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While Adele never fails to impress millions with her beautiful voice, her recent holiday pictures have got tongues wagging! Looking slimmer and toned up than before, the 31-year-old's transformation is one to seek motivation from!Well, what if we told you, the success behind Adele's transformation is eating smart? A fan of 'sirtfood diet', Adele followed this diet to lose weight and get into a healthier and (needless to say, impressive) shape.What is the sirtfood diet?The latest diet cleanse which has got the world raving about it follows a scientific approach to battle weight gain.The diet popularises on the use of 'sirtfoods', which are some special foods which work by activating certain protein chains in the body, known as sirtuins. According to science, these antioxidant agents act as protectants that help slow down aging, boost metabolism and regulate the body's inflammation, hereby helping in fat loss.

Studies have also found that the sirtfood diet can help people lose up to seven pounds (3 kilos) in under a week's time.

As complex and scientific as this diet plan sounds, the diet encourages you to include some of the most commonly found kitchen ingredients as well as some indulgent foods. Some common foods allowed in this plan include foods like oranges, dark chocolates, parsley, turmeric, kale, and even red wine.

The diet, though considered to be a fad, focusses on maintaining a restrictive weight loss strategy one week. While the first three days makes you limit your calorie intake to 1000kcal (consuming three sirt food green juices and having a meal). The remaining days, you are allowed to increase your calorie intake to 1500kcal and have two meals a day (along with two sirtfood juices). Post this, the maintenance phase recommends you to eat up to three balanced foods rich in sirtuin, coupled with an effective workout strategy to lose weight, making it all the more sustainable.

Since it is rather restrictive in nature, many stay wary of the diet plan working in the long run. The diet restricts your calorie intake and can devoid you of other needed nutrients, so, it is not a long term, sustainable diet plan for weight loss.

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All you need to know about the Sirtfood diet which helped Adele lose 22 kilos! - Times of India

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Now that the holidays are over and the new year has begun, millions of people across the world are jumping on the healthy lifestyle bandwagon and looking to shed some pounds before the warm summer months creep up.

Following a diet requires research (many fad diets can become dangerous to your health), strategic planning and strong willpower. With the emergence of the fitness world on social media, there are even more diets and weightless plans to sift through now than ever before.

A new ranking from the U.S. News & World Report provides a detailed guide outlining the best diets to follow in 2020. These diets have been scientifically researched and are backed by a team of nationally recognized experts in diet, nutrition, obesity, food psychology, diabetes and heart disease.

Looking to live a healthier life in 2020? Click through the photos above for a look at the 15 top-rated diets this year, according to U.S. News & World Report...

U.S. News editors and reporters compiled a first edition of the ranking by creating profiles using data from medical journals, government reports and other resources. A panel of health experts then reviewed the profiles and rated each diet by seven categories: how easy it is to follow, its ability to produce short-term and long-term weight loss, its nutritional completeness, its safety and its potential for preventing and managing diabetes and heart disease, according to the report.

Each diet was then scored and ranked into different diet rankings, from best diets overall to best heart-healthy diets. The diets featured in the best diets overall ranking combined ratings from all seven categories. The No. 1 best diet was required to be easy to follow, effective for weight loss, protect against diseases such as diabetes and heart disease and be nutritious and safe.

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The best diets to follow in 2020, according to U.S. News & World Report - Houston Chronicle

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How one millennial learned the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

By Melissa Jacobs

Photo By Tessa Marie Images.

In 2013, Chelsea Chen was 25 years old and ready to tackle her first executive-level job at a Philadelphia-based accounting firm. Then tax season hit, and Chen found herself working almost 80 hours a week. She knew how to manage balance sheets, but not her own work-to-life ratio. The stress took a toll. The nature of my job was to work with teams and get reviews after each project, says Chen. There was a lot of pressure to get good feedback for the team and for my own performance.

Ingesting a steady diet of takeout food and snacks, Chen gained 20 pounds. I wasnt focused on what I was eating, she admits. I never had to pay attention to it in the past.

Once she did pay attention, Chen lost weight by making better food choices. Mindful eating came naturally thanks to a childhood spent in China, far away from processed foods. She also enjoys exercise, so she took up hiking in Valley Forge National Historical Park, walked on the Radnor Trail and joined a gym near her apartment in Wayne.

As her weight went down, Chens career took off. In 2016, she landed a job at another accounting firm, which required commuting from Wayne to Center City and juggling more stress. She was on her way back to square one. All I did was work, she recalls. I ignored everything else.

That included exercising and paying attention to her diet. She also stopped dating a man shed been with for a few months. Within a year, Chen packed on 65 pounds.

Chens story is not unusual. The Health of Millennials, a 2019 report issued by Blue Cross Blue Shield, surveyed 55 million Americans with commercial health insurance who were born in the early 1980s through late 90s. The study concluded that one-third of them have conditions that reduce their quality of life and life expectancy.

