Saturday, December 4, 2010
The Humor Gap
When comedian Susan Prekel takes to the stage and spots an attractive man in the audience, her heart sinks. “By the end of my gig he’s going to find me repulsive, at least as a sexual being,” she says.
In more than a decade of performing on the New York City comedy circuit the attractive, tall brunette has been asked out only once after a show. But male comics get swarmed. “They do very well with women. I see it all the time,” Prekel says. Comedians, it turns out, may simply be experiencing an extreme version of the typical romantic interplay between men and women. Although both genders consistently prefer a partner with a sense of humor, there is an intriguing discrepancy in how that preference plays out. Men want someone who will appreciate their jokes, and women want someone who makes them laugh. The complementary nature of these desires is no accident. Researchers suspect humor has deep evolutionary roots—in 1872 Charles
Darwin noticed chimps giggling as they played—and many argue that the laws of natural selection can help explain the complex senses of humor we have today.
Men and women use humor and laughter to attract one another and to signal romantic interest—but each gender accomplishes this in a different way. And as a relationship progresses, the way men and women use humor changes; it becomes a means of soothing one another and smoothing over rough patches. In fact, humor is rarely about anything funny at all; rather sharing a laugh can bring people closer together and even predict compatibility over the long haul.
Humor in all its forms—sarcastic, witty, anecdotal, ironic, satirical—is as complicated and evolved as language. It can be a weapon used to alienate and a means to communicate interest and intelligence. So at
the risk of unweaving a rainbow, it’s time to take a serious look at humor. Make Me Laugh
It was when scientists started watching men and women be funny, in addition to studying what people found funny, that interesting patterns emerged. “The literature prior to the 1990s focused on joke appreciation,”
says Martin Lampert, humor expert and chair of social sciences at Holy Names
University in Oakland, Calif. “This was a contrived situation where subjects were presented with jokes and we documented their reaction.” Experiments then started to look at humor production, asking subjects to
come up with jokes or studying how people amuse one another in the real world. “This gave us a much more accurate picture of what was happening,” Lampert says.
In 1996 Robert R. Provine, professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, analyzed 3,745 personal ads and found that women sought a mate who could make them laugh twice as often as they offered to
return the favor. Men, on the other hand, offered humor about a third more than they requested it. These findings were the first big clue that the sexes were approaching humor from different angles.
Ten years later Eric R. Bressler of Westfield State College and Sigal Balshine of Mc- Master University revealed another intriguing gender difference. The psychologists showed 200 people photographs of men and women, each paired with either a funny or a fairly straight autobiographical statement. Women chose the funnier men as potential dates, but men showed no preference for the funny women (as Prekel, the comedian, has been witnessing in the real world). And yet all over the world, both sexes consistently rank a sense of humor as one of the most important traits in a mate—so why the disparity? “Although both sexes say they want a sense of humor, in our research women interpreted this as ‘someone who makes me laugh,’ and men wanted ‘someone who laughs at my jokes,’ ” says Rod A. Martin of the University of Western Ontario. In
2006 Martin, along with Bressler and Balshine, asked 127 subjects to choose between pairs of potential partners for either a one-night stand, a date, a short-term relationship, a long-term relationship or friendship. In each pair one partner was described as receptive to the participant’s humor but not very funny themselves, and the other partner was described as hilarious but not all that interested in the participant’s own witty remarks.
In every context other than friendship, men preferred women who would laugh at their jokes to
those who made jokes. Women, however, preferred partners who were funny.
The fact that a man and a woman complement each other when they offer and request humor is
striking because laughter is not under our conscious control, Provine points out. And as with many behaviors
that occur outside of our awareness, researchers suspect these opposing desires may have
arisen because they serve a reproductive purpose.
Why Funny Men Are So Attractive
From an evolutionary perspective, the sex that contributes more resources to the development of
offspring will likely be the choosier of the two. In all mammals, that choosier sex is the female, because
of the burden of pregnancy. So the male must compete for female attention—think of the courtship
displays of bucks with their grand antlers. When a female is drawn to an impressive performer,
she is unknowingly responding to his genetic health—thereby increasing the likelihood that her
offspring will survive. This evolutionary force is referred to as sexual selection, and psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman of New York University thinks it may explain why humor is so important in early courtship and why men produce the jokes while women appreciate them. “Humor is pretty sexy at first meeting. When you
have little else to go on, a witty person who uses humor in a clever, original way is signaling quite a lot
of information, including intelligence, creativity, and even aspects of their personality such as playfulness
and openness to experience,” says Kaufman, who has done studies on the role of creativity
in humor.
Supporting this idea are studies that show that humor is a good indicator of intelligence—a highly
prized, heritable trait. For instance, in 2008 Daniel Howrigan of the University of Colorado at Boulder
asked nearly 200 people to create humorous statements and draw funny images. Those who scored
higher on a test of general intelligence were also rated by observers as being significantly funnier.
A more subtle test of the sexual selection hypothesis for humor depends on what women want when they are at their most fertile—during ovulation.
A large body of research has shown that when considering short-term partners, ovulating women
tend to prefer men who have signs of good genes, such as body symmetry, masculine facial features
and behavioral dominance. In contrast, when considering long-term partners at any point in their cycle,
women show no preference, often choosing men with resources (in this day and age, that means
money) and nurturing characteristics—in other words, good dads. If humor is a sign of creativity and intelligence and hence an indicator of high-quality genes, funny guys should be highly desirable to women when they are ovulating. Indeed, a 2006 study by Geoffrey Miller of the University of New Mexico and
Martie Haselton of the University of California, Los Angeles, showed exactly that. Forty-one women
read descriptions of creative but poor men and uncreative but wealthy men and rated each man’s desirability as a short-term mate. During high fertility, women chose creative men about twice as often
as wealthy men for short-term pairing, but no preference emerged for long-term partners—exactly
the pattern one would expect. So if being funny is what it takes to get the girls, then making others guffaw should be a priority for guys. Think back on the class clowns you’ve known.
Were they boys?
And while the boys were clowning, chances are the girls were giggling. Studies of laughter also reveal
clues about humor’s important, evolved role in courtship, as Provine discovered when he started
studying spontaneous conversation in 1993. He had tried studying laughter in the laboratory, but plopping a person in front of a TV with a couple of Saturday Night Live episodes did not incite much hilarity.
