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How to find peace with food and leave dieting behind – Coastal Point

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

Health coach Tracy Dejardins

You may be dieting and not even realize it. Check-in with the following questions:

Are you:

Living with certain self-imposed food rules, like low-carb or fat-free?

Dreading upcoming holidays because you fear loss of control?

Rescheduling your annual physical until you lose the weight?

Eating foods that are not truly satisfying, then experiencing a binge?

Continually falling off the wagon on the weekends?

Starting your eating plan over each Monday morning after indulging?

Trying to control your portions by obsessing, weighing and measuring?

Believing that you are good or bad based on something you ate?

Getting caught up in the media hype about what works for weight loss?

And the list goes on. If you can identify with even one of the above points, then, my friend, you are dieting. Simply stated, dieting does not just mean following some popular, commercial plan (although, yes, that, of course, is a diet). If you are trying to follow through with your own set of food rules, restrictions, and control that is leaving you defeated and frustrated, you are dieting.

However, if you feel a sense of powerlessness over this relationship you have with food, I am here to tell you that it is not your fault. We have been conditioned for decades to fight our weight with the scale, to harness willpower to help us suffer through eating boring, tasteless food in mouse-sized portions and judge ourselves harshly when we mess up and eat the thing we told ourselves was off limits.

What happens then? We dust ourselves off, re-group, and undertake the same restrictive tactics again, only to repeat the same try, fail, repeat the experience all at the grand price of our self-respect, dignity and self-trust with food. In essence, we create a toxic reference for controlling food to achieve an outcome that improves our health. What happens, frankly, is that dieting promotes a weight-regain problem, not a solution to weight loss.

Based on current data that indicates a 95 percent failure rate, this is cause for pondering. To add to the dreaded phenomenon, the current weight-loss industry cashes in at a whopping $72 billion and growing.

Lets be clear about something. Diets for weight loss do work, if the rules are followed with a laser-sharp focus, leading up to an endpoint typically a weigh-in date. Many of us have achieved the gold standard of our goal weight, only to land in an emotionally panicked state, because our truth often is that we have no idea how to sustain our tactics that led to the so-called weight loss success.

Many times, we then relapse into old food habits upon the first holiday, vacation or Sunday family dinner, because while we lost the weight, we did not learn any tools to help us keep our results and we actually intensified an already damaged relationship with food and our bodies. We eat in a no-holds-barred fashion, with our inner rebel celebrating like wild animal that has been let out of a cage for the first time, and you know what happens next: the weight returns, and we sit in a sea of shame and self-loathing.

So what is the solution, then, to weight loss, improving health and learning to eat healthier in general?

It is rather simple. Stop dieting.

Vow to end living in a war with food rules and consider adopting a mindset of open curiosity with your food choices.

You see, dieting teaches us to check out when we eat. To disembody and follow a set of rigid boundaries with food that keep us in stress mode internally. When we choose to let go of food rules and take on an attitude of curiosity with our food, we then begin to repair the damaged relationship with eating by learning to pay attention to all aspects of the eating experience.This is becoming embodied in our relationship with food.

This is where the healing opportunity begins. How does this food choice make me feel? How do I want to feel in my body as I live my life? Those two questions have the wisdom and power to help us eat to nourish ourselves with self-love and care, not fighting for weight loss.

In this manner, it makes it easier to want to eat whole, natural, unprocessed foods that are chock full of loving vitamins, minerals and fiber to help us feel better from the inside out, rather than appease an out-of-control palate that has been hijacked with standard American salt- and sugar-laden foods.

OK so if you are thinking, But I love my sweets, or pizza, etc., consider the thought of saving your treats for occasions, rather than so frequently. That seems like a reasonable, responsible gesture that is health-promoting, right? This is different from dieting-restrictive rules. When we consider what vibrant health looks like and feels like to us, we can begin to be curious as to how our food choices react in our bodies and make us feel.

Once we become curious in our food choice approach, we are on the road to re-wiring our brains to connect with what is truly best for us, on our terms, not some restrictive plan that the world says we should follow. When we stop the war on food, we learn to connect with ourselves at a deep level and take back our self-trust, upon which we can rely to truly nourish and support us in the mission of self-care.

Its funny how, when we say no to diet culture, and yes to our own wisdom and food intuition, those stubborn, excess pounds that we fought for decades, begin to shed in their own timing, revealing a natural, healthy weight that is sustainable.

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How to find peace with food and leave dieting behind - Coastal Point

Dementia Risk and Type 2 Diabetes: 7 Healthy Habits – Healthline

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

People with type 2 diabetes can reduce their risk of developing dementia with seven healthy lifestyle habits.

Thats according to a new study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Researchers investigated data from the UK Biobank to determine whether or not the known increased risk of dementia in people with type 2 diabetes can be offset or counteracted by a combination of common healthy lifestyle factors.

