Search Weight Loss Topics:


Page 72«..1020..71727374..8090..»


Aug 31

Forget ‘quick diets’ if you want to lose weight – Health24

Are you already feeling despondent after just two weeks of following a strict diet? Relax! Rome wasn't built in a day.

If you're trying to lose weight, take your time and stay the course if you want to keep the weight off, a new study suggests.

Fluctuations aren't good

Researchers found that when dieters' weight fluctuated or swung erratically, they were less likely to maintain their weight loss over time.

"It seems that developing stable, repeatable behaviours related to food intake and weight loss early on in a weight-control programme is really important for maintaining changes over the long term," said study lead author Emily Feig. She is a former graduate student at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

What the study entailed

For the study, the researchers investigated why some people have more trouble maintaining weight loss. The authors enrolled 183 people in a 12-month weight-loss programme and followed them for two years.

The participants relied on meal replacements and set goals, for both their total calories and physical activity. In addition, they reported on food behaviours such as cravings, binges and emotional eating and took part in weekly weigh-ins in a group setting. One year after the weight-loss programme ended, the participants were weighed for a final time.

The study, published in the journal Obesity, found that the participants who had irregular swings in their weight didn't fare as well as those who reliably lost a consistent amount of weight over the course of the programme.

Slow and steady guidelines

"Settle on a weight-loss plan that you can maintain week in and week out, even if that means consistently losing three-quarters of a pound each week," principal investigator Michael Lowe, a psychology professor at Drexel, said in a university news release.

Health24 gives the following guidelines to lose weight slowly and to maintain the weight loss:

Image credit: iStock

Read more here:
Forget 'quick diets' if you want to lose weight - Health24


Aug 30

Doing this ONE simple thing daily will make you lose weight fast – Daily Star

GETTY

When you are trying to lose weight, there are many different tips and tricks people offer to make the process easier.

However, a new study has revealed a tip that requires no effort at all: Stepping on the scale every day.

Researchers from Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania studied 294 women of various sizes and asked them how often they tracked their weight.

Positive weight gain snaps spread across social media with the hash tags #screwthescale and #gainingweightiscool. After using the MyProtein diet and healthy exercise.

1 / 13

Positive weight gain snaps spread across social media

The womens body fat percentages were taken after six months and again after two years.

The researchers used this to determine the womens BMIs and found that women who stepped on the scale more frequently had a dip in their BMI compared to those who didnt.

Study co-author Diane Rosenbaum, Ph.D and psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania said: The losses in BMI and body fat percentage were modest, but still significant, especially keeping in mind that these women were not part of a weight loss program.

We did not expect that, in the absence of a weight loss intervention, folks would be losing weight.

High-protein, low-carbohydrate diets are all the rage right now and for good reason. Protein is an important component of every cell in the body. Hair and nails are mostly made of protein and your body uses protein to build and repair tissues.

1 / 11

Women with higher BMIs and body fat percentages surprisingly weighed themselves more at the beginning of the study compared to women with lower BMIs.

The scientists said that constantly being reminded of your weight could help to keep diet and fitness goals in check.

Study co-author Meghan Butryn, Ph.D and associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel said: Regularly weighing yourself can motivate you to engage in healthy eating and exercise behaviours, because it provides you with evidence that these behaviours are effective in helping you lose weight or prevent weight gain.

Similarly, if you see weight gain on the scale, that information can motivate you to make a change.

Meanwhile, another recent study has revealed that drinking coffee could lead to weight gain.

This is because thecaffeine attaches to adenosine receptors in the body which keeps you awake.

However, the caffeine also decreases your ability to taste sweet things making you crave more sugar than before. This could make you more likely to seek out sweet foods which could mean you pack on the pounds.

Read this article:
Doing this ONE simple thing daily will make you lose weight fast - Daily Star


Aug 30

The hCG Diet helped this woman lose 85 pounds, but this inspired her to keep the weight off – Yahoo Health

Weight-Loss Win is an original Yahoo series that shares the inspiring stories of people who have shed pounds healthfully.

Folland OConnor is 31 and 51 tall, and she currently weighs 135 pounds. In 2011, she saw an unflattering picture of herself that motivated her to change her lifestyle. This is the story of her weight-loss journey.

The turning point

I hate to say it,but I really never thought my weight was an issue. When I was fat, I never wanted to do anything active, or anything at all really, besides watch TV, eat food, and hang out with my friends. I never had high energy levels or interest in sports when I was bigger, so I never ran into major issues because of my size. What prompted the weight loss was mostly an aesthetic choice. I always wanted to be skinny but never had the willpower to actually get there. I just kind of accepted my body as it was and figured I wasnt built to be skinny. I thought I could never actually lose weight and that I was just built to be curvy or I was big boned.

My parents started expressing their concern for my health more often as I got bigger, but I thought they were just exaggerating and that I was an average weight. Looking back now, I just cant even fathom how I was so ignorant about my size.

