Ask any bariatric surgeon whether or not gastric bypass surgery lowers a patient’s risk of early death and he will tell you without hesitation that it does. Indeed, he will undoubtedly be surprised that you have asked the question at all as surgeons have known for years that weight loss surgery extends a patient’s life.

but, put that same question to a number of insurance companies and you may well receive a different answer because, until now, despite the fact that there has been a lot of anecdotal evidence for what everyone knows to be the position, there has not been any hard, concrete scientific proof.

Today however the results of two studies have clearly shown in numerical terms that gastric bypass surgery has a significant effect on the death rates of those concerned.

In the first, a multi-center United States study involving 16,000 patients followed for 7 years, long-term death rates fell by as much as 40 percent. At the same time a second Swedish study involving some 4,000 patients showed a 29 percent fall in death rates.

For a long time now insurance companies have sought to put obstacles in the way of patients to stop them from submitting claims for weight loss surgery and this has been gaining momentum in recent years as the number of obesity operations being carried out has climbed dramatically and weight loss surgery has become more and more accepted with a number of celebrities such as Star Jones, Carnie Wilson, Al Rocker and others undergoing obesity surgery.

Insurance companies have however stuck strictly to the position that gastric bypass surgery ought only to be used as a last resort and that every possible attempt to lose weight using exercise and diet, including if necessary the use of medication, must be exhausted before weight loss surgery is considered. additionally, they have also stuck to the line that gastric bypass surgery should only finally be done if weight presents a risk to life.

For most people this stance by the insurance companies is seen as being totally ridiculous and a position which they have clearly adopted merely to save the insurance company money. Nevertheless, and despite this point of view, the insurance companies have gotten away with this for years now because it has not been possible to show in terms of facts and figures that gastric bypass surgery is not just a convenient and relatively easy way to lose weight but is the only option open to many obesity sufferers and an option that will not only improve their quality of life but literally extend their lives, in many cases quite significantly.

For years now overweight individuals have battled with their weight and, although some people have experienced very limited success, the vast majority of people (and certainly those who are faced with losing more than 80 pounds) have found that diet and exercise simply does not work. Despite this fact, they have had no choice and doctors have been forced to lead patients down this path because of the stance of the insurance companies.

It is to be hoped that now at long last the insurance companies will be forced to meet their responsibility in this area and at last put the needs of their policyholders before those of their shareholders.

The Atkins’ diet has been a craze for a couple of decades. Here’s how you can gain from it.

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All of you who are reading this article right now have definitely been on a diet at some point or the other of your lives. The battle of the bulge is an ongoing problem and we are always on the lookout for various means to win this war.

Along with exercise, our diet and nutrition also plays an important role in reducing our weight. Hence, this obsession persists in all of us to undertake some form of dieting. But going on a diet is definitely not an easy thing. What to eat and what to stay away from is always a perennial problem.

One of my friends told me that she ate the normal menu which she cooked for the family, but her weight loss recipe is “portion control.” This is a really simple diet plan. In this plan, you cut down on the portion of food you consume. For example, if you usually have two pieces of toast for breakfast, you should eat only one piece. If you normally eat two cups of rice for lunch, cut it down to one cup. In this way, you are automatically reducing your calorie intake by half.

Another popular method of dieting is to stop all intake of fatty foods and sugar. In this diet, you cut down on your oil, butter and ghee intake which automatically reduces your fat deposits.

While I was leafing through a magazine, I read about one of our Hollywood celebrities following the Atkins’ diet. This immediately aroused my curiosity about the diet. Though I have heard about the diet many times, I had no inside knowledge about it. So, I immediately set to work on it and found out certain basic facts’ about the Atkins diet which I want to share with my readers.

The Atkins’ diet made its first appearance in 1972 and was invented by its namesake, Dr Atkins. According to him, this method enables us to lose weight by inducing a change in metabolism. Our body burns both fat and carbohydrates to provide energy. If we reduce the intake of carbohydrates significantly, our body starts burning only fat to provide energy. This method is called “lipolysis”, which in turn induces ketosis. In ketosis, our body burns fat as fuel. Atkins also felt that ketosis will affect insulin production which will result in less fat being formed. And, once your body enters ketosis, your cravings for carbohydrates will reduce significantly which, in turn, will reduce your body weight.

The major difference between Atkins’ diet and other types of diet is that, while most diets restrict calorie, intake, the Atkins’ plan encourages us to eat more. While most of the diets recommend low fat, high carbohydrate intake, Atkins’ does just the opposite. Instead of carbohydrate and sugar, this diet wants us to consume plenty of fat and protein.

The core principle of the Atkins’ diet is that, by limiting carbohydrates, our body is forced to burn its stored fat, rather than carbs for fuel.

The Atkins’ diet has a four carbohydrates stage plan induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. With the help of these four stages, you can reduce as well as maintain your weight throughout your life.

Induction – phase 1: This phase lasts for two weeks, by the end of which you can obtain significant results. Another point is that, in this diet plan you can begin at any of the phase. But it is recommended to start with induction. As you cut back on your carbohydrates significantly in this phase, you will jump start your weight loss programme. In this phase, only 20 gm of carbohydrates are allowed and hence your weight loss is significant. As you drastically cut down on carbohydrates your body shifts into high gear and starts burning fat. This takes about 48 hours to occur and you may feel hungry and irritated for the first three-four days. But don’t worry, as soon as your fat starts getting converted to fuel, you will feel fit as a fiddle. Induction will strengthen your immune system and also improve our long-term health.

Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase 2: In this phase, the weight loss pace slows down as you add nutrient-rich carbohydrates to your diet. During this period, you will boost your body’s ability to burn fats as well as understand your body better. You will find the right amount of carbohydrates which you can consume and still lose weight. Your body will also prepare itself for permanent weight management. The amount of carbohydrates which you can eat is increased to 25 gm per day for the first week and increased in five gm instalment for the next few weeks. If your weight loss is significant, you can increase your carbohydrate intake. A person has to be on OWL till he or she is within three-five kg of their goal weight.

Pre-maintenance – (phase 3): Pre-maintenance is a practice run for lifetime maintenance. In this phase, you are fast approaching your target. As long as you continue to lose weight, you can increase your weekly allotment of carbohydrates by another 10 gm. You will be in this phase till you reach your goal and stay on it for one month. The ultimate goal here is to achieve a state of balance called Atkins’ Carbohydrate Equilibrium (ACE). The ACE is your individual level of carbohydrate intake wherein you neither gain nor lose weight.

Lifetime maintenance phase 4: In this phase, you have to focus on your individual ACE and strive to stay within two kg of your ideal weight for the rest of your life. By following a sensible eating plan, you gain energy, better health and confidence in yourself.

By following these four phases, you not only achieve your dream weight but are also able to maintain it throughout your life. You can learn more about this diet by reading the book, Dr Atkins’ New Diet Revolution. But, as with any other diet, this plan also has its pros and cons. The good point is that this diet recommends exercise as a vital part of the weight loss programme. Another point to be noted is that you cannot start on carbohydrates after you lose weight as this will result in your gaining back all that you have lost.

Medical experts advise that people who have gout, kidney problems, diabetes or are pregnant women should not follow this diet plan. As this diet is very stringent, do consult your doctor/dietician for proper advice.

Your dietician will provide you with a proper menu chart as to what should be eaten, in what quantities, etc, based on your eating habits and general lifestyle.

Happy dieting and hoping to see slimmer and fitter readers.

A common theme found in successful goal achievement manuals, e-courses, videos, etc. is to seek and find a mentor who has successfully achieved the results that you are seeking. In the realm of fat loss, it is no different. Many articles have been written about those who have achieved weight loss success, and one should take advantage of the great information they contain.

Well, a coin always has two sides. Now, it is time to look at the other side…and it isn’t very pleasant or shiny!

Sometimes, it is valuable and important to learn from failure. Failure shows us what NOT to do. Failure shows us what doesn’t work. Specific to weight loss, what if we could learn from others that failed to lose body fat? Thankfully, the National Weight Control Registry’s (NWCR), located at www.NWCR.ws, has more than just solutions to weight loss. Interestingly (and quite intelligently), they also make it a point to find out exactly what caused individuals to fail. Think about how valuable it will be, and how much time you will save, if you take the time and energy to avoid the things that have proven to lead not to success…but to failure.

1) If the point hasn’t been drive home enough, already, the NWCR also found a common characteristic of those people that FAILED to maintain their weight loss. What was it? Simply stated: the people that failed to maintain weight loss failed to continue their behavioral changes that brought them success in the first place. In other words, they stopped eating right and exercising.

2) Here is even more startling motivation for keeping the weight off permanently. The likelihood that people will regain weight consistently drops as time passes. So, the longer you practice the habits of eating intelligently and exercising properly, the more you reduce the chance that you will ever gain the weight back. This explains why fad diets don’t work! The change must become permanent, and “quick” fixes just don’t do the trick. Failure tip: it is important to continually developed and nurture your motivation for a lifetime, so that old, unhealthy, fat-producing habits do not eventually destroy you.

3) Sadly, life-endangering medical issues seem to be the best motivator and predictor of successful weight loss. The study clearly showed that people lost weight faster and kept it off for much longer immediately after a major medical scare. Do yourself a favor and think ahead…before your doctor asks you to sit down, so that she can explain that your excess fat is literally killing you.

4) Do you need more motivation to keep the weight off? At the National Weight Control Registry, they also found this disturbing statistic: for those people who had regained some of their lost weight, only 11% returned to their previous lowest weight point in the following year. Let us give you an example. Let’s say that a person has successfully gone from 200 pounds down to 150 pounds. However, the person backslides and gains back 30 pounds. Experience shows that only 11 out of 100 people will be able to drop the weight back down to 150 pounds over the next year. Keep in mind that these are people that had already successfully lost weight and knew exactly what to do to lose the weight they had re-gained. Don’t you agree that more than 11% should have been more than able to return to their previous baseline weight. They had the knowledge. They had the experience. They knew what worked for their body. Sadly, though, logic does not always lead to success.

We can summarize all of these “failure points” pretty easily, can’t we? In essence, people failed because they failed to continue with the habits that created the initial success.

Perhaps, though, you haven’t yet experienced successful weight loss. Don’t let that be an obstacle for you. Use this article to motivate you to make a serious commitment…a lifelong one…so that you develop a true change in your lifestyle. You learned in our last article that there are thousands of people who have proven that long-term lifestyle changes create true fat loss success. You learned this week that working on fat loss with a short-term view in mind is not nearly as successful, and instead, often leads directly to failure. So, decide now to develop the habits that are necessary to transform your body into one that you are proud of.