Weight loss benefits of Interval Training

How To Burn Stomach Fat

Interval training is a pulsating workout that will pump energy in you and challenge your body to go the extra mile. The good news doesn't stop there. Interval training can boost your metabolism and burn calories well after the workout is over.

Suffering through a stressful phase? Interval training can help you reduce tension and anxiety. It can also boost your endurance and tone your body. Today our fitness coach, Arnav Sarkar helps us decode the success of this intense workout. On your marks, get set, go...

What is interval training?

Arnav explains the simplicity of what constitutes Interval Training, "Interval training refers to any type of training in which either one alternates between different speeds, or the activity is done in a start-stop type of nature. For eg if you run while changing speeds every minute, then that is interval training. Even weight training is a type of interval training since it has a start-stop type of nature, where you do a set and then rest till the next set."

Can interval training help you lose weight?

Arnav gets to the main question that is plaguing our lives, 'how to lose weight'. Can this workout help you burn calories? He continues to explain how a start-stop exercise helps you shed the embarrassing kilos, "Such types of interval training allow you to go at a higher intensity, and also do not allow your body to adjust to a steady speed. These two factors make interval training a far greater fat burner when compared to any regular steady speed activity. Interval training has been shown to burn more fat, preserve lean muscle, and increase cardiovascular fitness. So overall interval training is a better choice when weight loss and overall health improvement is the goal." A double whammy!

Difference in cardio and interval training

Cardio breaks down muscle tissue to produce energy. Interval training benefits aerobic and anaerobic fitness, while cardio also maximises aerobic fitness.

How often should you do it?

Arnav tells you the secret to the best outcome of this intense workout, "If we are talking about HIIT cardio done at high intensities, then 1-3 sessions a week would be ideal. The key is to keep the duration to about 10-20 minutes for best results. More than that for high intensity work could lead to overtraining. On the other days you could do a much milder form of interval training, where you don't go too fast."

Who should opt for Interval Training and who should avoid it?

"Anyone who wants to improve their health can do it. You can adjust the intensity based on your fitness levels so that you can do it without any problems. However for those who may have any particular medical problem which prohibits them from interval training, it will be necessary to avoid doing intervals. Thus it is always best to consult a physician before embarking on any fitness program," says Arnav, the best way to avoid damaging your body.

You can apply Interval Training to:

Running

Swimming

Cycling

Walking

Weight training

Rowing to name a few

Difference in interval training and high intensity interval training

The coach elaborates on the misconception that people have between these two workout models. Arnav Sarkar makes it clear, "One needs to understand that interval training does not automatically mean high intensity interval training or HIIT as it is popularly called. For eg., an unfit person can do a lower intensity interval like doing one minute of fast walking, followed by a minute of slow walking. For an unfit person, even such mild intensity intervals can offer a lot of benefits, when compared to walking at the same speed for a long time."

What is high intensity interval training?

'HIIT is an exercise strategy alternating periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods.' As mentioned on Wikipedia,HIIT

This workout last for 20 minutes, and exercises every muscle group.
Read more Personal Health, Diet & Fitness stories on www.healthmeup.com

Raspberry Ketone Diet for weight loss

It's a weight loss fad that's really been getting attention the last few months, the Raspberry Ketone Diet.

At the hike and bike trails in Downtown Austin.  It shouldn't come as a surprise that most of the exercise-conscious Central Texans we talked to are well aware of the Raspberry Ketone Diet.

"I've just heard that raspberry is one of the natural fat burning foods that you can have," said Alissa Leenher.

"Everybody is looking for some help in losing weight, especially belly fat, and that's what it's supposed to be focusing on," said Thomas Figulski.

Raspberry Ketone is the natural compound that produces the sweet smell of raspberries.  But lately Raspberry Ketone has become better known as a potent fat burner.  Studies show Raspberry Ketone increases Adiponectin, a protein hormone, that has a correlation with body fat percentage.

"Adiponectin is our friend and we want that to be as high as possible," explained Dr. George Rodgers, a cardiologist with Seton Heart Institute.  He says fat cells tend to produce more Adiponectin and that's a good thing.  "Unfortunately as we gain weight, as our fat cells become fatter so to speak or plumper, Adiponectin levels go down."

Rodgers says the more we can boost Adiponectin, the better we are, and the most effective way to do that is by losing weight.  Raspberry Ketones may be able to help accomplish that goal.

"It seems to help in terms of enhancing our body to burn that fuel that's trapped within our fat cells and enhance that," said Dr. Rodgers.

But Rodgers cautions Raspberry Ketones by themselves are not enought.

"If you think by taking it daily (and then) drinking beers and eating Buffalo wings in front of the television is going to make you lose weight, you are mistaken," he said.

Charlie Hartwig, the owner of Total Nutrition, says he drives that point home by asking questions of his customers who are looking for weight loss products.

"People coming in, they expect this magic pill or powder, and that's just not the realistic part of it.  You've got to include the exercise.  You've got to include the diet to see the results," said Hartwig.  "We ask them what their goal is.  We ask them what expectations they have.  Are they working out, are they dieting, are they exercising?  These things will actually contribute to us making a plan for them rather than just walking them over to raspberry ketones and tell them to get this product today."

