A Surprising Prescription For A Common, Painful, Embarrassing Condition (And A Helpful Side Effect For Weight Loss)

I procrastinated writing this particular post because it covers a painful and embarrassing topic. But I learned some surprising information worth sharing because it will help a whole lot of people who suffer from hemorrhoids.

Quite frankly, I've put up with this ailment since I was pregnant more than 35 years ago.

Recently, I was driving for 5 and 6 hours a day. For some reason, they flared up to the point where sitting or standing became impossible. Plain and simple, I had a big pain in the butt. 

I ended up seeing a gastro surgeon. If you've never had kids or never had a butt exam, it is probably the single most embarrassing examination you'll ever have. That being said, this doc was real clear what I had to do as follows:

1. Take a tablespoon of Metamusil orange powder in a big glass of water every day forever.Why? Almost everyone in this world is constipated and that's the reason you have this condition.
2. Get a colonoscopy.
3. Make another appointment (with the gastro guy) after the colonoscopy. Surgery may be required.

Aside from the fact that step 2 is about as appealing as chinese water torture, this doctor has a major point - Americans do not have enough fiber in their diet. 

And there is an interesting side benefit to adding fiber to your diet (besides stopping the hemorrhoid pain) - 
it'll help you lose weight. 

The fact that fiber is an important element in your diet is one of the reasons that Dr. Mark Hyman includes a fiber powder (other than Metamusil) in his 10-day detox diet. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together!

So now I'm into investigating the role of fiber in the American diet . . .

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3-Step Plan To Lose Weight Fast

When you search the Internet daily to find tips to help your peeps lose weight safely, you stumble on (not the app) the best articles.

This 3-step plan to lose weight fat parallels the “forever” low sugar/low carb plan I use all the time. The difference is that the 3-step plan, the goal is for short-term weight loss. In the forever plan, the carb limitations are higher (which is why you can use it all the time).

I will give you the condensed version of the article and then provide you with the link in case you want to read the article in its entirety.

Also, I know that one of the main hurdles to weight loss is having the meal plans that support your eating plan. Here’s 3 resources that will provide these meal plans at minimal cost:

The 3-Step Plan*

Objectives:

• Kill Your Appetite
• Lose Weight Fast Without Being Hungry
• Improve Your Health

Step 1: Eliminate Sugars and Starches (carbs) from your diet

Bottom Line: Removing sugars and starches (carbs) from your diet will lower your insulin levels, kill your appetite and make you lose weight without hunger.

Step 2 – Eat Protein, Fat and Vegetables

Each one of your meals should include a protein source, a fat source and low-carb vegetables. Constructing your meals in this way will automatically bring your carb intake into the range of 20-50 grams per day.

Protein Sources:

• Meat – Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, bacon, etc.
• Fish and Seafood – Salmon, trout, shrimps, lobsters, etc.
• Eggs – Omega-3 enriched or pasteurized eggs are best.

 Low-Carb Vegetables:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Kale
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Swiss Chard
• Lettuce
• Cucumber
• Celery

Fat Sources:

• Coconut Oil
• Butter
• Olive Oil
• Lard
• Tallow

Bottom Line: Assemble each meal out of a protein source, a fat source and a low-carb vegetable. This will put you into the 20-50 gram carb range and drastically lower your insulin levels.

Step 3 (Optional) – Exercise 3-4 Times Per Week

Bottom Line: It is best to do some sort of resistance training like weight lifting. If that is not an option, cardio workouts work too.

You Don’t Need to Starve Yourself to Lose Weight

If you have a medical condition then talk to your doctor before making changes because this plan can reduce your need for medication.

By reducing carbs and lowering insulin levels, you change the hormonal environment and make your body and brain “want” to lose weight.

This leads to drastically reduced appetite and hunger, eliminating the main reason that most people fail with conventional weight loss methods.

This is proven to make you lose about 2-3 times as much weight as a typical low-fat, calorie restricted diet.

Another great benefit for the impatient folks is that the initial drop in water weight can lead to a big difference on the scale as early as the next morning.

On this plan, you can eat good food until fullness and still lose a ton of fat.

Welcome to paradise.

* http://authoritynutrition.com/how-to-lose-weight-as-fast-as-possible/ 

Weight Loss Suprise - Guess Who's Making You Fat!

