Friday, September 5, 2008

10 Tips on Healthy Foods, Fitness, & Maintaining Weight Loss

Here, I’ve rounded up 10 things you never knew about healthy foods, fitness exercise programs, and weight loss - and all 10 tips are based on recent scientific research.

First, though, an inspirational quotation from a diet expert:

“Follow your doctor’s advice and if you’re build like a robin, don’t try to become a hummingbird,” said Esther Manz, founder and president of TOPS (”Take off Pounds Sensibly”).

A huge part of being a healthy woman is accepting your body size and shape the way it is right now. Yes - you need to get and stay fit, but you also need to be comfortable in your own skin. (Click the book cover for more information).

Here’s some scientific research on maintaining weight loss, the benefits of exercise, and the factors that cause weight gain.

10 Tips on Healthy Foods, Fitness Exercise Programs, & Maintaining Weight Loss

1. Artificial sweeteners cause weight gain. In a recent study at Purdue University, psychologists found rats who ate yogurt sweetened with saccharin consumed more calories and gained more weight than the rats who ate yogurt and table sugar. All artificial sweeteners confuse your body’s attempt to keep track of caloric intake and don’t raise core body temperature the same way sugar does. Even for healthy women, this leads to overeating later and more difficulty burning calories. To maintain weight loss, eat smaller portions of healthy foods.

2. There’s a discernible pattern to maintaining weight loss. Yale researcher Diane Berry found six patterns in maintaining weight loss. Study participants who maintained their weight loss made it to the sixth pattern. The first three patterns are: self-consciousness/unawareness of food habits, a decision to make changes, and taking control of the problem. The second three patterns are: incorporating new behaviors, a support system to reinforce change, and increased confidence and self-control. “The women who maintained their weight loss were more aware of their trigger foods, and they all exercised regularly,” said Berry. Finding a fitness exercise program that works for you will help you maintain weight loss.

3. We’re programmed to resist weight loss. The dreaded plateau occurs when you stop losing weight even though you’re still counting calories and exercising regularly. “There appears to be little at this stage to predict the onset, duration, and frequency of the plateau,” said Dr. Neil King of Queensland University. Though our bodies are programmed to resist weight loss, we can outlast the plateau by trying new fitness exercise programs or incorporating intervals (short, fast bursts of activity that are recently shown to be effective). Healthy women don’t give up!

4. Taking a break from exercising leads to weight gain. Research shows that the weight you gain when you take an exercise break isn’t easily lost later. “The price to pay for quitting exercise is higher than expected, and this price may be an important factor in the obesity epidemic affecting Americans,” says Paul Williams of Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division. If you need a change from your fitness exercise program, try eating different types of healthy foods and trying new types of activities.

5. Vegetarian diets cause weight loss. Vegetarians tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters, and have lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. “There is evidence that a vegan diet causes an increased calorie burn after meals, meaning plant-based foods are being used more efficiently as fuel for the body, as opposed to being stored as fat,” says Dr. Neal D. Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Vegetarian or not, the best diet is one that includes plenty of fresh, healthy foods.

6. Nutritious frozen dinners increase weight loss. Portion size is the biggest struggle of losing and maintaining weight loss, especially since we tend to underestimate how much we actually eat - even if it’s healthy food. There’s far less room for error in frozen dinners, and less temptation to go back for second helpings. Eating frozen dinners has the additional benefit of teaching portion control, which may carry over into regular meals.

7. Diets cause weight gain. “Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people,” said Traci Mann, UCLA psychology professor. She and her colleagues analyzed 31 long-term diet studies and found that up to 66% of dieters gained extra weight within four or five years. “[Dieters] would be better off not going on a diet at all. Their weight would be pretty much the same, and their bodies would not suffer the wear and tear from losing weight and gaining it all back,” said Mann. Join the club if you’re sick of dieting! Instead, focus on healthy foods and fitness programs.

8. Different “weight loss personalities” exist. Research shows that people doing the same amount of exercise and eating the same types of food lose different amounts of weight. Enlisting a “diet and exercise buddy” can provide the support you need to slim down and stay active, but it’s important not to compare your food intake or caloric output to your friends, family, or famous celebrities on diet programs. To maintain weight loss, focus on - you know it already - healthy foods and regular exercise.

9. Exercisers compensate by eating more. Dr Neil King believes there are two reasons people eat more after they exercise: biology and rewards. Biologically-driven compensators are hungrier and instinctively eat more to make up for the energy they’ve used. Rewards-based compensators deliberately choose to indulge in their favorite foods. Weight loss is more difficult for both, even for healthy women. Simply knowing that you’re driven to eat more can help you maintain weight loss.

10. Emotional eaters regain weight. If you eat for internal or emotional reasons, such as when you’re lonely, sad, or bored you’re more likely to gain weight than if you eat for external reasons, such as a birthday party or potluck dinner. Eating smaller portions and exercising regularly won’t help you lose weight if you sabotage yourself for emotional reasons. To be a healthy women, make sure you’re taking care of not just your physical body, but your emotional and spiritual needs, too.

To know more about healthy food visit www.foodnetwork.com

No comments: