Daily Diet Blog

August 15, 2008

Alpha Lipoic Acid May Prevent Weight Gain After Weight Loss

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 6:23 pm

In an interesting new development, and one that I’m excited about because I happen to already include this excellent little antioxidant supplement in my daily vitamin and supplement routine, alpha lipoic acid, one that is touted for it’s antioxidant and skin enhancing capabilities in the body, may also help prevent those that have lost weight from regaining it back when it is taken after a weight loss has occurred.  What this means is that those who have had a weight loss, say of ten or more pounds, may benefit from taking this powerful little acid in a supplement, because it has been shown in lab animals to help prevent the body fat/weight from coming back on after initial loss.

In lab rats who were given the supplement of alpha lipoic acid, those that had lost the weight previously maybe over a period of a few months, from being on a restricted calorie diet, which is of course the best and most known way to lose weight, did not gain back their weight when they were again put on their normal caloric diet after they lost their initial weight from being on a restricted calorie diet for a significant period of time.

It is unknown from what I read on this interesting news how scientists were lead to belive that alpha lipoic acid may help those who have lost weight from gaining it back after they are off their diet, but the mechanism they are thinking is a trickery that occurs that is triggered by the alpha lipoic acid supplementation after the weight loss, where the body is tricked into thinking it is still on a “diet”. 

No numbers were really given to say how much the rats lost, of course this would have to be measured in percentages since rats are much smaller than humans, so we can scale it in our minds, but you may want to look into this phenomenon further if you have recently lost weight or are thinking about losing weight via a restricted calorie diet and don’t want to risk putting it all back on once you return to a normal diet (of course, this probably does not mean you can just gorge yourself either and not gain an ounce of it back, but this is within reason). 

August 9, 2008

Exercise Benefits Without Exercising?

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 10:07 pm

Well, whenever I hear this one, it really just tends to make me mad.  The idea that any company, whether pharmaceutical or not, would try to sell anything that claims you do not need exercise or that it is a replacement for exercise is just very irresponsible.  Even every diet product on here that we discuss or recommend, such as the hoodia gum breakthrough which allows the hoodia molecules to slowly be absorbed through the tongue and mouth, or the carb blockers that are recommended, we still emphasize that exercise is always needed, and in order to not only keep weight off, but to live a healthy and fulfilling life, you need exercise.

Well, even if this new pill’s claims are true, I still will never fully buy that any pill or supplement would fully replace the need for exercise.  The new pill is one that has been developed by a pharmaceutical company and tested on lab mice and found to be somewhat of a replacement for exercise because it produced benefits that are similar to those that are related to working up a sweat. 

Here’s how it benefitted the sedentary mice that took it.  They took this “miracle pill” for four weeks and scientists found that they not only burnt more calories than their counterparts who didn’t get the pill, but they also were evaluated for body fat and were found to have less body fat after they were inoculated with the new concoction. 

You think that’s incredible?  Well not only did they test for higher calorie burning, but even after being sedentary, they were tested on treadmills and tested better than the mice that were not inoculate, inferring that the pill not only increased their metabolism and fat burning capabilities, but also somehow cardiovascularly conditioned them to be able to perform physically just as they had been working out all along.  Hmm, sounds good, but there’s gotta be some sort of drawback. 

This pill would however be good for people who are somehow unable to exercise because of a physical condition, so this will be a good development for situations like that.  Hopefully it is never prescribed to medically sound people though who just don’t want to work out. 

 

July 24, 2008

New York Calorie Count Begins

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 9:29 pm

The new law in New York is in full effect now, with restaurants not obeying the new rule that the calories of any given product that is on a menu must be in the same size and font as the name of the dish being subject to a fine that’s pretty hefty.  The new rule has some restaurants hemming and hawing that it might hurt business and others, mostly chains, have already made the switch over since they tend to have the time and resources to get this kind of stuff done quicker and more efficiently.

It has left many people with shell shock about how their favorite foods are high in calories, a lot higher than they thought they were.  I know for me personally, once I find out that some of my favorite foods have lots of calories, it does make a difference in how much of that food I consume and how often, unless I happen to not give a care about calorie intake at all that particular day.

The hope by New York is that this will help with the obesity rates, and more specifically, the rate of diabetes the city has, by educating people and making them more aware of the food choices they are making by letting them know in a direct way, what percentage of their daily calorie intake they are opting to eat by purchasing a given food product, and hopefully diverting them to higher quality, lower calorie foods by putting it all right out there to see. 

