Eeek! Large unexplained weight gain!

Hi,

Sorry to trouble cc with a post like this, but I really need some support/words of wisdom!

I know that weight varies from day to day, but my weight has suddenly gone up by 6 pounds in 2.5 weeks.  I've thought about my intake and I guess I've had maybe 100 calories extra on around 6 days or so.  Maybe been a little less active.

I am quite bloated today and took some laxatives last night which haven't worked yet, could that me part of the cause??

Once again sorry to bother others with my problems but if you have anything which might explain this for me then pleeeease do post.  I just don't know whether this gain is real or whether it's water/bloating etc.

Thanks so much!

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Khyla Kadeena, Student

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Rapid weight gain during recovery? Really depressed :(

Just starting to recover...last week and taking it slow. I upped my calorie intake to 1500-1700 and I gained 3 kilograms?? Isn't a pound of fat 3500 calories?

I heard that after being in starvation, your body starts "hanging on to the fat" to prevent starvation but how is it possible if I'm not eating over?

I've been eating less than 200-900 calories for half a year with occasional binges but I think my metabolism varies a lot, mostly good. Today I've been trying to force myself to eat more calories but I always feel full and constipated. :( And I feel so bad about it and burst into tears for no reason at all. I'm up to a hundred pounds and I know I'm a horrible person for thinking this but I feel so fat and ugly.

Tomorrow I'm going to challenge myself not to "calculate" and eat some fear foods. But I'm really scared to gain so much. Is this fat or water weight? And how long will it go way (or ever?!)

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Soup Up Your Instagram, Drink Low-Cal Brews This Weekend and More!

Wanna up your Instagram cred? The brand-new Instasham was made for you. Basically, It's a collection of awesome images you can choose from to post as your own and look like you just returned from a month-long excursion to the Greek isles. [Adweek]

No need to worry about a beer belly this St. Patty's Day: These brews taste so good, you won't believe they're low-cal. [TIME]

New Balance has just announced they'll be using 3D technology to create sneakers that support runners' feet perfectly. [Gizmodo]

Did you know it'll take 32 minutes of yoga to burn the calories in one bottle of Miller Light?!? Read up on these ways to work off the brews you imbibe. [DailySpark]

OMG SHOPPING ALERT: Online designer powerhouse Net-A-Porter will start selling high-end beauty products on their site, too. [WWD]

Image Credit: Courtesy of AdWeek

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Choosing to binge eat

I used to restrictively eat, then started eating and exercising healthily, then started to try and intuitively eat, but that turned into binge sessions, now I am bingeing all the time and I feel like it will never stop. I have read all the advice on how to handle it, but I think I've become addicted to bingeing and I love it. I almost don't want to stop, except it is so bad for your health and I am gaining weight. What should I do? a lot of the time I think I mistake other signals for hunger signals and then this turns into a binge session. Sometimes I recognize that it's a binge and I don't stop and I keep going and forget that I had felt full before, it's like I just started eating. Food hypnotizes me or something. I don't know what to do. I've been told to do a diet plan and I've tried that but I feel like I will miss the binges because they are so comforting.

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Mammograms Every Other Year OK for Women Over 50: Study

Researchers found similar risk for advanced disease as with yearly screening, but some experts disagree

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Some women 50 and older may be able to have a mammogram every other year without increasing their risk of developing an advanced breast cancer, according to a large new study on nearly 1 million women.

The findings are published online March 18 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study conclusions drew mixed reactions, including criticism for its methods, from other experts. Debate about who should get screened with mammography, and how often, has been ongoing.

In the new research, women aged 50 to 74 who got a screening mammogram every other year had a risk of developing advanced-stage breast cancer that was similar to that of women in the same age range who got the test every year.

The researchers evaluated nearly 12,000 women with breast cancer and more than 922,000 without, said researcher Dr. Karla Kerlikowske, a professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

The investigators considered whether the women had high breast density and whether they were taking combination hormone therapy with estrogen and progestin, both considered risk factors for breast cancer. Dense breasts have more glandular tissue and less fatty tissue.

"If you undergo [mammography every two years], you are not any more likely to end up with some advanced breast cancer than if you have annual screenings," Kerlikowske said of this group of women.