Doctors and nutrition experts say when choosing a Raspberry Ketone product be sure to consider whether the extract is 100% pure with no extra ingredients, fillers or binders.  Does it have the right dose per serving?  Is the Raspberry Ketone extract real or synthetic?

Back at the hike and bike trails, we ran into people who were considering trying Raspberry Ketones, as well as those who've been on the diet for weeks, even months.  Opinions varied as to whether the product is all that it claims or if it's more hype than help.

"You still have to watch your diet and exercise anyway.  You are not going to lose it just because of a pill," said Figulski.

"I've seen some results to it," said James Prestegard.  "I've lost a couple of pounds and it's just something you have to keep at plus your working out and your food intake so I think it does help out.

"I feel like I've lost a little bit of the belly fat," said Dallas Heenan.  "The weight is still there, but this is going down."

That difference of opinion may be due to the fact that doctors we spoke to say there's been no research involving humans and the effectiveness of the Raspberry Ketone Diet.

News source: http://www.kvue.com/news/health/Many-turning-to-Rasberry-Keytone-Diet-for-weight-loss-179045671.html

Pregnancy hormone fuels Florida diet craze

South Florida's latest weight-loss craze and the booming business it's spawned are based on a pricey hormone that many doctors say is useless as a diet aid and may carry serious health risks.

Read the weight loss mistakes to avoid HERE

The U.S. government has refused for decades to approve the substance known as HCG for weight loss, and two states ban its prescription for that purpose. But a Sun Sentinel investigation found South Florida clinics charging hundreds of dollars for diet plans that employ the hormone produced by pregnant women, and facing virtually no regulation, inspection or oversight.

In its probe of 50 Florida clinics and HCG providers, more than two dozen of which are in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, the Sun Sentinel found:

 Lose fat belly starting from HERE.

• Physicians and counselors say HCG will help patients obtain dramatic weight-loss results without side effects, hunger pangs or the need for exercise, claims that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a significant body of medical research dispute.

• Many of the facilities are run or staffed by entrepreneurs with no medical training, doctors or medical assistants disciplined by state medical boards, or self-described "nutrition counselors" without medical licenses.

• In random visits to more than 10 of the clinics, the Sun Sentinel found none fully complied with Florida's patient protection laws. The newspaper also found three people who reported obtaining HCG without seeing a doctor first, which is illegal.

Weight loss Diet Solution Guide.

Though HCG has been around since the 1950s, South Florida doctors and health professionals said, there has been a recent surge in demand due in large part to use by celebrities, residents' obsession with physical appearance, and the state's lax laws and oversight. One Florida-based clinical compounding pharmacist estimated the market for HCG may have tripled in the past two years.

"There are things people do without any evidence, without any support, but which are not illegal — I would put HCG in that category," said Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo, associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Miami Health System. "For HCG, you have pretty good evidence that it doesn't work. Some states are better at regulating, trying to outlaw this thing, than Florida is. It's much more a state that believes the less regulation, the better."

If patients do lose weight, say doctors who oppose the use of HCG, it has nothing to do with the hormone that may cost up to $700 as part of a monthlong weight-loss plan, and everything to do with the drastic diets prescribed along with it. HCG dieters are supposed to limit themselves to the caloric equivalent of about one Big Mac sandwich a day. More liberal plans allow the equivalent of 1 1/2 Big Macs daily.

"People lose weight because they're not eating," said Dr. Hillel Z. Harris, an emergency room physician in Boca Raton. "That's what it medically comes down to."

'A roaring lion'

The FDA is so adamant that HCG (full name: human chorionic gonadotropin) is ineffective for dieters that its prescription label is required to state that "there is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or 'normal' distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets."

Yet many Florida doctors make precisely those claims as they offer HCG injections or liquid drops administered under the tongue as elements of weight-loss plans that require patients to consume only 500 to 800 calories daily. Some of their websites and advertisements carry disclaimers saying results will vary; some also note the FDA has not approved the drug for weight loss.

Advocates of the hormone say it decreases appetite and tricks the body — female and male alike — into thinking it is pregnant, thereby causing it to tap into fat stores rather than muscle.

"HCG has been around for 50 years," said Dr. Bart Gershenbaum, founder and owner of HCG Waist Management in Davie. He called use of the substance, plus the accompanying reduction in caloric intake, "the best diet plan I've ever seen."

"Why it's not FDA-approved, I can't answer. In the two years I've been associated with this office, I've seen unbelievable results with an unbelievable safety profile," Gershenbaum said.

Results reported by South Floridians vary widely.

Weight loss Diet Solution Guide. 

Barby Chirino paid a Fort Lauderdale clinic $300 for a 30-day supply of HCG and lost 22 pounds. However, the Miami woman said she regained all of that weight, plus 18 additional pounds, right after she came off the diet.

"As soon as I stopped, it was almost like I regressed," Chirino said. "My appetite came back like a roaring lion."

But one of Gershenbaum's patients, Angela Schmitt, 27, of Hollywood, said she tried and failed to lose weight for years before shedding 78 pounds in two months last year.

Weight loss Diet Solution Guide. 

