Weight Loss Research

If you listen to some, you might participate in a workout program to get a 6-pack by summer. Of course, you have to remember that you have to combine this with a good diet, because even if you work those muscles into a six pack, if they are laying under a layer of fat because you couldn’t give up your sweets, nobody’s going to be able to tell. But according to one workout, you can achieve faster fat loss, greater stamina, and extra muscle. You spend just 24 minutes per day on this, and you apparently get a chiseled body.
Michael Mejia MS CSCS, who is a Men’s Healthcare advisor, claims that if you believe that long aerobic exercise is the best way to lose weight and burn fat, you are holding yourself back, or at least if you’re a man. “Most men invest their energy in exercise that boosts their caloric expenditure only while they’re working out.” If you jog through the park for example, that happens. But from other trainers, we’ve heard that if you run for a certain period of time, your body will be steadily burning calories at an accelerated rate for at least an hour after.
However, Mejia claims that if you use resistance training, it boosts your metabolism for up to 48 hours after. And lifting weights is highly underrated, which is understandable. You may gain weight from increased muscle, but you are burning a significant amount more fat.
Mejia’s personal workout plan uses explosive exercises and combination lifts in a fast paced workout. You alternate between two workouts, workout A and workout B, and you work out 3 times a week, resting 1 day between each session. It’s really quite simple, and it gives you ways to work up to each full workout as well if you are struggling with not being really in shape.
To test your ability to burn fat at an accelerated rate and moreover your personal fitness level, you should lace up your running shoes and head to the track. Warm up for 2-3 minutes at a jog, and then sprint as fast as you can for as long and as far as you can. Stop as soon as you feel yourself slowing, and record either time or distance, it doesn’t really matter. The longer and farther you are able to run at that pace, the more prepared you are to last through a high intensity workout like that of Mejia and the less time you’ll have to spend working up to it.

Glucomannan comes from the konjac root, and it has been widely researched, mostly in obese individuals as an appetite suppressant. It has been hailed as the gastric bypass in a bottle. One double blind trial spanning over 8 weeks showed that those using 1000mg of glucomannan as opposed to the placebo with an 8 oz glass of water each time, 3 times per day. The participants were not to change eating habits or exercise plans. Those using glucomannan lost an average of 5.5 lbs with no side effects.
Fiber is important to our bodies. It keeps our tracts clean and bodies in working order. Above all, you can see fiber supplements meant to regulate bowel movements. It is not produced within our own bodies, just in plant sources. They are indigestible and reduce our risk of heart disease. They have also shown that high fiber diets reduce the risk of colon cancer. But rapid increases in fiber consumption could lead to gas or diarrhea, so make it gradual, and remember to drink plenty of fluids.
Glucomannan works by expanding in the stomach, hence why it is compared to a gastric bypass surgery. But it only works in quantities of 1000mg or more, and it also has other properties. First of all, it controls cholesterol levels. It is not only the quantity, but the type of food we eat that contributes to cholesterol levels. Improper diet, obesity, smoking, and lack of exercise can lead to higher levels of cholesterol. Glucomannan can reduce your intake and with a 1 month course of 3.9 grams of glucomannan, you can significantly lower your total cholesterol.
Second comes chronic constipation. It is a common condition, affecting people of all ages. As a fiber, glucomannan can be indigestible and help your body to get rid of excess waste. Twice as many men as women, the elderly, and pregnant women take some kind of medicine for constipation.
So if you are looking for a good appetite suppressant that will also provide you some other benefits, you should try glucomannan. It is completely natural, has no known side effects, and when used in the right amounts, can be quite effective in helping you to lose weight.

We’ve all experienced it, weight loss plateaus. A plateau is a period or phase, where despite your best efforts, you stop losing weight. Your body gets used to whatever you are doing, and it responds to that by only burning so many calories or taking other steps for itself. You are not gaining weight, but that could be only because you are keeping up your regular regimen. But you are not losing any weight, and that can be hard on many people’s resolve. However, you can make little changes to help ensure that your body does not go into one of these plateaus.
First, stop eating after 6 PM. Most of us on a diet already do this. And for those who haven’t started doing it, it can be hard to accomplish. But if you stop eating after 6, it gives your body the extra time to burn off your fat before you go to bed, instead of storing that fat when you go to bed.
Second, eat 4 to 6 small meals each day. Again, this gives your body a chance to burn extra fat throughout the day instead of just focusing on burning a ton of calories all at once. This will also keep your body’s metabolism running at a steady rate instead of storing some of that fat and then stopping. It is referred to as “grazing”, and many test subjects felt more satiated and saw more weight loss.
Third, focus on your fruits. If you have fruit ready and waiting in your fridge, when you get munchy or snacky, instead of running to the cupboard for your nightly chips, you can eat some fruits, which are low calorie and high in antioxidants and vital nutrients. It is cold, healthy, and guilt free.
Fourt, drink plenty of water. You have to drink 8 8oz glasses of water each day. This can work as a natural appetite suppressant, keep you from being dehydrated, and actually fulfill one of your body’s basic needs. The more water you drink, the less you eat and the better your body is able to function in general.
Finally, move a little more. If you are sitting in your desk all day, fidget a little. If you have the choice, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk around your block for about 15 to 20 minutes longer if you have the time. If you live nearby to a friend, walk instead of driving. It’s these little changes in exercise that will make a huge difference.
All in all, avoiding plateaus doesn’t take a lot of time out of your schedule or require you to change your life all at once. It only requires small things that you can easily fit into your day, but they make a big difference. Some of them may not seem like a big deal at all, until of course you step onto the scale.

