Dr. Jonny Bowden

Category: Weight-Loss

  • Interval Training Better for Weight Loss Than Conventional Cardio

    Dr. Al Sears. Sears—a medical doctor, nutritionist and leading thinker in the field of integrative health—believes everything we think we know about cardio is just about 100 percent incorrect.

    Sears believes that the key to effective exercise for weight loss and overall health is not duration but intensity. He thinks the long slow constant speed aerobics that we’ve all been trained to believe is so good for us is exactly the wrong thing for us to be doing.

    “After 30 years of working with extremely fit athletes, patients with failed, diseased or injured hearts and average people in between, one thing is apparent: doing continuous cardio exercise is a waste of time”, he says.

    For many people in the exercise community those are fighting words. But Sears backs them up with some strong scientific arguments. “(Long slow constant cardio) just doesn’t build what your heart needs”, Sears says. “It doesn’t increase your heart’s ability to respond to real demands. In fact, for all your effort, you only reduce your ability to handle life’s stressful circumstances—the last thing you want!”

    Sears points to the Harvard Health Professionals Study which followed over 7,000 people and found that the key to exercise is not length nor endurance but intensity. According to that highly regarded study, the more intense the exertion, the lower the risk of heart disease. “When you exercise for long periods at a low to medium intensity, you train your heart and lungs to get smaller in order to conserve energy and increase efficiency at low intensity”, says Sears. “Intensity is the key”.

    Sears is one of the most outspoken critics of long slow aerobics, but he is hardly the only one. There has been quite  a lot of research in the last few years showing the clear advantage of interval training (which is by definition high intensity) over long slow aerobics, not only from the point of view of health measures (like VO2 max) but also in terms of fat loss.

    And most exercise physiologists I talk to at conferences now believe that interval training is a far more effective for weight loss than an hour on the treadmill.

    Sears himself has designed a terrific (and short!) interval training program that we recommend for the exercise portion of our own Diet Boot Camp program. It’s called PACE.

    PACE stands for Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion, but don’t let the long words scare you. It’s basically interval training, and from everything I hear from clients who are using it, it’s phenomenally effective.

    Oh, and one more thing.. it only takes 12 minutes a day!

    In his excellent book, “PACE: The 12-minute Fitness Revolution” Sears outlines three basic interval training programs and tells you how to customize them for your own needs. Here’s Basic PACE Workout number 1:

    Warm-Up: 2 minutes

    SET ONE

    • Exertion: 4 minutes
    • Recovery: X minutes

    SET TWO:

    • Exertion: 3 minutes
    • Recovery: X minutes

    SET THREE

    • Exertion: 2 minutes
    • Recovery: X minutes

    SET FOUR

    • Exertion: 1 minute
    • Recovery: DONE

    Note that this repeating pattern—exertion recovery—is at the core of every interval training program on the planet. The idea is you work really hard for a short period (in some programs only 30 seconds) then you do what’s called “active rest” or “recovery”—you’re still moving, but you work at a much lower intensity while your heart rate slows back down a bit. Then you do it all again.

    The idea then is to alternate periods of hard exercise with periods of not-so-hard exercise. So for example, if you’re used to running at a “5” on the treadmill, for the “exertion” period you might run at a “7” for 30 seconds, then at a “4” (recovery) for a minute and a half. Then you’d repeat.

    The reason the “Recovery” period is defined by X minutes in the PACE program is that how long you need to recover depends on your level of fitness.

    In any interval program you can increase the intensity in a number of ways:

    1. You can increase the difficulty of  the “exertion period”, either by going longer (like 4 minutes in the PACE program) or working at a harder intensity (running at a “9” instead of a “7”)
    2. You can reduce the number of minutes between exertion periods (the “recovery” period
    3. You can increase the number of “sets” (exertion/ recovery)

    In much the same way, you can make the program easier by extending the recovery period or making the exertion period less of an exertion (running at a “6” instead of a “7”, etc.)

    I’ve been recommending interval training for a long time. You can do intervals walking, running, swimming, jumping rope or using machines.

    Try it on for size and see what you think. And once you do, I’d love to hear what you thought about it.

    This kind of training is a way more effective (and streamlined) way to work out, and, coupled with strength training, will give you far better results in far less time than conventional long, slow aerobics.

     

     

  • Lighten Up to Lose Weight!

