Five Surprising Reasons You're Gaining Weight

Extra calories may not be the only cause of weight gain.

It's no mystery that a diet full of fried foods, giant portions, decadent desserts, alcohol and sugary soft drinks will lead to weight gain. And there's little question why the pounds pile up when you take in more calories than you burn in physical activity. But how do you explain weight gain when your lifestyle includes regular exercise and a healthy diet that is controlled in calories? Gaining weight is absolutely maddening, especially when you really don't understand why the needle on the scale keeps going up.

Several things should be considered if you are gaining weight while watching calories and being physically active. More than likely, it's a variety of things working together that have resulted in the weight gain.

"Weight gain is so complicated; there are so many factors that can impact your weight. It is more likely a combination of things more than just one factor," explains Michelle May, MD, author of Am I Hungry? What to Do When Diets Don't Work.
Here are five factors that can cause the scale to creep up when you least expect it.

1. You Might Be Gaining Weight Because of Lack of Sleep
The body functions best when well rested. "When you don't get enough sleep, your body experiences physiological stress and, biochemically, you store fat more efficiently.

When you're tired, you also don't handle stress as well, so you may reach for food as a coping mechanism. Further, you may be taking in extra calories from late-night snacking. Some people think eating might help them get back to sleep, but all it really does is add more calories to their daily total.

Symptoms that you may not be getting enough rest include fatigue, low energy levels, nodding off easily and feeling irritable.

Strive to get eight hours of sleep each night.

"Add about 15 minutes to your bedtime and see how you feel. "Continue to experiment with additional 15-minute increments until you find the … amount of sleep that is right for you.

"When you develop good sleeping rituals and get regular exercise, you sleep better, she adds.

2. You May Be Gaining Weight Because of Stress
We live in a society that demands we do more, be more and achieve more. Stress moves us forward and helps cope with life's demands, but it also affects our mood and emotions.

"Stress response, whether it is 'fight-or-flight,' juggling too many responsibilities or coping with financial pressures, triggers a biochemical process where our bodies go into survival mode. "Our bodies store fuel, slow down metabolism and dump out chemicals [cortisol, leptin and other hormones] which are more likely to cause … obesity in the abdominal region.

"Many people reach for food to help ease the stress. But, of course, this doesn't work in the long run.

"Food is a temporary fix because it does not deal with the real stressors that must be addressed in order to reduce the trigger for eating and fix the problem.

Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, says stress eaters tend to prefer high-carbohydrate foods because these foods trigger an increase in the brain chemical serotonin, which has a calming effect. "It is almost like self-medicating," she says. "Many people binge on starchy foods to make themselves feel better.

Recommended relaxation techniques as well as exercise, which also burns calories and provides other health benefits.

3. You May Be Gaining Weight Because of Medications
Some prescription drugs used to treat depression, mood disorders, seizures, migraines, blood pressure and diabetes can cause weight gain, from a modest amount to as much as 10 pounds per month. Some steroids, hormone replacement therapy and even oral contraceptives may also cause gradual weight creep. Your medicine cabinet might be the cause of your weight gain if you've gained 5 or more pounds in a month without a change in your lifestyle.

"Every drug works a little differently to cause weight gain, from increasing appetite, altering the way fat is stored, to how insulin levels change. "And not all drugs have the same side effects on all people.

"In the case of antidepressants, weight gain may not even be related to the action of the drug—feeling better can also result in a heartier appetite. Some drugs can cause fluid retention that shows up on the scale as weight gain, but is not fat, and is usually easily corrected.

Experts say that some of the most common types of medications that may cause weight gain are:

• Steroids
• Antidepressants
• Antipsychotics
• Antiseizure medications
• Diabetes medications
• High blood pressure medications
• Heartburn medications

But it's important to remember that a few extra pounds may be well worth the trade-off of what a particular medication does for your overall health, experts say. Further, even if your medications are the cause of your weight gain, you still need to be mindful of eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise.

