Weight Control Patches

If you are finding it hard to stick with a diet, put some money on it; that should do the trick.
You are more likely to stick to a diet if you know that you have money riding on it. There’s some evidence to back this up. Dieters that were offered cash for losing weight lost about 13 – 14 pounds in 16 weeks; those who got nothing lost about 3 pounds. Groups that bet on themselves lost a little over 8.5 pounds and groups that had no money invested lost a little over a pound.
If you’re not a better, then pick a reward for yourself that does not include food. It may be anything from going out to your favorite theme park, or going to a day spa, listening to music all day, watching T.V. all day, etc. After you have some reward, here are some tips:

1. Don’t make some crazy bet that you can’t aim for. Keep in mind that about 1 – 2 pounds lost a week is great. (For the heavier individuals, 5 – 10% lost is great too).
2. Narrow in on a goal. Don’t just say eat healthier. Instead say, “Eat 2 servings of vegetables, and a serving of fruits.”
3. Increase your activity. Set clear and specific goals like, “Jog for 20 minutes before dinner.” Having a pedometer can also be a motivator, and make things a bit more fun.
4. Keep a log. Having a journal and being able to write about your losses is a good way to keep track and see your progress.
5. Patience my child. Changing routines and behaviors take time. It may take up to 8 weeks to change your habits. Stick to it!

Once you see results, you can up the ante. Don’t forget to reward yourself for milestones.

In a recent study in New England, researchers found that individuals who live longer tend to spend less in medical bills during their latter years.  This was due to the fact that these individuals had healthier lives and were spending less in medical care.  These individuals were contrasted to those who lived three years less, and yet the individuals who lived shorter lives spent more money on medical bills.  Read more about it here.  However, living longer and being obese does not give the same results of spending less on medical bills.

Obese people are living longer thanks to the advances in medicine.  For example, there are pills that help control cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and more, however, these individuals are spending more of their latter part of their lives in ill health.  This leads to a 42% increase in medical bills than healthy individuals.  Obesity has increase the prevalence of diabetes, but even with the prevalence of this epidemic, it had little impact or mortality rates.

A third of the U.S. adults are obese.  This means that more medical bills are used to treat obese individuals.  To put a number on that, the CDC said that $147 billion ($147,000,000,000 for emphasis) is used on heath care spending for obese individuals.  That is over 9% on all health care expenditures!  With the current rise of obesity rates, as well as with longer lives, the estimated cost  on heath care for these individual is expect to be about $265 billion by 2018, perhaps even earlier.