In fact, millennials have higher prevalence rates for nearly all of the top 10 health risks than Generation Xers did when they were in the same age range. Dr. Richard Snyder, chief medical officer at Independence Blue Cross, emphasizes the importance of encouraging people at younger ages to take a more proactive role in their preventive care and managing their physical and mental health.

When she turned 30, Chen decided to take control of her health. In 2018, she enlisted the help of certified personal trainer George Holifield, fitness manager for Philadelphia Sports Club in Radnor. Holifield created an exercise routine that fit Chens schedule, and she was soon working out five days a week for one hour.

But as it turns out, Chens schedule wasnt the root issue. She simply hadnt made her health a top priority. People make time for what they want to make time for, says Holifield. To make that time, we have to let go of what isnt worthwhile and doesnt serve us. Thats true in fitness and in life.

Cardio was the first thing Chen let go. Contrary to popular opinion, weight trainingnot cardiovascular exerciseis the key to maintaining long-term fitness. Once she stopped wasting time doing cardio, Chen was able to focus on weight training. Now, she does cardio only one day a week. Weight training builds lean muscle mass, increases bone density and activates the metabolism to burn fat, not just water, Holifield says. Sustainable results are achieved when your body is composed of muscle mass, not fat mass.

Related Article:Six Local Experts Weigh in on How You Can Find Your Power.

Chen also stopped dieting. Instead, Holifield focused on nutrition and portion control. Most people dont eat enough of the foods that stimulate the metabolism to burn fat, not store it, he says. Quality consumption is key.

While that may sound overwhelming to some, Chen says the changes were gradual. George started me with basic things and didnt ask me to start or stop anything that was too difficult, she says. He just asked me not to quit.

And she didnt. Three months into the program, Chen started to shed fat. But weight loss was Holifields secondary goal. Most important is the mind-body connection, he says. You have to first train someones mind to be positive, energetic and excited. If you focus on that, you wont have time to be negative.

It took Chen a year to hit her goal weightbut the number on the scale isnt her biggest achievement. Im happy, she says. I got my life back.

That includes a new job in Wilmington, Del., a new apartment in Chadds Ford and a new man. Chen is sharing her story with other people, hoping to spark positive change. She started with her family. During a four-month visit from China, Chens 56-year-old mother trained with Holifield and lost 15 pounds.

Further proof that its never too late to make positive change, Chen says.

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How Chelsea Chen lost weight and learned to maintain a healthy work-life balance - Mainline Today

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"If I didn't have this bag, everything I put in my mouth would drain down the front of me," Shelly Lienhart, 55, of Holt says Monday, Dec. 30, 2019.(Photo: Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal)

Shelly Lienhart has lost nearly 10 pounds in the last five months. It wasnt a cause for celebration. The weight loss worried her.

At 52, sheweighs 66 pounds.

And she fears shell keep losingweight if Medicare continues refusing to cover the medical equipment and medicine she saysshe needs to survive.

They are letting me waste away to nothing like my life doesnt matter. How much weight can I lose? Lienhart said. I feel like Im starving to death, and Medicare isnt doing anything about it.

Lienhart, who lives in Holt, weighed 100 pounds at her healthiest. But that all changed after cancer ravaged her body five times and left her with long-term medical issues.

Surgeons removed her stomach and esophagus after she suffered from stomach cancer and four bouts of esophageal cancer.

Lienhart wasleft with a unique medical condition that befuddled her doctors, she said. Because of it, she qualified for disability and then Medicare, the federal health insurance program thatcovers thoseage 65-plus and disabled individuals.

Im so unique. (Doctors) dont know what to do with me, Lienhart said. Anytime I go in (for an appointment), theyre like What do I do?

Lienhart began advocating for herself after Medicare denied her medical claims for ostomy bags, which she attaches to a hole in her neck to drain saliva and collect any food or drink she tastes, and also a nutritional formula thatshe said will help her gain weight.

The 55-year-olduploaded a video about her health challenges to Facebook in December. Since then, the video has received nearly 10,000 views.

Medical equipment suppliers and businesses donated 15 boxes of ostomy bags to Lienhart in response.Each box contains 10 ostomy bags, the medical equipment Lienhart said she will need for the rest of her life.

But Medicare told her she isn't using the ostomy bagsas intended.Ostomy bags are traditionally used to collect stool and urine.

Considering Lienhart uses one ostomy bag a day, eventually shell need to buy more on her limited income, she said.

And so shes seeking a permanent solution.

Lienhart was first diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2002.

She battled esophageal cancer from2012 to 2015, which iswhen she had her last surgery.

Lienhart wasnt a candidate for a procedure in which doctors stretch the intestine so that patients can eat and swallow post-surgery. Radiation had done too much damage.

So Lienhart was forced to havea hole in her neck, a fistula.

Anything I put in my mouth goes through that hole, Lienhart explained.

Lienhartattaches an ostomy bag to her neck, which she saidhelps drain fluid, such as saliva.

