Allow me to piggyback on Liz’s post from earlier today and explore another possible reason for the obesity epidemic (one that’s probably a very likely part of the equation) – The Great American Buffet Table.

According to my local newspaper, there is a new study out which suggests that sitting too close to the buffet table at a restaurant can lead to overeating. They learned some other nifty things when they divided study subjects into an “overweight” group and a “normal” group, too. Take a look:

• Heavy customers sat an average of 14 feet closer to the fixins than the normal group.
• The overweight group was twice as likely to sit facing the buffet, with all its worldly and tantalizing textures and smells.
• The heavy group started filling their plates more quickly, while the normal group sized up the buffet and considered their choices before diving in.
• The heavy group chewed their food faster, thus indicating they ate faster.
• The normal-weight subjects were more likely to choose a smaller plate.

So, what does this mean to you? If calorie counting (or just mindful eating) is on your To-Do list, sit farther from the buffet area, do not face it, choose a smaller plate to fill, and chew your food more slowly. Come to think of it, these same rules can apply to nearly any dining situation. I’m going to give it a try. How about you?

Post from: Healthbolt

That’s right, in an unprecedented move to encourage state workers to slim down, Alabama will be the first state in the nation to charge overweight workers who don’t make the effort to lighten up.

This $25 insurance fee will join the already-in-place $24/month fee that ‘Bama employees are charged for smoking. The state says it’s seen some success in getting their workers to quit lighting up, so they reason this new fee will encourage thicker employees to skinny up. Alabama is, after all, ranked second in the nation for obesity.

So how do you feel about this bold move? Would you welcome a change like this in your state, or should one’s employer butt out? Let us know…

Post from: Healthbolt

So in a moment of “don’t shoot the messenger”, I am sorry to have to share the news that “moderate” exercise is no longer going to cut it, if weight loss is your main goal. And by “moderate”, I’m referring to the old standby of 30 minutes a day, most days of the week.

Bummer, eh?

As if we don’t have enough on our plates (heh. Punny, huh?) Now we need to ramp up our routines in order to shed a few. This, according to a recent article on TIME.com.

Truly, it makes sense. When I first went on a crusade to lose the baby weight from my second child and consistently exercised “moderately”, at first, the pounds flew off. But then I plateaued and, well, from that point on it was just maintenance. Losing more would’ve taken more effort, and thus, I see now where the TIME.com article’s study arrived at the recommendation they did.

So here’s my question: in this world full of obligations, responsibilities and very little “me” time, do you plan to carve this extra twenty-five minutes into your day somehow to fulfill this new recommendation? Or does it seem way too far-fetched? Or maybe you’re already exercising this hard? Let us know your habits and plans. I love to hear how people go about achieving their health goals.

For the science behind this new magic number, be sure to catch the whole TIME.com article.

Read a man’s take on this from Scott at Health and Men.

Post from: Healthbolt

The Healthbolt Carnival is back once again, full of interesting, informative, and entertaining posts about ‘everything to do with health.

So grab a coffee and have a read. You’ll be amazed at what you find.

Walter from Highlight HEALTH writes about The Upside of High Food Prices, saying, “As the price at the gas pump continues to climb, so does the cost of diary, grain and meat products. However, there is a healthy upside to the increasing cost of food.”

Trisha at Women’s Health Research News tells us in a review of the new fad diet Sensa that There’s no magical way to lose weight.

Petra Ioni from Fountia suggests that Caffeine After Workouts Refuels Muscle. Sounds like my kinda of exercise!!!

Dean Moyer from The Back Pain Blog responds to a reader’s question about herniated discs in his post Can Herniated Discs Really Heal?

Mad Kane’s Humor Blog provides us with another humorous post, this time about De-Stress Or Distress?

Mike Remer from My Path To Fitness Blog offers a quick weight loss tip in A Great Weight Reducing Secret | My Path To Fitness Blog.

The Joshua Seth Blog offers a few Summer Weight Loss Tips saying, “”It’s swimsuit season and chances are if you’re like most people your old New Year’s Resolution is about to become your new summer weight loss program. Oops! Here are 3 simple things you can do today to start losing weight this summer…”

James Chambers from Hyperhidrosis tells us about Hyperhidrosis Causes.

James Brausch at Weight Loss Dude looks at Diabetes posted at .

Tip Diva provides us with Top Ten Tips – Avoiding Foot Pain saying, “If you’ve ever gotten home, kicked off your shoes and announced, “Oww, my feet hurt,” then you’re probably not wearing proper shoes. Here are ways to alleviate common sources of foot pain”

Ralph Jean-Paul at Potential 2 Success gives us a list of presents The 20 Healthiest Foods You Shouldn’t Live Without, saying, “Get your hands on these foods and begin to experience the powerful health benefits they provide.”

