Effective Weight-Loss Programs

There are hundreds of weight-loss programs that vow to help create a lean, muscular body with little body fat. The reality is that while most popular diets and programs produce short-term results, the majority of people fail to achieve and maintain their weight-loss goals in the long run.

The real solution is taking a rational approach to weight loss by utilizing scientific breakthroughs in the understanding of human appetite regulation and metabolism. The centrepiece of any effective weight-loss program is utilizing unique blends of selected, highly viscous soluble (HVS) fibres. When properly combined these natural dietary fibres act synergistically to bind more water and create a greater gel-like mass than any other fibre alone.

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Eat Early; Eat Less

Changing eating patterns may lead to easier weight loss. Research published in the Journal of Nutrition (2004) followed participants and their eating habits for seven days. Those who ate more in the morning had less total food consumption for the rest of the day, while the others in the group generally ate more as the day went on, with less time between food consumption. This resulted in higher calories consumed and less calories burned as activity levels dropped in the evenings.

Starting the day right by having a sound breakfast has been confirmed in other research to reduce fat cravings, lower cholesterol levels, and lead to overall increase in vitamin and mineral intake. This one change may be a simple key to managing your weight.

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Exercise Smarter-Not Harder-for Weight Loss

We all know that exercise is essential for weight management because it burns calories. But how much and what kind of exercise is best?

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh enrolled 201 overweight, sedentary women as participants in a one-year study. They were randomly assigned to one of four exercise groups: (1) vigorous intensity with high duration; (2) moderate intensity with high duration; (3) moderate intensity with moderate duration; or (4) vigorous intensity with moderate duration. All women were instructed to follow a 1,200 to 1,500 kilocalorie-per-day diet and reduce fat intake to 20 to 30 percent of total energy intake.

Weight loss was significant in all groups, with those exercising moderately gaining similar benefits to those who exercised vigorously. Participants who walked briskly (moderate exercise) for at least 50 minutes, five times a week, and who cut back on fatty foods saw the best long-term weight loss. In six months, they lost an average of 25 pounds, or about 15 percent of their body weight, and the program helped them keep the weight off the rest of the year. It came down to the calories they burned, not how hard they worked to burn them.

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Eating Disorders

Eating Disorder Awareness Week is an international public education and outreach campaign that is recognized across Canada in early February each year. Awareness is the critical first step in helping families identify when someone they love is at risk.

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10 Energy Boosters for Women

How energetic are you? Are you a morning person who bounces out of bed to welcome the start of another day? Or do you warm up more slowly, reaching a sluggish peak sometime after your third coffee? Most women find themselves somewhere between these two extremes, with many of us suffering from less-than-ideal energy levels.

Low energy is a very common concern and often results from a combination of environmental, physical, and emotional factors. Finding out about these influences may help you boost your energy stores to optimize your enjoyment of life every day.

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Screen Time

Whether it’s for work or for fun, people are spending more time than ever in front of digital screens. But countless hours focused on a computer or an e-reader can take a serious toll on one of our most precious assets: our eyes.

“We all do a lot of staring at screens,” says optometrist Paul Geneau. “People tend to tough it out when they’re working on the computer: they’ll spend hours at it without taking a break. Then when they step away they realize their eyes are bothering them.”

Regular peering into the digital universe may lead to computer vision syndrome (CVS), which can severely impact visual comfort and temporarily impair functioning.

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