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LOSING weight and achieving that chiselled torso is one of the most common New Year's resolutions out there this January.

However, many people believe this a practically impossible task that involves hours and hours in the gym and barely eating anything.

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Despite this, getting that honed bod you've always wanted is more than achievable if you follow several easy steps.

Here, we take you through some simple ways you can shed those pesky pounds you've put on for Christmas and reveal that six pack...

To lose weight in any form the simplest thing to do is create a caloric deficit, which means burning more calories than you consume.

Dietitian Helen Bond suggests: "A sensible weight loss is 1-2lb a week.

"To lose 1lb (0.5kg) of fat, you need to create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories, and its easy to shift 1lb in a week simply by reducing your calorie intake by 500 calories a day."

Its easy to shift 1lb in a week simply by reducing your calorie intake

The free MyFitnessPal app is one of the best ways to record your calorie intake, but to track your calories burned, you'll need a dedicated fitness tracker.

If you already own a smartwatch, most will offer calorie tracking as standard, but for those yet to make the plunge, Garmin offers the best activity trackers on the market.

Intermittent fasting is one proven way you can shed body fat and reveal your abs.

Even Hugh Jackman used intermittent fasting to get lean for his role of Wolverine.

The most popular intermittent fasting plan is the 5:2 diet, where slimmerseat normally for five days of the week and severely restrict their calories for the other two.

On the fasting days, dieters are meant to eat 25 percent of their recommended calorie total - 500cals for women and 600cals for men.

However, for serious trainees, there's the 16:8 diet.

This diet allows you to eat for eight hours of the day, while fasting for the remaining 16 hours.

Doing squats does a lot more than just build you a Kim Kardashian-style booty.

They're the secret to strong abs as they give then that extra kick and improve core strength and definition.

This is because when performing a squat, your abs and core face constant tension - as this tension prevents you from falling over.

High-intensity training that significantly increases your heart rate is hugely effective when it comes to reducing belly fat - which can help make your abs more visible.

In fact, a recent study revealed that short spurts of intense exercise are better for weight loss and burns more fat than workouts that takes double the time

Researchers found that 23 minutes of high intensity interval training was more effective than 41 minutes of aconventional workout.

Tips to get into running

Olympic runner Jo Pavey, who is an ambassador forSimplyhealth, has shared her top tips for beginners wanting to get into running.

It led to 29 per cent more weight loss than traditional gym sessions.

Steven Ward, CEO of fitness industry body UK active, said: These figures show the positive impacts of interval training on reducing weight and, with Britain battling a grave obesity crisis, this research should be welcomed.

Typically, HIIT involves 30 seconds of intense effort, such as sprinting, cycling or doing burpees, followed by short recovery periods.

It may seem a bit contradictory, but one of thebest ways to lose water weight is to actually drink more water.

Thats because if youre constantly dehydrated, your body tends to retain more water in an attempt to prevent its water levels getting too low.

Water also boosts your metabolism, cleanses your body of waste and acts as an appetite suppressant, experts say.

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Guidelines suggest about two litres per day, but it can vary from person to person, so simply drink when youre thirsty and stop when you feel well hydrated.

You can usually use your urine colour as an indicator of hydration if its light yellow or fairly clear then youre well hydrated.

When its dark yellow or amber then you need to be drinking more water.

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How to lose belly fat with 5 simple tips and reveal those abs - The Sun

NORFOLK - If you want to lose weight, but dont know where to start or you want to live a healthier life, an upcoming nutrition program in Norfolk at the YMCA may be the answer for you.

Registered nurse Deb Schmit says she has taught the 11-week Mayo Clinic Diet Program at the Osmond Hospital since 2012 and is bringing it to Norfolk for people to try.

Schmit says the program is made up of three different components with the first one called lose it.

"If you do everything they suggest you do in those first two weeks you should lose six to ten pounds in the first two weeks. It's not easy, because we're going to ask you to give up five of your bad habits, adopt five healthy habits and five bonus habits. You're going to keep track of those 15 habits throughout the first two weeks."

Schmit says the next part is called live it where she tries to get people to lose one to two pounds a week until they reach their goal weight.

She says the third phase is called all the extra stuff which is the part of the program that helps you maintain the weight youve lost.

Schmit says the program is great for diabetics or if youve been told youre pre-diabetic. People also decrease their risk for heart disease, cancer, and stroke as well.

