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Exercise Isn't Good for Weight Loss?

What if I were to tell you that exercise is fairly useless for losing weight?

Now before you accuse me of heresy, let me explain. There's no doubt that exercise is one of the best things in the world you can do for your health. It improves mood- in some studies as well as antidepressants- and it's great for your heart. Recent research shows that it even helps you grow new brain cells. And people who exercise on a regular basis have lower risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

But weight loss? Not so much.

Does that seem contrary to everything you've heard? Of course it does- but don't shoot the messenger.

Here's the truth: the exercise/ weight-loss equation is way more complicated than we've been led to believe.

Let's start with calories. Most people overestimate calories burned during exercise (by a long shot) just as they typically underestimate daily calorie consumption (ditto!) Forget what the computer readout on the Stairclimbers and treadmills at the gym say-- according to the Mayo Clinic, even high-impact aerobics only uses up about 511 calories an hour; walking at a pace of 3.5 mph barely uses 300. You can wipe that out with one medium meal at McDonalds--heck, you can wipe it out with a one big "low-fat" muffin from Starbucks!

Then there's the appetite factor. Exercise makes people hungry and people often compensate for exercise by eating more. I've seen people at the gym scarf down "energy" drinks that contain the calorie equivalent of two days worth of workouts.

Plus, there's good old garden-variety self-deception. Ever told yourself, "I can indulge with a Krispy Kreme today cause I just worked out"?. Sorry. That's like saying you saved some money by buying milk at Target so you might as well go to dinner at the Four Seasons. The math just doesn't work out.

Interestingly, the research is very clear that it's next to impossible to keep weight off unless you exercise regularly. But using exercise alone as a weight-loss strategy is- forgive the bad pun- an exercise in futility.

That's why the best trainers have a saying: "You can't out-train a bad diet".

Take Two Walks and Call Me in the Morning

It's no secret that many people don't exercise, even though they know they should. (Not you of course- but maybe someone you know.) Recent studies show that a written prescription for exercise from a doctor might just help motivate people to get off the couch and start moving!

Professor Miriam Morey led the most recent study on prescribing exercise, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. She focused on cancer survivors like Joe Collie, who had surgery for prostate cancer. "The operation was in July of '93, so it's been 16 years since I had that procedure," explains Collie.

Collie and more than 600 other cancer survivors went on diets and exercise programs tailored to their needs. They also spoke with counselors over the telephone on a regular basis.

After 12 months, researchers were surprised to find that those who participated in the diet and exercise program increased their physical activity, lost weight and reported less physical decline than those in a control group.

Professor Morey says the study's results should help change patient care. "We can deliver this intervention to your home. You don't have to go anywhere. You can be on a mountaintop living by yourself, or in another country, and we can deliver this intervention," she said.

Professor Loretta DiPietro heads George Washington University's Department of Exercise Science. She says she was not surprised by the results of Morey's study. "We've been working with physicians for years and years to get them to discuss exercise with their patients," DiPietro states.

She says it is easier to prevent disease with exercise than it is to use exercise as part of treatment after the illness is diagnosed.

"Exercise has its greatest benefits on the prevention end of the equation," PiPietro adds. "It's much more effective in preventing excessive weight gain or excessive rises in blood sugar and cholesterol."

But she also says different exercises can help people with different diseases. For example, people at risk for osteoporosis benefit from weight bearing exercise. People with high blood sugar benefit the most when they exercise after a meal.

And Professor Morey says her study proves that cancer survivors suffer less decline in mobility when they get exercise tailored to their needs.

Joe Collie sums it up like this: "You've got to be able to get up and move around."

Researchers are not only discovering which exercises are best, but how often, how intense and how much time per week exercises should be done to maximize the benefit.

But you don't have to wait while they figure out all the details, which would be like waiting for a study to show that water puts out fire.

