The gastric bypass surgery is one of the most well known ways of achieving quick weight loss. It is a balm for those who have tried every other avenue in order to lose weight and failed miserably. It is a hope for those who are frustrated with their weight loss attempts as well as the excessive hype that is prevalent in the weight loss industry.

Many doctors claim that gastric bypass surgery is totally safe because it has been widely tested for a long time before it was made available to the public. Even then, people are concerned about two things:

1. Whether it is safe and effective for everybody

2. Whether it comes with any post-surgery side effect that is so common with any type of surgery! Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: diabetes, food intake, Gastric bypass, gastric bypass surgery, high blood pressure, hypertension, killer disease, obesity, pain, quick weight loss, stroke, surgery, weight loss surgeries, weight loss surgery

Weight loss means different things to different people. For some, it is just a matter of popping a few diet pills, starving for weekends, and losing all the extra weight. For others, it is a matter of complete lifestyle change. If you ask me, I would go for the latter option. If you are wondering why, this article is just the right thing for you.

You see, if you have ever used fad diets and diet pills for weight loss, you would agree with me on one thing: weight loss achieved solely with their help is anything but permanent. You stop the intake of diet pills, you stop dieting, and the weight comes back.

Weight loss needs permanent solutions

This is not what I would call ‘weight loss’. For me, weight loss is all about losing weight permanently, so that the ‘lost’ weight never comes back again. As a matter of fact, permanent weight loss cannot be achieved with diet pills or fad diets; it can only be achieved by making a major change to your existing lifestyle, the change from unhealthy to healthy lifestyle.

No matter what other weight loss experts tell you, the fact remains that if you supply enough nutrition to your body regularly, it would always be fit and healthy, keeping you free not only from weight gain but also other harmful diseases.

Foods need to energize you

The foods you are currently consuming are anything but nutritious. Sure, they fill up your belly quickly but all they provide your body is empty calories that don’t provide the necessary nutrition; to make matters worse for you, these empty calories get deposited in your body as fat and make you obese.

Basically, if you follow the laws of nature, it would be impossible for you to gain weight, ever. This means that you should eat natural foods instead of processed junk, use your hands instead of machines to perform most of your routine tasks, don’t be a couch potato or a slave to your computer, don’t eat before bedtime, and get to bed as well as get up at right times.

Are you doing all these now? If your answer is “no”, then obesity is the natural outcome of your lifestyle habits because you are basically violating nature’s laws.

Obesity and Health issues if you do not change now

Forget about obesity, if you continue with your present lifestyle, you would soon find yourself burdened with more harmful diseases such as coronary diseases, kidney problems, hypertension, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even premature death.

The choice is now yours: do you want to lead a healthy and long life by obeying nature, or lead an unhealthy lifestyle and die an early death?

Tags: coronary diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, obesity

You have tried eating like a baby in the name of ‘dieting’, spent hours in your local gym in the name of ‘workouts’, wasted hundreds of dollars on weight loss pills and supplements, and have even gone to the extent of procuring those attractive but useless exercise gadgets that claim to burn your fat effortlessly; yet, you are unable to lose a single pound of fat.

If this is you then weight loss surgery is the only way to go. While there are many types of weight loss surgeries available out there, most people seem to go for the gastric bypass. The gastric bypass surgery, even though it helps you lose weight, is risky. In this article I will tell you about the complications you can possibly encounter after undergoing the surgery.

Celebrities and Gastric Bypass

Gastric bypass has always been more or less popular, but it was made even more popular with celebrities such as Al Roker and Carnie Wilson going for it and losing weight successfully with its help. Now it is your turn to try it out.

It is a known fact that the key to successful weight loss lies in reducing your food intake. If you eat less than your normal diet, you would get rid of the extra pounds. However, it is easier said than done. Try as you might, you would never be able to reduce your food intake to the desired level because the constant hunger pangs won’t let you do so.

The only solution available to you is that of reducing the size of your stomach so that you don’t feel hungry even after reducing your food intake drastically. This is exactly what the gastric bypass surgery does for you, and this is the reason why it is so popular among the masses and celebrities alike.

Gastric Bypass Risks

Now let’s talk about the possible risks associated with the surgery. While weight gain can trigger a host of diseases such as heart strokes, kidney problems, digestion problems, sleep apnea, cancer, gout, asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, psychological problems, etc., weight loss achieved through gastric bypass can also cripple you.

