Below are research-based tips from investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that may help jump start one’s weight loss progress in the coming year.

1. Keep moving each day. We all know that exercise is crucial to losing weight, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. The task need not be daunting; all it takes to see a weight-loss benefit is 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity daily. “You don’t need to be athletic. Just brisk walking or dancing to your favorite music or using an aerobic exercise machine like a stationary bike or treadmill is all you need to do – just try to do it each day,” said Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Hutchinson Center’s Prevention Center. The exercise doesn’t have to be all at once. “You can break it into 10- or 15-minute sessions throughout the day to get the weight-loss benefit,” she said.

2. Keep a food journal. “By spending a little extra time to write down everything you eat and drink, you’ll be able to see where extra calories sneak in,” said postdoctoral research fellow Caitlin Mason, Ph.D., an exercise and health researcher in the Public Health Sciences Division of the Hutchinson Center. “There are lots of good online tools that can help estimate the calorie content of common foods and track your weight loss progress over time,” she said.

3. Set realistic goals. “The biggest mistake people make when trying to lose weight is trying to lose too many pounds too fast or setting unrealistic goals,” Mason said. “For long-term success, aim for a slow, steady weight loss of about 1 to 2 pounds a week. No one wants to lose weight only to gain it all back – and often more – a few months later.

4. Set specific goals. Instead of resolving to “lose weight,” which is too general, set several smaller but more specific goals, such as eating five servings of vegetables per day, taking a 15-minute walk at lunch each day or drinking six glasses of water per day. “Adding healthy behaviors to your routine is often easier than telling yourself ‘don’t do this’ or ‘don’t eat that,’” Mason said.

5. Don’t let one slip-up derail your efforts. “Don’t throw your entire routine out the window after one bad day,” Mason said. “Instead, try to identify the specific barriers that got in your way and think through strategies to avoid such challenges in the future.” For example, to avoid the temptation of buying a candy bar while standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, make sure to eat a healthy snack, such as a handful of nuts or a piece of string cheese, before going shopping.

6. Practice yoga. Two observational studies conducted by cancer prevention researcher Alan Kristal, Dr. P.H., a member of the Hutchinson Center’s Public Health Sciences Division, have found an association between regular yoga practice and weight maintenance and weight loss. One of his studies, published in 2005, found that regular yoga practice is associated with the prevention of middle-age spread in normal-weight people and the promotion of weight loss in those who are overweight. A follow-up study published in 2009 found that regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese. “These findings fit with our hypothesis that yoga increases mindfulness in eating and leads to less weight gain over time, independent of the physical activity aspect of yoga practice,” Kristal said. “Mindful eating is a skill that augments the usual approaches to weight loss, such as dieting, counting calories and limiting portion sizes. Adding yoga practice to a standard weight-loss program may make it more effective.”

Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News From Medical News Today

Weight loss surgeons Mr. Abeezar Sarela and Mr. Simon Dexter will be performing the procedure at the Nuffield Hospital in Leeds. “We have evaluated many of the new incisionless technologies that are emerging, and this is the most promising and most tested approach that we have seen” commented Mr. Sarela. “We feel that there are many patients who are interested in pursuing a weight loss procedure, but believe that existing interventions are too extreme – the TOGA Procedure offers these patients a scar-free, less invasive alternative.” According to Mr. Sarela the most important benefit of the TOGA Procedure is safety. “All conventional surgical procedures carry some risk of complications. With endoscopic or “incisionless” procedures the risk of serious complications is very small.”

Professor David Haslam, Chairman of the National Obesity Forum said: “Bariatric surgery has been demonstrated to be amongst the most clinically effective and cost-effective procedures in any field of medicine. It is the only method of treatment which offers permanent weight loss alongside dramatic long term reduction in co-morbid illness, including the resolution or ‘cure’ of Type II Diabetes. Current laparoscopic, or keyhole techniques have improved safety and efficacy of bariatric operations, but represent only steps along the evolutionary process until better procedures emerge.

“The TOGA procedure, a minimally invasive surgery may represent the next step in this evolutionary process. It is inevitable, due to the skyrocketing levels of obesity being seen in the UK, that more and more people will turn to surgery for weight loss, having explored all other avenues. The increased demand that this will cause must be met by a health service struggling to stay afloat in dire economic times. The TOGA procedure has sufficiently robust evidence, albeit for now in only small studies, to potentially offer an answer by being sufficiently safe and affordable to be used across a large population, offering a tangible solution for obesity related illness.

“Weight loss results do not yet suggest that TOGA will immediately usurp gastric bypass or band, but show immense promise, and represent an optimistic glimpse of the future.”

The Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital is already considered a centre of excellence for weight loss surgery and now, following successful patient trials in Belgium and Italy, will be the first hospital in the UK to offer the new procedure.

General Manager Mike Flatley said “Patient care and safety is our primary concern at Nuffield Health which is why it is so important for us to be able offer the TOGA procedure to our patients. Under the guidance of Mr. Sarela, I’m confident that this is an important part of the future of weight-loss surgery at Nuffield Health.”

Patients interested in learning more about the TOGA Procedure can visit http://www.togauk.com.

