If you haven’t added soy to your holistic weight loss plan, you might want to do so soon. Research presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior revealed that a diet rich in soy prevents weight gain in post-menopausal female rats.

Previous studies have indicated that falling estrogen levels during menopause leads to the increased body weight and abdominal fat that often plagues postmenopausal women. While estrogen replacement therapies can reduce weight gain if you’re at this stage of life, they also come with unwelcome and serious side effects. On the other hand, soy naturally contains estrogen-like compounds called phytoestrogens and is generally well-tolerated, which makes it a natural dietary alternative to typical estrogen replacement therapies.

Michelle Murphy from the Monell Chemical Senses Center found that post-menopausal rats that had soy phytoestrogens added to their regular diet lost body weight and had higher energy expenditure. She comments, “These results have implications for the development of alternative natural treatments for obesity in post-menopausal women.”

Another study published in the “Nutrition Journal” found that a soy-based meal replacement program was significantly associated with weight loss and also caused improvements in blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

Availability
You can find numerous soy products and soy supplements on the market to enhance your holistic weight loss plan. It’s available as soy milk or beverage, soy capsules, tofu and other soy-based products. Some research suggests that the biggest benefit comes from taking soy as a whole product, in other words, not just as isoflavone capsules. Also, whenever possible, choose organic soy products.

Safety
Some people may be allergic to soy and experience symptoms such as nausea, hives or wheezing. If you experience any of these symptoms, stop taking soy. The research on soy intake and breast cancer is conflicting, with some studies suggesting it can lower the recurrence of hormone-sensitive breast cancer and that it’s not associated with prostate cancer. If you have concerns about this, speak to your doctor.

REFERENCES

ScienceDaily: Meals as Medicine: Anti-Obesity Effects of Soy in Rat Model of Menopause

PubMedCentral: Results Of Soy-Based Meal Replacement Formula on Weight, Anthropometry, Serum Lipids & Blood Pressure

On paper, getting rid of body fat seems simple — eat fewer calories, exercise more. But, the reality is that shedding extra pounds is more difficult in practice. According to Tom Venuto, author of The Body Fat Solution, a formula that can boost your chances of burning off fat has three components: understanding cause and effect, thinking differently, and acting on the answers or solutions.

Ready for the challenge? These tips will help you to embrace all three of Venuto’s rules for burning body fat.

Sprinkle on Cinnamon
This tasty spice increases your body’s ability to use and metabolize calories. According to Ann Louise Gittleman, author of The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet, research shows that cinnamon contains a flavonoid compound that acts similarly to insulin to help control blood sugar. When you consume cinnamon, your body produces less insulin, which triggers fat storage in your body. By helping to stabilize your blood sugar levels, cinnamon also suppresses hunger and cravings, adds Gittleman. Cinnamon is available in powder form, as cinnamon capsules, or in a cinnamon liquid extract. If you have any medical condition or you’re pregnant, consult your doctor before taking supplements.

Do Low Intensity Workouts
Super-charging your workout won’t help you to burn fat faster, according to a study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers compared the effects of women exercising at low intensity versus high intensity four times a week over a three-month period without dieting. The women in the low-intensity exercise group lost significantly more body mass and there was no significant difference in loss of fat between the two groups. Another bonus of low-intensity workouts is that you’re less likely to suffer an injury and be laid up, which can disrupt your fitness routine and cause you to regain fat. Good low-intensity workouts include walking, cycling, water aerobics and yoga.

Get Enough Calories
Contrary to what many dieters believe, extreme calorie restriction or deprivation diets aren’t the best way to lose fat. While you do need to burn more calories than you consume to lose weight, consuming too few calories reduces your metabolism and puts your body into fat-storage mode. Also, when you don’t eat or drink enough, you lose vital protein that’s essential for maintaining lean muscle to burn calories more efficiently. According to the National Institutes of Health, women should not consume fewer than 1,200 calories per day and men should consume no fewer than 1,500 calories daily when dieting, unless under the supervision of a doctor.

