Remember when 12oz of soda was plenty? Now 20oz is the norm. Remember when it was a burger, medium fries and medium drink for a meal, now it’s all King Sized, Super Sized and Large Sized.

Turns out, that fact is part of the obesity problem in this country; people are taking cues from their surroundings on how much of each food is now a “meal.” In one study, it was shown that in France, yogurt containers are half of the size of those that we sell in America, the French people don’t end up eating 2 of them to make up for it, however, they just stick to one. Experiments were also run with a bowl of M&M’s and either a tiny scoop, or a big scoop; the days with the big scoop ended with 2/3 MORE candy being consumed.

So, pay attention to your surroundings, watch the serving sizes, remember that less usually IS more, and by all means, make sure the foods you DO eat more of, are the healthier foods. Oh yeah, don’t forget to EXERCISE!

Short and sweet on this one, as I think the title and the results of the study that was done at Columbia University pretty much say it all. The more weight you pack on to your body, the shorter your life will be, the more pain you will have to deal with throughout life and the more likely you will be to get a disease.

The article I just read also chronicles some of the results of that study, and listen to these two: 1) Overweight and obese women spend an average of three more years being sick than normal-weight women; and 2) Being obese can make a 30-year-old person feel worse than a 50-year-old person of normal weight.

Yikes. Folks, come to Fit Express, get started on an exercise plan, get involved with hydraulic resistance circuit training, get up and Get Moving!

I’m back! After a confusing absence due to a billing error, I’m back! Sorry for the confusion, I hope you won’t hold it against me.

At any rate, first up today is a doozy; we all know fast food is bad for us, but I don’t think we all knew which were the Worst foods to get. The baddest of the bad, as it were; well, look no further because I just found an article that chronicles the 10 worst things you could order at a fast food joint.

Here they are, to scare the junk food right out of you:

• McDonald’s Deluxe Breakfast - 1,220 calories, 550 of them from fat, including 17 grams of saturated fat.
• Burger King’s Triple Whopper With Cheese - 1,230 calories and 82 grams of fat including 32 grams of saturated fat.
• Taco Bell Fiesta Taco Salad - 860 calories, 46 grams of total fat, 14 grams of which are saturated fat.
• Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust Meat Lover’s Pie - 1,000 calories, 82 grams of total fat, 22 grams of it saturated, for just 2 slices.
• Cinnabon Caramel Pecanbon - 1,100 calories and 56 grams of fat.
• Boston Market Chicken Pot Pie - 750 calories and 46 grams of fat, including 14 grams of the saturated kind.
• Subway Double Meat Classic Tuna - 790 calories, 55 grams of fat, including 16 grams of saturated fat for just the 6 inch!
• Domino’s ExtravaganZZa Feast - 860 calories, 46 grams of fat and 17 grams of saturated fat in just two slices.
• KFC Mashed Potato Bowl With Gravy - 690 calories and 31 grams of fat, 9 of them saturated.
• Dairy Queen Caramel CheeseQuake Blizzard - 1,290 calories, 500 of those calories come from fat, including 39 grams of saturated fat.

Head over, read the article, and be properly frightened away from eating those things, at those places. Hopefully it’ll freak you out, because it did me!

Yet another drawback of obesity…the more fat your body has, the more likely you are to get inconclusive results from your X-Rays.

Turns out, X-Rays, ultrasounds, MRIs and CT scans have trouble penetrating fat cells to get clear diagnostic results. The study looked at cases over the last 15 years and found that as obesity increased, so too did the amount of inconclusive results during all sorts of diagnostic scans.

So, for your own “hospital health’s” sake, avoid the obesity. The quicker doctors are able to diagnose a problem during an emergency, the quicker they can help you get better or heck, just survive it. Give yourself every advantage!

Just the other day I did a post filled with tips on how to control portions. One of the most simple, and in my mind effective tips in the list was to use smaller plates and bowls; it seems too simple, but turns out, it’s exactly right.

