Can a chromium supplement help me lose weight

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Question: A friend told me that she takes a chromium supplement to help her lose weight. Is this a good diet pill to take?

Answer: Your body needs very small quantities of chromium to help your body process glucose. This link prompted scientists to investigate the benefits of chromium picolinate supplements for weight loss as well as for the treatment of insulin resistance.

As can be expected, many companies jumped on the bandwagon to promote chromium picolinate supplements as an aid to weight loss with claims that it helps to stabilize your blood sugar, increase lean muscle mass and promote fat loss. Of course, keeping your blood sugar levels stable is very important in managing your weight, because that is the key to controlling your appetite.

A number of scientific studies were conducted to test these claims with very little success. Results obtained from these studies showed that chromium picolinate supplementation does not help increase lean muscle mass nor does it help people lose weight.

Studies to examine the benefits of chromium picolinate supplements as an aid in the treatment of insulin resistance (and improvement in blood sugar levels) delivered mixed results, as small improvements in glucose resistance were reported in some trials while improved short-term insulin levels reported on others, with no change in insulin sensitivity. Opinions still vary and the FDA issued a statement in 2006 indicating that the relationship between insulin resistance and the use of Chromium Picolinate supplements is still highly uncertain.

The best way to keep your blood sugar levels stable is to eat regularly, and to follow a healthy diet that contains plenty of lean protein as well as fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. The most important aspect of a healthy diet (especially if you are concerned about your blood sugar levels) is to stay away as far as possible from refined carbs, including white bread, cake, pastries, sweets and anything else sweetened with sugar.

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What is the deal with carbs and weight loss

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Question: What is the big deal about carbs and weight loss? My friends keep on telling me I must lose the carbs to lose weight, but I don’t know which foods contain carbs.

Answer: In order to perform optimally your body needs a variety of nutrients provided by three main food groups, namely carbohydrates (carbs), fats and protein. Carbohydrates can be obtained from many food sources and can be further broken up into three main categories: sugar, starch, and dietary fiber. Many health experts identified over-consumption of carbohydrates, and more specifically sugar, as the main culprit in the current obesity epidemic facing the developed world. But just before you swear never to touch carbs again – know that your body, and more specifically your brain, really needs carbohydrates to function optimally. You will still lose weight if you indulge in carbohydrate-rich foods in moderation, stick to natural food sources, and learn how to keep your blood sugar levels stable.

Newcomers to the low carb diet are often surprised to find out that sugar is also a form of carbohydrates, and even more surprised to find out how many food sources actually contain sugar. Sugar is found in a range of natural foods, including milk (lactose) as well as fruits and vegetables (sucrose and fructose). Sugar in its processed form is used in abundance to manufacture candy, sodas and cakes. It is even used in savory treats and to cure meats. Your body does need sugar, but in small quantities. Food and drinks sweetened by refined sugar should be avoided as far as possible.

Starch is the most important form of carbohydrates and is contained in many staple foods worldwide, such as rice, wheat, corn and potatoes. Many fruit and vegetables contain starch too; for example banana, sweet potato, and yams. Other good sources of starch include legumes such as lentils, peas and beans. Of course all grains and grain products also contain starch, for example flour, bread, pasta, noodles and cereals.

Dietary fiber is the indigestible portion of plant foods that can be soluble or insoluble. Foods rich in fiber assist you in losing weight because you feel fuller for longer, and end up eating less. Fiber-rich foods also help you manage your cravings by keeping your blood sugar levels more stable. Some of the many other benefits of fiber include improved regulation of your digestive system, reduced of cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, and even prevention of certain forms of cancer. Good sources for dietary fiber include fruit, vegetables, grains and legumes (lentils, beans and peas).

You will notice many low carb diet books or recipes refer to “net carbs” or “digestible carbs”. This simply refers to the carbohydrate content of the food that your body will actually digest. In other words, only the carbohydrates that will contribute to your daily calorie intake. The easiest way to calculate net carbs is to subtract the dietary fiber from the total carbohydrate content of the meal or snack.