I never realized how big I was until I saw a picture of myself from the side. The picture was taken at an event I attended and I happened to be painting something on a canvas when the photo was snapped. I wasnt able to pose or work my angles; it was just a picture of me from the side, not paying attention and I looked huge. The moment I saw that picture I vividly remember thinking, Oh my gosh Im fat. I had this huge epiphany.

I was wearing size 22 jeans, I couldnt buy a shirt in less than an XL, I had to buy bras in a plus-size store, but still, it was seeing myself in that photo that actually hit home. I was 25, 51, 220 pounds, and I was obese.

Folland OConnor saw a photo of herself that inspired her to lose weight.

The changes

Since college, I had always had some diet plan in mind or some workout routine I swore I would finally follow, but I never really committed to anything. I tried to eat healthy for a day or two but quickly fell off the wagon. I had zero self-control and knew absolutely nothing about losing weight or healthy eating.

When I finally accepted the fact that I was fat, I decided to simply start researching diets and weight loss as a whole. It was so overwhelming and complicated. I couldnt figure out whether carbs were bad or good, whether fat made me fat or not, whether artificial sweeteners would kill me, make me skinny or make me bigger.

Working out was a whole other bag of complications. How I should work out. Cardio? Weights? Yoga? I just couldnt get it straight. I decided to find a strict, clean, basic diet plan and just focus on eating first, because, more than anything, I hated working out.

Through my research I found some random site for a naturopath who touted a crazy weight-loss plan, so I met with her and she introduced me to the hCG Diet. Most people will have heard of it by now, and it is pretty controversial, but its what got me on the road to a healthy weight.

For those that dont know, hCG is an extremely strict, very low-calorie diet combined with a hormone shot. It was completely bonkers and probably not the healthiest way for me to lose weight, but it promised immediate results. So I bought all of the ingredients from this holistic voodoo doctor and tried it out.

Folland OConnor initially lost weight with the hCG diet.

Read More

I did two rounds of hCG, losing 60 pounds over the course of about four months. Losing that much weight that quickly was completely surreal and I fell off the wagon pretty fast once the rounds were finished. Over the next year or so I gained 30 back, but my life had been changed forever. I started becoming more active, my self-confidence skyrocketed, and I actually started to realize how unhealthy I was. Even after keeping 30 pounds off, I was still overweight, so eventually I started hitting the gym and actually focused on living a healthy lifestyle. I got my life under control, and my weight followed.

While losing weight, I felt like I could do anything. I realized that everything in my life was able to be changed. I changed careers, left my cheating boyfriend, bought a condo, joined a gym, and started playing roller derby. I felt confident and powerful, and my life was changing drastically in so many positive ways.

Keeping motivated isnt hard when everything in your life is positive. People were constantly complimenting me, my job got easier, I was succeeding in a new sport that I loved, and the weight kept falling off of me.

When I did hit a plateau, I just gave myself a small break, focused on maintenance and then reassessed my diet plan. My new boyfriend was alsovery interested in fitness, and he always had some awesome advice or a new recipe for us to try out together. He kept me strong, confident, and on track through the entire process. Even to this day, he is who I look to for inspiration.

The after

Everything in my life changed. The obvious things of course, my energy levels, my clothing size, and my health, but less obvious things also changed. My self-esteem and confidence levels sky rocketed, and my willingness to take more risks and be more outgoing all changed for the better, but the biggest change I experienced was in how people treated me. People are nicer to me now, they try harder for me to like them, strangers gravitate toward me, and I have to put in much less effort to forge relationships. Its amazing how people treat me like a completely different person, but in the most positive ways.

A few things surprised me about the weight-loss process. It was not actually that hard to lose weight when I was 220 pounds, even though it seemed so daunting at the time. But, with all of the knowledge Ive gained, Ive realized that I was so large I actually had to eat a lot of calories every day to maintain that weight. As soon as I started eating less, I lost weight. It was truly quite simple. Its much harder to cut weight now that Im smaller every calorie counts.

Folland OConnor was surprised by what changed in her life after losing weight.

I lost ring sizes and a whole shoe size! I knew I was losing weight, and a lot of it, but it never occurred to me that my fingers and my feet may have also been carrying extra weight. I went from a size 9 ring to a size 6.5, and I went from a size 8 1/2 shoe to a 7 1/2 shoe. That still totally amazes me.

The maintenance

I follow the Strong Lifts weight routine and hit the gym three to fourtimes per week. I also play competitive-level roller derby with the Anarchy Angels Roller Derby team and practice on skates two times per week. I eat a low-carb diet and try to keep my calorie intake around 1,200. That might sound low, but keep in mind, Im only 51.

I eat with purpose and awareness. No more mindless snacking unless Im on a cheat meal and, yes, I allow myself cheat meals not cheat days every so often. I live life with moderation and try not to reward myself with food. Whatever I do eat, I really try to enjoy. Dieting doesnt need to mean bad food.

Folland OConnor is inspired by her boyfriend.

My boyfriend has lost 55 pounds himself and trains harder than anyone Ive ever seen. He wants to be the best version of himself and pushes me to be the best version of myself. We make tons of different low-carb recipes together and support each other through all of our transitions. He keeps me on the right track and always pulls me back on that wagon when Im distracted by Thai food and doughnuts.