Shelly Lienhart, 55, of Holt on Monday, Dec. 30, 2019. She is a survivor of stomach and esophageal cancer. Her nutritional needs are met intravenously. Everything that goes into her mouth, as well as saliva, drains into an ostomy bag.(Photo: Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal)

Nurse PractitionerCaralee Kay Smithdiscovered Lienharthad droppedfrom 95 to 91 pounds within a monthpost-surgeryin September 2015, according to copies of University of Michigan Hospital recordsLienhart shared with Lansing State Journal.

Lienhart told Smith she hadn't received her"neck ostomy supplies and her feeding tube formula in a timely fashion," according to Smith'srecords. That is why Lienhart believed she lost the 4 pounds, the records said.

Smith's records also indicatedthat Lienhart neededthe ostomy bags for "drainage." The nurse practitioner wrote:

"We contacted outpatient discharge planning and asked them to contact the patient regarding her inability to obtain both feeding tube supplies and ostomy supplies in a timely manner. She wishes to return to work and may do so after collaboration with her ostomy team in finding her a suitable drainage bag and when she is ready."

From that point forward, Lienhart's ostomy bags were covered by Medicare.

Medicare stopped covering themin 2017, Lienhart said, because she wasnt an ostomy patient using them to collect stool or urine.

She now pays out of pocket for the bags. She has paid anywhere from $33 for a box of 20 on Wish.com to $68 for a box of 10, depending on the supplier.

Lienhart has been seeking help ever since, but there is one assistance program she hadnt yet explored.

The Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Programis a non-profit that provides freecounseling to residents throughout the state.

The programs executive director Jo Murphy advisesMedicare beneficiaries to appeal when a claim is turned down.

There are different steps in an appeal. It can be expedited if someone was going to die tomorrow, but its case by case, Murphy said. Sometimes it could be an easy fix. Sometimes its something as crazy as a billing code (causing the denial).

Lienhart contacted Medicare after her claim was denied. She also found an online advocacy firm to help her with an appeal. But she hasnt heard back from the agency, and she isnt sure if theyre still working on her case.

People should not just give up if they have a claim turned down, Murphy added.

Murphy recommended working with community agencies, including her program,which was employeeswho specifically work on tough cases.

After speaking with Lansing State Journal, Murphy recommended that Lienhart get in touch with her organization to discuss her case.

Another option for Medicare beneficiaries is to see if they qualify for Medicaid.

Medicaid coverage is based on income and assets, according to Lynn Sutfin, public information officer at the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services.

Lienhart, who said she lives on a limited income, wasnt sure if she qualified for Medicaid, citing her Medicare, which she qualified for because she is on disability.

But it is possible to be eligible for both.

If Medicare does not cover an item, Medicaid could potentially cover it if the item is deemed medically necessary, Sutfin said. However, if Medicare deems an item not medically necessary, Medicaid is prohibited from covering the item.

Sutfin recommended that Lienhart and others in similar situations check their Medicaid eligibility.

Medicare told Lienhart they also wouldnt cover Total Parenteral Nutrition, a nutritional formula thats inserted into the bloodstream.

With this dietary (formula), maybe there are other options, said Murphy. With Medicare, everything needs to be medically necessary and doctored ordered.

In Lienharts case, Medicare covers Vivonex RTF, a 2,000-calorie nutritional formula that she puts into her body intravenously. The formula typically costs $9,000 a month, and TPN is much more expensive, according to Lienhart.

The cost of a Parenteral Nutrition program is reported to be "very high," according to theNational Institutes on Health.

But many things factor into the cost, such as"the condition being treated, the type of nutritional product, the composition of the nutrition, levels of nutrients, various supplies" and more, explained Sutfin.

Temporarily using Total Parenteral Nutrition in conjunction with Vivonex RTF would help her gain weight, Lienhartsaid.

With Vivonex RTF alone, Lienhart added,she dropped to 66 pounds over the last few years.

Total Parenteral Nutritionis usually covered by Medicare, according to Sutfin.

So it is unclear why Medicare wont cover Total Parenteral Nutrition for Lienhart, but its possible the provider is choosing to cover one formula rather than both.

No matter the reason a Medicare beneficiary is turned down, Murphy believes its important for everyone to learn to advocate for themselves.

Its unfortunate, but that is how health care is. Its a complicated and overwhelming system," Murphy said."Some give up, and we dont want them to do that. There are other options. There is more than one option in most cases.

Lienhart hasnt given up.

Because of her Facebook video, two members of Congress,Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters,have reached out and offered to help her get her ostomy bags covered.

Whether shell get TPN covered to help her gain weight is still a question mark.

"I've lost muscle because I have no more fat to lose," Lienhart said.

To apply for Medicare, visitwww.medicare.gov

To appeal a decision from Medicare, visitwww.medicare.gov/claims-appeals

To apply for Medicaid, visitwww.michigan.gov/mibridges or contact a Michigan Department of Health & Human Services office atwww.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-73970_5461---,00.html

To appeal a decision from Medicaid, visitwww.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-71547_4860_78446_78448-16825--,00.html

Contact LSJ reporter Kristan Obeng at KObeng@lsj.com or 517-267-1344. Follow her on Twitter @KrissyObeng.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to LSJtoday.

