Time for a rather odd story from the United Kingdom. A guy there almost lost 300 pounds by following the Atkins diet. Now, I have no idea whether it’s true what this guy is saying but the story is interesting nonetheless. He went from weighing 483 pounds to a respectable 203 pounds! His waist was 66 inch, he wasn’t even able to drive his car round town. There is some sad parts in the story as well about him not being able to have a social life due to his amazing size. If you look at the photos in the article you’ll not believe it’s the same man. Again, I don’t know what is true and what not. Just read it and decide for yourself. An entertaining read.

Graham King used to weigh an eye-popping 483 pounds with a 66-inch waist and was so fat he couldn’t even drive a car. He even had trouble walking as little as 50 feet without gasping for breath and nearly fainting. He admits his health was rapidly declining and he was a high risk for having a heart attack or stroke, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and his blood pressure was off the charts. Then when it came time to weigh him at the doctors office, he was too big and had to go through the “humiliating” experience of being put in a sling to be weighed.

You could say Graham was in desperately bad shape because of his morbid obesity. Like so many of us who allowed our weight to get way up there, Graham grew up around a culture of high-carb foods and encouraged to “clean his plate.”

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I wasn’t surprised by the article I read on the BBC’s website about the average European being overweight. It’s quite clear that were are catching up with the Americans. We aren’t there yet, but coming close. Hopefully governments will take some action soon to educate people. I know that I am trying to lose weight myself. I never really watched other people’s body before, but today I noticed how many “big people” we have here in Europe. The supermarket was full of them (including me obviously). There is much to do to turn the tide. In Europe the biggest people can be found in Malta and Greece, while the slimmest people can be found in France and Italy. Which again, does not surprise me. They know how to eat healthy and use very little bad fat ingredients.

The Maltese and the Greeks are the heavyweights of Europe, figures from the European Commission reveal. The Italians and French the most trim, while the average Briton - like the average European - is slightly over the ideal weight.

Obesity, which is linked to a range of health problems, including heart disease, is a growing problem across much of the developed world.

The Commission plans to launch a strategy to tackle obesity next year.

Obesity is measured by calculating body mass index (BMI).

A BMI of between 18.5 and 25 is considered healthy, between 25 and 30 overweight and above 30 obese.

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When we reach middle age, do we automatically gain weight? It kind of looks like it. I’d say 90% of the people around that age I know have some spare tires around their waist. Is it an inevitable negative of advancing age? The weight gain is a bit more noticeable on women, this is because their shape changes during menopause. The average menopause adds about 15 pounds to your weight. What this basically means is that even if you consume the same amount of calories you will still gain weight. An article I read takes a look at this issue and discusses possible ways to fight or prevent weight gain during middle age.

Typical menopause weight gain stacks up to 12 to 15 pounds, a source of constant complaint along with the night sweats and hot flashes. In addition, our metabolic rate - the calories our body burns just to exist - decreases by five percent per decade as we go into midlife. That means even if we eat the same amount of calories we always did, we’ll still gain weight. Who said life was fair?
Estrogen, metabolism — can we blame anything else? Almost 10 percent of women develop hypothyroidism. Hypo means lower or less - and hypothyroidism means your thyroid is producing less of the hormones that keep your metabolism humming. Hypothyroidism is another reason behind decreased metabolic rate, although in this instance taking thyroid medication truly does help and is definitely recommended.

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I was looking for some health articles and weight loss tips when I came across an article by a lady that seems to know quite a bit about weight loss and human health. Many people with weight problems are also smokers and some of them worry that if they stop smoking they will gain weight. The article mentions that there definitely is a link between smoking and your weight, but that it’s not as dramatic as some make it out to be. Besides, smoking causes lung cancer, why risk that? Even if stopping with smoking would cause you to gain 2 kilograms - but it would lower the risk of lung cancer by 50%.. i’d say that’s worth it!

Modest weight gain is not unusual when a smoker quits smoking, but it is not universal. Nicotine can cause an increase in the body’s metabolic (calorie-burning) rate. When people stop smoking, they can gain weight from the body returning to its normal metabolism and the tendency to eat when they would have smoked. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to avoid weight gain after quitting. Two or three ten- or fifteen-minute blocks of activity can burn up enough calories to compensate for a drop in metabolic rate. Exercise can also reduce stress and improve your mood, which can decrease emotion-based eating.

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Ear stapling? What on Earth is that supposed to be? Well it appears to be the latest in losing weight. It does not actually burn fat but what it does is stimulate pressure points that can decrease food cravings. At least that’s what the proponents say. The staple stays in the ear for 12 weeks. The nurse mentioned in the article below does warn that the staple alone will not help you lose weight, you also have to watch what you eat. Well that doesn’t sound promising at all to me…

The latest weight-loss technique is not quite as drastic as stomach stapling, but equally as stomach turning. It’s called ear stapling, and proponents claim the treatment stimulates pressure points that can decrease food and smoking cravings.

Lori Cass, of Westland, said she turned to ear stapling only as a last resort after 15 years of trying diets.

“I am sick of being fat,” Cass said. “Hopefully, this works.”

Cass sat with her hair tucked behind her ears and her hands fidgety in her lap at Euphoria Mind Body Wellness Center in Peters Township earlier this month.

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