I can make you thin?

I saw a new TV show airing soon at TLC and one blogger reminded me of it. People are trying to sell all kinds of tricks to the public that they think can make people loss weight. They're trying to use hypnosis to help them shed some pounds. These may help a little but not to people who have deep-seated emotional problems, which started in their childhood. Whether this trick works or not remains to be seen but people should not raise their hopes too soon.
People have different perspectives when it comes to body image but one thing is for sure, people will always find that something is wrong in their body. People will never be satisfied for what they have and who they are.

Eat right, stay well

I saw an article about dieting called volumetrics. It was developed by a researcher named Dr.Barbara Rolls. She claims that in people's effort to feel full and satisfied, they tend eat more. She explains that people often eat high energy-dense food, which is also loaded with calories. Food included in these category are chips, cookies, bagels, nuts and high-fat meats. On the other hand, vegetables, fruits, skim milk and lean meat are some of the low energy-dense foods. Although this diet looks promising, I don't think it will be very successful because the idea of eating low energy-dense foods mean that people need to eat more. Sure, food like these have low caloric value but when people eat more of these to satisfy their hunger, it will all add up. Anything eaten excessively have downside. Dr. Rolls states that "Volumetric plan is to eat less of -- but not avoid altogether-- the high ehergy-dense foods, while eating more of the very low and low energy-dense foods. That way, you can eat the same volume of food you always have (or even more), while maintaining or even losing weight". It sounds promising. This new diet strategy adds up to the wide array of diets that diet enthusiasts would plunge into, although it does guarantee a 100% success rate. As a result, low self-esteemed individuals will be subjected to another useless routine.

ActNowBC!

At first, I thought the government of British Columbia is not doing anything to address one of the causes of obesity. Little did I know that they already started formulating a program that will encourage people to participate in changing their lifestyle. Fraser Health Authority launched a program called ActNowBC. This program is holding a contest that requires every members to monitor their food, smoking habits, and exercise. Member wear pedometers to monitor every single step they've made in a day and they upload it in the computer so as to tabulate all the members progress. Whoever gets the highest points at the end of the 2 months period(beginning of February to end of March)will win. This small step that FHA started will hopefully revolutionalized the way we live our lives.

Fountain of youth anyone?

For many centuries, people have been trying to maintain their youthful appearance. In some story books,they talk about the fountain of youth. This fiction has been set aside but as we can see a lot of companies are still trying to make concoctions that will make a person appear younger. Let's take for instance the anti-aging creams. It promises to prevent formation of wrinkles and other aging signs. Because we are only human, we believe whatever the advertisement is telling about the product. Sure, this product might help moiturize the skin but I think the overall effect depends on the person using it. Eventhough a person uses a product every hour of everyday but neglect herself or himself by not eating and hydrating properly, neglecting exercise and sleep, and exposing self to too much sun then the product is useless by itself. Some people forget that they themselves are to blame why they quickly age in appearance. As a result, some people resort to botox. This treatment uses live bacteria to stretch some of the facial line. Although this treatment is regulated and done by experts, there are some people who do it illegally and can possibly pose a threat to an unsuspecting client if incorrectly done. I once saw a couple on TV who had the procedure and ended up in the ICU for more than a month because the person who did the procedure was not highly qualified. Both husband and wife recovered from the complication and filed a lawsuit. Sadly, their desire to look younger has driven them to undergo the procedure that poses some risks. Feeling and looking younger depends our happy and healthy lifestyle.

The awakening

I noticed that most advertisers are now careful in giving misleading commercials for diets,exercise machines and diet pills. These advertisers are making sure that they include a cautionary warning to their ads. An example of this is the statement "Result varies for different individuals" for diet pills and exercise machines. It is becoming apparent that people are now aware of the impact how advertisement can affect a person's perception of diet, diet pills and exercise. I think that it is only right to educate viewers as well.

Gastric Surgery

Gastric surgery or bariatric surgery is becoming a trend to help people lose some weight. It is done by cutting the stomach into half then connecting the remaining portion to the small intestine. We might wonder where this idea came from. Back in the days where stomach cancer was concerned, this type of sugery was being done to remove the tumor. Most people who had this surgery experienced some untoward side effects because the whole stomach was removed. They needed to lay down after eating to prevent immediate passage of the food from esophagus to small intestine;it was called "dumping syndrome". These people are advice to eat small frequent feeding in order for their body to absorb important nutrients. This type of surgery has revolutionalized the way some people treat obesity. We see on TV shows that this is very helpful procedure to obese people but most people do not know that the portion of the stomach left inside the person's body can balloon back to its former size if that person does not watch what he or she eats. In order for this to be successful one must be responsible enough to follow all the guidelines:healthy eating and exercise.

Who is Karen Carpenter?

Karen Carpenter is one of the most popular music icon during the mid-seventies to early eighties. Her singing group was called the Carpenters.

eating disorders

What is an eating disorder? We hear some people say bulimia or anorexia nervosa and we often wonder why these maladaptive behavior toward eating is becoming so rampant. The difference between these two lies on how people eat. People with bulimia often binge eat and purge while anorexic people seldom put food in their mouth instead they chase food around their plate to show that they have eaten something. In recent years, eating disorders are getting more attention from people around the world. The first time I heard about anorexia nervosa was when Karen Carpenter died of its complications. Back then, I was curious why someone as well-known and rich would succumb to such illness. Time passed and I learned that many factors lead to eating disorders. Some people may have low self esteem because they were obese as children and were often the target of ridicule. In some cases, the need to look good can some times derail ones thinking about food, exercise and diet pills. However, peoples awakening about these problems have save many lives. More and more people are coming forward and are acknowledging that they are sick.

making a statement

The government has been trying to pass a law concerning vending machines but I think people are having difficulty conforming. If only someone starts to make a bold statement about healthy eating then there could be a chance for a change. I used to watch Jamie Oliver's show regarding Britain's school lunches and he showed that in order to be successful, changes should start from one's family with the help of the community and the government.

are we really aware?

While it's true that some celebrities like Tyra Banks, Oprah and others are taking actions about the problem of body image, the damage has been done. It will take time before people get use to the fact that our old concept of ideal body image is somewhat unconventional and unrealistic. Let's take for example the commercial for the cereal cheerios(the man asking his wife if she is trying to lose weight). You can tell that the woman was pissed off because the husband assumed that because she was eating that specific cereal, she was trying to watch her weight. This alone shows how stereotypical we are when we see people try to stay healthy.

Glamourized body image

Many TV shows and magazine articles talk about celebrities who are fat or thin without thinking about the implications these may bring to a young person's way of thinking regarding normal and healthy body. We often wonder why eating disorders are becoming rampant but we forget that most of the time we see these celebrities on TV looking physically perfect as if they were born with it. As people become obssessed with how they should look, they try to use drastic measures. In some instances, people who do not have the inner strength to undergo physical changes tend to project their frustrations to the people around them. I saw a show on TV (Dr. Phil) that talked about this kind of problem. In the show, the girl narrates that her father seem to be repulsed by her because she is a little bit overweight. After watching the show, I pondered about the reasons why some people react this way. Yes, the father gave his reasons why he was acting like a jerk toward his daughter but come to think of it, his attitude might be a result of the glamourized body images he sees and reads about.

wrong messages about ideal body image

We often see ads, books and television shows that depict a so-called "ideal" body image. There are ads about diets, slimming drugs, exercise machines and cosmetic surgery that in most times do not work at all but instead add to a person's frustration in getting their desired weight, shape and form.