REFERENCES

Springer Link News Release, Shape Up the Quick Way

International Journal of Sports Medicine: “Does the Intensity of an Exercise Programme Modulate Body Composition Changes?”

ScienceDaily: Interval Training Burns More Fat, Increases Fitness, Study Finds

Still having your weight loss plans derailed by your favourite comfort foods? As winter approaches, it’s not likely to get any easier. Check out this oldie, but goodie post on coping with comfort foods and holistic weight loss.

The aroma, the flavour, the memories…. Aah, how we love our comfort foods. But what if you’re on a natural weight loss plan?

The words comfort food and low calorie are rarely used in the same sentence. Can comfort eating ever gel with your holistic weight loss goals, or do you have to say goodbye to your longtime favourites forever?

There can actually be a middle ground if you’re willing to consider that some healthier alternatives can be just as comforting — and, you’re willing to be a bit creative.

Here are some tips to pull you out of the comfort eating rut:

• Create low calorie versions of some comfort foods. Mashed sweet potato with no-fat sour cream and olive oil is a much healthier alternative to mashed white potatoes with butter and fatty sour cream.

• Go for baked instead of fried. Baked chicken with a crumb coating tastes just as good as fried chicken. Or, fries baked in the oven with their skin on can hit the spot just as much as a large order of fries from a fast food restaurant.

• Remake old favourites. Pancakes made with half soft whole wheat and half buckwheat flour may be just the occasional breakfast comfort food you need. These alternative flours are healthier than white flour.

• Choose whole grain alternatives in pasta, nachos, and baked goods. They will help you to feel fuller, and to keep your blood sugar stabilized — both of which will have a big impact on your healthy weight loss plan.

• Try soy alternatives for those creamy treats you need every once in a while, such as ice-cream and shakes. Soy is protein rich, and doesn’t have the saturated fat or cholesterol that dairy products have. It’s also high in fiber and helps to keep blood sugar levels stable.

• Start some new comfort food traditions. You may find that homemade whole wheat pita chips with hummus, or soy yogurt with granola may become your go-to comfort foods in difficult times. Or, take advantage of ready-made programs such as the Smart for Life Cookie Diet.It helps to take some of the guesswork out of eating one of the all-time favourite comfort foods the smart way with its all-natural, appetite suppressing meal replacement diet cookies.

• Eat small portions when you do indulge in the not-so-healthy comfort foods. Put them in small bowls and never eat directly from the package.

• Try a comforting activity instead. Sometimes the urge to comfort eat may come from being bored, being anxious, or having some other powerful emotion. Instead of eating, have a relaxing soak in the tub with your favourite aromatherapy oils, read a good book, or turn on a movie you love and sip a soothing cup of chamomile or mint tea. You might find that the comfort eating urge has passed.

The Bottom Line

If you find yourself giving in to comfort eating often enough to hinder your holistic healthy weight loss progress, you may be depriving yourself too much. Consider increasing your calorie intake slightly — with healthy fare, however.

Or, there may be an underlying emotional issue that you’re not facing. In holistic weight, it’s a given that your mind and spirit are just as important as your physical body. Now may be the time to face those demons.

By Lily Moody
To keep your holistic weight loss plan on track this fall and winter, you may need to supplement your diet with vitamin D. Deficiency in this nutrient continues to be prevalent in North America, partly due to the long hours without sunlight during winter. According to a study presented at The Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C, vitamin D levels in the body at the beginning of a low-calorie diet predict how successful weight loss will be.

“Vitamin D deficiency is associated with obesity, but it is not clear if inadequate vitamin D causes obesity or the other way around,” said the study’s lead author, Shalamar Sibley, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, which co-funded the study along with the National Institutes of Health and the Pennock Family Endowment at the University of Minnesota.