Provine came to the stark realization: laughter is inherently social. So he set out, like a field primatologist, to observe human interaction in urban spaces: malls, sidewalks, cafes. He made note of about 1,200 laugh episodes—comments that elicited a laugh from either the speaker or the listener— and figured out which gender laughs when. The results may not come as a surprise. Women, in general, laugh a lot more than men, according to Provine’s data—especially in mixed-sex groups. “Both men and women laugh more at men than at women,” Provine observes. This finding aligns with the idea that men are performing humor and women,
the “selectors,” are appreciating it, but of course there are other possible explanations. Are women
simply less discriminating when it comes to humor? Or are men the funnier gender?
Cracking the Laughter Code Recent research suggests these possibilities are unlikely. Men and women are consistently judged to be equally funny when they go head to head on humor production. For instance, in 2009 Kim Edwards, a Ph.D. student in psychology at the University of Western Ontario, asked men and women to come up with funny captions for single-frame cartoons. Both genders created an equal number of
highly rated captions.
In humor appreciation, too, women and men are on equal footing. In 2005 psychiatrist Allan Reissof Stanford University showed men and women 30 cartoons while scanning their brains. Both genders rated 24 of the cartoons as funny, and when asked to rank them in terms of how funny they were, the genders again agreed. In addition, men and women had very little difference in their response times to the jokes they liked.
Given the sexes’ similar capacity for humor production and appreciation, the fact that women
laugh more—and men are laughed at more—must have its roots in something other than simply who
is being funny. In fact, Provine’s data support this idea, too: 80 to 90 percent of the statements that elicited laughter in his field studies were not funny at all. Rather people laughed at banal phrases such
as “I’ll see you guys later!” or “I think I’m done.” His research also showed that people tend to laugh
more when they are speaking as opposed to listening.
Many studies have confirmed this finding, and experts believe that when a speaker laughs, it sets
his or her audience at ease and facilitates social connections. [For more on the general benefits of laughter,
see “Laughing Matters,” by Steve Ayan; Scientific American Mind, April/May/June 2009.]
Provine found one notable exception to the rule that speakers laugh more than their audience, however:
when a man is talking to a woman, the woman laughs more than the man. The difference is sizable:
when Provine averaged laughter in two-person pairs, the speakers laughed 46 percent more than
the person listening. When a woman was talking to another woman, she laughed 73 percent more than her interlocutor, but when a woman was in conversation with a man she produced 126 percent more laughter. Male speakers laughed less than female speakers, but they still laughed 25 percent more
than their listeners when they were talking to other men. But in the specific circumstance where a man
was talking to a woman, the men laughed 8 percent less than their partners. The fact that women laugh so much when they are speaking to men— and they laugh more than men even when the men are doing the talking—suggests that there is some instinct at play. Perhaps it is a reflection of the female role as sexual selector, but whatever the roots may be of the female instinct to laugh around men, it works—men find women attractive when they laugh. Perhaps it is because laughter unconsciously signals interest and enjoyment.
Consider that chimpanzees utter laughlike sounds when they are being chased by other chimps,
and as with human children, the one being chased is the one who laughs. For chimps playing, the panting
laugh is a signal to the chaser that the play is fun and nonthreatening. The enjoyment might come from
anticipation, as if the laughter is sending a message: I’m going to keep running, but it’s going to be really
fun when I get caught. Because women are the ones typically chased in courtship, could there be a link?
“I think there’s an interesting parallel there,” humor expert Martin says. “In both cases, the laughter is a
signal of enjoyment and invitation to continue.” Indeed, studies have shown that laughter is a
powerful measurement of the level of attraction between two people. In 1990 psychologists Karl
Grammer and Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Urban Ethology in Vienna
studied natural conversations in mixed-sex groups and measured the amount of laughter coming from
men and women. Later on each individual self-reported how attracted they were to other members
of the group. It turns out it is the amount of female laughter that accurately predicts the level of attraction
between both partners. In other words, a woman laughs a lot when she is attracted to a man or
when she senses a man’s interest—and that laughter, in turn, might make her more attractive to him
or signal that she welcomes his attention. Funny through the Years As attraction transitions to a relationship, humor’s role changes, but sharing a laugh is no less important. Many agree it is the connection that humor
fosters that makes it so good for relationships, especially over the long term. Humor often becomes a private
language between two people. A couple’s in joke can make a mundane or tense moment hilarious.
But here again, each gender’s role is different— and interestingly, in some ways men and women
change places. Unlike during courtship, when men are usually the humor producers and women are the
appreciators, in long-term relationships it can sometimes be harmful for men to use humor. When
women are the humorous partners, however, relationships tend to thrive. Funny men are not necessarily a curse, of course, but in certain situations male humor might be dangerous. In 1997 psychologists Catherine Cohan of Pennsylvania State University and Thomas Bradbury of the University of California, Los Angeles, analyzed the marriages of 60 couples over an 18-month period, using data from self-reports and
audiotaped conversations of the couples working through a specific marital issue. They found that in
couples who had a major life stressor such as a death in the family or a lost job, the husband’s use of humor
during problem solving was a warning sign. These couples were more likely to wind up divorced
or separated within 18 months than couples with a life stressor where the male did not use humor. This
result may be about men knowing how and when to crack the tension with a joke. Timing is key. “Particularly
with men’s humor we see it used to avoid problems or serious conversations,” Martin says.
“And if it’s used aggressively—in a teasing or putdown way—or at an inappropriate time, it can be
detrimental to the relationship.” The idea that male humor might sometimes be bad for a relationship is supported by results from the Coping Humor Scale (CHS) test developed by Martin and psychologist Herbert Lefcourt of the University of Waterloo, which measures how much one uses humor to cope with life stress. They found in 1986 that men who score high on the CHS report less marital satisfaction than their peers who do not use humor as much to cope. They also discovered that men tend to use more disparaging forms of humor, directed at others, when coping with a tough situation. If this is the type of humor men are referring to when they take the CHS, Lefcourt notes, it might explain the lower relationship satisfaction.
