The mantra chanted by most weight loss experts is, "Eat less, exercise more." Eating less is not hard to understand, although one person's "eat less" may be someone else's binge. If you and the cushion on your couch move about the same amount each day, exercising more is also not hard to understand. But what if you do some physical activity, say taking out the trash cans, scraping ice off your car windows, going up and down the stairs of your home and occasionally walking for a few minutes on your treadmill or around your neighborhood? What does "exercise more" mean? How does one translate this advice into something that will enhance weight loss?

There's an app for that... Yes, the scientific way of determining this has already entered the electronic age. It is possible to buy cell phone-size devices that contain formulas that translate your current body weight and physical activity together with your projected weight goal, into a daily program of calorie intake and physical activity. If you follow through with the programs on these devices, your daily physical activity, calorie utilization and weight loss will show up on your computer with either encouragement, congratulations or a mild scolding to resume the program. Humans are still around to offer advice on exercise, as well as hundreds of articles that outline weekly exercise programs to increase your physical activity over time.

However, the emphasis on moving more, and the many options for doing so, often overlooks one aspect of exercise that has a significant impact on weight loss -- that is, the effect of increased muscle size on weight loss and weight maintenance. It seems that men are likely to recognize this and incorporate so-called bodybuilding on the way to their optimal weight. Bulking up is a positive goal, one that is often accomplished with the encouragement of a workout buddy or a trainer. As someone from the other gender who watches men watching themselves in the mirrors at my gym, I am not sure whether their goal is weight loss or a buff body. But I have to admit that many are willing to come to the gym many times a week and endure painful routines (at least from their grunts, it sounds painful) to achieve bulging shoulders, chest, back and arm muscles. Although many may not realize it, their expanded muscle mass may also be speeding up their weight loss.

Women, of course, do not usually see a rounded deltoid muscle or chest muscle definition as their goals unless they are competing for Ms. Muscle Fitness of 2012. "Don't even mention muscle strengthening exercises," a dieting friend told me. "Muscles on top on my fat arms and thighs will bulk them up into sausages." Somehow my concern that she will look like a limp noodle if she doesn't maintain her muscles went over like, well, a limp noodle.

I suspect that the parade of fashion models making their way through the magazines we women read convinced my friend that toothpick-like arms and thighs smaller than a normal wrist are ideals toward which she should strive. Unfortunately, like so many dieters, my friend was told that aerobic activity was the only type of exercise necessary for weight loss, and reassured that she could wait until she was much thinner before including exercises that strengthened her muscles. Was this good advice for a dieter? I don't think so.

Increasing muscle size has benefits that go beyond being able to lift up your carry-on bag and placing it in the overhead compartment of an airplane. The link between muscle mass and bone health, which includes increased balance and protection from falls, as well as being able to carry out the normal activities of daily life, are well established. Increased muscle mass, however, has a particular utility for the dieter. Muscle consumes much more energy than any other organ in the body, and muscles need calories to work, rebuild and enlarge. Most of the calories you eat are used up by your muscles.

Everyone loses some muscle while dieting because a thinner body requires less muscle to carry it around than a heavier one. One reason it is so hard to maintain weight loss when the diet is over is that smaller muscles means eating fewer calories than before you started the diet -- and this is hard to do.

Building muscles requires increasing calorie, protein and carbohydrate intake. Magazines and websites devoted to building bigger muscles offer food plans that would make a dieter weep with joy. You must eat many times a day, sometimes up to six substantial meals and snacks. Both protein and carbohydrate must be eaten. The protein supplies specific amino acids that are the foundation of muscle fibers, and the carbohydrate supplies energy to the muscles so they are not broken down for energy (a common physiological occurrence).

Building muscle means that you, the dieter or ex-dieter, can maintain your new lower weight without fearing that an extra peapod or crust of bread is going to throw you back into weight gain mode.

But before you start tossing those barbells around, find a professional trainer or experienced bodybuilding friend or family member to show you what to do. Check out the Internet for sensible eating and muscle-strengthening programs. Don't fall prey to the screaming ads for muscle building powders and drinks. Lean protein, low or fat-free dairy products, lentils, beans, soy and eggs are all excellent sources of muscle-building protein. However, while healthy carbohydrates must be eaten, fat-filled, sugary carbohydrates are not part of this muscle-building process.

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Judith J. Wurtman, PhD: Muscling Your Way Into Weight Loss

Doctor’s Weight May Be a Factor in Diagnosing Obesity, Study Finds

Jan. 31, 2012 -- Doctors who are normal weight are more likely to give patients advice on diet and exercise, according to a new study.

And normal-weight doctors were also more apt to make a diagnosis of obesity, compared to overweight or obese doctors.

“Your doctor is often not going to diagnose obesity or have weight loss discussions with you if they weigh more than you do,” says researcher Sara Bleich, PhD. She is an assistant professor with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School’s department of health policy and management in Baltimore, Md.

The new survey of 500 primary care doctors shows that doctors who have a normal body mass index (BMI) were more likely to engage their obese patients in weight loss discussions, as compared to overweight and obese physicians, 30% vs. 18%, respectively. Doctors were also much more likely to diagnose someone as being obese if they thought a person’s BMI was equal to or exceeded their own.

