Yesterday was World Meat Free Day, where many people shunned burgers and bolognese for beans and beluga lentils.

Reducing your meat consumption is good for the planet, but a new study has confirmed that going veggie can work wonders for your personal health too.

Following a vegetarian diet is twice as effective than a carnivorous one when it comes to losing weight, researchers from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington DC found.

And not only will vegetarians lose weight more effectively, theyll reduce their muscle fat and thus boost their metabolism too.

According to lead author, Dr. Hana Kahleov, this finding is particularly important for people with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

To reach their conclusions, researchers studied 74 people with type 2 diabetes - they were randomly assigned either a vegetarian diet or a typical anti-diabetic diet, which followed the official recommendations of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).

Whats more, the vegetarian diet was practically vegan, as it consisted of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains and legumes, with animal products limited to one portion of low-fat yoghurt a day.

In order to assess weight loss potential, all participants had their diets restricted to 500 calories a day less than they would need to maintain their weight.

After six months, those following the vegetarian diet had lost an average of 6.2kg, compared to 3.2kg for those on the conventional diet.

It was a small sample size, but heavily suggests going veggie could make you lose twice as much weight.

The researchers also assessed how the diets had affected participants fat storage in their thighs.

Both diets were found to cause a similar reduction in subcutaneous fat (under the skin). Subfascial fat (on the surface of the muscles) was only reduced on the vegetarian diet though, and intramuscular fat (inside muscles) was reduced a lot more too.

Dr. Kahleov said: Vegetarian diets proved to be the most effective diets for weight loss. However, we also showed that a vegetarian diet is much more effective at reducing muscle fat, thus improving metabolism.

This finding is important for people who are trying to lose weight, including those suffering from metabolic syndrome and/or type 2 diabetes. But it is also relevant to anyone who takes their weight management seriously and wants to stay lean and healthy.

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Vegetarian diets twice as effective for weight loss as carnivorous meal plans, says study - The Independent

Diet fact or fiction: 5 more weight loss myths

BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

Last week I talked about some of the biggest diet myths that often get heard when it comes to health and fitness, but that was far from all of them.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/health/diet-fact-or-fiction-5-more-weight-loss-myths-35816571.html

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Last week I talked about some of the biggest diet myths that often get heard when it comes to health and fitness, but that was far from all of them.

I'm on a mission to help people understand the truth behind a lot of what they hear. If you put in the hard work at the gym, it's only fair that you should have the right information available to get the most out of your diet.

Poor carbs, they really do get a bad rep. It's been suggested for years that a high carb intake will result in weight gain, so best bet for dropping pounds was always to keep intake low.

However, in reality too much of anything - protein, carbs, or fats - will contribute towards weight gain if it makes you overshoot your total calorie needs.

As such, it's too many overall calories which will cause weight gain, not too many carbs.

We've all heard that to lose weight we should eat Breakfast, but truth is it holds no real benefit over not eating Breakfast.

Remember, the key to weight loss is energy balance, so regardless of whether we eat Breakfast or not, if we eat too many total calories across a day, we won't lose weight.

It's not enough to look at a single factor of our day when we are considering weight loss, we really need to look at the full picture.

Don't get me wrong, zero carb diets do suit some people better, but there's nothing magical about them.

When they work, they succeed in achieving weight loss through the same basic method as any other diet- by creating a negative calorie balance.

Considerable weight loss during the early stage of a zero carb diet is often because the body drops water weight (carbs make the body hold water).

However, as soon as they are reintroduced, much of that water weight is gained back. Expect a sudden increase on the scales!

Read more: Myth busters: 5 diet 'tips' that simply aren't true

Short and sweet, a calorie is still a calorie.

You could eat nothing but avocado, quinoa, grass-fed beef and chia seeds, but if you manage to pack away 5000 calories-worth, you will still likely gain weight.

Weight loss or weight gain ultimately boils down to the total number of calories eaten versus the total number burnt - if you take in too many, regardless of what foods they come from, you won't see the weight loss you want.

I don't want to sound like a hypocrite, too much fruit can make you gain weight, but only in the same way that too much of any food can make you gain weight if it causes you to eat too many calories.

Sugar is just a carb, and carbs contain 4 calories per gram, so from a calorie perspective, it's no more "fattening" than any other carb.