Women, on the other hand, have been shown by many studies to often use self-deprecating humor,
which may bring relief to a tense situation. [For more on types of humor each gender prefers, see
box on page 43.] And the CHS study found that women who use more humor to cope reported
greater marital satisfaction. A recent physiological study may help explain why. Couples psychologist John Gottman of the Gottman Institute analyzed 130 couples discussing their top three most problematic issues. Starting when they were newlyweds, couples came to Gottman’s lab once a year for six years and had private
discussions while Gottman measured their physiological responses, such as blood pressure and pulse,
with a polygraph and electrocardiogram. Gottman found that the reduction of the male’s heart rate during these intense discussions was critical for a successful marriage (whereas the women’s heart rates made no difference). Some men were good at soothing themselves, but the next best way to lower these husbands’ heart rates was for their wives to crack a joke to relieve the tension. Couples in which the women deescalated the conflict in this way, according to Gottman, were more likely to have a stable marriage through at least the study’s six years, as compared with couples in which the wives did not use humor. As a relationship progresses, then, a man’s humor becomes less important—perhaps even counterproductive in certain situations—whereas a woman’s sense of humor becomes a blessing. During courtship, a man’s wit attracts a woman, and her appreciative laughter, in turn, is attractive to him. But as commitment increases, the challenge becomes less about landing a mate and more about keeping one around. “Here it is more about sympathy and attunement to the other’s feelings and perspectives,” Martin says. “The goal is less to entertain and impress and more to reduce interpersonal tensions, convey understanding, save face for oneself and one’s partner. Women may be more skilled at these uses of humor.” Of course, in real life men and women inhabit
a wide spectrum, with far greater individual variation than is reflected in the trends that show up in
the lab. Many people have traits that are the opposite of those normally associated with their sex. But
in general, the way men and women use humor betrays its deeper purpose—to help us connect and
bond with one another. A genuine laugh is one of the most honest ways to convey: I’m with you.
In more than a decade of performing on the New York City comedy circuit the attractive, tall brunette has been asked out only once after a show. But male comics get swarmed. “They do very well with women. I see it all the time,” Prekel says. Comedians, it turns out, may simply be experiencing an extreme version of the typical romantic interplay between men and women. Although both genders consistently prefer a partner with a sense of humor, there is an intriguing discrepancy in how that preference plays out. Men want someone who will appreciate their jokes, and women want someone who makes them laugh. The complementary nature of these desires is no accident. Researchers suspect humor has deep evolutionary roots—in 1872 Charles
Darwin noticed chimps giggling as they played—and many argue that the laws of natural selection can help explain the complex senses of humor we have today.
Men and women use humor and laughter to attract one another and to signal romantic interest—but each gender accomplishes this in a different way. And as a relationship progresses, the way men and women use humor changes; it becomes a means of soothing one another and smoothing over rough patches. In fact, humor is rarely about anything funny at all; rather sharing a laugh can bring people closer together and even predict compatibility over the long haul.
Humor in all its forms—sarcastic, witty, anecdotal, ironic, satirical—is as complicated and evolved as language. It can be a weapon used to alienate and a means to communicate interest and intelligence. So at
the risk of unweaving a rainbow, it’s time to take a serious look at humor. Make Me Laugh
It was when scientists started watching men and women be funny, in addition to studying what people found funny, that interesting patterns emerged. “The literature prior to the 1990s focused on joke appreciation,”
says Martin Lampert, humor expert and chair of social sciences at Holy Names
University in Oakland, Calif. “This was a contrived situation where subjects were presented with jokes and we documented their reaction.” Experiments then started to look at humor production, asking subjects to
come up with jokes or studying how people amuse one another in the real world. “This gave us a much more accurate picture of what was happening,” Lampert says.
In 1996 Robert R. Provine, professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, analyzed 3,745 personal ads and found that women sought a mate who could make them laugh twice as often as they offered to
return the favor. Men, on the other hand, offered humor about a third more than they requested it. These findings were the first big clue that the sexes were approaching humor from different angles.
Ten years later Eric R. Bressler of Westfield State College and Sigal Balshine of Mc- Master University revealed another intriguing gender difference. The psychologists showed 200 people photographs of men and women, each paired with either a funny or a fairly straight autobiographical statement. Women chose the funnier men as potential dates, but men showed no preference for the funny women (as Prekel, the comedian, has been witnessing in the real world). And yet all over the world, both sexes consistently rank a sense of humor as one of the most important traits in a mate—so why the disparity? “Although both sexes say they want a sense of humor, in our research women interpreted this as ‘someone who makes me laugh,’ and men wanted ‘someone who laughs at my jokes,’ ” says Rod A. Martin of the University of Western Ontario. In
2006 Martin, along with Bressler and Balshine, asked 127 subjects to choose between pairs of potential partners for either a one-night stand, a date, a short-term relationship, a long-term relationship or friendship. In each pair one partner was described as receptive to the participant’s humor but not very funny themselves, and the other partner was described as hilarious but not all that interested in the participant’s own witty remarks.
In every context other than friendship, men preferred women who would laugh at their jokes to
those who made jokes. Women, however, preferred partners who were funny.
The fact that a man and a woman complement each other when they offer and request humor is
striking because laughter is not under our conscious control, Provine points out. And as with many behaviors
that occur outside of our awareness, researchers suspect these opposing desires may have
arisen because they serve a reproductive purpose.
Why Funny Men Are So Attractive
From an evolutionary perspective, the sex that contributes more resources to the development of
offspring will likely be the choosier of the two. In all mammals, that choosier sex is the female, because
of the burden of pregnancy. So the male must compete for female attention—think of the courtship
displays of bucks with their grand antlers. When a female is drawn to an impressive performer,
she is unknowingly responding to his genetic health—thereby increasing the likelihood that her
offspring will survive. This evolutionary force is referred to as sexual selection, and psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman of New York University thinks it may explain why humor is so important in early courtship and why men produce the jokes while women appreciate them. “Humor is pretty sexy at first meeting. When you
have little else to go on, a witty person who uses humor in a clever, original way is signaling quite a lot
of information, including intelligence, creativity, and even aspects of their personality such as playfulness
and openness to experience,” says Kaufman, who has done studies on the role of creativity
in humor.
Supporting this idea are studies that show that humor is a good indicator of intelligence—a highly
prized, heritable trait. For instance, in 2008 Daniel Howrigan of the University of Colorado at Boulder
asked nearly 200 people to create humorous statements and draw funny images. Those who scored
higher on a test of general intelligence were also rated by observers as being significantly funnier.
A more subtle test of the sexual selection hypothesis for humor depends on what women want when they are at their most fertile—during ovulation.