An introduction of the program is set for Monday evening from 5 to 6 at the YMCA.

Read this article:
Proven Mayo Clinic Diet Nutrition Program to be offered in Norfolk - Norfolk Daily News

If you want to lose weight and get fit to rid your body from any ailments or aches, the first step that you need to take is ascertain your fitness goals in your mind. And then start working towards them with one hundred per cent focus, shares 34-year-old Gaurav Garg with us.

He also shares that six months ago, he decided to commence his weight loss journey to get rid of a terrible back ache. He trimmed from a whopping 110 kgs to 81 kgs by following the below healthy and sustainable weight loss plan.

Says Garg, my weight always tipped towards the heavier side of a weighing scale. But over time, I started facing a serious backache problem, which resulted in sciatica along with fatigue and laziness. I also discovered that I have a hyperthyroidism disorder. By this point, I just knew that I had to take charge of my health and work towards being fitter. So I decided to lose weight and become active by following the below diet plan and home workout routine.

Early Morning: After taking my thyroid medicine in the morning, I eat 5-10 soaked almonds & walnuts and drink a glass of warm lemon water with honey

Breakfast: A bowl of bran wheat flakes with hot milk (without sugar) or one whole wheat bread sandwich made with onions, tomato & cucumber along with a glass of milk and some fruits

Mid-morning snacks: Fruits, preferably an apple or a bowl of papaya with a cup of green tea

Lunch: 30 minutes prior to lunch, I drink at least 500 ml of water (to minimise hunger) and then usually eat roti made from bran atta along with any green vegetable prepared with very less olive oil and a cucumber salad

Evening snack: A bowl of fruits along with a cup of green tea

Dinner: Dinner is the most important meal, according to me. Id eat a light dinner by 07:30 pm. This would comprise oats with hot milk (without sugar) or sauted vegetables, Sometimes dalia or only a bowl of green vegetables

Post-dinner (around 09:00 pm): One glass of milk (without sugar)

Before going to bed: A cup of green tea it is a must

I have not done any major exercises, however, I preferred cycling and doing simple body weight /stretching exercises such as squats, etc. as a part of my weight loss workout routine."

It's totally reciprocal - as we maintain our diet, our body weight will maintain itself as well. To maintain your current weight, you need to understand your bodys calorie consumption, and accordingly maintain your diet.

Disclaimer: The diet and workout routines shared by the respondents may or may not be approved by diet and fitness experts. GQ India doesn't encourage or endorse the weight loss tips & tricks shared by the person in the article. Please consult an authorised medical professional before following any specific diet or workout routine mentioned above.

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The ketogenic diet, as it is officially known, is a medical success story. In the early 1900s, physicians in France and the US were experimenting with fasting and low-calorie diets to help reduce the frequency of seizures in epilepsy patients. As the theory became more refined, they found that they could trick the body into thinking it was fasting by limiting the intake of carbohydrates and sugars and upping the intake of fat. The result was that epileptics experienced a reduction in seizures of up to 90 per cent. In 1923, American diabetes expert Dr Russell Wilder designed an eating regime called ketogenic therapy for treating epilepsy and other health issues.

While still used today in the treatment of epilepsy, cancer, Alzheimers, some autoimmune diseases and a number of other conditions, the keto diet, as its now more commonly known, has become a household name due to our thriving diet culture, which is always hungry for a new way to cheat the scales. For people watching their diet, a weight loss plan that says you must eat more cheese and cream sounds like a dream. But, is it?

Matt Marney is a personal trainer, Pilates instructor and fitness educator and, having taught hundreds of fitness and nutrition courses, he knows a thing or two about the body and how it burns fat. He says: Back in our hunter-gatherer days, we had periods of starvation where our bodies had to adapt to the lack of food by breaking down our protein and fat stores into fuel sources. This is called ketosis. To achieve this, you have to limit your intake of our regular fuel sources, carbohydrates and sugars.

But, low-carb diets have been around for a while and there are lots of them, including the Atkins diet and even the paleo diet Losing weight is about achieving a caloric deficit, whereby there is less energy going in than there is going out. Whichever diet you go on, you can do this. The keto diet is just one way to lose weight.

There are health benefits, however, he says. For the first time in the history of homo sapiens, we live in an obesogenic environment, meaning we have an abundance of food. We are surrounded by high-energy, high-carb, highly processed foods all day, every day. If people eat sugar and carbs throughout the day, their bodies can get used to always having glucose the quickest and easiest fuel source available and forget how to use protein and fats for fuel. Then they have lost metabolic flexibility.

