Exercise is fantastic for you, body and soul. It improves your mood better than antidepressants, makes you a more creative thinker, strengthens your bones, protects your heart, alleviates PMS, banishes insomnia, heats up your sex life, and helps you live longer. One benefit that might be overhyped, though? Weight loss. Yep, you read that right.

"Eat right and exercise" is the standard advice given to people looking to drop some pounds. But a new study from Loyola University calls this conventional wisdom into question. Researchers followed nearly 2,000 adults, ages 20 to 40, in five countries over two years. They recorded everyone's physical activity via a movement tracker worn daily, along with their weight, body fat percentage, and height. Only 44 percent of American men and 20 percent of American women met the minimum standard for physical activity, about 2.5 hours per week. Researchers found that their physical activity didn't impact their weight. In some cases, even people who were physically active gained a modest amount of weight, about 0.5 pounds per year.

This goes against everything we've been taught about exercise, right? Not necessarily, says lead author Lara R. Dugas, Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "In all the discussions of the obesity epidemic, people have become too focused on exercise and not enough on the impact of our obesogenic environment," she explains. "Physical activity won't protect you from the impact that a high-fat, high-sugar diet has on weight."

"As your activity increases, so does your appetite," she says. "This is through no fault of your ownit's your body adjusting to the metabolic demands of the exercise." She adds that it isn't sustainable for most people to exercise long enough while simultaneously dropping enough calories to lose weight. So it isn't that exercise isn't important to your weight at allit's still the best way to keep the pounds off long-term after losing weightbut rather that diet is simply more important for weight loss.

Should you still exercise then? "It's not even up for debate150 percent yes," Dugas says. "Exercise can promote a long and a good life, but if you're only exercising to lose weight, you may be disappointed." Plus, people who diet or exercise just to lose weight quit a lot sooner than people who make healthy changes for other reasons, according to a separate study published in Public Health Nutrition. Start shifting your motives and you might just reach your goals.

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Exercise for Weight Loss Isn't as Effective As Thought | Shape ... - Shape Magazine

A new procedure shows promise at helping severely obese people safely take weight off and keep it off without major surgery.

The minimally invasive treatment is safe, initiates weight loss, and reduces hunger dramatically by cutting levels of ghrelin, a hormone involved in controlling hunger, preliminary tests show.

Obesity is a highly prevalent, detrimental, and costly disease in the US and abroad, says Clifford Weiss, director of interventional radiology research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

The interventions currently available to treat this condition are behavioral modifications, diet and exercise, medications, and invasive surgery.

Weiss discussed the procedure, called bariatric arterial embolization, at the Society of Interventional Radiologys 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Were excited about the possibility of adding bariatric arterial embolization as another tool for health care providers to offer patients in the effort to curb this epidemic, Weiss adds.

How the procedure works

The procedure involves injection of microscopic beads through a small catheter inserted into a tiny nick in the skin of the groin or wrist.

The beads go to a portion of the stomach known as the fundus, which produces the vast majority of the bodys ghrelin.

The aim is to decrease blood flow, limiting secretion of ghrelin to minimize hunger and initiate weight loss.

In seven patients, bariatric embolization was safe, producing no major adverse events. All seven lost weight and had dramatic hunger reduction after the procedure. Ghrelin levels also trended down.

Early results

The pilot clinical trial involved weight-loss physicians, physiologists, hormone specialists, gastroenterologists, registered dietitians, psychologists, and surgeons.

The participants (six of them women) were ages 31 to 59 and severely obese, but otherwise healthy. They had body mass indexes from 40 to 50, far above the obesity threshold level of 30.

In addition to having the procedure, each participant was taught to make critical lifestyle and diet changes.

Following bariatric arterial embolization, participants had an average excess weight loss of 5.9 percent, 9.5 percent, and 13.3 percent at one, three, and six months, respectively. (Excess weight loss is the percentage of pounds lost above the patients ideal body weight.)

