Dynamic Solutions For Women

It’s now been a month since all those New Year resolutions were made, and about three weeks since they were all broken. Quick-fix, faddy diets have the power to help us lose a fair amount of weight in a short amount of time, but as any experienced dieter will tell you, they don’t work in the long-run.

So if you’ve fallen off the wagon, diet-wise, and are looking for an alternative, what can you try?

There are several eating plans and diet plans available out there. Going to classes (with companies like Slimming World and Weight Watchers, to name but two) are said to be effective because of the motivation they provide in the form of a weekly weigh-in and support from your ‘consultant’.
But can you follow a good diet at home? How do you go about motivating yourself?

Perhaps the first step is to find a diet that works for you. There are hundreds to choose from, but the basics remain the same: you need to be consuming less energy than you are burning off. If you burn off more (by exercising) then you can eat more.

You could limit the number of calories you consume. The average woman will burn off 2,000 calories per day. If you eat 1,000 – 1,500 per day, you will lose weight, even if you do no exercise. You need to lose 3,500 calories in order to lose one pound of weight. That is, if you burn off 2,000 calories in a day and have only eaten 1,500 that day, your body will have used the other 500 from its stores (i.e. from your fat). Do that for 7 days and you’ll have lost a pound. Add some exercise and you’ll lose the weight quicker.

Or you can try limiting the amount of fat and simple carbohydrates you eat. Limit your white bread (severely) and keep your fat intake to under 10g per day (check the packets for information) and you’ll lose weight.

You’re more likely to stick to your diet if you allow yourself a treat each day – you won’t feel as deprived and bitter. That might be a bar of chocolate in the evening, or an ice cream cone. If you’re due to go for a night out one week, then skip those treats on the other nights of that week and you’ll still lose weight.

Life insurance is one of those types of insurance that seems to be purchased more as we age. As people go through life changes, there is more of a need for this type of insurance. For some people, knowing exactly when to take out a policy can be confusing.

Certain circumstances definitely precipitate the need for taking out a life insurance policy. Rather than specifying a specific age for taking out life insurance, it is more important to think about the events going on in our lives. Sometimes, events happen sooner than one thinks or earlier than planned.

One time in life that is an appropriate time to start thinking about getting a life insurance policy would be marriage. When one marries, they no longer are a single person thinking entirely of themselves. As a married couple, they depend upon one another. With a life insurance policy, the surviving spouse will be covered in the event of the other spouse’s death. This can help with certain expenses such as the funeral. Also, as a married couple, people become dependent on two incomes. No longer having that second income could be financially damaging.

Another time in one’s life that would necessitate the new for life insurance would be the birth of one’s first child. Again, you are bringing another person until your life that you must support. Even if a couple already has life insurance, they will probably want to increase their coverage now that there is a child in the home.

If at some point in your life you seek a job that is risky to your life, this would be another time to think about getting life insurance if you do not have it already. Depending upon your industry and employer, you may be required to obtain life insurance as a condition of employment.

If any of these situations apply to you or you have another situation that you think might need life insurance, then contact Endsleigh insurance at www.endsleigh.co.uk for further information.

It seems that the ‘Jade Goody Effect’, seen at its peak in 2008 when her death raised awareness and screening of cervical cancer, is wearing off. When Jade died, there was a huge increase in the number of women attending for routine cervical smear tests. Sadly, that effect has not lasted long and numbers of smear tests are dwindling once again, with approximately one in five women failing to attend for their routine screening tests.

This week is Cervical Cancer Prevention week and experts are trying once again to raise awareness and prompt women to get checked by having regular smear tests.

Cervical cancer is a killer if not detected early. Around a thousand women per year die from the disease out of 2,800 annual new diagnoses. It affects just as many women under 50 as over, and it is the second most common type of cancer amongst women under the age of 35.

As part of Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, charities and the NHS alike are stressing that it is a preventable cancer on the whole. NHS Cancer Screening deputy director Richard Winder said, “A woman can control her risk of developing the disease by being screened regularly. Any abnormalities that might be found can then be treated in order that they do not go on to develop into cancer. Where a cervical cancer is found through screening, it is usually at a very early stage where treatment has a greater chance of success.

“It is essential that women are aware of this when deciding whether or not to be screened. Cervical screening is estimated to save 4,500 lives a year in England alone.”

