• You are here: 
  • Home
  • Diet Program

The Skinny on Weight Loss

 

In the land of the free fast-food upgrade, weight gain stigma can be as sticky as the sugary sodas many of us use to quench it. Whether you’re a sucker for the “quick fix” drive-thru, or just someone who pays more attention to the TV Guide instead of the calories on the back of food packages, odds are you struggle like the rest of us keeping the pounds off—and it’s starting to affect more than just your waistline.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 67 percent of all Americans, about 200 million, are overweight or obese. That number has doubled since 1980. Currently, about one-third of American children are either obese or at risk of becoming obese, and while being overweight can increase your risk from everything from high blood pressure, diabetes, to back pain, the buildup of poor self-esteem from psychological and social problems can only make things worse.

I’ve seen it before. From the patients who enter my office, to my own family and friends that gather around my dinner table—the struggle they endure while undertaking a weight loss or diet program just isn’t fair. Yep, I said it. If you want to lose weight, and keep it off, those diet plans—Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers—may not be the answer for you.

I know, I know, I’ve heard it all: “I ate nothing but soup and lost 10 pounds!” Or, “I haven’t had a single carb in two weeks and lost five pounds!” The common thread with all these “fad diets” is just that—they’re fads. Just like those bell bottom pants you were once so fond of, eventually the allure wore off. How many times have you thrown a defunct diet in the attic trunk, just like you did those pants?

I should probably admit something before I go any further—I’ve battled the cookie tray temptations like anybody else. But I’ve learned that if there’s any rule to live by, the quick and easy way out—magic diet pills, fad programs, etc., simply don’t work.

When all else fails, stay positive, and excuse yourself from the table of ridiculous and outrageous diets. I hope that those who continue to get lost, while on the road to weight loss, never stop trying to get to their destination.

Chris Tomshack


Related Blogs


    How Jenny Craig Diet Works

    There are so many options available to Americans looking to lose weight. Jenny Craig is one of those options, and it has its advantages and drawbacks. Before you look into joining a program, decide on your personal weight loss goals and what lifestyle modifications you are willing to make to make your weight loss dreams a reality. While I was looking to lose a few pounds I have struggled to keep off during my adult years, I looked a little more closely into the program to see if it was for me. Here is what I found about how the Jenny Craig program actually works.

    Jenny Craig was founded in the mid-1980s by, you guessed it, Jenny Craig. Simply put, the program relies upon a system of pre-packaged meals and snacks and one on one counseling. The counselors will help you decide on how much weight you want to lose, how much exercise you can work into your schedule to supplement your diet program, and how long you expect your weight loss to take.

    Based on the decisions you make with your counselor, you will put together a menu and meal guide for your plan period. You will make choices from their list of pre-packaged, mostly frozen, food options. You will choose a breakfast, a lunch, a dinner, and a dessert for each day. You will be allowed to supplement your Jenny foods with fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

    This program is designed for the person who is interested in a slow and steady approach to weight loss. That was for me, since my overall health is not in jeopardy due to my weight. If you have immediate health concerns due to your weight, talk to your doctor about the urgency of dropping weight versus the slow and steady pace you find at Jenny.

    I found the meals to be decent. Some were really tasty, while others left something to be desired. But that is to be expected because we all have different tastes. I think they were all well prepared with a variety of flavors to appeal to a variety of people. I just didn’t care for some of the choices.

    When I reached my half way point to weight loss, my counselor helped me to make the transition to preparing my own meals. Let’s face it, I could not afford to keep doing this the rest of my life! I cooked my own meals three or four times per week, and continued with Jenny meals for the rest. I learned about what ingredients to include to keep calorie and fat content low, and I learned not to cook too much because that led to overeating. The meals I learned to cook as I transitioned based on a predetermined menu my counselor helped me create.

    From the first time I set foot in the door, I was assigned a counselor. She met with me every week. She helped me with weekly weigh-ins, and was available to talk to me and encourage me when I found myself struggling. While I met with my counselor face to face, there are also options to have phone and email sessions for those who can’t make it to a center regularly. The counselors are trained to help you develop healthy long-term eating habits, portion control, and a healthy exercise program.

    Though many people find success, and you can see the results in celebrity spokeswomen who grace the TV screen, there is not a scientific test that points to Jenny’s effectiveness. There are a lot of factors that contribute to whether the program will work for you at all. Plus if you do have success, will the results be a long-term celebration, or will you fall back into your pre-Jenny weight?

    Here are a few things to think about before you decide to go one way or the other. First, do you have the money to invest? It is not a cheap venture. You must decide if the financial investment is worth it. Having decided that, if you do join Jenny, once you are creating your own meals, will you allow your investment to go down the drain in favor of returning to old habits that created your weight problem in the first place?

    Is Jenny Craig right for you? If you are not willing to change the way you think about food and exercise, this is not likely the best program for you.

    Are you willing to participate in the whole Jenny Craig Diet program? If you aren’t willing to change your level of physical activity to assist the cutting of calories and change in diet, you are not likely to see results. Don’t expect to walk into the center and lose weight just by eating different food.

