Monday, December 20, 2010
My Life's Biggest Project: Servicemembers go to Unhealthy Extremes to "Make W...
My Life's Biggest Project: Servicemembers go to Unhealthy Extremes to "Make W...: "Those who serve our country are known for being the best of the best. They are our protectors and the military (all branches) makes them pas..."
Servicemembers go to Unhealthy Extremes to "Make Weight"
Those who serve our country are known for being the best of the best. They are our protectors and the military (all branches) makes them pass physical training tests, but sometimes even the most fit individuals do not pass because as we all know muscle weighs more than fat. This is when they bust out the tape measurer. This is what is known as making "making tape". This is where the circumference of the individuals neck and midsection is tape measured for body fat percentage.
Most of the time it is just a few pounds that the soldier is needing to drop in order to make weight, but as most of us know those last few pounds can be the hardest, so many resort to very unhealthy means to pass because for the American soldier it is not about vanity or aesthetics, it may be the make or break for their career. Starvation, laxitives and now even liposuction and other cosmetic surgeries are becoming a fad for the individual having problems dropping a couple of pounds.
The reason methods like laxitives and starvation are unhealthy is because the wreck havoc on the body. This being said, obviously there is a need for change if our servicepeople (men or women) are having to resort to becoming unhealthy to keep there jobs. I don't know about you, but I want those protecting me and my country to be in tip top condition, not run down because there body is in shock due to dehydration or starvation. Every time a soldier is deployed there body and mind is put to the test. This being the case why would be want to put any more pressure on them?
I remember when I was in third grade my family and I were about to move from Virginia where my father was stationed at Ft. Eustis to Wiesbaden Germany. PT tests (physical training tests) were always an issue for my father because he went from being extremely overweight to extrememly thin very quickly. He had excess body fat that he was told by physicians he would never get rid of without having a cosmetic procedure done. Right before the move I remember overhearing my parents talking about his PT test. He said he took a water pill to help him make weight. Obviously it worked because he left for Germany and we followed behind a few weeks later.
Being an Army brat for a big chunk of my life I have heard all kinds of stories about soldiers doing quick tricks to make weight and I have seen people drop massive ammounts of weight in short periods of time. While I was looking through the news today I came across a story on ABC news that talked about this very same thing. If you'd like to read it I have linked the story here on this post. It is entitled Liposuction, Laxatives: Military Struggles to Make Weight .
The story is essentially focused in the beginning on a Marine who has struggled to make weight because of his muscle mass. The reporter and writer Lara Salahi interviews U.S. Marine Corps, Gunnery Sgt. Torres, 34. Who says that it is great pressure because one's job depends on it.
"I'm not trying to sound arrogant, but I've been the best at almost anything I've done. Your career could be on the line if you don't make weight," said Torres, adding that he's always struggled to stay within the limits. "So you'll go through extremes if you don't make weight."
According to Salahi's story, a 2009 study by officers at the Naval Post Graduate School found that "nearly one in three Marines turned to excessive and at times unhealthy methods to meet the weight standards.
In fact, Torres is now considering liposuction, a procedure which is becoming an increasing trend in the military."
Salahi also interviewed a plastic surgeon in Hawaii named Dr. Robert Peterson. He estimated that approximently three-fourths of about 50 of the servicemembers he consults for liposuction say they want it specifically to make tape.
There's a lot more to the story so I strongly suggest reading it. It is interesting and arrises good points. Please feel free to read my post and the story linked and give me your feedback. There is an obvious need to change I am just curious when it will happen.
The reason methods like laxitives and starvation are unhealthy is because the wreck havoc on the body. This being said, obviously there is a need for change if our servicepeople (men or women) are having to resort to becoming unhealthy to keep there jobs. I don't know about you, but I want those protecting me and my country to be in tip top condition, not run down because there body is in shock due to dehydration or starvation. Every time a soldier is deployed there body and mind is put to the test. This being the case why would be want to put any more pressure on them?
