INFORMATION LINE: WEIGHT LOSS MEDICATION PROGRAMS 2007 - DIET PILLS AND DIET PROGRAMS TIPS 2007

Complaints about costs, products
JACK KEITH; The News Tribune
LA Weight Loss Centers Inc., which operates South Sound diet centers in Federal Way, Kent, Lacey, Puyallup, Tacoma and Tukwila, agreed Friday to reimburse customers who say they were misled and who bought certain products.
The company will pay back customers up to a total of $800,000, plus additional funds to the state for consumer education, attorney fees and costs, said Attorney General Rob McKenna.

The settlements resolve allegations that LA Weight Loss misrepresented program costs to get consumers to enroll, then pushed the sale of protein bars and supplements after they had signed a contract, McKenna said.

Three businesses are involved in the settlement: LA Weight Loss Centers Inc. and LA Weight Loss Franchise Co., both of Horsham, Pa.; and NWM Inc. of Lake Oswego, Ore. Combined, they operate 19 diet centers in Washington.

The agreements require LA Weight Loss diet centers to be consistent about indicating which products are or aren’t necessary or important, McKenna said.

How a Weight Loss Plateau occurs & how to reduce its effectsA weight loss plateau often occurs because the difference between energy intake and energy expenditure gradually balances. The human body must restore energy balance to survive, imagine the consequences if a human kept losing weight because he/she couldn't find enough food! Our body has physiological mechanisms in place which help maintain energy balance relatively quickly.

The Process of a Weight Loss Plateau
When someone begins a new diet and cuts calorie intake by about 500 per day it does develop what is needed to lose weight, a negative energy balance, less energy consumed than the body requires. It then needs to start using up energy stores to make up for this 500 calorie deficit. However very often the body has adapted to suit a regular lifestyle and the energy system is unconditioned for any change thus cells continue to use carbohydrates and protein to supply the majority of energy, stored fat is used but this often makes up a small percentage.

Metabolic Rate DeclineAs protein and carbohydrates are used from the cells it causes a reduction in the amount of lean mass forcing the metabolism to decrease, this means the individual now requires less energy to maintain the new weight. In other words, the body has gradually adapted to match the new energy intake!



We Burn Less Calories
There is a second effect, as the body becomes progressively lighter less calories are burned during movements so the overall energy expenditure also reduces.

The reduction in lean mass and the lowered energy expenditure both help restore a balance of energy from any initial reduction in calorie intake and can even slow progress from the extra exercise sessions often undertaken when attempting to lose weight.

The bottom line is the initial 500 calories per day reduction no longer continues to be effective for losing further weight as the body no longer recognizes that there is a calorie deficit. There will always be an adaptation to match any lower calorie intake simply because the body needs to conserve energy for survival!

Limit the effects of the Weight Loss Plateau!
The facts above means it is vital that dieters begin by reducing calorie intake slowly, this limits the loss of lean weight and helps keep metabolism high during dieting. Also, any exercise done within the first 10 - 15 workouts needs to be light and for longer durations to enable the energy system to adapt to the change by "switching its gear" into fat burning mode!

If calories are cut too much too soon the body is forced to burn more and more protein especially when glycogen (carbohydrate) stores run low. This seriously lowers the metabolism and dieters hit a period where they just cannot lose any more weight "the weight loss plateau", then when they give up and go back to the old eating habits the body shoots back into a positive energy balance, which causes many dieters to GAIN BACK FURTHER WEIGHT!

Boost Metabolic Rate before lowering calories!

Its a physiological fact that while losing weight we all tend to lose lean muscle which lowers our metabolism. The idea is to lose the least amount of muscle by boosting the metabolism then reduce calorie intake gradually to maintain a fast energy expenditure.

Boosting metabolism works because when you do lose some lean mass the metabolism will still be high enough to effectively burn extra calories from the fat stores, which also means you don't need to be as strict when dieting!

Losing weight effectively will always require cutting calories in some way or another. If the excess weight was due to a diet based on convenient, fast foods then some people may be tempted to try cutting calories by simply reducing the amount of total food eaten. In other words, the diet of highly processed foods is the same but food portions are reduced in order to lose weight. For this technique to be effective it will require a strong motivation. Without strong self-discipline the dieter may struggle because previous eating habits always means there's a strong temptation to eat a bigger portion or have extra foods, even if its "just for today". After cutting calories this way it is too easy to refer back to old eating habits by increasing the size of food portions to what the individual was used to.

