How to lose weight the healthy way

Better health rather than an absolute weight or loss amount should be the goal

The healthiest way to lose weight is neither crash diets nor bursts of exercise. The body likes slow changes in terms of food and exercise.

For example, someone who hasn't exercised for years shouldn't rush into running miles a day or pounding the treadmill. Not only will the struggle to do so leave you feeling disheartened and demotivated, you're also far more likely to injure yourself and set your fitness levels back further.

The same goes for people who suddenly start starving themselves. Diets that severely restrict calories or the types of food 'allowed' can lead you to be deficient in the nutrients and vitamins that your body needs.

So, if you need to lose weight, what should you do?

Energy needs and weight loss

Your body uses food for energy. It stores any excess energy as fat. This means if you eat more food than your body needs for daily activities and cell maintenance, you'll gain weight.

To lose weight, you need to get your body to use up these stores of fat. The most effective way to do this is to:

• reduce the amount of calories you eat
• increase your levels of activity.

This is why experts talk about weight loss in terms of diet and exercise.

Introduce changes gradually

Small changes can make a big difference. One extra biscuit a week can lead you to gain 5lb a year – cut that biscuit out of your diet and you'll lose the same amount.

You're also more likely to stick to, say, swapping full-fat milk for semi-skimmed or making time for breakfast each morning than a diet that sets rules for all foods.

You should think of weight loss in terms of permanently changing your eating habits. While weight-loss goals are usually set in term of weeks, the end game is to sustain these changes over months and years, ie lifestyle change for life.

Increase your activity levels

Someone who increases the amount they exercise, but maintains the same diet and calorie intake, will almost certainly lose weight.

No matter if you hate gyms – even light exercise, such as a short 20 minute walk, will be beneficial if done most days of the week.

Every single time you exercise more than usual, you burn calories and fat.

There are lots of ways to increase the amount of activity you do. Team sports, racket sports, aerobics classes, running, walking, swimming and cycling will all improve your fitness levels.

Find something you enjoy that's easy for you to do in terms of location and cost. You're then more likely to build it into your routine and continue to exercise, despite inevitably missing the odd session through holidays, family commitments, etc.

• Get out and about at the weekend. Leave your car on the drive and walk to the shops. Try to incorporate longer walks into outings to the park, coast or countryside and take a picnic, so you're in control of what you are going to eat that day.
• Every extra step you take helps. Always use the stairs instead of the lift, or get off the bus a stop before the usual one and walk the rest of the way.
• Use commercial breaks between TV-programmes to stand up and do exercise, or consider using an exercise bicycle in the living room while watching your favourite programme.

Reduce your calorie intake

What is overweight?

Doctors use BMI to assess weight.

A BMI of 18.5 to 25 is healthy.

If you have a BMI of more than 25, you're overweight.

Over 30 is obese.

Over 40 is morbidly obese.

To calculate your BMI, you'll need to know your weight in kilos and your height in metres, then follow the example below.

1. Multiply your height by itself, eg 1.7x1.7= 2.89.

2. Divide your weight (eg 80kg) by this figure.

3. 80 ÷ 2.89= 27.7.

27.7 is the BMI.

If you're overweight, you can't continue with your current eating habits if you really want to lose weight.

It's not possible to reduce body fat while eating lots of food, cakes and sweets. This doesn't mean you can never have any treats, but you need to learn how to limit these foods to small quantities – say, for special occasions.

In terms of weight-loss, you can get your body to use up existing stores of fat by eating less and making healthier choices.

This doesn't mean crash diet (anything less than 1500 calories), which usually ends up with you either getting weaker or giving up in desperation. Quick-fix diets can lead to a yo-yoing effect of drastic weight loss followed by weight gain, resulting in a vicious cycle.

There are no shortcuts to losing weight in a healthy and reasonable way.

Eating 300 to 500 calories less per day should lead to a loss of between one and two pounds per week. This is a realistic target. It may seem slow, but it would add up to a weight loss of more than three stone in a year.

Fat contains the most amount of calories out of all the food types (protein, carbohydrates), so a good way to achieve this is to cut down on fatty foods and eat more wholegrain bread, fruit and vegetables.

Below are ways to reduce calorie intake without having to alter your diet significantly.

