Steve Spagnuolo would like to see Landon Collins lose some weight. Not everyone in his household is on board with that plan.

Maria Spagnuolo, the wife of the Giants defensive coordinator, has a habit of baking and cooking for the players and having her husband bring the goodies into the building. This week, for instance, she made some banana pudding.

I had two of them, Collins said on Wednesday. I tried to take the pan. I was kind of looking around and (Ben) McAdoo was kind of looking at me.

Had he taken the whole pan of pudding, he likely would have had more trouble getting down to the weight he hopes to be for this season. Hes currently at about 220 pounds. Last year he played at around 215. This season hed like to get to 210. Thats a weight he hasnt been at since his freshman year in college, but he believes it will help him fly around the field.

Last year he did a really good job, he kept it under the max level he was supposed to have, he did it every week, Spagnuolo said of Collins weight. I expect him to do the same thing this year. In the offseason hell probably tell you hes a little heavier than he wants to be, but hell be fine by the time he comes back (to training camp).

He should be. He wont have Mrs. Spags cooking to ruin him.

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Landon Collins' sweet tooth impeding weight loss process - Newsday

An FDA-approved, non-surgical weight loss tool is now available to men and women in North Texas hoping to shed more than a few pounds.

The Obalon Balloon System is a swallowable balloon system that inflates inside the person's stomach, keeping them full from overeating.

Patients swallow a pill that contains the balloon, and once inside the stomach, the balloon is filled with nitrogen gas mixture.

Dr. Sachin Kukreja, a bariatric surgeon at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, says the system consists of three balloons swallowed two weeks apart.

"While the balloons are in, they take up about three quarters of the stomach to limit how much people eat and how full they may get," Kukreja said.

All balloons are removed through an upper endoscopy six months after the first balloon is placed.

Eric Wilson swallowed his first balloon two weeks ago and has already lost 10 pounds.

"The so-called 'dad bod' is in full effect, and I want to get rid of that," said Wilson, a father of three.

On average, patients lose about 30 pounds with the balloons, which is Wilson's goal.

He says diet and exercise worked to an extent, but believes the balloon will help him kick junk food to the curb for good.

"I've always kind of fallen off the bandwagon, if you will, so this is kind of a little longer term motivation for me," Wilson said.

He experienced minor stomach cramping in the first few days after the procedure but now says he forgets the balloon is in his stomach.

In studies, 90 percent of patients kept the weight off after the balloons were removed for at least six months, but Kukreja said there's no long-term data available.

"We know it's safe and innovative, but with anything new, we should proceed with caution," he said.

The balloon system is not covered by insurance, costs between $6,000-$7,000 and should be used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise.

Published 3 hours ago

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New Weight Loss Tool Helps People Shed Pounds - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

NBCSports.com

Byron Bell had bigger goals than money for weight loss NBCSports.com Bell has made the requisite lifestyle changes that have to accompany the weight loss, and by incorporating more cardio into his workouts and eating better, he's hoping to put himself in position to compete for playing time in Dallas after missing last ... and more »

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Byron Bell had bigger goals than money for weight loss - NBCSports.com

Kathryn Hutchinson, a 52-year-old retired teacher, was accompanying her father to a doctor's appointment last year when his doctor recommended that Hutchinson make an appointment of her own.

Hutchinson was diagnosed with prediabetes at the time and was obese, with severe arthritis and a history of depression. Her father's doctor knew an endocrinologist who could help her.

"My knees were killing me. I've already had my hips replaced. It was horrible, and that's when he said, 'You know what, there's a person you need to talk to,' " Hutchinson said.

Her father's doctor proceeded to escort her down the hallway to meet the endocrinologist.

Hutchinson said that appointment, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, changed her life. Tears filled her eyes and her voice cracked with emotion at the recollection.

"I'm starting to tear (up) a little bit only because that was the first time I saw somebody who saw me on the inside -- me as a person, not my weight," she said. "That was really my first feeling of hope that my life could be something different, that it actually could turn around and be good again."

Before the program, Hutchinson said, she'd never heard of mindful eating.

Now, after she learned more about the practice and applied it to her eating habits over the past six months, it has led to a healthier lifestyle.

In a meeting with her nutritionist on Monday, Hutchinson said, she learned that she now weighs 198 pounds. About six months ago, she weighed 260 pounds.

"I hugged her," Hutchinson said of her nutritionist. "I was in tears."

