Category Archives: Lose Weight Fast

Weve all been therewaking up one morning with a bloated, distended stomach that leaves you doubled over in discomfort. Inflammation can stem from a number of causes from food intolerance to irregular hormones, and even stress and irritation. However, when it comes to treating inflammation, there are just as many solutions to this common digestive problem as there are causes.

When it comes to creating a plan for beating bloat, its best to prioritize healthy, nutrient dense foods which can help to soothe your stomach and treat inflammation at the source. The next time you wake up plagued with a bloated belly, theres one fruit that experts agree you should be eating first thing in the morning to calm your symptoms and even contribute to healthy weight loss.

Beauty Experts Swear By This Collagen Powder For Younger Looking Skin

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Not only is vitamin C great for boosting your immune system, but fruits which are rich in vitamin C can even have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body, reducing bloating significantly. Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits and tangerines are some of the best fruits that reduce body inflammation and aid weight loss. These citrus fruits are full of soluble fiber and have a very low glycemic impact, says Clara Lawson, RDN. Fiber is wonderful for keeping your digestion regular which is one of the best ways to reduce bloating and gas retention. Fiber can also help to keep you full for longer, effectively reducing overeating throughout the day.

Another great benefit of vitamin C rich citrus fruits is that they are often low in calories, helping to reduce inflammation while also allowing you to lose weight with ease. These fruits have a low-calorie content that supports weight loss and vitamin C, which is an excellent antioxidant that prevents inflammation, says Lawson. Not only this, but studies have shown that eating half a grapefruit before a meal may be useful in provoking fat reduction, particularly in the belly.

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Citrus fruits can also treat inflammation occurring outside of the stomach, so if you struggle with arthritis and are looking for relief, eating oranges, grapefruits, and tangerines may be useful for reducing your symptoms and easing discomfort. Everyday Health reports, Citrus foods, such as oranges, grapefruit, lemon, and limes, are rich in vitamin C. This dietary component is necessary for the synthesis of collagen, which helps build and repair blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, and bone, and is therefore helpful for people with osteoarthritis.

Bloating and inflammation may be frustrating and uncomfortable, but regularly consuming citrus fruits is a great place to start for treating the symptom at the source for a flatter stomach and effortless weight loss. Try having an orange or grapefruit to start out your day, and with an added boost of fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants, inflammation in your stomach and joints wont stand a chance. Treating inflammation and other digestive issues is essential for weight loss, so finetune your diet to ease your belly and youll be feeling your best in no time.

More:
The Inflammation-Fighting Fruit You Should Be Eating This Week For Full-Body Weight Loss - SheFinds

Arjun Kapoor on his recent transformation has caught everyones attention and rightly so. He expressed his learnings through this journey and what inspired him the most. Arjun Kapoor is known for some major hits in the Bollywood industry like Ishaqzaade which was his debut film also. Before this, Arjun was overweight and it took him a lot of hard work and dedication to shed the extra weight on his body.

Recently the actor took to social media and shared his then-and-now collage of body transformation with fans on Instagram. The actor used to weigh 140 Kg and had to shed 50 kilos before making his debut in Ishaqzaade. The actor expressed that he has cherished every chapter of his life and that his body transformation is a work in progress.

He has lost a lot of weight and is looking in the best of shape now. Arjun bravely revealed on Instagram that he has been battling obesity since his childhood and it has been a constant struggle for him to keep his eyes on the prize and not let his mind give in. Arjun, in a social media post, revealed that his mother, late Mona Kapoor, had told him to remember every stage of your life is a journey and you will always be a constant work in progress.

Arjun captioned the post saying, Pehle main bohot mota bohot pareshan tha. No no this is not one of those posts. Just putting it out there that I love every chapter of my life. Those days and even now, I have been myself at every step of the way. I cherish every bit. Im a work in progress like anyone & everyone else.

He added, My mother told me every stage of your life is a journey & you will always be a constant work in progress. I understand the meaning of that now more than ever & Im loving that Im working towards bettering myself every damn day !!!

Also Read:EXCLUSIVE: Why is tea makes for the IDEAL monsoon beverage and 6 different teas you can indulge in this season

Read this article:
Arjun Kapoor on his weight loss journey and what inspired him - PINKVILLA

If youve gained weight over the last several months, we dont blame you. But for the purposes of your health heart disease is the leading killer of men in the U.S. you probably want to drop those added pounds. For men who hate diets and just want to get it over and done with, the military diet promises to deliver. Proponents claim you can lose up to 10 pounds in one week. But like all types of yo-yo dieting, the military diet could be even worse on your health than being overweight.

The military diet prescribes a week-long cycle of three days on and four days off, repeated as many times as you need to reach your goal weight. Days one through three require a very restrictive intake of 1,100-1,400 calories, followed by four days of eating up to 1,500 calories still pretty low, says dietician Liz Weinandy of Ohio State Universitys Wexner Medical Center. For comparison, health experts typically recommend that adults eat between 2,000 and 2,500 calories a day.