In the study, researchers set out to determine if vitamin D levels at the beginning of the study, before calorie restriction, affect subsequent weight loss. The subjects consumed 750 calories fewer than they would normally consume each day. On average, they had vitamin D levels many experts would consider to be in the insufficient range, according to Sibley.

The researchers found that pre-diet vitamin D levels predicted weight loss in a linear relationship. For every increase of 1 ng/mL in level of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol — the precursor form of vitamin D which is commonly used to assess vitamin D status — subjects ended up losing almost a half pound (0.196 kg) more on their calorie-restricted diet.

For each 1-ng/mL increase in the active or “hormonal” form of vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol), subjects lost nearly one-quarter pound (0.107 kg) per day. Additionally, higher vitamin D levels (both the precursor and active forms) at the beginning of the study predicted greater loss of abdominal fat.

Although more research is needed, Sibley says that “our results suggest the possibility that the addition of vitamin D to a reduced-calorie diet will lead to better weight loss.”

Recommendations for Vitamin D Intake

According to Health Canada, the Adequate Intake (AI) values for vitamin D, as currently expressed in the Dietary Reference Intake, tables, are:

• 0 – 1 year old: 200 IU per day
• 2 – 50 years old: 200 IU per day
• 51 – 70 years old: 400 IU per day
• > 70 years old: 600 IU per day

The Tolerable Upper Level of Intake (UL) — or the highest amount of a daily nutrient that is unlikely to cause any risk of adverse health — for vitamin D for one year old and over is 2,000 IU per day.

Update

On November 30, 2010, the Institute of Medicine released new recommendations for vitamin D intake for Canadians and Americans. They indicated that most of us up to age 70 need no more than 600
international units (IUs) of vitamin D per day to maintain health, and those 71 and older may need as much as 800 IUs. They also now claim that most Americans and Canadians are getting enough vitamin D, with the possible exception of adolescent girls and the elderly.

However, they point out that their new recommendations focus on vitamin D’s role in bone health, not in treating other health conditions. To learn more about the new recommendations, view the IOM’s report Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D.

REFERENCES

The Endocrine Society press release, “Successful Weight Loss with Dieting is Linked to Vitamin D Levels.”

Thought all Internet-based weight loss programs were a waste of time? Think again. According to a Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study published in the open access Journal of Medical Internet Research, the more people used an interactive weight management website, the more weight loss they maintained.

The National Institutes of Health-funded study evaluated an Internet-based weight maintenance intervention involving 348 participants. Consistent website users who logged on and recorded their weight at least once a month for 2 ½ years maintained the most weight loss, the study found.

The secret to their success? Consistency and accountability. These are essential in any weight maintenance program, says study lead author Kristine L. Funk, MS, RD, a researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon. “The unique part of this intervention was that it was available on the Internet, whenever and wherever people wanted to use it.”

“This study shows that if people use quality weight management websites consistently, and if they stick with their program, they are more likely to keep their weight off,” said Victor J. Stevens, co-author and senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. As most dieters know, keeping weight off is even more difficult than losing it to begin with, so these sites offer significant value for dieters, not just in terms of keeping weight off naturally, but also for improving their overall health.

Participants had to lose at least nine pounds to remain in the trial for the weight loss maintenance phase, which lasted an additional 2 ½ years and included three groups of randomized participants. One group had no intervention; the other had monthly contact with a personal health coach; and the third group was given unlimited access to a weight-maintenance website created specifically for the trial.

Consistent users who logged in and recorded their weight at least once a month for 24 months maintained the greatest weight loss — keeping off an average of nine of the 19 pounds they’d lost during the initial weight loss phase of the trial. Those who logged on less consistently — at least once a month for 14 months — kept off an average of five pounds. Those who logged on less than that kept off an average of only three pounds of their original weight loss. At the end of the study, 65 percent of the participants were still logging on to the website.