• Weight loss: 'How I lost 29 kg in one year'
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• Digest Diet: Lose Weight in 3 Weeks
• hCG Diet App from hCGTreatments / Diet Doc hCG Diets & Weight Loss Plans Puts Fast Weight Loss in the Palm of Dieters' Hands
• FOX Files: Weight Loss Family

Losing belly fat can help you sleep better: study

A new study finds that not only can weight loss improve your sleep, but losing belly fat in particular enahnces the quality of your sleep.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine enrolled 77 overweight or obese subjects who had type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes in a six-month program.

The subjects were then randomly assigned to one of two groups -- one group went on a weight-loss diet with exercise training, while the second group only had diet intervention. Before the study, subjects also were interviewed about their sleep issues, such as insomnia, daytime fatigue, and sleep apnea.  After six months, both groups lost about 15 pounds and about 15 percent of their belly fat. Also, interestingly, both groups also improved their overall sleep score by about 20 percent with no differences between the groups.  

"We found that improvement in sleep quality was significantly associated with overall weight loss, especially belly fat," says senior author Kerry Stewart, professor of medicine and director of clinical and research exercise physiology.  "The key ingredient for improved sleep quality from our study was a reduction in overall body fat, and, in particular belly fat, which was true no matter the age or gender of the participants or whether the weight loss came from diet alone or diet plus exercise," she adds. 

Stewart presented her team's research at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Los Angeles.  Prior research has linked obesity with poorer sleep, but there is a catch-22: experts recently advised in the September issue of Canadian Medical Association Journal that in order to lose weight, you'll need to ensure you get sufficient rest.

News source: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-11-08/news/34999162_1_diet-intervention-diet-plus-exercise-weight-loss-diet

Weight loss in children can be a danger signal

Dr. Joyce Adams
There are far too many children, adolescents and adults in the United States who are overweight or obese. Experts have advised us to eat more vegetables, stay away from fatty foods, cut down or eliminate sugared drinks and get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day (one hour a day for children). While this is good advice for most people, growing children who dramatically change their eating habits while also dramatically increasing their level and intensity of daily physical activity can develop serious health problems.

Joe is 12 years old and just entering puberty. His parents have noticed that he is starting to look a little “pudgy.” He has always been an anxious child, and has some tendency to be obsessive and compulsive. He hears a health talk in school and decides that if fat is bad and too much sugar is bad and exercise is good, he will take all of the advice and do the best job of anyone in his class.

He first cuts out all fast food, then all sweets, then red meat, then eggs and then milk and cheese. He starts running one mile a day and works up to running 10 miles a day. His parents notice that he is losing weight rapidly, and are at first happy that he is “eating more healthy.” However, he is now only eating steamed vegetables and a few bites of fish every day. He is irritable and yells at his parents when they suggest that he should be eating a more well-rounded diet.

When he has his weight and height measured at the pediatrician’s office four months later, his weight has dropped from 100 pounds to 60 pounds, he has not grown at all, and his Body Mass Index (BMI) has dropped from a normal 18 to 14; from the 75th percentile for BMI to well below the fifth percentile. The pediatrician also notices that Joe’s resting pulse is 35 beats per minute, his blood pressure is low, he gets dizzy when he stands up and his hands and feet are cold and blue.

This boy now has severe protein/calorie malnutrition and his body is trying to conserve every bit of energy by lowering his heart rate, blood pressure and temperature and his heart is shunting blood to his core organs instead of his hands and feet. He is at risk for developing fatal arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythms), osteopenia (thin bones), very low testosterone, arrested growth and arrested physical development.

His “healthy eating,” taken to extremes, has resulted in an eating disorder with medical complications. This is a medical emergency and he needs to be admitted to the hospital for cardiac monitoring and careful “re-feeding.”

Joe could just as well be Jennifer, and could be 8 years old or 14 years old or 17 years old. In girls, in addition to the complications mentioned above, menstrual periods can be delayed and not begin when they would be expected to, or can stop after being regular for months or years. Severely malnourished girls will usually have estrogen levels in the range of a woman who has gone through menopause.

Surprisingly, children and adolescents who start out obese and loose weight rapidly so that they look like a “healthy” weight for their age and height can also develop all of the medical complications of a child of average weight who becomes severely underweight. Rapid, excessive weight loss is a shock and stress to the body that sends the same message to the brain; all energy needs to be conserved.

It is recommended that if parents notice any of the following, a visit to the pediatrician should be scheduled. Some of the symptoms and signs to watch out for are:

• Losing a lot of weight quickly.

• Not eating meals with the family, saying she/he has already eaten.

• Complaining of being cold all the time.

• Complaining of pain when eating or being constipated.

• Becoming angry and irritable when parents try to have him/her eat more normally.

• In girls, noticing that menstrual periods have stopped.

News Source from http://www.nctimes.com/news/

More information on eating disorders in children can be found at eatingdisorders.ucsd.edu

Lessons a Hot Midwestern Weight Loss Start-up Can Teach Us About Digital Health

This week, Chicago-based personal weight-loss company Retrofit announced that it had raised an $8M series A round, an investment nicely covered by my Forbes colleague Kelly Reid, who also wrote a terrific profile of Retrofit back in August.

Weight loss Mistakes to Avoid 

In short, the company sells a highly-personalized, digitally-enabled weight loss coaching service, at $250-$350/mo with a one-year commitment required.  As Reid described, each Retrofit client is paired with an experienced team that includes a dietician, an exercise physiologist, a behavior coach, and a program manager, who regularly and directly interact with the client (often via Skype).  Progress is also monitored electronically, both through a wifi-enabled scale and a FitBit wireless activity monitor. 

