1. Be mindful about what youre eating.

As humans age into adulthood, Chag says we tend to turn off a component in our brain that tells us when were full.

When you see a little kid with an ice cream cone, youll notice they stop eating it when theyre full, she said. But with adults, theres this clean the plate mentality.

Before and after each meal, Chag recommends thinking about how hungry or full you are on a scale of one to 10, with one being starving and 10 being Thanksgiving-dinner stuffed.

At the end of each meal, you want to feel about a six, seven, or eight, she said. You never want to be at a 10, but you also dont want to feel faint.

Chag said that mindless snacking and grazing also tends to happen when we turn off this mechanism. She says before you reach for between-meal foods to check in internally and ask, Am I hungry, or am I kind of dehydrated?

Sometimes, you just need a cup of water, she said.

And when it comes to mindful eating, practice makes perfect.

Its easy to talk about, but it takes a lot, she said. If you can tap back into it, it will be your guide. It takes time. Its not going to happen overnight. Be patient with yourself."

2. Fill up half your plate with veggies.

Gone are the days of meat and potatoes dominating dinner plates. To keep healthy, Chag recommends loading up half your plate, or a portion two to three times the size of your fist, with non-starch vegetables. (Starchy vegetables can include potatoes and corn.)

Vegetables to strive for include bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, leafy greens the world is your oyster, Chag said.

However, when it comes to choosing veggies, variety is key. You dont want them just to be green. Get some color on the plate," Chag said, noting that different-colored foods can help supply a range of vitamins and minerals.

3. Adhere to the 80/20 rule.

In general, every meal should follow the 80/20 guideline, Chag said, where 20 percent of the food eaten is a lean protein like chicken, fish, or pork.

Red meat lovers: You can have your beef and eat it, too, as long as you opt for a lean cut like a top sirloin or prime rib and consume it in moderation, she said.

When it comes to starches like potatoes, rice, and bread, generally a portion the size of your fist, or half your fist, would be a Chag-approved goal. (Yes, that includes the mashed potatoes and Thanksgiving stuffing.)

4. Nightshades are now on the table (literally).

If Brady is known for any weird diet quirks (remember his well-documented love of avocados?) its his aversion to nightshades, which include tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes.

However, Chag said that now, for some people, nightshades are (literally) on the table. Chag said she and Guerrero Bradys controversial trainer and TB12 co-founder who helped develop the football stars diet and off-field exercise regimen look at what was historically said and evolve based on research and experience.

For example, if a veggie-averse client is only eating three vegetables a day and two of those are nightshades, then if theyre not feeling any negative effects, there would be no reason to cut them out of their diet.

Its person-dependent, she said. We want to make sure people are getting enough fruits and veggies a day, since theyre rich in vitamins and antioxidants."

So does this mean Brady himself is back on the nightshade train? With a laugh, Chag noted that Guerrero is the point person on Bradys diet, and that she had no idea if he has come around on tomatoes.

5. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Another headline-grabbing statistic from The TB12 Method: Brady apparently drinks as much as 25 glasses of water a day.

Twenty-five . . . is a lot. Very much a lot, Alicia Romano, a clinical registered dietician at the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center, previously told the Globe. I would never recommend that to a patient.

So when Chag begins to wax poetic about the benefits of staying hydrated, I ask what she thinks about the 20-some glasses of water a day.

Generally, she says people should take their body weight in pounds, divide it by two, and use that number in ounces as a baseline for how much water to guzzle a day. (Surprisingly, after doing the math, this seems pretty doable for most people.)

However, if youre active, she says, thats when we start taking other things into account, like what your sweat rate is, because we want to make sure were making up for losses.

6. When it comes to alcohol, moderation is key.

In order to fend off dehydration, Chag recommends opting for water or seltzer as a first drink when you arrive at bars, parties, or family dinners where alcohol is front and center.

If you skip the first one, you build a little bit of armor for yourself, she said. Alcohol is super pro-inflammatory and dehydrating, so we try to get the number of alcoholic drinks as low as we can.

She also notes that simply having a non-alcoholic drink in your hand can deter mindless alcohol intake.

"People are eager to get you a drink because they want to be a good host, but if you already have something in your hand, you can say youre all set.

You dont need to go alcohol free to be TB12-approved, though. And dont feel like you need to choke down vodka sodas in a quest to limit calories.

If youre drinking, pick something you enjoy and have it in moderation, she said. From a diet standpoint, I dont care where your number [of drinks per week] is, I just try to bring it down. Some of my clients have two drinks a week, max. Some of my clients are wine aficionados, and they have 15 glasses of wine a week.

For those of us more who are simply aiming to clean up our down-the-hatch act, Chag recommends against sugary cocktails that use rely heavily on juice or soda, since refined sugar is inflammatory. Go more straightforward, she said.

