Tag Archives: diet

by

Eating Well and Getting Fit


Reblogged:from merckengage.com                                                                                                                                                                                                             If you’re struggling to find a healthy eating plan that works for you.Or your looking for an exercise plan that you can devote yourself to. This website can help you do just that. They will help you put together an eating plan that fits you’r needs based on things you like.Think about it, if you don’t like the foods in your plan chances are your not going to stick with it very long.So it’s very Important that you think carefully when putting together you’re personal eating plan.Choosing differant food combinations that you will want to eat, and even enjoy. They can also help you with an exercise program based on the activities you like. Exercise is just as Important by that I mean you have to enjoy it or you’re not going to want to do it. There are lots of ways to get exercise so think about different activities you like to do when putting together your exercise program.MerckEngage has a lot of great resources For more Info visit http://www.merckengage.com

                                                                             Eating Well

Your personal Meal Planning tool is waiting. Get great-tasting recipe ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks—all based on your preferences.

The Meal Planning tool can help you create a customized healthy eating plan based on your health goals, the types of foods you like, and any dietary requirements you may have.

                                                                      Getting Fit

Physical activity may be one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself at any age, and having an activity plan is an important step in becoming more active.

In this Getting Fit section you’ll find plenty of information and motivation. You also can create an activity plan and find lots of activities to try.

The Activity Planning tool will help you create a customized plan based on your goals, the types of activities you like, and the time you have to be active each week.

Related articles
by

Thanksgiving Calories: How Much Exercise It Takes To Burn Off That Feast


 Reblogged:from Huffington Post                                                                                                      Thanksgiving Calories:How Much Exercise It Takes To Burn Off That Feast

Turkey with gravy, stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, pecan pie with vanilla ice cream — if you’re not careful, your Thanksgiving favorites can mean trouble for your waistline.

In fact, the average Thanksgiving mealclocks in around 3,000 calories, more than the Thanksgiving Caloriesestimated 1,600 to 2,400 that women need and 2,000 to 3,000 that men need in an entire day, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Yes, Thanksgiving is a once-a-year celebration; we trust you’re not stuffing yourself with green bean casserole on a regular basis. But we also know that the average person gains about a pound during the holiday season – and doesn’t lose it over the course of the rest of the year.

There are a couple of things you can do to combat the holiday-season bulge. Keep portion sizes in check (this handy visual guide can help) and try some healthy Thanksgiving substitutions, like eating white turkey meat instead of dark, or pumpkin pie instead of pecan, suggests the American Council on Exercise. Stick to your regular exercise routine as much as possible during these hectic holiday weeks, or maybe even try signing up for a local Turkey Trot to make sure you fit in some exercise on the busy day.

In the meantime, let’s put that 3,000 number in perspective: In the slide show below, you’ll find 12 ways a 150-pound person could burn off that Thanksgiving feast, like 13 hours of walking or 17 of yoga. Keep in mind your personal calorie burn will vary with intensity, body composition and weight — and please don’t try these at home!

Related articles
by

I Lost Weight: Holly White Committed To Nutritious Eating And Lost 100 Pounds


  Reblogged:from Huffington Post                                                                                                                                             Name: Holly White                                                                                                            Age: 25                                                                                                                                    Height: 5’4″                                                                                                                         Before Weight: 275 poundsI Lost Weight Holly White

How I Gained it: When I was in college, I started eating out a lot at lunch, mostly at fast food restaurants because it was easy to grab a burger between classes. The habit of eating burgers and fries every day stuck with me even after college was over; I continued to eat unhealthy meals when I started working, as well. I would get fast food three to four times a week. I wasn’t eating enough fruits and veggies at the time, either. I would always go for the quick snacks like chips and candy, I didn’t control my portion sizes and I didn’t get enough exercise in my daily routine.

Breaking Point: I couldn’t stand having my picture taken because of the way I looked in photographs. I also got tired of going to the store and seeing all of the really cute outfits that I loved but couldn’t wear. It just really hit me one day that unless I made up my mind to do something about my weight, things would never change.

