Benefits Of Probiotics: Why Eating Yogurt Can Help You lose Weight

Yogurt A new study claims that the regular consumption of probiotics could help accelerate weight loss in women.

Published jointly out of food and yogurt giant Nestlé and Université Laval in Quebec, the research suggests that obese women who add probiotics to their diet plan — most commonly found in yogurt — could lose twice as much weight as those who don’t.

Based on the premise that the intestinal flora of obese people differs from thin people — likely due to a diet high in fat and low in fibre — scientists set out to see if the consumption of “good bacteria” could help reset the balance of gut microbiota.

To test out their theory, researchers recruited 125 overweight men and women who were put on a 12-week weight loss diet, followed by another 12-week maintenance program. During the 24-week period, half the participants were instructed to take two pills of probiotics daily, while the other half received a placebo.

After the first period, women who took probiotics lost an average of 4.4 kg (about 10 lbs) while their placebo counterparts lost 2.6 kg (about 6 lbs).

By the end of the 24-week period, women in the probiotic group had continued to lose weight for a total of 5.2 kg per person (about 11 lbs), while the placebo group remained stable.

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10 Tips for January Weight Loss

Fit It’s that time of year where it seems like everyone is talking about being healthier and losing weight.

But if you’re like most people, the good intentions never seem to translate into success and each January you’re back wondering which diet to go on next.

So here are 10 tips for losing weight in the New Year.

1. Ask: What do I want to achieve?

Most people think purely in terms of losing weight.

But what’s the point losing weight and then gaining it all back a few weeks later?

In other words, think about what the real goal is. It’s not just to reach a certain weight. It’s to reach it and stay there!

2. Accept that it will take longer to lose weight than you expected.

Everyone is in a hurry but the fact is most people have unrealistic expectations about how fast they will lose weight.

If you’re expecting to lose weight faster than you actually can (and who isn’t influenced by fad diet claims of losing massive amounts of weight in a short time?) you are likely to be disappointed and more likely to give up.

Instead, the best thing you can do for yourself is accept that it will take a little longer and that’s ok.

3. Don’t overhaul your diet.

Completely overhauling what you normally eat might seem healthy and virtuous but these sort of changes are too drastic to maintain. If you’re replacing your regular diet with something that resembles rabbit food, ask yourself if you’re really going to be sticking with it for more than a few weeks.

Instead make small changes that are easier to integrate into your life.

4. Don’t do anything unpleasant.

Have you ever tried a diet that was so unpleasant that you couldn’t last on it for more than a week and then you blamed yourself for lack of willpower?

When it comes to cutting back the calories, there is no place for “no pain, no gain”. If it’s unpleasant, you won’t keep doing it.

5. Keep a food diary.

Everyone talks about writing down what you eat and with good reason. It works! If you have to choose one action to take, take this one. It’s that powerful.

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5 Best Diet Tips for Weight Loss

Fit Everyone deals with stubborn belly fat. In fact, this is one of the biggest issues people have when they are trying to lose weight. Fortunately, there are a lot of tips out there that can help you lose that stubborn weight and get your body back to health. Here are five of the best diet tips for weight loss when it comes to belly fat.

1. A lot of belly fat is related to stress. If you can relieve some of your stress and find healthy ways to manage it, you won’t be as likely to retain as much belly weight. Whether you take up exercising, join a yoga class, or even just learn how to manage your stress better on your own, this can help with weight loss in the midsection.

2. If you drink a lot of chemically-altered beverages, stop. Trade even just 75% of your beverages for water and you’ll notice a lot of improvement in your weight. If you get rid of the worst drinks like soda and fancy coffee drinks, it will be even better. Your belly is where you retain water and these chemicals in many drinks can affect that.

3. Speaking of retaining water, reduce your sodium intake. If you eat a lot of salt, processed foods, or junk food, you probably take in too much sodium. Start watching how much you consume and watch the weight fall off. If you combine this with increasing your water intake, you’ll see even better results.

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Breaking Stalls and Plateaux

weighing sclae At some point during the Low Carb weight loss journey, nearly everyone experiences a slowing down or a halt in weight loss.

It’s almost as if it’s part of the right of passage, something that you just have to go through.

Well, first of all let me give you some good news and say that in many cases the slow down is avoidable and in all cases it is possible to overcome the stall, plateau or whatever else you want to call it.

In this three part series, I go over the most comprehensive list of things that can cause your weight loss to tail off and in the last part I’ll give you three ways that you can use to bust a stall or plateau… Guaranteed!

First off, let’s discuss exactly what a stall is and set some ground rules.

You can consider yourself in a stall if neither your weight, body measurements, nor body volume has not shown any change for a minimum of 4 weeks.  That said, if you have not had any change for two weeks, at least start the investigation process as to what may be the likely cause of the stall.  Quite simply, if it is something simple and you make changes that cause the weight and measurements to move in the right direction, then sooner is always better than later, particularly for your own encouragement.  And if it is something simple then why wait another two weeks?

That brings us to the first of the ground rules. Follow this link