Known complications associated with gastric bypass surgery are stones in gall bladder (or gallstones), anemia, hair loss or thinning of hair, osteoporosis, blood clotting, infections, ulcers, stomach stenosis, incisional hernia, and even possible death.

Your decision on Gastric Bypass

Now the ball is in your court. You have to take the decision about whether to go for the gastric bypass or not. Weigh the risks of obesity with those of the gastric bypass surgery, and then take the decision. You may also want to consult with your doctor or a health specialist, preferably someone specializing in bariatric surgery.

If you ask me though, I would suggest that you try losing weight with diet and exercise once again. Lots of people have lost weight this way, so there is no reason why you cannot. Both of them are not only risk-free, you would also gain a lot of extra weight loss benefits that are not available to those losing weight through gastric bypass. In short, you should consider gastric bypass only as your last resort.

Tags: Al Roker, anemia, Asthma, bariatric surgery, cancer, Carnie Wilson, diabetes, food intake, gallstones, Gastric bypass, Gastric Bypass Gastric bypass, gastric bypass surgery, gout, health specialist, high blood pressure, hypertension, Incisional hernia, obesity, osteoporosis, sleep apnea, strokes, surgery, weight loss surgeries, weight loss surgery

Teenage obesity is fast becoming an epidemic. Even a couple of decades ago, the level of teenage obesity was not as high as it is now. So what is the reason behind such a huge increase in the number of obese teens? Junk food intake is obviously the primary cause. Nowadays, teenagers prefer to gorge on junk foods over eating healthy meals. Leading an inactive lifestyle is the secondary cause behind teenage obesity. Instead of playing outdoor sports, you would find most teenagers glued to either video games or the idiot box.

Forget about parents, even doctors are worried about the increasing number of overweight teenagers. Obesity is often linked to harmful diseases such as heart attacks, high blood pressure, hypertension, high blood sugar, etc. Previously, heart attacks used to afflict middle-aged adults; nowadays it is not surprising to find teens and young adults becoming susceptible to heart attacks, and obesity is the primary reason behind it.

It is time that we forget about high-caloric pizzas, soft drinks, colas, sodas, sweets, burgers, beer, alcohol, etc., and focus on low-caloric organic and natural foods. Obesity not only makes you physically weak and unhealthy, but also affects your mental health. Depression, which is affecting so many teens today, is often a direct side-effect of obesity.

Now, we all know that reduction in food intake is one of the best ways to combat obesity. However, you cannot ask a teen to eat less since adolescence is the period of growth for the body and as such, it needs plenty of nutrition during this time, even more than an adult. However, you can certainly ask your teenage kid to make the right food choices and lead an active life. Here are a few tips:

a) There are basically two types of calories out there: simple and complex. Simple calories are available in junk and sugary foods (cakes, biscuits, soda, pizza, etc.) while complex calories are available in natural fruits such as orange, apple. You should develop a taste for complex calories and avoid simple calories.

It is not that you would never be able to taste junk foods. Eating junk foods once in a while is okay, but eating them regularly means inviting trouble for yourself.

b) Your present sedentary lifestyle has to go. Realize that you can never remain fit if you don’t ever move your body. Participate in outdoor sports, workout in the gym; engage in swimming or dancing, etc. Do anything that MOVES your body. DO NOT sit on the couch for 24 hours because that couch is going to be your deathbed.

Tags: anything that MOVES, depression, food choices, food intake, heart attacks, high blood pressure, hypertension, junk food intake, obesity, outdoor sports, Swimming

As we go through the day our blood pressure just naturally raises and lowers depending on a lot of conditions. What most people are most interested in is a regular resting blood pressure as high blood pressure and hypertension are a very strong indicator toward present and future heart problems

The Effect Of Sleep on Blood Pressure

Sleep causes a fall in blood pressure. The maximum depth occurs about two hours after falling asleep. In sound, untroubled slumber a pressure of 130/80 might dip to 100/70. It once was thought that this drop in pressure was the cause of sleep, the reasoning being that a lower pressure delivers less blood to the brain resulting in mental sluggishness and hence sleep. Now it is known that this blood pressure decline is the result, not the cause, of sleep. As morning approaches, the blood pressure drifts slowly upward as the subject begins the awakening process. Any interference with sound sleep causes the blood pressure to rise. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Britain, Cairo, exercise, GBP, heart problems, high blood pressure, hypertension, incipient illness, known illness, physical activity, sleep, stroke, twitches, Washington Monument