The researchers used data from 167,946 participants aged 60 years or older without dementia at the start of the research. At a follow-up around 12 years later, 4,351 participants had developed all-cause dementia.

The researchers reported that participants who engaged in a broad range of healthy lifestyle factors demonstrated significantly less risk of developing dementia within 10 years (from about 5% to less than 2%).

The study authors wrote that their research shows why behavioral lifestyle modifications through various approaches should be a priority for the prevention and delayed onset of dementia in people with type 2 diabetes.

The seven healthy lifestyle habitswere:

1. No current smoking

2. Moderate alcohol consumption of up to one drink a day for women and up to two a day for men

3. Regular weekly physical activity of at least 2.5 hours of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise

4. Seven to nine hours of sleep daily

5. A healthy diet that included more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fish and fewer refined grains, processed and unprocessed meats

6. Being less sedentary

7. Frequent social contact

Akua Boateng, Ph.D., a psychotherapist in Philadelphia, says that while research recognizes the significance of having a healthy sleep and lifestyle pattern on longevity and vitality, many people have struggled to maintain the lifestyle that supports this level of health.

There are many factors such as where you grew up and your family genetic patterns that increase the likelihood of developing diabetes and/or dementia, she told Healthline.

At the center of health is our ability to move toward what is corrective and transformational, Boateng said. Our sense of meaning, via emotional discovery, has the power to give us reason to change what is comfortable, rewrite health precursors, and change the trajectory of our lives.

Your mental health is core in achieving holistic wellness, she added.

So rather than give advice on how to incorporate each of these seven healthy lifestyle habits, Boateng encourages people to make a few changes that she says can help to ensure these seven habits are more integrated into their life.

According to the American Psychological Association, poor sleep makes any mental health condition more difficult to manage and can also raise the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and depression.

Sleep health, then, is a pillar on which all the other aforementioned healthy lifestyle habits originate, experts say. Without adequate sleep, achieving other health milestones is more difficult because youre not thinking with a well-rested brain.

Dr. Shelby Harris is a clinical psychologist and board-certified in behavioral sleep medicine by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. She is also the director of Sleep Health at Sleepopolis.

Harris explains why getting those recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night is so important for people with type 2 diabetes.

Poor sleep and/or lack of sleep makes you have more insulin resistance, Harris told Healthline. You also have more hunger and satiety signals, while also craving more fatty and sugary foods for quick energy.

This can make maintaining healthy blood sugar levels with type 2 diabetes more challenging.

When it comes to sleep and dementia, Harris explains that while you are in deep sleep, your brain essentially works as a dishwasher, washing away the waste products such as plaques and clusters of protein that build up from being awake during the day.

Without adequate sleep, your brain doesnt do this cleansing process, and a buildup of plaque can form, she explained.

Harris added that plaque buildup is often found in people with Alzheimers disease, which is a risk factor for developing dementia.

If you struggle to make time for sleep, but dont have any issues with actually sleeping when you get to bed, try to work on maybe increasing your total sleep time by 30 to 60 minutes once a week, suggested Harris.

Then once thats better, move to two days a week and so on, she says. Another way to do it is to aim for maybe 10 minutes earlier for bedtime every night for a week, then once thats better move it to 15 minutes earlier every night.

She also suggests that you try to figure out why youre not making time for sleep.

Some questions to ask yourself include:

Harris suggests using timers to help remind you that it is time to wind down for bed at a specific time nightly and write your why on the timer when it goes off on your phone.

Also, limit auto play on streaming media apps. That way it doesnt go from one show to another and you need to make a conscious decision to watch another show vs. automatically going into another one, she said.

And finally, if you struggle with sleep and insomnia, make sure your sleep hygiene is on point, Harris added.

This means limiting alcohol in the 3 hours before bed, limiting caffeine in the 8 hours before bed, and limiting screens 30 to 60 minutes before bed.

If thats not enough and you still struggle with sleep quantity and quality, talk with a sleep specialist, as there are many effective non-medication and medication treatments out there, says Harris.

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Dementia Risk and Type 2 Diabetes: 7 Healthy Habits - Healthline

High-sugar diet disrupts the gut microbiome, leading to obesity (in mice) – Livescience.com

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

Sugar may disrupt the community of bacteria living in the gut, thereby depleting crucial immune cells and causing obesity down the line, a new mouse study suggests.

So far, the results have been shown only in mice. But if follow-up studies show similar trends in humans, that could eventually lead to treatments for metabolic disease and obesity, said senior author Ivaylo Ivanov, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

In the recent study, published online Aug. 29 in the journal Cell (opens in new tab), scientists found that feeding mice a high-sugar diet containing sucrose and maltodextrin caused specific bacteria, called segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB), in the mice's intestines to die due to an overgrowth of different gut bugs. The sudden loss of SFB triggered a chain reaction in the mouse gut that ultimately changed how the animals absorbed dietary fat.

