You want to lose weight, right? So, you painstakingly watch every calorie you consume, and you shop for and plan your meals down to the last detail. But how can you be sure that what you’re eating is good for you waistline? What if your diet is actually making things worse? Well, new research may help to shed some light on the weight loss dilemma.

Researchers have found that two diets may offer the best results for healthy, long-lasting weight management. The study’s results, which were published in Archives of Internal Medicine, spotlight the benefits of both high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets (like the Atkins program) AND low-fat, high-carb diets.

A Bounty of Weight Management Benefits

The researchers found that that subjects following these two plans – all of whom consumed about the same amount of calories — experienced significant weight loss over the course of one year. According to the study’s author, Grant D. Brinkworth, both plans may offer valuable benefits.

“Both an energy-reduced, very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet and a conventional high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet are equally effective for achieving weight loss in overweight and obese individuals. In addition, he stated that both plans showed similar effects for cognitive processes, such as working memory and speed of processing. However, the low-fat diet was more effective for long-term improvement in mood.

A Potential Cause for Celebration

Nevertheless, healthcare professionals are very excited about the study’s findings. “This study looked at one factor, and prior studies haven’t focused on psychological factors,” said Dr. Ewald Horvath, interim chairman of psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “This is a great study focusing on something very important.” The majority of health care organizations, such as the American Heart Association, typically advocate higher-carb, low-fat diets, rather than the high-fat alternatives that the overweight and obese prefer.

The study focused on 106 overweight and obese adults, with an average age of 50. These subjects were randomly assigned to the low-calorie, low-carb, high-fat plan or the high-carb, low-fat diet, for a full year. For both diets, the daily calories were restricted to about 1,433 to 1,672.

At the end of the year, it was shown that the subjects lost an average of 30.2 pounds, in both groups. As for mood, both groups showed improvements after eight weeks, but only those in the low-fat group maintained these benefits.
While the reason for this not known, it may be due to the neurotransmitter serotonin, which plays a role in mood. It’s been found that higher amounts of carbs may increase serotonin concentrations in the brain. Meanwhile, higher amounts of fat and protein may reduce concentrations.

The researchers believe that a negative mood may promote overeating. Therefore, they recommend consuming a very low-carbohydrate diet, for longer than one year, as this may help to maintain good dietary habits and weight loss maintenance.

SOURCE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20091110/hl_hsn/tofeelbetterlowfatdietmaybebest

A new study has found that alcoholism is a rapidly growing occurrence among those who have undergone weight loss surgery. It’s now estimated that these patients may have as much as a 30% likelihood of developing an alcohol addiction post-surgery.

Experts Disagree On New Addictions’ Frequency

Known as “addiction transfer,” this substitution typically develops due to patients’ poor coping skills following surgery. Often, these men and women are unable to properly deal with the depression, stress, and anxiety that can occur. As such, they may turn to alcohol, or something else, as they’re denied their previous access to food. For instance, patients may become addicted to gambling, shopping, sex or Internet use.

However, some medical experts believe that the likelihood of developing an addiction transfer may be overblown. “The problem does happen,” says Stephanie Sogg, a psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center. “But there is no evidence that it happens as frequently as the media suggests.” Sogg cites a published study in the journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases.

The study focused on 70 patients who had undergone bariatric surgery and then filled out questionnaires. It was shown less than 6% experienced increased post-surgical alcohol use; 24% actually decreased their alcohol consumption. “A small number of people will develop problems with alcohol postoperatively, but the problem may be a little overblown,” says  James Mitchell, president and scientific director of the Neuropsychiatric Research Institute in Fargo, North Dakota.

Regardless, experts advise all post-surgical patients to be aware of their chances of developing alcoholism. They advise that those men and women who had emotional difficulties before surgery were at risk for these problems post-surgery, as well. They recommend that should these problems develop, patients should contact their local surgeon, physician or mental health professional as quickly as possible. And above all else, those patients considering undergoing bariatric surgery should not avoid the procedures.

Faced with the potential injuries of these millions of aging men and women, physicians are taking steps to protect people. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2007, an estimated 149,000 people ranging from 45-64 years old, were treated for exercise- and exercise equipment-related injuries.

The medical community recommends that for those over the age of 50, it’s crucial to take precautions when exercising, and to listen to their bodies. The prevailing thought is that as we age, injuries can occur much more easily. “When you are 50, you may injure your body more easily than when you were 20,” says Dr. James A. Keeney, a San Antonio orthopedic surgeon. “Joints, tissues and muscles may not be as flexible as they used to be. So as you get older, you need to take extra steps to protect yourself from injuries when you exercise.”

Guidelines For Avoiding Exercise-Related Injuries

Fortunately, there are steps that adults can take to stay active, while reducing the risks of injuries. As such, Baby Boomers are encouraged to stay informed of the following guidelines released by the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

• Visit the Doctor – before undertaking a new exercise program, you must consult with your physician. This is important whether you’re free of injuries or overcoming a past event.
• You’re Getting Warmer – you should always warm up before exercising, for at least 3-5 minutes. You see, cold, unprepared muscles are much more likely to become injured.
• Keep It Steady – try to maintain a moderate and balanced exercise regiment, and daily, if possible. “Weekend Warriors” are at higher risk of hurting themselves.

Recent studies illustrate that eating more than usual on weekends can be just as damaging to your waistline as those of holiday celebrations. Holidays often find us eating more and exercising less, and weekend behavior may be similar. These weekend lifestyle changes may result in weight gain, slower weight loss, and problems maintaining significant weight loss.

A team of researchers recently published the findings of a year-long, government-funded study known as CALERIE (Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy) in the journal Obesity. The purpose of CALERIE was to determine whether weekend dietary changes or activity patterns slowed down the aging process and reduced the risk of certain diseases.

The CALERIE study involved 48 older adults between the ages of 50-60. At the start of the study, the researchers measured the participants’ exercise and eating habits, as well as their body mass index (BMI). The participants, none of which were considered obese, took in the most calories on Saturdays. The research team monitored the participants throughout the study, utilizing food diaries, regular weigh-ins, and exercise accelerometers.

Calculating CALERIE’s Findings

The study’s findings found that those older adults on strict diet and exercise programs generally consumed more calories on the weekends than during the week. “We thought weekends would present a problem for some people attempting to lose weight, but the consistency of our finding before and during the interventions was surprising,” said Susan B. Racette, PhD, assistant professor of physical therapy and medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Subjects in the diet group lost weight during the week, but over the weekend, they stopped losing weight because they were eating more.”

For the CALERIE study, the participants were divided into three groups:

• Group 1 took in 20% fewer calories each day, but their activity levels did not change.
• Group 2 increased their daily exercise regimen but didn’t change their diet. This provided them with a comparable energy deficit to Group 1.
• Group 3 did not change their diet or activity level.

The researchers believe that these findings may help explain the relatively slow rates of weight loss that’s often observed in clinical studies. “It was surprising how consistent the findings were,” said Racette. “We also were surprised by the dramatic way in which weekends continued to slow weight loss throughout the course of the study.”

CALERIE’s findings may illustrate why it’s so difficult to keep lost weight off permanently. Experts advise that careful planning is necessary to ensure that dieters not consume too many calories during weekends. They also recommend controlling portion sizes and packing healthy foods when traveling.