Creative Fitness Door Gyms - Part II

I've got to say, I was initially concerned that a piece of fitness equipment this inexpensive wouldn't be sturdy enough for me to use and still feel safe. Once I received the unit and installed it, all of those concerns melted away. The Creative Fitness Door Gym is very well engineered and solidly constructed, so you shouldn't have any concerns when using it to help get yourself in shape.

The principle behind the Creative Fitness Door Gym is that it uses your own body weight for resistance. According to the manufacturer, it is capable of safely supporting up to 300 pounds. In addition to the traditional pull up bar, this wonderful piece of workout gear includes two special grip handles that are set up so that you can also work out with your palms facing together, which is a good method for isolating muscles in the middle of your back. That's a wise little addition that further extends the value of this low cost, easy to use, effective fitness device.

The makers of the Creative Fitness Door Gym also say that the unit can be placed on the floor and used to help enhance push ups as well, but to be honest, this isn't a particularly big selling point. Instead, if you just simply stick to the primary function of the device, you will certainly find it to be a well constructed, sturdy, and useful piece of workout equipment that makes it well worth the very affordable price.

Quick Weight Loss - Pounds In 3 Days - Part II

I told my friend that she shouldn't try and push it. In my mind, it isn't safe if you don't have a plan. I was worried that she was simply so fixated on "I have to lose 3 pounds in 3 days" that she would throw all caution to the wind and proceed in an unsafe or unhealthy manner. I was happy to learn that she consulted with her trainer at the gym on safely increasing her exercise regimen in order to burn a few extra calories at each workout. She added a little more weight training and more cardiovascular and did so only under the strict guidance of her fitness professional. She also modified her diet slightly in order to help achieve her plan to lose 3 pounds rapidly, but again she did so only after speaking with the physician's assistant at her doctor's office.

I have to say, she met her goal. In the end, my friend did what she needed to do to lose 3 pounds in 3 days, but thankfully she did it in a way that ensured she did no damage to herself in the process. Oh, and her friend? She ended up losing a total of seven pounds for the week and my wife's weight loss was five. So while she didn't match her friend pound-for-pound, she did well enough to feel happy about her own progress. I guess, in the end, that's all that really matters.

For a solid resource to help you lose weight quickly and safely visit here.

Quick Weight Loss - Part I Lose 3 Pounds In 3 Days - Part I

A friend called me on my cell phone the other day, and she seemed in a panic. It isn't like her to get freaked out too easily, so I was surprised to hear that she was in such a frantic state. Clearly she must be experiencing some tremendous tragedy, and I was almost afraid to ask her just what was going on. I braced myself for bad news, expecting her to tell me the worst, but once she calmed down she told me that the "big crisis" was that she needed to lose 3 pounds in 3 days.

For me, losing a few pounds isn't anything to get all worried about. So to lose 3 pounds in 3 days didn't really strike me as something that should be such cause for concern. But to be frank my friend is tremendously competitive, and she and her best friend have been dieting and exercising together, so they've been comparing their weight loss progress on a weekly basis. They both work out at the same gym and weigh in together every Friday evening. Well, to date they'd been keeping even pace with one another, but my friend heard from one of the trainers at the gym that her friend had managed to drop 5 pounds while my wife had only managed to lose two, and only 3 days remained until the next weigh in. Naturally that means my dear wife simply had to lose 3 pounds in 3 days in order to keep in step.

For a solid resource to help you lose weight quickly and safely visit here.

Is There Any Advantage to Women's Gyms? - Part II

Advantage #3: It seems that generally speaking, women's gyms are smaller and more intimate. Co-ed fitness centers (like those well-known major mega gyms) can be huge and, at times, overwhelming. A smaller and less intimidating gym can make it easier for someone to focus on their conditioning without feeling lost. Women's gyms quite often strive to provide a sense of intimacy and pride themselves of being compact and effective, with a minimum of hype and a premium on providing a quality workout experience without making their patrons feel overwhelmed.

If you're a woman and you're looking specifically for a fitness center that caters to women only, you're probably in luck. There are a number of terrific women's gyms operating with a focus on female fitness these days, and practically every community of any size has several top-notch facilities for women to choose from. In the end, the advantages of a center that is designed for females make them a comfortable and safe environment for women looking for an effective workout.

For a solid resource to help you lose weight quickly and safely visit here.