• Replace fizzy drinks and fruit cordials with water.
• Swap whole milk for semi-skimmed, or semi-skimmed for skimmed.
• Eat less lunch than usual. For example, make your own sandwich and limit the use of margarine or butter and full-fat mayonnaise (store-bought sandwiches often contain both).
• Stop taking sugar in tea and coffee.
• Have smaller portions of the food you enjoy.
• Avoid having a second helping at dinner.
• Cut out unhealthy treats – such as confectionary, sugary biscuits and crisps between meals.
• Cut down on alcohol intake.

All these things will influence your health in a positive way.

Finally, don't be tempted to skip breakfast – or any meal to lose weight. While skipping a meal will reduce your calorie intake for that hour, it will leave you much hungrier later on.

Not only are you likely to overeat to compensate, but you'll often make bad choices to fill the gap: a cereal bar is not as healthy as a bowl of cereal or as filling, leading you to 'need' something extra for lunch.

Irregular eating habits also disrupt your body's metabolism, which makes it harder to lose weight in the first place.

Write down your plan

Food diary

If you're not sure what's wrong with your diet, try keeping a daily diary of everything you eat and drink.

You can use a notebook or an online diary.

At the end of the week, review your entries for problem areas.

Look out for processed foods, alcohol, fast food, roasts, creamy sauces and fried foods.

If your diet seems largely healthy, look at portion sizes.

If you're not sure what's meant by 'healthy diet', read our series on nutrition.

Once you've decided on what changes you're going to make, write them down. For example:

Week 1

• Exercise: one 20 minute walk every lunch hour.
• Alcohol: none in the week, two small glasses of wine on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
• Food: no chocolate or biscuits in the week, choose healthy snacks such as fruit, trim all fat from meat, eat no fried or fast food.

Once you start your plan, weigh yourself once a week before breakfast. Keep a record of this weight and see if a pattern develops.

You could use a table like the one below to keep track of your goals, marking your progress for each day with a tick or a cross.

Reviewed by John Pillinger, GP

Posted: True Health Is True Wealth

Hydroxycut products recalled after one death: FDA

Fri May 1, 2009 3:56pm EDT

 

* Weight-loss products linked to liver damage

* Two supplements can still be sold

By Lisa Richwine

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The maker of the widely sold Hydroxycut weight-loss supplements is recalling 14 products after reports of liver damage and one death, U.S. health officials said on Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration urged consumers to immediately stop using the recalled products, which are made by Iovate Health Sciences Inc and marketed for weight loss, boosting energy and other uses.

"The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk. Adverse events are rare, but exist," said Dr. Linda Katz, interim chief medical officer in the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

The agency has received 23 reports of liver problems ranging from jaundice to damage that required a liver transplant, Katz said. One person died.

Other reports also documented seizures, cardiovascular disorders and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to kidney failure, the FDA said.

A message on the voice mail for Iovate Health Sciences in Ontario, Canada said the products were being recalled. Company officials could not be reached for further comment.

The company agreed to voluntarily pull the 14 products even though the FDA has not seen reports of serious harm with all of them, Katz said. Agency officials are investigating which doses and ingredients may be harmful, she said.

Two products with different ingredients, Hydroxycut Cleanse and Hoodia, were not included in the recall.

The recalled products contain a variety of ingredients including herbal extracts. They are sold as dietary supplements, which do not require the evidence of safety and effectiveness needed for medicines before they can be sold.

Critics say supplements need more oversight.

A 2007 law required manufacturers to turn over reports of problems with consumers, helping the FDA better monitor potential side effects, agency officials said.

"These reports are vital in helping FDA identify unsafe dietary supplements," said Vasilios Frankos, head of the FDA's Division of Dietary Supplement Programs.

People who took the recalled products should consult a doctor if they have symptoms of liver injury such as nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach pain, itching or loss of appetite, the FDA said.

The recalled products include Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets, Hydroxycut Carb Control and Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets. A full list was included in the FDA announcement here

(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Steve Orlofsky, Leslie Gevirtz)

Source:  Reuters

Related Resources:

• Lose Weight the Healthy Way - TaiSlim - The Weight Is Over
  
• Healthy Living - Big Red Juice
  

Vegetable juice may help with weight loss

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drinking at least one glass of low sodium vegetable juice every day may help overweight dieters lose more weight.

In a study, adults who drank at least 8 ounces of vegetable juice as part of a calorie-controlled heart-healthy diet lost 4 pounds over 12 weeks, while those who followed the same diet but did not drink the veggie juice lost only 1 pound.

It's possible, study investigator Dr. Carl L. Keen told Reuters Health, that vegetable juice helps reduce a person's appetite. "There is also a long-term belief that a high fruit and vegetable diet is associated with lower body weight," added Keen, who is with the University of California, Davis.

