Biggest Loser - Weight loss blog

Biggest Loser star and fitness guru, Jillian Michaels, is being sued over a slimming supplement she endorses.

The lawsuit alleges that the “Triple Process Total Body Detox And Cleanse” contains toxic ingredients, and may even be fatal.

Experts say the verdict is still out on whether Michaels’ cleanse is actually poisonous. However, they agree that the product is ineffective at providing any of its supposed benefits, including “reducing belly bloat,” increasing energy levels and “reducing body waste build up.”

The case marks the fourth time Michaels has been sued over her range of products. Because Michael’s products are classified as supplements, rather than drugs, they do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, and are hence not required to list all included ingredients. From the packaging of the supplement it is impossible for users to know exactly what they are getting from the product. One expert told ABC News: “This product is an absurdity.” Another recommended: “If you have any of these problems or need help losing weight, see your physician, not Jillian Michaels.”

Unlike Michaels’ supplement, the popular weight loss treatment Xenical is approved by the FDA. The drug was recommended by an FDA advisory panel, by 11 votes to 3, in January 2003. It was finally made available in 2007 and became the first weight loss drug sanctioned by the US government for over-the-counter use.

Two new slimming pills are currently awaiting judgement from the FDA. Contrave and Locanserin are due to be reviewed later this year. Another diet drug, Qnexa, was recently rejected by the FDA after the risk of side effects was deemed to be too great.

Purists argue that slimming pills should not be necessary to lose weight. However, with 60% of the American population either overweight or obese, authorities have decided that these drugs are useful. David Letterman recently stated that slimming pills are the best way to lose weight for anyone living in American society.

Obesity is a serious condition that is typically characterized by a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above. BMI is a measurement chart that provides a comparison of height weight in order to determine whether you are obese, overweight or have normal weight. Obesity can have extremely negative repercussions on your overall health, affect your quality of life and is one of the biggest causes of preventable death worldwide. Asthma is a chronic disease that narrows and inflames the airways in the lungs. An asthmatic individual often experiences recurrent wheezing, tightness in the chest, coughing and shortness of breath.

Link between obesity and asthma
Now, new research has confirmed what doctors have long suspected – there are strong links between these two conditions. It has been discovered that higher the BMI, greater your risk of having asthma. In fact, your risk of suffering from asthma will be more than tripled if you also suffer from obesity. But the reasons for this have not yet been identified. Some researchers suggest that obesity causes a low grade system wide inflammation which might be a major factor in causing asthma. But others argue that obesity leads to insulin resistance and is therefore responsible for causing and aggravating asthma.

Control your obesity
Obesity also enhances the risk of a number of health conditions such as type-2 diabetes, heart disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis as well as some kinds of cancer. That is why it is essential to control obesity with the help of weight loss treatments that include essential lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet and regular physical activity. These can be incorporated as a part of a holistic fitness program. Some cases of obesity need to be treated with prescription weight loss medications. This will help you keep obesity linked health conditions under control and reduce the severity of their symptoms.

According to the latest research, teenage obesity is increasing at an unmatched pace worldwide. The rate at which obesity is rising has jolted the medical fraternity into action. Now that around 15% of the children below the age of 15 are obese, doctors have taken this as a wake up call that requires speedy and timely action.

Causes of teenage obesity
Various factors cause obesity; however, the main factors that contribute to obesity are overeating, lack of physical activity and excessive TV viewing. If you eat and drink more than your body needs, the excess fat is stored in your body. Lack of physical activity only adds to the problem. Most television studies have shown that children, who have televisions in their bedrooms, have a tendency to eat more. This leads to lack of physical activity and worsens the problem.

How to avoid/treat teenage obesity
The best method of treating or preventing obesity is to reverse the causes of obesity. Teenagers should eat a healthy diet and avoid eating junk foods, which is easily available these days. They should exercise regularly and stay active throughout the day. Teens should get involved in more activities that would help them maintain their fitness levels as well as burn the stored fat on a regular basis. Most importantly, they should avoid watching TV for longer durations and snacking in between meals.

How can teenage obesity be treated?
Most children inculcate unhealthy lifestyle habits from their parents. This is why parents have an important role to play in the lives of their children. They should guide their children towards healthy lifestyle choices. Several studies have revealed that a balanced diet ranks low on the glycemic index. This means that it is helpful in reducing teenage obesity. Parents should guide their children towards healthy diets and regular exercise for adequate weight loss. Moreover, it’s obligatory for parents to explain to their children, the risks and problems associated with obesity and the benefits of losing weight. If this is not possible, parents can seek medical treatment where the doctor is most likely to prescribe Xenical. This treatment can help children live a healthy and happy life.