Participants reported average 81 percent, 59 percent, and 26 percent decreases in their hunger/appetites score at two weeks, one month, and three months after the procedure.

Participants also had an average 17.5 percent decrease in ghrelin levels at three months.

These early results demonstrate that bariatric arterial embolization is safe and appears to be effective in helping patients lose a significant amount of weight in the short and intermediate term, Weiss says.

Compared to a surgical gastric bypass procedure, bariatric arterial embolization is significantly less invasive and has a much shorter recovery time.

The research is still in its early stages. Now that theyve demonstrated the safety of the procedure, Weiss says, more clinical trials are needed to evaluate more patients.

They also need more data to explore the potential cost savings of the procedure.

Other researchers involved in this study are from Johns Hopkins, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, and Piedmont Healthcare in Georgia.

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Merit Medical, and Siemens Healthcare supported the work.

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News source:Johns Hopkins University. The content is edited for length and style purposes. Figure legend: This Knowridge.com image is credited to iStockphoto.

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Tests show injection leads to weight loss without surgery - Knowridge Science Report

Editors Note: Hagertys Gym, the column, complements the YouTube comedy series of the same name, in which Jim Hagerty charts his progress to get into bodybuilding shape by training in public places instead of a fitness center.

By Jim HagertyRockford Advocate

If you are confused about carbohydrates, youre not alone. Its a commonquandary. But, there is good news. Once you understand that all complex carbohydrates are not the same, its easy to use them to lose extra weight and enjoy overall health.

All carbohydrates are composed of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. The way their atoms join one another differs. Each carbohydrate contains repeating sequences of simple sugars. The most common is starch.

Starch is a mixture of amylose and amylopectin. These two polymers begin breaking down when they come in contact withyour saliva, which contains an enzyme called amylase. Amylase begins the digestion process before you start swallowing. Have you ever taken a few extra seconds to swallow a spoonful of oatmeal? Take even longer and it will eventually dissolve in your mouth.

Afterstarch is digested, it isstored as glycogen in three major sites: the liver, brain and muscles. It is then converted to glucose, your bodys fuel source. Excess glucose is sent to the fat cells. Herein lies the reason why sugar consumption plays a significant role in body weight fluctuations. It also explains why too much starch can cause blood sugar levels to spike, resulting in serious health problems.

Sugar or fat?

Lets be honest. Cardiovascular exercises can be boring. Even the most conditioned athletes have days when they dread just 30 minutes on a treadmill or stationary bike. Thats not the worst of it. Some exercises can result in undue wear on the body. And its even more frustrating when our scales dont budge despite hours and hours of aerobics. If yourre caught on that hamster wheel, jump off now. Youre not burning excess fat.

Heres an illustration. When a cars fuel tank is full, its engine will run. When the gas gauge reaches E, the vehicle will sputter, chug along on fumes for a few moments and stop. The human body is relatively the same. Theres only one major difference. When we run out of sugar, we turn to natural, alternative fuel sources: fat reserves and muscle tissue. So, if you are only burning sugar from the glycogen in your muscles, liver and brain, your fat stores will remain right where they are.

Maintenance levels

Every person has what is commonly known as a Caloric Maintenance Level. This is the level of calories, including those from carbohydrates, one can safely consume in a day. The easiest way to calculate this level is to record everything you eat for a week until you reach a constant body weight. After a week, you should know how many calories it takes to maintain your current weight.

Now, this is often where people get confused and opt to simply cut their overall calories, expecting to safely drop weight. While this method is often an immediate medical requirement, especially for those who are dangerously overweight, its not always a way to enjoy long-term health. This method is often used by Sumo wrestlers and other large, well-insulated athletes when they retire. They often lose40, 50, 60 or even 100 pounds or more in a few months just by cutting their calories in half. The initial excess comes off very quickly. But, they often still have the same body style. They become a smaller version of their bigger self. True transformation doesnt begin until later.

