Studies Prove: Workout More Loss More Weight

Doubling the amount of time spent in heart-pumping workouts each week pays off.  

The author is bring out a good point. Exercise beginners often just do their 30 minutes a day of walking like they first started to do when they began exercising and after months of this same routine don't understand why they stopped losing weight. The walk you started to do when you first started was meant to get you into shape for some real heart-pumping exercise that will burn fat. But some people never get past the beginners exercise. Beginners have to start slow to avoid injuries. You have to build up stamina. That's the power to increase your program without hurting yourself. Yes, diet is critical for losing weight, but exercise helps you retain muscle mass that's necessary to burn body fat. 

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

Older women who fit more minutes of heart-pumping exercise into their week will lose more body fat, a new study shows.

Canadian researchers found that postmenopausal women who got five hours of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise every week -- double the normally recommended amount -- lost significantly more body fat within a year than women who exercised less.

"More is better. That's definitely what we found here," said study author Christine Friedenreich, a scientific leader in the department of cancer epidemiology and prevention research at Alberta Health Services-CancerControl Alberta, in Calgary. "If you can do more, you will do better."

The U.S. National Institutes of Health currently recommends that adults get at least two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week, the authors noted in background information.

Previous research has shown that exercise does decrease body weight and total body fat, Friedenreich said, but her research team wanted to know whether increasing a person's "dose" of exercise would produce even better results.

To test this theory, the researchers recruited 384 women whose body mass index (BMI) ranged from 22 to 40. A BMI under 25 is considered healthy, while 30 or more is considered obese. All women were disease-free, nonsmokers and were not taking hormone replacement therapy.

Half of the women were asked to exercise the recommended minimum amount of two hours and 30 minutes a week, while the other half had to exercise for five hours a week.

The women could take part in any aerobic activity they liked, as long as they kept their heart rate within 65 percent to 75 percent of their heart rate reserve for at least half of each exercise session. Most activities involved an elliptical trainer, walking, bicycling or running. Heart rate reserve is the gap between a person's resting and maximum heart rate.

"It's not light activity," Friedenreich said of the exercise required. "It's something that definitely causes an increase in your heart rate."

Researchers measured each woman's body fat before and after, using X-rays and CT scans, to track their progress after a year's worth of exercise. This is the only true way I know to measure BMI. We don't do it in this country because insurance won't pay for the tests. 

The investigators found that the women who got the minimum amount of exercise did experience improvements in weight and BMI and, on average, lost body fat.

However, women who doubled their exercise regimen experienced significantly more reduction in BMI and total body fat. They also lost more belly fat, and their waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio decreased significantly more.

The findings were reported in the July 16 online edition of JAMA Oncology.

Body fat has been linked to increased breast cancer risk, because fat produces the female hormone estrogen and also increases insulin resistance and inflammation, Friedenreich pointed out.

"It's been very clearly shown that if you gain weight over your lifetime and if you are overweight after menopause, that increases your risk of breast cancer," she said.

Alpa Patel, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society, said "these results allow us to say that there's this much benefit if you exercise the minimum 150 minutes recommended, and there's this much more benefit added if you can get that to 300 minutes."

In this study, the women were asked to maintain their usual diet, Friedenreich said.

Women can achieve even greater weight loss and fat reduction if they pair an increase in exercise with a healthy diet, said Kerri Winters-Stone, a research professor at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, in Portland.

Other studies have shown that combining diet and exercise can provide better weight loss results than either diet or exercise on their own, said Winters-Stone, who wrote a commentary that accompanies Friedenreich's study.

"It really boils down to an energy balance equation," she said. "You can get there quicker by changing diet and exercise, rather than trying to achieve it by exercise alone."

Winters-Stone added that increasing exercise is a good idea, but people need to make sure they understand their own physical limitations. Over-use injuries can occur if a person heedlessly pursues a stringent exercise regimen.

"People can kind of reach their max," she said. "Over-exercise tends to exacerbate knee pain, for instance, or it might cause an old shoulder injury to flare up."