The struggles

Obviously, I have impulse-control issues with food. You dont become 220 pounds without having some issues with eating. I am still constantly fighting my own urges when it comes to my diet. To this day, I can easily out-eat a grown man (including my 64 boyfriend). If I let myself go, stop being diligent, or give up my gym routines, I will quickly lose control again. It is a constant battle, but it is worth it because every pound I lose and every pound I keep off means one more minute on this earth living my life to its fullest.

Advice

Its calories in versuscalories out. At the end of the day, diet was always the most important part. No matter how hard I tried, I could never outrun my fork. I work out, but thats mostly because it makes me better at sports. Diet to look good, lift weights to look good naked.

All photos courtesy of Folland OConnor.

Need more inspiration? Read about our other weight-loss winners!

Weight-Loss Win is authored by Andie Mitchell, who underwent a transformative, 135-pound weight loss of her own.

Have a weight-loss win or beauty story to share? We want to hear it! Tell us at YStyleBeauty@yahoo.com.

Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style:

Follow us onInstagram,Facebook, andPinterestfor nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow@YahooStyleand@YahooBeauty.

More here:
The hCG Diet helped this woman lose 85 pounds, but this inspired her to keep the weight off - Yahoo Health


Aug 30

Fat Shaming is a Just Another Form of Hate – The Good Men Project (blog)

More than once I have been out with a confident woman who has had her self-esteem sabotaged by a comment about her weight. At my pudgiest, Ive never been so verbally assaulted.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, many women talk about their looks and weight; that is their tragedy. Few men do; thats theirs. Comedian Amy Schumer has addressed this dichotomy, perhaps most pointedly on the Twelve Angry Men episode of Inside Amy Schumer, but she wasnt the first.

Margaret Cho, in her groundbreaking monologue stage show Im the One that I Want (filmed 2000), discussed the difficulties she faced because of her weight while starring in the 1994 sitcom All-American Girl. As she put it, she had to lose weight to play the role of herself (as opposed to Drew Carey, who, Cho pointed out, got her old time slot and some of the same sets for his subsequent show, but didnt face the same pressure to slim down). In fact, she lost so much weight so rapidly through an unhealthy diet and fear that she says she suffered kidney failure. And still she wasnt considered thin or even a healthy weight for her height and frame.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, many women talk about their looks and weight; that is their tragedy. Few men do; thats theirs.

Cho was a victim of fat shaming including by her own network employers, mostly men and that was in the era before Facebook and Twitter. Considering the abuse recently heaped upon Leslie Jones (of the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot and Saturday Night Live) for her appearance, Cho was comparatively lucky.

According to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 19881994, more women than men (ages 20 and older) think they are overweight or obese, regardless of whether they are or not. Thats partly realistic more Americans of either gender are overweight than realize it but it also reflects the extra pressure women face to look good.

Fat shaming can lead to illegal drug abuse and diet pill addiction Cho abusively used drugs and alcohol after her sitcom was canceled; the criticism of her body arguably was a contributing factor either as a coping mechanism or, especially in the case of diet pills, as a means of losing weight.

Diet pills work by:

Just because the drugs help you lose weight doesnt mean they are healthy or safe. The earliest anti-obesity medications were just laxatives or purgatives, thus preventing absorption of calories by removing them from the body as quickly as possible. But this can result in a dangerous loss of potassium in the body, affecting the heart and other muscles.

Cocaine, a stimulant, may help you lose weight, but it is illegal, dangerous, and addictive. It can permanently damage your metabolism. Some legal stimulants have a similar weight-reducing effect, but are only recommended for short-term use because of possible side effects. A diet pill addiction increases the likelihood of such side effects.

Even effective anti-obesity medications have been withdrawn from the market or have been rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because of concerns that they can do more harm than good. Many so-called diet pills and weight loss supplements, especially those sold on the web or by mail, effective or not, can be deadly. For one thing, they may be adulterated or not contain the ingredients they claim because there is no government regulation. If they do help you lose weight, cardiologist Arthur Agatston warned Prevention, it could be due to a stimulant whose safety is unproven, and they may cause unpleasant, even dangerous cardiac side effects.

At the end of her monologue, Cho said, Its so wrong that women are asked to live up to this skinny ideal that is totally unattainable. For me to be 10 pounds thinner is a full-time job, and I am handing in my notice. Not that she was against losing weight. She dropped quite a few pounds later, and even performed burlesque in the name of body acceptance.

In general, it is healthier to be thinner than overweight, but its never appropriate to fat shame someone because (despite what Milo Yiannopoulos posts on Breitbart) not only isnt it nice, it doesnt work. Some men forget this, not realizing or not caring that it is easier for men to lose weight because in general we have more muscle mass and therefore faster metabolisms.

Cho arguably lost weight after professional success and personal happiness, not because Internet and real-world trolls called her fat.

A healthier way to lose weight than a diet pill addiction is physical activities such as strength training, which also have the benefit of improving mood by releasing endorphins and preventing osteoporosis by strengthening bones. Just dont let it turn into an addiction to exercise.