Now that the Baby Boomers are reaching old age, they make up 26% of the American population. They now get the chance to take advantage of Medicare, caregivers, children, etc. However, one might not guess that the Baby Boomers generation is also suffering from a higher rate of obesity across the board than ever before. Combine this with widespread lack of exercise, and you get a recipe for disaster in the form of Type 2 diabetes along with other chronic, obesity related diseases. Now, those between the ages of 55 and 64 suffer from a 39% rate of obesity as opposed to 31% between 1988 and 1994.
50% of Baby Boomers are now suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, etc according to the CDC. The CDC has stated that increased diet and exercise would make a significant impact on these diseases among other things. And apparently 40% have reached the point of obesity. Former Utah Governor and Now secretary of Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt states “It’s time to act against both conditions so more Americans can live longer, healthier lives.”
There are those who would critique the CDC such as Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth: Why America’s Obsession With Weight Is Hazardous To Your Health. Campos believes that all these studies are fueled by unreliable science, prejudices against fat people, and greedy marketing executives. Apparently, all those people, including the infamous Star Jones, who have undergone gastric bypass surgeries or serious weight loss programs because of various existing health problems were fooled by the sneaky medical community. Campos also claims that Kate Moss and Calista Flockhart are the cultural ideal, even though they have technically been criticized for being “too thin” as have various international runway models. As such, Campos offers no support for his claims.
Campos’ book has been featured a Scientific American cover article, and his book is literally flying off the shelves. After all, if you tell people the things they want to hear rather than the things they need to hear, they want to listen to you. After all, it’s more pleasant to think that the health care industry and the government is conspiring against you than it is to admit that you might be overweight and at a higher degree of health related risks because of it.

The New England Journal of Medicine finally came out with a study saying that the way to lose weight is to eat less, not to focus so much on balancing carbs, fats, and proteins, but to eat fewer calories. Duh? The brilliant researchers in this study also came to the obvious conclusion that men and women function differently, diet differently, lose weight differently. Feeling smarter yet? But what you might not have known is that cutting calories can be done in several strategic ways that produce better results than others. And apparently men have different results largely because men do it differently, because:
1. Men can “just say no” to bad foods:
They have used PET scans to monitor the brain, and men were able to suppress hunger and satiate hunger. Women will continue to crave good and high caloric foods, even after being specifically told to turn their thoughts elsewhere. In short, women are more likely to participate in emotional eating. Men did not suffer the same problems.
2. Women Focus On The Healthy Isles
A women starts going first to the health isles, the fruit isles, the vegetable isles, wheat bread, etc. They check labels, they consult professionals, etc. And while it would be better to stay away from these foods all together, many women replace their favorite foods with lower calorie versions of the same thing. Men think that if it’s chicken, it’s automatically healthy.
3. They compete
While women have Curves, Weight Watchers, etc. to try to “hold hands” and show moral support, men have a different approach entirely. Weight loss becomes a sport to them, they want to show each other up, forget holding hands. Women will agree to go buy new outfits when they both reach their goal, men will bet each other that they can lose the weight first and then collect $100. Men run the risk of losing something or the benefit of gaining something. Women have some kind of everybody wins playing field.
4. Guys Don’t Care
You may have noticed that when men get married, they are more likely to let themselves go, because they have the prize. Women on the other hand are constantly competing with other women in such a way that they compete for social acceptance. In addition, you could consider many a NFL player, whose 300 lbs guts hang over their pants at all time, and they don’t care! In fact they take pride in their weight! Women on the other hand, even the ones who pretend to be proud fat women, tend to have serious concerns to the point that you will never see a 300 lbs woman showing off her fat, or not in most cases.
5. Muscles are beneficial
When a woman thinks about gaining muscle, she thinks about gaining bulk and looking like a gladiator, which is not so appealing for most women. Men think about beating all the guys and “pumping iron” to impress the ladies. They don’t want to be scronny or skinny. To lose significant amounts of fat, you have to have a certain amount of muscle. It doesn’t have to be bulky, but women run away from it while men run towards it.

