SLENDER BODY

Green Tea for Weight Loss

2010-03-25T01:03:00.000-07:00

Green tea is best known for China. This is where it was created. Now many people have been using green tea for weight loss. It has always been in question about whether or not green tea helps with weight loss. Many people say that green tea for weight loss really works.

Green tea is one of the four true teas in the world. Green tea is made up of Camellia sinensis leaves and it comes from China. There have been studies and different tests done to determine if green tea really helps with weight loss. The tests showed that it helps with weight loss and it is also known to lower the chances of heart attacks, strokes and also help with cancer patients.

Unlike coffee, green tea contains only a third of the caffeine than coffee. Green tea for weight loss on has two types of caffeine that are called theophylline and theobromine. With green tea, it holds the antioxidants that are the main part to medicinal benefits. This is how weight loss is helped. The antioxidants in green tea help with increasing a person’s metabolism, which helps burn calories. This is how people are known to lose weight and stay in shape when drinking green tea.

Green tea for weight loss cannot be the best tasting thing to drink. You may have heard of people adding sugar to the tea to make the flavor less bitter. Now if you are looking to lose weight then you might not want to add the sugar. That is why they have come out with a green tea diet pill. This helps you lose weight and not have the bitter taste of the tea. It has been known for people to loss around three pounds a week from the studies.

Make sure, when taking the green tea for weight loss then you will want to make sure go with a good diet with it or the weight loss will not work out the best. You will need to eat right and exercise with the green tea. Green tea for weight loss is only to help make the weight loss go faster than what it would to begin with.

The best time to drink the tea is when it is hot and just before bed. Drinking green tea for weight loss before bed helps keep your metabolism going even through the night. Depending on what brand of green tea you buy you should drink around four to six cups of green tea a day. They say if you cannot get six cups a day into your busy day then try doubling the cups when having one. Another way of doing it is to try taking the green tea diet pills. This is an easy way to take the green tea no matter where you are or what you are doing.

So if you are looking for a great way to help you lose weight while you are dieting then try taking green tea. Remember you can either drink it or take it in pill form.

Weight Loss Power Foods

2010-03-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

In addition to following a plant-based, whole foods diet, incorporating certain foods can help catalyze weight loss, says John Bagnulo, Ph.D. Make the choices below staples of your weekly diet.

Grapefruit
Grapefruit has a compound called naringenin that studies have shown can make our insulin more effective. Bagnulo recommends one grapefruit a day, eaten like an orange; not cut in half and scooped out.

Wild Salmon and Other Fish Rich in Omega-3s
Omega-3 fatty acids have an anti-inflammatory effect in the body and can increase our cells' ability to burn fat.

Raw Carrots, Raw Apples, Oats, and Beans
These foods are a good source of fiber and "resistant starches," those that the body has to expend a lot of energy to break down. Unlike foods that cause a blood-sugar rush, "sugar from these foods will only be able to drip into the bloodstream," says Bagnulo.

Almonds, Avocado, and Olive Oil
These foods are high in fat, but about 70 percent of that fat is monounsaturated, the heart-healthy kind. "These foods help make our cells more insulin sensitive," says Bagnulo. "Less insulin typically means weight loss." One note of caution: For optimal weight loss, avoid combining high-fat foods with simple carbs like white bread, baked potatoes, or sugar. For example, if you are going to eat an avocado, serve it on a high-fiber, multigrain bread rather than a white tortilla.

Kiwi
Kiwis have a low glycemic index, meaning that their glucose enters the bloodstream very slowly. "They taste sweet and can offer people the fresh sweet fruit taste that they crave, yet they contribute just a fraction of the sugar that other sweet-tasting foods do," says Bagnulo.

More Ways to Lose Weight

2010-03-16T03:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some surprising truths about how to lose weight and keep it off.

Are you one of millions of people who resolved that this year will be the year for weight loss that really works? Not just another quick fix, not just another resolution that disappears somewhere in the month of February. Maybe the problem is not what you know about weight loss–every magazine is full of tips and tricks to lose weight. Maybe the problem is what you DON'T know!

