FitSugar

I Don't Buy It: Ear Stapling for Weight Loss

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:59:53 PST

I have heard of some crazy approaches to weight loss and this one might just take the cake – ear stapling. A stainless steel staple is placed on the inner cartilage of the ear to constantly stimulate the acupuncture point associated with the stomach. The staple is supposed to decrease hunger as well as cravings. The cost is generally around $60 and you can keep the surgical staples in your ears for months. "Placing the staple" is a little euphemistic since the action is more like a piercing and infection rates can be as high as 20 percent. While acupuncture has been around for centuries (and you don't walk around with a needle in your ear cartilage), the stapling procedure is quite new and many states have no regulations regarding the procedure. Mississippi was the first state to require a practitioner to be licensed to perform the stapling and Ohio now requires it too.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no evidence that stapling works. There is no magic pill or magic staple for weight loss. Even proponents of ear stapling admit that to lose weight you need to lead an active lifestyle and actively want to lose weight.

Looking to lose weight and need some guidance. These diet tips might just help. Or join Diet Support Group for a little community support.

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Guess the Fad Diet!

FitSugar — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 02:37:55 PDT

People are always on the hunt for the latest and greatest diet pill and quick-fix weight-loss program to help them shed pounds quickly. Some show results, others not so much, but in the end, we can all agree that fad diets aren't going anywhere anytime soon. How well do you know your fad diets? Let's find out and see!

Take the Quiz

Foodie Friday Link Time

Susi May — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:23:20 PST

Upgrade your French toast to fight belly fat - Prevention
Fill up with fiber and cook with these ingredients - Real Simple
You can detox with food, and here's 50 recipes to help - Self
Treat yourself right and ditch the fad diets for weight loss - Huff Po
Hummus might be healthy, but here's why to skip it pre-workout - Shape
Robert Pattinson enables Kristen's potato-chip cravings - does your man? - The Stir
Fix your cheese fixation with these cheesy nibbles for under 80 calories - Health
Say hello to hemp and the many ways to put it on your plate - Fitnessista
The flip side of anti-obesity campaigns: they might cause eating disorders - Blisstree
Stuck on the road? The healthiest fast-food options out there - Fab Fit Fun

Do Popular Weight-Loss Diets Work?

Shape — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:15:48 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

There's a mountain of evidence that suggests that fad diets don't function as permanent weight-loss solutions. So why do we continue to flock toward them when we know they're not very effective? After rounding up the top 10 searched diet plans on Yahoo! and noticing that almost every single one was a fad diet (such as the Atkins Diet, or HCG Diet), we wanted to know more about why we're drawn to these popular diet plans. So we went to Holly Herrington, a Registered Dietitian at the Center for Lifestyle Medicine at the Northwestern University Medical Faculty Foundation to get her take on these plans and whether they really work for weight loss.

Find out what - if any - fad diets work after the break.

Is the HCG Diet Safe?

Leta Shy — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:37:42 PST

Have you been convinced by the constant barrage of HCG diet testimonials? The diet has recently become the talk of the Internet, even though it was developed over 60 years ago.

The HCG diet claims this: HCG (or human chorionic gonadotropin), a hormone found in pregnant women, is supposedly responsible for releasing stored fat to feed the baby in utero. By restricting your caloric intake while injecting the hormone or taking HCG drops daily (typically for 23 days, but many people stay on the diet until they reach their desired weight), the hormone encourages your body to release its fat stores to keep you nourished - leading to weight loss that can be as high as a pound a day. Sounds good, but is it safe? We spoke with Adam Bornstein, editorial director of LIVESTRONG.com, to learn more about the diet and its safety.

Does It Work?
Judging by the amount of success stories seen on TV or on the Internet, the answer is yes. Many users have said that the HCG diet is not only effective, but sustainable. Guests on a recent Dr. Oz show, for example, said that they lost as much as 50 pounds on the HCG diet. Dr. Oz's guests also explained that the diet was only difficult for the first few days, after which the pounds melted away without the users ever feeling hungry.

Experts, however, aren't so ready to give the diet a stamp of approval. For one, there are no studies addressing whether there are long-term side effects in using the pregnancy hormone, and there are no studies that illustrate if the hormone actually helps your body burn stored fat. "There's no research that can actually back up these claims. It's all hypothetical," Bornstein said. The fact that dieters lose weight quickly can most likely be attributed only the dieter's ability to stick to a strict 500-calorie diet and not the HCG hormone itself.

Read on to learn if going on the HCG diet is safe.

DrSugar Answers: What's the Deal With Losing Water Weight?

DrSugar — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 03:00:05 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! And she's answering your health-related questions.

Dear DrSugar,
What does it mean "to only lose water weight"? I hear people say this when talking about fad diets and juice cleanses and that it's a bad thing. I just don't know what it means.
-Confused on H20

This is a fantastic question because dieting is so common in today's society and we all hear about "losing water weight" and its connection with dieting and weight loss. So let's clear up our confusion.

