Video gaming with Wii burns significant number of calories, supports weight loss

A recent study has found that new gaming technology that requires user movement burns a significant number of calories in gaming enthusiasts. The study, conducted by researchers at the Liverpool John Moores University, concluded that regular users of the Nintendo Wii gaming system have a higher heart rate during interaction, increased physical activity and burn 40 percent more calories per week than do gamers using conventional pad-controlled systems.

The study, which found that the average UK gamer spends 12.2 hours per week playing video games, compared the energy expenditure in seven boys and five girls between the ages of 13 and 15 while playing on both traditional game-pad interfaced gaming consoles and the Nintendo Wii, a gaming system in which the user directs the game by moving a “remote” around in the air.

Although researchers found that the male group had, on average, higher rates of energy expenditure, they noted that both males and females had a 156 percent increase in energy expenditure over resting values during a fifteen minute Wii session. Over the same time period, users interacting with the traditional pad-controlled system only experienced a 60 percent increase in energy expenditure.

“Through our testing it is clear that the motion sensor controlled console can make an impact on a child’s heart rate, energy expenditure and the amount of calories burned,” said lead researcher, Professor Tim Cable. “Parents should encourage other physical activities and outdoor pursuits in order for their children to lead well-balanced lives,” added Cable.

5 Simple Eating Habits for Anyone to Lose Weight

By Noah Michael

Weight loss and weight gain are all about the little things we do, or don't do, every day. It is very hard not to gain weight if you work a desk job or lead a sedentary lifestyle. When you combine this daily inactivity with unhealthy eating habits it is virtually impossible not to go up in size. However, if you can learn some simple, daily good habits, you can improve your health dramatically.

1. Drink water instead of soda. Soft drinks are dead calories, they have no nutritional content and if you are in the habit of drinking sodas, they really add up fast. If you have a bottle of water instead of a soda just once a day you cut out enough calories to lose a pound every three weeks.

2. Eat often. One of the disorienting thing about starting up a healthy lifestyle is that you may actually be eating a lot more, or at least a lot more often. You should eat a small portion of food every 3 hours. This is a challenge for those who've become accustomed to working through lunch then coming home famished and wolfing down a big meal. The human body was built for survival and at any sign of lack of food or starvation means the body will hold onto its fat stores as if life itself hung in the balance, because, well, it did. Because of this, skipping meals will make it harder to lose weight. You need to fool your body into thinking starvation is the furthest

3. Never leave home without your veggies. There aren't always a lot of healthy eating options when you're out and about and since you should never go more than a few hours without eating, you should always bring a bag or container of vegetables. There is no reason anyone can't bring along a bag or carrot sticks. If you can substitute a serving of vegetables for a bag of chips or a candy bar just once a day then you will eliminate enough calories to lose another pound every three weeks.

4. Eat lots of chicken and fish. Learn to love it. Chicken and fish are both very low calorie and very high protein. If you can make chicken and fish the staples of your dinnertime fare you will lose an astonishing amount of calories over time. These lean meats are so low in calorie to begin with that most preparation methods and side-dishes still result in a fairly low calorie meal. Contrastingly if you prepare a meal with beef as the main course, every dash of olive oil and extra dinner roll is that much more likely to send your daily calories over the limit.

5. If you eat out, you can still make some healthy choices. Anyone who has been on a diet knows the dread of needing to eat at a fast-food or sit-down restaraunt due to a social event or even just because of a lack of other options. The dieter may end up feeling obligated to order something calorically ruinous. The slope is very slippery considering the mind-game most dieters are engaged in, trying to deny themselves their favorite foods. A birthday dinner with friends has surely been the end of many a promising diet. However, these days you really have a lot of options. We live in an age where Carls Jr. will wrap your burger or chicken sandwich in lettuce instead of bread and cheese. If you choose to eat at an establishment where the menu is not printed on the wall, you should absolutely not hesitate to ask how your meal is prepared. Even some minor adjustments to your meal (hold the cheese, please) can make a big difference in the long run.

Many More Great Weight Loss and Diet Tips at 101 Weight Loss Tips

Look Like Heaven In 2007

By Kathi Dameron

Life is full of challenges. The journey towards becoming the best possible version of oneself is a quintessential challenge we all face.

We all want to look and feel our best, but often we have such old ingrained patterns that we find it difficult and near impossible to turn the corner, shift our paradigm and adopt a new lifestyle that will facilitate a life of vitality.

Through the ever-changing circumstances of life, it is easy to get stuck, lose hope and lose sight of the dreams that we once held so dear.

Sometimes we need help getting unstuck.

I certainly did. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried on my own; I found it literally impossible to lose weight.

My weight was stuck in a terribly unhealthy place. Even though I knew what I should and should not eat, I could not get the bathroom scale to reverse directions. For a big do-it-yourselfer in so many things, not being able to lose weight on my own was a huge frustration.

I needed something more. I needed the support of a proven system for losing weight in a healthy, monitored way.

Since I accepted that help from Winner’s Weight loss, I have turned the corner in my life and lost 44 pounds. I am a quarter of the way to my goal. By this time next year I expect to have achieved my weight loss goal of losing over 100 pounds.

My sweet beginning at Winner’s Weight loss officially began on October 27, 2006. The medically approved program guaranteed a weight loss plan of losing 25 pounds in 8 weeks, 50 pounds in 17 weeks and 100 pounds in 36 weeks.

On my first visit at the center I weighed in at a whopping 291 pounds and I’m not a linebacker! I don’t even play football!

As I reflect back, it is hard to believe that for the last fifteen years I have allowed obesity to keep me from being the very best possible version of myself. But that is exactly what I allowed to happen. I let weight become a disability that put me on the sidelines of life.

Now as the weight drops off, I almost feel like someone who is emerging from a long dream and awakening to the extraordinary fullness of life.

There is a new wind blowing! I am grateful to the Winner’s Weight loss team for their partnership on this amazing journey of weight loss.

But this wind has been blowing in Tallahassee, Florida for quite awhile. Winner’s Weight Loss has been Tallahassee’s #1 weight loss center for the last fourteen years and is Tallahassee’s only professional weight loss center.

Manager, Ruth Bowen attributes this accomplishment to the outstanding professional nutritionists, dietitians and nutrition management counselors on the staff.

“We are not only experts in our fields, but we have lost weight ourselves which helps us understand and have compassion for the constant struggle individuals have with their weight.”

Winner’s Weight Loss is a proven system that has stood the test of time in Tallahassee for helping men and women achieve a healthy lifestyle and look fantastic by losing the weight that their bodies were never intended to carry.

I love so many things about Winner’s Weight Loss. But perhaps one of the most important things is that I love the food I get to eat. Unlike other diets I had embarked on in the past, on the Winner’s Program, I get to eat real food and I get to experiment in the kitchen.

As a food writer and former caterer, food has played a big role in my life for several years. For me to be able to stick to a diet regime, I need to eat food that tastes great.

The Winner’s Diet makes it easy for me to do that.

I even share some of my new recipe ideas on my blog that is chronicling this fabulous weight loss adventure. Come on by and check out some of the recipes and say, “Hi!” In future days, I hope to add some of my cooking class videos with readers to share how I create some of the tasty food that is keeping my taste buds dancing while I trim down.

If you are looking to lose a little or a lot, Winner’s Weight Loss in Tallahasee or an equally great facility in your community can help you too, to reclaim vitality and become a healthier and thinner version of yourself.

(c) Kathi Dameron February 12, 2007 Kathi Dameron and Associates

For recipes and ideas on how to turn heart-healthy diet cuisine into a celebration of fabulous taste, visit http://www.dietwithkathi.blogspot.com