Lasting weight loss may not be easy, but it certainly is possible. Weight control really is about calories in and calories out, and the balance between the two.

That’s a little more complicated than it might seem, however. For one thing, it’s absolutely true that two people can eat the same and exercise the same, and one gets fat while the other stays slim. Yes, I agree: That isn’t fair! No one ever promised that life would be.

The reason is simply that our bodies vary in fuel efficiency, just as cars do. Some cars can go far on a gallon of gas, some can’t. We understand some reasons for this, such as variations in genes; others we are just beginning to understand, such as variations in our microbiomes. Some other reasons are still mostly in the realm of theory, such as exposure to germs and environmental contaminants. People vary widely in fuel efficiency—some of us simply need fewer calories to maintain our weight, and so we need fewer to gain weight, too.

We can’t control our genes or metabolic rate directly, but we have considerable control over the calories we burn just the same. Having said that, each body will burn a different number of calories per day even if both people do the same identical things. And why is that, if you have a different size body you will burn a different amount of calories. If you have a different amount of body fat you will burn a different amount of calories. And these deafferents don’t have to be noticeable. They can be very slight. Also, your mood and temperament will make a difference in the calories you burn. Some people are very high strong, an A type personality and they will burn more calories because they tend to move more, they’re more excitable. So A type personalities can burn more calories.

For another, muscle helps burn calories, and by being active, we can build up a bit more of muscle—and actually burn a few more calories in our sleep every night as a result. And by taking good care of ourselves, in general, we help nurture a healthy microbiome, which in turn helps us handle calories in a manner that converts fewer of them to body fat. What that means is that a healthy, strong body will burn more calories naturally, so slim, trim, fit people usually stay that way unless they become ill.

But, of course, the most potent control we have over our weight is to control the calories we take in. That’s hard, especially when the food supply has been intentionally manipulated to maximize how much we eat. But, as stated at the start, it is certainly possible.

Here are my five top-level tips to help you get there from here.

1. Be the Boss

Amazingly, people routinely see food on display, and simply eat it with no thought about what it is, why it’s there, who put it there, whether or not it’s something they really want to eat, or even if they are at all hungry. We joke about this and call it the “See Food Diet”—I see food, and I eat it.

Approach food at least as thoughtfully as clothes, jewelry, or antiperspirant. Choose what’s right for you, and try not to let other people’s random choices influence you. To exert greater control over your choices, do what I do and load up an insulated snack pack with some wholesome snack choices—fresh fruit, nuts, yogurt, hummus, etc.—you keep handy all the time. There’s nothing wrong with eating when you’re hungry, but you want to eat healthy foods.

Actively control the foods you choose to put in your body.

2. Simplify

There are a lot of competing claims about the best foods to eat for health or weight control, but the truth is simple and your choices should be, too.

Whenever possible, eat minimally processed plant foods. One good rule of thumb is that the very best foods of all have an ingredient list just one word long: blueberries or carrots, for example. The more of your diet you construct out of simple, wholesome choices, the better your weight and health will be.

When you eat fresh foods, not canned or frozen, but all fresh and only the best cuts of meat in small quantities ( 3oz. a day) and the rest fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, you’ll find that you won’t eat as much food. You might snack throughout the day but at the end of the day, you’ll have consumed less food and fewer calories. Eating this way, you’ll become healthier, happier, and have more energy and therefore burn more calories naturally.

3.Make Better Choices

In general, if your buying a box of something, the shorter the ingredient list the better. There are better options in almost every food category, from bread to breakfast cereal, salad dressing to pasta sauce.

One of the many reasons to choose better foods is that it helps us fill up on fewer calories. If you need help making better choices, I recommend checking out information from NuVal (a resource that scores food based on nutritional value) and Turn the Tide Foundation, an organization to empower people to achieve sustainable weight control and live healthier lives.

4. Call in the Cavalry

Involve your whole family in an effort to eat better—not just to lose weight, but to be healthier. There isn’t a better gift we can give the people we care about, or that they can give us, than better odds at a long, vital life. You can help one another get there by making the journey together. I want to comment on this last paragraph.