This, in turn, caused the mice to become obese and develop features of "metabolic syndrome," a cluster of conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar and insulin resistance that collectively raise the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

Related: Gut bacteria may 'talk' to the brain, mouse study suggests

The results suggest that SFB somehow protect against metabolic syndrome and excess weight gain, but how do the gut bugs do it? It turns out that SFB "talk" to the immune system, encouraging the production of a specific type of immune cell called Th17. These immune cells release proteins that affect the lining of the intestine, preventing excess fat from being absorbed through the tissue and into the bloodstream.

Broadly, SFB can be found in many animals including rodents, fish and birds but they haven't been found in humans, Ivanov noted. However, humans do carry a different set of gut bacteria that can induce Th17 cells just like SFB do, and early research hints (opens in new tab) that these bacteria may be similarly depleted by high-sugar diets, he said. In other words, although humans may not carry SFB, sugar may still exert similar effects on the mouse and human gut microbiomes and immune systems.

"Really what's providing the effect is the T cells so the bacteria are inducing the T cells, and T cells are providing the effect," Ivanov told Live Science. "We hypothesize that, in humans, inducing these T cells will also be beneficial."

In their recent mouse study, the researchers placed mice on a high-sugar, high-fat diet for a month to see how their gut bugs might change. They found that the diet spurred the growth of a bacterium called Faecalibaculum rodentium, which essentially crowded out the SFB growing in the mouse gut, depleting its numbers. As the mice steadily lost SFB, their overall number of Th17 cells also fell, and they gained weight and developed insulin resistance and glucose intolerance all signs of metabolic syndrome.

These effects weren't observed in mice that were fed a low-sugar, low-fat diet, or in mice fed a sugar-free, high-fat diet, but mice fed a high-sugar, low-fat diet also swiftly lost their SFB. This suggests that it was specifically the sugar that was driving the harmful loss of the bacteria and the Th17 cells.

Basically, the Th17 cells provided an "armor" that protected the mice from developing metabolic disease, and sugar indirectly destroyed that armor by messing with the microbiome, Ivanov explained.

In a different experiment, the team eliminated SFB from a group of mice and then fed them a sugar-free, high-fat diet. They found that these mice also gained weight and developed metabolic disease, despite not having eaten sugar. So what gives? In essence, without the right gut bugs, the mice didn't make enough Th17 cells and they thus lacked that aforementioned armor. The team found that they could provide that armor in two ways: by feeding the mice a probiotic imbued with SFB or by directly injecting Th17 cells into their bodies.

This suggests that, if a mouse's gut has already been depleted of SFB, cutting down on sugar won't help the rodent avoid metabolic disease. If this finding carries over to humans, that suggests that consuming less sugar wouldn't necessarily be helpful if one's gut microbiome is already disrupted. Therefore, an additional intervention might be needed to restore the gut bugs or Th17 cells of those people, Ivanov said.

Again, more research is needed to know if similar forces are at work in the human gut. Ivanov and his team are also trying to understand how gut bacteria help Th17 cells grow in the mouse gut and whether that mechanism also applies in humans.

"Even after 10 years of studying this, we don't understand completely this process, this mechanism, how exactly the bacteria is inducing these T cells," Ivanov said. "We know a lot, but still there are a lot of questions."

Originally published on Live Science.

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High-sugar diet disrupts the gut microbiome, leading to obesity (in mice) - Livescience.com

7 Ways to Make Your Body Feel Young After 50 Eat This Not That – Eat This, Not That

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

It's going to happenyou will begin to show signs of slowing down and aging at some point and while the process is inevitable, it doesn't have to be unbearable. Making certain lifestyle choices can delay the process and help maintain good health through your golden years. "Aging is a normal and natural process for human beings. However, with aging a wide variety of physical, mental, emotional, social, and economic changes also occur in an individual's life," Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, MBBS, Ph.D., a professor of public health at New Mexico State University tells us. He adds, "The most prominent changes with aging occur in physical and mental health domains. Research in the 21st century has highlighted how aging accelerates in some individuals and how this acceleration can be delayed or prevented." Read onand to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.

Dr. Khubchandani says, "Loneliness and social isolation have been linked with increased risk of premature mortality and increased risk of chronic diseases. While with age social priorities may change or work duties may increase, people who remain isolated, don't connect with others socially, or remain pessimistic may eventually develop coronary artery disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and a variety of other physical health problems. Every day, one should ensure there is time for socializing and meeting family and friends, and exercise; this will help stop rapid aging."

Dr. Khubchandani shares, "Long term studies following individuals with time have shown that smoking and drinking make people look older. Today, smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States. Alcohol use is associated with heart disease, stroke, and accidents, just to name a few examples. Every time one uses tobacco or other drugs, there is insult to the lungs, heart, and brain. The chronic insults then culminate in heart attacks, strokes, and cancers which are due to inflammation, organ damage, and rapid aging of body systems."