In theory it sounds great, but time will tell whether this new rule actually makes an impact on the eating habits of New Yorkers, or if it just wears off after a little while.  And, who knows, if it takes off and makes serious changes in New York, we may see this type of rule being adopted in other major cities, or perhaps even passed state wide in some states.  Maybe they should start with the southern states, since they have the highest rates of obesity and diabetes. 

July 16, 2008

Belly Fat Linked to Pancreatic Cancer

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 8:39 pm

In addition to being strongly linked to higher rates of heart disease in both women and men, having excess belly fat, or the body type where most of the weight is distributed in the mid section, or the “pear” shape as it has been termed, is now being linked to another deadly disease.  Actually, a very deadly one that has hit the news full force since Patrick Swayze’s battle went public, it’s pancreatic cancer, or cancer of the pancreas. 

New studies in women are showing that women who carry most of their excess weight around the midsection have as much as a 70% higher chance of getting pancreatic cancer than women who do not hold most of their weight concentrated in the belly.  That is not only significant from a statistical perspective, but mind bogglingly huge!  It not only shows that belly fat can be deadly, but it shows a direct, huge reduction in the risk simply by keeping that waistline trim.

And, with pancreatic cancer having a high mortality rate and being among the top five cancer related deaths in the US, this is definitely something that men and women allover are going to want to pay attention to.  They are even saying that the excess body fat around the midsection may predict the increased likelihood of pancreatic cancer better than the BMI body measurement. 

It’s just one more reason that keeping that waist in check is important.  It’s becoming clearer and clearer that weight management is not just a vanity issue any more, but with these new studies being published all the time about it’s relationship to deadly disease and debilitating illnesses, it has really gotten across that we as a human race were not meant for obesity, it’s just how we’ve evolved and our society that has cultivated this environment of fatty foods as well as a sedentary lifestyle. 

July 8, 2008

Big, Carb Packed Breakfast Best for Weight?

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 8:15 pm

Well, it may seem counterintuitive to some, including me, but apparently eating a big, high carb breakfast may be the ticket to eating less throughout the day, and even more surprising, may be the best way to beat further carb cravings throughout the day.  You’d think that starting off with carbs would fuel your hunger, but apparently the opposite is shown as being true. 

I read on in this article that was recently in the news advocating high carb, large breakfasts, and thought about those days when I happen to eat a larger breakfast and thought it did seem to be true in my case, since if I eat a smaller, more restricted and low carb, high protein breakfast, I do seem to eat more throughout the day, and in fact I even crave more sugar throughout the day.  Carb blockers work on the assumption that someone has taken in too many excess carbs and can work to help burn those off, but those are for later in the day. 

But the real killer is snacking all the way almost until you go to bed, which can happen when you deprive yourself earlier in the day, when it’s actually better to load on the majority of the day’s calories, since you still have the rest of the day to burn those naughty little calories off.  Here’s the trick though, researchers are advocating the large breakfast that is more high in carbs, because they say it’s especially effective if, for the remainder of the day, the dieter eats low carb foods and a low calorie menu.

They say that because of the early load up, it actually works to the dieter’s benefit since they’ve already had their fill of fruits and veggies, or wheat products, all which tend to be high carb, and that since they’ve had their fill in the morning, they then do not crave these foods which are harder to burn off later in the day.  The key is though, to not take the big breakfast as a cue for the rest of the day, and instead stick to that lower calorie, lower carb regimen for the rest of the day, when the body is not burning off all the calories.

Research has shown that low carb diets do not work in the long term because they actually slow the metabolism down and fuel the cravings for sugars and carbs, so that when the person goes off, they really go off, and usually people who try this type of diet return to obesity, whereas if they follow the general rule of big breakfast, controlled the rest of the day, they will keep that weight off for the rest of the day.   

June 15, 2008

Successful Dieters Keep Diaries, Weigh Often

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 1:55 pm

One of the things I hate worst about when I diet and am just trying to lose a few is weighing myself.   It seems like this rather ambiguous number on the scale can send me into a bad or great mood within seconds, and even if I’m feeling good about myself and fitting into my clothes like I feel I should, if that magic number, or a number within a few pounds of that magic number, doesn’t show itself on my scale, I start to feel bad about myself - even a little depressed. 

