My opinion on the HCG diet...

My hope is that people are starting to realize that obtaining a healthy weight should be a slow and steady process. But in this age of instant gratification, it can be hard to tell ourselves that this slow pr...ogress is worth it. Those seeking the instant gratification may find the HCG diet alluring so I thought I would post this article about it here - in hopes you would put it out of your mind (if it ever entered).

For those that aren't familiar with the HCG diet, you essentially eat nothing (500 calories per day) and inject yourself with HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin - a hormone produced during pregnancy). Amazingly [as I roll my eyes] you lose weight. Well, ya! You're only eating 500 calories!!!!  You aren't losing weight as a result of the injections - though they may help people to keep their calorie intake this low by curbing their appetite, some with lovely feelings of nausea (as HCG is a hormone produced during pregnancy that also brings on morning sickness). It is ridiculous. It is dangerous. Your body's basic needs cannot be met with a calorie level this low. I would love to see the follow-up study to this to show exactly how quickly these people regain all that weight lost and what percentage gain even more than they started with since they've essentially killed their metabolism by atrophying their lean muscle mass.

My favorite paragraph from the article... "Two years ago, Lori Hill, 40, of Salt Lake City, Utah, began a 28-day hCG diet cycle. She says she lost about 26 pounds, including thigh fat, largely without hunger. But she felt ill almost immediately, and by the last week of the diet, Hill—a fit and active soccer referee—couldn't climb a flight of stairs without gasping for breath. The effort made her muscles burn and shake, too. After completing the cycle, Hill regained all the weight she had lost, plus an additional 15 pounds. 'I starved myself and threw all my nutrients out of whack,' she says. 'You're tricking your body into letting you starve, without feeling any major hunger. What you're doing to your body just isn't worth it.' "

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diet/articles/2011/03/14/hcg-diet-dangers-is-fast-weight-loss-worth-the-risk?page=2

Fast Food Restaurants on your Commute?

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal looked at the relationship between body weight and the route the participants drove to work. Simple enough. What they found was that those who encountered a fast food store during th...eir commute had a higher body weight. Could be a coincidence, but the study included 5594 which would make the odds of it just being a coincidence highly unlikely.

So, from what I can see, those who drove by a McDonald's or Burger King were more tempted and thus more likely to stop... eat... and gain weight.

Do you suppose exercising more self-control, especially in the late afternoon (when our desire to deny ourselves an indulgence is at its lowest), might help us to maintain a healthy weight? Clearly these fast food outlets are making a killing off the commuters in Cambridge, who might preserve their waistlines by choosing a route with less temptation.

Yes it is just one small french fry here, and a milkshake there... but it all adds up.

http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g1464

Success

yes, that pretty much sums it up. 

Cinnamon

As a follow-up to this mornings notes on improving blood sugar, I wanted to also comment on the use of cinnamon to aid in improving blood sugar. There have been a number of studies, both animal and human, showing an improvement in post prandial (after meal) blood sugar levels and fasting (first thing in the morning) blood sugars. The therapeutic dose of cinnamon seems to be approximately 5g per day or 5000 mg. Improvement may be seen with smaller quantities, but this is the most common level studied. [Davis P, Yokoyama W. Cinnamon intake lowers fasting blood glucose: meta-analysis. J Medicinal Food. 2011;14(9):884- ]

5g of cinnamon is equivalent to approximately 3/4 of a Tablespoon. Try sprinkling some in your morning oatmeal or Add it to your latte or cup of hot cocoa.

If you don't care for cinnamon, or this amount proves to be a bit much, you can also easily find it in supplement form. Some companies offer it as a straight extract or capsule, and others may combine it with other beneficial "blood sugar lowering" ingredients, like chromium, fenugreek and nopal leaves - like this one from a company I like called SugarReg, by Nature's Sunshine. 

Eat a Big Breakfast

OMG! I was so excited to read this while I finished my large breakfast!! For years, and I mean since 2002, every time I consulted a diabetic patient regarding their diet, I would always push for the 3 meals per day, only! No snacking!! And for forever, I was fought on this issue. Blah blah blah, stable blood sugar, blah blah blah, increase metabolism, blah blah. Any patient who followed my suggestions obtained a better blood sugar, and lost weight - thus making it easier to slow the progression of diabetes. The fact of the matter is that your body, unless you have Type 1 Diabetes (insulin dependent), is built to maintain your blood sugar within a healthy range. And those with Type 2 Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, PCOS, Insulin Resistance, etc., are more prone to running higher blood sugars - so why were all these people telling them to eat smaller, more frequent meals??? Oh, wait! Was it so their body never had any down time, and was never forced to pull fat out of storage to convert to glucose for energy? Ah wonderful plan everybody!!

On a more technical note, I would like to see a follow-up to this study. They note in the write-up that the sample size was small, with only 54 participants, so when they were divided into 2 groups that only gave 27 per group, and I like to see at least 30. But the results were still significant. There were 2 meal plans, both contained the same macronutrient (carbs, protein, fat) and calorie content, but one only included 2 meals (large breakfast and lunch) and the other divided the food over 5-6 small meals. Those consuming the 2 meal plan improved their blood sugar, and lost weight.  Oh, and halfway through, they switched the plans in each group - and still found the same results. 

This is still great information even if you don't have diabetes. Your blood sugar and HgA1C is probably not a major concern, but perhaps you have a family history of diabetes (doesn't everyone?) that you wish to avoid, or you are wanting to obtain a healthy weight to improve longevity... or soak up bikini season. I would aim for the 3 meals per day, so your calories would be spread out further, but the big thing is that larger breakfast if you are wanting to real kick your metabolism up a notch first thing in the morning. Wait, that is unless you prefer to have your body burning less calories for the first 4-5 hours of the day.

Armbands for Tracking Activities and Calories Burned

Do any of you make use of an activity tracking device? I fully understand that people get personally attached to whatever brand they choose, but I wanted to make a quick plug for the arm band that I've been using and tell you why I think it's the best - not because I get anything out of telling you about it, but because I want you to make the best choices with your hard-earned money. I make use of the BodyMedia LINK.

Body Media, which used to be called the Body Bugg (and is used on The Biggest Loser), also makes another device which works in the same manner but send your data to a watch you wear. This device [mine] sends data to a device like a smartphone, or your computer when you take it off to charge it (every 3 days or so).

The reason I love this device is simply because it isn't just taking note when you bounce around - as many devices do. A lot of trackers are focused on how much you are moving around, and counting the number of steps you took. They then translate that activity into an estimated number of calories burned based upon whatever your weight is. The difference here is that the BodyMedia device has two plates on the back that sense heat production. The result of calories burned should be heat lost through the skin - which it measures and combines that information with motion to determine the intensity of your workout and an incredibly accurate estimate of calories burned. Because it is not just relying on motion to guess at your activity, it is better equipped to let you know how active you really are.

When you have a better sense of how active you really are and what your average calorie burn is per day, you may be better equipped to challenge yourself, or see areas where you could improve your exercise program to meet your goals.... I sure did. 

If I were to improve the device, I could only think the addition of some sort of GPS would be nice as I like to run and find myself having to carrying some other device to track my distance and time. Oh, and those who monitor their heart rate might like that feature too.

Water

ack!  Water is super scary stuff...  ;)