Success & Failure - Weight Loss Diet

Category: Success & Failure -- See latest Weight Loss Diet news here.

7 Reasons you're not losing weight and 7 fixes
Reason: You´re thinking short term. Fix: Think long term, and do small changes that last a lifetime. --- Reason: You're fooling yourself about the exercise you're getting. Fix: Be honest about how much you're moving and exercising. Most don't know the facts on physical activity and exercise. For example: how many minutes of walking does it take to burn off the calories of a small burger? --- Reason: You reward successes with food. Fix: Reward yourself with something appealing other than food. A new book, scarf, or game are better rewards.
by americanchronicle :: 2008-05-17

Record daily habits for successful weight maintenance
Keeping a log of eating and activity has long been the gold standard for effectively changing behavior to lose weight. Studies reveal that people who monitor food and exercise tend to be most successful. A standard food diary has a list of everything you eat and drink. The record also asks for information about how the food is prepared, the portion size, and the time and location of the meal. More detailed food logs may account the calories, fat or other nutritional content. If the goal is to become more aware of the effect of emotions on eating, make note of your mood each time you eat.
by calorielab :: 2008-04-02

3 ways to avoid diet plan failures
"Overwhelm" is the #1 reason that we fail at weight loss diets. We become so excited to make change that we immerse ourselves in a weight loss or fitness plan with good intentions, but we become overwhelmed by all the changes. We set out on a plan that has us changing everything about what we eat, why and when all in one day. And, we want results now so the plan has to be rigid and extreme. Or we get so excited that one product, pill, liquid, or powder is going to do it all for us, and when our life doesn't change we feel like we have failed... again.
by americanchronicle :: 2008-03-13

Weight loss: The word "diet" should be banned
"I think the word 'diet' should be banned as it usually makes people feel depressed and miserable. A diet just makes women feel like they have to control their whole life around it. It immediately makes you crave everything you are not allowed. My advice is to eat lots of proper meals and healthy foods and exercise: then you'll feel good and look good," says Nell McAndrew. "My advice is to just get stuck in. If you're not feeling energetic just go for a power walk for ten minutes then come back and before you know it you'll be doing more than ten minutes the next time."
by telegraph :: 2008-01-02

10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet
Are you frustrated at yourself for having tried one diet after another, only to lose weight Initially by nibbling on fat-free celery, but then gained it all back, and then some? Elizabeth Somer says in book "10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet" that there are a few habits women practice that can undermine their efforts to be healthy and lean. In the kitchen, they taste test the meal. They order salads, then nibble French fries off partner's plate. They feed toddlers in a one-for-you-and-one-for-me fashion. Not realizing that every bite packs 25 calories. The problem is that all it takes is 4 bites a day and you'll gain 1 pound in a month.
by abclocal :: 2007-05-21

Study: Diet success may depend on insulin levels
A diet low in simple carbohydrates may be more effective than a low-fat diet for people whose bodies produce higher insulin levels. Researchers said those with higher insulin levels dropped nearly five times more weight (5.8 kg) over 18 months by following a diet lower in simple carbs than with a low-fat plan (1.2 kg). "Reducing glycemic load may be especially important to achieve weight loss among individuals with high insulin secretion." A low-glycemic load diet emphasizes eating fruits and vegetables, beans, and low-fat dairy products - foods that are absorbed slowly and keep insulin levels in the blood more stable.
by cbc :: 2007-05-19

Skipping meals is not the way to lose excess weight but to gain more
It is not uncommon to see students who have skipped breakfast and/or lunch. Not surprisingly, their complaints range from headaches and stomachaches to fatigue and difficulty concentrating. Skipping meals will never help lose weight. It confuses your body, causing metabolism to slow down. This is a survival mechanism: When you skip meals, it causes physical changes to protect the body from starving. First metabolism slows, causing body to slow down and burn less fat. Secondly, the meal you eat after you skip a meal will be converted to fat and stored, to protect you from starving.
by lcsun-news :: 2007-05-19