"Rarely is the problem solved with a change in meds. "These things can contribute, but rarely are the sole cause of the weight gain.

"If you suspect your medication is causing weight gain, talk to your health care provider to see about changing your prescription. But whatever you do, don't go off your medication without seeking medical advice.

"There could be very serious consequences if you stop taking your medication without consulting your physician.

Women's Top Five Health Concerns (part4)

Depression

Depression appears to affect more women than men. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that about 12 million women are affected by a depressive disorder each year.

Dorree Lynn, PhD, a psychologist and author of Getting Sane Without Going Crazy, says women need a connection with others in their lives."They need that sustenance," says Lynn. "If they don't have it, they tend to get depressed." Sometimes, hormonal changes can also trigger the condition, particularly after pregnancy (postpartum) or around menopause.

Other risk factors for depression include:

• A previous depressive episode
• Family history of depression
• History of heart problems
• Serious chronic illness
• Marital problems
• Substance abuse
• Use of drugs that could trigger depression, such as medicines for high blood pressure or seizures
• A stressful life event, such as job loss or death
• Diseases that could trigger depression, such as anemia and thyroid disease
• Recent serious illness or surgery
• Childhood history of physical or sexual abuse
• Being a worrier or being overly anxious
• Having an eating disorder or an anxiety disorder

To help reduce risk of depression, Lynn recommends finding a reason to get up in the morning. She says things such as work, community, love, pets, and volunteering can be good reasons.

"Statistically, the healthiest adults, both in women and men, are people in significant caring relationships," says Lynn. She says adults not in nurturing relationships can reduce their risk of depression by making efforts to reach out into the community.

Women's Top Five Health Concerns (part3)

Osteoporosis

Hunched backs, back pain, and frailty used to be things older women had to accept before doctors knew anything more about osteoporosis. Now, there are steps women and girls can take to avoid such problems.

Osteoporosis is largely preventable. "The behaviors that women develop in their childhood, in their adolescence, and in their early adult years really play a significant role in the development of the disease." That's because bodies build up most of bone mass until age 30. Then new bone stops forming and the focus is on maintenance of old bone.

It is never too late to keep bones strong and avoid fractures.

"Your body will do what it can to repair bone damage, but you have to provide the tools for it, such as adequate calcium consumption and weight-bearing physical activity," says Mark.

Risk factors for osteoporosis include:

• Female sex
• Increasing age
• Small, thin-boned frame
• Ethnicity. White and Asian women have the greatest risk.
• Family history
• Sex hormones. Infrequent menstrual cycles and estrogen loss due to menopause may increase risk.
• Anorexia
• Diet low in calcium and vitamin D
• Medication use, particularly glucocorticoids or some anticonvulsants
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Smoking

Excessive alcohol Talk to your doctor about your possible risk of osteoporosis, and what you can do to prevent problems.

Women's Top Five Health Concerns (part2)

Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading killer of both men and women. In women, the condition is responsible for about 29 percent of deaths.

Yet death in itself isn't the biggest problem for women with heart disease. The real trouble is in premature death and disability, says Cindy Pearson, executive director of the National Women's Health Network.

"There are far too many women dying of heart disease in their 60s, when no one expects to die because that's too young in this country," says Pearson. "There are (also) women, who, for many years, are really ill with heart disease—being out of breath, not being able to walk up one flight of stairs … because heart disease impairs their ability to get around.

"Although more men die of heart disease than women, females tend to be underdiagnosed, often to the point that it's too late to help them once the condition is discovered."

The symptoms for women are typical for women, and they are often missed by doctors and the patient themselves," Mark explains. "We often think of symptoms … like chest pain. Some people may have that, but others may just have a little bit of jaw pain, shoulder ache, nausea, vomiting, or shortness of breath.