7. Its OK to enjoy guilty pleasures now and then.

Its the holidays. No one is expecting you to refuse every chocolate or home-baked sugar cookie, Chag said.

Avoiding sugar can be challenging, especially this time of year, she said. Dont beat yourself up over that Lindt chocolate ball.

In terms of how often you consume something, Chag says there are two categories: Sometimes foods and everyday foods. The sometimes foods tend to include the sugary, delectable treats that are a no-no in the TB12 world.

Its OK to just have them some of the time, she said. Its not not having it, but spreading it out. Make sure it becomes a sometimes food, not an everyday food."

And even if you pig out on foods that are unsanctioned by the TB12 nutritionist (gasp!), Chag said that its not a big deal to do once in a while.

Enjoy it, she said. Know that one meal wont undo one month or one years worth of hard work."

8. Dont forget to move.

Yes, Chag is aware that movement is not a food. But she says its still important to work into a healthy diet.

For example, after a family meal, get everyone together and go on a walk around the neighborhood, Chag suggests.

It doesnt have to be sweat-inducing," she said. Go on a leisurely walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Little things build up over time.

Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JaclynReiss

Excerpt from:
8 tips on holiday eating from a TB12 nutritionist - The Boston Globe

If there's one part of the body that most people would like to be free of excess fat, it's the belly. And it's not just for appearance's sake: The specific type of fat that accumulates around your midsection has been linked to a higher risk of disease, including some cancers, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Core exercises can reduce the appearance of belly fat, but there are better ways to get rid of it altogether.

Credit: andresr/E+/GettyImages

Spot reduction, or the idea that you can target fat loss from specific areas of the body, is a myth, so there's no exercise or food that will magically melt away belly fat. But if you're looking to lose belly fat for the long haul, there are a number of research- and expert-backed things you can do.

The first step to getting rid of your belly fat is understanding how it's different from other types of body fat and how that factors in when it comes to weight loss.

There are two types of belly fat:

"As we get older and our hormones change, we tend to deposit more visceral fat, which is very pro-inflammatory and much more dangerous to health than subcutaneous fat," Luiza Petre, MD, a cardiologist and weight-management expert, tells LIVESTRONG.com.

Generally, a waist size over 35 inches for women and over 40 inches for men indicates excess visceral fat, according to the National Institutes of Health.

First things first: Weight loss is a systemic process, which means that energy (read: fat) is burned at an equal rate throughout the body, Dr. Petre says. In other words, your body doesn't tap any one particular area before any other.

"What may seem to be focal weight loss is actually a product of how our fat tissue is distributed," she explains. Women tend to store more fat around the thighs and hips, while men carry more around the waist. Therefore, when weight loss occurs, it's more visible in those areas.

However, there is a difference when it comes to which type of fat goes first. Visceral fat is more readily metabolized into fatty acids, per Harvard Health Publishing, so it responds to diet and exercise more efficiently than soft fat on, say, the hips and thighs.

Once you create a healthy calorie deficit and implement the tips below, you can expect to see a difference in your belly in about two weeks.

Credit: Chaloemphon Wanitcharoentham / EyeEm/EyeEm/GettyImages

How quickly can you expect to watch your belly disappear? Well, that all depends on your calorie deficit.

If you want to lose belly fat, you need to lose weight, which means you need to consume less calories than you burn. Most people can safely cut between 500 and 1,000 calories per day, which typically leads to between 1 and 2 pounds of weight loss per week, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Wondering how to calculate your calories for weight loss? Download the MyPlate app to do the job and help you track your intake, so you can stay focused and achieve your goals!

If you stick to that schedule, you should start to notice a difference in your abdominal area in about two weeks, says Holly Roser, a certified personal trainer and sports nutritionist.

Don't fall for fads promising lightning-fast weight loss or six-pack abs in just a few days. Here's what really works when it comes to trimming your tummy and keeping visceral fat at bay.

Try High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

When you think about exercise for a flatter belly, your mind may immediately go to crunches and other core-targeting moves. But while abdominal exercises can tighten the muscles and make the abdomen look better, Dr. Petre says these moves won't actually trim down the fat around your waist. "Not all exercises are created equal when it comes to belly fat," she stresses.

Research, including a September 2019 study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, has found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is more effective in reducing abdominal fat compared to other types of training. Researchers noted that people who practiced HIIT not only shaved more inches off their waists but also lost more body fat and gained more lean muscle mass than those who performed other moderate-intensity exercise, including brisk walking and cycling.

Compared to low-fat diets, Dr. Petre maintains that lower-carb diets are better when it comes to blasting visceral fat. One important study, published August 2019 in the Journal of Hepatology, found that a lower-carbohydrate Mediterranean diet was more effective at reducing belly fat than a diet lower in fat.

