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Feb 16

Orange Juice Benefits: Weight Loss, Immunity Booster And Improves Heart Health – India.com

Orange juice is tangy, delicious, and is filled with nutrition. Just one glass of orange juice can instantly make you feel energetic. The juice is filled with vitamins, nutrients, and essential minerals. Did you know adding orange juice to your diet can help you reach your fitness goal even faster if you combine it with a reduced-calorie diet? Also Read - To Lose Weight Listen to Your Brain, Not Your Willpower: Research

Oranges are loaded with antioxidants. This citrus fruit is one of the popular fruits for making juices, marmalades, and jams because of its natural sweetness and tanginess. It is also used in many face packs and peels. Oranges are low in calories and are rich in flavonoids and phytochemicals that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Orange is one of the fruits with the highest vitamin C content. Eating oranges will lower the risk of many health issues. It is also beneficial for your skin. Also Read - Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss: Is it Safe to do it, And How to go About it?

Not just that, as per research drinking two-and-a-half glasses of orange juice a day could help in reducing the risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. According to the findings, published in the Journal of Lipid Research, the researchers are studying a molecule found in sweet oranges and tangerines called nobiletin, which they have shown to drastically reduce obesity and reverse its negative side-effects. Also Read - Ketogenic Diet For Weight Loss: Works Best in Small Doses But Harmful in Long Run

We went on to show that we can also intervene with nobiletin. Weve shown that in mice that already have all the negative symptoms of obesity, we can use nobelitin to reverse those symptoms, and even start to regress plaque build-up in the arteries, known as atherosclerosis, said study researcher Murray Huff from Western University in Canada.

The research team demonstrated that mice fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet that were also given nobiletin were noticeably leaner and had reduced levels of insulin resistance and blood fats compared to mice that were fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet alone.

However, they still havent been able to pinpoint exactly how nobiletin works.

According to the study, the researchers hypothesized that the molecule was likely acting on the pathway that regulates how fat is handled in the body.

Called AMP Kinase, this regulator turns on the machinery in the body that burns fats to create energy, and it also blocks the manufacture of fats.

However, when the researchers studied nobiletins effects on mice that had been genetically modified to remove AMP Kinase, the effects were the same.

This result told us that nobiletin is not acting on AMP Kinase, and is bypassing this major regulator of how fat is used in the body. What it still leaves us with is the question how is nobiletin doing this? Huff said.

According to the researchers, this result is still clinically important because it shows that nobiletin wont interfere with other drugs that act on the AMP Kinase system.

The current therapeutics for diabetes like metformin, for example, work through this pathway, the researchers said.

The next step is to move these studies into humans to determine if nobiletin has the same positive metabolic effects in human trials.

Obesity and its resulting metabolic syndromes are a huge burden to our health care system, and we have very few interventions that have been shown to work effectively, we need to continue this emphasis on the discovery of new therapeutics, Huff concluded.

(With inputs from IANS)

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Orange Juice Benefits: Weight Loss, Immunity Booster And Improves Heart Health - India.com


Feb 16

Side Effects of Giving Up Carbs, According to Science | Eat This Not That – Eat This, Not That

Whether youre trying to shed the pounds you put on in quarantine or are eager to quell your persistent hunger, odds are youve heard ofor triedcutting your carbohydrate intake. And for many folks new to low-carb or ketogenic diets, the idea of being able to eat steak, eggs, bacon, and butter while losing weight seems like a pretty appealing prospect. However, weight loss may not be the only thing you get when you ditch the carbs in your diet. Read on to discover the side effects of giving up carbs, according to experts. And before you waste your time at the supermarket, check out these Grocery Shortages To Expect in 2021, According to Experts.

If youre feeling suddenly grouchy but don't know why, your newly carb-free diet could be to blame.

"Cutting out carbohydrates completely can drop your blood glucose level. When the body has a low glucose state, the adrenal glands release these hormones that tell the body it is in a stressed state and the body perceives it as 'life-threatening,'" explains internal medicine physician Sheneen Lalani, DO. Lalani explains that this can lead to symptoms including anxiety, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.

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That sudden headache that OTC meds cant touch could stem from your decision to ditch the carbs from your diet.

"When you dont eat enough sugar and there is a drop in your blood glucose level, it can cause extreme headaches," says Lalani, who recommends adding extra water to your daily routine if you do opt to slash your carb intake to help fend off these symptoms. Thinking of switching up your eating plan? Discover the 20 Best Foods For The Keto Diet.

Going from a carbohydrate-rich diet to one thats heavy on protein and fats can do a number on your digestive system, often leading to constipation.

"This is because dietary fiber is found in carbohydrates, which is essential for elimination," explains Amanda Terillo, MS, RD, IFNCP.

Worse yet, it may lead to even more dangerous digestive issues. According to Lalani, stomach cramps and intestinal blockage can result from ultra-low carb diets, too. And if youre thinking of slashing your carb intake, check out these 8 Major Mistakes You're Making on the Keto Diet.

Giving up carbs means you're ditching a major source of fuel your bodys used to relying onand that can zap your energy fast.

"When a person gives up carbs, the body will start to feel weakness and fatigue," says nutritionist Arianna Foster, editorial director at Carnivore Style. And if you want to know where carbs are lurking in your diet, check out these 21 Hidden Sources of Carbs You Won't Believe.

Its understandable that you might miss some of the carbohydrate-rich foods you used to eat when you start cutting them from your diet. In some cases, you may even develop serious cravings for them that are hard to ignore.

Eliminating virtually all carbohydrates from your diet "leads to a high risk of nutrient deficiency, which makes you feel hungrier and crave more food," says Foster.

While you may be giving up carbs in a bid to feel better, you could feel significantly worse in the short-term.

"One of the most common side effects of eliminating carbs is flu-like symptoms," says registered nutritionist Jay Corwin, director of formulations at ASYSTEM. "Your body is detoxing and youll need to drink plenty of water and monitor your body to see if the symptoms go away."

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Side Effects of Giving Up Carbs, According to Science | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That


Feb 16

5 mistakes that can prevent weight loss – Newsd.in

Weight loss is not an easy task, even when you are unprofessional. While doing exercise its very important for you to avoid mistakes, that can affect your body miserably.