As you reach a maintenance level that allows you to approach a safer body weight, you must create a cleaner, more structured eating plan, one with an amount of carbohydrates your body can safely process in relation to other foods in your diet.

So, you guessed it. This is going to take some level of commitment. Just because you have the ability to wolf down an entire pizza by yourself, doesnt mean its the healthy thing to do. Believe me, weve all been theresome of us for a few years at a time.

Simply stated, the secret to losing body fat is to burn more calories than you consume. Sound impossible? Its not. Once you figure out your caloric maintenance level, it will be time to identify foods that are high in starch. Oatmeal, yams, potatoes, rice and kidney beans are prime examples.Processed foods like pizza crust, bagels, flour, bread and pasta contain even more starch. And of course, the amount of sugar (fructose) in candy, pastries, and soft drinks can be off the charts.When we eat more of these foods than our bodies are capable of safely processing,ourblood sugar levels increaseand we produce more and more insulin.

Fibrous carbohydrates

Fibrous carbohydrates are different from their starchy counterparts. Ever chew on a toothpick or matchstick for a long period of time? You will notice your saliva simply gets the wood wet and splinters it, but its makeup does not change. This is because wood is a fibrous carbohydrate, made of cellulose, common in carrots, broccoli, spinach, and asparagus.They are notdigested the way your body digests starch. In fact, fibrous carbs are not really digested at all. They are moved foods through the digestive tract, taking waste from other foods with them.

Fruit

Fruitcontains a high amount of a sugar called fructose (40-65 percent) which the body can absorb very quickly. Unlike glucose, which starts to process in the stomach and requires insulin to be metabolized, fructose is processed in the liver and doesnt require the use of insulin.

Because fruits contain water, vitamins and antioxidants, they the better alternative to candy and junk food, which also contain fructose butreally have no nutritional value. Most fruit is high in fiber, which helps your body utilize glucose more efficiently, keeping it out of the fat cells. Fruit also prevents insulin spikes. This is what makes it a perfect pre- or post-workout source of energy. It also doesnt come with the sugar crashes youll get from candy.

Note: Never eliminate fruit from your diet in an attempt to cut your simple sugars. Cut out the candy, cookies and pastries.

Balance

It is important to eat a proper amount of starchy and fibrous carbohydrates. Eating too much of either can have undesired effects on your metabolism.

Again, too much starch will cause your body to store excess sugar in your fat cells, raising your blood sugar and eventually slowing your metabolism. It can also cause serious health issues.

Too many fibrous carbs will cause foods to pass through the digestive tract too rapidly. Your wont have the time necessary to utilize the nutritional values of your food.

Weight loss and control

A typical balanced dietconsists of 50 percent complex carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 20 percent fat. A more aggressive plan aimed at weight loss will consist of 70 percent protein, 30 percent carbs and 10 percent fat. A plan like this will draw protein from lean beef, fish, poultry and eggs. Each has minimal carbohydrate calories and little fat. Youll want to draw your starch from foods like oatmeal, rice, and shreaded wheat if weight loss is your goal. An occasional bagel is OK, however, youll want to cut way back on the refined carbs or eliminate them altogether.

Fibrous carbs should come from the likes of asparagus, broccoli, green beans and Brussels sprouts. Good sources of fat are cheese, olive oil, almonds and MCT oil.

Note:Eliminating fat to lose weight will often have the reverse effect. Low fat levels will force your body into survival mode. When this happens, nearlyeverything you eat will be stored in your fat cells, forcing your bodyto burnmuscle.When this occurs, weight gain and health problems can occur.

Losing weight involves making safe adjustments to a standard balanced diet. If you reduce calories in any category, you must replace them. For example, if you cut starch youll want to replace some of those calories with protein, fat and fibrous carbohydrates.

