Star Jones – How Did She Do It?
Speculation has long abounded about Star Jones Reynold’s dramatic weight loss. In the early days after the 100 lb loss, you’d see headlines such as “Star Jones refuses to confirm or deny that she had weight loss surgery”. She’d talk vaguely about “eating right” and/or “exercising”, but on the specifics of her success, she was mum.
A year or so later, Star admitted that she had “medical intervention” for her weight problem. Her loss was fast and dramatic; the changes to her body appearing to be happening overnight. People would point to the “hanging skin” they saw on her neck and arms to prove to themselves and their friends that they were right about her having had surgery. In one photo Star was wearing a very revealing dress and I saw what appeared to be scars very similar to my own husband’s weight loss surgery scars. My husband had a laparoscopic procedure done to help him reduce his weight.
For the first time, Star has decided to come clean with what type of “medical intervention” she had for her longstanding weight problem and has written an article for Glamour Magazine that will appear on newsstands August 7.
What did she have done? For now, it’s only speculation. Her loss was fast and dramatic; most people in the weight loss community don’t believe that the surgery type LapBand was used, as that produces slower results than those seen on Star. In the United States, six types of surgeries are used. “Stomach Stapling”, as weight loss surgery was once known, is very seldom used anymore.
The website, ObesityHelp.com, gives great information on the surgeries and offers resources to find a surgeon, and has support communities available for before and after surgery. The following surgery types and their descriptions were taken from ObesityHelp.com This information can be found at obesityhelp.com/content/wlsurgery.html I would recommend visiting the site, because the site shows photos of how the surgeries “bypass” the stomach and/or intestines and there are pictures of the LapBand device as it appears on the stomach.
The types of weight loss surgery available in the United States are:
LapBand
Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
Vertical Banded Gastroplasty
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass
Duodenal Switch
Biliopancreatic Diversion
How Weight Loss Surgery Reduces Weight?
Gastrointestinal surgery for obesity, also called bariatric surgery, alters the digestive process so as to achieve rapid weight loss. The operations can be divided into three types: restrictive, malabsorptive, and combined restrictive/malabsorptive. Restrictive weight loss surgeries limit food intake by creating a narrow passage from the upper part of the stomach into the larger lower part, reducing the amount of food the stomach can hold and slowing the passage of food through the stomach. Malabsorptive weight loss surgeries do not limit food intake, but instead exclude most of the small intestine from the digestive tract so fewer calories and nutrients are absorbed. Malabsorptive weight loss surgeries, also called intestinal bypasses, are no longer recommended because they result in severe nutritional deficiencies. Combined operations use stomach restriction and a partial bypass of the small intestine.
Adjustable Gastric Banding (also known as the LAP-BAND) In this procedure, a hollow band made of silicone rubber is placed around the stomach near its upper end, creating a small pouch and a narrow passage into the rest of the stomach. The band is then inflated with a salt solution through a tube that connects the band to an access port placed under the skin. It can be tightened or loosened over time to change the size of the passage by increasing or decreasing the amount of salt solution.
Vertical Gastrectomy (also called vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, Greater Curvature Gastrectomy, Parietal Gastrectomy, Gastric Reduction and even Vertical Gastroplasty) is performed by approximately 15 surgeons worldwide. The originally procedure, conceived by Dr. D Johnston in England, was called The Magenstrasse and Mill Operation. It generates rapid weight loss by restricting the amount of food that can be eaten (removal of stomach or vertical gastrectomy) without any bypass of the intestines or malabsorption. The stomach pouch is usually made smaller than the pouch used in the Duodenal Switch.
Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (VBG) VBG uses both a band and staples to create a small stomach pouch, resulting in quick weight loss. Once the most common restrictive operation, VBG is not often used today.
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RGB)This operation is the most common and successful combined weight loss surgery in the United States. First, the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch to restrict food intake. Next, a Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch to allow food to bypass the lower stomach, the duodenum (the first segment of the small intestine), and the first portion of the jejunum (the second segment of the small intestine). This reduces the amount of calories and nutrients the body absorbs. Rarely, a cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) is performed to avoid the gallstones that may result from rapid weight loss. More commonly, patients take medication after the operation to dissolve gallstones.