Exercise is the single best predictor of good health outcomes that I know of. It almost doesn't matter what you do-- just do something. In my book, The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth I had to give "exercise" a special place simply because I was unable to find any "treatment" or "intervention" or "supplement" or "diet" that had as far-ranging and profound effects on human health and longevity.

Great if doctors start "prescribing" this info for their patients, just as other health professionals have been doing for decades.

Even better if we start listening to them!

Vitamins Harmful?

Many of you have written to me asking me to comment on a recent study that seemed to show that taking antioxidants prevents some of the health-promoting effects of physical exercise.

If you didn't read about the study, here's the New York Times article on it, which was one of the most e-mailed articles of the week.

Here's what happened: Michael Ristow, MD and his colleagues took 40 healthy young men, half of whom were known to be exercisers ("Previously trained") and half of whom were not ("Previously untrained"). Half of each group were randomly assigned to receive antioxidants-- 1000mg of vitamin C and 400 IUs of vitamin E--while the other half of each group received no supplementation.

All subjects then underwent a 4 week exercise training program.

What the researchers found was that taking the antioxidants seemed to prevent some of the benefits of exercise, regardless of whether the subjects were experienced exercisers or novices.

As you can imagine, this was disturbing.

But before you buy into the media headlines ("Vitamins Harmful!") let's look a little more closely at what happened.

We've known for a long time that exercise increases insulin sensitivity-- the ability of the cells to respond to insulin. When the cells are sensitive to insulin, they "open up their doors" and allow insulin to deposit sugar from the bloodstream into the cells where it can be used for energy. This is a good thing, and one of the many ways exercise benefits people. Insulin resistance- the opposite of insulin sensitivity- is when the cells kind of "lock their doors" and don't pay attention to insulin. When that happens, both sugar and insulin remain high in the bloodstream- a very bad situation and one which can lead to metabolic syndrome and diabetes. You don't want insulin resistance- you want insulin sensitivity.

The researchers in the study determined insulin sensitivity by using a measure called GIR (glucose infusion rate). They also measured a hormone called adiponectin, which helps make the body more sensitive to insulin.

Normally, when you exercise, both GIR and adiponectin would increase.

But for the folks taking the antioxidants, they did not.

In this study, GIR and adiponectin only increased in the group that did not take the antioxidants.

How and why might this be?

Dr. Ristow has a theory, and it goes something like this: When you exercise, you produce increased numbers of free radicals. (This is undisputed and well-known; exercisers consume a lot of oxygen, and free radicals come from oxygen.) But according to Dr. Ristow, these free radicals act something like a chicken pox vaccine- by introducing a small amount of a "poison" to the body, the body counters with defenses that have significant benefits to you. In other words, small amounts of a "bad" thing- like stress or free radicals- can actually stimulate defenses that wind up being protective and healthful. Ristow reasons that perhaps "disabling" these free radicals with antioxidants prevents the body from mounting its own defense operation.

Specifically, he suggests that perhaps the free radicals generated by exercise are required for the insulin-sensitizing capabilities of physical exercise in healthy humans. And that by "neutralizing" those radicals with antioxidants, we prevent that insulin-sensitizing response.

One reader of this newsletter- David Langford-- summed it up quite well: "Dr. Ristow believes that if you spare your body of the normal consequences for, say, a hard workout, then it won't respond as favorably, at least as far as glucose metabolism is concerned" he wrote me. "Ristow seems to be saying that if you stress your body to instruct it to respond, but then save it from the stressors, you've defeated something. You may improve your strength, your endurance, your health in many ways, but not your insulin resistance."

OK, maybe. But before you go throwing out your antioxidants, consider a few things:

1. This is a four week study of healthy young men who, presumably, were not insulin resistant in the first place.
   
2. The study didn't address the dozens of other benefits of exercise which presumably were unaffected by taking antioxidants (i.e. mood elevation, improved circulation, strengthening of the heart and bones and muscles)
   
3. While this study appears to be very well done, let's not forget the hundreds- if not thousands- of other studies on the beneficial effects of antioxidants on protecting cells and DNA.
   