Despite its name, the military diet is not affiliated with the United States military or any known armed force. In fact, it has no discernable connection to what service members actually eat: High amounts of protein, fat, and carbohydrates for intense days of training and combat.

Instead, the diet gets its name from the discipline and willpower it takes to stay on the diet and follow it, just like the willpower and discipline it takes to stay in the military, according to themilitarydiet.com. Willpower is needed, it seems, since youll be feeling the hunger from such a prohibitive nutrition plan.

Though the calorie count is low, the military diet allows for a fairly even spread of carbohydrates, fats, and protein and it even includes ice cream. Technically, you can eat whatever you want on the diet as long as it stays within your calorie quota, but the example meal plans on the diets website are fairly well-balanced.

This is what a sample day on the diet looks like:

Alcohol and sodas are no-nos, but coffee is allowed provided you subtract five calories from your food intake elsewhere for each cup you consume. You can make substitutions for certain foods in the military diet meal plans if you just cant stomach them or if you need to make the plan vegetarian or vegan. For example, you can swap half an avocado and two tablespoons or hummus for a can of tuna.

No scientific research has looked into the military diets weight loss claims. But the raw arithmetic does speak for itself, Weinandy says. Consuming fewer calories than your body needs will inevitably lead to a short-term drop on the scale, though probably not as much as ten pounds in one week.

If theres one good thing about the military diet, its that all the recommended foods are things you might already be buying at the grocery store, like canned tuna, apples, and peanut butter. Its nothing extravagant or crazy, she says. In fact, if you double some of the portion sizes and add in more servings of fruits and vegetables, the plan has a lot of the building blocks of a healthy, whole food-focused diet.

While the military diets website couches its claims by saying it works best for weight-loss emergencies, Weinandy says the boom-and-bust cycles of short-term dieting arent sustainable and can be unhealthy. Once you abandon the military diet plan youre going to gain the weight back, she says, full stop. Its not going to work long-term. Repeated crash dieting can even slow metabolic rate in the long run.

Fad diets can also exacerbate or even be the root cause of disordered eating, which Weinandy has seen in people of all genders. She would never recommend that teenagers, people who are pregnant, and people who are breastfeeding go on the military diet or any similar plan. And exercising on this low-calorie regimen isnt a good idea, either, because you could easily get dehydrated. On so few calories, your body is really just trying to keep up with your regular bodily processes, Weinandy says. Military-style conditioning drills are off the table.

There are some instances when a plan like the military diet could be recommended by dieticians, but theyre rare, according to Weinandy. Patients preparing for gastric bypass or other weight-loss surgeries are sometimes put on very low-calorie diets to reduce abdominal fat and help the procedure go smoothly, she says. But theyre really isolated cases.

Though the immediate results can be gratifying, Weinandy has seen countless patients gain it all back and more after they come off a short-term solution like the military diet. Your best alternative is to fill your plate with whole foods, exercise regularly, and cut out processed snacks if youre trying to lose weight. Youve probably heard it before, but these small steps will lead to healthy, lasting results whereas fads like the military diet only bounce you between weight loss and weight gain, Weinandy says. I just hate to see people on this merry-go-round.

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Excerpt from:
The Military Diet Is a Fast-Track to Weight Loss Until It Isnt - Fatherly

I followed intermittent fasting as my weight loss strategy, adapted the 16/8 method and kept my eating window is from 10:30 am to 6:30 PM so my meals are as follows:

My breakfast: Around 10:30 am I break my fast. My breakfast mostly be porridge made of millets, lentils [Sathumaavu kanji], Ragi koozhu [porridge] along with a bowl of boiled Sundal or any seasonal fruits.

My lunch: Between 1-1:30 PM is my lunchtime. I make my lunch plate filled with more colours and minimize white. I take a bowl of rice or millet and sambar/dal/broth anything that I make for others, add sundal, poriyal/vegetables and mandatorily a cup of raitha added with either onions, tomato, carrot, cucumber or capsicum. In this template of plate I fill up and make sure no gaps and I do not refill my plate. Sit back and take every single bit slowly and enjoy my meal.

My dinner: I wind up the last meal of the day around 6:30 PM. For my dinner, it will be basic south Indian tiffin items such as Idly, dosa, upma, Pongal and sometimes I will make a buddha bowl and a cup of soup. Between 6:30 PM to next morning at 10:30 AM I dont intake anything other than water.

Pre-workout meal: Its just lukewarm water and nothing else

Post-workout meal: Nothing but water since I work out during my fasting hours.

I indulge in (What you eat on your cheat days): I dont believe in cheat days after adapting this intermittent fasting and healthy eating pattern. I dont binge however to satisfy my soul I ensure I am limiting myself within the calorie limit for the day and enjoy fried rice, pizza and sweets if I wish [especially only within my eating window].

Continued here:
Weight loss story: "I minimized white food from my diet while Intermittent Fasting" | The Times of India - Times of India

Belly fat can be tricky to ditch. Thats probably why its one of the most common problems posed to Dr. Google.