Duodenal Switch (also called vertical gastrectomy with duodenal switch, biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, DS or BPD-DS) is performed by approximately 50 surgeons worldwide. It generates weight loss by restricting the amount of food that can be eaten (partial gastrectomy (i.e., partial removal of the stomach along the outer curvature see diagram) and by limiting the amount of food (specifically fat) that is absorbed into the body (intestinal bypass or duodenal switch). This weight loss surgery is more controversial because it has a significant component of malabsorption (bypass of the intestinal tract), which seems to augment and help maintain long-term weight loss. Of the procedures currently performed for the treatment of obesity, it has some powerful and effective components. Due to concerns of possible long-term effects of malabsorption and the technical difficulty involved with this type of weight loss surgery, many surgeons don’t perform it.
Biliopancreatic Diversion (BPD) In this more complicated combined weight loss surgery, the lower portion of the stomach is removed. The small pouch that remains is connected directly to the final segment of the small intestine, completely bypassing the duodenum and the jejunum. Although this procedure leads to weight loss, it is used less often than other types of operations because of the high risk for nutritional deficiencies. This surgery is not commonly done anymore.
None of these surgeries allow a person to “eat everything they want to and lose weight”. The person must follow the strict guidelines given to him or her after the surgery in order for the surgery to be successful. In some cases, people who do not follow the guidelines either do not lose weight afterward, or they gain more. Some of the surgeries will not allow patients to eat items such as sugar and dense, refined carbohydrates, or they risk severe intestinal discomfort and sickness. This is known as “dumping”.
Weight loss surgery is not for everyone, nor will all insurances pay for it. However, in the case of people with serious weight problems, such as Star Jones, it is often advantageous to have the surgery in order to reduce enough weight so that other health problems, known as “comorbitities” are reduced or eliminated. Too much weight can take years off a person’s life.
Angela Edwards lives on Washington State’s Coastline in the Great Northwest.
Importance of High Fiber and Low Fat Foods
The easiest and most effective changes that you can make to your diet is to eat more fiber rich foods, and fewer foods rich in fat. Why boost fiber intake? There are many reasons to boost the intake of fiber while controlling fat, including increased exercise, decreased your weight and maintain a healthier lifestyle.
The fact of the matter is most people consume too much of the bad stuff– things like sugar, salt and fat, and not enough of the good stuff – like vegetables, fruits, and whole foods. This means that many people are not getting sufficient fiber in their everyday diets, and they may suffer a variety of heath effects because of it.
Well, before you can eat more fiber you need to know where that fiber comes from. You should get in the habit of reading nutritional labels. This will be one way to start the high fiber count and low fat. Most packaged and processed foods in the grocery store must carry these labels, and they label such things as fiber, fat, calories and nutrient values. Getting familiar with these nutritional labels is a necessary first step to getting rid of the fat intake and increasing your fiber.
Ok! Increasing fiber and decreasing fat is certainly a great goal, it is best to take things gradually until your body has time to adjust. Those accustomed to low levels of fiber often experience bloating, cramps, gas and abdominal pain when suddenly boosting the amount of fiber in their diet. However with time and increasing levels slowly you will decrease some of these side effects.
Some of the foods that are highest in fiber, usually contain more than 7 grams per serving, include foods such as dried beans, legumes, dried peas, dried fruits, nuts and sunflower seeds. These foods can be great sources of fiber.
Most vegetables or fruits can also be sources of fiber. Most of these foods contain from 3 to 5 grams of fiber.
It is also very important to take fiber content into account as you do your grocery shopping. Reading labels and choosing high fiber foods is the best way to make a long term commitment to healthier eating and better overall health.
Choosing the right cereals that are rich in fiber is a great way to increase the level of fiber intake while still getting that breakfast every morning. Most of today’s cereals that contain wheat bran and oat bran can be great sources of fiber.