5 things we do that wreck our diet: fat burning or fat storing - Lisa Lynn
If you are serious about losing body fat the most important things that you need to do is balance your blood sugar and get your metabolism moving. Breakfast either starts the process of fat burning or fat storing - which one do you want to do? There are 5 things that people do that they think are "Good" for them - however they are telling your body not to burn fat!(1) Adding anything other than skim milk to coffee. These special little add ins not only add calories. But they are ultra processed, so your body doesn't even recognize what they are - so it will go straight to storage on your waist or hips.
by wtnh :: 2007-05-01

Many dieters finish up heavier - better off not going on the diet
Dieting is unlikely to lead to long-term weight loss and may put a person's health at risk. Researchers found people typically lose 5%-10% of their weight during the first 6 months of a diet. But the review of 31 studies, said up to two-thirds put more weight on than they had lost within 5 years. Repeatedly losing and gaining weight is linked to heart disease and stroke. "We found that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more. Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people. We concluded most of them would have been better off not going on the diet at all."
by bbc :: 2007-04-11

Dieting does not work, researchers report
Will you lose weight and keep it off if you diet? No, researchers report. "You can initially lose 5-10% of your weight on any number of diets, but then the weight comes back. Sustained weight loss was found only in a small minority of participants, while complete weight regain was found in the majority." If dieting doesn't work, what does? "Eating in moderation is a good idea for everybody, and so is regular exercise. Exercise may well be the key factor leading to sustained weight loss. Studies consistently find that people who reported the most exercise also had the most weight loss."
by physorg :: 2007-04-06

The weigh-loss secret is changing your mindset - excerpt of book
Have you tried every fad diet out there and still failed? The solution may be putting your brain on a diet. Judith S. Beck, author of "The Beck Diet Solution," says: "Dieters give themselves a million excuses for not sticking to their plan And what they need to instead when they see tempting food is think to themselves, how much do I really want to eat this food?" If you've had difficulty losing weight, did you blame yourself, your body, or your diet? I'm happy to tell you that there's a different reason that you haven't been successful: You just didn't know how to diet. Once you know how to diet, you'll step on the scale and see a lower number week after week.
by msnbc :: 2007-04-01

Why Weight-Loss Efforts Fail - how to succeed the next time
About 33% of American adults is trying to lose weight at any given time, and while their track record for trying is good, their track record for succeeding is not. Within 5 years, most dieters will regain the weight they lost. And, after 5 years, they may even weigh more. But weight-loss researchers have begun to uncover insights into what makes some dieters succeed. While there are no hard-and-fast rules that work for everyone, there are ways to maximize your success. A strategy for success begins with getting realistic: "Cause number-one for failure is setting too unrealistic of goals, losing too much too fast."
by healthcentral :: 2007-02-25

Diets make you crave chocolate even more
Dieting increases women's cravings for chocolate, according to research that shows that denial makes the desire even stronger. Women confronted with images of "oozing chunks" of chocolate cake showed much more desire than when they looked at other desirable objects. However, among women who had dieted or who were on diets, the response was even stronger. Prof Ben Fletcher and Dr Karen Pine say that dieting leads women into a vicious circle of negative emotions which provokes cravings for the very foods they are trying to avoid, with chocolate one of the most powerful.
by telegraph :: 2007-02-17

Couples diet better together - a better environment for weight control
Research shows that couples who lose weight together tend to do well because they benefit from the constant support. They help each other through the tough times and acknowledge each other's progress, says Karen Miller-Kovach, author of "She Loses, He Loses: The Truth About Men, Women, and Weight Loss". Dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix often sees couples who support each other through weight loss to improve their health so "they will be around for the other person for a long time." It works best when they both come from a place of caring about the other, not a place of judging.
by usatoday :: 2007-02-15

Top 5 Diet Mistakes -- Diet Mistakes Can Derail Weight Loss
Top 5 Diet Mistakes: 1. Eating too much healthy food: Think you can eat as much healthy food as you want just because it's healthy? Think again. Serving size is extremely important. 2. Skipping breakfast or any meal: Skipping breakfast thinking it will mean fewer calories is common diet mistake, since it helps ensure that you're burning calories more efficiently. And we tend to over-compensate at some point later in day. 4. Taking weekends off: it's easy to stray from one's diet on the weekends.
by kdka :: 2007-02-04

