Weight Loss Test Lab

People who are watching their weight prefer diet sodas over the regular ones since this has been believed to have only a minimal impact on their weight. However, if you are really serious in watching everything that you eat in order to get in shape, do you really have to quit drinking this too? This is one question that has been recently answered by a newly conducted study.

Dr. Jim Hill who works at the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center in the University of Colorado said that he constantly gets this kind of questions from almost all of his patients. He recently worked on a 12 week study that was funded by the American Beverage Association. This study involved 300 adult participants and they were divided into two separate groups. One group was asked to continue drinking diet sodas while the other group drinks water. The journal of Obesity published this study.

At the beginning of the study, the participants were weighed and they were in an average of over 200 pounds. All of them were provided with instructions and coaching with regards to their meals and various other weight loss strategies. Dr. Hill said that the results that they got were surprising. Those who were on a water diet lost around 9 pounds while those who were asked to continue drinking diet sodas lost around 12 pounds. There was a clear 4 pound difference and that was pretty astonishing.

Dr. Hill said that with his experience in this field, he had come to note that people who successfully lose weight were constant consumers of non-caloric sweeteners. The question now is how come the group that continued to drink diet sodas lost more weight than the other group?

He said that it takes great willpower to give up something that you really enjoy in order to reach the goal of losing the desired weight. Willpower, he said is a limited resource which is why a lot of weight loss seeking individuals end up going of course or completely abandoning their weight loss program because they no longer have to will to proceed.

Those who belonged to the water group probably drank or ate more calories during the course of the study. Because of this, they lost less weight compared to those who were allowed to drink diet sodas. Since this study was only for 12 weeks, further research is still required to determine if using artificial sweeteners for long periods of time is beneficial.

“I’ve lost 20 pounds in just 2 weeks!”

Sound’s familiar? Or are you presented with a before and after picture that’s so hard to resist that even if it’s so expensive, some people end up falling for it in hopes of getting at least half of the showed result. Even if the effectiveness of garcinia cambogia is true, you should be aware that there are products in the market that are just using its name to lure “hopefuls” to avail of their products even if it is overly priced or contains quite less or no HCA at all. Imitations are not limited to just the “Louis Vuitton’s” and the “Birkin’s”, you know? And if you’re not careful, getting a low quality product is possible.

Is garcinia cambogia really effective?

Actually, yes! But that is if you have the right product. A number of studies can attest to the true ability of this new supplement in aiding weight loss, which was still unknown to the public’s knowledge until Dr. Oz’s show stepped in with a bunch of doctors to support the supplement’s claims. Termed as the “Holy grail of weight loss” the popularity of garcinia cambogia is immediately raised, thanks to that show that was just aired earlier this year, and its “double action” ability that is boasts.

What can garcinia cambogia extract do?

As you know, the popularity of this product didn’t just come from Dr. Oz but with its ability that has been discovered so long ago. Scientific studies that were conducted on garcinia cambogia revealed that it can do two things: one is the ability to suppress a person’s appetite for food (especially fattening foods); and two, the ability to prevent the conversion of the food that we eat into fat cells.

Garcinia cambogia is high in HCA or hydroxycitric acid where much of the weight loss abilities originate. Changes inside the body happens more in the liver where the food that we eat is converted to energy instead of fats then in the brain where the levels of serotonin is improved.

What is HCA and how does it help the weight loss process?

HCA is a derivative of citric acid  which has the ability to prevent the conversion of food into fats. It also decreases the levels of leptin in the blood which can make a person feel less hungry while increasing the levels of glycogen that can make a person feel full even after having a small meal. And to prevent stress and depression from setting in, an improved serotonin level is also caused by HCA.

The most important question – Is it safe?

Garcinia cambogia was long before used for cooking in Southeast Asia, even up to know, which only means that it’s very much safe.