How I Lost It: I started Weight Watchers again (a few years before, I had actually lost about 30 pounds on the program, but I didn’t stick with it), and I started exercising every day. Exercising is definitely not the easiest or most fun thing when you first get started, but I knew it was something I needed to do in order to lose weight and get healthy. I started off by walking about 25 to 30 minutes each afternoon for about a week or so. Then, I just started working my time up and switching off between the treadmill and bicycle. I would walk outside sometimes, if the weather permitted. Once the weight started coming off, I was more motivated to exercise and continue losing. Now I walk, jog or bicycle around three to four miles every afternoon and I really enjoy it. I just don’t feel right if I don’t do some type of exercise now!

I also make healthier food choices; instead of eating a 100-calorie chocolate snack (even though it may only be a couple of WW points), I go for lots of fruit and veggies because they’re a lot better for me in the long run. I have become addicted to peaches and watermelon!

I think being older and more mature helped me to realize that my weight was very unhealthy and that I needed to do something about it now, not put it off until later. Everyone at work and my family was very supportive and really encouraged me the entire time, which I think is a really important thing. When someone is trying to lose weight, hearing the occasional “How much have you lost now?” or “You’re doing great, keep it up!” is really motivating and helps keep you going even on those rough days!

I definitely feel better about myself, both mentally and physically. And I can wear some of those cute outfits now!

After Weight: 173 pounds

Related articles
by

‘Extreme Makeover’: Jarvez Hall Loses Nearly Half His Body Weight


Reblogged:from Yahoo News                                                                                                                                                                                                  ‘Extreme  Makeover‘: Jarvez Hall Loses Nearly Half His Body Weight                                                                                                                                                                                                      By the time Jarvez Hall reached his 28th birthday, he was already dangerously obese.

His weight gain had started years before, spurred by a passion for playing football and encouragement from others.

“Middle school is when I started getting big,” Hall of Portland, Ore., said. “People encouraged me to get big. ‘Oh, you’re big, that means you’re more manly. You’re big. You’re strong and tough.’”"So I was actually excited,” he said. “I wanted to be big.”

Hall went on to play football at Oregon State University but eventually  his football career and the weight piled on, reaching its peak as his  beloved mother struggled with sickle-cell anemia.

“When my mom got sick, that is when my weight got worse,” he said.

Hall met the love of his life, Adriana, and asked for her hand in marriage. The day before they walked down the aisle together, however, he wrote a letter to Chris Powell, fitness expert and the trainer on                 ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition,” asking for help.

Watch: Man loses more than half his body weight on ‘Extreme Makeover’

When Powell arrived to help, Hall weighed 548 pounds at his first weigh-in.

“Wow, I look at this number and I’m motivated,” he said at the time. “My goal is to get into the “twos” and officially bring sexy back.”

In the next year, with Powell at his side, Hall pushed through the highs and lows of his weight-loss journey.

“I’m just going to keep pushing because I can’t be 548 [pounds],” he said. “The next number after 548 is death.”

After one year on Powell’s program, Hall weighed in at 267 pounds and had dropped from a size 70 waist to a size 38. His total weight loss came to more than 280 pounds.

“My world is so different now because I can appreciate the small things in life,” Hall said today on “        Good Morning America” alongside Powell. “Just coming here, I got to fly on an airplane and sit in one seat and not have a seat-belt extender. I don’t have to worry about where I’m going to sit. I can sit in a movie theater.”

Powell says it was the same determination that helped Hall succeed as an athlete that pushed him in his weight-loss journey.

“He [Hall] is the epitome of perseverance and persistence,” Powell said. “He fell sometimes like we all do. We’re all human and it happens on the journey but every single time he did he got right back up. He attacked every single day like it was a brand-new day and he kept going and this is where it gets you.”

Also appearing on “GMA” with Hall was his now-wife, Adriana, the woman who sparked his weight-loss journey on the eve of their wedding. Adriana, who lost weight along with her husband, is now expecting the couple’s first child.

“I can go places and live life with my wife and enjoy it,” Hall said of his new life. “It’s amazing.”                                                                                                                                                                                                   Here Is a link to Hall’s Inspiring Video http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/extreme-makeover-jarvez-hall-loses-nearly-half-body-134034289–abc-news-health.html

Related articles
by

How can I keep track of how much I am eating?


