Its a growing trend in weight loss to give up monitoring food and counting calories in favor of technology. Wearable devices that track physical activity, heart rate, sleep patterns and more are used to lose weight. The question is, does it work?

In a one word answer No.

Tracking food on paper or digitally is the most effective way to monitor food to achieve weight loss.

One word answers, however, overlook the exceptions. In most cases an activity tracker doesnt deliver weight loss results to the same degree youll get from monitoring what you eat. It wont for most of us; it does for a few. Sometimes people gain weight because they all of the activity makes it feel okay to eat mindlessly.

Oh, theyre burning a lot of calories, all right, but theyre sadly underestimating how many calories theyre eating. The end result is not the calories deficit necessary to lose weight, but rather a calorie excess that adds more pounds.

Am I saying there is nothing useful about activity trackers and that people shouldnt waste their money on them? Heck no. They are a wise investment and a useful tool for weight loss, but their bigger value is as a tool for weight maintenance.

Weight loss is difficult for a lot of us. The more tools we have to help us, the more likely we will reach our goal. Tracking food remains the single, most important thing for successful weight loss. Weight loss is achieved by creating a calorie deficit, so anything that helps us with that is a useful tool. Activity burns calories and that supports the goal of a calorie deficit while allowing us to eat enough to stay satisfied.

Activity trackers fulfill another useful role. They provide visual proof that you are actively pursuing weight loss. That visual then boosts your confidence in your ability to succeed and further enhances your determination to stay on track with food monitoring. The confidence can get you through challenges that may otherwise make you give up on your goals.

I reached my goal in 1991 and have practiced maintenance ever since. I learned that if I make a point of staying active I can relax a bit with monitoring and tracking what I eat. An activity tracking device makes it easier to slip a lot more activity into my day.

I would go so far to say that monitoring food is the most important strategy to lose weight, andmonitoring activity is the most important strategy for maintaining a lower weight. The research conducted by the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) seems to support my personal theory.

I use my iPhone to track my activity. Its not a great solution. A lot of the time I dont have it in my hand or pocket so any activity I get during those times isnt tracked.

A favorite way of mine to get exercise is by rowing. I dont want to tell you how many of my phones have taken a plunge into salt water. Sometimes they survive the immersion and sometimes they dont.

I stay active by engaging in activities I really enjoy. I often combine several favorite forms of exercise. I build and maintain muscle by rowing and burn calories by chasing my four-legged, living exercise machine (upper left)

Im going to get a wearable, but there are so many available that I want some help finding the one that is right for me. It definitely needs to be water-resistant and I have a few other requirements. If youre considering getting a fitness tracker and want to get the best fit for your needs and more for your money visit reviews.com to find the best fitness tracker.

My suggestion for best weight loss results is use your iPhone to track your food, and a fitness tracker to track your activity.

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Does dieting or fitness trackers work better for weight loss - Bangor Daily News

Shonda Rhimes knows she lost lots of weight. But she doesnt need you to remind her about it.

In her new Shondaland newsletter, the uber-producer behind Greys Anatomy and Scandal reflects on how her recent weight loss of closer to 150 lbs brought unwanted attention from women and men alike.

Women I barely knew gushed. And I mean GUSHED. Like I was holding-a-new-baby-gushed, Rhimes wrote. Only there was no new baby. It was just me. In a dress. With makeup on and my hair all did, yes. Butstill the same me. In one of my same dresses (cause why am I gonna buy a NEW dress when I can take this to a seamstress and she can just make it smaller? Who am I, The Crown? No, Im from the Midwest, baby, and I come with coupons). Women gushed anyway. And men? They spoke to me. THEY SPOKE TO ME. Like stood still and had long conversations with me about things. It was disconcerting. But even more disconcerting was that all these people suddenly felt completely comfortable talking to me about my body. Telling me I looked pretty or that they were proud of me or that wow, you are so hot now or you look amazing!'

Rhimes expresses confusion over how after I lost weight, I discovered that people found me valuable. Worthy of conversation. A person one could look at. A person one could compliment. A person one could admire.

