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Newswise SEATTLE Women who want to lose weight should faithfully keep a food journal, and avoid skipping meals and eating in restaurants especially at lunch suggests new research from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The findings by Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues from the first study to look at the impact of a wide range of self-monitoring and diet-related behaviors and meal patterns on weight change among overweight and obese postmenopausal women are published online in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the Journal of the American Dietetic Association).

When it comes to weight loss, evidence from randomized, controlled trials comparing different diets finds that restricting total calories is more important than diet composition such as low-fat versus low-carbohydrate. Therefore, the specific aim of our study was to identify behaviors that supported the global goal of calorie reduction, McTiernan said.

Specifically, McTiernan and colleagues found that: Women who kept food journals consistently lost about 6 pounds more than those who did not Women who reported skipping meals lost almost 8 fewer pounds than women who did not Women who ate out for lunch at least weekly lost on average 5 fewer pounds than those who ate out less frequently (eating out often at all meal times was associated with less weight loss, but the strongest association was observed with lunch) For individuals who are trying to lose weight, the No. 1 piece of advice based on these study results would be to keep a food journal to help meet daily calorie goals. It is difficult to make changes to your diet when you are not paying close attention to what you are eating, said McTiernan, director of the Hutchinson Centers Prevention Center and a member of its Public Health Sciences Division. Study participants were given the following tips for keeping a food journal: Be honest record everything you eat Be accurate measure portions, read labels Be complete include details such as how the food was prepared, and the addition of any toppings or condiments Be consistent always carry your food diary with you or use a diet-tracking application on your smart phone

While the study provided a printed booklet for the women to record their food and beverage consumption, a food journal doesnt have to be anything fancy, McTiernan said. Any notebook or pad of paper that is easily carried or an online program that can be accessed any time through a smart phone or tablet should work fine.

In addition to documenting every morsel that passes ones lips, another good weight-loss strategy is to eat at regular intervals and avoid skipping meals. The mechanism is not completely clear, but we think that skipping meals or fasting might cause you to respond more favorably to high-calorie foods and therefore take in more calories overall, she said. We also think skipping meals might cluster together with other behaviors. For instance, the lack of time and effort spent on planning and preparing meals may lead a person to skip meals and/or eat out more.

Eating out frequently, another factor associated with less weight loss, may be a barrier for making healthful dietary choices. Eating in restaurants usually means less individual control over ingredients and cooking methods, as well as larger portion sizes, the authors wrote.

The analysis was based on data from 123 overweight-to-obese, sedentary, Seattle-area women, ages 50 to 75, who were randomly assigned to two arms of a controlled, randomized year-long dietary weight-loss intervention study: diet only and exercise plus diet. Study participants filled out a series of questionnaires to assess dietary intake, eating-related weight-control strategies, self-monitoring behaviors and meal patterns. They were also asked to complete a 120-item food-frequency questionnaire to assess dietary change from the beginning to the end of the study.

At the end of the study, participants in both arms lost an average of 10 percent of their starting weight, which was the goal of the intervention.

We think our findings are promising because it shows that basic strategies such as maintaining food journals, eating out less often and eating at regular intervals are simple tools that postmenopausal women a group commonly at greater risk for weight gain can use to help them lose weight successfully, McTiernan said.

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Want to Lose Weight? Keep a Food Journal, Don't Skip Meals and Avoid Going Out to Lunch

Ray and Vicki Lohr

Ray and Vicki Lohr and Lee and Lisa Karsner each joined the Health Management Resources (HMR) program at Baptist East Milestone looking for change, and in turn gained much more than they lost in pounds.

About a year ago, Ray and Vicki began the HMR program after Ray overheard a patient discussing his 65-pound weight loss success through the medically-based weight management plan.

After a second visit from the patient, Ray decided it was time to invest in the program himself. But first he had to convince his wife of 25 years, Vicki, to join him in the attempt.