I remember when I was in third grade my family and I were about to move from Virginia where my father was stationed at Ft. Eustis to Wiesbaden Germany. PT tests (physical training tests) were always an issue for my father because he went from being extremely overweight to extrememly thin very quickly. He had excess body fat that he was told by physicians he would never get rid of without having a cosmetic procedure done. Right before the move I remember overhearing my parents talking about his PT test. He said he took a water pill to help him make weight. Obviously it worked because he left for Germany and we followed behind a few weeks later.
Being an Army brat for a big chunk of my life I have heard all kinds of stories about soldiers doing quick tricks to make weight and I have seen people drop massive ammounts of weight in short periods of time. While I was looking through the news today I came across a story on ABC news that talked about this very same thing. If you'd like to read it I have linked the story here on this post. It is entitled Liposuction, Laxatives: Military Struggles to Make Weight .
The story is essentially focused in the beginning on a Marine who has struggled to make weight because of his muscle mass. The reporter and writer Lara Salahi interviews U.S. Marine Corps, Gunnery Sgt. Torres, 34. Who says that it is great pressure because one's job depends on it.
"I'm not trying to sound arrogant, but I've been the best at almost anything I've done. Your career could be on the line if you don't make weight," said Torres, adding that he's always struggled to stay within the limits. "So you'll go through extremes if you don't make weight."
According to Salahi's story, a 2009 study by officers at the Naval Post Graduate School found that "nearly one in three Marines turned to excessive and at times unhealthy methods to meet the weight standards.
In fact, Torres is now considering liposuction, a procedure which is becoming an increasing trend in the military."
Salahi also interviewed a plastic surgeon in Hawaii named Dr. Robert Peterson. He estimated that approximently three-fourths of about 50 of the servicemembers he consults for liposuction say they want it specifically to make tape.
There's a lot more to the story so I strongly suggest reading it. It is interesting and arrises good points. Please feel free to read my post and the story linked and give me your feedback. There is an obvious need to change I am just curious when it will happen.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
My Life's Biggest Project: Combo of Old Pills Creates New Diet Pill
My Life's Biggest Project: Combo of Old Pills Creates New Diet Pill: "Diet pills have been a controversial thing for several years. Most of the time the company tries to get a celebrity to endorse them thus mak..."
Combo of Old Pills Creates New Diet Pill
Diet pills have been a controversial thing for several years. Most of the time the company tries to get a celebrity to endorse them thus making us all believe that they are good for us and inevitably we end up spending boo-koo's of money on something that really doesn't do much of anything. When I was in high school I remember watching the Trim Spa comercials with Anna Nicole Smith ("Trim Spa baby yeah", you guys remember what I'm talking about?). Well I also remember when she passed away adn many people were talking about the insane drug addictions she had. I was on the bus early my sophmore year of high school and I remember some kids talking about Trim Spa and they were basically alluding to the fact that sure we could look like Anna Nicole if the distributers were to put cocaine in the product because that was what was making her thin. I don't know whether any of that is true, but I do know one thing about diet pills and that is the one's you buy over the counter can be overwhelming because there is just too much.
Fen-phen was the ingredient in weight loss pills in the '90's that was supposed to cause amazing results. Well it may have helped with weight loss, but it also caused problems with heart valves, thus the FDA taking it away in 2007. This year like any other year, people have been trying to find a solution to growing obesity rates in medication. In 2010 alone two diet pills have been "nixed" according to health.com because of possible links to cancer. However a third drug has gotten approval from the FDA panel and its name is Contrave.
What makes this pill so different you may ask, well it seems that it is a combination of two different pills that are already approved. It is a combination of naltrexone, a medication prescribed to treat alcohol and cocaine addiction and bupropion, more comonley known as Welbutrin, a medication used to assist peopel when they quit smoking and an antidepressent.
