FitSugar

Jackie Warner on Fat Burning and Weight Loss Supplements

FitSugar — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 10:00:45 PDT

I interviewed trainer Jackie Warner recently, and before we spoke I asked you all to submit questions for her. Sugar user LD fit was curious to know Jackie's take on weight loss and fat burning supplements like CLA.

Here's what Jackie had to say on the matter:

"I love certain supplements. There are some very safe supplements that don’t cause any harm to the body and you can take forever and I’ll give her a few. One is a branch change amino acids which are called ETAAs and they are the aminos that will help you with fat metabolism and then the other is glutamine, which is another amino acid. It is the only one to reach the blood stream barrier so it’s a very powerful one and the benefits to glutamine are numerous. Not just muscle building and weight loss but also a lot of studies have shown that it helps with memory and acuity. Then there is L-carnitine which is a good one to take - a major fat burner - and you can take it forever. These are all safe to take everyday, forever."

Jackie has more to say on the subject so keep on reading.

Internet Weight Loss Supplements: A Bad Idea and Bad For You

FitSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:00:00 PDT

We've all gotten the spam messages in our inbox about pills promising immediate weight loss, without the help of diet and exercise. Sure, it may seem tempting, but new research has found that weight-loss supplements widely available for purchase online often include ingredients that are potentially hazardous to your heart.

I am not a fan of weight-loss supplements - I believe that the benefits of exercise and eating healthy far outweigh losing a few quick pounds. However, I know a lot of folks still invest in weight-loss pills, so I wanted to be sure that if you do, you know which ingredients raise a red flag in terms of safety. For a starter list of ingredients in weight-loss supplements that could be dangerous for your heart,

Ma huang (also known as Chinese ephedra)
Bitter orange
Camellia sinensis
Green tea
Buckwheat
Guarana
Korean ginseng
Licorice root
Synephrine HCl
Caffeine anhydrous
Citrus aurantium

I was surprised to see that green tea made the list, but it does contain caffeine. It is better to drink your green tea than take it in a supplement form mixed with other questionable ingredients.

Source

Have You Ever Taken Raspberry Ketone?

Leta Shy — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:20:43 PDT

If you're a Dr. Oz fan, you may have heard of the latest news in weight loss - raspberry ketone. The supplement, according to a weight-loss expert on The Dr. Oz Show, will help your body "think it's thin" and burn body fat in as little as five days of taking the supplement daily.

Raspberry ketone pills are derived from raspberries, which are known for having metabolism-boosting properties. According to Dr. Oz's show, raspberry ketone pills contain the concentrated benefits of 90 pounds of raspberries, so just 100 mg a day of the supplement will supposedly help your body burn fat.

So, does it work? Studies have found that it does (at least in mice!). One study found that mice fed a high-fat diet did not gain weight after regularly being given a dose of the supplement; another study found that raspberry ketone, in mice, increased the amount of adiponectin, a hormone that "naturally tricks your body into acting like it's thin," according to Dr. Oz.

In general, raspberry ketone pills are known to be safe, but of course finding the right, trustworthy brand is key (especially since dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA), and it's important to note that no long-term studies have been done in humans. And while Dr. Oz touts the benefits of raspberry ketone, even he is quick to note that taking the supplement isn't a substitute for diet and exercise, but rather a way to help "get you over the hump" when starting a weight-loss routine.

Are you buying the so-called benefits of raspberry ketone? Let us know if you've tried it and what you think in the comments!

Source: Flickr User Muffet

Foodie Friday Link Time: How Wheat Contributes to Weight Gain

Susi May — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:44:20 PST

Three ways wheat can make you pack on the pounds - HuffPost Healthy Living
Should you skip the Skippy? Learn if peanut butter is good for you - Prevention
So many recipes to rock Greek yogurt - Fitness
Give your burger a healthy upgrade - Blisstree
All you need to know before buying dietary supplements - Shape
It might be time to rethink the formula for cutting calories and weight loss - Self
Boost your immune systems with tasty foods - Yoga Journal

Flickr User traveleden

Healthy Dose Link Time: Adele Talks Body Image

Susi May — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:38:27 PST

Adele answers her critics and talks body image and cleavage - Blisstree
Before your workout, to eat or not? - Real Simple
Get inspired by celeb before and after weight-loss pics - Shape
Get a leg up! Three steps to stronger thighs - HuffPost Health and Fitness
SFO just got a little more chill: yoga room opens at airport - Newser
A handful of ways to lose weight at Walmart - Prevention
Submit your best asana to be in the pages of the magazine - Yoga Journal
Get the skinny on weight-loss supplements - Health

A Doctor Dishes: Which "Superfoods" Are Worth the Cost?