Weight Loss Surgery - Part I

One third of the adult population of the United States of America is considered overweight. Of those 127 million Americans, 60 million of them are classified as obese. 15% of those are what is known as morbidly obese. Obesity has become a national epidemic. ObesityinAmerica.org reports that in 2004, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ranked obesity as the number one health threat facing America. Obesity is not just an “adult epidemic”; between 16 and 33 percent of all children are obese. Many obese adults have struggled with weight issues for the majority of their lives.
Severe obesity is a chronic condition that many in the medical profession proclaim is difficult to treat.

Bariatric surgery, often referred to as Weight Loss Surgery or WLS for short, can be a viable option for people who are morbidly obese. In the United States, the number of weight loss operations increased by 800 percent between the years 1998 and 2004. Between 2005 and 2006, it climbed another 11 percent, increasing from approximately 180,000 procedures to more than 200,000. The fastest growth of this surgery occurred among adults aged 55 to 64; perhaps because weight related health considerations for this age group are the most acute.

Stomach Stapling & Gastric Bypass - Part II

In the earliest use of such stapling devises for obesity surgery, surgeons removed three staples from the horizontal row of staples and fired the stapler across the top part of the stomach. Doing this staples the two stomach walls together, leaving a small gap where the three staples were removed. The food which is taken in is held up in the portion of stomach above the staple line. This causes a sensation of fullness in the patient after a very small amount of food is consumed. The food then empties slowly through the gap, which is called the stoma, into the stomach below the staple line where digestion takes place normally.

One of the biggest drawbacks of this type of surgery is that the muscular stomach wall has a tendency to stretch and the stoma is able enlarge. Doctors soon learned that although patients lost weight easily for the first few months while the stoma was small, they soon stopped losing and many of them regained all the weight they had lost. Another common complication of this early type of obesity surgery is suture line disruption, which can lead to a myriad of serious medical conditions.

Roux en Y Gastric Bypass Surgery - Part II

Patients who have had Roux-en-Y are at risk for a lifelong deficiency of vitamin B-12. Vitamin B-12 is necessary for both the growth and replication of all body cells and the functioning of the nervous system. Deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause pernicious anemia and neurologic lesions. Physicians who work with patients who have had gastric bypass surgery sometimes recommend that their patients take B12 in a sublingual form. Sublingual means "under the tongue". These preparations are in a crystalline form and are absorbed directly into the blood stream through the tissues under the tongue. The other choice physicians offer to their patients is to have vitamin B-12 injected on a regular basis.

Sometimes the gall bladder is removed as part of the gastric bypass surgery, because gall stones are common after this type of surgical procedure. If the gall bladder is is not removed, medication may be prescribed by the surgeon so that gall stones do not develop.

It is common for Roux-en-Y surgery to now be performed laparoscopically. This type of procedure is less invasive and the patient recovers more quickly. It has been found that performing the procedure laparoscopically often reduces perioperative complications, such as pulmonary embolism, hernias, or wound infections. Roux-en-Y surgery for obesity control is known in the United States as the “gold standard” in weight control surgical procedures.

Roux en Y Gastric Bypass Surgery - Part I

In the United States, the most common bariatric surgery procedure performed is a gastric bypass operation known as Roux-en-Y; also called RNY. Roux-en-Y combines restriction of the amount of food that can be taken in with malabsorption techniques that cause a portion of the calories and nutrition consumed to pass through the body unabsorbed. Roux-en-Y uses a bipass procedure known as gastrojejunostomy, a “digestive short cut” in which the reduced stomach pouch is surgically connected directly to the small intestine. This is the malabsorption component in this type of surgery.

Patients who have undergone RNY surgery usually lose weight very quickly. Although it is a bypass type of procedure, the most commonly used form of Roux-en-Y is a “malabsorptive” surgery but is one that is the least likely to result in malnutrition. This surgery has three distinct types: Distal, Medial, and Proximal. These terms are indicative of the length of small intestine that is bypassed. Proximal is the most common of these; in this surgery, the least amount of small intestine is bypassed. Malnutrition is unusual with Proximal RNY, because the patient has more intestine to absorb the nutrients in the food consumed. Distal and Medial RNY surgeries are not used as often, because severe complications can occur; among those are serious malnutrition and chronic diarrhea.

