Category Archives: Weight Loss

Weight Loss and what you need to know about Weight Loss.

10 Easy Ways to Slash Sugar from Your Diet

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When you read food labels, you’ll need to look for more than just the word “sugar.” Sugar hides under several sneaky names, including high fructose corn syrup, dried cane syrup, invert sugar, molasses, sucrose (or any word ending in “-ose”), brown rice syrup, honey, and maple syrup. These can be listed separately on ingredients lists, so many foods, even seemingly healthy ones like yogurt and cereal, may contain three or four different types of sweetener. If several sugars appear on the label, it’s an indication that the food is less healthy than you may think.

10 Mistakes That Make Cravings Worse

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The mental battle between you and the box of cookies in the pantry does not have to be fought every day. “Out of sight, out of mind,” says Moore. “If it’s 10 p.m. and you want a cookie, you’re probably not going to go out and get some,” she says. On the other hand, if they’re staring you in the face every time you open the pantry, it’s all too easy to grab one. If your family insists you keep foods like cookies in the house, at least move them to the back of the pantry. Hide them behind the box of fruit-and-nut bars, so you see those first. And avoid buying crave-worthy snack foods in bulk from warehouse stores, adds Palumbo, since the more you have around, the more you’ll eat.

How to Control Your Hunger Hormones to Lose Weight and Keep It Off

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A symphony of factors control hunger, fullness, and ultimately our weight, including everything from how well you slept last night to the accounts you follow on Instagram. Also involved in the complex process are hormones, particularly the two that are often referred to as hunger hormones, leptin and ghrelin.

In an ideal world, leptin and ghrelin work together to help keep you at a healthy weight. In the real world, well, 70% of the population ends up overweight or obese. Could out-of-whack hormones be to blame?

To answer that question, you first have to understand how the so-called hunger hormones work.

Leptin is the satiety hormone. Essentially, it tells you when to stop eating. “It makes you feel full, and it blocks appetite,” says James Shoemaker, MD, PhD, associate professor in biochemistry and molecular biology at St. Louis University.

Ghrelin, on the other hand, tells you when you’re hungry and need to eat. Think of it as the gremlin making your stomach grumble. “It’s made in the stomach primarily, and it’s released when you haven’t eaten for a while,” says Michael Schwartz, MD, co-director of the Diabetes Institute at the University of Washington in Seattle. Ghrelin peaks every four hours or so–roughly corresponding to breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

RELATED: How to Reprogram Your Appetite to Crave Healthy Foods

When everything’s running smoothly, the two hormones work in harmony, says Philadelphia-based Marjorie Nolan Cohn, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. “As one is rising, the other one is dropping.”

But things can–and do–go wrong.

For starters, leptin levels fluctuate with how much fat you have. When you lose weight, leptin levels drop. With less of that appetite-suppressing hormone, you end up feeling hungrier and eating more, potentially causing you to gain back the weight you had lost. “[Once] you have returned to your baseline weight, leptin will have recovered,” explains Dr. Schwartz.

In fact, a study that looked at 14 former Biggest Loser contestants showed that, indeed, leptin levels declined in those who lost large amounts of weight (they lost an average of almost 130 pounds). That could explain why most of them regained much of the weight over time.

It’s also possible to become desensitized to leptin–called leptin resistance–if you are constantly stuffing yourself with food. “You’d think that if you’re eating a lot you shouldn’t be hungry, but it’s the opposite,” says Cohn, who is also author of The Belly Fat Fix: Taming Ghrelin, Your Hunger Hormone, for Quick, Healthy Weight Loss. “Even though there may be leptin in circulation, it’s not registering,” she says, and you don’t know you’re full. 

RELATED: 11 Foods That Make You Hungrier

Hunger-stimulating ghrelin levels also vary with weight loss. After dieting, ghrelin production increases, potentially causing people to eat more and gain weight. “The cravings can be so hard to control,” says Cohn. “Once you’re out of whack, it’s really hard to get back into balance.”

Why our bodies fight back

Understandably, human beings are designed to fight starvation. Part of the body’s response to dieting is a drive to revert to whatever weight we were previously. “As you gain weight, the brain thinks that the new weight is the one that’s supposed to be regulated,” says Dr. Schwartz. “That’s why it’s so hard to lose weight and keep it off.”

That response typically kicks in after you’ve lost around 5% to 7% of your bodyweight, he says. “Once you lose more than 5% of your bodyweight, on average, you’re going to engage these responses that counter-regulate against the weight loss. Whether you do it quickly or slowly, it doesn’t matter very much.”

Interestingly, people who undergo bariatric surgery seem to have lower levels of hunger-promoting ghrelin than people who take pounds off through plain old diet and exercise. This may be why weight loss after gastric bypass surgery tends to last for longer periods of time.