I want to comment on this last paragraph. It takes a total lifestyle change if you want to lose weight and some people aren’t willing to do that. Some people are still looking for the “Pill” that will make your fat magically disappear. You can’t force people to change; they have to want it. I found the best way to influence people is to lead by example. When your friends or family see how great you look they’ll want to be like you.

5. Move It to Lose It, and Gain Even More

Exercise is rarely the best way to lose weight, but it is an important element in weight maintenance and crucial to good health. Besides, by giving your body the motion for which it is adapted, you simply start feeling better—and that provides energy and motivation you can translate into better food choices. It’s a virtuous circle you can set in motion by setting yourself in motion every chance you get.

Remember the Effect of the World Around Us

The places around the world where people most consistently enjoy longevity, vitality, and a healthy, stable weight over a lifetime are the places where cultural norms help make it so. It’s much easier to be active when everybody walks everywhere. It’s easier to eat well when your “native” diet is an optimal diet. But no one of us has the power to snap our fingers and change our whole culture.

But we can, however, change ourselves. We can help our families change, and they can help us. And of course, when enough of us change, that adds up to culture change.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat 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 $3.99. 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, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

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

ray0369 1:40 pm on November 26, 2019

The Time Of The Year We Love And Hate

We love the Holidays. The shopping, the parties with our friends, the Holiday music and the movies, we love it all. But the part we hate is all the extra calories. And for most of us, we are so busy during the Holidays that we slack off on our workouts just to have more time for everything else.

If your anything like me, the holidays are guaranteed to add 10 pounds. It happens every year and it takes 3 months to lose it. Hopefully it doesn’t take you 3 months, but for me it’s a chore. The problem for me is that I get use to eating those foods I love but I gave up to lose weight. In stead of sampling, I was indulging and in January when I should give up those treats, I tricked myself into thinking I can eat those treats if I just cut back a little.

Cutting back never worked for me. I have to cut out those treats and get back to my weight loss diet. I have to eat all-natural foods, no dairy, an almost “gluten-free” diet if I can. This type of diet isn’t right for everyone but it works for me. I follow the “Mediterranean diet” and I get all the nutrition I need and by eating several small meals a day I’m never hungry.

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.

ray0369 8:26 am on November 23, 2019

Obesity is 3X More Deadly for Men

Most Americans still think Obesity is for the seriously overweight, those people that are 400 pounds or more. It’s not true if your body mass is 30% fat you’re considered to be Obese. I found this post in a newsletter I received the other day.

(HealthDay News) — Obesity is nearly three times more deadly for men than it is for women, new research suggests.

In a study of nearly 4 million men and women around the globe, the risk of dying before the age of 70 was 19 percent for men and 11 percent for women of normal weight.

But that risk jumped to 30 percent and 15 percent, respectively, for obese men and women. That’s an absolute increased risk of 11 percent for men and 4 percent for women, the researchers reported.

“Obesity is second only to smoking as a cause of premature death in America,” said lead researcher Richard Peto of Oxford in England. So how do you tell if your obese. The easy way might be to ask your doctor, but if you want to now right now a good indicator is to measure your waist. The rule of thumb use to be “if your waist measures 40 inches. But so many people don’t measure their waist properly so it’s not very actuate. Than science came up with another way. If your waist measure more than half your height your overweight, but that still means that it depends on who is measuring. The right way to measure your waist is to start at the naval and measure around the body and back to the naval.

Every inch you can lose around your waist and you’ll become healthier. Your heart benefits the most, but you will lose weight and increase your energy level.

“If you could lose about 10 percent of your weight, a woman would knock 10 percent off the risk of dying before she was 70, and for a man it would knock about 20 percent off,” Peto said.

Why obese men are at greater risk for premature death than women isn’t clear.

“Our study was not able to address this question, but previous observations have suggested that obese men have greater insulin resistance, liver fat levels, and diabetes risk than women,” said study co-author Dr. Emanuele Di Angelantonio, a lecturer at the University of Cambridge in England.

The British and Canadians do a lot more research on your health in general than we do in the U.S. because both countries have National Healthcare and anything that drives up the cost of healthcare will increase their taxes.