Research has proven that if we’ve a single objective as our goal, and if we direct all our energies and resources towards the achievement of that objective, we can’t but win the goal. It is really true, and when it comes to weight loss, it is no different either. The very first thing you need to do is to make your weight loss goal your priority, and then enlist all the available resources and time towards achieving it. That is the only way you can lose weight.

I am not telling you to neglect things that are more important than weight loss, but I am pretty sure that the number of such ‘very important things’ is fewer than what you think, and I am also sure that you can, if you want, accommodate your weight loss program in this short list of ‘very important things’.

You see, nothing is more important than your health. If your health goes for a downhill, everything else that you set as ‘important tasks’ will have to stop. Now, how does this relate to weight loss? Well, you might not be aware of the fact that obesity is the forerunner of several harmful diseases such as diabetes, heart related diseases, hypertension, etc. Therefore, the main reason why you should lose weight is not just to look and feel good, but to make sure you live a healthy and long life. There are some ways you can ensure that you always find time for your weight loss program. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: diabetes, exercise, exercises, health, hypertension, junk food, obesity, objective, weight loss goal, workouts

Many people are now turning to inexpensive and natural green tea weight loss plans to help them in their weight control efforts. It is simple too. Green tea can be drunk like any other tea, usually without milk or sweeteners, or if you do not like the taste you can purchase green tea extract.

How Green Tea works to lose weight

Research has shown that green tea helps to reduce weight by stimulating the body’s thermogenesis process, which increases the expenditure of energy and the oxidization of fat in the body. Many compounds found in plants have this effect. The special thing about green tea is that it does not increase the heart rate, and is therefore believed to be safer than diet pills such as ephedrine that also work by stimulating thermogenesis.

A lot of people who are overweight have or are at risk of developing hypertension and other cardiovascular problems, so the fact that green tea does not put pressure on the heart makes it a good choice. Ephidrine is not usually recommended if you are in this group but green tea is considered a safe option. It means that you can gradually increase your exercise levels without increasing your risk of heart problems.

What it takes to lose weight with green tea

There are only two ways to lose weight: one way is by eating less (consuming fewer calories) and the other is by increasing expenditure of energy (using up more calories). Green tea works by increasing output and this can be by around 4%. Most scientists believe that this is caused by the high quantity of catechin that is in the tea and its extract.

Green tea has the added benefit of containing powerful antioxidants that may be beneficial to your health in many ways, strengthening the immune system and protecting against disease.

Keep in mind that green tea does contain caffeine so you should cut out coffee and other forms of tea while you are taking it. Decaffeinated green tea is not recommended because the chemical processes that are used to remove the caffeine may destroy the beneficial properties of the plant.

Green tea plus exercise equals weight loss

At the same time you will need to exercise control in what you eat. If you eat more to compensate for the calories that are burnt by the tea, you will not lose any weight. Keeping to the same calorific intake that you have now and taking green tea should result in gradual weight loss and better energy levels over a few weeks. You can of course increase the speed of this by reducing calorie consumption and/or increasing exercise.

Green tea is a simple, easy and inexpensive weight control aid that can easily be incorporated into any weight loss program. The choice of tea or extract offers something for everybody. Natural and safe, green tea weight loss should feature in your program if you want to keep the weight off permanently.

Tags: chemical processes, energy, energy levels, hypertension, Tea Weight Loss

In my daily surfing I run across a mass of great articles and thought I would share a few that I ran into today. These are all health related and great reads to teach you how to live a healthier lifestyle.

The Perfect Road-Trip, Water Bottle – A 67 Year Old Design. (TreeHugger)
A simple canteen may be one of those pieces of equipment that can help you stay hydrated…in this case for over 60 years!

Coffee May Curb Liver Cancer, Researchers Say Disease Appears To Be Rarer In Coffee Drinkers Than In Non-Drinkers – CBS News
These coffee good news stories are always interesting but it is interesting to note that coffee does work as a diuretic and can cause hypertension.