All 81 participants in the study, almost three-quarters of whom were women, had metabolic syndrome - a cluster of risk factors including excess body fat around the middle, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol. It's estimated that 47 million Americans have some combination of these risk factors, placing them at increased risk diabetes and heart disease.

All of the study subjects were encouraged to follow the American Heart Association's "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension," or DASH, diet, which is high in fruits, vegetables, fiber, minerals and low-fat dairy products and low in saturated fat and salt. In addition, they were randomly assigned to drink 0, 1, or 2 cups of low sodium, high potassium vegetable juice every day for 12 weeks.

The vegetable juice drinkers -- in addition to losing more weight over 12 weeks than the non-juice drinkers -- were also more likely to get the recommended 3 to 5 servings of vegetables daily.

Vegetable juice drinkers also significantly increased their intake of vitamin C and potassium, while decreasing their overall carbohydrate intake.

"Diet and body weight are key modifiable factors in changing the course of metabolic syndrome," principal investigator Dr. John Foreyt, of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, noted in a written statement.

Most U.S. adults don't get the recommended servings of vegetables each day. Vegetable juice, Keen said, "is a very good, portable option and may be a good way to help close the gap."

Keen reported the results of the study, which was funded in part by the Campbell Soup Company, this week at the Experimental Biology convention in New Orleans.

By Megan Rauscher

Posted:  TrueHealthIsTrueWealth

TaiSlim - The Weight Is Over

The top 10 healthiest diets in America

If losing weight is at the top of your resolution list, you're not alone. An estimated 80 million Americans go on diets every year, spending more than $30 billion annually on programs and products.

Relax -- some diets are more about burning calories than counting calories.

That's a lot of money, a lot of advice, and a lot of emotional investment. So, which diets really work -- and work safely? To find the weight-loss programs with that golden balance of nutrition, calorie-control, motivation, and activity, Health harnessed a panel of experts to put more than 60 well-known diets to the test and narrow them down to the top 10. Here's the list:

• The Structure House Weight Loss Plan (Fireside)

Don't recognize this plan? That's because for more than 30 years its author, Gerard J. Musante, PhD, has been working quietly and very successfully running the actual Structure House, a Durham, North Carolina-based residential treatment center for obese adults. That's a lot of time spent with patients and a lot of attention paid to the broad factors that affect weight loss -- particularly the relationship people have with food.

But can an excellent residential program transfer to an effective at-home plan? The answer, according to our experts (meet them at right), is a resounding "yes," which is how this below-the-radar plan grabbed highest honors from its better-known rivals.

With top-shelf scores on every aspect of healthy weight-loss, Structure House won an "outstanding!" from obesity expert Tim Church, MD, on its exercise component (often a weak spot in diet programs). And several panelists raved about the plan's motivational components. "It focuses on the 'why' behind overeating," says registered dietitian Maureen Callahan, "and helps dieters learn to put their lives in balance."

Health's Senior Food and Nutrition Editor Frances Largeman-Roth agrees: "This book takes a holistic approach to weight loss, asking you to fill your life with things other than food -- outdoor activities and time with friends and family, for instance. Plus, the recipes, such as Balsamic Dijon Chicken and Classic Pesto, won high marks for tastiness, another factor in long-term weight-loss success.Health.com: Lose weight on fast food--- really!

• The Step Diet (Workman Publishing)

We all know that walking 10,000 steps a day can really make a huge difference healthwise. But now we also know that the diet inspired by this fundamental, healthy approach to movement and activity is a big winner. And it even comes with a pedometer, a device that studies have shown can be a huge motivator for staying active and losing weight.

Our panelists agree that establishing a lifestyle regimen that combines intentional walking with spur-of-the-moment step-building (parking farther away, taking the stairs) is a healthy, all-ages, all-levels-of-fitness diet prescription. "This is more about calories burned than calories cut," Health's Frances Largeman-Roth says.Health.com: 5 tips to keep office snacking from derailing your diet

The nutritional approach of the Step Diet, devised by weight-control experts from the University of Colorado, is profoundly simple: Cut food intake to 75 percent of what you currently eat. "This plan is for people who like things simple," nutrition expert Christine Palumbo says. "Simply cut back on what you normally eat." With suggestions (not hard-core regimens) for making healthy meals and a food diary for building mindfulness, this plan can work well for dieters who like to have daily control and choices.