Eligibility for the TOGA Procedure

The procedure is suitable for overweight individuals with a body mass index (BMI) of over 40, or over 35 if they have an obesity-related condition, such as Type II Diabetes. All patients will be pre-screened by the surgeons and weight loss team to ensure that they are appropriate candidates, and after treatment must make periodic visits to the clinic to ensure they understand and can comply with post-procedure dietary changes. To check your BMI, click here.

About the TOGA Procedure

In the TOGA Procedure, flexible stapling devices are inserted through the patient’s mouth into the stomach, where they are used to create a narrow passageway for food (a “sleeve”). The sleeve slows the movement of food through the stomach, giving patients a feeling of fullness after a smaller meal. The TOGA Procedure has been used in over 450 patients worldwide. In a European pilot study, patients lost 35-40% of their excess weight in their first year after treatment. The instruments used in the TOGA Procedure were developed by Satiety, Inc. of Palo Alto, California, USA.

Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News From Medical News Today

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus found those who spent three years in the nonprofit Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) program lost five to seven percent of their body weight and kept it off.

“This is the first time a study of this size and duration has ever been done on a weight loss program,” said Nia Mitchell, MD, MPH, and a primary care physician who worked on the study. “The natural history of weight loss is weight regain and we were happy to see that people were able to keep off the weight.”

The three-year study, published last month in the research journal, Obesity, followed thousands of people enrolled in TOPS. The program provided access to their database, but no funding for the research. Milwaukee-based TOPS helps members lose weight through group support and education. They are encouraged to get a weight goal from their doctors and make it their target. At the same time, they attend weekly meetings and weigh-ins. Members receive a booklet with a six week lesson plan, a one-year subscription to TOPS News and membership in the local chapter.

The study points out the large price difference between TOPS and other well-known weight loss programs. TOPS costs about $90 a year while Weight Watchers is between $480 and $625 annually. Programs like Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig, which include the price of food, can cost between $3,600 and $6,500 a year.

Mitchell said there have been studies of popular commercial weight loss programs but little investigation of nonprofits like TOPS or Overeaters Anonymous. A 1974 study concluded that behavior modification resulted in greater weight loss than other methods. TOPS incorporated the technique into its program along with group support, exercise, and monitoring food intake. It also uses volunteers to run meetings rather than paid staff.

“Peer mentoring has been shown to encourage behavioral change in other areas and appears to be effective when it comes to weight loss,” Mitchell said.

During the study, 42,481 people renewed their TOPS membership at least once including 2,427 with nonconsecutive renewals. Those who renewed each year lost the most weight and kept it off for up to three years. Those who didn’t renew every year, lost less. The research shows that the weight lost by those who remained in TOPS is similar to the weight loss seen in a previous study of individuals who completed one year of Weight Watchers.

The lesson in all of this, says Mitchell, is that the TOPS results are comparable to more expensive commercial programs. She said future studies should look more closely into the use of nonprofits to reach populations most at risk for obesity.

Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News From Medical News Today

The study sought to gain a better understanding of the role of potatoes and the glycemic index in weight loss, largely because some have questioned the inclusion of potatoes in a weight loss regimen due to the vegetable’s designation as a high glycemic index (HGI) food.

“The results of this study confirm what health professionals and nutrition experts have said for years; when it comes to weight loss, it is not about eliminating a certain food or food groups, rather, it is reducing calories that count,” said lead researcher Dr. Britt Burton-Freeman, PhD, MS. “There is no evidence that potatoes, when prepared in a healthful manner, contribute to weight gain. In fact, we are seeing that they can be part of a weight loss program.”

Researchers studied 86 overweight men and women over the course of 12 weeks to measure the effects of a reduced-calorie modified glycemic index diet with the addition of potatoes. The subjects were randomly assigned to three groups and each had a diet that included five to seven servings of potatoes per week. The results indicated that all three groups lost weight.

One group was given a list of foods with a low glycemic index (LGI) to include in their diet daily. The second group was given a list of foods with a HGI to include in their diet daily. Both groups were to reduce their daily caloric intake by 500 calories while also consuming five to seven servings of potatoes each week. All participants were guided and monitored for compliance by a dietitian to only eat foods on their lists or like foods along with the provided potatoes.

Participants in the third group – called the “control group” – were allowed to choose their daily meals and caloric intake on their own, but were encouraged to adhere to the U.S. dietary guidelines and the food guide pyramid. The only requirement of the third group was – like the other two groups – they had to include five to seven servings of potatoes each week.

All subjects were provided recipes and counseled accordingly for successful dietary adherence. The results indicated that all three groups lost weight and there was no significant difference in weight lost between the low and high glycemic index groups.

This is good news for potato lovers and any consumer who craves the satisfaction of wholesome yet healthy meal options. One medium-size (5.3 ounce) skin-on potato contains just 110 calories per serving, boasts more potassium (620g) than a banana, provides almost half the daily value of vitamin C (45 percent), and contains no fat, sodium or cholesterol.

“We’re thrilled with the results of this study,” says Kathleen Triou, vice president of domestic marketing for the United States Potato Board (USPB). “For the last few years the humble spud has been vilified in respect to its weight management properties. Now we realize that it should be glorified for its role in healthy weight loss.”

This study was funded by the United States Potato Board.

Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News From Medical News Today