Peter Murphy at Communication Skills Power has advice on How to Get Your Man to Express his Feelings.

Matthew Philip from EnviroHumanImpact writes a Sigg Water Bottle Product Review | EnviroHumanImpact, saying, “We recently did a product review of the Sigg metal water bottles as an alternative to typical Nalgene plastic water bottles. Many people have made the switch after it has been found that Nalgene style bottles tend to leech nasty chemicals into the water inside them. Our health conscious readers have made this one of our most popular articles to date.”

Carl Mills from Master Carl Mills reports on KARATESIZE – Basic Kicks saying, “Learning Karate techniques will give some great benifits!!”

Ed Pudol of Healthy life style looks at Becoming A Healthy Eater

Toni Graybill at Maximize Health and Wealth suggests that the The Secret to Better Grades is Dancing? saying, “Music, dancing and its effect on health”

Neelakantha from NursingDegree.net provides this amazing resouce The Ultimate Guide to Yoga: 100 Blogs, Tutorials, and Resources while Sagar Satapathy, also from NursingDegree.net lists 77 Surprising Health Benefits of Yoga.

Elizabeth Day writes about Alternative Cancer Treatments.

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Healthbolt Carnival.

Hope you all enjoyed it and prehaps learned something new.

The Healthbolt Carnival will be back again in a couple of weeks.

So don’t forget to submit your blog article to the next edition of Healthbolt Carnival using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

And if you want to host Healthbolt Carnival, drop us a line and we will set it up…

Technorati tags: a healthbolt carnival, blog carnival.

Post from: Healthbolt

Image details: Vegas or Bust served by picapp.com

You think you have weight loss goals? Well, I’m guessing Manuel Uribe has you smoked. His goal is to be able to walk down the aisle at his own wedding. And we’re betting he’ll do just that.

The 43-year-old Uribe has dropped an astonishing 550 pounds over the last two years after breaking the Guinness World Record of 1,235 pounds. He’s now down to about 700 pounds and has dreams of whittling down further.

Currently living in Northern Mexico, Uribe attributes his obesity to the American way – a nonstop diet of soda and junk food – after he came to the US in 1988 to live for a few years. He also claims that a liposuction surgery gone bad left him with huge tumors on both legs weighing a total of 220 pounds.

Now, the cause, I ’spose, is beside the point. The fact is that Uribe is currently sticking to a doctor-monitored diet and exercise program which he does in bed (he hasn’t been able to leave his bed in 6 years) is what’s important. His fiance is thrilled with his progress and can’t wait to tie the knot.

We wish him luck in all his weight loss endeavors and hope to hear the happy follow-up news of their wedding.

Source

Are you looking to lose weight? Be sure to visit one of the latest and greatest blogs in our channel, Weighting Line, where the awesome Hope makes it her mission to inspire you throughout your quest for health.

Post from: Healthbolt

Image details: Group of woman walking served by picapp.com

Sure, you talk the talk…but do you walk the walk?

If you’re walking without a pedometer, probably not.

See, most people aren’t all that good at monitoring their own progress. They tend to overestimate the amount of effort (or in the case of walking, the amount of steps) they’ve accumulated. It’s human nature – we like to think we’re better than we are – or at least more ambitious.

However…

According to a study by the University of Michigan, wearing a pedometer (a small computer worn on your waist which measures the amount of steps you take) may keep you moving 20 to 40 minutes longer than those who go technology free.

So for a little investment up front (you can score a basic model totally on the cheap or spring for a more tricked-out model with all the bells and whistles) the result can be great fitness success later on. Sounds like a good trade-off to me, no?

So, do you already use a pedometer while walking? Does it keep you motivated?

Are you thinking of trying it?

Let us know in the comments below…

Post from: Healthbolt

Image details: Portrait of a young woman sleeping fully dressed on a white bed served by picapp.com

Well, you don’t have to tell me twice to follow this advice:

Get more sleep!

So the deal here is that we can go about our business, scraping for anything remotely resembling rest, or we can make sleep a priority and lose weight. Boy, I’m just not sure on that one. Lemme think a sec…

Okay, yeah, I’ll play. I am officially on board with the findings that too-little sleep ends with a 40% increase in cortisol in the blood (cortisol is a stress hormone that’s been proven to slow down metabolism). Not only that, but you might also experience a whopping 33% increase in hunger pangs and cravings, which you know you’re bound to give in to. No thanks.

Sounds like a much better plan to work at getting those elusive seven blissful hours of snooze time, don’tcha think? Me too.

Post from: Healthbolt

Well, it’s finally here. – the very first Healtbolt Carnival and  it is huge.