Avoid Some Common Mistakes

To lose weight successfully, it is important to plan your workout carefully. A well-planned workout routine can even speed up the fat-burning process and tone your loose skin. Right from the types of exercises you choose to perform to correct your form, every small thing matters when your objective is to reduce kilos.

Protein is the building block of life and gym trainers recommend consuming it after the workout session, as it can help the body repair and recover muscles. But loading up on protein drinks will not help you reach your goals faster. In general, a person involved in rigorous physical activity is recommended to have 1.2 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Excess protein is actually stored in the body as fat, while the surplus of amino acids is excreted and this can lead to weight gain over time.

In order to burn maximum calories and lose fat from the body, you have to push your limit. Only when you will challenge your body, you will be able to shed calories. For this, you need to be consistent and perform exercises for at least 30 to 40 minutes every day. This rule applies to all the exercises that you perform, whether it is gymming, walking or running.

It is obvious that cardio exercises can help you burn more calories. But, the truth is strength training exercises can help you torch calories even at rest. Focusing only on cardio might not be right when the objective is to shed kilos. So, in order to shed kilos, you need to Maintain a balance between both kinds of exercises.

Every weight watcher must remember that number on the scale is not the only way to measure your progress. Our weight can fluctuate by up to 2 kilos in a day, depending on how much food and liquid we consume in a day. You can feel the progress when your clothes may start to feel looser or you may feel lighter and healthier.

You are all set to shed kilos now while avoiding these 5 mistakes.

Want to get rid of stress belly? 6 things you can do to reduce abdominal fat, boost weight loss

Novel way for weight loss in patients with obesity, diabetes

Weight loss tips: Try 6 home remedies including fenugreek seeds, celery and cumin to lose weight

Weight loss tips: Heres how to lose weight without giving up rice

Weight Loss: Heres quick and easy Besan ka Cheela recipe to make your breakfast healthy

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5 mistakes that can prevent weight loss - Newsd.in


Feb 14

I Did Intermittent Fasting For Almost 4 Years Here’s Why I Stopped and Actually Lost Weight – POPSUGAR

Trigger warning: The following story discusses eating disorders and disordered eating behavior.

At the beginning of my four-year intermittent fasting (IF) journey, I was experiencing so many health benefits such as decreased bloating, improved mental clarity and sleep, and I was able to lose the baby weight I'd been holding on to for four years. It was going so well in the beginning that I thought I'd do IF for the rest of my life. But as I slowly started to try more restrictive methods of IF to reach my weight-loss goals, it started to not work, and I was actually gaining weight.

I was feeling so frustrated, sad, and hopeless because I was losing control over my relationship with food. Here's my story of how intermittent fasting started to fail me, and how giving it up for intuitive eating actually helped me have more peace with food and achieve my body and fitness goals.

In case you're unfamiliar with intermittent fasting, it involves incorporating periods of fasting (not eating), whether it be fasting for certain hours out of the day or fasting certain days out of the week. There are tons of different methods of IF, and when I started in February 2017, as with anything new in my life, I went all-in and tried just about every style. I started with 16:8, where I fasted for 16 hours and ate in an eight-hour window, from noon until 8 p.m. I found success, but had the misguided notion that "more is better," so I shortened my window to 17:7, then to 18:6.

During this time, I was doing hour-long rigorous CrossFit workouts four to six days a week at 5:45 a.m., and shortening my eating window to six hours made me so hungry in the morning, that pushing through to make it to noon became a huge mental struggle. So I ended up eating earlier, telling myself I'd just eat from 9 or 10 a.m. until 3 or 4 p.m., but not eating dinner with my family was terrible for many reasons (the most important being that I didn't want my kids seeing me not eat), so that didn't work.

I also tried other methods of IF such as Eat Stop Eat (fasting 24 hours once a week), 5:2 (eating normally five days a week and eating 500 calories two days a week), and Alternate Day Fasting (fasting every other day). It was too hard to exercise regularly and do these more restrictive IF methods (I was too hungry!), so I stopped working out, but that was a terrible move for my mental health.

During that time, losing weight became my goal, and I tried Fast 5 (eating in a five-hour window), 20:4 (also called the Warrior Diet, eating from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m,), and when that wasn't enough, I also tried 20:1 (also called One Meal a Day or OMAD). I'd lose weight initially with those methods, but hunger caused me to binge eat during my eating window. I even went so far as to try longer fasts like 48-hour fasts (I even tried a seven-day water fast!), but again, those were unsustainable. Thankfully, my body's instincts to eat took over, and I just ended up gaining weight.

"Research shows us that dieting, which includes intermittent fasting, is a consistent predictor for weight gain," explained Kara Lydon, RD, LDN, registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor, and owner of Kara Lydon Nutrition. The majority of people who lose weight while dieting end up gaining the weight back long-term, and up to two-thirds will gain more weight than when they started.

The physiological mechanisms your body activates when in starvation (aka dieting) mode, such as increasing your hunger hormones, decreasing your fullness hormones, and releasing neuropeptide Y (a hormone that stimulates food intake, specifically carbs), often lead to overeating, she added. Most dieters will be familiar with what's known as the restrict/binge cycle, although they may not know that exact name for it. This goes something like this: you "restrict your food intake, then feel extreme hunger and food preoccupation, which leads to a binge episode, followed by intense feelings of guilt and shame, which brings you right back to restriction in an effort to 'gain control,' but it just perpetuates the same cycle over and over," Lydon explained.

When your body is in starvation mode, it is essentially perceiving the restriction as a famine. "From an evolutionary standpoint, our bodies are designed to fight famine and starvation in an attempt to help us survive. Our bodies don't realize it's 2021 and what it's perceiving is actually self-imposed," Lydon said.

Another physiological mechanism that might be activated is energy conservation, which can cause you to stop getting your period, mess with your digestion, or make you feel cold and tired all the time. "This is your body shutting down or redirecting energy from non-essential systems in the body. This might also look like your body holding onto its fat stores in an attempt to conserve energy," Lydon said. I did experience feeling cold and tired, and I was bloated from bingeing, but this also explains why I got leaner when I started eating more regularly.