A large body of research has shown that when considering short-term partners, ovulating women
tend to prefer men who have signs of good genes, such as body symmetry, masculine facial features
and behavioral dominance. In contrast, when considering long-term partners at any point in their cycle,
women show no preference, often choosing men with resources (in this day and age, that means
money) and nurturing characteristics—in other words, good dads. If humor is a sign of creativity and intelligence and hence an indicator of high-quality genes, funny guys should be highly desirable to women when they are ovulating. Indeed, a 2006 study by Geoffrey Miller of the University of New Mexico and
Martie Haselton of the University of California, Los Angeles, showed exactly that. Forty-one women
read descriptions of creative but poor men and uncreative but wealthy men and rated each man’s desirability as a short-term mate. During high fertility, women chose creative men about twice as often
as wealthy men for short-term pairing, but no preference emerged for long-term partners—exactly
the pattern one would expect. So if being funny is what it takes to get the girls, then making others guffaw should be a priority for guys. Think back on the class clowns you’ve known.
Were they boys?
And while the boys were clowning, chances are the girls were giggling. Studies of laughter also reveal
clues about humor’s important, evolved role in courtship, as Provine discovered when he started
studying spontaneous conversation in 1993. He had tried studying laughter in the laboratory, but plopping a person in front of a TV with a couple of Saturday Night Live episodes did not incite much hilarity.
Provine came to the stark realization: laughter is inherently social. So he set out, like a field primatologist, to observe human interaction in urban spaces: malls, sidewalks, cafes. He made note of about 1,200 laugh episodes—comments that elicited a laugh from either the speaker or the listener— and figured out which gender laughs when. The results may not come as a surprise. Women, in general, laugh a lot more than men, according to Provine’s data—especially in mixed-sex groups. “Both men and women laugh more at men than at women,” Provine observes. This finding aligns with the idea that men are performing humor and women,
the “selectors,” are appreciating it, but of course there are other possible explanations. Are women
simply less discriminating when it comes to humor? Or are men the funnier gender?
Cracking the Laughter Code Recent research suggests these possibilities are unlikely. Men and women are consistently judged to be equally funny when they go head to head on humor production. For instance, in 2009 Kim Edwards, a Ph.D. student in psychology at the University of Western Ontario, asked men and women to come up with funny captions for single-frame cartoons. Both genders created an equal number of
highly rated captions.
In humor appreciation, too, women and men are on equal footing. In 2005 psychiatrist Allan Reissof Stanford University showed men and women 30 cartoons while scanning their brains. Both genders rated 24 of the cartoons as funny, and when asked to rank them in terms of how funny they were, the genders again agreed. In addition, men and women had very little difference in their response times to the jokes they liked.
Given the sexes’ similar capacity for humor production and appreciation, the fact that women
laugh more—and men are laughed at more—must have its roots in something other than simply who
is being funny. In fact, Provine’s data support this idea, too: 80 to 90 percent of the statements that elicited laughter in his field studies were not funny at all. Rather people laughed at banal phrases such
as “I’ll see you guys later!” or “I think I’m done.” His research also showed that people tend to laugh
more when they are speaking as opposed to listening.
Many studies have confirmed this finding, and experts believe that when a speaker laughs, it sets
his or her audience at ease and facilitates social connections. [For more on the general benefits of laughter,
see “Laughing Matters,” by Steve Ayan; Scientific American Mind, April/May/June 2009.]
Provine found one notable exception to the rule that speakers laugh more than their audience, however:
when a man is talking to a woman, the woman laughs more than the man. The difference is sizable:
when Provine averaged laughter in two-person pairs, the speakers laughed 46 percent more than
the person listening. When a woman was talking to another woman, she laughed 73 percent more than her interlocutor, but when a woman was in conversation with a man she produced 126 percent more laughter. Male speakers laughed less than female speakers, but they still laughed 25 percent more
than their listeners when they were talking to other men. But in the specific circumstance where a man
was talking to a woman, the men laughed 8 percent less than their partners. The fact that women laugh so much when they are speaking to men— and they laugh more than men even when the men are doing the talking—suggests that there is some instinct at play. Perhaps it is a reflection of the female role as sexual selector, but whatever the roots may be of the female instinct to laugh around men, it works—men find women attractive when they laugh. Perhaps it is because laughter unconsciously signals interest and enjoyment.
Consider that chimpanzees utter laughlike sounds when they are being chased by other chimps,
and as with human children, the one being chased is the one who laughs. For chimps playing, the panting
laugh is a signal to the chaser that the play is fun and nonthreatening. The enjoyment might come from
anticipation, as if the laughter is sending a message: I’m going to keep running, but it’s going to be really
fun when I get caught. Because women are the ones typically chased in courtship, could there be a link?
“I think there’s an interesting parallel there,” humor expert Martin says. “In both cases, the laughter is a
signal of enjoyment and invitation to continue.” Indeed, studies have shown that laughter is a
powerful measurement of the level of attraction between two people. In 1990 psychologists Karl
Grammer and Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Urban Ethology in Vienna
studied natural conversations in mixed-sex groups and measured the amount of laughter coming from
men and women. Later on each individual self-reported how attracted they were to other members
of the group. It turns out it is the amount of female laughter that accurately predicts the level of attraction
between both partners. In other words, a woman laughs a lot when she is attracted to a man or
when she senses a man’s interest—and that laughter, in turn, might make her more attractive to him
or signal that she welcomes his attention. Funny through the Years As attraction transitions to a relationship, humor’s role changes, but sharing a laugh is no less important. Many agree it is the connection that humor
fosters that makes it so good for relationships, especially over the long term. Humor often becomes a private
language between two people. A couple’s in joke can make a mundane or tense moment hilarious.
But here again, each gender’s role is different— and interestingly, in some ways men and women
change places. Unlike during courtship, when men are usually the humor producers and women are the
appreciators, in long-term relationships it can sometimes be harmful for men to use humor. When
women are the humorous partners, however, relationships tend to thrive. Funny men are not necessarily a curse, of course, but in certain situations male humor might be dangerous. In 1997 psychologists Catherine Cohan of Pennsylvania State University and Thomas Bradbury of the University of California, Los Angeles, analyzed the marriages of 60 couples over an 18-month period, using data from self-reports and
audiotaped conversations of the couples working through a specific marital issue. They found that in
couples who had a major life stressor such as a death in the family or a lost job, the husband’s use of humor
during problem solving was a warning sign. These couples were more likely to wind up divorced
or separated within 18 months than couples with a life stressor where the male did not use humor. This
result may be about men knowing how and when to crack the tension with a joke. Timing is key. “Particularly
with men’s humor we see it used to avoid problems or serious conversations,” Martin says.