So when it comes down to it, while women have a couple advantages over men, they are few and far between. Men hold the overall advantage in losing weight. But then we already knew that. We just didn’t necessarily know the fine tools and mechanisms of it all.

They are calling it the “new anorexia”, avoiding all processed foods, fats, animal fats, preservatives, milk, and egg products, This doesn’t actually sounds like a bad diet to most, and for the most part it’s not. The problem is when you get to the point of obsession. If you obsess you start to cut out vital macronutrients, antinutrients, and could become orthorexic. Children are developing higher levels of orthorexia due to health obsessed parents according to a New York Times article. Officially they are often called “health food junkies”, but it is not actually an officially defined disease. It would probably be defined more as obsessive compulsive disorder in some cases, but not actually anorexia nervosa or some similar disease defined in the DSM.
There are multiple children now suffering through this type of undefined disorder due to some would say eccentric parents. They do not choose this lifestyle, they grow up with it. After a while they develop their own eccentricities and worries apparently not normal to a 5, 6, 7, 13, or so on year old child. They worry about foods that may harm them, preservatives, fillers, and things we all should worry about, but not to the extreme degree of this.
One such example is Greye Dunn who worries mostly about sodium. Without question, obtaining the right vitamins is a worry, and some supplement with great multivitamins for this purpose. However, with high levels of sodium, your heart rate and blood pressure can increase, whereas with extremely low levels of sodium, your blood pressure can actually drop below the normal levels of health. Greye comes from a mother who actually heads a multimedia company dedicated to organic foods, and has been teaching Greye how to read labels on foods from an early age.
No one would fault a parent for trying to care for their children, trying to teach their children healthy eating habits, especially in a time of rising obesity rates in adults and children. The problem is that with these over-exuberant parents, anxiety levels, stress levels, and therefore certain risk factors as well as malnourishment is on the rise. These kids go to regular functions like birthday parties, and if there is not a specialized cake such as granola cake, they feel the need to avoid it, the inability to eat it. Not only are their parents micromanaging their diets, and they know it, they begin to officially micromanage their own diets.
At this point, there are no official studies, and apparently it is not as widely spread as one might worry. There is only an official 15% rise in these kinds of practices. Many patients actually reduce refined sugar and high fat foods, but not many restrict their diets to only organic foods to avoid pesticides, and not so many children are becoming terrified of their foods. One could say, every good thing in moderation, or else even the best of intentions can easily be misled.

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/health/nutrition/26food.html?_r=3&ref=style

This might be something that most think they would like to hear. Some experts are saying that chocolate may actually help you to maintain better health and lose weight. They even say it contains essential nutrients. But unfortunately for most, this chocolate is not what you are thinking of at all. It is the basic element of chocolate without the sugar, without the milk, without all the things that actually make it taste good. It is the element that may make you happy, but has become an acquired taste for most.

Raw cocoa powder, the element of this craze, literally grows on trees. Again, it has nothing added to the mix, and it is high in antioxidants as well. One Cornell study claims that its antioxidant level is twice that of red wine. And what is the ingredient that gives you that “happy feeling”, tryptophan, which raises your levels of serotonin.

With all the antioxidants, raw chocolate can help your body to get rid of toxins and even improve cardiovascular health, reduce blood clots, and reduce strokes. It is also high in magnesium, which again may help to improve cardiovascular health.

All in all, one study showed that those eating 3.5oz of dark chocolate(the purest kind) on a daily basis for 2 weeks experienced a drop in bad cholesterol. In addition, blood pressure dropped and they became more sensitive to insulin, feeling full more quickly among other things. Additionally, with higher sensitivity to insulin, most may be less likely to develop diabetes. All in all, dark chocolate or the raw chocolate seems to provide various health benefits to the general obesity sufferer. If you do not like the taste of raw chocolate, you can sweeten it with healthy sugars such as raw honey or xylitol. But otherwise, you would just be negating the possible health benefits. And if you love white chocolate, you should switch, because white chocolate has none of the possible health benefits at all.

Journal of Hypertension 2005, August. 23(8): 1453-1459.
Cornell University Department of Food and Nutrition, 2003.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6266256.stm