Trying so many IF methods and feeling like I was failing and fighting against my body was unbelievably exhausting and frustrating. Ultimately, it became detrimental to my well-being because it led to disordered eating habits. I was constantly thinking about food, what I was going to eat, when I was going to eat, when I was going to fast and I became depressed because my weight was slowly creeping up. I felt stuck thinking my only option was to fast longer, and that's when it started to feel like an eating disorder.

"Intermittent fasting is essentially glorified disordered eating," said Lydon. She explained that fasting for weight control purposes is recognized by eating disorder professionals as an eating disorder behavior, but unfortunately the diet industry has marketed IF as an easier way to lose weight compared to other traditional calorie-restricted diets.

Fasting (or any arbitrary food rules, for that matter) disrupts your body's innate ability to produce physiological cues to tell you when to eat and when you've had enough, Lydon said. "When you override your body's hunger cues, your body, in an attempt to help you survive, triggers certain physiological mechanisms to encourage you to eat." This explains why I felt so preoccupied with food, and why I felt so out of control when I did eat.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Jenny Sugar

Dealing with intense hunger made me cranky, bingeing made me feel guilty (and so bloated!), and constantly thinking about food and how to lose the weight that bingeing was causing all took up so space in my brain.

Lydon explained that intermittent fasting can also interfere with your social life, since you may avoid plans with friends that involve food. Fasting definitely affected plans with my family, depending on which method I was doing at the time, and that's one of the parts about IF that I really hated.

I also felt sad about not being able to cook and bake when I wanted to. I'd sit in bed flipping through my vegan cookbooks, or watching vegan recipe videos on YouTube, just to satisfy that need. It was so sad. I felt like I was missing out on so many levels.

My husband noticed my weird behavior around food, and he was definitely worried. He felt bad that I was imposing all these lame food rules on myself. I finally realized that while IF did have positive effects on my health at first, I had taken it too far. If I saw a friend struggling like this, I knew I'd step in and help her. I had to be that friend for myself.

The true driving force behind me deciding to stop doing IF and to focus on healing my relationship with food was because I have a 10-year-old daughter. I knew I wanted to be an inspiring role model for her, to teach her how to have a positive relationship with food and her body, and this was anything but positive. I had to stop this terrible cycle of restricting and bingeing, but I wasn't sure how. I wanted to move toward intuitive eating, but when I tried jumping in, I just felt out of control and feared gaining even more weight.

In the spring months at the beginning of the pandemic, like everyone else, my world was flipped upside down. I stopped going to my gym, was stress-baking and overeating, but was still eating from noon until 6 or 7 p.m. most days. I was eating a somewhat junky, mostly plant-based diet, and ended up gaining even more weight and not feeling like myself.

It was during one summer night while looking up vegan baking recipes on YouTube that things changed completely. I stumbled upon the Nutritarian diet and Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, Eat to Live, and immersed myself in all the research I could about whole-food, plant-based diets. I also read The Starch Solution and combined the two and started eating a low-fat, high-carb, whole-food plant-based diet, free of oil. I was already eating lots of veggies, but I increased my starch intake, so I was eating tons of potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, oatmeal, and rice. I stopped eating salad dressings made with oil, and limited my nut and seed intake.

I loved that this way of eating wasn't a diet, but was all about abundance, focusing on promoting health and preventing disease by eating all the nutrient-dense foods I could. I stopped watching the clock and started listening to my hunger cues.

After a few months, I felt amazing! I realized how much eating breakfast brought me joy. I'd wake up looking forward to my bowl of oatmeal and felt so happy knowing I had full freedom to eat whenever I wanted throughout the day.

I had tons of energy and felt inspired to start rowing and doing yoga every day. I slept well, felt clear-headed, and loved how my mood had improved. I also noticed that my body started to get leaner that really surprised me because I was eating so much food!

I can now proudly call myself an intuitive eater, but it didn't happen overnight. This has been a six-month journey of trusting my body, re-learning how to observe my hunger and fullness cues, and making lots of mistakes. There were definitely times I ate too much, or ate too much of the foods that don't make me feel good. It was interesting watching how my brain reacted to me allowing myself to truly eat when and how much I wanted. At first, it felt out of control, and I was eating a lot. But I had read from intuitive eating counselors that this would happen, that my body was just soaking in the fact that the "famine" was over. That urgency and drive to eat often and eat a lot slowed down after the second month, and was replaced with a sense of calmness and happiness around food.

Now as soon as I get that first glimmer of hunger, I eat. Sometimes it's at 9 a.m., and some days, it truly isn't until noon I have no rules about what times I eat. If I want lunch at 11 a.m., I have it! If I get hungry an hour after I've eaten, I eat again. It's so liberating! What's funny is eating whenever I please has made me think so much less about food.

There are some days that I naturally eat in a seven- to eight-hour window, because that's when I'm hungry, so I asked Lydon if there was a healthy way to do intermittent fasting. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going back to my old, destructive ways. She said, "I always remind my clients that they are the experts of their own bodies. Only you can truly know for yourself if there is a 'healthy way' to do intermittent fasting." The key here is to listen to your body - noticing and honoring hunger cues as they arise and not waiting for some arbitrary time window to allow yourself permission to eat.

If you or someone you know is struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder, the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) has resources available including a 24/7 helpline at (800) 931-2237.

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I Did Intermittent Fasting For Almost 4 Years Here's Why I Stopped and Actually Lost Weight - POPSUGAR


Feb 14

Adam MacDougall on how fasting and HIIT can improve fitness in seven days – NEWS.com.au

OK, so 2020 was to put it mildly a bit of a rough year.

COVID-19 had a huge impact on peoples physical and mental health, and a year spent dealing with lockdown (and some pretty understandable comfort eating and drinking) has left most of us battling what might be politely termed pandemic paunch.

After a year exercising nothing but our thumbs as we endlessly scrolled through the options on food delivery apps, weve arrived in the middle of summer with a whole lot more of us to love.

But that doesnt mean its time to throw in the beach towel in defeat.

