Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Researchers recently looked at strategies related to long-term weight loss following menopause and found that, while some behaviors work for the short-term, other behaviors do not work in the long-term.

As women age and enter the post-menopausal period, energy expenditure declines and weight loss can be a more challenging task. Based on the results of the study, scientists concluded that it is necessary to focus on particular behaviors that can help long-term obesity treatment. The findings of the project were recently published in the September issue of Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Not only does motivation decrease after you start losing weight, there are physiological changes, including a decreased resting metabolic rate. Appetite-related hormones increase. Researchers studying the brain are now finding that you have enhanced rewards and increased motivation to eat when youve lost weight, noted lead investigator Bethany Barone Gibbs, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Health and Physical Activity, in a prepared statement.

Researchers believe that some factors can fight against long-term weight loss. For example, traditional behavioral treatments that highlight caloric intake do not have strong long-term outcomes. As such, the researchers worked to identify how changes in eating behaviors and specific foods could affect weight loss for overweight post-menopausal woman.

According to The Guardian Express, 508 women were randomized into two different groups and studied over a four-year period. One group, the Lifestyle Change group, regularly met with exercise physiologists, nutritionist, and psychologists. They focused on reducing fats and caloric intake, continuing a moderate amount of exercise, as well as upping the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The Health Education Group was offered seminars by health professionals on general womens health, but not specifically weight loss.

In the study, the researchers discovered that eating behaviors correlated with weight loss at six months; these behaviors included drinking less sugary drinks, increasing consumption of fish, decreasing consumption of desserts and fried foods, as well as frequenting restaurants less. After four years, eating less desserts and consuming less sugary beverages continued to be associated to long-term weight loss. However, important signs for weight-loss also proved to be increased consumption of fruits and vegetables along with less consumption of meat and cheese.

Some researchers believe those old habits die hard and some practices like prohibiting the consumption of fried food will not last in the long-term.

People are so motivated when they start a weight loss program. You can say, Im never going to eat another piece of pie, and you see the pounds coming off. Eating fruits and vegetables may not make as big a difference in your caloric intake. But that small change can build up and give you a better long-term result, because its not as hard to do as giving up French fries forever, explained Dr. Barone Gibbs in the statement.

If the goal is to reduce the burden of obesity, the focus must be on long-term strategies because changes in eating behaviors only associated with short-term weight loss are likely to be ineffective and unsustainable, continued Gibbs in the statement.

Read this article:
Long-Term Weight Loss Strategies For Menopausal Women

As doctors we come across plenty of hype for losing weight, but we also see a number of weight loss strategies that sound good but backfire every time, even though they sound so good.

Here is a list of 6 weight loss strategies that many people use but do them no good.

1. SKIP BREAKFAST (or other meals)

When you cut calories, you will lose weight. That much is true. But skipping a meal is not the right way to do this - especially if the meal you skip is breakfast.

Much better than skipping any meal is eating more often - that's right we said eating more often.

Here's why When you skip a meal or two, your body reacts by slowing the metabolism. Then when it's time to eat, you're hungrier and you end up eating more than your metabolism can handle.

This means that if you normally eat 1,800 calories, but then decide to lose weight by skipping breakfast and lunch but then eat 1,200 calories at dinner, your metabolism isn't "up and running" to handle the sudden calorie load at dinner time and the extra calories get stored - as fat.

So skipping a meal or two might sound good and right for losing weight, but it is the wrong thing to do.

Much better is to eat more often - maybe 5 or 6 times per day. If you can graze on smaller portions all through the day, your body's metabolism can handle it and nothing is sent to fat storage - provided of course that you stay within the normal calorie guidelines for your body type.

2. CUT YOUR CALORIES WAY BACK

Read the rest here:
Six quick weight loss strategies that backfire every time

Weight loss became a necessity for Alice OQuinn when a knee replacement became inevitable.

OQuinn weighed just less than 300 pounds in February. After meeting with Dr. Kyle Ritter with HRH Othropedics and Sports Medicine, she learned that she needed to lose a substantial amount of weight before the surgery was possible.

In the beginning of OQuinns training, she met Keith Groppel, a physical therapist. She learned what exercises would strengthen her knee, as well as ways to progress those exercises for weeks.

The unique part of the training is that its done in water.