"There's that push and pull that comes with life. We either eat mindlessly, or we eat based on cravings," he said. "Mindfulness comes in, in this way, where we can notice that push and pull. We notice the cravings, the habits ... and mindfulness helps us be with those feelings to say, 'do that' or 'don't do that.' "

Today, mindful eating concepts have been introduced in hospital programs and health care facilities across the country.

Lenox Hill has been using mindful eating in its Core4 weight loss program for the past five years. The program starts with patients attending 10 weekly weight loss sessions, followed by nine monthly sessions. Participants then have the option to continue monthly sessions afterward.

The program's growing emphasis on mindful eating has allowed the practice to emerge recently as a key component to success, said Antonella Apicella, the nutritionist who counsels Hutchinson and leads the hospital's program.

For instance, mindful eating can help mitigate fluctuations in calorie intake. Big shifts in how much you consume can promote weight gain, Apicella said.

"Having a control over your eating or practicing mindful eating gives you more of a streamlined type of eating pattern, which prevents those fluctuations from occurring," she said. "It really is a long-term solution to achieving loss weight and weight management."

In addition to losing weight, Hutchinson said, she is no longer prediabetic since incorporating mindful eating into her everyday life.

She spends less time isolated at home and more time doing the activities she enjoys, spending time with friends and traveling, she said.

"My summer plans? I'd like to get down to North Carolina. That's where my family is having a reunion," said Hutchinson, who is about halfway through the yearlong weight loss program at Lenox Hill.

Brewer, who has no relation to Lenox Hill, said that as a clinician, he thinks incorporating mindfulness into weight loss programs at hospitals could be a positive and effective approach.

As a scientist, however, he has some questions and would like to see more research data proving its effectiveness in a health care setting.

For a mindful eating program to be successful, Brewer said, participants will have to be appropriately taught how to apply mindfulness in their everyday lives, outside a hospital setting. Learning to do this can be complex.

"Teaching the nuances of mindfulness is not trivial. That's why people have to go through years and years of training to become a certified mindfulness instructor here at the Center for Mindfulness," Brewer said. "So with all of those caveats, the key is to be able to take something out of the hospital with you."

For both counselors and participants, "the first thing to know is that it won't come easy. There's no magic bullet," Brewer said of mindfulness. "The key here is really understanding how the process works."

A challenge for Hutchinson has been to remain mindful when surrounded by distractions, such as in a social setting with a group of friends, she said. In those scenarios, she typically will consider beforehand what types of foods will be in the setting and then plan what she will and won't eat.

Going to a ballgame? She will plan whether to have peanuts and Cracker Jack, but only when she is hungry.

"So the mindfulness has to go in before that, and so you plan those kinds of things," Hutchinson said. "There are times when you're going to say, 'OK, I'm actually going to plan to indulge in this food.' "

Apicella aims to encourage her participants to be patient and in tune with themselves so that they can plan for such scenarios. She also encourages them to notice when their bodies signal that they are hungry or whether they are just eating out of habit or to be social.

After all, mindful eating can come with frustrations.

"It does take time to connect with those signals, so some participants might feel frustrated in the very beginning because they feel like they're not able to connect," Apicella said.

"Those signals have always existed, but we have found that many of the program's participants have been out of tune with them. Most of them don't think about their stomach signals -- hunger and fullness," she said. "Our program helps participants get back in tune with these vital but easily ignored signals."

Such awareness separates mindful eating from other typical diet fads, which tend to result in yo-yo dieting, said Brewer, who developed a mindfulness eating app Eat Right Now.

Rather, he said, being more aware of your eating habits might help you restructure your brain's response not only to food but to other triggers such as stress.

"Our system isn't calibrated to eat excessively. It's calibrated to stop eating when we're full. That's how it works, and actually, it's not set up to eat when we're stressed-out," Brewer said.

"When we're stressed, the typical, the normal physiological response is ... eating less," he said. "If we're running from the proverbial saber-toothed tiger, that's not the time when our brain is like, 'You know what, you should grab a cupcake as you go.' It's amazing how we've completely overwritten our normal physiological responses."

For Hutchinson, she plans to continue practicing mindful eating. Her goal was to weigh less than 200 pounds in time for her birthday in July, to plan more travels and to find pleasure in healthy eating. On Monday, she reached that goal.

"I could never have imagined it would be anything like this," she said. "Suddenly, you have power over food."

