Weight Debate

Myth: Starches are fattening and should be limited when trying to lose weight.

The fact is… Many foods high in starch, like bread, rice, pasta, cereals, beans, fruits, and some vegetables such as potatoes and yams are low in fat and calories. They become high in fat and calories when eaten in large portion sizes or when covered with high fat toppings like butter, sour cream, or mayonnaise. read more »

Dr. Mehmet Oz on the Dr. Oz show says eating a super high carbohydrate diet increases Neuropeptide Y (NPY). NPY is a brain chemical that decreases metabolism and increases appetite.

You should make sure that less than 50 percent of your diet comes from carbohydrates, and that most of your carbohydrates are complex, such as whole grains and vegetables. read more »

If you gain 30 pounds or more over your healthy body weight, you are considered obese. That extra weight would be like picking up 30 pounds of rocks, dumping them in your backpack, and carrying them around with you all of the time.

People who are obese do that every day, all of the time, even when they go to bed at night. The unhealthy news is… about 35 out of every 100 children in the United States are either obese or overweight.

Many kids who eat at fast food restaurants gain about six extra pounds in just one year. This means these kids have a good chance of ending up overweight or obese as the years go by.

If you eat more calories than your body uses for energy to power everything you do, the extra calories are turned into body fat. Each extra pound of fat equals about 3,500 extra calories eaten. Calories are units that are used to measure how much energy a particular food has in it. The calories in a food provide you with energy after you eat the food. Different nutrients in foods provide different amounts of calories.

Kids who don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables are more likely to not only become obese, but also develop serious health problems that adults usually get. These include heart disease and diabetes.

Diabetes develops when there is too much sugar in your body that doesn’t get used for energy. Imagine it like syrup running through your blood veins. It can’t get burned into energy, so it sits around and makes you sick.

Adding plenty of fruits and colorful vegetables to your daily diet may protect you against gaining too much weight, and also help keep you healthy and energized for all of the things you like to do.

Source: www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids
United States Department of Agriculture

Studies have shown that fat cells in heavier people undergo metabolic changes that make it more difficult to burn fat.

As little as 11 pounds can slow your metabolism down, and as you gain more fat, it becomes even harder for you to lose the fat.

Physical activity is what you need to get your metabolism back on track. Exercising regularly can get you back to a healthy weight.

Don’t forget to eat healthier foods to speed up your weight loss goals.

Are you having problems losing weight, despite proper eating and exercise?

There are metabolism problems that cause weight gain, and when these problems are treated, the weight will often begin to disappear.

Some Common Metabolism Problems That Cause Weight Gain:

Hypothyroidism
As long as your thyroid function is inadequate, it will be nearly impossible for you to keep your weight down. The symptoms of hypothyroidism are:

• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Cold intolerance with low body temperature – under 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit
• Achiness
• Poor mental function

Nutritional Deficiencies
When you are deficient in vitamins or minerals your body will crave more food than you need and your metabolism will be sluggish.

Poor Sleep
The expression “getting your beauty sleep” actually has a basis in fact. Deep sleep is a major trigger for growth hormone production and sleep also regulates the appetite-controlling hormones leptin and ghrelin.

• Growth hormone stimulates production of muscle, which burns fat, and improves insulin sensitivity, which decreases the tendency to make fat.
• Because sleep raises growth hormone, getting 8 to 9 hours of sleep a night that your body is meant to have, can powerfully contribute to your staying young and trim. (100 years ago, the average American got 9 hours of sleep each night).

Yeast Overgrowth
Fungal (also known as Candida or yeast) overgrowth contributes powerfully to both sugar cravings and weight gain. Once this overgrowth is treated and eliminated, excess weight drops off.

Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance causes your body to make very high levels of insulin, which causes your body to make fat.

Myth: Natural or herbal weight loss products are safe and effective.

The fact is… A weight loss product that claims to be natural or herbal is not necessarily safe.

Be Aware
Natural or herbal weight loss products are not usually scientifically tested to prove that they are safe or that they work.

Herbal products containing ephedra (now banned by the U.S. Government) have caused serious health problems and even death in some people. Newer products that claim to be ephedra-free are not necessarily danger-free, because these products may contain ingredients similar to ephedra.

Always talk with your doctor before using any weight loss product. Some natural or herbal weight loss products can be harmful to your health.

Obesity is a serious health concern for kids and teens.

Kids and teens who are obese (as kids) are more likely to become obese as adults.

A study found that if kids are overweight before the age of 8, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe.

Children and adolescents who are obese are at risk for many health problems during their youth and in adulthood. Excess body fat (obesity) leads to a higher risk for:

• Premature death
• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Stroke
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Problems with cholesterol and triglycerides
• Lung problems
• Gout
• Gallbladder disease
• Arthritis
• Certain kinds of cancers
• Depression
• Social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem
• Bone and joint problems
• Sleep apnea

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese.

Thirty Years Ago:

• Kids walked to school everyday, and walked home from school every day.
• Kids ran around at recess.
• Kids participated in gym class.
• Kids played for hours after school, before dinner, after dinner, and all weekend long.
• Meals were home-cooked and there was a vegetable on the plate.
• Kids had reasonable portion sizes on their plate.
• Eating fast food was rare.
• Snacking between meals was once in awhile.

