Here are Interesting facts about obesity in America:

. Nearly 72.5 million US adults are obese. Obesity is one of the leading causes of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes. Obese people are accomplishing something the current administration cannot: creating jobs in the healthcare industry by eating themselves into oblivion.

. District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Colorado have the least amount of obesity rates. The lowest obesity rates are in the West and Northeast, the highest are in the South and Midwest.

. America has the most obese people in the world; in addition, the US is the largest Big Mac devourer in the world as well.

. The US government has decided that prior efforts and investment to nip obesity in the bud have not been satisfactory. They have instigated new initiatives such as the Let’s Move campaign. This could lead to forced photos on Big Mac wrappers of obese people; the same as cigarette companies must display shocking photos of the effects of cigarette smoking.

. Treatment for obesity is expensive. The yearly cost runs up to $147 Billion. Typically, obese people medical expenditures are $1429 higher than normal weight individuals.

. Most migrants that come to America endure elevated levels of obesity compared to relatives from their native countries. For example, fat Chinese are not common but in the United States you can certainly spot quite a few.

. People without a high school diploma have higher obesity levels than high school graduates and College graduates have a lower obesity rates than both.

. Obesity estimates of the official CDC report are less than the factual rates due to the fact that the BMI, body mass index, is measured by height and weight. Most people, men and women, are not truthful about their height and therefore official obesity figures are not accurate.

. The general obesity rate multiplies for older adults up to 60 years of age. The obesity numbers of 18-29 years is 20.3%, and 50-59 years is 31.1%. Between 60-69 years of age the obesity rate decreases to 30.9%. Those who live past 69 years sustain obesity rates at 20.5%.

. Dissimilar to popular belief, the obesity rates has decreased in a few states. Obesity rates in Oregon and Alaska declined over three-percent. Georgia, DC, New York, Minnesota, Connecticut, Delaware, Colorado, and New Jersey were able to lessen their obesity-rates as well.

It is so easy for fat to build up around these oblique muscles because we simply are not required to use them or work them out very often. And even when we do crunches and other abdominal exercises, the love handle area is usually not touched. This is why, for those who are looking for information on how to lose those flabby love handles, there are some very targeted exercises and work outs that need to be done over a period of time.

The first exercise that you may want to try when it comes to losing the love handles is a simple modified crunch. If you have been working out your abs in the recent past, then you are probably already familiar with a standard crunch. However, in order to better work out the obliques, you will want to try a crunch where, instead of coming straight up from the ground, you actually crunch to one side, usually touching your elbow to the opposite knee. The next time you come back up, you should switch and bring your opposite elbow to the other knee. In repeating these in various repetitions, usually between 15-20 of them at a time, you will definitely feel the burn in your obliques and will start seeing your love handles disappear in no time.

Another workout to try is one that you can do standing up. Start by standing with your feet shoulder width apart. Then, bring both of your arms up over your head and stretch one of them down to your side and bring it down as low as you can to reaching your ankles. Then, do this with the opposite arm and leg. This is a great way to stretch and work out your oblique muscles, and you can do this workout in repetitions of 15-20 at a time. Within just one set of this workout, you should be feeling a burn in the area of your love handles, which is a sign that it is working.

Overall, getting rid of love handles will take time and working out consistently. However, it is important to remember to give yourself one day in between each workout to allow for the muscle to rebuild and for the fat to burn. From there, you will have the best chance at success for getting rid of those pesky love handles.

Here is the list of top 7 snacks that can help you lose weight:

Yogurt- organic yogurt is the best for your health. Commercial fruit yogurts have lots of sugar, so you should take organic yogurt and add some fruits into it.

Blueberries are one of the best fruits to be added in yogurt; they are high in anti-oxidants and contain very low glycemic content, thus allowing you to balance glucose and insulin level in the blood.

Romaine Lettuce and Turkey Snack- Romaine lettuce is the most nutritious lettuce, especially due to its high fiber content. Turkey’s meat consists of 94% proteins, and it helps in loosing excess baggage by improving metabolism rate and diminishing hunger. By adding a slice of skim mozzarella cheese you can enhance the taste of this snack and introduce some good fats.

Veggies along Fat Free Cheese- Starch free vegetables contain 8x more fiber as compared to whole grains. Plain vegetables can be made tasty by pouring some fat-free organic cottage cheese onto them.

Shrimps- shrimps contain around 90% proteins, and you can enjoy a tasty snack by dipping boiled shrimps into cocktail sauce for enjoying a low calorie snack.

Walnuts- a handful of walnuts can be taken as a tasty snack. Walnuts have loads of proteins, fibers and omega 3 fatty acids. These fats are very good for our health and they prevent heart strokes due to their anti inflammatory action. Overweight people should eat them every day for losing weight.