You heard me. I discovered that NOW people saw me as a PERSON, she wrote. What the hell did they see me as before? How invisible was I to them then? How hard did they work to avoid me? What words did they use to describe me? What value did they put on my presence at a party, a lunch, a discussion? When I was fat, I wasnt a PERSON to these people. Like I had been an Invisible Woman who suddenly materialized in front of them. Poof! There I am. Thin and ready for a chat.

Rhimes goes on to say being thinner doesnt make you a different person. It just makes you thinner.

Rhimes uses her experience to talk about the latest book from Roxane Gay called Hunger: A Memoir of My Body.

Sign up for the Shondaland newsletter here.

Continued here:
Shonda Rhimes opens up about weight loss... begrudgingly - EW.com

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Nanticoke Weight Loss & General Surgery will host weight loss seminars at 5:30 p.m. July 5 and 10:30 a.m. July 15 at the Nanticoke Training Center, 121 S. Front St., Seaford.

The free seminars are designed to provide education to individuals considering weight loss surgery to help them make informed decisions on whether surgery is an appropriate option.

Obesity can lead to health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. For those with morbid obesity, having a body mass index of 30 or above, it can also affect organs within the body. Patients are able to bring their BMI down through lifestyles changes under the care of their physician. For others who have not been able to achieve weight loss through these methods, bariatric surgery can be a method to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.

The weight loss seminars will include educational presentations by Tarek Waked to inform individuals about the benefits of weight loss surgery. Patients and their spouses, family members or friends are welcome to attend. Registration is not required.

For information, visit nanticokeweightloss.org or call 536-5395.

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Nanticoke to host weight-loss seminars - Milford Beacon

Mon., June 26, 2017, 5:06 p.m.

I joined in a wave of the intermittent fasting trend about 10 years ago before I was a dietitian. Thats when most of the writings on the topic were in the form of blog posts and self-published PDF e-books. Today, a perusal of the Internet turns up several best-selling books extolling the benefits of intermittent fasting for weight loss and improvements in the metabolic risk factors that contribute to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Then, and even now, the intermittent fasting hype was way ahead of the science. Most early research data came from animal studies, with human data coming from observations of participants of religious-based fasts or from small, short clinical studies. A systematic review published last year in the journal Nutrients looked at studies of at least six months that assigned adults with overweight or obese BMIs to either intermittent fasting or daily calorie restriction, and found no evidence that intermittent fasting was superior. The authors cited the need for longer, larger studies to assess sustainability and effects on weight maintenance.

So I was eager to read the results of a study published in the May issue of JAMA Internal Medicine that was longer and larger, enrolling 100 participants for a year six months of weight loss and six of weight maintenance. Researchers randomly assigned metabolically healthy adults ages 18 to 64 who had BMIs in the obese category to an alternate-day energy restriction group, a daily-calorie-restriction group or a control group whose members ate their usual diet.

Researchers found that the intermittent fasters had a harder time following their diets and were more likely to drop out than daily calorie restrictors. Weight loss and weight regain were similar between the dieting groups, as were changes to fat and lean tissue which is significant, because one intermittent fasting claim is that it leads to less muscle loss than traditional calorie-restrictive diets. Reduction of cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides, were also similar between the two dieting groups. The conclusion? Intermittent fasting was no better, and no worse, than a standard, calorie-restrictive diet.

Although no one study should be taken as a be-all, end-all answer, the results add substance to what previous research studies have overwhelmingly found.

The JAMA study used alternate-day energy restriction for the fasting group, whose members ate one meal containing 25 percent of their usual daily intake on fasting days and feasted on 125 percent of their usual daily intake on the other days, for an average 25 percent calorie reduction. The calorie-restriction group reduced calories by 25 percent each day, spread over three meals. Participants started out sedentary, and researchers asked them not to increase activity.

The takeaway? Intermittent fasting may actually be less sustainable in the long term for most people than daily caloric restriction, which itself is not sustainable, as the majority of people who lose weight on calorie-restrictive diets regain the weight, sometimes repeatedly, as with yo-yo dieting. The authors questioned whether there was a difference in perceived hunger or actual levels of appetite-related hormones between intermittent fasters and calorie restrictors. The answer is no, according to a small study published in April in the journal Clinical Nutrition. Researchers found that neither method has an advantage for weight loss or for lessening the bodys means of compensating for perceived starvation, which include slowing the metabolism and increasing levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin.

