Weight Loss

A 45-year-old woman has gradually put on 12 pounds over the past year. In the last month, she's faced a stressful work deadline and added another 4 pounds to her frame.

This individual's goal is to lose the 16 pounds she has gained. Since her weight has been gradually increasing, she knows she is consuming more calories than she is burning, especially with her sedentary job. She decided that losing weight at a rate of 1 pound per week (let's say for this woman it is equal to a deficit of about 3,500 calories, or cutting 500 calories per day) would be acceptable and would allow her to reach her goal in about four months.

She decided to make some changes that will allow her to cut back an average of 250 calories per day.

• Skipping a large glass of sweetened iced tea will save about 200 calories.
• Substituting mineral water for the cola she regularly drinks during meetings can save another 150 calories.
• Foregoing her morning muffin snack (or eating only half a muffin) can also save 250 calories or more.

To reach her goal of a 500-calorie-per-day savings, she adds some exercise.

• Getting up early for a 20-minute walk before work and adding a 10-minute walk during her lunch break add up to a half hour of walking per day, which can burn about 200 calories.
• On weekends, she plans to walk for 60 minutes one day and spend 1 hour gardening the next day for even greater calorie burning. If walking for 60 minutes is too much, two 30-minute walks one day would burn the same number of calories.
• Twice per week, she plans to stop at the gym on the way home from work, even if only for a half hour of stationary cycling or swimming (each burning up to 250 calories).

By making just some of the dietary cutbacks mentioned and starting some moderate exercise, this individual can easily "save" the 3,500 calories per week needed for a 1-pound weight loss, leading to a healthy rate of weight loss without extreme denial or deprivation. Furthermore, her changes in diet and lifestyle are small and gradual, modifications that she can maintain over time.

Many people prefer to have a set of rules to follow when dieting. Others may crave emotional support from attending counseling sessions or meetings. Diet products, fitness and nutrition books, and health services have become a billion-dollar industry, so many people are looking for help with weight control. Before you jump on the latest diet bandwagon, remember that organized diet plans and programs can only result in weight loss if you burn more calories than you consume. No dietary supplements, exercise devices, combinations of foods, or specific patterns of eating will change this fact.

Some examples of popular diet plans and programs include:

• Atkins diet
• The South Beach Diet
• Weight Watchers
• Jenny Craig
• Cutting carbs or no-carb diets
• Body for Life
• Ketogenic diet
• High-protein diets
• Dr. Andrew Weil's diet plan
• The Ornish diet

All of these diets have their proponents, and all of them have been successful for some people. Because one's appetite, eating habits, and preferences vary widely among individuals, before you decide on a diet plan, ask yourself if the plan sounds realistic to you.

• If the plan involves rigorous measuring of portions and calorie counting, are you up to the task?
• If you're forbidden to eat certain foods, will you develop cravings for them?
• Will you feel comfortable adhering to the diet guidelines?
• Will the diet's requirements fit easily into your daily schedule?
• Can you afford the plan?

Finally, consider that once you've lost weight, you may regain the weight if you return to your previous eating habits, so any weight-loss plan should be something you can live with for a long time. Your health care provider can recommend a consultation with a dietitian or nutritionist if you would like help evaluating or developing a weight loss or healthy eating plan.

Remember that the most successful weight management comes from dietary changes and healthy eating choices that will stay with you over time, not from diets that leave you feeling deprived or result in binge-eating episodes.

Certain foods can help you in your search for proper weight maintenance. These superfoods for weight loss may be just what you need to reach your optimum health goals.