Read or Share this story: https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2020/01/06/holt-woman-says-medicare-wont-cover-what-she-needs-survive/2776460001/

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Holt woman who dropped to 66 pounds says Medicare won't cover what she needs to survive - Lansing State Journal

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Visceral fat, in contrast to subcutaneous fat - the type of fat you can pinch, lies hidden under the surface. You may not be able to see it, but visceral fat poses a far greater health risk than subcutaneous fat.

It is stored dangerously close to vital organs such as the liver and intestines, which means carrying too much of it can trigger a number of chronic and potentially life-threatening diseases.

Visceral fat build-up is usually the result of unhealthy dietary decisions so drastically cutting back on the worst culprits can help to reduce the harmful belly fat.

According to research published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation, one of the main dietary offers is sugar-sweetened beverages.

Data from the Framingham Heart Study - a long-term, ongoing cardiovascular cohort study of residents of the city of Framingham, Massachusetts - showed that among middle-aged adults, there was a direct correlation between greater sweetened beverage consumption and increased visceral fat.

After looking at both sugar-sweetened beverages and diet soda consumption, the researchers did not identify this association with diet soda, which is often promoted as low in calories and sugar.

READ MORE:How to get rid of visceral fat: Best exercise to beat the harmful belly fat

"There is evidence linking sugar-sweetened beverages with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes," said Caroline S. Fox, M.D., M.P.H, lead study author and a former investigator with the Framingham Heart Study of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

She continued: To policy makers, this study adds another piece of evidence to the growing body of research suggesting sugar-sweetened beverages may be harmful to our health."

While the exact biological mechanism is unknown, Jiantao Ma, M.D., Ph.D., post-doctoral fellow at the NIH and co-leader of the study, said that it's possible that added sugars found in sugary beverages may be the culprit.

This explanation is consistent with a growing body of evidence that links added sugars to visceral fat gain.

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Research shows that added sugar contains roughly 50 percent fructose, a simple sugar that is metabolised by the liver.

In large amounts, fructose can get turned into fat by the liver and this may increase visceral fat storage.

This process also suggests that eating less added sugar and fructose may be an effective way to lose visceral fat.

Additionally, in a study in 41 children aged nine to 18, scientists replaced fructose in their diets with starch that provided the same amount of calories.

They found that this simple change reduced liver fat by 3.4 percent and visceral fat by 10.6 percent in just 10 days.

In addition to shunning the worst dietary offenders, you should pay attention to portion size, and emphasise complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) and lean protein to combat the harmful belly fat, advises Harvard Health.

Engaging in physical exercise is another proven way to help reduce the harmful belly fat.

Harvard Health recommends engaging in regular moderate-intensity physical activity at least 30 minutes per day (and perhaps up to 60 minutes per day) to control weight and lose belly fat.

Many studies support this advice, showing that aerobic exercise in particular can help you lose visceral fat, even without dieting.

For example, an analysis of 15 studies in 852 people compared how well different types of exercise reduced visceral fat without dieting.

They found that moderate and high-intensity aerobic exercises were most effective at reducing visceral fat without dieting.

Strength training (exercising with weights) may also help fight visceral fat, although, as Harvard Health notes, spot exercising, such as doing sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles, but it won't attack visceral fat.

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How to lose visceral fat: Cut back on these types of drinks to reduce harmful belly fat - Express

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A SPUR of the moment decision lead this couple to a combined 60kg weight loss.

A year ago, Steph Marriage was sitting on her back veranda watching her daughters play and decided she wanted to have more active fun with them.

She got her partner John Ramm on board and together they embarked on a mission to get fitter.

John Ramm and Steph Marriage went on a weight loss journey so they could play more actively with daughters Georgia, 3, and Baylee Ramm, 1. Photo: Sam Reynolds

Over the past year, Miss Marriage lost 24kg and Mr Ramm dropped 35kg.

Miss Marriage said it all began when she saw an ad for a six-week challenge and decided there was nothing to lose by signing up.

I figured I only had something to gain if I really gave it a go. she said.

She said the first few weeks were tough.

Two weeks into the TruFit challenge I started to really struggle with sugar withdrawals because I was such a sweet tooth, she said.

She said about week six, it all got a bit easier.

If youre exercising regularly your muscles get used to being worked and the feeling of being sore all the time gets less and less, she said.

And once you push through the first few weeks with your eating, it becomes second nature.

Mr Ramm said the lifestyle change involved a mind reset, but he had not looked back.

Before, I couldnt play with the kids, he said.

All I wanted to do was sit and watch TV and now I dont even like TV.

Georgia Ramm, 3, enjoys watching dad John Ramm do pushups. Photo: Sam Reynolds

The couple achieved their goal of being more active with their daughters.

We often go for hikes as a family up Mt Biondello, Miss Marriage said.

Were working up the courage to do Mt Larcom with the kids.

The couple said they had to sacrifice time with their children to make time for training.

I felt guilty taking time away from my kids to devote to myself, Miss Marriage said.

