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The Magic Bullet for Weight Loss: Diet or Exercise? Mar 16, 2010, 2:00 pm.

Filed under: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Fit or Fiction

Which is more important for weight loss, exercise or diet? — Martha Hagman, Conn.

This is a complicated question and one that I can’t completely answer because it hasn’t been completely answered by science. A satisfactory explanation for how best to lose weight and why it is so easy to gain weight has yet to be determined. I’ve discussed many possible contributing factors in this column: Genetics, hormones, biological viruses, social viruses, stress, your romantic partner — even air conditioning. All are suspected of playing a role in how and why the body stores fat.

It’s easiest to point a finger straight at calories because it makes sense that if you take in more energy than you burn off, you will hold on to what’s left as excess body weight. So let’s talk about whether eating fewer of them or burning more of them is the better weight loss strategy.

A number of studies have concluded that restricting calories is a better way to drop a pants size than spending more time in the gym. For example, one University of Pennsylvania trial found that men and women who exercised — but didn’t bother to control what they ate — lost 0.3 percent of their initial body weight compared to those who dieted but did not exercise and lost 8.4 percent of their weight.

Don’t cancel your gym membership just yet. This study, like many others looking at the problem, did not compare diet and exercise on equal footing. The women in the diet-only group cut 945 calories per day, and the men cut 1,705 calories. Meanwhile, the exercise-only groups walked or jogged for 30 minutes, five times a week, expending an average of 255 and 190 calories per session for men and women, respectively.

This is sort of like comparing apples to really big apples. In a research study cited by the American College of Sports Medicine to support their daily exercise recommendations, researchers compared people who ate 500 fewer calories per day with those who burned an extra 500 calories by walking and both groups lost about the same amount of weight. This seems to be the general finding with more recent studies, as well.

Of course, you’d have to run about six miles to burn off a Milky Way Bar that takes less than a minute to eat (speaking only for myself, of course). That’s why once you step outside the laboratory, dieting probably plays a bigger role in weight loss than exercise.

Still, it’s clear that combining diet and exercise achieves better results than doing either separately. In a review of more than a dozen studies lasting up to a year, the National Institutes of Health found that groups who did aerobic exercise and cut calories lost an average of 4.2 pounds more than groups who just dieted. Groups that added weight training to the mix were rewarded with losing two additional pounds on average.

Putting all this aside for the moment, the better question seems to me, “What is the best way to prevent yourself from gaining weight in the first place?” or perhaps more applicable to most of us, “What’s the best way to keep it off once you’ve lost it?” Here, the evidence is becoming crystal clear: Exercise is the key factor. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that over 70 percent of people who succeed in keeping their weight down over a five year period exercise regularly as part of a lifestyle change, compared to only 20 percent of people who have regained their weight. The National Weight Control Registry puts the percentage of successful losers who exercise closer to 80.

I’ve often said on this blog, and I’ll say it again, that the formula for losing weight is as simple as moving more and eating less. I think as we continue to unravel the mysteries of body weight we will find this to be fundamentally true still but with many factors tossed into the mix which complicate how your body stores and sheds calories. For now, the best pieces of ammunition you have to fight extra pounds are to get your fanny in gear and use a smaller fork.

You can check out Dr. Oz’s 10 Commandments for Weight Loss and see what fellow That’s Fit blogger Jonny Bowden has to say about fiber and weight loss.

Now it’s your turn. Have you tried to lose weight by either cutting back on desserts, trudging it out on the treadmill or some combination thereof? Have you been happy with the results? Or have you found some other secret to weight loss that you’d like to share with the rest of us? Post it here or tweet me @lizzyfit.

Liz Neporent is a diet and fitness expert and co-author of “The Fat-Free Truth.” She regularly appears on national TV programs and is the president of Wellness 360, a New-York based wellness provider.

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Metabolism Awakens in the Spring – Lose Weight Then Feb 24, 2010, 1:19 pm.

Trying to Lose Weight in the Dead of Winter is Next to Impossible.

Those of you who are trying to realize your New Year resolution to lose weight are, in all likelihood, frustrated.  The fact is:  metabolism is turned down every fall; it is restored every spring.  Overwhelming this cycle is not very likely. 

Take heart!  Spring is just around the corner.

Children, all over the U.S., will soon be repeating a simple poem:
Spring has sprung, the grass has riz,
I wonder where the flowers is?

Plants will be budding, putting on leaves with blossoms springing toward the sun.  Animals will be awakening from their winter doldrums, or their hibernation, to welcome the return of the season of plenty.

It is the cycle of all living things on Earth; it is basic survival and, it is a testament to the adaptability of life on Earth.

