Without having tried them I can’t comment on the effectiveness of diet pills.  However I know, through experience, you can lose weight permanently and safely through eating well. 

Interested to hear people’s feedback, Keith

Plan for the majority of food eaten over Christmas to be both tasty and healthy.  Restrict food high in fat and sugar to a limited number of big favourites.

Chose a way of cooking meat that results in lower fat on your plate.  Select deserts that include and are garnished with fruit rather than cream.

Plan Christmas day so you eat the main meal and then do something that doesn’t involve continuing to eat - avoid eating on and on.  And a little bit of exercise never hurt anybody!

The Christmas period can easily end in a session of overeating from Christmas through to New Year so be selective in when you are going to have ’special’ meals and stick to normal, tasty meals at other times to lose weight.

In other words, keep making food a focus of Christmas but in such a way you continue to lose weight. 

Enjoy losing weight over Christmas

Keith

A small study of 58 overweight and obese adults found some lost weight through increased exercise while others appeared to have their exercise efforts counteracted by increased eating.  For those who managed to lose weight exercise may have improved their body’s ability to signal when they were full.  The researchers found these subjects were hungrier before breakfast but were not hungrier during the rest of the day.

The learning from those that didn’t lose weight is a general warning to all of who are managing our weight.  We need to be aware of any tendancy to over eat after exercise and address this if it occurs. 

It also reinforces the need to control our eating habits as the main contributor to losing weight.

To read the abstract go to  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Neil A King, Phillipa P Caudwell, Mark Hopkins, James R Stubbs, Erik Naslund, and John E Blundell
Dual-process action of exercise on appetite control: increase in orexigenic drive but improvement in meal-induced satiety
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, Oct 2009; 90: 921 – 927.

regards, Keith

However, to help us in our endeavours to lose weight it appears we should slow down and eat slowly. A brief video points to the value of eating slowly. By eating food over a longer period there is time for the body to tell the brain it is full. To watch the video click on the link to the HealthDay website  
HealthDay video

So, to lose weight, eat food more slowly (and perhaps more slow food as well)
Keith

As parents we are concerned about road safety and stranger danger.  However we seem to be less vigilant about a widespread danger to our kids.  We appear to be compromising their health at an increasingly younger age.  While historically many adults have drifted into obesity in middle age we are raising a generation that will enter adulthood obese.  Not the proudest of legacies!

An investigation of children’s meals at fast food outlets found only 3% met the standards set by the National School Lunch Program.  The average energy density of the meals that failed the standards was 2.3 calories per gram compared with 1.5 in the standards.  Of the meals that failed 65% had too much fat while the levels of a number of key nutrients were inadequate. 

reference: J.M. Mendoza, “Kids, Fast Food, & Obesity: Menu Reviews From a Houston Pediatrician”  Agricultural Research, October 2009

To read the article click on: article

Lets make sure our kids eat well and enter adulthood healthy.  It will then be up to them to determine their future health and hopefully they will follow the guidance provided to them in their formative years.

regards, Keith

reference: O.M Buxton et al, Vol 99, No. S3, American Journal of Public Health, November 2009,

While the research has relevance for workplace practices we can take the finding on board personally.  If we are not sleeping properly we are more likely to make poorer choices about what we eat. 

 Sleep well, Keith

A review of an article in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition reported on research regarding a possible link between genes and the propensity to develop belly fat.  It was found the presence of various genetic factors increased the ease at which individuals put on body fat.  It was noted some participants were consuming excessive saturated fat.

While there were genetic links to obesity there was not a link between genetic traits and the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.  (See blog on metabolic syndrome)

Probably the most interesting comment from the study is – “while we may have a genetic disposition to obesity we are largely in control of our weight.”

According to Health Day the orginal source can be found in Journal of Nutrition, November 2009.

To source the article click on: Health Day review of article

regards, Keith

One of the authors, Melinda Irwin, recommends exercise for cancer survivors.  It would appear exercise assists to regulate hormones, with regular activity improving survival rates for both obese and healthy weight individuals.  

To read the article click on the link:  American Institute for Cancer Research article

source: http://www.aicr.org/site/News2/

regards, Keith

Left atrial enlargement of the heart can lead to atrial fibrillation, stroke and death. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports obesity is the most important risk factor for left atrial enlargement. The authors conclude early intervention is important if young obese people are to avoid premature changes to their heart.

If you are obese it would appear important to lose weight, what ever your age, to avoid or minimise left atrial enlargement.  A change in diet and possibly lifestyle could be life saving.

To access the article click:  JACC article abstract

regards, Keith

To access the article click on the link: Meat and Meat-related Compounds and Risk of Prostate Cancer in a Large Prospective Cohort Study in the United States

regards, Keith