2. You know that white bread, potatoes and pasta should be avoided if you really want to lose weight, right? Think again! Did you know that if you eat lean proteins and heart healthy fats with even white bread, potatoes and pasta, it slows down how fast those easy-to-digest carbohydrates break down? Those infamous "white carbs" aren't so bad after all if consumed in moderation as a part of a balanced meal with lean protein, vegetables, fruits and heart-healthy fats.

3. You know that exercise is important–it burns calories and helps keep your moods stable. But did you know that regular exercise can actually change your own taste preferences from high-fat health traps to more low-fat favorites? Studies show that 12 weeks of regular exercise literally changes your desire for higher fat foods. Fatty foods actually produce endorphins, a natural feel-good chemical that is easy to get hooked on. But exercise produces even more of these, so you don't need the high-fat fix to feel good anymore.

4. You know that drinking water is important because it helps fill you up so you eat fewer calories. True, maybe, but water also gives your muscles its natural ability to contract, and a muscle that contracts is a muscle at work. A muscle at work means energy burned! Water also keeps the kidneys working properly which prevents your liver from having to help out. That way, the liver can do its job of breaking down stored body fat. Drinking water is a win-win situation!

5. You know that weight loss that stays off means regular exercise must stay ON–on your weekly planner and checked off when done. But did you know that getting enough sleep is just as important? Studies show that people who sleep four hours or less are almost three time more likely to become obese. Lack of sleep lowers a hormone called leptin that suppresses your appetite and raises a hormone called grehlin that increases your appetite. That's worth a good night's sleep!

What good in French diet.

2010-03-16T03:40:00.000-07:00

French diet
Have you ever wondered how many the French are obese? You will never believe me - only eight per cent! And if these statistics to collect for our country, it will be sad, because almost 25 percent of people have a problem with being overweight. Every second American is a fat man. This difference is impressive, is not it?

So what is the secret of the French harmony? If you want to get the answer does not necessarily buy tours to France. The secret is very simple - proper nutrition. Everyone knows the French are picky eaters. They eat only quality products.

If you're want to have the elegant and graceful figure, the French diet was created just for you. With this diet is quite possible to lose up to seven - eight kilogram weight bothers you.

The French diet is calculated for exactly two weeks. Just keep in mind that the products that will be consumed you must buy only the best and quality food.

The menu of the French diet:
First day.

For breakfast you can drink a cup of real coffee, but without sugar. At lunch relies couple leaves of lettuce and two boiled eggs. Dinner includes a piece of boiled meat about two hundred grams, and lettuce.

Day Two.

For breakfast you can eat a couple of small toasts and drink a cup of unsweetened coffee. The lunch include the roasted carrots. And dinner consists of two eggs soft-boiled, small and low-fat sausage and a couple of lettuce leaves.

The third day.

The breakfast consists of black coffee and a couple of toasts. Lunch is composed of fried carrot, tomatos and orange. Dinner: a couple of lettuce leaves, small size, low-fat sausage and two eggs boiled.

Fourth day.

For breakfast, eat a couple of toasts and drink a cup of black coffee without sugar. Lunch consists of fresh carrots, fat-free cheese and two boiled eggs . Dinner - low-fat yogurt and fruit salad.

Fifth day.

In the morning for breakfast eat mashed grated carrots and drink a glass of apple juice.
For lunch, boiled fish (200 grams) and two small tomatoes.
That evening at dinner - 200 grams of boiled or steam meat.

Sixth day.

The morning meal is limited only by the natural cup of black coffee without sugar. Lunch includes 200 grams of boiled chicken and salad leaves. For dinner, eat 200 grams of boiled meat.

The seventh day.

The breakfast: a cup of tea without sugar. Eat a piece of boiled meat and fruits for the lunch. Supper consists of a piece of ham fat-free (250 grams).

