Mikita lost 76 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Mikita lost over 70 pounds. This blogger and mom of 3 was on a mission to flatten her belly by her 40th birthday. She changed her lifestyle, one habit at a time. Drinking lots of water, eating healthier food and exercising regularly was the right combination. Check out her story. I just wanted […]

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How Mary Gould Lost 245 Pounds

Weight Loss Win is a weekly series I do for Yahoo Beauty. Here is an excerpt from this week’s inspiring story.

Mary Gould Lost 245 Pounds: ‘I Decided It Was Time to Reclaim My Life and Become the Best Version of Myself’

Mary Gould is 39, 5 feet 6 inches tall, and currently weighs 225 pounds. In 2015, after suffering a life-altering health crisis and gaining a large amount of weight, she was able to lose more than 200 pounds and regain control of her life. Click here to read the story of her weight-loss journey.

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Kristin lost 135 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Kristin lost 135 pounds. At 305 pounds, she made the decision to invest in herself and release the weight. She says that this transformation has allowed her to be a better mother, sister, friend, aunt and life partner. Check out how she took action. I am a work in progress and I […]

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Amber lost 27 pounds

Amber lost 27 pounds. She’s been working hard since March and isn’t waiting until the end of her journey to celebrate her progress. Prayer, support from her daughters and embracing healthy habits is working for her. What was your motivation? I had completely given up on myself. I looked at this before picture and was in tears. […]

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Best apps for quitting smoking

Need help to stop smoking? Medical News Today have found the best apps for quitting smoking to help you kick the habit for good and become smoke-free.

Smoking Cessation Feeds

You Are Not a Garbage Disposal

In my house growing up food was a precious commodity. It was how my parents showed love, it was how we celebrated, how we grieved, it brought us together. And something that precious was never, ever, to be wasted. When you finished your first serving, mom would offer you more. Dinner wasn’t over until all the food was gone.

Over the years, learning to leave this mindset behind has been extremely difficult. The thought of throwing food away is repulsive to me—even the thought of putting it away for leftovers leaves me a little unsettled. I rapidly project myself into the future and try to plan exactly who is going to eat the leftovers and in what quantity so I can mentally zero out the food balance sheet (Daniel is a godsend for any leftover anxiety I may have, since he loves them). But when I find myself eating just to finish my plate, or eating for the sake of not wasting, I try to remind myself, you are not a garbage disposal. The food I don’t need to eat can either end up on my body, as pounds, or in the trash. And while both scenarios are a sad, unnecessary waste, I get to choose where the food goes.

If you struggle with this, too, the best thing you can do is figure out how much food you or your family need and prepare the right amount. Of course, sometimes you may be in a situation where that isn’t possible—and waste is more or less inevitable, in those cases, it’s important that you eat the amount of food you want to eat (or, the amount you know you should eat). If any food is left over, pack it up, bring it home, and put it in the fridge. Maybe someone will eat the leftovers; maybe no one will; that’s OK. You tried. Whether you’re throwing food in the trash or forcing food you don’t need or want down your throat, you are wasting it, because you are not a garbage disposal.

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Low physical activity increases risk of bladder, kidney cancer

Most of us know that physical activity is good for us. But a new study shows that a chronic lack of physical activity can drastically increase the chance of developing cancer in the bladder and kidneys, and it suggests that engaging in more physical activity may reduce this risk.

New research suggests that chronic sedentarism can increase the risk of bladder and kidney cancer by over 70 percent.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that, every year, almost 57,000 adults have kidney and renal pelvis cancers in the United States. Additionally, almost 14,000 people per year die from these cancers.

Bladder cancer is also widespread. According to the CDC, around 71,000 U.S. individuals developed bladder cancer in 2013, and almost 16,000 people died as a result.

A team of researchers at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY, set out to examine the link between leading a sedentary lifestyle and the risk of developing kidney or bladder cancer.

The findings were published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology.

The researchers were led by Dr. Kirsten Moysich, distinguished professor of oncology in the Departments of Cancer Prevention and Control and Immunology at Roswell Park, and Rikki Cannioto, assistant professor of oncology also in the Department of Cancer Prevention and Control at Roswell Park.

Drs. Moysich and Cannioto, along with their colleagues, analyzed 160 people with renal (kidney) cancer, 208 bladder cancer patients, and 766 healthy controls.

Participants were asked to report on their levels of physical activity - namely, whether or not they took part in any regular or weekly recreational physical activity throughout the course of their lives. Those who said that they had never done so were classified as "physically inactive."

The researchers used unconditional multivariable logistic regression methods to calculate the odds of developing renal and bladder cancer.

Inactivity increases kidney and bladder cancer risks by up to 77 percent

Overall, the authors found "evidence of a positive association between renal and bladder cancer with lifetime recreational physical inactivity."

Specifically, they found that those who were physically inactive were 77 percent more likely to develop renal cancer and 73 percent more likely to develop cancer of the bladder.

A similar risk was found among people with obesity and people with a normal body weight - that is, having a body mass index (BMI) of below 30. This suggests that leading a sedentary lifestyle is an independent factor that influences bladder and renal cancer risk independently of obesity.

This study adds to previous data that have shown the same correlation. Former studies have also indicated a link between chronic physical inactivity and an increased risk of ovarian and cervical cancer.

However, the authors concede that additional, larger-scale, prospective studies are needed to consolidate the findings.

Dr. Moysich comments on the results and urges people to engage in a simple, moderate form of physical activity:

"We hope that findings like ours will motivate inactive people to engage in some form of physical activity. You don't have to run marathons to reduce your cancer risk, but you have to do something - even small adjustments like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking around the block a couple of times on your lunch hour, or parking the car far away from the store when you go to the supermarket."

Dr. Cannioto also weighs in on the results, saying that the "findings underscore how important it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including getting and staying active. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes each week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes each week of vigorous physical activity as a way to generate significant, lasting health benefits."

Learn how a type of bladder cancer bears molecular features of breast cancer.

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