So, it’s no wonder that most of us don’t like to step on the scale, and I’m definitely no exception to the rule.  I’m a normal weight, but I do tend to fluctuate during periods of stress or what I call hormonal eating, so I can definitely gain a few pretty easily.  However, weighing yourself is supposed to be one of the keys to successfully dieting, or at least maintaining your ideal weight according to experts.  And it makes sense.  You will be less apt to wander off track if you are keeping tabs on yourself by using this very truthful instrument. 

A scale won’t smooth it over or lie to you about gaining a few pounds - it’s right there in black and white, so to speak, for you to gauge and understand, and modify your eating and exercise behavior accordingly.  Also, with the new digital scales, there is a laser like accuracy that cannot be ignored, so we know exactly what our weight is, unlike some of the spring loaded scales of the past, where we assume they may be five pounds off one way or another. 

Another thing that successful and long term weight losers is to keep food diaries.  This is a surefire way to keep track of what you’re eating, and to acknowledge when you have strayed off course during bad times, and make sure you get back on as soon as possible.  Hypnotherapy for weight loss may help get that internal track-keeping going too, since it keeps the conscious and subconscious aware of the constant goal of weight loss and ideal weight in the back of the mind. 

I always used to think diary keeping when dieting was useless, but I am amazed by how much I’ve heard this helps long term success in weight loss, because if it’s a habit like brushing your teeth, it makes the truth about diet hard to ignore. 

June 12, 2008

The Six Month Rule for Weight Loss

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 9:09 am

I just read a very interesting article online a few days ago about the actual facts on weight loss, and some of it was contradictory to other things you may hear about time frames and myths about losing weight, but honestly it was a very refreshing piece about how there are so many fad diets out there and the majority of people who try all these fads aren’t the ones that keep the weight off for the long term, either that, or they are the ones that constantly fluctuate in weight their whole life without truly hitting their goals, or briefly hitting them only to bounce back up and down on the scale again.

The actual fact about those who lose weight successfully shows that those that set a six month goal or how much weight they want to lose and actually reach it in that six month time frame, are usually the ones that most successfully keep the weight off for good.  They say that if you don’t reach your weight loss goals in that six months, that it’s best to then set another six month goal for yourself, and if you have already lost some of the weight in the goal, just not all of it, you can tack some on, as long as it’s not unreasonable for what you already set your personal precedent at.

Here’s another shock about weight loss.  Exercising does not make a huge difference in initial weight loss goals.  Although it can help naturally curb the appetite and get your eating healthier because of a certain mindset, they say that it does not actually take away so many calories unless you are working out at such an intensity that you are burning 500 to 1000 calories. 

Instead, they say the calorie cutting is the biggest thing to get the body to start shedding weight, especially in the beginning.  This is NOT any sort of endorsement for not exercising though, as I believe it still kicks the metabolism up higher and has enormous benefits that have nothing to do with weight loss anyways.  I also believe that exercise is nature’s natural appetite suppressant, and for me personally I have found that exercise and eating healthy go hand in hand - it’s just a psychological thing I guess. 

They say that the maintenance phase of weight loss is where exercise becomes really important, as this is when the increase in metabolism and the increased muscle mass that burns more calories comes in, since you are most likely not cutting calories as dramatically at this phase and are relying on the maintenance of the weight you already shed to keep yourself in check. 

June 9, 2008

Obesity in Kids May Be Tapering Off

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 12:10 pm

There may be some good news in the fight against obesity in children according to some new numbers gathered that show that the numbers have remained pretty much the same for the 2006 and 2007 years compared to 2004 and 2005 number gathered on percentages of kids that were considered overweight, obese and severely obese.

Now here’s the shocking news. Although those numbers were going up for years, they have indeed seemed to level off over these past four years, however, wtih the overall rate of kids classified as overweight in some way being around 32%, we still have a shockingly long way to go when it comes to fighting obesity and weight issues in today’s youth.

There are fingers pointing everywhere, but I personally think that it is a combination of factors that is a sign of the times today that has caused this mess. We now have more processed and unfulfilling foods today than ever which take a lot more for people to be satisfied on, hence they eat more. Also, kids today are more sedentary thanks to television and video games, whereas these sedentary activities were not available to kids in the fifties and sixties, who were outside being active much of the day.

As mentioned in other studies there may be other smaller and less apparent and perhaps even far fetched reasons for the weight increases in kids, like air conditioning and other temperature controls where the body does not have to burn calories to stay at a comfy temperature, and the fact that with new neighborhoods being so close knit, kids no longer have to ride or walk very far to go see their friends, either that or their parents just take them in a car.