104 Teenagers Who Are Role Models for Weight Loss
Anne M. Fletcher is author of "Weight Loss Confidential," a study of how 104 overweight teenagers lost significant amounts of weight and maintained their losses for two years or longer. The average loss was 58 pounds. Many of these youngsters had tried fad diets and weight-loss gimmicks, only to regain what they lost. They succeeded only after coming to terms with their eating habits, and making permanent changes in how they deal with food and how they move their bodies. At least 75% listed "too much snacking," "portion sizes too large" and "not enough exercise" as their main reasons for weight gain.
by nytimes :: 2007-01-19

Why dieters are doomed on Tuesdays - deprivation to kick off
What day of the week did you start your most recent diet? 46% of people in study said their last attempt launch a weight-loss plan started on Monday. For 31% of people, the experience is over by Tuesday evening. Monday morning diets are doomed despite our very best intentions. That's because it's based on deprivation. No matter what you're denying yourself - carbohydrates, fat, red meat, snacks, pizza, breakfast, chocolate - you are setting yourself up for failure. Being deprived of what we enjoy most is no way to live. It puts our nerves and our willpower on a hair trigger.
by msnbc :: 2007-01-17

How to help, not hinder, someone's weight loss
While trimming that waistline may seem a solo job, the truth is that friends can have an enormous influence on the success or failure of attempt at weight loss. If you're trying to help someone lose weight, here are some things NOT to do: Don't be the food police. Don't buy exercise equipment or point out new diets. Don't cite health risks of being overweight. Don't try to deprive the person of favorite foods. Don't tell the person weight loss is easy and just a matter of willpower. Instead, try positive behaviors that can help the weight loss effort: Encourage the person trying to lose weight to express feelings, especially negative ones that may be triggering eating.
by rushvillerepublican :: 2007-01-07

Weight maintenance: Keep the weight off permanently
You did it. You've taken off the pounds you've been battling for years, or at least a good many of them. You're delighted with the results - you have more energy - and you're proud of yourself. But at the back of your mind is a nagging fear: "What if I gain it all back?" Weight maintenance is much like weight loss. The principals are essentially the same: eat healthy foods and exercise. And like weight loss, weight maintenance requires a long-term commitment. Indeed, the key to weight maintenance is permanent lifestyle changes.
by mayoclinic :: 2007-01-03

5 key reasons why so many fail at weight loss
(1) Healthy eating is not the same as weight-loss eating: "Weight loss is about being calorie and portion conscious. Many of my clients choose healthful foods, but eat too much of them." (2) If it's not a plate, it doesn't count. Think 25 calories a mouthful. Assume that's what every bite you take is worth. "So many people do well during mealtime, but forget about the extra food they've had along the way. The handful of nuts before dinner, the taste-testing of cookie dough, the food left on their kid's plate."
by msnbc :: 2006-12-06

Yo-yo effect defeats even resolute dieters
Forget dieting, it will only make you fat in the long run. Long-term weight loss is about lifestyle changes. Professor Janet Polivy said many people trying to lose weight had unrealistic expectations and self-defeating behaviour from the start of the diet. When it failed, they were likely to gain weight before the next attempt, and so the cycle continued. "Losing weight involves changing permanently how people live their lives." Research showed that after people lost weight, they usually regained all they lost plus 15%, Dr Blair-West said.
by nzherald :: 2006-11-14

Weight losers are forgetting the need to exercise
People trying to lose weight are forgetting the need to exercise because they are being sidetracked by trendy dietary products. This was the warning after a survey revealed a 33% use dieting as their primary means to lose weight, compared with just 18% who prefer to exercise, despite nearly half of respondents believing that exercise was the greatest beneficiary to personal health. "All evidence suggests that if we want to reduce body fat, the only way is to focus on both ends of the balance - to have a healthy diet and to partake in regular exercise."
by icnetwork :: 2006-10-06