And there isnt always a simple solution. Its not always the case, but belly fat could be linked to your hormones. Keep scrolling for a deep dive into the causes and solutions for hormonal belly.

Your diet hasnt changed. Your gym schedule is the same. But for some reason, your bellys different. What gives?

These are some signs that somethings up in Hormone Town.

More often than not, belly fat can be traced to your diet. But if your tummys popping despite a steady diet and lifestyle, your weight gain could be hormonal.

Hormone levels can change for a variety of reasons outside your control, including:

Belly weight gain could just mean that your estrogen or testosterone levels are fluctuating because youre getting older. But if you havent changed your lifestyle and you arent approaching middle age, chat with your doctor about checking for underlying health conditions.

Hormonal belly often comes with a side of sadness, rage, or a wild combo of the two. Thats because when your hormones go haywire, your whole body is affected.

Most folks with vaginas go through menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. Its typically known as the time when Aunt Flow leaves town, but the sudden drop in estrogen triggers other changes too. Vaginal dryness, hot flashes, and even weight gain can all be symptoms.

Testosterone levels can drop with age, too. And whether its age-related or not, testosterone deficiency can cause:

The same hormones that mess with your libido (estrogen and testosterone) can impact your waistline.

Research suggests that menopause (again, a season of *major* hormone upheaval) often leads to a sexual dry spell. Studies also show that it can lead to weight gain and increased visceral fat, which usually accumulates in the belly.

Not all hormones are related to sex. Your adrenal glands release the hormone cortisol in response to stress. Cortisol also plays a major role in metabolism regulation, inflammation management, and blood sugar levels.

Basically, chronic stress can lead to chronically high cortisol. Thats a one-way ticket to a big appetite and high blood sugar. (Next stop: belly fat!)

Burning the candle at both ends can lead to hormonal belly. Whether intentional or not, skimping on sleep can have major health consequences, from slashing your sex drive to boosting your appetite.

In particular, lack of sleep messes with cortisol (that stress hormone), leptin (the hormone that tells your brain to stop eating), and ghrelin (the hormone that increases your appetite). Sounds like a recipe for hormonal belly, right?

One 2019 study found that even folks who tried to make up for lost sleep by sleeping in on the weekends still experienced hormonal fluctuations, weight gain, and increased calorie intake.

Were not talking about wanting a cookie now and then. But if you cant deal without your sugar top-up each day, step back and ask yourself why. Cravings are often an early clue to hormone issues.

You may have leptin resistance. Remember, leptin is the hormone that helps regulate your appetite. It tells your brain when your belly is full. If your body starts ignoring leptins messages, thats called leptin resistance.

Researchers know that leptin resistance leads to weight gain. Talk to your doctor if you dont feel full even after big meals. Leptin resistance could be a problem, and it could be leading to overeating.

It could be an insulin issue. Another hormonal cause of belly fat? Insulin imbalance. Wild sugar cravings, sudden weight gain, and lack of focus could all indicate insulin issues. There are natural ways to lower insulin, but its also a concern you should bring up with your doctor.

Theres no magic fix for hormonal weight gain. Your game plan depends on which hormones are wonky and why. But these five tactics are a good place to start.

Theres a reason cortisol has been dubbed the stress hormone. Chronically high cortisol levels whether theyre from never-ending stress or Cushings syndrome can trigger weight gain, insulin resistance, and more.

So start tackling your hormonal belly by tackling your stress. Try meditation. Take a yoga class. Give mindful breathing a whirl.

Sleeping on your sleep habits? Nows the time to get serious.

Research has linked restless nights with a higher body mass index (BMI). Aim for 7 or 8 hours per night to help regulate hormones and bring a healthy rhythm back to your digestive system. Theres truly no substitute for sleep. Your brain and body need it to rest, reset, and keep your hormones in working order.

Diet can play a major role in hormone cycles. When hormones (insulin in particular) go haywire, your body might store up extra belly fat or even develop type 2 diabetes. Fortunately, consistently eating high fiber foods can set your insulin on the straight and narrow.

Set yourself up for success by stocking your pantry with other nourishing, hormone-balancing foods like broccoli, chickpeas, lean proteins, and sour cherries (great for catching a few winks!).

Blood sugar spikes are no bueno for hormone regulation. You can tame your hormonal belly with a low glycemic diet, which focuses on foods that take longer to turn to sugar in your bloodstream.

Folks with hormonal belly from PCOS also report weight loss success by dialing down the sugar. Other tips include eating more protein and fiber.

Research suggests that alcohol consumption affects your hormones, even boosting estrogen in premenopausal women.

If you think your weight gain is hormonal, try ditching booze for a month. See if it makes a difference. It could be that your evening glass of vino has been jacking up your endocrine system behind the scenes.

Not convinced your hormones are to blame. Check yourself for any combo of these possible culprits.