    Kelly Miller


    Related Blogs


    The Jenny Craig Diet: Helping You Lose Weight Since 1983

    In 1983, the Jenny Craig Company was formed in Australia by both Sid and Jenny Craig. Today the headquarters are located in California. In just a little more than 10 years, this hard driving couple were able to build a company that generated over 36 million dollars a year in business. It was obvious that small town, Louisiana native Genevieve (Jenny) Guidroz had become a star in the dieting industry.

    By 1998, there was a substantial drop in the earnings to 2 million dollars a year but the company managed to transform itself to fit the changing times. With a revamped and updated approach, earnings began to rise. This company has always shown the ability to find ways to gain favor with the public. Much of this success is directly attributable to the positive and tenacious attitude of Jenny Craig.

    Genevieve, or Jenny as she is better known, developed an early interest in fitness during the 60′s when she was trying to lose weight that she had gained while pregnant. She opened her own fitness club in New Orleans during this time and she operated it until 1970.

    Then she became a staff member at Body Contours, which was another fitness center in the area. Body Contours was a fitness center that was owned and operated by Sid Craig. The couple found that they had much in common, fell in love and were married in 1979. By working together, they were able to develop a unique concept that would turn their struggling fitness operation into a multimillion-dollar business.

    The diet program that was developed by Jenny Craig Inc. is not meant to be viewed as a diet but as a practical approach to help clients develop healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle. During the company’s early years, their clients would meet with a personal diet counselor and would purchase their food from Jenny Craig Inc. These food selections were perfectly proportioned and calorie controlled. Clients could choose meals for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. There were also desserts and snacks that were offered on this plan. Diet participants would also be required to attend support meetings twice a week and discuss weight loss topics with a group that was led by a counselor. Today, pre-packaged meals are still the central theme of the program and now they can even be delivered to customers’ doors through the Jenny Direct program.

    Jenny Craig Inc. did not go public until 1991. During this period, some changes were made in their upper management ranks. The program was changed and modernized. Clients were able to now choose the classes that they felt were of most interest to them. The company also started a video series that could be purchased for home use which instructed individuals about healthy diet choices and how to integrate better eating habits into their daily lives.

    Celebrities that have had success with this program would very often become paid spokespersons. Among these were stars like Elliott Gould and Susan Ruttan. The most recent Hollywood stars to endorse Jenny Craig’s program have been Kirstie Alley, Marie Osmond, and Valerie Bertinelli.

    Jennifer McVey


    Related Blogs


    Healthy Weight Loss for Men Testimonial Video using Herbal Magic

    Wieght loss tips available at http://www.herbalmagic.ca

    Duration : 0:1:14

    Read the rest of this entry »


    Fat Loss 4 Idiots – A Weight Loss Program You Cannot Miss

    What according to you is a good weight loss program? Is it a program that asks you to starve yourself and survive on a diet that is very low on carbohydrate, fat, and calories? Or is it one that asks you to undergo rigorous exercise regimes? Or further still, is it a program that asks you to resort to harmful pills? In all the three cases, you are sure to lose, not your weight, but your valuable time, money, and energy. So is there any effective and safe remedy to this problem?

    Sure! There is a very successful weight loss program that is designed by weight loss experts after carefully studying all the other weight loss programs that are currently being offered at large and understanding their lacunae. This is the new accelerated fat burning diet program that is very effective and fast in reducing unwanted bodyweight. It follows a couple of techniques that address the weight loss issue deeply and eliminate it right from the core of the problem. This program uses a couple of techniques called the fat hormones burning technique and the calorie shifting technique. Both these techniques portray a unique system of eating that is bound to show results within a span of eleven days.

    You might have tried a number of other weight loss programs but the Fat Loss 4 Idiots weight loss program stands apart from the rest owing to its effectiveness and its rate of delivering results. This program is made by addressing the common weight loss diet myths and removing them. It is easy and convenient too.

    According to the accelerated fat burning program, a diet low in carbohydrates, fat, and calories that is commonly prescribed in many regular weight loss programs can never be a solution for losing weight. There is a deeper cause for weight gain that needs to be addressed first. You should know that the human body secretes fat burning hormones after each meal and their release into the bloodstream is controlled by the brain. These hormones are responsible for burning and storing fat. These hormones are controlled by the food that you eat. The Fat Loss 4 Idiots weight loss program is designed to manipulate the secretion of these hormones to release an enhanced quantity of fat burning hormones and a decreased quantity of fat storage hormones. Can you believe it? This program requires you to eat three times more than you normally do, all for a slim figure in a matter of eleven days.

    Another very effective weight loss technique that is applied by the Fat Loss 4 Idiots weight loss program is called calorie shifting. In this technique, your body is given different types of calories each day in a specially tested eating pattern, so that your body mechanism is confused about the number of calories that it has to burn per day and starts burning a greater amount of fat everyday.

    Both these methods are formulated by weight loss experts and are known to turn dangerously fat people into lean and healthy human beings. It is a much faster method to lose weight in comparison to Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig diet plans. It is less expensive too.

    Paul Matthew Moore
    http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/fat-loss-4-idiots-a-weight-loss-program-you-cannot-miss-730941.html


    Jenny Craig for Men


    Health Products