Actress Drew Barrymore took to Instagram earlier this week to show off her inspiring fitness transformation. The 44-year-old mother of two said that getting fit for her role of Sheila Hammond on the show Santa Clarita Diet lead to an amazing 20 pound weight loss and she has the before and after photos to prove it.

"Every spring, when I would start training to become #SHEILAHAMMOND, Marnie was the one who got me there," Barrymore wrote, referencing her personal trainer Marnie Alton. "I lost 20 pounds and trained like a mother."

Barrymore also included and incredibly sweet dedication to Alton, crediting her for being able to go through such an impressive physical transformation.

"She is poetry in a human being," Barrymore wrote of her trainer. "The best heart. Her priorities are in the right place. She is humorous and so so so knowledgeable about our bodies. I love her. Inside and out."

And Barrymore's transformation pictures didn't stop there. On Wednesday, she posted another side-by-side photo showing how much her body has changed from the time she was pregnant until now. And this time, Barrymore delved into the emotional toll that going through drastic physical changes during and after pregnancy can take.

"I go up and I go down," Barrymore wrote. "The rollercoaster of my body is a challenging, but beautiful ride. I made two kids. The single most important purpose for me being on this planet is for them! It is a true miracle I was able to have these two girls. So whatever the aftermath on my body, well bring it on! That said, there have been times i have stood in my closet and just cried. Hated getting dressed. Didnt feel good!"

She also explained that her new super fit physique did not by any means come easily to her, and she shared an inspiring message to other mothers who may be wanting to get their bodies back to how they were pre-pregnancy.

"It takes so much for me to look decent," she wrote. "I have to eat just right and work my ass off! I cannot fight the fact that I have the propensity to be the Pillsbury dough boy! (Now all I can think about is crescent rolls) So DONT Be fooled by what you see when people are thin right after baby. Dont compare yourself to the magazines and the red carpets. If I looked decent on anything I have done since I had my two kids, I have clawed my way there. You can too!"

Both of Barrymore's posts were met with plenty of love from fans, including many women who were experiencing similar body struggles.

"I am 13 weeks postpartum and am in the crying in my closet, hate getting dressed stage," one commenter wrote. "To be honest, I dont get dressed much anymore. But I know I will get to a healthier place. I need this message today. Thank you!"

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Drew Barrymore Shows Off Her Inspiring 20 lb Weight Loss Transformation On Instagram - WomansDay.com

Intensive behavioral therapy for obesity, or IBTO, is a customized treatment that helps people change their eating and exercise behaviors through a series of one-on-one counseling sessions.

It's also a treatment that can be difficult for primary care doctors to do on top of other responsibilities, so a research team from East Carolina University set out to discover IBTO's effectiveness if a dietitian is added to the team.

RDNs, or registered dietitian nutritionists, are trained for both weight loss and nutrition therapy, and can help support physicians in addressing underlying diet and lifestyle risk factors for chronic diseases, said Dr. Lauren Sastre, an author of the study and assistant nutrition science professor at East Carolina University.

And, the study notes, IBTO is already provided and reimbursed for Medicare B recipients, who would be age 65 or older. As the prevalence of obesity in the US has increased to include nearly 40% of the adult population, Sastre and her team found that IBTO with a dietitian is an effective method to addressing not only obesity in older adults but its associated conditions, such as type 2 diabetes.

Their results showed that the patients who received the treatment lost nearly three pounds on average and improved other health outcomes in comparison to those who did not receive IBTO.

"Coupled with the fact that nutrition is not required content in medical school curricula, medical professionals may not have the time or the skills to develop and implement nutrition interventions for patients," said Dr. Emily Wilcox Gier, Dietetics Program Leader for the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, who wasn't part of the study. "Referring patients to [dietitians] is an easy, cost-effective and necessary step to ensure that patients receive the treatment they need to meet weight loss goals."

Losing weight with a dietitian

At the first visit, dietitians helped patients establish their calorie limit and food-tracking method based on their personal habits and preferences. Subsequent sessions were check-ins in which patients focused on improving their exercise habits and diet.

The researchers also measured the patients' weight, BMI, A1C and medication use. A1C is a blood test that helps doctors make a diagnosis for pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes by measuring your average blood sugar level over the past three months. It also can show how well a person has been managing their diabetes.

