Betsy Talbot, 42, and her husband Warren, 41, are healthy, happily married, world travelers these days, but that hasn’t always been the case. The couple who used to be overweight, unhappy and tied to office jobs now travels the world “full-time,” living out their dreams.

At their heaviest, Betsy and Warren weighed 210 and 178 pounds, respectively. But today, Betsy is a trim 160 pounds (just 10 pounds shy of her goal weight) and Warren has already reached his goal weight of 145 pounds. We had the pleasure of speaking with this adventurous pair recently about their weight loss journey as a couple. Here’s what they had to say.

Tell me when your weight struggles began.
Our weight struggles really began in adulthood when we began sitting for our jobs and our entertainment instead of being active. And we “over-busied” ourselves into thinking we had to eat fast and cram meals in instead of planning and enjoying them. This is a deadly combination for weight gain that most people can relate to.
Read Full Post >

By Stephanie Barnes for HelloGiggles.com

It’s finally here! Spring Break – the most magical time of the year for students everywhere. It’s time to leave your books and the stresses of real life behind and head out to find your little piece of paradise. Sounds perfect, right? What could go wrong while laying out on the beach sipping pretty drinks with hundreds of other bikini and Speedo clad college students? Many spring breakers get so caught up in the excitement of getting away that they go a little overboard – ending up on a wild ride of debauchery. But with a little pre-party planning, you can have an amazing time without all the superfluous stuff.

Be a Better Beach Baby

First thing you’ll probably want to do is hit the beach. Sea, sun and sand. Don’t forget your sunblock as overexposure to the sun can be extremely taxing on your body.

The beach is also great for reading. Catch up on the latest gossip from your favorite magazine or dive into that novel you’ve been dying to get your hands on. Put your cellphone away and focus entirely on your present moment. Just enjoy the pleasure of being unplugged, because your mental health is as important as your physical health.
Read Full Post >

Jillian Michaels teased the announcement of her spring tour last week via Twitter, but made the “Maximize Your Life” tour official today. It’s the first time Jillian is mobilizing her message, and the tour promises to make this an inspiring, motivating, life-changing experience.

It all starts April 4 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, continuing on through a total of 35 cities in Canada and the U.S., with the tour coming to an end in Toronto on May 21. There are a total of nine tour dates in Canada, with U.S. tour stops hitting every corner of the country.

“It’s time to ask why not you?” poses Jillian.

She’ll help you answer that question in an empowering two-hour show, and leave you more prepared and focused to live what she calls your authentic truth. It’s not just about the sweat, or inclines, or what you’re eating, Jillian will show a live audience what she does best on Biggest Loser – break through. She has an uncanny ability to help people get out of their own way, dig deep and look inside to find the answers.
Read Full Post >

Getting stuck in traffic is enough to turn your hair grey. Blood pressure rises, muscles tense, and a positive attitude plummets when your car is at a standstill. Thankfully, there are things you can do to make the experience more pleasurable, and gain some health benefits while in the process.

The following are three easy yoga inspired exercises you can do the next time you find yourself wedged bumper to bumper.

Axial Extensions

Scoot your hips back so that your spine is upright against the seat of your car. Lift the crown of your head toward the sky as you inhale deeply, and press your hips down into the seat as you exhale fully. By doing this, you are creating space and decompression between each vertebra. As a result, you will gain energy, not to mention have to readjust your rear view mirror to take on your new height.
Read Full Post >

As the amount of weight loss surgeries in the U.S. continue to rise, doctors are finding different and better ways to surgically treat obesity. One of the newest players in the game is called an intragastric balloon, and as it’s not approved for use in the United States, many patients have chosen to cross the border to Canada to do the procedure.

The intragastric balloon is less invasive than traditional bariatric surgery. It involves inserting a tube down the esophagus into the stomach, so there’s no surgical incision. A deflated balloon is then threaded down the tube, and once placed, blown up to the size of an orange and filled with sterile blue water. It can stay there for up to six months, at which point it is removed to prevent ruptures. This can be done multiple times if the patient continues to need the support the balloon provides. The balloon decreases the patient’s feelings of hunger, making them eat less and lose weight.

Although the average weight of Americans continues to bound upward, there are still very few bariatric surgeries performed annually. Less than one percent of individuals who meet the criteria for bariatric surgery actually have surgery, according to the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. Each year, about 250,000 Americans choose to have some form of weight loss surgery, the most popular being gastric bypass, a gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy, or duodenal switch. These involve removing a portion of the stomach, restricting how much food can go into the stomach, rerouting the intestinal system, or a combination of these methods. The gastric sleeve is cheapest, costing around $10,000, while the others range from $17,000 to $35,000, according to the Consumer Guide to Bariatric Surgery.
Read Full Post >