Our panelists also noted that the cut in calories combined with the steady increase in activity can lead to a safe, healthy rate of weight loss and a naturally active lifestyle. "This is a doable, concrete approach to adding daily physical activity and losing pounds," dietitian and fitness expert Samantha Heller says.

• Weight Watchers

It's a classic for a reason. It works.

And over the years, this gold-standard weight-loss program that harnesses the power of group support to help motivate dieters has kept up with science, not to mention changing lifestyles. For this aspect, Weight Watchers earned the highest motivational marks (including several perfect scores) from our panel of experts, who also lauded the plan's overall healthy weight-loss pace and exercise component.

Most noteworthy: Weight Watchers, while maintaining its meetings-based system, has added an online version for those dieters who, in the words of panelist Largeman-Roth, "aren't into group hugs."Health.com: Diet tricks the stars use to stay thin

What's more, dieters following the program can choose from two distinct weight-loss approaches. The first, Weight Watcher's famous points-based Flex Plan, which is packed with major education on making wise and healthy food choices, gets kudos for providing both motivation and a simple framework for success. The second, the Core Plan, focuses dieters on eating nutritious, satisfying foods--without counting calories.

The Weight Watchers program offers strategies that will work for every dieter. And the support specifically for men was a real bonus, as was the ability to get tasty, already-prepared (and points counted) meals at your local grocery store.

• The EatingWell Diet (The Countryman Press)

This new entry into the field in 2007 has built beautifully on the latest understanding of the broad approach necessary for effective weight loss. Author Jean Harvey-Berino, PhD, RD, developed the fundamentals of the EatingWell Diet at the University of Vermont, where she chairs the department of nutrition and food science. The focus on behavioral changes--including finding and facing eating triggers, eating and shopping mindfully, and cultivating regular, joyful exercise habits--combined with a 28-day mix-and-match menus gained the highest overall rankings on calorie-intake and weight-loss-rate criteria from our panelists. Health.com: Reviews of more than 40 popular diets

"Hallelujah," says registered dietitian Maureen Callahan. "Here's a diet plan that tells the truth about weight loss. Dieters lose about 21 pounds in six months, or about a pound a week. This kind of steady weight loss is the real thing, the kind that stays off." Another nifty extra: a Diet Food Diary that includes a calorie-count chart.

• The Volumetrics Eating Plan (Harper Collins)

Nutritionist Barbara Rolls, PhD, has tapped into a fundamental human quality: We like to feel full. This may sound obvious, but it's based, in fact, on extensive work Rolls has done as director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Pennsylvania State University. Rolls says you'll eat better and lose weight if you focus on the energy density of foods. And her Volumetrics plan explains how low-density foods like fruits and vegetables, as well as soups and stews, fill you up without overloading you with calories.

This diet scored highest for its safe weight-loss-rate and nutritional components because it's "based on sound nutrition principles and overall healthy food choices," judge Samantha Heller says. And our panelists found the plan's 150-plus recipes appealing. Another plus, judge Christine Palumbo says, is Volumetric's creative approach of showing photos of low- and high-density foods side by side -- a simple way to help dieters visualize good choices.

Though exercise plays a secondary role in the Volumetrics plan, it is required. And a guide for logging 30 to 60 minutes of daily activity provides motivation. But Health's Frances Largeman-Roth wondered if some dieters would need more exercise challenges and support.

• The Best Life Diet (Simon & Schuster)

Bob Greene is forever linked with superstar (and dieter) Oprah Winfrey. And his high-profile guide, which offers a sane, healthy approach to overall lifestyle changes, earned consistently high marks from our experts. Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, who looked at the motivational elements of each diet, was impressed by the realistic goals embraced by the Best Life plan, as well as the weekly menus and recipes offered on its Web site (which also features message-board support groups, a good source of dieting motivation).

Best Life has three phases that each dieter is encouraged to embark upon at his or her own pace, a strategy that leads to slimming, nutritional eating and increased physical activity. Dietitian Christine Palumbo gave this staged approach a perfect 10: "For people who like to ease into lifestyle changes in order to get used to them oh-so-gradually," she says, "this is a good bet."

Greene doesn't advocate keeping strict track of calories, which may make the Best Life more challenging for rule-loving dieters, yet panelists applauded his holistic approach to healthy eating. "He's emphasizing healthy foods in reasonable portions," nutrition expert Maureen Callahan says.