    Lighten Up to Lose Weight!

    guest article by Craig Weatherby

    Rather than self-esteem, “self-compassion” may enhance health and ability to limit food intake.
    We were intrigued by the implications of a new body of research summarized by New York Times health correspondent Tara Parker-Pope in her “Well” blog.

    As she wrote, “… giving ourselves a break and accepting our imperfections may be the first step toward better health … self-compassion can even influence how much we eat …”

    Her article focused on research by Kristin Neff, Ph.D., of the University of Texas, and summarized a controlled trial from Wake Forest University, which found that planting self-forgiving notions in the minds of female college students reduced their junk-food consumption.

    Prompted by Parker-Pope’s blog post, we searched the literature, and uncovered additional relevant research published four years ago by Duke University researchers (Leary MR et al. 2007).

    The Duke team investigated the thinking and emotional processes by which people with self-compassionate attitudes deal with unpleasant life events.

    (The term “self-compassion” refers to people who forgive their own shortcomings, and tend not to beat up on themselves.)

    The five Duke studies grouped participants’ according to their attitudes toward themselves, then evaluated their behavior in various contexts:

    • Reports on negative events in their daily lives
    • Responses to hypothetical scenarios
    • Reactions to interpersonal feedback
    • Rating their or others’ videotaped performances in an awkward situation
    • Reflecting on negative personal experiences

    The results showed that people with self-compassionate attitudes had resilient reactions to negative events that buffered them against negative self-feelings when imagining distressing social events.

    When notions of self-compassion were planted in the minds of participants who ranked low in self-esteem, this intervention seemed to moderate negative emotions in response to ambivalent feedback from other people.

    People who ranked low in self-compassion undervalued their videotaped performances, compared with the perceptions of those performances by objective observers.

    Finally, when people were unknowingly nudged toward having a more self-compassionate perspective, they were more likely to acknowledge their role in negative events without feeling overwhelmed with negative emotions.

    The Duke team concluded that feeling kindly toward yourself is more psychologically beneficial than holding yourself in high regard:

    “In general, these studies suggest that self-compassion attenuates people’s reactions to negative events in ways that are distinct from and, in some cases, more beneficial than self-esteem.”

     

     

  • Why I Don’t Believe in “Cheat Day”

    There’s a ton of diet programs that suggest you take one day “off” from your diet program- a “Cheat Day”– when you can eat whatever you like.

    I can’t count the number of personal trainers I’ve worked with who advocate this– it’s even a hallmark of the new best-selling book “The 4-Hour Body”.

    It sounds good in theory. After all, you’re “deprived” all week, and if you know you can satisfy that gnawing urge for a Krispy Kreme on Sunday, it may make it easier to “stick with it” the rest of the week, knowing that relief is only a few days away.

    Oh, that it were so simple.

    If you’re perfectly healthy (metabolically speaking) and you simply put on weight because you eat a bit too many desserts, then allowing yourself a “treat” or two one day a week is probably not going to kill you and may- as the theory suggests- even make you more motivated to stick with the program the rest of the time.

    And that’s fine if you’re one of those folks who can take a bite of chocolate and put the rest away “for later”.

    I’m not one of those people. Maybe you’re not either. To me, the portion of ice cream is finished when the spoon hits the bottom of the carton.

    I’m hardly alone. Many people- if not most- who struggle with weight year after year know exactly what I’m talking about. For us, “having a little” is like telling an alcoholic to drink moderately. And- to keep the analogy going- cheat day would be like telling that same alcoholic to go ahead and get wasted one day a week.

    So that’s the first reason I’m not a fan of cheat day. It simply doesn’t work for a lot of people for whom certain foods are addictive. It whets the appetite for more, starts the whole craving cycle going again, and generally ends in disaster.

    But there’s another reason I don’t like the concept of “cheat day”, and it has to do with metabolism.

    As much as 25% of the population by conservative estimates have a condition known as insulin resistance which is at the root of both type ll diabetes as well as metabolic syndrome (a kind of pre-diabetes). These folks simply don’t process carbs well. Their blood sugar goes up too high when they eat them, and the pancreas oversecretes insulin—the fat storage hormone- in response to the increased levels of blood sugar. Low-carb diets correct this within a few days. One big “cheat day” will undo that good faster than you can say “supersize me”.

    And- as many people know all too well—a “cheat meal” can easily turn into a binge.

    And that ain’t good.

    Some recent research seems to support the idea that a period of overeating can have some serious negative consequences. In a study published in Nutrition and Metabolism, 18 subjects were specifically told to consume way more calories than usual for four weeks, mostly from fast food. The researchers wanted to find out what effect (if any) such overeating would have on long-term body composition.

