in the cardiopulmonary vessels) and higher noncalcified plaque, which are deposits not yet hardened with calcium, (although in this case the difference was not statistically significant).

Since the runners had “healthy” cholesterol levels, on average 190 mg/dL total cholesterol and 115 mg/dL LDL (the “bad” cholesterol), the researchers don’t think that diet explains the difference. One theory Dr. Schwartz discussed is that extreme exertion brings metabolic and mechanical stresses that keep the body in a constant state of inflammation which can cause plaque to form. Another theory is that arteries are strained because running raises heart rate and blood pressure. But Dr. Schwartz cautions that these are strictly hypotheses; no one knows the answers yet.

Stay on the Run

This study is in no way meant to discourage exercise, stresses Dr. Schwartz, who is an avid runner himself.  Perhaps it is smarter not to overdo it though.  The phrase “moderation in all things” comes to mind.

Dr. Schwartz and his team are currently following this group long-term.  They are also beginning to look at female runners as well to see if the same results hold. They also plan to study moderate-distance runners to determine if there is a threshold of exercise at which extra plaque begins to develop. So stay tuned.

Source(s):

Robert S. Schwartz, MD, cardiologist, Minneapolis Heart Institute, Minneapolis.

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If you are obese and want to get healthy, there’s really no way around the need to make significant changes to your lifestyle habits. However, some people who need to get meaningful results faster or who are unable to lose weight any other way opt for bariatric surgery.  Advancements and experience have made these procedures much safer than they used to be. For the right candidates and under the right circumstances, this type of surgery can make a dramatic, positive difference in how the rest of a person’s life unfolds. That being said, one thing hasn’t changed about weight-loss surgery: It’s a far more serious undertaking than the billboards would have you believe.

Bariatric surgery is major surgery that alters your body’s primary functions, including digestion. I spoke to Marc Bessler, MD, director of the Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, to get expert insight on the full impact of bariatric surgery. He told me that laparoscopic approaches have made many of these procedures safer, resulting in fewer complications and deaths; this is especially true since patients are encouraged to participate in lifestyle-change programs before and after the surgery. Nonetheless, there are still significant risks to consider.

If you’ve tried dieting, you know the biggest problem is keeping weight off long term. “Everybody tries to accomplish this with diet and exercise first, but the vast majority — about 90% of people — aren’t successful,” says Dr. Bessler. He explained that one obstacle for many obese individuals is that the signaling between the brain and the gut has become impaired. They feel hunger and a strong urge to eat more because their bodies continually communicate that they’re not getting enough food.

Different Kinds of Weight Loss Surgery

There are three different surgical procedures for weight loss that are now widely available. Dr. Bessler discussed factors that may influence which type is right for individual patients:

Most Common: Gastric ByPass

What it is:  A large section of the stomach is stapled off. A small pouch remains that is connected to a section of the small intestine.

Why it works: Patients aren’t so hungry so they have an easier time eating less and therefore lose weight quickly. This is in part because the shrunken stomach can hold just a few ounces of food or liquid.  In addition, the bypass means that hormonal signals of fullness and satiety are sped up, since the undigested food enters the intestine so soon after it is eaten.

Success rate: Just about all (more than 95%) patients lose at least half of their excess weight, making this one of the most effective types of bariatric surgery. An estimated 15% regain a significant amount, however.

Downside: Patients are less able to absorb nutrients from their foods, so those who’ve had this surgery must be vigilant about eating enough protein and need to take vitamin and mineral supplements. Also, eating sweets or fatty foods can cause cramping, diarrhea, sweating, fatigue and light-headedness.

Best for:  People who have diabetes and those who have difficulty chewing and eating slowly; this is because the surgery is effective at blocking the impulse to overeat.

Least Invasive: Gastric Banding

How it works: An adjustable plastic band is surgically inserted then cinched around the upper part of the stomach, limiting how much you can eat and slowing the passage of food into the stomach. Patients feel full after eating less. Since neither the stomach nor the intestine is cut, this is the least invasive weight-loss surgery.

Success rate: Two-thirds of patients meet their weight-loss goals, losing about half their excess weight on average and sometimes much more.

Best for:  Perpetual big eaters.  This procedure limits how much you can eat at one time.

Downsides: Since the opening to the stomach is narrowed, it becomes very hard to digest fibrous foods, pasta, rice and red meat.   All foods, especially the aforementioned, must be thoroughly chewed or patients suffer severe discomfort. Fluids are also limited; patients cannot drink any liquids within an hour of eating. Also, in as many as half of patients, the band slips at some point afterward which requires an additional procedure for adjustment.

Permanent: Sleeve Gastrectomy

How it works: Sixty percent of the stomach is surgically removed and the shape is changed to a tube (or “sleeve”), which results in a permanent restriction on how much food you can eat at one time. Also, the portion of the stomach that produces the hunger hormone ghrelin is removed, so hunger pangs are diminished.

Success rate: Success rate is slightly less than with gastric bypass, mostly because the procedure leaves a larger portion of the stomach intact so patients can still eat more than they should.

Best for: Sleeve gastrectomy doesn’t involve bypass, so patients maintain the ability to absorb vitamins and minerals at near-normal levels, making it a good option for most patients. Dr. Bessler predicts this operation will become more popular because it is more reliable for weight loss than the lap band and simpler than bypass.

Downside: It’s permanent and cannot be undone. If patients overeat, it can stretch the stomach — resulting in the need for an additional procedure.

How Safe are Bariatric Surgeries?

Bariatric surgery is a big deal.  All surgeries carry some risk, and these procedures are major, not minor. The likelihood of certain complications — cardiac problems and pneumonia, in particular — increases with patients’ obesity levels. Depending on the procedure, there is some risk for surgical complications (bleeding, leaks and bowel obstructions) as well.

Choose Carefully

If you’re considering a bariatric surgery, Dr. Bessler makes the following suggestions:

-Choose a surgeon who has been performing bariatric procedures for at least five years and who does 50 or more bariatric procedures annually. He/she should be a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the American College of Surgeons.

-Choose a hospital with a bariatric program that has been in place several years, that does 125 or more procedures each year, and that offers more than one option (because you want to be sure you get the one right for your needs).

It is also important that the hospital has a specialized support staff, since patients need a variety of services over time, including pre and postoperative counseling and help with lifestyle changes, including nutrition and exercise.

In an upcoming story, I’ll interview one of our expert naturopathic physicians to get a different perspective on extreme weight loss. Given that obesity has been called our country’s number one health challenge, you can count on Daily Health News to cover a wide variety of effective solutions to help you — and the people you love — get healthy.

Source(s):

Marc Bessler, MD, director of the Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, in New York City.

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Reprinted with the permission of:
Bottom Line Publications/Daily Health News
Boardroom Inc.
281 Tresser Blvd., 8th Floor
Stamford, CT 06901
www.BottomLineSecrets.com