During the first few weeks of weight loss due to dieting, a rapid drop in pounds is normal according to the Mayo Clinic. When you reduce your caloric intake, your body gets its needed energy by releasing and utilizing its stores of glycogen, which is a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and the liver. Glycogen holds onto water, so when glycogen is used and burned up for energy, it also releases the water it holds onto. This is about 4 grams for every gram of glycogen. This results in the initial "water weight" loss that accompanies early weight loss from dieting and calorie restriction.

Detoxification diets and juice/fluid cleanses are marketed to the general public as a way to remove toxins from the body, purge pounds of excess fat, clear your complexion, and boost your immune system. However, there is concern that these cleanses do not improve a person's health but instead may actually harm it. In an article MSNBC Dr. Nasir Maloo states "Your body does a perfectly good job of getting rid of toxins on its own." The gastroenterologist adds, "There’s no evidence that these types of diets are necessary or helpful."

See what else Dr. Sugar says about the subject when you

read more. WebMD reports that there can be many serious side effects and complications from such a severe crash diet such as a cleanse. The Mayo Clinic lists dehydration, fatigue, nausea and dizziness as possible effects of a "detoxification" cleanse. Some detoxification diets include the use of laxatives as a way to "cleanse" the body, however, laxative use/abuse can result in severe dehydration, electrolyte abnormalities, dependence, and heart or colon damage in the long term. Given what we now know about losing water weight and detoxification/crash diets, it should be evident why in the long-term, these types of diets do not work. They are too restrictive to keep up with in the long-term and can cause a whole host of side effects. Most weight lost from these types of diets is water weight due to the body’s need for energy and when one resumes a more normal diet, they will likely gain back the weight (and even more than what they originally lost!). One positive thing to take away from detox diets is that it is important to drink lots of fluids and water and to eat more fruits and vegetables. However, the best way to lose weight and maintain it is to combine a healthy diet with lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables with a regular exercise routine! Have a question for DrSugar? You can send it to me via private message here, and I will forward it to the good doctor.

DrSugar's posts are for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. Click here for more details.

The Lowdown on the Dukan Diet

Leta Shy — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:35:26 PDT

The buzz of the Dukan diet - France's diet du jour - is reaching new heights here in the US, just in time for the book's American debut next week. It's got its list of famous fans. Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bundchen both reportedly went on the diet to lose their baby weight, and there's speculation that It bride-to-be Kate Middleton is following her mother's Dukan dieting footsteps before walking down the aisle.

By eliminating certain carbs (simple carbs like sugars and starches) from your diet and instead eating low-fat, protein-rich foods, the Dukan diet promises you can jump-start weight loss and maintain it for the rest of your life. The plan does this with a restricted diet divided into four phases, each with its own list of foods you can and can't eat.

Of course, the heavy-on-the-protein diet has doctors worried it's the next Atkins, and with good reason. Want to know what the diet is all about? Read an overview after the break.

Kate Middleton Looks Svelte Before the Big Day

Heather Dale — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:10:52 PDT

We're in the final homestretch before the royal wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William, and after seeing recent photos of Kate's visit to Witton Country Park, it looks to me that Kate's already tiny frame is even smaller. Perhaps speculation that she turned to the Dukan diet is true? It's also rumored that the restrictive high-protein, low-carbohydrates diet is followed by her mother, so this could be the case.

It's understandable that a bride wants to look their best on the big day, but it's important to know that getting in shape and losing weight is a lifestyle change that takes time, patience, and hard work. A healthy and reasonable weight-loss rate is losing a maximum of two pounds a week, which means avoiding fad diets and extreme exercise regimens.

Did you lose weight for your wedding? If yes, how much? Please leave your remarks in the comment box below.

Is Dieting Bad For You? The Pros and Cons of Eating to Lose Weight

Leta Shy — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:29:15 PDT

To me, "dieting" means following a specific plan in order to lose weight (instead of following a diet for health or other reasons). Starting a new diet plan can be daunting, not to mention hard to maintain. But the results can be worth it if you're trying to be healthier and lose weight.

Of course, whether or not dieting is bad for you depends on the type of diet plan you're following. Popular and top-rated diets like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig ensure that you stay healthy while on the path to losing weight (good), while crazy fad or crash diets have you restricting calories, and nutrients, to the point of starvation (bad). But is the act of dieting good for you? Read on for the pros and cons of dieting and let us know what you think!

Focusing Solely on Weight Loss Leads to Weight Gain, Study Says

Leta Shy — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:40:34 PST

If you are like many, you may have resolved to lose weight this year and have changed your lifestyle in order to meet your goals. But focusing only on that magic number on the scale can actually lead to weight gain, not weight loss, according to a new study.

The study's authors researched over 200 other studies and found that the emphasis on losing weight in lieu of other healthy goals had a detrimental effect on dieters; they ended up depressed, guilty, and dissatisfied with their bodies, which led to weight gain.

The authors also debate on whether fat is as harmful as many claim, saying that their findings do not support commonly accepted ideas about losing weight, including that it will prolong your life, that obesity is an economic burden, and that weight loss is the only way that obese people can improve their health.

Keep reading for tips on balancing weight loss goals with healthy habits.