After three years of treatment, from 2016 to 2019, patients who received IBTO experienced greater BMI decreases, larger A1C declines and stopped taking their prescription medication sooner, the study found.

"[Dietitians] have the knowledge and skills to work with patients [or] clients on an individual basis to develop interventions that work," said Dr. Emily Wilcox Gier, dietetics program leader for the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, who wasn't part of the study. "[Dietitians] know how to tailor nutrition recommendations to fit one's needs, including medical conditions, living situations and preferences. This evidence helps support the fact that our training helps patients meet their weight loss goals."

Demographic differences did affect the patients' results, however, as the study notes that minorities and older respondents experienced smaller results.

Yet given the overall results found for lowering A1C, the researchers think the intensive therapy model advised by a dietitian could be helpful for people who aren't obese but do have diabetes -- although current requirements for Medicare IBTO include having a BMI of more than 30.

Correction: A previous version of this article mislabeled nutritionists as nurses in one instance, and dietitians as physicians in another.

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Want to lose more weight? Intensive therapy from dietitians can help older adults, study finds - CNN

When we're cold, we shiver. The involuntary vibrations help us generate body heat so that we don't freeze. And all that motion also has a secondary benefit for modern humans it burns calories, and potentially fat. Can we really shiver our way to better health?

It almost sounds like a pitch from an informercial, but it's true: one study from 2014 found that just 15 minutes of shivering might provide similar fat-burning benefits as a full hour of moderate exercise. Our instinctive response to the cold helps stimulate a key hormone called irisin that helps the body produce a specific type of fat conducive to weight loss.

But if youre considering swapping your next workout for an ice bath, think again. Simply being cold doesn't translate to sustained weight loss. Furthermore, while a shiver-induced hormone boost does appear to produce some of the same benefits as a workout, it wont leave the same long-lasting effects on our metabolism as regular trips to the gym.

Dubbed the "exercise hormone" because our bodies seem to release it in response to physical activity, irisin helps turn white fat into brown fat in our bodies. That matters because brown fat is easily turned into energy by the body's mitochondria stores, meaning it's easier to burn off. And sure enough, irisin is present in our bodies when we shiver, just like when we exercise, meaning that unpleasant shaking sensation can indeed help us burn fat.

Read more: Whole Body Vibration: Does Shaking Up Our Workouts Lead to Better Health?

In a Cell Metabolism study from 2014, 10 volunteers dressed in hospital scrubs and laid under water-cooled blankets used to adjust their body temperature. They started at 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 Fahrenheit) and researchers slowly brought the temperature down to 12 degrees (53.6), causing the participants to shiver. More intense shivering correlated with higher levels of irisin production. When compared to another group of test subjects cycling on stationary bikes, the researchers found shivering for just 15 minutes resulted in irisin levels comparable to those seen after 60 minutes of moderate exercise.

Of course, the simple act of shivering itself burns some calories, too, though it's unclear if it's enough to make much of a difference. Irisin production, by contrast, specifically targets fat stores. But temporarily boosting irisin levels likely isn't the key to sustained weight loss.

In a Metabolism study from 2014, researchers wanted to know if, by mimicking shivering in the body, they could also make irisin levels rise. So, they had a small group of women participate in six weeks of whole-body vibration exercise, where participants balance on a vibrating plate. It worked levels of the hormone increased. But, it didn't have a lasting effect on the participants' baseline irisin levels, even after the training was over.

So whatever fat-burning benefits arose during their workout disappeared once participants rested again. And one study suggests other types of exercise won't help give you an irisin boost, either.

In a 2014 report from Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, researchers took a group of sedentary adults and had them do resistance training for six months, measuring their irisin levels before and after the training started. At the end of the trial, people who went through six months of training did not have higher baseline irisin levels than the controls.

So, you're pretty much stuck with whatever irisin your body is able to produce during physical activity. And exercise itself may not have that big of an impact on weight loss, since hitting the gym doesn't burn that many calories relative to other things. It might help to adjust other parts of your lifestyle, such as diet, if you're really looking to shed pounds.

