Obesity

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Instead of BMI, use the Look In The Mirror While Naked approach. Unfortunately, too many people have a distorted perception of normal weight.

American women really think they can look like a Barbie Doll.

In conjunction with looking in the mirror, use the following chart (American Council on Exercise):



Weight loss (and gain) is a multi-billion dollar industry. Most of the programs and diet supplements do not work. Let's pull together methods that have some scientific proof that they work. This is for the pear shaped people who are simply overweight, not the apple shaped people who have underlying conditions causing their obesity. 26Blue.com created a Belly Fat page for those Apple-shaped people that cannot exercise or diet the weight off.

Good diet programs work well for about 1/3 of the population; OK for 1/3; but are total failures for the last 1/3. This explains why not all diets work for all people. A good diet is something that can be followed indefinitely. If in the process of losing weight the person becomes unhealthy, it would have been better to have stayed fat. More and more health professionals want people to build their health before trying to lose weight. Most times, once health is built, the weight falls off.

Supplements for weight loss
Garden of Life Fucothin (brown algae extract): we (at 26blue) have tried other brands but without the same success. Two clerks at the local health food store started taking Fucothin for other health issues. Both saw weight loss. We also know a person who takes fucothin for lupus.

Irvingia gabonensis (African mango seeds) for leptin resistance. Read Belly Fat

750 mg Triphala guggul; beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (body builders use this); Garcinia cambogia;

One study looked at all the weight loss aids (like supplements). They found that most fell short of the hype and had distorted truth, once scrutinized scientifically. The research only found four items that did help lose body fat: '''750 mg Triphala guggul;   beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (body builders use this);    Garcinia cambogia;  and  hypnotherapy. ''' (http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v29/n9/full/0803008a.html)

Best Diets
Since most people don't want to read but instead only want the bottom-line:

Dr Gundry Diet Revolution:  (http://www.drgundry.com/)

…..Similar to Mediterranean Diet but without the starches. The doctor would probably disagree. We know people who have been to his medical office. He and his staff are very caring people. Dr. Gundry is a famous cardiologist. But you don't have to see him to follow his diet. This diet is good for people with autoimmune and other illnesses. The doctor and his staff lost weight on this program.

Eat right for your blood type:  ( http://www.4yourtype.com/undiet.asp) …..This lists the beneficial, neutral, and toxic foods for each blood type. Ester lost weight on the Type O diet.

Low fat: no website.

…..Just eat low fat. Debra and David lost weight this way. Includes no mayonaise. Warning: if a person only ate lean protein and no fat or other types of food such as vegetables, it would be unhealthy. See rabbit starvation: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation). Low fat means some fat. Most proteins have an adequate amount of fat. Rabbit is the one exception. The Low Fat diet allows the amount of fat that occurs naturally. The diet emphasizes low fat proteins such as chicken in place of high fat protein such as bacon, etc. Chicken is low fat. Rabbit is no fat so one must add another source of fat such as butter, avocados, or nuts in order to make it a low fat protein. Debra and David ate vegetables and fruit. They would bake egg white Meringue Cookies for dessert because they are fat free. Low fat means 30 to 70 grams of fat per day, as evenly divided amount the meals as reasonably possible. That mean an average size person should have 10 to 20 grams of fat per meal. Three bacon strips (3 oz) is 85 g of fat which is too much for the Low Fat Diet. Eat chicken and fish instead of bacon. Fruit and vegetables are naturally low fat foods. Just don't add ranch dressing.

Jenny Craig  (http://www.jennycraig.com)

…..Works for many people, but it gets expensive. Gary lost weight on the Jenny Craig diet.

The Virgin Diet  Article on the 7 allergens

…..There is a book on it.

Honey, Vinegar, and Cinnamon:  (http://www.benefits-of-honey.com)

.....Create a tea out of 1 tablespoon raw honey, 1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar, and 1 teaspoon ceylon cinnamon. Drink 5 times: upon rising, before each meal, before going to bed. Ceylon cinnamon is the good for you cinnamon. The fake cinnamon (but labeled as cinnamon in America) is cassia cinnamon. (http://cassiacinnamon.com/) Germany banned the import of cassia. Chinese and Indonesia cinnamon is cassia as well. Honey and cinnamon is an old granny remedy. The best honey is "really raw honey"  (http://www.reallyrawhoney.com/) The best apple cider vinegar is "Bragg"    (http://bragg.com)

Mediterranean diet:  (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_7?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=mediterranean+diet&sprefix=mediter)

…..Limits red meat. Concentrates on vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds.