"With age, there is a natural decline in our physical strength and frailty increases," Dr. Khubchandani reminds us. "Also, as we age, the metabolism becomes slower and our body has a tendency to accumulate a lot of fat in the belly (e.g., visceral abdominal fat) which is related to immune related, inflammatory, and biochemical changes in the body that are detrimental (especially, for heart and brain health). People who have maintained an inactive lifestyle, it's time to make sure that you're highly active now and you participate in enough physical activity and exercise. Family and work responsibilities may have taken away time till the age of 50 or beyond, but having a daily exercise and strength training routine will give you more energy, halt rapid aging, and reduce the risk of heart disease, cancers, and stroke (leading causes of death). Exercise is the most cost-effective medicine to increase both quantity and quality of life along with preventing accelerated aging. The National Institutes on Aging have extensively described the benefits of and rationale behind exercise as we age."

Dr. Khubchandani emphasizes, "Food is medicine; it needs consumption in the right amount, at the right time, and of the right quality. Unfortunately, the majority of adults do not consume adequate fruits and vegetables and many do not get the required minerals, vitamins, and nutrients. With age, dietary needs and appetite change and one must be watchful about the content, frequency, and schedule of diet. While it is true for all ages, with increasing age, make a habit of consuming less sugar, salt, saturated fatty acids and add more fruits and vegetables and unsaturated fats to avoid the risk of putting on too much weight, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Unhealthy diets cannot help with aging related decline in body functions and also, increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (e.g., heart attacks and stroke) or increase the probability of having these diseases earlier in life. The National Institutes on Aging provides guidance on key diet elements that are needed with increasing age and these can help halt the process of rapid aging."6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

According to Dr. Khubchandani, "While screening for health risk factors depends on age and probability of risk factors, many organizations and medical societies have recommendations specifically for those aged 50 years and above. These recommendations apply for both males and females. Early detection of health behavior and lifestyle problems (e.g., obesity and alcohol misuse) or diseases (e.g., high blood pressure) will ensure that one can prevent further declines in health and continue to look and feel younger as many of these problems are linked with premature and rapid aging (e.g., cognitive decline with high blood sugar)."

Dr. Khubchandani tells us, "One of the few manifestations of the aging process that are visible to the naked human eye are observed in skin. The skin is the largest organ that needs maintenance of tone, texture, hydration, and proper nourishment. The skin is also vulnerable to toxic exposures such as pollutants, ultraviolet radiation, extreme weather. Therefore, cleaning, protection of skin (e.g., avoiding air pollution, using sunscreen, keeping it covered) and nourishment (e.g., getting enough vitamins, minerals, and water) is key to look fresh and not more than your age."

"Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, stress and sleep problems in the society have increased rapidly," Dr. Khubchandani states. "People are feeling more stressed and sleepless today than ever and may also be experiencing physical and mental weakness. Stress and sleep deprivation promotes inflammation in the body resulting in release of toxic chemicals and a variety of neuropsychological, immunity related, and biochemical imbalances that influence the aging process. What makes it worse is poor stress management, lack of sleep hygiene, and not taking care of yourself. The combination of stress and inflammation causing biological changes related to aging are also referred to as inflammaging. The process of aging and sleep also have a bidirectional relationship (e.g., aging may be related to sleep problems and vice versa). Genetic and biochemical alteration of human body cells due to sleep deprivation may result in acceleration of aging process and also cause aging indirectly by increasing risk of many chronic diseases that cause body organ damage or degeneration. Individuals should get quality sleep for an adequate number of hours by maintaining good sleep hygiene to avoid looking or feeling older."

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7 Ways to Make Your Body Feel Young After 50 Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

Bill Belichick marveled at Vince Wilfork’s weight loss: ‘What the f–k?’ – New York Post

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

Vince Wilfork is looking svelte, and Bill Belichick took notice.

Wilfork is getting inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday. There were Thursday night festivities where he tried on his red blazer to commemorate the occasion, and the world marveled at how trim he looked.

The former NFL defensive tackles listed playing weight was 325 pounds, but he certainly appears to have dropped a hefty portion of that.

Wilfork revealed that Belichick approached him in Miami last year before a Patriots-Dolphins game and his former coach couldnt believe what he saw.

Bill was being Bill. He was on his treadmill working out, and I was like, I want to go see Coach,' Wilfork recalled. Hes on the treadmill working out, and I come in and hes like, What the f? What??' Wilfork said, according to NBC Sports Boston.

A slimmed down and snazzy Vince Wilfork in his Patriots Hall of Fame jacket talks about his time with the Pats and why going into the Pats HOF means so much to him pic.twitter.com/ta1xqfrsQn

And Im trying to talk to him, and the only thing he [could] say was, Oh my gosh, you look good! You look like you can still play. And I was like, OK coach, listen, I just came to see you. He couldnt stop saying how good I looked and everything.