In people who have not had Roux-en-Y surgery, the pyloric valve, which is located at the lower end of the stomach, regulates the release of food into the bowel. When the Gastric Bypass patient eats a food that has a high sugar or carbohydrate content, he or she often experiences a syndrome that is known as “dumping”. Also called rapid gastric emptying, dumping syndrome occurs when the undigested contents of the weight loss surgery patient's stomach are "dumped" into the small intestine too quickly. Common symptoms include abdominal cramps, nausea, and a lightheaded feeling. People who are the most sensitive can suffer nausea and vomiting, sweating, faintness, palpitations and hypo tension or low blood pressure. These symptoms usually occur shortly after eating the bothersome food, but can take up to three hours to show up. Some people get so weak while they are “dumping” that they must lie down until the symptoms pass. Roux-en-Y patients are aware of this characteristic of their surgery before they undergo the knife; some “sugar addicts” specifically choose this surgery in order to combat their lifelong sugar cravings.

Duodenal Switch - Part II

In this procedure, the shape of the stomach is surgically changed from being the size and shape of a small pineapple to the size and shape of a banana. The pylorus valve at the outlet of the stomach, remains intact, unlike other forms of gastric bypass surgeries. Because of this, patients who have undergone this procedure do not experience “dumping”, which makes other weight loss surgery patients feel faint and very ill after ingesting sugar or dense, refined carbohydrates. This surgery is increasing in popularity because it allows the patient to eat larger portions of food than patients of other forms of gastric bypass, while still providing excellent weight loss.

Because such a large portion of the stomach is removed, this operation is irreversible. A section of the small intestine is bypassed and rerouted in this procedure as well, which results in significant calorie and fat malapsorption. This provides the weight loss; however the risks of long term nutritional deficiencies are much greater. Nutritional supplements which are advocated by surgeons for BPD/DS patients are:

Multivitamins (usually twice per day)
Iron supplements (usually twice per day)
Calcium (usually twice per day)
ADEKs (fat-soluble vitamins) usually 3 times per day

Pacific Laproscopy and Duodenal Switch Information Zone gives the following statistics for this type of surgery:

Percentage of Excess Weight Loss Expected:
3 months - 29 and 37%
6 months - 51 and 55%
24 months - 80 and 91%

Resolved Medical Co-Morbidities :
97% diabetes resolved
96% high cholesterol resolved
90% sleep apnea resolved
85% hypertension resolved
60% asthma resolved
47% arthritis resolved


The removal of a portion of the stomach in this surgery provides the restrictive component; the patient is just not able to eat as much as he or she could before surgery. The new stomach volume is between one third and one fifth the size of the original stomach. The bypass of the small intestine provides significant malapsorption of the food taken into the body. This surgery is performed by about 50 surgeons worldwide. Of all the bariatric surgery procedures being performed today, this procedure is the most complex. It carries the risk of yielding an unacceptable level of complications in high risk patients, such as those who suffer heart failure and sleep apnea.

Duodenal Switch - Part I

The Duodenal Switch surgery for weight loss was classified by the National Institutes of Health as “extensive gastric bypass with duodenal switch”. Researchers from the University of Chicago found that this surgical procedure for weight loss produces substantially better weight-loss outcomes for super obese patients than the standard operation, the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

The 'Duodenal Switch', which refers to the re-routing of a section of the small intestine, is just a portion of the actual surgery, however. This gastric bypass surgical procedure is officially known as a biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, and is often referred to by its initials BPD/DS. The BPD/DS is the only bariatric surgery in which a major portion of the stomach is permanently removed. This is the first reason that this operation is often seen as a “bigger” surgery than some of the other types of gastric bypass surgery. The second reason is that a large portion of the small intestine is bypassed.

A considerable section of the small intestine is re-routed, creating three passageways: two separate pathways and one common pathway. The shorter of the two separate passageways carries food from the stomach to the large intestine. The other pathway, which is much longer, is called the bilio-pancreatic loop, because it carries bile from the liver to the common path. The common path is a portion of small intestine which is usually 75-150 centimeters long. In this channel, the contents of the digestive path mix with the bile from the bilio-pancreatic loop before emptying into the large intestine. The reason these passageways are created and diverted from their normal courses in the body is so that the amount of time the body has to capture calories from food in the small intestine is severely reduced and so that the absorption of fat selectively limited. The duodenum lies just below the stomach and is the first and shortest portion of the small intestine. It is here that most of the chemical digestion takes place in the body.