4. The researchers admit that high intakes of fruits and vegetables- which have a ton of antioxidants in them- don't have any of the negative effects seen in this 4 week study.
   
5. The study does not discount the value of vitamins, nutrients and phytochemicals that can be helpful for a variety of health conditions, prevention of disease and maintenance of health.
   

While I'd hardly say this study is definitive, I admit it raises some very interesting questions about antioxidants and exercise that will almost definitely stimulate further research. It'll be interesting to see the comments of some of my respected colleagues as they analyze the data. You can be sure I'll report those comments to you as soon as they come in.

Got Stress

If you're alive and breathing right now, I probably don't have to tell you about stress.

This is probably one of the most stressful times in our history. And you can't afford to ignore the significant impact stress can have on your health.

I'm just completing my 2010 book on living well and long, and one thing I can tell you is that stress is the enemy of a long and healthy life. The major stress hormones- like cortisol and adrenaline- serve important purposes in our body. In fact, we couldn't live without them. Without the signals they send to our body, we wouldn't be able to respond to emergencies. The stress hormones make it possible to run from a bear or fight off a wildebeest; they alert us when the teenager who's texting in the next lane is about to swerve into our car; they serve as an early warning system for danger, and prepare our bodies to either fight off an enemy or to run the other way. They're integrally related to our survival.

But our stress hormones were never meant to be "turned on" 24/7. While they're perfect for a quick response to an emergency, they also take a huge toll on our bodies when they're locked into the "on" position all the time. Cortisol, for example, sends signals to the body to break down muscle and store fat around the middle. Cortisol also shrinks an important part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is essential for memory and thinking. Stress can depress your immune system, make recovery from illness longer and more difficult, and can aggravate symptoms of a wide range of diseases.

Probably the single most effective way to bring down stress hormones is to meditate. Even deep breathing exercises, such as the Relaxation Response pioneered by Herbert Benson, MD at Harvard, can make a huge difference in lowering your stress hormones. (I discuss the Relaxation Response and how to do it in both "The Most Effective Natural cures on Earth" and in my latest book, "The 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy".) A few carefully selected supplements may help as well.

One product recently introduced by Integrative Therapeutics is called Cortisol Manager, and it is an elegant formulation of herbs known to have stress reducing properties. Ashwaganda, for example, is known as a "vitalizer" or energizer for the body, and can be very helpful in fighting fatigue and exhaustion. Magnolia bark contains compounds that have demonstrated anti-anxiety properties, and L-theanine is the amino acid found in green tea that's known to be a great stress reliver.

One herb that has a terrific resume for stress is rhodiola rosea. A number of studies have demonstrated that rhodiola has an antifatigue effect, and it's also been shown to improve endurance exercise capacity. The prestigious (and conservative!) Physicans Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines says of rhodiola, "Most users find that it improves their mood, energy level and mental clarity". Rhodiola should be taken early in the day because it can interfere with sleep. Between 50-200 mg a day is recommended for clinical effectiveness.

Remember that stress eats up B vitamins and vitamin C. The adrenal glands require vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) to do their job properly, so if you're under a lot of continual stress, you may feel better by supplementing with extra B and also with vitamin C.

Why You Can't Lose Weight

WEB MD recently published a piece with the eye-catching title "Why You Can't Lose Weight". And indeed, a number of the reasons they listed were pretty interesting. In case you missed it, here's the executive summary:

1. Low resting metabolic rate combined with high metabolic efficiency. What this basically means is you "burn" fuel (calories) at a lower rate while resting, and are efficient at using calories while exercising (meaning it "costs" you fewer calories to run on a treadmill than your neighbor). According to Victoria Catenacci, MD, a University of Colorado researcher, this can account for up to 22 pounds of weight gain!
   


2. You are female. Because women have less muscle then men, they burn less calories (remember you burn calories in your muscle cells, not in your fat cells)


3. You experience hunger, satisfaction and stress differently than others. We're just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding this one, but It's pretty obvious that some people struggle with appetite and stress a lot more than others.