Cutting Calories and Increased Appetite

When people cut food intake right down they often experience an increased appetite and a general craving for food. Some believe this is because they are eating less however, it may actually be driven by a deficiency or lack in the correct amount of certain nutrients. In other words, the appetite is trying to force the individual to eat more food in the hope that eventually these nutrients will be consumed. Most convenient foods are low in nutrients so if only fast, processed products form the basis of the diet then the appetite may crave the consumption of more food in order to gain essential nutrition.

If the dieter is exercising to lose weight the body requires more essential nutrients to aid recovery and growth of muscles. A diet devoid of nutrient dense foods may only cause further cravings and a larger boost in appetite. Cutting calories by reducing the amount of high-energy, fast foods is an effective way to lose weight permanently but only if other processed foods are replaced with healthy, nutritionally dense foods that are low in calories.

Cutting calories will be more effective if we learn to eat healthy meals regularly. This requires the introduction of healthier choices into the diet by gradually replacing each meal with low calorie, highly nutritious food or varieties. The dieter must veer away from the idea that they are "on a diet" by changing eating habits for the long term. Calories will automatically reduce when nutritiously dense foods replace high-energy package foods for most meals. An occasional treat should be left for when one has earned it by achieving a small goal or weight loss target.

I’ve been meaning to write about this new way of eating that I have found to really help me lose weight. I’ve been really happy with it and I found it by accident over the Thanksgiving holiday. I SLAM-DUNKED Thanksgiving by exercising a lot on the two days that we were visiting family. I ate a lot, but I made up for the extra calories by exercising.

After all that exercising, I was tired, so Sunday and Monday, I rested. Because I wasn’t exercising, I didn’t eat as many calories. I limited myself to my daily allotment only. The Tuesday weigh-in, I had lost 3.6 pounds, which is HUGE for me. I seriously thought it must have been mostly water.

Since that method worked for me, I followed it exactly the same way the week after Thanksgiving. I exercised a lot and ate all the calories that I earned. On Sunday and Monday, I rested and ate substantially less calories. My second weigh-in following this regime had me lose .8 pounds, which is even more amazing. For me to lose two weeks in a row is phenomenal. The third week, I lost .2 pounds. That’s a loss for three weeks in a row. I haven’t had this much success since I first started Weight Watchers. This is the fourth week on this plan and I’m hoping for a real loss this week. I guess we’ll see.

I thought I had invented a new way of eating, but then I found out that this regime has been around for a long time. It’s called Zig-Zagging and it was developed by Frederick C. Hatfield, Ph.D., MSS. He calls himself Dr. Squat. Here’s a synopsis of the concept of Zig-Zagging:

Welcome to Dr.Squat - The Zig Zag Diet
I don’t agree with everything he says. This is his advice for caloric restriction days.

“Your reduced intake of calories makes it almost impossible to get all of the nutrients your body needs to remain healthy and active. So, it’s important to supplement your diet with vitamins, minerals and other carefully selected substances to ensure maximum progress toward your fitness, health and fat loss goals. So, you MUST use nutritional supplements!”

That’s bunk. The healthiest foods are low in calories and all it takes is a little planning to fit them into your lifestyle, even if you’re really busy. He’s trying to sell you nutritional supplements, so take some of his advice with a grain of salt.

I think the most important part of this program is that I exercised like crazy on the days that I ate more calories. On the days that I ate fewer calories, I didn’t exercise, so I didn’t put my body into shock. Additionally, the calorie-restricted days were the two days before my weigh-in. I might not have invented this idea, but it has been working for me better than I have had in a long time. I kind of wish someone had told me about this idea before I had to go and invent it on my own.

By Laura Moncur @ 5:00 am — Filed under: Beware
Most of the time, I tell you to steer clear of diet pills because they don’t work. Anytime a product predicts that they can make you lose weight without changes in exercise and diet, they are lying.

What if they don’t make those claims, though. What if they offer to let you try the diet pills for free and see for yourself? Should you try it? According to the fine print, NO.

Free Diet Pills: The Fine Print You Must Read
You might get that 14 days supply for free, but after that, you will automatically be billed for the diet pills until you close that bank account. Getting out of the autoship plan is difficult and you have to wade through the red tape. It’s better not to try them at all.

Remember, all you need to lose weight is within you right now. You don’t need any diet pills, fancy equipment or books. You can do this and you can do it for free.