"It's kind of a neat little approach. They've taken two drugs that have been around for a very long time with relatively good safety profiles and put them together, hoping that the combined action might be better at controlling eating," said Paul Kenny, PhD, associate professor of molecular therapeutics at Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida. "It's a double whammy."
They may have found the key to assisting in the fight of obesity in America.
"Obesity is really a crisis," says Michael Aziz, MD, an internist with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Two-thirds of the U.S. adult population is either overweight or obese while a growing number of adolescents are climbing into the danger range, many developing type 2 diabetes at younger and younger ages. The problem is not a pill but the way we live our lives."
Aziz is not alone in this thought process, Gene-Jack Wang, MD, a senior scientist with Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York agree's that a lifestyle change is really what is going to matter.
"I don't think any medication [will work] without behavior change," said Wang. "If you don't change your behavior, nothing will help you."
The FDA's advisory committee has given the tumbs up, but that doesn't mean that the FDA has to approve the new medication, however they normally follow the advice given by the panel. This was a fascinating story and if it is something that works than that would be fantastic, but no matter what remember that there is no miracle pill out there to make everything go away. Medication is mearly in existence in terms of weight loss to assist. A lot still lies on our own shoulders to make the right food and exercise decisions. What do you think about this new creation? Is this something you would try? Have any of you tried diet pills in the past? Do you know of any that have assisted you? Let me know!
To read the full article about this new medication that I learned all about on CNN. Feel free to click on the link to read in much more detail.
Fen-phen was the ingredient in weight loss pills in the '90's that was supposed to cause amazing results. Well it may have helped with weight loss, but it also caused problems with heart valves, thus the FDA taking it away in 2007. This year like any other year, people have been trying to find a solution to growing obesity rates in medication. In 2010 alone two diet pills have been "nixed" according to health.com because of possible links to cancer. However a third drug has gotten approval from the FDA panel and its name is Contrave.
"It's kind of a neat little approach. They've taken two drugs that have been around for a very long time with relatively good safety profiles and put them together, hoping that the combined action might be better at controlling eating," said Paul Kenny, PhD, associate professor of molecular therapeutics at Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida. "It's a double whammy."
They may have found the key to assisting in the fight of obesity in America.
"Obesity is really a crisis," says Michael Aziz, MD, an internist with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Two-thirds of the U.S. adult population is either overweight or obese while a growing number of adolescents are climbing into the danger range, many developing type 2 diabetes at younger and younger ages. The problem is not a pill but the way we live our lives."
Aziz is not alone in this thought process, Gene-Jack Wang, MD, a senior scientist with Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York agree's that a lifestyle change is really what is going to matter.
"I don't think any medication [will work] without behavior change," said Wang. "If you don't change your behavior, nothing will help you."
The FDA's advisory committee has given the tumbs up, but that doesn't mean that the FDA has to approve the new medication, however they normally follow the advice given by the panel. This was a fascinating story and if it is something that works than that would be fantastic, but no matter what remember that there is no miracle pill out there to make everything go away. Medication is mearly in existence in terms of weight loss to assist. A lot still lies on our own shoulders to make the right food and exercise decisions. What do you think about this new creation? Is this something you would try? Have any of you tried diet pills in the past? Do you know of any that have assisted you? Let me know!
To read the full article about this new medication that I learned all about on CNN. Feel free to click on the link to read in much more detail.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
My Life's Biggest Project: Detox Diet
My Life's Biggest Project: Detox Diet: "If you get on aol.com under trending now on the homepage this was one of the things that was trending, under Reese Witherspoon and ginger br..."
Detox Diet
If you get on aol.com under trending now on the homepage this was one of the things that was trending, under Reese Witherspoon and ginger bread cookies. I know a little bit about this particular diet and I figure I'll go ahead and share it with you. A lot of different things show up when I clicked on the link. This certainly was a fad diet that sprung because actress/singer Beyonce Knowles (Mrs. Jay-Z, you all know who she is) lost 20 pounds according to reports while prepping for her role in the movie Dream Girls. There are lots of different names for this particular diet. Detox Diet, Master Cleanse, Lemonaide Diet, and I'm sure there are more, but these are probably the most well known ones.
