A recent study I saw over at Health Body Sanctuary titled “Vegetarian Diet Weak Bones” argued that there was recent research on a the impact of a strictly vegetarian diet on bone density.   I have to say, the results hardly seemed overwhelming – the writer admitting the results weren’t even scientifically significant – but there was some evidence that you may be at risk of suffering bone loss if you are following a strictly vegen diet.

The answer is to augment your diet with calcium from either calcium rich vegetables or substituting some eggs, cheese or other dairy if you are open to that as part of your diet.

For me, well, not being a strict vegetarian and definitely allowing some dairly in my diet – looks like I don’t have anything to worry about – at least in the bone density department.

For all of the latest health and wellness information see The Health Sanctuary and stay healthy. 

There are so many factors that come into play when trying to focus on a diet in any weight loss program…

• So much information, where do I start?
• Situations in my life I can’t control make me eat?
• Availability of good food – if you travel, you know what I mean?
• Society influences are mostly around BAD foods (parties, peers, TV, etc…)
• Lots of mis-information that focus on other goals such as muscle building at the expense of good nutrition and weight loss goals

Give that there is so much confusing information, so much debate over what is good for you and not and differing emphasis placed on the role of diet and nutrition to weight loss programs, the more we can simplify your dietary “must-have’s” in terms of weight loss foods, the more likely we all will be to follow and see our fat burn off.

Let’s stick with 1pf the most powerful weight loss foods:

1. Fibre

 Fibre is beneficial in many ways to our body – reducing heart disease, controlling blood sugar and seems to help in weight loss.

Specifically, soluable fibre tends to gel together in your system and collect sugars and starch slowing the absorption of these fat causing compounds lowering the probability that they will turn into weight in our bodies.

In addition – it’s been shown that eating the recommended amount of fibre helps give us that “full” feeling while not adding empty calories of carbohydrates or sugars.

First, how much should we be getting?  Fibre intake for a man ages 19 to 55 should come in around 38 grams in one day which can come from a variety of sources including whole grains and fruit.

For example, here are typical fibre quantities in popular foods…

a)  You will get approximately 3-grams of fibre from eating an apple, most of that coming from the skin (so you won’t get the same fibre from eating a peeled apple or drinking apple juice)

b) Now ceareals are really interesting…many of us assume that you get a substantial amount of fibre from any cereal we eat right?  WRONG!  The difference is rather remarkable and can play a huge difference in your fibre intake daily.  In fact, you can get nearly half of the recomended fibre intake for your entire day with as little as one serving of a high fibre cereal – from a weight loss perspective this makes sticking to your fibre intake goals especially easy. 

Let’s look at a few popular cereals in terms of fibre listed:

• Kellogs Rice Krispies – 0 grams
• Rasin Bran – 6 grams per 1 Cup serving
• Fibre-1 Cereal – 14 grams per 1-1/4 serving
• Nabisco Shreddies – 6 grams per 1-Cup serving

Notice that many popular ceareals have zero or barely a touch of fibre where others you can get over half of your daily fibre intake from as little as 1-cup. 

By choosing to eat just 1-cup of ceareal each morning high in fibre you can substantially increase your fibre intake, reduce your exposure to disease and help in your quest for weight loss.

Jeff

If you are overweight, then it is up to YOU to diet, exercise and control your impulses on your way to achieving your weight loss goals. 

I am the first person that believes we are all in control of our destiny, including our weight and overall health…yes we can’t ignore the fact that an overwhelming trend in society today is toward obesity — so can we really entirely lay blame at the foot of individuals?

What really made me think of this question was this story about How Our Environment plays a key role in our propensity to eat…specifically — could our day-to-day environment at home, at work, what we watch on TV, what we see when we are out at the movie theatre, have something to do with how fat we are as a society? 

Just as subtle body movements, past experiences and thoughts, our beliefs, word triggers and other triggers impact our behavior without us knowing it – could it be that the businesses behind selling fatty foods have gotten really good at “triggering” us to want more and more food -even without us knowing it?

Imagine that you eat an extra 30 grams of fat and 400 calories when you are out at the movies because of the smell of buttered popcorn in the air?

While I would never fully support the notion that we can shrug off personal responsibility for anything – including our health and weight loss, I think that we must become much more aware of what is around us — smells, advertising, positioning of certain foods so we can gain control of those who are trying to influence our eating habits. 

 It makes perfect sense that a long-lasting weight loss program must incorporate awareness and training on response to the multititude of stimulus we are hit with each and everyday trying to get us to eat more fat…perhaps a good alternative is to spend time each day networking and watching ads about exercise and weight loss to help counter the negative, fatty food triggers that are no doubt impacting our decisions every day.

The challenge with all of these has long been that they are too disruptive in our lives and often do not result in sustained weight loss plunging those who try these diet programs into deeper depression and anxiety over their weight loss.