    During the four-week intervention, folks gained weight (no big surprise). Six months later, they had lost about 50% of the weight gain. But a full year afterwards weight was creeping back up again. Measurements of body composition showed that the subjects had the same muscle mass (lean body weight) but that their fat mass had increased.

    The scariest part is that after 2.5 years the increase in body weight of the subjects had gone up even further, compared to a control group who did not participate in the “overfeeding” part of the experiment. According to an interview given to WebMD by the lead researcher, Asa Emersson, a PhD candidate at Linkoping University in Sweden, the average weight at the beginning of the study was 149 pounds and rose to 160 after 2.5 years. Not only that but the increase in body fat was larger than predicted.

    “Based on this, it can be recommended to avoid very high food intake that may occur during shorter periods”, Emersson told WebMD.

    Now none of this means you can’t have an occasional dessert if you’re trying to lose weight. Nor does it mean you should swear off “recreational food” forever.

    But in my opinion there are three very good reasons not to program regular departures from healthy eating into your weight loss program.

    One, it can undo a lot of good in a very quick period of time.

    Two, it can stir up the cravings you’ve tried hard to tame. (Think having just one cigarette after you quit for a week. Bye bye “non-smoker”.)

    Three, it can lead to long-term consequences if you overdo it.

    Four, telling an addict to have “just a little” is like telling someone who’s allergic to peanuts to “just eat a few”. It doesn’t work. (See cigarette example, above.)

    Of course if you’re one of those lucky people who truly understands the word “moderation” and can put the rest of that ice cream back in the freezer after you’ve had your half-cup portion, then you can disregard my warnings.

    If you’re not, maybe you should rethink the “cheat day” concept.

  • A Reversal On Carbs!

    This article has been adapted and condensed for this newsletter from a superb article by Marni Jameson which originally appeared in the LA Times.

    Fat was once the devil. Now more nutritionists are pointing accusingly at sugar and refined grains.

    Most people can count calories. Many have a clue about where fat lurks in their diets. However, fewer give carbohydrates much thought, or know why they should.

    But a growing number of top nutritional scientists blame excessive carbs — not fat — for America’s ills. They say cutting carbs is the key to reversing obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

    “Fat is not the problem,” says Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. “If Americans could eliminate sugary beverages, potatoes, white bread, pasta, white rice and sugary snacks, we would wipe out almost all the problems we have with weight and diabetes and other metabolic diseases.”

    It’s a confusing message. For years we’ve been fed the line that eating fat would make us fat and lead to chronic illnesses. “Dietary fat used to be public enemy No. 1,” says Dr. Edward Saltzman, associate professor of nutrition and medicine at Tufts University. “Now a growing and convincing body of science is pointing the finger at carbs, especially those containing refined flour and sugar.”

    Consumption of carbohydrates has increased over the years with the help of a 30-year-old, government-mandated message to cut fat.  And the nation’s levels of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease have risen.

    “The country’s big low-fat message backfired,” says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. “The overemphasis on reducing fat caused the consumption of carbohydrates and sugar in our diets to soar. That shift may be linked to the biggest health problems in America today.

    “(O)ver time, as our bodies get tired of processing high loads of carbs, which evolution didn’t prepare us for … how the body responds to (carbohydrates)  can change,”  says Dr. Stephen Phinney, a nutritional biochemist and an emeritus professor of UC Davis who has studied carbohydrates for 30 years.

    When cells become more resistant to those insulin instructions, the pancreas needs to make more insulin to push the same amount of glucose into cells. As people become insulin resistant, carbs become a bigger challenge for the body. When the pancreas gets exhausted and can’t produce enough insulin to keep up with the glucose in the blood, diabetes develops.

    In a 12-week study published in 2008, Phinney and his colleagues put 40 overweight or obese men and women with metabolic syndrome on a 1,500-calorie diet. Half went on a low-fat, high-carb diet. The others went on a low-carb, high-fat diet. The low-fat group consumed 12 grams of saturated fat a day out of a total of 40 grams of fat, while the low-carb group ate 36 grams of saturated fat a day — three times more — out of a total of 100 grams of fat.

    Despite all the extra saturated fat the low-carb group was getting, at the end of the 12 weeks, levels of triglycerides (which are risk factors for heart disease) had dropped by 50% in this group. Levels of good HDL cholesterol increased by 15%.

