Diet.com announces the winners of their annual New Year's Weight Loss Challenge, which drew over 500 participants who lost a combined total of over 1,400 lbs.

Brookline, MA (PRWEB) March 22, 2012

The Grand Prize winner, a Diet.com member named Tasha, lost 17 lbs during the 6-week Challenge. The 24-year-old mother of three, who goes by the username Tasha23 on the site, tells Diet.com that she started off 2012 with a new resolution - to focus on getting healthy, not getting "skinny."

"This year, my New Year's resolution wasn't to get skinny - it was to be healthy, stop drinking pop, exercise," Tasha tells Diet.com. "Not just set an image goal for myself, but set a life-changing goal... I want to be the same girl on the outside as I am on the inside."

Tasha wrote a blog about her Challenge experience that can be read here.

"Our Challengers are people from all over the world who want to lose weight, become healthier and reach goals," says Bailey Apple, Diet.com's Marketing Manager, who oversees the operations of each of the site's Weight Loss Challenges. "Our Weight Loss Challenges give participants a boost of motivation to help them do so."

Tasha agrees, attributing her weight loss success to the Challenge and Diet.com:

"Because of this website I am well on my way to a healthier life, a new me, a whole new start on life!"

For being named the Grand Prize winner of the Weight Loss Challenge, Tasha has been awarded a prize package to help her continue on her journey towards healthy living: a $250 Visa Gift Card, 3 cases of Vita Coco all-natural coconut water, a 12-pack variety case from Colby's Kettle Corn and a variety of diet and fitness books.

Three runners up were also named in the Challenge, each of whom were awarded a Visa Gift Card, case of Vita Coco, a variety case of Colbys Kettle corn and a variety of diet and fitness books. These runners up lost a combined total of 28 lbs during the 6-week Challenge.

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Diet.com Announces Winners of Weight Loss Challenge, Awards Over $1,000 in Prizes

Singer Carnie Wilson has shed 30 lbs from her frame after undergoing weight loss surgery for the second time, according to a report from People magazine.

The singer, who previously lost 150 pounds after gastric bypass surgery in 1999, went under the knife again on January 18. This time, she opted for lap-band surgery, a procedure that involves the placement of a silicone band around the stomach to create a pouch the size of a golf ball.

The 43-year-old told the magazine, it was the right decision for me and Im doing really well so far. Its all about taking good care of myself.

Earlier this year, she told Fox411 that her weight was back up again and that it was a daily struggle for her.

I always think I am one of the the millions and millions of people that struggles with an addiction to food. I dont know how to relax, thats my problem.

Having children derailed me a bit, Wilson, who has two daughters with husband Rob Bonfiglio told People. Im just frustrated with these pounds.

Wilson is reuniting with her band Wilson Philips to promote their new album Dedicated and a new reality show on TV Guide Network.

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Carnie Has More Weight Surgery

Can coffee play a role in helping people to lose weight and reduce the risk of adult-onset diabetes? That seems to be the case, according to a number of studies reported in medical journals.

One clinical study published in the scientific French review Phytothrapie demonstrated fat-reducing effects of a green (non-roasted) coffee bean extract. One group of volunteers was given 400 mg of a decaffeinated green coffee extract daily, and the second group received a placebo. After 60 days of supplementation, participants who received the green coffee extract had lost 5.7 percent of their initial weight. By contrast, the group that received a placebo had lost 2.8 percent of their initial weight.

While this study does not show the kind of rapid weight loss touted by many diet fads, it does point to a steady decrease in weight as a result of the use of green coffee extract. Furthermore, since the extract was decaffeinated, the weight loss does not appear to be due to a calorie-burning effect noted with caffeine.

Coffee, one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, contains a plethora of naturally-occurring compounds, including several classes of antioxidants. Coffee is already known to be a preventive factor against mild depression, Parkinsons disease, and colon and rectal cancers. Now it appears that compounds in coffee also help to regulate blood glucose, reduce fat production, and enable steady weight loss.

The compounds responsible for the weight-controlling effects of coffee are antioxidants known collectively as the chlorogenic acids. These acids appear to slow the production of glucose in the body after a meal, by modifying the activity of certain enzymes in the liver. Additionally, the chlorogenic acids cause a more slow and sustained release of glucose into the body after eating, thereby reducing the production of new fat cells.

This process sheds favorable light on the practice of drinking an espresso after a meal. Espresso, made by steam expressing finely ground coffee, is rich in flavor and aroma and chlorogenic acids, but not very concentrated at all in caffeine. Drinking an espresso after eating causes a suppression of glucose production and release, in addition to causing the body to produce more gastric juices, which aids digestion.

Furthermore, coffee also appears to act as a preventive factor in type 2 diabetes. In one Harvard University in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers found that drinking coffee daily reduces the risk of the disease. In another study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from Amsterdam concluded that regular coffee consumption is associated with considerably lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And yet another study conducted in the Netherlands showed a direct connection between coffee consumption and lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

What conclusions can we draw from this work? For a start, coffee with lots of cream and sugar will do little to control weight or prevent diabetes, due to the load of calories in such a beverage. But black coffee, espresso, coffee with a small amount of milk, or a green coffee bean supplement all appear to support weight reduction and lower rates of diabetes. In the studies cited above, decaffeinated coffee and caffeinated coffee alike worked equally well.