Wilfork, however, is not of the belief he could still lace up the cleats.

I was one of those players who said, No matter how old I get, I can play football. That was my mindset, Wilfork said. But Im here to tell you that I cant play. Im officially retired from football. So dont ask me to get in my stance. Dont ask me Do I have one play in me? No. Im just here for looks now.

Wilfork played for the Patriots from 2004 through 2014, before finishing his career with two seasons with the Houston Texans.

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Bill Belichick marveled at Vince Wilfork's weight loss: 'What the f--k?' - New York Post

TikTok removes posts promoting weight loss aids to children – The Guardian

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

TikTok has removed postings promoting migraine and epilepsy drugs to under-18s as weight loss aids after criticism that hosting them was a danger to young peoples health.

The social media platform, which is popular among teenagers, acted after an investigation by the Pharmaceutical Journal found that users were being offered prescription drugs as diet pills.

The journal found that advertisements for epilepsy, alcohol and addiction and migraine drugs were promoted to a TikTok user, despite them being registered as a girl aged under 16.

An appetite suppressant drug called phentermine, and products based on it, were the prescription drugs most commonly mentioned in the posts. Phentermine is not licensed for use in the UK.

During 90 minutes spent viewing the platforms output the journal found that 31 of the 100 most popular posts promoted use of diet pills for people wanting to lose weight. But health experts said this was completely inappropriate for people of any age and could cause harm. Some of the drugs TikTok featured have been linked to birth defects and other serious side-effects.

Diet claims that are unrealistic and not supported by evidence-based science on social media can be dangerous no matter what age you are. But for under-16s they can have very real consequences, said the British Dietetic Association.

John Wilding, a professor of medicine at Aintree university hospital in Liverpool, said that another of the drugs for sale topiramate, which is used to treat epilepsy and migraines has never been approved for weight loss in the EU or the UK as it has some significant potential adverse events, including the risk of damage to unborn children and babies.

A spokesperson for TikTok said: Our community guidelines make clear that we do not allow the promotion or trade of controlled substances, including prescription weight loss medication, and we will remove content that violates these policies.

The journal said TikTok did remove some videos but not all those it had found. It had reviewed the diet pills hashtag and also banned multiple accounts selling weight loss drugs.

TikTok also came under fire on Wednesday for letting cannabis-based sweets doctored to look like bags of Haribos and Skittles be sold on its site.

The Childrens Societys annual assessment of the state of childrens wellbeing across the UK has found that growing numbers of girls are unhappy with their appearance.

The percentage of girls aged 10 to 15 who expressed dissatisfaction with how they look has risen from one in seven (15%) in 2015 to almost one in five (18%) which the charity called a worrying jump. That means that an estimated 411,000 of them feel that way, it said in its latest Good Childhood report. Far fewer boys 10% voiced such unhappiness.

Research by the Childrens Society, based on analysis collected from 2,100 children whose families are taking part in the long-running Understanding Society project, also found that:

Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning

Many more (12%) say they are not happy at school, a 3% rise on 10 years ago, with older children more likely to hold that view.

It is desperately worrying that childrens wellbeing is in this state of decline, with huge numbers unhappy with school and thousands of girls struggling with the way they look, said Mark Russell, the charitys chief executive.

He urged ministers to speed up the rollout of mental health support teams in schools in England and set up early support hubs across the country to help under-18s who are struggling mentally.

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TikTok removes posts promoting weight loss aids to children - The Guardian

Is the World Ready for Extremely Effective Weight-Loss Drugs? – GQ

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

The effective treatment options for obesity that already exist are under-used. Bariatric surgery, for example, can be an effective way to address extra weight. But surgery is seen as a drastic option, and Americans tend to think poorly of weight loss surgery. Without a comorbidity like diabetes, a prospective candidate typically needs a BMI of at least 40 to undergo the surgeryand only a small sliver of those who qualify get the procedure. Thats one reason why obesity experts see so much promise in the new drugs.

But there are big hurdles to widespread adoption, and not just questions of cost and approval that every drug faces on its way to the public. Weight loss drugs have a checkered past. If you look back in the history of obesity, drugs that have been approved have then been taken off the market, says Dr. Spencer Nadolsky, a physician who runs the obesity program for telehealth provider Weekend Health. Dangerous amphetamines were used as appetite suppressants, and more recent drugs, like Fen-Phen, a weight loss drug widely used in the 1990s, caused heart problems, leading to an FDA ban. Safer weight loss drugs began to reappear in the 2000s, but their efficacy was often mild.

Incretins, on the other hand, are only continuing to get more effective. The newest of these medications cause around 20 percent weight loss, within the same range that bariatric surgery achieves. And while common side effects include nausea and other gastrointestinal distress, it's a much less disruptive medical intervention than surgery.