When this happens, says Marney, people can start to feel dizzy and shaky if they havent eaten due to low blood sugar levels. These people are known as sugar-burners. They can benefit from going keto to help their body remember how to use other fuel sources. Additionally, cancer thrives on sugar. If I got cancer tomorrow, I would go straight on the keto diet.

The classic keto approach recommends a 4:1 ratio of fats to protein and carbs, meaning 90 per cent of your calories come from fat, 6 per cent from protein and 4 per cent from carbohydrates. In real food terms, this means you would be eating approximately 10 to 15 grams of carbohydrates each day (a slice of bread or a third of a cup of cooked rice), with one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight (if you weigh 60 kilograms, this might be a 250-gram steak) and the rest of your diet would be fat, according to the American Fitness Professionals Association.

David Wilkins, a recruitment consultant and business owner who lives in Dubai, is also a fitness enthusiast and a spinning instructor in his spare time. He says his default eating mode involves an abnormal amount of sugar and processed carbs and that the keto diet helps him reduce that. I have been on the keto diet before and have just gone back on it. I am currently at about 98kg last time on keto I got down to 92kg and 12 per cent body fat.

I use an app to track my eating to make sure I get the right balance of macronutrients. I have a slice of toast at breakfast and thats my carb intake done for the day. For lunch, I have salads with nuts and olive oil and cheeses But I do get sick of all the fat and I really miss chips. I cheat once a week and have a day where I eat whatever I want. You arent meant to do this as it kicks you out of ketosis. But I find that eating keto six days a week helps me stay away from bread and doughnuts. Also, I instantly have more energy and mental clarity when I eat keto.

The keto diet is undoubtedly popular. Online searches for ketogenic has seen the largest growth among most-searched dietary requirements in the UAE over the past three years, with a 1,028.21 per cent rise, according to digital marketing suite SEMrush. Offline, an increasing number of keto-friendly restaurants and delivery companies are also opening in the country. For example, Emiliya Ninova and her husband, Antoine Soliman, launched Keto by Foxxy in January 2019, offering keto-friendly cakes, cookies and other treats. This month, they launched their second company, The Keto Fix, which fills the junk food gap.

In the last six months of 2019, Keto by Foxxy had more than 30,000 new clients, which shows how popular it is, says Ninova. My husband and I went keto and both lost 17kg. But we both have a sweet tooth, so I started baking keto treats for us the business grew from there.

Similarly, Ketology, a keto food delivery concept in Abu Dhabi, which launched in May last year, has received such positive feedback in the capital that, this month, they also started work on their Dubai kitchen. Natalie Latouf, business development manager at Crave Restaurant Management, the umbrella company, says they were surprised by the success. We create delivery restaurant concepts and saw a gap in the market for something offering a fully keto menu of breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. Its been really interesting for us, as Ketology has been very successful in comparison with some of the other concepts we have launched.

For Marney, the most important thing is doing it right. People get locked into a dogma. They like to be able to say that they are on the keto diet, but they often arent doing it properly. If you have cut out carbs and sugar, but you havent increased your fat enough, you arent keto, you are just low-carb.

I havent done keto myself, as I like carbs too much, but as a personal trainer, I would never tell a client to go on the diet. Personal trainers are not nutritionists or endocrinologists we shouldnt be giving that advice. Some people get flu-like symptoms on the keto diet and other side effects. Its a serious business for your body. Yes, you may lose weight, but thats because you have cut out an entire macronutrient. There are lots of ways to lose weight and we are all different physiologically, so if you want to try the keto diet, do so, but see a qualified dietitian first.

Updated: January 18, 2020 12:02 PM

Read this article:
Keto diet: the good, the bad and everything you need to know - The National

Results from a clinical trial assessing the safety of Belviq and Belviq XR (lorcaserin) show the drug may be associated with an elevated risk of tumors, but the cause of the cancer is uncertain, regulators say.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning on January 14, 2020, that the prescription weight loss drug Belviq (lorcaserin) might be associated with an increased risk of cancer.

In a clinical trial following about 12,000 patients over five years, more patients taking lorcaserin were diagnosed with cancer compared with patients taking a placebo, according to the FDA.

At this time, the cause of the cancer is uncertain, and we cannot conclude that lorcaserin contributes to the cancer risk, the FDA said in its warning statement. However, we wanted to make the public aware of this potential risk.