Today:
Kids today live very different lives then kids did 30 years ago…

• Kids take the bus to school, or their parents drive them to school.
• Gym classes and some school sports have been cut.
• Kids spend afternoons watching the TV, watching movies, playing video games, using their cell phones, and doing whatever on the internet.
• Parents work and are busier than ever.
• Families eat fewer home-cooked meals.
• Snacking between meals is the norm, not the exception.
• Food portions are two to five times bigger than they used to be.
• Some kids drink 20 ounces of soda at a time.
• Most kids and teens aren’t getting the recommended levels of physical activity they need everyday.
• Most kids aren’t eating a healthy diet everyday.

The benefits of physical activity helps control weight, reduces fat and decreases the risk of obesity, builds lean muscle, and promotes strong bones, muscles and joint development. Children need 60 minutes of active and vigorous play every day to grow up to a healthy weight.

By making a few simple changes, we can help our kids live healthier lives by teaching them to eat healthy foods everday and making sure they get the recommented amount of physical activity everyday, so that when they reach adulthood, they will be at a healthy weight, which will also make them a happier person.

Myth: Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight!!

The fact is… studies have shown that people who skip breakfast and eat fewer times during the day tend to be heavier than people who eat a healthy breakfast and eat four or five times a day.

Also, those who skip meals during the day tend to feel hungrier later on in the day, and then they eat more later in the day than they normally would.

It is wise to eat small meals throughout the day to help you control your appetite. Eat a variety of healthy, low fat, low calorie foods.

Eat a healthy breakfast, and snacking on foods like fruits and veggies are good for you, low in fat and calories, and puts something in your stomach that CAN fill you up inbetween meals so you don’t grab that donut or cookie later in the day.

If you are pregnant, do not stop eating or start skipping meals as your weight increases. Both you and your baby need the calories and nutrition you receive from a healthy diet.

Try to have meals with your children. Girls who have five or more meals a week with their families are 1/3 less likely to develop unhealthy eating habits, which can range from skipping meals to full fledged anorexia or abusing diet pills.

Did you know that too much belly fat is harmful to your health?

The fat deep inside your belly is called omentum fat and it grows around your vital organs. The omentum is a fat storing organ in your abdomen located inside the belly that hangs underneath the muscles in your stomach. That’s why men with beer guts still have firm bellies – their fat is underneath the muscle.

As you age, you lose muscle, especially if you are not active. Without muscle mass, the rate at which your body burns calories slows down.

If you eat more than you should and don’t get enough physical activity, you gain weight, and usually for most people a lot of the weight gain goes around their belly. Building muscle burns more calories than body fat, even when you are sitting still.

Extra fat in your belly can push down on your stomach, making it easier for acid and food to be pushed back upward (out of your stomach) into your esophagus and cause heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Drinking too much alcohol can increase belly fat, giving you the beer belly gut.

The more belly fat you have, you increase your risk of:

• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Type 2 diabetes
• Some types of cancer
• Low levels of the good cholesterol – high-density lipoprotein (HDL)
• Insulin resistance
• High triglycerides
• Metabolic syndrome
• Sleep apnea

You double your risk of having fat around your abdomen if you have certain genetic traits, and the more of these traits you have, the greater your risk for a pot belly.

Abdominal obesity, waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men, is strongly associated with decreased lung function.

Get Rid of Your Belly Fat
There’s no way around it… the answer remains the same…

• Reduce the amount of calories you consume each day.
• Eat healthier foods that contain fewer calories.
• Increase the amount of physical activity you do – The Department of Health and Human Services recommends adults get 2 and 1/2 hours a week of moderate aerobic activity or 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, plus strength training.

Sit ups help to make your abdominal muscles stronger, but it will not reduce your belly fat. You need to lose weight and exercise.

Just doing crunches by themselves can make the rectus abdominis muscle (large muscle in the front of the abdomen) bugle out, you need to work the internal and external oblique muscles of the abdominal region too.

Remeber… losing extra pounds can help you feel better and lower your risk of health problems.

Replacing “high fat – high calorie” foods and beverages with “low fat – low calorie” foods and beverages is an excellant step you can take to lose and/or maintain your weight, and build a lifetime of healthy eating habits.

You can make some changes gradually, for example, starting with milk!! If you still drink whole milk:

• Gradually replace or dilute (mix the two milks together) whole milk with 2 percent milk
• Gradually replace or dilute 2 percent milk with 1 percent milk
• Gradually replace or dilute 1 percent milk with fat free or skim milk

You can start today by replacing foods and beverages that are high in fat and calories to foods and beverages that are low in fat and calories. It’s just a small step you can make today, to make a big difference in your life tomorrow.

Note:
Children 1 to 2 years of age need to drink whole milk. Whole milk supplies the additional calories from fat that children need for proper growth and brain development. Children under age 1 should not be given whole milk as it has been shown to cause low blood counts. After age two, it’s ok to switch to low fat or fat free milk. But always check with the childs doctor before doing so.