One obesity expert at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Fatima Stanford, told me that some patients have reacted so strongly to one incretin, semaglutide, that theyve avoided surgery completely. They went from severe obesity with diabetes to no diabetes and no severe obesityinto a healthy weight range, she said. Its effortless for themwere changing the way their brains see weight. This has major quality of life implications. When you have higher levels of obesity, said Jay, losing 15 or 20% of your body weight is huge, right? It's huge for resolving comorbidities and preventing diabetes, and all sorts of things.

One Washington woman in her 50s named Suzy, who asked to only be identified by her first name, has lost 26 pounds since starting tirzepitide. She has three siblings and two parents with type two diabetes. With the drug, she thinks she can avoid that disease. Another woman, Rachel McLaughlin, who started an oral incretin in 2021, said weight loss gave her the confidence to join an art class. I dont look like Im carrying the weight of the world around, she said.

But remarkable advances in medical technology dont mean much if theyre impossible to access. McLaughlin faced that setback when she lost her job earlier this year. Losing health insurance increased the cost of her prescription from $25 to more than $2,000 per month. Off the medication, she regained 15 of the 25 pounds shed lost. Progress only resumed once she found a new job in June that restored her coverage.

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Is the World Ready for Extremely Effective Weight-Loss Drugs? - GQ

How long does it take to lose weight? – Livescience.com

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

How long does it take to lose weight? In the age of instant gratification and dubious marketing claims, it may be difficult to have realistic expectations. Not to mention that when you feel uncomfortable in your own skin, and your health seems to be getting worse, you may be tempted to set yourself an ambitious weight loss goal.

This is understandable. A big target number may make you feel more motivated and eager to start your transformation. But excessive weight loss can not only lead to the dreaded yo-yo effect (where you lose weight, only to put it back on), it can also be unhealthy. Whats more, some people will find it way more difficult to shed unwanted pounds than others. So what is a realistic weight loss rate? And what factors can affect it?

Before we dive into the science of weight loss, it is important to point out that there is no real ideal weight to aim for. Medical professionals often rely on a persons BMI (opens in new tab) to determine what is deemed to be a normal weight range. But this measurement is not without its flaws.

The number on the scale will not tell you how much muscle mass, as opposed to fat mass, your body contains. It wont indicate whether you struggle with water retention, either. Its therefore important to take an individual approach before setting a weight loss target. And the first step is always to consult a dietician or medical professional for professional advice before embarking on a weight loss program.

Your calorie expenditure that is, the exact number of calories you burn each day is composed of three major components.

The first is referred to as Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). It consists of the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) the minimum number of calories your body needs to maintain normal bodily functions, such as breathing and pumping blood as well as low-effort daily activities, such as eating, walking for short periods (for example, to use the bathroom), sweating or shivering.

The second component is referred to as the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) the additional energy needed to digest, absorb, and use the nutrients you consume. According to the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (opens in new tab), TEF is increased by larger meal sizes, intake of carbohydrate and protein, as well as low-fat plant-based diets.

The third component is referred to as the Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA) the number of calories burned during exercise. TEA can also include Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) which is the amount of energy expended during light activities such as fidgeting, cooking and shopping.

In order to lose weight, you have to maintain a consistent calorie deficit. When you burn more calories than you consume, your body will dip into the energy reserves stored in your fat tissue. Conversely, when you eat more calories than your body needs, you will start gaining weight.

Now, all food and drink will add to your daily calorie tally, and its interesting to learn how calories are calculated given this is how youll be keeping track of your energy intake. At the same time its also worth noting a couple of myths surrounding energy expenditure and weight loss.

Many believe that eating smaller, more frequent meals can improve your chances of shedding unwanted pounds, for example. But while it is true that some will find this approach helpful for appetite regulation, as scientists from the Nutrition Reviews (opens in new tab) journal point out, there is not enough evidence to claim that meal frequency is linked to calorie burning.

Another misconception is that deep intellectual work can increase your energy expenditure. Unfortunately, thinking doesnt burn calories.

As we get older, our body composition changes. We lose muscle mass and gain more fat. Regular physical activity and a healthy diet can delay this process, and many elderly adults boast great muscle strength and endurance. However, this is not the only implication of the aging process.

As described in the Nutrition (opens in new tab) journal, there is evidence to suggest that the metabolic rates of our internal organs become progressively lower in older people. These organs also become smaller. As a result, they need fewer calories to function properly and this will have a significant impact on our overall energy requirements.

In general, men will find it easier to shed unwanted pounds, but our biological differences are not as straightforward as this. As stated in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (opens in new tab) journal, men have a Resting Metabolic Rate thats between 5% and 10% higher than women of a similar frame. This is because women tend to carry more fat than muscle, and fat tissue is less metabolically active.