How to Lose Belly Fat Loss in Weight Loss Diet Plan

Retrofit targets a weight loss of 10-15%; in the view of founder Jeff Hyman, most diets fail because they promise rapid weight loss that even if achieved, is rarely sustained – 95% of “successful” dieters regain the weight (or more) within a year, and 99% within 3 years.  In contrast, Retrofit aims to deliver a more “realistic” or achievable goal that can be sustained, and is said to be associated with significant health benefits.

Health diet solution for weight loss

Retrofit’s growth and traction offer three key lessons for digital health.

1. Tangible revenue model.  Among the most significant issues plaguing the digital health space is the absence of a viable revenue model – a solid answer to the question “who is going to pay for this?”   (As my Forbes colleague Brett Nelson shared in a memorable column, “Generating positive cash flow is one of the f—ing hardest things in the world.”)

Retrofit has this covered, via a hefty subscription fee — perhaps it’s not a coincidence that early adopters seem to include a Chicago law firm and a Silicon Valley venture fund.

They have also focused on the workplace, and try to leverage network effects there; if several colleagues are subscribers, and seem to be succeeding, others might be tempted to join as well.  With their recent raise, they’ve also announced a “Retrofit My Company” contest specifically to drive this segment.

2. Realistic health goals. Many digital health companies I encounter are fired up about their potential to change the world (a laudable goal), yet often overpromise the dent in the healthcare universe their enterprise will deliver.  Retrofit seems to take the opposite view, evidently believing that successfully delivering on a seemingly more modest goal is a ultimately a better proposition.

That said, Retrofit certainly promotes their benefits to employers by suggesting a benefit to the bottom line, a premise that I’ve recently arguedtends to be more theoretical than realized — a conclusion shared by disease management guru Al Lewis,  who has written an entire book, “Why Nobody Believes the Numbers,”  deconstructing the questionable math associated with many health and wellness revenue claims.

3. Technology plays a supportive role.  This is perhaps the single most important lesson of Retrofit, which is basically a high-end coaching service.  While digital health monitoring devices figure prominently in the offering, they are explicitly used in service of the customized advice developed and delivered by real people.

There may be a real parallel here in the success of Up-To-Date , essentially an e-textbook that has nevertheless become indispensible for many if not most physicians (as I’ve discussed here).  The key to Up-To-Date’s success aren’t fancy algorithms that collect data or generate advice, but rather the many expert physicians who distill the literature and offer interpretations and recommendations, insight with far more credibility (at least at this point) than what faceless algorithms seem likely to offer.

Rather than replace expert health advice with computer-generated and delivered suggestions, Retrofit seeks to enable experts, allowing them to provide the most useful input possible (I’ve made a similar case for digital health enabling, not replacing, physicians).

It’s still early days, and far too soon to designate Retrofit a “success story.”  Their price point is conspicuously high, and it’s possible that a well-designed offering could deliver a similar benefit for less using fewer experts, sophisticated algorithms, and great design – and many startups are explicitly working on this.

But I’m inclined to believe there’s an important lesson about health and technology here: at the end of the day, so much of health (as I’ve incessantlyargued) is about people and connection, and the best digital health technology will support, not supplant, human relationships.

One final observation: it’s interesting to note that there seems to be a rise of digital health investors in the Northern Midwest – the “Cold Coast,” as I’ve termed it.   While Retrofit’s latest round was led by Silicon Valley-based DFJ, previous investors included New World Ventures and the I2A fund, both based in Chicago.  Chicago-based Apex Ventures joined New World and others in funding Analyte Health to the tune of $22M this summer, while Wisconsin-based Lemhi Ventures announced (also this summer) that they had raised their second fund, $150M, to focus on “disruptive new business models” in healthcare.

With the ascent of intrepid healthcare investors, the emergence of promising startups, and the established dominance of Minnesota-based Epic (see hereand here), the Cold Coast may be one of the hottest regions for innovation in digital health.

Addendum (11/18): See this recent discussion of market leaders in the weight-loss space by my Forbes colleague Peter Cohan (h/t Zina Moukheiber, who also reminded me Epic is based in WI, not MN as I originally, incorrectly, stated).

• Weight loss: 'How I lost 29 kg in one year'
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• Digest Diet: Lose Weight in 3 Weeks
• hCG Diet App from hCGTreatments / Diet Doc hCG Diets & Weight Loss Plans Puts Fast Weight Loss in the Palm of Dieters' Hands
• FOX Files: Weight Loss Family

Weight Loss Success Improved with Weight Maintenance

Dieters that have an understanding of ways to maintain a consistent weight prior to starting a weight loss plan are less likely to put the weight back on than individuals that jump into rigid eating plans, research has shown.

Analysts discovered that people that first discovered how to control their body weight in a relaxed manner lose similar weight as crash dieters, but remained trim over time.
On the other hand, individuals that began dieting from the moment they made a decision to lose weight find it difficult to maintain the reduced weight after their diet period.