Sparks People:  (http://www.sparkpeople.com/)

…..Free website devoted to losing weight. Jean lost over 100 pounds on Sparks people.

Virgin Diet  (http://jjvirgin.com/)

....Uses Pea Protein shakes and eliminates 7 foods. Several on our staff are losing weight on this diet. They feel better, too. They like Olympian Labs Vanilla and Chocolate Pea Protein Shakes (mixed with Trader Joe's Vanilla Almond Milk). Some have said that they ordered from a prominent online store that had cheaper prices, only to find out that it was very old stock and did not taste well. Our staff buys from a local body building store, and we like the product (very much).

Allegens can cause obesity: Article on the 7 allergens

Weight Watchers:  (http://www.weightwatchers.com)

…..works for many people, but it gets expensive. Our local librarian lost over 50 pounds on weight watchers.

Zone Diet:  (http://www.zonediet.com)

…..ratio of carbohydrates (40 percent), fat (30 percent) and proteins (30 percent). Lots of people say they lost weight on the zone diet.

Leptin Resistant Diet....See: Belly Fat

Non-calorie Weight Gain
ALLERGENS can cause obesity: Allergies and Allergic reactions. If an organ swells, it won't function properly. Article on the 7 allergens

SLEEP, not enough and/or not restful. Women need more sleep than men. From Getting Started, Prescription for life: Healthy Diet, Strong Immune System, Hygiene/Cleanliness, Exercise, Emotional Balance, Restorative Sleep, Eliminate Negative Behaviors. A lack of restorative sleep destroys health. Your body needs sleep to repair itself. Not enough sleep is stressful. Before starting a diet, get healthy. Follow the Prescription for life: Healthy Diet, Strong Immune System, Hygiene/Cleanliness, Exercise, Emotional Balance, Restorative Sleep, Eliminate Negative Behaviors.

STRESS This would enclude cortisol and leptin levels.

MEDICAL PROBLEMS such as cushings, lyphodema, thyroid.

MEDICATION Side effects. Check what medication you are taking.

MENOPAUSE Hormonal changes. Although not directly linked to menopause, simply slowing down as one ages. Less active, metabolism slow down, etc. Use it or lose it.

Food for Thought
Some people look fat but are actually swollen. See Capillary Leak. One woman looked obese, but after she died, the autopsy doctor said that she was not over-weight at all; she was horribly swollen (edema). No calorie counting diet would have worked for her. She needed an anti-inflammation diet and edema remedies. Is your fat: fluffy or solid? A person with edema (fluffy fat) may be suffering from heart, kidney, liver, and/or circulation conditions, just to name a few. The Leptin Diet might have worked for her. Belly Fat Some claim that eliminating dairy and eggs cures edema.

Mary's business partner is a doctor. The doctor is very short, small framed, and skinny. Mary is tall, large framed (man size wrists), and very fat. Mary spent a week at the doctor's home while they worked on a project. When they finished their task, the doctor told Mary that she had inventoried all the foods in her home so she would be able to catch Mary secretively eating. The doctor said she was surprised to find that Mary under-ate. The doctor said, "I don't know why you are fat, but it is not from calories." That was and is the story of Mary's life. Once she convinces/proves that she did not overeat, the doctors say that they had no idea how to help her lose weight. A person in this situation should read Belly Fat. The Virgin Diet claims that people who cannot lose weight have allergies (need to cut out 7 allergens).

Joan (not real name) went to a Kasier endocrinologist and complained about her weight and some localized edema. That doctor told her that Kaiser is studying why people are obese and what can be done to help them. According to that doctor, Kaiser has concluded that fat people fall into two categories: 1. fat and unhealthy. 2. fat and fit. The doctor also said that being thin does not measure health either. A person can be thin and unhealthy. All of Joan's lab work is perfect; she is able to move with agility; and she looks healthy. Since Joan had no regular exercise and her job was sedentary, the doctor told her to start with 15 minutes of walking per day and to build up to at least 30 minutes per day. See the articles on Fat and Fit below.