4. You don't like to exercise. This could be considered a big eye-rolling "duh", but some people seem to be genetically adapted to more activity than others. Mice that are bred for wheel running take to it like a surfer dude to the Malibu coastline. Others prefer the mouse equivalent of sunbathing.


5. Your mother ate a high-fat diet while pregnant. Emerging- and disturbing- research has been showing that what both your mother- and even your grandmother- ate may have an effect on you and your body weight.


6. What you ate as a toddler affects how easily you gain as an adult. This is one reason why people like me are so adamant about teaching parents how important it is to shape tastes and habits early on while you still have some control over things!

All this is fine and dandy, but I fear that a lot of people reading the WebMD piece might be forgiven for throwing up their hands and saying, "See, there's not much I can do about it! Let's go to McDonald's!"

The fact is that there's a ton of reasons why it's harder for some people than others. I say- who cares? The cards you're dealt are the cards you're dealt, but that's just the beginning of the game. It's how you play those cards that determines the result. Just ask any player on the World Poker Tour.

If you're one of the thousands- perhaps hundreds of thousands- of people for whom weight loss is difficult, I'd like to offer you a list of things you can actually do something about.

1. Eat less calories. Cutting portions by 1/4 - 1/3 is a great place to begin.


2. Don't believe the calorie counters on exercise machines. If they told you the truth about how many calories you're really burning, no one would buy them. You burn about 300 calories in a half hour of moderate to hard exercise no matter what the treadmill says.


3. Reduce carbs and sugar. You may be one of those people who "experience hunger and appetite" more acutely than most, but don't make matters worse by eating foods that produce their own cravings for more! It's pretty hard to overeat spinach and steak. Pasta and bread... not so much.


4. Exercise harder and smarter. Walking 30 minutes a day is an amazing strategy for extending life, but it won't cause you to lose weight. Begin interval training and up the ante.


5. Build muscle with weights. And women, listen up. You won't look like the cover of a muscle magazine just because you're pumping some iron. But you will build some calorie burning tissue that will help raise your metabolism, not to mention make you look better in a bathing suit!

And finally, if nothing "works", try focusing on health rather than just the scale. Studies show that you can be "fat and fit" and fit people who are overweight can live just as long and successfully as thin people who aren't fit. Just ask Steven Blair, PhD, Research Director at the Cooper Institute of Aerobics. Blair runs over 15 miles every week and is in the best shape of his life. But by his own admission, he happens to be fat.

He's also healthy as a horse.

FDA Warning about Tainted Weight Loss Products

A continuing investigation by the FDA has prompted consumer warnings and recalls by some distributors of dozens of so-called "weight loss supplements", many of them imported from China. According to the FDA- which I don't always agree with, but is on the money with this one- many of these supplements contain hidden and potentially harmful drugs. To which I would add- and most of them aren't even effective.

I was personally delighted to see "Star Caps" on the warning list. This overpriced, ridiculous product was aggressively marketed by one Nikki Haskel. Who is Nikki Haskel and what does she know about nutrition? Glad you asked. Back when I lived in NY, Nikki Haskell was an "in-crowd" wannabe, a perpetual hanger on at all the "in" clubs, and the host of a low-rent cable TV show where she interviewed B list celebrities and pretended to be part of the "in crowd". Next thing you know she turns up as a "diet guru" marketing a pill whose ingredients were basically papaya and garlic for 100 bucks a pop.

And people bought it- at least until recently, when it was revealed that Star Caps also contains a substance on the "banned" list of the NFL. But Star Caps isn't the only culprit. The FDA now lists 72 tainted weight-loss supplements. "A large percentage of these products either contain dangerous undeclared ingredients or they might be outright fraudulent on the ingredients and have no effect at all", said Michael Levy, the director of the FDA's division of New Drugs and Labeling Compliance.