I just read an article that talks about just that. Use a big bowl and a big scoop, you’ll overeat. A new study done at Cornell University tried to figure out if it really was true; they held an ice cream social and divided the guests into 4 groups, a Big Bowl-Small Spoon Group, Big Bowl-Big Spoon, Small Bowl-Big Spoon, and finally Small Bowl-Small Spoon. Results showed that by simply doubling the size of the bowl, people took in 30% more ice cream. Wow.

So, use small bowls, use small spoons, watch your portions shrink, watch your waistline shrink. Just remember, you have to keep exercising, without exercise it’s not going to help!

The percentage of teenagers who are obese or overweight is increasing; that means the percentage of teenagers at risk for developing diabetes is also increasing. What can be done about this?

According to new research, a lot. New studies are proving that if teenagers engage in strength training activities like weight training or resistance training, can significantly reduce their risk of developing diabetes. Kids in the study lifted 2 times a week for 16 weeks, and those that completed the course showed amazing insulin resistance improvements.

So, if you want to help your kids out, get them moving. Come to Fit Express and get the whole family involved in hydraulic resistance circuit training; get the benefits of strength training WITH the benefits of cardiovascular exercise, all in one.

Good news for all you 30’s, 40’s, and 50 something’s. Turns out that the more exercise you get in your mid-life, the more mobility you’ll enjoy as you age.

I know, I know, we’re more of an instant gratification society, but still, think of this, you exercise your butt off now, you’ll be healthier now, you’ll enjoy a higher quality of life Now, and THEN, when you’re a senior citizen when all your non-exercising friends are having a bit more trouble getting around, YOU are rarin’ to go!

Head over and read the research, then head back to Fit Express and get started on a hydraulic resistance circuit training program. We have equipment specially designed for senior citizens, men And women.

Got a sweet tooth? If you’re like, well, almost everyone in the world you do, and that sweet tooth is likely the culprit to why so many people are a bit overweight, if not actually obese.

Good news sweet toothers, there is research showing hope! According to some new studies, Fruit, yes Fruit, might be the answer to those sweet tooth cravings. All these findings are going to be in the September issue of Preventative Magazine, but basically it goes like this: Those who have sweet teeth for chocolate, candy, cake etc. are more likely to turn to Fruits for snacking than salty foods like chips.

So, by simply going for the fruit Before the sweet tooth craving, you’ll likely eliminate the craving altogether. Next time you have a craving for candy, grab a piece of fruit, the sweetest kind you have around, and go nuts. Watch that craving disappear.

That’s a very, very frightening statistic. 40% of all weight-loss surgeries develop complications. That means for every 5 people that under go some form of obesity surgery, 2 of them are going to have something go wrong. Wow. Kind of puts it in a scary perspective doesn’t it?

According to recent studies, complications such as a hernia, abdominal cramping or pneumonia can all occur within 6 months of having the procedure finalized. With the average cost of a gastric bypass surgery at $25,000, that’s a very expensive risk.

Bottom line, when researchers studied 2,522 people who had weight-loss surgeries, 22% had complications while in the hospital initially, an additional 18% had complications within 6 months. Other complications were leaking at the site of the surgery. The cost of the complications also averaged over $10,000 than those without any complications.

Wow.

I bet you can’t count on both hands and feet how many times you’ve heard that a main part of keeping a healthy body weight is by simply controlling your portion sizes and getting daily exercise. Sure, we all hear that all we need to do is just watch how much of each thing we’re eating.

You and I both know, that’s a lot harder than it sounds. So, what do you do when controlling portions is key, but also a tough thing to follow through on? I just read an article that has 5 great, simple tips on how to control your portions every time.

• Measure! - Break out the measuring cups, that way you know you’re getting the exact serving size.
• Take a Portion Quiz - Head over here and see what you really know about portions.
• Purchase Calorie-Portioned Foods - 100 calorie snacks means no guess work for you.
• Use Smaller Plates/Bowls - Less surface area to put food on = less food. Easy.
• Use Your Hands - Read the simple size conversions here, so you always know what size portions are without having measuring cups handy.

As always, head over and read the full article for more in depth coverage. These 5 little tips should help a lot though!