The lists risk factors for heart disease as:

• Increasing age
• Male sex
• Heredity (including race). People with family history of the disease have greater risk.
• Smoking
• High blood cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Physical inactivity
• Obesity and overweight
• Diabetes

"The burden of heart disease in women is very great," says Gregory Burke, MD, professor and chairman of the department of public health sciences at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "The earlier folks adapt healthier behaviors, the lower their overall risk for heart disease or stroke outcomes.

"Burke says people can reduce their risk of heart disease by modifying lifestyle to include a well-balanced diet and exercise.

Women's Top Five Health Concerns

From heart disease to breast cancer to depression, we gives you the inside info on why women are at high risk for these problems but may not know it.

Imagine living without illness to slow you down. While there are no lifetime guarantees, enough scientific research has been done to make long, healthy living a possibility.

To help women boost health, WebMD examined five medical conditions that are of great concern to them: heart disease, breast cancer, osteoporosis, depression, and autoimmune diseases.

We looked at the risk factors for each disease and asked the experts what women could do to prevent such ailments. In order to make full use of this information, Saralyn Mark, MD, encourages women to take charge of their health. She says women need to work in partnership with their doctors by finding out their family medical history, educating themselves on health issues, and paying attention to their bodies.

1. Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. It is second to lung cancer as the leading cause of death for women. Experts say the fear of breast cancer can sometimes be exaggerated, stopping women from going to their doctors for screening, or pushing women to make rash decisions about mastectomy, when it may it may not be necessary.
"There's a lot of treatment for breast cancer," assures Diane Helentjaris, MD, immediate past president of the American Medical Women's Association. "It's not a death sentence.

"She urges women to keep their emotions in perspective and to educate themselves about the issues.
Here is the lists the following as risk factors for breast cancer:

• Female sex
• Increasing age
• Genes. Nearly 5 to 10 percent of breast cancer is linked to mutations in certain genes (most commonly, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes).
• Family history of the disease
• Personal history of the disease
• Earlier abnormal breast biopsy
• Earlier breast radiation
• Early onset of menstruation (before age 12) or menopause after age 55
• Not having children
• Medication use, such as diethylstilbestrol (DES)
• Too much alcohol
• Poor diet
• Obesity

Stephen F. Sener, MD, president of the American Cancer Society, recommends controlling your weight, exercising, quitting smoking, and talking to your doctor about your risk and appropriate screening for breast cancer. He also says to keep risk factors in perspective.

"Just because your mother didn't have breast cancer, it does not mean you are immune to this problem," says Sener. At the same time, it's also important to note that some women who have one or more risk factors never get breast cancer.

Should I eat brown rice instead of white rice?

What exactly is brown rice? Which is better for the body, brown rice or white rice?
Jackie - About.com User

Answer: Brown rice is simply white rice that has not had the brown-colored bran covering removed. So brown rice is considered a whole grain. Why remove the bran? Because most people prefer white rice since it is fluffier and cooks faster than brown.

Since brown rice still has the bran intact, it has more fiber than white rice. One cup of brown rice has 3 1/2 grams of fiber while the same amount of white rice has less than one gram of fiber. We all need from 25 to 38 grams of fiber in our diet everyday.

Brown rice also contains nutrients like magnesium, manganese, and zinc. White rice has reduced levels of these nutrients, but is often fortified with iron, and some B vitamins.

Cooking Brown Rice

White rice is still the usual rice found in restaurants, so you will probably have to get most of your brown rice at home. Brown rice takes longer than white rice to cook, so increase the amount of water slightly. Brown rice doesn't have the fluffy texture of white rice, but its nutty flavor and chewy texture makes brown rice a tasty way to get fiber into your diet.

Is not about the quatity of your carb but the quality..

Self Defense By Strong Body Workshop

Today is the workshop, not many people attend it but still is a fun activity and test our strength. Here we posted the photo during the workshop..

Anne was teaching Kina ..

