Archive for weight loss
GENES, NOT JEANS, AND WEIGHT LOSS
Posted by: | CommentsIs it possible to actually get a lab test to see what diet may work for you?
Believe it or not, there is a genetic test available to determine how well a low fat vs a low carbohydrate diet will work for you. For those of you who have tried the Adkin’s diet and not lost significant weight, this may be the answer! A small study done many years ago compared women on either the Adkin’s diet, Zone diet, or Ornish diet. The research found that women whose diets matched their genetic predisposition were far more successful at weight loss.
Many people lose weight on a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Since most westerners consume a diet high in processed carbohydrates. Many of these carbohydrates that are processed are basically broken down quickly to sugar, therefor the weight loss is often related to calorie restriction. Most of these diets severely limit starches, which contain a fair amount of calories. However, another cause may be the lack of inflammatory foods in a high protein, low carb diet.
There is also the theory that inflammatory diets are contributing to weight gain. This is not so much through the actual calories consumed, but more related to inflammation causing a hormone response that triggers fat deposition. When you consume too many processed carbohydrates, the sugar in your blood stream rises. Over time, your body can become resistant to the forces that should be taking care of this rise in blood sugar. With no where to go, the sugar, or glucose, gets converted to fat for storage. Additionally, you body becomes resistant to the signal that you are full.
Having insulin resistance and leptin resistance is not a good situation for weight loss!
Inflammatory foods for you may be dairy, yes that includes cheese/yogurt/milk; sorry. It most certainly contains sugar in all forms, including alcohol (wine,beer, distilled liquor). Wheat can be a big culprit also as gluten sensitive people can tell you.
An anti-inflammatory diet would contain many vegetables, fruits, chicken and maybe beef. Lamb and pork, as well as turkey would need to be tested. Nuts and seeds are usually fine, but they are high in calories so you need t watch quantity. Grains can be tested by adding one at a time, say every few days. If you become bloated, tired, or puffy; this may be a sign that a specific food may be inflammatory for you.
So to fit into your jeans, you don’t need to have your genes tested. Devise a stream lined diet without inflammatory foods, and consume this diet for several days. Then, slowly add in a few of your favorite foods and see how your system deals with it. Trial and error will tell you what foods to consume to lose weight and keep it off.
Doing so will teach you to become more in tuned with your body, as well as allow you to chose how much of a given food you want to make as part of your diet.
Again, it is all about choices. Knowledge gives you the ability to make the choices that are best for you, in order to help you achieve your goals.
NATURAL WEIGHT LOSS USING YOUR OWN HORMONES
Posted by: | CommentsThe holy grail of weight loss research is finding a pill that enables people to lose weight with theoretically less action than what people are willing to take. We have all heard the mantra that increased activity and reduced food consumption is the way to lose weight. Anyone who has ever needed to lose weight understands this equation. The difficult part has always been developing and sticking to a plan that works.
Many medications developed for weight loss have been effective, but usually at a tradeoff that presents serious problems for some other system in our body. Remember Phen-Fen? That was highly effective in causing weight loss, but was found to cause serious heart and lung problems. So it looks like for now, we are back to the equation of eat less move more for weight loss.
Researchers have known for years about the different hormones associated with eating and food metabolism. What has been an eye opener is how these hormones interact and effect our appetite and sense of fullness. Most studies have been performed on men, but there has been a recent study performed on a small group of women noting the affect of exercise on appetite and hunger.
Appetite and hunger are complicated and involve signals from many parts of your body, as well as our emotions. There is one hormone that stimulates hunger, called ghrelin. What ghrelin does in response to exercise has been inconsistently documented in studies, however a this recent study suggests it is variable for women, depending on what exercise you engage in. This study found that this appetite hormone spiked during running exercise in the test subjects, but not in the walking test subjects. Additionally, the hormones associated with feeling full also were raised following the running exercise group but not the walking exercise group.
The combined result surprisingly showed that appetite and food intake was reduced following exercise for the runners, but not for the walkers. The walkers were noted to eat more following their exercise, more calories than what they burned for their activity.
What does this mean for us?