Very low carb diets such as Atkins suggest you limit your carbs to 20g per day for the Induction Phase, gradually increasing your carb intake as you progress through the other three phases. Other low carb diets suggest up to 60g of carbs per day. Other more balanced diets suggest you get 40% of you daily calories from carbs, along with 30% from fat, and the last 30% from protein. Low fat diets, of course, will see you get at least 60% of your diet from carbs, with a much reduced fat and protein intake. The choice of diet is yours, and it really depends on your personal tastes and lifestyle.

To summarize. Carbs play a very important role in your diet to ensure sustained energy and health. While it is true that too much carbs can result in weight gain and inflammation, too little carbs will most certainly leave you tired, depressed and vulnerable to all sorts of diseases. Choose a healthy and nutritious weight loss plan that allows for sufficient intake of carbs from natural food sources. Avoid processed foods as far as possible since they most often contain too much sugar and too little nutrients, which is why many of these food items are often referred to as “dead carbs”.

For more information on the main nutrients read this article on the Perricone Weight loss Prescription. If you want to track your daily carb intake (in grams or ounces) along with your calorie intake, or you just want to keep an eye on the percentage of calories you get from carbs, use our free electronic food diary called myOBW. You can also use this food journal just as a data source to see how much carbs (and other nutrients) your food choices actually contain.

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Can CLA help me lose weight

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Question: Can CLA help me lose weight and is it a safe diet pill to use?

Answer: Yes, CLA can assist you in your weight loss journey. CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) is a substance naturally found mostly in meat and dairy products. CLA was first investigated in the late 1970’s for its anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory properties and claims with regards to these properties are reasonably well supported by scientific studies. In July 2008, the FDA issued a letter awarding CLA Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for certain food categories; including fluid milk, yoghurt, meal replacement shakes and nutritional bars. This means that the well managed addition of CLA to these products is regarded as a safe practice by the FDA.

Results of more than 30 clinical trials have been published regarding weight loss and CLA – all designed to assess the impact of CLA on fat mass. The varying designs and objectives of these studies complicate the overall findings somewhat, but the general consensus appears to be that CLA can indeed assist in reducing fat mass (especially belly fat) while simultaneously increasing lean muscle mass. It must be noted that CLA can only work as a weight loss aid in addition to a healthy, balanced nutrition and exercise plan; and is not expected to be very effective on its own.

Preliminary studies indicate that there may be a basis for some of the health concerns raised with regards to excessive use of CLA, namely increased risk of insulin resistance and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. The actual health risks to humans is still far from established. Scientists currently appear to be in agreement that foods naturally enriched with CLA are safe, but are still hesitant to declare CLA supplements safe for use in humans.

In answer to your question on whether CLA is a safe weight loss supplement then…our take on this based on the information available to us at this time would be that CLA supplements, provided that you choose products manufactured by reputable suppliers should be safe to use as long as you don’t exceed the suggested dosage. It is unclear to us what the difference would be between taking a CLA supplement and getting your share of CLA in the form of an additive to a meal replacement shake or a nutrition bar.

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What is my Optimal Body Weight

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Question: I am 5′6″ and weigh 186 lbs. How much should I weigh?

Answer: Your optimal body weight or ideal weight depends to a large extent on your height and gender, but also on other factors such as your age, your frame and your muscular development. You do not provide enough information for us to calculate your ideal weight, but you can get an accurate assessment by using our free online ideal weight calculator. It takes into account many variables including your bone structure, which is something very few ideal weight calculators consider.

Your optimal body weight is that weight where you are at your healthiest, not necessarily where you are at your thinnest. It is extremely important to take your build and body type into account when you calculate your goal weight. None of us want to be overweight, but too thin can be as unattractive and being underweight also poses health risks to your body and mind. The free weight loss tools available at myOBW offers you an ideal weight calculator as well as BMI (Body Mass Index) and Waist to Hip Ratio calculators. Keep in mind that while these tools can provide you with some idea of how you compare to others; your best indicator is how you feel in your own skin.