A nice feature about our pool is that we have an in-water treadmill that we can adjust resistance on, Groppel said. We started off on that with eight minutes, but the nice thing about it was that she could walk pain-free.

Groppel said the goal of using the pool is to allow the patient to adjust to doing the same exercises on land.

After being instructed to lose weight, OQuinn was sent to Pam Vidt, a wellness nurse.

She was my guidance, my conscience, my ego builder, OQuinn said. She does everything. She takes care of the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. Shes done it all and put in the right direction for what I needed to do.

Vidt refers to OQuinn as her star pupil.

Through her work with Groppel and Vidt, OQuinn has lost 80 pounds.

Read more here:
Local woman loses weight, preps for surgery

MIAMI, Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hi Score Corporation (HSCO) announced today that its President, Michael Zoyes, has been in serious discussion with a South Florida-based Weight Loss Supplement Company. The talks involve the acquisition of the Weight Loss Supplement Company by Hi Score Corporation.

The Weight Loss Supplement Company that is involved with the discussions is yet another private company that is in a growth stage. "If we can make this happen we will be entering an industry that grosses +- 70 billion dollars per year," said Mr. Zoyes. "We feel confident that we can enjoy tremendous revenues and profits ... the deal is centered more around the guy that founded the company that we are considering ... his marketing approach which is largely though the internet appears to be very, very efficient," Mr. Zoyes added. "Our discussions are becoming more definitive ... we expect to make a final determination regarding this possible acquisition within the next couple of months ... things look promising and we are hopeful ..."

This announcement comes just weeks after the Board of Directors issued a resolution approving the expansion of the company's business model. The expansion revolves around the company seeking out profitable existing companies for acquisition in three specific sectors: Energy Saving Lighting, Medical Solutions and Energy Drinks. "We are committed to expanding our base ... I recognize that Weight Loss is not listed the expansion model that we have been discussing but the potential profits are just too appealing. I feel it is absolutely in the company's best interest to thoroughly explore this opportunity," continued Mr. Zoyes.

The company continues to be very optimistic about the future.

About Hi Score Hi Score Corporation is a supplier of eco-friendly lighting products in the Western Hemisphere. It offers its customers the fiscal and ecological practicality of utilizing safe, efficient, solid state green lighting rather than conventional fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. The Company offers a wide selection of high quality, long lasting LED lighting products that that can replace existing incandescent, fluorescent and halogen bulbs as well as compact fluorescent lights. Additionally the Company offers Compact Fluorescent and Halogen Lighting under its EcoGreenBulb and REPCO Labels, respectively. The Company sells its products directly to distributors, consumers, businesses as well as to municipalities. In August of 2012 the Company resolved to explore acquisition of other profitable private companies in the Energy Saving Lighting as well as in the Medical Solutions and Energy Drinks Industries.

Safe Harbor Statement: This release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements as to the future performance of the company and the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to raise necessary financing, retention of key personnel, timely delivery of inventory from the company's contract manufacturers, timely product development, product acceptance, and the impact of competitive services and products, in addition to general economic risks and uncertainties.

CONTACT: Hi Score Corporation Michael Zoyes President (954) 990-6827 http://www.hiscorecorporation.com

See the article here:
Hi Score Corporation in Talks with Weight Loss Pill Company Regarding Possible Merger

Some new research tried to figure out what might help post-menopausal women achieve long-term weight loss. And it turns out that adding produce to their diet didnt show up as especially helpful in the short term, but in the long term it mattered.

The researchers didnt find that eating fried chicken was just fine as long as it came with a side of broccoli. What they found was that some behaviors are hard to maintain forever, and adding produce might be easier than avoiding all fried foods for the long haul.

People are so motivated when they start a weight-loss program. You can say, Im never going to eat another piece of pie, and you see the pounds coming off, Bethany Barone Gibbs, the lead investigator, said in a statement. Eating fruits and vegetables may not make as big a difference in your caloric intake. But that small change can build up and give you a better long-term result, because its not as hard to do as giving up French fries forever.

The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, looked at overweight post-menopausal women.

Not only does motivation decrease after you start losing weight, there are physiological changes, including a decreased resting metabolic rate. Appetite-related hormones increase. Researchers studying the brain are now finding that you have enhanced rewards and increased motivation to eat when youve lost weight, she says.

