Feb 04
This weekend, you may find yourself shopping for snacks for the Super Bowl or for the week ahead. If you’re trying to find a few healthy options, you’ll want to avoid making one of these giant snack mistakes.
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Feb 02
If you are a people-pleaser, a person who goes out of their way to make other people happy, you are at higher risk for overeating in social situations. A new study conducted at Case Western University found that college students who identified themselves as people-pleasers were not only likely to overeat in social situations, but were also likely to regret their decision at a later time.
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Jan 30
If you are looking for obesity help, your best bet may be to find a doctor with a healthy BMI. A recent study published in the Journal of Obesity found that physicians with a normal BMI are not only more likely to discuss weight with their obese patients, but those leaner doctors also feel more confident about the advice that they give.
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Jan 29
Randall weighed 270 pounds when he decided to get in shape. One and a half years later he was extremely fit and participating in an Ironman competition.
Thanks much for sharing this!
Hi Isadora!
I made this video just for my friends, family, and relatives as a reminder that it’s never too late and anything no matter how difficult is possible if you believe. I’d like to share it hoping it would help other people believe in themselves as well and lead towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.
For me, I can still remember like it was yesterday 270 lbs I attempted to run not even 1/4 of a mile I was winded down like I was going to have a heart attack and every car was stopping asking if I needed a ride. A year and a half year later I was treading water in Ironman Cozumel about to embark on a 140.6 mile journey, smiling and thinking to myself how I enjoyed everything along the way.
Jan 26
New research supports a brown fat theory that may provide scientists with a weight loss breakthrough. In mice, brown fat is tissue that burns large amounts of fat and creates significant weight loss. Until recently, scientists didn’t know if adult humans carry this fat or if it behaves the same way in human bodies that it does in mice. But a small study published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, provides new evidence that it does.
Brown adipose tissue, or BAT, is literally fat that is brown in color. The tissue has more mitochondria that standard white fat which gives it a darker color. Mitochondria are the energy production centers in the body. Unlike white fat, the mitochondria in brown fat uses fat for energy and burns larger quantities of it than other tissue.
Brown Fat Theory in Humans and Mice
In mice, studies have shown that an increase in brown fat created significant weight loss because the tissue burned substantially more fat and calories. Two things created an increase of brown fat in mice: exercise and exposure to cold air.
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Jan 26
Megan Marquez and her husband lost a combined 174 pounds in one year. The first photo here was taken at Christmas in 2010 and the lower photo is from Christmas 2011. Thanks much for sending in your story!
Good Morning,
My name is Megan Marquez. I have been morbidly obese since I was a teenager (I’m 36 now). My husband and I have been married for 16 years. We have two amazing, young children. We decided to finally take control of our weight for our children’s sake and for our own health. We did not use any pills, tricks, concoctions or fads. For the first time in our adult lives, we simply did what every doctor tells their patients to do; maintain a better diet and get regular exercise.
We started slowly, cutting out junk food completely and taking short walks. We both used an app on our phones to log our food intake every day. As the weight started coming off, we increased our exercise. I now use an elliptical machine every evening for 30 minutes. I couldn’t have done 2 minutes in 2010.
It has been an unbelievable year of weight loss and personal growth. Combined, my husband and I lost about 174 pounds in 2011. We are continuing our new lifestyle into 2012. We both feel and look substantially better. We had the greatest support of our families and co-workers. My weight loss caused two co-workers to also improve their diets. For the first time in my adult life, I am able to shop at non-plus size stores. Our young children are very proud of us. What a great feeling!
The reason I am contacting you is that I truly believe changing your life is in your own hands with real support. I promise, if we can do it, anyone can.
Jan 25
Traci Brown is a coach with Optibike. This pricey electric bike (costing about $10,000), “the Ferrari of electric bikes”, is hand-made in Boulder, Colorado. Traci sent in the following story about one of her clients. 
Bob Brewer was a regular guy. He spent his life building a successful family business. The money was good and all the perks that came with it were even better. Then at 53 he found himself overweight. Way overweight. And diabetic. He was 5’7” and 270lbs. The doctor called him ‘morbidly obese’.That’s when the fear set in.
A young death just wasn’t an option for Bob. So what’s a guy to do? A little exercise for a few days wasn’t going to fix the problem. An entire lifestyle shift was in order. But it sounded so hard.
That’s when Bob joined the Optibike weight loss challenge with coach Traci Brown. It’s a year long coached lifestyle and fitness program. Community is created around the enthusiasm for weight loss and cycling. And Optibikes are electric. They give you a push when you need it. And you still get a great workout.
Bob found the fun in community and started riding his bike every day. He followed the program: Riding every day with a specific plan, walking if he couldn’t ride, eating lower carbs, less meat and more fish, cutting out soft drinks and alcohol. As a matter of fact, Bob has only had water to drink for a year.
What about the results? Bob’s lost 87lbs and he’s still going. He’s exercising every day, riding his Optibike or walking, and totally off all medications. He’s excited about life and he still hasn’t had anything to drink but water. And all this happened because he decided to save his own life with the Optibike Weight Loss Challenge.
Jan 24
America is fat. Despite years of awareness campaigns, public service announcements and incessant ads for weight loss programs, obesity rates in the United States have remained at about 36 percent, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Jan 24
Maria weighed 210 pounds eight months ago. She is 5’4″ tall. A Zumba class inspired her to start her weight loss journey and now she feels fantastic at 128 pounds. Thanks much for sending in your story!
Hi, my name is Maria. I am 40 years old and I am a Physical Therapist Assistant. I live in Wilkes Barre, PA. My before weight was 210 pounds and my after weight is 128 pounds, I am 5’4″.
In April of 2011 my friend asked me to go try out a Zumba class which I was reluctant to do but after she persuaded me to go I immediately fell in love with it, I was going 3 days of week.
Towards the end of April the instructor opened her own studio and started offering more classes, at that time I decided that was it, I was sick of my weight and wanted to lose full force, I went on my own diet with an app on my phone counting calories(1200 calories a day).
Jessica Sands, the owner of the studio S.W.E.A.T. Fitness Studio, Inc, helped me in every sense of my weight journey answering questions I had on food decisions, what classes to take, etc. I really owe it all to her for being my inspiration in this past 8 months, even though she will say it was all me. I am totally in love with eating right and exercising all the time, I take as many classes as I can, sometimes 1-3 classes a day, every day of the week. So after 8 months of losing 72 pounds and dropping from a size 16 to a size 2, meeting the most amazing people ever, and developing friendships I feel will last a lifetime, I am the happiest ever in my life.
I finally feel good about the way I look and feel. My husband, Jim, of 18 years and my children, Patrick, 17, and Katie, 13, are very supportive in my new way of life, and I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without them either. I am very thankful every day that Jessica took the courage and many pitfalls, even surviving through a flood, to keep her studio open to give me a second home to go to every day to achieve my goal. I LOVE S.W.E.A.T. FITNESS STUDIO, ALL THE INSTRUCTORS, AND ALL THE FRIENDS I HAVE MADE ALONG THE WAY!!!!
Jan 21
Do you crave fatty foods? Your genes may be to blame. A new study shows that people who have more of a gene, identified as CD36, are more sensitive to the taste of fat than people who have less of it. In fact, people who had the highest levels of CD36 were 8 times more likely to detect fat in food than people who had less of the gene.
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