The second week of the diet is similar by nutrition in the first week. Such way the dropping weight can be applied once a year. In the period of the French diet you can drink mineral water without gas in unlimited quantities and even half a glass of dry red wine before lunch or dinner.

These two weeks the body is changing and getting used to a new diet, when the craving for sweets, flour and salt gradually disappears. This diet has a considerable number of contraindications, so if you do not treat completely healthy people, then before you begin a diet check with your doctor.

Healthy Weight Loss

2010-03-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

You know how weight loss works: Eat less and move more. But if it were truly that simple, we wouldn't have our current epidemic.

The latest reports from the National Center for Health Statistics show that two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, with corresponding health woes ranging from diabetes to heart disease to some forms of cancer.

What's more, we don't all gain weight (or fail to lose it) for the same reasons -- nor do we universally respond to the same fixes. "There's no one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss," says John Bagnulo, nutritionist at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. "The reasons we carry excess weight depend on our culture, our habits, our genes, and our psyches. Only by examining both the physical and psychological reasons can you find what works for you."

With that objective in mind, we spoke with several weight-loss experts to identify the most common reasons people struggle with their weight. Find the one that best describes your biggest obstacle and follow the relevant strategies. If you fit more than one category, that's OK; mix and match in whatever way best addresses your needs. Our targeted tips will help you reawaken your body's natural ability to maintain a healthy weight while improving your overall well-being. Use them to clear your hurdles -- and start this summer on a whole new track.

Problem: Not Enough Exercise
Considering that our bodies are designed to move, most of us spend an awful lot of time sitting -- in the car, behind a desk, on the couch. "If you sit all day and eat too much, you create a calorie surplus, which leads to weight gain," says Jillian Michaels, resident trainer on NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and author of "Master Your Metabolism." Working exercise into your routine not only burns calories but also improves mood, energy level, and sleep, all of which can help you maintain a healthy weight.

Solutions
Make a plan: Each Sunday night, strategize ways to build exercise into your week. A recent study found that sedentary college students who set aside time to brainstorm specific ways to get moving exercised more than those who simply focused on why they should exercise.

Start small: If you're just beginning a routine, plan to exercise for 30 minutes, four days a week. And change things up: Take a walk on your lunch hour, do a fitness DVD one morning, and go hiking Sunday afternoon. "You can gradually build up to four 60-minute workouts per week," says Michaels. She recommends a combo of cardio (such as swimming, biking, walking, stair-climbing) and strength training that uses your own body weight (such as lunges, squats, push-ups) so you don't need to invest in equipment or a gym membership.

Listen to music: A recent study found that when exercisers listened to up-tempo songs, their endurance improved by 15 percent. What's more, their mood improved, as did their positive feelings about exercise.

Find strength in numbers: "Lasting lifestyle changes usually require support," says Sasha Loring, psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher at Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. To boost your chances of success, enroll in group fitness classes, or exercise with a friend who has similar goals.

Problem: The Wrong Foods
Your afternoon cookie habit isn't just a failure of willpower. "Physiological addiction to comfort foods is very real," says Bagnulo. The key factor involves serotonin, the neurotransmitter that plays a big role in mood. "Foods with large amounts of refined flour and sugar trigger artificially elevated levels of serotonin," he explains. "We become dependent on these foods to feel OK."

Solutions
Make over your breakfast: "If you start the day with highly refined foods, like a bagel or a sugary cereal, you'll crave those types of foods all day," says Bagnulo. "I call it the tsunami effect." At breakfast, avoid sweetened foods, juices, and products made from flour (such as cereal and bread); instead, power up on protein-rich picks such as eggs, some dairy (if tolerated), nuts and seeds, and whole grains such as steel-cut oats. This helps moderate your appetite for the hours ahead.

Try fruit first: The naturally occurring sugars found in fruit don't cause the same spikes in blood sugar and insulin that refined sugar does. The next time you crave something sweet, eat an apple, plum, or some berries. Note that it may take 20 to 25 minutes to feel satisfied. "You have to give the sugar from the fruit a bit longer to reach your bloodstream," Bagnulo explains.