Link:
Mindful eating: 'Suddenly, you have power over food' - CNN

The Southern California weight loss surgery clinic notes that defeating obesity is always healthful, but rarely simple.

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) June 14, 2017

A June 8th article on Madame Noire offers a list of alleged compliments that can actually be taken as insults by people who have successfully managed to lose a significant amount of weight. While many of these observations can be made with the most benign intentions, the article notes that the complexities of weight loss make saying something like "Look how much weight she lost! Doesn't she look great?" can place undue attention on people who, generally speaking, just want to be left alone and accepted for who they are. Weight loss surgery specialists Dr. Feiz & Associates notes the article points up the reality that weight loss, with or without a surgical procedure, is more than just a physical change. It's a very personal matter that involves a complex interplay between physiological and psychological factors.

Dr. Feiz & Associates notes that many people assume weight loss surgery is an almost semi-magical procedure which actually causes fat to disappear on its own. In reality, such procedures as a sleeve gastrectomy work by creating physical changes that have psychological impacts. Specifically, the procedure removes approximately 75-85% of the stomach. The impact is twofold because the small stomach makes overeating physically uncomfortable but, perhaps more importantly, it also reduces the production of a hormone called ghrelin, which "tells" the brain that it's time to eat. The substance is believed to be largely responsible for creating the nagging hungry feelings that drives overweight people to continue eating, even when they know for a fact that they have consumed more than enough food; worse, ghrelin production tends to increase as individuals lose weight. Dr. Feiz & Associates says that, while sleeve gastrectomies do make weight loss a great deal easier, patients still have to muster the psychological energy to permanently change their approach to food and eating.

Dr. Feiz & Associates notes that the challenges involved with obesity and weight loss can lead to sensitivities that may well linger even after the additional weight has gone. They add that, for patients, this means realizing that they will have to address these matters, perhaps with the help of a coach or therapist, and develop a new relationship not only with food, but with their body. For friends and family of people who appear to be successfully dealing with their obesity, it means that a certain amount of sensitivity will be required, says the weight loss clinic.

Readers who would like to learn more about Dr. Feiz & Associates and if weight loss surgery might be right for them are invited to call (800) 868-5946. They can also the visit the clinic via the web at http://www.DrFeiz.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/06/prweb14415093.htm

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List of Weight Loss "Compliments" to Avoid Highlights the Complexities of Weight Loss, Says Dr. Feiz & Associates - Benzinga

Women's Health

'I Lost 10 Pounds And Kept It OffHere's How I Did It' Women's Health And, unfortunately, there's no one-size-fits-all strategy that will help you stay at your goal weight once you get there. But by learning the inside scoop from women who've been there (and are still there), you can take their winning weight-loss ...

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'I Lost 10 Pounds And Kept It OffHere's How I Did It' - Women's Health

Endocrinology Advisor

Extended-Release Naltrexone/Bupropion Efficacious for Weight Loss in Type 2 Diabetes Endocrinology Advisor In the study led by Raymond Plodkowski, MD, from Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. in La Jolla, California, researchers, conducted efficacy analyses to determine weight loss and glycemic effects in patients who were considered "early responders," defined as ... and more »

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Extended-Release Naltrexone/Bupropion Efficacious for Weight Loss in Type 2 Diabetes - Endocrinology Advisor

In early 2016, my then-14-year-old daughter won gold in her weight class at the Karate Canada National Championships.

Two months later, she won gold at the USA Open Karate Championships, putting her in contention to compete in Ecuador that August.

She's a growing girl; her mother and I became concerned about how she could safely stay within her weight category for her sport.

Her mother is a family physician, and I regularly write about weight loss and expose fad diets; we're both aware of the risk of disordered eating behavior for girls. It was critical for us to help her realize her athletic ambitions while keeping her body and mind safe.

She did go on to compete in Ecuador, where I discussed the topic of "making weight" with Tommy Hood, head coach for USA Karate, the sport's national governing body.

"Planning is very important," Hood said. "The most successful way for people to make weight is to eat properly."

He spoke of the glorification of sauna suits and other negative pop imagery regarding cutting weight, saying, "My fear is that my athletes are going to think that's acceptable."

Another critical part of planning is ensuring kids are in the right weight category to begin with.

"Whatever they weigh in at is where they compete," Hood said of junior athletes, ages 11-14. "We don't have them cut weight at that age."