Choosing a Web-based Weight Loss Program
While the study website is no longer available, there are many useful weight management websites you can access as part of your holistic weight loss plan. The study authors recommend you look for these important elements:

• Sites that include tailored or personalized information
• Sites that encourage accountability by asking you to consistently record weight, exercise, and calories consumed
• Sites with interactive features that allow you to communicate with each other and with nutrition and exercise experts
• Sites with accurate health information.

REFERENCES

Eurekalert press release: The More Frequently You Log on, the More Weight You Can Keep off

Your large intestine, or colon, is part of the gastrointestinal tract, and is vital in removing waste and toxins from your body. However, toxin overload and poor colon function can cause toxins to build up in the colon, which inhibits weight loss and causes other health complications such as constipation, according to Frances Taylor and Jacqueline Krohn, authors of “Natural Detoxification.” While the debate about the value and safety of colon cleanse for weight loss and general health continues, advocates continue to extol its benefits.

According to Brenda Watson, author of “The Detox Strategy,” waste that sits in the colon begins to putrefy and increases the amount of toxins in your body. Some people may be carrying around several pounds of waste in their colon, which contributes to potbellies, and may play a role in conditions such as allergies, acne and fibromyalgia, notes Watson. Natural colon cleanses purge waste and toxins from your body and may promote weight loss. Dieters are still awaiting more scientific research on these claims, but the ample anecdotal evidence on the benefit of colon cleansing is hard to ignore.

Psyllium Fiber
This fiber derived from psyllium seed husk is an effective laxative, according to “Natural Detoxification.” As psyllium fiber passes through the digestive tract, it absorbs water and expands. It fills the intestines and helps to soften stools, thereby making excretion of waste and toxins easier.

Natural Enemas
An enema is one of the oldest colon cleanse methods. It may contain a substance such as warm filtered water, coffee, herbal tea or wheat-grass juice, according to “Natural Detoxification.” Some enema users also vary the ingredients to treat specific conditions. For instance, adding 1/2 tsp of cayenne may stimulate the liver, kidneys and spleen, states Krohn and Taylor. However, an enema is not for everyone. For example, you should not do a coffee enema if you have conditions such as hemorrhoids or anal or rectal fissures.

For some time the thinking was that losing weight slowly and steadily was the best way to keep weight off. However, a new study conducted at the University of Florida suggests that the best way to shed pounds and keep them off is to lose weight quickly in the initial stages of fighting obesity.

In the study that was published online in Springer’s International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 262 middle-aged obese women followed a six-month lifestyle program. They had to reduce their calorie intake and increase their moderate intensity physical activity in order to lose 0.45 kg per week. They were then supported for a further year with an extended care program involving contact twice a month in the form of group sessions, telephone contact or newsletters.

Women in the FAST group lost over 0.68kg per week; those in the MODERATE group lost between 0.23 and 0.68kg per week; and women in the SLOW group lost less than 0.23kg per week in that first month. The women who lost weight quickly also maintained their weight loss for longer and were less likely to put weight back on than the more gradual weight losers.

In particular, women in the FAST group were five times more likely to achieve the clinically significant 10 percent weight loss at 18 months than those in the SLOW group and those in the MODERATE group were nearly three times more likely to achieve this milestone than women in the SLOW group.

Healthy, Natural Ways to Lose Weight Quickly

• Increase the amount of time you exercise each day, or the number of days you exercise.

• Increase the intensity in your aerobic routine.

• Try interval training, a workout that includes short bursts of intensity alternated with periods of rest.

• Add strength-training to your fitness routine. If you’re already doing muscle strengthening, then increase your weight load when your muscles become used to it.

• Do a detox to get rid of toxins that inhibit liver function. The healthier your liver is the easier and quicker it is to lose weight.

• Get more sleep. This is essential to increase leptin, a hormone that controls your appetite, and to reduce ghrelin, which increases your appetite.