- To lose weight, you must pair your exercising with a diet that is restricted in calories to some degree.
- The more vigorously you exercise may also positively impact your appetite and resulting calorie intake.
- There may be some difficulty with weight loss using walking alone as your exercise.
- Interval training may be more effective, with short bursts of intense exercise added at intervals with your walking.
- As of yet, there are no pills or short cuts to the process of weight loss.
Find a schedule or program that works for you, that you enjoy; and stick to it. There are many ways you can enjoy exercise.
- Zumba and dancing and dance aerobics are fun ways to move and may appeal to you who do not like gyms. Many classes are offered through gyms as well as churches and facilities not requiring a membership.
- Walking or jogging/running with a club or friend(s) may appeal to the social side of you. Some local athletic stores sponsor walking and running clubs that are loosely structured but can help get you moving.
- Many gyms have classes that can appeal to you such as spinning, pilates, as well as different movement regimens.
- For those of you that want to start off in the privacy of home, exercise CD’s or home equipment can be a good and often affordable option.
Keep in mind the more vigorous your exercise, the more you will engage natural hormones to help you with healthy food metabolism and appetite control. Adding healthy food choices in your kitchen and getting rid of unhealthy choices can then help you replenish with less calories. This is a key to weight loss, and unlike pills, can be continued for a lifetime!
Can You drink Alcohol on a Weight Loss Diet
Posted by: | CommentsIn this video with a small technical problem, I review the facts about alcohol and weight loss. I hope you enjoy this and will ask questions and leave me comments. Thanks
Overweight and Considering Surgery?
Posted by: | CommentsHave you struggled so long with obesity that you are now considering surgery? It seems that more and more I hear the opinion from experts that bariatric surgery may be the best solution for obesity and its’ attendant illnesses. This surprises me and concerns me at the same time. Many Cardiologists and Endocrinologists have struggled to help patients lose weight in order to help improve health parameters. As many of us know, losing weight is extremely difficult when too much weight has been gained and you are struggling with joint pain and fatigue. Perhaps surgery has been recommended to you by your medical provider, or perhaps you are pursuing this on your own. This may be the correct course of action for you BUT THIS IS A SERIOUS DECISION!
There are many types of Bariatric surgery, but basically this surgery involves making the stomach smaller so that you cannot eat as much food. Many people can stop medication shortly after bariatric surgery and for the truly obese person who has tried everything, it is quite possibly a life changing option.
Most surgery centers require a strict pre-screening process to ensure that a person understands what is involved with this surgery. Surgeons want to be assured that a person has sincerely tried diet and exercise in order to lose weight. They often are more willing to perform this surgery on patients that also have other medical illnesses. They will also do a psychological screening because this surgery involves a major life change. It is nearly impossible to eat much food which can impact socializing in restaurants, parties and cookouts. It requires people to have plan and strong sense of self to withstand temptation, unwelcome comments and unasked for opinions.
One success story I would like to share with you involves a woman called Marcia (name changed). Marcia was 80+ lbs overweight, suffered from hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and depression. She had been on countless diets and walked for exercise but with her joint problems was limited on activity. She finally chose bariatric surgery after feeling she had exhausted all possibilities, even though eating out was a major source of entertainment for her. Within a month, she was off all meds with the exception of her depression medication! She is feeling great about herself and is losing 2-3 lbs a week. She does admit that she misses eating out, but she has a strategy to not waste food by taking leftovers home. She has found a standard restaurant meal is 4-5 servings for her! It remains to be seen however, whether she can maintain this weight loss over the years to come.
A second woman who had bariatric surgery years ago, named Kathy (name changed). Kathy was 150 lbs overweight, and had surgery early in the development of weight loss surgery. Kathy did in fact lose up to 150 lbs, but has gained back almost 100 of those pounds. She has had a serious struggle with depression and is now developing diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. She does not have strategies in place to help her cope with the problems of life, and will most likely not succeed again in losing weight and maintaining weight loss unless she makes some changes.
