MacDonalds Diet - hype?

Chris Coleson lost 80 pounds in six months by eating only at McDonald's, according to several news reports, including CNN. But don't get too excited. Coleson, who was 281 pounds when he started his diet, did not even order one Big Mac, chocolate shakes or side of French fries.

Instead, Coleson dined on salad, grilled chicken wraps and apple dippers sans caramel (in other words, an apple).

Why would you order an apple from McDonald's?

Coleson basically decreased calories and increased exercise, which, of course, led to weight loss, as it always does. In fact, he was probably eating 1,200 - 1,400 calories per day, which, for someone of Coleson's size, amounts to almost a starvation plan according to an American Dietetic spokeswoman.

The key was not McDonald's food.

Now, having said that, I'm still glad Coleson came out with his story. After "Supersize Me" and Subway's highly successful Jared campaign, people were blinded into thinking some fast-food restaurants were bad while others were good. In fact, some subs at Subways are much more fattening than a big mac, but people were brainwashed into not thinking about their choices once they walked through the Subway doors.

Hopefully people will look at this story as proof that healthy food choices can be made anywhere, anytime. And yes, eating healthy and exercising works. Really, it does!

Hit the Weights to Lose Weight

Trying to lose weight? A new study has confirmed that you should start weight lifting, rather than spend all your time at the gym doing cardio. The study found weight training helps improve and control your metabolism.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine found that mice with more muscles lost fat and showed other signs of metabolic improvement throughout the body. The benefits were seen even though the mice were on a high fat and sugar diet and didn’t increase any other physical activity.

The researchers say type II muscle is what allows you to pick up heavy objects and it may also be key in weight loss. Researchers write, "These findings indicate that type II muscle has a previously unappreciated role in regulating whole-body metabolism through its ability to alter the metabolic properties of remote tissues. These data also suggest that strength training, in addition to the widely prescribed therapy of endurance training, may be of particular benefit to overweight individuals."

The study authors concluded that increasing muscle mass in humans may prove to be critical in the fight against obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and cancer.

Fighting Your Body to Lose Weight

So you're wondering why it's so hard for you to lose that extra weight that is keeping you from looking amazing in that bathing suit? Well, it could be because your body is programmed to store calories that it can later use during periods when there is little or no food. Empty fat cells send out signals that lead to increased hunger and increased fat storage. So when you're dieting, your body just wants more food.

The body also works to conserve calories when it senses that it is at the beginning of a starvation period. When you don't eat enough or often enough, your metabolic rate slows and you in turn burn fewer calories. This body function helped our ancestors live through periods when food was scarce, but it works against us when we attempt to lose weight in today's world.

Ancel Keys studied the effects of food restriction on the human body and mind during World War II. He followed 32 healthy, active young men who ate an average of 3500 calories a day. For six months, he restricted their food to only 1600 calories a day. Cutting their calories in half had the following effects:
• 40 percent decrease in metabolic rate (calorie burning)
• Food obsession
• Food cravings and binges
• Depression, irritability and moodiness

To reduce calorie intake without sending starvation messages, work with your body instead of against it:
• Eat when hungry. Do not wait until you are feeling starved.
• Do not go more than 5 waking hours without food.
• Eat something first thing in the morning.
• Do not severely restrict calories (women generally need 1200 calories or more and men need 1600 calories or more). If you feel like you are starving with the amount of food you are eating, you are not eating enough!

Remember that severe food restriction leads to binging. Reducing portions, eating filling foods, limiting your access to foods that tempt you to overeat and allowing occasional exceptions will help prevent binges.

Breakfast Does a Body Good

Eating a big breakfast consisting of high carbohydrates and protein first thing in morning and then following a low-carb, low-calorie diet for the rest of the day helps maintain a healthy weight loss according to yet another study.

Researchers from the Hospital de Clinicas in Caracas, Venezuela say eating a big breakfast packed with protein and carbohydrates helps cut cravings for sweet or starchy foods throughout the day. It also boosts the metabolism. But for those of you who are regular readers of this blog, this is nothing new. Breakfast has long been touted as the most important meal of the day, particularly for those who want to lose weight.

Scientists added that this way of eating also helps people lose weight in the long term as opposed to crash diets, which are effective in losing weight fast but when stopped, results in immediate weight gain.