Hagertys Gym on YouTube

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Hagerty's Gym: Solving the carb quandary - Record Advocate (press release) (registration)

Women's Health

'I Crowdfunded Money For Weight-Loss Surgery And It Totally Changed My Life' Women's Health She wanted me to lose the weight through diet and exercise, but I knew I needed more. Lap-band surgery seemed to be the least drastic surgical procedure, even though I wouldn't lose weight as quickly as with gastric bypass. But I didn't need to be thin ...

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'I Crowdfunded Money For Weight-Loss Surgery And It Totally Changed My Life' - Women's Health

Below you will learn how to lose weight quickly in six easy steps!

There is an old saying You are what you eat. In practical terms, that means 80% of your weight gain is contributed to your nutrition habits.

Other contributors are a sedentary lifestyle, an absence of activity, lack of sleep, anxiety, depression and sometimes a hormonal imbalance. Surprisingly, this bunch of important factors covers only 20% of the problem.

Just think:

What you put into your mouth is significantly more important in terms of weight loss, health and longevity than working out. Four times more, actually. Not the contrary.

This rule is universal. It does not matter if you are a male or a female. This does apply to you.

Yes, there are certain cases (in fact, less than 7%) when it is hormone disruptions that lead to fat deposits.

The truth is:

Those problems, as well as most other health problems, are rooted in bad nutrition.

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Unbelievable, but approximately 92% of people who start losing fat, hopelessly throw up their hands in the first two weeks.

Why? They have the wrong and destructive opinion that losing weight is a difficult, scary and disgusting thing and is not for them.

But its absolute trash.

You dont have to exhaust yourself to dizziness on a treadmill or do 700 push-ups a week.

Actually:

Your first step is to walk to a local Burger King or McDonalds and stuff yourself with the biggest hamburger ever. With the biggest French fries and an ice-cold cup of Coca-Cola (Im not joking).

Then come back home and feel the fluids of happiness running through your whole body. Great job!

Your weight loss journey has just begun. Enjoy the comfort of your chair and the warmth inside of you and go on reading this article Click here to learn more about PhenQ diet pills

Lets go deep into the process of how your body turns food and liquids, which keep coming from your mouth into the stomach, into energy. Thisis called metabolism.

Metabolismis converting proteins, carbs and fats intoenergy so that your body works properly. To put it even more simple: metabolism is an ability of your body to produce energy.

This brings us to the point:

The main reason why we CONSUME FOODis to have energy for LIVING.

We eat to live, not the contrary.

Remember this golden rule when you are about to set your lips to a creamy muffin. Click here to learn more about PhenQ diet pills

According to a recent 2015 study of Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, the thrifty metabolism may really prevent you from losing fat.

The speedierthe metabolic rate, the less timeis needed to transformcalories into energy, and the more, consequently,you lose weight.

However:

80% of fatgain is not caused by your metabolism. It is due to your eating habits. The other 20% is left for lack of movement, sleep, stress, hormonal disturbances and, yes, slow metabolism.

When you overeat, your metabolism slows down to be able to handle the insane calorie supply burst. If it didnt, you would be burnt down by the huge amount ofheatreleased after eating.

Therefore, calories which cannot be utilizedfor vital activity are consequently stored in your belly, butt andthighs.

But:

You can help your body convert calories into energy and lose weight much faster. You just need to introduce certain weight loss techniques into your diet pill regimen. They are really simple to memorize.

Knowing and exercising them, you can lose as much weightas you want.

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Calorie counting is the worst weight loss method that is available to you when you try to lose your stubborn fat.

It is almost impossible to estimate how many calories each individual needs for daily activity.

For example, I need 2,500 calories a day while you may need only 1,800.

It depends on a variety of factors. Metabolic rate is the most important of them.

Just think of it:

Is your nutritionist able to tell you exactly how many calories are used for each separate process? Absolutely not.

Calorie-counting prevents people from working out at all.

Imagine spending 60 dreadful minutes on a treadmill to burn 400 ridiculous calories (one Big Mac is around 2,000 calories). Finally, you will quit.