So what ability do you have to facilitate a healthy change? Can you stick with a new plan of eating and exercise. Weight loss surgery patients lose weight immediately because they cannot eat as much. Over time, however, they can work around this limitation and gain weight back. You must tackle the psychological issues of weight gain before you can maintain a healthy weight, regardless of how you got there. You must feel in control, you must take responsibilities for your decisions, and you must have accountability and support.
To achieve the changes you want to make, it is important to utilize the strategies I describe above. Coaching can help, either with a life coach or with a psychologist it you have an eating disorder. Share with us your struggles and successes with making changes. Consider our coaching program which can help you stay focused and on track. Or, consider one of the many other diet programs that include support such as Weight Watchers. Successful life change must occur on many levels!
Menopause Guide to an Active Healthy Life – #1
Posted by: | CommentsWe Americans think of health as activity. We are healthy if we can “DO IT”. When we can go to work, take care of ourselves and our “stuff”, we consider ourselves healthy. That is why when we need to change to prevent problems, we don’t. We don’t like change to prevent problems. As long as we can GO, we don’t think we need to change.
Then there is the issue of healthy eating. I see patients that are overweight who tell me they eat healthy. That is how they say it “I think I eat healthy”. Yet they are overweight. In our country so many people are obese that we think people that are overweight are “NORMAL”. Here is the thing, you need to have an ideal amount of fat and muscle and that muscle needs to be able to do some work and needs to be required to do that work regularly.
We work while seated or with a minimum of activity. Indoor walking short distances, standing and prolonged sitting is the norm for the majority. The men who pick up my garbage are all slim. Even the men over 40. They walk, lift and pull all day, every day in all kinds of weather. Most of us don’t want that job and most of us carry too great an amount of fat in our bellies and under our skin. It isn’t good for us.
Bruce and I are going to try to explain what is healthy eating. How much food should you eat? What can you do to develop new habits of awareness or some call this awareness “Mindfullness”. What are healthy choices at the supermarket? What is it that you really want?
The first video by Anne is to introduce the concept of slow change. Also to let you know that Anne is available to help you. As a part of this program you will be able to connect with Anne live through the power of internet telecommunications to discuss problems, frustrations and to hear Anne’s coaching advice. She can’t be your “Health Care Provider” or part of that team, but she can be a coach and an encourager of healthy behaviors. OK, here is Anne and Video one:
Here is Video two:
Now that you have viewed these, if you would like to view the rest of the series – there are 5 more and receive the workbook pages and also view the other coaching videos of Bruce you need to signup below.
For the price of $5, You will receive:
- Access to the other 5 videos of Anne, one per week
- Her Work Book pages to help you create a plan to use the information effectively
- Access to 4 coaching Videos by Bruce who is a Coach of Healthy Behaviors and a Life Coach – one per week with supplemental written material
- Invitations to be on live calls with Anne and if you can’t be there, have access to the recordings
- Access to this will be for 5 weeks or a cost of just $1 per week.
Act now, click on the button below to enter your PayPal or Credit Card information and gain access to The Menopause Guide to an Active Healthy Life Now!
Artificial Sweeteners: Safe? Effective?
Posted by: | CommentsWhat is the purpose of an artificial sweetener?
It is to replace sugar in processed food to lower the calories and keep the person consuming that food from getting fat or “fatter”. Is there any evidence that they do the job? I agree with the principle of lessening the stimulation of insulin by lowering the dietary intake of high Glycemic Load Carbohydrates.
How about this quote from Professor David Benton found on Medical News Today:
Professor Benton concluded that at present the scientific evidence suggests there is a lack of convincing evidence to draw firm conclusions on the role of artificial sweeteners on long-term energy intake and body weight regulation. Current evidence suggests that, although artificial sweeteners may be helpful in the short-term, there is little long-term benefit in people of normal, body weight.
Are Artificial Sweeteners Safe?
What about the safety issue? Are they safe to use on a daily basis for long periods? An author I read, Mark Sission, of “Mark’s Daily Apple” wrote a post entitled “The Not So Definitive Guide to Diet Soda“. If you don’t want to read it, Mark concludes that a healthy diet is an 80/20 proposition. He recommends saving your 20% for things more satisfying and fun than artificial sweeteners.The article is comprehensive and I recommend it.