Fruit is a great source of vitamins and fibre, and so long as you don't consume too many calories from it, eating it won't lead to weight gain.

Want to know more? Make sure to check out the Facebook page for daily tips, advice, and guidance, all geared towards helping you get the results you want.

Belfast Telegraph Digital

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Diet fact or fiction: 5 more weight loss myths - Belfast Telegraph

When it comes to weight loss, some people opt for ultra-calorie-restrictive diets (and often end up later gaining the weight back because those diets arent sustainable). Yet, a new study found that following a vegetarian diet is twice as effective in reducing body weight as conventional low-calorie diets. On top of that, dieters who go vegetarian may also boost their metabolism by reducing their muscle fat.

Published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, the (small) study set out to examine the effect of vegetarian diets on patients with type 2 diabetes. Scientists from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine analyzed 74 subjects with type 2 diabetes, who were randomly assigned to follow a vegetarian diet (mostly fruits, grains, vegetables and nuts, with the only animal product being low-fat yogurt) or a conventional low-calorie, anti-diabetic diet.

After six months, those following the vegetarian diet lost an average of 6.2 kg, as compared to 3.2 kg for those following the conventional diet, which means the vegetarian diet was nearly twice as effective in reducing the participants body weight. The scientists also looked at the adipose (fat-storage) tissue in the participants thighs to see how the diets affected the fat on the surface of and inside muscles. Both of the diets had a similar reduction in subcutaneous fat, but more muscle fat was lost by those on the vegetarian diet.

This finding is important for people who are trying to lose weight, including those suffering from metabolic syndrome and/or type 2 diabetes, lead study author Dr. Hana Kahleov said in a statement. But it is also relevant to anyone who takes their weight management seriously and wants to stay lean and healthy.

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Vegetarian Diets May Be More Effective for Weight Loss Than Simply Restricting Calories, According to a Study - Yahoo Health

Women's Health

8 Instagram Food Trends, Ranked According To Their Weight-Loss Effectiveness Women's Health With so many Instagram-inspired food trends out there, it's safe to say we can't get enough of pretty eats. Sure, some trends are more about how they look in the snapshot and less about how healthy they are (here's looking at you, unicorn foods), but ...

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8 Instagram Food Trends, Ranked According To Their Weight-Loss Effectiveness - Women's Health

As soon as you start eating, the process is halted. Insulin now inhibits the breakdown of fatty acids, leading your body to burn the sugars you've just ingested. The fat burning stage is over.

If you think about it, this all makes perfect evolutionary sense. When food wasnt as readily available as it is today, holding on to stored body fat was crucial for our survival. We evolved to last a long time between meals.

Today, food is in almost constant supply but our bodies are still physiologically the same as they were tens of thousands of years ago. If we eat all day, we never tap into our bodies natural ability to burn stored body fat for energy.

Studies demonstrate that a bout of aerobic exercise performed in the fasted as compared with non-fasted state increases the reliance on fat and subsequently reduces the reliance on carbohydrate as fuel during exercise, with several publications showing that fasted exercise oxidises (burns) around 20-30pcmore fat.

If you're exercising to lose weight, it's a no brainer.

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Why exercising on an empty stomach is the secret to weight loss - Telegraph.co.uk

Losing weight is a personal decision, and there is only one way to go about it safely proper diet and increased activity.

New research shows that adopting a vegetarian diet could be the key to increasing weight loss for those looking to shed a bit of weight.

According to new research, following a vegetarian diet is twice as effective asa carnivorous one when it comes to losing weight.

Researchers from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington DC founda veggie dietreducesmuscle fat.

This in turn boosts themetabolism.

In order to assess weight loss, all participants had their diets restricted to 500 calories a day less than they would need to maintain their weight.

On average, the randomly assigned veggie group lost twice as much weight than the carnivorous group.

This finding is particularly significant for people withtype 2 diabetes, according to lead author, Dr. Hana Kahleov.

'The beneficial effects of a vegetarian diet on body weight, glycemic control, blood lipids, insulin sensitivity, and oxidative stress markers compared to a conventional diet have been demonstrated by us and others previously,' reads the study.

'The vegetarian diet was almost twice as effective in reducing body weight compared to the conventional hypocaloric diet.'

