Find out! Are you obese?

Yahoo has Interactive tool to check your body mass index, which indicates your obese.

People who have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher are considered obese. The body mass index compares your height and weight. Along with your waist size, it is used to check whether your weight increases your risk for disease. The higher your BMI is, the greater your risk for disease is.
Where you carry your body fat may be as important as how many extra pounds you have. People who carry too much fat around the middle, rather than the hips, are more likely to have weight-related health problems. In women, a waist size of 35 or more inches increases the chance for disease. In men, a waist size of 40 inches or more increases risk.

A Real Person's Guide to Weight Loss

By: Heidi Skolnik

It doesn't matter how healthy you are or how many pounds you're carrying -- everyone has questions about living well and losing weight. So we asked the New York Giants' nutritionist, Heidi Skolnik, to tackle our readers' inquiries and share her expert insights.

Q: How can I tell if "low-fat" or "healthy" labels are lying? Peter, Killington, VT

Labels are about marketing; the nutrition chart is about content. So ignore the front, and look for high protein and fiber, and low amounts of carbs, saturated fat, and sodium. And remember, whole foods have no labels. They're the best choice of all.

Q: I became a vegetarian but haven't shed a pound. What's wrong? Adam, Kansas City, MO

Many new herbivores load up on carbs and sugary snacks to curb their meat cravings, but weight loss comes from cutting calories, not just swapping them for an abundance of another kind. Going vegetarian helps only if you trade in fatty meats for a diet heavy on vegetables, whole grains, and fruits.

Q: How can I find out if I have a slow metabolism? Tim, Chicago, IL

Many hospitals--and even some gyms--offer a quick, Breathalyzer-style metabolism test that can analyze your calorie-burning capability. Crank up your metabolic engine with intense, full-body workouts. Extra-lean muscle burns calories for hours after your last rep.

Q: Will eating fast make me gain weight? Vince, Buffalo, NY

Yes, wolfing down food can sabotage your weight-loss efforts. A recent study at the University of Rhode Island found that slow eaters consume about 67 fewer calories per meal, potentially cutting 201 calories out of your day. Start with a salad or a light side dish before moving to the main course. This will give your appetite time to catch up.

Q: Is organic food really healthier for me? Aaron, Berkeley, CA

The jury is still out. Some organic produce may contain more nutrients, but the major advantage is the reduced exposure to pesticides. Go organic with heavily sprayed crops like strawberries, apples, and peppers, but save your cash when buying foods that need minimal spraying--such as broccoli and asparagus--or that you peel.

Q: What's a realistic way to lose 20 pounds? Wes, Manhattan Beach, CA

Don't become a slave to the scale. Though it's normal to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week on a successful program, monitoring your athletic performance can keep your eyes on what really matters: overall fitness. Aiming for improvements in strength, speed, flexibility, and blood pressure can make losing weight, and keeping it off, that much easier.

Q: Do I really need to make sure I eat fiber? --Wayne, Minot, ND

While calories and fat hog the nutrition-label spotlight, fiber shouldn't be overlooked. Beyond its bowel benefits, fiber may even help you drop a few pounds: Soluble fiber slows the rate at which food leaves the stomach, making you feel fuller, longer. It can also lower your cholesterol and normalize your blood-sugar level, and it may reduce your risk of colon cancer and cardiovascular disease. Keep in mind that different types of fiber provide different benefits, so you'll need to break out of the breakfast cereal box; get your fiber fix from a mix of whole grains, green vegetables, berries, apples, and pears. Research suggests glucomannan, a type of soluble fiber sold in pill form, can also aid in weight loss. To ensure maximum absorption, break the capsule over a meal before eating.

Q: Which are healthier, canned or frozen vegetables? Bob, Albany, NY

Both retain their nutrients extremely well. Processed fruits and vegetables are often canned or frozen hours after harvest, so they retain nutrients better than fresh produce that has spent a long time in transit from farm to fork. Choose canned or frozen without added sugar or excess sodium. Stir-fry or steam the frozen vegetables, but warm canned vegetables in their own liquid--it typically contains one-third of a vegetable's nutrients.

Q: I think my scale's lying to me. How can I find out? Vin, Tulsa, OK

Take the heaviest dumbbell you have around the house--at least 10 pounds--and weigh it. Does the scale's reading match? Estimate your weight based on the error, or replace the old clunker. (We like the Soehnle Comfort F5 scale; $130, soehnle.com.)

Q: Do I really need to skip sugar in my coffee? Joe, Columbia, MD

Skipping a 16-calorie packet of sugar every day isn't going to shrink your waistline--you're only saving about 2 pounds' worth of calories per year. But if you're a sugar junkie, my advice is to find small ways to dial back the sweetness quotient in everything you eat--from that first cup of joe to the chocolate on your pillow. That way it'll be harder to see what you're missing.