When I worked in a corporate environment, I had a boss who made fun of anyone in his sphere of influence he thought was getting superior results. Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. He promoted mediocrity (apparently he thought it made him look good).

Crappy performance breeds more of the same. The unfortunate sidelight to this situation - no one in authority seemed to care that mediocrity became the norm.

When children go to school, one of the strongest influences they experience is called peer pressure. Bottom line - children want to do and have what other kids in their class do and have - the latest sneakers, clothes, and music. Peer pressure can be a parent's worst nightmare.

What Does Sphere of Influence Have To Do With Your Weight?

If your friends and/or family (the people you associate with most often) practice a healthy lifestyle, you are more likely to do the same. If your family and friends (even co-workers) are overweight, you are more likely to be overweight.

Studies published in medical journals have confirmed that when your good friends are overweight, you are more likely to be overweight. An overweight condition spreads in your sphere of influence.

You may know families whose members are all overweight, even obese. In these families, obesity is accepted and sometimes even encouraged. How do you break this destructive behavior pattern?

Re-Directing The "Bad" Influence

Interested in how to re-direct the "bad" influence of others in your life as it relates to your weight? Note that you have taken the first step - you are aware of the situation.

Now you can position yourself in a community that encourages a healthy lifestyle. There are several weight loss "communities" in which the rules are explained, education dispensed, progress monitored, and support made available. A community can be food-centered, fitness-centered, or a combination. When your "community" experience is positive, you will stick with the program, lose the weight, and feel much better about yourself.

You can accomplish weight loss community status in the real world or online. The better weight loss forums provide tracking tools and encouragement for newcomers. Several well-known fitness gurus have established online communities for people who have purchased their products.

Whether your community is real world or online (or both), you will profit immensely from them. You'll free yourself from your former "bad" influence and participate in a community that has a positive influence.

Join This Weight Loss Community
You'll start out with a free effective weight loss eating plan that has a proven track record (in the form of a free ebook). 

You'll get tips and tricks for weight loss regularly.

You'll get your questions answered.

You'll also get a free recipe ebook - 10 Quick & Easy Fat Torching Recipes.

You can't lose with this offer.

Click HERE to download the two free ebooks.

Not Seeing Any Weight Loss Results? Try These Suggestions

I've been answering questions on Yahoo! Answers and I keep seeing the same theme - I'm trying to lose weight, but I don't see any results!

Here's a prime example: This person said she "drastically changed lifestyle but not seeing any results?"

I am female, 23yrs, 26 BMI. I have weighed 130 for the past two years, before then I was always 90-100. I'm very short.

I have been struggling to eat 1,200 cals a day, I really feel full before I make it to that but I understand I need to not eat too little, either. And I do 30 mins each of yoga, general cardio, and targeted strength exercises for my abs, arms, and legs every other day. I've also started drinking 8 cups of water a day and walking more. And like I've said, I've been doing this for 4 weeks. 

Is it normal not to see any progress yet?

My answers to these type of questions emphasize the low sugar/low carb eating plan as well as the right types of exercises to lose weight:

You started at 130 with BMI of 26. 

What were your key measurements (biceps, waist, bust, waist, thighs, calves) when you started? Your progress can be measured by the way your body has changed, not just your weight. 

I suggest you make a few tweaks (phase-in): 

• Instead of struggling with calories, focus on a low sugar/low carb (but good carb) eating plan. 
• Turn your cardio into interval training 2-3 times a week. 
• Keep up with the strength training and make sure you leave your body time to recover (max workouts - 3 times a week to allow for muscle recovery).

If this is your weight loss issue - you're not seeing any results after a month or two - you need to change up your methods, introduce them one at a time, and keep up your motivation! 

Questions About The Free Weight Loss Ebook - How To Lose At Least 20 Pounds In 1 Month

I'm getting questions about the eating plan described in my free ebook, How To Lose At Least 20 Pounds In 1 Month. (In case you haven't received your copy, click HERE to get it.)

Rather than set up a separate email to answer questions, I'm directing people to this post.

So, please ask your question or comment on this post.

I'll answer your questions promptly.

I'll also let you know if I need to do research.

Here's a perfect example of a complex question that required an internet search:

QUESTION:
I'd love to commit to a low sugar/low carb diet, but I'm addicted to sweets. How do I get over this addiction?

