Flattering Clothes for a Larger Waist

Here's a video with Katie Stiles showing off five inexpensive summer tops that help hide a very slight post-pregnancy belly. They're all available at Eddie Bauer online for under $40.

Better than Weight Loss Surgery?

There's an encouraging article today in the Los Angeles Times about scientists working on a procedure that would be much safer than weight loss surgery. It involves disrupting the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve tells us when we're hungry, it's the communication path between the stomach and the brain. See the full article here. Here's an excerpt;

WEIGHT loss surgery works, but is so invasive and has such unpleasant long-term side effects that it's recommended for only a fraction of the obese population, and even many in that group are reluctant to undergo the surgery. In hunting for a simpler and safer alternative, researchers have zeroed in on a nerve that carries much of the communication between brain and gut.

Disrupting this communication, they believe, could lead to safe, effective and sustained weight loss -- mainly by cutting off signals from the gut that tell the brain it's time to eat....

Two different methods of disrupting the vagus nerve are now in clinical trials. One method, vagotomy, simply cuts the nerve and permanently disables it. The other, vagal nerve blocking, uses an electric current to periodically confuse the nerve and prevent it from transmitting signals. Preliminary results suggest that both methods help to safely reduce excess body weight by about 20% on average within six months of therapy.

photo by Marcusrg

Walking Off 50 Pounds

Allison has lost 50 pounds since January. She took the extreme measure of participating in a 130 mile walk (15 miles a day along a noisy highway) back in March to get her motivated.

These days she does a file mile walk each morning and belongs to Weight Watchers. See her walking story here.