For older women, the additional decline in energy expenditure makes maintaining weight loss even tougher. Traditional behavioral treatments for obesity, focused on calories, have had poor long-term results.

A group of 508 women from the Pittsburgh area were divided into two, one group of which met regularly with nutritionists, exercise physiologists and psychologists to reduce fat and caloric intake, eat more produce and grains and exercise regularly.The second group was offered some general health seminars.

The researchers looked at what happened after six months and after four years. At four years, most of the intervention group had lost some weight, compared with about a third of the other group. Barone Gibbs noted that the women all had wanted to lose weight and sought help.

For the six-month mark, the researchers found that weight loss was associated with eating fewer desserts and fried foods, drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, eating more fish and eating out less.

At the four-year mark, some of those things still mattered. But eating more produce and less meat and cheese emerged as important predictors of long-term weight loss.

More here:
Study: Fruits, vegetables may be key to long-term weight loss

Public release date: 28-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Eileen Leahy andjrnlmedia@elsevier.com 732-238-3628 Elsevier Health Sciences

Philadelphia, PA, August 28, 2012 Many people can drop pounds quickly in the early phases of a diet, but studies have found that it is difficult to keep the weight off in the long term. For post-menopausal women, natural declines in energy expenditure could make long-term weight loss even more challenging. A new study finds that in post-menopausal women, some behaviors that are related to weight loss in the short term are not effective or sustainable for the long term. Interventions targeting these behaviors could improve long-term obesity treatment outcomes. The research is published in the September issue of Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Lead investigator Bethany Barone Gibbs, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Department of Health and Physical Activity, explains that a number of factors work against long-term weight loss. "Not only does motivation decrease after you start losing weight, there are physiological changes, including a decreased resting metabolic rate. Appetite-related hormones increase. Researchers studying the brain are now finding that you have enhanced rewards and increased motivation to eat when you've lost weight." Combined with the natural energy expenditure decline in women following menopause, it is extremely difficult for older women to lose weight and maintain weight loss.

Traditional behavioral treatments for obesity, focused on caloric intake, have had poor long-term results. The investigators sought to determine if changes in eating behaviors and selected foods were associated with weight loss at six and 48 months in a group of overweight post-menopausal women. A total of 508 women were randomized to either a Lifestyle Change group or a Health Education group. The Lifestyle Change group met regularly with nutritionists, exercise physiologists, and psychologists throughout the study. Their goals were to reduce fats and caloric intake, increase consumption of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, and participate in regular moderate exercise. The Health Education Group was offered seminars by health professionals on general women's health, but not specifically weight loss.

Investigators found that the eating behaviors associated with weight loss at six months were eating fewer desserts and fried foods, drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, eating more fish, and eating at restaurants less. After four years, they found that eating fewer deserts and drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages continued to be associated with weight loss or maintenance. Eating fewer desserts and drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages were also related to long-term weight loss. However, eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat and cheese emerged as additional important predictors for long-term weight loss. Eating at restaurants declined at 48 months whether or not subjects lost weight. Dr. Barone Gibbs speculates that this may have been related to economic factors and not relevant to the study.

Dr. Barone Gibbs explains that strategies such as eating fewer fried foods may not be sustainable for the long term. "People are so motivated when they start a weight loss program. You can say, 'I'm never going to eat another piece of pie,' and you see the pounds coming off. Eating fruits and vegetables may not make as big a difference in your caloric intake. But that small change can build up and give you a better long-term result, because it's not as hard to do as giving up French fries forever."

The results suggest that decreased consumption of desserts and sugar-sweetened beverages consistently associate with short- and long-term weight loss or maintenance, but increased fruits and vegetables and decreased meat and cheeses are additional factors that may improve long-term weight loss or control. "If the goal is to reduce the burden of obesity, the focus must be on long-term strategies because changes in eating behaviors only associated with short-term weight loss are likely to be ineffective and unsustainable," concludes Dr. Barone Gibbs.

In an audio podcast accompanying the study, Dr. Barone Gibbs discusses the results in depth, including its implications for men and women of all ages and the challenges of self-reporting in research on diets and eating behaviors.

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See more here:
Is long-term weight loss possible after menopause?