Here's a quick favourite home workout routine to keep you on track with your fitness goals over Easter Weekend. Put aside 20-minutes to start each day with this little routine and you'll kickstart your heartbeat and metabolism into gear. (Then a little bit of indulgence won't make you feel quite so guilty). Enjoy!
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Showing posts with label maintaining weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maintaining weight loss. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Friday, 31 March 2017
Is It Harder to Lose Weight When You’re Older?
Q. Is it more difficult for an older person to lose weight?
A. Yes, unfortunately. Although it is possible to lose weight at any age, several factors make it harder to lose weight with age.
Even those who remain active lose muscle mass every decade beginning in their 30s, research suggests, replacing it with fat. Muscles use up more calories than fat, so less muscle means a slower metabolism and the need for fewer calories, said Dr. Medha Munshi, a geriatrician and endocrinologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Declining levels of the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone, which typically start around the early 50s for women, with the onset of menopause, and somewhat later for men, compound the effect, said Dr. Munshi, who also directs the Joslin Diabetes Center’s geriatric diabetes programs.
People may also pay in late-middle age for weight they gained and lost in earlier decades, said Dr. Leslie Cho, an interventional cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Weight gain changes metabolism, she said. A 60-year-old who now weighs 200 pounds but once weighed 300, for example, will need far fewer calories per day than someone of the same age and size who was never so overweight. Losing those fat cells, she explained, tricks the body into thinking it is starving and needs to hold on more tightly to calories consumed. “You do have to eat less to maintain that weight if you’ve been heavy,” said Dr. Cho, who also directs the Cleveland Clinic’s Women’s Cardiovascular Center. .
Older people also tend to have more aches and pains and to be more sedentary, engaging in fewer physical activities.
Instead of obsessing about a number on a scale, Dr. Cho suggests that older people focus on general fitness. “It’s not about losing weight,” she said. “It’s about maintaining weight loss, but also about healthy eating and lifestyle.”
Adding muscle through weight training can also help speed up metabolism, or at least compensate somewhat for its decline, Dr. Munshi said. She tells her older patients that “you need it now more than you needed it at 25.” Eating more protein — but not more calories — may also help build or sustain muscle, she said. And she noted that many of her oldest patients end up underweight because they’ve lost their appetite along with their sense of smell, so food doesn’t seem appealing anymore.
Article source
A. Yes, unfortunately. Although it is possible to lose weight at any age, several factors make it harder to lose weight with age.
Even those who remain active lose muscle mass every decade beginning in their 30s, research suggests, replacing it with fat. Muscles use up more calories than fat, so less muscle means a slower metabolism and the need for fewer calories, said Dr. Medha Munshi, a geriatrician and endocrinologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Declining levels of the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone, which typically start around the early 50s for women, with the onset of menopause, and somewhat later for men, compound the effect, said Dr. Munshi, who also directs the Joslin Diabetes Center’s geriatric diabetes programs.
People may also pay in late-middle age for weight they gained and lost in earlier decades, said Dr. Leslie Cho, an interventional cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Weight gain changes metabolism, she said. A 60-year-old who now weighs 200 pounds but once weighed 300, for example, will need far fewer calories per day than someone of the same age and size who was never so overweight. Losing those fat cells, she explained, tricks the body into thinking it is starving and needs to hold on more tightly to calories consumed. “You do have to eat less to maintain that weight if you’ve been heavy,” said Dr. Cho, who also directs the Cleveland Clinic’s Women’s Cardiovascular Center. .
Older people also tend to have more aches and pains and to be more sedentary, engaging in fewer physical activities.
Instead of obsessing about a number on a scale, Dr. Cho suggests that older people focus on general fitness. “It’s not about losing weight,” she said. “It’s about maintaining weight loss, but also about healthy eating and lifestyle.”
Adding muscle through weight training can also help speed up metabolism, or at least compensate somewhat for its decline, Dr. Munshi said. She tells her older patients that “you need it now more than you needed it at 25.” Eating more protein — but not more calories — may also help build or sustain muscle, she said. And she noted that many of her oldest patients end up underweight because they’ve lost their appetite along with their sense of smell, so food doesn’t seem appealing anymore.
Article source
Sunday, 26 February 2017
Tired of the Ups and Downs of Yo-Yo Dieting?
'Coaching' sessions seemed to help keep the weight from coming back, study found.
MONDAY, Feb. 20, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Anyone who has been on a diet knows the real challenge comes later, when you've got to fight tooth and nail to keep from regaining the lost weight.
Now, a new trial finds that regular "diet coaching" may help keep the weight off.
People were more likely to maintain successful weight loss if they took part in a series of post-diet coaching sessions conducted mostly by phone, said study author Corrine Voils. She is scientific director of the Wisconsin Surgical Outcomes Research Program at the University of Wisconsin.
Dieters who received coaching had only regained about a pound and half, on average, a year after their initial weight loss, Voils said. Successful dieters who received no follow-up coaching regained about 5 pounds.
Typically, most people tend to regain weight at a rate of about 2 to 4 pounds a year, the study authors said in background notes.
"The program did slow the rate of regain over that period," Voils said.