"Dieters shouldn't feel deprived on this plan," Health's Frances Largeman-Roth says. "However, the fact that this diet doesn't have 'magic' foods or promise rapid results may make it less attractive to dieters looking for a silver bullet." And that may be its best recommendation of all.

• The Solution (Collins)

"This program excels at helping people figure out why they're overeating," Callahan says, "and that's what's going to keep the weight off." Squarely facing the emotional and behavioral underpinnings of overeating, dietitian Laurel Mellin's method is based on The Shapedown Program, a successful weight-management plan she created for overweight children and adolescents in the late 1970s. Mellin views obesity not so much in terms of diet and exercise but as another expression of the interaction of mind, body, and lifestyle. And The Solution, designed for dieters of all ages, targets five root causes of weight problems: unbalanced eating, low energy, body shame, setting ineffective limits, and weak self-nurturing skills.

The food aspects of this program center on four "light" lists--grains, proteins, milk foods, and fruit and vegetables. And Mellin's guidelines and food suggestions got high marks on healthy balance from our panelists. Largeman-Roth liked the variety of the plan, as well as its overall moderation. And Palumbo awarded it a hat-trick of perfect 10s in all nutritional aspects.

• You: On a Diet (Free Press)

"No wonder Dr. Oz is Oprah's favorite doctor!" Palumbo raves, hailing the friendly diet book that is the centerpiece of the "You" docs Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen's mini-empire of healthy lifestyle guides and products (including a very interactive Web site). This diet, Palumbo adds, "teaches and motivates about weight (and waist) loss with a sense of good humor and fun."

Indeed, the book offers a lot of education amidst the menu plans, which include recipes for Stuffed Whole Wheat Pizza, Grilled Peanut Shrimp with Sesame Snow Peas, and Sweet Beet and Gorgonzola Salad. Panelist Samantha Heller praised its easy-to-understand nutrition information, while Dr. Rajapaksa gave points for its good explanations of how the body works. The weight-loss trajectory centers on cutting about 500 calories per day, and panelists liked the easy calculations that help readers figure out their own calorie needs.

Palumbo also credited the plan with adding to the healthy (but not terribly exciting) 30 minutes of daily walking some equally valuable recommendations of stretching, metabolism boosting, muscle building, and strength training. Added benefit: Illustrations show how to do the exercises sans a trip to the gym.

• The Sonoma Diet (Meredith Books)

There's an undercurrent of celebration in this best-selling diet that continues to inspire with delicious recipes using staples of Mediterranean eating: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, fish, and nuts.

Dietitian and PhD Connie Guttersen's plan opens with a strident 10-day jump-start phase called "Wave One," designed to purge habits of eating sugar and highly processed foods, which judges Maureen Callahan and Samantha Heller caution may be a little too calorie-restrictive for some beginning dieters. But subsequent phases--active weight loss and maintenance--garnered high marks from our panel. Exercise is encouraged but not actively prescribed, a missed opportunity in the minds of several judges.

Overall, our panelists loved the creative recipes and menus. And they applauded the plate-and-bowl approach to portion control, a hallmark of long-term, sustainable eating habits. "This diet teaches you to eat slowly and savor your meals," judge Palumbo says.

• The Spectrum (Ballantine)

Famous in the 1990s for advocating a program to combat heart disease, Dr. Dean Ornish, MD, has been criticized for prescribing nutritional edicts that are just too hard to sustain. The Spectrum, Ornish's newest diet, both broadens and softens his program by moving along four separate paths to health--nutrition, exercise, stress management, and personal relationships.

Our panelists liked the plan's holistic approach, particularly rewarding its counsel on reducing stress and giving it high marks for including a meditation DVD with the book. And our nutrition judges were glad to see that Ornish has tempered his tough stance on fats to a more sustainable level, but one panelist feels he's still too strict. "There's no reason not to eat nuts, seeds, and avocados; use maple syrup and honey; or have a glass of wine, periodically," panelist Heller says. She notes, though, that Ornish's whole-body approach, which includes a vegetarian lifestyle, stress management, and exercise, is on target in terms of health, disease prevention, and reaching a healthy weight.

Judge Palumbo awarded Ornish's plan some of her highest scores. "This 'diet' plan addresses the lifestyle diseases of the 21st century," she says, "such as diabetes, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease. This book is ideal for people who are looking for an intelligent, thoughtful, science-based weight-loss program."

By Tracey Minkin/CNN Heth

And a great addition to any diet program is the Big Red Juice - FreeLife's Himilayan Goji Juice or GoChi