ANSWER: 
Wow! It takes a while to turn around a sugar addiction. 
Mine still plagues me at times. 
I turned to the Internet for medically correct responses to this question.
Read this article: Beat Your Sugar Addiction NOW! from mercola.com and this webmd.com advice: 13 Ways to Fight Sugar Cravings

Bring on your questions about the low sugar/low carb eating plan by commenting on this post! 

Who Writes The Best Weight Loss Blog?

I decided I needed to improve agedefiance.blogspot.com because I (think) I was getting way too technical with my posts. So I checked out the best weight loss blogs on the internet in 2 separate online polls.

Most of what I discovered is what I expected: 

• The best blogs are written by young to mid life women who have lost a significant amount of weight. Why don’t men write about weight loss? Maybe they concentrate on weight training blogs?
• The best blogs include workout routines, recipes, and personal chronicles of struggles with weight.
• The best blogs are about real life – what it’s like to take care of kids, work, write a blog, and maintain a weight loss target.

But honestly, I did NOT expect the entertainment factor associated with some of these blogs, especially my favorite blog.

Yum Yucky Donuts

My Fav Blog

http://www.yumyucky.com/ by Josie

Of course I have a favorite blog – it’s an award winning reality blog with exercise and recipe posts. It’s downright real from the occasional expletive to the funky vids to the great recipes. This woman should have her own TV show based on her blog entertainment factor.

The pic above shows Josie’s cake donuts – they look great and don’t have a whole lot of sugar. Bet they taste great!

Just saying -  Josie’s blog is my favorite, but there are other excellent blogs like http://amerrylife.com/ by Mary. She shares things I am interested in. She just did a review of the Fitbit Flex tracking tool.

But I’m Getting Off Point . . .

Right now, AgeDefiance zones in on the periodic product review, strength training, motivation to lose weight, the low sugar/low carb eating plan (remember the free ebook – How To Lose 20 Pounds In 1 Month?).

What do YOU want to see in a weight loss blog?

I am interested in your comments and will do my best to satisfy your needs as someone who really wants to drop weight and feel good about themselves.

Valmillsy

P.S. I thought about doing a poll, but comments seem the more appropriate route to the most important topics for you.

The Most Critical Strategy For Eliminating Belly Fat (Hint: It's NOT Exercise)

Whoops!

These medical facts should not be a big surprise:

According to mercola.com,

About 80 percent of your ability to reduce excess body fat is determined by what you eat, with the other 20 percent related to exercise and other healthy lifestyle habits such as sleep and stress reduction. 

What this means is that if your diet is based on sugar/fructose and processed junk food, your chances of getting flat, ripped abs, even if you work out religiously, are quite slim . . . 

What does this mean for the average person? Cut down on sugar in your diet and you have the optimal recipe for getting rid of belly fat.

And you can lose 20 pounds in 1 month using sugar/carb reduction. Without exercise.

Click HERE to get a free ebook entitled How To Lose 20 Pounds in 1 Month.

3 Tips To Make A Sugar Restriction/Low Carb Eating Plan Work For You (And Lose Weight Fast)

37 grams (10 teaspoons) in a can

A sugar restriction/low carb eating plan is one of the best ways to get healthy AND lose weight. This is the plan recommended by a naturopath I consulted with because my sugar and cholesterol were both bordering on unhealthy levels.

Tip #1  Keep a Food Diary
When you begin a sugar/carb restriction plan to lose weight, the first hurdle is to recognize the amount of sugar in what you eat. The first activity recommended by my naturopath was to keep a food journal.

In my previous post about sugar as a health hazard, I mentioned watching this video entitled Double Your Weight Loss with a Food Journal.

Tip #2  Eliminate Soda (Diet and Regular) and Other High Sugar Drinks
Regular Coke has almost 40 grams of sugar per can. Fruit juice (including OJ) is also high in sugar. Mixed alcoholic drinks are also full of sugar. What do you drink? Coffee and tea without sugar. Water. Carbonated water.

If you find water boring (I do!), flavor it with lemon or lime. Carbonated water is very refreshing. Also, start by adding fruit juice to water. You will cut the sugar content.

Tip #3  Minimize Processed Food
Yes, they are convenient. Sometimes they taste good. But there's lots of sugar in processed foods. Find the ones with the least amount of sugar. For example, for a snack, certain Kashi nut bars contain 5 or 6 grams of sugar.

Stay with this eating plan.