Celery with Almond Butter- Celery is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet, and almonds are the kings of nuts. Almond butter doesn’t have any harmful preservatives and contains good fats, combination of almond butter and celery can create a wonderful weight loss snack.

Banana Nut Pops- this snack is a great for both weight loss and hunger suppression. Dip a banana into pure organic yogurt, and roll it in coconut powder. Eat the creation after freezing it. Banana is a commonly available fruit, but that doesn’t mean it’s worthless, bananas have lots of potassium and fibers, while coconuts are the best source for medium chain triglyceride fatty acids. Combination of both these fruits forms a wonderful weight loss snack.
The basic concept of a weight loss snack is that foods having high fibers and proteins help to decrease weight. Good fats are helpful in improving cardiac health, and they also play a major role in weight loss. All 7 snacks mentioned above have a few things in common such as high quantity of proteins, fibers and good fats. These 3 things work together to decrease weight and improve overall health.

1. Nutrition

On following a juice diet, you are provided with a number of essential nutrients that your body requires in order to function properly. Along with eating healthy and natural foods, you are also taking in the nutrients in the proper quantity. This balances energy and nutrition requirements of your body. There are innumerable fruits and vegetables of all types and colours that you may include in your diet.

2. Weight loss

Since you are avoiding all the unnecessary calories and taking in calories and nutrients only in the required amounts, a juice diet helps you lose weight fast and in a healthy manner.

3. Detoxification

Juice diets also enable the body to detoxify itself naturally, thus cleansing your entire system. Following a juice diet is definitely one of the best ways to detoxify yourself and please your taste buds at the same time. This beats allopathic medication since it is natural and has absolutely no side effects.

Here are a few fruits and vegetables which are ranked as highly essential in any juice diet:

i) Leafy green vegetables
ii) apples
iii) pears
iv) cantaloupe
v) grapes
vi) grapefruit
vii) oranges
viii)cabbage
ix) collards
x) lettuce
xi) wheat grass
xii) watercress

In addition, all time favourite fruits like strawberries, mangoes, bananas and many more may also be added for their taste as well as nutrition. In order to add some healthy fat to the juice diet, you can also add oils like olive oil or walnut oil.

Below are a few popular juice diet recipes:

1. ORANGE and CARROT

This is a very popular juicing recipe which has two of the most nutritious fruits available in the market. Whatever nutrient Orange lacks is fulfilled by Carrot and vice versa. This is indeed a delicious as well as nutritious drink.

2. APPLE and CUCUMBER

Some might not feel that the combination of apple and cucumber is suitable to their taste buds. They may take the juices separately but this is a highly recommended juicing recipe as both apple and cucumber juices play a vital role in detoxifying the entire system.

3. MANGO, WATERMELON and GRAPE

Mango is extremely popular with the kids and this is indeed one of the most favourite recipes for kids. Highly nitritious and delicious as well, this is a seasonal juicing recipe.

4. WATERMELON, CELERY and TOMATO

This juice may not appeal to the taste buds much but it has a very profound effect in cleaning up the digestive system and rejuvenating the digestive process of the body.

5. STRAWBERRY and BANANA

One of the most loved juices, strawberry and banana can also be made into a smoothie and enjoyed any day, any time!

An occasional indulgence in a delicious and healthy juice diet will help you get your desired results.

Here are a few tips to help you lose your belly fat:

MACHINES and DUMBBELLS

To lose weight effectively, machine training is necessary but it has no use if it is not followed by weight training using dumbbells. So, while you may feel satisfied that training on the machine is helping you lose weight, you will have to ensure that you exercise with dumbbells as well so that your workout is complete.

SIMPLE EXERCISES

There are simple exercises which you need to perform everyday in order to flatten your belly. These are crunches – involving front, back, side as well as cross crunches, sit ups, push ups and a good deal of running. Performing these exercises loyally everyday will give you a body to die for in a few weeks.

WORKOUT TILL MUSCLE EXHAUSTION

One must always force oneself to carry on the reps till total muscle exhaustion. These are called ‘forced reps’ and they have been shown to have a very fast effect on burning the excess fat in the body.

Be careful that you do not push yourself too far. In order to be on the safer side, just observe your body’s reactions to your exercise regime. Analyse how rigorous a workout can your body handle and accordingly pressurize your body, not too much but not too little either.

DIET

Needless to say, a weight losing regime cannot be sustained without a proper diet. The diet should consist of all the nutrients required by the body – in other words, the diet should be a complete balanced diet.