Q: How can I halt my post-marathon weight gain? Chris, Charlottesville, VA

Retrain your stomach and your brain to match your mileage drop. Dial back the starchy carbs by one-third and instead eat nutrient-rich foods, such as blueberries and tomatoes. And switch to 15-minute interval workouts on the stationary bike in place of long runs. They're easier on your knees, and you'll burn more calories in less time.

menshealth

I think its very usefull weight lose tips.

To lose weight you need to BURN more calories then you EAT. You do not necessarily need to exercise regularly to accomplish this, since your body burns calories all day. Your weight loss will be much more rapid, and you can eat more, if you do find time to slip in some regular cardiovascular exercise.

So to start out you want to try to drop your caloric intake by 400-500 calories. This will most likely get your burning more then you eat.. unless you are rapidly gaining weight right now, which means you are taking in a LOT more then you burn. If this is the case you need to get more drastic, but for now 400-500 fewer calories per day should do.

How do you do that? It is actually quite simple, but I would need to know your currently diet to make it very precise. I will tell you some pretty easy and common ways to cut 500 calories a day out.

DO NOT EAT OR DRINK ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

SODA - just 3 12oz regular sodas per day has about 450 calories You can drink diet though, especially if you need caffeine. I HATE diet, but believe me I got used to it. I still don't like it but the only reason I really need to drink soda is for caffeine.

MAYO - People think eating sandwiches is healthy, not if you have mayo on them. I know a lot of people can't handle this, but use a good mustard instead. You will be surprised, you can really live without mayo. You may need to give up things like Tuna Salad, Chicken Salad, Potatoe Salad completely if you cannot handle these without the mayo. BUT, low fat mayo in moderation is exceptable.

CHIPS - One exception, feel free to eat anything BAKED. I love baked lays. They make baked ruffles.. and there are baked tortilla chips. Never eat cheetos.. doritoes.. fritos.. potatoe chips, etc. These are extremely high in calories and saturated fat.

FRENCH FRIES - anything FRIED. Sorry guys, you just gotta live without.

ICE CREAM - You can eat non-fat frozen yogurt or LOW fat ice cream, but for reasons I will discuss below its not a good idea either.

Donuts, Bagels, Candy, Pastries (no cookies!) - These things go straight to fat in your body.

JUICE and most FRUIT. - Juice is death!!! FRUIT is shit. its all Fructose, which is a type of sugar, and WILL cause you to store fat. Now don't take this as never eat any fruits, fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, blackberries with high fibre content and low GI is ok. Fruit is great if you are living a "healthy" lifestyle, but for losing FAT it will hinder your progress. Mod Edit: Fruit is fine! It contains high fiber content which controls the release of fructose. Don't skimp on fruit

SALAD DRESSINGS & OIL - Go for NON-FAT dressing.. they still taste good.. especially honey mustard and ranch. One serving of dressing has 100+ calories!

CHEESE - unless you can find non-fat.. skip it. You can live without it.

Ok so what to make sure you ARE eating:

PROTEIN: protein should be a BIG part of your diet, this is why. Protein fills you up, but has half the calories as fat. Protein also does not cause your body to store fat, but carbs do. I will explain later.

WATER: This is VERY important for a few reasons. Drink it all day long, constantly, force yourself too even when you are not thirsty. There are techniques to do this, fill a glass and drink it all at once. Then fill the glass again to take with you or whatever. Why water. Well first off you need a ton of water for your body to burn fat. It will increase you metabolism and help you burn burn burn. But here is the reason why I think its great.. pounding a glass of water can trick your body into thinking it is not hungry.. it is great for when you get late night cravings... slam some water and go to bed.. in the morning you wake up starving.. before breakfast drink a ton of water and you wont eat as much. Use it to fill you up.

VEGGIES: Vegetables fill you up, but have little or no calories. You can use them as snacks and fillers. I prefer carrots. They are crunchy like chips, have a little taste.. and really have no calories.
So what good stuff can you eat though?

SNACKS: try nuts or peanut butter. Nuts are super high in fat, but the oils you get from it are good and essential to the body. Try a trail mix, even one with some chocolate in it. Its far better then candy.

STEAK, CHICKEN, & TURKEY: who doesn't love a great steak.. and how many different ways can you eat chicken? Tons! For steaks go for New York, or Sirloin... Top and bottom round is good too but tough. NEVER EVER eat Rib Eye or Filet Mignon they are LOADED with fat .. London Broil and Tri Tip is not bad either.

FAST FOOD: yes you can eat fast food, you just have to be smart about it. Try to get meals that have chicken. Cut out the french fries and mayo and you will be left with a semi-decent fast food meal. Fast food is NOT ideal by any means but for someone who is busy it is inevitable at times.

