Not a lot of people know that one of the most effective food items that can help them lose weight is easily within reach – water. Our body needs water to function. In fact, if the body’s water content falls down, dehydration occurs. And that is a very fatal health concern, to say the least. Water can help people lose weight and it’s true. This fact definitely is something worth discovering.

Water has many benefits. For one, it improves hormone functions. Hormones have a lot to do with the functions of the body as well as in regulating metabolism. Water can directly increase metabolic functions. Drinking water can help speed up your body’s ability to burn fats and sugar.

My sister told me that a childhood friend recently underwent a vertical banded gastroplasty surgery.

VBG, or commonly known as stomach stapling, is a common restrictive operation for weight control and is usually recommended as a surgical treatment for morbid obesity. It helps the weight loss process by limiting the amount of food portion that can be eaten at one sitting and a reduction of about 65% to 80% of excess body weight is expected as a result of the surgery.

Eventhough VBG is becoming more attractive to dieters looking for a way to lose the excess weight without having to rely on goold ol’ fashioned will power, I still was very surprised to hear that she spent about $20,000 of her retirement money for a surgery that I wasn’t sure she really needed.

Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric condition – 10% of those diagnosed die due to related factors. This eating disorder primarily affects women, especially adolescent girls, struggling with the pressure of today’s society to be thin. The obsessive fear of gaining weight, combined with body image distortion is a deadly lethal mix. It drives individuals to try to control their body weight by voluntary starvation, binge-eating, purging, vomiting and excessive exercise.

When I hear the word anorexia, I usually think of Nicole Ritchie, Lindsey Lohan and the Olsen Twins. Every gossip rag at the supermarket’s check out counter has always some big bold letters announcing which female celebrity is seeking treatment for it. So I was quite surprised when I picked up our local newspaper last week and read about Dennis Quaid and his battle with “manorexia” – the male version of anorexia. Well, well, well…. What do we have here? It seems that the big Hollywood trend of “skin and bones” is not just limited to its female population.

The flat stomach is back! With the profusion of ads showing low-cut jeans, high-cut shirts and pierced belly buttons, women are seeking a flatter abdomen.

An abdominoplasty, or “tummy tuck,” can restore that youthful, “hourglass” appearance in the right patient – ideally one with loose excess skin in the lower abdominal area. A good candidate would be close to their ideal body weight and not smoke.