Diet pills have great potential of stimulating the metabolism of your body. Appetite suppressant diet pills actually disrupt regular metabolism making person eat less. If you are taking diet pills then you may yourself consuming less calories than normal which is actually good for weight loss but will cause metabolism to slow down.

Diet pills are always recommended in conjunction with healthy diet and exercise regimen. People on diet pills alone end up losing only fixed amount of weight. This is because these diet pills slow down metabolism rate which further reduces the rate at which you lose weight. Diet pills provide sudden boost to metabolism and weight loss but physical workout, changing food habits, healthy lifestyle is must for long term weight loss solution. Regular exercise helps increase metabolism and digestive system.

When changes to lifestyle and eating habits do not work alone and you plan to switch to anti obesity diet pills to get into the shape, always prefer to go for prescription diet pills as they need prior consultation with doctor before you go for diet pills therapy.

Liposuction is a cosmetic surgical operation where in excess fat is removed from various body parts (like thighs, tummy and back) by suction. Liposuction or Lipoplasty or liposculpture is performed using special instrument called cannula which breaks and sucks the fat out from the body. Liposuction is not classified under the category of weight loss surgery but is only a cosmetic procedure.

How safe is it?
Liposuction can never be a substitute to healthy diet and good exercise regimen. Liposuction is never a good idea at first place to remove fatty tissues off your body and can even have severe side effects if not done under experienced surgeon’s supervision. But liposuction is comparatively a safer option than other surgical operations.

Serious complications result when excess fat is taken out of the body resulting in blood clot (that is, Pulmonary Thromboemboli), shock or heart seizure. It demands high personal involvement in recovery procedure post operation to make it safe for your health. Utmost care should be taken during recovery period. Liposuction cannot guarantee if you will remain in same shape rest of your life.

Reveal your complete medical history to surgeon before undertaking the operation. Also, make an analysis of surgeon’s credibility.

Excessive weight gain is a common condition these days. The reasons are many; one of the reasons for weight gain is overeating; and if you are looking for a solution for your weighty issues, tracking food habits will help immeasurably.

Why do some people overeat?
You and I both have overeaten at some point of time or the other in our lives. As a one off case, overeating doesn’t lead to weight gain. But, if you routinely overeat than weight gain will come knocking at your doors. So, the question is, why do people overeat? Here are a few triggers that are responsible for overeating.

• Boredom: Some people eat because they have nothing better to do. Eating seems to give them a purpose in life. It’s also a way of helping pass the time.
• Depression and stress: People eat to feel good. If you are depressed, you are looking for ways to feel good and positive. Eating emerges as one of the ways to feel satisfied with your lot in life. A person suffering from stress is also looking at reducing stress through eating.
• Eating disorders: A person might be suffering from an eating disorder, which means you have no control over the kind of food you eat and also your food intake.

If you are overeating, there is a good chance that you are doing it because of the triggers mentioned above.

Tracking food habits – Help weight loss
If you want to lose weight, you need start tracking your food habits. Keep a track of what you eat; what is good and what is bad. Keeping track of what you eat will help you come up with a healthy eating plan and also make sure that you stick to it. More importantly, knowing what you eat and when you eat, will also help you set weight loss goals. The best way to keep track of your eating habits is to maintain a journal. Don’t forget to write in the details of the meal. This will help you understand your food habits better as well as help you in your endeavour to lose weight.

Weight loss is a simple process of burning more calories than you consume. You must have heard it many times – to lose weight, you need to exercise regularly and monitor your diet so that you burn more calories than you eat. There are possibilities that despite of working out rigorously over last few months, you are still not able to lose extra pounds. Do not despair, there are some facts about exercise and weight loss which you may need to know.

Exercise is not all about weight loss but a part of the whole story. Exercise helps with weight loss only when done consistently but in specific volume. A lot of people fail to achieve any meaningful even after months of trying due to slow metabolism. In that case, you need to work out on improving metabolic rate to achieve weight loss. Few exercises simply don’t help with increasing metabolic rate because you just don’t get to burn enough calories with them and weight loss is all about burning more calories.

Apart from metabolism, genes and age can also be reasons if you are not able to lose weight with conventional exercise programs.

Exercise is as important for weight maintenance as it is for losing weight.

Before you start with any weight loss and exercise program, be sure to consult with your doctor. A doctor would be able to recommend exercise regimen that would be best for you.