Is somebody die because of Tok Guru Anne

Anne show her side kick skill

Finding Time To Exercise; It Can Be Done

Be honest...on your list of priorities, where does exercise fall? Is it even on your list? Some of you don't exercise because you think you don't have time. You're waiting for your schedules to ease up, for the weather to cool off or heat up, for school to end or start, or some other future event. The truth is, there's never a right time to get moving. It's now or never, so read on to find out how to make exercise a reality.

Why you don't exercise
We all have excuses for why we don't exercise. Recognize any of these?

• Exercise is boring. If you don't look forward to your workouts, it's no wonder you skip them. People often force themselves into activities that don't interest them which, of course, increases the quit-factor.
• There are no immediate consequences to skipping a workout. It's not like you'll gain 10 pounds or suddenly get heart disease if you miss one day. But, it's easy to let the time get away from you until, pretty soon it's been a month since your last workout. Then come the consquences-weight gain, low energy and more.
• You're waiting for things to calm down. Haven't you figured it out yet? Life doesn't calm down as we get older. Jobs, kids, family, social obligations...they're never going to go away. If you're waiting for a clear schedule, you'll be waiting for a long time. If you really want to exercise, find a way to do it now.
• You're waiting to fall in love with exercise. Think you'll suddenly wake up one morning, itching to get to that workout? It just doesn't work that way. You have to work at it every day and find that motivation wherever you can.
• You get frustrated by lack of results. Are you a scale-watcher? Remember, it takes time to see results. If you're obsessed with the scale, it's that much harder to stay motivated. Focus on what you're getting NOW--energy, stress reduction, satisfaction, etc.
• You don't have huge chunks of time to do all this exercise.You're in luck--you don't need lots of time. Just 10 or so minutes a few times throughout the day and you've got yourself an exercise program.
• 
  Finding Fun in Exercise
  You may not think of exercise as being fun, but maybe you should change your perspective a little. Working out offers a different kind of pleasure. No, it's not sitting-at-the-beach-sipping-a-tropical-drink kind of pleasure, but a wow-my-life-is-better kind of pleasure. Sound cheesy? Perhaps, but it's true that exericse gives you:
• 
  1. Satisfaction. Admit it--does anything feel better than finishing a workout? You feel good about yourself, confident and, most importantly, you learn to trust yourself to follow through with your commitments.
• 
  2. Relaxation. If you do it right, a good workout will leave you both energized and relaxed. You're alert, but not stressed and you're able to accomplish more.
• 
  3. Weight loss. Duh.
• 
  4. Better health. There's no better prescription for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other conditions related to beingoverweight.
• 
  5. Confidence. There's no better confidence builder than exercise. You become comfortable in your own skin and you typically become more graceful, balanced and agile.
  

Self Defense By Strong Body

Contours Express will held a workshop to teach basic technique how to defend yourself especially during this time which crime rate is increasing mostly happen to women. Therefore we need strengthen your body so we can prepare ourself in dangerous situation and using all the basic technique to defend ourself.

The workshop will be held on 16th August 2008 start at 11am. Photos will be posted later.

Exercise Lowers Breast Cancer Risk

You don't have to start running traithlons or training for a boxing match to reduce your risk of breast cancer. Doing regularly exercise will cut down your risk of developing the disease, as well as preventing its return, if you're survivor . Let's see how exercise reduces your risk of breast cancer and gives you other health benefits.

How Much Exercise is Effective
Dr. Michelle Holmes reports in her research that breast cancer survivors who spent 3 to 5 hours each week (or about half an hour a day) doing exercise had the best survival rates. And for prevention of breast cancer recurrence, the American Cancer Society recommends that you exercise for 30 to 45 minutes at least 5 days each week.

Here's How Exercise Reduces Your Risk
Regular exercise and a diet that is low in fat and high in fruits and vegetables lowers your levels of estradiol and estrone, two kinds of estrogen. Although women need estrogen to mature and to create strong bones, overesposure to estrogen can lead to breast cancer. 80% of all breast cancers are fueled by estrogen. Exercise is a natural way to reduce your estrogen levels, as well as reducing other homones and growth factors that can cause breast cells to turn into cancer.