Everyone needs fat in his or her diet. But the type of fat you're eating is important, too. Those following a Mediterranean diet are encouraged to avoid or limit saturated fats found in such foods as butter, lard, full-fat dairy, fatty meats, fried foods and commercial baked goods and instead stick to unsaturated fats like olive oil, avocado and nuts.

The Mediterranean diet also puts the focus on whole grains over refined carbs, which can help put the kibosh on belly fat. According to Harvard Health Publishing, these refined foods (think: white bread and rice, chips, sweets and sugary drinks) cause sharp spikes in blood sugar and elevate your triglyceride levels, which cause your body to store more fat around the waist.

Avocados are a smart choice when you're trying to lose belly fat.

Credit: Milan_Jovic/E+/GettyImages

Ilana Muhlstein, RD, dietitian and co-creator of Beachbody's 2B Mindset, is a fan of cruciferous veggies such as cabbage, arugula, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts as great belly fat-blasting fuel. "They are low in calories but high in fiber," she explains.

Eating more fiber can help you feel full on less food, which helps with weight loss in general. And eating more soluble fiber such as the kind found in many veggies but also flax seeds, oranges, beans and oats in particular may be key in reducing abdominal fat. One oft-cited study published in the February 2012 issue of Obesity followed more than 1,000 people for five years and found that each 10-gram increase in soluble fiber intake decreased belly fat accumulation by 3.7 percent.

Before you get too caught up in exactly how much and which kind of fiber you should be getting, keep in mind that there's no perfect amount to aim for instead, simply fill your plate with a variety of veggies as often as possible.

"A combined program of a low-carbohydrate and high-fiber diet with regular exercise and a de-stress plan will allow you to see a waistline again."

Research has established a link between sleep and visceral fat, Dr. Petre says. Indeed, a May 2014 study published in Obesity found that those who sleep a healthy amount of time defined by researchers as seven to eight hours a day gained significantly less visceral fat than those who slept too little or too much.

One of the culprits here is cortisol, aka the stress hormone, which your body tends to release when you're short on shut-eye. Cortisol signals your body to store more fat in your belly while also increasing your hunger and negatively affecting your metabolism.

Speaking of cortisol, research has also connected higher stress levels to more belly fat. "High cortisol levels can actually increase your visceral fat, as the hormone is known to increase the amount of fat that clings to your body and magnifies the growth of your fat cells," Dr. Petre says.

Stressful situations are nearly unavoidable in everyday life, but you do have control over your response to them, which can help mitigate the effects of cortisol on your body: Check out eight ways to beat stress-induced belly fat.

Because there are so many components involved in blasting belly fat, Dr. Petre says that motivation and commitment are key even when you don't see results right away. "A combined program of a low-carbohydrate and high-fiber diet with regular exercise and a de-stress plan will allow you to see a waistline again," she says. "You can push past your genetics and bad habits to get rid of that elastic waistband forever."

Read more:
How to Lose Belly Fat: 6 Things That Really Work - LIVESTRONG.COM

Bananas are a true superfood in every sense. In fact, a lot of gym-goers prefer to have a glass full of banana smoothie before or after a grueling workout. A lot of athletes too, prefer to have a banana on the go. Plus, it makes for such a tasty fruit!

Had simply, in its original form or topped off in dishes and shakes, there is no denying that bananas make for an excellent addition to your diet, especially for those who are on the lookout for a simple weight loss plan. They are loaded with good digestive enzymes that fuel up the system, recharge the metabolism and also have the ability to satiate you, which can cut down on untimely hunger pangs and stop you from overeating. It also raises the production of dopamine in the body, which keeps you more energized to workout!

Bananas also release energy slowly in the body and fuel your exercise. It is also an excellent source of potassium, which ensures that your skeletal and heart muscles keep flexing and contracting while you workout. They also contain a good source of potassium and fiber content in them which helps in regulating body fat, fight toxins actively and recharge the body to fight away the free radicals in the body.

Well, what if we told you, there is another secret health benefit of the fruit-something that's hiding in its peels?

Yes, before you decide to simply throw away the peels after eating the pulpy fruit inside, think twice. Eating the peels can actually accelerate your weight loss mission in an easier way! Banana peels not just cut out on food wastage, but can also help you ditch the flab a little faster!

According to Australian dietician Susie Bowell, banana peels can be an easy way to lose weight and if consumed regularly, it can provide ample nourishment, specifically to trim down your waistline. Detailing the benefits of the same in a study, Bowell mentioned that eating the peels in any form can increase your overall fiber content (by at least 10%), which is a good addition. Plus, the skin also guarantees a whopping 20% more vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium content, supporting the fact that it is full of nutrition. With the fiber, you stand to regulate your digestion and smoothen up the weight loss problems from the root. Hence, this way, not just the bananas but the peel too can help lose weight faster.