Check in with your body: As you eat, pause every few bites to take a deep breath and ask yourself how the food makes you feel. "We've become so mental about food -- how many fat grams does it have? -- that we're disconnected from what we're eating," Bagnulo says. "Checking in with how a piece of fruit makes you feel versus a cookie gives you answers about which foods improve your well-being and which detract from it."

Problem: Mindless Eating
If you binge on chips to cope with afternoon work stress or habitually fix yourself a bowl of ice cream after dinner, you create a mind-body disconnect that encourages weight gain. "Anytime you eat when you're not hungry or don't stop eating when you're full, the food you're putting in your mouth has no connection to your body," says Geneen Roth, author of "When Food Is Love." Eating mindlessly -- while driving, watching television, or checking e-mail -- can cause a similar disconnect, whether or not it's fueled by underlying emotions. That, in turn, often leads to poor food choices and overeating.

Solutions
Breathe first, eat second: "Your body sends clear hunger signals," Roth says, but if you're listening to your emotions instead of your physical cues, you won't get the message and you will overeat. Before you eat anything, sit down, take five deep breaths, and focus your attention on how your body feels. If you detect true hunger, eat. If not, get up and do something else: Write in your journal, talk to a friend, go on a walk -- whatever helps you process your emotions.

Eat with others: According to a 2008 study, eating quickly and until you're full triples your chances of being overweight. Sharing meals with friends or family is one of the best ways to slow down. "You'll chew more slowly and take longer to eat your meal," Bagnulo says, meaning you'll also have more time to notice yourself getting full and be less likely to stuff yourself.

Remove distractions: To get more mindful about food, eat meals in an environment that promotes calm. Move away from the computer; turn off the TV. "Eating in a relaxed environment allows you to hear your body's cues more clearly," Bagnulo says, which makes you more likely to stop before you reach an uncomfortable fullness.

Problem: Getting Older
Metabolism slows down about 5 percent every decade, starting in our mid-thirties. But don't resign yourself to the extra pounds. "For most of us, lifestyle and environmental factors are more important than age or genetics for controlling weight," says Lawrence Cheskin, director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center.

Solutions
Think quality, not quantity: Now's the time to trim empty calories from your diet: A 2009 study at Brigham Young University found that middle-aged women who weren't conscious of eating less as they aged were more likely to gain weight over a three-year period. "I counsel my patients to think of it not as curbing intake, but as choosing worthy foods with intention," says Beth Reardon, integrative nutritionist at Duke Integrative Medicine. That means less refined flour, sugar, and snacks and more vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Build more muscle: Strength training is critical for keeping metabolism humming as you age. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, explains Reardon, and without intervention, women start losing muscle as early as their mid-thirties. To boost your muscle mass, Michaels recommends strength training four times a week. It helps you burn more calories, even at rest.

Drink more green tea and water: Green tea contains antioxidants known as polyphenols that have mild metabolism-boosting properties, Reardon says. She suggests drinking three to five cups of green tea a day for its calorie-burning potential, and at least 48 ounces of water to support the body's metabolic processes. "Staying hydrated with a combination of green tea and water may counteract some of the metabolic slowdown that occurs with age," explains Reardon.

Problem: Poor Portion Control
Portions have increased over recent decades -- by some estimates, as much as 200 percent -- in both restaurants and at home. While it's fine to eat your fill of nonstarchy veggies, much of what we overindulge in (simple carbs, fats, meat) affects our weight and health.

Solutions
Change the makeup of your plate: Bagnulo suggests making sure half your meal is vegetable-based, a quarter is made up of healthy protein, and the final quarter consists of a whole grain or starch.

Try a smaller bowl: At an ice cream social thrown at Cornell University, those given a large bowl served themselves 31 percent more ice cream than those given a small bowl. To regulate the amount you eat, use a bowl that fits inside your two cupped hands and sip water before deciding if you want an additional helping.