But this does not automatically mean that women will lose less weight when put on the same diet as men. According to a systematic review published in the Obesity Reviews (opens in new tab) journal, the effect of weight loss interventions are not significantly different between the two sexes, and there is little evidence they should adopt different weight loss strategies. It could be that other factors, not only the body composition, may be at play.

The more physical activity you carry out, the more calories you are able to burn. But time spent working out is not the key factor here intensity is important.

Going for a leisurely walk or attending a gentle yoga class will not have the same effect as running for 10 kilometers. How you exercise and how you progress with your physical activity is equally important to your activity levels.

According to a review published in the Obesity Reviews journal, adding more resistance training to your routine will help you to retain and build more muscle mass. Muscle is a very metabolically active tissue, so more muscle means a higher RMR, and more calories burned at rest.

Some fitness professionals debate whether High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is superior to steady-state cardio (such as cycling or jogging) in terms of the number of calories burned. But as described in the Obesity Reviews (opens in new tab) journal, they both show similar effects on body composition scientists point out that HIIT may be more time-efficient as it requires nearly 40% less training time.

Does drinking water help you lose weight? Hydration definitely plays a role in weight loss, although its effect is not direct. According to the Frontiers in Nutrition (opens in new tab) journal, drinking more water helps to reduce portion control and increase lipolysis the breakdown of fat tissue.

Animal studies also demonstrated that dehydration can lead to hormonal changes that may increase the risk of obesity and associated diseases. Wondering how much water you need to drink? The recommended intake is 2L a day, but the exact amount your body needs will depend on several different factors.

Your genes may be partly to blame for why you struggle to lose weight. As reported in the Genes & Nutrition (opens in new tab) journal, a growing number of studies identify gene variants that are associated with an increase in fat mass. These variants may interact with specific environmental factors and increase the risk of obesity.

Does sleeping burn calories? Not exactly. But maintaining good sleep hygiene can make all the difference to your weight loss efforts. Research in the Nutrients (opens in new tab) journal found that just one sleepless night has been shown to increase your desire for high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods, such as cookies and sugary beverages. Disturbed sleeping patterns tend to lead to increased calorie consumption too.

It will also wreak havoc on the levels of hormones associated with appetite control. A study published in the Sleep (opens in new tab) journal suggests that just an hour less sleep five nights a week may lead to a lower proportion of fat mass loss in individuals on low-calorie diets, despite similar weight loss. Whats more, catch-up sleep may not completely reverse these far-reaching changes in body composition.

Psychological stress is another factor that may impact the rate of your weight loss. The Obesity Reviews (opens in new tab) journal found that feeling under pressure may lower the quality of your sleep, enhance your appetite, intensify your cravings and decrease your motivation to exercise.

At the same time, there is growing evidence (opens in new tab) that the practice of mindful eating can reduce food cravings and increase your chance of achieving your weight loss goals.

Can you take probiotics to lose weight? It may be effective. Scientists are increasingly pointing to gut health as a factor in obesity. According to a review published in the Gastroenterology (opens in new tab) journal, the amount and the type of gut microbes residing in our intestines may dictate the rate of your weight loss.

For example, bacterial strains like Ruminococcus gnavus were found to be more common among obese individuals. Their presence also decreased during weight loss. Meanwhile, the number of bacterial strains such as Akkermansia muciniphila and Alistipes obesi were higher in lean individuals.

Certain hormonal disorders will have an impact on the rate of your weight loss. Hypothyroidism is a good example a condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough metabolism-boosting hormones, which in turn can promote weight gain. As reported in the International Journal of Obesity (opens in new tab), higher baseline levels of thyroid hormones were linked to better weight loss outcomes.

How long does it take to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable manner? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (opens in new tab), people should aim for a fairly steady weight loss rate of about one to two pounds a week because this way they are more likely to keep the weight off in the long term.

Yet scientists are questioning this claim. A study published in The Lancet (opens in new tab) journal demonstrated that the rate of weight loss does not seem to affect the proportion of weight regained within 144 weeks.

Another study, published in the Obesity (opens in new tab) journal, found that, in people with a similar total weight loss, the rate at which they lost weight did not affect how many pounds were later piled back on. Nonetheless, those who were prescribed a diet with the least number of calories lost the most muscle mass.

Still, dieticians recommend taking a gradual approach, as it promotes healthier attitudes to food and it is least likely to cause side effects.

If you want to maintain the results in the future, it is recommended to focus on a slow but healthy weight loss where you lose one to 2 lbs per week, says Wendy Lord, registered dietician at HealthReporter (opens in new tab). Although such a journey is slow, its constancy will make it easier to develop healthy eating habits, making it less likely that you will gain weight again, and most importantly, it is much safer than rapid weight loss.

But what about overall weight loss? When healthily losing weight, you can expect to lose up to 8 lbs in a month and even up to 90 in a year. However, it is worth remembering that such impressive numbers will only be realistic if you lose up to 2 lbs per week for the whole year and if you are obese in the first place, says Lord.

