Having a large Beer Belly in your middle ages can lead to dementia when you get older.  A recent study that involved over 6,000 people revealed that people with excessive abdominal fat in their early 40’s were approximately three times as likely to develop dementia in their 70’s as compared to people with the least amount of abdominal fat.  This is yet another negative side effect from being overweight.  I don’t know about you, but the more I read about the health risks of being overweight, the more I exercise to prevent myself from becoming part of those negative statistics.  Click on the following link to read the entire article. 

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/17036876.html

Popularity: 25% [?]

Do you find yourself looking in the mirror, pinching your love handles, and wondering if you are overweight? If so, you are not alone. Every person can close their eyes and visualize in their mind what an overweight person looks like, but not many people actually know what classifies a person as being either overweight or obese. You can determine if you are overweight or obese by calculating either your Body Mass Index (BMI) or your body fat percentage.

BMI is a generic estimation of body fatness. Although calculating your BMI is definitely one of the fastest ways to determine if you are overweight, it may not be the most accurate tool. Your BMI is calculated by assessing both weight and height; however, it does not incorporate muscle mass into the final equation (i.e. not accurate for body builders). You can quickly determine your BMI by clicking on the following link: BMI Calculator. Compare your BMI results with the following table to determine if you are overweight:

Category BMI Range - kg/m^2

*A BMI of 40 or above can increases a person’s risk of death from any cause by 50%-150%.

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Part 1 taught us that we need to lower our daily calorie consumption or “Calorie Budget” to better represent “The Necessities” or the minimum amount of calories our body needs to survive. An important step to successfully losing weight is realizing how much you are actually eating (or over-eating) on average each day.

I highly recommend that you go out and purchase the 2008 CalorieKing Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter. This book is under $10 and it breaks down every food you can possibly imagine (this includes restaurants and fast-food) into calories, fat and carbohydrates. This book will help you identify which foods are healthy for you and which foods you need to limit portion sizes or cut out of your diet completely.

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Everyone is familiar with creating a financial budget in order to survive. Each person has to save money for “The Necessities” such as rent, car payments, and bills. We also spend a portion of our money on “Extras” such as DVDs or new golf clubs. We realize that we need to pay for “The Necessities” before we splurge on “Extras.”

“The Necessities” of dieting are the minimum amount of calories your body needs to survive. “Extras” are foods that we really enjoy, but may be causing us to exceed body’s natural metabolism or “Calorie Budget.” The problem is that many people are exceeding their “Calorie Budget” and do not realize it until their pants are getting too tight. When people begin dieting, the first question they tend to ask is, “How many calories should I be eating each day in order to lose weight?” The table below is the suggested calorie range for healthy weight loss:

Women (Non-Active): 1000-1200
Women (Active): 1200-1500
Men (Non-Active): 1200-1500
Men (Active): 1500-1800

In order to get an idea of how many more calories you are eating than the above table, click on the following link to get your approximate “Calorie Budget” for each day. This is the approximate amount of daily calories it takes for you to maintain your current weight. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598

Is your “Calorie Budget” much larger than the suggested calorie range for healthy weight loss in the table above? If it is, that’s okay. The goal is to lower your “Calorie Budget” to closely match “The Necessities” by cutting out some of the “Extras.” In the next post, we will teach you manageable weight loss solutions by breaking down your eating habits.

Popularity: 3% [?]

I’ve lost almost 10 pounds in 4 weeks!  It seems like every time I step on the scale at the gym, I’ve lost another pound, what a great feeling!  I think this all started 4 weeks ago when I decided that I would try to find something fun and athletic to help me get in shape.

It’s not that I absolutely dread the treadmill, but I noticed that I couldn’t go as fast or as long on the treadmill and I wasn’t improving very fast.  So my strategy was to start playing a sport that would force my body to adapt to more rigorous activities and therefore would strengthen myself for running harder.  I started playing racquetball about once or twice a week and it has really helped my body to go that extra mile and run faster on the treadmill, which is allowing me to burn up more calories!  So combined with my increase in treadmill running, weekly racquetball sessions, and being more conscious about how I eat, I’ve managed to steadily reduce my weight.

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