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Real Housewives of New Jersey star Lauren Manzo has recommitted to her long battle to lose weight.

Manzo's struggle to shed excess weight has been a continuing story throughout The Real Housweives of New Jersey's four seasons. In September 2011, she underwent a lap band surgery and has since lost 20 pounds.

In an interview with Us Weekly, Manzo revealed that she hopes to lose 35 more pounds even after recently having the lap band loosened.

"I'm motivated. Hopefully, by the end of the summer, I'll be in a bikini. I've never worn a bikini in my life," she said of her weight loss goal.

Manzo went on to say that she has no regrets about having a lap band instead of losing the weight naturally.

"Getting the lap band was the best thing I've ever done in my life," she declared. "I bought leather shorts at Betsey Johnson the other day. A size ten was too big. The next size they had was a six, so I was like, 'Forget it. They're not gonna fit me'. But they fit!"

Her Real Housewives co-star Melissa Gorga recently hit out at sister-in-law Teresa Giudice by calling her a "coward" for insulting the cast in the press.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Sundays at 10/9c on Bravo.

Watch Lauren Manzo in a clip from The Real Housewives of New Jersey below:

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'Real Housewives' Lauren Manzo: 'Lap band surgery was great for me'

CUMBERLAND Weight Watchers helps people lose weight, eat healthier, be healthier and teaches positive self talk, said Millie Snyder, president and CEOof Weight Watchers of West Virginia and sections of Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

Weight Watchers is not about dieting but rather learning how to eat. So many of us struggle every day, the struggle ends when you learn how to eat, said Snyder, who noted eating right can help people avoid health problems and costs. We do everything but fix the food for you. So many people look to Weight Watchers to learn how to eat healthier.

Eating healthier doesnt mean eating more expensively. A bag of apples lasts longer and costs about the same as a bag of chips, Snyder said.

A recently released Agriculture Department study found that most fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods costs less than foods high in fat, sugar and salt, according to a story by The Associated Press.

Cheap food that provides few nutrients may actually be expensive for the consumer from a nutritional economy perspective, whereas food with higher retail price that provides large amounts of nutrients may actually be quite cheap, the study said.

Childhood obesity is becoming a problem in this area and everywhere, Snyder said. Growing up I was always outside, moving, walking or doing something. You rarely see that today in this age of electronics.

And surgeries aimed at fixing obesity arent working, Snyder said.

Operating on the digestive tract doesnt educate the brain on how to eat food, said Snyder. So many people that have had the surgery will find a way to stretch their stomachs.

In some cases, where health problems arent hereditary, healthier eating can lower cholesterol, help people with diabetes wean themselves from insulin and can help with knee problems, Snyder said.

The complexities attached to all of the health issues are solvable, wrote Snyder in an editorial recently published in the Charleston(W.Va.) Gaz-ette. We want to be able to offer high-quality care for less than so many people think.What it costs to put oneself in a better place is worth more than money.

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Weight Watchers not about dieting, but learning how to eat

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Horoscopes usually forecast the future, offering love or career advice in just a few sentences. But could they actually help you lose weight? Sharon Ward, an astrologist with over 20 years experience, believes that a horoscope can reveal more than whether your relationship will last. She believes it offers the key to weight loss.

Astrology works on the premise that when you are emotionally balanced and happy then you are physically well and healthy and vice versa, writes Ward on her site.

Medical astrology holds the key to re-balancing our bodily systems and bringing to us a greater sense of health and well being. We each have a Moon sign, just as we have a Sun sign. The Moon governs the inner self and the emotions and as we often use food as a response to lifes stresses and strains, it makes sense to find out where our weaknesses lie and what types of food are best for us according to our Moon Sign.

Heres a few of her horoscope-guided tips from her site:

Aquarius

Ward recommends foods high in vitamin B or taking a supplement. Many healthy foods contain these, however a B complex supplement, which contains a balance of all the B vitamins, is often a good idea to ensure an adequate intake.

Pisces

Water is very healing for you and highly beneficial , whether it is ensuring that you drink enough on a daily basis, or bathing or swimming in it it will help calm and soothe you and restore your inner balance, writes Ward. She suggests avoiding foods that increase water retention like excessive salt or alcohol.

Capricorn

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Horoscope as Weight-Loss Tool?

Move your skinny self over, Jennifer Hudson. Leeds native and Auburn basketball superstar Charles Barkley is the first spokesMAN for Weight Watchers and he wants to recruit big losers from the state of Alabama.

He told ABC's Deborah Roberts for a segment on "Good Morning America" today that he's lost about 40 pounds since going on Weight Watchers. (See his 30-second spot here. Yes, that gravelly-voiced, hairy-chested version of a woman is Sir Charles.)