Now I'm no fan of the FDA. But it's worth pointing out that many of the ingredients on their warning list do in fact have a lot of serious problems associated with them, including high blood pressure, tachycardia (rapid hearbeat), palpitations and even stroke.

One of the controlled substances found in many of the listed products is Sibutramine, the same ingredient in the prescription drug Meridia, only at an even higher dosage. Fenproporex, another controlled substance found in many of the products, can cause arrhythmia and possible sudden death.

Here is a partial list of the products on the FDA's list of "tainted" weight loss products:

• 3 Day Diet
• 7 Day Herbal Slim
• 21 Double Slim
• 24 Hours Diet
• Fatloss Slimming
• Perfect Slim
• Royal Slimming Formula
• Slim 3 in 1 Extra Slim Formula
• Starcaps
• Super Fat Burner

There's nothing wrong with using products to help with weight loss- particularly safe, effective products like Green Tea Extract, Super Citrimax, CLA-Tonalin and the like.

But they're not magic.

Used in conjunction with a lower calorie, low-carb diet and a sensible exercise program, they can give you an edge.

Best of all, they're completely safe. And- unlike Star Caps and others like it- they don't cost a fortune, promise the moon and deliver substances that may seriously harm your health.

The Problem With Cardio Training

We all know cardio training is great for the heart.

But for weight loss... maybe not so much.

As my friend Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS says, "Cardio exercise is such a strange thing. In theory, it should work perfectly well for all men and women, but as anyone who has tried it knows, the practicality of it just doesn't add up".

A recent study in the International Journal of Obesity illustrates the point perfectly.

The researchers had people exercise 5 times a week for 3 months. The average weight loss was a respectable 8.2 pounds. So far so good.

But when the researchers looked at the actual individuals in the study, a different picture emerged.

The best subject lost an amazing 32 pounds! The worst one actually gained almost 4. The individual variance was enormous. In other words, it was good for some people.. for others, not so much.

The researchers think they know why. They classified the exercisers into two groups which they named "compensators" and "non-compensators".

The compensators got hungry as a result of their exercise and consumed a whopping 268 additional calories a day, thereby basically wiping out their exercise efforts at least as far as weight loss was concerned.

The compensators- not surprisingly- lost the least amount of weight.

"If your cardio program is not working for you, check your appetite and calorie intake to see if you are "compensating" for your efforts', suggests Ballantyne.

And if you are, you might be better off with a high-intensity interval program!

Sleep Yourself Younger in Eight Easy Steps

Sleep is the 6^th Pillar of Youngevity. Deep in our DNA we're programmed to respond to cues of light and darkness that--- when properly understood and acted upon--- can add years to your life and significantly improve your health. Here are eight suggestions for better sleep from The 7 Pillars of Youngevity (now just $129 $99)

Go to bed an hour early. You really can't change your sleep habits by staying in bed later in the morning. It works much better if you actually go to bed an hour earlier.

Try taking a nap. Many famous figures in history- Winston Churchill among them- found naps very refreshing and very rejuvenating. You might, too.

Try melatonin. It's a terrific supplement and it's not just for jet lag. I talk about it both in my book, The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth, and also in The 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy. It may help you fall asleep and it seems to have other health benefits as well.

Exercise early. If you exercise late at night it keeps you up. If you exercise earlier in the day it's much more likely to get you back on that track of the natural rhythm of activity and rest I talk about in The Seven Pillars of Youngevity.

Cut back on caffeine. That sounds like a no-brainer. I'm not anti-coffee at all but let's remember that it stays in your system a lot longer than you might think it does. Cut it out after 4:00 PM. Have the coffee that you want to have, but stop drinking it around 4:00 PM. It makes a big difference in your ability to sleep.

Set your internal clock. Get on a schedule. A lot of people don't like schedules, but your body actually disagrees with you. It actually loves that regularity. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, even on the weekends. Sticking to a sleep schedule, preferably one that actually allows you eight hours of sleep, seven to nine hours of sleep, will get you back in the rhythm of your internal clock and make a huge difference in your daytime energy.

