The study was carried out by a group of experts at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and led by Dr. George Bray. For the trials, several hundred participants with extra weight, both males and females, were invited. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the groups offered one of the following types of diet:

• High protein, high fat, and low carbs;
• High protein, low fat and high carbs;
• Average protein, high fat and low carbs;
• Average protein, low fat and high carbs.

At that, every diet was created to cut down about 750 calories a day. The participants were monitored after 6 months right after the diet, and then within 2 years after the end of the experiment. It turned out that for six months of using all types of the stated diets, they managed to get rid of 9 lbs of fat and about 5 lbs of lean mass. In two years, the participants managed to lose 8 lbs of fat in average, including 3 lbs of abdomen fat. At that there were no serious differences in weight loss degree between the members of the groups assigned to different types of diets.

Thus, simple watching your calorie consumption can be effective for weight management and improving your BMI, but you can choose the type of diet which is more appropriate for you. “If you’re happier doing it low fat, or happier doing it low carb, this paper says it’s OK to do it either way. They were equally successful,” one of the study participants commented in the report. It can be more important to stick with a certain type of diet rather than eliminate fats or carbs completely. Read more about calorie counting and the findings of this interesting study in the latest issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

]]> http://guide2herbalremedies.com/effective-weight-management-practice-calorie-counting/feed/ 1 http://guide2herbalremedies.com/eating-red-plate-eat-shed-extra-pounds/ http://guide2herbalremedies.com/eating-red-plate-eat-shed-extra-pounds/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:16:23 +0000 Carla Fiscina http://guide2herbalremedies.com/?p=7876 Despite the fact that there are a great deal of very effective weight management techniques created and available for everyone who need to get rid of extra pounds, still there are a large number of people in the modern world who suffer from being overweight and having increased risks of many serious diseases like heart attack, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and so forth. Scores of studies and researches are being carried out in order to help us maintain a normal body weight, but still many of us fail to make efforts, refuse to watch what they eat and at all times look for the easiest ways to reduce their BMI.

Good news for you, folks! Swiss and German scientists offer you a very simple strategy to reduce your calorie consumption and shed the flab. How to do that? Just use plates and cups of red color. According to the newest findings recently reported in the Daily Mail and other reputable editions, eating from a red plate and drinking from a red cup is linked to substantially lower food and beverage consumption. It is estimated that this easy trick can help you reduce your food consumption by up to 40 per cent, thus receive less calories, prevent weight gaining and even stimulate weight loss.

The research included two series of experiments. For the first one, 109 participants were offered meals served on blue, white and red plates. It turned out that those participants who received their meals on red plates consumed less amounts of meals compared to those people who were offered meals on white or blue plates. For the second part of the experiments 41 male students were invited. They were offered to drink tea from the cups with blue and red marks or patterns. The researches found out that tea consumption from red cups was 44 per cent lower.

Many nutritionists and weight management experts were surprised with these findings. However, European scientists tend to link the effects of red plates and cups with the associations that we all have. Since early civilizations, red color is associated with something dangerous or harmful. “Red may be associated with alarm or something primeval,” Ursula Arens, a nutritionist at the British Dietetic Association, said. The findings inspired the idea to begin using red package for unhealthy foods and beverages: this can be used as a warning tool by concerned food market players and governmental structures.

A group of scientists at the University of Washington, Seattle, carried out a series of experiments with lab rats and mice. The animals were genetically bred to have extra weight and be obese. It turned out that after switching to a fat-high diet, within 24 hours the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that receives signals about being hungry or full, starts showing obvious signs of inflammation. According to Dr. Michael Schwartz, one of the study leaders and professor of medicine in the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence, any sort of high-fat diet “is actually injuring the neurons that are supposed to protect them from obesity.”

To support their findings, the scientists analyzed MRI scans of 34 healthy participants of the experiment. It became apparent that the people with extra weight had certain type of brain scarring (known also as gliosis) caused by the mentioned injuries of neurones. At that, the more extra weight a person had, the more brain scarring was registered. The findings were considered sufficient to form a basics for a new theory about the changes in the brain caused by increased fat consumption.