Screening every two years -- or biennially -- was also associated with a lower risk of having a false-positive result, the researchers found. False-positives -- suspicions of cancer that turn out not to be after more testing -- can cause more expense and distress, experts note.

However, for women aged 40 to 49 who have extremely dense breasts, the researchers found biennial mammograms were linked with nearly a twofold increased risk of advanced-stage cancers and large tumors, and also a high risk of false-positive results.

In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts, issued its guidelines that women 50 to 74 at average risk should get a mammogram every two years. Women 40 to 49, the task force said, should talk with their doctor about the risks and benefits of screening.

The task force guidelines are at odds with those of many other organizations, including the American Cancer Society, which recommends annual screening beginning at age 40.

The task force guidelines consider only a woman's age, according to Kerlikowske. Her team decided to study the benefits and harms of screening based not just on age but also on breast density and hormone therapy use.

Women in the study were 40 to 74. Most diagnosed with breast cancer during the years studied, 1994 to 2008, were 50 or older. They typically had dense or very dense breasts.

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Study: Older Whooping Cough Vaccine More Effective

But it was phased out because of side effects; newer version works, study notes

By Serena Gordon

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- The older vaccine for whooping cough that was phased out in the late 1990s is more effective than the current version of the vaccine, a new study contends.

Teenagers who received four shots with the older vaccine -- called whole-cell vaccine -- before they were 2 years old were significantly less likely to become infected with whooping cough during a recent outbreak in California, compared to children who received all of their immunizations with the new vaccines, called the acellular vaccine.

"Teens who were vaccinated with the acellular vaccine appear to have a six times higher risk of [whooping cough] than teens who received four doses of the whole-cell vaccine. And, the teens who received some whole-cell vaccine and some acellular had about a four times higher risk than teens who received all whole-cell vaccines," said the study's lead author, Dr. Nicola Klein, co-director of the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, in Oakland.

Whooping cough, which is also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory infection. In 2012, the United States had the highest number of whooping cough cases since 1959 with more than 41,000 infections and 18 deaths. Most of the deaths occurred among infants, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The whole-cell vaccine was used from the 1940s to the 1990s, but was phased out due to potential side effects. "The reason we switched away from the whole-cell vaccine was that there were some safety concerns, such as high fevers," Klein explained.

The acellular vaccine was introduced in the 1990s, and has few side effects. However, in recent years, a number of studies have found that the newer vaccine doesn't seem to work for as long as the older vaccine.

California experienced an outbreak of whooping cough in 2010 and 2011. This gave researchers the chance to see how effective the acellular vaccine was compared to the whole-cell vaccine in teens who may have received all of their shots with one or the other vaccine, or possibly with both.

The study included teens born from 1994 to 1999 who got their initial four shots of whooping cough vaccine before they were 2 years old at Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Of the study participants, 138 teens had confirmed whooping cough. They were compared to 899 teens who'd had a lab test that confirmed they didn't have whooping cough, and to 54,339 "matched control" teens.

The researchers found that the fewer number of whole-cell vaccines a teen had received, the greater the risk of whooping cough.

Teens who had received all acellular vaccines had a 5.63 times greater risk of whooping cough than teens who'd gotten all whole-cell vaccines. Teens who received both acellular and whole-cell vaccines had a 3.77 times higher risk of whooping cough compared to those who had all whole-cell vaccines.

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2 yo not listening

I have a 2 year old , be refuses to listen to anything and is constantly defying us. My house is a mess because of him and he destroys everything . Any suggestions as to get him to behave and listen better. Time outs have yet to work for us.

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Bradley Cooper and Suki Waterhouse seen walking in Boston Park in Massachusetts

So they ARE dating! We snapped Bradley Cooper and Brit model Suki Waterhouse attempting an in cognito stroll through Boston Common Park in Massachusetts yesterday

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Advice for setting running goals for a beginner

Hi everyone! I need some advice as I just started running. 

I started with the c25k app but felt ok running longer than one minute, so I ended up running 15 min straight for day 1, then 25 min yesterday for day 2 (although I wanted to stop so bad at 20 min). I average 11:20 min/mile which is reaaaally slow, but I'm not too concerned about it.