Turn off the TV. Have you ever fallen asleep with the TV on? All of a sudden you've got dreams of infomercials and thigh masters and they're mixing in with your sleep because your half-hearing them. You absorb that stuff. You hear that stuff. That interrupts your sleeping. It interferes with REM sleep. It creates dreams that are disruptive and unpleasant. You really don't need that as a sound track to your life. Get the TV out of the bedroom, as a matter of fact. It will help your sex life, too. That's a promise.

Don't make the bedroom a second office. You're not Hugh Hefner. Your bedroom isn't your office. It just doesn't work that way. You don't need a computer in there. You don't need a Blackberry. You really don't need a TV. Try to make the environment more conducive to the real purpose of the bedroom; sleep, lovemaking, but definitely not working. The bedroom should not be a place to worry.

The Seven Pillars of Youngevity reveals a lot more about the nature of sleep and its relationship to long life.

It includes 6 fantastic Free gifts (like Free Shipping) and I've recently slashed $30 off the price!

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Confessions of a Fat Runner

For years people have been asking the question "What's more important for weight loss- exercise or diet?"

A recent article in Newsweek should go a long way towards shedding some light on the issue, and makes a point I've been hammering away at for over a decade.

The article, "Confessions of a Fat Runner" is by a woman named Jennifer Graham. Graham runs over 10 miles a week and has been doing it for 20 years.

You'd think she'd be thin, right?

Wrong.

She's a healthy size 14. Defying the laws of science, she says, "my body doesn't look much different even though I've run at least 10,000 miles".

Her conclusion is this: "Without a significant reduction in ice cream (a sacrifice I'm unwilling to make), running won't make you thin".
Amen. Does this mean you shouldn't run or walk, or play tennis, or Spin, or take Pilates or lift weights? Of course not. All these things are great for your heart, your muscles and your health.

But without a change in diet, they won't cause you to lose weight.

You'd have to exercise like Michael Phelps to burn up the calories most people consume with one typical meal at the Olive Garden. (And I don't mean to pick on the Olive Garden. The same could be said of the meals at most restaurants in America, and virtually all typical meals at a fast food place.)

And though you may think you're burning off all those extra calories with exercise, the sad truth is most people greatly overestimate how many calories they burn and greatly underestimate how many they eat.

Exercise alone- as Jennifer Graham has found out- is not the magic formula for weight loss.

Exercise and diet is.

7 Simple Ways to Look Better Fast!

All kinds of foods can make feel bloated and look a lot heavier than you really are. Here are 7 Simple Ways to look Better Fast, courtesy of my friend JJ Virgin, PhD. For those of you who don't know JJ, she's was formerly the nutritionist for the Dr. Phil weight-loss challenge. She's also the author of "The Art of Losing It". Enjoy!

1. Sip on green tea (unsweetened) throughout the day. The mild caffeine has as diuretic effect, the theanine is great for your mood, and the antioxidants can help reduce inflammation and slow down the aging process.



2. Have 1-2 servings of melon (honeydew, cantaloupe, canary, Tuscan...) per day. These fruits are natural diuretics as well.



3. Load up on green veggies that are specifically known for their diuretic effects -- asparagus, celery, watercress and cucumber.



4. Sweat. Get in the sauna for 30 minutes-be , and be sure you are rehydrating with plenty of pure spring water too. (Jonny's Note: I love my far infrared sauna.)



5. Double your bursts and add cardio recovery. For each 30 second all out burst you do, add 1 minute of active recovery and keep moving for 8-12 minutes total of bursting. And yes, you should be wiped out by the end.... You can divide this into 2 or 3 sessions as well. An example of this would be to get on a stationary bike and pedal at 70 rpm and low resistance for 60 seconds, then crank up the resistance, stand up and pedal at 100+ rpm for 30 seconds, alternate between the 70 rpm active recovery and the 100+ bursting. You can, of course, do this with any type of exercise. (Jonny's Note: A great way to do this in a few minutes a day is with the Xiser.)