Scientists from Stanford University split 267 obese or overweight females into two groups.
The first group promptly launched a 20-week weight loss schedule, and the other group initially
 devoted 8 weeks to understanding less demanding “weight maintenance” strategies.
The research, released in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
indicated that each group lost an average of around 17lbs. The group that implemented the weight maintenance path ahead of their 20-week diet regime gained on average only 3lbs in the following 12 months, while those that dieted first gained 7lb in the following year.

Study leader, Dr Michaela Kiernan said the 8 weeks are like a practice run.
The women were able to take a look at various stability skills with no pressure of having to worry about how many pounds they were losing. It was discovered that waiting for 8 weeks did not result in the women being less successful at shedding pounds, yet women that practiced stability initially are better at maintaining this loss in the following year.

News Source: http://newswestmidlands.com/weight-loss-success-improved-with-weight-maintenance

Weight loss: 'How I lost 29 kg in one year'

Readers share the stories and strategies behind their weight loss.

Last week, we invited you to share your diet and exercise strategies with us.

Here is another response from T R Sriniwas, who has lost 29 kg over the past year:

It started off in November 2011. I weighed 114 kg and was not even able to breathe properly when climbing stairs or driving. I had a problem with severe snoring and sleep apnea. I used to eat pizza every alternate day, and drink eight to 10 cups of tea with a minimum of two heaping spoons of sugar daily. I never walked or took up any form of exercise. I used to eat a lot of white rice with ghee and fried vegetables, full of spice and salt. And I used to sleep at 10 pm every night without even waiting for my food to digest.

Since then, I have changed my routine entirely:

    Now I have a 300 ml milk protein shake in the morning for breakfast and black sugarless tea early in the morning.
    Lunch is at noon -- dry rotis, or sometimes boiled thick dalia with steamed vegetables, cooked with no more than one teaspoon of oil for tadka. I also have a lot of green salads with lunch.
    At 3 pm, I have one black sugarless tea.
    Then at 6 pm, it's another protein shake or papaya fruit bowl.
    No cooked foods in the evening -- I have eliminated rice, carbohydrate-rich fruits and tubers from my diet.
    I have stopped using elevators and take the stairs now.
    I don't forget to drink at least four to five litres of water daily.

The result of all this is that I have lost 28.5 kg till date and 12 inches off my waistline. I am determined to come down below 80 kg now.

We want you to share your weight loss story with us. Write in to getahead (at) rediff.co.in (subject line: 'How I lost weight'), with a before and after photograph, if possible and we'll feature the best entries right here!

News source: http://www.rediff.com/news

health and diet - energy drink side effects

More Deaths, Illness Linked to Energy Drinks

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

 

Nov. 16, 2012 -- The FDA has posted adverse-event reports for two more energy drinks: 40 illnesses and five deaths linked to Monster Energy, and 13 illnesses and two lasting disabilities linked to Rockstar Energy.

The new reports follow this week's revelation of FDA reports linking 92 illnesses and 13 deaths to 5-Hour Energy shots. The FDA previously said it was investigating the deaths linked to Monster Energy.

These adverse-event reports (AERs) are filed by patients, families, or doctors. They simply warn that the products might have harmed someone -- but they do not prove that the product caused harm. The FDA can remove a product from the market only when investigation shows that the product causes harm when used according to the product label.

"If we find a relationship between consumption of the product and harm, FDA will take appropriate action to reduce or eliminate the risk,"  FDA public information officer Shelly Burgess says.

Moreover, the reports do not offer details on any underlying medical conditions that may have led to product-related illnesses.

The reports, some dating back to 2004, are not a complete inventory of all events that product users may have suffered. Most people, and many doctors, do not know how to file these reports or do not get around to filing them. And even when a product actually causes an illness, a user or doctor may not associate the product with the illness.

The new reports detail the events suffered by users of 5-Hour, Monster, and Rockstar energy drinks. These include:

• Deaths due to heart attack or suicide linked to 5-Hour Energy
• A miscarriage linked to 5-Hour Energy
• Convulsions, life-threatening fear, deafness, and hemorrhage linked to 5-Hour Energy
• Deaths due to heart attack or loss of consciousness linked to Monster Energy drink
• Hospitalization due to irregular heartbeat, severe diarrhea, migraine, psychotic disorder, heart attack, and/or vomiting linked to Monster Energy drink
• Disability from irregular heartbeat or stroke linked to Rockstar Energy drink
• Hospitalization due to psychotic disorder, increased heart rate, or loss of consciousness linked to Rockstar Energy drink

All of these reports are collected by the product manufacturers. Because they market their products as nutritional supplements, they are required to submit them to the FDA.

A recent government report documented a sharp spike in the number of people who need emergency medical care after consuming energy drinks.

Living Essentials, the maker of 5-Hour Energy, said in a statement that the company "takes reports of any potential adverse event tied to our products very seriously."

But the company maintains that its products are safe when used as directed. Rockstar and Monster Energy did not respond to interview requests by publication time.

Caffeine Levels in Energy Drinks

Caffeine is the main active ingredient in energy drinks, most of which also contain herbal supplements.

A recent test by Consumer Reports found that:

• 5-Hour Energy contains 215 milligrams of caffeine per serving.
• 5-Hour Energy Extra Strength contains 242 milligrams of caffeine per serving.
• Monster Energy contains 92 milligrams of caffeine per serving.
• Rockstar Energy Drink, Double Strength contains 80 milligrams of caffeine per serving.
• Rockstar Energy Shot contains 229 milligrams of caffeine per serving.