For some of us, this would be a miracle, but for others it has turned into a nightmare: unexplained weight loss. A number of years ago it happened with a sensational diet pill that actually had dried up tape worms in the capsules. So you found a number of people who couldn’t stabilize or gain weight no matter what they ate. However, more commonly people suffer from medical conditions. Many are finding that sudden and unexplained weight loss is only a symptom of a far more serious disease they suffer. The causes are varied and can go from dental problems to depression to use of certain dugs to heart failure or cancer.
In most cases, if you have lost 8 lbs in the past 10 weeks without other circumstances such as extra exercise, dieting, or being sick with a severe cold or flu, then you should probably be checked. If you have a cold or flu for more than a certain period of time, that is something to worry about too.
Some situations may not require a visit to the doctor. If you’ve suffered extra stress in your recent life, that could explain a lot of symptoms. You may be naturally eating less, exerting more energy, and not even realize it if under serious stress. You could also try supplementing your body with fat soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, and K. And some may want to seek counseling for psychological disorders such as depression.
However, if none of these apply to you, but you are unintentionally losing 5% body weight in one month or 10% body weight in 6 months, you should probably see a doctor. In addition if you weigh less than 80% of your ideal body weight, have a BMI less than 18, or have a mid arm muscle circumference below the 15th percentile, you are underweight and should again consider increasing your weight.

The average dieter is looking to lose about 2Ibs a week or more. Statistically speaking, this means a diet plan ranging from about 1000-1200 healthy calories per day. Most wouldn’t think this would be that hard until they start tracking their average caloric intake. Then it becomes distinctly harder, especially trying to fit 3 meals or more into every day.
So I thought I would give the average user an idea of substantial meals that won’t leave you starving, but fit into the caloric range. For one meal, 1 whole wheat English muffin, 2 parts low fat butter, 1 hard boiled egg, ½ cup fruit, an 8oz cup of juice, and an 8oz water will effectively provide you 290 calories. Water will also work as a natural appetite suppressant. 1 cup of cereal, 8oz 2% milk, 1 banana, and 1 cup coffee or tea will fulfill 300 calories.
For lunch or dinner, a medium baked potato with 2 tablespoons sour cream, 2 tablespoons salsa, 1 cup melon, and 12 oz of water will fulfill 305 calories. 1 bowl of soup with a small tossed salad, 2 tablespoons reduced fat vinegarette dressing, 12 oz of water, and 4 saltine crackers will cost you 350 calories. 6oz chicken with 1 cup green beans, 2 slices low fat butter, 1 small tossed salad, 2 tablespoons reduced fat oil, vinegar dressing, and 12 oz water will fulfill 345 calories.
Essentially depending on your diet, you should keep each meal between 300 and 400 calories if you are eating 3 meals per day. But your options are not as limited as some might think. The key is sticking to nutrient dense foods like fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins like salmon and grilled chicken, and keeping your portions in individual portion sizes rather than super sizing it. If you follow these types of meal plans, you can find significant weight loss. However, combining these with the right diet pill can give you more leeway room for the occasional error.

Sleep deprivation can lead directly to obesity. Most people aren’t aware of this fact, but considering more than 1/3 of Americans and more than half in some areas are obese, it is a worsening epidemic. Through time and a number of different factors, many people have begun to sleep less in direct coincidence with the rise of obesity.

At this point, our average sleep time has decreased by at least a quarter as compared to our predecessors. Apparently in 1900, the average sleep time was 9 hours. In the past 10 years, the average sleep time has decreased to less than 7 hours. And in 2001, research showed that less than 6 hours sleep per night as well as staying up past midnight could significantly contribute to obesity. However, in 2002, a study of 1.1 million individuals showed that when individuals slept less than 7 or 8 hours, obesity rose significantly. The studies only continued, citing one in 2004 in Wisconsin, a 2005 study in Virginia, and various others, all showing the same thing, less sleep means more obesity.

Since 1992, there have been more than 13 different studies of more than 45,000 children and more studies on adults that have supported the relationship between sleep and obesity. Children also suffer a higher risk of obesity when they get less sleep. A 2005 study in the British Medical Journal suggested that sleep patterns at the age of just 30 months could predict the obesity rate at 7 years of age.

And why does this have such an impact? Apparently, with healthy amounts of sleep, the hypothalamus is stimulated in a positive way. Whereas, when you lack sleep, the hypothalamus is activated to increase appetite and decrease the natural expenditure of energy. A study by Spiegel in 1999 also suggested that restricting sleep reduced glucose tolerance and increased weight gain and hypertension by also decreasing metabolism. However, the effects could be reversed with a return to normal sleep patterns. So in short, to decrease your risk of obesity and gain a natural appetite suppressant and metabolic booster, just get 8 to 9 hours of sleep on a regular basis.

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5. Spiegel, K. Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function. The Lancet. October 23, 1999. 354: 1435-1439.
6. Spiegel, K. et al. Brief Communication. Sleep Curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite. Annals of Internal Medicine. December 7, 2004. 141: 846-851
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8. Taheri S. et al. Short sleep duration is associated with reduce leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased body mass index(BMI). Sleep. 2004 27:146-147.
9. Vorona, R. et al. Overweight and Obese Patients in a Primary Care Population Report Less Sleep Than Patients with a Normal Body Mass Index. Archives of Internal Medicine. Jan 10, 2005. 165: 25-30