6. Take 1000-2000 mg of taurine 50-100 mg of B6. Both of these nutrients have been shown to help with fluid balance. (Jonny's Note: Water Ease is the perfect blend of 900 mg of taurine together with 50 mg of B6.)



7. Pull the Hollywood cheat. Invest in some slimming SPANX hosiery or tights!

A Weight Loss Strategy That Really Works!

Are you one of those people who's been told that "diets don't work" and that "95% of people who lose weight gain it all back"?

If so, you're not being told the whole truth.

Fact is, the word "diet" comes from the Greek word meaning "a way of life"-- and if you indeed change your way of life, diets work just fine. For example: The National Weight Control Registry tracks thousands of people who have successfully lost at least 30 pounds and kept if off for a year. The average member of the Registry has done way better than that- 60 pounds average weight loss, kept off for five years.

Hardly sounds like failure to me.

What we've learned over all these years is that there are certain habits and behaviors that predict success in the weight loss arena. And one of the best is keeping a food diary.

You've probably heard about food diaries a million times, since every nutritionist I know pushes them. And let's face it, people hate them. A food diary causes you to be aware of everything you eat, something many people- myself included- would prefer not to do. It's a pain in the neck. And it's uncomfortable.

But it works.

New research backs this up. A recent study from the Center for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Northwest attempted to identify what weight loss strategies work and what behaviors are associated with successful weight loss. At the top of the list was keeping a food diary. In fact, keeping a food diary was such a powerful strategy that those in the study who kept food diaries lost twice as much weight as those who didn't.

Hey, if there was an infomercial selling a pill that actually produced 100% more weight loss in those who took it, the operators "standing by" wouldn't be able to keep up with the calls.

In the Kaiser study, researchers enrolled 1685 overweight or obese adults and offered 20 group weight-loss sessions over the course of 6 months. During that time, participants were also given instructions on the right number of calories for their target weight as well as how to follow a basic diet low in sodium, and high in fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy. They were also encouraged to complete 180 minutes a week of moderate exercise, and, of course, to keep a food diary.

At the end of the 6 months, 70% of the participants had lost at least 8.8 pounds, an amount considered to be clinically significant- (8.8 pounds or more of weight loss has been shown in other research to lower blood pressure). And the average amount of weight lost in the study was even better- about 13 pounds!

A successful food diary is about more than just writing down what you eat. The participants were encouraged to measure as much as possible (using simple things like teaspoons and cups) and to approximate calories based on a calorie book or info available on the web. This calorie-estimating was an important part of the success of the program. (Note: it's not nearly as hard as you might think since most of us eat the same dozen foods over and over again.)

Other behaviors that predicted weight loss success were attending the group meetings and number of minutes of exercise a week.

Bottom line: losing weight may be a challenge, but it's very far from impossible. An old saying around 12 step programs is "learn from the winners"- in other words look at what people who are already successful at what you're trying to do and then copy what they're doing!

There's a strategy that works well in all areas of life, and definitely in the weight loss arena.

Look Younger, Feel Happier, and Be More Productive in 2009

It's a new year, and there's an awful lot of change in the air. Most of it is going to wind up being for the good, I'm sure of that. And if weight loss has been on your "to do" list for as long as you can remember, why not make this the year you really make "change" a true part of your life?

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my Diet Boot Camp program. Though many of you know about it- and have done it (and have written me wonderful letters about the difference it's made in your lives) many of you are new to my newsletter and may not know what "Diet Boot Camp" is about.

The Diet Boot Camp program is the closest thing to having me as your own personal coach:

• Imagine having me by your side at the grocery store to help you know what to get and what to avoid.


• What if I could stand in your kitchen and show you how to throw together quick and healthy meals?


• How much easier would it be if I was there at the gym with you, showing you what to do next?


• Could you hang in there a little longer if I was encouraging you every step of the way?