    In the low-fat, high-carb group, triglycerides dropped only 20% and there was no change in HDL.

    The take-home message from this study and others like it is that — contrary to what many expect — dietary fat intake is not directly related to blood fat. Rather, the amount of carbohydrates in the diet appears to be a potent contributor.

    “The good news,” adds Willett, “is that based on what we know, almost everyone can avoid Type 2 diabetes. Avoiding unhealthy carbohydrates is an important part of that solution.” For those who are newly diagnosed, he adds, a low-carb diet can take the load off the pancreas before it gets too damaged and improve the condition — reducing or averting the need for insulin or other diabetes meds.

    Americans can also blame high-carb diets for why the population has gotten fatter over the last 30 years, says Phinney, who is co-author of “The New Atkins for a New You” (Simon & Schuster, 2010).

    “Carbohydrates are a metabolic bully,” Phinney says. “They cut in front of fat as a fuel source and insist on being burned first. What isn’t burned gets stored as fat, and doesn’t come out of storage as long as carbs are available. And in the average American diet, they always are.”

    “At my obesity clinic, my default diet for treating obesity, Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome is a low-carb diet,” says Dr. Eric Westman, director of the Lifestyle Medicine Clinic at Duke University Medical Center. “If you take carbohydrates away, all these things get better.”

    As nutrition scientists try to find the ideal for the future, others look to history and evolution for answers. One way to put our diet in perspective is to imagine the face of a clock with 24 hours on it. Each hour represents 100,000 years that humans have been on the Earth.

    On this clock, the advent of agriculture and refined grains would have appeared at about 11:54 p.m. (23 hours and 54 minutes into the day). Before that, humans were hunters and gatherers, eating animals and plants off the land. Agriculture allowed for the mass production of crops such as wheat and corn, and refineries transformed whole grains into refined flour and created processed sugar.

    Some, like Phinney, would argue that we haven’t evolved to adapt to a diet of refined foods and mass agriculture — and that maybe we shouldn’t try.

  • Fructose Turns to Fat Faster Than Any Other Sugar

    Pretty much everyone is aware of the fact that high-fructose corn syrup is bad news. But not everyone really understands why.

    The politically incorrect truth is that high-fructose corn syrup is only marginally worse than regular sugar, a fact that the corn growers association has repeatedly hammered home in their PR efforts to get you to think of high-fructose corn syrup as a relatively benign substance (it’s not). Once you understand what fructose does in the body, you’ll understand that whether it comes from HFCS or regular sugar, it’s still one of the worst things you can ingest. Here’s why:

    Ordinary table sugar (technically called sucrose) is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. (High-fructose corn syrup is 45% glucose and 55% fructose, not an enormous difference.) But the “bad” part of either substance is the fructose part.

    Fructose also turns to fat much more easily than other sugars, a fact demonstrated by recent research from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Researcher fed healthy people breakfast drinks containing three different “sugar combinations” followed by a carefully controlled lunch. They did this over several weeks. In one test, the breakfast drink contained 100% glucose; in another the drink was half glucose, half fructose (which is what you’d find in ordinary sugar). In the third condition, the subjects got a drink that was 25% glucose and 75% fructose.

    The researchers were interested in two things, both of which should interest you. One, they wanted to measure how fast the sugars in the drink turned to fat in the liver. Two, they wanted to see how that morning sugar-meal influenced how people metabolized foods eaten later in the day (for example, lunch).

    The findings were disturbing. For one thing, the researchers found that fructose got “made” into fat way more quickly than other sugars. And for the second thing, they found that when fructose was eaten with fat (for example in any junk food snack you can name) the fat was much more likely to be stored rather than burned.

    “Our study shows for the first time the surprising speed with which humans make body fat from fructose”, said lead researcher Elizabeth Parks, PhD.

    So what about fruit?

    Good question. Some low-carb proponents point out that people with weight problems caused by insulin resistance may be sensitive to even the relatively small amount of fructose found in fruit, and therefore suggest limiting fruit in the diet, if not cutting it out completely.

    But remember that the fructose in fruit is relatively small compared to the amount found in any sweetened processed food. Fruit also comes with fiber and nutrients. The breakfast drinks served in the study had as much as 65 grams of fructose. (An apple has about 11 and a cup of strawberries only 4.)

    (On Diet Boot Camp we allow a small amount of fruit during the two week period after prep week. For most people this doesn’t present a problem.)