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What is the recipe for the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet drink

Published in Apple Cider Vinegar Diet. 0 Comments

Question: I read your article on the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet and would really like to try it out. What I really like about this weight loss plan is that I can follow it using natural ingredients from my cupboard. I don’t have to buy expensive diet pills or weight loss supplements, nor do I have to invest time and money in a book. It is also great to know that there is scientific evidence to prove that the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet can help me lose weight! Can you please let me have some more detail on the recipe for the Apple Cider Diet drink as well as instructions on how to follow this diet?

Answer: The Apple Cider Vinegar Diet is a rather easy and cheap diet to follow, and has first been described as a safe home remedy for weight loss centuries ago. You need to take 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar about 15 minutes before each meal, i.e. three times a day. Obviously, the strong vinegar taste can be very unpleasant, but it can be softened by adding the vinegar to a glass of water or apple juice and then sweetening the mix with two tablespoons of honey. Some of our clients reported that they actually like the taste of the drink! We all have very different tastes, so it would probably be best if you use the recipe described above as a starting point and then play around with the quantities of water, juice and honey until you like the taste of the drink.

The Apple Cider Vinegar Diet does not prescribe a specific menu or meal plan, but it can only help you lose weight if you follow a healthy diet while you take apple cider vinegar before your meals. Stick to natural, healthy foods and control your food portions. Many of our clients on this diet use our free online food diary to track their daily calorie intake and manage their protein, fat, and carb ratio. Most healthy diet plans suggest a caloric ratio of 20-30% protein, 30% fats, and 40-50% carbs. Make sure you obtain the majority of you fat calories from good fats like olive oil, avocado and nuts. Try to stick to fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains as the main sources for your carbs. Avoid snacking between meals and have plenty of water.

Finally, if the taste of the vinegar becomes too much to handle, you can always try apple cider vinegar diet pills.

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Can I lose weight fast on the Zone Diet

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Question: How fast can I expect to lose weight on the Zone Diet and is it a healthy diet to follow?

Answer: The Zone Diet is a safe and healthy diet, and it works well because it forces you to follow a balanced and nutritious diet. As is the case with most healthy diets, it will take you a bit longer to lose the weight (say at a rate of about 1-2 pounds or half a kilogram to 1 kilogram per week), but if you learn to live in the Zone permanently, you will be able to keep it off. Zone dieters are expected to eat roughly one gram of fat for every two grams of protein and every three grams of carbohydrates to comply with the magic ratio of 40:30:30 for carbs, protein and fats.

The Zone Diet has a proven track record in helping thousands of men and women lose weight permanently. Other benefits of this weight loss plan include reduced inflammation, increased energy and reduced bad cholesterol levels. The anti-inflammatory nature of the diet also means it can help prevent premature aging. By carefully maintaining the balance between fat, protein and carbohydrate intake, the Zone Diet also helps balance your hormones, speed up your metabolism and control cravings.

The most difficult part of this diet is making sure you get the balance right between protein, carbs and fat with every meal and snack; especially if you prepare all your meals yourself and even more so if you eat out often. Fortunately, help is at hand. If you can afford it, you can pick and choose from ready prepared home delivered meals and commercially available Zone friendly snacks. Many restaurants also offer meals prepared with the magic Zone food ratio in mind. The book on the Zone Diet by Barry Spears, creator of this slimming plan, also offers various tips and tricks to make it easier for you.

In summary. The Zone Diet is designed based on the belief that obesity comes about as a result of inflammation. You are in the “Zone” when your hormones are in balance and where inflammation is reversed. To get into the Zone, you must ensure that your eat Zone friendly meals. Weight loss then, for as long as you follow the diet properly, follows automatically. For a more detailed discussion of this topic see this Review of the Zone Diet.

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Are the weight loss pills offered by the Young You Corporation safe

Published in Young You Diet Pills. 0 Comments

Question: A friend suggested that I use the Slimbionic diet pills manufactured by Young You to lose weight. She said she lost 20 pounds in two months using it. Is it an effective diet pill and is it safe to use?