According to experts, the colour of the banana skin also carries with it several other nutritious benefits that are super healthy for you. Ripe, green banana skins contain a good portion of tryptophan (which is an essential amino acid), resistant starch which is essential to maintain a good gut. Yellow skinned bananas, the most popularly found ones contain several antioxidants that have cancer-protecting properties and strengthen your immunity too. The nutrients in the skin can also supply melatonin, which can improve sleep quality.

While studies are still underway to test how successful and helpful they are for weight watchers, banana peels, are no doubt super healthy. You can boil them or have them raw, or introduce them to your diet in a slow manner. Be sure to clean and thoroughly wash the bananas before consuming them to ensure that you do not ingest traces of germs or pesticides along with the health benefits!

See original here:
Weight loss: Can eating banana peels help you lose weight? - Times of India

Fitness is not ripped muscles or abs. Fitness is a way of life a healthy life that makes you feel good everyday. For 42-year-old Narendra Firodia, losing weight was just the first step to realising this goal.

My goal was to get healthy and fit! And, I knew that to make it happen, the first step that Id have to take was - lose my bodys excess weight. This first step commenced two years ago when Firodia weighed a whopping 102 kgs.

Two years ago, as I was approaching my 40th birthday, I met Luke Coutinho, author, holistic lifestyle coach and co-founder of RESET - Holistic Living Concepts during the learning session of Entrepreneurs Organization Pune, he says. Coutinho is a well-known lifestyle coach, who forefronts healthy eating habits and wellness practices over fad diets. I had been following Luke on Facebook for a while before I saw him address the crowd in Pune that day. I had always thought that one day, when I meet him, Ill ask him to guide me on a path of holistic living, he informs.

When I finally met Luke, post the event, we went through my medical records, and consequently, I enrolled myself in Lukes one year program that was centered around eating right, exercising, sleeping and creating a balance between my professional and personal life to get started on my weight loss and fitness journey. Below, he highlights the key elements of this one year program and weight loss plan that eventually helped him lose 18 kgs and trim from 102 kgs to 84 kgs.

My weight loss plan, comprising a workout routine and a daily diet plan, was customised according to my body type. I was also assigned my own personal nutritionist, who charted a new diet plan for me devoid of wheat, milk, sugar, tea and coffee. While these food items were restricted from my diet, the new meals I started consuming werent that different from what I was used to eating.

The new diet focused more on tips for preparation of food, portion control and substituting rich and heavy foods with healthy alternatives such as Poha and Idlis, Jowar/Bajra rotis and Dal, various types of Khichdis and Soups and Salads for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Various types of detox routines also became a part of my overall weight loss plan. According to Luke and Dr Deepti Bagree, Head of Department - Healthcare Division, RESET - Holistic Living Concepts, these detox plans included foods that were easy to digest like fermented foods such as idlis, dosas, probiotic beverages like kombucha, dark coloured fruits and vegetables and makhanas, sprouts as snacks.

Apart from switching to healthier alternatives, following a monthly intermittent fasting routine also greatly helped me get in shape.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It doesnt specify which foods you can or cannot eat. It only focuses on when you should eat them.

There are many IF plans and patterns that you can follow, but the most effective one, according to studies is the 16:8 IF diet. The 16:8 IF diet entails one to observe a 16-hour fasting period, followed by an 8-hour eating window.

You can commence a 16-hour fast at 10:00 pm in the night, after you eat your last meal of the day and go to sleep thats 7-8 hours gone right there. You can break the 16-hour fast at 2:00 pm with your lunch and eat small meals till 10:00 pm this makes up the 8-hour eating window. Alternatively, you can also begin your fast at 8 pm and break it at 12 pm, the next day.

ALSO READ: Is intermittent fasting really worth It?

As a part of his weight loss exercise regime, Firodia used to brisk walk 12000 steps every day and also devote time to practise Yoga and functional training. Id workout 6 days/week and 1 day was reserved for rest and recovery. But I felt quite energetic on this rest day as well, as I followed what's commonly known as active rest, which essentially translates to keeping the body active by focusing on your daily routine and mundane tasks.

"Luke's team did not just concentrate on tweaking my food habits but also made sure that I slept well and that my mental/emotional health were in tandem with my physical health. Moreover, through this transformation I have become like a brand ambassador of sorts for fitness and healthy food in my hometown of Ahmednagar in Pune. I have also motivated many of my family members and friends to eat healthy and exercise daily to stay fit."

