Phylicia Rashad Loses 35 Pounds

Phylicia Rashad, age 61, (of Bill Cosby Show fame) has lost 35 pounds. She looks and feels fantastic. She joined Jenny Craig as a spokesperson in December and it's taken her eight months to lose the weight. She says it's not rocket science. She believes she can keep the weight off as she lost it quite gradually and she intends to keep up the regular exercise. See her in this Jenny Craig promotional video below.

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Obese Habits?

The Washington Post has a story today about The Seven Secrets of Highly Obese People. The bad habits they point to is things like using big plates, eating fast, always eating all the food on your plate, taking seconds and never eating breakfast.

But here is a comment from a slim reader who begs to disagree.


I am amazed at this study. I have a BMI of 20.5 and I do all of the things that they say obese people do. I eat very quickly, I take the larger plate and always go back for seconds. I actually have a major problem with leaving food on a plate (just wasteful!) The last time I ate breakfast on a regular basis probably was 15 years ago. Either this study is full of crap, or I am the luckiest person on the face of the earth (I think it is the first, not the second). It comes down to a very easy item. Exercise 5 times a week. Even if it is a 20 minute walk. My parents are very overweight, but they do not exercise. Take control of your life and do something about your weight if it is an issue. Someone at my office is always looking for the easy route to weight lose. She drinks special drinks, goes on crazy diets. When I ask her if she exercises, she says that she doesn't have to to lose weight. Obviously, she does.

The buffet photo is via NixKitz.

Another reader makes this point;

While this is all very interesting, I must say I just love how it conveniently wraps all of the actions of obese people in such a neat little package. So THAT'S why they are fat! Seriously, have you put any thought into why food seems to be so important to those who happen to be larger than you? Why they choose larger plates and tables that are closer to the buffet? Not because of laziness. Ever consider the psychological causes? Maybe that person is depressed and uses food as a way to comfort and fill that hole? And at times when they feel that no one truly understands them or is there for them, food is always there. So yes, there is somewhat of a desperation to get to that warm, tasty, comforting food. ...
I'm not saying that this is the case for everyone who is overweight, but it may be for many of us out there. And while these "little steps" sound so easy, the first thing a person has to do before really making a difference in eating habits is working on their self mentally and eventually find out that food is only a temporary solution to filling that void.

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Does the Nutrisystem Diet Work?

Welcome back with a question that I bet plenty of people are asking and that's, "How reliable are Nutrisystem reviews?" Well, to answer that, you have to think along the lines of how any diet works and then the people that are going on the diet!

You see, not everyone will stick rigidly to any diet, no matter how good it may be and that's where they fall off and fail. Sure, its tough to stick with any diet and expect to enjoy yourself, but that's what has to happen if you want to lose weight. But there's more to it than even that.

What a lot of people who take on this or that latest great diet is they fail to combine that with exercise. That's right! It's no good dieting and not exercising as well. Do you want to know why?

When you are dieting and your body is not burning the calories you are consuming, you will still not lose any weight. You can even gain weight while you're on a diet if you don't exercise! Bet you didn't know that! Its true, because when you are not exercising, you are simply not burning many calories. If your intake of calories is high, you will gain weight pretty fast. So dieting can actually do no good without the body burning the calories its consuming.

What happens when you further restrict the calorie intake by going on a strict diet is that your body goes into survival mode which is a mechanism it has to cope with times of no or little food. It slows the metabolism and still manages to store some of the calories you consume as fat, even when you are consuming very few calories.

When you exercise, however, you start burning more calories and then your body starts to use up what you're consuming and then more. Then you start to use up the store of fat cells and your weight will begin to drop. That's how it works.

So going on something like the Nutrisystem diet can work very well as long as you also do some daily exercise to burn off the calories you consume. If you don't, then no diet system will work and you'll just give them all a bad press because you're too lazy to help yourself by doing the exercise that is essential to your success!

Think about that the nest time you read a diet review!

Weight Loss Tips

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Walk to Lose Weight

Here's a good motivational video about the benefits of walking for weight loss.

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Losing the Big Bottom

Greta has lost 45 pounds since March. Congrats Greta! She's got an entertaining blog about her weight loss journey. Here's an excerpt about her new eating plan;

You might be wondering what I am eating. Since starting all of this in mid-March, I sort of have come to a rhythm in my eating pattern that seems to be working. I have relied on the fabulous site fitday.com to keep me on track...which is a great resource. I especially like how it tracks nutrients, so I can be sure to supplement the nutrients I am not getting from my diet. I have also relied heavily on the principles of Ann Louise Gittleman's Fat Flush protocol. Eating lean protein, ample "good" fats, and loads of veggies seems to work well for me.

Basically, I have cut out ALL grains--with some occasional exceptions. I will not add them back until I reach my goal, and then, only slowly. I eat lean protein, eggs, lots and lots and lots of vegetables, 2 or so servings of fruit a day, and plain nonfat yogurt sweetened with liquid stevia (it is good.....I swear). I was NOT a big veggie fan, before....but have come to greatly appreciate vegetables over the past month. They are SO filled with nutrients.....and fiber.....and have so few calories. I have finally become good friends with them. :)

Check out her inspiring blog at Big Bottom Blogger.

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