Weight gain typically happens when youre consuming more calories than you burn. But sometimes belly fat can be the result of hormonal imbalances like wacky estrogen or testosterone levels. Stress and lack of sleep can also wreak hormone havoc.

You might be able to tackle hormonal belly with lifestyle changes. But if healthy eating, solid sleep, and stress reduction dont do the trick, its time to talk to your doctor. They can help you identify and fix a hormone imbalance.

Read this article:
Hormonal Belly: Signs, Causes, and Weight Loss Tips - Greatist

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Raven-Symon has lost an impressive 30 pounds over the past few months, revealing to fans that a combination of intermittent fasting, low-carb eating, and light exercise were all essential parts of her weight loss journey.

Now, the star is opening up about the supplements that have been an integral part of her healthy living plan. Read on to discover the exact supplements Raven-Symon has taken to help her lose weight and boost her mood, energy, and immune health. And for more on how your favorite stars shape up, check out Gabrielle Union Says She Avoids These Two Foods in New Abs Selfie.

Raven-Symon is an avid proponent of fasting, incorporating Keto Chow's Fasting Drops into her routine when she's on her regular, water-only plan.

"I'm fixin' up my fasting lunch, breakfast, and dinner," she explained to her Instagram followers. "I have some water and iceI'm going to be putting in some fasting drops. This is my sodium and magnesium to really make sure my electrolytes stay up."

Related: Sign up for our newsletter for the latest celebrity food news.

To keep her energy and mood high during her fasts, Raven-Symon also relies on Keto Chow's Electrolyte Drops, "which is sodium, magnesium, potassium, and trace minerals from the Great Salt Lake," she told her Instagram followers while mixing up some water for an upcoming 36-hour fast.

Related: What Happens to Your Body When You Fast

When Raven-Symon wants a brain boost, she relies on Bright Minds' Memory Powder.

"I take a scoop of that every morningthis is to help feed my brain," she told her followers.

For more great additions to your AM routine, check out The #1 Best Supplement to Take in the Morning, Says Dietitian.

Raven-Symon says that Happy Saffron Plus supplements have been great for boosting her mood when she's feeling down.

"These are the things that have saved my entire emotional inner workingssome days I don't take them and my wife can really tell," she explained.

Related: The Best Supplements to Take for Stress, According to Dietitians

To help keep her immune system strong, Raven-Symon supplements with Vitamins K2+D3 from Wellabs, as well as an additional vitamin C supplement later in the day.

"Because of the world we live in right now, you need a lot of vitamin D and a lot of vitamin C to keep things on the up and up," she told her followers.

For some great additions to your grocery list, check out the Best Supplements To Buy at Costco, Say Experts.

Follow this link:
Raven-Symon Has Been Using These Supplements to Lose Weight | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

Samantha Roberts is three weeks in to a six-week fasting experiment, and she's tired.

She's hungry, she hasn't been sleeping well, and she hasn't lost any weight.

"I feel like I'm trying to change, but I don't think I'm changing for the better," she says.

"I think I'm meaner. I think I'm shorter with people. I'm not as happy as I used to be."

Samantha's experience is not uncommon; manydiets bringwith themmoments of hopelessness and frustration, especially when you're required to overhaul ingrained habits.

Supplied: Samantha Roberts

Under the guidance of dietitian Joanna McMillan and an expert team, Samantha is one of five people participating in a Catalyst fasting experiment, looking at intermittent fasting's impact on weight loss, ageing, gut bacteria, and metabolic health.

She is doing the 16:8 plan.

"I don't eat from 8 o'clock at night till 12 midday the day after, so I fast for 16 hours," Samantha explains.

"Mornings I have black coffee, I'm allowed black coffee, black tea. But just no food.

"I'm getting there [but] maybe I didn't realise what I was getting myself in for."

Samantha's husband Kevin is also participating in the experiment, but he's on the 5:2 diet.

Kevin must eat a healthy diet for five days but cuthiskilojoules down to 2,500 on Tuesdays and Thursdays that's less than a quarter of his regular intake.

Unlike Samantha, he starts to lose weight immediately.

"I managed to pull an extra notch on my belt for my pants, so that's an inch down on my belt size," he says.

"I'm happy to carry on."

ABC: Catalyst

The research into the effectiveness of fasting diets "really is in the early days," but Dr McMillan is hopeful that her experiment will show the benefits of fasting reach beyond weight loss.

"We're so obsessed with weight in this culture, we talk about diet in terms of just weight loss. But [diet] is about what we eat and its impact on our whole body," she says.

"What the research seems to show is that, at least in the short term, fasting is at least as effective as a traditional calorie-controlled weight-loss diet.

"But if we only look atfasting as a weight-loss trend, we demean the research we do have into fasting."

Early studies have shown that in as little as fourweeks, switching from the fed to the fasted state can relieve health issues from inflammation to arthritic pain to asthma, start cellular repair, and increase longevity.