1. Black beans: Unlike red meat and other protein sources, black beans are free of saturated fat and contain 15 grams of protein. They also contain polyphenols, strong antioxidants.
2. Salmon: Healthy fats are an important part of your diet. Salmon contains polyunsaturated fats, which are good for your body. Many types of meat and dairy products contain saturated fat, which does not help you to lose weight.
3. Oats: Beta-glucan is a type of fiber. The soluble form of beta-glucan is found in oats. It is good for weight loss due to its effect on insulin resistance. It helps to decrease food cravings and aids in abdominal fat loss.
4. Avocado: Avocado is another type of healthy fat. It contains monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), which help to keep you full. It aids in weight loss and lowers body inflammation.
5. Yogurt: Probiotics are living compounds that grow good bacteria in your colon, which helps with metabolism and weight loss. Yogurt contains these live cultures and milk, making it both satisfying and productive.
6. Barley: Barley contains a large amount of soluble fiber. It also has resistance starch, which is a prebiotic. It helps to promote healthy gut bacteria. It slows digestion and lowers blood glucose. This nutty-flavored whole grain helps with weight loss and feeling full longer.
7. Blueberries: Frozen, raw, or cooked, blueberries are a superfood high in flavonoids and anthocyanins. At 85 calories a cup, blueberries protect against obesity and cell damage. In addition, blueberries are very nutritious and low in sugar.
8. Red bell pepper: Vitamin C fights belly fat and is essential to immune system health. Bell peppers contain three times your recommended daily intake.
9. Apples: High in fiber, apples contain pectin. Pectin works in your gut to slow digestion. This helps you to stay full longer. The fiber also slows blood sugar absorption. One apple contains 4.5 grams of fiber.
10. Broccoli: This veggie is a healthful aid and supposedly decreases tumor growth to lower your cancer risk. But this cruciferous veggie contains a high amount of fiber, which aids with weight loss and blood sugar maintenance.
11. Edamame: Good as a side dish or snack, edamame is low in calories and high in nutrients and fiber. It helps you to stay full longer.
12. Flaxseed: Flaxseed contains what is known as a ligan. Ligans fight inflammation and reduce metabolic syndrome, which could aid in reducing cholesterol, lowering high blood glucose, and reducing the circumference of your waist. Flaxseed is high in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.
13. Capsaicin: This powder suppresses inflammation in obesity and decreases food intake. You can find it in chili powder, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and more. It burns fat, reduces appetite, and increases metabolism.
14. Almonds: Almond is a tree nut. It has a combination of plant protein, healthy fat, and fiber, all of which play a role in delaying being hungry. Almonds are also low in calories.
15. Diluted vinegar: Vinegar is a trendy health food item. Its acetic acid can affect fat metabolism. More studies are needed, but it seems to be a metabolism booster.
16. Cardamom: It has numerous health benefits and was once thought to be an aphrodisiac. It may counter the effects of unhealthy diets. It also reduces inflammation in teeth, gums, and eyelids.
17. Green tea: Polyphenols are plentiful in the leaves of green tea. Polyphenols are antioxidant-rich and fight cell inflammation and damage. It also protects the heart from diseases. It lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. It is popular in smoothies and other blended drinks. This aids in weight loss, even more so than water.
18. Raspberries: These berries are full of vitamins, fiber, and nutrients. It boasts vitamin C, which aids in immune health. It helps with feeling full for an extended period.
19. Dark chocolate: Flavanols are contained in cocoa. It is associated with lowering high blood pressure and low insulin resistance. In the brain and heart, it improves blood flow. The darker the chocolate, the better, because other types such as milk chocolate or white chocolate have fatty and sugary extra ingredients.
20. Egg whites: Low in calories and high in protein, egg whites are good for diets. They help create a calorie deficiency which reduces body fat.
21. Asparagus: This fiber-filled veggie helps you to stay fuller longer. It is a diuretic that aids in bloating and is high in potassium levels.
22. Baked potato: Potatoes have potassium, which is good for blood pressure. It is high in fiber, which helps keep you full.
23. Popcorn: Popcorn is a whole grain when air-popped and it is low in calories when not topped with excess butter. Whole grains over refined grains burn more calories and reduce body fat.
24. Spinach: Low in carbs and low in calories, spinach is vitamin-rich. It is very healthy due to its plant chemical contents that cause the secretion of appetite-suppressing hormones that curb your appetite.
25. Quinoa: High in protein, quinoa keeps you full with its high levels of plant-based proteins. It decreases your appetite and promotes belly fat decrease. It can go well with other items on this list, like stuffing it in bell peppers.

Although medications for weight loss are available, they should only be used by people who have health risks related to being obese. Doctors usually consider medications to be an appropriate treatment in patients with a BMI greater than 30 or in those with a BMI of greater than 27 who have other medical conditions (such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high blood cholesterol) that put them at risk for developing heart disease who have been unable to achieve doctor-prescribed weight loss goals with lifestyle changes. It is not recommended that medications be used for cosmetic weight loss or to lose small amounts of weight.