    The damage done by fructose isn’t limited to weight gain. Recent research from the Journal of the American Society Nephrology shows that people who eat a diet high in fructose in the form of added sugar (of any kind) are at increased risk of developing high blood pressure.

    The researchers found that people who consumed a diet of 74 grams or more per day of fructose (corresponding to 2.5 sugary soft drinks per day) had a 26%, 30%, and 77% higher risk for blood pressure levels of 135/85, 140/90, and 160/100 mmHg, respectively. (A normal blood pressure reading is below 120/80 mmHg.)

    Fructose also causes insulin resistance, a key factor in both diabetes and metabolic syndrome, both of which increase the risk for heart disease.

    So whether it comes from high fructose corn syrup, plain old sugar, or—I’m sorry to say—agave nectar (which can be as high as 90% fructose, dwarfing even the amount found in HFCS), fructose is bad news.

    Limiting your intake of fructose to it’s original source- fruit—and eliminating the rest of it from your diet as much as possible may just be one of the best health decisions you can make.

  • Using Guided Imagery as a Weight Loss Tool

    Using Guided Imagery as a Weight Loss Tool

    Guided imagery is a program of directed thoughts and suggestions. It’s a way to help you harness the power of your subconscious mind.

    And it’s an incredibly effective tool for weight loss.

    Here’s how it works: You listen to the gentle instructions and allow your imagination to take you to a relaxed and focused state. This can be done in person with an instructor, or, more commonly, with a taped audio program which can help guide you through the process. (The six Guided Imagery mp3’s are the latest addition to the all-new 2011 version of Diet Boot Camp.)

    Generally, guided imagery has a specific purpose—such as helping you stop smoking, or helping you lose weight. (It’s particularly helpful with both of these challenges.)

    The concept behind guided imagery is that your body and mind are ultimately and powerfully connected. It’s also based on the well-documented fact that what we imagine appears “real” to the brain, and sends important (subconscious) messages that help us put what we visualize into practice.

    Our bodies often respond to what we imagine as if what we are seeing in our minds eye is completely real. Here’s an example:  Imagine an orange or a lemon in great detail-the smell, the color, the texture of the peel. Continue to imagine the smell of the lemon, and then see yourself taking a bite of the lemon and feel the juice squirting into your mouth. (Many people salivate when they do this.)

    This exercise demonstrates how your body can respond to what you are imagining.

    You can achieve a relaxed state when you imagine all the details of a safe, comfortable place, such as a beach or a garden. This relaxed state may aid healing, learning, creativity, and performance. It may help you feel more in control of your emotions and thought processes, which may improve your attitude, health, and sense of well-being.

    What is guided imagery used for?

    You can use guided imagery to promote relaxation, which can lower blood pressure and reduce other problems related to stress. But you can also use it to help reach goals (such as weight loss or quitting smoking), manage pain, and promote healing. Using guided imagery can even help you to prepare for an athletic event or for public speaking.

    Is guided imagery safe?

    There is nothing safer than guided imagery. It has no known risks.

    Guided imagery is most effective when the person teaching it has training in guided imagery techniques. (The new guided imagery audio mp3’s for Diet Boot Camp 2011 were designed by Anja Christy, one of the top weight loss coaches in the country and a certified Guided Imagery Practitioner.)

    Remember the old saying, “Seeing is believing”? You can use guided imagery to “see” yourself in a desired state (like being at your perfect weight) or to “see” yourself doing things (like public speaking). The message sent to your subconscious is very clear: “She can DO this!”

    Why not harness the enormous power of your subconscious mind to help you achieve your goals this year? Remember, in weight loss- as in everything else- your brain is your greatest ally. Guided imagery is a terrific way to harness its power and achieve incredible results!

  • Top Ten Ways to Jump-Start Weight Loss

    Top Ten Ways to Jump-Start Weight Loss

    These ten tips for jump-starting weight loss will serve you well!

    They are simple and easy to follow. Give them a try and watch what happens!