6 Superfoods That Prevent Disease – Health – RedOrbit
Notice as you read this article that whole, raw, fresh foods are fantastic for your health. The more processed that you diet is the worse your health will be.

8 Ways Soda Fizzles Your Health | Water for Life USA Blog
I love to drink my Coke but we all know that it is bad for you. Read these reasons and pause before you crack open your next can of pop.

Behance :: Articles :: 100 Tips to Improve Your Life
Everyone can use some tips to improve yourself. Here are a bunch of great ones to feel and live better.

16 Ways to Eat Healthy While Keeping it Cheap 8 Get Rich Slowly
There is no excuse now to not eat healthy although we all do know that it is cheaper to eat crap food then eat good food. Make a good decision.

Tags: CBS News, crap food, food, hypertension, liver cancer, Perfect Road

Alli is now out. The news we have been looking at for months is here. Alli, which is the over the counter version of Xenical for weight loss is now on the market so that people can use this as a aid to their weight loss program. I have said for years that you can not trust any pills to have you lose weight and I am still a little apprehensive to recommend that people use Alli to try to lose weight as the most important things in your weight control program are proper eating and exercise. Here is the press release for the product

Before you go out and buy Alli I just wanted to let you know that in researching this product I looked for a natural alternative. I have found one product that does what Alli does but is natural, cheaper and best of all has no side effects. That product is called Avatrim. Check out Avatrim before you go out to purchase Alli.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare announces today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the weight-loss product orlistat 60 mg capsules for over-the-counter (OTC) use in the United States. GSK Consumer Healthcare will market OTC orlistat under the brand name alli(TM) (pronounced AL-eye). Approved for use by overweight adults in conjunction with a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet, alli helps people lose 50 percent more weight than with diet alone. alli is the only FDA-approved weight-loss product available to consumers without a prescription, and it is the first clinically-proven over- the-counter product to be combined with a comprehensive support program. alli is expected to be available in stores nationwide by summer 2007. This approval marks the start of an educational program that includes a series of resources online at myalli.com.

GSK Consumer Healthcare selected alli as the brand name because it conveys the concept of partnership with consumers in their weight-loss efforts. Consumers spend billions of dollars each year on fad diets, unproven miracle pills, and potentially unsafe weight-loss supplements that may not work. alli is the clinically proven option to these hyped, quick-fix products that mislead overweight adults away from weight-loss strategies that are backed by medical science. With alli, consumers have access to an individually tailored online action plan that provides support and the necessary tools to help them lose 50 percent more weight than with diet alone.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alli, Boston Medical Center, Caroline Apovian, Center for Nutrition and Weight Management, Center for Nutrition and Weight Management at Boston Medical Center, diabetes, director, educational tools, food, GlaxoSmithKline, heart disease, hypertension, individualized online action plan, low fat diet, obesity, online action plan, online support program, physician, Steven L. Burton, the-counter product, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, United States, Vice President, Weight Control, Xenical

Sleep is a big problem for a lot of people. I just ran across a story from last week that points out that many people are having trouble sleeping and are using alternative medicine, herbs, in order to fall asleep. The big story is supposed to be the use of herbs but the real story here is that people are getting insomnia on a much more regular basis then they were 20 or 30 years ago.

The reasons for insomnia and most common sleep disorders can be narrowed down to a few causes. If you would like to sleep better then you should leave work stress at work, no sugar and caffeine after 3:00 in the afternoon and regular exercise. Sure there are a lot of problems that can cause sleeping problems but by just doing these three things most people will find that there length and quality of sleep will improve dramatically.

One in six Americans frequently have difficulty falling asleep, and 4.5 percent of them use some type of alternative medicine to treat their sleeping problems, a new study shows.

“Most respondents who used herbal therapies or relaxation techniques found these therapies helpful for managing their insomnia or trouble sleeping,” Dr. Nancy J. Pearson and colleagues from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Pearson and her team analyzed information from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey to find out how common sleeping difficulties were and how often people used alternative techniques to treat them.

Of those surveyed, 17.4 percent reported that, over the past 12 months, they regularly had difficulty falling asleep or suffered from insomnia.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alternative Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, Congestive heart failure, depression, hypertension, insomnia, obesity, Pearson, sleeping disorders