NeoWeight – a new approach to weight loss

Oatmeal is a great way to start off the day. In my opinion, a bowl of oatmeal makes for the perfect breakfast…

The health benefits of oatmeal are many:

• lowers cholesterol levels
• reduces risk of cardiovascular disease
• helps prevent heart failure
• stabilizes blood sugar
• antioxidant benefits

And those are just a few of the health benefits… (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=54)

Why do I almost always eat oatmeal for breakfast? [Read more →]

A few words of advice on eating:

If you eat it, and don’t feel good after eating it, you shouldn’t have eaten it.

Let me explain:

Today, more and more people are claiming that undetected food allergies / intolerances are a cause for being overweight. A 2009 study indicated that obesity led to the development of food allergies (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/181866.php)… Some people believe that these food allergies that may in turn lead to additional weight gain and chronic health problems, or may even be the cause for the weight gain in the first place.There is a hypothesis that: overweight people crave the foods that they are slightly allergic or intolerant to and that these undetected food allergies can cause weight gain and chronic health problems such as: migraine, fatigue, depression, and even depression. Where are all these food allergies coming from? the answer could be anything from Genetically modified foods, pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, to relatively new foods such as high fructose corn syrup…

According to an article on the subject, food allergies may affect, “the section of the brain houses the control centers of our emotions as well as memory and vegetative functions, including body temperature, sexuality, blood pressure, sleep, hunger and thirst” (http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/health_food_addiction.html). It is reported by some doctors that after removing allergic foods from an overweight person’s diet, he or she may shed the weight very easily and feel much better.

[Read more →]

Sometimes, when people are trying to lose weight, they avoid eating nuts because they contain a high fat content… Well, that is just nuts (cheesy pun intended)! Eating nuts may actually help you lose weight!

A 28 month long study in Spain, involving over 8 thousand adult men, found that men who ate nuts two or more times per week, were 31% less likely to gain weight. Additionally, among the study’s participants who gained weight, those who abstained from eating nuts tended to gain more. The researchers concluded that eating nuts led to a reduced risk of weight gain! (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=101) . [Read more →]

When individuals try to lose weight they are often successful… at least initially. The usual “diet and exercise” approach involves eating less and exercising more, and when people do this, they often begin dropping the pounds. Many individuals will lose 5, 10, or even 20 or more pounds when they make a few simple changes to their lifestyles… However, then something happens: they hit that dreaded weight loss “plateau”. They’re still trying to eat less and exercise, but for some reason, what was working before, begins to stop working. They get tired, lose motivation, and eventually give back in to their old habits. They gain the weight back, and even add more. So the question is, why do people often hit these weight loss plateaus?

The answer to this lies in our genetics, in how we evolved. When one reduces caloric intake, he or she will initially lose weight, but at some point the body  may go into a sort of “starvation mode”. In the past, when humans often had trouble finding their next meal, this bodily response allowed the individual to save energy and survive longer. Food was often sparse, and when the body received less food, it developed this starvation response of saving energy and storing more energy as fat. [Read more →]

The modern American diet generally consists of two very important “spices”: salt and sugar.

However, there are 2 problems with this:

1. Salt and sugar in large quantities can be devastating to one’s health.
2. Research shows salt and sugar to actually have addictive qualities!

Last night, I realized how true this really was. For dinner, I had pork loin with a vegetable stir fry. When I took my first bite, I the first thing that came to mind was, “this needs more salt”. The marinade for the pork gave it just a tough of sweetness, but the second thought that came to mind was, “I wish this was sweeter”. However, as I continued to eat my dinner, which tasted somewhat bland with the first bite, I began to realize that it was not bland at all. [Read more →]

Late Fall is probably not the best time to plant a vegetable garden… but it’s never too early to start planning for next season’s vegetable garden! Before we realize it Spring will be upon us (I guess this is a little optimistic!), and I’m planning to build a vegetable garden. I think that taking up a “part time farming career” is a great way to lose weight, to get healthier, and to save money!

1. Weight Loss – Planting an organic vegetable garden requires quite a bit of intensive labor. The digging, planting, and watering are great ways to get exercise, and in my opinion, they are [Read more →]

Are you working hard to lose weight with diet changes and exercise?

Well, if you’re not losing the weight, then you may in fact be working too hard, and not getting enough sleep!

CNN reports on new research that identifies as a key factor to weight loss! Researchers at the University of Chicago discovered that dieters who slept 8.5 hours lost a dramatic 55 percent more body fat than dieters who slept only 5.5 hours. Participants in the study who slept less, found that they had more hunger cravings throughout the day even though they didn’t change any other aspects of their lifestyles!

Why is this? Hormones! It is believed that not enough sleep [Read more →]