Here is my advice. It is second hand. The person I heard say it first is Jack LaLanne. His advice passed from me to you is this:
“If man touches it, don’t eat it.”
Nutritional Legal Terms
For money, business men can make things very cloudy. Most food labels on processed food are legal not nutritional terms. Whole Wheat stands for the least amount of real “whole wheat” that can be added to a processed grain product and still call it whole wheat.Whether there is good evidence that artificial sweeteners are harmful or not does not matter. They do not work as intended. People who use them regularly are usually over weight and their use does not make them slimmer or prevent the health problems that accompany obesity.
My advice, avoid them. Make them something you only ingest occasionally if at all. If you are going to put fuel in your tank, make it high test. The very best. You don’t need a lot, just enough and artificial sweeteners can not help you become healthier.
Fat – WAT, BAT and Cold Water – what you need to know
Posted by: | CommentsEveryone knows what fat is or at least they think they do. The scientific name for fat is ADIPOSE Tissue.
Cold hleps Weight Loss
Thus WAT in the title is White Adipose Tissue and BAT is Brown Adipose Tissue.
In a research article published on Medline the authors write the following in the abstract:
The function of brown adipose tissue is to transfer energy from food into heat; physiologically, both the heat produced and the resulting decrease in metabolic efficiency can be of significance….Heat production from brown adipose tissue is activated whenever the organism is in need of extra heat,
The significance is that if you can successfully activate your brown adipose tissue, it may help you lose weight. I knew a little about this but never associated it with weight loss (at age 60 I have about 15lb more to lose) until I read the “Ice Age” chapter in Tim Ferris’ new book called
Tim tells the story of Ray Cronise, a NASA scientist and a guy who became fat sitting at a computer terminal crunching numbers about re-entry heat and the space shuttle. Ray used the laws of thermodynamics to take off and keep off 50 pounds. Besides controlling his calories, Ray learned to activate his brown adipose tissue. Click on his name and you can read his story.
Why am I telling you this? Because you probably are unaware of it. What can you do to get this part of your physiology to help you? Make your brown fat cold. Before you do anything extreme, ask your doctor, especially if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease or any condition being monitored regularly. If you haven’t been to the doctor in a while, maybe get a baseline exam before you take mine or anyone Else’s advice about YOUR health. You are not my patient, just a friendly reader and I want you to come back.
OK, here is the scoop. Making your body slightly cooler regularly can help activate brown fat. Ferris suggests drinking a pint of ice water first thing in the morning. He also suggests cool showers, ice packs on your neck and muscles closest to your neck for a half hour each night for 30 minutes and if your are in a big hurry, ice baths (which I do not recommend – Ferris was taking these as a 20 something man).
There is no magic bullet. You have to acquire new habits of eating, movement and perhaps cold adaptation over time. There are fantastic reports of weight loss doing this and that. These are usually associated with a “pay me and I will tell you how” offer. It does appear that cooling the body (a good way to do this might be to take a 30 minute swim daily) along with reducing calories and the type of calories makes a difference in your ability to take off excess fat and keep it off.
As usual your comments are solicited. We, Anne V. PAC and I encourage you to become free members of our site and gain access to reserved content on weight loss, exercise and Anne’s E-book about diets.
Weight Loss for the New Year!
Posted by: | CommentsI want you to be healthy and strong this year. As I said on the video on the first page, I plan on having some opportunities for you to access my coaching for problems with weight gain, sleep problems, sexual problems and problems with sleep and fatigue.
Since losing weight is one of the top two resolutions made this time of year, I thought this would be a time to allow those who want and need my help now. View the video below and use the form below the video to let me know you want to communicate with me.
Use the form on the home page to sign up.
Menopause Mentor – Do you need one?
Posted by: | CommentsThe Value of Membership!
Anne can be your coach and mentor for menopause issues like
- weight gain,
- sleep troubles,
- sexual difficulties from menopause,
- how to talk to your Doctor,
- Diet and Fitness
In this brief but fun video she has a conversation with a pretend coaching client. Would you have the same questions? Ask her in the comments section. The sign up form follows the video.