Harnessing your hormones

Barring surgery, is there any way you can control these hormones to your advantage? Luckily, yes.

If you can, stick to a more moderate weight loss of just around 5% of your bodyweight so you don’t trigger that debilitating drop in leptin. Then, readjust mealtime: “Eat on the clock,” says Cohn. That means every two hours if you like to eat smaller portions or every four hours if you eat larger meals. This draws down stomach-grumbling ghrelin levels.

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It’s also important to eat a balance of foods at each meal, particularly protein and complex carbs. “Protein is a major player in suppressing ghrelin,” Cohn says. “It takes more work to digest and keeps you full longer.” Fiber also slows digestion and helps keep you full, she adds. Look for complex carbs like whole grains, veggies, and fruit, especially those containing a type of fiber known as “resistant starch,” like not-quite-ripe bananas.

Exercise may also help control your hunger hormones so you can shed pounds for good. One study found that losing weight on a treadmill resulted in lower ghrelin levels than slimming down by simply eating less.

This Woman Lost 77 Lbs. in a Year By Cooking With an Instant Pot Every Night

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Brittany Williams decided to take control of her health by challenging herself to make dinner every night.

This article originally appeared on People.com.

An Instant Pot was this woman’s one way ticket to weight loss.

At the start of this year, weighing 212 lbs., Brittany Williams decided to take control of her health by challenging herself to make dinner every night, she tells PEOPLE. The mom of three got her husband involved by having him agree to not bring takeout home for the duration of the year, and instead she decided to bust out the Instant Pot that had been lying around her house mostly untouched. She’s now down 77 lbs. since January 3 and 125 lbs. in total.

“I’ve had the Instant Pot for four years but I didn’t use it much and when I did it was for comfort foods like mac and cheese, ribs and cheesecake,” Williams, 27, says. “Starting in January I began using the Instant Pot every day—sometimes several times a day, five to six nights a week for dinner and several mornings for breakfast. I even use it to warm leftovers instead of my microwave.”

The blogger behind Instant Loss says the trendy, easy-to-use appliance that works as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, and rice cooker has made “making healthy food convenient and allowed me to succeed where I’ve failed many times before.”

Dropping the weight wasn’t all thanks to the push of a button though. Williams overhauled her diet to mirror something similar to paleo, avoiding most grains, dairy and sugar. “It’s simple. If it comes from the earth and is unprocessed, I eat it,” she writes on her blog. She loads up on vegetables and limits her fruit to avoid natural occurring sugars. 

“Eggs, meat, alternative flours (coconut, almond, and cassava), oils (coconut, avocado, and olive), nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate are some other examples of what I eat,” she says.

Williams is constantly sharing Instant Pot recipes—like dairy-free creamed corn and chickpea tacos—that not only adhere to her diet but most importantly, save time.

“There are nights I don’t start cooking dinner till 6pm because I lose track of time or we don’t get home till late, nights that I used to pull out of a frozen pizza or have my husband grab dinner on his way home from work,” she writes. “My Instant Pot has eliminated those nights. I can throw a few things in the pot and have dinner on the table in under a half hour.”

This Couple Has Dropped Almost 400 Pounds Since Making a New Year’s Resolution to Lose Weight

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‘Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions—and with that, the almost inevitable resolution relapse. But that didn’t happen to one determined couple, who set a goal to lose weight together starting on January 1, 2016. Nearly two years later, they’ve shed a combined 394 pounds—and they’ve been documenting their incredible weight-loss journey on Instagram.

Before they made their joint resolution, Lexi Reed weighed 480 pounds, while her husband, Danny, tipped the scales at 280 pounds.

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“We knew that together anything was possible,” Lexi writes in one photo caption on Instagram. “We weighed a combined total of 765 lbs and we [were] fed up with the life we were living.”

They credit their weight loss to preparing their own meals, drinking water instead of soda, and spending less time on the couch watching TV. Their workout goals started small; they pledged to spend 30 minutes at the gym five times a week. Now, Lexi goes to the gym daily and pushes herself to finish intense workouts—like an hour of Zumba or weightlifting.

Lexi even credits their losing weight as a team with strengthening their 10-year relationship. “We have transformed our lives and molded our bodies into the people we’ve always wanted to be,” she writes. You will be amazed by their eye-popping before-and-after posts below.

What Really Happens to Your Body When You Yo-Yo Diet

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Let’s be clear: Yo-yo dieting is not a recommended weight-loss strategy. But studies do show that even a small amount of weight loss–just 5% of your bodyweight–is beneficial when you’re obese.