MINDSET

Keep a positive attitude and visualise your belly becoming flat as you desire while you are working out. This will not only motivate you but also create a harmony between your mind and your body which will go a long way in ensuring that you achieve the results you desire.

photo credit: Hikaru Kazushime

1) Water – The importance of water is not understood well by most people. Quite a lot of times, fat gets accumulated in the body, even after regular exercising due to faulty metabolism. One way to help smoothen the digestive processes is by consuming water. Most people will consume water only when they are thirsty. But, by the time we actually feel thirst, our body is already quite dehydrated. Therefore, you should have water at regular intervals irregular of whether you feel thirsty or not. Furthermore, sometimes thirst is misinterpreted as hunger by our brain. Drink adequate amount of water, a glass when you feel hungry. Water also helps in proper and easy excretion of toxic wastes from the body.

2) Fruits and Vegetables – You have perhaps heard this before. But what you should know is that there are certain fruits and vegetables that help in weight loss more than others. For example, banana and mango might not be the ideal weight loss fruits. But papaya, water melon, and other water packed fruits not only make you feel full but also help in weight loss. Tomato, gourd and cucumber are some vegetables that help in weight loss apart from green leafy vegetables. Don’t follow a boring plan. Make fruit and vegetable salads and dress them with oregano, black salt and such condiments to make them delicious.

3) Yoghurt – The benefits of yoghurt have been long known in most cultures. It helps burn fat fast and effectively. You can have a bowl of yoghurt with each meal. You could even mix your fruits and vegetables with yoghurt and black salt for an excellent taste. However, do not buy yoghurt that has been flavored with sugar and other sweeteners. This will do more harm than good. Apart from stimulating fat burning processes in the body, yoghurt also helps smoothen the various digestive processes thereby eliminating waste and toxic materials effectively. This will give you a fresher, more vigorous feel throughout the day.

4) Pulses and sprouts – Green gram, black gram and other pulses are packed with vitamins, minerals and proteins. They help you feel full and you can have a large quantity without worrying about the side effects. Since they don’t have fats or carbohydrates, they can help you create a deficit. That is, when you have pulses and are exercising too, the fat that is burned by exercise does not get replaced by consuming pulses. This helps you to lose weight.

If you feel your weight is on the higher side, make a few changes in your diet. Drink a minimum of eight glasses of water every day. Water fills your stomach and flushes out toxins from the body. This helps in weight loss.

You can include lots of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. Fruits and vegetables add nutrition and fluid to your body. Every time you feel hungry, you can munch a fruit or eat a vegetable salad. This will fill your stomach but will not add to your weight.

As you grow old the body’s digestion power reduces. You start losing essential vitamins and minerals from the body. The body too starts becoming supple and brittle. Hence, it is imperative that you have vitamin and mineral supplements. You can consult your doctor for these supplements and ensure that you take them on a regular basis.

Never go on a crash diet. Starving will make you weak and your bones more brittle. Instead, eat small and frequent meals. For example, you can eat six small meals instead of three huge meals in a day. Eating six small meals a day will keep your hunger at bay. Add lots of nuts in your diet. Nuts are very nutritious and give a lovely glow to your skin. However, avoid too much of cashew nut as it is fattening.

Avoid fatty and junk food. As the digestion process in elderly people is slow, the oily and fatty food will do more harm to the body. Fats and carbohydrates are essential to the body but in moderation. Too much of fats and carbohydrates will lead to weight gain. The body takes the required amount of carbohydrates and the remaining is stored in your body as fats. Unless it is burnt while doing some physical activity, this excess fat can lead to weight gain or even obesity. Obesity can cause cardiac and blood pressure related issues which can be very dangerous, especially in elderly people.

Exercising is one more way to lose weight in elderly people. Exercise will burn fats, make your joints more flexible and your skin taut. Your heart will pump better if you are on an exercise regime. But, before you start on any exercise plan, consult your doctor. The doctor’s advice is very essential as he knows your body best. There are lots of exercise classes especially for the elderly people available today. They are designed keeping in mind the age. Simple exercises like walking and swimming can do wonders for elderly people. Whatever physical activity you do, ensure that you discuss it with your doctor first. Exercise and good food will help you to retain good health and a long life.

Today, fast food joints and take away foods have established themselves as the staple food for people on the move. So, people just pick up food from one of these joints and rush to their respective chores. This results in the addition of fats which eventually leads to obesity, overweight and countless health problems. Awareness of good health alone can make changes in the lifestyle of people. Once you decide to embark on the path of good health, you will automatically choose exercising and eating good food, to help you to lose weight and become strong.

Losing weight will not be that difficult when you plan to do it along with a partner. In fact, you can motivate each other to stick to the weight loss plan. When you are on a weight loss plan, there will be days when you will feel totally frustrated and angry. No one loves giving up their favorite food. Hence, when the diet plan encourages you to cut down on junk food which includes oily and fatty food, you will feel depressed. Eating healthy food and following a strict diet regime does not mean that you have to totally give up on your favorite food. A good diet plan gradually cuts down the inappropriate food. Weight loss is all about eating in moderation and not starving you.