A spokesperson for the FDA declined to provide additional information about the type of cancer or the magnitude of the risk while the analysis of the trial results are ongoing.

Tumors were observed with lorcaserin in two-year studies of rats,according to safety information on the FDA-approved label for the drug. These findings were based on doses far higher than doses used in humans, according to the label.

The relevance of these findings in animals to humans is unknown, Eisai Inc., the drugmaker that sells Belviq, said in a statement emailed to Everyday Health.

In humans, post-marketing adverse event reports do not suggest an increased risk of cancer, but we are working with the FDA to carefully assess the data from the recent clinical trial, Eisai stated.

RELATED: What Really Causes Obesity?

The FDA initially declined to approve lorcaserin in 2010 in part because of questions about the tumors found in rats. Regulators also had questions about cardiovascular side effects, including heart valve defects.

Lorcaserin won FDA approval in 2012 to aid weight loss in obese adults and in overweight adults who have health problems linked to excess weight, such asdiabetes, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol. The drug works by increasing feelings of fullness so that less food is eaten. It is available as a tablet (Belviq) and an extended-release tablet (Belviq XR).

As a condition of approval, the FDA required Eisai to conduct several clinical trials known as post-marketing studies, including a long-term safety trial of cardiovascular side effects, the FDA said in the warning issued on potential cancer risks.

Some results of the trial of 12,000 patients,published September 20, 2018, in the New England Journal of Medicine(NEJM),found heart problems no more common with lorcaserin than with a placebo. After a median follow-up period of 3.3 years, roughly 2 percent of patients in both groups experienced things like heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure.

In this trial, a total of 215 patients on lorcaserin, or about 3.6 percent, developed cancer, researchers reported. So did 210 patients taking a placebo, or 3.5 percent, a difference too small to be statistically meaningful.

On the basis of these results, the potential cancer risk disclosed by the FDA was unexpected, says Frank Greenway, MD, the medical director at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Dr. Greenway wasnt involved in the NEJM trial, but has done other research on lorcaserin funded by Eisai.

The FDA did not tell how many more cancer cases were seen, Greenway says. We really do not know enough about the elevation of cancer risk to assess what the risk really is.

RELATED: Obesity Triggering Rising Cancer Rates in Millennials

Still, patients taking lorcaserin who dont lose 5 percent of their body weight after 12 weeks should stop, Greenway says. They should also discontinue use if they are taking the drug to improve weight-related health conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure and dont see anticipated improvements in these conditions, he advises.

One challenge for patients who might be worried about a potential cancer risk with lorcaserin is that obesity, too, is associated with an elevated risk of several cancers, says Beverly Tchang, MD, of the division of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Excess body weight explains 3.9 percent of cancer cases worldwide, according to a study published December 2018 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Being obese or overweight is associated with an increased risk of 13 cancers affecting the breast, colon and rectum, uterus, esophagus, gallbladder, kidney, liver, ovary, pancreas, stomach, and thyroid, brain and spinal cord, and blood cells.

More recently, some research has also tied excess weight to risk of prostate tumors as well as cancers of the mouth and throat, according to this study.

RELATED: What Are the Risk Factors for Cancer, and Can You Prevent It?

With lorcaserin, its possible that any increased risk of cancer might be because patients on the drug see doctors more often or are more up-to-date on routine cancer screenings than other people, Dr. Tchang says.

Patients on lorcaserin may be more likely to see doctors or interact with medical care because they are already motivated to take charge of their health, whether by diet/exercise or adherence to cancer screening guidelines, Tchang says. If these patients are more likely to be on top of their cancer screening, then we will see a higher cancer incidence in this group.

Once details about any cancer risk are clearer, patients will need to weigh these risks against the cancer risks associated with obesity to make an informed decision about whether to start taking the drug or to discontinue use if theyre already on it, Tchang advises.

Certainly if the cancer risk associated with obesity is greater than that with the drug, then stopping lorcaserin and allowing obesity to develop could potentially increase a persons risk of cancer in the end, Tchang says.

Continue reading here:
Weight Loss Drug Belviq May Be Associated With Cancer, FDA Says - Everyday Health

Time-restricted eating

The FOX Medical Team's Beth Galvin talks about time-restricted eating for those looking to lose weight in 2020.

ATLANTA - When it comes to weight loss, when you're eating may be just as important as what you're eating.

