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Cutting-edge information and tips for creating health in all areas of life – wellness, nutrition, fitness, attitude, and relationships

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June 27, 2024

Is Stress Affecting Your Weight? How to Manage Your Mindset for Weight Loss

Globally, health experts agree that incidences of stress and obesity are rising. In the US, recent studies show that up to 1 in 5 adults often or always feel lonely, anxious, or depressed. Similarly, obesity is growing rampant, with two-thirds of all adults in the US qualifying as such.  As it happens, the fact that these two issues are on the rise at the same time is no coincidence. Health experts have found that excess weight and heightened stress levels perpetuate a toxic cycle, where one encourages the development and progression of the other. This is concerning since the World Health Organization (WHO) notes that obesity-related complications are responsible for nearly three million deaths from around the world every year. With this in mind, it’s important to understand how stress and weight are connected and how to cultivate a positive weight-loss mindset.  Where weight and stress meet Although stress is primarily mental and weight is physical, they are undeniably linked, where one’s symptoms manifest in the other. To start, when the body is stressed, it causes hormonal changes. Chief among these fluctuating hormones is cortisol, which regulates the body’s fight-or-flight mode. During this period, the metabolism naturally slows. High cortisol levels also cause slower production of the hormone leptin, which controls feelings of satiety and hunger. Without enough of this, appetites can increase and lead to weight gain. Stress can also demotivate a person from pursuing weight management methods like diet and exercise. Meanwhile, eating is a self-coping method for…

Although baldness is an intentional choice for some people, most desire a full, healthy head of hair because they feel more confident and attractive. Unfortunately, about half of us will experience some form of hair loss before the age of 50. The exact numbers, according to the American Hair Loss Association, are 50% of men…

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Do you ever crave certain foods, like crawling across shards of broken glass kind of cravings?  That might be a bit extreme, but you get the idea. Food cravings are a universal struggle. One hundred percent of young women and seventy percent of young men experience them; scientists have yet to find a “cure.” But…

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It’s early in the New Year, and people are crowding the gyms to get in shape. If you’re one of them, chances are your body is hurting all over!  Usually, when pain occurs in one part of the body, it’s easy to pinpoint the cause. But generalized aches and pains are another story and are…

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Tracking your weight can be frustrating, especially if you have more than a few pounds to lose because weight can fluctuate by more than a few pounds a day. To complicate matters, when you’re thirsty, your body panics and retains water, causing you to weigh even more. When you’re adequately hydrated, your body drops the…

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When someone asks what makes us happy, we often think of our family and friends, circumstances, and possessions. However, happiness has more to do with the chemicals in our brains than with what’s going on in our lives. In fact, there are four main neurotransmitters associated with the feelings we refer to as happiness: endorphins,…

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The average person gains about one pound during the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. It may seem like a small price to pay for enjoying your favorite holiday treats, but it’s quite difficult to shed that weight after the festivities. And you know what? That holiday weight gain tends to stick around year…

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Few people push their bodies past their physical limits like Olympic athletes, who’ve proven over and over that when it comes to endurance, strength, and speed, our bodies are capable of far more than we ever thought possible. What if we could learn from these athletes and incorporate their best practices into our workouts? Understanding…

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Did you know that half of all stroke victims don’t realize when they’re having a stroke? Since they assume that the symptoms they’re experiencing will go away on their own, they typically wait three and a half hours before seeking medical treatment. This is dangerous because time is critical when treating stroke. What makes it…

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Everyone knows the health risks of obesity, how it leads to a myriad of harmful health conditions, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and worst of all, death. However, few people know that being lonely and socially isolated is much worse for physical health than being obese or smoking 15 cigarettes a day,…

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Many people have a love-hate relationship with exercise. They view exercise as a kind of penance for a bad diet or an unhealthy lifestyle, and the mere thought of exercise invokes feelings of shame, fear, and self-judgment. It’s why so many people feel the need to hit the gym after the holiday season, and why…

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Addiction is a complex and chronic disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Even so, many misconceptions remain. This article attempts to provide answers to some of the whys and hows of addiction. Who is at risk for addiction? Anyone can become addicted. Nonetheless, some risk factors significantly increase the odds of addiction. Genetics account…

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Life today is rife with diet culture. So many people seem to be at war or have an unhealthy relationship with food. The rules are continually changing, and foods that were good a couple of years ago are now on the bad list. This obsession with diet is exhausting, and it doesn’t seem to be…

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