Break out the chopsticks: Use chopsticks or a teaspoon, or hold your fork in your nondominant hand. "Anything that slows us down and brings the focus back to the food counters a tendency to overeat," says Reardon.

Problem: Stress and Fatigue
Stress, fatigue, and weight gain are common companions: Stress can lead to poor food choices; this can put your body on a blood-sugar roller coaster, which causes low energy. Sleep deprivation can cue your body to release stress hormones, triggering weight gain. And "the less time you have to devote to self-care," says Loring, "the harder it is to make the changes that lead to weight loss."

Solutions
Sleep more: Studies have shown that those who sleep less than eight hours a night have higher body mass than people who sleep a full eight hours, and that babies who slept less than 12 hours a day were twice as likely to be overweight by age three. Cheskin notes that although these studies don't prove that lack of sleep causes weight gain, an undeniable correlation exists between sleeping less and weighing more. To sleep more -- at least seven hours -- avoid exercise, alcohol, and caffeine later in the day, take a bath before bed, and go to bed early.

Set smart goals: Michaels uses a pyramid to help the time-strapped make goal-setting as effective as possible. Draw a pyramid on a piece of paper, and at the top, write down your ultimate goal in as much detail as possible -- total number of pounds to lose, yes, but also what the number will empower you to do (run a race, embark on a job search). For the next row, break that larger goal into monthly goals. From there, you can set weekly and daily goals.

Reduce stress, quickly: "A mini meditation can provide the clarity of mind you need to make better food and exercise choices," says Loring. Sit in a way that supports an upright posture. Bring your awareness to the breath for 20 breaths. When your mind wanders, which is normal, gently bring it back to simply breathing.

Check your thyroid: If you have unexplained fatigue and mysterious weight gain (no major changes to your diet or lifestyle) that has resisted your efforts, your thyroid hormones may be out of whack, says Richard Shames, M.D., coauthor of "Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled?" If you suspect thyroid issues, work with a doctor to get a proper diagnosis and treatment.

Problem: Goal Plateau
Although you eat well and exercise regularly, the spare weight you're carrying around won't budge. Michaels refers to the proverbial "last five pounds" as vanity weight: They don't affect your health, but they affect how you look. Whether your extra weight stems from having a baby (one study shows that moms tend to gain five pounds more than their childless peers) or simply becoming more sedentary, here's how to whittle it away.

Solutions
Amp up your exercise: To lose those last few pounds, Michaels says, keep your food intake steady and generate a calorie deficit through exercise. "You can either exercise more often or work out harder to push your body out of its comfort zone and melt those last few pounds," says Michaels. If you walk or run, add hills or stairs to your route and strength training to your regimen. If you primarily do the weight machines at the gym, start a spinning class. "Variety is key," she says.

Eat frequently: "To jump-start your metabolism, eat breakfast 45 to 60 minutes after waking," says Reardon. "Keep it humming with a total of four or five small meals throughout the day." At each meal, get a balance of protein, slow-burning carbohydrates, and healthy fats, such as steel-cut oats with a teaspoon or two of almond butter and fresh berries for breakfast.

Be kind to yourself: To make sure your efforts stem from a healthy impulse instead of outside pressure to look a certain way, Loring suggests regularly doing a loving-kindness meditation: Sit quietly and repeat a phrase such as "May I be healthy, may I be at peace, may I be content." This practice helps you accept yourself as you are, says Loring, and guides your efforts so that they meet your true needs -- not a momentary impulse.

Problem: Yo-Yo Dieting
Following a rigid diet can seem easier than changing your eating habits, but the majority don't work in the long run and can lead to health problems. "Repeatedly going on very low-calorie diets carries a risk of permanently lowering metabolism," Reardon says. "Diets that eliminate entire categories of foods, such as carbs, can lead to vitamin deficiencies." Psychologically, constant dieting also breeds an unhealthy mind-set of denial and reward.