You dont realise until further down the track that its better for the kids in the long run.

John Ramm before his he lost 35kg

For long term results, consistency is key, she said.

Around the six-month mark when you start to lose weight and gain confidence is when you start to slip into bad habits, she said.

Its hard to get back on what youre supposed to be doing.

Miss Marriage said like most people, her diet had a blowout over Christmas, but she switched back to her healthy routine.

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'Nothing to lose': Couple's incredible transformation - Observer

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Diet plus exercise equals the key equation to stay in a caloric deficit and, therefore, to lose weight. You can try losing weight without exercise, but working out will help preserve your muscle mass and keep your metabolism up. Likewise, if you tried to maintain your caloric deficit through workouts alone, it would be incredibly difficult, as experts have explained to us in the past.

Registered dietitian and NASM-certified personal trainer Alix Turoff, MS, knows that finding the right workout and eating plan for weight loss is easier said than done; results are different for everyone. Plus, there are other factors that come into play like genetics, as well as stress levels and sleep.

Alix, whom we've interviewed in the past, posted the Instagram seen here to indicate that oftentimes people tend to focus on everything on the left to lose weight - intermittent fasting or keto, fasted cardio, or even apple cider vinegar. While some of these can absolutely work - she pointed to intermittent fasting, as an example - it isn't sustainable for everyone and it's not actually necessary to see results.

Alix told POPSUGAR via email that the main point of that post was to indicate that the only thing required for weight loss is a caloric deficit. "For some people, intermittent fasting can help them achieve a caloric deficit more easily," she explained. "It creates rules and some people do well with that. For other people, stressing about intermittent fasting can actually make matters worse."

Keto too, Alix said, can yield results. "That said, it does require a very controlled carbohydrate intake, and for most people, that's not going to be sustainable long term," she explained, adding that keto is also much different from just a low-carb diet because you need to be strict about eating precise carbs and protein. She explained, "Protein can be converted into glucose, which could take the body out of ketosis. So to really get in to ketosis, you won't be able to have an off day or a day where you eat some extra fruit, which makes it very hard to be flexible."

While Alix has recommended the keto diet for people with uncontrolled blood sugars, she typically doesn't advocate for cutting out specific foods to lose weight, but rather limiting them. Plus, while intermittent fasting, for instance, does work for some people, other things on the left side of the graphic she shared, such as supplements or adaptogens, "really have no research to support their use in weight loss," she noted. And, Alix wrote in her Instagram caption that oftentimes people don't even have the fat-loss basics down before they try those left-side strategies.

Alix told POPSUGAR that these fat-loss basics begin with understanding calories and macronutrients. If you skip that part, you won't learn how to balance your food, she said. Here's how to calculate how many calories you should be eating in a day for a healthy caloric deficit. And, here's one way to calculate macros for weight loss. She said you should also look at your exercise routine, too - here's a four-week workout plan for weight loss - but try to pick workouts you enjoy since that's what you are more likely to stick with. And, you should be focused on your sleep, mood, and relationships, Alix said. "If you're on a diet and you're losing weight, but your sleep is terrible or you're in a bad mood all the time, it doesn't matter how much weight you're losing because you're prioritizing weight loss over general health," she stated.

Alix concluded in her post that you should focus on the big picture, and get the basics down first. Then, you can experiment and see how you feel. As the graphic she made states, she wants people to find a way to eat in a caloric deficit while still choosing nutrient-dense foods that don't sacrifice what these people actually want to eat. Diets may work, but relying on something that isn't sustainable in the long run isn't sufficient for long-term weight loss.

Alix told POPSUGAR that working with a registered dietitian, if possible, can help you make sound decisions about what lifestyle changes are right for you. It's important, too, even without a dietitian, to be honest with yourself. "If you find yourself starting and stopping or getting on and off track, it's time to look at why that's happening," Alix said. "Does the diet cut out foods that you love? Is it too restrictive? Are you trying to be so 'perfect,' and then having it backfire?"

Alix continued on to say that slow and steady wins the race when it comes to weight loss. That's why it's important to be realistic with your expectations. "Healthy weight loss might be anywhere from half a pound to two pounds per week, depending no how much weight you have to lose," she said. So, if a diet promises you'll lose weight faster than that, it's a red flag.

An effective weight-loss regimen that's safe won't jeopardize your mental health, Alix noted in the graphic and further told POPSUGAR. Here's how to tell if a diet is affecting your mental health, according to Alix:

Lastly, Alix wants you to unfollow anyone who promotes unhealthy ways to lose weight. "Remember that anyone can call themselves a nutritionist," she said. "Sure, there are some non-RDs that are great sources of information, but I would be very careful about who you follow." She continued on to say that you should look into their education and credentials, and you should question everything. (Here's a good place to start for creditable sources.)

"Understand that there are NO QUICK FIXES," Alix wrote to POPSUGAR via email (we're a big fan of the all caps she used here). "If there were, I'd be doing it. There's no one diet that works for everyone, so if someone is claiming that they have the answer for everyone, run the other way!" Remember all of this, and for more on strategies to lose weight, here's our expert-approved guide.

