There’s no shortage of diet plans promising to melt away the pounds by calling for strict proportions of protein, carbohydrate and fat.

But, according to a new study, it doesn’t matter where the calories come from. What matters most for shedding body fat is simply eating fewer calories – and sticking to your plan, be it high protein, low carb or low fat.

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Some, but not all, studies have demonstrated that high protein, low carbohydrate diets work better than others at losing fat and preserving muscle mass over the short term.

There’s also debate over which diets, if any, are most effective for reducing visceral fat, deep abdominal fat that’s closely related to the harmful metabolic effects of obesity. Visceral fat packs itself around the organs and secretes chemicals that increase the body’s resistance to the hormone insulin and cause inflammation throughout the body.

The current study – called the Pounds Lost trial – set out to determine whether the composition of a weight loss diet affected the loss of lean muscle, total body fat, abdominal fat, visceral fat or liver fat in 424 overweight or obese men and women. (Excess visceral fat is thought to release fat into the bloodstream causing a build-up of fat in the liver.)

Participants were assigned to one of four diets: 1) low fat (20 per cent daily calories), average protein (15 per cent); 2) low fat (20 per cent), high protein (25 per cent); 3) high fat (40 per cent), average protein (15 per cent); or 4) high fat (40 per cent), high protein (25 per cent).

Each diet was low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fibre, included low glycemic carbohydrates and was designed to cut 750 calories a day. All participants were offered group and individual counselling sessions over two years.

Body fat and muscle mass was measured using CT (computed tomography) scanning after six months and two years of follow up.

At the six-month mark, participants had lost, on average, more than nine pounds of total body fat along with five pounds of lean muscle, but had regained some of this after two years. Fat loss or muscle loss did not differ between the four diet groups.

As well, the proportion of protein, carbohydrate or fat in the diet did not affect the amount of abdominal fat, visceral fat or liver fat that was lost during the study. After six months, participants shed about 40 per cent of visceral fat and 60 per cent of liver fat.

At the two-year follow-up, people were able to maintain a weight loss of more nine pounds, including three pounds of abdominal fat.

The bottom line: The major factor for weight loss was adherence to a calorie-reduced diet, not the proportion of carbohydrate, protein or fat it contained. People who followed their diets better lost more weight and body fat than those who didn’t.

These findings strongly suggest you’re better off choosing a plan that’s easy to stick to over the long haul – provided, of course, it’s a healthy diet.

An earlier report from the Pounds Lost trial revealed that all four diets were heart-healthy regardless of their protein, carbohydrate and fat content. Each diet reduced levels of triglycerides (blood fats), LDL (bad) cholesterol, lowered blood pressure and increased HDL (good) cholesterol.

That said, most people in weight loss programs gradually revert to their previous diets over time even if they do manage to maintain some fat loss.

If your 2012 goal is to shed excess body fat, the following tips will help you adhere to a healthy diet plan and increase the likelihood of success.

Plan in advance

It’s the most common blunder that steers people off-track: not being organized. On the weekend, spend a few minutes thinking about the week ahead. Map out your meals, healthy snacks and even your workouts.

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Just cut calories - protein/carb/fat ratio doesn’t matter: study

DENVER, CO--(Marketwire -01/31/12)- "Hey, do you have a brother who works here?" - It's a question that Andrew Casper, an employee of HealthONE in Denver, is hearing in the hallways at work often these days. Overweight for all of his adult life, 56-year-old Andrew has recently lost more than 40 pounds through HealthONE's incentaHEALTH wellness program -- and is now nearly unrecognizable to his colleagues.

Having previously tried countless fad diets and weight loss plans, incentaHEALTH's fully rounded wellness plan was the thing that finally clicked for Andrew -- guiding him to refocus his energy into making a complete lifestyle change. No longer could he sit on the couch watching TV all afternoon on the weekends -- downing bags of chips while cheering on his favorite teams. Instead, Andrew now rises at 5:30 a.m. every day, logging in a morning workout on the elliptical machine. In the evenings after working a full day as a Senior Telecom Engineer at HealthONE, Andrew unwinds by hopping on his bike and pedaling out to enjoy Denver's picturesque vistas.

A family history of heart disease and obesity had always weighed heavily on his mind, and incentaHEALTH has given Andrew the tools he needed to avoid the same fate as his father, who passed at the age of 58. incentaHEALTH is an employee wellness program emphasizing lifestyle changes that lead to life-long healthy weight. Participants have access to an online fitness guide, daily email or SMS text message coaching, communication with a personal trainer, an online success journal, and visual progress reports. Employee participants can earn cash rewards for both successful weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. incentaHEALTH blends the science of behavior change with wellness incentive technology to provide a solution for obesity and rising healthcare costs.

"This truly is a case of 'If I can do it, anyone can do it'," commented Andrew. "In fact, I've challenged everyone in the office to join me in my quest to overhaul my lifestyle, improve my health and reach and maintain my goal weight. It's free for employees -- and incentaHEALTH actually pays us to lose weight!"

Andrew's employer, HealthONE, is one of Denver's largest employers and the largest healthcare system in the metro Denver area. HealthONE recently launched a new employee wellness program from incentaHEALTH. Andrew is one of 3,000 HealthONE employees that have signed up for the new program, and his results are attracting attention.

"My co-workers are constantly telling me that I am an inspiration to them," notes Andrew. "The incentaHEALTH program has truly been life-changing for me, since I started the program in August 2011; they have been there for me every step of the way -- with guidance on everything from what to choose for lunch to which exercise equipment would benefit me the most. I didn't want to become another statistic -- I want to be able to have a healthy retirement where I can enjoy all of the things I have worked so hard for. incentaHEALTH and HealthONE have made this possible for me."

