Getting on top of your weight problem and combating it is a huge milestone for anyone who is overweight, the next one is keeping up with your healthy diet and lifestyle, and this is where many people struggle. Anyone who has had weight problems knows only too well that once you have lost the weight you need to keeping it off is very hard and trying not to go back to your old bad habits.

As summer is upon us one thing that many people worry about is sticking to your diet when your away, if you don’t you run the risk after enjoying ‘treats’ whilst away not been able to get back into your old routine. Just because you are on a diet or you are on a new healthy eating plan doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your holiday whilst keeping your healthy eating habits intact and lose pounds.

Because you are away, either here in the UK or abroad you will have to modify your eating habits and be creative and smart about your choices, you will find yourself dining out a lot, eating at different time to when your body is use to or just having a huge range of food in front of you.

The main thing to remember is that you are on holiday and your are there to enjoy yourself, and being on a diet shouldn’t stop that, you just need to make good choices such as go for foods that are baked, grilled or barbequed and never anything that is deep fried, if you’re going somewhere tropical, make the most of the fresh foods available such as fruit, salad, vegetables and fresh seafood. You also need to remember portion control especially if you are dining at a buffets tempting as it maybe to put all this lovely fresh food on your plate you need to remember your intake, especially if you are doing less exercise than you would do at home.

You can also make the most of exercise when you are away, bring your trainers and explore where you are by foot, or if you have a hotel gym make the most of it, you don’t have to do as much as you would at home but a little is better than nothing, but most of all remember to have fun and don’t let your diet dominate your holiday.

For many obese people losing weight can seem like an uphill struggle, no diet seems to work and you find it hard to exercise, so what else can you do? Many people find that their doctors struggle to provide them with specialist advice on diet and exercise, which is why an increase in the number of prescription weight-loss drugs being given out in England is continuing to rise.

For many taking diet pills such as Acomplia, Reductil and Xenical is a last resort after many years of struggle, research shows that weight loss pills cost the NHS £47 million last year, an average of £32 per prescription. Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Dealing with patients who are grossly overweight is very difficult, but pills are not the solution. What these patients need is a balanced diet and expert dietary advice from a dietician and often psychological support, to change their behaviour long-term. But the availability of these services is not great and doctors resort to prescribing medication under patient pressure.”

Whatever the solution being overweight and obese causes long term health problems and often the damage cause can be irreversible, but because there is no quick fix solution this will be a matter that won’t go away which is why weight loss is serious buisness.

There are many problems faced for young people who are obese, not only physical health but also psychological, the importance of a healthy diet early on can mean that you face less of a risk of developing other health problems when you are older.  New research has found that men who are obese by the age of 20 have double of the risk of dying prematurely, which is a worrying prognosis for young people in the UK because a third of them aged five to 13 are already considered obese.

The study that was presented at the International Congress on Obesity in Stockholm followed more than 5,000 military conscripts starting at the age of 20 until up to the age of 80, here they found that at any given age, an obese man was twice as likely to die as a man who was not obese and that being overweight aged 20 had a constant effect on death up to 60 years later. They also noted that the chance of dying early increased by 10 per cent for each BMI point above the threshold for a healthy weight.

The study found that on obese participants died eight years earlier than those of normal weight, Esther Zimmermann, of Copenhagen University Hospital, who was the study leader said: ‘As the obesity epidemic is still progressing rapidly, especially among children and adolescents, it is important to find out if obesity in early adulthood has lifelong mortality effects. ‘It is the first study with such a long follow-up time and thus the first study to investigate the lifelong effect.”

For the study, mortality rates of a sample of 1,930 obese male military conscripts were compared with a random sample of 3,601 non-obese male conscripts, researchers measured body mass index (BMI) of, 35 and 46 years, and investigated that in relation to death in the next follow-up period. During the follow-up period of up to 60 years a total of 1,191 men had died, the results were also adjusted to eliminate any influence on the findings from year of birth, education and smoking.