In February of 2011, Ray and Vicki began Phase 1 of the HMR program, which provides lifestyle education, a structured diet, nutritious food and personalized attention during weekly in-person meetings. Costing an average of just $12 a day, the meal plan features shakes, hot cereal, pudding, soup, energy bars and various entrees, all of which end up saving many people an average of $29 that theyre no longer spending on groceries.

Theyre very handy for lunch, Vicki said of the HMR entrees. They dont have to be refrigerated and you heat them up in a minute. Ive never been hungry and thats why it can work. Because if I was hungry, I wouldnt do it.

In over a years time, Ray has lost a total of 115 pounds, and Vicki 50 on the program. No longer attending meetings at Baptist East Milestone, the couple have continued to follow Phase 2 of the diet, while incorporating exercise into their weekly routine.

Lee and Lisa Karsner

Planning has been key for Ray and Vicki, who prepare many of their meals a day or two in advance. But accountability may be the biggest motivating factor as theyve begun their journey to weight loss.

I dont think we would have been this successful (had we not done this together), said Vicki. I think were much closer and more supportive, and we do more things together.

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Losing Weight, Gaining Strength Together

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 11 (HealthDay News) -- Menopausal women who lose weight eating a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables could reduce or eliminate their hot flashes and night sweats, a large new study suggests.

One reason the researchers looked at weight loss as a way of dealing with menopausal symptoms was because of long-standing research linking hormone-replacement therapy to heart disease and breast cancer.

"We wanted to see if this could be an alternative to hormone therapy," said lead researcher Candyce Kroenke, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Division of Research in Oakland.

"Indeed, women who lost weight in the context of this healthier diet -- decreasing fat, increasing whole grains, fruits and vegetables -- were significantly more likely to reduce or eliminate symptoms," she added.

Reduced hot flashes and night sweats, the key menopausal symptoms, were seen in both overweight and normal-weight women who lost weight, Kroenke noted.

And the reason for that is fairly simple, she said: Fat tends to retain heat and losing weight helps the body dissipate heat more easily.

The report, which was published July 11 in the online edition of Menopause, involved data on more than 17,000 women who took part in the Women's Health Initiative study.

The women with menopausal symptoms who were on a low-fat diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, who were not taking hormone-replacement therapy and who lost at least 10 pounds in a year were more likely to see night sweats and hot flashes reduced or disappear after a year than did women who maintained their weight (the "control" group), the researchers found.

Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, commented that "this definitely goes along with the idea that good diet and exercise and losing weight contribute to general health."

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Diet, weight loss ease menopause symptoms

Readmore: Local, Health, Move!, Move! Program, Veteran's Lose Weight, Veteran's Move! Program, Veteran's Diet, Veteran's Changing Diet

IRON MOUNTAIN -- The MOVE! Program is designed by the VA's National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

The four-month program educates veterans on exercising, healthy food choices, and proper portions to lose weight and achieve an overall lifestyle change.

The purpose is to make sure we can have our veterans maintain a normal healthy weight and be healthier by losing weight, says health coordinator Brenda Reed. Weight loss can help with managing a lot of other chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart problems, and managing cholesterol, Brenda says.

Veterans meet once a month to discuss diet tips andstruggles and to check their weight loss progress. Roger Newhouse participated in the program for a year now and has lost 70 pounds. He says shedding the weight changed his life.

In addition to losing the weight when I first came here, I was taking 29 different medications.I probably took away over 25 because of my weight loss, says Roger. I just feel so much better. I have so much energy to do things.

He says it's a never-ending battle, but the group helps him keep moving forward. Now he only has 30 pounds left to lose to reach his overall weight loss goal of 100 pounds.

Any veterans interested in the program can contact their medical provider or call 1-800-215-8262 ext 32159.

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Veteran's MOVE! toward healthier living

Non-Sugar Sweeteners May Help Control Weight and Blood Sugar -- if You Don't Compensate

July 9, 2012 -- Substituting other sweeteners for sugars may help people lose weight and help people with diabetes control blood sugar, according to a new joint statement issued by the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association.