Link:
An RD Says Diets Like Keto and IF Aren't Necessary to Healthily Lose Weight - Here's Why - Yahoo Lifestyle

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We all make em and break em 92% of all new years resolutions fail.

Actually expect massive dissolution of resolutions this coming week the second Friday of January is Quitters Day. Motivation is already fading fast. Promises of moving more, eating less or beefing up our bank accounts are fizzling.

Every new year people make resolutions that are highly restrictive, unrealistic and unsustainable, setting themselves up for failure before they even start, says registered dietitian Jillian Kubala, of jilliankubalanutrition.com.

Head off that fateful day and be part of the 8% that make their resolution a dream come true. Keep it simple and realistic, says Kubala. Pledging to lose mega pounds with a super-restrictive 1,000 calorie per day diet or committing to a 5 a.m. spin class daily may have you resolving to an epic fail from day one.

Research shows time and again that restrictive diets dont work and that most people who drop pounds using restrictive dieting methods regain up to 95% of the weight lost within five years. Additionally, studies have shown that at least one third of dieters end up regaining more weight than they originally lost, says Kubala, who uses the Instagram handle @jillian_kubala_rd to share wellness tips.

Theres still time to tweak that resolution into something realistic and sustainable. Were a mere five days into 2020, lots of time to fine-tune and re-aim your resolve so you get where you want to go.

Kubala offers up these resolutions that you can actually keep:

Eat less added sugar. Foods and beverages high in added sugar include soda, candy, sugary cereals, sweetened yogurts, energy drinks, sweetened coffee drinks, and baked goods.

Eat more vegetables. If you currently only eat veggies once or twice a week, make a resolution to eat one serving every day with dinner, then work up from there.

Cut out or reduce highly processed foods. For optimal health, whole, nutrient-dense foods should be making up the majority of your diet. Cut back on fast food and highly processed packaged foods. Start with focusing on one meal, then work up from there.

Move more in any way that works for you. Your new activity routine needs to fit in with your schedule to increase the chances of success such as walking for 30 minutes three days a week before work or on weekends. Enlist a friend or coworker to to hold you more accountable. Expending more energy in general is the most important thing, no matter the intensity.

Less screen time. Most people spend way too much time on their phones or staring at TV or computer screens, which can increase chances ofweight gain and depressive symptoms. Try uninstalling social media from your phone and trying out a new hobby.

Stop the dieting cycle. Cyclical or yo-yo dieting has been linked with a host of negative health outcomes. Choose to create a nourishing eating pattern that makes you feel good about yourself and doesnt involve unnecessary restrictions. A registered dietitian can help you start and/or maintain a healthy eating plan.

Sleep on it!

You feel your willpower waning? Then sleep on it, says Dr. Michael Breus, a New York sleep specialist and clinical psychologist. Bad ZZZZs will keep you from reaching simple goals, let alone a year-long resolution. The sleep deprived will simply continue to not achieve their true potential, or even get close to it.

All new years resolutions are affected by sleep resolutions are actually rest-o-lutions! says Breus.

We are sleep deprived big-time. Its epidemic proportions. Over 50% of women appear to complain about their sleep not getting good sleep more than three nights per week, says Breus. We now have both an overweight and an obese society, and with it comes sleep apnea, which effects about 20% of the total population but more like 80% of the overweight/obese population.

Thats not all: Bad sleep hygiene includes excessive screen time for both adults and kids, and copious amounts of caffeine. Its literally everywhere, or hidden in energy drinks. Not only does this prevent many people from going to sleep, but for those that can still fall asleep, the quality of that sleep is terrible, says Breus.

Not too late to make sleep your rest-o-lution:

Pick bedtime and wake-up time and stick to it.

Stop caffeine early. Caffeine has a half life of six to eight hours, so stopping at 2 p.m. means at least half is out of your system before bedtime, which will help you fall asleep easier and maintain sleep quality.

Stop alcohol three hours before lights out. It takes the average human one hour to digest one adult beverage.

Get a good exercise session in during the day.

Have a peaceful ritual every night like reading a book, walking your pet, or having a nice shower or bath.

The dirt on gyms

Youre hitting the gym to lose weight and get healthy?

Beware the germs, viruses, and fungus! The gym is one dirty place, according to Bryan Combs, a nurse practitioner at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Get a grip and keep your immune system healthy. Handlebars on ellipticals, treadmills, stationary bicycles and weight machines are covered in bacteria. Clean them yourself with wipes or a disinfectant spray before and after each use, recommends Combs.

Dont assume the gym towels are clean. A lot of gyms use the same container to carry dirty towels to the washing area and then use the same one to bring clean towels back, so they can become contaminated again, says Combs.

Reusable water bottles and gym bags are germ carriers. Wash your bottle after every use and use a disinfectant spray regularly on your gym bag.

Head off fungal infections like athletes foot by always wearing shoes in all areas of the gym, but especially in change rooms and in the shower. If you sit down, make sure a clean towel is placed on top of the bench or seat.