So:

Its much better to switch to healthy meals that do not need any calorie counting.

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Now you need to stop weighing yourself on a scale and looking at the mirror.

No scale will give you an objective view of yourself.

Why? 1 pound of fat versus 1 pound of muscle looks insanely different (see the picture). It is even more essential for those who target losing fat and gaining muscles simultaneously.

When you see yourself in the mirror on a daily basis, you start to think that there is no progress in weight loss at all. However, this is because your brain adjusts to your current image and does not remember how you looked even 5 days ago.

What can never lie to you is your camera.

Therefore:

To keep you motivated, you should take 1 photo of yourself 2 times per week. At first, it might look stupid or useless to you, but only until you see the first real progress captured in each photo.

This technique is extremely important.

Lets go back to metabolism.

As we said, 10% of energy you consume daily is used for digesting food itself. Its called thermic effect of food.

During each meal intake, the amount of energy that is used for digesting is approximately the same.

Its unbelievable but:

It does not matter if you eat a piece of cheesecake (500 calories) or a Big Mac (2,000 calories), the thermic effect (amount of energy you need to burn them) is absolutely the same.

When you break your daily intake into 5-6 small (9-10 oz. or 250 g each) portions instead of 2-3 big ones, you kill three birds with one stone:

Are you confused about where to get those 5-6 daily portions?

You can simply cook once for 2-3 days and fill your refrigerator with food for each intake (in plastic boxes).

Again, you will obviously want to cheat yourself and eat something like chips or a muffin. Its OK.

But what if you are already used to eating small portions? A small cake or a muffin will definitely do less harm to your shape than 2-3 ones.

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As we already said: You are what you eat.

Do you want to be a stinking box full of waste and toxins? Definitely NO!

Therefore:

You cannot allow yourself to eat monotonous food poor in healthy nutrients.

Let your diet be as diversely colorful and rich as possible full of proteins, slow carbs, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals.

Stop eating outside, specifically oil-fried food. If you dont know how to cook (or dont like to), you have to learn. Google is full of healthy and tasty recipes. If you are consistent, your cooking skills can reach a level of art.

We could talk for hours about what you should eat or not to lose weight and keep the results.

Fortunately:

There are some simple rules you must follow to get the best results.

Examples: A whole orange is better and healthier than boxed orange juice. Mashed potato is healthier than French fries (but is worse than a baked one). Home-cooked chicken breast is better than McNuggets.

They nourish your body with healthy acids that are extremely important for your vital functions. These are fast carbs, such as sugar, white wheat, agave syrup, and a specific type of processed fats called trans fats (campaign for banning trans fats) that accumulate in your tissues in the form of fat cells.

Therefore: We strongly insist that you eat more products with natural poly- and monounsaturated fat.

And again: Focus on what you eat.

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For many trying to lose weight, this technique is the most important one.

It is for those men and women who eat emotionally, not physically.

They treat food mostly as a drug or a temporary solution to their emotional problems (depression, anxiety and fear) caused by financial situations or relationships, for example.

Indeed, specific types of food can act like highly addictive drugs, causing release of serotonin (hormone of happiness) and easing emotional pain.

Scientists know that. This is why obese people dont stop overeating, gain more weight and crave more food. All they do is increase the dosage.

If it is you:

What can really help you is beyond any nutritionists advice or a weight loss plan.

The solution to the problem lies inside of you.

All you need to do is to address emotionally the root of your craving.

Do I want to eat that cake because I am really hungry or is it just an emotional trigger caused by the job I lost or my divorce?

Keep asking yourself such questions before you eat. Train your willpower and the problem will consequently go away by itself.

If it doesnt help, find a therapist or consider getting an efficient appetite suppressant (see below).

80% of your weight loss problem is purely caused by overeating and poor food and drink intake management, not lack of activity or having a sedentary life.