From 170 Back To 298

I have not been keeping up with this blog or my diet.  As a result, my weight has ballooned back to 298, I discovered this morning.  I believe that the culprit is the massive amount of caffiene that I have consumed in the lead up to my leaving my fulltime job.  I tried the vegetarian diet, but that really did not work for me. 

I believe that the real problem was inactivity and caffiene. But those two things together and I have always gained weight.  I suppose that I should be embarrased.  I am hoping that now that I am not in such a stressful job, that I will not be so inclined to eat. I am starting to see some very strange health effects that are very uncomfortable.  I feel some aches and pains that are associated with being so old and so heavy. 

So without further ado, I am going to give up on the caffiene for a while and begin looking at some excercise programs.   Better yet, I think I am going to have to try to give up the morning cup of Starbucks, which was becoming more of a two cup a day habit.  It is expensive, and I tend to eat along with it. 

I have always felt impressed that I need to exercise. I never have.  So here's to starting new habits.

Adjustable Gastric Banding - Part II

The first stomach band was produced by Obtech Medical of Sweden. This band is referred to as the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB), and was inserted during open incision surgery. Later, a US company, Inamed Health, designed the BioEnterics LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Banding System. This gastric banding system was introduced in Europe in 1993. When they were first manufactured, neither of these stomach bands were designed to be used with laparoscopic "keyhole" surgery. Then, in 2000, the first lower pressure, wider, one-piece adjustable gastric band was called the MIDband, and was produced in France. This stomach band was designed to be inserted laparoscopically. MIDband quickly become one of the leading bands used in France.

Adjustable gastric banding helps a morbidly obese patient lose weight by restricting the amount of food that can be put into the stomach at one time. With a gastric band around the stomach, the stomach has an hourglass shape, with a small pouch at the top that only holds about 50ml of food. This small pouch usually fills up with food very quickly, convincing the brain that the stomach is full. This message helps the patient to eat smaller portions, which will cause him to consume fewer calories. Even if the patient wants to eat more, the small size of the pouch on the upper stomach can only accommodate a very small amount of food, and excess food that is swallowed will be vomited. From the top stomach pouch, food trickles slowly through the band controlled opening into the lower stomach and then exits as normal into the small intestine.

Stomach banding is generally considered suitable for people who conform to all the following criteria:

(1) Have a Body Mass Index above 40, or those with a BMI 35+ with severe co-morbidities, like high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, arthritis, or mobility problems.

(2) Are aged 18-55 years.

(3) Have tried and failed to lose weight using diets and/or weight-loss drug therapy for longer than one year.

(4)Have a minimum 5 year history of obesity.

(5) Who understand the risks and benefits of the procedure and are strongly motivated to comply with the post-op diet and fitness guidelines necessary for long term weight control.

Gastric banding patients generally lose weight more slowly in the first year than patients who have undergone gastric bypass surgery. However, at five years, many Lap Band patients have achieved weight loss comparable to that of gastric bypass patients. A two pound per week loss is possible in the first year with gastric banding, but one pound per week is more likely . Because losing more than 1-2 pounds per week is considered unhealthy, gastric banding may be considered one of the most healthy surgical solutions for weight loss in morbidly obese patients.

For a solid resource to help you lose weight quickly and safely visit here.

Adjustable Gastric Banding - Part I

Since it was introduced in 1992, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, often called by one of its brand names, Lap Band, has been extensively used around the world, first in Europe and since 2001 in the United States after the procedure was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In Europe, the adjustable gastric banding is the most common type of weight loss surgery performed. In the United States, Lap Band is the second most common form of weight loss surgery, right behind gastric bypass.

Adjustable gastric banding is a restrictive form of weight loss surgery in which an adjustable silicone band is placed around the upper part of the stomach. The silicone band squeezes the stomach, which becomes a pouch with an outlet that is approximately an inch wide. A plastic tube runs from the silicone band to a device, called a "port", which is situated just under the skin. Saline can be injected or removed through the skin, flowing into or out of the silicone band. Saline is what the surgeon uses to constrict or relax the band. With an adjustable gastric band, the patient returns to the surgeon as he or she loses weight and the band becomes looser to get more saline placed into the band so that restriction is maintained. These adjustments to the band are known as “fills”, and may be performed using an X-ray fluoroscope so that the radiologist can assess the placement of the band, the port, and the tubing that runs between the port and the band..