Debbie went from fat to thin simply by cutting out added fats. She won't eat mayonnaise or any other oil based product. The only cookies allowed are the meringue (egg whites and sugar). Her brother went on the same diet and also lost his excess weight.

Jean was always heavy, even as a toddler. Many diets failed. She joined Sparks, (http://www.sparkpeople.com/) a free online website dedicated to weight loss. Jean is one of thousands who have lost weight the sparks way. Jean said that she changed her focus from weight loss to building health. For her, that was the change that worked. She follows the sparks methods and has now lost about 200lbs, looks great, and is still losing...naturally. She now exercises 60 minutes per day. She says that exercise keeps the weight from returning but explains that she did not get to that level overnight. There is scientific data that proves exercise prevents the yo-yo effect and prevents the person from regaining the weight. See the articles on exercise below.

Esther went on the diet: Eat Right for Your Blood Type. She is blood type O. She started the diet to feel better. The diet lists foods as tonic, neutral, and detrimental. The diet claims one food is a tonic for one blood type but an an antagonist for another blood type. Esther only ate from the foods listed as tonic for type O. She quit being 24/7 tired. Esther lost 50 lbs, an unexpected bonus. The Eat Right for Your Blood type works great for blood type O. We who run this website  have not tried to diet recently so the author may have modified the other diets. We just don't know, but we know it works great for blood type O.

Danny has juvenile (type 1) diabetes and is bone thin. He says that his weight fluctuates according to how much insulin he takes. Danny's friend had to start insulin. That friend's weight shot up. Danny helped him to bring down the amount of insulin in his doses (under doctor care) and the friend's weight came back down. The amount of insulin pulsing through one's veins has an effect on body mass. Danny says that he can eat anything and everything and never gain weight because he controls his insulin levels. Ceylon cinnamon and iodine have good track records for controlling blood sugar levels. Diabetes Exercise also controls blood sugar levels.

Our Opinion
It is 26Blue's opinion that a person should first be healthy; then control inflammation and insulin level before concerning themselves with weight loss. This is back to the concept of being fit regardless of body mass. Yes, being thin looks nicer, but a quick fix is usually quickly undone as well. Fat and fit is better than thin and unhealthy. Please DO NOT diet your health away. Don't make yourself sick. Anorexia and bulimia are health destroyers.

If you have low self esteem, read the toxic relationship article on the Just don't feel well page.

From Getting Started, Prescription for life: Healthy Diet, Strong Immune System, Hygiene/Cleanliness, Exercise, Emotional Balance, Restorative Sleep, Eliminate Negative Behaviors.

If you want to take a diet aid, try Fucothin first because it builds health.

Spin (not the cycling spinning classes) but the childhood activity of standing in one place and spinning around (clockwise) until you get dizzy. This builds health

Articles and Websties
Fat and Fit: Can You Be Fat And Fit? More Health Experts Say Yes http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128267723

Exercise will lessen inflammation. That means exercise can counter the inflammation caused by belly fat. http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0505c.shtml

Fat and fit is better than thin and sick. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/07/18/can-be-fit-and-fat/

Exercise can make some people want to eat so that the calorie loss is nullified. Yet, science research found that exercise will keep the weight off. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/magazine/18exercise-t.html?pagewanted=all

Fitness is a better indicator of health than body mass. http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1670

Edema and obese: Impossible to know what is fat and what is swelling. See Leptin Diet and Virgin Diet on Belly Fat.

As said above, try eliminating eggs and dairy. If the edema goes away, that might be your problem.

Publications
Padberg F Jr, Cerveira JJ, Lal BK, Pappas PJ, Varma S, Hobson RW 2nd. Does severe venous insufficiency have a different etiology in the morbidly obese? Is it venous? J Vasc Surg 2003; 37: 79-85.

L'Hermitte F, Behar A, Paries J, Cohen-Boulakia F, Attali JR, Valensi P. Impairment of lymphatic function in women with gynoid adiposity and swelling syndrome. Metabolism 2003; 52: 805-9.

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