What is a dietician's stance on boosting metabolism?

Speeding up weight loss is definitely possible, but it won't necessarily be healthy, advises Lord. Since losing weight too fast can lead to loss of muscle mass, slowed metabolism, lack of nutrients in the body, and many other problems, it is recommended to consult a specialist.

On the other hand, there are certainly a few lifestyle changes that can accelerate the loss of a few pounds without risking your health. Among these, perhaps the most well-known is increasing protein intake so that the body burns fat and does not lose muscle mass. It is also effective to drink green tea because of its caffeine or to reduce the consumption of starchy and floury dishes.

Protein is particularly good for weight loss. As mentioned previously, increasing the intake of this macronutrient will elevate the Thermic Effect of Food. It is also crucial to building lean muscle mass. Protein also helps lower food cravings and regulate appetite.

Countless dietary supplements claim to help you lose weight. They tend to be sold as metabolism boosters and fat burners, promising amazing results in no time. But are they actually able to speed up your weight loss? In most cases, there is no evidence (opens in new tab) they can deliver on the promise. But that does not mean that every supplement is a waste of money.

Many weight loss supplements contain high doses of caffeine. And according to a meta-analysis published in the Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (opens in new tab), for every doubling in the caffeine intake, the reduction in weight, BMI, and fat mass may increase almost twofold. This is because this compound increases thermogenesis, and, unsurprisingly, increases your energy levels during workouts.

However, it is important to maintain a reasonable intake of caffeine, particularly if you are sensitive to it. As stated in the Sports Medicine (opens in new tab) journal,ingestion of 39 mg/kg of body weight approximately 60 min prior to exercise is the recommended way to power up your workout. That could be in the form of caffeinated drinks, or dietary supplements.

Another dietary supplement worth considering is a green tea extract. As reported in the Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (opens in new tab), green tea compounds (such as caffeine and catechins) can increase thermogenesis and increase fat lipolysis.

However, not every green tea supplement is produced to the same standard. Multiple studies (opens in new tab) have shown that those containing doses of EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) between 100 and 460 mg a day have shown the best effects on body fat and body weight reduction in trials lasting more than 12 weeks.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.

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How long does it take to lose weight? - Livescience.com

Could Subliminal Messaging Be An Effective Way To Lose Weight? – Health Digest

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

Studies in 2006 and 2007 found that subliminal messaging can influence you if you are already inclined to do something (via Scientific American). For example, those who were already thirsty were flashed images of Lipton Ice Tea and afterward were more inclined to choose that beverage. Another study showed that students who were shown words related to intelligence before a practice exam did better on the actual exam than those shown random words.

Unfortunately, when it comes to weight loss, the research findings are similar. In a 1992 study published in Applied Psychology, weight loss was compared in three groups of overweight women. Despite only one of the groups receiving subliminal messaging to encourage weight loss, all three groups lost the same amount of weight. Another study in 2018 found that subliminal messaging given to those with strong weight loss goals had moderate success when given without any negative messaging. The same messaging, though, had little to no effect on those with weak weight loss goals.

Another 2014 study reinforces the effectiveness of positive messaging, as exercisers shown positive visuals participated in cycling for longer than those shown negative visuals. So it seems that, yes, the brain can be influenced to a degree when the drive to achieve a goal already exists, as long as the messaging is positive. While many subliminal messaging weight-loss programs exist and use various methods, it seems that positive visual messaging, in general, has the best chance of success.

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Could Subliminal Messaging Be An Effective Way To Lose Weight? - Health Digest

The Five Best Vegetables for Weight Loss, According to a Doctor – Health News Hub

Posted: September 26, 2022 at 2:04 am

From ruby red to leafy green, vegetables are a known mealtime necessity for nutritional benefits and to achieve and maintain a healthy weight but some are better choices than others.

When it comes to losing weight, its important to mentally separate vegetables into two categories: starchy and non-starchy, said Joseph St. Pierre, DO, a medical weight loss specialist with Hartford HealthCare. Then, we need to eat more of non-starchy.

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Non-starchy vegetables contain the right elements for weight loss, Dr. St. Pierre said. This includes:

Starchy vegetables, like potatoes, corn, squash and peas, also offer health benefits, but pack in higher amounts of calories and carbs.

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Based on nutritional profiles, Dr. St. Pierre said the best vegetables for weight loss include:

> Related: Fad Diets: The Way to Lose Weight, or a Bunch of Baloney?

We tell patients to make sure they have a serving of non-starchy vegetables at every meal. The nutritional benefits are amazing, and by keeping themselves feeling full, they are able to focus on their weight-loss and exercise goals, Dr. St. Pierre said. Theyre an important part of a balanced diet.

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The Five Best Vegetables for Weight Loss, According to a Doctor - Health News Hub


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