Certainly, we all understand that exercise is the other half of the equation for achieving lasting weight loss…but there has long been a debate over the type of exercise. 

If you walk for 45-minutues 3-times a week, is that enough?

Do you have to “feel the pain” of intense aerobic exercise where cardiovascular training comes into play – if so how often and at what heart rate?

Assuming you have improved your diet (not starving yorself, but a sensible diet of eating smaller meals more often so you don’t binge, avoiding highly fatty foods, and getting as much raw fruits and vegetables as you can stand in a week), how does that combine with exercise toward achievement of your weight loss goals?

ABOUT MICE AND WEIGHTLIFTING…

New research released this week from Boston University “Weight Training Reduces Fat And Improve Metabolism In Mice – Science Daily Feb 7″  has once again advanced the notion that there is much more benefit to building muscle mass through weight lifting and resistance training than being stronger or muscular – it has a major role to play in weight loss as well.

The article differentiates between type 1 muscle fibers which are built through endurance training such long-distance running while type 2 muscle fibers are developed through resistance training such as weight lifting.

The study found that the presence of type 2 muscle fibers directly result in losing fat, stabalizing your overall body metabolism and liver function as well as balancing insulin reactions in your body – all favorable conditions for achieving weight loss.

When I first started reading the results of this study, I have to admit – I wondered “how did they get a mouse to lift weights?”  Of course, the development of type 2 muscle mass was created in a lab setting my injecting the mice to enhance the growth of type 2 muscle. 

The results were rather dramatic as mice with higher type 2 muscle mass continued to lose weight even when continuing to be fed a fatty, unhealthy diet demonstrating the importance of type 2 muscle to overall weight loss objectives.

WHAT ABOUT RESISTANCE TRAINING…

Although the study did not elaborate on how much type 2 muscle mass was built in the mice or how that would relate to humans which would give us a clue to how much resistance training we may have to undertake to achieve the same results as the study…suffice it to say that adding a couple of slow-burn, resistance training sessions to your weekly routine appears to be an extremely promising way to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

It’s not that I’m against losing weight quickly and easily, but I have serious concerns over putting anything unknown into my body fearing it’s impact on my liver, pancreas and kidneys which all have to work harder when you take most any sort of high dosage of medication or supplement such as diet pill. 

Then there are the crazy diet pill stories like Diet Pill Hell where Jade began growing facial hair and increased her risk of getting cancer, on an Enquirer-like site out of the UK to this more credible story from a physician who swears that years of experience has led him to believe that you cannot lose weight with a diet pill and in some cases, certain diet pills can have dangerous side effects – at least in animal testing.

The latest diet pill on the market called Alli works by blocking the absorption of fat from your diet – the problem being that there are fat soluable vitamins such as A and D that get lost as part of this blocking. 

I do, however, see some benefit to dietary supplements where you want to get vitamins, minerals, and fiber without loading down on chemicals, fats and sugars – there are some decent medical dietary supplement bars that meet this strict criteria.   Not only can these diet bars give you more of the good vitamins and minerals, they regulate blood sugars keeping you on a more level ground – something not done by the diet pill.

If you are set on trying a diet pill to get your weight under control, make sure you have studied the ingredients, how it works and potential side-effects with your doctor and on your own so that you go in with your eyes wide open.

Jeff

Avoid Processed Meats:  Processed meats contain high levels of fat, sodium and nitrates each of which has been linked to various health problems including being overweight, obesity, heart problems and cancer.

Stay away from white flour.  As part of any weight loss plan you will be advised to avoid or cut back on the empty calories included in white breads and white flour products moving toward whole wheat substitutes instead.  For those who are following your weight loss plan and then sneak in a piece of white bread either at dinner or before bed, you are erasing efforts you have made throughout the day.

Alcohol.  Nobody’s going to like to hear this one, but alcohol is both full of sugar which adds to weight AND works on our metabolism to slow processing of fats – as well alcohol has been shown to result in cancer causing toxins, especially when used to excess.  Will the odd glass of red wine hurt your weight loss plan – not if you have the discipline to make sure it’s one glass, once in a while.  I would suggest many of us don’t have that sort of will power so it’s best to avoid it altogether for a time.

Cow’s milk – especially for babies.  Studies have consistently demonstrated that cow’s milk – aside from being full of sugar and fat – is often not digested properly by the human digestive system.  Use low-fat dairy substitutes when practicing your weight loss plan.

Potato Chips.  I have to admit, these are my weakness.  Not only are they loaded with saturated fat, they are also loaded with salt which has a negative impact on your body and makes you crave more unhealthy foods destroying your weight loss plan.

Hot Dogs.  Again with the nitrates, high fat and added chemicals - there are few foods that are worse for your weight loss plan and can cause some serious conditions with your health as well. 

