Tuesday 24 August 2010

Quench your thirst

Forget cramming in your eight a day, diet researchers have found that drinking two glasses of water before each meal time could really pay off at the scales.

A study has revealed how participants in a 12-week calorie-controlled study who drank two cups of water before each meal lost - on average - 5 pounds more than those who followed the identical diet without the water. 

While diet experts have asked us to drink more water as part of our diet plans, this is the first time it's been clinically proven to increase weight loss.
I have to confess that I drink very little water - preferring cups of tea and pepsi max.  With these results in mind, I'm going to try to change introduce 2 glasses of water at breakfast time this week and roll it out slowly over the next month.

Weigh in tomorrow, so it makes sense to begin my own personal 'study' then.

PS: The Volumetrics diet draws on the importance of water in weight loss. Want to know more? Check out the book below!

Saturday 14 August 2010

Humiliation: The key to weight loss?

Put down the cereal bowl, ladies.  That two bowls a day is so last month. Tweet What You Eat is the net's latest diet craze. Forget maple syrup, low GI and baby food, this Twitter-based food and weight diary is the must-have this year for any discerning diet junkie.

Rather than restrict your food with insane rules, the diet programme is said to encourage healthy eating and exercise with the threat of humiliation - albeit self-humiliation.

For many of us our weight is a personal and often emotional issue. So, is humiliation the answer? And, if so, should it come from ourselves? Weight and health awareness is crucial, but I'm not sure that this is the perfect way forward.

A scan of sample diets on the site isn't great reading.... Dunkin Donuts... McDonalds... cookies and milk. And that's the bulk of some people's diets. The focus is on the calorie count, rather than the fat and sugar levels.  From this angle, it seems like a quick fix and a diet that definitely hasn't been designed by anyone with a long-term weight issue.

The idea of self-humiliation is enough to send me reaching for the Krispy Kremes. There's every likelihood that this could prolong the vicious cycle of gains and losses for participants. After all, low self esteem is often the best way to work up an appetite.

While I do post my weight on a regular(ish) basis on this blog, I'm doing so to illustrate my journey rather than just try to force myself to lose weight by putting it out in the public forum.  If posting your weight was enough to force you to lose weight, all of us weight loss bloggers would be writing our happily ever afters by now.

Want to get started? Check out this book...

Thursday 12 August 2010

What do your waist size hold in store for you?

According to BBC News, it could be a premature death. This article is really harsh reading for me as my waist - while on the retreat - currently measures 43 inches.  Hopefully I won't be in the danger zone for much longer, though! I have to shrink my waist by about 4 more inches.

So, how am I going to do this? I'm totally addicted to the show Bulging Brides and love the results that Tommy Europe generates. It is about time that I work that core as it will make the greatest impact on my shape.  I've been sticking to the cardio since getting on this journey, albeit at a less-shredding pace.

With this in mind, I'm going to set a WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE to shrink myself by 3 inches on the bust, 3 on the waist and 3 on the hips by 23/09/10.  My new measurements - should I choose to accept them - will be:

Bust: 44
Waist: 39
Hips: 47

I'm hoping this will generate some big weight losses in that time, but I'm realistically hoping for a stone (14lbs). My new weight will be 17 stone 5 lbs (243lbs).

Tuesday 10 August 2010

Atkins vs. Low Fat

Researchers at Temple University have pitted the at-times contraversial Atkins Diet against a standard low-fat diet. And the winner? Each generates the same level of weight loss. While Atkins was praised for its ability to raise HDL cholesterol, researchers pointed out that this benefit came with a number of nasty side effects (e.g. meat breath).

To me, it seem that whatever way you look at it, the dieter wins. Studies like this illustrate the point that restricting your diet in any way will see results on the scale. The challenge, of course, is sticking to it. 

In my world of diet, the weight is slowly coming off. I've been successfully avoiding sugary snacks, crisps and generally anything which would have made me go 'mmmm'. I weigh in tomorrow, so I'll post my numbers then.

Saturday 7 August 2010

A (diet) patch on the rest?

Hollywood's latest diet craze has been reported in The Daily Express. Forget baby food, low carb or even maple syrup, the Slimweight patch is apparently the dieter's equivalent of the nicotine patch. THe patches are the latest celebrity must-have - with the likes of Paris Hilton sporting one on her bottom at a recent LA party.
How they were spotted is a totally different blog, of course.

The list of ingredients in these herbal patches reads like the nutritional information of recent fad diets:
  • Bladder Wrack
  • L-Carnitine
  • Guarana
  • Zinc Citrate
  • Lecithin
  • Flaxsee oil
  • Yerba Mate
  • DHEA
  • Zinc Pyruvate
  • 5 HTP
Interestingly, the diet patch phenomenon is by no means new. I've found evidence of diet patches being sold back in 2004... of course, I've also found evidence that they're no more than often empty promises - medically unfounded.  DietFraud.com. lists a number of legal actions taken against other diet patch products in recent years.

The Federal Trade Comission takes the claims made by fad diets seriously. Awareness is key, so if you're looking for further advice visit Who Cares. to see whether there are any health concerns about a diet you're considering.

Weight loss reduces urinary incontinence

Never has there been a better reason to finally lose weight... British researchers have discovered that even a minimal amount of weight loss can reduce the severity of urinary incontinence. Over half of study participants who lost weight over an 18-month period following a calorie-restricted diet  reported a signnificant improvement in the state of their urinary health. What's more, if you've never ever had the experience of urinary incontinence, reducing your weight has been shown to reduce the risk of you suffering from this problem.