Photo by Hamza Butt

Read this article:
Fat Shaming is a Just Another Form of Hate - The Good Men Project (blog)


Aug 28

Considering weight loss surgery? BMC has you covered. – BayStateBanner

If you or someone you know struggles with obesity, you understand the struggles of endless weight loss programs that have shown no results, exhaustion from small tasks and the increase of various health risks due to weight.

The Weight Loss Surgery Program at Boston Medical Center offers several procedures for managing weight and weight related health problems. Typically, patients with a BMI greater than 40 can qualify. All surgeries are performed laparoscopically, meaning only through small incisions, which reduces recovery time and results in less post-operative scarring. Each surgical options reduces the size of the stomach in some way, allowing patients to feel full more quickly, and therefore, lose weight.

Perhaps one of the most common surgical options is the Sleeve Gastrectomy, or Gastric Sleeve. Here, the stomach is made smaller by stapling and dividing the majority of the stomach and removing it from the body. The remaining part of the stomach is very narrow and only holds about 3 oz. of food. With this option, food is still able to exit the stomach the same way it would normally. But, similar to Gastric Bypass, vitamin and mineral supplements are still necessary. After surgery, patients will typically be required to take vitamin and mineral supplements.

Another surgical option offered at BMC Gastric Bypass. The purpose of this procedure is to make the stomach smaller by stapling and dividing it into two pouches. The larger part of the stomach is bypassed, meaning that the food is going around it, rather than passing through it. A Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the smaller pouch, creating a bypass for food, skipping the digestive system. Because the main stomach and the first part of the small intestine are bypassed, vitamin and mineral supplements are still necessary.

A third but less common procedure is the Intra-Gastric Balloon. Suited for patients with a BMI between 30-40 who may not otherwise qualify for weight loss surgery, this outpatient procedure is recommended for those who have not been able to lose weight by improving diet and exercise habits. Here, a saline filled silicone balloon is placed endoscopically through the mouth with no surgical incisions. Similar to other weight loss procedures, the idea is that the patient will feel full quickly, due to the size of the balloon in the stomach. Typically after about six months, the balloon is removed.

The team at Boston Medical Center also has extensive experience in revisional weight loss surgery, which can include the removal of existing gastric banding devices (i.e. Lap Band) or the conversion to another type of weight loss surgery. To take the first step in your weight loss journey today, sign up for a new patient information session, or view the presentation online. Your dedicated weight loss surgery team is committed to helping you choose the right path in order to stay happy and healthy.

See the article here:
Considering weight loss surgery? BMC has you covered. - BayStateBanner


Aug 27

How Conor McGregor’s Weight Loss Ahead of His Big Fight May Harm His Body – Scientific American

Before he faces off against undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather, UFC champion Conor McGregor must conquer the scale.

And that could prove an even more dangerous opponent.

In pre-fight trash talk, Mayweather has claimed that McGregor looks extremely heavy and has been scrambling to try to drop 10 pounds. (Both fighters have to come in under 154 pounds at the weigh-in on Friday afternoon if their much-hyped bout is to proceed.)

The truth is, though, shedding 10 pounds in a couple days is no big deal for most MMA fighters.In the past, McGregor has reportedly cut more than 25 pounds in eight days time.

The key question is whether they can do it without damaging their health. And even the nutritionist charged with guiding McGregor to his fighting weight said thats a difficult balance.

Its nothing Id recommend to everyday people, George Lockhart, the nutritionist, told STAT in an interview. I always tell people if health was your number one priority, MMA is not the sport you should be going into.

MMA fighters are known to dehydrate themselves using everything from saunas to sweat suits, hot baths to water pills to shed up to dozens of pounds in the days ahead of a weigh-in. After making weight, they try to quickly regain it by eating food and drinking water in hopes of gaining the competitive advantage of size over their opponent.

Lockhart, a former fighter and Marineveteran, generally starts on the Tuesday before a weigh-in. He removes sodium from a fighters diet and offers herbal diuretics that include potassium to replenish lost nutrients. Hell also have a fighter taper water consumption over several days two gallons on Tuesday, one gallon on Wednesday, occasional sips when thirsty on Thursday. The day before the weigh in, Lockhart takes carbohydrates out of fighters diet and cleans out his or her intestinal tract. On that final night, fighters sometimes work out or take a hot bath.He monitors vitals, including body temperature and blood pressure, throughout the process.

Ten pounds in four days is like a hiccup, Lockhart said. What Floyds talking about, it just shows hes probably never cut weight before.

But dropping weight that fast even just 10 pounds draws concerns from doctors. Dr. Larry Lovelace, a ringside physician in California, told STAT several fighters have died over the past few years from the practice, which athletic officials have called the biggest problem in the sport today.

A 2013 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that 39 percent of MMA fighters studied experienced significant or serious dehydration before their fights. Lovelace said the body doesnt fully rehydrate for at least two days well after a fight ends. That means fighters could experience muscle cramps and loss in agility while in the ring, he said.