It’s also possible to prevent the most common cause of the disease by being vaccinated against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is known to cause about 70% of cases of cervical cancer and is therefore a highly deadly STD. Vaccination is routinely offered the immunisation nationally to under-18s. A new version of the vaccine will also protect against genital warts as of later this year.

Routine smear tests are available to all women aged 25 – 65 years (every 3 years for women age 25 – 49 and every 5 years for women age 50 and over).

A representative, Gemma Byrne, from the charity called ‘The Eve Appeal’ stresses that it is important that women should educate themselves as to the early warning signs of the disease as well as getting the routine screening and vaccinations. “The earlier cervical cancer is diagnosed, the better the outcome will be, so even if women have been vaccinated and had regular screening, none of these is 100 per cent effective so women owe it to themselves to be aware of the early warning signs”

The early warning signs don’t happen in the very early stages of the disease but when they do occur they include unusual bleeding (e.g. after sexual intercourse; between periods; post-menopause), pain in or around the vaginal area during sex; discharge that smells unpleasant; pain or blood during urination; bone pain and weight-loss.

Seeing your GP at the earliest opportunity, and undergoing the screening process might save your life, so make time.

The French-made breast implants that have featured so much in the news lately have caused widespread concern amongst the 40,000 or so women who have had breast augmentation surgery using implants manufactured by PIP. Approximately 95% of women who have had the French PIP implants did so for cosmetic reasons, whilst the remaining 5% had the implants fitted for medical reasons, usually following mastectomies for cancer treatment.

Concerns were first raised in December 2011 when a French investigation into the implants was launched and the widespread nature of the problem with the implants was discovered and reported worldwide. The investigation revealed that the implants were made with industrial silicone (they are supposed to be filled with medical-grade silicone or equivalent); further, the structure and design of the implants leaves them susceptible to leakage or even rupture. There is no link to cancer from the implants.

The news alarmed many women, who were often unaware of the name or manufacturer of their breast implants and flooded their GPs with enquiries about whether they were at risk. Medical notes will reveal the make and maker of the implants, so if you think you may be affected you can easily find out from your notes if you paid privately for your implants. The NHS is writing to all women who have the PIP implants that were fitted on the NHS.

If the original implants were fitted by the NHS, the NHS will remove and replace the implants, free of charge, if you wish after talking with the consultant about your options and the risk to your health. If the implants were fitted privately, you should speak to the clinic where they were fitted to see what their policy is. Unfortunately, because the company that made the implants went bust (no pun intended), there is no way for private clinics or the NHS to claim their costs back from them, and whilst the NHS has done the right thing by offering replacements, private clinics are not all minded to do likewise. If the private clinic won’t act, you could get the implants replaced on the NHS for free, but only if it is clinically necessary.

If the private clinic that fitted your implants refuses to remove and replace them, and you cannot get them replaced on the NHS, you might have to consult a solicitor about your options.

Research into the implants has found that there isn’t normally a need to remove them earlier than they would have been removed and replaced normally (usually 10 – 15 years), but naturally women will be very anxious and concerned, and it is for this reason that the NHS is offering the removal and replacement.

If you are concerned, speak to your GP or clinic in the first instance.

If you experience a rupture, you would need urgent medical help. Ruptures can happen as the implants get older, or if they are damaged when inserted (or during manufacture) or if your breast gets injured. Signs of a rupture include:

• lumpiness in the breast
• lumpy or swollen areas around the breast (e.g. under the arms)
• redness and/or tenderness
• the breast gets smaller, looking ‘deflated’
• the breast changes shape or swells
• the breast becomes painful or sensitive.

If you experience any of those symptoms, see your GP immediately.

 Okay, so you probably weren’t terribly surprised when you stepped on the scales after Christmas and found that you’d put on a bit of weight. Or a lot. But two weeks later, are you still gaining weight? Were you gaining weight before the Christmas festivities began in earnest?

If you’re being honest with yourself about the calories your consuming and the exercise you’re undertaking then it would become clear if you were taking in more than you were burning off, and that’s the obvious explanation for why you’re getting a bit more cuddly. But what if you’re doing everything you can to lose weight, or even just eating sensibly and exercising regularly to maintain a healthy weight – and you’re still gaining? What could be going on there?