One U.S. expert said more research is needed to explore the apparent link between obesity and mortality.

Avoiding obesity has clear advantages for both men and women, Graubard said. “In addition, we know from other studies that physical activity can reduce mortality risk,” he said.

In the new study, researchers collected data on 3.9 million adults, aged 20 to 90. The information came from 189 previous studies in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The investigators included data on all those who lived at least another five years. Over the time of the study, nearly 400,000 participants died. The study findings showed that underweight people were also at risk for premature death.

The World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 billion adults worldwide are overweight, and 600 million more are obese. And, obesity has been strongly linked in previous research to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer, the researchers said.

This study overcomes many of the limitations of earlier efforts and “renders a clear and emphatic verdict — obesity increases the risk of premature death around the globe,” Katz said.

This study also indicates that the risk extends across the full range of overweight and obesity — the more severe the obesity, the graver the danger of early death

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.

ray0369 3:22 pm on November 21, 2019

Mediterranean Diet May Ease Chronic Pain From Obesity

This story first appeared on MedicineNet.com and explains a bit why overweight people suffer from pain. Yes, the extra weight you carry around will put stress on your joints, wearing out the cushion between bones and allowing them to rub, but that’s not your only problem. Your poor diet can also be causing pain. The Mediterranean style of eating, the way the Mediterranean people eat, can be a healthier diet and will give the foods you need to reduce your pain and help you lose weight. So what does this diet look like?

People who are overweight and plagued by chronic pain may find relief in a Mediterranean diet, new research suggests.

The study of 98 men and women between the ages of 20 and 78 builds on growing evidence that a diet heavy on fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans provide significant health benefits. It also sheds new light on why eating these foods might reduce the pain associated with obesity.

Because obese people with chronic pain usually also have a high degree of inflammation, lead researcher Charles Emery suspects the foods’ anti-inflammatory properties might explain the reduced pain levels.

“Although the relationship of body fat and pain has been well-documented in prior studies, the mechanism is not known,” said Emery, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University.

“One possibility is the stress of body weight on joints. A second possible mechanism is via inflammatory factors in the bloodstream, because both body fat and pain are known to be associated with elevated inflammation,” he said.

Slightly more than 70 percent of American adults are overweight, with 38 percent considered obese (at least 30 pounds overweight), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study done found that no matter what you weighed, those who ate more fish and plant-based proteins such as nuts and beans had less pain.

While adjusting their findings to account for age-related pain among older participants, the researchers found that a Mediterranean diet benefited men and women of all ages.

“The next step is to conduct a study with blood markers of inflammation,” Emery said. “Then it would be ideal to conduct an intervention study to evaluate the change in body fat, inflammation, and pain.”

A nutrition expert who reviewed the study said it reinforces the health benefits of a diet centered on seafood and plant-based proteins.

“This study provides an early look at a possible role diet might play in offsetting pain, but more research is needed,” said Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis.

“Studies are needed in healthy adults to see if inflammatory markers are the same with similar pain as they are in obese adults,” she said. “Studies are needed that look at diet over a longer period of time.”

It would be beneficial to know, for example, if following a Mediterranean diet while young affected a person’s pain as an adult.

Still, Diekman said the new findings help drive home the point that what you eat matters.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

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

ray0369 1:06 pm on November 19, 2019

What’s Behind The Gluten-Free Trend?

Not that many years ago, the letters “GF” on a restaurant menu would likely have puzzled many people. No longer.

These days, a gluten-free lifestyle has become one of the most popular diet trends in the U.S. One in five people now reduce or eliminate gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley or rye, in their diet, according to a 2015 Gallup poll.

Avoiding gluten is crucial for people with celiac disease. That’s because, in them, gluten damages the small intestine and nutrients can’t be absorbed. Its symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and pain.

But only about 1% of the population has celiac disease, and that number hasn’t changed in recent years, says Hyun-seok Kim, MD. In one study he looked at a national survey taken from 2009 to 2014. Although celiac disease numbers remained stable during that time, the number of people following a gluten-free diet tripled, from 0.5% of the population to nearly 2%.