Being Sedentary Increase Your Risk
Physical activity may contribute to the rise in several types of cancer- colon cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, endometrial cancer, kidney cancer and cancer of the esophagus. Women who are overweight produce and store more estrogen in their bodies than women who have a healthy lower BMI.Increased exposure to estrogen and risk of breast cancer are linked, since the estrogen-receptor positive kind is the most common type of breast cancer. Obese women have a greater amount of breast tissue, and it is more difficult to detect breast tumors in obese women, as compared to lean women. This can lead to detection at more advanced stage of cancer, when it's harder to treat.

Every Body Will Benefit
Studies showed that breast cancer survivors of any age or menopausal status can reduce their risk of recurrence and improve their survival rates. Women who had estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer experienced the most benefits from exercise, because exercise lowered their estrogen levels naturally. But women who had hormone-receptor negative breast cancer also benefited from exercise, when it was paired with a diet high in fruits and vegetables. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reported that exercise reduced mortality from all causes in breast cancer survivors by 50%, when combined with a healthy diet.These results were true for lean and obese women, although obese women had more trouble sticking to a healthy diet.

Other Benefits of Exercise
Lowering your risk of breast cancer is just one benefit of doing regular exercise. It also improves mood, raises your self-esteem, and gives you a better body image. Doing your exercise improves muscle tone, strength, and endurance. Exercise protects you by lowering your risk of heart disease and diabetes. It can help you lower your weight, which in turn,reduces risk of breast cancer due to obesity.

Bottom line
Whether you're trying to prevent cancer or recover from treatment, exercise extends your survival. Regular exercise and a healthy diet improve your overall health and boast psychological benefits as well. Commit to maintaning and improving your health to reduce your risk of breast cancer.

Simple ways to prevent the leading cause of death in women

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the Malaysia. While it’s true that the majority of women still believe that breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women, the truth is that more women die of heart disease each year than die of all types of cancer combined. Sadly, the fact is that only thirteen percent of women are even aware that heart disease is number one killer of Malaysian women. Women lose their lives to heart disease annually: women who are moms, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and daughters. The good news is that heart disease is the most preventable cause of death in women. Heart disease prevention is easy, if you follow a few simple tips...

Heart disease prevention :

1. Don’t smoke or if you already do smoke, quit. Smoking is the leading cause of heart attacks and other heart diseases including hypertension or high blood pressure. If you smoke, think about it: Do you really want a cigarette to decide when it’s time for you to go? Start today to take steps to quit smoking.

2. Exercise, exercise, exercise At least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity such as walking or other aerobic activities, on most days helps prevent heart disease. If thirty minutes is too long for you, start with 10-minute increments during the day. Increase your exercise time by 5 or 10 minutes every other week or as often as you fell comfortable. Believe it or not, before you know it, you’ll actually look forward to your exercise time. Tip: If you have high blood pressure when you begin regular physical activity, make sure that you monitor you blood pressure regularly. You’re new; healthier, physical condition may mean that you no longer have high blood pressure. Never stop blood pressure medication without see your healthcare provider, first.

3. Eat a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight. A healthy diet is one that includes plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, and dairy. This is an essential part of heart disease prevention, as well as overall good health. Read the USDA’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines http://www.healthierus.gov, and use the tools available at MyPyramid.gov to learn how to follow an individualized eating plan and exercise routine.

4. Use alcohol only in moderation. Women should limit themselves to one alcoholic beverage per day. Of course, not drinking alcohol at all is even better.

Following the four steps outlined above will reduce your risk of heart disease substantially. Another benefit of following these heart disease prevention steps is that you’ll also be preventing or reducing your risk of obesity, stroke, high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, and many types of cancer

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