Eating plans that prescribe when to eat, and less so what to eat, are having a big moment. But is there evidence to support this approach to eating and if so, which method is best?

But one area Dr McMillan is particularly interested in is fasting's impact on metabolic health things like the body's blood glucose and insulin levels.

"Metabolic health [refers to] the way your internal body systems are working, and if they're working effectively," she explains.

"If your metabolic health is out of whack it could mean your cholesterol is running high, or your glucose levels are high.

"It's a catalogue of things that lead to poor health.

"Weight is a symptom, not the measure."

Both Samantha, 49, and Kevin, 52, have "harmful levels of fat around their organs, and show signs of elevated blood sugar and insulin resistance".

"If they do nothing, they're likely to have type 2 diabetes within a decade," Dr McMillan says.

"The question for [them] is, can fasting help to get your body responding better to insulin?

"We want to get your body responding better."

Dr McMillan says that one of the benefits of a fasting diet, be it the 5:2 or the 16:8, is that it gives structure to eating and puts a stop to snacking.

"We are in a food environment that we've never been in before, and this is really the first time in human history we've been in this situation, where so much food is available to us all the time," she says.

"So this fasting method at the very least stops that eating after dinner."

Kevin is already worried that his eating habits are catching up withhim.

Before the experiment started, he'd typically drink a case of beer each week, and often pick up a bacon and egg roll or a pie on his way to work as a butcher.

"I wanted to give fasting a go because of my appearance, my body.I'm getting a bit bulging around the torso," he quips.

ABC: Catalyst

For Samantha, a hairdresser, her eating patterns are all out of whack thanks to being on her feet with clients all day.

"Sometimes I don't realise that I've actually eaten because I'm so busy," she explains.

"I eat and then I don't think I've eaten and then I eat again and then I realise I did eat, but I'm so busy that I forget.

"I do have a mirror in front of me all day, but I don't actually look up at me. It's a shock when I see me."

The hope is that six weeks of an intermittent fastingdiet will helpKevin and Samantha eatmindfully.

"What we certainly know is that getting your calories down is beneficial, and this is another option," Dr McMillan says.

"After dinner, the kitchen's closed.It simply stops that snacking that you tend to eat while you're on the sofa."

But intermittent fasting isn't just about going without it's also about choosing nutritious food when you can eat, to provide lasting energy to get through the fasting window.

Diet quality is critical to the success of intermittent fasting diets, says lifestyle disease specialist Sam Hocking.

"I think one of the things where people can go a bit wrong with these diets is that idea of doing the 5:2 [and thinking], 'there are two days where you have to restrict your calories but on the other five days you can eat whatever you like'.

"You can't have the day where you're partying all day and eating and drinking and then expect to get the benefits.

"You've got to eat healthily on the normal eating days."

Supplied: Samantha Roberts

For Samantha and Kevin, this means stocking their pantry with lots of wholegrains, fruit and veggies, nuts and seeds, lean meats, and avoiding processed meats and snacks.

It also means restricting alcohol.

"As of last week, I drank approximately 48 bottles of beer less than what I'd normally consume," Kevin laughs.

"The things that I've been eating differently are pumpkin, tofu, couscous, and sweet potato chips. [I have] just small pieces and other things mixed in with my other vegetables.

"I'm loving it, it's just the food I've got to eat to get where I want to be."

In the first six weeks, Samantha findsit'ssometimes hard to incorporate thechanges into her grocery shop, even though she has meal plans and expert advice.

"I'm just trying to manage everything," she says.

"To make sure I've shopped, to make sure I've got enough vegetables, to make sure I've got enough plant-based stuff.

"[I have] to be really organised I have never spent this much time in my kitchen. I'm always cleaning the kitchen 'cause I'm making so much stuff.

"It's a whole lifestyle change."

Supplied: Samantha Roberts

On the 16:8, another challenge Samantha faces is waiting until midday to eat.

"There's no talk about food, it's banned. Till 12 o'clock," she says.

"It's quite hard hitting I think, more than I thought it would be. If I'm up at 5.30, it's six-and-a-half hours with no food. It's a long time.

"From 12, I'll try and have some eggs. And then at like 1, I'll try to have lunch, and then I'll have fruit a lot more."

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One thing she has to watch is "panic eating" in the minutes before 8:00pm.

"I think I have a personality, if somebody says you can't have that water, then I want it even more. I think my personality is like that, but I think it's a sense of panic," Samanthasays.

"[I think], 'What else am I going to cram in before 8 o'clock?'.

"The worst thing is, I actually don't feel like I need something else to eat, but I'm eating it because if I don't, I'm not going to eat until tomorrow again."

Kevinacknowledges "it's more tricky for Samantha than for me".

"She's finding it hard in the mornings to not eat till 12 o'clock," he says.

"She wakes up early, she starts to stress out a bit, I think and gets a bit frustrated."

But Samantha is determined to stick with the plan.

"My expectations were pretty high, but at least I've done something, and I'm still doing it," she says.