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

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See the article here:
How to lose weight like this 42-year-old who lost 18 kgs by tweaking his eating habits instead of crash dieting - GQ India - What a man's got to do

My name is Danni Woessner (@ketowithdanni). I am 27, living in Massachusetts. For the past year I have been a stay-at-home mom but I recently went back to work as a behavior therapist. An embarrassing travel experience opened my eyes to the fact that I was nearly 400 pounds, so I experimented with various diets until I found (and fell in love with) keto.

I have been overweight since childhoodand I remember being made very aware of just how overweight I was at a very young age. I was active in high school as a swimmer but never really got my weight under control despite doing so much physical activity.

After high school, I lost a significant amount in a very unhealthy way but quickly regained it (and then some) after I had my first child several years ago. That's when my weight issues got really out of control.

I was a yo-yo dieter for years. I remember doing Atkins in 2015, after giving birth, and losing 60 pounds. But I slowly ate my way back up to almost 400 pounds. I suffered from binge eating and often hid how much food I was actually consuming throughout the day.

Three McDoubles for a quick snack? Sure. That was an average Tuesday for me. Vegetables were not a part of my diet and exercise felt impossible. I couldnt walk for more then a few minutes without being winded. I felt like food made me my worst self.

I was so excited for the trip. I knew I had been gaining weight but I was still going to enjoy my vacation. That was until I got on the plane and the seatbelt no longer fit. The belt had been snug for years for me, but I could still sit (albeit uncomfortably) without a seatbelt extender.

Asking for an extender crushed me. I had to find someone willing to change seats, because in the emergency aisle you cant wear a seatbelt extender. Having the whole plane stare at the overweight girl trying to make herself fit through the aisle was gut wrenching.

We enjoyed our honeymoon, but I was lazy on the trip. I didnt want to do much and moving was tough for me. And when I saw photos from our trip? It finally dawned on me on how big I was.

I tried Beachbody and lasted about 10 days. I looked into WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) but only lasted a few days.

So, I started following a lot of people on Instagram that had similar stories and experiences to mine who had successfully lost a lot of weight on this so-called keto diet thing. I was intrigued. That's not to say those other diets didn't have great success stories too, but I personally felt like I really connected to the keto stories I read.

How To Count Macros To Lose Weight

At the end of July 2018, I took the plunge and started eating keto. It was hard to navigate at first as I learned how to count and track my macros and how to measure how much fat, overall calories, and carbs to take in each day.

But eventually I got the hang of it and have been successful ever since. My biggest success tool has been tracking my food intake and macros, as it has made me aware of what Im putting in my body and prevents me from overeating. Ive also started adding in intermittent fasting.

In the beginning of my weight-loss journey, I didnt work out. I currently still do not have a solid workout routine. But when I was losing the bulk of my weight, I was kickboxing a few days a week.

Everyone's weight-loss journey will go differently. You have to trust the process. The scale is not always your friend, and thats ok. Those three numbers are just numbers. If youre putting in the work, it will work. It didnt take one day to gain the weight, and it will take longer than one to lose it.

For me, once I figured out the basics of keto, it was so much easier than I could have ever imagined. It helps that there are so many keto-friendly recipes that are just incredible. Though sometimes I do indulge in non-keto foods, I dont feel compelled to that often because it is so easy to make anything keto-friendly...and *just* as delicious as non-keto versions, I swear.

I want other women to know that you can change. You are not stuck at your current weight. If you are unhappy and just fed up, do it! Do your research, come up with a plan, and start. You can completely change your life whenever you're ready.

More:
'When I Started Counting Macros On Keto, My Weight Loss Finally Stuck' - Women's Health

A study suggests that those who start racking up more minutes of exercise are also likely to post lower blood pressure readings, get more sleep and eat more fruits and vegetables. Bill Keay / Postmedia files

Theres no doubt exercise is good for you. If anything, the benefits of regular physical activity arent stated enough, with improved longevity, vitality and quality of life all positive outcomes of being active. Another benefit to exercise that hasnt received the attention it deserves is its ability to spark individuals to adopt healthier habits.

Eating well, sleeping well, maintaining a healthy weight, refraining from smoking, drinking in moderation and reducing sedentary time are all habits worth embracing. When combined with regular exercise, the health benefits are even greater, including slowing down the physical and mental decline often associated with aging. Yet too few Canadians exercise regularly, and even fewer can lay claim to an impressive list of healthy lifestyle behaviours.

The idea that exercise is a gateway to positive lifestyle changes isnt new. Common sense suggests the fitter you are, the more likely you are to choose healthier foods, sleep better, move more and shed some of those unwanted pounds. This has been proved time and time again by novice exercisers who suddenly cant stop talking about the success of their new diet, the number of steps they take daily and the sleep stats logged on their new smartwatch.