Answer: Based on the information available to us today, our advice would be to avoid Slimbionic until we know for sure that it is safe to use. On 17 July 2009 the Young You Corporation and the FDA issued a press release to inform consumers and health care professionals that four of the weight loss pills sold by Young You were tested and found to contain an undeclared ingredient called sibutramine. Sibutramine is a controlled substance that should not be used without medical supervision. According to the press release the weight loss products were being recalled and consumers were advised to stop using them immediately. The products involved were Slimbionic, One Weight Loss Pill, SlimDemand Capsules and Botanical Weight Loss. Sibutramine is often used in prescription weight loss pills as an appetite suppressant that works by manipulating the levels of certain neurotransmitters in your brain. Side effects of sibutramine (when used incorrectly) can include increased blood pressure, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), seizures, palpitations, heart attack and stroke and pulse. Customers with a history of congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, arrhythmia or stroke are at greater risk.

We did contact the Young You Corporation for additional information and will update this answer as soon as we get a response from them. In the mean time, if you really are looking for a strong appetite suppressant, it may be better to contact your medical professional and ask him to prescribe a diet pill for you. If you are looking for a safer herbal alternative, try Hoodia Gordonii.

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Is Imelda Perfect Slim a safe diet pill to use

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Question: I’ve heard that Imelda Perfect Slim was taken off the market last year following a warning by the FDA. I personally lost 50 pounds effortlessly on Imelda Perfect Slim about two years ago. While I was taking Imelda Perfect Slim I actually forgot to eat, something that never happened to me before. I experienced an indifference to food that was just wonderful. It appears Imelda Perfect Slim is available on the Internet again. Does that mean it is now reformulated and safe to use?

Answer: Imelda Perfect Slim is on the FDA’s list of tainted weight loss products (available over the counter/ on the internet without prescription) tested and found to contain unacceptable quantities of controlled substances. The samples of Imelda Perfect Slim tested was found to contain Sibutramine and Phenolphthalein. The use of both of these drugs can result in rather severe side-effects – and if you take this diet pill while on other medication you may find that the interaction between the drugs aggravate and increase the already potentially serious side effects.

Sibutramine, when used for weight loss, is prescribed by doctors as an appetite suppressant. It works by manipulating the neurotransmitters in your brain. Most people tolerate the drug in the prescribed doses reasonably well, reporting side effects such as insomnia, nausea and headaches. More serious, but relatively rare side effects reported include seizures, mood changes, fever and jaundice.

Phenolphthalein was originally used in many over-the-counter laxatives, but has since been removed since it emerged that the use of this drug may cause cancer. There are also studies suggesting that Phenolptalein can cause damage or changes to your DNA, which in turn can lead to many other serious health problems.

When you consider the ingredients contained in Imelda Perfect Slim, it is likely that this diet pill will suppress your appetite and that you will lose weight because you take in fewer calories. But without medical supervision the use of Imelda Perfect Slim can be rather dangerous. It is important that you follow a healthy diet while you are taking diet pills to ensure that your body still gets the necessary nutrients, and also so you can maintain that weight loss once you stop taking the pills. If you eat too little, you risk letting your body go into starvation mode or even worse, jeopardizing your health in general.

Imelda Super Slim still appears on the current FDA tainted weight loss product list, and our investigations yielded no evidence of any reformulation of the product to exclude scheduled substances. It must be noted that many of the products on the list are still available, despite attempts by the FDA to get these products recalled. In our opinion it is best to avoid using Imelda Perfect Slim, or any products on the FDA’s tainted diet pill list until such time as it is clear that the problem ingredients were taken care of, and that the necessary quality assurance procedures have been implemented by manufacturers to ensure your safety.

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What is my Waist-to-Hip Ratio

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Question: What is my Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) and what does it tell me about my body?