For the senior team, he wants them to stay within 5 percent of their weight class, but he'll move them up if they're going through a growth spurt.

Rob Skinner, senior sports dietitian with the U.S. Olympic Committee, echoes Hood's strategic planning approach.

"Most athletes take about eight weeks and cut weight slowly," Skinner said.

He's not a fan of extreme measures like excessive caloric restriction, which can negatively affect performance.

The strategy for Skinner's Olympians starts with cutting liquid calories from soda and juice, for example (water is fine), followed by small reductions in portion sizes. In the week leading up to competition, he may cut starchy carbohydrates to spark water loss (carbohydrates cause the body to retain water) and modestly limit fluid intake in the final few days. During this time, he also has athletes up their caloric burn by trading technique sessions for aerobic activity.

Kassidy Mahoney, an 18-year-old recent graduate of Huntley High School in Chicago's far northwestern suburbs, tries not to stress about making weight. Instead, she focuses on maintaining a good diet.

"I've been doing karate since I was 6," Mahoney told me at the Panamerican Karate Federation (PKF) Junior Championshipsin Ecuador, where she was taking part in her second Panamerican competition. "I'm always a healthy eater because I want to compete at my best."

Mahoney doesn't drink soda. She doesn't skip meals, either. The day she needs to officially weigh in, she postpones breakfast and is first in line at the scale. Then she eats.

"I'm very mindful about not developing disordered eating behavior," said the 5-foot-5-inch, 131-pound teen. "I don't ever want to worry more about my weight than I do about the competition."

Dr. Ovidio Bermudez, chief clinical officer at the Eating Recovery Center in Denver, noted that the risk of eating disorders is higher among athletes in judged sports compared with those in refereed sports. Weight-category sports like karate, wrestling and boxing are refereed. By comparison, Bermudez explained, gymnastics and figure skating both judged sports "are more appearance-focused."

Bermudez said parents should keep an eye out for behavior changes in their young athletes.

"You don't want to see change that is not consistent with who you know your child to be," he said.

If a boy works hard at wrestling because he loves it and continues to be himself, that's one thing, "But if he becomes obsessive and derogatory towards himself, that's a personality change," Bermudez said.

Parents should monitor whether their kids drop weight just for competition, or if the restriction mentality has taken an enduring hold.

"For prevention, it's best not to warn about the dangers of eating disorders, but instead talk about viewing yourself positively and being accepting of differences," Bermudez said. "Performance is important, but so is sportsmanship and how we support each other."

Skinner agrees.

"The goal," he said, "is to get athletes to have good eating behavior for their long-term health."

James Fell is a freelance writer and certified strength and conditioning specialist.

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Making sure 'making weight' doesn't turn into eating disorder in young athletes - Chicago Tribune

Who: LeeRoy Allan Swackhammer Occupation: Personal Support Worker City: Prince Edward County, Ont. Height: 5'8"

By The Numbers: 367 pounds at my heaviest, 236 pounds currently, for a total weight loss of just over 130 pounds.

The Weight Gain: From birth up to my mid-teens, I was a normal, average weight. I was very active, involved in baseball, soccer, volleyball and wrestling.

In my mid-teens, I started to put on weight. At the time, I didn't know or understand what was going on. As a child, I was emotionally, physically, and sexually assaulted. As a result of these traumas, I acted out and took on the crown of class clown, keeping everybody at a safe distance. I turned to sports as a temporary relief to the turmoil and pain inside. I pushed my emotions and feelings down. I was confused and embarrassed and felt guilty and ashamed.

Final Straw: Over the years, there were multiple final straws. In my early 30s, I met my intelligent and beautiful wife. In April 2009, I had the first of three heart attacks. Later that year, my wife started having seizures due to a brain tumour. Shes no longer able to live at home. So, for all intents and purposes, in 2016 I became a single parent of seven children. It was the year of discovery and the beginning of recovery.

The Plan of Attack: I had to stay focused, develop discipline, and be honest with myself. I learned to accept help and compliments.

It took nine to 10 months, but in that time I lost more than 70 pounds.

The biggest motivation for me was my own well-being. I had always been busy taking care of my family, my friends, and my community. This is good as long as it's not detrimental to myself, my wife and children, and my fellow TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) and KOPS (Keep Off Pounds Sensibly) members. In one small way, it helped when I encouraged others that there is hope to meet your goals.

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