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Losing weight? Vegetarian diets help shed twice as many pounds - SHEmazing

If you exercise outdoors during the summer or would like to start, please read this article to ensure you are taking the right steps to take care of your body when the temperatures rise.

Here are a few heat-related health issues to look out for if the right precautions arent taken during your exercise:

Exertional Heat Stroke. This is a life-threatening emergency condition. Heat stroke occurs when your body temperature is greater than 104 F. Some common symptoms may include: disorientation, dizziness, irrational behavior, headache, nausea, vomiting, and wet skin.

Exertional Heat Exhaustion. This is a condition when body temperature rises as high as 104 F and you may experience low blood pressure, elevated heart rate and respiratory rates, skin is wet and pale, headache, weakness, dizziness, decreased muscle coordination, chills, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Heat Syncope. Feeling faint or actually fainting caused by high temperatures. This type of heat related illness usually occurs after standing for a long period of time or standing quickly after sitting for a long period of time. Typically symptoms include: heart rate and breathing rates are slow, skin is pale, and patient may experience sensations of weakness, tunnel vision, vertigo or nausea before syncope (faint).

Exertional Heat Cramps. These are painful muscle contractions and they begin as weak, localized, wandering spasms that may progress to debilitating cramps. Your body temperature may be normal while experiencing these.

Fluid replacement is essential while exercising outdoors. It is important to drink water before, during and after exercise. Since individuals have varying sweat rates, the guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine suggests that it is important to measure your body weight before and after exercise to gauge fluid loss. If there is a decrease in weight, the active individual should drink at least 16 ounces of fluid for each pound of body weight lost.

-- Individuals will achieve their target heart rate quicker even exercising at a lower intensity in the heart, so slow down, and take breaks between exercise periods.

-- Elderly, pregnant women, and children should be even more careful while playing or exercising in the heat due to a higher risk for dehydration.

-- Perform exercise at times of the day when conditions will be cooler compared to midday (early morning, later evening).

-- Wear lightweight, loose fitting clothing that allows sweat to evaporate.

-- Enable access to plenty of fluid, provide longer and/or more frequent rest breaks.

-- Get acclimated to the weather, take it easy when you first start exercising and wait until your body adjusts of the course of one to two weeks.

Pay attention to the warning signs and remember the key to success in the heat and humidity is to monitor the environment and modify activity in extreme environments.

Shannon Nelson is a Wellness Coach at UnityPoint Health - Trinity.

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Start the Week Off Right: Exercise safely in the summer heat - Quad City Times

You did it! After four months of tracking calories, keeping a food journal and exercising, youve finally reached your weight loss goal.

But, as anyone who has lost weight can tell you, keeping the weight off is harder than losing it, and it has nothing to do with lack of willpower and everything to do with focusing on building health.

I believe a health-centered approach to weight loss focusing on healthy lifestyle changes is much better than obsessing over every fat gram, counting calories and using the scale to gauge your success.

As we enter the maintenance phase of Greene County Rural Health Networks Biggest Loser contest, I have put together seven easy-to-do health building steps you can follow so you never have to lose weight again.

H Have most of your calories during the day. My father-in-law always said breakfast like a king and dinner like a pauper. If you cant make breakfast your biggest meal, then make it lunch. Eating most of your calories during the day when youre active and not in the evening when your metabolism is slowing down makes a lot of sense, right?

E Eat three meals a day: No snacks. When you snack in-between meals, you teach your body to burn the sugar you just ate instead of digging deep into the stored fat you have. There is no proof grazing throughout the day revs up your metabolism. My advice is be a fat burner, not a sugar burner.

A Always have a healthy carb, fat and protein. This keeps you feeling fuller longer and reduces sugar cravings.

L Listen to your body. Have you ever finished a meal only to have a craving for something sweet? Or maybe you felt bloated, constipated or got a headache? Thats your body telling you that meal wasnt the right mix of carbs, fats and proteins.

T Take a multi-vitamin. If you think youre getting everything you need from your food, think again. When plants are repeatedly grown on the same land, the soil loses vitamins, minerals and microbes faster than they can be replaced. Without those precious vitamins and minerals youll quickly regain the weight you lost.

