The Perfect Weight-Loss Goal

by Markham Heid

Go big or go home. Setting the bar high when it comes to weight loss could help you drop more pounds, finds surprising research in the Journal of Health Psychology.

A Dutch survey of overweight and obese dieters found people who aimed to lose more than 10 percent of their total body weight shed more pounds than those who targeted a 5- to 10-percent drop. Also—contrary to some popular weight-loss beliefs—dieters who set more-ambitious goals were no more likely to feel discouraged by their results than people who chose modest targets, the study shows.

While trying to lose weight, you’re probably pursuing other important life goals like earning a promotion at work, making time for friends, or being a better parent or partner, says study coauthor Emely de Vet, Ph.D., of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. If you set a timid weight-loss goal, you’re telling yourself you don’t need to work very hard to be successful, and so you’re less likely to divert resources like time and energy away from those other activities, de Vet says.

But when you aim high, you signal to yourself that more effort will be needed to reach your goals, and so you’re more likely to focus time and energy on losing weight, she adds.

http://news.menshealth.com/the-weight-loss-goal-you-should-set/2013/05/04/

What Helps and Hurts Your Brain

The Cost of Feeding Your Family

RT @usatodaynews: Cost of feeding a family of four: $146 to $289 a week http://t.co/2jrOIk6A4S

The Fruit that Lowers Blood Sugar

by Jessica Girdwain

Look beyond apples and oranges: Obese adults who ate about half a mango a day for 12 weeks saw a significant reduction in blood sugar levels, according to research presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

The results likely translate to normal-weight men, too, says study author Edralin Lucas, Ph.D. Mango’s power could lie in active compounds like plant polyphenols, which may inhibit the development of fat cells and reduce their size, says Lucas. The fruit is also high in fiber, reducing the absorption of sugar, she adds.

Though the study is preliminary—read: no reason to fill your fridge with mangos just yet—one sliced cup of the fruit only contains 100 calories, and is a healthy add-on to any diet. But your best bet to keep blood sugar in check? Exercise and a diet generally rich in all sorts of fruits and vegetables, says Lucas. In fact, people who ate produce-packed diets had a decreased diabetes risk and lower blood sugar levels than those who didn’t, according to a 2012 meta-analysis.

http://news.menshealth.com/the-fruit-that-lowers-blood-sugar/2013/04/30/

How Much Exercise Will It Take to Work Off a Burger? Menus May Soon Tell You

by Alexandra Sifferlin

More restaurants display calorie counts on their menus, but what if they also informed you what it would take to burn off those calories?

It’s one thing to know how many calories are packed into a meal you’re about to eat, and quite another to fully appreciate what your body does with them. That’s been clear since cities like New York mandated calorie counts on fast food and restaurant menus so consumers would have a better idea of what they were eating. Despite the added information, studies haven’t shown that the counts led people to eat less. In fact, some surveys found they prompted people to order more food. So caloric information, it seems, doesn’t have much impact on eating behavior.

Better strategies are clearly needed, so researchers Dr. Meena Shah and Ashlei James from Texas Christian University tried another approach — replacing the calorie counts with the number of minutes of brisk walking a person would need to complete to burn off what they just ate.

The researchers chose brisk walking since it’s a physical activity most people can do, and can easily fit into their day, as opposed to running or jogging. “We did the study specifically in younger adults. The reason why we chose young adults is because they exercise more than older adults and we felt that they would relate to it more than older adults,” says Shah.

The scientists recruited 300 men and women ages 18 to 30 and randomly assigned them to order lunch from one of three menus: one that was calorie-free, one that included calorie counts and another labeled with the minutes of walking needed to burn the calories in the food. All the menus had the same food offerings, including burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, salad, fries, desserts, soda and water.

The participants who were provided the walking information ordered and consumed fewer calories compared to those who ordered off the menu without calorie labels. However, as with some previous studies, there was no difference in the calories consumed between those who ordered off the menu with calorie count labels and those who were not provided with calorie information.

Read the rest here: http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/24/are-you-willing-to-walk-for-that-burger/

Alexandra Sifferlin @acsifferlin
Alexandra Sifferlin is a writer and producer for TIME Healthland. She is a graduate from the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism.

Lose Weight Faster

by Jessica Girdwain

Double dip to lose weight fast. Tackling diet and exercise goals at the same time produces better results than focusing on one before the other, says a new study in Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Researchers split inactive people with poor eating habit into three groups: one that started an exercise program, then a diet a few months later; another that dieted first, then exercised; and a third that initiated both. A year later, the third group was the only one that still met guidelines for exercise and healthy eating.

The findings challenge common weight loss advice to work on one healthy habit at a time. But making both healthy behaviors a priority from the beginning helps make sure one doesn’t slip off your radar, says lead researcher Abby C. King, Ph.D., a professor at Stanford University’s School of Medicine.

The key to success is small, gradual changes, says King. For example, use a pedometer to log more steps than you did the day before, and add one more fruit a day (or nix the chips with lunch). You’ll be able to build on your initial changes in the later weeks to achieve bigger goals—and results, King says.

http://news.menshealth.com/are-you-losing-weight-wrong/2013/04/23/

5 Steps to Loving Exercise or at Least Not Hating It

Here’s a great article that might help you jump start your exercise routine.

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/StartWalking/5-Steps-to-Loving-Exercise-Or-At-Least-Not-Hating-It_UCM_445812_Article.jsp#mainContent