During the interview, the NBA retiree mentioned Alabama's obesity problem specifically:

"I'm from Alabama and we really got some issues with obesity...." Barkley said.

"One of the highest obesity rates in the country," Roberts interjected.

"And I really want this thing to take off in Alabama. And I want to put as many people on the bandwagon as I possibly can," he said.

Barkley says he wants manly men to know they can still eat pizza, steak and meatballs on Weight Watchers --- they just have to add more veggies to the mix.

Still, he won't lie about it: Cauliflower tastes like chalk.

"But if you put parmesan cheese on it, it tastes like a cheesy chalk," he said.

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Charles Barkley, Weight Watchers spokesman, wants to help Alabama lose some weight (video)

Amy Tatum, KYTX, Reporting, Courtesy CNN

LONGVIEW, Texas A father and son are walking across America. Theyve made it to east Texas this week. The father jokes about his weight problem but hes taking action to fix it.

The father is known as Toddzilla. When he began the journey, he weighed in at 435 pounds. His son, about 330lbs. Both are on a mission to lose weight as well as give others the courage to do something out of the ordinary.

Todd and his son Colin are braving the Texas heat for a mission that began in January in their home state of Georgia. Im a man of faith so I started walking and praying a little bit around town and then one day it just hit me, says Todd.

He had to walk to San Diego, California. There was no particular reason he chose that end point. The former music minister says he just needed a break from an unfulfilled and unhealthy lifestyle. He didnt want to go alone. I was excited that he asked me to go on this adventure with him, says son Colin.

From Longview father and son will walk to Dallas, on to New Mexico, then Arizona and finally San Diego. Theyre hoping to make it by September.

Its turned into a walk of inspiration for a lot of people that have followed us along the way, says Todd. The walk is supported by donations from their 650 facebook followers.

For this father and son, each step forward is a step closer to their weight loss goals and so much more. You dont have to let your circumstances always dictate your actions. Your actions are capable of controlling what circumstances are around you, says Todd.

At night Todd and Colin either stay in a hotel or at the homes of people theyve met along the way. By the end of this journey, Todd is hoping to be down to 275. His son Colin is shooting to get down to about 230 pounds.

Todd and Colins relatives are driving along with them to provide support. The duo invites you to walk a mile with them. You can catch up with them somewhere along Highway 80 in east Texas.

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Father & Son Walking Across America To Lose Weight

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com

A recent study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that adults who underwent common bariatric surgery to lose weight had a higher risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD) two years after having the surgery.

With 1,945 participants in the study, researchers looked at alcohol consumption and alcohol disorder systems from the Longitudinal Assessment of bariatric Surgery (LABS). LABS, a NIH-funded project, examined patients who had weight-loss surgery at one of 10 hospitals throughout the U.S. Study participants completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification (AUDIT) test approximately 30 days after the surgery as well as one and two years after the surgery. The test was created by the World Health Organization and aimed to identify symptoms of alcohol use disorder, otherwise known as alcoholism. Symptoms of the disorder include alcohol use and dependence.

Given a standardized quantity of alcohol, patients reach a higher peak alcohol level [in the bloodstream] after surgery compared with case-controls or their pre-operative levels, the group of researchers wrote in the report.

If the patients demonstrated at least one symptom of alcohol dependence or had a total AUDIT score of 8 out of 40, they would be categorized as having AUD. Around 70 percent of the study participants had Roux-en-Y (RYGB) gastric bypass surgery that could reduce the size of the stomach, shorten the intestine, as well as limit food intake and body consumption of calories. Another 25 percent of patients had laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery that could make the stomach smaller with an adjustable band. Lastly, 5 percent of the patients had other, but less commonly known weight-loss surgeries.

7 percent of those who underwent the RYGB procedure reported symptoms of alcohol use disorder before having the surgery. One year after the surgery, there was no major increase in AUD. However, two years after having surgery, 10.7 percent of patients stated that they had symptoms of AUD; this was an increase of over 50 percent as compared to the pre-surgical rate. As such, one in eight LABS study participants reported that, after the weight loss surgery, they had a minimum of three drinks per day the second year after having the surgery. Even though having AUD before the surgery is a strong predictor of having it after the surgery, many of the participants reported that they did not have the illness before the surgery.

This is concerning, given the negative impact heavy drinking may have on vitamin and mineral status, liver function and weight loss, commented lead author Dr. Wendy King, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, in a prepared statement.

There were other factors involved as well. For those patients who had less social support or who reported recreational drug use and smoking before the surgery, they were more likely to show symptoms of AUD after the surgery. As well, men and younger adults also had a higher change of developing AUD. Binge eating, depressive symptoms and mental health treatment were also not independently related to an increased rate of AUD after surgery.