The numbers leveling off may be a fluke or simply an anomaly some researchers think, and that perhaps the numbers aren’t really leveling off, but some are hopeful that the message to get kids to eat right and exercise and be more active is getting out there.

The emphasis on fruits and vegetables over other snacks like processed simple carbs and fatty and salty foods as well as sugar snacks is important, but activity is really important, especially since children are supposed to have generated all their fat cells by age 8, you are setting your child up for a lifetime of weight struggles if you allow them to get out of control at such a young age, so it’s very important to teach them early on.

May 26, 2008

Obesity May Be Regulated Like Smoking

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 10:09 pm

Many in the health world are calling for the American obesity epidemic to be treated like smoking currently is here in the US.  What this may mean is that in the recent past, we’ve seen cigarettes extremely regulated in the way they can be marketed and not marketed, and even to what age groups they could be geared toward, including where they can even spread their advertising message. 

Junk foods are currently marketed to kids, big time, and we are already seeing better foods being marketed to the nation’s youngsters, such as smaller 100 calories snack packs, and even healthier options in kid’s meals at our landmark fast food joints such as McDonalds and Wendy’s, in an effort to at least give the nation’s kids a good start in life and get them off on the right foot when it comes to their future weight and weight maintenance, not to mention their future tastes for fats and sugars, the nemesis to the thin, trim you that everyone tries to beat when they’re adults.

What the new guidelines may include in an effort to nip obesity in the bud, is to put guidelines forth for public schools in how they feed the kids, making them feed them meals that meet a certain nutritional criteria instead of some of the junk today that is high in fat and sugar and sets the stage for obesity and diabetes, a growing problem for our nation’s youths today.

They say the problem is that in industrialized nations such as ours, we have food companies coming out with highly processed and refined foods that, sure they taste good, but at the expense of the basic fulfilling nutrition.  By eating them, you basically get  more hungry and get more cravings for bad foods, so it becomes a self perpetuating situation that can only be rectified by eating wholesome, real foods that are minimally processed and have minimum preservatives and additives. 

We need to get back to basics in the way we eat.  I think when that happens, most of the battle against obesity may be taken care of.  Of course portion control always matters as well, but the quality of the foods we eat would be a huge step in the right direction. 

May 14, 2008

Diet and Genetics Play Role in Longevity

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 1:53 pm

I just wrote about a man who lived until he was 114 from an article I read, and how scientists had performed DNA tests on him to see if he was in possession of a specific set of genes that has been identified as the possible reason for why some people who share these specific genes, as with in long lived family members, why some people live so much longer than others.

For the particular man in question, he lived on a mediterranean island, and had a very low key, stress free lifestyle, he biked nearly every single day at least up until he was 102 years old, and he also ate a mediterranean diet, which consists of a lot of omega 3 fatty acid rich foods as well as other dietary foods that have been proven to help with a variety of health problems as well as are suspect in a lot of diseases as a helping hand in preventing them as well as helping control them.

The conclusion that science has come up with after running tests on people who have lived past 100 years old, is that there is no definitive answer, lifestyle or genetic combination that makes people live so much longer than others.  Rather, it’s most likely a combination of the factors themselves that play a role in their longevity. 

For example, some people may not possess the right genes, but if they consume a certain diet that agrees with their body chemistry, they have a low key lifestyle and they also live in a pollution free environment and have minimal toxins in their bodies and the food they consume or the materials they come in contact with, this may push them past 100 since disease and illness is less likely to consume their bodies before they die of natural causes - aka old age instead of an actual disease. 

I remember reading a story about a particular long lived male a while ago who was studied and it was found that his diet consisted of sausage and waffles every morning.  Hardly what most of us would consider a healthy start to the day, however he had other factors at work which may have contributed to his longevity, such as the fact that he had no children, a minimally stressful life, and by most indications he was  man who was rarely stressed out. 

I still think diet plays a huge role in our health and the prevention of disease, but there are also so many other factors that come into play.  Perhaps this man who ate sausages and waffles all the time controlled his portions wisely.  He probably was not overweight, which plays a large role in prevention of disease and the longevity aspect.  There are too many factors at work in the longevity world, however, we do know that restricting our caloric intake and eating certain high antioxidant foods as well as getting our necessary vitamins, minerals, fibers, and other micronutrients greatly enhances our quality of life. 

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