Emory internist Dr. Sharon Bergquist says a growing number of people are practicing time-restricted eating.

"They're restricting the time period when they're eating their calories," Dr. Bergquist says. "Some people do it within a 10-hour window. Some people do it within an 8-hour window."

Once their eating window closes, people take a break from eating overnight, fasting anywhere from 14 to 16 hours.

"It's giving your body the chance to really repair itself and rest," Dr. Bergquist explains.

Time-restricted eating is different from intermittent fasting, which often involves going without food on certain days of the week.

Dr. Bergquist says the goal is similar: to give your digestive system, and your whole body, an overnight break.

Emory internist Dr. Sharon Bergquist discusses time-restricted eating.

Just as our brain needs time to sleep and recover, she says, every organ in our body also needs a chance to "sleep."

"It's the time where the body switches into a mode where we start to repair," Bergquist says."So, we change the genes that are getting expressed.We also change our hormones that are being secreted."

Researchers at the Salk Institute and University of California San Diego School of Medicine found time-restricted eating may be especially helpful for people with metabolic syndrome.

That is the name for a cluster of common health conditions, including high blood pressure, belly fat and elevated blood sugar and high cholesterol and low "good" cholesterol that affects one in three Americans.

Metabolic syndrome can raise a person's risk of stroke and heart attack.

The small, pilot study followed 19 participants diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, who told researchers they spread out their eating over about 14 hours a day.

Cutting back on your eating hours may help you lose weight. (FOX 5 Atlanta)

Researchers say 84% of the volunteers were taking at least one medication to manage conditions such as high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol.

The participants restricted their eating to a 10-hour window each day, but ate about the same amount of calories, for 3 months.

The researchers found the volunteers who practiced time-restricted eating experienced a 3-4% reduction in weight, body mass index, abdominal fat and waist circumference, and their numbers, such as their blood pressure and blood sugar levels, also improved.

Dr. Bergquist says the study findings show time-restricted eating may pay off for people with metabolic syndrome.

"People lose some belly fat, blood pressure goes down, cholesterol goes down," she says. "Their insulin resistance goes down, which leads their blood sugar to go down. So, even without limiting calories, and without exercising, (time-restricted eating) seems to help all these different conditions."

If you're interested in trying time-restricted eating, Dr. Bergquist says, try shifting your eating schedule.

"You can either start your first meal, breakfast, to later in the day or push up your dinner to earlier in the evening," she says. "So, your window of eating is reduced down to 10 hours. Some people try 8 hours, which is stricter and harder. I think, as a goal, 10 hours is a very reasonable timeframe."

Excerpt from:
Want to lose weight? Cut back on the hours you're eating - FOX 5 Atlanta

Most people try fasting with one goal in mind: losing weight.

But science has also discovered health benefits linked to whole-day, alternate-day, and time-restricted fasting, says Carolyn Williams, Ph.D., the registered dietitian that helped develop the new book The Mens Health Guide to Intermittent Fasting.

Scientists speculate that the benefits of short-term fasts may come from the structured break they provide to around-the-clock eating.

Even if you dont change the content of your diet, by controlling the time period in which your calories are consumed, you give your body a pause from a constant onslaught food, says Williams.

Maybe youre skeptical. But Williams says that, at first, she was too.

The Men's Health Guide to Intermittent Fasting

She studied the research. She looked at the data. She even tried a time-restricted fast herself. I expected the fast to affect my blood sugar because Im prone to low blood sugar and I know how I get without eating, Williams says.

But Williams says she was surprised to find that she had no trouble going 16 hours without eating. Her method: She stopped eating after dinner and fasted from 7 p.m. to 11 a.m., following the popular 16:8 intermittent fasting pattern, which leaves an 8-hour-long window for eating.

I find Im really not hungry; in fact, sometimes I have to remind myself to eat lunch, Williams says.

While more research is needed to determine if fasting is effective for long-term dieting, theres no debate that it works in the short-term.

By refraining from eating for at least 12 hours (ideally 16), your body starts burning through glucose and can begin tapping fat for fuel, explains Williams. Studies show that you can expect to lose between 3 and 8 percent of your bodyweight in as few as three weeks.

Atit Phetmuangtong / EyeEm

Compared to calorie-restriction diets, intermittent fasting tends to trigger more belly fat loss, the research suggests. Anecdotally, Williams says she senses greater energy and improved clarity of thought.