H Heal your liver. Your liver is meant to be a fat burning organ, but unfortunately, for many people, its a fat storing organ. But, you can easily turn that around by including super foods like dark green leafy veggies, garlic, onions and eggs in your diet.

Y Your eyes can deceive you. Research shows the size of your dinnerware impacts how much you serve yourself. I advised a client to eat his first two meals from a large plate and his last meal on a small plate. In 16 weeks he lost 60 pounds eating eggs and bacon for breakfast every morning.

There you have it: A common sense approach to maintaining your weight. Why not try it?

Questions or comments? Email Mary Schoepe at fitnessconcepts001@yahoo.com.

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Concepts in Fitness: Why keeping the weight off is the real victory - The Register Star

It is Ramadan, a month when Muslims around the world fast during daylight hours. They are not the only group who practise fasting, as practitioners of other religions also fast from time to time.

Intermittent fasting - taking breaks from eating - is also increasingly practised for health reasons.

Fasting patterns vary. For instance, it can mean eating less on two days a week or every other day.

Some people opt for intermittent fasting to lose weight. When we eat, the body stores sugar as glycogen.

A body that is deprived of food will start to use its glycogen stores. Once these stores are used up, the body burns fat for energy, resulting in weight loss, said Ms Bibi Chia, the principal dietitian at Raffles Diabetes & Endocrine Centre.

Indeed, intermittent fasting that involves eating less on alternate days or two days a week has been shown to lead to weight loss in overweight people, said Dr Abdul Shakoor S.K., a senior consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's department of endocrinology.

But while fasting has definite benefits for people who are obese, there is no definitive proof of its benefits for healthy people, he said.

Intermittent fasting may also lower the risk of metabolic and cardiovacular diseases in obese and non-obese people, he said.

However, there is insufficient evidence to show that it is a way for diabetic patients to control blood glucose levels, he added.

Besides, most people find it hard to restrict their calorie intake over the long term. It is also natural to overeat during non-fasting hours, which negates any weight loss.

Dr Quah Boon Leong, a staff physician in general surgery at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, said: "According to one study, weight changes during Ramadan were relatively small and mostly reversed after that, gradually returning to pre- Ramadan status. Consistent lifestyle modifications are necessary to achieve lasting weight loss."

Intermittent fasting is not just about weight loss. "Some studies indicate a decreased risk of coronary heart disease and diabetes among those who fast routinely," said Dr Sueziani Zainudin, a consultant endocrinologist at Seng- kang Health's general medicine department. "Studies also report behavioural changes, including improvement in mood, increased alertness and mental acuity, and tranquillity."

Dr Abdul Shakoor said alternate- day fasts in animals have been shown to lead to longer lifespans. It has also been shown to prevent or delay heart disease, diabetes, cancer, neurological disorders and stroke.

"However, there is no convincing evidence from human studies to show that fasting or caloric restriction help to ward off or delay the onset of chronic diseases," he said.

Therefore, while healthy adults may fast for religious reasons, they do not need to fast specifically for health purposes as there is insufficient evidence to show that intermittent fasting will prevent certain diseases or prolong life in humans, he said.

Doctors said fasting is not suitable for people who are ill, elderly, pre-pubescent or have eating disorders, as well as women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

It may affect diabetic patients on medication or those with heart, kidney and liver conditions who take medications that induce water loss, said Dr Sueziani.

Dr Quah said the health risks of fasting during Ramadan are hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose levels) and dehydration. "Severe hypoglycaemia could lead to convulsions and falls, and may be fatal."

While intermittent fasting shows promise, a lot of questions remain unanswered. Ms Chia said these include which is the most effective fasting pattern, the optimal calorie consumption during the fasting period and how sustainable it is in the long term.

Dr Abdul Shakoor said if intermittent fasting with low-calorie diets is practised frequently, it may affect one's ability to get adequate essential nutrients.

Most international dietetic associations do not recommend following a very low-calorie diet for more than 12 weeks, he said.

When fasting, look out for signs like dehydration, heartburn, bad breath, headaches, increased irritability and dizziness, said Ms Chia. "Stop when there are signs of shivering, extreme thirst, heart palpitation or extreme weakness."

Mistakes that diabetics make when fasting

Getting children to fast during

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Intermittent fasting: A fast way to lose weight? - The Straits Times