“And if it’s used aggressively—in a teasing or putdown way—or at an inappropriate time, it can be
detrimental to the relationship.” The idea that male humor might sometimes be bad for a relationship is supported by results from the Coping Humor Scale (CHS) test developed by Martin and psychologist Herbert Lefcourt of the University of Waterloo, which measures how much one uses humor to cope with life stress. They found in 1986 that men who score high on the CHS report less marital satisfaction than their peers who do not use humor as much to cope. They also discovered that men tend to use more disparaging forms of humor, directed at others, when coping with a tough situation. If this is the type of humor men are referring to when they take the CHS, Lefcourt notes, it might explain the lower relationship satisfaction.
Women, on the other hand, have been shown by many studies to often use self-deprecating humor,
which may bring relief to a tense situation. [For more on types of humor each gender prefers, see
box on page 43.] And the CHS study found that women who use more humor to cope reported
greater marital satisfaction. A recent physiological study may help explain why. Couples psychologist John Gottman of the Gottman Institute analyzed 130 couples discussing their top three most problematic issues. Starting when they were newlyweds, couples came to Gottman’s lab once a year for six years and had private
discussions while Gottman measured their physiological responses, such as blood pressure and pulse,
with a polygraph and electrocardiogram. Gottman found that the reduction of the male’s heart rate during these intense discussions was critical for a successful marriage (whereas the women’s heart rates made no difference). Some men were good at soothing themselves, but the next best way to lower these husbands’ heart rates was for their wives to crack a joke to relieve the tension. Couples in which the women deescalated the conflict in this way, according to Gottman, were more likely to have a stable marriage through at least the study’s six years, as compared with couples in which the wives did not use humor. As a relationship progresses, then, a man’s humor becomes less important—perhaps even counterproductive in certain situations—whereas a woman’s sense of humor becomes a blessing. During courtship, a man’s wit attracts a woman, and her appreciative laughter, in turn, is attractive to him. But as commitment increases, the challenge becomes less about landing a mate and more about keeping one around. “Here it is more about sympathy and attunement to the other’s feelings and perspectives,” Martin says. “The goal is less to entertain and impress and more to reduce interpersonal tensions, convey understanding, save face for oneself and one’s partner. Women may be more skilled at these uses of humor.” Of course, in real life men and women inhabit
a wide spectrum, with far greater individual variation than is reflected in the trends that show up in
the lab. Many people have traits that are the opposite of those normally associated with their sex. But
in general, the way men and women use humor betrays its deeper purpose—to help us connect and
bond with one another. A genuine laugh is one of the most honest ways to convey: I’m with you.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Hypertension
Hypertension affects about 1 in 4 American adults and is one of the most widespread worldwide diseases afflicting humans. It raises the risk of heart disease and stroke for those afflicted, so it’s important to understand how to lower hypertension. High blood pressure, aka hypertension risk factors include obesity, drinking too much alcohol, smoking, and family history of hypertension. Hypertension is the most important modifiable risk factor for coronary heart disease (the leading cause of fatality in North America), stroke (the third leading cause), congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease, and peripheral vascular disease.
Normal blood pressure with respect to cardiovascular risk is less than 120/80 mm Hg, (however, unusually low readings should be evaluated for clinical significance as well). Prehypertension is a new category emphasizing that patients with prehypertension are at risk for progression to hypertension and that lifestyle modifications are important preventive strategies. Home blood pressure predicts cardiovascular events much better than do office readings and can be a useful clinical tool. Anyone with hypertension should be monitoring their own BP at home. BP kits are available everywhere, and they are inexpensive. If your BP readings suddenly become low, you should tell your doctor to titrate downwards your medication so that you do not become syncopal, (passing out). The following are the ranges of BP:
Normal – Systolic, (top number) lower than 120, diastolic, (bottom number) lower than 80.
Prehypertension - Systolic 120-139, diastolic 80-99.
Stage 1 hypertension- Systolic 140-159, diastolic 90-99.
Stage 2 hypertension- Systolic equal to or more than 160, diastolic equal to or more than 100
Recommendations to lower blood pressure and thus decrease cardiovascular disease risk include the following:
• Lose weight if overweight. Even a few extra pounds will raise blood pressure.
• Google DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) for a reasonable diet, which is rich in fruits and vegetables.
• Limit alcohol intake to no more than 1-2 drinks/day.
• Increase aerobic activity (30-45 min most days of the week).
• Reduce sodium intake, learn to read nutritional information labels on products you purchase.
• Maintain adequate intake of dietary potassium, calcium and magnesium for general health.
• Stop smoking and reduce intake of dietary saturated fat and cholesterol for overall cardiovascular health.
Dr. Scopelliti is both a Fellow of the American College of Functional Neurology, and, a Fellow of the American Board of Vestibular Rehabilitation, practicing at the 279 Professional Arts Bldg at the rear of Monmouth Medical Center, in Long Branch, NJ. His office specializes in the drug free management of patients suffering with vertigo, dizziness, imbalance, presyncope, dystonia, TBI, headaches, ADD and other brain based disorders. As a community service, Dr. Scopelliti offers a free computerized risk of fall posturographic analysis and consultation. The office can be reached at (732) 229-5250. Dr. Scopelliti has a wealth of information updated weekly on the web at www.dcneuro.net. You may also obtain a free report on vertigo and dizziness by subscribing on line to our E News.
Normal blood pressure with respect to cardiovascular risk is less than 120/80 mm Hg, (however, unusually low readings should be evaluated for clinical significance as well). Prehypertension is a new category emphasizing that patients with prehypertension are at risk for progression to hypertension and that lifestyle modifications are important preventive strategies. Home blood pressure predicts cardiovascular events much better than do office readings and can be a useful clinical tool. Anyone with hypertension should be monitoring their own BP at home. BP kits are available everywhere, and they are inexpensive. If your BP readings suddenly become low, you should tell your doctor to titrate downwards your medication so that you do not become syncopal, (passing out). The following are the ranges of BP:
Normal – Systolic, (top number) lower than 120, diastolic, (bottom number) lower than 80.
Prehypertension - Systolic 120-139, diastolic 80-99.
Stage 1 hypertension- Systolic 140-159, diastolic 90-99.