All weight loss medications are designed to be used along with a nutritious diet, exercise, and healthy lifestyle changes. Drugs used to assist with weight loss include:

• Orlistat (Alli [available over-the-counter OTC], Xenical [available by prescription])
  • Inhibits pancreatic lipases which alter fat digestion so fat is eliminated in feces
  • Can prevent the absorption of about 25% to 30% of calories from fat in the diet
• GLP-1 receptor agonists and GLP-1/GIP drugs:
  • In addition to helping with weight loss, these drugs have positive effects on blood sugar, which may play a role in how they work for weight loss
  • The preferred medication for patients with type 2 diabetes, especially those with heart problems
  • Slow the movement of food through the stomach which may cause people to feel full more quickly when eating, thus resulting in eating less
  • Activates receptors of hormones involved in food digestion in the small intestine to make the body feel full
    • Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus)
    • Liraglutide (Saxenda, Victoza)
    • Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound)
• Combination drugs:
  • Phentermine-topiramate (extended-release) (Qsymia)
    • Used in obese men and postmenopausal women who do not have high blood pressure (hypertension) or coronary heart disease
    • The combination of these drugs boosts weight loss in the first year of use
  • Naltrexone-bupropion (sustained release) (Contrave)
    • Produces similar weight loss similar to orlistat, but has more side effects
    • Not usually recommended as first-line drug therapy, but may be used for obese smokers who want to quit smoking and treat obesity
• Sympathomimetic drugs used for weight loss include:
  • Phentermine (Adipex-P, Lomaira), benzphetamine, phendimetrazine, and diethylpropion
    • Only approved for short-term (12 weeks) use, because they have more side effects and have the potential for abuse
    • Not recommended for use in patients with coronary heart disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension), hyperthyroidism, or in patients with a history of drug abuse

Weight-loss surgery, which includes procedures such as laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), gastric sleeve surgery (sleeve gastrectomy), and gastric bypass is also available for people with severe obesity whose attempts to lose weight through other medical treatment methods have failed. Most experts agree that bariatric surgery, or surgery to promote weight loss, should be reserved for the morbidly obese (those who have a BMI greater than 40) or those with a BMI of 35 to 40 with obesity-related health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or severe sleep apnea.

Maintenance of healthy body weight has health benefits and is important for maintaining both physical and emotional well-being and disease prevention. Excess weight, body fat, and obesity have been associated with an increased risk for numerous health conditions, including:>

• Heart disease (including heart attack)
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Osteoarthritis
• Some types of cancers
• Sleep apnea
• Elevated blood cholesterol levels

It should be noted that a reduction in weight for those who are overweight can have a major impact on the health conditions listed above. Many overweight people also report improved mood, increased self-esteem and motivation, and feeling healthier in general after they have lost weight.