The study results suggest that clinicians should be aware of the importance of monitoring for signs and symptoms of AUD and consider counseling after bariatric surgery, remarked Dr. Mary Horlick, project scientist for LABS at the NIHs National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), in the statement.

The results from past studies also show that bariatric surgery could possibly increase the change of alcohol use disorders in a small, retrospective way.

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Weight Loss Surgery May Increase Alcoholism

PITTSBURGH, June 18 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers found patients who had gastric bypass surgery to lose weight had a significantly elevated risk of alcohol use disorders.

Lead author Dr. Wendy King of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and colleagues investigated alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder symptoms in 1,945 participants from a prospective study of patients undergoing weight-loss surgery.

Within 30 days before surgery, and again one and two years after surgery, study participants completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification test, which identifies symptoms of alcohol use disorders. Study participants were categorized as having alcohol use disorder if they had at least one symptom of alcohol dependence such as not being able to stop drinking once started, or alcohol-related harm.

About 70 percent of the study participants had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery -- which reduces the size of the stomach and shortens the intestine, limiting food intake and the body's ability to absorb calories -- while 25 percent had laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery, which makes the stomach smaller with an adjustable band. About 5 percent of the patients had another weight-loss surgery.

The study, published online ahead of the print edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found among participants who had the Roux-en-Y procedure, 7 percent reported symptoms of alcohol use disorders prior to surgery, no significant increase in alcohol use disorder one year after surgery, but by the second year 10.7 percent of patients reported symptoms of alcohol use disorder.

The findings were presented Monday at the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery meeting in San Diego.

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Weight-loss surgery linked to alcohol use

A new study has found that adults who undergo a common type of bariatric surgery to lose weight appear to have a significantly higher risk of abusing alcohol two years after the procedure, according to researchers the University of Pittsburgh.

The study investigated alcohol consumption and abuse in nearly 2,000 patients across the United States. Researchers surveyed bariatric patients on their alcohol consumption 30 days before surgery, then again one and two years after surgery.

Nearly 70 percent of the participants had gastric bypass surgery which reduces the side of the stomach and shortens the intestine and were most at risk for alcohol disorders. Another 25 percent had laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery, which uses a band to make the stomach smaller, and the remaining 5 percent had other, less-common surgeries.

Of those patients who had gastric bypass, 7 percent reported symptoms of alcohol disorders before surgery. That rate increased to 10.7 percent two years after surgery a relative increase of more than 50 percent. Translated to the entire population of people who undergo gastric bypass in the U.S., this could mean an increase of 2000 people suffering from alcohol disorders per year.

Though a prior problem with drinking was one of the best predictors of having a disorder later, more than half of the participants who developed disorders two years after surgery did not have a prior history of alcohol abuse, according to the researchers.

There have been several studies showing if you give gastric bypass patients a standard amount of alcohol, they reach a higher peak alcohol level, they reach the level more quickly, and they take longer to return to a sober state theyre experiencing alcohol differently after surgery, study researcher Mary King, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, told FoxNews.com. So we werent entirely surprised to find a significant increase. It could be a combination of the change in alcohol sensitivities coupled with higher levels of drinking.

In contrast, among patients who had lap band surgery, about 5 percent suffered from alcohol use disorders two years after surgery, which was similar to pre-surgery rates. According to King, while there have been no formal studies done, it is unlikely lap band surgeries affect patients sensitivities to alcohol like gastric bypass procedures do.

The survey the researchers used, known as the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification (AUDIT) test, was developed by the World Health Organization to identify symptoms of alcohol use disorders, which include alcohol abuse and dependence, or alcoholism.

The participants were categorized as having an alcohol-related disorder if they had at least one symptom of dependence. Symptoms of dependence included not being able to stop drinking after having started or not being able to remember what happened after a night of drinking.

The patients most at risk of developing an alcohol-related disorder were those with little social support, those who had engaged in recreational drug or alcohol abuse in the past, those who suffered from depressive symptoms, men, and young adults. King said that while addiction shifting such as a switch from binge eating disorder to alcoholism is a topic of focus in the media, the researchers did not find any evidence that a prior history of binge eating symptoms increased a patients risk of developing an alcohol use disorder.