It only takes 2 percent dehydration to impair your performance, Lovelace said. Theres no way theyre going to recover, and its definitely going to affect their performance.

There are bigger health risks, too. They include:

The brain: When a fighter takes a punch to the head, the brain rattles off the front and the back of the skull. Thats not healthy in the best of conditions. Dehydration makes it worse. The brain is bathed in fluid, said Dr. Edmund Ayoub, vice president of the Association of Ringside Physicians. Without that fluid, the brain has less cushion. Therefore, the risk of injury could be greater for a fighter who spars during the process of weight cutting. The brain can hit harder against the skull, Ayoub said. You may have more [risk for] brain injury.

The heart: A fighters heart beats faster than normal when dehydrated. If you normally walk around with a resting heart rate of 72, now it may be 90 or 100, Lovelace said. So going into a cage to fight, there are potential cardiac risks.

In a 2013 interview with Vice Sports, ringside physician Dr. Michael Kelly said dehydration can impact how the body regulates sodium and potassium levels and, in turn, mess with the cardiac fibers conducting electricity inside the heart. So if those signals arent propagating along the channel correctly, Kelly said, the heart can go into an irregular heartbeat or fatal heart rhythm and wind up in cardiac arrest.

The kidneys:Nephrons, the tiny structures inside the kidney that produce urine to remove waste from the body, malfunction without enough water.Your kidneys literally dry up, Ayoub said. When kidneys get dried up, you can get kidney damage. In 2015, fighter Johny Hendricks had to be rushed to the emergency room after weight cutting led to intestinal blockage and a kidney stone. Doctors say theyre also at risk of sustaining chronic kidney issues due to the practice.

Ayoub thinks fighters would remain healthy if they made sure to lose no more than 2 percent of their body weight each week. If McGregor had to lose 10 pounds, for instance, he should aim to shed it over three weeks instead of just one, Ayoub said.

Lovelace, though, said there is nothing to be gained from the practice of weight cutting,in part because both fighters are often doing the same thing, canceling out any potential advantage from packing on pounds immediately after the weigh-in.

Lockhart, for his part, believes fighters will keep cutting weight no matter what. So he considers it his job to help them do it as safely as possible. Theres no degree for weight cutting, Lockhart said. You need people to show them how to do it in the proper way.

MMA writer Iain Kidd, who has observed Lockharts training methods for a forthcoming book, puts it this way: There are ways to do it safer but not ways to do it safely.

Republished with permission fromSTAT. This articleoriginally appearedon August 25, 2017

Follow this link:
How Conor McGregor's Weight Loss Ahead of His Big Fight May Harm His Body - Scientific American


Aug 27

How Ellie managed to lose a whopping 115kg – NEWS.com.au

She used to smash burgers, now she smashes triathlons. Picture: Supplied

TWO YEARS ago, Elle Gooddall was a very different person.

My whole life was based around food, she tells Kidspot. I didnt do any physical activity at all. There were times when I tried I knew I needed to lose weight but it never lasted very long.

At her heaviest, Elle weighed 184 kilograms.

I ate McDonalds and KFC three meals a day and it wasnt just one meal for each sitting it was about three.

The now 29-year-old had diabetes and sleep apnoea. Doctors told her she wouldnt live past 40 if she continued with her unhealthy lifestyle.

At her heaviest, Elle couldn't reach to tie her own shoes and had to have others help her stand from a seated position. Photo: SuppliedSource:Facebook

When food is your life and its taken away

Elle knew she would have to do something drastic, but when her doctor mentioned a gastric sleeve, she was resistant at first.

I wasnt keen on surgery, she said. Id never had surgery in my life and the thought scared me.

With a gastric sleeve they cut out and remove half your stomach so whats left is quite small.

Elle first tried to lose weight on her own, but wasnt able to, and in the end decided to have surgery.

In preparation, she went on a shake diet to lose fat around her liver, saw a dietitian and psychologist too to make sure she was mentally prepared.

When food is your life, mentally you need to be able to cope. This thing you rely on is being taken away. Thats what the surgery is; it makes it so you cant eat anymore, she says.

At 184 kilograms, doctors were concerned Elle wouldn't live past 40. Photo: FacebookSource:Facebook

Losing more than 100 kilograms

It took Elle a year and a half to lose 115 kilograms.

It was quick, quicker that most people because of the changes I made along with surgery, Elle said.

Four weeks after surgery my doctor cleared me to exercise. I started working out, walking on the treadmill, doing weights.

Elle knew she didnt want to slip back into her old life, but it wasnt easy.

I was the worst person to be around. I was so angry. Id throw things across the room if my husband told me I couldnt have food, she said.

Eventually I started to learn about food and the amazing flavours you can get out of eating healthy. I started making my own soups, experimenting with herbs and spices.

The flavours were so much better than what I was getting from McDonalds.

Then one day she met a woman who had had the same gastric surgery.

Shed put all the weight back on and then some. I told myself, Thats not going to be me. I cant afford for this not to work, she says.

As a teenager, Elle loved to swim, and she returned to the sport after surgery. Photo: FacebookSource:Facebook

How to conquer an Iron Man

Cleaning up her eating and exercising for the sake of it wasnt enough for Elle.