With a month of summer left plus warmer days beyond that more than likely theres still plenty of time to kickstart your diet and exercise routine so you can get back to your beach bod before the colder season kicks in and your softer bits go back to being camouflaged by oversized coats and jumpers.

Heres how:

Think beach bods are made in the gym? Fork-et about it.

You can don some Lycra and cycle every day at the crack of dawn to your hearts content, but unless youre keeping a keen eye on the food thats going down your gullet, youre wasting your time.

RELATED: Eight-hour diet is the key to weight loss

The key to weight loss, as everyone knows, is to use more calories than you take in. A good way to do this is to adopt a flexitarian diet, a nutritiously sound option that puts an emphasis on fruits, veggies, whole grains and plant-based proteins all foods that are higher in fibre and lower in calories per bite.

FASTING WORKS, AND IT WORKS FAST

Intermittent fasting a ritual that goes all the way back to early texts by Socrates, Plato and religious groups can also have excellent health benefits and contribute to rapid-fire weight loss.

Prolonged low-calorie diets can cause the body to adapt to the calorie restriction and thus limit weight loss, whereas fasting works around this problem by cycling between a low calorie level for a brief time followed by normal eating.

RELATED: Tips to know if you want to go vegan

There are several forms of fasting, including alternate-day and whole-day, but the most popular is a time-restricted style called the 16/8 method where you limit food intake each day to an eight-hour window and avoid eating for the other 16 hours (so eat between 9am and 5pm, and consume nothing in the intervening 16 hours).

GET INTO INTERVALS

If youve ever logged a bunch of time on a running machine and have been overcome with the empty feeling youre literally going nowhere, its possible youre actually on to something.

Long sessions of low- to mid-level training may feel like theyre effective and they will slowly deliver results over time but the hard truth is that only high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is proven as an effective method to help you shed kilograms fast.

HIIT involves short, sharp exercise sessions some programs only last a mere 10 minutes of high-intensity activities like running sprints that are alternated with periods of rest.

Researchers at the British Journal of Sports Medicine recently concluded that these short bursts of activity interspersed with brief recovery periods can reduce both body fat and overall weight, with people who perform interval training losing 28.5 per cent more weight than those who dont.

RELATED: Easy way to burn fat and build muscle

Essentially, its quality over quantity theres no point exercising for a set number of hours each week and automatically expecting to shed weight. Its ultimately what you do during those exercise sessions that will make the real difference.

SEVEN DAY PLAN

So heres what I want you to do. Spend the next seven days sticking strictly to 16:8 diet routine, and punch out just 20 minutes a day (yes, every day) of HIIT training. Intervals can be as simple as 40 seconds of star jumps and 20 seconds rest, followed by the same again sprinting on the spot, then mountain climbers, squats and sit-ups, with the whole sequence repeated four times.

You will see results.

Adam MacDougall is the creator of The Man Shake | @adammacdougall5 | adam_macdougall_

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Adam MacDougall on how fasting and HIIT can improve fitness in seven days - NEWS.com.au


Feb 14

Injected Drug Delivers Up to 20% Weight Loss in Trial – HealthDay News

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A new weight-loss drug is almost twice as effective as current medications, clinical trial results show, and experts say it could revolutionize the treatment of obesity.

Overweight and obese people lost an average 15% of their body weight using a weekly injectable 2.4 milligram dose of semaglutide (Ozempic), a new report reveals.

What's more, one-third of all participants lost 20% of their body weight, a result comparable to those of people who've undergone weight-loss ("bariatric") surgery, the researchers said.

That means a person who weighs 250 pounds could wind up losing as much as 50 pounds after a year and a half on the drug, the results showed.

"This drug turned out to be amazingly more effective than anything else we've seen come before," said senior researcher Dr. Robert Kushner, a professor of medicine specializing in obesity treatment at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. "It's the very first time we have a medication that even begins to approach the weight loss people achieve with bariatric surgery."

Dr. Ania Jastreboff, vice-chair of the Obesity Society's clinical care committee, agreed that semaglutide's effectiveness could significantly alter the field of obesity medicine.

"This degree of weight loss is significantly more than what we've seen with any other medication thus far," said Jastreboff, co-director of the Yale Center for Weight Management, in New Haven, Conn.

The drug's maker, Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, applied for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January based on these clinical trial results. It hopes for approval before year's end, Kushner said. The company funded the drug trial.

Semaglutide is already on the market at a lower dose as a treatment for type 2 diabetes.

The drug is a synthetic version of human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), "a hormone that all of us make," Kushner said.

"When this hormone is released, it helps reduce our appetite, reduces our hunger and helps us feel full sooner," Kushner said.

Nearly 2,000 overweight or obese adults participated in the 68-week clinical trial, which ran from the fall of 2019 to spring 2020 at 129 sites in 16 countries.

The entire group started with an average weight of 232 pounds and a body mass index (BMI) of 38, which placed them firmly in the obese category, the researchers said. BMI is a measurement of body fat based on height and weight.

People taking semaglutide had an average weight loss of 15%, compared to about 2% for a group treated with a placebo, the findings showed.

That makes semaglutide roughly 1.5 to 2 times more effective than other weight-loss drugs, which tend to help people lose between 4% and 11%, the researchers said.

Seven out of 10 participants lost at least 10% of their starting body weight, and one in three lost 20% or more.

There are some side effects, mostly gastrointestinal, the study authors said. More than four of 10 people taking semaglutide experienced nausea. Some others reported diarrhea, vomiting or constipation.

However, these side effects could be managed, Kushner said. Only 7% of participants had to drop out of the trial because they couldn't tolerate the drug.

Doctors prescribing this drug probably can limit these side effects by gradually raising the dosage in new patients, Jastreboff said.

Patients also will have to be on the alert for gallbladder-related disorders, which were reported in almost 3% of people taking the drug versus a little over 1% of the placebo group, Jastreboff said. Gallstones accounted for most of these problems.

"If you're losing weight this rapidly, you have to look for gallstones anyway," she said.

Jastreboff said she can see using this drug in combination with other weight-loss therapies, like bariatric surgery, to help extremely obese people get down to a healthier weight.