Another New Change for Food Labels

This is a new post from WebMD about yet another change to food labels. It will give us more information about sugar, but it still gives food manufactures many different way to conceal sugar. Read the following post to get the whole story.

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Food manufacturers will be required to tell consumers how much sugar is added to their products and show how the amount compares to recommended daily limits under new changes to nutrition labels proposed by the FDA on Friday.

Many nutritionists and public health experts blame rising amounts of added sugars in processed foods for contributing to rising rates of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

But it can be tough to tell how much of the sweet stuff is in processed foods. Nutrition labels only tally total sugars, a measure that includes both those naturally present in foods like fruits and vegetables and those that are added during manufacturing.

Food labels also list ingredients by weight, so the higher up on the ingredient list, the more sugar is in a food. But manufacturers use many different names for added sugars, such as dextrose and fructose. And they sometimes use several different kinds of sugar in the same product so they can list each one lower down on the ingredient list -- further obscuring the total amount.

"It's a great public health victory," says Jim O'Hara, director of health promotion policy at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. "This is what consumers need to know so they can make healthy choices. They need to know that 20-ounce [soda] has about 130% the daily value of added sugar."

In March 2014, the FDA proposed adding the amount of added sugars, in grams, to food labels. The agency said Friday it is revising that proposal to also tell consumers how much added sugar a food contains relative to a total daily limit -- a measure called the percent daily value.

Specifically, regulators are proposing that people limit the added sugar they eat to no more than 10% of their total daily calories. For a person who eats 2,000 calories a day, that's about 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. A teaspoon of sugar is about 16 calories.

Studies show that the average American now takes in almost twice that much sugar -- 22 teaspoons -- each day, which amounts to an extra 350 calories.

"The FDA has a responsibility to give consumers the information they need to make informed dietary decisions for themselves and their families," says Susan Mayne, PhD, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in a news release.

The advice for the past decade has been to cut back on added sugars in the diet, she says, "and the proposed percent daily value for added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label is intended to help consumers follow that advice."

The change comes after the FDA reviewed the recent recommendations of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. The committee's report found that it was hard for a person to get all the recommended nutrients in their diet if they also ate more than 10% of their total daily calories as sugar.

The proposed changes will be open for public comment for 75 days.

The food industry has lobbied hard to keep added sugars off food labels. Public policy experts say they expect significant pushback on the changes.

"I expect the food industry -- led by the Grocery Manufacturers Association -- to go berserk over this one," says Marion Nestle, PhD, in an email to WebMD. Nestle is a professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. She predicts food makers will go to Congress to try to block the changes.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WebMD.

SOURCES: Jim O'Hara, director of health promotion policy, The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, D.C. Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University in New York City. FDA, News Release, July 24, 2015.

©2015 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

I just finished a sugar detox, I didn't eat anything with added sugar for 10 days. I don't believe in adding sugar to anything I eat, but going on this detox wasn't easy. It's hard to find food in a grocery store that doesn't have added sugar. I had to stick to the basics. You have to read the labels on everything. I was even reading labels on frozen vegetables. After the detox I was feeling better. My blood pressure was lower, my heart rate was lower and I lost some of my food cravings. I had to make my own meals to avoid added sugar, but I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot about processed foods. We talk a lot about processed foods but many consumers don't really understand which foods are processed foods. That's the biggest problem the consumer has.

Define Clean Eating

Eating "clean" is gaining traction — but what does it actually mean, and how is it good for the body? You here about it almost everyday if your reading food blogs of watching cooking shows.

Clean eating is a deceptively simple concept. Rather than revolving around the idea of ingesting more or less of specific things (for instance, fewer calories or more protein), the idea is more about being aware of the food's pathway between its origin and your plate. At its simplest, clean eating is about eating whole foods, or "real" foods — those that are un- processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible. However, modern food production has become so sophisticated that simply eating whole foods can be a challenging proposition these days.