Fruit Juices.  Next to soda pop, I have found the #1 factor in losing weight for me is cutting out sugar-filled fruit juices in favor or water or, on occasion, fresh squeezed juices.  Most juices on the market are a lethal mix of sugar, lacking any vitamins leaving you more thirsty than before you started drinking.   I still can’t get over how many people think that a glass of orange juice is healthy for them when most brands contain a tiny bit of Vitamin C and a truckload of sugar. 

Ice Cream.  Weighing in at between 350 calories and 800+ calories (depending on the brand and flavor) makes ice cream equivilant to some of the most unhealthy foods around.  Not only is it heavy in calories, the saturated fat content ranges between 16 grams to more than 30 grams making it enemy #1 to anyone’s weight loss plan.  Replacing ice cream with frozen yogurt can often eliminate 5X the calories and up to 10X the fat.

Soda Pop.  Chalk-full of sugar, acids and other unhealthy ingredients, most people avoid soda pop when on their weight loss plan.  Equally as unhealthy are the low-fat or no-fat alternative soda pops given that they use artificial sweeteners that themselves have been the subject of several health studies.

Red Meat.  Another weak spot for me is red meat – after all, there’s nothing better than a good steak on the barbecue.  Indeed, some red meat in a diet during your weight loss plan is OK, the trick is to limit it to once a week instead of having red meat each and every night or even most nights. 

Of course, it’s not easy for anyone to completely eliminate all of these foods from your diet during a weight loss plan, but there are ways to reduce your intake, replace the craving of these foods with higher quality foods and lower the portions of each of these foods – the overall impact on your weight loss goals and health will be substantial.

Jeff

It’s got to be the most stubborn weight to get rid of on your entire body and so the question asked by most men and many women is how to lose belly fat?

I know in my case, if I behave myself with diet I can typically shrink the waistline fat that wraps over your belt on the sides – that seems hard enough but the belly fat in front is something that seems almost as hard to get rid of as taxes!

Inevitably the question comes up when you ask how to lose belly fat, is the best way to exercise more on do you place more focus on diet?

Intuitively, we all jump to the diet solution given that we are bombarded daily with the diet program of the day, but is this really the most effective way to beat belly fat?

An interesting Boston.com article today outlined a small research study comparing diet and exercise effectiveness in weight loss with a special focus on how to lose belly fat.

Though the ultimate conclusion of the study was that either diet or exercise are equally beneficial to weight loss, there is some evidence to indicate that the stubborn belly fat taking root in your visceral stores is more responsive to exercise indicating that 1) Dieting alone may not be as effective as a diet and exercise program when tackling belly fat and 2) That it may be beneficial to put more emphasis on exercise – at least in the first month of your weight loss campaign if you are particularly focused on belly fat.

Having hit the big 40, suddenly the how to lose belly fat question has become one of my main focus areas – and although moderate exercise and paying attention to nutrition and diet principles has had some impact, I’m hoping that upping the length and intensity of my cardio workouts will once-and-for-all erase this stubborn belly fat.

What about you – anyone else find belly fat to be an especially hard area to see results?

Jeff

1. Deal with the “bad” guys.  Most of our bodies are out of whack with high levels of systemic yeast, too acidic or alkaline creating hosts for the “bad” critters to overtake our systems ultimately affecting our nutrition, energy level, ability to digest foods and other organ functioning within our bodies.  It doesn’t matter what diet plans we try until we are able to get rid of any parasites or bacterial overgrowths that are likely in our bodies today.  That means seeing a practitioner who can test you for these “bad” parasites, yeast or other chemical factors that may be poisening your system right now.

2. Drinking more water.  Just as important as clearing our system of “bad” critters is flushing it out with a daily dose of 8-10 glasses of filtered water – especially important in the morning.  In addition, depending on what is found in step 1, you may have to detoxify your liver and organs as well as consume more water.

3. Become active.  We don’t mean immediately go out and run a half-marathon, but certainly striving for at least 40-minutes of fast-walking, jogging, swimming or aeorobic activity each day will help get your metabolism moving, improve your circulation and heart and reduce stress.

4. Speaking of stress — we need to get that under control.  Not only is your diet plan in jeopardy as stress often leads to binge or improper eating, but research is now showing that stress itself can result in chemical reactions in our body that lead to even more cravings for unhealthy foods such as starches and sugars.

5. Set both short-term and longer-term goals.  Not only do you need to be motivated with your diet plan in the first few weeks, you need to stay motivated months down the road.  There is nothing more hurtful to your motivation and weight loss goals than losing 10-pounds only to put 15 back on in 4-months time.  To prevent that from happening, make sure you have set weekly, monthly and even yearly goals with planned checks and balances to make sure your diet plan is a long-term behavior change rather than just a short-term appearance change.

Popular diet plans won’t talk about these 5-factors yet I have found they are absolutely necessary to lose weight and keep it off.

Jeff