"Say, if somebody weighed 400 pounds before surgery and they lost 100 pounds and they'd like to lose 45 more pounds," Jastreboff said as an example. "The idea is that the treatment of obesity should be comprehensive, and we should be able to offer our patients all sorts of different options."

The results were published online Feb. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about prescription medications for obesity.

SOURCES: Robert Kushner, MD, professor, medicine, specializing in obesity treatment, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago; Ania Jastreboff, MD, PhD, co-director, Yale Center for Weight Management, New Haven, Conn.; New England Journal of Medicine, Feb. 10, 2021, online

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Injected Drug Delivers Up to 20% Weight Loss in Trial - HealthDay News


Feb 14

New anti-obesity medication almost twice as effective as most currently approved weight-loss drugs – ScienceBlog.com

A new anti-obesity medication was shown to be almost twice as effective at helping individuals lose weight than some of the current weight-loss drugs on the market, according to a new landmark study conducted at Northwestern Medicine and other institutions.

The drug, semaglutide, taken once a week at 2.4 mg,works bysuppressing appetite centers in the brain to reduce hunger and calorie intake. Itcould be a gamechanger for those who struggle with obesity, which impacts more than 40% of adults in the United States. Obesity is associated withmultiple complications such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, sleep apnea, some forms of cancer and decreased life expectancy.

The study was published online February 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This is by far the most effective intervention we have seen for weight management when you compare it to many of the currently existing drugs, saidcorresponding author Dr. Robert Kushner, professor of medicine and medical education at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an internal medicine physician at Northwestern Medicine. Semaglutide sets the bar for a new generation of more effective weight-loss medications.

The multi-site study investigated the effectiveness and safety of taking a weekly injection of semaglutide 2.4 mg along with individual lifestyle counseling sessions.

Starting from an average baseline weight of 230 lbs. and body mass index of 38 kg/m2, participants average weight loss was 14.9% (34 lbs.) compared to 2.4% (5 lbs.) for the placebo group. When compared to otherweight-management drugs currently on the market, which are proven to help individuals lose between 6 to 11% of their body weight, semaglutide is about 1.5 to two times more effective.

Approximately 70% of study participants reached a weight loss of at least 10% of their baseline body weight, which is clinically relevant, Kushner said.

A lot of the health concerns we see in people who are struggling with their weight, such asdiabetes, high blood pressure or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), tendto improve when they reach a weight loss of 10%, Kushner said.

20%About one-third of participants lost 20% or more of their weight

Additionally, one third of study participants treated with semaglutide lost at least 20% (46 lbs.) of their baseline weight, which is a common reduction for many patients who have had bariatric surgery in the one to three years following their procedure.

Its the very first time we have a medication that even begins to approach the weight loss people achieve with bariatric surgery, Kushner said. Bariatric surgery is still more effective than this medication, he said, but surgery carries additional risks.

After the intervention, semaglutide treated participants reported improved physical functioning, like walking faster and climbing stairs with less pain. Additionally, they achieved greater improvements in their blood pressure, blood lipids and blood glucose control.

The drug would be intended for long-term use, Kushner said.

A total of 1961 adults with overweight or obesity participated in the 68-week study from Fall 2019 to Spring 2020at 129 sites in 16 countries.Overall, 94.3% of participants completed the trial.

Participantstook semaglutide through subcutaneous injection (similar to someone taking insulin for diabetes) once a week and received individual counseling sessions from registered dietitians every four weeks to help them adhere to the reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. These face-to-face or phone counseling sessions provided participants with guidance, behavioral strategies and motivation. . Additionally, participants receivedincentives such as kettle balls or food scales to mark progress and milestones.

Side effects from the drug included mild-to-moderate nausea and diarrhea that were transient and generally resolved without permanent discontinuation from the study, Kushner said.

Semaglutide currently is on the market to help manage diabetes, but it is approved only for a lower dose. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing its use at a higher dose with the explicit use of helping individuals lose weight.

Dr. Kushner was the corresponding author for the Semaglutide Treatment Effect in People with Obesity (STEP) 1 study group.

John Wilding,professor of cardiovascular and metabolic medicine at University of Liverpool Institue of Ageing and Chronic Disease is the studys first author.Thomas A.Wadden, PhD, the Albert J. Stunkard Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvaniaand Dr.Dr. Ildiko Lingvay,professor of internal medicineat UT Southwestern Medical Center, also were co-authors.

Funding for the study was provided by Novo Nordisk,which manufacturers Rybelsus and Ozempic (semaglutides intended for diabetes treatment).Dr. Kushner received advisory board fees from Novo Nordisk.

The rest is here:
New anti-obesity medication almost twice as effective as most currently approved weight-loss drugs - ScienceBlog.com


Feb 4

ERSOY: Here’s the easiest, quickest weight-loss strategies – The Garden Island

There are thousands of diet books, hundreds of types of diet, many quick fixes or fad diets. All that everyone wants to know is how to lose weight fast, and easily.

The answer is not always as easy as move more and eat less. It all depends on what type of movement are you doing and how much intensity you are applying. And not all food sources will give the same results that we want, even if the calories may be the same.

Now you may be thinking that no-one has the perfect answer. On the other hand, ironically, everyone actually knows what they need to do to lose weight. The hurdle may be only that they do not know how to modify their behavior and change their lifestyle in the long term. Staying at a healthy weight for your age and height will make a huge difference for healthy aging and for your quality of living. No one wants to be dependent on someone else when we get older. However, we dont seem to understand the importance and give this the real attention that is needed to make it happen.

I actually just learned a new phrase, Hyperbolic discounting. According to BehaviorLab.org it refers to the tendency for people to increasingly choose a smaller-sooner reward over a larger-later reward as the delay occurs sooner rather than later in time. When offered a larger reward in exchange for waiting a set amount of time, people act less impulsively (i.e., choose to wait) as the rewards happen further in the future.

Everything that you do for improving your health can eventually lead you to become stronger, more healthy, and help you age better. You may not see your reward now, but you will be thankful in the future for sure.