I tolerated the hunger that ebbed and flowed on fasting days and wasnt ravenous when it was time to eat, but not everyone has that experience. I stopped doing intermittent fasting when I went back to grad school to study nutrition because I had a hard time focusing on fasting days. My brain needed regular fuel. Today, I know that restrictive diets dont work, regardless of the form. Despite the hype, intermittent fasting isnt a magic bullet its plain old calorie restriction in a new outfit.

Dennett is a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition by Carrie. She lives in the Seattle area.

See more here:
Despite the hype, intermittent fasting isn't a magic weight-loss cure - The Spokesman-Review

WFAA 3:22 PM. CDT June 26, 2017

iStock

What Weight Loss Can Do For the Brain

By Jeremiah Bailleu

Weight loss changes more than just the numbers you see when you step on the scale. There are numerous mental and emotional benefits to weight loss besides just the physical changes you start to see in the mirror.

If you feel sluggish, lacking in confidence or just a little off, shedding even a few pounds of extra weight may be just what you need. Here are some of the mental and emotional benefits of exercise.

More energy Carrying extra weight can cause shortness of breath and decreased oxygen efficiency. This is because the more pounds you are carrying, the more energy you use throughout the day. Increased energy is usually the first thing people notice once the weight starts falling off.

Fewer symptoms of depression Can your weight really have an impact on your mood? According to Everyday Health, obese people are about 25 percent more likely to experience a mood disorder like depression compared to those who are not obese. People struggling with depression are also at an increased risk for obesity, they may feel a desire to eat to raise serotonin levels when feeling down. Weight loss can often improve depression by helping to boost self-esteem and self-image.

Boost in self-confidence When you start to lose weight, it is normal to feel like you have gained a new sense of confidence. Achieving a goal you may have doubted was possible, such as losing weight, can give you the confidence to take on many things that you have had a hard time facing. When a goal is reached, you are feeding the self-confidence in your subconscious. You may feel as if you are now able to break out of your shell and face any challenge that comes your way.

Improved brain function Obesity affects many different organs in the body and the brain is no exception. Time Magazine reports that getting rid of excess fat actually improves brain function. People struggling with obesity are 35 percent more likely to develop Alzheimers compared to people that have a normal BMI. It is believed that the increase in proteins in the brain for obese people can make them more vulnerable to various different problems. Improved cognitive function is a result of the brains ability to work less hard to produce the same results when you lose weight.

Mind-body confusion One challenge people who experience extreme weight loss often encounter is mind-body confusion. After losing a large percentage of your excess weight, it may take your mind some time to catch up with the changes your body has made. People tend to still identify as a heavy person even after the weight is gone. This problem is more common when the weight is lost rapidly in a short period of time. It may take some time to get past your previous self-image, but with the right attitude your mind will begin to take ownership over your new physique.

Research shows that reaching your goal weight has more benefits than just what meets the eye. Losing weight has a countless number of benefits from an emotional, physical and mental standpoint. It can bring out the best in people and completely change their quality of life.

About the Author

Jeremiah is a Marketing/Advertising Coordinator at the Nicholson Clinic. He assists with patient support and customer care for Nicholson Clinic and ReLaunch Nutrition. Jeremiah started with Nicholson Clinic two years ago and recently received his degree in Marketing from the University of North Texas.

2017 WFAA-TV

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What Weight Loss Can Do For the Brain - WFAA

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) If you are looking to drop a few pounds, experts say getting enough sleep is the key to successful weight loss.

The first reason may seen obvious. If youre asleep then youre not eating junk food.According to studies, a lack of sleep can increase the hormone that stimulates appetite, so that means people who havent gotten enough might feel more hunger than those who did.

The National Sleep Foundation says most adults should get at least seven hours of sleep a night, with some people needing as many as nine.

Here are some tips from experts to help get a good nights rest.