“Our paper provides direct evidence to support that hypothesis, because we do find evidence of fixed structural change in the brain area most important for body-weight control in obese individuals and animals,” Dr. Schwartz said. The specialist underlined that the findings of his research group gave one more reason for all of us to do healthy choices when it comes to our diet and nutrition. Read more about this interesting study, as well as check out the comments and opinions of the experts on the findings of American nutritionists, in the latest issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

However, there are obvious negative effects of such “diet of happiness”, because all types of diets high in sugar and fat are destructive for our waist. That is why nowadays, scientists talk more and more about chronic depression and chronic feeling of being unhappy as the most common side effect of low-fat and low-calorie diets. It is reported that on the background of increasing obesity rates, for the last several decades along with increasing popularity of weight-loss diets the rates of chronic depressions and being unhappy with the life have also sky rocketed!

A great deal of modern people are focusing on reducing their body mass by using a low-calorie and low-fat diet, this way opening the best way to feeling depressed, unhappy, deprived of something, or even suicidal. Remember about the importance of a proper nutrition for your brain and your good mental health, too. ‘Your brain is made of food, and the right foods are the foundation of good mental health. You can’t feel your best if you starve the brain,’ Dr. Drew Ramsey, one of the authors of the book The Happiness Diet, said to mass media.

That is why when thinking about an effective weight-loss plan, choosing a healthy low-calorie diet for yourself and making your life healthier, do not forget to take into account the mentioned issue. Keep in mind that if you are going for a strict low-calorie diet, it will affect your mood and more likely make you feel depressed, so you should be ready and protect your mental health from possible damage. As a solution, it is possible to compensate negative emotions and feelings coming from food restrictions by doing something you like, taking care about a new pet, mastering a new hobby, spending more time with friends, and so on.

It is a well-known fact that a combination of a low-calorie healthy diet and plenty of physical exercise is the most effective key to a healthy weight. At the same time, according to the findings of a new study carried out by a group of scientists from Harvard University, it is recommended to start with physical activities and exercises before making changes and adjustments to the diet plan. The experts found out that there are certain neurocognitive connections between healthy eating and physical activities, and exercising has a power to encourage healthy eating in the framework of a weight loss program.

After analyzing certain data and scientific information related to weight management techniques, the scientists came to the conclusion that by doing plenty of physical activities we can substantially increase our individual sensitivity to all numerous signs of being overweight, this way preventing overeating and warding off many other bad eating habits. ‘In fact, when exercise is added to a weight-loss diet, treatment of obesity is more successful and the diet is adhered to in the long run,’ Dr. Alonso Alonso, one of the study leaders, comments on the findings.

In addition, according to the reports about the study, physical exercises can cause changes in the function and chemical processes in human brain: in particular, it makes the amounts of prefront connections and grey matter larger and more significant. Of course, this way we can more effectively control our behavior and limit our consumption of high-calorie and high-fat foods which cause weight gain. It is believed that the findings of this study can help all of us in maximizing the effectiveness of our individual weight management programs and improving our overall health. Read more about the recent findings of American specialists in the latest issues of  Obesity Reviews.

Specialists from the University of Sydney and South Western Sydney Local Health Districts who came up with this interesting obesity prevention technique are convinced that laying down on the tummy can help strengthen back muscle motor movement of the baby, as well as strengthen the neck muscles. These are more vital skills which can help babies be more confident when doing other movements like rolling over, sitting, walking and so on.

The experts carried out what they are calling the  Healthy Beginnings Trial, in the framework of which 667 first-time moms were regularly visited by childhood care nurses when the child was 1, 3, 5, 9 and 12 months old. The main objective was working with the moms and explaining them the importance of letting the babies lie on their tummies after feeding. The study was started in 2007 and the first findings, namely positive effects of the mentioned practice on obesity prevention, were recently reported. It is planned to carry out more studies and researches to observe the tendencies even closer.

Li Ming Wen, one of the leading specialists of the University of Sydney, underlines the role of the received findings for obesity prevention and assisting young moms in taking better care for the babies and infants. “This is a very important finding considering 21 per cent of boys and 18 per cent of girls… aged two to three years are overweight or obese.” “It looks as though if we intervene early we can actually make a difference in the long-term,” the scientist added. Chris Rissel, another specialist from the study group, says that the home visits during the experiments made young moms increase their practice of placing their babies to lie on their tummies from 76 percent to 86 percent. Besides, for most of the babies tummy time now starts much earlier.