I know now that you may be thinking where to begin, and it can seem very complicated, especially when were told that on average we make over 220 food related decisions every day. Although we still can make many of these decisions consciously, so it ultimately all comes down to mindful living. However, I completely understand how challenging it can be to practice mindful living and at the same time be surrounded with many distractions.

Here are some easy steps to start changing your lifestyle and to keep the changes that you make in the long term:

Each morning, start your day with some type of movement, even just a few minutes stretching, walking, yoga or intense cardio.

Make your first meal of the day a low carbohydrate and high protein meal.

Dont reward yourself with food.

Consume protein with every meal, ideally animal protein.

Once or twice a week try 18 to 24 hours fasting.

Weigh yourself twice a week and keep a record of your weight.

Dont say you cant eat something that you may be craving, instead say I dont want to eat this. Words have tremendous power.

Educate yourself on the subject. Read, listen to podcasts, and do your research.

If you want to see quick results then you must approach it strategically. Remember the story of the turtle and the rabbit? Running towards quick results without understanding and observing the journey could easily lead to failure.

I am a big believer too in prolonged fasting for healing purposes and for quitting addictions such as sugar and coffee.

As I have mention many times all of these suggestions are for healthy individuals, so if you have any specific health problems or if you are using medications then of course please ask your health care practitioner before making changes. Everyone has biological differences and different health histories too. But wherever you are in your health journey you can still make positive changes for the better. For most people being overweight is a choice that can increase the risk of many chronic diseases. The good news is that you can still make big changes.

Resources:

http://behaviorlab.org/Papers/Hyperbolic.pdf

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2006/12/mindless-autopilot-drives-people-underestimate-food-decisions

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227344004_Mindless_Eating_The_200_Daily_Food_Decisions_We_Overlook

Ayda Ersoy, nutritionist (Dip.C.N., Dip.S.N.), master trainer (CPT ACE, NCSF, CanfitPro), registered yoga teacher, founder, Health Angel Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness, founder, SMS (Stability, Mobility Strength) Intuitive Training System.

Read more from the original source:
ERSOY: Here's the easiest, quickest weight-loss strategies - The Garden Island


Feb 4

Intermittent Fasting: Methods and Plans – Greatist

Ready to break away from diet culture, but want some structure to change up your eating habits? Intermittent fasting (IF) isnt like other fad diets that restrict what you can and cant eat. Instead, it focuses on when food *should* be eaten to reap certain benefits.

Heres what you need to know before you start intermittent fasting and how to choose the right plan.

Back in the day, refrigerators and grocery stores were nonexistent. This led our hunter-gatherer ancestors to unintentionally fast until they were able to find their next source of food.

To sum things up, IF is a way of eating where you flip flop between periods of time when youre chowing down and when youre not.

Since humans were capable of functioning without food for long periods of time, fasting now and again may be more natural than eating three to four-plus meals a day.

You may even see fasting done for religious or spiritual reasons in Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism.

Take your pick from the handful of IF options some more extreme than others.

This method is good for beginners to give a whirl. Fast for 12 hours each day, which can include when you snooze. Once your evening meal is over and you tuck in at night, your body fasts until breakfast arrives.

The easiest way to do the 12-hour fast is to include your sleeping time into your fasting window. For example, stop eating at 8 p.m. and wait until 8 a.m. to have breakfast.

You might even already be doing the 12-hour fast without even knowing!

Similar to the 12/12 method, the 16/8 method extends your fasting period to 16 hours.

This method could be a bit difficult for breakfast lovers. But people who tend to skip breakfast may already (though unintentionally) fast this long. Depending on how late you eat in the evening, or how early you eat lunch, skipping breakfast alone may give you a 16-hour fasting period.

One perk is that youre able to drink a cup of coffee (without sugar or cream), water, or other zero-calorie beverages during your fasting period.

If you opt for the 5:2 fasting method, youll eat normally 5 days per week and then reduce your calories for the other 2 days.

On reduced days, men usually consume around 600 calories and women eat 500 calories. Most people choose to separate their modified fasting days so there is always a nonfasting day in between. For example, you could choose to fast on Monday and Thursday.

There has been a lot more research on this method compared to other forms of IF. A 2020 randomized controlled study found that its a beneficial method for weight loss without the addition of exercise.

This large, yearlong study also found that the 5:2 method of IF can be as effective as traditional dieting for weight loss.

This IF method requires a full 24-hour fast one or two times per week. An example is to stop eating at 7 p.m. on Monday and then fast until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, completing the full 24-hour cycle. Youre also allowed zero-calorie beverages during the fasting period.

Fasting for a full 24 hours can be difficult for many people, leading to the inability to stick with this eating style. The best option is to start with a fast that lasts 12 to 16 hours and work your way up.

This option is one step further than eat-stop-eat and includes a 24-hour fast every other day.

There are different versions of this method, with some sticking to strict no solid foods for 36-hours and others allowing around 500 calories on fasting days.

True alternate-day fasting leads to fasts of about 36 hours because youre not eating for a full calendar day so youre fasting overnight, all day, and overnight again.

Again, this method is pretty extreme and can be difficult to continue long term. Any fasting beginners or individuals with certain medical conditions should also skip this method.

Research has also shown it may not even be necessary to fast this strictly to reap benefits. A 2017 study found that weight loss, weight maintenance, cardiovascular protection, and adherence was not better with alternate-day fasting compared to calorie restriction (75 percent of energy needs every day).

Also referred to as The Warrior Diet, this form of fasting isnt for beginners since it can be quite extreme (but still not as bad as true alternate-day fasting).

Basically, you fast for 20 hours in the day, with the option to eat small amounts of fruits and vegetables, then have one large meal within a 4-hour window in the evening.

Supporters of this method claim humans are natural nocturnal eaters. Its not for everyone though. People may struggle with eating such a large meal close to bedtime or even sticking to the strict guidelines.

Fasting makes your body go through changes on both a cellular and molecular level. Some specific changes may include:

Our pituitary gland releases HGH which is beneficial for regulating body fluids, bone and muscle growth, fat and sugar metabolism, and even heart function. This hormone naturally decreases as we age and can be unnaturally low due to certain medical conditions.