But while it is now being used as an active ingredient for weight loss supplements its high concentration in each capsule only mean that a proper dosage should be administered. When followed properly it was concluded by the experts (based on human studies) that no side effects can be encountered. But once the recommended dose is exceeded and the recommended amount of time that a supplement should be taken is exceeded mild side effects like nausea and stomach pain may occur.

Watching your diet on a daily basis can be a very difficult task to perform. On certain days, you could be doing very well wherein you keep yourself away from unhealthy snacks. While on other days, you might be chomping your way on food that’s high on calories. The result of this is a see-saw of varying eating habits. You can stop that crazy trend and improve your diet routine with a practice called the one-day diet. It consists of effective strategies that are easier than watching your diet every day. Aside from that, you can also mix which type of diet you want to use, so you won’t get bored or tired. Here are the diet techniques you can do:

Keep a Journal of Your Food Intake

Recording the food and drinks you take can lead to surprising results. Often times, a person won’t carefully choose what to eat because of the lack of time or simply being too hungry. If you list down the food you normally order in restaurants or prepare at home and take a closer look at the list, then you can already check your eating habits and see if they’re still healthy or otherwise.

Eat Right After You Wake Up

Breakfast is truly an important time to jumpstart your day. However, if you’re not much of a morning eater simply because you don’t want to feel heavy, then you might want to learn more about it. Janel Funk, a registered dietician, has mentioned that you don’t need to eat a lot in the morning just to consider you had breakfast. What you can simply do is to eat a piece of fruit like a banana and pair it with a granola bar or a hard-boiled egg. If you still want to find an alternative, then you can try dried fruits and nuts and mix it with cereals. What’s important, as the dietician has mentioned, is that you have to eat any of these foods to fuel your body before you start your day.

Follow the Colours You See on the Rainbow

This may sound like something straight from a children’s story book, but actually it’s a diet tip, and this one came from Julieanna Hever, another registered dietician who wrote the book entitled “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition. The author mentioned that people should challenge themselves when it comes to eating and try to eat food based on the colours of the rainbow. As an example, a green smoothie made from spinach is a good breakfast; while a veggie sushi dish or a sandwich full of vegetables can be a very good option. By dinner time, a lycopene-rich tomato dish accompanied with vegetables like leafy greens can be mixed with pasta.

Close the Distance between Meals

Dietician Alexandra Oppenheimer has opened the argument of the longer time between your meals may lead to an increase in hunger, which results in eating too much. A healthy and nutritious snack in the middle like fruits and vegetables can definitely help in defeating overeating. Aside from that, it can also help you make a good decision when lunch or dinnertime arrives.

Keep the Amount of Food on a Low Level

They say that food is the main factor why people gain weight and this is true. You may have thought about why you are not losing when most of your food selections seem to be healthy and you religiously do some exercises too. This is a common question of those who are trying to diet but are not getting the result they want. One reason could be is that most foods, this time, are processed which can make a big difference. That is why many are using Paleo diet plan as a solution. What is the paleo diet plan of health and nutrition? Let us find out.

You might have heard about the Paleo diet method but you do not have the slightest idea how this plan really works. This is normal because this is a method that is done way back even during the caveman times. This was the kind of diet that encourages a person eat food that are not processed and they typically hunted animals and gathered fruits and foods on trees and plants. And because hunting is not necessary now, you can just buy some meat on the market, but make sure to choose the ones that has less fat as much as possible.

So, to go with this diet, you will normally eat foods that are not processed. What are processed foods? Those are the kind of foods you will find in groceries, and they include canned goods, pastas, creams, and more. To follow the Paleo method, you will only include foods that are fresh and no preservatives like fruits, nuts, fresh meat, fish, and more. This will keep the body from those harmful preservatives and hazardous chemicals and will, therefore, keep it in an excellent condition.

It is said that people before tend to have a longer life and healthier living when they were free from the chemicals and preservatives used on the foods that we eat today. With fresh and natural foods on your diet, you will likely have more nutrients you need and prevent those fat contributing products.