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The new year's resolution revolution - Toronto Sun

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Karan Khanna, an artist by profession feels that staying fit amidst the growing challenges of urban life seems like a daunting task. But of late the invention of app-based fitness guides have literally changed the fitness game and has made it very-interesting to lose weight without spending a bomb. Much like Karan, Sonali a Corporate Professional finds it too convenient to keep a track of the calories consumed throughout the day. "Keeping a track of the food we eat is one of the most difficult parts of losing weight and my favourite fitness app helps me in keeping a track of what I eat and how much I should eat to maintain my ideal weight."Millennials have their own interesting ways of managing things and when it comes to losing weight, they do it with utmost smartness and perfection, and fitness-apps are a perfect example to cite! Of late, fitness apps have changed the entire weight-loss game by making it super simple and convenient to keep a track about their desired fitness goals and how to manage calorie intake based on the guidelines suggested, it might sound strange but these fitness apps have made it very simple to manage weight in a healthy way.

Good or bad ?Staying in shape is a universal desire, but theres another fact that can not be ruled out while chalking out a diet plan is that what works for one, might not work for the other person. However, most apps claim to analyse the BMI and eating patterns based on the information provided, but its accuracy might be a concern. In fact, it isnt a great idea to totally bank on the app rather keep a track on your health patterns and eating habits personally is something that will keep you fit for ages.. In fact, these days the technology driven fitness apps literally match up to the level of personalized dietitian suggested diet plans, which are chalked out by analysing height, weight, ailments and complete health profile. So, the decision of good or bad entirely depends on the results based on individual preference.

Is it sustainable?

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Are you hooked to app-based diets? How far are these sustainable - Times of India

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America is in the midst of a keto craze. The trendy diet -- which bans carbs to make your body burn fat for fuel -- has kicked Weight Watchers' derrire on the stock market, captured the endorsement of celebrities such as Kourtney Kardashian and Halle Berry, and deluged the internet with recipes and copious social media chatter about pounds lost.

Now the popular diet even has a day named after it. The Vitamin Shoppe, which wants to sell you a ton of keto-based products, has named the first Sunday of this new decade "National Keto Day."

"What on Earth justifies granting a day to memorialize a fad diet?" said Dr. David Katz, founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center. "The grapefruit diet surely warrants its own day too!"

Katz is no fan of keto, or any other diet that restricts entire food groups, calling them unhealthy and unsustainable.

"Losing weight fast by using a severely restricted, silly, unbalanced diet inevitably leads to even faster weight regain," said Katz, who is the president of the True Health Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to health promotion and disease prevention.

"Absent ketosis, keto is just a false label for some kind of diet that presumably restricts added sugar and refined carbohydrate -- which, frankly, any good diet does," Katz said.

Katz's low opinion of keto is echoed by many nutritional specialists across the country. Katz joined 24 other top names in the field to rank 35 popular weight loss programs for 2020 recently put out by U.S. News and World Report.

The popular keto diet flunked, coming in next to last -- which it has done for several years now. Only the highly restrictive protein-only Dukan Diet ranks lower.

"Most health professionals are concerned that the degree of carb restriction requires someone to cut out many of the foods that have been consistently recommended as being healthy: fruits, beans/legumes and whole intact grains," said Stanford professor Christoper Gardner, who conducts research on low-carb diets at Stanford Prevention Research Center. Gardner was also a judge on the U.S. News panel of 2020 diets.

With such negative reviews, just how did keto capture such a faithful following? Experts say it's because its legions of fans are focusing on the short-term benefits of fast weight loss, without factoring in possible long-term risks.

Keto is short for ketosis, a metabolic state that occurs when your liver begins to use stored fat to produce ketones for energy. The liver is programmed to do that when your body loses access to its preferred fuel -- carbohydrates -- and thinks it's starving.

The diet has actually been around since the 1920s, when a doctor stumbled on it as a way of controlling seizures in children with epilepsy who didn't respond to other treatment methods.

"It was recognized long ago that denying the brain access to glucose, and converting to ketone-based metabolism, dampens brain electrical activity," Katz said. "But why on Earth would you want to dampen brain electrical activity unless you had refractory (unmanageable) epilepsy?"

Creating ketosis is not as simple as it seems. Your liver is only forced into producing ketones when carb intake is drastically slashed. In the keto diet, you limit your intake of carbs to only 20 to 50 a day, the lower the better. To put that into perspective, a medium banana or apple is around 27 carbs, the full day's allowance.

It can take several days to weeks before your body fully transitions into burning fat. In the meantime, it will scream for carbs, and (speaking from personal experience) will punish you by sending a zombie to suck out your brains, a vampire to drain your blood and a giant troll to jump up and down on your body.

The feeling of fatigue and malaise is so bad that keto-lovers have christened the experience "keto-flu."

You'll also have "keto-breath," a wonderfully metallic smell similar to nail polish remover emanating from your mouth. Other than urination, that's the only way ketones can escape your body.