Lots of people have the assumption that cooking or heating up vegetables and other fiber rich foods destroys their fiber content, however this is not the true. While it is true that overcooking certain vegetables can result in some loss of nutrients, cooking has no effect whatsoever on fiber content. So enjoy what you eat, but make sure that you think first about those fiber foods and low fat meals. exercise-diet.com” target=”_new exercise-diet.com.
About The Author
Copyright Troy Francis. Troy is a writer and personal trainer for Exercise-Diet. Please, feel free to republish this article. We only ask that you leave the resource box and link. You can see more great articles on Weight Loss, Diet, Exercise, Health and much more by going to: Exercise-Diet.com/” target=”_new Exercise-Diet.com/.
Blood Pressure Food – Healthy Recipes For A Healthy Heart
We all crave for good health. High blood pressure or hypertension emerges as a ‘silent killer.’ Like a seasoned predator, it creeps up to us, that too, without letting us know of its presence and suddenly, at an odd moment, reveals its deadly fangs. It is not something that hits you and vanishes into thin air. It hits you and stays with you, and might prove lethal if proper measures are not taken. If you have already been brought down by hypertension, the best cure is precaution. And if you are yet to be hit by it, but do lead a life that makes you prone to it, the best way to deal with it is again precaution.
And where does precaution start? With your eating habits! Eating healthy keeps one healthy. A healthy diet for heart comprises of all such food that would supply sufficient nutrition while holding out all that might not be good for your heart.
Healthy food for your heart can, therefore, be called ‘safe food’ because it is least likely to cause any damage to your heart without compromising on the nutrition supply to your body. Most of such food comprises of green vegetables and fibrous food items.
Natural foods are considered to be most healthy and that is the primary reason behind their ever-increasing popularity. As a result we are seeing a great number of natural food stores coming up every other day all over the world. A great number of books have also been written, which sign praises of natural food.
Quite clearly organic foods are the healthiest available. They are nutritious and natural while the fast foods or ‘junk food’ that we have gotten so very used to is very unhealthy because these foods supply very little nourishment to our bodies and load us with lots of unwanted calories and harmful cholesterol. And harmful cholesterol is one of the major reasons for high blood pressure and even heart stroke.
These days due to the rising awareness, companies have started growing organic food without adding the chemicals used to make them grow faster and better. The chemicals used to enhance the growth and quality of these foods actually linger on and take away much of the advantage of living on a natural diet.
Therefore, for a healthy heart a balanced diet consisting of natural foods is important. This would also keep your blood pressure within manageable limits.
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Home Remedies for Yeast Infections that Work
Yeast infections, just the words alone are enough to make a person shudder. If you have ever experienced the painful swelling that can accompany a yeast infection then you know that not only do you want to rid your body of the invasive microbes when it shows itself but you want to make sure that they are never allowed to invade your body again. But fighting yeast infections can be an uphill battle. Sure there are plenty of creams and pills that are made to fight the yeast infections but they are not natural and sometimes can come with some pretty nasty side effects of their own. Although yeast infections are a pain, they are a natural thing, caused basically by an imbalance in your body and to fight them off you need a natural cure. That is why we have put together some home remedies for yeast infections. Here is what some people have done to remove the yeast infection from their bodies.
Some people have claimed to have success using warm water with baking soda, You would think that they would apply it to the affected area but they actually drink it every day and claim that it helps keep the yeast infections away. Other people have douched with a mixture of grape seed extract and warm water. They claim to have had some much needed relief by using this method.
So if you need some relief from yeast infections then you can turn to natural medicine to heal your body from the infectious microbes and get your yeast infections under control once and for all.
Recurring or persistent yeast infections can be both annoying and dangerous. If you are tired of all the medicines and creams that carry their own harmful side effects then it’s time for you to try a natural cure. Visit our website now to see the special report on 100% natural yeast infection cure that give you relief in hours and cures your yeast infection once and for all. stop-yeast.info/ stop-yeast.info/
Stop suffering from stop-yeast.info/ Yeast Infections in minutes with this special report.