Diet Boot Camp is the next closest thing to having me show up at your front door for an eight week visit!

This empowering home study course is 13 years in the making and is based on my personal coaching program. It's a comprehensive plan for life change, not just weight. It's filled with specific information about which foods to eat and which to avoid, a step by step and week-by-week exercise program, and motivational nourishment that can help you break through your barriers and achieve more than you ever thought possible.

This is the perfect time to try Diet Boot Camp. I've bundled it with over $100 in free bonuses (which includes free UPS shipping). If you try Diet Boot Camp for 90 days and decide it didn't meet your expectations then I'll refund 100% of your money (but you can still keep the bonuses).

Learn more about Diet Boot Camp»

Top Fitness Trends for 2009

According to the American Council on Exercise, the overarching theme for fitness in 2009 is "getting more bang for the buck."

ACE's Chief Science Officer Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, said, "Consumers will engage in workouts that provide multiple benefits due to time and economic limitations. We will also see continued trends from 2008 including boot-camp style workouts, technology-based workouts, out-of-the-box programming, and an increased interest in fitness for those who are over 50 years old."

Here's ACE's top trend rundown:

1. Boot camp-style fitness programs.


2. Membership plans that are less expensive.


3. Specialty classes like Zumba, Bollywood, Afro-Cuban, and ballroom dancing. These classes are set to rhythmic music and aim to increase cardiovascular fitness while folks have fun.


4. The basics. Fitness professionals believe that people will want to return to basic fitness programs.


5. Circuit training. Circuit training blends strength training and cardiovascular activity at different intensities. Another plus: gyms can set up their own circuit for members to follow.


6. Kettlebell training. These iron weights, traditionally used in Russia, aim to develop whole body fitness and core strength.


7. Boomer fitness. A focus on fitness led by people 50 and older.
   
8. Technology-based fitness. Using high-tech gadgets like iPods to help keep workouts engaging, plus an increase in interactive fitness video games.


9. Event or sports-specific exercises. A focus on the simple things, like basketball or volleyball games, or day bike rides.


10. Mixing it up. Low-intensity cardio or weight training on one day, followed by a high-intensity workout on another day.

I think all this stuff is fine, but I still maintain that the best workout in the world is the one you actually do. Don't get caught up on one thing being "better" than another- just get moving and do something. You can get an awful lot accomplished from a health point of view with just a half hour of intense circuit training or interval training.

And if you couple that with diet, you'll not only get the health benefits, you'll see your waistline shrink as well.

Exercise for weight loss? Yes and no..

Exercise alone rarely helps people lose much weight.

This politically incorrect truth makes a lot of people very unhappy, but that doesn't mean it's not so.

Does that mean you shouldn't exercise? Hardly.

Exercise does three things that are absolutely vital to your health.

1) It completely, demonstrably, statistically, provably lowers your risk of dying from all causes including but not limited to heart disease- and as a bonus, may lower your risk for dementia and Alzheimers.

2) It insures that you will keep weight off once you lose it. Maintaining weight loss without exercise is virtually impossible- shown in study after study.

3) It has a profound effect on mood and well-being.

So it's not that exercise isn't important for weight loss- it's just that it's usually not enough by itself. It's also becoming increasingly clear that there are some people for whom a simple (dare I say simplistic) recommendation of diet and exercise alone may not be enough for weight loss, but that's a subject for another day.

Meanwhile, how do you stay "motivated" if you're exercising and not seeing an immediate fall in weight?

My good friend Gina Lombardi has written a terrific article on MSN on five alternative ways to measure progress (besides using the scale). The techniques are smart, easy, and highly motivating.

If you want the executive summary, it's this:

1. Measure your body fat

2. Keep a log (Gina explains how to do this in the article)

3. Use a pedometer (ditto)

4. Check and evaluate your sleep (is it better than it used to be?)

5. Use a heart rate monitor

I'll write more about the relationship between exercise and fitness (and about "smart exercising" in general) in the coming year.