All posts tagged: dieting

8,500 steps a day can help keep the weight off after dieting

8,500 steps a day can help keep the weight off after dieting

Published by Jenni Sidey

A step counter will not do the hard part of dieting for you. But new research suggests it may help with the part many people struggle with most, keeping the weight off once it is gone. That point sits at the center of a new systematic review and meta-analysis presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The analysis found that adults with overweight or obesity who raised their daily walking to roughly 8,500 steps during a weight-loss program, and then kept that level up, were less likely to regain weight later. That matters because weight regain remains one of the most stubborn problems in obesity care. Professor Marwan El Ghoch of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, one of the researchers behind the review, put it bluntly: “The most important, and greatest, challenge when treating obesity is preventing weight regain.” Around 80% of people with overweight or obesity who lose weight at first regain some or all of it within …

New research challenges what we know about yo-yo dieting

New research challenges what we know about yo-yo dieting

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore The only thing harder than losing weight is keeping it off. Many people who lose weight find themselves stuck in the cycle of “yo-yo dieting” – losing weight and gaining it all (and sometimes more) back again. Research on yo-yo dieting has long indicated it can be harmful for your health. But a recent paper has now suggested yo-yo dieting might not be as unhealthy as we’ve been led to believe. This recent paper, published in BMC Medicine, presents the findings of two separate weight loss trials that were conducted five years apart. The first trial (trial 1) looked at 278 participants who were overweight or obese. Participants were randomised to follow either a low-fat or low-carb Mediterranean diet – either with or without exercise. All participants lost a comparable amount of weight at the end of the 18-month trial. But …

The surprising case for less meal variety when losing weight

The surprising case for less meal variety when losing weight

Published by Jenni Sidey

Hunger may not be the most challenging aspect of losing weight. One of the biggest challenges could be making hundreds of food choices every day. One day you might eat a salad, then a wrap the next day, followed by a smoothie. Then a healthy-looking snack that was actually unhealthy. Conversely, in a culture that revolves around new foods on a regular basis, this study suggests that eating fewer different foods repetitively over time, and therefore having a more consistent caloric intake throughout the week, will help you lose weight. This study out of Health Psychology follows 112 overweight or obese adults in the first 12 weeks of a behavioral weight loss program. It found a clear-cut pattern: the more a person’s food logs showed an increase in repetitions, the more weight they lost. Dr. Charlotte Hagerman, PhD, lead author of this research and researcher with the Oregon Research Institute, says, “It takes constant effort and self-control to maintain a healthy diet in today’s food environment. Creating an eating routine will reduce this effort and …

The Dieting Myth That Just Won’t Die

The Dieting Myth That Just Won’t Die

Published by José Betancourt

Back in the early 1970s, psychologists at Northwestern University performed an experiment that, on the surface, looked like a child’s fantasy. The researchers gathered 45 college women and asked some of them to drink a milkshake—or two. Then they placed three pints of ice cream in front of each woman and asked her to taste each one. Afterward, they told each participant to “help herself to any of the remaining ice cream, as she wished,” the researchers wrote in the Journal of Personality. Finally—and this was key—each woman completed a survey meant to measure how much she dieted or “restrained” her eating, outside of the treats she had just consumed. The findings were dramatic. On average, the women who said they didn’t diet or have weight concerns ate less ice cream if they drank at least one milkshake. The first sweet treat satiated their hunger. But for the women who dieted and felt worried about their weight, the milkshake appeared to unleash a hidden hunger. On average, they ate 66 percent more ice cream after …

Researchers reveal the hidden benefits of ‘yo-yo dieting’

Researchers reveal the hidden benefits of ‘yo-yo dieting’

Published by Jenni Sidey

A familiar story plays out in a lot of diets. The scale drops, routines tighten up, and then months later the weight creeps back. A new long-term study suggests that this “yo-yo” pattern can still leave a lasting imprint on health, even when the pounds return. The work tracked people enrolled in two structured weight-loss trials years apart. Many who returned for a second round started that second program at nearly the same body size as before. Yet their internal fat pattern and blood markers looked better than they did at the very start. When weight comes back, something else changes “Yo-yo dieting” usually describes repeated cycles of intentional weight loss and gradual regain. The concern is that those cycles might harm health, not just morale. This study focused on a specific issue: visceral fat, the metabolically active fat stored deep in the abdomen around internal organs. High levels are linked to cardiometabolic disease. Prof. Iris Shai, the study’s principal investigator from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. (CREDIT: Dani Machlis/BGU) Prof. Iris Shai, the study’s …