Stores like Whole Foods have changed the food scene. We have more mini grocery's that specialize in fresh foods, organic foods and healthier brands. Ten or fifteen years ago we had 3 major grocery's where I live, and we had Whole Foods and convenient foods in gas stations. Today the scene is much different. Healthy foods are becoming common place in the majors and small grocery chains are springing up throughout the city selling organic, fresh, healthy food. Restaurants are starting to offer healthy food on the menu. The difference is today the public demands it. Menu will have to show the calorie count. And recently the FDA what's food manufacturers to put the amount of added sugar on food labels. These changes won't happen immediately but the changes will be a good thing for consumers.

Not eating processed foods is the biggest part of "eating clean". I was surprised to learn how many people don't really understand what foods are considered to be processed foods. Most people don't realize that bread is a processed food and that some cheese is processed. These new milks like soy milk and almond milk are processed foods and may have chemical additives.

I just finished a sugar detox recently. For 10 days I couldn't eat anything with added sugar. I'm glad I did the detox, but it's difficult finding foods or drinks without sugar.  I had to just buy the basics and make my own food. It's very healthy and I learned a lot and I have no regrets. The hardest part was not eating in restaurants. The other hard part was only drinking water, tea and coffee. I could add lemon for flavor and add cinnamon to black coffee. I could eat salads in some restaurants but no salad dressing, only lemon, oil, or vinegar.

The reason I mentioned the sugar detox is, if you want to get a taste of what it's like to "eat clean", try a sugar detox.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Are Your Meds Causing You To Gain Weight?

You watch what you eat and fit regular workouts into your schedule. So why is the number on your scale going up instead of down? The reason might lie in your bathroom cabinet. I talk about consulting your doctor about losing weight and I'll repeat it, "If your on Doctor's care and you have a prescription you need to talk to your Doctor about the foods you eat and if you have and your gaining weight anyway, you need to tell him. He might have to change your prescription. 

“As many as 10% to 15% of weight issues are related to medications,” says Louis Aronne, MD, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Some meds can make you feel hungrier. Others slow your body’s ability to burn calories or cause you to hold onto extra fluids. Medicine is not an exact science. When Your Doctor give you a prescription or your pharmacy tells you that this over-the-counter  medication should help you, remember that they go on past history. If they have never had any problems recommending that product it doesn't mean it will work for you. It only means there is a high probability that it should work. If your not getting the results you expected, go back and let them know. 

The effects aren’t the same for everybody, though. “One person might gain 15 pounds on one drug. Another might not gain anything,” Aronne says.

If you suspect the medicines that you take are behind your weight gain, don’t go off them before you talk to your doctor. “You might need to be on that drug to save your life,” says Donald Waldrep, MD, co-director of The Center for Weight Loss Surgery at Los Robles Hospital.

You may be able to switch to another medication, including one that can even help you shed pounds. If not, your doctor can suggest what you should do to offset the weight gain. It might just be a problem with some of the foods your eating. For instance, I love cheese and while taking a certain medication I ate some Goat Cheese that made me really sick. I spent the next two days in bed. Real Goat Cheese isn't pasteurized and has a certain type of bacteria that I shouldn't have eaten while I was taking that medication. I know it's complicated but it was my fault. Swiss Cheese is another cheese that can affect certain medications. After the incident with the Goat Cheese, I ask a lot more questions about any medication I have to take even if it's over-the-counter.

“There’s evidence that a low-carb diet and more exercise may help,” says Sue DeCotiis, MD, a board-certified internist who specializes in medical weight loss.

Below are some types of medicines that may be the cause of your expanding waistline. It’s not a complete list, so speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your prescriptions.

Depression Medications

Which ones:

• citalopram (Celexa)
• fluoxetine (Prozac)
• fluvoxamine (Luvox)
• mirtazapine (Remeron)
• paroxetine (Paxil)
• sertraline (Zoloft)

Your doctor may call these “SSRIs” (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or “tricyclic antidepressants.” They boost the amount of certain “feel good” chemicals in your brain. Some of those chemicals also control your appetite and how your body breaks down calories.

“You might eat but not feel full,” DeCotiis says. “Or you might lay down more fat even if you’re not eating more.” That’s the case especially in the long run. Some depression drugs may cause you to gain as much as 24 pounds in a year.

Keep in mind that depression itself can affect your appetite and eating habits. Your doctor or counselor can help you with that.