Supplied: Samantha Roberts

After six weeks of participating in the fasting experiment, Samantha and Kevin settlein to their fasting patterns, and committo sticking to themfor a little while longer.

Their cravings abate, theybecome more comfortable with feeling hungry, and there are no bad foods in the pantry.

"[It was] totally a positive experience, I've enjoyed it I know I've whinged. I have whinged a lot," Samantha says.

"I feel better. I know [when] I don't want to eat, I'm happy just to leave it at 8 o'clock.

"As long as I prep, I'm finding it better, even if I can't find time for shopping.

"As long as I've got the vegetables and fruit at home, we're good."

ABC: Catalyst

WhenDr McMillan conducts her final tests to see how Kevin and Samantha have tracked, the results "are a little unexpected".

Over the six weeks, Samantha lost 3.5 kilogramsand Kevin 8.5 kilograms but Kevin's weight loss is actually "some cause for concern".

"More than half of Kevin's weight loss came from lean body mass most of it [was] muscle," she says.

"Lean muscle [is] crucial for staying healthy as we age. So, going forward Kevin and anyone taking up fasting needs to ensure they also do exercise."

There has also been little change toSamantha and Kevin's gut health.

Butthere has been "a really big metabolic improvement" for them both.

In particular, Samantha's fasting insulin levels reduced, and her fasting blood glucose levels came down to "the normal category", which meansshereduced her risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Supplied: Samantha Roberts

"This is a really powerful message, because you haven't actually lost a lot of weight, but you've seen that really big metabolic improvement," Dr Hocking says.

"Even for someone who doesn't lose any weight, if your metabolic health has improved because you're eating better and you're exercising and getting enough sleep, you're in a far healthier position."

Dr McMillan says Samantha "epitomises the promise of fasting for me".

"She has managed to overcome a really tough journey through my experiment and embrace a new way of eating," she says.

While the results of Dr McMillan's intermittent fasting experiment are promising, she warns thatfasting is"not a magic bullet" for weight loss or overall health.

It's also a method that should not be overdone;fasting for too long "stresses your body too much".

"Fasting is one tool in the toolkit one potential option to add," Dr McMillan says.

More here:
From 5:2 to 16:8, do intermittent fasting diets work, and what are the challenges? - ABC News

When choosing a new diet, youll want to consider how effective it will be at helping you achieve your health goals, whatever they may be and youll want to be sure youre vetting its potential health risks.

Heres one factor to consider: Some diets, such as intermittent fasting and the ketogenic diet, are more likely than others to cause dehydration. Given that we need water to survive, health experts suggest making that part of the equation when you weigh the pros and cons of any diet.

Water helps all cells, tissues, and organs survive, per the Mayo Clinic, so you dont want to skimp on hydration. The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommend getting about 15 cups of fluids a day if youre a man and 11 cups a day if youre a woman. (That said, around 20 percent of that recommendation should come from water-rich foods, like fruit and vegetables; 13 cups of fluid for men and 9 cups a day for women are usually enough for people who eat a balanced diet.)

Any diet that is restrictive may cause dehydration, says Keri Gans, a New York Citybased registered dietitian and author of The Small Change Diet. Most people dont drink enough water to begin with, so we look for other ways for them to get water for example, through fruit. When diets eliminate fruit or other entire food groups, the risk of dehydration rises, Gans says.

RELATED: Health Benefits of Water, Backed by Scientific Research

Most diets dont explicitly forbid water, Gans says, and ideally, no diet should cause dehydration. But some will require you to pay special attention to how much youre drinking throughout the day to make sure youre adequately hydrated. You should also learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of dehydration to watch out for according to MedlinePlus, these include:

RELATED: The Best Times to Drink Water

Here are five diets that could lead to dehydration:

High-protein diets, such as the Dukan diet and paleo diet, have become increasingly popular ways to lose weight. While the U.S. Department of Agricultures Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that 10 to 35 percent of daily calories come from protein, these plans call for more.

The downside, experts suggest, is that high-protein diets could lead to dehydration.

Nitrogen is found in the amino acids that comprise protein. When you consume large amounts of protein, your body flushes out excess nitrogen with fluids and water.

In this case, potential signs of dehydration can be subtle, says Lisa R. Young, PhD, RDN, an adjunct professor of nutrition at New York University in New York City. Its not like you ate something salty and feel thirsty, or you ate Chinese food and are so thirsty. You dont realize it.

One small past study compared the hydration levels of five endurance athletes as they consumed low, moderate, and high amounts of protein. The researchers found that as the amount of protein consumed went up, the degree of hydration progressively went down. The takeaway, they noted, is that if youre on a high-protein diet, its important to drink more, even if you dont feel thirsty.

RELATED: The Pros and Cons of Popular Low-Carb Diets

You may be interested in the popular high-fat, low-carb keto diet because youve heard it can lead to fast weight loss through a metabolic state called ketosis. Ketosis leads your body to burn fat in the absence of enough carbs.

