Fresh fruits and green vegetables may help to lose weight!

My grandfather always reminds me to stay away from fast foods and eat more ‘n more fruits because eating fruits and vegetables have many health benefits, and it is also very good for weight loss. In this article we will see how you can include them in your daily healthy eating diet plan so that you not only lose weight but also enjoy other health benefits.

As per the FDA also people have to take at least 5-9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. The food guidelines issued by USA recently recommend this.

The daily recommended amount is equivalent to almost 2 cups of fruits and 2 and 1/2 cups of vegetables each day. When you think of it this way does it look that difficult to get your daily recommended dosage of fruits and vegetables?

The grocery store shelves in USA and throughout the world are bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables and they are usually very very less expensive than other and more nutritious than other foods in the supermarket. Considering how less expensive they are and how nutritious they are, having daily dosage should not be such a big problem.

In order to get the maximum benefit, you should eat different varieties of fruits and vegetables. Eating the same foods day after day is not so exciting. So if you eat try out different fruits and vegetables everyday it can be so much fun and also you can get all the different nutrients present in each.

Pick different colors and varieties as each color fruit or vegetable has different types of nutrients, so choosing a variety of different colors can ensure that you get all the vitamins and minerals present in them.

Another good method of enjoying your daily intake is to try out new recipes. Most people love to experiment and try out new recipes so why not do the same and enjoy all those veggies and fruits in different tastes.

An alternative would be to make juices out of the fruits or vegetables. Juices can be very good for the health, but they should be your second option - the first being to consume the foods directly as that can be more nutritious.

Never think that that vitamin pills are a good substitute for fresh fruits or vegetables. These foods contain far more than the micro-nutrients present in any vitamin pill on the planet. They are much less costly than the pills, are tastier to eat and much more nutritious.

So what are waiting for just try to start your daily dosage of the recommended daily servings and enjoy the immense benefits of eating fruits and vegetables? In beginning the goal might seem difficult initially but once you get into the habit of it, you can enjoy great health benefits in the long term.

Weight loss chalanges makes biggest losers

The biggest losers turned out to be winners at Weight Loss Challenge 101, a local program that concluded last week with the distribution of prize money to the participants who lost the highest percentage of body weight.

Acorn reporter Sophia Fischer and I participated in the 12-week program led by Lisa Sallin in her Thousand Oaks home. Sallin weighed us and the other participants each week and periodically measured our arms, legs and waists. She also addressed a variety of health issues and strategies that helped us change poor eating habits and lose weight.

The 13 men and women who took part in the weight loss dropped a combined 108 pounds.

The program fee was $39. Five dollars of each participant's fee went to Fit Kids Foundation, a nonprofit organization that fights childhood obesity. The rest of the money goes into a kitty, and the three people who lost the highest percentage of their weight at the end of the challenge split the cash, with the biggest loser taking most of the prize.

Robyn Bruce, 42, of Oak Park earned the grand prize after losing 23.6 pounds—11 percent of her total body weight. She earned a $200 prize for her efforts.

Ann, a participant who wished to remain anonymous, came in second place after losing 15 pounds—8.2 percent of her body weight. She won $120.

Simi Valley resident Alex Smith, 23, placed third in the competition, shedding 18 pounds— 7.6 percent of his body weight. He received $80.

Accountability, said Bruce, was the key to staying on track. "You bite it, you write it,"

She said she had to record in a journal every morsel of food that went into her mouth.

Bruce said Sallin's approach was "homier" than other weightloss programs because it encouraged friendships and the spirit of competition.

"Alex and I were neck and neck," Bruce said. "That's when I got caught up in the competition. I was going to beat a 23year-old."

Smith said he plans on joining the next class as well. He said Sallin's talks about healthy eating led him to give up his addiction to junk food.

"I cut fast food from my life," Smith said. He also incorporated a regular exercise routine and tries to go to the gym every day.

Fischer and I were not among the celebrated losers. We were both spotty in our attendance and, as anyone who has failed at weight loss knows, we can list a number of reasons—or excuses—of what went wrong.

I lost nearly 8 pounds during the first few weeks of the class, but I lacked the focus necessary to keep up the momentum. I did not embrace the lifestyle changes necessary to shed pounds with gusto. While Bruce, Smith and others joyfully started new exercise routines, including walking, swimming, aerobics and other simple plans, I lacked the commitment to stick to my 10,000 steps per day exercise routine. Rather than focus on how great I felt every time I exercised, I saw the activity as one more chore to include in my already hectic day.

I also didn't stick to the 1,500 calorie plan necessary to keep on losing weight. Even though I gained back some of the weight I had initially lost, I'm grateful to still be a few pounds less than I weighed at the start of the program last June.

Fischer said she had "great intentions" when she first saw the ad for weight-loss coaching.

"I stuck with the program for the first six weeks," Fischer said. "But a two-week visit from my parents, a kitchen disaster, work and four children coming and going interrupted my focus on myself.

"Much to Sallin's despair, I missed a few meetings and never returned," Fischer said. "To her credit, she really tried, calling and e-mailing me to encourage me to continue. I did learn from her, having changed my eating habits and sticking with my early morning exercise regimen of biking, jogging and swimming."