One of my sorority sisters did this and said that it wasn't so bad and that she lost weight doing it, but there are lots of studies out there according to thatsfit.com. That say that there are many dangers with doing it. Basically what this diet consists of is creating a drink concoction that one is supposed to drink for ten days. You are not allowed to eat anything, just drink this drink you mix up that consists of water, fresh lemon juice, cayyanne pepper and Grade-A organic maple syrup. The claims are that it gets all the built up gunk in your body out and causes you to no longer crave things that are bad for you.
Medical experts say that by removing nutrients from your system that creates havoc on your metabolism as well as the fact that there is no evidence that this age old detox really does what it says. If you are working out you need to be eating right or your body will not drop pounds. If you are essentially starving yourself then your body goes into shock mode and starts storing fat as opposed to burning fat. To read more about the hidden dangers of the detox diet click on this link and it will tell you all about it.
According to edetoxify.com people who have done a detox diet say that they have improved skin, energy levels are boosted, and increased concentration levels. The problem is that there is so much information out there it is hard to decipher what is the right information. Scientifically it makes sense to me that if you starve yourself you are going to gain weight, but with results like Beyonce's and all the great things that other Web sites and people say that live by detoxing it is hard to make up one's mind about what the right answer is. What do you think it is?
Webmd says that they are simply a myth and not good for the body. Have any of you tried this before? What are your thoughts pertaining to it? I began this particular diet over the summer. I got to day four and then was put on an antibiotic that required me to eat or I would be sick. If I was just going to throw up the medicine it obviously was doing me no good so I had to stop the diet (not saying that I made good food decisions when I started eating again). I can honestly say from personal experience (note that I only made it through day 4), but I didn't feel like I was starving, I also didn't feel any different at all. I have thought about trying it again, but hearing all of the negatives kind of scares me too. Any thoughts? Let me know what you think the right thing to do is. In the meantime I will not being doing it until I get some kind of feedback.
Medical experts say that by removing nutrients from your system that creates havoc on your metabolism as well as the fact that there is no evidence that this age old detox really does what it says. If you are working out you need to be eating right or your body will not drop pounds. If you are essentially starving yourself then your body goes into shock mode and starts storing fat as opposed to burning fat. To read more about the hidden dangers of the detox diet click on this link and it will tell you all about it.
According to edetoxify.com people who have done a detox diet say that they have improved skin, energy levels are boosted, and increased concentration levels. The problem is that there is so much information out there it is hard to decipher what is the right information. Scientifically it makes sense to me that if you starve yourself you are going to gain weight, but with results like Beyonce's and all the great things that other Web sites and people say that live by detoxing it is hard to make up one's mind about what the right answer is. What do you think it is?
Webmd says that they are simply a myth and not good for the body. Have any of you tried this before? What are your thoughts pertaining to it? I began this particular diet over the summer. I got to day four and then was put on an antibiotic that required me to eat or I would be sick. If I was just going to throw up the medicine it obviously was doing me no good so I had to stop the diet (not saying that I made good food decisions when I started eating again). I can honestly say from personal experience (note that I only made it through day 4), but I didn't feel like I was starving, I also didn't feel any different at all. I have thought about trying it again, but hearing all of the negatives kind of scares me too. Any thoughts? Let me know what you think the right thing to do is. In the meantime I will not being doing it until I get some kind of feedback.
Friday, December 17, 2010
My Life's Biggest Project: Post Op News
My Life's Biggest Project: Post Op News: "So I went to my first post op appointment yesterday and had my drain removed! I couldn’t be happier about that, however the stitches are sti..."
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