Drinking water might help with dragon-breath. You'll also need to drink a lot of water to try to counter constipation and other gastric-grumblings due to the lack of fiber from fruits and starchy veggies.

Once all that passes, keto-lovers maintain, you'll have more energy, a more focused brain, and best of all, very little hunger.

But those effects only last if you stay in ketosis. Cheat a bit, and your body scrambles to go back to what nature intended.

Therefore low-carb diets like keto rely heavily on fats to fill you up. At least 70% of the keto diet will be made up of fat -- some say it's more like 90%. Of course you can get all that fat from healthy unsaturated fats such as avocados, tofu, almonds, walnuts, seeds and olive oil.

But just in case you can't eat that many avocados, the diet also allows those not-so-good-for-your-arteries saturated fats like lard, butter, palm and coconut oils as well as whole-fat milk, cheese and mayonnaise.

And here's a twist: You can't rely too much on lean protein to accomplish ketosis. Eat more protein than an average 20% of your daily calories and your body will use that, and not fat, for fuel. Bye bye, ketosis.

Therefore protein sources for ketosis reply on "skin-on poultry, fattier parts like chicken thighs, rib-eye steaks, grass-fed ground beef, fattier fish like salmon, beef brisket or pork shoulder," according to U.S. News, as well as -- get ready America -- bacon!

Yessss. That's why this is a popular diet right? Like the dog in the 1980s commercial, we as a nation collectively jump up and down for bacon.

Of course the lure of all-the-bacon-or-fat-you-can-eat was arguably behind the initial success of the Atkins diet that exploded into popularity in the '90s. It was followed by more low-carb options such as South Beach, Paelo, Whole30 and Zone, among others.

Yet critics say those initially popular plans have struggled to keep the public's interest as dieters have succeeded in losing some weight, only to fail to keep it off over the long term.

Atkins has rebranded, offering different levels of carb restriction they call "Atkins 20" and "Atkins 40." Colette Heimowitz, Atkins vice president for Nutrition Communication & Education, told CNN the company's approach allows for more flexibility than keto "as we encourage people to incorporate foods back into their meals and find their carb tolerance level."

Keto appears to be undergoing the same process, with some promoting "clean" keto, which focuses on using all those avocados, nuts and seeds for fat sources, instead of "dirty" keto, in which folks take the buns off their fast food burger and chow down.

Clean keto advocates admit that it takes a good deal of effort to research food items and plan and prep meals, so "unsurprisingly, many a keto eater takes the easy way out, eating a diet centered around foods like bacon, cheese, butter, and packaged foods," according to an article on the Vitamin Shoppe's Keto HQ.

And that's the crux of the problem for nutritionists.

"Most people who claim to eat 'Paleo' use that banner to justify eating any kind of meat they like, notably, bacon, burgers and pepperoni," Katz said. "There was no paleolithic pepperoni!

"No doubt, the same is going on with keto -- people invoke the label to eat the foods they want to eat, notably processed meat," he said. "I suspect a very tiny minority of those attempting to eat keto are either eating clean or are in ketosis."

Then there's the issue of varying health claims for keto and other low carb diets.

"The ketogenic diet is designed to be a short-term diet, and there are a number of studies and trials demonstrating its effectiveness," said chiropractor Josh Axe, a spokesperson for the Vitamin Shoppe, in statement.

"When done correctly, it can be a great tool used to treat and prevent several chronic conditions while also supporting overall health," said Axe, who is the author of "The Keto Diet: Your 30-day Plan to Lose Weight, Balance Hormones and Reverse Disease."

An Atkins spokesperson pointed to a two-year study by a health group selling ketosis diet interventions and told CNN in a statement that "today's science" shows "people can improve health markers pertaining to weight loss, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome" when they control carbs.

Not exactly accurate, according to Gardner and Katz.

"There's very little research, and to the best of my knowledge, all of it is linked to a company marketing the keto diet," Katz said.

"The bottom line is that despite its current popularity, we have very few studies that can support or refute its impact on health," Gardner said.

The National Lipid Association Nutrition and Lifestyle Task Force reviewed all the available evidence in 2019 and found low and very-low carb diets "are not superior to other dietary approaches for weight loss," and in some cases even raised cholesterol levels.

In addition, they found "three separate observational studies, including a large prospective cohort study with long-term follow-up," showed an association between very low-carb diets and "all-cause mortality."

So far, at least, it appears science has found the benefits of low-carb diets are fleeting.

"What the early studies have shown is that there are early benefits in terms of weight loss and glucose control," Garner said. "But in the few studies that have gone on for 12 months, the benefit in comparison to other diet approaches diminishes and is no longer statistically significant."

Which is why nutritionists fail to see the benefit of subjecting your body to the stresses of a low-carb diet just to lose a bit of weight, gain it back, and then start all over again.

"To achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, or optimize diabetes or heart disease risk factors, we should not be focusing on a 'diet', " said Alice Lichtenstein, director and senior scientist at Tuft's University's Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory.

"We should be focusing on dietary patterns, making changes in current practices that can be sustained lifelong."

The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

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