 Rebogged:from Weight-Control Information Network                                                                                                                                                                                        How can I keep track of how much I am eating?                                                                                                To control your weight, you need to do more than just choose a healthy mix of foods. You should also look at the kinds of food you eat and how much you eat at a time

A food diary can be a good way to keep track of how much you are eating. Write down when, what, how much, where, and why you eat. This action can help you be aware of how much you are eating and the times you tend to eat too much. You can keep a food diary in a notebook, on your cell phone, or on a computer.

Figure 2 shows what 1 day of a person’s food diary might look like. As shown in the diary, this person chose relatively healthy portion sizes for breakfast and lunch. At those meals, she ate to satisfy her hunger. She had a large chocolate bar in the afternoon for an emotional reason. She ate because she was bored, not because she was hungry.

By 8 p.m., this person was very hungry and ate large portions of food that were high in fat and calories. She was at a social event and did not realize she was eating so much. If she had made an early evening snack of fruit and fat-free or low-fat yogurt, she might have been less hungry at 8 p.m. and eaten less. By the end of the day, she had eaten a total of 3,930 calories, which is more than most people need to eat in a day. Repeatedly eating excess calories over time can cause weight gain.

If, like the woman in the food diary, you eat even when you are not hungry, try doing something else instead of eating:

  • Take a break to walk around the block.
  • Read a book or magazine or listen to your favorite music.
  • Try doing something with your hands, like knitting or playing cards or checkers.
  • Try drinking water or herbal tea without sugar or eating a low-fat snack such as an apple if a craving hits you.
  • If you are at work, grab a co-worker on the job and go for a quick walk.
    Figure 2. Example of a Food Diary Thursday
    Time Food Amount Place Hunger/Reason Calories*
    8 a.m. Coffee, black 6 fl. oz. Home Slightly hungry 2
    Banana 1 medium 105
    Low-fat yogurt 1 cup 250
    1 p.m. Turkey and cheese sandwich on whole-wheat bread with mustard, tomato, low-fat cheese, and lettuce 3 oz. turkey, 1 slice low-fat cheddar cheese, 2 slices bread Work Hungry 363
    Potato chips, baked 1 small bag 150
    Water 16 fl. oz. —
    3 p.m. Chocolate bar 1 bar (5 oz.) Work Not hungry/ Bored 760
    8 p.m. Fried potato skins with cheese and bacon 4 each Restaurant/       Out with       friends Very hungry 667
    Chicken Caesar salad 2 cups lettuce, 6 oz. chicken, 6 Tbsp. dressing, 3/4 cup croutons 633
    Breadsticks 2 large sticks 226
    Apple pie with vanilla ice cream 1/8 of a 9-inch pie, 1 cup ice cream 638
    Soft drink 12 fl. oz. 136

    Total Calories = 3,930

    *Estimates are based on the USDA’s online tool that measures diet and physical activity (http://www.choosemyplate.gov).

    A blank version of the diary for you to copy and use is on page 9 of this document’s PDF file.

    Through your diary, you can become aware of the times and reasons you eat less healthy foods or more food than your body needs. This can help as you try to make different choices in the future.

     

by

Turkey fights back at ballooning weight gain


In Turkey, the land of kebab and sweet lokum, expanding waistlines are the target of a new anti-obesity campaign by the government to help one million Turks slim down over the next year.

The numbers are staggering: a little over one out of every three people is obese, according to health ministry figures. Even more when it comes to women.

“The fight against obesity starts now,” say publicity spots rolled out by the ministry to push back against lifestyle changes doctors believe are bulking up the 73 million population.

“Modern-day life has set constraints that make us eat faster and more without paying attention to the quality of the food we’re ingesting,” said pediatrician Murat Tuncer, a specialist in blood disorders.

But on the upside, he added, as a Mediterranean country Turkey has all the vegetables, fruit and fish required for a healthy diet.

The ministry sounded the alarm on the problem last month.

“Thirty-five percent of the population is obese,” said Health Minister Rep Akdag, who himself recently set an example by losing 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and recommends a walking regime of 10,000 steps a day.

With more and more Turks in treatment for obesity-triggered diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, the government has started pushing health and dietary tactics, along with the television and newspaper ads, to urge Turks to eat less and work to lose weight.