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Alcohol abuse increases after weight loss surgery

By Brian Alexander

In a last ditch effort to lose weight, roughly 113,000 people subject themselves to bariatric surgeries such as stomach banding and gastric bypass every year in the United States. But some of those patients may be trading pounds for an alcohol problem, according to a new study presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in San Diego, and published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Hints that bariatric operations could lead to subsequent alcohol abuse have been collecting over the past few years, as case reports and doctor anecdotes have filtered into discussions and scientific publications. But the new study, headed by Wendy C. King, assistant professor of epidemiology at University of Pittsburghs graduate school of public health, is the first to follow many patients treated at a number of institutions from pre-op through two years post-surgery.

In all, 1,945 adults were assessed from 2006 to 2011. Alcohol use disorder (AUD), meaning abuse and dependence, significantly increased in the second post-operative year compared with the year prior to surgery or the first post-operative year, the study says.

The percentage seems small: At pre-operative assessment, 7.6 percent of study participants showed AUD. Two years after the operations, 9.6 percent did. Symptoms (without AUD) of alcohol dependence rose from 2.8 percent to 5.5 percent.

But that translates into about 2,000 more people with an alcohol use disorder, as King pointed out in the study, and in an interview. And even if a patient does not have AUD, she said, one in eight patients in the second post-operative year reported typically drinking at least three drinks when they drank. That level can have implications for their weight loss, liver function, vitamin and mineral status so that is concerning.We dont know the safe amount of booze after a [gastric] bypass.

Almost the entire increase in AUD among bariatric surgery patients occurred in those receiving a type called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The biological mechanism at work has not yet been firmly established, but it likely rests in the differences between surgeries. In the Roux-en-Y procedure, doctors create a stomach pouch out of a small portion of the stomach and attach it directly to the small intestine.

Banding surgeries are restrictive -- they shrink the available space in the stomach so a person feels full after a small amount of food. Gastric bypass surgeries are both restrictive and malabsorptive, meaningthey shrink space for food and change how itsnutrients are absorbed in the small intestine.

As a result, gastric bypass patients feel alcohols effects faster, and for longer.

So the studys findings, while important, arent surprising, explained Leslie Heinberg, the director of behavioral services for the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute of the Cleveland Clinic.Previous research has shown that male brains receive a more powerful reward from alcohol and among the study participants, the greatest risk for post-op alcohol abusewas in men.

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Weight-loss surgery tied to alcohol abuse risk

Men striving to lose weight tend to drop more pounds when there are no women around, says research from Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K. Researchers monitored 62 overweight men as they attended weekly Weight Watchers meetings without any women.

And at the end of the 12 weeks, the guys who were in the all-male environment lost roughly 14 pounds on average, while the guys who were in co-ed meetings only lost about seven.

So what gives? It all boils down to confidence and being comfortable with your surroundings, the researchers hypothesize.

Since Weight Watchers is often thought of as a womens weight loss program, the guys in the all-male environment felt less embarrassed and more competitive without the female influence.

Need more convincing that Weight Watchers is manly enough for you to try? Then listen to basketball legendand current Weight Watchers spokesmanCharles Barkley, who has dropped over 42 big ones since joining the program. (Weight Watchers CEO David Kirchhoff isnt just an employee, hes a client too. Discover the secrets behind the worlds most popular weight loss program by reading Weight Loss Boss.)

1. Moderation Is Key Dont feel guilty if you have that occasional beer or steak while watching the game. Restrictive diets dont work, said Barkley. Honestly, you cant give a fat person small meals and think theyre not going to cheat. Its all about moderation and learning how to eat, he explains. Plus, if you eliminate every guilty pleasure from your routine, itll just lead to a destructive binge later down the road.

2. Call Up Your Bros Men dont talk to each other about dieting and losing weight, but they should, said Barkley. Losing weight is better if youve got people around you who can keep you motivated. But your buddies can do more than motivate. In fact, losing weight is more effective when youre around other people who have the same goals and positive outlook, according to a recent study in Obesity. Plus, theres nothing wrong with a little competition, said Barkley. (Read about Barkleys own competition with a fellow ex-baller and learn How Shaq Got His Groove Back.)

3. Dont Slack on Your Routine I didnt realize how much my weight was affecting me until I started losing it, sais Barkley. I was always active when I was in the game, but after I retired, I slowed down and let myself go. Your move: Find a way to be active every day. Make the deal with yourself and stick to it. It doesnt matter if its hitting the gym or playing 18 holes, you just need to make it a priority, said Barkley.

4. Mix Things Up Avoid eating the same foods day after day. You might lose weight eating a salad for every meal, but thats just going to make you crazy, said Barkley. His suggestion: Keep a large variety of healthy foods on hand. I have fruit every afternoon because it keeps me full and I like it, he explains. People dont get fat eating fruits and vegetables. (Need new meals to enhance your diet? Discover `15 Fired-Up Foods That Burn Away Fat.')

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Drop Weight Like Barkley

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