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WTNH NEWS8 provides commenting to allow for constructive discussion on the stories we cover. In order to comment here, you acknowledge you have read and agreed to our Terms of Service. Commenters who violate these terms, including use of vulgar language or racial slurs, will be banned. Please be respectful of the opinions of others. If you see an inappropriate comment, please flag it for our moderators to review. Also, you can now block any inappropriate user by simple selecting the drop down menu on the right of any comment and selection "Block User" from there.

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Experts say getting enough sleep is key to weight loss - WTNH Connecticut News (press release)

June 27, 2017 01:00 ET | Source: Diet Doc

Honolulu, HI, June 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The creators of the Blood Type Diet claim that eating foods that are compatible with an individuals corresponding blood type will help them lose weight, boost energy, promote efficient digestion and prevent common diseases. For type A: a vegetarian diet is recommended. Type B: A low-fat and low-dairy diet, and Type AB is a pescatarian diet of seafood, dairy and vegetables. It might sound great in theory, but Diet Doc finds a few glaring issues with the fad diet as a solution for weight loss and other health benefits.

Not every person who falls under blood type A can sustain a vegetarian diet. Protein is an essential aspect of any diet, and while meat is replaced by beans and legumes according to the recommendations, this type of diet may not work for individuals interested in building muscle or burning higher amounts of fat (which a high-protein diet helps with). It also doesnt take into account those with iron deficiencies who may not be eating enough protein in the first place. The Blood Type Diet can also interfere with certain medical conditions. For instance, an AB blood type may have an aversion to dairy, even though its listed as an important aspect of the recommended dietary plan. Diabetics may also struggle to find a balance on this diet, and heart disease is not addressed in some of the high-fat options that are recommended.

Overall, losing weight might be a side-effect of this diet given its restrictive nature, but far better options happen to exist that take into account much more than simple blood type. Diet Doc, the nations leader in medical weight loss takes a more comprehensive approach to health improvement. Their team of certified doctors, nutritionists and coaches take a detailed review of all patients health histories and current health statuses in order to create the most effective and beneficial dietary plan for each individual. Rather than make assumptions based on blood type, Diet Doc works to understand the body chemistry of each patient, and creates customized solutions that are resulting in weight loss of up to 20 lbs per week for new clients.

Want to safely lose up to 20 pounds within the next 30 days? New Diet Doc patients can call or easily and effortlessly visit https://www.dietdoc.com to complete an initial comprehensive, yet simple, health questionnaire and schedule an immediate personal, no-cost consultation. Diet Doc Physicians all received specialized training in nutritional science and fast weight loss. Diet Doc reviews each patients health history to create a personalized diet plan geared for fast weight loss, or that addresses life-long issues causing weight loss to slow down or stop. Nutritionists work personally with each patient and use their own algorithm to craft meal and snack plans that are compatible with each patients age, gender, activity level, food preferences, nutritional needs and medical conditions. They combine these state of the art diet plans with pure, prescription diet products that enable their patients to resist the temptation to reach for sugary snacks, eliminate fatigue and curb the appetite. Over 97% of Diet Doc patients report incredible weight loss results with the majority losing 20 or more pounds per month.

At Diet Doc, all patients gain unlimited access to the best minds in the business. Their staff of doctors, nurses, nutritionists and coaches are available 6 days per week to answer questions, offer suggestions, address concerns and lend their professional guidance and support. Because of this, more and more people are turning to Diet Doc for their weight management needs. Diet plans are tailored to be specific to the needs of those of any age, gender, shape or size and for those who are struggling to lose that final 10-20 pounds to those who must lose 100 pounds or more. Call today to request a private, confidential, no-cost online consultation.

About the Company:

Diet Doc Weight Loss is the nation's leader in medical, weight loss offering a full line of prescription medication, doctor, nurse and nutritional coaching support. For over a decade, Diet Doc has produced a sophisticated, doctor designed weight loss program that addresses each individual specific health need to promote fast, safe and long term weight loss.

Diet Doc Contact Information:

Providing care across the USA

Headquarters:

San Diego, CA

(800) 581-5038

Info@DietDoc.com

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/DietDocMedical

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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/diet-doc-weight-loss?trk=biz-brand-tree-co-logo

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Diet Doc Weight Loss Program Offers Greater Customized Results Than The 'Blood Type Diet' - GlobeNewswire (press release)