An 8-ounce cup of coffee has about 100 milligrams of caffeine, although that varies according to how the coffee is brewed. For example, Consumer Reports finds that 8 ounces of Starbucks coffee has 165 milligrams of caffeine.

According to Consumer Reports, safe limits of caffeine are up to 400 milligrams per day for healthy adults, 200 milligrams a day for pregnant women, and up to 45 or 85 milligrams per day for children, depending on weight.

High doses of caffeine can result in restlessness, nervousness, insomnia, and tremors. High doses can also trigger seizures and unstable heart rhythm.

Digest Diet: Lose Weight in 3 Weeks

When it comes to dieting, some people have tried virtually everything.
There’s the grapefruit diet. The all-green, leafy diet. And who can forget the baby food fad diet?
Now, Reader’s Digest magazine is introducing its own weight-loss plan, detailed in the book “The Digest Diet.”

Liz Vaccariello, editor-in-chief of the magazine, said Reader’s Digest incorporated the best weight-loss research into one simple plan that is split into three one-week phases.

“Well, it’s not a fad, you’re not eliminating food groups and it’s the nexus of healthy weight loss and super-fast weight loss,” Vaccariello told “Good Morning America” correspondent Abbie Boudreau in an interview that aired on the show today.

Phase one targets hard-to-battle belly fat. Dieters eat mostly soups and shakes, incorporating fat-releasing foods such as strawberries, yogurt and chocolate.

RELATED: 13 Dieting and Weight-Loss Tips From Readers Digest
“So strawberries, here we’re talking about vitamin C,” Vaccariello said. “This is one of the fat releasers. You think of vitamin C as an immune booster but, in reality, people who have low levels of vitamin C in their body have a more difficult time losing weight.”

Red wine, too, is good for weight loss, and milk chocolate and dark chocolate improve mood and help keep skin looking good, she added.

Being able to have these foods is a great benefit.
“That’s the whole key,” Vaccariello said. “The Digest Diet isn’t about depriving yourself because that’s not a plan that you’re going to live with.”
Phase two focuses on lean and green foods, which are packed with nutrients and proteins.
Phase three is all about maintenance.

“You learn how to incorporate fat-releasing foods into every meal. You learn how to go to a restaurant or navigate a party. And not fall off your diet,” Vaccariello added.
One critical component of the diet is laughter, she added.

RELATED: 3 Tips to Drop the Weight and Keep It Off
“When we’re stressed, we have cortisol and that’s a hormone in our system that makes the body hold on to fat. So when we laugh we release fat,” Vaccariello said.
Digest dieters lost between 5 and 8 pounds in the first phase, and had lost anywhere from 15 to 26 pounds at the end of the third week, she added.

The Digest Diet, available for sale now, is packed with recipes and easy tips, including quick exercises such as lunges and tricep dips.

SHOWS: Good Morning America

hCG Diet App from hCGTreatments / Diet Doc hCG Diets & Weight Loss Plans Puts Fast Weight Loss in the Palm of Dieters' Hands

Technology offers those who take advantage of it a simpler way of life through increased information and advanced science. To aid weight loss, Diet Doc now offers a mobile app for Apple platforms (Iphone and Ipad), packed with features to help users monitor their hCG diet and transition into a healthy lifestyle.

Technology offers those who take advantage of it a simpler way of life through increased information and advanced science. To aid weight loss, Diet Doc now offers a mobile app for Apple platforms (Iphone and Ipad), packed with features to help users monitor their hCG diet and transition into a healthy lifestyle.

hCGTreatments / Diet Doc hCG Diets & Weight Loss Plans leads the nation in fast weight loss by incorporating technology into their already superior hCG diet. Taking advantage of technology is what sets the Diet Doc hCG Diet apart from their competitors. Diet Doc recently teamed with Apillicious, the makers of the original hCG diet app to release an intuitive mobile app called "Diet Doc", intended to help clients monitor their hCG diets as well as aid healthy lifestyle choices. The Diet Doc App allows users to monitor their hCG diet through all 4 phases, counting calories, proteins, and allowing users to monitor every nuance of their hCG diet. The Diet Doc hCG diet app contains over 30 individual and unique features, including an extensive 5,000+ diet food database to give dieters information about the most common diet friendly foods, daily meal planning and supplement tracking, calculating time remaining until the users goal weight is achieved, and many more intuitive weight loss features.

        To view a list of all features available from the Diet Doc Mobile hCG diet App, visit Apple's Itunes' store here: hCG Diet app

The Diet Doc hCG diet App is intended to help Diet Doc's clients reach their weight loss goals quickly, and provide a tangible reference for learning how to maintain healthy habits and long term weight loss. This weight loss solution helps guide your diet by planning your daily food intake from the beginning all the way through to your maintenance/life phase. The Diet Doc Mobile hCG diet app allows clients to plan their meals, adjust portion amounts, and search the food database in order to make healthy eating choices. Since it is important to monitor development, progress photos and journal notes can all be saved in one convenient place, right on the users iPhone or iPad. 