    1. Eat protein at every meal, including breakfast.
    2. Eliminate wheat– and flour-based products for the time being. And yes, that definitely includes bread and pasta.
    3. Eliminate “food products”. Ninety percent of what you eat should be food that could have been hunted, caught, gathered from the ground, plucked from a tree or grown
    4. Reduce starch. When you do eat starches, choose from “real” carbohydrates. Best choices are oatmeal, sweet potatoes, beans and legumes.
    5. Don’t eat unlimited amounts of fruit and be careful with the extra-sweet, extra-ripe variety. For now, keep fruits to two a day, and choose the low-sugar, high-fiber variety. Apples, grapefruits and especially berries all are good choices. For now, fruit should be eaten alone or with something light like nuts or a little cheese. Lose the fruit juice.
    6. Reduce or eliminate dairy for the time being, especially cow’s milk. Exceptions: reasonable amounts of cheese and occasional portions of yogurt, but not the fat-free kind (it contains way too much sugar).
    7. Try eliminating alcohol. You can always go back to moderate drinking later on if it works for you.
    8. Stop using vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower and corn. The supermarket kinds are highly refined, and oxidize easily when heated, contributing to arterial plaque.
    9. Worry less about the amount of fat you eat and pay more attention to the kind of fat you eat. The worst are fried foods, margarine and foods that contain hydrogenized or partially hydrogenized oils. The best is omega-3, found in fish and flaxseed oil.
    10. Drink at least eight or more large glasses of pure water a day. Every day. No excuses.
    This is just one of the “Top 10 Lists” that is included with my Diet Boot Camp

  • The Two Most Effective Strategies for Keeping Weight Off

    There’s a ton of info out there on how to lose weight, but not nearly as much on how to keep it off. But that’s about to change. Recently, one of the largest dietary studies in Europe was completed, and it sheds a lot of light on the question of what to do to keep the scale from inching back up.

    The study- known as the Diogenes Study– offers clear evidence that choosing foods higher in protein and lower on the glycemic index is the most effective strategy for preventing weight regain.

    The Diogenes study enrolled 772 European families, which included 938 overweight adults. In the first stage of the study, participants were put on a very low calorie diet for eight weeks, during which the average weight loss was 24 pounds.

    But this wasn’t’ the interesting part of the study. (After all, it’s no big surprise that if you literally starve people they’ll drop weight.) The interesting part of the study was what happened in the next phase.

    After eight weeks, the researchers randomly assigned the 772 adults who had completed the eight-week weight loss diet to one of five maintenance diets, which they stayed on for six months. The researchers were interested in finding out what type of food plan made it easier to keep the weight off. (Note: none of the diets involved calorie counting.)

    Here are the five diet conditions:

    1. Group one: Low protein (13% of calories), high glycemic index
    2. Group two:  Low protein, low glycemic index
    3. Group three: High protein (25% of calories) low glycemic index
    4. Group four: High protein, high glycemic index
    5. Group five: Standard, “current dietary recommendations”… (the European version of our food pyramid)

    The average weight regain across the board, blending all groups, was about 1.1 pounds. But there was a big difference between the groups.

    The poorest results were obtained by the low-protein, high-GI diet (group one). They were the only group to have significant weight regain (gaining back about 3.7 pounds on average).

    The best results by far were obtained by the high-protein low-GI group. More participants from this group actually completed the study leading one to suspect it’s a much easier plan to stay with. And both high-protein and low-glycemic index independently improved the results. Those in the higher protein conditions had on average 2 pounds less regain than those in the lower-protein conditions; those in the low-GI conditions had on average 2 pounds less regain than those in the high-GI conditions.

    Take home point: Modest increases in protein and modest reduction in glycemic index led to better compliance and better maintenance of weight loss.

    The results won’t surprise any of us who have been preaching higher-protein lower-carb diets for a long time. Protein helps you feel full, boosts your metabolism and makes weight loss easier. High glycemic foods, in general, send your blood sugar skyrocketing and can lead to metabolic issues, cravings, weight gain and mood swings. Is it any wonder that a moderate calories, higher protein, lower glycemic index diet would work so well?

    Incidentally, that’s exactly the kind of eating program used in the Diet Boot Camp program. Diet Boot Camp isn’t exactly a low-carb program, but it’s a low junk food program. You’ll eat plenty of carbs but most of them will be vegetables, fruits and some “mixed” foods like beans, all low-glycemic and high fiber. Couple that with adequate protein and a healthy dose of fat, moderate calories and a program to help you break through your self-sabotage, and you’re looking at a road map for success. All you have to do is get in the car and start driving!

  • The Diet Wars: The Saga Continues

    The Diet Wars: The Saga Continues

    A new study was just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine testing a low-carb diet against a conventional low-fat one.

    Here’s what happened. (more…)

  • Three New Weight Loss Drugs You Should Know About

    Adapted from an article by David Katz, MD

    There are currently three new weight loss drugs in the front of the queue for FDA consideration — Qnexa, Contrave and lorcaserin — and all of them made news this week.  (more…)