The study’s researchers say that some who follow a gluten-free diet without a diagnosis of celiac disease may have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. People with non-celiac gluten sensitivity have similar symptoms but don’t have celiac disease. People with a wheat allergy may also follow the diet to prevent an allergic reaction.

But do others need to go gluten-free? Maybe not, but because it seems like all grain in flour is processed, these grains are not the grains that our grandparents could buy. You can buy some whole grain products, but read the labels carefully, some things labeled whole grain are not all whole grain, just partially. If a product has partial whole grain it can still put the words “whole grain” on the label. Be sure you can trust the product. Manufacturers today are using the labels for a selling tool.

Who Is Going Gluten-Free, and Why?

Nearly 100 million Americans say they ate gluten-free products in 2015, says William F. Balistreri, MD, a doctor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Americans spent an estimated $4 billion on gluten-free products in 2015, he says.

Kim’s research has found that women are more likely than men to avoid gluten, and the diet is more popular among 20- to 39-year-olds. It’s also popular among world-class athletes. In another survey, 41% of 910 world-class athletes and Olympic medalists said they followed a gluten-free diet at least half the time, and most had self-diagnosed their gluten sensitivity. Among the many stars reportedly going gluten-free are Gwyneth Paltrow, Russell Crowe, and Kim Kardashiant.

If you thing for any reason that you’re easily bloated after a meal or if your bothered with gas after eating, it won’t hurt to try a gluten-free diet for a couple weeks and see if there’s any difference. It’s simple really, gluten-free products use rice flour instead of other grains. Anything you buy that is made with flour will have gluten unless it states on the package “gluten-free”.

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.

ray0369 8:52 am on November 16, 2019

About Weight Loss Posts

You can’t take to heart everything you read on the internet. First of all, I’m not an expert, a doctor, or dietitian. I took an interest in health and fitness about 30 years ago and read everything I could get my hands on. I still read about the newest trends in diets and exercise. It wasn’t until about 10 years ago that I got on the kick to lose fat.

Losing body fat is key to a slimmer, trimmer body. I learned the hard way that most of the “fad diets” do nothing to lose fat. They starve you and with additives that you get from the pills or foods they sell will empty out the digestive system which can be 10 or 20 pounds. Yes, water weight and the food in your colon will add up but this type of weight loss only gets rid of bloating, water weight and the food in your system at the moment. It does nothing to lose fat.

These type of diets are a waste of money and a waste of your time. I lost most of my body fat in a few months. I learned from reading newsletters, and posts on the internet that your body burns the foods you eat to create energy, that’s something we all know, but it needs to burn protein, carbs, and fat everyday. Here is the important part. The body is working on “real time” the different food groups provide different needs. Protein comes from meat and plants. About 20 percent of your daily intake should be protein. I prefer seafood and poultry for protein. Carbs should be about 50 percent of your intake and fats about 30 percent of your intake.

Carbs come from fruit, veggies, and grain. Fats come from plants like olive oil, avocados, and from meat. Now the important stuff. Your body will only process the amount of food it needs to create the amount of energy that you need for what ever you’re doing. In other words, if we are consuming about the same amount of food every day but are not active enough every day to burn that much food into energy, the excess will be stored in fat cells.

Now, the way I lost my fat was to stop eating animal fat. The body needs fat to keep your moving parts healthy and isn’t particular where it comes from. So because I wasn’t eating enough fats the body had to burn stored fats. I a few months I went from a 38 inch waist to a 34. My legs got thinner and overall I was losing fat. I’m 6 foot tall and weight 160 pounds today. I have new found energy and all those health problems I had disappeared.

I’m not going to presume that the method I used will work for everyone but everyone’s goal should be the same. Lose body fat however you can and become a thinner, healthier, and happier person with the energy you thought you lost. Just because there’s more candles on your birthday cake doesn’t mean that your body is getting older.

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.

ray0369 3:49 pm on November 12, 2019

Obesity is 3X More Deadly for Men

Most Americans still think Obesity is for the seriously overweight, those people that are 400 pounds or more. It’s not true, if your body mass is 30% fat you’re considered to be Obese. I found this post in a newsletter I received the other day.