Weight Loss Home | List of Weight Loss Articles | Submit an Article | Sitemap
The Solution to Healthy Weight Loss- by Marilyn Pokorney
The overweight and obesity epidemic is a worldwide problem. There are no official statistics for spending on diet products, but estimates vary from $40 to $100 billion in the US alone, much of that on scams and fad diets that promise the impossible. Research shows that 95% of people who have lost weight find that they regain it back when they return to their normal eating habits. According to the Center for Disease Control's Chronic Disease Center, in 1991 in the United States, only four states had an obesity prevalence of 15 percent to 19 percent. In 2003, 15 states had an obesity prevalence of 15 to 19 percent, 31 states had an obesity prevalence of 20 to 24 percent, and four states had a prevalence of 25 percent or more. Major medical problems associated with obesity include gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, and osteoarthritis. If that isn't incentive enough to lose that excess weight statistics show that overweight people are usually given lower paying jobs, get lower salaries, receive little in raises, and are, as a whole, looked down upon by 40 percent of fellow employees and employers. In 2002 The American Heart Association reported that more than 10 percent of US children ages 2 to 5 are overweight. That is up from 7 percent in 1994. The situation is probably even worse now, said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, president-elect of the heart association and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado. The obesity problem among children has increased with school-age children as well. Four million children ages 6 to 11 and 5.3 million in age group 12 to 19 have increased by 75 percent from 1991. Food habits adopted in childhood can be hard to change. As a result hypertension and high cholesterol leading to heart disease, strokes, and diabetes are going to become the nations top health problem with people of all ages within 10 to 30 years. These are ailments that usually afflict the middle age to elderly population. More than a million new cases of diabetes are already being diagnosed each year, says the American Diabetic Association. Nearly 30 percent of American adults are overweight and another 30 percent are obese, according to University of Minnesota researchers. Obesity is usually described as a weight 20 percent greater than the persons desirable weight. A study by the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle revealed that 60% of overweight women, and 70% of obese women, are likely to become pregnant while taking the pill. The researchers suggest that a higher metabolism is the reason, causing the medication to be effective for a shorter length of time. Or, that the drug interacts with the body's hormones in a way that the drug becomes trapped in the body fat instead of circulating in the bloodstream. Studies with obese pregnant women show they are 50% more likely to die during pregnancy than those of normal weight. Complications such as miscarriage, gestational diabetes, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, pre-term labor, and stillbirth are also more common. Preliminary evidence shows that babies are also adversely affected, and are more likely to be obese themselves in later life. Fast foods: Studies show that people who frequent fast food outlets twice a week or more gained 36 pounds over the course of 15 years compared to 26 pounds for those that frequented them once a week or less. A major factor for the obesity crisis is a sedentary lifestyle, not enough exercise, and the eating of high calorie fast foods in place of nutritious natural food products. Fast food is designed to promote consumption of the maximum number of calories in the minimum amount of time. This upsets the body's normal metabolism. One solution is to eat smaller, more nutritious, meals more frequently throughout the day. Physical activity reduces the effects of being overweight, but healthy eating habits have to be followed to prevent disease associated with poor nutrition according to an expert of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. The new diet guidelines set by the Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is basically a balanced diet and good old fashioned exercise. They stress more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and limit fats, sugar, alcohol, and salt. Many supermarkets are open 24 hours a day making a choice of healthy food available at all times. For more tips on how to lose weight safely see The Secret to Weight Loss at: http://www.apluswriting.net/diettips/diettips.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ You may retrieve this article by: Autoresponder: diettips1000@getresponse.com Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney Please leave the resource box intact with an active link, Author: Marilyn Pokorney Featured Article: The Solution to Healthy Weight Loss by Marilyn Pokorney . Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss: The Visual Program for Permanent Weight Loss
The secret to taking off those hated pounds?