 You know, when we first decided to do this, we were a little nervous. After all, what if we gave a party and nobody came. A natural fear, but one, it seems, that wasn’t warranted. ‘Cause it looks like everyone, and I mean everyone, has come to the party.

So put on your glad rags, grab a drink and start mingling…

And don’t forget to pass the word on. After all, the more the merrier.

SjP presents the sister study…the battle against breast cancer posted at Sojourner’s Place.The Sister Study is the only long-term study of women aged 35-74 whose sister had breast cancer. It is a national study to learn how environment and genes affect the chances of getting breast cancer. A total of 50,000 women will join the effort to find the causes of breast cancer.

Alicia writes about how  Ghost Hunters Declare The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum Haunted over at Mental Health Notes, saying, “This historic mental health institution in West Virginia first drew attention when the new owners renamed it the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Now, TAPS (Ghost Hunters) have declared it haunted.”

Jessica Donnovan presents How to Make Diet Shakes That Taste Great! posted at Sensible Self-Improvement, providing information and a couple of diet shake recipes that will make your mouth water.

Crabby McSlacker presents Fearin’ The Flames posted at Cranky Fitness, featuring ideas on how to make your barbequing days healthy, safe, and fun.

Carla Birnberg presents Tues Tip posted at mizfitonline.com, saying Chia is good for you. But what is it and do you know what to do with it?

Barbara Schreiber presents Rx Wine posted at Britannica Blog, updating us on the possible health benefits of red wine, citing a new study that seems to indicate that it’s good for the liver.

D. Singh presents Google Health Launched. Can We Entrust our Health to Google? posted at Internet Marketing Blog, looking at Google Health and what it can do for you.

Marcus presents Motivation To Exercise posted at Personal Development & Self Help, offering some great strategies to get you off the couch and into exercise mode.

Marijke presents Bone marrow transplants – would you be a donor? posted at Marijke: nurse turned writer, asking that we take the time to learn about bone marrow transplants and why it’s important to be on the donor registry.

Israel presents Rising Gas Prices Can Help Your Weight Loss posted at Fat Man Unleashed dot com, making the point that rising gas prices really can be good for our health and our ability to loss weight.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents The Five-Second What??? posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog, offering an entertaining limerick that will stick in your head about food on floor and the five second rule.

You’ll have to turn the page to read the rest….

Shaheen Lakhan presents The Great Embryonic Stem Cell Debate posted at GNIF Brain Blogger, discussing stem cell research and the work of controversial Dr. Geeta Shroff in India.

Marijke presents Company’s calling: For Grace’s founder, Cynthia Toussaint speaks out posted at Help My Hurt. Interesting interview where Cynthia talks about her struggles with having having the disease she suffers from – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) also known as the Suicide Disease – recognized.

Jose DeJesus MD presents How to Make Your Energy Last Through the Afternoon posted at Physician Entrepreneur. Great tips for any feeling sluggish in the afternoons.

Tip Diva presents Tip Diva | Top Ten Tips – Managing The Side Effects Of Chemotherapy posted at Tip Diva. Dealing with chemotherapy is tough but knowing what to expect and how to deal with it before it happens might just makes things a little easier.

Chris Davis presents Healthy Snack Trend: Single-Serving Nut Butters posted at The Healthy Snacks Blog, for peanut butter fans everywhere.

Andre Blackman presents Man vs. Machine: When I Realized I Wasn’t a Robot posted at Pulse & Signal, discussing why it’s so important, in this digital age to keep a balance in life to ensure good health.

monica presents Eating Less Beats Exercise for Longevity posted at SmarterFitter Blog, discussing two recent studies that support calorie restriction for longevity.

Scott Kustes presents You Walk Wrong And Your Shoes Are To Blame posted at Modern Forager, looking at what shoes do to your feet.

Michael Snyder presents 10 Powerful Secrets For How To Build A Great Marriage posted at Shattered Paradigm, offers some great tips to help both your marriage and your health.

Aparna presents Beauty and Personal Grooming: Our face reflects our health posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming. What does your face say about you?

Brandon Patchin presents Intensity Propensity: The Importance of High Intensity Exercise posted at www.OneChanceToLive.com, looking at what it can do for fat loss and health.

Health Chaos presents Scoliosis and what to do? posted at Health Chaos. Here’s one person’s take on dealing with scoliosis.

Barbara Y presents Homemade Facial Masks posted at All Natural Blog. Try these homemade facial masks for better skin.

Larry W presents Weight Training Safety posted at Muscle Bound Blog. Tips on making your weight training sessions safe.

Murphy S presents Saving money on your organic food shopping! posted at All Organic Blog. Saving money is something on everyone’s mind these days.