Here are some causes of weight gain that you might want to consider.

1. Stress: we feel stress in the same way that our ancestors felt it, and our ‘fight or flight’ mechanisms kick in. This can mean an increase in cortisol, our ‘stress hormone’, which can increase appetite.

2. Lack of sleep: often related to stress or over-work, biochemically a lack of sleep affects our hormones and increase hunger. If you’re really tired, you’ll often automatically reach for high-sugar, high-energy foods to keep you going. Plus, if you’re awake, you’re more likely to have the opportunity to eat.

3. Medication: some prescribed medication including antidepressants have a side-effect of weight gain. Check the leaflet in the pack for known side-effects and speak to your GP if you think it’s having an adverse effect.

4. Hypothyroidism: how many fat people have you heard bemoaning ‘it’s my thyroid’ as they tuck into a plate of pie and peas? Well, they give the rest of hypothyroidism sufferers a bad name because genuine sufferers can eat relatively little and still gain weight because a reduction of thyroid hormone from the thyroid gland slows the metabolism down. Other symptoms include feeling cold, weak and tired.

5. Age: changes in hormones during the menopause in women don’t actually affect weight, but the aging process does slow down the metabolism.

6. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS): this is a common problem suffered by women from puberty to menopause that causes lots of little cysts on the ovaries. It changes their hormones and leads to weight gain, lots more body hair, and acne.

7. Stopping smoking: nicotine is an appetite suppressant, so people who have stopped smoking sometimes find themselves hungry for the first time in years. Others just pick things up (like biscuits) and put them in their mouth in substitution of their cigarettes.

If you think that any of the above might apply to you, see your GP. But it’s a good idea to write a food diary – listing everything that passes your lips – for a couple of weeks or even a month, so that you can prove that you’re not gaining weight because of your diet. Also jot down any exercise you take. That might show the doctor that there is a problem to be investigated – or you might realise just how many treats have been creeping into your diet.

Most pregnant women take great care to eat well and be moderate in any ‘treats’ they may allow themselves during this special time. It is well-known that whatever the mother consumes (whether by eating, drinking or inhaling), the foetus will also consume and it is for this reason that most pregnant women choose to stop smoking and drinking, and cut down on their intake of other substances like caffeine.

However, it would seem that such efforts may be being thwarted by an irregularity in the amount of caffeine contained in coffee served in different cafés and coffee shops. This irregularity could be posing a health risk to pregnant women and their foetuses and scientists have called for information to be made freely available about the levels of caffeine being served.

Research published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal ‘Food and Function’ examined coffee from 20 coffee shops in Glasgow. The difference in caffeine content varied so much that one cup contained six times as much caffeine as another. The research, carried out by the University of Glasgow, suggested that drinking just one cup of espresso (which contained higher levels of caffeine in one coffee shop than another) could create caffeine toxicity in pregnant women, women taking oral contraceptives, children and people suffering from liver disease.

The advice from the Government’s Food Standards Agency currently recommends that pregnant women consume no more than 200mg of caffeine per day. Four of the 20 samples examined by the researchers contained more than 200mg in a single shot of espresso. In a Starbucks, the espresso contained 51mg of caffeine; in a coffee shop called Pattiserie Francoise their espresso contained 322mg. The shots of espresso are also used in preparing milky drinks like cappuccino.

The differences can be caused by the type of coffee used and/or by the way in which it is prepared. Lead researcher Professor Alan Crozier said, “The variations in the amount of caffeine reflect differences in the batch-to-batch bean composition, roasting procedures, grinding conditions and the many variables in the coffee-making process such as water temperature and the ratio of water to coffee.”

At the moment, there is no way for consumers to know how much caffeine is contained in their drinks served in coffee shops. Labels on caffeine-containing soft drinks like cola normally provide information about how much caffeine is contained though.

Caffeine is cleared by the body normally in about five hours, but it can take far longer for women on oral contraceptives, people with liver disease, and pregnant women to process the caffeine and clear it from their systems (up to 30 hours), and this is what makes them more prone to caffeine toxicity.

Professor Crozier added, “The data we have gathered suggests there is a real need for a definitive study of caffeine content and consumption of coffees, and for customers to be given the information they need to make an informed choice about their intake.”