Another benefit you’ll enjoy when you lose weight quickly is that you’ll be more motivated to stick with your diet and fitness program.

SOURCE:
Springer Science and Business Media, “Shape up the quick way.”

Reference:
Lisa M. Nackers, Kathryn M. Ross, Michael G. Perri. “The Association Between Rate of Initial Weight Loss and Long-Term Success in Obesity Treatment: Does Slow and Steady Win the Race?” International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2010.

Many of us choose to cut carbs to shape up for summer, especially if we’re in a hurry to lose weight. However, our bodies need carbohydrates for energy and other processes in the body. Still, we do tend to overindulge in them, especially in winter when we can cover our bulges with heavy clothes. But, there’s no hiding when the weather warms up.

It’s hard to wean yourself off comfort foods such as pasta, cakes, and potato salad. So, is there an easy, healthy way to cut carbs and cravings? You’ll be happy to hear there is. Try these tips that will help you lose weight naturally and allow you to still get the nutrients you need.

1. Switch to whole grains. Because they’re more filling, whole grains help you to cut carbs by reducing the portions you eat. They also help to reduce cravings throughout the day. Substitute whole grain breads, cereals, and pastas for foods made from refined grains.

2. Cut out the juice. These beverages are good sources of carbohydrates – but they’re mostly in the form of sugar. In other words, they’ve got lots of empty calories that don’t fill you so you tend to over-consume them.

A better option is to eat fruits so you get lots of fiber, which is filling and a natural appetite controller. Gotta have your juice? Try drinking juices with pulp to get more fiber.

3. Drink more water and green tea. To quench your thirst in summer while cutting carbs, rely on these two natural weight loss beverages. Add a squeeze of lemon, stevia, or even cinnamon for extra flavor instead of drinking juices.

4. Eat more protein. Foods rich in protein such as lean chicken, dairy, fish and soy products help cut carbs by controlling cravings. Make sure you include some in each meal, especially breakfast to keep midday carb cravings on the job at bay.

5. Don’t skip meals. When you do you’re more likely to have cravings for unhealthy, sugary snacks. Research also shows that people who skip meals during the day are more likely to become obese.

6. Carry healthy filling, snacks. Whole grain chips and nachos, nuts, raisins help to cut carbs by keeping you full in between meals and reducing cravings.

7. Go to sleep early. Many carbohydrate lovers sneak starchy snacks late at night. To avoid temptation, head to bed early so you can cut carbs in your diet.

These are much healthier ways to cut carbs when you’re on a natural weight loss program, rather than eliminating them entirely from your diet.

Is exercise a major stumbling block in your holistic weight loss plan? Then you need an easy fitness routine that’s convenient, affordable, and that you’ll stick to. Walking offers all those benefits – and more. But, as with any fitness program, you’ve got to have a plan.

By now you may have heard that using a pedometer is a great way to plan walking workouts. Several organizations, including Shape Up America founded by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, recommend that people walk at least 10,000 steps each day.

An Easy Fitness Routine with Powerful Results
In a study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine, researchers found that using a pedometer helped people to set goals for the amount of steps they walked each day – and to stay motivated to reach those goals.

In the 18-week study, pedometer users increased their walking by over 2,100 steps, or about a mile a day. They lost weight and had significantly better systolic blood pressure, which reduced their risk of stroke and other vascular diseases.

How to Start Your Easy Fitness Routine
1. Get the right gear. A pedometer will help you to set walking goals, track your progress, and monitor your heart rate and blood pressure. However, you also need the right shoes to protect your feet and joints.

When shopping for shoes for this easy fitness routine, make sure you choose models that are suitable for your pronation based on whether your feet have flat arches, normal arches, or high arches.

2. Warm up. Do a five-minute warm-up first, followed by some gentle stretches held to a count of 30 seconds. Make sure you stretch those big muscle groups – your quads and hamstrings – and your calves too.

