Pioneer press ran an interesting story recently on the effect your weight can have on your job.  If you think your weight isn’t anybody’s business, you’d better think again.  With health insurance costs sky rocketing, many employers are paying attention to your figure whether or not you are.  Companies like General Mills have made “healthy weight” part of their mission statement.  A Minneapolis marketing firm launched a “Biggest Loser”-style weight-loss contest. An Indianapolis employer even proposed $30 fines for overweight workers!  Treasure Island Resort & Casino now requires employees and their spouses to take a medical exam which includes a body mass index reading in order to qualify for employer-sponsored insurance.

With two-thirds of Americans overweight or obese health care costs are being driven up. It is estimated that obesity costs corporate America $13 billion a year in additional health insurance expenses, sick leave, life insurance and disability insurance.  In response, employers preaching the benefits of eating better, eating less and exercising more.

Of course, this doesn’t come without some backlash.  A recent national survey of 30,000 employees shows that 88% don’t think their health should be dictated by their employer.  The same survey found that 88% of employers plan to invest in wellness programs within the next 5 years.

Consider General Mills. The food giant, a regular on lists of best places to work, has long offered fitness programs to its corporate employees in Golden Valley. Now, manufacturing plant managers across the country are using the corporate wellness programs as models for their own customized programs.

Clarian Health Partners, the Indianapolis company that tried to fine people for being overweight, had to change their program to an incentive program instead that rewarded people for meeting the standard for body mass index.

So, what are the legal limits?  The jury is still out on that. There are restrictions in how big a financial incentive can be, for instance.

Let’s face it; health and fitness are part of the new culture. Employers may not be forcing workers to run around the block or forgo the doughnuts and half-and-half with their morning coffee, but there is no doubt there is a good deal of peer pressure to shape up, or face the consequences in lost benefits — and very probably being passed over for a promotion or even a job — although you won’t find that the official reason on the paperwork.

Want to watch your figure so that your boss doesn’t see you in a negative light?  Be sure to include some exercise in your weekly routine.  Some type of aerobic exercise that gets your heart pumping and makes you use oxygen is your best bet.  Brisk walking for 20 to 30 minutes 3 days a week will increase your calorie consumption and aid you in releasing unwanted pounds.  In addition to eating healthy foods, try calorie cycling to really speed up your weight release by shifting your metabolism into overdrive and giving you an extra energy boost.

A recent study in Economic Inquiry raises the question: “Is fat the new normal?” Let’s face it, what we consider “normal” changes based on what appears to be a majority rules mind set. With approximately 2/3 of the American population now considered overweight or even obese, has this changed our view of what we see as “normal weight?”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think we needed to adjust our sights from the rail thin, “waif” look that was so popular when skinny models on the covers of fashion magazines were all the rage. The skeletal look caused widespread self-esteem issues among American women – especially young girls – as they compared themselves with these impossibly thin role models. But, has the pendulum swung too far in the opposite direction now making fat the new normal?

The study found that standards for acceptable body weight relax as the average weight of the population increases. And the average weight continues to increase in response to the loosening up of social standards. This report doesn’t really present any shockingly new information. A 2000 study in Obesity Research obtained similar results in that people general choose their own shape as being within the “acceptable” range – even if the respondents were obviously outside of what would be considered a healthy body weight.

In the end, what truly matters is not what is “normal” or “acceptable” but rather, what is “healthy”. Do you feel energetic? Can you take a brisk walk without gasping for breath? Is your blood cholesterol level in a healthy range? If you answered now to any of those questions, then it may be time to re-evaluate your own body shape. If it isn’t where you would like it to be, you can change it.

A healthy diet combined with physical exercise is your best bet at achieving a healthy weight for your own body. Yo-yo dieting, low fat/low carb diets or the latest diet fad won’t get you where you want to be long-term. Calorie cycling is a wonderful way to achieve that healthy weight. You don’t lose the weight only to put it back on, because you never feel as though you are depriving yourself of the foods you love. In fact, most people comment that they can eat far more food than they ever dreamed, and still lose weight. And, the best part is, because you are retraining yourself to eat more healthily rather than simply “dieting”, you will keep the weight off.

Calorie cycling helps people effectively lose huge amounts of weight in small amounts of time (think up to 13 pounds in a week).

Before you think “fad diet”… read on to see why it works so well:

By switching up calories, a dieter’s body can never figure out how many calories are coming to it (which is the opposite of low calorie and low carb eating plans), and therefore it can never plateau.

In fact - calorie shifting MAKES people have cheat days or else the diet won’t be effective.

This is because our bodies are made to eat this way. Back in caveman days our ancestors would starve for almost weeks at a clip. When they  had the chance to eat, they would binge in order to stay satisfied until the next time they had the opportunity.

Cheat days are similar to the days that our ancestors fasted. Because the metabolism never expects these days, it can never adjust to a certain way of eating, and the body is literally forced to continue dropping unwanted pounds.

Because people get to have these cheat days where they can literally eat anything they want, psychologists heartily recommend this diet. They love that dieters don’t need to feel deprived of malnourished. Doctors love it because it’s a natural way to lose weight without people having to deprive themselves of nutrients, food groups, or even “bad” food.