When you cut carbs, you end up releasing water, Young says. The body is going into its glycogen storage to break down the carbs, so you end up losing more water from a diet like that. Indeed, this loss of water weight is often why keto is helpful for quick weight loss at least temporarily.

Regardless of whether youre just starting keto or have been on the plan for a while, take steps to stay hydrated every day. This includes drinking when you wake up and before meals, and consider keeping track of hydration with a smartphone app. There are lots of options: Young likes AQUALERT and Daily Water Tracker Reminder, both of which send reminders and notifications, making it nearly impossible to forget to drink, she says.

RELATED: Keto Diet Dangers You Need to Know About

Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach whereby youll alternate between fasting and eating throughout the day or from one day to the next. There are different ways to follow it: Some people opt for the 5:2 approach, which allows you to eat normally five days of the week and then restrict your calories on the other two days. Others prefer the 16:8 plan, which means fasting for 16 hours of the day. Whatever your approach, though, youll stick to predetermined eating times for all meals and snacks.

Youre allowed to drink water if youre intermittent fasting, even outside of your eating times. But the problem, Gans says, is that some people forget. Youre sitting down to less meals, she points out and mealtime is a natural opportunity to have a glass of water.

Thats why, if youre fasting, its important to pay extra attention to how much youre drinking and to make it a priority to keep a water bottle with you or include hydrating fruits and vegetables as part of your meals during allocated eating times.

RELATED: Burning Questions About Intermittent Fasting, Answered

Dry fasting is a version of intermittent fasting that requires followers to restrict both food and drink. During the fasting period, you cant have any type of liquid: Water, broth, tea, coffee, and all other beverages are off-limits.

Some people practice dry fasting for religious reasons for example, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan each year. Other proponents of dry fasting believe it promotes weight loss or slows down the aging process. Its emerged as a fad diet, in part because of research based on Muslims who abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset every day during Ramadan. A study published in Nutrients found that after Ramadan, participants body weight and body mass index decreased.

But, experts warn, this eating plan can be dangerous when practiced long term. Shannon Henry, a registered dietitian withEZCareClinicin San Francisco, notes that it can lead to electrolyte imbalances and low blood pressure, which can be fatal, and can cause urine and kidney problems. Per the National Kidney Foundation, these problems may include kidney stones and urinary tract infections. At the very least, youre very likely to end up dehydrated when following this type of plan.

Im not a fan of dry fasting, Young says, adding that its not the right choice for most people looking for a diet plan.

The Atkins diet, a popular low-carb diet (though one that isnt as low-carb as keto), could put its followers at risk of dehydration, Gans says.

One reason: It eliminates many food groups, such as starchy vegetables and most fruits, per the Atkins website. During phase one, which lasts two weeks or more, fruit is not permitted at all (though low-carb fruits such as cherries and cantaloupe may be added back into the diet in later phases). Fruit juice is also discouraged (due to high levels of added sugars), which could put a cramp in some peoples drinking style.

If youre eliminating fruit and vegetables, which are hydrating foods, youre putting yourself at higher risk of dehydration, Gans says. To help compensate, pay extra attention to how much youre drinking throughout the day, and dont skimp on water consumption (since hydration is encouraged on the Atkins diet).

RELATED: Whats the Difference Between Keto and Atkins?

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Westend61 - Getty Images When it comes to losing weight, intermittent fasting may not be any more effecting than simply reducing total daily calories, new research shows.

Intermittent fasting, which restricts your snacks and meals to a certain timeframe during the day, may have some benefits depending on your goals. But when it comes to weight lossif thats your goal!a new study in the journal Science Translational Medicine suggests the approach isnt more effective than simply reducing the total daily calories you eat, and eating them at unspecified times.

In fact, intermittent fasting may even be detrimental to muscle mass, according to lead researcher James Betts, Ph.D., co-director at the Center for Nutrition, Exercise, and Metabolism at the University of Bath in the U.K.

Researchers recruited 36 participants and assigned each to one of three groups for three weeks. The first group didnt intermittently fast at all and just reduced their daily calories by 25%. The other two groups fasted on alternate days, with one group following a fast day by eating 50% more than usual and the other group eating 100% more.

At the studys conclusion three weeks later, the last group showed no weight loss, while the first group and the 50% group each lost about the same amount of weight but with significant differences, Betts told Runners World. Those who fasted and then ate 50% more lost much more muscle mass than the non-fasting group.

Because of this, anyone who wants to do intermittent fasting needs to keep in mind that they may need to do more physical activity in order to maintain muscle mass, he said.

Gallery: The Secret Side Effects of Eating Cereal (Eat This, Not That!)

Another factor to consider here is quality of foods, Kristin Gillespie, M.S., R.D., a dietitian and certified nutrition support coach, told Runners World.

You may help stimulate weight loss if youre consuming fewer calories simply because youre reducing the number of hours that youre eating, she said. However, it is certainly possible to offset this calorie deficit if youre consuming calorie-dense foods during your eating window.