"When you use these non-nutritive sweeteners smartly, they will help you cut back on sugar and calories," says Christopher Gardner, PhD, who chaired the writing group for the joint statement.

The key word here is "smartly," says Gardner, associate professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.

The benefits of the sweeteners only hold if people don't undo them. That happens when they slake their sugar craving with other sugary drinks or foods later in the day -- an all-too-common tendency among people who use artificial sweeteners.

The new scientific statement is published in the journal Circulation.

Americans eat too much sugar, the American Heart Association warned in 2009.

The AHA recommends that most women eat no more than 100 calories of added sugars a day and men no more than 150 calories a day. That is about 6 teaspoons for most women, 9 for most men. "Added" sugars means sugar not naturally present in raw vegetables, fruits, and grains. Any sweetened beverage or food adds sugar to the diet.

But the average American's daily intake of added sugars is about 22 teaspoons or about 355 calories, according to 2004 AHA data.

This finding led the AHA to recommend reducing added sugars in the diet. And that raised the question of whether alternative sweeteners might help.

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Sugar Substitutes Can Lead to Weight Loss

Alamance Co., NC --Imagine you work in a doctor's office. Children with unhealthy weight come in and out. You and the doctor are giving their parents advice to help them eat better and live a healthier lifestyle.

And then, at the end of the day, you go home to your own child who is the same size or even bigger.

The guilt - right? Especially when you feel like you caused it.

Sulibeya Dimas is a medical assistant and that was her case.

The CDC says childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years.

Today, nearly one in three children is obese and at a greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep-apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.

Suli, the Alamance County mom says she made drastic changes in her house when doctors told her, her son was obese.

When her 9-year-old son was younger, he was small, underweight and a picky eater.

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Family Takes Healthy Pledge To Help Son

A new weight management programme that is helping obese patients in Bridgend lose weight through diet and exercise has won an NHS Wales Award.

The partnership approach from Public Health Wales, ABM University Health Board and Cwm Garw GP Practice in Bridgend scooped the Promoting Better Health and Avoiding Disease Award in a ceremony in Cardiff.

ABM University Health Board Public Health Services Manager Peter Mannion said: We are delighted that this project has been recognised with an NHS Wales Award as its been a real joint effort between many organisations to try and tackle the issue of obesity.

The programme has created an energy in the community and is really making a difference to patient care.

The supportive programme was developed as an urgent response to growing levels of obesity in the Bridgend area. The Cwm Garw practice in Bridgend has around 1000 patients who are considered obese and many do not seek help until they have developed related conditions such as diabetes.

The usual responses such as advice and weight monitoring were only giving limited benefit and uptake to a hospital based weight programme was also poor. It further identified that spending 10k per annum on anti-obesity medication was also failing to tackle obesity. It was decided to develop a new strategy that would provide effective motivational support and education, along with exercise programmes and access to healthy foods.

Patients were encouraged to follow a 12 week Weight Watchers programme, a 16 week exercise programme and then were provided with ongoing support. An evaluation of the first 43 patients to enrol on the programme revealed an average weight loss of 7.2kg, an average BMI reduction of 7% and 58% (25 people) achieved weight loss of 5% or more.

The programme is currently being rolled out to other GP practices in the Bridgend area.

Judging the award, Helen Birtwhistle, Director Welsh NHS Confederation, said: This stood out in a very impressive field as a fantastic exemplar of strong, partnership working in action.

This is a creative, yet practical, response to the health and well-being needs of the local community and it made a real and tangible difference to the lives of the participants, and in turn to their families.

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Bridgend weight loss programme wins award

Who says you should swear off all your favorite sweet treats when you're on a mission to lose weight? According to a study published in the journal Steroids, eating dessert with breakfast may actually help people on low-cal diets lose more weight.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University enlisted 200 nondiabetic obese adults to follow low-calorie diets for the study. They assigned each participant to one of two low-calorie diet groups. For the duration of the study, the first group got to eat 600 calories of a high-carb breakfast with chocolate, cake, a doughnut, or a cookie for dessert. Meanwhile, the second group ate a 300-calorie low-carb breakfast.