Just as it has been discovered over the past few years that coffee provides significant antioxidant protection, it now appears that coffee consumption may play a valuable role in fighting epidemic obesity and high rates of diabetes. These studies suggest that drinking coffee daily and enjoying an espresso after a meal may provide significant benefits to health.

Chris Kilham is a medicine hunter who researches natural remedies all over the world, from the Amazon to Siberia. He teaches ethnobotany at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is Explorer In Residence. Chris advises herbal, cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies and is a regular guest on radio and TV programs worldwide. Chris is the author of 14 books, including Hot Plants, Tales from the Medicine Trail, Kava: Medicine Hunting in Paradise, The Whole Food Bible, Psyche Delicacies, and the international best-selling yoga book, The Five Tibetans. Richard Branson features Chris in his new book, Screw Business as Usual. His field research is largely sponsored by Naturex of Avignon, France. Read more at http://www.MedicineHunter.com

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Coffee: An effective weight loss tool

Carnie Wilson

Carnie Wilson is holding on to her career and health, thanks to a second weight-loss surgery.

The Wilson Phillips singer underwent lap-band surgery on January 18, People reports. In the procedure, a silicone gastric band is placed around the top portion of the stomach to treat obesity by reducing the amount of food consumed. Since undergoing the surgery, Wilson has lost a total of 30 pounds.

Dramatic Celebrity Weight Loss: Check out before and after pics "It was the right decision for me and I'm doing really well so far," Wilson says. "It's all about taking good care of myself."

Wilson, 43, underwent gastric bypass, a different weight-loss surgery, in 1999 and ultimately lost 150 pounds. She regained some of her weight, however, and even appeared on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club in 2006 in another attempt to shed the pounds. Her doctor advised her to consider having the gastric band placed after she had regained two-thirds of her weight, her blood-sugar levels began climbing, and she became in danger of developing diabetes.

Bridesmaids scene-stealers Wilson Phillips launch reality show for TV Guide Network

In the upcoming premiere of TV Guide Network's reality show, Wilson Phillips: Still Holding On, Wilson's health becomes the focus when it's apparent she won't be able to keep up the rigors of a comeback tour if she doesn't lose weight. She reveals to her fellow bandmates, her sister Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips, that she's decided to undergo the lap-band surgery four weeks before their comeback tour is scheduled to kick off.

The group has also reunited to record the comeback album Dedicated which will drop on April 3. The album will cover songs originally sung by their famous musician parents Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas.

The eight-episode reality series Wilson Phillips: Still Holding On premieres on Sunday, April 8 at 9/8c on TV Guide Network.

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Carnie Wilson Undergoes a Second Weight-Loss Surgery

Danny Moloshok / AP

Singer Carnie Wilson has reportedly had a second weight-loss surgery in a dozen years. A bariatric medicine expert says that's rare.

By JoNel Aleccia

A second weight-loss surgery for singer Carnie Wilson has raised questions about repeat procedures, but a bariatric medicine expert says though its rare, its not necessarily unwise.

In effect, shes added something to her first surgery, said, Dr. Robin Blackstone, president of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. It gave her enough of a boost so that she could get her weight down.

Wilson, 43, had lap-band surgery on Jan. 18, according to People magazine, and has shed 30 pounds. Wilson previously lost 150 pounds after gastric bypass surgery 12 years ago.

"It was the right decision for me and I'm doing really well so far," Wilson told People. "It's all about taking good care of myself."

There are no statistics about the number of people who get two or more weight-loss surgeries as part of the 200,000 procedures performed annually in the U.S.

Its actually pretty rare, Blackstone said.

The two procedures are very different, she noted. Gastric bypass works by reducing the size of the stomach, but also by bypassing part of the small intestine. Its primarily a metabolic treatment, meaning it works by affecting the way the intestine signals the brain regarding hunger and fullness.

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Why Carnie Wilson got weight-loss surgery again

20 March 2012 Last updated at 10:19 ET

Heading to a sauna before a race is a common ritual for many jockeys - not to relax, but to lose those few extra pounds before racing.

Racing legends including Frankie Dettori have spoken in interviews of their battles to stay under their "natural weight".

Tony McCoy, who stands at 5ft 10in tall, has been known in the past to slim down for some rides to 10 stone, a stone-and-a-half below his natural weight, with a punishing diet of saunas and snatched snacks.

A recent academic study found 82% of the 99 jockeys surveyed took "extreme measures" when dieting, ranging from exercising with "sweat suits" to fasting, skipping meals or vomiting before a race.

The Berkshire-based Professional Jockeys Association is now employing three extra members of staff to help stop jockeys using dangerous methods to lose weight.

Anna-Louise MacKinnon, medical advisor at the association, based in Newbury, said they had recruited three new members to their nutrition team to bring new ideas and approaches to diet.

She said there was no "hard evidence" that rapid weight loss methods were dangerous, but said anecdotally she had been told by jockeys that head injuries and concussions were harder to recover from when the rider was dehydrated.

She said there were also concerns about dehydration weight-loss methods leading to a lack of concentration which might lead to more accidents while riding.

Susan Lennie, a lecturer in nutrition at Robert Gordon University, warned that jockeys could damage their health by losing too much too quickly.

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Jockeys in dieting 'extreme measures'