The Problem with New Information

It's not hard to understand why we are scared of new knowledge. Everything we learn adds new brush strokes to the canvas of our life. And sometimes these new colors and shapes begin to change the picture on that canvas.

If we're overly-attached to our old and static views, the new additions may seem to be ruining that perfectly good and serviceable picture. And because we are comforted by the familiar - even a familiar that no longer serves us or even hurts us - this emerging picture may disturb us.

But let us challenge ourselves to not get our security from digging in our heels against an ever-moving, evolving world, but from our ability to adapt and change in the face of new information.

Baggy Skin After Weight Loss

On a weight-loss forum I sometimes visit, a young mother of three was really worried about the loose skin that can come with significant weight loss.

Her fear is actually quite founded, so it's important to keep three factors in mind: the speed with which the weight is lost, how much total weight is lost, and your age.

Skin elasticity simply cannot keep up with significant weight loss (100+ pounds) in a short amount of time, such as when people have weight-loss surgery. Many people who do have surgery to lose weight remain unhappy with the "skin suit" they are left with and thus require body contouring surgery to feel better about themselves. And even then, there are often scars. That isn't great news, but the basic problem is that if you lose weight too fast, it may not be possible for your skin to go back to the way it was before the weight gain.

Further, as we age, our skin becomes less elastic, which limits how well our skin adjusts to significant weight loss. By the time we are approaching 50 or so, our skin may have lost most of its elasticity, and thus regardless of what else we do, if we lose a lot of weight fat, there will be a lot of excess skin that cannot adjust to the change.

Assuming your skin is healthy, it should be able to adjust as your body changes when weight loss isn't too dramatically fast. So how can you help keep your skin elastic and give it time to adjust to your new body?

• Lose weight slowly.
• Exercise, which can create a layer of muscle under the skin.
• Use moisturizer that contains collagen and vitamin E to promote elasticity and new skin-cell growth.

And don't forget to drink lots of water, which you should be doing anyway, to keep the skin hydrated and elastic.

Depression and Obesity - Are they Linked?

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 1 in 10 adults in the United States are suffering from depression and more than 3 in 10 are obese.

And according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, nearly half of all depressed people are obese.

The data from the National Center for Health Statistics doesn't answer the question of why, however.

I think the answer lies is what depression does to people:

• Depression makes you care less about the things you would normally care about, and that includes what you eat and exercise. 
• Depression causes you to lose hope, and without hope you can't have goals, including weight-loss and exercise goals.
• Depression saps your energy, and you need energy to exercise.
• Depression lowers your self-worth, and if you don't think well of yourself, investing in yourself through diet and exercise seems pointless.
• Depression causes you pain, and sweets and other treats can make you feel better if only for a moment.
• Depression can make you feel empty, and you may eat too much in a misguided attempt to fill your emotional space.
• Depression medication can have weight-gain as a side-effect.

So which came first, the chicken or the egg? Does obesity lead to depression or depression to obesity? I would wager that both are true, but if your depression is serious, the depression needs to be addressed before you have the mental or physical fortitude to work on your weight issues.

If you think you're depressed, talk to a mental health counselor or heath professional.

Here's a link to the Depression Health Center on WebMD: Depression Health Center

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