Your Get-Back-in-Shape Plan

By Pamela Peeke, MD, FACP, MPH

If you’ve stopped exercising due to illness, injury, or any personal setback, these simple steps will help you get back to being fit.

Have you ever wondered if you'll ever get in shape again? Setbacks happen, whether it's an injury, a crunch time at work, or a hectic time with your family. This is what every overweight middle-aged person dreams of. All of us for one reason or another has let themselves go to the point were "getting back into shape" has made it to the top of the "to-do list". I've added a few lines to this Doctor's post, but she makes some good points. I have a couple of points that needs to be said, men especially will starting working out first before they do anything about their lifestyle. "I know how to get back into shape, I was a runner in school." But it's not the same when your middle thirties and weight 20 pounds more. 

If this is your situation, then you want to start by changing your lifestyle. Change what your eating, all of it, the foods and the amount you eat. How many times a day you eat and than think about increasing your activity level. Which can mean anything from doing Yoga or Pilates to swimming. But changing the diet has to come first. 

Whatever it was, you've fallen off the exercise wagon.

This happens to just about everyone. You can rebuild your stamina and come out of this healthier, stronger, and even a little wiser. You need to develop these three things:

1. A fitness goal. Sit down and figure out a goal you want to achieve. Do you want to run 1 mile, or 5? Swim two laps or 20? Climb every mountain, or maybe just that hilly sidewalk in your neighborhood? Write down your goal, and keep it in front of you. The refrigerator is a good place. So is your desk.

2. A fitness plan. Now figure out the small steps you're going to take to get to that goal. Look at how, where, and with whom you spend time, and start to make changes that allow you the time you need to get back in shape.

3. Fitness opportunities. If you've been injured and are on the road to recovery, find ways to exercise that begin to rebuild your strength and stamina. You might try elliptical or rowing machines, bicycling, dancing, swimming, or easy hiking. Maybe now is the time to start yoga or Pilates.

Focus on the Three M’s

Mind. Accept that you have hit an obstacle and you need to find a different path. See this as a chance to explore new approaches to self-care and fitness.

Muscles. Start slow. Sure, you were able to run 5 miles 2 years ago, but right now you can only run one. So run one, and know that you'll build up again. This is also a good time to think about strength training, since strong muscles, ligaments, and tendons help prevent injury. Aim to use weights twice a week, or shoot for 25 pushups, 100 sit-ups, or similar exercise to start.

Mouth. Remember, fitness isn't just about exercise. It's about your total health. Concentrate on other ways of nourishing your body. For example, make it a goal to eat more vegetables, cook more often at home, and bring healthy homemade lunches to work.

WebMD Magazine - Feature

Remember when you're trying to get back in shape, you have to start off slow. Your going to be prone to injuries and you weigh more now so you don't have the same amount of energy. Be sure to eat the right foods so you can rebuild and regain strength between workouts. If you take the time to do it right, in a few months you'll be back running 5 miles a day again. 

Apple Cider Vinegar And Weight Loss

By Joy Manning

WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

I like this article, I take this myself and I have no more trouble with acid reflux. What this doctor is talking about is unfiltered apple cider vinegar. And this stuff is concentrated. It's on the same shelf at the grocery store but it costs a lot more. If you surf the internet you'll find there's one brand that stands out and it's an organic product and even if you find another, remember you want the unfiltered stuff that's cloudy in the bottle and try to buy the organic. I use one tablespoon in a 12 once glass of bottled water. I drink it first think in the morning before I brush my teeth. Like lemon juice this will hurt the enamel on your teeth. It will also damage your kitchen counters, be careful. If you want, talk to your doctored I wouldn't give this to kids. All vinegar is an alkaline and the idea is to neutralize over active stomach acid. Your body does that already but some people make too much stomach acid so the vinegar help to tone it down a little. It's important you dilute this a lot because you can burn your throat.

I saw a similar post on DoctorOz.com about Apple Cider Vinegar and it's many uses. The reason it can work for weight loss is that many people have been eating processed foods for some time and now their gut bacteria is out of balance. Acid Reflux is one of the signs that the bacteria in your stomach is out of balance.