Davexplorer presents What is natural cooking? posted at Natural Cooking Blog. It’s easy. Here’s how.

Alfred L presents Natural Cure for Bad Breath posted at Only Natural Blog. Interesting tips for dealing with bad breath.

Dean Moyer presents Sciatica Relapse Question posted at The Back Pain Blog, discussing how to avoid a relapse of sciatica symptoms during rehabilitation.

Marijke presents Prenatal care – what is it? posted at Womb Within, giving us a brief rundown why pre-natal care is so important for both mother and baby.

Joanne presents Benefits of Sunbathing and Risks of Sunscreen posted at Open Mind Required. Interesting discussion on the controversy of sunbathing and sunscreen.

Michael Beck presents How a Famous Copywriter Can Help Your Practice posted at Chiropractic Marketing | Chiropractic Advertising, offering a 4 Part Marketing formula to help health professionals grow their business practice.

Walter presents Tired? You May Not Be Getting Enough Sleep posted at Highlight HEALTH

Dianne M. Buxton presents Professional Footwork, Muscle Memory For Ballet, and Neural Pathways posted at Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes, looking at the relationship between nutrition and brain health, and developing reflexes for exceling in sports and ballet.

Melanie Thomassian presents 10 Tactics to Give Work Stress the Boot! posted at Dietriffic. We all have to deal with work stress to some degree or another, so it’s helpful to learn how to deal with it before it becomes too much.

garry presents Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Will Help You to Become Successful. posted at 2 Million Dollar Bills, offering tips on keeping a healthy body and mind.

aruntheace presents Benefits of Green tea / Weight loss tea posted at HealthyBitz.

Michael. presents Beauty and the Beast: How Attractiveness Affects Your Life posted at A Law Student and Young Lawyer Blog – Law Vibe. discussing the correlation between attractiveness and success.

Murphy S presents Practical Tips to Prevent Acne posted at All Natural Acne. As anyone who has dealt with acne knows, any tip that makes it go away is worth it’s weight in gold.

Trisha presents What is the face of noma? posted at Women’s Health Research News. Learn more about this terrible disease that strikes African Chlidren.

TherapyDoc presents Definition: ADHD posted at Everyone Needs Therapy, saying, “This discussion tends to get pretty heated.”

Brandon Patchin presents Pesticides and Parkinson’s posted at www.OneChanceToLive.com, looking at the relationship between the chemicals and the disease.

Technology Editor presents Lowering Prescription Drug Costs posted at Physician Entrepreneur, discussing politicians, legislation, and doctors prescribing.

Well, that’s it for this edition.

You can submit your blog article to the next edition of a healthbolt carnival using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: a healthbolt carnival, blog carnival.

Post from: Healthbolt

A new blog that’s taking the world by storm, Weighting Line has a very interesting perspective on 6 ways to commit discrimination against the obese. Is blaming global warming on them one of those ways?

And speaking of weight, if you’re new to the weight loss game, but you’re looking to hook up with a gym, how do you know which one is the right fit? The fabulous MizFit explores that very notion with some awesomely specific advice.

Of course, getting fit also means eating right. At Best Health Mag, find out why you should be eating more of nature’s candy…bananas!

Switching gears, earlier in the week I talked a bit about skin cancer awareness, remember? Well, Elaine from Genetics and Health goes a step further by covering how a sun-induced skin cancer starting point has been discovered.

And finally, perhaps one of the funniest (and most excruciatingly accurate) posts I’ve read all week (month? year?), Scott at Health and Men shares exactly why men are so much happier. Exactly.

Have a healthy week, everyone!

Post from: Healthbolt

What’s that you say? You want to be on our blogroll, too? Great, just drop us a comment here or in an email and we’ll be happy to add you. As we see it, the more resources readers have for living a great and interesting life, the better.

But for now, enjoy these fabulous thoughts on the ever-intriguing topic of weight loss:

Our newest Health & Wellness channel addition, Weighting Line, shares some fantastic tips for cutting portion sizes.

At Fat Man Unleashed, Israel puts and end to mindless munching as he asks whether the food we eat is worth its weight in exercise.

proHealth Blog reminds us that weight loss can help prevent chronic diseases, a message clear enough to keep dieters on track, for sure.

At Fit Hacks, we are introduced to 4 common mind traps we should steer clear of when embarking on our quest for health.

From Fitness Chapter, 6 things you don’t want to hear while you’re losing weight.

And finally,

Lisa over at Workout Mommy has perhaps the simplest weight loss technique up her sleeve that I’ve ever seen. In fact, it’s as easy as ABC. Check it out!

Happy Reading!

Post from: Healthbolt