But up until now, there has been very little hard data supporting the theory exercise is a catalyst for healthier behaviours, which is why an article posted in the BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine open-access journal is sparking interest. The articles authors reviewed the lifestyle stats accumulated by 34,061 individuals who participated in the Vitality program, an interactive online wellness platform that incentivizes healthy choices like exercise, medical checkups, sleep, healthy food choices and stress-reducing activities. The more healthy choices members make, the more points they accumulate, which they can trade for discount coupons to participating retail outlets (grocery stores, fitness clubs) or add to the point total of their corporate team vying to outperform colleagues on other teams.

The researchers wanted to use the copious data collected by Vitality to determine whether earning physical activity points was followed by improvements in engagement with other health-promoting behaviour and health markers. They also wanted to see if there were differences in healthy uptakes between those who accumulated the greatest number of exercise minutes (150 or more) per week and those who accumulated the fewest (less than 59 minutes) over the same time period.

Turns out all but the already active exercisers in the Vitality program increased the number of minutes per week they were active. And while they were racking up all those exercise minutes, they were also eating more fruits and vegetables, getting more sleep, spending less time being sedentary, cutting back on alcohol, experiencing less stress and posting better health markers (such as lower blood pressure readings).

The improvements were greatest in those with the most to gain, those with low baseline physical activity levels, said the researchers.

One of the unique aspects of the data collected by Vitality is activity monitors were worn by participants, resulting in a more accurate representation of exercise minutes than self-reported stats. Also worth noting is all lifestyle changes occurred in real-world conditions, not in a lab, which makes them more relatable to the average Joe and Jill.

Our study extends previous findings that health behaviours such as physical activity, healthy eating and abstaining from alcohol and smoking tend to co-occur in individuals and the presence of one healthy behaviour is followed by other healthy behaviours, reported the research team.

Why does establishing an exercise routine result in other lifestyle improvements? No one knows for sure, but successfully introducing an exercise habit builds confidence, especially among those who have struggled to maintain a regular workout schedule. Mastery in one domain often reinforces the ability to master another, so once someone has achieved a previously elusive fitness goal, theyre motivated to take on another challenge, like cutting down on high-calorie foods.

The message to remember in these results is change begets change. Its also notable were capable of pursuing and achieving more than one goal at a time. Taking this new information into account, monitor several lifestyle markers as you boost your activity levels. Take note of your diet, sleeping habits, blood pressure, heart rate and time spent with your feet up. Chances are if you make a commitment to boost your exercise minutes, youll be motivated to complement your efforts by making other healthy changes. Use an activity monitor to keep track of your stats and an old-fashioned notebook to chart your progress, with the end goal being an improvement in the most important health marker of all: feeling better every day.

Read more:
Fitness: How much does exercise inspire other healthy habits? - Montreal Gazette

SYLVANIA, Ohio (WTVG) - It can be hard to find the right diet for yourself, let alone stick to your New Year's resolution to work out past January. A study by UK researchers suggests that directly labeling foods with the amount of exercise needed to "burn off" calories will lead to healthier choices in the long term.

A number of things work against the study itself -- small sample size being one of them -- but there are also concerns that a focus on calories, rather than nutrients, could lead to different health issues.

Amy Good, a registered dietitian with the Toledo Center for Eating Disorders, cautions against looking at labels as a be-all-end-all guide to match calorie for calorie.

"There's this really obsessive thinking around the numbers part of it. It kind of takes away the enjoyment of food, and the enjoyment of physical activity," Good said.

Diet and exercise are important in tandem, of course, but people with eating disorders can sometimes overexert themselves to work off each meal, or limit themselves to familiar though less nutritious foods.

"Something we see here often is that people's variety of food choices becomes pretty narrow, eating just a small selection of foods," Good says. "This [re-labeling] could potentially exacerbate that."

Current labels carry some degree of information overload and can end up doing little to curb one's eating habits regardless if the exercise label idea were to be brought stateside.

"What we're seeing is that as we're putting more of this diet information out and readily available to see," Good suggests, "we're not seeing rates of obesity, diabetes or heart disease improving."

As with most things in life, balance and motivation are the keys to success here.

"We need that balance of both, being able to move your body because it feels good and you're enjoying it, rather than feeling like you're punishing yourself and have to move because you ate," Good said. "When we take care of our bodies that way, our weight will figure itself out."

For the record, the Loughborough University study suggests an average of 200 calories could be saved per day with the proposed re-labeling -- still less than your average chocolate bar. Time will tell if the idea ever makes the jump across the pond.

Originally posted here:
Exercise times on food labels? Benefits and drawbacks found in new study - 13abc Action News

If youve ever tried to lose weight, youve likely heard that a calorie deficit is required.

