Are you smoking to lose weight?  I have done my research on this weight loss myth to see if you can indeed “smoke your way to weight loss.”  Almost everyone you meet will agree that smoking is bad, because it is very true!  However, even some ‘bad’ things can have their advantages, and smoking is no exception here.  You may find it hard to believe, but if you are overweight then smoking can in a sense help you lose weight.  Smoking causes weight loss by one simple fact.  It will speed up your body’s metabolism.

The Downsides

If you are considering smoking to lose weight then I suggest you rethink your decision.  While smoking can indeed help you lose weight, you should not begin just because of that fact.  Why?  Because smoking will do a lot more harm then good to you!  Cigarettes contain numerous harmful chemicals that coats your lungs with tar and poisons.  Smoking causes many lung problems even a very short time after you have started such as shortness of breath or difficulty of breathing.  In time if you do not discontinue smoking, you can develop lung cancer.

The Facts

As you can see, disadvantages of smoking to lose weight far outweigh the advantages, and for this reason you should not view smoking as a valid weight loss option!  Keep in mind that there are far better and healthier ways to lose weight.  Smoking can give you temporary benefits but the health problems you receive in turn does not make it worth the trouble.

What About Us Smokers?  Will We Gain Weight if We Quit?

Some individuals do not want to quit smoking just for the fact they are afraid they will gain weight.  They may not even be addicted yet they hold on just because of this fear.  If you are one of these people I hope you can find peace after this.  If you are afraid of gaining weight after smoking then you are going to be relieved!  Nothing could be further from the truth!  In fact, very few people ever gain lots of weight after they quit smoking.

Besides, you will not even gain any weight until a few months after you have discontinued even if you followed an unhealthy lifestyle by eating unhealthy and sitting on the couch all day.  It takes time for your body to readjust to its new conditions it will be living in.  If you take the steps to eat right and do minimal exercise, you do not have to worry about post smoking weight gain.  Remember that the only benefit you are receiving from smoking is a higher metabolism and following a healthy lifestyle will match and exceed the benefit gained by smoking to lose weight.

Conclusion

If you are smoking just for the benefits of losing weight then I really hope I have convinced you to discontinue and at the same time, pick up a healthy lifestyle.  Remember that smoking does not only damage your health beyond repair, it could even prove to be fatal in the long run!

Today I want to talk about a subject that has bothered me for a good while now and that is fake images in the media.  I’m sure most of you have picked up a fashion mag of some kind and right front and center there is a perfect model on the front page.

What’s wrong with that?

Well, my problem with it is because the image is fake.  Did you know that?  Nearly all images that appear in popular magazines have been retouched using a program know as photoshop.  In case you are not familiar with photoshop, it is a image editing program that you can remove all blemishes and imperfections.  You can remove anything that harms your appearance, even excess weight.  That’s right, you can lose untold amounts of weight with just a few clicks of a mouse.

The main reason I have a problem with this form of image retouching us because it gives a false image of perfection.  Is this the new standard of beauty?  A retouched, manipulated image of a model that does not even look that way in real life?

How Many Have Been Retouched?

Expert photographer Tim Lynch says that 99.9% of images that appear in all of today’s magazines have been retouched in some way because it has become the “industry standard.”  Celebrities and models alike do not want any images of them released until they are run through and edited to perfection.  Some of the only true images left anymore are the paparazzi shots.

What They Are Doing Is Wrong!

The publishers of these magazines do not feel that the are misleading the public because they feel it is widely known that the images have been altered before publication.  Just because everyone is doing it does not mean that it is right.  I know many times I have looked at a magazine and said “I wish I could look like that.”

It gives many a false impression of what is acceptable in today’s society and, for some, sets them up for fail even before the begin their weight loss programs.  It is important to set realistic goals to be successful when losing weight but getting slammed in the face with unnatural images of what is considered “beauty” sure doesn’t help anyone’s feelings.

What are your those and opinions on this?  Post them in the comments below!

Over the past year the rate in obesity did not decrease in any state of the US.  The child obesity rate is now at and above 30 percent in 30 states.

These stats are from the sixth annual F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2009 report, released July 1, by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).  Contained within the report are recommendations for combating obesity within health reform and a state-by—state look into the child obesity rate, as well as, adults.

Mississippi ranked number one for adult rate in obesity for the fifth year in a row with a percentage of 32.5.  Eight out of ten states that are within the 30 percent obese rate are located in the south.  Some of these include Alabama (31.2 percent), West Virginia (31.1 percent) and Tennessee (30.2 percent).

The rate in obesity is growing to an epidemic level and studies show that the problem isn’t going away by itself.  Two-thirds of American adults are either obese or overweight.  Back just a short while ago in 1991, not a single state had over a 20 percent rate in obesity.

This is what Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of RWJF had to say.  “Reversing the childhood obesity epidemic is a critical ingredient for delivering a healthier population and making health reform work.  If we can prevent the current generation of young people from developing the serious and costly chronic conditions related to obesity, we can not only improve health and quality of life, but we can also save billions of dollars and make our health care systems more efficient and sustainable.”

The report included recommendations for lowering the rate in obesity such as: Providing adults and children with proper preventive medical help, promote programs that better nutrition and physical involvement, and increasing the number of programs available to communities that provide more cost effective nutrition options.

If these programs are put into place they will still not be enough on their own.  We as Americans need to come together in order to beat the rate in obesity our nation is suffering from.  Be supportive of others, offer a helping hand, make a donation to a worthy cause.  Even the smallest of gesture can make a big difference in the world and possibly to someones life.

Together, we can beat this!