Here are some other potential upsides of intermittent fasting, each supported by research.

Whenever you restrict calories and lose weight, some of that weight comes from a reduction in muscle mass. That goes for intermittent fasts as well as traditional calorie-restriction diets.

However, at least one study conducted by the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Illinois suggests that intermittent fasting may be more effective for retaining muscle mass.

The study compared overweight and obese adults who followed a calorie restriction diet with similar-weight subjects who restricted calories through intermittent fasting. After 12 weeks, the researchers found both diets to be equally effective in trimming body weight and fat mass, but less muscle was lost by the group that fasted.

Overweight people who could choose any 10-hour timeframe to eat as long as they refrained from eating the other 14 hours of the day saw a reduction in waist circumference and visceral abdominal fat after 12 weeks, according to a report in the journal Cell Metabolism.

The study in Cell Metabolism referenced above also demonstrated the potential of intermittent fasting to reduce risk of metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

All the participants in the study were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health conditionsincluding high blood sugar, excess abdominal fat, high blood pressure, and abnormal cholesterol or triglycerides levelsthat occurring together boost the risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.

After 12 weeks, every participant experienced improvement in all of the common markers of metabolic syndrome.

A similar study in the journal Translational Research found that alternate-day fasting, in which participants restricted calories by 75 percent on a fast day, followed by a feed day without calorie restriction, resulted in clinically significant reductions in blood sugar and insulin resistance.

A study published in Nutrition and Healthy Aging demonstrated that participants who practiced 16:8 intermittent fasting without calorie counting significantly reduced their systolic blood pressure compared to a control group after 12 weeks.

Inflammation is your bodys natural way of fighting off infection, illness, and injury. But theres another type of inflammation, a chronic inflammation that can silently trigger heart disease and diabetes.

Smoking, mental stress, and a regular diet of fatty, fried, or sugary foods are common causes. Several studies have shown that intermittent fasting may induce an anti-inflammatory effect that reduces risk of those metabolic diseasesand even improve pulmonary function in people with asthma.

Whats more, a reduction in inflammation due to short-term fasting appears to protect the brain from memory disorders and depression, according to a study in Obesity.

Even when you dont lose weight while on an intermittent fasting routine, your cells may benefit from extra protection, according to a study in Cell Metabolism.

The study assigned men with prediabetes to either a 6-hour early eating period, where they could eat only from 8 a.m. until dinner before 2 p.m., fasting the rest of the day, or a 12-hour feeding period.

At the end of five weeks, the researchers found that the men on the early time- restricted fast improved blood pressure and insulin sensitivity (as expected), but also improved resistance to oxidative stress, where unstable molecules called free radicals can damage proteins and DNA.

Rodent studies suggest that intermittent fasting, which is much easier to maintain than extreme calorie cutting, may boost lifespan, too. In one study comparing rats who were given unrestricted access to food to rats who were fed every other day, the rats who fasted lived 83 percent longer than those who gorged themselves.

For a quick primer on how to start a health-boosting fast yourself, plus dozens of delicious recipes for brunch, dinner, and even Keto-diet-friendly meals, check out The Mens Health Guide to Intermittent Fasting here.

Originally posted here:
7 Intermittent Fasting Benefits That Aren't Weight Loss - Men's Health

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Maybe youve heard that the diabetes drug metformin makes people lose weight. But is that even true? And more important, might you be one of the people who could drop pounds by taking this prescription medication?

Great questions. The answers are: Yes, metformin helps some people lose weight, but depending on whats going on with your body, you mayor may notbe one of them.

Before we get to whether it makes sense for you to ask your doctor to take out her Rx pad, heres a little background:

Metformin is an oral drug that is FDA approved to control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It is sometimes used off-label (meaning docs prescribe it for non-FDA-approved uses it seems to work for) in people with prediabetesi.e. they have somewhat high blood sugar or some insulin resistance, and so are at risk for developing diabetes. Its also prescribed off-label for other conditions, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Researchers arent 100% sure of all the ways the drug acts in the body. Metformin is a complex drug with multiple sites of action and multiple molecular mechanisms that are not fully understood, according to a 2017 report.

What is known is that metformin causes the liver to lower the amount of glucose (sugar) it makes and releases into your bloodstream, and also affects your gut, so that you use glucose more efficiently. All of this helps people with diabetes, whose blood sugar is too high and/or not being used properly (which makes the body want to crank out more.)