"I lost 25 pounds living up to Dr. Shapiro's simple plan for reducing my waistline. What worked for me were the visual aids-- a picture can be worth 1,000 calories! They don't call him the Prince of Pounds for nothing!"--Dennis Duggan, Pulitzer prize-winning columnist, Newsday Dr. Shapiro proves that great eating and weight loss can go hand in hand if you make the right choices. Starting the day right, eating out for pleasure or business, enjoying a snack or even a chocolate indulgence-- it can all be done without gaining weight, if you follow the "picture perfect" guidelines in this book. Dr. Shapiro's proven program of Food Awareness Training empowers you to take charge of your eating. You can stop depriving yourself, stop feeling guilty-- and stop dieting. Whether you want to lose 100 pounds or want to maintain the healthy weight you have now, here are the images that will instantly change your habits for life. Customer Review: Gave me the tools to lose 50lbs in 90 days Others have gone into what the book literally advises. I'll give you my bottom line. This book gave me the tools to implement weight loss. I've tried other diets and couldn't stick with them. Dr. Shapiro has given me the tools to change my relationship with food. I'll say it again. In combination with exercise ( I now walk 6 miles daily), 50lbs in 90 days. The only downside? People barely recognize me and I have to buy a whole new wardrobe! Customer Review: Hallelujah...hallelujah.....hallelujah....and an AMEN This book is the basics and totally complete program for Picture Perfect Weight Loss, and has so many more food comparisons than the 30 Day Plan, also reviewed. The 30 Day Plan is a jump start into his program, sort of like a fast version which will also address teenagers and small children. Both reviews apply for the overall best in weight loss. I also Combine this with Volumetrics, since she offers much in the way of recipes, yet both principles are the same. Dr. Shapiro Simply makes it easier to comprehend through his photo comparisons in food ratios. More Food...Lower Calorie Intake. Superb! After all of my confusion and frustrations from restrictive diets with their point counting and block counting and don't eat that, or don't eat this or don't miss your meal at your assigned time. Save up for your binge day. It all became too much and I succeeded and failed at every one of them. See my other reviews of an accounting of my past failures that lead to this success. Now for what I have been speaking of with my weight loss and repeated gains, only to continue to cover my muscles with fat. I began my adult life at 100 lbs, had a couple of kids, lost all baby weight then began to gain after the age of 30. 5 lbs here and there over the next 10 years. Pretty soon I am up over 125. Still looking pretty good, had my figure, just more filled out everywhere. Then Kids grew up, more independent from me so.... By the time I hit 43 I was at 135, At 45 I reached my all time highest weight of 150. Kids moving out, so empty nest syndrome next. To put this into perspective, I am 5' 3" tall and I am small boned. My ideal weight should be 115 lbs, but I will be happy with 120 of muscle...baby. Dr. Shapiro's book probably saved me from further years of frustration and sadness. When I read his book and everything started to click, I actually found myself becoming emotional over the simple truths he lays out for you. First off: He shows you the typical before and after sequences in his book which is typical with many weight loss programs, but I pushed past that. Second: He addresses your emotional issues of why you eat and shows you tools as to how to handle this part of what can be sabatoging your weight loss. Hence, my current situation of Empty Nest Syndrome at age 47. My last child off to college last year. Third: He discusses the myths of diets and weight loss and why the other programs are gimmicks and don't make sense and are destined to make you fail....This is where it clicked for me and the emotions came forth.. It is not necessarily your fault you failed but that you were set up to fail. Fourth: He discusses ratios and shows you in vivid, large color photos of what a cookie equals to 8 frozen yogurt cones. He does this over and over until you are reeling from the visuals of what your pantry and what you put in your mouth should look like. Example; I can have 1 tiny biscuit from the pillsbury product or I can have 11 slices of regular whole wheat toast topped with fruit spread. Gee....this is a no brainer, however, I would usually eat the biscuit mindlessly without realizing what I was placing in my mouth calorie wise. I just felt most times bread was bread and I would simply count the biscuit as my bread portion for the day. Convoluted thinking! In his illustrations he shows you calories along with the change in portion size for healthy eating and feeling never deprived. I can literally eat all day long if I want to. After all, I love to snack, and Dr. Shapiro shows you how to do it right. The Basis of his program is about eating correctly in proper ratios without portion control through understanding how you no longer have to count anything including calories. I'll Give another example since this is how I finally got it myself. Now the biscuit or cookie versus toast