After 16 weeks, the results showed that participants in both groups shed an average of 33 pounds. During the 16-week follow-up period, however, those who had dessert after breakfast were able to lose 15 more pounds on average. Meanwhile, the participants in the other group regained 22 pounds on average.

The researchers noted that tarticipants in the dessert group reduced their cravings and followed their calorie limits more religiously. Theirghrelin (also known as the "hunger hormone") levels also dropped 45 percent after breakfast compared to 30 percent for the low-carb group.

So the next time you embark on a weight loss plan and try a low-calorie diet, you might want to consider going for a high-carb, protein-rich meal for breakfast--with a side of dessert. It's a plan that allows you to indulge yourself while still losing pounds.

(Photo courtesy of miss_yasmina via Flickr Creative Commons)

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Eating Dessert with Breakfast May Help You Lose Weight

The U.S. Surgeon General recently challenged mobile device application developers to come up with apps that would provide tailored health information and empower users to engage in and enjoy healthy behavior. The first place winner in the Fitness/Physical Activity category was Lose It!, an app designed to help users lose weight. According to the Lose It! website, the average user loses 12.3 pounds with the help of the app, with a 99% success rate (defined as losing any amount of weight) over 4 weeks.

From the Lose It! description on the Surgeon Generals website:

Lose It! helps users make healthy choices by setting a clear calorie budget, by permitting users to track their fitness and activity level, and by providing them insight into their nutrition (including a great MyPlate report on Loseit.com as well a set of badges that reward users for their adherence to MyPlate fruit and vegetable guidelines). In addition, Lose It! integrates with wireless devices such as the Fitbit tracker and Withings wireless scale, making it easy to track your activity and weight change without entering any data in Lose It!

For more information, check out the video below.

The app is consistent with the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which developed the MyPlate website in order to help Americans make healthy food choices that are customized to their needs and activity levels. Another beneficial feature of the Lose It! app over many popular diet strategies and books is that it emphasizes physical fitness as an important and integral part of a long-term weight management strategy and healthy lifestyle, which is also consistent with the recommendations of the federal government.

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Lose It! wins in fitness category of Surgeon General’s app challenge

It's not a myth: women really are at a disadvantage when it comes to shedding pounds

Trae Patton / NBC

Jeremy Britt shows off his weight loss during the season finale of The Biggest Loser on NBC.

Harper's latest book is The Skinny Rules: The Simple, Nonnegotiable Principles for Getting to Thin

On The Biggest Loser,more than 60% of the winners have been men. Outside of the show, Ive heard a lot of women complain that even when they arent really trying, men seem to have an easier time losing weight. Why?

The answer lies in body composition. Even when obese, men tend to have more muscle mass than women. Women carry approximately 10% more of their bodyweight in fat. Furthermore, several studies have shown that a mans metabolism is anywhere from 3 to 10% higher than a woman of the same weight and age. That brings us to a physiological truth: the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you will burn, even when resting.

(MORE: Lets Stop Being Passive About Fighting Obesity)

The typeof extra weight youre carrying matters, too. Men tend to have more visceral fat, the kind that accumulates deep in the body, mostly around the organs in their mid-sections. It may not jiggle around, but it can give a guy some added girth or a big gut. Women have more subcutaneous fat, which sits just under the skin (most often in your hips and thighs). This type of fat tends to jiggle and move, and you might even (unhappily) be able to grab hold of it.

While visceral fat is the more dangerous of the two and has been linked to a long list of health issues, a 2009 study at Cairo University showed that it gets metabolized faster than subcutaneous fat. This means that subcutaneous fat is harder to lose, which is just another hurdle for women who are looking to lose weight.

(MORE:How Faith and Health Go Hand-in-Hand)

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It's True: Women Must Work Harder to Lose Weight

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