Sallin is proud of her group's accomplishments. "Everyone who came consistently, lost weight consistently," she said, and called the success stories "heartwarming."

One woman was able to fit into a dress she hadn't worn in four years, while another woman was able to stop taking one of her blood pressure medications. Another gal went on vacation and didn't gain an ounce, Sallin said.

"Weight Loss Challenge isn't a diet," Sallin said. "It's a way to become healthier and to lose weight in a fun, stressfree environment."

Both Fischer and I believe that the Weight Loss Challenge is a gem of a program and one of the most effective ways to lose weight locally. We both plan on enrolling again.

Obesity Surgery, cheap way to cut extra pounds

The cost of the most common type of weight-loss surgery, which typically runs between $17,000 and $26,000, is offset within two to four years by medical cost savings, according to a new study.

The findings, published in the September issue of the American Journal of Managed Care, may increase pressure on health-insurance companies to cover gastric bypass surgery. Some insurance plans specifically exclude weight-loss surgery, despite medical evidence of its effectiveness as a treatment not just for obesity, but also for related conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

"The most cost-effective treatment for obesity is bariatric surgery. If you do that, within two to four years, you will get your money back," said the study's lead author, Pierre-Yves Crémieux, a health economist and principal at Analysis Group Inc., an economic consulting firm in Boston. "We have identified the break-even point for insurers," he added.

Some policy makers and analysts are likely to question the findings because the study was paid for by Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Endo-Surgery unit, a maker of surgical devices and instruments used in weight-loss surgery. Dr. Crémieux said he stands by the study's integrity and added that the company "has been totally hands off."

The findings will interest employers and insurance companies, but the main concern has always been the safety and effectiveness of the surgery, said Susan Pisano, a spokeswoman for America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group in Washington. "I don't know if these results would be replicated in other populations," she added.

The journal's co-editor in chief, Michael E. Chernew, said the study addresses an "important and controversial" issue for his readers, including medical directors of insurance companies who make coverage decisions. He said the study was carefully scrutinized by independent reviewers who requested a series of manuscript revisions. "I won't deny that I would rather this be funded by some other organization, but there is no bias in the methodology," he asserted.

Each of 3,651 severely obese patients in a large claims database who underwent surgery was matched to a control subject who didn't have the surgery. The patients were matched for age, gender, geography, health status and baseline costs. The patients were predominantly female with an average age of 44 years. More than one-third of the patients had hypertension and many had high cholesterol, diabetes and other conditions.

The analysis covered six months of presurgical evaluation and care, the surgery itself and, on average, about 18 months of postsurgical care, including costs incurred from surgical complications. Some patients' postsurgical claims were tracked for up to five years. Costs included payments for prescription drugs, physician visits and hospital services. Claims were monitored for obese patients who didn't have surgery over the same period.

The study showed that insurers fully recovered the costs of laparoscopic surgery after 25 months. Laparoscopic surgery is a less-invasive version of gastric bypass with an average cost of $17,000. Between 2003 and 2005, the break-even point was reached in 49 months for traditional bariatric surgery, which carries an average cost of $26,000. The study didn't address gastric banding, a rival procedure.

Health economist Eric A. Finkelstein sounded a skeptical note. If the control group had "one really bad outcome, such as a heart transplant, that alone could be enough" to significantly change the results, he said in an interview. Several years ago, Dr. Finkelstein published a similar study using a different methodology, which suggested a 10-year return on investment on weight-loss surgery.

Dr. Finkelstein said that over time he has come to believe that the "return-on-investment" analysis of weight-loss surgery is "misguided." This economic metric isn't used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of treatments for cancer or heart disease.

source: WSJ.com

Diabetes cured by weight loss surgery

Obese diabetes patients who have gastric bypass weight loss surgery often show dramatic improvement in blood sugar control within days, long before significant weight loss occurs.

The reversal of type 2 diabetes tends to occur much more rapidly than with gastric banding, and a new study may help explain why.

The findings could also advance the search for better diabetes treatments that target the small intestine and not the pancreas, researchers say.

"It is increasingly clear that the intestine is not just a conduit for food transit," gastric bypass surgeon Francesco Rubino, MD, tells WebMD. "We now know that it is also a very important organ for the regulation of glucose."
Intestine Produces Glucose

Several recent studies have suggested that weight loss surgery is a more effective treatment for type 2 diabetes in obese people than standard treatments for the disease.

Because weight loss alone cannot explain the rapid remission of disease in many gastric bypass patients, researchers have looked for other causes.

One theory has been that surgery alters the expression of hormones that help control appetite, blood sugar, and weight.

But studies designed to test this hypothesis have proven contradictory, diabetes researcher Gilles Mithieux tells WebMD.

In their newly published study, reported in the September issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, Mithieux and colleagues looked elsewhere for answers.

"We know from earlier work that the small intestine can produce glucose," he says. "We showed that with gastric bypass surgery you essentially double the capacity of the intestine to do this."

By studying mice treated with either gastric bypass or banding, researchers confirmed that the bypass operation was associated with increased production of glucose, or blood sugar, in the small intestine, while gastric banding was not.