Stage 2 hypertension- Systolic equal to or more than 160, diastolic equal to or more than 100
Recommendations to lower blood pressure and thus decrease cardiovascular disease risk include the following:
• Lose weight if overweight. Even a few extra pounds will raise blood pressure.
• Google DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) for a reasonable diet, which is rich in fruits and vegetables.
• Limit alcohol intake to no more than 1-2 drinks/day.
• Increase aerobic activity (30-45 min most days of the week).
• Reduce sodium intake, learn to read nutritional information labels on products you purchase.
• Maintain adequate intake of dietary potassium, calcium and magnesium for general health.
• Stop smoking and reduce intake of dietary saturated fat and cholesterol for overall cardiovascular health.
Dr. Scopelliti is both a Fellow of the American College of Functional Neurology, and, a Fellow of the American Board of Vestibular Rehabilitation, practicing at the 279 Professional Arts Bldg at the rear of Monmouth Medical Center, in Long Branch, NJ. His office specializes in the drug free management of patients suffering with vertigo, dizziness, imbalance, presyncope, dystonia, TBI, headaches, ADD and other brain based disorders. As a community service, Dr. Scopelliti offers a free computerized risk of fall posturographic analysis and consultation. The office can be reached at (732) 229-5250. Dr. Scopelliti has a wealth of information updated weekly on the web at www.dcneuro.net. You may also obtain a free report on vertigo and dizziness by subscribing on line to our E News.
The Whys and Hows of Natural Healing
Natural healing is holistic healing. It is a process by which a person's health is restored in the most natural way without the use of conventional medicine throughout the entire healing process. The human body is blessed with divine gifts in the form of natural resources that enable not only the enhancement of health but also the freedom from any type of disease or illness.
Natural healing is effective because it uses the power of the mind through affirmation and visualization, meditation, the goodness of nature through natural herbs and healthful foods, and the energy of your body through hand and body massage, yoga, and acupuncture to bring about healing of the body, the mind, and the soul. In order to prevent any future relapse and to guarantee long-term cure, the healing process has to be complete and wholesome. In addition, in natural healing, there is no need to take any form of chemicals or to undergo any invasive procedure, which not only may produce negative side effects but also may interfere with the natural healing process.
Natural healing has long proven to be a very good alternative to the traditional way of healing practiced by medical doctors. As a matter of fact, many natural healing clinics have sprung up across the United States. People are using natural healing techniques more than anything else mainly because they are highly effective with minimal or zero side effects, and they are less expensive than the treatments of conventional medicine.
Be a natural healer of your own disease. How do you bring about natural healing?
First of all, you must know the difference between healing and treatment: treatment originates from the outside, whereas healing comes from within; treatment aims at removing symptoms of disease, while healing tackles the source of disease.
Next, natural healing begins with the mind first. Your mind controls your body, and everything you do and think.
For natural healing to take place, your mind must express the intention to heal, without which there is no cure or healing. Your intention to heal is then manifested in focus, which directs your mind towards your goal to heal yourself.
To reach that goal, you need resources; that is, you must empower yourself with knowledge so that you may know how to heal yourself. Knowledge is power: it may establish a connection to your true self, and thereby instrumental in allowing you to make the right health choices and decisions, as well as to live your life in a lifestyle that is in accordance with your higher purpose.
Through the many facets of mind power, such as affirmation, visualization, and meditation, your mind begins its healing process. Healing begins with the mind, and mind healing is always mind over matter.
Natural healing is always slow: it does not happen overnight. You need to set your short-term and long-term goals, and make your commitment to reach those goals. Your commitment is is your mental responsibility to make you heal. Living is a challenge, and so is healing. During the healing process you may have to face different challenges before you can ultimately overcome the disease or illness. Facing challenges requires mind power.
Once your mind is healed, natural healing of the body will follow. Your body is the product of what your mind thinks and the choices it makes. If your mind wants to heal, your body will be healed. Natural healing is just that simple.
Natural healing is effective because it uses the power of the mind through affirmation and visualization, meditation, the goodness of nature through natural herbs and healthful foods, and the energy of your body through hand and body massage, yoga, and acupuncture to bring about healing of the body, the mind, and the soul. In order to prevent any future relapse and to guarantee long-term cure, the healing process has to be complete and wholesome. In addition, in natural healing, there is no need to take any form of chemicals or to undergo any invasive procedure, which not only may produce negative side effects but also may interfere with the natural healing process.
Natural healing has long proven to be a very good alternative to the traditional way of healing practiced by medical doctors. As a matter of fact, many natural healing clinics have sprung up across the United States. People are using natural healing techniques more than anything else mainly because they are highly effective with minimal or zero side effects, and they are less expensive than the treatments of conventional medicine.
Be a natural healer of your own disease. How do you bring about natural healing?
First of all, you must know the difference between healing and treatment: treatment originates from the outside, whereas healing comes from within; treatment aims at removing symptoms of disease, while healing tackles the source of disease.
Next, natural healing begins with the mind first. Your mind controls your body, and everything you do and think.
For natural healing to take place, your mind must express the intention to heal, without which there is no cure or healing. Your intention to heal is then manifested in focus, which directs your mind towards your goal to heal yourself.
To reach that goal, you need resources; that is, you must empower yourself with knowledge so that you may know how to heal yourself. Knowledge is power: it may establish a connection to your true self, and thereby instrumental in allowing you to make the right health choices and decisions, as well as to live your life in a lifestyle that is in accordance with your higher purpose.
Through the many facets of mind power, such as affirmation, visualization, and meditation, your mind begins its healing process. Healing begins with the mind, and mind healing is always mind over matter.
Natural healing is always slow: it does not happen overnight. You need to set your short-term and long-term goals, and make your commitment to reach those goals. Your commitment is is your mental responsibility to make you heal. Living is a challenge, and so is healing. During the healing process you may have to face different challenges before you can ultimately overcome the disease or illness. Facing challenges requires mind power.
Once your mind is healed, natural healing of the body will follow. Your body is the product of what your mind thinks and the choices it makes. If your mind wants to heal, your body will be healed. Natural healing is just that simple.
Information On Lactic Acid Bacteria
Lactic acid bacteria, although an agent of food spoilage, are also good bacteria.
So, what is a Lactic Acid Bacteria anyway? If you will look at it through a microscope, you will see something that is rod shaped. LAB, the acronym for them, may fall into cocci category or circulars germ or bacteria.