Read more: Do Artificial Sweeteners Actually Help With Weight Loss?

As for shivering we know it can boost the body's fat-burning capabilities and keep us warm in the winter months. But research is unclear as to how much, if at all, shivering can lead to healthy, sustainable weight loss.

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Shiver Yourself Thin: Can Being Cold Help You Lose Weight? - Discover Magazine

Some clinics offer lipotropic injections for weight loss. However, researchers have not comprehensively studied the efficacy and safety of these.

Lipotropes in lipotropic injections include a mix of different vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that people report help them lose weight and fat.

Keep reading to learn more about lipotropic injections, including the ingredients, cost, dosage, and possible risks.

Some people use lipotropic injections because weight loss clinics market them as treatments that promote fat burning. In combination with a healthful diet and regular exercise, people who use lipotropic injections should lose fat more easily.

Each clinic has its own specific type of injection, so the components may differ from clinic to clinic.

Lipotropes are substances that promote the removal of fat from the liver and reduce the production of fat. Some of the more common lipotropes that clinics use include:

Vitamin B-12 and methionine are important nutrients required for reactions in the body that regulate fat and protein metabolism. That said, researchers have not confirmed that taking doses of vitamin B-12 or methionine above the recommended amount will actually help a person lose weight.

Researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana found that restricting dietary methionine in people with metabolic syndrome caused an increase in fat digestion. In this study, people in the control group and those restricting methionine lost the same amount of weight.

Another study showed that a combination of diet, myoinositol, and D-chiroinositol may have accelerated weight and fat loss in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. However, researchers need to conduct further studies to confirm the effects of inositol.

The substances in lipotropic injections may not be effective in reducing a persons weight or fat. Although, theoretically, these substances may have important roles in fat metabolism, researchers are still unsure if higher doses are beneficial for weight and fat loss.

Other clinics may introduce additional vitamins and amino acids that some practitioners believe provide additional weight loss support.

Although research into lipotropic injections is limited, researchers have studied the effects of plant-based foods as a source of lipotropes in rats. The researchers state that the major plant lipotropes include:

Other substances in plant foods such as fatty acids, fiber, and flavonoids may also have lipotropic effects. This study only explored the effect of lipotropic substances in the diet. The researchers did not investigate the effect of lipotropic injections in the test rats.

Clinical trials that have studied lipotropic injections are scarce. For this reason, some doctors may not recommend using them for weight or fat loss.

Weight loss clinics will establish the price of lipotropic injections, so the cost will vary from one weight loss clinic to the next.

One of the factors that may influence the cost they settle on is the components included in the lipotropic injection.

Vitamin B-12 injections alone may be less costly, but there is no scientific evidence around the cost of these injections.

Some clinics offer packages of injections, or they may include the cost of the injection in the price of a weight loss program.

The dosage depends on the ingredients in the injection. Also, each clinic may follow a different protocol and scheduling of the injections.

In some clinics, people receive lipotropic injections once weekly, whereas other clinics suggest more frequent injections.

As with cost, there is no scientific data to back any dosage claims that weight loss clinics make.

In one study, researchers administered 1,000 micrograms of vitamin B-12 intramuscularly to explore the effects on weight loss. Other clinics may choose different strengths of vitamin B-12 and other ingredients in their injection formulations.

People who want to use lipotropic injections should choose a clinic with a registered physician. Some clinics may not have doctors on staff, whereas others may have weight loss specialists who are also medical doctors.

Some lipotropic injections may not be appropriate for everyone. Before receiving their first injection, a person should check if any of the ingredients can be harmful in combination with their medications or a medical condition they have.

Apart from pain at the injection site, one of the risks of using lipotropic injections is that they may not work. People cannot rely on these injections to promote fat loss, so they should also try to adopt more healthful habits, such as exercising regularly.

Researchers have not studied the side effects of lipotropic injections. Information on side effects comes from anecdotal evidence from people who have used the injections for weight loss. Side effects may also vary from person to person.

People who want to lose weight can speak with a doctor or other healthcare provider to create a safe, effective, and individualized weight loss plan.

Doctors can help people find healthful ways to meet their weight, body mass index (BMI), and hip-to-waist ratio goals, which can promote overall health.

