Community Weight Loss Effort

Hi All,

Have you read this?

http://www.nowgoto.ws/cityondiet

You gotta read this — it is so easy and would save the government plus insurance plans millions (if not billions) of dollars over the course of several years!

I remember when I was younger there were a lot of public service message in between cartoons about eating healthy, not drowing your food in ketchup, mayo or goop — whatever happened to that?

I think doctors have been saying this forever — teach kids when they are young so that they grow up with healthy eating habits, and this community put it into practice and it’s paid off.

Go ahead, click on the link above (it is a SHORT URL — I hate posting the huge long URL).

Enjoy!

Mohamed

Soy promotes weight loss…

Another tidbit I found today:

How does soy promote weight loss? University of Illinois scientist finds another clue

Research shows that when soy consumption goes up, weight goes down. A new University of Illinois study may help scientists understand exactly how that weight loss happens.

“We wanted to compare the effects of soy protein hydrolysates and soy peptides with those of leptin because we hypothesized that soy might behave in the body in a similar way. Leptin is a hormone produced in our adipose tissue that interacts with receptors in the brain and signals us that we’re full so we stop eating,” said Elvira de Mejia, a U of I assistant professor of food science and human nutrition.

The researchers wanted to see if soy protein hydrolysates could affect these regulatory hormones and their receptors.

“And we found that soy did have an effect on these mechanisms and hormones that are induced in the body to help us degrade lipids and reduce body weight, but it did so by boosting metabolism and not by reducing food intake,” she said.

To compare soy peptides with leptin, de Mejia’s graduate student Nerissa Vaughn, with the help of associate professor Lee Beverly, implanted cannulas in the brains of lab rats; they then injected leptin as a positive control. When the scientists could see their model was working, they injected two formulations of hydrolyzed soy protein and soy peptides so the scientists could monitor the effects of each on food intake and weight loss.

Injections were given three times a week for two weeks; during that time, the animals had unlimited access to food and water. Food intake was measured 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after injection, and the rats were weighed 24 and 48 hours after injection. All rats received the same amount of exercise, and all rats lost weight.

But, after the third injection, de Mejia and Vaughn noticed a significant weight loss in the group of animals that had received one of the soy hydrolysates, even though the animals hadn’t changed their eating habits. In this instance, soy protein appeared to have caused weight loss not by reducing food intake but by altering the rats’ metabolism.

The experiment not only showed that soy peptides could interact with receptors in the brain, it also demonstrated that eating less isn’t always the reason for weight loss, the researcher said.

“Weight loss is a complex physiological event. It’s not always as simple as ‘Eat less or exercise more,’ said de Mejia.

“Losing weight is a cascade of many steps, beginning with the production of certain hormones and continuing with their action in the brain. Some people are resistant to these hormones, just as other people are insulin-resistant. These people never receive the message from the brain that tells them they’re full,” she added.

de Mejia plans to continue investigating the effects of soy proteins on weight loss. She believes soy contains anorectic peptides that signal a feeling of satiety as well as peptides that boost the metabolism. Her next step will be to fractionate and purify the soy hydrolysates so that she can identify each peptide and understand its bioactivity.

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Need MOTIVATION to loose weight?

Hi All,

Need some motiviation to loose weight?  Have a look at this picture:

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2007/05/02/images/FATFLYN.jpeg

Here is the story out of the UK:

A Dundee woman has revealed the secret motivation behind her incredible weight loss transformation — a pair of jeans big enough for two people (writes Debbie Kerr).
Karen Brand (pictured before and after her weight loss), who lives in Dens Road, is half the woman she used to be after losing around seven stones in a year-and-a-half . . . but she still occasionally pulls out the size 24 trousers to help maintain her weight loss and remind her how much she has achieved.
“I keep a pair of jeans in the cupboard that I bought in a size 24 and thought I looked so trendy in,” she said. “Every so often I pull them out of the wardrobe just to motivate myself. It’s incredible — you could fit me and my husband in them now.”

Karen is now a consultant with Slimming World, but only a year and a half ago she weighed 17st 7lbs and was living on a student diet of toasties, convenience foods and takeaways.

It was a particularly unhappy shopping trip and the discovery she needed size 24 trousers that spurned her into action.

She joined her local Slimming World class in September 2005 and has now successfully transformed herself to a svelte size 12.

After attending the weekly meetings, Karen soon found she was losing weight at a steady pace and is thrilled at the new lease of life her weight loss has given her.

She feels more energetic and has also noticed a significant improvement in her health.

She said, “I have so much more energy. When you hear from the doctor you will be able to do all these new things if you lose weight, you might not listen, but it’s true.

“I have slight asthma, but since I began Slimming World and started eating more healthy foods, it has improved significantly and I just don’t feel run down anymore.”

Supported by her class leader Susan Dunbar and fellow members, Karen began to incorporate gentle exercise into her daily routine by walking to work and has built this up to include gym sessions and exercise classes.

The benefits of her weight loss have affected many areas of Karen’s life, not only increasing her confidence but also allowing her to enjoy things like shopping for clothes.

Karen, who married George in August 2006, is now only 4lbs away from her goal and is keen to pass on her knowledge in her slimming consultant role.

She said, “If I can help to make anybody feel half as good as I do after losing weight, I’ll be happy.”

Karen Brand’s Slimming World class will be held on Tuesdays at 6pm in St Andrews Parish Church Hall, King Street, Dundee. For more information contact Karen on 01382 522395.
 

When to start your lifestyle changes?

Hi All,

Another question that frequently pops-up in my e-mail box is “when should I start my lifestyle changes” (or when do I get onto a diet).

The answer is NOW.

You don’t need to wait for a special occasion, or some other arbitrary event to kick start a new you.

See, this is what is usually going on in someones life.

You’re probably under stress.  Maybe feeling a bit depressed about your weight, so turn to comfort foods.  It may be the start, middle or the end of the week and you think to yourself “I will start on MONDAY.”.

But you and I know that this won’t work.

You can’t wait until Monday.  You have to start NOW.  Right this very minute.

Besides why are you waiting till Monday (or ANY day for that matter)?  Is something going to change on Monday?  Are you planning on winning a lottery on Monday?  Will all the stress in your life disappear on Monday?  WHAT WILL CHANGE ON MONDAY?  Sorry for yelling…

You can start TODAY, RIGHT NOW.  Do something!  Anything!

You could start by consciously eating.  Peek inside your lunchbox — if you bring a bagged lunch to work.  If you’re going to eat out, fine — but pick from the menu.  Don’t grab the fastest thing, be choosey!  If you’ve got a choice between a burger and fries and perhaps fish — opt for the fish.  Yes, I agree that there may be a lot of calories and fat on any cremes the put onto “gourmet” style foods — but you can ask them to hold the cremes or put it on the side so YOU can decide how much to put onto the food.

Were you going to grab a cola?  Ask for diet cola, or better yet water.

When you get home, be conscious about what you’re doing.  Don’t stop to have a snack of chips or any other comfort food.  Grab an apple, pear or banana.  Maybe grab a bag of carrots and a low-fat dip if you don’t like raw veggies.

Dieting is all about lifestyle changes.  You can still enjoy ALL the foods you love, but you need to eat in moderation and you need to be aware of what you are eating.  Like chips, EAT ‘EM — but not a bag meant for 6 people.  Take 10-15 out and snack on that.  Depriving yourself only adds to the cycle of binging, guilt and crash diets that DO NOT work.

If you have been contemplating a lifestyle change, when are you going to start?

TODAY!

That’s what I wanted to hear!

Here is to your health,

Regards,

Mohammed

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