The first stomach band was produced by Obtech Medical of Sweden. This band is referred to as the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB), and was inserted during open incision surgery. Later, a US company, Inamed Health, designed the BioEnterics LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Banding System. This gastric banding system was introduced in Europe in 1993. When they were first manufactured, neither of these stomach bands were designed to be used with laparoscopic "keyhole" surgery. Then, in 2000, the first lower pressure, wider, one-piece adjustable gastric band was called the MIDband, and was produced in France. This stomach band was designed to be inserted laparoscopically. MIDband quickly become one of the leading bands used in France.

Adjustable gastric banding helps a morbidly obese patient lose weight by restricting the amount of food that can be put into the stomach at one time. With a gastric band around the stomach, the stomach has an hourglass shape, with a small pouch at the top that only holds about 50ml of food. This small pouch usually fills up with food very quickly, convincing the brain that the stomach is full. This message helps the patient to eat smaller portions, which will cause him to consume fewer calories. Even if the patient wants to eat more, the small size of the pouch on the upper stomach can only accommodate a very small amount of food, and excess food that is swallowed will be vomited. From the top stomach pouch, food trickles slowly through the band controlled opening into the lower stomach and then exits as normal into the small intestine.

Weigh In-Trend Reversed

Okay. The trend has reversed. I weighed in today. I am back down to 249.50 I weight in about 9:30 AM. Started the morning with a Banana. I did eat late. I am really trying to wean myself of meat, and am eating to compensate. I ate a bag of trail mix at 1:00 AM. I also have not yet removed coffee from my diet.

I will probably not be quite fully natural for a while because the Vitamark Autoship is going to come because I did not change it. I think I am going to get the energy drinks, see if I can get off the coffee and suspend Vitamark for a while. That part of the network marketing business is not going to happen anytime soon.

Weight Went Back To 251..Wil Weigh Again Tommorrow

In the short period of time that I went off the Atkins Diet (eating whatever I wanted), my weight boomeranged back to 251 according to the scale. It was apparent that the Atkins Diet was not going to work long term. It was a good remedy to get me to the point where I am, but exercise is going to have to take me the rest of the way. Additionally, I am going to be on a Modified Hallelujiah Diet.

Leaving Atkins Going to Hallelujiah Diet

Hello Today was the day. I left the Atkins Diet short of my goal of 170. However, I am not giving up. I am going on the Hallelujiah Diet. It is basically the life of a vegetarain but don't tell anyone. The fact is that I will basically be giving up meat for most of the time (I will still have some) and will be picking up daily exercise. The Atkins Diet has taken me as far as it can. I was beginning to pick up weight again because I had just given up. I was back up to 248. But I am not on this plan to lose weight per ce. This is a lifestyle choice.

Now today, I still ate a small piece of meat, but it has been mostly fruit. I did try juicing for the first time today. I had orange and grapefruit juice. My daughters hated it.

I am not sure I agree with all of the theology behind the book, but I can say that it makes sense that alot of harm has beed done with a sedentary lifestyle and dead foods.

I also know that there is a cleansing in my future at sometime, but I am not sure when that will be.

The only wild card is that I am back on Caffiene. I am considering switching that out for a vitamark energy drink.

CT

Seafood and Phillips

The road to 170 pounds has hit a stumbling block.

I am now at 248 pounds after having been at 234.

I have been off Atkins and have done NO exercise.

Is the miracle over?

Nope. I have to start exercising. That should be easier now that my busy season is over.

In any case, I blew the diet again today by going to Phillips in Baltimore. I stayed on the diet all of five minutes. I walked in and decided to cheat.

I am not worried yet though.

Charles

Mothers Day 2007

On Mother's Day 2007, I experienced chest pains.

That was enough to get me to do what I had not had the time or will to do, which is to lose weight. However, I did not despair (I didn't go to the doctor either).

I began to lose weight. I started at 315 pounds. I am now at 239. The stretch run is upon me.

I have done it with Atkins, but mostly with prayer. I confess, I have not been to good about exercising. However, that is about to change.

This is my story on the road to 170.

Join me and pray for me!

Charles