Losing weight is the goal of many individuals worldwide however there is no simple way to drop the pounds like taking a pill or simply wishing them away. Unfortunately, losing weight takes determination and commitment to a healthy diet and exercise plan and even then it takes longer than we would like to drop those extra pounds. So, what can you do to lose weight and keep your sanity? The following five tips should help you out.

Tip #1 Lower Your Expectations
If you begin an exercise or diet plan, or both, and have heard you will lose incredible amounts of weight in no time at all and then it doesn’t happen then you feel let down and won’t have the same dedication to carry on and your diet fails miserably. However, if you are more realistic to begin with and realize that most people lose 1-2 pounds per week on a healthy exercise and diet plan then you will be better informed and can expect these types of results ahead of time rather than being disappointed.

Tip #2 Don’t Tell Everyone You are Dieting
When people first start diets they tell everyone they are dieting and their great weight loss plans. However, this can frequently work against you because people will talk and judge your weight loss progress and make you feel uncomfortable, especially if you eat something others don’t believe is part of your diet plan. This will give you a complex, so simply start your diet, inform close family and friends for support, and keep your dieting to yourself and you won’t go crazy.

Tip #3 Don’t Eliminate a Food Group
Many times when you eliminate a complete food group from your diet you feel as if you are really sacrificing too much and you will simply lose your sanity and your diet will fail. On the other hand, if you eat a well balanced diet and allow yourself little treats along the way you will lose weight and keep your sanity as well.

Tip #4 Household Support
When you start a diet you need to make sure the entire household will support you in your efforts. If you are not eating sugar yet your spouse continues to come home with cookies, ice cream, and doughnuts then you will have a hard time sticking to the diet and you won’t feel much support, either, which will drive you crazy. So, make sure your entire family is ready to support you and if they choose to eat unhealthy to do it away from the home.

Tip #5 Work Out
Losing weight takes a lot of time, which can really test your sanity. However, if you include a work out routine with your diet then you will see a much quicker weight loss, have more energy, sleep better, and simply feel better about yourself. This will help you keep your sanity and stay true to your weight loss plan.

When you follow these five tips you will be able to keep your sanity while staying on your diet and exercise plan better than if you give it a try all on your own.

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Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis triggered by crystallization of uric acid within joints. Gout is an extremely painful condition. It is often associated with other medical condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney abnormalities, and elevated cholesterol.

The onset of gout appears to be related to both genetic as well as dietary factors. Uricase, an enzyme that is required for digestion of uric acid, does not function in humans because of a defective gene. The combination of this crippled gene along with dietary intake of foods high in purines leads to elevated levels of blood uric acid.

Certain foods such as red meat, shellfish, peas, beans, lentils, and spinach are high in purine content. Interestingly, it is the animal derived purines (meat and shellfish) which tend to increase the risk for gout while the plant-derived purines do not appear to.

Alcohol, in the form of beer and red wine, is a definite trigger for gout. It increases the production of uric acid and blocks the excretion of uric acid by the body.

Acute gout tends to affect joints such as the great toe, foot, ankle, and knee. Occasionally the wrist and elbow may also be affected. A typical attack of gout begins in the early morning with swelling, redness, heat, and pain. The pain is so intense that even the weight of a bed sheet cannot be tolerated on the affected joint. Acute attacks are treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, colchicines, and occasionally steroids. Weight and diet control measures along with abstinence from alcohol are secondary measures.

Chronic gout, which is gout that has gone on for several years, may affect virtually any joint. Chronic gout causes a particularly severe deforming type of arthritis. Patients have large deposits of uric acid, called tophi, in the joints and under the skin. Patients with chronic gout require uric acid lowering therapy. Drugs like probenecid are usually effective in patients with normal kidney function so long as they are not already excreting large amounts of uric acid in the urine. If they are, then probenecid should not be used.

Allopurinol is the drug that the majority of people who require uric-acid lowering therapy go on. Unfortunately, while it is effective, it is also extremely toxic and must be used cautiously by experienced physicians.

A new drug, febuxostat, is currently awaiting approval by the FDA and will offer an alternative to allopurinol.

Lifestyle modifications should include weight control, limits on red meat and shell fish consumption, and daily exercise.

Patients should also have co-morbid conditions such as hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and diabetes addressed.

Dr. Wei (pronounced “way”) is a board-certified rheumatologist and Clinical Director of the nationally respected Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center of Maryland. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and has served as a consultant to the Arthritis Branch of the National Institutes of Health. He is a Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology and the American College of Physicians. For more information on arthritis and related conditions, go to: http://www.arthritis-treatment-and-relief.com

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What do you do about the scale? If you weigh yourself everyday you will likely see your weight bounce up and down, and on up days you can get discouraged. That is why many trainers will tell you to ignore the scale. They will tell you that what is really important is how fit you are, and not how much you weigh.

And on the other hand, there are diet programs and diet books that focus only on the scale, and sell you on quick weight loss based on nothing but the scale.

Which way is right? Scale or no scale? They both have some truth in them. Let’s sort it out.

We tend to be focused on the scale, because it is such an easy thing to measure, and it is easy to compare the numbers. You read that your favorite celebrity lost 25 poundsyou can easily understand that. You read, “Lose 15 pounds in 2 days!” You can certainly understand that.

The scale gives us a number that we can use and compare and use. It is simple.

But if you think about it, the reason we are so intent on the scale is not because we really are so interested in numbers, but because we are interested in looking good. We want to be lean. We want to be sexy. We want our clothes to fit, and we want to be appealing to others. And we know that when we lose weight we get these things. So we get hooked on the scale.

But the scale is just one part of it. What is really important is the details that we cannot measure so easily. For instance, you can lose weight but instead of losing fat you lose muscle. This happens all the time with quick weight loss diets.

When you are done, you don’t look as good as you thought you would. Your arms are still flabby. Your belly still sags. You still don’t look good in a bathing suit and you are still embarrassed about your body. And since you don’t have as much muscle to burn up calories, you gain the weight back faster than ever.

See, even if the scale improved, you didn’t accomplish what you wanted. So even though it is harder to measure, what you really want to know is how much lean body mass you have as well as how much fat you have.

If you became really lean, really firm, with sleek, strong muscles, and you saw your trim abs in the mirror, the firm arms, and the sexy butt, you wouldn’t care what the scale said.

On the other hand, the people who are the most successful in weight loss, in taking the weight off and keeping it off forever, are people who have a weight loss goal and who actually reach that goal. Not the people who lose some of their excess weight, or who get almost to the goal. No, the people who keep it off get all the way to their exact goal.

Many people can lose some of their weight and get part way to their goal. But the vast majority gain it back. But those people who have a goal and reach the goal are much more likely to keep the weight off.

So you see, there are two sides to the weight loss coin. There is more to losing weight and getting the body you want than the scale. And on the other hand, having a goal and reaching it will dramatically increase your odds of staying lean forever.

So what do you do? The best way is to make the scale part of your plan, but not the whole plan. Weigh yourself regularly, keep a chart, and watch only the long-term trend, not the daily ups and downs. And you can get the body you want.

Dan Curtis, M.D. Can help YOU lose weight. Sign up for our free newsletter: Dr. Dan’s Super Weight Loss Tips, Tricks and Secrets. It’s free! Click here http://www.superweightlossplan.com/newsletter/

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