That’s because fat stored in organs and muscle tissue is the first to go when you lose weight, explains Barbara Gower, PhD, professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

That type of fat, especially deep in the belly, muscles, and liver, poses a greater risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, especially in women, according to preliminary research presented at the 2017 Radiological Society of North America annual meeting.

Although it’s better to keep the weight off for good, “repeated bouts of weight loss are not necessarily bad,” Gower adds. Shedding that weight, even temporarily, “may reduce risk of chronic disease.”

Miss Egypt Was Bullied as a Teen for Weighing 220 Lbs.: ‘I’ve Learned How to Love Myself’

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Miss Egypt Farah Sedky recounted that she was considered “morbidly obese” at 220 lbs.

This article originally appeared on People.com.

On Sunday, Miss Egypt Farah Sedky could be crowned Miss Universe — but just a few years ago, she was considered “morbidly obese” at 220 lbs. and getting cruelly bullied by her classmates.

The pageant hopeful and recent college graduate says that the other students at her all-girls high school would constantly taunt her.

“Growing up in an all-girls school wasn’t the easiest. I was brutally bullied and to the point that I was once beaten by one of my peers,” Sedky, 23, tells PEOPLE. “To this day, I still remember her looking down at me on the ground and saying, ‘I’d love to wake up tomorrow and not see you at school, no one will miss you if you’ll be gone forever.’ ”

She hit 220 lbs. by age 15, and her doctor said that she would be diabetic in the next six months if she didn’t change her habits.

“This was the first time that I saw my father cry, which motivated me to lose the weight and begin to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Sedky says.

At first Sedky, who now lives in Cairo, struggled with eating well, but she was determined to make a change.

“What clicked with me on an emotional level to start my journey was the fact that I knew I wasn’t living up to my full potential,” she says. “Also seeing how sad my father was pushed me to make these changes.”

Sedky learned to cut her portion sizes, limit carbs after 7 p.m. and add lots of lemon to her meals.

“[Lemon] is so important Queen B [Beyoncé] made an entire album about it,” she jokes. “I like yogurt with half a lemon and cinnamon, and lemon with hot water in the morning helps with your digestive system going.”

Along with daily workout classes, Sedky lost almost 80 lbs. and changed her entire outlook.

“I’ve learned how to love myself, which was the hardest thing I had to learn,” she says. “I want to be a role model for little girls, just as I needed to have at their age. I want them to know that nothing is their fault; challenges will pass and they’ll go on with their lives to become successful individuals. They key is to learn to love and accept themselves.”

That self-love and body positivity is what pushed Sedky to compete for Miss Universe. Though she lost weight for her health, she sees the bullying she faced as a result of unrealistic standards of beauty.

“I truly believe it’s time to show women that they should appreciate, accept and love their bodies the way they are,” she says. “It’s about time that we all come together not just for women but also for children, to make sure they grow up in a healthy environment where they won’t feel pressured to focus on fitting in, and fitting a certain perception on beauty. Instead, they will grow to focus on developing their aspirations.”

The Miss Universe pageant will air live on Sunday, Nov. 26 on FOX at 7 p.m. EST.

The 5 Best Strength Moves for Weight Loss

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Works back, shoulders, biceps, abs, quadriceps, hamstrings, butt

A. Stand holding a 5- to 10-pound weight in left hand. Hinge forward so back is flat and almost parallel to floor; rest right hand on a chair or low shelf for support. Extend left arm toward floor, palm facing in; lift straight left leg behind you, so body forms a T.

B. Slowly bend left elbow and draw weight up until elbow is even with torso; hold for a moment, then lower weight. Do 15 reps, then switch sides and repeat. Do 3 sets.

How This Woman Has Maintained Her 125 Lbs. Weight Loss for Over 7 Years

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Samantha Call found success with the Atkins diet.

This article originally appeared on People.com.

Samantha Call’s weight loss journey began as the result of a tragic loss.

Call – who said she was “always the big girl” growing up and reached 265 lbs. by her senior year of high school – lost her father to heart disease in 2008. Her dad, who had struggled with obesity, was just 48-years-old.

“I’ll never forget sitting with my [12-year-old] brother after my dad had passed, when he told me ‘Samantha, I don’t want you to die like daddy did,’ Call, now 33, told PEOPLE.  “That broke my heart but gave me the drive that I needed to start my journey.”

First, the Callis, Maine resident consulted with her doctor. “My blood pressure was through the roof,” says Call. “I had wanted to get gastric bypass [surgery] because I felt like I had failed so many times on diets. I couldn’t stick with it. But, my doctor pushed me to lose the weight for myself and on my own. It lit a fire under me.”

In early 2009, Call found success with Atkins. And after a year and a half got down to 132 lbs. Call has maintained her weight loss for about seven years.