Thinner doctors were not only more likely to bring these topics up; they also thought their patients would be more likely to follow their advice. Doctors with a self-reported BMI of less than 25 were considered normal weight. Those with a BMI at or above 25 were considered overweight. The findings appear in the January issue of Obesity.

Exactly why heavier doctors may be less likely to discuss weight loss and obesity is not fully understood.

It’s possible that a heavyset doctor is reluctant to suggest moving more and eating less when he or she knows it didn’t work for them. “They may not want to give advice that is not effective in their own minds,” Bleich says.

Overweight or obese doctors are more likely to recommend weight loss pills, she says. The study did not look at how often the doctors discussed weight loss surgery with obese patients.

I’m OK, You’re OK

Another possibility: “They are used to seeing overweight and obese patients who look like they do and doctors may think, ‘I am OK and so are they,'" Bleich says. Next, Bleich plans to look into how much patients trust heavyset doctors' advice.

It’s a case of doctor, heal thyself, says Matthew Kroh, MD. He is a surgeon in the Digestive Disease Institute at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “Obesity is widespread, and even health professionals are being affected by a national epidemic,” he says.

The findings also show how problems beget other problems. “A patient could say, ‘I understand obesity may cause weight-related medical problems, but it can’t be that serious if my trusted doctor doesn’t abide by the same principles,’” he says.

Maybe doctors don’t dole out advice on diet and exercise because they know it doesn’t work for everyone, says Ronald Clements, MD. He is the director of the Vanderbilt Center for Surgical Weight Loss and a professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Advice on weight loss must be individualized.

“I am 10 to 15 pounds overweight, and a doctor should say, ‘Skip dessert and exercise more,’ but you can’t tell that to someone who is morbidly obese,” Clements says. “We need to be telling patients about the most effective therapy for their weight.” 

Link:
Doctor Overweight? Slim Chance of Getting Weight Loss Advice

Australian viewers have a bigger appetite for reality cooking shows than weight-loss programs, with Channel 7's My Kitchen Rules attracting 1.484 million viewers for its season three debut on Monday, making it the number one show nationally.

Hosted by Pete Evans and Manu Feildel, viewers were introduced to six of the 12 MKR teams competing for $250,000 at the first of the three-course meal challenges, including WA friends Angela Schlegel and Justine Matchitt, New Zealand team Simon and Meg and South Australia's Leigh and "Princess" Jennifer.

Her annoying habit of ending sentences with "yeah" has quickly become a catchcry.

In Perth, MKR drew an average 178,000 viewers to be the third most-watched show on Monday behind Seven News with 216,000 and Today Tonight with 192,000.

Nine's nerdy sitcom The Big Bang Theory continues to be a hit, attracting 1.349 million viewers to be the second most-watched show nationally - even the second repeat episode attracted more than a million viewers.

The premiere of celebrity weight-loss show Excess Baggage on Nine attracted 880,000 viewers nationally to rank 12th. It beat the long-running weight-loss show The Biggest Loser, which attracted 698,000 to come in 16th with its first weigh-in.

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Budding TV chefs rule in ratings war

Darryn Lyons has dropped more than 10 per cent of his bodyweight on Excess Baggage. Picture: David Caird Source: Herald Sun

The Biggest Loser versus Excess Baggage. Source: Supplied

WHILE popular television weight-loss shows inspire viewers to shed excess kilos, experts are cautioning against sudden, extreme regimens.

The verdict appears to be that Excess Baggage may have the edge over The Biggest Loser in showcasing a more rounded approach.

The AMA warns engaging in extreme physical activity unsupervised may increase the risk of heart attacks and falls.

Have you switched off from weight-loss shows? Tell us below.

AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton said the shows did inspire people to lose weight, showing it was possible via changes to diet and exercise.

However, people should make slow, steady and sustainable changes, aiming to lose up to 2-3kg a month, Dr Hambleton said.

"The unusual way these programs go about weight loss is not suitable for the general public, not without risks," he said.

"The average overweight person ... may have diabetes, coronary artery disease or osteoarthritis and may not be suitable for an intense program."

Nutrition and fitness expert Donna Aston said Excess Baggage had a bigger focus on both nutrition and the psychology of weight loss.

"It's hard to sustain weight loss without changing our mindset," she said.

Excess Baggage contestants also had their body composition measured to indicate whether muscle, water or fat had been lost, rather than just total weight loss, Ms Aston said.

Those to lose weight quickly often shed muscle, which slowed the metabolism and made it more difficult to keep the kilos off long-term, she claimed.

Dietitian Jemma O'Hanlon said Excess Baggage took a more realistic approach to weight loss by not counting kilojoules or dictating diets.

"It's a much more educational process, teaching them to make lifestyle changes," Ms O'Hanlon said.

Obesity Policy Coalition senior adviser Jane Martin said shows tended to remove people from a real-life environment.

"It's like weight-loss rehab, but people are then coming out into an obesogenic environment, which is going to undermine them," Ms Martin said.

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THE TRUTH

DO
* Take heart that there is a potential solution to being overweight
* Make changes by exercising more
* Improve your dietary habits
DON'T
* Embark on a really intense exercise program without first having a medical check-up
* Expect rapid results - slow steady weight loss is more sustainable, aim for up to two to three kilos a month
* Adopt a fad diet, instead eat a healthy balanced one

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Experts warn against quick kilo blitz