Folks seem to be less hungry on the drug. Metformin mainly causes weight loss by lowering food intake, says Steven K. Malin, Ph.D., an assistant professor and expert in exercise metabolism and human nutrition at the University of Virginias Curry School of Education and Human Development. Simply put, the drug is thought to act on the brain via neural pathways to lower appetite signals, and to tamp down the signals of a ghrelin, a hunger hormone manufactured in the gut, which together add up to you feeing less noshy.

It may also help your gut flora use glucose as an energy source, says Malin, which means your body doesnt need to dip into blood glucose as frequently, causing those crazy energy dips that make you want to inhale a king-size sack of M&Ms and a Big Gulp.

Another way it is thought to make you less hungry is that metformin may reduce inflammation in your fat tissue, says Caroline Apovian, M.D., an obesity medicine physician and professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. We think inflammation begins the process of weight gain, and causes dysfunction in the neural pathways that lead to satiety in the brain, she says. In other words, this inflammation may be preventing your brain from getting the Im full signals that your hormones are trying to convey.

So metformin seems to be a one-two punch: If you alter the gut microbiome, youre increasing the satiety hormones, says Dr. Apovian. If you improve inflammation, youre allowing the satiety hormones to work through a different mechanismbut it all ends up in the brain. Finally, when the brain says, step away from the Oreos, you are no longer helpless to comply.

About 4 or 5 pounds, says Dr. Apovian, who prescribes metformin along with one of the approved drugs for obesity for people who have diabetes and obesity or prediabetes and obesity to help with bigger weight loss. If someone has obesity, you always need another agent aside from metformin. The heavier a person is, the better they are likely to drop a few pounds on metformin, and research shows that the weight loss in people with diabetes who stay on the the drug lasts.

In some cases, metformin can still promote some weight loss, says Malin. There is evidence that metformin can induce weight loss of approximately 5-10 lbs. in people who have PCOS or psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, he says. A possible reason is that they have associated insulin resistance.

While some doctors will prescribe metformin for moderately overweight people without insulin issues, it is not clear from any research that it helps. Unless it is warranted to take metformin to promote glycemic control or improve insulin sensitivity because of underlying health issue, taking metformin may not be advisable, says Malin. His research on healthy people as well as people with prediabetes taking metformin and exercising had mixed findingsmore fat metabolism, but blunted fitness gains and no added health benefit from taking the drug. Focusing instead of being physically active and consuming a proper diet would like be better for weight lossand build healthy habits going forward.

Bottom line: If you have diabetes, pre-diabetes, insulin resistance or hyperinsulinemia (when your blood sugar is too high for a variety of reasons), or have the disease of obesity, its worth asking your doctor about taking metformin. If not, keep your body moving and eat healthfully, avoiding processed foods especially, as they are thought to contribute to inflammation.

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Metformin and Weight Loss: Here's Everything You Should Know Before Trying It - Prevention.com

Editor's Note: This article was submitted by Carol Mabry, Exercise Physiologist at OhioHealth and Strive to Thrive personal trainer.

No matter how you slice or dice it, the basic principle of weight control boils down to calories in versus calories out. Whether your goal is to lose weight, maintain your weight or even gain weight, this same basic principle applies.

To visualize this concept, think of weight control as a balance where one side of the scale represents calories coming in and the other side calories going out.

To gain weight consume more calories than you burn.

To maintain weight consume an equal number of calories as you burn.

To lose weight consume fewer calories than you burn. In other words eat less and move more!

To help you tip the scales in your favor:

Become aware of the caloric value and serving size of the foods you eat.

Find ways to be more physically active throughout the day.

Maintain a healthy balance of calories in/calories out.

Need additional guidance and motivation? Check out our special Strive to Thrive Weight Loss Package available now through the end of January. This package includes a pre/post InBody assessment, 12 weekly personal training sessions, free group exercise classes and our 6-week 40 Days of Fresh support program. For more information, call the OhioHealth Ontario Health and Fitness Center at (419) 526.8900 or the OhioHealth Wellness and Prevention Center at (567) 241-7200.

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Strive to Thrive week 1: Weight loss basics - Richland Source

We all make New Years resolutions. This year, I will read more books. I will go on more adventures. I will be kinder to myself and others.

This year, I will be healthier.

Its often easier said than done but maintaining a healthy weight can help you have a healthy heart.

