At last, I can deliver a bit of good news to those people who are always bemoaning their body shape and keep complaining that their pear shape body fat distribution is less than ideal.

If that is something that you can identify with, you will be pleased to learn that recent Danish research has revealed that if you have larger thighs than the average, you finally have a reason to celebrate. The Danish study found that having bigger thighs than the average person protects you against cardiovascular disease and premature death.

The research, which was performed on 2800 men and women, found that people with a thigh circumference of 60 centimetres or less had an increased risk of premature death, as well as heart and cardiovascular disease. As a matter of fact, those with the smallest thighs – measuring 46 cm or less in circumference – had double the mortality risk of those with a thigh circumference of 55 cm.
According to the researchers, having too little muscle or subcutaneous fat in the lower limbs, is likely to cause a problem with sugar and fat metabolism and this leads on to chronic disease and higher risk.

We have known for quite some time that extra fat, when it is deposited mainly around the waist and causes the so called ‘apple shape’ obesity, is bad for you and increases your risk of heart disease and of cardiovascular disease. But although this was never shown to be the case in people with the more ‘pear shape’ distribution of body fat, there was no research, until now, to suggest that it was actually beneficial.

Further research will be necessary to see if increasing the thigh muscle mass through exercise creates similar health benefits.

Successful weight loss is not just about calories. Nor is it just about focusing on healthy foods and exercise. There is often a significant emotional basis to losing weight and keeping it off.

There are many people who have read all the weight loss books and believe that they have all the knowledge they need to lose weight, but all that knowledge just never seems to be quite enough to get them to succeed at losing weight. They seem to be lacking some vital ingredient to keep them on track and focused.

The truth of the matter is that in order to lose weight effectively and successfully, you need certain mental and emotional resources to help you stay focused, optimistic and committed. Although it is likely that you have the potential to do this, the potential is often buried somewhere deep inside and most people need help to bring this potential out.

Now there is a way you can do just that.

If you are looking for some guidance and help to deal with emotional eating or binge eating, the Body Metabolism Institute has created 3 powerful audio CDs, with accompanying books and worksheets to help you succeed with preventing emotional eating and putting a stop to binge eating.

If you are a BMI Member you already have access to these modules.

We are all familiar with our own coping strategies – they are the techniques we use to get us through whenever we are under stress or just having emotional problems and not coping very well.
Unfortunately, the strategies that we use are often the wrong strategies; they can be ineffective strategies or, worse still, totally inappropriate strategies.

When the strategies we use don’t work or end up causing a bad outcome, doctors call these "maladaptive strategies". This means that we have adapted to a situation, but the adaptation is causing more trouble and was therefore a poor choice.

At these times we need to change or modify the strategies we are using. An excellent way to do this is to highlight the trigger points that motivate you best, write them down and review them on a regular basis. If you keep returning to them, you will often find something new and powerful enough to trigger a change in your attitude.

Here is a useful fact to remember:

It takes 3 weeks to break a habit
It takes 3 months to establish a new one
So persevere. Do not be discouraged.

I hope you are enjoying and getting benefit from this newsletter. If you are looking for more in depth information you can get it by becoming a member of the BMI Boost Insider’s Club.

In the meantime, if you have any special topics you would like me to cover in future newsletters, please contact me at: info@bmiweight.com.au

Best Wishes for Your Continued Success

Dr Leon