Ground Up Strength

Physical Activity Plays an Important Role in Body Weight Regulation

Emerging literature highlights the need to incorporate physical activity into every strategy intended to prevent weight gain as well as to maintain weight loss over time. Furthermore, physical activity should be part of any plan to lose weight. The stimulus of exercise provides valuable metabolic adaptations that improve energy and macronutrient balance regulation. A tight coupling between energy intake and energy expenditure has been documented at high levels of physical exercise, suggesting that exercise may improve appetite control. The regular practice of physical activity has also been reported to reduce the risk of stress-induced weight gain. A more personalized approach is recommended when planning exercise programs in a clinical weight loss setting in order to limit the compensatory changes associated to exercise-induced weight loss. With modern environment promoting overeating and sedentary behavior, there is an urgent need for a concerted action including legislative measures to promote healthy active living in order to curb the current epidemic of chronic diseases.

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Effects of Exercise, Diet, and a Combination of Exercise and Diet in Overweight and Obese Adults

Abstract: The objective of the following meta-analysis was to determine what kind of treatment, or combination of treatments, has the greatest effect on weight loss in overweight and obese adults.

A systematic search was conducted of the available literature published between 1993 and 2006 that covered randomized controlled trials on overweight and obese subjects who underwent treatment consisting of physical exercise and/ or changes in diet. The scope of the search thus incorporated seven relevant databases. Using 6,545 key word combinations, the electronic search yielded a total of 36,869 abstracts. 13 relevant studies with a total of 826 subjects (BMI > 25; 17 - 68 years of age) met the meta-analysis criteria. The courses of treatment included “diet (d)”, “physical exercise (pe)”, “diet and physical exercise (dpe)”, and “no intervention (ni)”. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the combined intervention “dpe” had the greatest effect with regard to weight loss. The single treatments “pe” and “d” also led to weight loss, with “d” having a significantly greater effect than “pe”. The main reason for the small sample size of thirteen studies out of 36,819 was that the experimental design and/or procedures of most studies were inadequate. A common error was a failure to assign subjects randomly to the different treatment groups. The results of our meta-analysis indicate that a combination of diet and physical exercise is the best form of treatment to induce weight loss in overweight individuals in the first weeks, followed by physical exercise to maintain weight loss.

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Effect of a 21 day Daniel Fast on Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

Dietary modification via caloric restriction is associated with multiple effects related to improved metabolic and cardiovascular health. However, a mandated reduction in kilocalories is not well-tolerated by many individuals, limiting the long-term application of such a plan. The Daniel Fast is a widely utilized fast based on the Biblical book of Daniel. It involves a 21 day ad libitum food intake period, devoid of animal products and preservatives, and inclusive of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. The purpose of the present study was to determine the efficacy of the Daniel Fast to improve markers of metabolic and cardiovascular disease risk.

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Self Control: Not all its Cracked Up To Be

More and more, everyone is learning that "diets" don't work. Sure, people drop weight on diets but they fail to make a lasting change. I don't need to go into this, you know all about yo-yo dieting. Despite this there are still plenty of judgmental folks (who probably wouldn't know a problem if it bit them in the tuchus) who will say stuff like, "jeez, what ever happened to old fashioned self-control?"

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Diet Alone, Exercise Alone, Or Both For Fatloss?

The age old question. And it seems to spark absolute outrage on all sides. Which is "better" for fatloss? Diet alone, exercise alone, or a combination of diet and exercise intervention?

Most people involved with helping the very overweight or obese lose weight will tell you that if you have to choose one then diet alone is the way to go.

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Diets: "They All Work When You Stick To Them"

Public perception, even that of some health professionals, is that people who are classified as obese are lazy and have made few serious attempts to lose weight [1]. We are now starting to understand that the underlying causes of the obesity epidemic operate at numerous levels – individual, cultural, societal, and biological. We also acknowledge that fad diets are not the solution to weight loss [2], and that we need to consider a number of short and long term strategies to facilitate the social change needed to enable individuals, families and communities to live healthy lifestyles [3].

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7 Steps To Weight Loss Without Dieting Deprivation And Guilt

By Michelle May, M.D.
www.AmIHungry.com

If your commitment to eat right, exercise and lose weight always seems to lose its steam, you're not alone. Successful weight loss isn't just about what you're eating, but why you're eating in the first place. If you’re ready to lose weight without dieting, deprivation and guilt and decrease emotional eating, you need to know about Instinctive Eating (sometimes called intuitive eating).

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Paint by Numbers or Masterpiece: Restrictive Versus Healthy Eating

By Michelle May, M.D.

There is a harmful idea virus that has become so widespread, so ubiquitous, that it is accepted as normal. It has subtly integrated itself into our beliefs, our thoughts, our language, our behavior and our reality. It’s so pervasive that it has become “conventional wisdom” and almost no one questions it.

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