PROTEIN BARS: there are TONS on the market now. Many taste really good, some taste like a candy bar. I like Detour bars.. and they have 32g of protein each! Cliff bars are not bad either if you find a flavor you like.

Yogurt! Get non-fat, there are tons of flavors out there to play with.

You really have to get yourself in a mode of thinking "Is what I am eating now going to be good for me or bad for me?" Everything you put into your body should have a purpose, don't just eat because it tastes good.

Also, some fat is ok.. don't sweat it. The reason why you have to concentrate on looking to reduce it is because people normally eat more fat then they should, so really key in on that and look for ways to eliminate it. To compensate beef up your protein intake.

So why no juice? no bagels? no carbs?
This is why everyone says carbs are bad: It really isn't that CARBS are bad.. it is that sugar is bad.. and carbs have tons of sugars in them. Complex carbs are good. whole grain bread, etc, but don't go overboard.

So why is sugar bad? To process sugar your body releases insulin, and insulin promotes fat storage! You ultimately want to keep your insulin levels low low low. And very consistent and even.. when you get an insulin "spike" your body puts fat on, in men it puts it around the waste. So this is why you need to avoid sugar like the plague!

So I hope this does not sound bad or depressing, it really isn't. You do not need to starve, you do not need to give up everything that is good in life

The REALLY good news is that you do not need to live like this forever. If you follow everything above you will be adhering to a fairly strict diet. Use it to drop weight.. say for 2, 3, 4 maybe even 6 months. Once you get to where you want you can increase you calories slightly.. start adding in a dessert here and there.. treating yourself more. I stayed on the diet above for 3 months or so, now I eat much more liberally.

The number one piece of advice to take from this is: Be conscious of what you are eating at all times and its effect on your body!

Anyone will self control can diet themselves. People tend to use weight watchers and things like that because they need a support group, they are not strong willed enough to suck it up and do it for themselves. I am sure if you set a goal you will have no problem meeting it.

I know you are busy with work, but throw in a basketball game at a gym every few days.. or a short job... a ride on a stationary bike.. something to burn a few hundred extra calories here and there. The more you exercise, the more you can eat!

DO NOT weigh yourself regularly. Scales are a bad indicator of FAT loss. Measuring yourself every 2-4 weeks gives you a way better indication if you are lossing inches or not. Start today, find out where you are at. Then track your progress. Your own progress will be self motivating.

from here

Just a few simple tips.

Tip 1: Drink Herbal Tea

When urges for sweets and snacks arrive, try drinking herbal teas such as apple-cinnamon, almond, or orange. The preparation of tea alone actually helps to take your mind off of junk food. The heat from the tea fills you up, and the aroma helps to satisfy your cravings.

Tip 2: Limit High Carbohydrate Foods

To maximize the fat-burning process, it's best to gradually eliminate carbohydrates toward the end of the day. This minimizes your chances of storing fat late at night.

Tip 3: Don't Drink Alcohol

Alcohol contains too many empty calories which ultimately produce nothing but fat.

Tip 4: Motivate Yourself

Try to find an incentive for getting in shape and burning fat. Write down your goal and put it in a location you see everyday, such as your refrigerator. Motivation really keeps you going!

Tip 5: Use Low-Calorie Food Alternatives

Try to save as many calories as you can. Substitute water for soda, baked chicken for fried chicken, sub sandwiches for pizza, etc.

Tip 6: Don't Starve Yourself

Starving only promotes a bigger "rebound" effect because your body likes to hold on from what it is deprived of. Instead, fuel the body every 2 to 3 hours with small meals.

Tip 7: Drink 1 or More Glasses of Water Before Meals

This is to help fill the stomach and give you a full feeling. It works!

Tip 8: Be Consistent

No weight loss tips will work if you don't give them a chance. It may take a while to see results. Hang in there! Consistency is the key to effectiveness.

Tip 9: Don't Use the Scale

Scales can be misleading. For example, if you're losing bodyfat and bodyweight but gaining muscle, the scale won't necessarily reflect the difference between the two. Instead, monitor the inches you lose. Inches never lie!

How to Burn Calories, Maximize Metabolism & Finally Lose Fat the Right Way

You do exactly what the experts say. You cut calories and you exercise. You've made your "calories out" greater than your "calories in". So you should be losing fat, right?

But if you aren't losing weight, perhaps you're still not paying attention to an often forgotten factor of weight loss - your metabolism. Your metabolism is a measure of how many calories you are burning each day.

Did you know that the food, exercise, and lifestyle choices you make every day have a significant impact on your metabolism?

For example, if you starve yourself instead of following a sensible weight-loss eating plan your metabolism will slow down. If your metabolism slows down, it means your calories out will be less. And that means no more weight loss, and possibly even fat gain.