and fozen yogurt thing. He is not suggesting you should go out and eat 11 pieces of toast with jam, or have 8 yogurt cones, however you can if you so choose, since the calories are the same as the biscuit or the cookie, yet the whole wheat toast is so much better for you as is yogurt. The point he is trying to make is, you probably won't eat that much bread or will feel satified with one yogurt cone or maybe 2, but guess what, you are automatically creating a calorie deficit without even trying hard. Another example: A bagel or 5 bananas. Calories are the same. I would eat "A" banana and achieve a calorie deficit. Example: Bran Muffin or a Whole wheat roll, a pumpernickel roll, 3 slices of pumpernickel toast, 3 slices of light wheat toast, 1.5 lbs of assorted melons, and finally 1 cup of blackberries. Wholly smokes. Again, I could not possibly eat all this, so I create a calorie deficit without even breaking a sweat. As you can see I do most of my comparisons with fruits and bread since these are my vices for enjoyment of food. And if you notice, he absolutely doesn't restrict bread or fruits of any kind. I can eat them whenever I want to. Also in his pictures he gives you equations on what you picture putting in your mouth will tend to make you gasp. Example: Love eggnog? .....how about seeing that as an equivalent 5 pats of butter, 6 tsp of sugar, and 3 tbsp of alcohol. Still want an egg nog? By comparison if holiday cheer is what you are into, then skip the eggnog and drink it's equivalent of 3 4 oz glasses of champagne, 3 4 oz glasses of red wine, 3 4 oz glasses of sparkling fruit punch made with champagne, ginger ale, and fruit. I think my holiday evening might be more entertaining this way. Chocolate Souffle 1 cup or 8 chocolate covered strawberries. 1 Pint of rice or 8 boiled new potatoes, 1 baked sweet potato, and 1 ear of corn. 1 Cannoli 3 oz or 3 waffle cups of 12 oz italian ice. He will give you food comparisons of everything imaginable. Pizza, pound cake, doughnuts, english muffins, waffles, vegan specialties, Chicken versus Lobster, Hamburger versus Soy burgers, seafoods, pastas, breads, Fruits, Vegetables, Candy, peanut butter, 100% natural or Jif, and so on and so on. Nothing is off limits. It is all about your own choices. I finally understand why I have failed on so many other diets or weight loss programs, because of the concept of restrictions on foods, timeframes, counting stuff up. This program allows you to eat whatever, whenever, when you are hungry, eat until you are satisfied, and enjoy food and life again. It does not have to be your enemy as it was mine. I was beginning to hate food, but yet craved all the wrong stuff so I was always taking more food in than I was expending. This is where Dr. Shapiro's plan is so wonderful, through illustrating ratio sizes in relation to the crap you are currently putting in your mouth, it all sinks in to shop better and wiser and and eat all day if you wish using the concept he shows you. You will create a calorie deficit just by picking the alternate food choice. That's what clicks here. He doesn't lay out your menu for you, he doesn't rationalize how and when you should eat, only eat when you want, and eat what you want making better choices and he shows that clearly in this book. As I said in my other reviews, the other programs take the guess work out of it by giving you points to use or count blocks for proper size, this creates a crutch, not information in nutrition, in it's simplest form. There is no work for you to learn about the actual consequences of eating incorrectly except how you see yourself in the mirror. Weight Watchers uses points and says 2 pieces of Fried Chicken is maybe 10 points, so you can eat this, which is the security they lull you into, "eat anything you want as long as you are within your points", but 8 points is huge when only allowed 18 per day for my size. With the further drawback of not showing you the alternative of eating more and feeling fuller. I personally, would rather eat a huge bowl of some soup, have a half of a sweet potato with some mandarin oranges on top, a breast of roasted chicken and a sorbet for dessert. What do you think will fill you up more? And literally never leave you hungry again. Now this is not to say I did not learn things from other programs...THE ZONE comes to mind. Whenever possible I do still use the Protein, Carb, and Fat ratio with every meal, just because I found this to be very sound in my overall well being. Even though Dr. Shapiro does not put the emphasis on this type of balance, except for the snacking, he clearly has a nice combining of foods at the main meals. If I get hungry in the middle of the night, I eat. If I want to go to the fridge and grab some fruit, I just do, regardless of the time of day it is. If I want to skip a meal because I am just not hungry, then I do without worry of catabolic consumption of my muscles, this one I always questioned due to sleeping all night. I stay away from potato chips now and substitute either a ton of Butter Spear Pickles, at 5 calories per, eat till you get sated with salt and crunch. Or I might just go for the 85 pretzel sticks. It is your choice. This whole program is about your choice. AMEN! Some might say salt will effect their weight loss, but he