Previous research has shown that people who are taught specific behavioral skills can better maintain weight loss, Voils said.
For this study, Voils and her colleagues combined several of those skills and regularly reinforced them with successful dieters during a 42-week period.
The participants were 222 patients at VA clinics in North Carolina who lost an average of 16 pounds as part of a structured weight-loss program.
Following their weight loss, these folks were randomly assigned to receive regular coaching from dietitians or were left to their own devices.
The coaching included a few group visits at first, but quickly transitioned into regular phone calls, Voils said.
"We started out with biweekly contacts, and then decreased to monthly and then to every two months," she said.
The coaching hit on four major themes for weight-loss maintenance, Voils said.
The first involved weighing oneself regularly to identify any sudden weight gain. Patients were told to react if they noticed that they'd put back on 3 pounds.
"Once you regain 3 pounds, this means that you're on a trajectory to regain weight. You need to go back to your weight-loss effort," Voils said. "It's easier to recuperate from a small slip than it is from a 20-pound slip."
Participants also were encouraged to:
After 42 weeks, patients were left alone for 14 weeks and then weighed again to see whether they'd experienced any weight gain.
Voils said the program was low-cost -- about $276 per participant for 56 weeks -- which makes it a fairly inexpensive way to help people stay healthy and fit following a weight-loss program.
"There could be a distinct phase after initial weight loss where this could benefit," Voils said. "There's accountability by somebody calling you regularly."
Dr. Donald Hensrud, editor of "The Mayo Clinic Diet," said the study "demonstrates that some follow-up in this period through telephone calls could be beneficial."
Hensrud also directs the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, a wellness program that offers six months to a year of follow-up from coaches.
"We haven't done a research study like this, but we designed it [the program] for similar reasons," Hensrud said. "We think that staying in touch with people during this so-called maintenance phase is important. People respond to it."
Voils couldn't say whether people who've lost weight would require such coaching for the rest of their lives, to prevent regaining those pounds.
"I would love to do that next study to figure that out," she said.
The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the results were published Feb. 21 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Article Source
MONDAY, Feb. 20, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Anyone who has been on a diet knows the real challenge comes later, when you've got to fight tooth and nail to keep from regaining the lost weight.
Now, a new trial finds that regular "diet coaching" may help keep the weight off.
People were more likely to maintain successful weight loss if they took part in a series of post-diet coaching sessions conducted mostly by phone, said study author Corrine Voils. She is scientific director of the Wisconsin Surgical Outcomes Research Program at the University of Wisconsin.
Dieters who received coaching had only regained about a pound and half, on average, a year after their initial weight loss, Voils said. Successful dieters who received no follow-up coaching regained about 5 pounds.
Typically, most people tend to regain weight at a rate of about 2 to 4 pounds a year, the study authors said in background notes.
"The program did slow the rate of regain over that period," Voils said.
Previous research has shown that people who are taught specific behavioral skills can better maintain weight loss, Voils said.
For this study, Voils and her colleagues combined several of those skills and regularly reinforced them with successful dieters during a 42-week period.
The participants were 222 patients at VA clinics in North Carolina who lost an average of 16 pounds as part of a structured weight-loss program.
Following their weight loss, these folks were randomly assigned to receive regular coaching from dietitians or were left to their own devices.
The coaching included a few group visits at first, but quickly transitioned into regular phone calls, Voils said.
"We started out with biweekly contacts, and then decreased to monthly and then to every two months," she said.
The coaching hit on four major themes for weight-loss maintenance, Voils said.
The first involved weighing oneself regularly to identify any sudden weight gain. Patients were told to react if they noticed that they'd put back on 3 pounds.
"Once you regain 3 pounds, this means that you're on a trajectory to regain weight. You need to go back to your weight-loss effort," Voils said. "It's easier to recuperate from a small slip than it is from a 20-pound slip."
Participants also were encouraged to:
- Plan for situations where they might slip into old eating habits, such as holidays, travel, parties or church buffets.
- Ask a friend or family member to help them maintain healthy habits that would keep weight off.
- Make a list of the personal benefits from weight loss they'd experienced, as a way to keep them motivated.
After 42 weeks, patients were left alone for 14 weeks and then weighed again to see whether they'd experienced any weight gain.
Voils said the program was low-cost -- about $276 per participant for 56 weeks -- which makes it a fairly inexpensive way to help people stay healthy and fit following a weight-loss program.
"There could be a distinct phase after initial weight loss where this could benefit," Voils said. "There's accountability by somebody calling you regularly."
Dr. Donald Hensrud, editor of "The Mayo Clinic Diet," said the study "demonstrates that some follow-up in this period through telephone calls could be beneficial."
Hensrud also directs the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, a wellness program that offers six months to a year of follow-up from coaches.
"We haven't done a research study like this, but we designed it [the program] for similar reasons," Hensrud said. "We think that staying in touch with people during this so-called maintenance phase is important. People respond to it."
Voils couldn't say whether people who've lost weight would require such coaching for the rest of their lives, to prevent regaining those pounds.
"I would love to do that next study to figure that out," she said.
The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the results were published Feb. 21 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Article Source
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