Over the summer, family doctors will distribute pedometers, so people can record their walking distance, and monitor the progress of their overweight patients.

And in a change introduced July 1, bread is now sold with less salt and more whole-wheat flour, making it richer in fibre, a key change for a country where bread is a mainstay of the national diet,

To prevent childhood obesity, Turkish television will only air adverts for healthy food and a balanced diet.

The campaign comes at a time when obesity — recognised since 1997 as a disease by the World Health Organisation (WHO) — is increasingly a global issue.

A person is considered overweight if his body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fat based on height and weight, is over 25, while a BMI over 30 qualifies one as obese.

A study published in June by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and based on 2005 figures, showed that 74 percent of the North American population was overweight, with 56 percent in Europe, 29 percent in Africa and 24 percent in Asia.

“The average (weight) is increasing everywhere. Everybody is getting fatter, even the thin people are getting fatter,” co-author Ian Roberts told AFP at the time.

In Turkey, the world’s 17th biggest economy, the number of people treated for diabetes has gone up 90 percent in 12 years, said Yunus Yavuz, a specialist in metabolic diseases.

But there is hope.

“Obesity is a preventable disease. It’s enough to slim down to extend your life expectancy and quality of life,” Yavuz said.

And for those with extreme BMI, surgery is always an option. Thirty-four year-old Gullah Bulbul recently went in for a gastrectomy after weighing in at 147 kilograms.

“Whenever I entered a clothes store, they would tell me, ‘there is nothing here for you,” she said after the surgery.

“I wasn’t suffering from a physical problem but a psychological one,” she added

Body mass index, diet, Diet (nutrition), Dieting, dieting programs, Eating, Fitness, Health, Healthy Ways to Lose Weight, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Nutrition, Obesity, Physical exercise, Recep Akdağ, Top Weight loss, Turkey, Turkish people, Weight, Weight Loss Tips, World Health Organization
Related articles
by

Dr Oz, 5 Fall Weight Mistakes


Well I found a cool Dr Oz video I wanted to share with you by I can’t seem to figure out how to embed It correctly.But I did manage to get a link for It from: Yahoo Shine  So go ahead and check It out while I try to remember how to upload videos. So I can share them with you.

Related articles
by

Warning on Hydroxycut Products


Reblogged:from everyday Health                                                                                                                                                                                Warning on Hydroxycut Products  Content provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Hydroxycut drink mix packet

Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements that are marketed for weight loss, as fat burners, as energy-enhancers, as low carb diet aids, and for water loss under the Iovate and MuscleTech brand names.

Day 57/365 - Hydroxycut
Day 57/365 – Hydroxycut (Photo credit: Newbirth35)

Serious Health Risks

FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA.

Liver injury, although rare, was reported by patients at the doses of Hydroxycut recommended on the bottle. Symptoms of liver injury include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) and brown urine. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching, and loss of appetite.

Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

FDA urges consumers to stop using Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk, says Linda Katz, M.D., interim chief medical officer of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “Adverse events are rare, but exist,” Katz says. “Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products.

Recalled Products

The list of products being recalled by Iovate currently includes:

  • Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
  • Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets
  • Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets
  • Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
  • Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
  • Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets
  • Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix)
  • Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
  • Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
  • Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
  • Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
  • Hydroxycut 24
  • Hydroxycut Carb Control
  • Hydroxycut Natural

Although FDA has not received reports of serious liver-related adverse reactions for all Hydroxycut products, Iovate has agreed to recall all the products listed above. Hydroxycut Cleanse and Hoodia products are not affected by the recall.

Consumers who have these products are advised to stop using them and to return them to the place of purchase. The agency has not yet determined which ingredients, dosages, or other health-related factors may be associated with risks related to these Hydroxycut products. The products contain a variety of ingredients and herbal extracts.

Health care professionals and consumers are encouraged to report serious adverse events (side effects) or product quality problems with the use of these products to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online, by regular mail, fax or phone.

Online: Medwatch Reporting Regular Mail: Use FDA postage paid form 3500 (link-dead) and mail to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787 Fax: 800-FDA-0178 Phone: 800-FDA-1088

FDA continues to investigate the potential relationship between Hydroxycut dietary supplements and liver injury or other potentially serious side effects.