Therefore, changing your diet is a great way to start losing weight. And if you follow the techniques above, make no mistake, you WILL certainly lose a great deal of weight over time.

The question is, is it enough for people who really need to lose a lot of weight (60+ pounds) quickly? In most cases, the answer is no.

Originally posted here:
How to Lose Weight Fast, Easily, Naturally, Healthy 2017

Judith McGinnis , Times Record News 5:57 a.m. CT Feb. 8, 2017

Andy Albertson before he lost 175 pounds(Photo: Contributed photo)

While too many think weight loss can be a quick and easy, Andy Albertson knows better.

Determination, will power and years-long commitment were the baseline of Albertsons life change.

Tuesday night friends and family gathered at The Maplewood for a big reveal. Andys been quiet about his loss of 175 pounds. Rather than post to Facebook, his journey is the focus of a documentary.

I started on my own for the first 20 pounds. I dont remember what day I quit eating fast food, Andy said, taking a few minutes before hitting the gym at Bill Bartley Branch YMCA. Then I got with Jerry (Hughes) who put me on a nutrition plan for five months.

Trainer Jerry Hughes, left, talks with his client, Andy Albertson who lost more than 170 pounds over two years. Hughes helped Albertson establish a nutrition plan and workout regimen.(Photo: Torin Halsey/Times Record News)

Andy is an inspiration in several categories, said Hughes, head of Hughes Training and Nutrition. His hard work and dedication set a good example for all those people who think they can get a quick fix to weight loss. There is no fast solution.

Although early sports physicals referred to Andy as a healthy kid, by the time he started 7th grade increased cholesterol levels were identified.

Watching the recent changes in Andys life, his mom, Mary, says she was surprised to see her sons constant focus on a healthier diet.

He was eating things Id never seen him eat before, broccoli and a lot of other vegetables, said Mary, a self-confessed classic Southern cook. He kept on the same meal plans every day. His mindset changed.

Andy Albertson works out under the supervision of his trainer, Jerry Hughes, left, at the Bill Bartley YMCA. Albertson, 22, weighs 145 pounds after reaching a high of 317 pounds two years ago.(Photo: Torin Halsey/Times Record News)

And his palate changed. Some people think that anyone with this strong a commitment is obsessed, said Hughes. Its been said that obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.

In the beginningAndy, 22, had a resting heart rate of 85 (beats per minute). Now its 40. The heart, Hughes explained, is like a car. Higher heart rates can put too much wear and tear on it.

There was no getting Andy off the daily rhythm of diet and exercise. He passed on a family trip to Mexico; when traveling he packed a cooler with his own meals.

His menus include: oatmeal and cooked egg whites for breakfast; a pre-workout protein shake; a post-workout shake and fruit (usually an apple); chicken and asparagus or broccoli for dinner.

Sometimes I throw some yogurt in there, Andy said with a grin.

The Albertsons, including Andys dad Darrell, are a host family to three Wildcats hockey players. While players devoured buffalo wings on Super Bowl Sunday, Andy crushed high protein Quest Chips, coated a chicken breast with them, baked it and dipped it in a little buffalo sauce.

Andy Albertson works out at the Bill Bartley YMCA as his trainer, Jerry Hughes, advises and encourages. Albertson decided two years ago he was tired of being obese and has lost more than 170 pounds.(Photo: Torin Halsey/Times Record News)

Mary saysshe saw Andys weight gain increase after he graduated high school, started at Vernon College, and picked up more fast food.

I began to ask myself, what is his future, what kind of jobs

can he get? said Mary, who is now visiting the gym regularly and taking on her own weight challenge. Weve had long talks and I told Andy Id done him a disservice. Andy will break the cycle. My part is to get parents to tell their kids, dont let this happen to you.

Some people Ive met have told me that once Ive met my goals, as I get older I wont stick with it, said Andy. This is the something I will always do, a lifestyle that will always be part of me.

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Supporters attend big reveal of young man's weight loss - Times Record News