Yet, you may wonder what exactly it involves or why its necessary for weight loss.

This article explains everything you need to know about a calorie deficit, including what it is, how it affects weight loss, and how to achieve it in a healthy, sustainable way.

Calories are the units of energy you get from foods and beverages, and when you consume fewer calories than you burn, you achieve a calorie deficit.

The calories you burn or expend each day also known as calorie expenditure include the following three components (1):

If you provide your body fewer calories than it needs to support these three components of calorie expenditure, you put your body into a calorie deficit. Doing so consistently for long periods results in weight loss (1).

Conversely, you will gain weight if you regularly provide your body more calories than it needs to support these functions. This is called a calorie surplus.

A calorie deficit occurs when you consistently provide your body with fewer calories than it needs to support calorie expenditure.

For most people, a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day is sufficient for weight loss and unlikely to significantly affect your hunger or energy levels (2).

To create this calorie deficit, you need to know what your maintenance calories are. Maintenance calories are precisely the number of calories your body needs to support energy expenditure.

You can use calorie calculators like the Body Weight Planner from the National Institute of Health. Such calculators estimate your maintenance calories based on your weight, sex, age, height, and physical activity level (3).

Though calorie calculators provide a good idea of your maintenance calorie needs, you can get a more precise number by tracking your calorie intake and weight for 10 days (4).

While maintaining the same level of daily activity, use a calorie tracking app to track your calories and weigh yourself daily. For an accurate result, use the same scale, at the same time of day, and wearing the same clothes (or nothing at all).

Your weight may fluctuate day to day, but if your weight has otherwise remained stable over the 10 days, the average number of calories you consumed per day is a better representation of your maintenance calories.

Divide the total number of calories you consumed for 10 days by 10 to find your average daily calorie intake. Then, subtract 500 calories from this number to determine your new daily intake goal for weight loss.

For example, if you find your maintenance calories to be 2,000 per day, your new daily calorie goal would be 1,500.

As you lose weight, your maintenance calories will decrease over time, and you will need to adjust your calorie intake based on your weight loss goals (1).

Still, to ensure healthy weight loss and adequate nutrient intake, women should not consume fewer than 1,200 calories per day, and men no fewer than 1,500 calories (5).

You can estimate your maintenance calories by using an online calculator. Alternatively, for a more accurate number, monitor your calorie intake and weight for 10 days.

You can achieve a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories or increasing your physical activity levels or both.

That said, it may be easier and more sustainable to create a calorie deficit through diet rather than exercise alone, as you may not have the time, energy, or motivation to exercise daily. Plus, exercise doesnt burn as many calories as many people believe (6, 7, 8, 9, 10).

In other words, it may be easier to eat 500 fewer calories each day than to burn this number of calories through exercise. Nonetheless, its still recommended to engage in muscle-strengthening and aerobic exercises for their beneficial effects on overall health (11).

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans from the Department of Health and Human Services recommend that adults do 150300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, or 75150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise, weekly (12).

Moderate-intensity exercise includes brisk walking and light bicycling, whereas examples of vigorous-intensity exercise are jogging and fast bicycling.

The guidelines also recommend that adults do muscle-strengthening activities involving their major muscle groups including the back, shoulders, chest, arms, and legs at least two days every week (12).

Engaging in muscle-strengthening activities will help your body prioritize the loss of body fat rather than muscle mass (13, 14, 15).

Its likely more sustainable to create a calorie deficit through diet rather than exercise alone. However, physical activity is important for many aspects of health.

Cutting calories from your diet to create a calorie deficit doesnt necessarily require drastic changes.

In fact, several strategies can help you reduce your calorie intake to lose weight and maintain it and they dont even require calorie counting.

You may be able to eliminate several hundred calories from your diet simply by reducing or eliminating your intake of sugary beverages like soda, fruit juices, and specialty coffee drinks.

Alcoholic beverages can also pack a significant number of calories.

The calories from these beverages dont provide fullness, and in excess, they can lead to weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes (16, 17, 18, 19).

The sugar, fat, and salt in highly processed foods, including sugary beverages, fast foods, desserts, and breakfast cereals, make these high calorie foods highly palatable and encourage excess consumption (20, 21).

In fact, one study showed that people who were allowed to eat as much or as little as they wanted ate 500 more calories per day on a diet containing highly processed foods, compared with a diet containing minimally proceeded ones (22).

Minimally proceeded foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber and include foods like lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. A diet rich in minimally processed foods will help prevent you from overeating and ensure you get the nutrients your body needs.

If your current diet consists of many highly processed foods, slowly begin to replace those items with minimally processed ones. For example, swap sugary cereals with oatmeal topped with fruit, or swap chips with lightly salted almonds.