 

Users of the Diet Doc Mobile App will have the ability to set up alerts and notifications to remind them when it is time to drink water, eat lunch, and have a healthy snack to aid in the hCG weight loss plan. Perfect for anyone, the Diet Doc hCG diet app allows users to adjust weights or measurements in the tool, and display the results in different formats such as graphs or other easy to read charts. No longer will Diet Docs hCG diet users have to remember every intricacy of fast weight loss, clients using the Diet Doc hCG diet app have boundless information at their fingertips.

hCGTreatments / Diet Doc hCG Diets & Weight Loss Plans has become the nation's leading hCG diet plan provider because they realize what it takes to lose weight; devotion, attention to detail, and constant access to information. With their new Diet Doc Mobile App for the iPhone and iPad, Diet Doc has placed the technological advancements of dietary nutrition, supplements, and fast weight loss into the palm of their clients' hands. In making so much information available via a mobile hCG diet app, Diet Doc assures users that their hCG diet has never been so easy to follow and understand. It is this overabundance of information that is the catalyst for healthy lifestyle change. Diet Doc is certain that when clients are able to access any and all available information about the hCG diet, safe weight loss, and healthy diet foods, this information will bring clients increasingly closer to making the healthy lifestyle changes necessary for fast weight loss and continual maintenance for a lifetime of good health.

        To download the hCG diet app for IPHONE, please visit the Apple ITunes store located here: iPhone app

        To download the hCG diet app for IPAD, please visit the Apple ITunes store located here: iPad app

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebdiet-doc-app/fast-weight-loss/prweb10097392.htm

FOX Files: Weight Loss Family

MANCHESTER, MO. (KTVI) – Obesity was a big problem literally and figuratively for a Manchester family. Dad, Mike Caldwell battled his weight all his life. He eventually reached 444 pounds. His wife, Shelly was overweight as a child. As she got older and had kids, the pounds piled on until she reached 415 pounds.

Their 19-year old son, Mike remembers being overweight in kindergarten and it got worse as he went through school. Finally, he tipped the scale at 485 pounds.

All those extra pounds not only interfered with their daily activities, but also brought health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Finally, Mike decided he’d had enough. He wanted to be around for his family and able to play with his kids. He decided on weight loss or bariatric surgery and Shelly and son, Mike decided to join him. Bariatric surgeries work by restricting food intake and some calories and nutrients.

Dr. Esteban Varela of Washington University performed gastric bypass surgery on the dad. Mike went into the program weighing 410. A year after surgery, he weighs 227, a loss of 183 pounds including 70 pounds he lost preparing for his operation.

Shelly and son, Mike had another surgery called laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Mike has dropped from 485 to 332 and plans to lose another 110 pounds. Shelly has lost 96 pounds so far, 385-289, and wants to lose another 120.  The family has lost a collective 432 pounds in the past year.

It’s not just the look of their bodies that is changing, so is their health. Mike the father, is no longer on medication for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Son, Mike says his feet, knees and back no longer hurt all the time. And Shelly is off her blood pressure medication, takes just one pill for diabetes and hopes to get off that as she continues to lose weight.

All the family members say it has changed their lives and definitely for the better. They still have to exercise, eat healthy meals and take vitamins and minerals.

Weight loss surgery is an option for people who have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 (figured comparing height to weight) or a BMI of 35 with diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc. Patients have to be evaluated and approved by a dietitian and behavioral therapist before undergoing the procedure.

Anytime you do surgery, there are risks of bleeding or infection. With this type, there’s a chance of leaks in 1 to 2 percent of cases.  But Dr. Varela says patients are monitored closely and treated aggressively. He describes bariatric surgery as being as safe as having your gall bladder removed or your hip replaced.

Bariatric surgery is expensive. It can run around $1,500 dollars.

However, most insurance companies usually cover it.

News Source: http://fox2now.com/2012/10/30/fox-files-weight-loss-family/

To Lose Weight, It Helps to Train the Brain First

It’s easy to quit smoking,” Mark Twain supposedly said. “I’ve done it hundreds of times.”

Something similar could be said of losing weight: It’s relatively easy to drop a few pounds, but keeping them off is much trickier. That explains why so many people fall into the classic pattern of yo-yo dieting, in which they lose weight, gain it back, lose it again, and so on.

A new study from researchers at Stanford University may point the way toward breaking out of this cycle. Weight loss might be more lasting, the study suggests, if dieters get the hang of certain healthy habits—such as eating mindfully and taking brief walks—before actively trying to lose weight.

The study, which appears in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, included 267 mostly obese women who were randomly split into two groups. Half of the women began a weight-loss regimen immediately. The other half eventually followed the same regimen, but first went through an eight-week program in which they fine-tuned their lifestyle and learned to stabilize their weight.

Health.com: Little Ways to Drop the Pounds and Keep Them Off

Both groups of women ultimately slimmed down by the same amount—roughly 17 pounds, on average (or 9% of their initial body weight). But over the course of the following year, the women who participated in the eight-week program regained an average of just 3 pounds, compared to 7 pounds in the other group.

“They cut that regain in half,” says lead author Michaela Kiernan, a senior research scientist at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, in Palo Alto, Calif.

The dieting portion of the study lasted 20 weeks and featured all of the hallmarks of conventional weight-loss programs. Women met weekly with a trained instructor, kept food journals, exercised more, and followed a healthy diet focused on fruits and vegetables.

