Overcoming a Fitness Plateau

If you've been weight training for a few months and have stopped seeing improvement, you may have already obtained most of the benefits of your current routine. It may be time for a change. Keep things simple: Consider a modest increase in the weight you lift, train more often, or vary your exercises. A simple adjustment may be all your body needs to challenge it once again!

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Balance

Did you know that we eat more produce today than they did in 1970?

However, a majority of Americans still aren't eating the recommended servings of vegetables and fruits daily. Many people can increase their intake by having fruit as a snack. You may also add a small salad or extra veggies to a meal.

(c) 2007 HealthCalc.Net, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.healthcalc.net

Walk the course!

Did you know that 30 minutes of golf (when walking the course) can burn about 165 calories? Exercise doesn't have to be vigorous to provide benefits. So whenever possible, ditch the cart, bring plenty of water, and enjoy the outdoors. Don't forget to use sunscreen!

(c) 2007 HealthCalc.Net, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.healthcalc.net

Diets fail in the long run, study says

By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer Sun Apr 22, 1:54 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - Roberta Perry has tried it all to lose the pounds — organized diet programs, prescription pills, psychotherapy, even hypnosis.
Those efforts worked for a while for the Pennsylvania woman, but the weight inevitably crept back up. After years of yo-yo dieting, Perry realized it would take more than gimmicks to slim down.
"As much as I would like to have a magic bullet, I knew the only way to lose weight was eat less and exercise more," said the 39-year-old public relations consultant.
Her experience is a common one. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, examining 31 weight-loss studies found long-term dieting doesn't keep the pounds off. While people can lose weight initially, many relapse and regain the weight they shed.
The findings confirm what many scientists have been saying all along: Losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is another story.
"If dieting worked, there would be a bunch of skinny people walking around," said obesity researcher Dr. David Katz, head of Yale University's Prevention Research Center, who did not participate in the latest study.
Since the 1970s, the ranks of overweight and obese Americans have risen with two-thirds of adults in that category. Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Being overweight increases blood pressure and cholesterol levels which can lead to heart disease.
Many factors can conspire against successful weight reduction, health experts say. Diets can be boring and there's always a temptation to return to old habits. Serial dieters may also become discouraged and give up when their weight plateaus. People who lose too much too soon don't learn to make the overall lifestyle changes — eating healthier foods and exercising regularly — that are necessary to keep their weight stable.
"It's just plain difficult to modify your diet and turn away from the pleasures of eating," said Michael Goran, an obesity researcher at the University of Southern California. "We're driven to eat."
The UCLA researchers analyzed 31 diet studies that followed people two to five years after they went on diets. Between one-third and two-thirds gained back the weight they lost. A small number were able to successfully maintain their weight loss.
The UCLA study did not compare individual fad diets or organized weight-loss programs.
"We're not saying don't make some kind of effort," said Traci Mann, the UCLA psychologist who led the study. "It means that people should be quite clear that a diet is a temporary fix."
The study appeared in the April issue of American Psychologist, a publication of the American Psychological Association.
Perry, who owns a public relations firm in suburban Philadelphia, was an "emotional eater" who found comfort in food whenever she felt angry or depressed.
For the past 20 years, Perry tried all sorts of diets with mixed success. More recently, she decided to change her lifestyle and focus on lowering her cholesterol rather than obsessing about her weight.
The result: Perry, who is 5 feet 8 inches tall, has kept her weight steady for the past two years — 250 pounds from a high of 325 pounds. Although still obese, she is no longer considered morbidly obese.
"I would like to be healthier. I would like to be a little more toned," she said. "But I'm not running out the door to join another program so I can lose weight and go back on that cycle."
It's unclear whether repeatedly losing and gaining weight leads to health problems. But some studies have found a link between seesawing weight and problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and gallbladder disease.
Specialists generally agree that surgery is the only proven method to keep weight off. But federal guidelines say a person must try traditional ways to lose weight and is at least 100 pounds overweight before opting for surgery.
Dr. Samuel Klein, an obesity expert at Washington University in St. Louis, said a diet's success shouldn't just be measured in pounds. If a person becomes healthier even if the weight loss is temporary, that should be deemed a success.
"There might be benefits in losing weight for a period of time even if you regain it than not having lost the weight at all," Klein said.
___
On the Net:
CDC obesity page: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity
University of California, Los Angeles: http://www.ucla.edu

Intro: Diets fail in the long run, study says

What this study teaches us, as I've been saying all along. If you want to lose weight and become more healthy. You can use diet pills or programs to help. That's up to you. If this is necessary for you to begin, a psychological quick lift with fast results in the beginning. Fine
Maybe you'll start and stay with it. For many of us it's the wanting and starting that's so hard.
If starting a program or taking a weight loss pill get's you started, if reading what steps to take in order to start, help's great.
This could all make you feel better about what your doing.
We all deep down know what we each need to do. We just need the motivation.
We need to change our lifestyle by adding in healthier foods that we can eat and eat less while exercising. At the very lest.
These so called fat burners or fad diet program or even eating grapefruit and drinking ten glasses of water per day. Well work. Sure, you'll lose weight. But, you are less likely to stick with any of those. You'll fail 100%
You need a sensible plan. Eat right and exercise. Now, if we can read about others success or share our successes, maybe this can help get us started on our way to better overall Health. Read the study below.

Eric