Even though people live in modern homes, with central heat, abundant food and water, this natural cycle exerts the same, unavoidable impact on the human body.

There are a few steps you can take can assure you that your metabolism will come roaring back when it is time.

Are you 3 – 6’s, 2 – 9’s or 1 – 18?
It’s time for a spring-cleaning.  Your bowels should move at least once every day – preferably after each meal (3 –  six inch cigar-shaped.)  Even then, it is a good idea to clean up any residual wastes from the winter diet.  Supplements are especially effective in that regard so, choose an effective supplement to refresh your bowels.

Are you suffering a hangover from the holiday goodies and/or craving carbs, sugar and starches?
They, and most other winter foods, are notoriously short of trace minerals. Often referred to as “The Currency of Life”, trace minerals deficiencies have been known to contribute to a listless feeling, cravings and constant hunger.  Once again, the fastest way to address the issue is with a full-spectrum trace mineral supplement until fresh, mature vegetables are readily available.  By the way, if you are a vegetable-hater, you should consider trace mineral supplementation year-round.

Feed your Metabolism.
The 3 Day Diet, once attributed to the Cleveland Clinic, has been around for a long time.  None-the-less, it is still an effective way to feed your metabolism.  Follow the instructions, wait a week to repeat the diet. Two cycles is usually sufficient to jump start metabolism.

If you have packed on more than a few pounds, weight management supplements are in order.
However, caution in order, too.  Some weight loss supplements rely on stimulants to “spike” wake-time metabolism.  Advertisements for these types of supplements often emphasize energy as their most notable characteristic.  The tendency to consume more than enough sweets, bread and pasta, starchy vegetables, and caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, soda and energy drinks) may already be taxing metabolic functions.  Adding another source of stimulants may not be the best idea.

A better choice may be weight management supplements formulated to support metabolic function while managing appetite, cravings and alertness.  While you won’t get the “buzz”, you won’t be anxious and/or jittery either.

Feed your body.
While it seems counter-intuitive, you must eat to lose weight.  Starvation and low-calorie dieting send a signal to your body that food is in short supply so it goes into survival mode – protecting fat and reducing metabolism. 

What you are consuming is the issue.
Before you put something in your mouth, ask yourself one simple question:  “Is this going to feed my body something it needs?”  If the answer is no, don’t eat it.  You already know the answer when you consume junk, packaged, comfort and fast food, so don’t eat them. 

Eat, eat, eat.
Eat breakfast, eat vegetables for lunch, eat a healthy supper early.  You should eat a baseball sized apple or pear for mid-morning and afternoon snacks. (Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and/or a dash of lime juice for variety.)   Here are 10 healthy, easy to fix recipes.

Drink water to help flush away the byproducts of burning fat – at least 8 – 8 ounces glasses each day.

Lose it and keep it off!
Besides appearance, losing weight is a healthy choice.  Researchers have shown, time and time again, that maintaining a healthy weight will reduce your chances of enduring many of the health issues that are confronting others.

Would you care to know how healthy you are?  Take the test.

Editor’s Note:  Rather than the prevalent “miracle in a bottle” paradigm, we believe maintaining health is a life-style. We have developed a strategy that promotes and maintains health.  You can review our work at the Natural Health Consulting Center at NURPO.

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Deal of the Week: 20% off Colorado Nutrition L-Carnitine Fumarate Feb 16, 2010, 3:16 pm.

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Filed under: Energy, Fitness, natural weight loss, weight loss, Weightloss Tagged: amino acid, burn fat, carnitine, l-carnitine, lose weight, natural weight loss, weight loss pill

Positive Workouts, Gym Mistakes and More: Twitter Finds Feb 12, 2010, 11:00 am.

Filed under: Fitness

EatWhatYouLove

Your old diet rules may be negative messages like “exercise to burn off calories when you cheat.” #mindfulmoment

feelgreatweight

RT@ goodhealth: Logging regular sweat sessions but still not losing weight? 3 mistakes you’re making at the gym: http://bit.ly/ajgJfJ

LATimeshealth

All aboard for Michelle Obama’s childhood obesity campaign http://bit.ly/aSs6pw

goodhousemag

Adding music to your workout can up endurance by 15%. GHRI put 40 pairs of headphones to the test. Here are the winners. http://ow.ly/14jVq

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Overwhelmed by all of the “Follow Friday” recommendations on Twitter? Each week AOL Health’s Twitter alias Healthpop and That’s_Fit search the Twittersphere for the greatest diet and fitness Twitterers, and each week, we’ll highlight the best-of their best tweets (no Twits here). Got any great advice for our Fit Follow Friday post? Give us a shout on Twitter and let us know all about it!

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