3. Pace yourself. If you’ve been a couch potato, take things slowly at first with this easy fitness routine. Walk at a pace that allows you to easily have a conversation. As you get fitter, pick up the pace.

4. Do your easy fitness routine at a time that makes sense for you. Trying to stick to some hard and fast rule about workout times can sabotage your natural weight loss goals. Whether you walk in the morning, afternoon or evening, you’ll still see results.

5. Work it into your day. Unlike having to make special plans to go to the gym, you can walk at any time and anywhere. Getting the most from this easy fitness routine can be as simple as taking the stairs at work, getting off the bus a few blocks before your stop, a walk in a nearby park after lunch, or walking to pick up your kids from school instead of driving.

The more you customize this easy fitness routine, the more successful it will be at helping you to lose weight naturally and keep it off over the long run.

RESOURCE
The Stanford University School of Medicine news release, “Pedometers help people stay active, Stanford study finds.”

The age-old question of why men store fat in their bellies and women store it in their hips may have finally been answered: Genetically speaking, the fat tissue is almost completely different.

“We found that out of about 40,000 mouse genes, only 138 are commonly found in both male and female fat cells,” said Dr. Deborah Clegg, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and senior author of the study appearing in the International Journal of Obesity. “This was completely unexpected. We expected the exact opposite – that 138 would be different and the rest would be the same between the sexes.”

The study involved mice, which distribute their fat in a sexually dimorphic pattern similar to humans.

“Given the difference in gene expression profiles, a female fat tissue won’t behave anything like a male fat tissue and vice versa,” Dr. Clegg said. “The notion that fat cells between males and females are alike is inconsistent with our findings.”

In humans, men are more likely to carry extra weight around their guts while pre-menopausal women store it in their butts, thighs and hips. The bad news for men is that belly, or visceral, fat has been associated with numerous obesity-related diseases including diabetes and heart disease.

Women, on the other hand, are generally protected from these obesity-related disorders until menopause, when their ovarian hormone levels drop and fat storage tends to shift from their rear ends to their waists. “Although our new findings don’t explain why women begin storing fat in their bellies after menopause, the results do bring us a step closer to understanding the mechanisms behind the unwanted shift,” Dr. Clegg said.

For this study, researchers used a microarray analysis to determine whether male fat cells and female fat cells were different between the waist and hips and if they were different based on gender at a genetic level. Because the fat distribution patterns of male and female mice are similar to those of humans, the researchers used the animals to compare genes from the belly and hip fat pads of male mice, female mice and female mice whose ovaries had been removed – a condition that closely mimics human menopause.

Waist and hip fat (subcutaneous fat) generally accumulates outside the muscle wall, whereas belly fat (visceral fat), a major health concern in men and postmenopausal women, develops around the internal organs. In addition to the genetic differences among fat tissues, the researchers found that male mice that consumed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks gained more weight than female mice on the same diet.

The males’ fat tissue, particularly their belly fat, became highly inflamed, while the females had lower levels of genes associated with inflammation. The female mice whose ovaries had been removed, however, gained weight on the high-fat diet more like the males and deposited this fat in their bellies, also like the males.

“The fat of the female mice whose ovaries had been removed was inflamed and was starting to look like the unhealthy male fat,” Dr. Clegg said. “However, estrogen replacement therapy in the mice reduced the inflammation and returned their fat distribution to that of mice with their ovaries intact.”

Dr. Clegg said the results suggest that hormones made by the ovaries may be critical in determining where fat is deposited. Her overall goal is to determine how fat tissue is affected by sex hormones and whether it would be possible to develop a “designer” hormone replacement therapy that protected postmenopausal women from belly fat and related diseases such as metabolic syndrome.

Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University, Boston University School of Medicine and the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University also contributed to the study. The study was supported by the Society for Women’s Health Research.

REFERENCES

UT Southwestern Medical Center press release, “Belly fat or hip fat – it really is all in your genes.”