Health.com: Best Superfoods for Weight Loss

The eight-week lead-in program was unusual by comparison. Not only were the women instructed not to lose weight, but they were also told to gain it back if they did. This was designed to teach the women how to recognize and control the normal 3- to 5-pound fluctuations that occur even among people of healthy size, Kiernan says.

In addition, the women learned to control portion sizes, savor their meals, and identify healthy substitutes for their favorite high-calorie foods. To accustom the women to the ups and downs that go with dieting, the researchers even encouraged them to periodically indulge in a less-than-healthy food (like chocolate), and gave them a five-day pass—meant to simulate a vacation—during which they could eat high-calorie, high-fat foods.

“We purposely designed the study so they would do this before they lost weight,” Kiernan says. “They could see and experience what it was like, and thus obtain a sense of mastery without the pressure of having to maintain a weight loss at the same time.”

Health.com: Diet Crutches: What Works, What Doesn’t

Focusing on weight-maintenance skills before worrying about weight loss seems to have created a “teachable moment” for the study participants, says Linda Stockman, a weight-loss coach at Scott & White Healthcare, in Temple, Texas.

Often, dieters who successfully lose weight “get really excited by the weight loss, go off to enjoy it, and gain it back,” says Stockman, who was not involved in the study. “That eight weeks is a kind of cognitive behavioral approach, where they try things and experience things. And that’s the only way to get people to change their belief systems.”

The training program also may have fostered a sense of accountability and resolve heading into the weight-loss phase, says Lindsey Battistelli, manager of the weight management center at Henry Ford Health System, in Wyandotte, Mich.

“It takes effort to maintain a weight loss,” Battistelli says. “You can’t go back to doing what you were doing before. You can let yourself indulge here and there, as long as you’re willing to have it as part of a compromise.”

Health.com: Willpower Secrets From the Pros

Although the new findings are promising, Kiernan and her coauthors say their program will need to be tested in different populations. Most of the participants were white, college-educated women, making it difficult to extrapolate the findings to other women or to men.

Longer studies also are needed. Even the study participants who gained back relatively little weight tended to do so towards the end of the one-year study period, which may indicate the first signs of a relapse that wasn’t fully registered in the results, Kiernan notes.

News Source: http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/31/priming-the-brain-to-be-a-better-dieter/

Know how to keep weight off before you lose it

With all the talk about obesity in America, you might be surprised to know that most people are pretty good at losing weight.

Weight loss programs have proven effective in helping people drop pounds. But keeping them off is another story.

Studies have shown that overweight participants typically give up their newly learned health habits and regain 30 to 50% of the weight they lost within one year, even if they participate in a post-weight loss maintenance program.

“There’s something we’re missing in terms of what it takes to maintain our weight,” says Michaela Kiernan, an expert in behavioral weight management at the Stanford Prevention Research Center.

Kiernan is the lead author on a new study publishing in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology titled “Promoting Healthy Weight with ‘Stability Skills First.’”

Kiernan and her colleagues hypothesized that people would keep weight off better if they practiced doing so first. Their hypothesis was based on social cognitive theory – that having confidence in your ability to do something actually helps you do it.

The study

More than 260 overweight and obese females were split randomly into two groups. Both groups participated in a six-month “intervention” period that included a weight loss program and a weight maintenance program.

In the “weight loss first” group, the women participated in a 20-week behavioral weight loss program, followed by an eight-week “problem-solving” maintenance program. Their maintenance program addressed obstacles the women might face in the upcoming year.

In the “maintenance first” group, the women participated in an eight-week “stability skills” maintenance program, where they were asked not to lose any weight.

They learned how to fine-tune their eating behaviors – savoring food mindfully, for instance, or leaving small amounts on their plate – “to get away from the idea that you’re either on a diet or off a diet,” Kiernan says. That group then participated in an identical 20-week weight loss program.

The results

Both groups lost an average of 16 pounds during the six-month intervention program. But after 12 months, the “weight loss first” group had gained back an average of seven pounds. In comparison, the “maintenance first” group had only gained back three pounds.

Why?

The study capitalizes on two key factors for weight loss maintenance: Confidence and motivation, says Kim Gorman, weight management program director for the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado. Gorman was not involved with the research.

Asking “maintenance first” participants not to lose weight during the first eight weeks allowed them to learn important skills without fear, Gorman says.

“I say fear because so many of my folks lose a significant amount of weight and then fear a slight shift upward means the boat is sinking. I think (the study authors) contended with the emotional impacts associated with the scale … in short, they were prepared.”

Gorman was pleased to see that the “maintenance first” group didn’t lose their motivation for losing weight – evidenced by the fact that both groups dropped the same amount in six months.

Kiernan says the maintenance group may have benefited from that early energy. “Most of the time by the time they get to maintenance, they’re pooped,” she says. “This way it’s kind of a protected time to try things.”

Going forward

Because the study incorporated new timing (maintenance first) and new skills (stability over problem-solving) for one group, it’s impossible to tell if one or both was behind the “maintenance first” group’s success. Going forward Kiernan would like to “untangle” those, she says. “Is it the content or the order?”

The researchers would also like to duplicate the study in men and see if technology – like e-mail alerts or online classes – could play a bigger role.


News Source: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/30/know-how-to-keep-weight-off-before-you-lose-it/