Gastric bypass surgery essentially produces a "double intestine," Mithieux says. The portion of the small intestine that is closest to the stomach is bypassed so that it no longer received nutrients. The lower small intestine is then attached to the stomach where it becomes the main nutrient receiver.

By surgically repositioning the lower small intestine, which usually does not produce much glucose, it ramps up intestinal glucose production and improves insulin sensitivity, he says.
Treating Diabetes With Surgery

Rubino tells WebMD that the findings offer important insights into the role of the small intestine in blood sugar regulation.

"This doesn't tell the whole story, but it appears to be an important piece of the puzzle," he says.

The gastric bypass surgeon is a strong advocate of using the surgery as a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes -- a position that remains controversial.

He directs the diabetes surgery center at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

"Surgery promises to be one of the most powerful resources we have to fight this disease," he says. "I don't think it will be the answer for everyone. But for patients with the right profile, the results can be remarkable."

Rubino believes that the surgery can help not just diabetic patients who are morbidly obese, but also people who are overweight but don't weigh enough under current guidelines to be considered for the gastric bypass procedure.

"We hope to study this to see if surgery is better than conventional treatment in patients who are moderately obese or just overweight," he says.

Choose proper food to lose weight fast!

Recently a patient asked me what she should eat to lose weight. She had tried almost every diet there was but had no success. She asked if I had a diet she could take home and successfully take the pounds off.

In my practice, I try to help my patients understand as much about their condition as possible. Before starting my residency, I was a college professor.

My students always did well on their tests because I helped them understand that simply memorizing information was useless.

This was because the information is usually lost with time and can't be applied practically. An example would be to understand how and why, instead of what and when.
I apply this concept to my medical practice to help patients understand their illnesses and, as a result, be more compliant with the treatment regimen.

The how in this case is to take in fewer calories than you burn and include exercise? It is also important to be aware we burn calories just maintaining our functions to live.

Examples are our bodily functions including breathing or our heart continuously beating.

I first told the patient she was capable of making the right decisions when it came to choosing foods. I told her to always ask herself if it is healthy and that 99 percent of the time, she would be correct. I gave her an example of fried chicken versus baked chicken. I then gave her the example of three wings versus two wings.

The why in this case is the fact our bodies have natural defense mechanisms and respond to environmental stressors to survive?

During the questioning, she admitted to skipping breakfast on most mornings. We should try to eat small, frequent meals. I stressed that this was a problem when we allow a long period of time to pass between meals. In order to maintain vitality, the body's metabolism slows down and the body stores more fat. Also, when you are very hungry, it is harder to make a healthier food selection.

Try going to the local pizza game establishment (which I am forced to attend almost every week for one of my 7-year-old daughter's classmates' birthday parties), and choose the salad after not eating all day. Chances are you are going to make an unhealthy choice.

Summer champs beneficial for Kids to lose weight fast

As the summer vacation starts they've been trying out loads of different sports, and learning to eat more healthily.

Brother and sister Jamal, 11, and Janeisha, 8, have been spending time at the camp, and have both lost around a stone (6.35 kg) in weight!

They say they feel loads better with the weight off.

Jamal said: "Having the weight on, it was harder to do things.

"I couldn't really run very fast, or jump very high either."
As the weeks went by and he saw the weight drop off, Jamal said: "I felt proud of myself and a whole lot better."

His sister Janeisha said: "When I had the weight on me it was horrible, because I couldn't jump, and I couldn't bend down."

Now Janeisha says she can jump higher and bend down properly.

They're just two of the 100 kids who've taken part in this summer's camp, and for

the first time some of them had their fees paid by the local hospital.

Camp organisers say most of them are expected to keep the weight off, because they're taught how to stay healthy when they go home.

Busy women lose weight fast without a diet

Many women just stare at those well-shaped women on the beach and wonder what’s the secret behind fast weight loss? But if you think that you will never be able to get your body in such a shape as theirs would be wrong because if you’ll work hard then nothing seems to impossible. Looking at other fit women puts the pressure on most of us to get in shape and lose weight as fast as possible.

I for one discovered that using weight loss diets is not always the right answer that will work for every type of women out there. One of the biggest problems with diets is that they could make us eat a lot more than women who don't use diets at all. This happens because when we are on a diet we don't eat when we want to, but evaluate if this food is good for us or not. The chocolate cake we are craving and not eating because our diet says so will build up emotional frustration and will make life miserable on a daily basis whenever we see the foods we love. Abstaining from the foods we love in order to achieve fast weight loss, will work for some women, but not for all.

See when you significantly reduce the amount of food you eat, the brain sends impulses through the nervous system as if the body is starving. Your metabolism will slow and your organism will digest the food slower in order to survive starvation. This will create strong desires to eat food that will cause you anxiety. With this kind of pressure, depending on the person, you could lose self-control and indulge in binge eating. The problem with this is that your body burns food slower now due to decreased metabolism. When you lose self-control, which is very likely for most women on diets, instead of fast weight loss you will gain weight. Saying all that, I recognize that diets work miracles for some type of women, and yet for others they destroy their health.