Before planning a weight loss regimen, people may wish to consider their current eating and exercise habits. Some questions they should ask themselves include:

Doctors, dietitians, and weight loss specialists can help answer some of these questions.

To lose weight and maintain the loss, a person may need to change lifestyle habits other than eating and exercise.

For example, weight loss programs that are safe and effective should also include:

People should try to avoid weight loss programs that are scams. They should report these to the Federal Trade Commission.

Some simple changes a person can make to their diet to promote more healthful habits include:

The 20152020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide nutrition and exercise recommendations. People who want to lose weight can follow these recommended guidelines, along with suggestions from their doctor.

Read about some other scientifically backed weight loss tips here.

Some people use lipotropic injections to aid fat loss and lose weight.

The purpose of these injections is to speed up the metabolism of fat. However, in order to maintain a moderate weight, people should also try to eat more healthfully and adopt regular exercise habits. Lipotropic injections are not a substitute for these healthful habits.

Researchers have not confirmed that lipotropic injections are effective.

Individual ingredients include some vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that may be involved in fat metabolism. However, most data on the success of lipotropic injections come from anecdotal evidence. Therefore, researchers should continue to study their effectiveness.

To lose weight and fat, a person should try to focus on lifestyle and diet.

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Lipotropic injections: Cost, dosage, and risks - Medical News Today

Adele is a phenomenal singer, whose talent is unmatched in modern music. But it is her weight loss that has been all anyone can talk about lately, especially after recent photos have emerged of the singer showcasing a much trimmer figure than before.How did she do it? Many media outlets have been attributing her weight loss (reports say she has shed up to 50 pounds) to the Sirtfood Diet.But what exactly is the Sirtfood Diet? While many are focusing on the fact that you can drink red wine and eat chocolate on it theres much more to the Sirtfood diet than that.

The Sirtfood Diet was created by Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten. They began investigating diets in other parts of the world where certain illnesses werent as prevalent as they are in North America. The diet itself focuses on a lot of plant-based foods, which may already be a step-up from the average North American diet. The Sirtfood Diet does allow things like dark chocolate and olive oil, sharing similar traits with the Mediterranean Diet. Goggins and Matten also have created a Sirtfood cookbook full of meal recipes that are compliant with the plan.

The diet operates by focusing on sirtuin-increasing polyphenols. Apparently, certain types of polyphenols can activate sirtuin-genes which can cause weight loss and regulate metabolism. Goggins and Matten looked at the foods which are rich in these specific polyphenols and labeled them as Sirtfoods.

But its not that simple. According to the New York Post, for the first three days, individuals restrict their intake to only 1,000 calories a day one sirtuin-packed meal and two green juices. That increases to 1,500 calories for the following four days when an additional meal is allowed. After that week, dieters are allowed to eat as many Sirtfood meals as they like. Plus, daily exercise is also recommended on the diet.These special Sirtfoods are supposed to boost muscle growth because they activate your skinny gene, which then allegedly mimics the effects of diet and exercise.

According to their website, the Sirtfood diet can result in weight loss as these foods can mimic the effect of exercise and eating less. They cite their participants seeing average results of 7lbs lost in a week. Additionally, the diet claims that it can improve health and reverse illness in some cases. Which makes it sound pretty compelling, right?

Well, the thing is it is another diet, after all, and a restrictive one at that. According to the New York Post, the diet starts off with 3 days of extreme calorie lows (Around 1,000 calories), then transitions into a phase that allows more, but still heavily focuses on Sirtfoods. Calorie deficits like that can usually cause rapid weight loss, however, they can also encourage unhealthy fixation on food control and may impact your health negatively.

Diets come and go, and the diet industry is worth a ton of money. Obesity is on the rise, and many people are looking for a healthy way to lose weight. When you can see the results of a diet on a well-known person (such as Adele), interest can certainly be piqued. Especially when the transformation is as shocking as hers was. The important thing is to remember to talk to your doctor about any changes in your diet or lifestyle to ensure your health and safety if anything goes sideways.