The Probiotic acid bacteria are found in decaying plants and other lactic resources. These are then used in the process of fermentation. Fermentation is process that converts carbohydrates in alcohol.
Lactic acid fermentation is just one of the reasons why LAB is good bacteria. This usually follows the rest of the fermentation process with the use of lactic acid.
There are still other ways that LAB could be helping us. And, here are some of them:
It keeps bad breath away! About a couple of years ago, research was conducted in using LAB against bad breath. Accordingly, these good bacteria could remedy this problem by replacing other bacteria with their kind populating our mouth.
Bad breath is caused by another kind of bacteria which is called anaerobes. Lactic acid bacteria kill these germs with hydrogen peroxide. After this, they would simply become the dominate bacteria in the area.
If you want to try this, experts recommend the daily consumption of yogurt. This food contains bifida and lactobacillus bacteria which are, coincidentally part of LAB’s properties. Of course, you should always go for non-sweetened yogurt rather than the sweetened to see the effect.
It keeps your gastrointestinal health at peak condition. It provides help for your metabolism and helps you avoid any illnesses due to undigested foods. Moreover, because it is a naturally occurring organism, you can be assured that you are not eating something that could harm your health.
It helps you avoid high blood pressure. High blood pressure is probably one of the most common sicknesses people have throughout the world. Drinking lactic milk, according to some experiments, can lower the risk of this health problem. Accordingly, this is because of the bacteria formed through fermentation.
Lactic Acid Probiotic can help in the strengthening of the human immune system. And, when you have strong immune system that means you are more resistant to disease.
It helps you avoid infections. There are some people who are born more sensitive skin. People with sensitive skin can easily experience swelling and rashes.
Doctors suggest people with this type of skin to include LAB-containing food everyday. Though lactic acid bacteria may not totally solve your skin problem, you should at least experience minimal reaction from your skin or skin’s hypersensitivity.
Of course, the help that LAB extends doesn’t end here. The great thing is that you can save money. This is because of the many benefits coming from these bacteria.
Obviously, if you have a strong immune system then that only means that you don’t get sick often. This helps you reduce doctor’s visits and any medication you might need.
Finally, you too can spend more time with your family. If you do not get sick all the time, then you are lucky because you don’t have to be away from your family.
Lactic Acid Bacteria can provide us with different healthy benefits. But still, it is advisable that we consult with doctors from time to time.
So, what is a Lactic Acid Bacteria anyway? If you will look at it through a microscope, you will see something that is rod shaped. LAB, the acronym for them, may fall into cocci category or circulars germ or bacteria.
The Probiotic acid bacteria are found in decaying plants and other lactic resources. These are then used in the process of fermentation. Fermentation is process that converts carbohydrates in alcohol.
Lactic acid fermentation is just one of the reasons why LAB is good bacteria. This usually follows the rest of the fermentation process with the use of lactic acid.
There are still other ways that LAB could be helping us. And, here are some of them:
It keeps bad breath away! About a couple of years ago, research was conducted in using LAB against bad breath. Accordingly, these good bacteria could remedy this problem by replacing other bacteria with their kind populating our mouth.
Bad breath is caused by another kind of bacteria which is called anaerobes. Lactic acid bacteria kill these germs with hydrogen peroxide. After this, they would simply become the dominate bacteria in the area.
If you want to try this, experts recommend the daily consumption of yogurt. This food contains bifida and lactobacillus bacteria which are, coincidentally part of LAB’s properties. Of course, you should always go for non-sweetened yogurt rather than the sweetened to see the effect.
It keeps your gastrointestinal health at peak condition. It provides help for your metabolism and helps you avoid any illnesses due to undigested foods. Moreover, because it is a naturally occurring organism, you can be assured that you are not eating something that could harm your health.
It helps you avoid high blood pressure. High blood pressure is probably one of the most common sicknesses people have throughout the world. Drinking lactic milk, according to some experiments, can lower the risk of this health problem. Accordingly, this is because of the bacteria formed through fermentation.
Lactic Acid Probiotic can help in the strengthening of the human immune system. And, when you have strong immune system that means you are more resistant to disease.
It helps you avoid infections. There are some people who are born more sensitive skin. People with sensitive skin can easily experience swelling and rashes.
Doctors suggest people with this type of skin to include LAB-containing food everyday. Though lactic acid bacteria may not totally solve your skin problem, you should at least experience minimal reaction from your skin or skin’s hypersensitivity.
Of course, the help that LAB extends doesn’t end here. The great thing is that you can save money. This is because of the many benefits coming from these bacteria.
Obviously, if you have a strong immune system then that only means that you don’t get sick often. This helps you reduce doctor’s visits and any medication you might need.
Finally, you too can spend more time with your family. If you do not get sick all the time, then you are lucky because you don’t have to be away from your family.
Lactic Acid Bacteria can provide us with different healthy benefits. But still, it is advisable that we consult with doctors from time to time.
Diet Plans And Menus - The Mincavi Diet
The Mincavi Diet was created in 1984 by Lyne Martineau. This diet was inspired by the Canadian Food Guide. It offers five weight loss programs, varying from 1400 to 2000 calories daily. On your initial visit to a Mincavi center you will be assigned a program based on your sex, your age, your body mass index, and your level of physical activity. Your program may be adjusted in function of your weight loss. Here are some of the diet principles.
Put the accent on fruits and vegetables. Depending on your program, you will consume 4 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. But you are allowed to eat as many vegetables as you want. Dark green vegetables are said to be the best. Eat 4 to 7 servings of good fats such as olive, canola, and walnut oil each day. Eat 3 to 7 servings of cereal products daily. Eat 90 to 150 grams (from 3 to 5 ounces) of protein every day including 2 to 4 servings of dairy products, and some meat or meat substitutes. Drink a minimum of three glasses of soy beverages weekly. Eat fish, the best is fatty fish, at least twice a week. Keep a daily food consummation journal and bring it to meetings with professionals. Spend 30 to 60 minutes a day in athletic activities. Go to Mincavi meetings that are held once a week in some locations.
The Mincavi Diet presents several advantages. It is easy to follow and is well adapted to families. Its meals are balanced and may be eaten in restaurants and at home. The company sells prepared foods. The disadvantage is the need to count the number of portions.
Here are two sample menus, both are in the 1400 calorie range :
Menu 1
Breakfast: Banana and chocolate waffles.