The researchers said ‘it was unclear whether being obese at age 20 conferred the men’s increased death risk or whether the lifelong effect was due to obesity often being a lifelong condition.’  However the study did show that either way the majority of obese 20-year-olds struggled to lose weight as they got older. Dr Zimmermann said: ‘More than 70 per cent of the obese young men were still obese at the follow-up examinations, whereas only four per cent of the men in comparison group developed obesity during follow-up.’

Altering your diet to lose weight can be tricky and looking for foods that are not only low calorie but also full of nutritional value and tasty can be hard and can sometimes put people of their diet quite easily.

Some foods like the ones below on their own are low in calories:

Cottage cheese – 100g = 98 calories
Plain boiled pasta – 100g = 110 calories
Prawns – 100g = 100 calories
Baked beans – 100g = 80 calories
Custard – 100g = 100 calories
New potatoes – 100g = 115 calories
Chickpeas – 100g = 115 calories
Tinned tuna in water – 100g = 100 calories
Tofu – 100g = 73 calories

The main thing to remember when looking at calories is that although foods like the ones above are low in calories what you have with it can have a lot of calories such as dressings or sauces, full fat options often contain the most like mayonnaise and cheesy sauces so make sure what you have with your low calorie food is also low calorie.

Also for those who like a glass of wine with a meal:

Glass of wine
An average glass (115ml) of dry red wine = 83 calories
An average glass (115ml) of white wine = 77 calories

Tens of thousands of Britons have been advised to discontinue the use of the fat-busting drug Reductil after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)’s recent decision to suspend its licence. The announcement came after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) assessed the drug and recommended the suspension of its licence in Europe where they found an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, over a six-year period after tests, in which 16 percent of 10,000 patients who took it showed an increase.

In 2009 nearly 86,000 Britons to the weight loss drug which alters the brain’s chemical messages that control a person’s craving for food. Many experts say although threatens the health of the obese, its side-effects are mostly not fatal. Dr June Raine, of the MHRA, said: “Evidence suggests that there is an increased risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes with this medicine that outweigh the benefits of weight loss, which is modest and may not be sustained in the long term after stopping treatment.”

UK doctors have been asked to stop prescribing the drug and review its use in patients who are already taking it although the Reductil licence suspension decision by the UK regulator still requires a formal sanction by the European Commission. There are other weight loss drugs available like Xenical which are just as effective, which stops the absorption of fat and controls fat intake.

Every year on the first of January people all around the world make New Year’s resolutions to get healthy and fit for the upcoming year, many however find after the initial first few weeks their new health and fitness regimes will falter and struggle to loose weight. This year will probably be no exception, however those who do intend to keep good on their word can find below a few new health and fitness trends set to be big in 2010.

Food and drink
In 2010 food flavours will take on a more ethnic style like Mexican and African, with spices being used as an effective ingredient not only for flavour but their added health benefits. Many people will be looking to get the most health benefits from what they eat as well as flavour. Some super foods which are becoming increasingly popular like hibiscus which can lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol, or the new super fruit from the Amazon which is the Cupuaçu which is related to the cocoa and is packed with vitamins and antioxidants. Also the new in drink for the next year Matcha lattes which is a concentrated version of green tea traditionally drunk by monks, is thought to be able to boost energy levels, relive stress and boost metabolism. If you struggle to maintain how much you eat there are obesity drugs available such as Reductil that surpresses the feeling of hunger so you can reduce the amount you eat and maintain a better eating regime.
You will also start to find more foods aimed at relaxing and calming rather than just energy boosting with snacks and herbs that help you stay calm and improve your night’s sleep, and for those times when you feel stressed there is the iChill the ‘world’s first relaxation shot’.

Exercise and training
For many years we have been enjoying running as part of most exercise regimes and probably spent a small fortune on specialist trainers that we have been told we need to support our feet, protect our spine and keep us from injury. However a new trend is taking place with more people turning back time and running barefoot, although with some impracticalities this is becoming more and more popular so to compete retailers are now producing trainers with very thin soles that feel like you are running barefoot.
Recently there has been an increase of people training with clubbells as part of their training programme rather than weight machines, with the aim to get a better all over body work out. Clubbells are a hand held circular strength training tool, that look like baseball bats and although they look awkward to use they give a great all over work out when lifted and rotated, which can help burn fat and tone your muscles.