Why is that important? You aren't digesting your food. Most of your food is being stored in fat cells because your digestive system depends on the bacteria in your stomach to dissolve your foods so your liver can process the food.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Weight Loss

Have you heard that apple cider vinegar will help you lose weight? 

The only study to test the idea in people was done in Japan. In the study, 175 obese but healthy people took either vinegar or water daily for 12 weeks. Their diets were similar. They kept food journals. At the end of the study, those who used vinegar had lost slightly more weight. On average, the vinegar group lost 1-2 pounds over the 3-month period.

The researchers suggest that vinegar may turn on certain genes involved in breaking down fats.

The effect is probably very subtle, says Chicago dietitian Debbie Davis, RD. “It may have some benefits in terms of weight loss and weight management, but it is definitely not a quick fix." 

If you want to lose weight, you’ll still need to exercise and practice portion control.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Blood Sugar

While apple cider vinegar probably won’t make you skinny, it does appear to help with diabetes and blood sugar control.

Carol Johnston, PhD, directs Arizona State University’s nutrition program. She has been studying apple cider vinegar for more than 10 years and believes its effects on blood sugar are similar to certain medications.

“Apple cider vinegar’s anti-glycemic effect is very well documented,” Johnston says.

She explains that the vinegar blocks some of the digestion of starch. “It doesn’t block the starch 100%, but it definitely prevents at least some of that starch from being digested and raising your blood sugar,” Johnston says.

Not every expert feels as confident about apple cider vinegar’s power.

"Trying to use vinegar to treat diabetes is like trying to bail out a flooded basement with a teaspoon," says Michael Dansinger, MD, director of Tufts University’s diabetes lifestyle coaching program.

He advises patients to focus instead on their overall diets -- a strategy backed by a lot more research, he says.

If you have gastroparesis, a common problem with diabetes that slows stomach emptying, be careful. Early research shows apple cider vinegar may make this problem worse.

"I’m concerned that drinking vinegar, even diluted in water, increases acid in your system, which puts a strain on your kidneys and bones,” Dansinger says.

If you have diabetes and want to try apple cider vinegar, let your doctor know, and keep an eye on your blood sugar levels.

Johnston stresses that if you are on medication for diabetes, you shouldn’t stop taking it and substitute vinegar. If you're thinking about using it to help manage your blood sugar, talk to your doctor first.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Digestion

If you drink apple cider vinegar with a starchy meal, then the starches you don't digest will feed the good bacteria in your gut, Johnston says.

Davis recommends using unfiltered apple cider vinegar, “the cloudy kind, where you can see a blob in the bottle.”

That blob is known as “the mother,” and it’s full of probiotics and other beneficial bacteria. “This kind of vinegar can support immune function and, for some people, even help with constipation,” Davis says.

I suggest you read up on "unfiltered apple cider vinegar" on the internet.

Tips on Taking Apple Cider Vinegar

Don't drink it straight. It’s so acidic that it could harm your tooth enamel and your esophagus.

Don't use a lot. “Dilute 1 to 2 tablespoons in a big glass of water, and sip it along with your meals one or two times a day,” Johnston says.

If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog posts.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com

howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com

blogonweight.blogspot.com

E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of websites looking for the material you want.

My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.

My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords' promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.

Diets And Why We Do It

There’s many different reasons why we diet. One all encompassing reason is that we don’t feel good about ourselves. It’s a feeling we have that for some reason we’re not the way we use to be. Sometimes this happens over a long period of time and because of our busy lives, we tend to ignore our feelings. We wait until our condition is out of control and then we see a doctor and hope he can fix it. Doctors treat symptoms. So they might put you on a diet, but they might just check your vitals and send you home with a prescription. I believe in watching out for warning signs, paying attention to you body and don’t ever put anything off. Having said that, I know that a lot of young people today go without health insurance because of the cost and I understand and that’s a good reason for self-monitoring. Keeping your weight under control will help your body work properly. 