HealthONE employees have access to eight incentaHEALTH patented kiosks across the Denver metro area, making it easy and convenient for them to chart their progress and stay on task. These kiosks, located in HealthONE hospitals, privately weigh and photograph each employee in under 60 seconds. This allows participants to view a visual progress report -- actually seeing their transformation over time as they improve their health serves as a big motivator, and helps keep them on track. HealthONE's incentaHEALTH program has been enthusiastically received by employees -- in the first few weeks since the kick-off, over 3,000 employees and their dependents are using the program.

Andrew is looking forward to his daughter's wedding next month, where he hopes to do what his weight prohibited him from doing at his first daughter's wedding -- put his arms around her during the father/daughter dance. He will hang a new photo of this special moment next to the old one that has hung on his refrigerator since the first wedding -- to serve as a visual reminder of just how far he's come.

For more information on the incentaHEALTH program, please visit http://www.incentahealth.com.

About incentaHEALTH
incentaHEALTH is an innovative healthcare technology company based in Denver, Colo. incentaHEALTH's fully outsourced, employee weight management program is designed to help organizations reduce their healthcare costs by offering incentives to employees for improving their health. This is achieved by helping employees manage their weight through the use of interactive email and text message coaching, workplace weigh-ins on private kiosks, and cash rewards for maintaining long term health improvements. For more information, visit http://www.incentahealth.com.

Continued here:
Wellness Program From incentaHEALTH Helps Denver Man Drop More Than 40 Pounds

Washington, Feb 1 (ANI): Individuals who drink diet soft drinks on a daily basis may be at increased risk of suffering vascular events such as stroke, heart attack, and vascular death, a new study has warned.

However, in contrast, it found that regular soft drink consumption and a more moderate intake of diet soft drinks do not appear to be linked to a higher risk of vascular events.

In the current climate of escalating obesity rates, artificially sweetened soft drinks are marketed as healthier alternatives to sugar-sweetened beverages, due to their lack of calories. However, the long-term health consequences of drinking diet soft drinks remain unclear.

Hannah Gardener and her colleagues from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and at Columbia University Medical Center examined the relationship between both diet and regular soft drink consumption and risk of stroke, myocardial infarction (or heart attack), and vascular death.

Data were analyzed from 2,564 participants in the NIH-funded Northern Manhattan Study, which was designed to determine stroke incidence, risk factors and prognosis in a multi-ethnic urban population.

The researchers looked at how often individuals drank soft drinks - diet and regular - and the number of vascular events that occurred over a ten-year period.

They found that those who drank diet soft drinks daily were 43 percent more likely to have suffered a vascular event than those who drank none, after taking into account pre-existing vascular conditions such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Light diet soft drink users, i.e. those who drank between one a month and six a week, and those who chose regular soft drinks were not more likely to suffer vascular events.

"Our results suggest a potential association between daily diet soft drink consumption and vascular outcomes. However, the mechanisms by which soft drinks may affect vascular events are unclear. There is a need for further research before any conclusions can be drawn regarding the potential health consequences of diet soft drink consumption," Gardener concluded.

The research appeared online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, published by Springer. (ANI)

Originally posted here:
Drinking diet soft drinks daily may lead to stroke, heart attack

You are addicted to Diet Coke. You need one before leaving the house in the morning. You need one at lunch. You need one in the late afternoon, as a pick-me-up. You need Diet Coke in Europe, on holiday. You need it Utah, while skiing. And you need it Ocean City, at the beach.

But, slight problem: Up until now, you were unlikely to find Diet Coke in plentiful supply in Ocean City. It has officially been a Pepsi town. Diet Pepsi is okay, in an extreme emergency perhaps, but it’s not Diet Coke.

Well, now you will be happy, content, and at peace with our highly caffeinated world after you read this bit of news: Ocean City just signed a five-year deal with Coca-Cola to be the beach resort’s official drink. Coke products will be solely featured at town properties and at town events.

This is not just mind-blowing news for Diet Coke addicts like you (and me). It’s good for the town’s coffers: Coca-Cola will pay Ocean City about $65,000 annually, as well as cough up commission on product sales.

You are happy now, right? Or are you Diet Pepsi addict?

Excuse me while I go pop my second Diet Coke of the day to celebrate.

By Michael S. Rosenwald  |  11:00 AM ET, 02/01/2012

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Splendid news for vacationing Diet Coke addicts in Maryland

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Fat Burning Tri-Set Home Routine - Video

Published: Jan. 31, 2012 at 10:33 PM

MIAMI, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Drinking diet soft drinks on a daily basis might increase the risk stroke, heart attack and vascular death, U.S. researchers said.

Hannah Gardener and colleagues from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and at Columbia University Medical Center in New York also found regular soft drink consumption and a more moderate intake of diet soft drinks do not appear to be linked to a higher risk of vascular events.

Gardener and her research team analyzed data from 2,564 participants in the National Institute of Health funded Northern Manhattan Study, which was designed to determine stroke incidence, risk factors and prognosis in a multi-ethnic urban population.

The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found those who drank diet soft drinks daily were 43 percent more likely than those who drank none to have suffered a vascular event, after taking into account pre-existing vascular conditions such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and high blood pressure.

However, light diet soft drink users -- those who drink between one a month and six a week -- and those who chose regular soft drinks were not more likely to suffer vascular events, the study found.

"Our results suggest a potential association between daily diet soft drink consumption and vascular outcomes," Gardener said in a statement. "However, the mechanisms by which soft drinks may affect vascular events are unclear. There is a need for further research before any conclusions can be drawn regarding the potential health consequences of diet soft drink consumption."

Original post:
Diet soda linked to stroke, heart attack