Your mid-morning snack is a yogurt and 15 (half an ounce) milliliters of nuts.
Lunch: Cabbage soup. 4 crackers. 5 milliliters of non-hydrogenated margarine. Spinach and parsnip loaf. The mid-afternoon snack is an apple.
Supper: Vegetable juice. Green salad with 30 milliliters of salad dressing. Chicken tournedos. A kiwi.
Menu 2
Breakfast: French toast. 15 milliliters of natural syrup. 150 milliliters of strawberries.
The mid-morning snack is a yogurt.
Lunch: Sole. Green salad. 45 milliliters of dressing. Low-calorie jelly. Two slices of cantaloupe.
The mid-afternoon snack is a peach and 30 milliliters of almonds.
Supper: Tomato soup. Calves liver. Baked potato. 5 milliliters of non-hydrogenated margarine. Peas and carrots.
Put the accent on fruits and vegetables. Depending on your program, you will consume 4 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. But you are allowed to eat as many vegetables as you want. Dark green vegetables are said to be the best. Eat 4 to 7 servings of good fats such as olive, canola, and walnut oil each day. Eat 3 to 7 servings of cereal products daily. Eat 90 to 150 grams (from 3 to 5 ounces) of protein every day including 2 to 4 servings of dairy products, and some meat or meat substitutes. Drink a minimum of three glasses of soy beverages weekly. Eat fish, the best is fatty fish, at least twice a week. Keep a daily food consummation journal and bring it to meetings with professionals. Spend 30 to 60 minutes a day in athletic activities. Go to Mincavi meetings that are held once a week in some locations.
The Mincavi Diet presents several advantages. It is easy to follow and is well adapted to families. Its meals are balanced and may be eaten in restaurants and at home. The company sells prepared foods. The disadvantage is the need to count the number of portions.
Here are two sample menus, both are in the 1400 calorie range :
Menu 1
Breakfast: Banana and chocolate waffles.
Your mid-morning snack is a yogurt and 15 (half an ounce) milliliters of nuts.
Lunch: Cabbage soup. 4 crackers. 5 milliliters of non-hydrogenated margarine. Spinach and parsnip loaf. The mid-afternoon snack is an apple.
Supper: Vegetable juice. Green salad with 30 milliliters of salad dressing. Chicken tournedos. A kiwi.
Menu 2
Breakfast: French toast. 15 milliliters of natural syrup. 150 milliliters of strawberries.
The mid-morning snack is a yogurt.
Lunch: Sole. Green salad. 45 milliliters of dressing. Low-calorie jelly. Two slices of cantaloupe.
The mid-afternoon snack is a peach and 30 milliliters of almonds.
Supper: Tomato soup. Calves liver. Baked potato. 5 milliliters of non-hydrogenated margarine. Peas and carrots.
Weight Regain Mistakes: Some Common Blunders to Avoid
So you have lost some or all of the weight that you wanted to. Now you have got to avoid these weight regain mistakes that are so common for dieters. There are a few thing that you must do to ensure the weight stays off. The first obvious thing is you must understand that high levels of exercise are a key element of keeping fat off and ensuring that you stay at your ideal body-weight.
When we lower our calorie intake we know that your body gets sluggish, you often don't feel like really exercising or if you do you really don't do it at the level that you should. So this means that you have to push yourself extra hard because your body will naturally want to slow down and conserve its energy levels. You will hit a plateau. A fat loss plateau, this is something that you don't hear about all that often.
This is why most of those diet plans show the people immediately after the weight loss. They don't show them a few months later—this is because a lot of people put the weight back on quickly. In fact the majority of them do.
So you say, "This is not going to happen to me; I won't make the same weight regain mistakes". But it is actually a natural occurrence in the body. Your body tricks you into thinking a number of different ways so it can keep the energy it has stored. It is a physiological response; the body thinks it is in starvation mode.
This is why people who think that diet alone is the answer for them are actually not generally going to make it long term in their weight loss goals. When you don't look at the results right after the weight loss, but instead look a year ahead, generally you will not be happy with the results at all.
The system that works long term, the system that ensures you wont make the same weight regain mistake is high exercise levels while feeding the muscle with high intake clean foods. This is much, much better than simply losing weight through starvation alone. Low calorie diets are generally not the answer, especially when there is no exercise being performed.
You have to eat to feed your muscles, but we are not talking about fast food at lunch and a heavy, fatty dinner. The right kinds of foods and the basics of good nutrition.
If the question is can you simply lose weight with diet alone, then yes. But if you don't want to be fighting that weight loss roller-coaster for your whole life then it is time to simply lose the weight the right way, while building a leaner, better body.
The bottom line is, weight loss the right way will trump temporary weight loss every time. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or telling you the temporary results. They will gain the weight back, but if you do it right you won't!
When we lower our calorie intake we know that your body gets sluggish, you often don't feel like really exercising or if you do you really don't do it at the level that you should. So this means that you have to push yourself extra hard because your body will naturally want to slow down and conserve its energy levels. You will hit a plateau. A fat loss plateau, this is something that you don't hear about all that often.
This is why most of those diet plans show the people immediately after the weight loss. They don't show them a few months later—this is because a lot of people put the weight back on quickly. In fact the majority of them do.
So you say, "This is not going to happen to me; I won't make the same weight regain mistakes". But it is actually a natural occurrence in the body. Your body tricks you into thinking a number of different ways so it can keep the energy it has stored. It is a physiological response; the body thinks it is in starvation mode.
This is why people who think that diet alone is the answer for them are actually not generally going to make it long term in their weight loss goals. When you don't look at the results right after the weight loss, but instead look a year ahead, generally you will not be happy with the results at all.
The system that works long term, the system that ensures you wont make the same weight regain mistake is high exercise levels while feeding the muscle with high intake clean foods. This is much, much better than simply losing weight through starvation alone. Low calorie diets are generally not the answer, especially when there is no exercise being performed.
You have to eat to feed your muscles, but we are not talking about fast food at lunch and a heavy, fatty dinner. The right kinds of foods and the basics of good nutrition.
If the question is can you simply lose weight with diet alone, then yes. But if you don't want to be fighting that weight loss roller-coaster for your whole life then it is time to simply lose the weight the right way, while building a leaner, better body.
The bottom line is, weight loss the right way will trump temporary weight loss every time. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or telling you the temporary results. They will gain the weight back, but if you do it right you won't!
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