Its a new year with new beginnings, and you might be looking to start a weight loss programme focusing on dietary changes and increased physical activity. Yes, the new you is someone who is inspired by an early morning run and a salad instead of pizza for dinner.

Its motivating to know that these programmes are commonly prescribed to decrease a persons weight and risk of heart and circulatory diseases. However, its also true that people often regain some or all of the weight they lost, which can put people off from even attempting to lose weight. So, what do you do? How and where do you start? Does the outcome vary depending on the programme you use?

Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and her team at the University of Oxford are on the case. In a project funded by the BHF, their aim is to understand how peoples weight, health, and quality of life changes in the long term after completing a weight loss programme. In brief, they will evaluate over 300 different studies of weight management programmes to see how these affect heart and circulatory health. This will also help work out if there are long-term benefits of prescribing these programmes to prevent heart and circulatory diseases.

If your new years resolution is to lose weight or be healthier, then you might want to seek the advice of a registered dietitian or nutritionist who will be able to guide you. GPs should also be able to help you, although its been found that they seldom give advice because they dont feel they know how to inspire people to lose weight.

Luckily, researchers funded by the BHF are trying to change that. In a project led by Professor Paul Aveyard, researchers will analyse over 200 recorded consultations where doctors offered advice on how to lose weight. They will then see how people felt afterwards, and what they did about their weight in the following months. Here, the aim is to identify the most effective words, tone, phrases and approach that GPs could use to motivate people to lose weight.

They hope to use this information to create training videos to help give GPs the confidence and skills needed to support people who want to lose weight.

New years resolution or not, its always important to eat a balanced diet to make sure you get all the nutrients you need to keep your body healthy. You may already know that chocolate, ice cream and peanut butter are all foods that are high in fat. But you might not know that these are also some of the most common food cravings women experience during pregnancy.

BHF-funded researchers are trying to understand more about obesity during pregnancy, and how this comes with short and long-term health risks for both the mother and the child. For example, the children of women who were overweight or obese during pregnancy are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure and, therefore, heart and circulatory diseases in later life.

Professor Susan Ozanne at the University of Cambridge is looking into why this happens. Specifically, Professor Ozanne and her team are studying measurements in a group of women and their children, and also in pregnant obese mice, to understand how being obese when youre pregnant affects your babys heart health.

Is it possible for antioxidants (natural chemicals that are thought to protect against harmful substances called free radicals) to prevent the negative effects of maternal obesity? What about exercise? In this BHF-funded project, the aim is to reduce the risk of heart and circulatory diseases in children born to overweight or obese mothers. Meanwhile, researchers at Kings College London are also looking into whether an antioxidant substance found in broccoli could also help to reduce this risk. You know, nothing says healthy like a floret of broccoli.

Its important to remember that we all need some fat in our bodies. However, if your diet is high in energy (calories), you can risk storing up fat quicker than your body can build new blood vessels all cells in our bodies need a good blood supply to stay healthy, and that includes fat cells.

In a BHF-funded project at the University of Leeds, researchers discovered that fat is healthier if it has a good blood supply. So much so that people with a better blood supply to their fat could be more metabolically healthy and may be protected against heart and circulatory diseases. In fact, this might explain the fat but fit paradox, where some people who are overweight have an apparently healthy metabolism.

In this study, carried out in mice fed a high-fat diet, the researchers studied a receptor (called IGF1-R) which plays a role in the growth of new blood vessels. Here, they found that removing this receptor in the cells lining the inside of blood vessels promoted the growth of new blood vessels, which allowed beneficial changes to the fat cells. Interestingly, they also showed that poor blood supply to the fat can switch it to an unhealthy state. In the future, the hope is to use these insights and develop a drug that keeps fat cells healthy.

Until then, however, the best medicine for the new year and the new you is to eat healthily and stay active.Victoria Taylor, Senior Dietitian at the BHF, says that when it comes to weight loss, different approaches will work for different people. If you are looking to lose weight, the most important thing to consider is to find a method that you can stick to for the long term. Remember too, eating well is not just about the numbers on the scales a healthy balanced diet which is rich in fruit and vegetables, fish, low-fat dairy, pulses and wholegrains, is important whatever your weight and can help to improve a range of risk factors for heart and circulatory diseases.

What does a healthy diet look like?

Ever wondered which animal has the most complex heart? Or how what you drink can affect your health? How about if you can die from a broken heart?

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New year, new you: maintaining a healthy weight - British Heart Foundation

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