I wanted to do something drastic, she says. I wanted to fall in love with something. I knew I wanted to find a sport, and because I used to be a swimmer, I thought swimming would have something to do with it.

One day she was at the lake and began talking with a stranger who had been training with the local triathlon club.

I said to her, I wouldnt mind giving that a go, but Im quite a big girl. It feels pretty extreme, she says.

The woman replied, If you want to do triathlon, you will and you can.

She became Elles coach. They set some short term goals with the ultimate goal to complete the Noosa triathlon. The distance is 1500 metre swim, 40 kilometre cycle and 10 kilometre run.

I started training and I havent looked back, she said.

Elle's ultimate goal is to race in the Kona triathlon world championship. Photo: FacebookSource:Facebook

When you cross that finish line, its all worth it

Weight loss was Elles motivation at first, but it quickly took second place to fitness as she began to love triathlon.

I dont have a weight goal now. I dont weigh myself anymore, Im not interested in that anymore, she says.

My story isnt a weight loss story, its a story of health and fitness. My goals are fitness goals. I want to get to the finish line of an iron man in December, and then get a position in Kona, which is the Hawaii world championship.

Its going to mean a lot of hard, hard work, but Im pretty determined.

This article originally appeared on Kidspot.

You don't need to go to the gym every day or go on a strict diet to lose weight. Here are some top weight loss tips from 'The Diet Doctor' Moodi Dennaoui and PT and former Survivor contestant Tegan Haining.

More here:
How Ellie managed to lose a whopping 115kg - NEWS.com.au


Aug 24

Best ways to lose weight: 8 simple ways to burn fat starting today – GQ India

Theres probably no better day tokickstart your weight-loss programme than a weekend. If you really think of it, thebest way to lose weight is to actuallystart out on a weekend rather than on a Monday morning. Youcanstart making the small changes youve always wanted to make; plan your meals for the rest of the week and get your bodywarmed up for a rigorous workout regiment to follow in the coming week.

Remember, the best way to lose weight is to not rush into anything. Small changes make all the difference.Youdont have to starve yourself to lose weight or double up on workouts to try and beat bloating. Just keep a flexible approach and incorporate these simple tips in your regular fitness regime to achieve effective results.

Your body requires sufficient amount of liquids and substituting energy drinks, fruit smoothies or juices for water may not be a good idea since they contain about 100 calories. Water, on the other hand, contains zero calories and carbs, making it the perfect slim-down drink. If you still insist on adding some flavour, infuse it with mint leaves or lemon wedges.

White rice, spaghetti and sandwich rolls contain carbs and can wreck your weight-loss plans since they are digested quickly leaving you craving for more food, according to Dr Jana Klauer, author of The Park Avenue Nutritionists Plan. Healthier whole-grain bread products may seem like an ideal substitute but they contain filling fibres that may trigger bloating. If you cant do without rice, swap your regular rice for cauliflower rice which is made by grating cauliflower. Veggies contain complex carbs which are digested slower in your system. Plus since veggies contain water, they help flush out the excess water-weight.

The more calories your burn, the faster you lose weight. And any workout that involves increasing your heart rate will help burn calories. A cardio routine is ideal to help you burn maximum possible calories. Wendy Larkin, personal-training manager at Crunchs Polk Street gym, in San Francisco says that it engages in multiple muscle exercises.

Try these three for a start: Spinning, cardio kickboxing and boot-camp workouts. Indulging in half an hour of each of these exercises will help you burn at least 200 to 300 calories while simultaneously toning your body to make it appear sleeker. Incorporate HIIT (High intensity interval training) in your workout and youll witness much quicker results. It involves alternating short bursts of intensive cardio with slower activity. Trainers even swear by it.

Good news: you dont have to give up on your morning coffee (Its the reason your morning is so productive everyday). According to Dr Klauerpre-exercise cup of java with a splash of skimmed milk (about 11 calories) or black (just 5 calories) will rejuvenate your workout.

Not that you need a reason for a good romp at night, but indulging in some fun between the sheets(especially with you on top) is a fast fat burner. The more active you are, the more calories you will burn approximately 144 for 30 minutes. Sex is also said to drive away hunger pangs. But, then again, who needs food when youve got dessert?

These basic exercises are an excellent way of sculpting your muscles to make your body appear more toned. Three sets of 12 of each exercise if done every other day, will make you slim down considerably quickly. Fitness experts will confirm that push-ups tends to target your upper body, while lunges will help work out your butt, hips and thighs. Quicktip: Ensure your back and legs remain straight during the push-ups because it will improve muscle tone. You could hold free weights in each hand while performing the lunges for building more muscle mass.

Who can complain about that extra half an hour of blissful sleep? Especially if it helps in weight-loss. The simple logic behind this is that it will keep you refreshed and wont let lethargy come in the way of your morning gym session. According to experts7 to 8 hours of restful sleep boosts your metabolism. And because your body builds muscle while you sleep, that extra snooze will, in fact, be good for you.