Athletes Limiting Calories More Likely To Get Stress Fractures
Researchers studied risk factors for exercise-related leg pain, including stress fractures in women participating in sports. Women with "disordered eating," which includes eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia but more generally refers to insufficient caloric intake, were more likely to develop stress fractures. Athletes who developed stress fractures had more abnormal scores on the eating behavior quiz and also showed decreased bone mineral density, findings suggestive of disordered eating, which is an umbrella term for common eating disorders as well as any other nutritional deficiency.
by sciencedaily :: 2006-09-15

When good diets go bad: Watch for these warning signs
For Erica Esper, what started as an innocent weight loss diet morphed into an obsession that consumed her life. She began to avoid social gatherings for fear she'd be tempted by food - and nagged by worried friends. Their concern and her growing isolation were signals that her diet had turned disastrous, and that she needed help. Eating disorders, triggered by a wide range of factors, often start with an innocent diet, says the National Eating Disorders Association. In a society that places such a high emphasis on thinness, dieters and those who care about them should watch for some red flags, such as growing obsession with calories.
by cantonrep :: 2006-09-06

Body wired to fight weight loss
The bad news for people trying to slim is that the body is programmed to resist weight loss, according to research. It is well known that dieters and people exercising to shed kilos often hit a plateau - a point where weight loss stops that is difficult to push past. Weight management consults recommend longer exercise times, higher intensity or cross training to combat it. But Neil King has found this plateau can remain firmly in place for a prolonged period even when you continue to exercise or diet.
by theage :: 2006-09-01

Losing weight: Why many fail at their diets - Barriers of mind
Although the basic principle behind weight loss - eat less and exercise more - is simple, many people have problems achieving it as a result of psychological barriers which stand in their way. Now the technique, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), will be applied to weight loss. Dieters will be to taught to recognise triggers and thoughts which lead to them overeating, and how to respond in a different way. "Instead of counting calories or reducing fat, we look at ways of coping with some of the psychological difficulties associated with sticking to a diet and maintaining weight losses."
by icnetwork :: 2006-08-24

Trying to lose weight can make cellulite even worse
Trying to lose weight can make Cellulite even worse. The findings follow a study by US scientists into popular "remedies" for a problem that affects 85% of women. They tested treatments including low-fat and liquid diets, medication - and procedures such as stomach stapling. While many women saw a slight improvement, a third found the condition had become even more noticeable. None of them managed to get rid of it altogether. Women who saw the best reductions were those who were most overweight and had severe cellulite. The biggest improvements were those who lost the most weight and lowered their percentage of thigh fat.
by redorbit :: 2006-08-16

Why is loosing weight so difficult - Body fights back
It can be hard to diet. "Any dieter will tell you when you loose weight if feels like something in your body is fighting against you," said Dr. David E. Cummings. First, have you ever noticed how hard it is to fight fat and lose weight? It's not in your head, but in your body. Research found that when women exercised and lost weight, they had an increase in a hormone called ghrelin - a stomach hormone that increases appetite and reduces metabolic rate. The best way to stop this gremlin called ghrelin is to eat. And that's the good news: No matter what you eat, it really seems to lower the ghrelin level.
by king5 :: 2006-08-10

Best Weight Loss Diet for Your Body
It's hard to avoid hearing about diets, and most of us know that the latest fad diet is just another version of the same old rules. Yet many people get excited when these new diets appear. "Finally, the key to my weight loss problems. I just need to eat a lot of bacon," (or whatever). But there's a disappointment when dieters discover, that they're still living in the same old body. Repeated disappointing diets worsen your relationship with food so that you no longer trust your common sense. Technically, the secret to weight loss is simple: take in less than what's expended. Less food, more exercise, a healthy nutritional balance.
by bellaonline :: 2006-08-08

Weight Loss Diet in the News is an edited review of hand-picked Weight Loss related news and articles.

Weight Loss Diet: Healthy Eating, Losing Fat and Calories