does not discuss water weight behind it, but fat weight is what you will lose, since water comes and goes and you can control it through reducing salt. The point is, customize the program to your lifestyle, not your lifestyle to the program. BOTTOMLINE: CALORIES IN....CALORIES OUT. TOO MANY OF THE WRONG ONES AND YOU GUESSED IT...YOU GET FAT!!! It really doesn't have anything to do with ratios of combining foods. After all people have lived on bread and water and have lost a huge amount of weight, think Famine. Again to combine foods is my preference. Follow Dr. Shapiro any way you want to. Just learn proper ratios and everything else will fall off, revealing a better you. Fifth: He does say to incorporate exercise daily and shows you how simple it is to stay on task. Sixth: He does endorse eating out anytime you wish, not save it up for your free day or binge day or whatever. Once you understand this concept through visuals, you will never worry about what comes on our plate at dinner again...., you will become food aware however, and choose wisely from the menu because you now know how. No more fears of eating out. Blurp: The only thing I found disappointing in this book is the restaurants he shared their menu's with were all located in New York. Not much help there, but it did show a comparison of food menu items to pick from the not so good ones. Remember, there are no bad foods in his book just better choices. I figured out it was the visual concept that got me to recognize and fully understand alternatives and what eating something so seemingly harmless, could be sabatoging my weight loss. He does promote Vegetarian style living, but for those who find it restrictive, just use the meat of your choice and stick with some savvy concepts of serving size as a meat portion should be a deck of cards size, and eat all the fruits and vegetables you want. These are anytime foods. I do not find his vegetarian teaching too restrictive, I just learned to work around it. He does give advice on trying something new, so I did. I bought the vegan hotdogs, Soy Burgers, Soy Sausage, Soy Crumbles for chili or Linguini in Clam sauce, and vegan cheeses, and some Polenta...What the heck is Polenta? I didn't know, but I tried it and loved it. I never feel like I have sacrificed flavor or texture for these alternate foods. The Breakfast Muffin I make from his book is delicious. Seventh: He does show you to be aware of calorie count on the labels of items so in a quick glance you know if you are within recommended calorie count. The reason for setting this up this way is so when you sit down to eat, you already know what you are eating since you did your homework at the grocery store. I changed my bread and waffle purchases to all whole grain, no more processed refined flours or sugars. I changed my soup purchases from creamy to meat and vegetable type bases. By doing this, I have created an ongoing calorie deficit just by changing what was going into my mouth. If I want a piece of candy I can eat it. Hard versus Soft....Hard being the wiser choice. I could go on and on since I am so happy to finally find something that works and is so simple to use. I have already lost 10 lbs and I am back to 135. Now I am not going to watch the scale anymore, but only go by how my clothes feel, since I also don't believe in being a slave to a scale. You will know if you are gaining or losing by the way your clothes feel. Eighth and Final: He also shows you food saboteurs and troubleshooting for those tough days. He will educate you to every myth known to dieting. I just don't see any tough days ahead, not with this one. This is also not rapid weight loss but 1-2 lbs a week on average, and remember, if you start exercising such as lifting weights, you may even gain some weight, since muscle weighs more than fat in terms of ratios. Pound for pound they are the same, but Muscle uses up less room... that is why you may feel your clothes getting smaller yet you haven't lost a pound. And that is a good thing, since muscle will continue to burn fuel throughout the day even while sitting or sleeping. And if you think buying the specialty foods will break the bank...you would be wrong. Buying all the same junk week after week cost me exactly the same as a full cart stuffed with healthy and funky new things to eat better. I spent no more than usual. And looking at my pantry and inside my fridge, I absolutely do not feel deprived with such a wealth of food choices. Try this one out and be sure to get his SHOPPERS GUIDE to take to the market, also reviewed. Good luck to all who have haunted the bookstore aisles of endless weight loss fads throughout their lives as I have done. You won't be disappointed as long as the visuals make sense to you as they did for me. Namaste! Weight Watchers Weight Loss That Lasts
Healthy Weight Loss Without Loose Skin, Loose Weight With Elliptical Trainer, Loosing Weight, Weight Loosing, Loosing Weight Fast, Loosing Weight Fast For Teens, Weight Loosing Exercises, Weight Loosing Methods Book review info provided in association with Amazon. Privacy: No personal information is collected or store on this site. If you contact us we will only use the info you give us to respond to your query. Copyright proven-weight-loss-tips.org - All Rights Reserved. |