Answer: The latest research confirms that your Waist-to-Hip Ratio (also sometimes referred to as Hip-to-Waist Ratio or Hip-Waist-Ratio) provides a more accurate indication of obesity and the health risks associated with weight problems than your BMI (Body Mass Index), which has traditionally been used as the main indicator to tell you whether you need to lose weight or not. People are genetically programmed to store extra fat in different areas of the body. Some people carry more fat around the waist and upper body (apple body shape) while others tend to build up more fat around the hips (pear body shape). Apple shaped people are at higher risk for heart disease and diabetes than their pear shaped counterparts.

Your Waist-to-Hip Ratio is calculated by dividing the circumference of your waist by that of your hips. When you measure yourself, stand relaxed and do not suck in your stomach. Measure your waist around the narrowest part (normally just above the belly button) and your hips around the widest part. Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement using a calculator. Use the Waist-to-Hip Ratio Chart provided below to see how close you are to the ideal and what your health risks are. You can also use the free online Waist-to-Hip Ratio calculator provided as part of the free weight loss tools offered at myOBW.

The Waist-to-Hip Ratio Chart is as follow:

Male Female Health Risk Based on WHR
Close to 0.9 Close to 0.7 Ideal – Very low Risk
0.95 or below 0.80 or below Low Risk
0.96 to 1.0 0.81 to 0.85 Moderate Risk
1.0+ 0.85+ High Risk

Scientific studies show that waist size alone can already be an indicator for increased risk of heart disease. A waist circumference measurement of over 35 inches (88.9 cm) for women or over 40 inches (101.6 cm) for men indicates increased health risks as result of body fat distribution.

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What is starvation mode and how does it affect weight loss

Published in Body. 3 Comments

Question: I have been told that when I eat too little, my body goes into starvation mode to protect itself, and that it will slow down my weight loss. Is this true and how can I avoid starvation mode?

Answer: Many weight loss coaches use the term “starvation mode” to describe your body’s natural response to protect itself when you don’t eat enough for extended periods. When you regularly eat too little food to provide your body with the necessary nutrients, it perceives itself to be in danger from starvation. Since your body is wonderfully designed to protect you, it will slow down your metabolism to conserve energy so it can keep vital organs such as the brain and the heart going for as long as possible in the face of the perceived threat. While it will burn fat for fuel, it will also start burning lean muscle mass for fuel, which will slow down your metabolism even further. People on starvation diets invariably find that they regain all the weight they’ve lost (and then some) very quickly as soon as they start eating again.

While a starvation diet may help you lose weight quite fast in the short term, you will pay a heavy price because you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of weight problems. Your metabolism gets progressively slower with each day you remain on a starvation diet. This resultant slower metabolism needs less fuel, so you consistently have to eat less and less to lose weight! As your metabolism slows down even further and your lean muscle mass dwindles you will also find that you become more and more tired. This in turn means you will get less exercise, which leaves you with less lean muscle, and an even slower metabolism. It really is a vicious cycle. The importance of protecting your lean muscle mass to boost your metabolism can not be stressed enough.

The question arises: when does your body go into starvation mode? As with anything that involves the human body, there is no one single answer that will be true for everyone. The levels at which starvation mode kicks in vary from person to person. What we can do though, is understand how it gets triggered so we can avoid getting our bodies in that state. Your decision of how much to eat should be based on your individual Total Daily Energy Requirements, which takes into account a variety of factors including height, weight, age, gender and activity levels. If you want to lose weight safely, without setting off the alarm bells in your body; aim to eat approximately 300 – 500 calories less than your total daily requirements. This will provide your body with enough fuel to keep it going comfortably, but will still create a sufficient caloric deficit to ensure that you lose weight. To protect your metabolism even further, make sure your diet contains enough protein and that you maintain / increase your activity levels.

Note. You will find that many experts advise you not to eat less than 1 200 calories per day to prevent starvation mode. This is just a general rule of thumb to provide advice in the absence of enough information. To be safe, get your individual Total Daily Energy Requirements calculated, and follow the advice above.

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