LearnVest — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:15:00 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Most people you speak to these days are trying to stretch every dollar as far as possible - even the ones they spend buying apples and oranges.

Food prices are expected to increase yet again this year, and food manufacturers are making portions smaller without reducing prices. Not surprisingly, a recent Rasmussen poll found that 93 percent of adults report paying more for groceries now than they did a year ago.

So how can we supercharge our grocery dollars and get them to do overtime for us?

Yes, some foods are obviously a better nutritional deal than others (think apples vs. potato chips), but there’s another class of foods that blows the rest of the field away in terms of nutrients and health-protecting qualities: superfoods.

Superfoods can help prevent diabetes and heart disease, repair damage to your body’s cells, and more. But before you go piling them into your cart, know that some superfoods are better nutritional bargains than others. As a doctor and a mom, I’ve sleuthed out which ones are worth the extra cost in terms of their long-term health benefits. Below is the scoop on which ones may help you age better, ward off cancer, and more.

What to Know Before Buying Superfoods

Before we dive into what to buy, there are a few important things to remember about consuming these foods:

Eating foods fresh and in their natural state, especially fruits and vegetables (rather than in pill or powder supplement form), usually allows us to absorb the greatest amount of their nutrients. The way a superfood is processed or cooked can significantly lower its antioxidant content.
If the superfood can’t be eaten fresh, look for easy and appetizing recipes containing it. No matter how “super” a superfood may be, if you don’t know how to cook it, you’ll probably let it go to waste.

Are Superfoods "Good Buys" If I’m Shopping on a Budget?

Read on to find out.

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.

Will Yoga Help Me Lose Weight?

Jenny Sugar — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 03:07:02 PST

Trying to slim down and wondering if yoga is the answer? In order to lose weight, you need to burn calories, and like anything physical, doing yoga can help you achieve that goal, but it depends on what style of yoga you do. You want to choose vigorous vinyasa, power, or ashtanga classes rather than slower-paced styles such as kripalu or iyengar. These classes move quickly so they really get your heart pumping - you can burn over 400 calories per 90-minute class! These styles also incorporate poses that strengthen your muscles, and more muscle mass also contributes to your caloric burn.

What about Bikram? While this style of yoga involves practicing in a super-hot room so you sweat your butt off, sweating alone isn't what results in dropping pounds. You'll experience water weight loss, but as soon as you rehydrate with a few gulps from your water bottle, you'll "gain" it right back.

Keep reading to find out how to get the greatest calorie burn from yoga.

Kirstie Alley's DWTS Weight Loss Tally: 38 Inches

Leta Shy — Wed, 25 May 2011 17:31:38 PDT

Now that DWTS is over, everyone is, as usual, talking weight loss. This time the weight-loss winner is Kirstie Alley; earlier in the season, the actress claimed that she was a size four-six, the result of losing 60 pounds before the show (which she's said was due to diet supplements that she endorses).

To show off her success, Kirstie even wore the same dress on her final dance that she wore in the very first episode, tailored to fit her now that she lost the weight. "My dress is half the size it was when we started," she said - reportedly lost a total of 38 inches.

The actress, while she has yet to announce an official weight-loss figure while on the TV show, tweeted that she had lost over 10 pounds only about two weeks into the show. Some of that was the result of a 1,400-calorie diet even while working out five to seven hours a day. Not fueling your body enough during a grueling workout is the opposite of sustainable and healthy weight loss - you'll have no energy and lose muscle mass, and restricting calories can lead to a slower metabolic rate. Even Kirstie agreed; she said she was upping her calorie intake after falling and feeling dizzy from low blood-sugar earlier this month.

Regardless of how much or how she lost the weight, she's has shown how fun it can be to dance the pounds off! Are you happy for Kirstie's weight-loss success?

The Health Risks Associated With Diet Pills

Heather Dale — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:49:30 PDT

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, right? I always find the infomercials produced by diet pill companies entertaining; you know, the ones where they promise significant weight loss in just one to two weeks. I'm sure if I drastically restricted my food intake and took appetite-suppressant medications for seven or more days, then these claims might not be so far off. But at what cost?

When we surveyed you all on this topic a while back, many of you answered that you had tried diet pills before. Although I'm not part of this group, I've often wondered if these pills are worth it - and by worth it, I mean, are they worth enduring some of the less than desirable side effects like cramping, gas, diarrhea, and increased blood pressure and heart rate to shed pounds the "quick fix" way? What happens when you stop taking the pills? And are the pills that are supposed to be used in conjunction with physical activity and a well-balanced diet any better?

Keep reading to learn more on the health risks associated with these drugs.