My experience is that it's a keeper for both your health and for losing weight. After you've reduced sugar for a few weeks, a high sugar drink or snack will taste way too sweet.

This Simple Carb Is A Major Health Hazard (But We Still Consume It In Excess Every Day)

One food we all eat every day constitutes a major health risk.
Unfortunately, it's built into most processed foods.

It is responsible for the following:

• Losing appetite control (so that we overeat).
• Creating an environment for major disease.
• Putting on unwanted pounds, especially around the waist.
• Feeding cancer cells.

Obesity is the result of consuming food laced with this ingredient and not because people overeat and don't exercise.

Yet we keep eating and drinking it in large quantities. 

Why? It tastes good. We are used to it. We need it like a drug addict needs heroin or a smoker craves nicotine. It's a bad habit that's difficult to break.

This is a problem created a hundred years ago when food manufactures discovered that this ingredient sells food. Consumers eat processed food. They lose control of their appetite and don't realize they are overeating. 

What popular commercial boasts that ":You can't eat just one?" When's the last time you mindlessly munched through a box of cookies or crackers or a oversized bowl of ice cream.

We eat 19 times the daily amount of sugar that our ancestors consumed. 

How Do We Break This Bad Eating Habit?
First, many people need an incentive to change their eating habits. It may not be enough to say that sugar is a major health hazard (smokers still smoke even though they are committing suicide with each cigarette they light up). Listing all the problems that will likely show up at a future date will not incent some people.

If we supply a substitute every time we identify a trigger for sugar eating, that's a good start. That means we have to plan to make sugar substitutes (or foods with lower sugar content) easily available.

Sugar addiction will not disappear on its own. Gradual sugar reduction may be the answer to turn appetite control back on. Essentially, you wean yourself off sugar. We cannot be so strict that we bypass the occasional treat (especially if it's been prepared with less sugar than usual).

An example might help.
If you drink coffee or tea or lemonade with sugar, start cutting down the amount of sugar you use. I used to drink coffee with sugar. After a few weeks of eliminating sugar gradually, I got used to sugarless coffee. And a caution - do not substitute artificial sweeteners. Healthwise, that's even worse than using the real thing.

The First Step 
Keep a food diary. 

Jot down every food and drink you consume (except for water), the amount you eat, and its sugar content. This is easy for processed foods because the amounts are spelled out on package contents. It's somewhat trickier for meals that include several ingredients. You will guesstimate the sugar content. You can look up the sugar content of most individual items online.

The benefit of a food diary is that you will be aware of your daily sugar consumption. You will be surprised at the amount you do it and will start looking for substitutes. You will automatically cut back on sugar.

Double Your Weight Loss

Click HERE to view a video entitled Double Your Weight Loss with a Food Journal.

In the video, Barbara Ficarra, RN, explains how keeping a food journal can make a huge difference and help you reach your goals.

Wanna Know How To Lose Weight Fast? Observe the Habits of the Thin People in This World!

In general, thin people do not starve themselves to stay thin. But they follow certain guidelines that you can follow if you want to know how to lose weight fast.

In a mercola.com post (yup, the doc who keeps showing up on Dr. Oz), he quotes an article from Men's Health magazine describing how thin people stick to rules to keep them from gaining weight.

Here's a recap of the post (his posts are characteristically L-O-N-G) discussing the 7 rules as well as 6 more weight maintenance toips from Dr. Mercola.

Just by the by - these should look familiar if you have been following AgeDefiance.

1. No dieting.
2. Forget About Fat-Free foods. Fat is a dietary necessity. 
3. Eat slowly and mindfully.
4. Plan What You Will Eat.
5. Eat Protein.
6. Move Your Butt. Do activities you like to do.
7. Stay Away from the Boob Tube and the PC/IPad/IPhone. "Nearly 30 percent of people who watch more than four hours of TV a day have a BMI of 30 or higher." In other words, they are FAT.
 
And here's doc Mercola's add-ons to the rules stated above:
 
A. Limit Fructose (sugar) to 25 grams per day.  
B. Reduce Carbs (all of them, including whole grains).
C. Increase Healthy Fats (a corollary to #2 above).
D. Eliminate Diet Foods, including diet soda
E. Eat Organic Veggies.
F. Exercise Using Interval and Strength Training.
 
The entire post  - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/17/the-7-laws-of-leanness.aspx?e_cid=20120217_DNL_art_1