So for every day that you continue to slow your metabolism with unhealthy lifestyle choices, you get further and further away from your weight loss goals. Here’s how you can maximize your metabolism and reach your weight loss goals quickly and easily.

Here Are My Top 10 Ways to Maximize Your Metabolism, Burn Calories & Finally Lose Your Unwanted Weight:

1. Don't starve yourself. Cutting calories too much is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Starving yourself actually causes you to lose much more water weight and muscle than fat.

2. Eat 6-8 small meals per day with an emphasis on lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. To lose fat and unwanted weight effective you must have a nutrition plan. So spend a couple hours on a day off preparing as much food as you can for the upcoming week.

3. Eat breakfast. You should make this meal part of your daily metabolism-boosting plan. At the very least, eat a lean protein, drink Green Tea, and consume a fiber-rich fruit to get your fat loss day started right.

4. Eat healthy fats. Sources of healthy fats included nuts, fish, olive oil, and flax oil. Replace processed carbohydrates in your diet with almonds. For example, if you currently eat a small bag of pretzels as a mid-afternoon snack, eat almonds instead.

5. Eat high quality foods that will help you control your blood sugar, insulin, and energy levels. This will help you lose fat and prevent you from gaining unwanted weight.

6. Eat up to 1g of protein per pound bodyweight to a maximum of 150 grams per day for a woman or 200 grams per day for a man.

7. Don't drink alcohol. Alcohol prevents fat burning and will quickly add hundreds of calories. Alcohol intake can also reduce testosterone levels, a big no-no for men looking to get lean.

8. Drink Green Tea and water. This will prevent your metabolism from slowing down. Not too mention, these are your 2 healthiest beverage options.

9. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule. If possible, avoid working afternoon and overnight shifts. And, don't stay up late watching television.

10. Use the Turbulence Training strength and interval workout principles for the most efficient and effective metabolism-boosting workout. This means strength training with free weights and bodyweight exercises and performing shorter interval training workouts rather than long, slow boring cardio.

Bonus Fat & Weight Loss Tip:

Recently both my clients and myself have been experimenting with an additional mini-workout added to our regular Turbulence Training fat loss program. By completing a bodyweight circuit (10-20 minutes per day), we've discovered that we boost our metabolism again and increase our fat loss results.

So if you do your regular workout in the morning, add a bodyweight circuit after dinner. On the other hand, if you workout in the afternoon, do a bodyweight circuit first thing in the morning.

If your metabolism has slowed down due to improper dieting or lifestyle, then the Turbulence Training Lifestyle will help you get back on track to lose fat and gain muscle. Once you correct your metabolism, you will be on the road to losing fat for good.

By Craig Ballantyne

Simple running rules

Don’t compare yourself to others – there will always be someone better, faster, fitter, stronger, smarter… It’s important to be content with who you are, and do the best with what you’ve got. At least, this is what I told myself as I was passed by the majority of joggers on the trail, dragging myself along to mile 4.

Appreciate the beauty of nature – it’s so easy to take nature for granted. I ran by a patch of mushrooms, and one had been broken off its stalk and flipped over so I could see its little vents. How can a fungus know how to grow into such a well organized structure? How can the cells know to line up into soft, brown vents? I don’t know… it seems pretty amazing to me that one little organism can be so delicate, complex, and completely independent. It never asked anyone for permission to be itself. Meditating on the whimsy and creativity that is abundant in the life around us can put things into perspective.

Take responsibility – no one’s going to help you get in shape. It’s up to you to take care of your body. I’m really bad at this – I don’t like to exercise alone, and I sometimes put off getting in shape unless I have a partner for accountability. It’s as if I prefer to delegate responsibility about my health to others. I know that this is a common tendency in medicine – where folks rely on their doctors, without taking responsibility for applying their advice (for diet/exercise/medications) on a daily basis.

Exercise is a life-long discipline – as I thought about how hard it was to run, and how heavy my legs felt, and how much easier all of this was just a couple of years ago… I realized that exercise is not something you do every other weekend. It really is best applied on a daily basis. And being in shape is the result of consistent hard work – so we have to focus our minds on making exercise a part of our regimen, just as we make time to eat each day!

Don’t psych yourself out – part of your success or failure in exercising has to do with whether or not you believe you can do it. When you’re running, you have to believe that you can make it the whole way… or that you can run farther than you did last time. The temptation is to quit when you start feeling a little tired, but you have to keep going – encouraging yourself along the way with a positive attitude. Of course, if you really are unable to make it (your heart rate is at its limit and you are breathing so hard you can’t speak) then slow down. But a lot of the time you’ll find that running an extra mile is a matter of mindset, not physical capability.

revolutionhealth.com/blogs/valjonesmd/5-running-lessons-4299