Preparing and eating your meals at home allows you to control the ingredients and your portion sizes and therefore, your calorie intake.

One study showed that people who cooked dinner at home 67 times per week consumed 137 fewer calories per day, on average, than people who cooked dinner at home 01 time per week (23).

Eating home-cooked meals is also associated with better diet quality, an increased intake of fruits and vegetables, lower body fat levels, and reduced risks of heart disease and diabetes (24).

Whats more, frequently cooking at home can save you money (25).

Reducing your consumption of sugary beverages, consuming a diet containing mostly minimally processed food, and eating at home can help you reduce your calorie intake.

A calorie deficit occurs when you consume fewer calories than your body expends.

A calorie deficit of 500 calories per day is effective for healthy and sustainable weight loss.

Eliminating sugary beverages, consuming mostly minimally processed foods like fruits and vegetables, and eating home-cooked meals can help you reach a calorie deficit without calorie counting.

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What Is a Calorie Deficit, and How Much of One Is Healthy? - Healthline

When it comes to achieving a healthy weight, people are quick to try fad diets and weight loss supplements but underestimate the importance of eating right. It is important to understand that the journey to better health begins from a healthy diet and there is no quick fix for the same. If no amount of sweating it out is helping you lose weight, we suggest going back to basics.

If you have been looking for an all-natural way to lose those stubborn kilos, it is time to include this bitter-sweet spice in your weight loss regime. Flavourful cinnamon is not only loaded with health benefits but can also help you achieve your weight loss goal as well. This aromatic spice has a number of medicinal properties and fighting stubborn fat tops the list.

If you are worried about your bulging stomach, we suggest adding a piping hot cuppa of cinnamon tea to your daily diet. This bitter-sweet spice is known to aid metabolism, regulate blood sugar levels and improve insulin function--all this collectively can help you lose weight.

According to a Japanese study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology in 2012, cinnamon may help in fighting visceral fat in mice.

However, it is important to understand that cinnamon will only help in complementing your regular exercise and a balanced diet. Ultimately, it is essential to start working out and clean eating if you are on a quest to lose weight.

Here is the simplest way to add cinnamon tea to your weight loss routine.

You will need:

A cup of water

A teaspoon of honey

A dash of lemon to taste

1 cinnamon stick

Boil a cinnamon stick in water till its gets fragrant. Squeeze a dash of lemon in it and add one teaspoon of raw honey to it. Your weight loss drink is ready. You can also include some other spices like ginger, pepper, cardamom and mint to make the concoction even healthier and tastier. The combination of lemon, honey and cinnamon is great for weight loss.

Originally posted here:
Cinnamon for weight loss: How to make cinnamon tea to lose weight - Times of India

SAN ANTONIO Food and activity trackers are becoming increasingly popular. But just because many of the apps associated with them are free it doesn't mean they are always helpful. They can lead to major health problems few people expect.

There are many kinds of activity and food trackers on the market such as MyFitnessPal, Fitbit, and even Garmin. They can all be helpful but only if used the correct way. Landry Weatherston-Yarborough, the Clinical Director of the Eating Recovery Center of San Antonio, and licensed professional counselor -- as well as a certified eating disorder specialist - told us they are best used, "When the data that is being collected or gathered by these apps is being evaluated by someone who has the training and the education to support the person."

A growing number of wearable devices are flooding the market claiming to track and help improve your diet, exercise, sleep, and even stress. A 2013 Pew report said 60 percent of U.S. adults track their diet, exercise, and weight. A 2017 study found over 40 percent have used a wearable health tracker, with sales of devices expected to more than double over the next five years.

Weatherston-Yarborough says dieting is the most common cause of eating disorder development. She added, "That doesn't mean everyone who diet is going to have an eating disorder, but dieting starts for many people with monitoring their exercise monitoring their calorie intake and potentially trying to lose weight or get healthy."

Some of the signs of an eating disorder or overuse of a health tracker include over-exercising, severe restriction of caloric intake, fear of food or excuses for not eating, binging combined with purging, and anger, fear, anxiety, shame, or depression.

One of our senior producers, April Young, took part in our KENS 5 Fitbit Challenge last year. She only wore it for that month but can see how these trackers can take over someone's life. Young told us, "I can definitely see how people can just take too much time being obsessed about their Fitbit."

If you do realize you may be taking it too far Weatherston-Yarbourough said, "Get connected with a mental health professional to seek out an assessment for an eating disorder or disordered eating and to get treatment as quickly as possible."

To get in touch with Eating Recovery Centers, call (877) 711-1690.

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The pitfalls of calorie and activity trackers that lead to eating disorders - KENS5.com