When a person first reaches adulthood (about age 21) your body is fully grown and your organs might take a year or so longer to fully develop, it depends on the person, but at that time that is the size your meant to be. Of course if your overweight at that time, losing some weight will probably do your body some good. I know that child obesity is a problem today, and this is something you should take up with your doctor, every case is different depending on age and development of the child. There’s no one answer that can apply to all children. And the reason I mention this is because adult problems with weight are much different than children. And because an adult is fully grown we can deal with weight problems in a similar manner, that’s not true with children. Just because your overweight doesn’t mean your child should be overweight. And a child can’t diet the way you diet just because they’re heavy. 

I want to get back to adults and why we diet. The biggest reason and I mentioned it earlier is that your not feeling good about yourself. Sometimes this is more physical and sometimes you just want to look better. So when it’s physical, it’s generally because we’re tired all the time. It’s harder to make that flight of stairs, It’s harder to walk thru the mall or you just get tired too easily. And if this is your problem you need to ask yourself some hard questions. So many times people will blame these type problems on their age. “I guess I need to slow down. I’m overdoing it.” This is a typical response. We do nothing about our weight because we decided our problem is our age. I’m 70 years old and I can do just as much as my kids. I wash both cars in my driveway on saturday morning, I can work along side anyone over 40. I feel like 40 because I never gained any weight and I don’t smoke. I weight less now then I did at age 25, when I was in my best shape. Everyone has aches and pains, that’s normal, it comes with years of work and having small injuries over a long period of time, but if you stay active those little pains won’t bother you as much. 

So, now the question is still “why do we diet”. Why do we do it. Subconsciously we want to feel better, look better and we know if we can lose weight then that will fix everything. And how do we do this, well we tend to take the easy way. “If I just eat less, I’ll lose weight.”  Well starving yourself might work for a few weeks, but no one can keep it up. It’s not sustainable. So the weight comes right back. Some people have to go on a diet. The doctor says you have to. This is not unusual, this happens more than you might thing. So now there’s three reasons why most people diet. 

Personally I believe that most of us who want to lose weight, just want to look better, want their clothes to fit better and want to ware the same type clothes as the others. Plus size clothes don’t have the same style as normal sizes and when you try and ware normal sizes everything bulges. You actually make yourself look bigger then you are. 

So how do we do this the right way, so the weight stays off? You have to change your life. I don’t know If you watch The Today Show or The Weather Channel, but if you have you know Al Roker. Al’s story is a great example of how a person who struggled with his weight from childhood and how he finally got it under control after 20 years of struggle. Al wrote a couple of books about losing weight and there a good read. If you want some inspiration, his books will really work. He had to undergo gastric bypass surgery. I’m not advocating surgery, but that’s what his doctor prescribed. 

 Roker has often spoken about his struggles with weight. But in a column published on Today.com, Roker revealed that his weight issues took a toll on his marriage to size-four Deborah Roberts. His advice to the "thin half" of mixed-weight couples? Stop nagging your partner to lose weight. "Here’s the thing I say to the person in the couple who’s not struggling with their weight: Shut up. We know we’re fat. We know we need to lose weight," Roker wrote. "Your nagging us and pleading with us doesn’t help. In fact, in ways it makes it worse." Roker said nothing will change until the overweight spouse decides that it's time to get healthy. When he finally did (he has lost more than 100 pounds since undergoing gastric bypass surgery in 2002), he said he and Roberts began participating in healthy activities together.

"It’s not that we don’t love you; it’s not that we don’t care. It’s just that right now, we’re not prepared to deal with it for whatever reason, whether it’s emotionally or physically," he wrote.

A recent study found that mixed-weight couples, in which the wife is overweight and the husband is not, experienced greater conflict than other couples, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Another recent study revealed that those in happy marriages may gain weight, while those in unhappy marriages tend to lose weight.

I think it’s important that you know being overweight can cause many different problems in your life and those problems can carry over into the lives of your family. If you want a happy life, then you want to “get healthy” and set a good example for all the people around you. Even if you feel good today, being overweight will catch up with you. Being overweight will age your body faster then you. Being overweight is a young person in an old body. If you don’t want to be a walking drug store, someone who takes a dozen prescriptions very day, then maybe it’s time to start eating healthy and take control of your life.