Research has proven thateating spicy food helps you cut down on calorie intake. The compound capsaicin found in spicy food (jalapeno and cayenne peppers) may, in fact, help in increasing your bodys stress hormones such as adrenaline which in turn helps in speeding up your metabolism and ability to burn calories.

NOW READ

How men are getting rid of their flabby guts without exercise

6 insanely fit guys reveal how they got ripped

7 best cardio workouts that burn the most calories

> More on Fitness

View post:
Best ways to lose weight: 8 simple ways to burn fat starting today - GQ India


Aug 21

The fastest ways to lose weight (according to a nutritionist) – NEWS.com.au

You don't need to go to the gym every day or go on a strict diet to lose weight. Here are some top weight loss tips from 'The Diet Doctor' Moodi Dennaoui and PT and former Survivor contestant Tegan Haining.

Swapping a meal for a soup, salad or smoothie every now and then will help you cut calories.

WHEN IT comes to losing weight, who does not want to lose any extra kilos as quickly as possible. And while there are literally hundreds of fad diets that can strip kilos in days, few if any of them work long term.

So if your goal is to lose weight as quickly as possible, in a way that will actually keep those kilos off, here are the best ones to try.

1. CUT THE CARBS

Carbohydrate rich foods including bread, rice, cereal, pasta, starchy vegetables such as potato, fruit and sugars including honey are the primary fuel source for the muscles and for the brain. And while we need some carbohydrate for optimal metabolic function, in general we eat far too much for the amount of activity that we do.

For this reason, cutting back on carb rich foods will naturally see a drop of a few kilos within days, and while much of this is fluid weight, the drop on the scales is often what motivates us to keep going with weight loss.

Overall a slightly lower carbohydrate intake, where we keep our fuel low at night by focusing meals around protein and vegetables is a safe and sustainable weight loss strategy.

A Mediterranean-style salad with feta and olives is a great low-carb option. Picture: iStockSource:Supplied

2. SWAP A MEAL

Your preference may be for a meal replacement shake, a soup or a salad but the simple strategy of keeping your calorie intake especially low for one meal each day is another proven, successful weight loss strategy.

In each of these cases, calorie intake at one meal is cut to just 200-300 calories, which can be half of that of regular meals which keeps your overall calorie intake lower without you even realising it.

3. STOP SNACKING

Often we underestimate the impact snacking has on our daily calorie intake in general the message of small regular meals has been translated into large regular meals with us frequently enjoying milk coffee, fruit, nuts and snack bars throughout the day, or an extra 400-600 calories.

Unless you are training for an hour or more, you are only likely to need a couple of light snacks, if any, throughout the day. As such cutting out snacking entirely in favour of enjoying more vegetables and protein rich meals three times a day is an easy way to slash calories and drop a few kilos.

4. NO LIQUID CALORIES

Whether it is smoothies, juices, coffees, wine or soft drink, liquid calorie intake is not compensated for which means when we drink our calories, we do not automatically eat less as a result.

In addition, a constant flow of liquid sugars plays havoc with our natural hunger and fullness signals. As such, a simple way to slash calories and promote fat metabolism is to keep your intake of liquid calories to a minimum. If you love coffee go for a piccolo, choose herbal tea, water or vegetable juices instead.

5) EAT OVER FEWER HOURS

The longer we have without food overnight, the better it is for the hormones that control fat metabolism in the body. This means ideally leaving 10-12 hours each day without any food, or stopping eating by 6 or 7pm and then not eating again until 8 or 9am.

In modern life this is easier said than done but it is actually one of the few proven weight loss techniques out there.

See original here:
The fastest ways to lose weight (according to a nutritionist) - NEWS.com.au


Aug 21

How Climate Change Canceled the Grizzly Salmon Run – The Atlantic

In the summer of 2014, William Deacy and Jonathan Armstrong returned to Kodiak Island, Alaskaa place where the worlds biggest grizzly bears gather to gorge themselves. Every year, hordes of sockeye salmon swim up from the ocean and fill the islands streams in a spawning frenzy. Every year, the bears are waiting for them. And every year, Deacy and Armstrong had gone to wait for the bears.

But in 2014, the bears were gone.

For years, Deacy and Armstrong, both ecologists from Oregon State University, had spent time at one particular stream on the islandthree meters across, and only six inches deep. In July and August, its shallow waters turn red with around 60,000 sockeye salmon. Theyre bank to bank, says Deacy. Youd have a hard time walking through the stream without catching one.

The bears certainly have no problem. They kill around 70 percent of the spawning fish, and they focus on the most energy-rich organs. Theyll bite the humps off the backs of the males, and theyll tear females open to get at their nutritious eggs. The signs of this massacre are evident. The tall grass on the streams banks gets so thoroughly flattened by the lumbering bears that it resembles a putting green. Gulls, scavenging from the cadavers, are so bloated that they can barely flyand are liable to careen into human heads. And bits of shredded, half-eaten salmon float downstream.

Its usually terrifying to walk up the streams because you get a sense of carnage just around the next corner, Armstrong says.

