The bottom line on weight loss
Did you know that a study called ‘The A to Z weight loss study’ was done comparing the low carbohydrate Atkins diet, the low-carb Zone diet, the low-fat, high-carb LEARN diet and the very high-carb Ornish diet.
Out of 311 women that attended 8 weeks of classes on diet, exercise and lifestyle and were assessed after 2, 6 and 12 months intervals an evaluation concluded that women lost 4.7 kg on Atkins, 2.6 kg on Ornish, 2.2 kg on LEARN and 1.6 kg on Zone. It was found there was really no real difference between ANY of the diets in terms of body fat loss % and waist-hip ratios after one year however the most loss was in the Atkins group.
HDL cholesterol increases and triglyceride decreases were found to be better in the Atkins group compared with the other three whilst Atkins people had the greatest decrease in blood pressures.
The major outcome of the study is that ANY of the diets will help you lose weight although not huge amounts – 5 to 10 kilo in a year. However this can be important especially for women in the peri-menopausal age bracket when women tend to gain weight so holding their weight steady or even losing some kilos can have long term health benefits.
In conjunction with this a study concerning the impact of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on weight loss on 118 overweight people showed that it helped considerably with weight loss especially in the legs and waist.
This supported past evidence that CLA reduces body weight although we don’t quite know why. It could be that the reduction in the accumulation of fatty acids in fat cells via inhibition of lipoprotein lipase and promotion of carnitine palmitoyltransferase has this affect on the body. The bottom line (excuse the pun) is that the decrease in fat round the waist is good as it lessens the risk of cardiovascular disease.
There are a number of products out there to suppress appetite and speed the metabolism. Good ones will not make you feel lethargic or irritable. It is important to remember no matter what diet you are on to eat sensibly, exercise, drink enough water, detox and get enough sleep if you want to maintain good health. Remember that it is more important to have a long term health plan that works for you rather than a ‘quick fix’ that stops working because you go back to your old ways.
It is also important to remember that not only overeating will keep the weight on. Hormone fluctuations, fluid imbalance, stress, some medications all contribute to those extra kilos and that is why you need support from a trained therapist to assist you in developing a healthy eating plan to suit your needs. If the plan is done right to suit your needs and lifestyle then it will be easier to maintain as a part of your lifestyle and you will find you will not put the weight on again which you would have done with just a ‘one off’ all out effort to lose kilos and then go back to your old ways.
Changing patterns is difficult however with the use of Hypnotherapy and NLP techniques it is possible to erase patterns you have had developing for years and step into a new empowered healthy lifestyle.