A 2012 study found that a 24-hour fast increases total growth hormone levels in young, healthy adults.

The downsides? Continuously high HGH levels can cause bone weakness, fatigue, or decline in muscle mass.

This hormone regulates the amount of glucose (aka sugar) found in our blood by helping it enter our cells for fuel. When our body is resistant to insulin, glucose cant get into the cells as easily, causing a buildup of glucose in our bloodstream and potentially leading to type 2 diabetes.

A 2019 study discusses the effectiveness of IF on insulin resistance due to its ability to reduce BMI. Individuals taking insulin or medication for type 2 diabetes should be wary of fasting as it can lead to low blood sugar.

If youre taking these medications or have diabetes, its a good idea to chat with your medical provider before fasting.

Sometimes there are old and dysfunctional proteins hanging around in cells that our body digests and removes in a process called autophagy.

A 2018 article discusses the ability of intermittent fasting to activate autophagy in organs and cultured cells, beneficial for enhancing cancer treatments.

Unfortunately, autophagy can be a double-edged sword. The same article discusses that autophagy can be beneficial for suppressing some tumors but can also promote them depending on the stage and type of tumor.

Our genes or DNA hold instructions to create protein or other molecules and are responsible for most of what goes on in our body. Intermittent fasting can alter whether certain genes are stimulated or suppressed.

A 2020 study found that 30 days of a 14+ hour daily fast resulted in changes to genes that could promote health and longevity. For example, the APP gene was reduced, which creates amyloid plaques often seen in Alzheimers disease.

Much of this research is short term, with more long-term research needed.

If youre looking into IF to help you shed a few pounds, youre likely to see a drop on the scale due to the decreased number of calories eaten over the week. This is only true if you dont overeat during the eating periods to compensate for the fasting periods.

A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis examined how effective intermittent fasting was for adults with overweight or obesity trying to lose weight. The various IF methods researched included alternate-day fasting and fasting for 2 to 4 days per week.

The results found that intermittent fasting results were effective, but comparable to groups doing a continuous energy restriction (decrease of about 25 percent of recommended energy intake each day).

Therefore, the overall reduction of calories is what promotes weight loss, not limiting your eating timeframe.

In the end, there is no one weight loss diet that works for everyone. A 2020 review discusses how intermittent fasting is a recommended option to promote weight loss, but only if youre able to stick with it long-term. Do what works for you!

Beyond the promotion of weight loss, what else does intermittent fasting have to offer? Research has shown other benefits may include:

Inflammation is normal, but too much inflammation can lead to conditions like cancer and heart disease. C-reactive protein (CRP) elevates when inflammation is lingering somewhere in our body.

A 2019 study found that men completing a 16:8 fasting eating pattern for 29 consecutive days led to a significant decrease in CRP levels which is associated with less inflammation.

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death across the world, with most deaths coming from heart attacks and strokes. Intermittent fasting can actually limit a lot of the risk factors that lead to the development of cardiovascular disease.

IF may reduce plaque buildup, prevent high blood pressure, and limit cardiac hypertrophy (enlargement or thickening of the heart muscle) according to a 2019 overview.

The second leading cause of death, cancer, is typically treated by either chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. A 2016 review concludes that periodic fasting and fasting-mimicking diets without calorie restriction may promote disease prevention and enhance disease treatment when it comes to cancer.

A fair warning from a 2019 article is that intermittent fasting should be taken with extreme caution in the oncology world. Thats because up to 80 percent of people with cancer may be dealing with malnutrition, and the unintentional restriction of calories or other important macronutrients may create further issues.

Our brain is one complicated organ, controlling pretty much our every move. When it comes to fasting, a 2017 study found that a small group of women fasting during Ramadan had increased levels of serotonin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and nerve growth factor.

These are all essential in brain health by helping grow and maintain certain neurons and keeping our memory sharp.

Many wonder whether intermittent fasting may add a few more years to your life. A 2014 review found a 30 percent dietary restriction increased the lifespan of rodents mainly due to delaying the onset of chronic diseases.

The problem here? These studies are animal-based which can provide very different results compared to human studies.

Give us more research

Dont get your hopes up and expect all of these benefits by starting IF. More long-term human studies need to be done to confirm conclusions from current short-term and animal studies.

Intermittent fasting has a good safety record. As long as youre not severely undereating and choosing nutrient-rich foods, intermittent fasting can be totally safe.

But intermittent fasting can be more harmful than helpful for certain groups of people.

If youre underweight or have a history of disordered eating, schedule an appointment with a health professional before starting up a fasting diet. The restrictions that come along with IF can trigger harmful eating patterns.

IF may also affect women and men differently. Calorie restriction can disrupt important hormones in female bodies.

A 2014 review found that certain hormones cant communicate with the ovaries if calorie intake is too low, resulting in irregular periods, infertility, poor bone health, and other negative effects.

Women may want to opt for a modified approach to intermittent fasting, like shorter fasting periods and fewer fasting days.

Play IF safe

Chat with your doc before you start IF, since certain medical conditions can be negatively impacted by the change. This especially true if you:

Slow and steady wins the race! If youre new to the fasting game, start with a beginner approach by fasting for 12 or 16 hours.

If you find this method is easy and you want to advance, start up a 24-hour fast 1 or 2 times per week (eat-stop-eat) or restricting calories 1 to 2 times per week (5:2).

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Try different methods and see what feels best for you.

Original post:
Intermittent Fasting: Methods and Plans - Greatist


Feb 4

Diet and fitness experts debunk 10 glaring weight loss myths that could be sabotaging your goals – Insider – Insider

From extreme juice cleanses to supposed miracle supplements, some folks seem willing to try just about anything to lose weight. However, experts say many of these fast-track methods are based on myths, since weight loss is the result of consistently taking in fewer calories than you expend over time and making smart dietary choices.

According to Artur Viana, MD, clinical director of the Metabolic Health & Weight Loss Program at Yale Medicine, one of the most popular weight loss myths is that all you have to do is exercise more and you'll lose weight.

"Exercise is fundamental to a healthy lifestyle, weight loss, and weight maintenance, but it has to come with a change in diet as well," Viana says.