I don't really know if I should keep up with that 25 min or try and reach 30 or even 45 min. I don't want to set myself up for failure by having unrealistic goals. My main problem with keeping up with an exercise routine is when I feel overwhelmed/demotivated. My legs are fine/aren't sore at all today.

I want to run 5x times a week, for weight loss mostly, as I am 35 lbs overweight (10 lbs overweight BMI-wise). 

I guess my question is, what are realistic goals for someone who starts running? Should I work on running for a longer period of time? Faster? At what frequency should I increase my goals and by how much?

Also, I'm currently eating anywhere between 1200-1600 calories a day (BMR is 1630). Is that enough for running 5x a week? I'm aiming for a 1.5 lbs-2 lbs loss a week.

tia :) 

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Hilary Swank's New Role: Malaria Hero

In her latest film, the actress plays a mom determined to eradicate the disease.By Lauren Paige Kennedy
WebMD Magazine - Feature

A heartbreaking scene unfolds in the new HBO film Mary and Martha. Hilary Swank (as Mary of the film's title, opposite British actor Brenda Blethyn's Martha) witnesses a grief-stricken mother leaving a South African health clinic with her deceased toddler, who is wrapped from head to toe in a white bed sheet. Malaria has killed the child, and a parent's dreams have died, too.

This tragedy plays out much too frequently, almost 660,000 times each year -- every 60 seconds in sub-Saharan Africa and in parts of Asia and South America. Most of these deaths are among children age 5 and under -- all victims of a preventable disease.

4 Diseases Doctors Get Wrong

By Laura NathanDoubting your diagnosis? Read on to find out what you might really have. Sometimes even the best doctors miss the mark: About 40 percent of all mistakes that M.D.s make are misdiagnoses, says the National Patient Safety Foundation. That's because many ailments have similar symptoms or can be detected only with tests that your physician might consider unnecessary if he's confident in his verdict. If you're in the know about often-confused conditions, though, you can ask the right...

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Two-time Oscar winner Swank, 38, is no stranger to roles that pack a powerful social-message punch. After moving to Los Angeles with her single mother from Bellingham, Wash., in 1990, she made many under-the-radar appearances on television and in the film The Next Karate Kid. She broke out 14 years ago as the transgendered Brandon Teena in the heartbreaking independent film Boys Don't Cry, for which she won her first Academy Award in 2000.

In the years that followed, Swank played a suffragette (Iron Jawed Angels), a poor woman who tackles legal injustice (Conviction), a famously feminist pilot (Amelia), a teacher of at-risk kids (Freedom Writers), and a female fighter in the male-dominated world of boxing (Million Dollar Baby), which earned her a second Oscar in 2005.

Do her acting choices reflect an underlying social conscience? "When you put it like that, it's true," Swank says, laughing. "To me, more than finding some big, important message, most of [my roles] come down to love and relationships. But the trajectory of the choices I've made over the years -- they do have those core values. As a moviegoer and an artist, I'm drawn to the kind of work that says it's our responsibility to help others. There is an important theme [in Mary and Martha] that shows how we can make change in the world, and how we can save lives."

And what of that terrible scene? Is she aware that British screenwriter Richard Curtis (of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love, Actually fame) penned it from personal observations?

"I knew there were moments in the script Richard had experienced," Swank says. "He's vocal about eradicating malaria. This is not a true story: It's fiction, but it's harrowing to think things like that really happen. [The narrative] is not related to one specific person, but to millions. We could wipe malaria from the face of the earth today if we wanted to -- it's a wake-up call."

Curtis has been involved in malaria fundraising for years through Malaria No More and other charities. "I go to Africa quite often," he says. "That scene is almost a direct quotation from a real-life scene I witnessed. ...There are big statistics out there about malaria's mortality rate, and we're terribly aware of the tragedy of one child dying. But when you have so many dying every day, it somehow has less impact. With the film I wanted to make the statistics more painful...the children in Africa are in agony and in danger."