Researchers looked at how breakfasting habits affected the weight of almost 100 obese young women by putting them on a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet. Half of the subjects had a big breakfast, taking in almost 1,240 calories in a single high-protein, high-carbohydrate meal for nearly eight months.

After nearly four months, the women eating small breakfasts had lost an average of around 5 pounds more than the women who ate high calorie breakfast. However, after eight months, the women who ate small breakfasts had regained an average of 18 pounds of weight.

The women who ate healthy, high calorie big breakfasts, on the other hand, continued to lose weight, shedding another 16.5 ponds on average. The researchers concluded that at the end of the study, the big breakfast eaters had lost more than 21 per cent of their body weight compared with just 4.5 per cent for the other women.

The big-breakfast diet also helps in losing weight in a healthy way than an extremely low-carbohydrate diet because it allows people to eat more fruit and therefore get enough fiber and vitamins, the researchers noted.

Women Should Heavier Weights for Stronger Muscles

Women who want to build muscle strength and endurance? Should opt for traditional strength training methods instead of low velocity routines, according to a recent study.

The study, which was conducted by Sharon Rana, associate professor of exercise physiology and colleagues at Ohio University, followed 34 healthy, college-aged females who performed three different training methods over a six-week period.

The methods included a traditional strength training routine, a traditional muscle endurance training routine and a low velocity regimen.

The traditional strength group lifted a heavier weight load with fewer repetitions, while the endurance group lifted a lighter weight load with more repetitions.

The low velocity group also lifted a lighter weight load, but did their workouts much slower than the other groups and did fewer repetitions.

The study found that the traditional strength group gained the most strength. The endurance group and the low velocity group both improved strength, but to a much lesser degree. Though the traditional endurance-training group was still the most successful at boosting muscular endurance, the study found that cardiovascular endurance didn't increase significantly in any of the groups.

All of the groups combined showed a small decrease in body fat, but it was not statistically significant. The most significant improvements involved strength gain and endurance gain.

The study is published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. (ANI)

Spice Up Your Life

Sprinkling no-calorie seasonings and sweeteners on your food, will make you feel full faster, cut down on food consumption, and help you lose weight, according to a new study.

A study conducted by Dr. Alan Hirsch, a Chicago neurologist and psychiatrist, found that overweight people who used the zero-calorie flavorings lost an average of 30.5 pounds over the course of six months, while those who didn't use them lost only 2 pounds.

The 1,436 participants were not given dietary restrictions, although those in the study who were already dieting and or exercising were allowed to continue.

Those using the flavorings were given four small bottles each week and told they could use them liberally. They could choose savory or sweet, although they didn't know the exact flavor. The savory choices were salt-free and included cheddar cheese, onion, horseradish, ranch dressing, taco, and Parmesan. Sweet choices included cocoa, spearmint, banana, strawberry, raspberry, and malt.

Using the flavorings '"can actually cause a change in eating habits and behavior," says Hirsch, who is also the founder of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. He added that sprinkling the calorie-free flavoring may make some healthy foods such as vegetables tastier, making it easier to eat more of them.

Repping your Weight

There are dozens of ways to lift weights. Some lift using quick reps, others use slower reps, but not every repetition is created equally and using different methods will yield different results.

In 1982, world renowned strength training coach Chrales Poliquin became the first to create a science in repetitions. He used this method to train Olympic medalists in 18 different sports.

According to Poliquin, if you are looking to increase muscular size, you should focus on slower repetitions with higher weights. If you just want to increase power but not weight or size, go for quick repetitions with less weights.

If you want to gain fat-burning muscle, your should slow your reps down and keep your muscles in the contracted position for a longer period of time. This will encourage more growth in your muscles and will also speed up your metabolism to burn more calories.

Slow speed lifting brings about more metabolic adaptations than high speed lifting. It enables a novice to develop a better connection between your mind and the muscles you are working out.

Strength is gained more effectively at slow speeds than fast speeds. A squat, where you bend your knees to lower your bum to the ground, is best performed at slow speeds to prevent injuries.

As you get more experienced in your training, it becomes more important to have a greater variety of training speeds. This way, your muscles will always continue to respond and grow. You should also vary your exercises every six workouts and manipulate training variables, such as tempo, if you wish to progress.