“I’ve always been someone who loved bacon and loved eggs, that was easy to me,” Call said of her new low carb program. “How many diets can you do that you get to eat bacon and eggs every morning?”

She also learned to love lean meats and vegetables, and now enjoys making her own healthy meals. “My fiancé is very supportive with what I cook us for dinner,” she says. “He’s always been a physically fit guy so it helps. He’s a huge support.”

While losing weight, Call gradually added in exercise, and now works out for an hour in the morning before work. “It’s part of my daily routine,” says Call, who switches between fitness DVDs, a Pilates ball and at-home gym equipment.  She even ran a half-marathon two years ago, and hopes to do more in the future.

Still on Atkins, she also allows herself a cheat day once a week, but doesn’t go overboard. “I have my mind fixated on one thing that I’m going to have,” she says. For example, instead of the three large plates of fried, carb-heavy food she used to get a Chinese buffet, Call now has a small plate and maybe half an egg roll. “It’s all about portion control.”

Another big change? Her confidence. Call, who was married once before, felt uncomfortable wearing her wedding dress at her previous size.

“I look at those photos and it was unflattering,” she says. “I’m excited for the fact that I’ll be able to pick out a beautiful dress and feel good about myself because I was very self-conscious about myself the first time around. I’m happy that I’ll look and feel good.”

Do These 5 Things Right Now for a Healthier Holiday Season

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From signing up for a meal delivery kit to having a meditation app ready on your phone, these simple moves will help you stay in top shape during the most crazy-hectic time of the year.

I’ll only have one small glass of wine at the office holiday party. I’ll still make it to the gym three days a week. I won’t leave gift shopping until the last minute and stress myself out. These are promises plenty of us make to ourselves as the holiday season gets into full swing. And they’re promises most of us will break.

That’s because it’s easy for healthy intentions to go MIA when a coworker pulls together a last-minute happy hour plan, or you made yourself a way-too-long gift shopping list, or you took on another holiday-related responsibility that’s throwing you off your game. ‘Tis the season for excess, we know, but striving for balance and maintaining your usual healthy habits during December will also help you avoid starting the new year with a #dietstartstomorrow mentality.

To help you survive the month with your mind and body strong and begin 2018 on the right foot, we rounded up five simple things you can do right now. 

RELATED: 5 Ways to Ease Holiday Stress in 5 Minutes or Less

Buy a pack of gym classes

Dropping some cash ahead of time for a 10-pack of classes or one-month class pass at your favorite fitness studio may be pricey. But knowing that they’re already paid for will motivate you to keep up your sweat sessions all season long—because not even a holiday cookie swap can convince you to throw money out the window. Buy them now, and you’ll have a few left over to use during the first week of January, so you’re inspired to follow through on your New Year’s fitness resolution as well.

Get cooking

Chances are you’ll catch up with friends over drinks or brunch this month. Instead of chatting over high-calorie eggs Benedict or cocktails, connect in a setting where healthy food is the focus—like a cooking class. Book a vegetarian class for you and your girlfriend ahead of time, or make a Sunday meal prep date now, so you’ll have nutritious meal options on hand when the holidays close in. Having good-for-you eats already prepped will help make last-minute holiday cookie dough binges less likely.

RELATED: 5 Healthy Baking Swaps You Need to Try

Slim down your holiday dinner

Heading to a festive potluck? Do a little research to find recipes similar to yours that use lower-fat ingredients, Wendy Bazilian, RD, nutritionist and co-author of Eat Clean, Stay Lean, suggested in a prior interview with Health. “Even better, find a version that incorporates some healthy foods that simultaneously bump up the nutrition while reducing extra calories, sugars, or fat.”

A few swap ideas we love: If you’re tasked with bringing dip to a party, substitute protein-rich Greek yogurt for sour cream. Or cook up whipped cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes. Hey, every bit counts.

WATCH THE VIDEO: A 5-Minute Meditation to Help You Find Your Calm Now 

Subscribe to a self-care box

Treat yourself to a subscription box today that will make staying healthy through the holiday season so much easier. Sign on with a meal kit delivery service so you already know you have good-for-you meals covered, or subscribe to a beauty box ($30 for 3 months, birchbox.com) that will tame your stressed-out skin during party season. Being proactive will automatically make you feel like you’re starting December on a high note. Plus, who wants to make a last-minute drugstore run for sparkly eye shadow on New Year’s Eve?

Download a meditation app

The holiday season may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also the most hectic, when your usual routine falls by the wayside and family and friends you’ve avoided all year long come back into your life. Not surprisingly, your mental health can take a hit. To stress less this December, download one of these apps that take you through guided meditations and mindfulness exercises. We have a feeling they’ll come in handy after your family talks politics at the dinner table.