Doing exercise and following a diet plan for weight loss is more effective when you have a partner. A partner plays a huge role in encouraging you and bringing you back to the right track, when you are low. It is not just the diet, weight loss requires exercising too. A good exercise regime and a healthy diet can do wonders to your body. They will enable you to keep fit and strong.  Once you start on an exercise program, your muscles will feel sore and you will feel totally tired. You will want to give up, as the stress of continuing the exercises will be huge. It is very easy to give in to comfort and laziness at this point. But, if you have a partner, he/she will not let you give up. Your partner will motivate you to hold on to the weight loss program.

Planning the exercise regime with a partner can also be fun. It not only gives you companionship but also keeps you motivated throughout.

It is not just you, but even your partner needs encouragement. Once your partner sees the difference weight loss can bring to your body, they will feel encouraged and inspired. It will induce in them the enthusiasm to do workouts and follow diet plans diligently to acquire a well-toned and strong body.

If you wish to maintain your new weight, you need to adopt a healthy lifestyle. A lot of people have the tendency to return to their old habits of eating junk food and being a couch potato. But you need to discipline yourself and avoid doing all of this. You are allowed to indulge a little and have a piece of cake, or some yummy fried chicken, once in a while, in moderation. Moderation is the key to maintaining your weight. You should balance your meals with the amount of time that you are going to devote to exercising.

You should never skip meals. Skipping meals lowers your metabolism rate, and may also lead to overeating later on in the day. Never skip your breakfast; it is the most important meal of the day. Experts are unanimous in their opinion that if you wish to lose weight, or maintain your figure, you should have a big healthy breakfast. Include a glass of milk or juice in your breakfast meal. Have whole wheat sandwiches, egg whites and fruits.

There are a number of healthy breakfast options. You can look up recipes online and bring some variety to your breakfast. Always carry your lunch along with you. If you buy lunch from outside, you will end up consuming too many calories. So carry a lunch pack with you. Include a salad, some whole wheat pasta, juice, grilled fish or any other meat. You have a variety of options to choose from. Keep your dinner light. Eat some soup first, as soup tends to fill up your stomach quickly. Then have some sautéed vegetables, some chicken or any other meat. For dessert, you can have a thin slice of cake, or some fresh fruits and low fat cream.

You should also weigh yourself once a week. When you monitor your weight, you tend to exercise some control on your eating habits. Write a food journal, in order to keep track the number of calories that you have taken in. You should write down each and everything that you eat or drink, accurately. Otherwise, there is no point in keeping a food journal.

You should also continue your daily exercise routine. It will help you maintain your beautiful figure, and keep weight gain away. If you are bored with exercising, you can opt for any physical activity that you enjoy. If you like swimming, then swim daily. You can also sign up for tennis lessons or dancing classes. Incorporate physical activity in your daily routine to stop weight gain.
So don’t let yourself go, after you have managed to lose weight. Carry on your exercise routine, eat healthy meals and maintain your figure.

During the first four weeks of your pregnancy, the body is busy adjusting the stomach and the womb to its normal size. Hence, you should not attempt to lose weight during this time. The best time to start your weight loss routine is six weeks post your pregnancy. You should start off by making changes in your diet, and including nutritious but low calorie food. But while dieting, keep it in mind that your body needs to produce the milk for the baby too. So you should eat whenever you feel hungry. Include fruits, salads, milk and milk products into your diet. Drink up a lot of liquids. You can have fresh fruit juice, milkshakes and even smoothies. Do not completely give up on carbohydrates, and have whole wheat sandwiches and pasta once in a while. You cannot go on a crash diet immediately after pregnancy, as it will cause harm to your overall health.

The average weight gain for a pregnant woman is around thirty to thirty five pounds. After birth, the woman loses around ten to twelve pounds. That leaves you with eighteen pounds to lose. You should give yourself reasonable targets, and attempt to lose one pound a week. This way, you will get your original figure back in five to six months time.

Never go for strenuous exercising immediately after pregnancy. Your body won’t be able to handle it. Instead go for long walks in the park. You can take your baby along, and both of you can enjoy some fresh air. You should try taking up yoga. It is not as strenuous as exercising, but it is quite effective in helping you lose weight. You could also consider joining post pregnancy exercise groups. Here you can interact with mothers who are undergoing the same problems as you are. Also, the instructor would be well aware about the exercise routines that are recommended for women who have just given birth. He will ensure that none of you go overboard, in a bid to lose weight.

Always have healthy snack handy. You could have a handful of dried fruits or nuts if you feel a little hungry. When you are sitting all day in your house, you naturally will have an urge to snack. So have some healthy options ready, instead of gorging on cakes and cookies.

So keep these little things in mind, and lose weight in a healthy manner post pregnancy.