1. The desire to lose weight must come from the individual. If you're truly ambivalent about making changes in your lifestyle or are doing this to please someone else, you're likely to fail. When making changes, decide what's right for your lifestyle. Your best friend's diet and exercise plan may be completely wrong for your health habits and interests. The key is to find a system that works for you.
2. Don't blame yourself if you aren't perfect. If you once failed at your attempt to curtail your overeating, it doesn't mean you are a failure at weight control and that you should just give up. Accept that you made a poor choice, but don't let that poor choice influence the rest of your meal plan. The same holds with exercise. Skipping a few workouts doesn't mean you can't get back on track. Weight control does not involve making perfect choices all the time; rather it's about attempting to make good health choices more often than poor ones.
3. Don't go hungry. Make sure not to skip meals, and always have some healthy low-fat snacks on hand. When you starve yourself, you are more likely to overeat and make bad food choices. Try to eat healthy, regular meals.
4. Avoid surroundings where you know you're tempted to make poor food choices. Everyone has a time when we're most likely to overeat, whether it's the morning coffee break or after-work gathering with friends. Try to plan other activities or distractions for those times, or plan how you're going to handle them and stick to them.
5. Surround yourself with people who support your efforts. Even our good friends can knowingly or unknowingly sabotage weight-loss attempts. Spend time with those people who will not pressure you to make poor food choices.
6. Decide on some nonfood rewards for yourself when you reach interim goals. For example, at the end of the first week of healthy eating or after the first 5 pounds are lost, go see a movie, or download a new app or book.
7. If you have a slip-up, this is no reason to give up. Giving in to temptation and overeating doesn't have to mean the end of your healthy eating plan. After the overeating episode, just resume the healthy eating plan and forgive yourself.
8. Stock your pantry and refrigerator with healthy foods. Get rid of the high-calorie, low-nutrition snacks like chips and candy. But don't forget to have plenty of healthier options available as well, such as popcorn (hold the butter), low-fat cheese and yogurt, fruit, instant cocoa without added sugar, sugar-free popsicles or puddings, or whatever appeals to you when you're hungry for a snack.
9. Study the Internet or your cookbook collection and identify some low-fat recipes you would like to try.
10. Set small goals and focus on these rather than the "big picture." Decide where you want to be in a week or a month rather than focusing on the total amount of weight you'd like to lose.
11. Don't compare your weight loss to others. Everyone is different and has different metabolic rates. People also vary in the number of calories they burn daily or how much exercise they do. Aim for a healthy rate of weight loss, and don't measure yourself by what others are doing or their results.
12. Seek out restaurants and venues where you can stay on track. Many restaurants offer nutritional information and calorie content on their menus, and it's often possible to modify your choices. Get the salad dressing on the side or hold the butter. Substitute vegetables for fried foods. Even starting the meal with a green salad can make you eat less of the high-calorie main dish while adding some vitamins and fiber to the meal.

After starting a weight loss plan, you may start to shed pounds pretty quickly at first. But after a few weeks, you may hit a weight loss plateau, where it seems like you aren't losing weight or the numbers have begun to creep back up.

While this can be frustrating, don’t get discouraged. Your body is getting adjusted to changes in your body, and a weight loss plateau is one of the ways it's trying to return to homeostasis. However, with consistent effort, you can get over the hump by increasing your physical activity to burn more calories or reducing your calorie intake.

Here are some tips to overcome a weight loss plateau:

1. Restrict calorie intake: Decreasing your intake of carbs will force your body to burn more calories for energy. Keep track of your daily calorie intake of calories and try to reduce them.
2. Exercise more: Increase the intensity and frequency of your workouts. Maintaining an active lifestyle helps you burn more calories. This is called non-exercise activity thermogenesis or NEAT and includes climbing stairs, walking while working, doing household chores, etc.
3. Eat more protein: Eating more protein may boost your metabolism, reduce hunger pangs, and help you lose weight while retaining muscle mass. It is recommended to split up protein intake throughout the day because it increases metabolism through food's thermic effect.
4. Increase your fiber intake: Soluble fiber helps you feel full for longer by slowing the passage of food through your digestive tract. This can help reduce the number of calories you absorb from other foods. Vegetables and fruits are good sources of fiber and nutrients and are low in calories.
5. Drink more water: Drinking plenty of water may boost metabolism, and having a glass of water before meals can fill your stomach and prevent you from overeating. Black coffee and green tea may also help, as caffeine plays a role in boosting metabolism as well.
6. Try intermittent fasting: Intermittent fasting is an eating plan where you fast for a certain period and only eat during a certain window, or fast every alternate day. Avoid this if you have diabetes or a heart condition. Talk to your doctor before trying intermittent fasting.
7. Limit alcohol: Alcohol contains empty calories and suppresses fat burning, which can lead to the accumulation of fat around the belly.
8. Get enough sleep: Good sleep is essential for both physical and mental health. Lack of sleep results in hormonal disturbances, which further decrease the metabolism rate and increase hunger and fat storage, leading to weight gain.
9. Manage stress: Try to reduce your stress levels. Being in a state of constant stress increases stress hormones, which can interfere with weight loss.
10. Don't give up: Building healthy eating and exercise habits takes time and perseverance. If you hit a weight loss plateau, don't get discouraged or give up. Be consistent with your diet and exercise plan and ensure your strategy is sustainable over the long term. Whatever you do, don't go back to old unhealthy habits.