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can't stop binging ! related to set point theory? help

it seems that no matter how many days i can go eating healthy, i always end up binging. and when i say healthy eating, i mean at least 1500/700 calories of good food. when i binge, it's over the top. i'm talking entire pizzas, cakes, bowls and bowls of pasta, etc, all in one day. 

i have been trying to lose 15 pounds for quite some time now and it seems impossible for me. i am 5'8" 150 pounds and 21 years old. i know i'm already at a healthy weight but this is actually the biggest i've ever been. i used to struggle with eating problems and I never want to return to that but it seems i am showing some disordered behaviour with the binging. is this happening because my body is fighting against weight loss due to my past? i have heard of 'set point' weights, and i'm guessing that this is mine. no matter how much i eat, i could binge for weeks, and i do not go over this weight. at this point losing weight is not my biggest priority i would just like to stop binging and start adopting normal eating behaviours. i don't understand why the binging is still happening all the time and why i am constantly craving very high fat foods. any opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Are These "Healthy" Foods?

When your family bites into a fresh fruit or a steamed vegetable, you know you're serving up something that’s good for them. But beyond that, it's hard to be sure.

Even if the package says that a food is healthy or loaded with all kinds of vitamins and minerals, check the label. It may be full of other things your family doesn't need.

Some foods, like these seven, may not be as healthy as you think.

Even though some kinds can be high in fiber, this whole-grain cereal can be loaded with sugar in part because the raisins often are coated with sugar.

Angela Lemond, RD, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, suggests making your own because raisins are naturally sweet and store-bought versions often add more raisins that you need.

"It's better to buy plain bran flakes and sprinkle a tablespoon of raisins into your serving," she says.

Many cereals, including raisin bran, are also surprisingly high in salt. "People don't realize it because of the sweet flavor," says Lilian Cheung, DSc, RD, director of health promotion and communication in the Nutrition Department at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Look for cereals that have less than 300 milligrams of sodium and 8 grams (about 2 teaspoons) of sugar per serving.

Better yet, make oatmeal using steel-cut oats. They are a whole grain and have no sodium or sugar that you may find in instant varieties. Add fruit or a teaspoon or two of honey if you like.

"Low fat," "reduced fat," and "fat free" processed foods like salad dressings, peanut butter, and snacks like crackers can have added sugar or salt. Why? To make up for a lack of flavor because fats are missing.

You may even gain unhealthy weight eating them. "Sometimes they're actually higher in calories than full-fat versions," Lemond says. Carbohydrates from sugar often take the place of fat in these foods. Your body digests these faster than fats, making you feel hungrier sooner.

Cheung suggests mixing your own salad dressing. Use oils that have healthy fats.

"Don't be afraid of healthy fats," Cheung says. "Olive, canola, safflower, corn, soya bean, and peanut oils are rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats."

To make your own dressing, mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. Use it to dress up a salad or roasted vegetables.

Ground turkey can be healthy, but some is ground whole turkey, which has more fat than the breast. When shopping, check the label to see that it is ground from either turkey breast or 97% to 99% lean turkey meat.

A surprising alternative? Extra lean ground beef can be healthier even than lean ground turkey. It’s lower in cholesterol.

But extra lean beef can be dry, so it's best for browning and crumbling into foods like tacos and spaghetti sauce. When shopping, look for labels that say 96% lean and less than 2 grams of saturated fat per serving.

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Teenage weight loss

I'm 16, 5 feet tall, VERY SEDENTARY (yes, ik i have to start exercising), 91 lbs, and eat 1,300 calories a day. Every day, at 9:00, I get really hungry but have no more calories left over.. advice?

I am really short + non active so I think I already eat wayy too many calories. I also have a slow metabolism i think, im not sure though

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Everything You Need to Look Amazing This Spring

We're stoked to share our favorite story of the week from our sister mag, Lucky!

The editors at Lucky spend a lot of time finding the most stylish basics, beauty must-haves and tons of accessories that suddenly we can't live without. We love it in small doses, but it's so much better in one giant package, right?

And that's exactly what the Lucky Spring Edit is: Everything you need to look amazing this spring, according to the editors of Luckymag.com. Click here for the full guide.

MORE FROM LUCKYMAG.COM:

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Sugary Sodas, Fruit Punches May Raise Kidney Stone Risk: Study

It's important to stay hydrated, but water may be your best choice, experts say

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking large amounts of sugary sodas and fruit drinks might raise your odds for painful kidney stones, a new study finds.

Although drinking extra fluids usually helps prevent stones from forming, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston warn that beverages may come with varying risks or benefits. Coffee, tea and orange juice, for example, are associated with a lower risk of kidney stone formation.