But in 2014: nothing. The grass was tall. The gulls were svelte. And the salmon were mostly untouched. Foxes, eagles, and wolves took their fair share, but without the bears, these lesser predators made the tiniest of dents in the salmon population. Most of the fish died naturally. Thered be piles of dead salmon, just molding, says Armstrong. The bacteria were eating them instead of the bears.

So where had the bears gone? Fortunately, at the beginning of the year, the team had collared around 15 of the animals to track their movements. As the data rolled in, the team noticed that the bears were up in the hillsides, far away from the streams. In particular, they were sticking to land that was covered in red elderberry bushes. And a team member from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service noticed that all the bear droppings that summer were full of elderberry skins. Bear scat is a horrendous mess when the animals gorge on salmon, but this stuff was very different in color and consistency.

In most years, red elderberries only ripen from late August to early September, at the end of the salmon season. The two food sources dont overlap, so the bears eat them in sequence, gorging on salmon before bingeing on berries. But, by looking at historical data, Deacy and Armstrong found that this natural timetable has changed. In Alaska, spring temperatures have increased and elderberries have been ripening earlier. In 2014, the berries ripened especially early, bringing them in sync with the spawning salmon. And it seems that whenever both items are on the menu simultaneously, the bears always choose berries.

Which makes no sense. Pound for pound, salmon contains twice as much energy as elderberries. If bears are looking to gain as much weight as possible, in anticipation of the coming winter, why would they pick the less calorific food? All our conventional wisdom made it hard to believe that they were switching to these berries, says Deacy.

He solved the mystery by talking to Charles Robbins, who runs the Bear Center at Washington State University. Robbins suggested that its not the total number of calories in these foods that matters, but the levels of different nutrients. In an earlier study, in which he offered captive bears a varied diet, hed found that the animals mix and match their foods so they get around 17 percent of their energy from protein. Thats the level that allows them to gain weight most quickly. If they overload on protein, they actually lose weight.

Salmon are far too rich in proteinit accounts for about 84 percent of the energy in their flesh. But elderberries, by astonishing coincidence, comprise around 13 percent proteinfar more than your typical berry, but almost exactly the optimal amount for a grizzly bear. By focusing on that single food, the bears can gain weight as fast as possible.

On average, red elderberries are ripening two and a half days earlier every decade. If that continues, they will regularly overlap with the salmon by 2070, and the unusual events that Deacy and Armstrong saw in 2014 will become the new normal.

Scientists have assumed that generalists like bears will fare better under climate change because they have more dietary options, says Stephanie Carlson, an ecologist from the University of California, Berkeley. That might not be the case. The bears, Carlson says, are used to riding different resources waves, bouncing from one high-quality foraging option to the next. If the berries ripen earlier, that might be a good thing, but once theyre done, the bears will have missed out on the earlier salmon pulse.

Then again, some of Kodiaks salmon arrive much later than the main spawning horde. These fish stick to lakes and rivers instead of shallow streams, so theyre harder to catch. But bears could wait until they die and scavenge their corpses. Were speculating, but we think the bears are going to be fine, Armstrong says. There are a lot of backups on Kodiak Island.

That might not be the case in the continental United States, where salmon runs are dominated by hatchery-raised fish that all tend to spawn at the same time. So far, no one knows if bears in other states are also abandoning salmon in favor of other time-shifted foods. But were particularly worried about proposals for large mining operations and other human activities that would reduce the ability of bears to move across the landscape and make use of these backup resources, says Armstrong.

Misty MacDuffee, from the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, also notes that a bears life isnt just about finding food and gaining weight. Many lines of evidence suggest that bears need the fat from salmon for successful hibernation, and delivery or nourishment of cubs inside the den, she says. If theyre forgoing this fat for the easy carbs in the berries, are they inadvertently screwing themselves over?

And what about the other inhabitants of Kodiak Island? By killing salmon, bears make their flesh available to smaller fish and gulls. By dragging salmon corpses to river banks, bears move huge amounts of nutrients from the sea to the land, fertilising the soil and feeding small scavengers. In these forests, everything from trees to weasels depends on the bears annual slaughter of salmon. What happens if that slaughter ends?

Many scientists have shown that climate change is rescheduling nature. Warming temperatures are forcing birds to migrate sooner, insects to emerge earlier, and plants to bud and bloom before their time. These changes are disrupting many of the dances between species, forcing long-established partners to move to different rhythms. Flowers, for example, might bloom too early to catch a wave of pollinating insects.

But most examples of these phenological shifts involve asynchrony between two partners. The case of the Kodiak bears represents an under-recognized phenomenonthat of increasing synchrony of [natural] events due to climate change, says Nicole Rafferty, from the University of California, Riverside. And the consequences of this shift in foraging behavior could be large with knock-on effects for the ecosystem as a whole.

Species that never lived together can now interact because were removing the barrier of time, says Armstrong. Well see these new combinations that we never thought about, and well get strong responses that no one could have ever predicted.

Read the original post:
How Climate Change Canceled the Grizzly Salmon Run - The Atlantic



Page 72«..1020..71727374..8090..»


matomo tracker