The Restaurant Trap
Eating out is inevitable. In today’s world of get there and get there fast, quick meals that you don’t have to prepare are often ideal. In fact, according to the USDA, 57 percent of Americans eat at least one meal or snack away from home every day. Whether it's a business lunch or a celebration dinner with the family, restaurants are an everyday part of living and contributing to your weight loss goals.
Even though the meals that restaurants serve up tend to contain more calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium than the ones we prepare at home, eating out doesn't have to be a caloric trap. You may feel like there’s no hope when you look at that menu, but
Is it possible to lose the belly fat?
Belly fat is quite the conundrum – it’s the one thing we all want less of but one of the most difficult areas of the body to reduce fat. What’s worse is that there are a variety of factors that add to the increase in belly fat, like stress or trans fat in your diet. So how do Americans gain so much weight around their waist as opposed to other areas of the body? People store most of their fat in two ways:
- Subcutaneous fat, or under the skin fat, sits right under the skin in the thighs, hips, buttocks, and abs.
- Visceral fat resides deeper inside and around the vital organs, including lungs, heart, liver, and digestive tract.
Can I Still Lose Weight and Enjoy Happy Hour?
Ok, we have all been asking ourselves this question for quite some time. Can I still lose weight and enjoy a cocktail as well (in moderation)? The answer is…eh. I know that is not a satisfying answer because no one wants to hear that they should not have a cocktail but the thing is, it really is not a good idea when on the path to weight loss. Alcohol does not need any time to be digested; the liver processes it as soon as it reaches the stomach. This forces carbohydrates, glucose or dietary fats to be turned into body fat instead of being used for energy. Something else to consider is that you do not even have to overeat to
Read More »Diabetes
Diabetes, also referred to as diabetes mellitus is a defect in the body`s ability to covert or produce glucose into energy, which results with high levels of sugar in the blood. What we eat is broken down into glucose, and it is a form of sugar in the blood. Glucose is what gives our body energy, and is a source of fuel to our bodies. The insulin is a hormone that controls the blood sugar by moving the glucose from the bloodstream into muscle, liver cells, and fat giving our body that fuel. Diabetes causes high blood sugar because the body is not moving the glucose from the bloodstream to another part of the body (fat, muscle, liver). There are there
Read More »The Cost of Obesity
The cost of being obese is not only expensive for the obese individual, but it costs the government a significant amount of dollars as well. According to USA Today, “If Americans continue to pack on pounds; obesity will cost the USA about $344 billion in medical-related expenses by 2018, eating up about 21% of health-care spending.” With 12 states now having obesity rates above 30%, compared to only one state four years ago, the percentage of obesity has drastically increased over the years, only causing the healthcare costs to increase too. In 2009, the United States spent 1.8 trillion a year in medical costs that were related to obesity. Diabetes, Heart Disease and Cancer are all chronic diseases that are linked to
Read More »The Dangers of Emotional Eating
Eating to feed your feelings is a growing problem in America. It’s not a coincidence that as depression in America rises, so does obesity. "Emotional eating is eating for reasons other than hunger," says Jane Jakubczak, a registered dietitian at the University of Maryland. "Instead of the physical symptom of hunger initiating the eating, an emotion triggers the eating." It’s an American epidemic spreading to each corner of the Nation. Look at the facts: according to the National Institute of Mental Health, 5-10 million women (including girls) and more than a million men (including boys) suffer from eating disorders, emotional eating and compulsive over-eating. Are You An Emotional Eater Ask yourself the following questions. If you answer yes to two or more of
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