The premise of intermittent fasting is that youre meant to be eating nutrient-dense, healthy foods in relatively normal amounts during the eating timeframe, she added. When you stray away from that with a junk food binge, its doubtful youll see benefits just from going without eating for 12 hours or more.

Another caveat is that the study did include men and women, but didnt differentiate those results. Gillespie said that women generally dont do as well with this strategy because they tend to be more adaptable to periods of fasting and energy conservation, so it would be interesting to see a study focusing on only women.

Finally, theres the size of the study36 participants is considered a modest sampleand the fact that all of the participants were technically classified as lean with a body mass index in the low 20s. However, Betts said that the results should not dissuade anyone from trying the tactic, especially if theyre willing to play around with it.

I do think that different fasting strategies may have different effects, he said. For example, whether to vary fasting times each day, how you re-feed, how long you fast, and so on.

The bottom line? Eat in a way that works best for you and lines up with your own nutrition and training goals. And, as always, consulting with a sports dietitian or other medical expert is the best way to personalize your diet for best results.

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Back-to-school season is just around the corner for many children, and alongside other health concerns parents may be facing with their kids, weight gained throughout the isolating months of COVID-19 could impact a childs overall well-being.

Alexandra Clark, MD, division chief of general pediatrics for Loma Linda University Childrens Health, says pediatric health providers across the nation saw worrisome weight gain in their patients approximately 19 pounds on average during the months of isolation with the pandemic.

We certainly saw our rates of children having a BMI over the 85th percentile continue to rise in the Inland Empire, Clark says. Kids were facing a lot of challenges with the changes to their routine online school, sitting in front of a computer trying to learn, families struggling to balance work themselves and caring for their children, decreased amounts of exercise, and lots of opportunity to snack.

However, while weight is a marker used by many to determine health, Clark encourages parents to focus on their childs wellness, including being heart-healthy and being a healthy weight for their height, not focusing on just a number.

I want us to focus on what we are doing to be healthy together, she says.

Get at least 60 minutes of vigorous physical activity every day

This is a must, Clark says. physical activity should be enough that they feel a little sweaty, their heartbeats a little fast.

Try to think about ways that exercise can be fun, she says. Physical activity doesnt need to be jumping jacks or going on a long run, it can literally be turning on your favorite tunes and racing to clean the house or the childs room or having a family dance off.

It doesnt need to be 60 continuous minutes as long as at least that amount occurs every day.

Make physical activity a family event a hike, swimming together, a way to have fun and bond together as a family, Clark says.

Pay attention to the types of food and portion sizes

Theres a lot of misconception in American culture about what constitutes a portion size, even for adults, but especially for kids, Clark says. Its easy for us to look at the amount of food a restaurant serves and think one should clean the whole plate, but thats actually really excessive as a portion size.

Clark encourages families to use a reputable website, like choosemyplate.gov, that helps families learn what a portion size is per age range of their child.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are extremely important to a childs well-rounded diet, but if fresh options arent accessible, there are frozen alternatives. Additionally, legumes, lentils, and nuts have a long shelf life and can be affordable household staples.

Engage your children in the kitchen

Getting your children to be active participants in being a part of their health journey helps them create lifelong habits, says Clark. Young school age children are more likely to be engaged in eating a variety of foods if they help participate in growing them, she says. Try having a small garden, participating in a community garden or doing some indoor gardening, even if its just herbs or cherry tomatoes.

She recommends having kids prepare food with the family, and being excited when talking to them about trying different things. I always tell young children that as they grew bigger and older so did their tummy, and now it likes things that are different from then they were younger, she says.

Make trying new foods fun-filled and engaging as opposed to seeming like a punishment.

Establish a sleep routine

Having a good sleep schedule is really important for overall wellness, says Clark, especially coming out of the summer months when routines may have been more relaxed. Creating an entire bedtime routine for your child may be most helpful. Set a time when they can expect that all media should be turned off at least 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime. Have a bath or shower, read a book, pick up toys in the living room or play area, or any other activities that will help your child settle in for the night.

Clark says getting the right amount of sleep per the age range of your child is very important a child ages 6-12 should be getting 9 to 12 hours of sleep per 24-hour period and a teenager should be getting approximately eight hours minimally.

We prioritize sleep for their overall wellness, but also for learning, she says. If a child wakes up fatigued, their learning for the rest of the day will be impacted.

Keep up to date with well-child assessments

All our offices are open for in-person care with safety protocols in place. Clark strongly encourages the annual checkups from ages four and on. In between those annual checkups, parents can still have conversations with their provider about any concerns, for example, where their child is at with their health and wellness journey.

If a parent is seeing their child excessively fatigued, clothes are rapidly not fitting from weight gain or weight loss, there is loss of focus, poor sleep patterns, or other concerning symptoms, Clark and her team of general pediatricians want to partner with parents in identifying the issues and getting their child back on track for health and wellness this school year.

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Back to school: kids and weight gain - Loma Linda University Health