Slim People in Progress

NALFD- What is it, Are You at Risk?

NALFD are initials that stand for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.  The causes are many but number one is obesity.

1) It was initially thought that the profile for a patient with NALFD was a middle-aged obese woman. This has since been shown to be false. It appears to be associated with obesity and can occur in either sex and is being diagnosed at earlier and earlier ages. There appears to be a direct association with obesity and especially with the consumption of high fructose corn syrup which is ubiquitous in our processed foods.

If you, your spouse or your children are obese (body mass index above 30 - you must use a special chart for children) your physician should check the obese individuals blood for abnormal liver function tests.

Self Talk - Does Yours Cause Weight Loss Failure

There are two kinds of self talk. One is the kind we say out loud or think often to ourselves. The other is so ingrained it is not words, just an emotional response. If we don't monitor and correct our self talk, we will be unsuccessful in accomplishing our goals.  It is called Self Sabotage, do you do it?

The Stages of Change for Successful Permanent Weight Loss

The stages of change I refer to are part of a theory that has practical application in losing weight.  The theory is called the Trans-Theoretical Model of Change.  In this model are 6 stages.  If a person skips one, whether they know the model or not, they are much more likely to grind to a halt before reaching their goals.  Successful people in any endeavor successfully complete each stage of change.

We all begin the same about the need to change.  By our nature we conserve energy and depend upon habit patterns to help us do this.  The initial response to most change is "I won't" or "I can't".  We get past this as we become aware of the advantages to us of making the change.

Once we are convinced of the need to change we begin to move toward it slowly.  We still need to

Weight Loss - How to make it happen

Everyone I talk to wants to lose weight or thinks they should. Awareness of the need to lose weight is common. It isn't because of health classes or good public health policy. It is because of TV shows, movies and ads. The ideal is portrayed as thin, wealthy and totally unlike you. All people, those who are over, under and normal weight think they should lose weight (the "I want to look better naked" effect). Many  of those who need to lose, don't know how to make it happen long term.

I have written about the change process before but will assume this is the first article of mine you have read. There are many theories of change but the one that seems to work best and is therefore most popular is the transtheoretical model of change.

This model outlines six stages of change. These are not descriptions of people but are descriptions of where they are in the change process with regard to a change they want or need to make.

Vitamin D3 - 5 Reasons You may need More

Reason number one - you need adequate sunshine on enough of your skin to produce Vitamin D. If you live in a northern latitude, work long hours, avoid sun to avoid skin cancer risk, or have pigmented skin you probably need to supplement.

Reason two - The Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for Vitamin D was set too low.  Recent research has shown that Vitamin D is not nearly as toxic as it was thought to be when the RDI was established. Above 40,000 IU per day (international units - 40IU= 1microgram, a micro gram is 1/1,000,000th of a gram) of Vitamin D may be toxic. Though you could probably consume 10,000IU per day, 1000 IU should be sufficient to meet all your needs. (Ask your health care provider.)