Below, experts in diet and exercise debunk some of the most common misconceptions about weight loss.

Your body doesn't metabolize all foods the same way. And how quickly you digest something can affect insulin levels, blood sugar spikes, and fat storage.

For example, compare 100 calories worth of cake to 100 calories of carrots. The calorie amount is the same, however, the cake is made with refined carbohydrates whereas carrots contain more fiber and nutrients.

This difference is important because your body digests the cake more quickly. This floods your system with glucose, spiking blood sugar and insulin levels in the process, which can promote fat storage.

Carrots, by contrast, are digested more slowly which means less glucose in your blood. This helps to maintain healthy blood sugar levels and it can also keep you fuller, longer, which may prevent overeating.

So, while 100 calories worth of cake and 100 calories worth of carrots provide the same energy output, one is clearly superior for weight management over the other, says exercise physiologist Joel Seedman, PhD.

Viana also says processed foods don't send the same satiety signals to your brain as whole foods do, meaning you're more likely to overeat and thus, gain weight.

Research suggests that it's what you eat and how much that matters, not necessarily what time you eat.

What the research says: A large 2016 study found no link between eating dinner past 8 p.m. and weight gain in children. However, a 2008 study revealed that people who ate between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. consumed roughly 500 more calories per day and gained more weight than those who only ate during daytime hours. However, other research has shown that mealtime may affect glucose intolerance and reduce fat utilization, especially if you're habitually eating a late dinner.

The takeaway is that eating at night may make you gain weight if it causes you to go over your daily calorie budget, says Andres Ayesta, MS, a registered dietitian and certified strength and conditioning coach.

Carbohydrates are often billed as the enemy when it comes to weight loss, but a 2018 study revealed that adults who followed a low-carb diet lost the same amount of weight, on average, as those who followed a low-fat diet.

Not all carbs are created equal, though. Whole grains pack more fiber than refined carbs, meaning they're metabolized more slowly and don't cause big insulin surges.

In fact, a 2017 study found that people who ate a diet with enough whole grains to meet the recommended dietary allowance for fiber burned 100 more calories per day, in part due to a slight increase in their resting metabolic rate, when compared to people who ate refined grains with little fiber.

Ayesta says that fat contains more calories per gram than protein and carbohydrates, which means fat is much easier to overconsume.

However, a 2019 review revealed that the Mediterranean diet which entails getting about 35% to 40% of your calories from heart-healthy fats may prevent increases in weight and waist circumference in non-obese individuals.

Researchers noted that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil, for example, can decrease total body weight and BMI.

A 2016 study revealed that people without Celiac disease are buying gluten-free products because they believe they're a "healthier option."

In reality, "many processed gluten-free products are actually more calorie-dense than their gluten-containing counterparts because they may contain more fat and sugar," says Viana.

A 2017 review found that overall, gluten-free foods had more saturated fat, sugar, and salt, and less protein and fiber than regular foods. Specifically, gluten-free bread and flour products tended to contain high fat and sugar in comparison to their gluten-containing counterparts.

When it comes to weight loss, eating breakfast is a mixed bag. Some research indicates it can help with weight loss while other research suggests the opposite. For example, a 2018 review found no strong evidence to support the idea that eating breakfast helps you to lose weight.

Viana says the only case in which eating a large breakfast might be beneficial is if it helps you to eat fewer calories later in the day.

According to Harvard Medical School, a 155-pound person burns roughly 372 calories while running an average 10-minute-per-mile pace for 30 minutes, and about 112 calories lifting weights for the same amount of time.

Even though cardio workouts may burn more calories in the moment than strength training, at least one small study has shown that you may burn more calories in the hours after lifting weights, because your metabolism may stay elevated longer.

Seedman says that when it comes to losing weight, the ideal exercise regimen includes a combination of both cardio and resistance training.

Studies have shown that many exercisers resort to "compensatory behaviors" after working out that offset the calories they expend. For example, a 2009 study of postmenopausal women, who were either overweight or obese, revealed that participants seemed to increase their food intake after working out on a treadmill or exercise bike, either because they felt hungrier or because they thought they burned off a lot of calories.

The idea behind small, frequent meals is that it helps better control hunger and keeps your metabolism up throughout the day for easier weight loss. However, in practice, this isn't what happens, according to scientific research.

For example, a 2007 study examined two groups of people who consumed an equal number of calories per day: one that ate three meals with no snacks, and another that ate three meals and three snacks. By the end of the year-long experiment, researchers found no difference in weight loss between the two groups.

According to Seedman, meal size and frequency is a matter of figuring out which approach best fits your lifestyle and helps you to stay within your daily calorie budget.

While a juice cleanse may result in short-term weight loss, Viana says that's due to a severe calorie deficit one that's not realistic to uphold for more than a few days at most. Once you re-introduce solid foods, you're likely to regain any weight that was lost.

Ayesta also points out that you're mostly losing water weight with this strategy because drinking so much juice can cause you to urinate more often.

Dietary supplements aren't regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the FDA says that many of them do not live up to their weight-loss promises and may even contain dangerous hidden ingredients, such as chemicals contained in blood pressure medications and antidepressants.

Moreover, a 2004 review found no convincing evidence that dietary supplements help with weight loss.

Ayesta and Viana say that many of the persistent weight-loss myths stem from social media, the ever-changing realm of nutrition science, as well as the $71 billion weight loss industry, which is continually churning out new products to remain competitive.

The bottom line? If a weight-loss method sounds too easy or too good to be true, it probably is.

Weight loss is "a journey that requires patience, education, and consistency to yield sustainable results," says Ayesta. "People don't have to follow strict rules and eliminate entire food groups simply to accomplish weight loss."

Rather than taking extreme measures, Viana advises focusing on sticking to an exercise regimen that includes both cardio and resistance training, and maintaining a diverse diet that emphasizes whole foods over processed ones.

Lastly, Ayesta says it's important to keep in mind that diets only work when they restrict calories, but the only way to keep that weight off is to make sure your dietary changes are sustainable over the long term.

Link:
Diet and fitness experts debunk 10 glaring weight loss myths that could be sabotaging your goals - Insider - Insider



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