On the other hand, "we found that higher consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks was associated with a higher incidence of kidney stones," study senior author Dr. Gary Curhan, a physician in the Channing Division of Network Medicine, said in a hospital news release.

The study involved more than 194,000 people tracked for more than eight years. The participants were questioned about their medical history, lifestyle and medications. Information on their diet also was collected every four years.

The researchers found that those who drank one or more servings of sugar-sweetened soda daily had a 23 percent higher risk for kidney stones than those who drank less than one serving per week. The study showed that this also was true for those who drank sugary beverages other than soda, such as fruit punch.

Two experts said there are already many health reasons to avoid sugary drinks.

"While there is no conclusive evidence to show that sugary drinks alone cause kidney stones, other associations with the consumption of sugary beverages has been reported," said Dr. Michael Palese, associate professor of urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. "This includes diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, which have also been linked to the formation of kidney stones."

Nancy Copperman is director of public health initiatives at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y. She stressed that, "adults need to consume 6 to 8 cups of fluid a day to maintain proper hydration" and help prevent kidney stones. Cutting sugar-sweetened beverages out of those fluids might also help ward off stones, she added.

So what is the healthiest way to stay hydrated? "In general, water is still the best hydrant and certainly, [for] kidney stone prevention, the preferred beverage," Palese said.

According to background information from the researchers, kidney stones will affect 20 percent of American men and 10 percent of American women at some point in their lives.

The study was published online May 15 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

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Jesse Eisenberg at a New York gala

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gluten free egg recipes?!

I'm sick of having eggs and toast or scrambled eggs! Any good gluten free ideas for breakfast? Preferably with eggs as I find they really keep me full! Thanks for any advice!

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Losing Weight May Ease Chronic Heartburn

Study found shedding pounds reduced GERD symptoms among overweight, obese patients

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- Obese and overweight men and women who suffer from heartburn often report relief when they lose weight, a new study shows.

The researchers tracked the effects of weight loss over a year in patients who had a persistent form of heartburn known as gastroesophageal reflux, or GERD.

"If you lose weight, you will have improvements in your reflux symptoms," said study author Dr. Preetika Sinh, a gastroenterology fellow at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. In women, but not men, long-term exercise also helped reduce symptoms, she added.

Sinh was scheduled to present the findings Monday at the Digestive Disease Week annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Previous research also has linked weight loss with a decline in GERD symptoms.

Heartburn, or acid indigestion, is very common, with more than 60 million Americans having it at least once a month, according to the American College of Gastroenterology. Stomach acid flows backward up into the esophagus, and the burn begins.

GERD, the more frequent, chronic form of heartburn, can lead to complications if left untreated, including a narrowing of the esophagus or precancerous changes in the esophageal lining.

Sinh evaluated more than 200 men and women with an average age of 46. At the start of the study, all were overweight or obese, with an average weight of 220 pounds.

At the beginning of the study, 38 percent had heartburn scores severe enough to be classified as GERD. After six months, the patients' average weight decreased to 183 pounds, and only 16 percent still had GERD.

During the next six months, 172 of the patients regained weight, and the percentage of those with heartburn increased again, from 16 percent to 22 percent. Even a small amount of weight gain -- less than 5 percent of their initial weight -- led to worsening symptoms, Sinh found.

Sinh then focused on the 41 patients who didn't regain their weight and found that the percentage with heartburn continued to decline and the symptoms continued to improve.

As part of the weight-loss program, the patients were told to aim for five hours a week of moderate activity such as walking or jogging. The average amount logged was a little less than four hours, Sinh said.

In women, but not men, the exercise also helped to improve heartburn.

Sinh said she can't explain the mechanisms behind either the weight loss or the exercise, or why the exercise seemed to help only women. Although the study found a link between weight loss, exercise and GERD, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

While the use of heartburn medications is common, Sinh said she can't say if the men and women improved enough to go off medication, since she didn't track those results. Only about 5 percent of the men and women were on heartburn medications in the first place, she said.

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A healthy glow

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder SPF 15 - Browse through the latest beauty products online at Glamour.com. Visit Glamour.com for beauty product reviews and advice.

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