Mind and body
Many people have heard of hypnosis but for the most many do not believe in it, over the years however it has been used for many things like quitting smoking to most recently weight loss, this type of hypnosis is becoming increasingly popular mainly due to many people struggling to cope with their addictions. The human mind is capable of unbelievable things and hypnosis can be a powerful tool for behavioural change.
More people are now realising its not just a healthy body that you need but a healthy mind too, and improving your happiness and communication skills as well as controlling your anger leads to a more healthy and  happy lifestyle.

It’s that time of your again when many of us will be heading off to the slopes of Austria or Canada for our well earned ski holidays. And whether you’re a seasoned skier or a first-timer, a bit of preparation beforehand can definitely help your skills and stamina, and also add to your enjoyment of the holiday.

There’s nothing worse than spending the first day of your ski holiday enjoying the slopes and the next two days in bed with a bad back or other painful aches. To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the fun, the trick is to get in shape before setting off. If you want to get the most benefit and enjoyment  from your valuable time on the slopes, then start training at least 4 weeks before you go by targeting the muscles that control your skiing and snowboarding. Most of us hit the slopes and plan on skiing all day, even if it’s been months or years since we last skied and by afternoon, you get so tired that you lose focus. This is often the time when injuries and accidents happen as the more tired you are, the more your concentration suffers and muscles become increasingly slower and weaker to respond.

What makes skiing holidays such great exercise is that it uses all of your muscle groups, although some muscles are used more than others and these are the ones you want to concentrate on when it comes to your pre-holiday training.  The primary muscles used in skiing are your calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, inner and outer thighs, abs and back and your arms

To build stamina and prepare your heart and body for long-term skiing, you need to have a cardio programme in place at least 4 weeks before you go which should include 3 to 5 days each week of your favourite activity (the best for skiing include running, step aerobics or cross trainer).  Try to have a variety of workouts lasting from 20 to 45 minutes. As you get closer to your trip, you can also add time to one of your workouts so that you have one long workout each week.             

The party season is now getting into full swing with Christmas parties offering 3 course meals, the alcohol flowing, mince pies in abundance and the big Christmas dinner to contend with it’s no surprise that people put weight on over Christmas. Even if you do try to watch what you eat or ignore the temptations you may still find yourself putting on weight, with a lot of people not realising other things in their life have an effect on your weight, like not getting enough sleep, which over the festive season can happen quite frequently with everything that goes on, some studies have shown people who get less than seven hours’ sleep a night are more likely to put weight on than those who do. If you decide that you are going to be good this season by completely cutting out alcohol to lose weight, you might want to think again because studies have found that if you completely cut out alcohol you are more likely to put on more weight than when you have a single drink a couple of times a week, however over drinking does increase your chances of becoming obese by 46%.
If you are struggling to manage your weight there are options out there to give you a helping hand:

• Exercising – Even if you’re not overeating it recommended as part of a healthy life style to try and include exercise in your daily routine, 30 minutes of brisk walking a day can help keep a health heart, however you need to make sure just because you are exercising not to overeat more than normal as weight loss does require most things in moderation.

• Healthier Options – Look at what you eat, can you make it healthier? For example cut out frying foods and opt for grilling or steaming, if you taking the healthy option of a salad don’t go and ruin it by adding an dressing instead opt for it on the side so you don’t have to put too much on and also remember to try and avoid creamy and cheesy foods.

• Weight loss aides – On top of the tips above there are also treatments available to aide in weight loss if you fall under the category of obese, such as Xenical which blocks the absorption of fat and controls the intake into your system, it is recommended with all weight loss aides to also stick to a healthy diet and avoid fatty foods eat sensibly and as with any health lifestyle exercise.

mince pies

Picture courtsey of KaiChanVong