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The Sirtfood Diet: The 411 On Adeles Weight Loss Method - Momtastic

Robert C. Atkins developed the Atkins diet in the 1960s. In short, it's a low-carbohydrate diet with the idea that if you limit the number of carbohydrates you eat, you'll lose weight. Basically, it's an early version of the keto diet but with some key differences.

The height of the diet's popularity was in the early 2000s when one out of 11 Americans said they were on some type of low-carb diet, of which Atkins was a popular choice.

Since then, the Atkins diet has fallen out of favor for other popular restrictive diets like intermittent fasting and the keto diet.

Here's what you need to know about the Atkins diet, if it works, and how to tell if it's the right option for you.

Depending on your weight loss goals, the Atkins website recommends following one of their three eating plans:

Once you've chosen an eating plan, you'll go through four phases of the Atkins diet that will gradually reintroduce carbohydrates into your diet over time. The last phase is designed to help you develop the Atkins diet as a lifetime way of eating.

The four phases are as follows:

Introduction: This is the most restrictive phase of the diet and is meant to kickstart weight loss. In this phase, you are limited to 20 grams of carbohydrates a day. This phase forces your body into ketogenic metabolism meaning that the extreme lack of carbs forces your body to burn fat for energy. In this phase, you will eat mainly proteins, fats, and low-carb vegetables like leafy greens.

On-going weight loss: In this phase, you can begin to gradually introduce more carbs back into your diet. Your daily carbohydrate intake can go up by 5 grams a week (maxing out at an additional 40 grams per week) and you can begin to diversify your food options. In phase two, you can eat nuts, seeds, and berries. If your goal is to lose 14 pounds or less, you can start here and skip the restrictive first phase.

Pre-maintenance: During this phase, you can increase your carb intake by 10 grams a week (maxing out at an additional 100 grams per week) so that you can find your carb balance. This is the fine-tuning stage of the diet and it is important to make sure you are keeping an eye on your goal weight. If weight loss stalls, you should dial back your carb intake again. This phase has more relaxed dietary restrictions and you can start to eat beans, starchy vegetables, and grains.

Lifetime maintenance: Phase four should ideally last a lifetime and is all about having relatively few restrictions, but maintaining the tools to make healthy choices. If you begin to gain any weight, the company recommends reducing your carbohydrate intake by 10 grams at a time.

Though some people are drawn to the discipline and guidance that the Atkins diet offers, there is little evidence that Atkins is the best way to lose weight.

"Research shows that weight loss is typically achieved with calorie restriction, not specifically carbohydrate restriction," says Tony Castillo, RDN, and dietitian with Nutrition for Performance.

Based on a review, published in 2019 in the journal Nutrients, of studies exploring low-carb and low-fat diets related to weight loss, researchers report that there's not enough evidence to conclude that low-carb or low-fat diets are any better at helping people lose weight and keep it off than restricting calories.

And while low-carb diets like Atkins have been shown to help people lose weight faster, that's not the case long-term.

"Some research shows an increase in weight loss when a low carbohydrate diet is followed, after six months," says Castillo. "However, after one year on a low-carbohydrate diet, there is no difference in weight loss when compared to other calorie-restricted diets."

Castillo recommends proceeding with caution before trying to adopt a new diet like Atkins.

"Prior to starting any diet it is important to always consult with both a registered dietitian and your physician, as there may be certain instances where a low-carbohydrate diet may not be the right fit for you," he says.

For example, the diet would not work for, highly "active individuals since carbs are the main source of energy for the body," he says.

He adds that there are often unwelcome side effects. "Typically, low carbohydrate diets can cause you to feel weak, fatigued, constipated, dizzy or even cause headaches, which is why it is important to consult an expert prior."

According to Castillo, the most important factor to consider is that going on the Atkins diet may lead to a deficit in fiber and essential vitamins and minerals, so a comprehensive plan would ensure these nutritional needs are met.

Castillo's final opinion on Atkins is, "I believe in the long term Atkins is too restrictive."

Instead, he recommends, "a diet that won't cause nutritional deficiencies would include all types of foods," he says. Meaning, fresh, whole foods that can give you your daily value of essential nutrients including vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and protein that are important for good health.

Some diets that experts recommend for good health long-term include the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet.

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The Atkins diet is low-carb, but it's not the best way to lose weight - Insider - INSIDER