Solutions
Go Mediterranean: If you're looking for an eating plan to follow, consider the Mediterranean diet, which Reardon hails as "bar none, fabulous." Composed mainly of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, fish, olive oil, and nuts -- and low in unhealthy animal fats and refined food -- the Mediterranean diet "answers a lot of ills, including obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes," says Reardon. And there's more to it than food guidelines. "The lifestyle is a crucial component." Taking pleasure in preparing food and eating with family and friends adds to the nutritional benefits. For more information, visit mayoclinic.com and search for "Mediterranean diet."

Focus on adding, not subtracting: In addition to eating more fruits and vegetables, Reardon suggests adding a variety of whole grains to your regular rotation, including quinoa, amaranth, barley, millet, and spelt. "They offer a wide array of powerful antioxidants, as well as fiber, which helps stabilize your blood sugar so your cravings for comfort food go down," she says.

Learn from your lapses: Michaels says that the biggest obstacle to changing your habits is an all-or-nothing attitude. "It's a foregone conclusion that dietary lapses will happen. The trick is to see them as lessons and not as a confirmation that you're a failure." If you know you tend to eat too much cake at an office birthday party, for example, bring in a healthier snack of your own next time.

Master Your Metabolism

2010-03-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

Just as your mind longs for balance, your body strives for a steady state. Too cold? You shiver and warm up. Too hot? You sweat. Believe it or not, this natural inclination applies to weight, too. Your body aims to maintain an optimal level of fat -- not too much and not too little. But look around and you'll notice that a lot of bodies -- perhaps even your own -- are out of balance. About 60 percent of Americans are obese or overweight, and many more struggle with a few stubborn extra pounds and low energy. The traditional weight-loss route, however, doesn't always work: You cut back on food, wrestle with appetite and cravings, but your weight doesn't budge. Or it goes down a little only to inch up again.

The Recipes:
Breakfast: Ranchero Frittata
Lunch: Chicken and Mango Salad
Snack: Spiced-Up Hummus
Dinner: Halibut in Green Tea with Quinoa

Plus: Healthy Metabolism Tools

This back-and-forth makes many people wonder: Is my willpower to blame, an inability to choose steamed kale over French fries? Or is this just the way my body is? Some experts say the problem lies elsewhere: a metabolism imbalance. We think of this energy-regulation system as set in stone, blaming our thick thighs on our slow metabolism or coveting a slender friend's speedy metabolism. But it's more complex than that, says Mark Hyman, M.D., author of "UltraMetabolism." This intricate system can be dragged down by bad food choices, too much stress, and not enough exercise.

"Your lifestyle patterns can get you stuck," says Hyman, "but there are ways to get unstuck. We have a huge capacity to transform our bodies." He and like-minded doctors analyze a patient's biochemistry to see how lifestyle and diet affect her body's ability to turn food into energy.

Once you understand your body's inherent intelligence, you can give it the tools to do what it does best. "The goal isn't to speed up the metabolism," says Leo Galland, M.D., author of "The Fat Resistance Diet." "It's to normalize it." It's not difficult, say both doctors. Key lifestyle adjustments can help get any body get back on track -- and stay there.

Your Metabolism: Best-Case Scenario

Knowledge is power, as the saying goes, and metabolism knowledge starts with a quick lesson in biology -- your own. Metabolism, the process by which your body changes one substance into another, governs how quickly and efficiently your body turns food into energy. As Hyman explains it, the effects are profound: metabolism does nothing less than determine health or illness.

Under optimal conditions, metabolism is an elegant, self-regulating process. Suppose, for instance, you eat an apple. Even as you look at the apple and start to salivate, metabolic chemicals begin to flow. As you digest the apple, sugars from your intestine enter your bloodstream. Sensing this rise in blood sugar, your pancreas secretes insulin, which shuttles the sugars through cell walls and,
via the brain, speeds up metabolism. Within your cells, the sugars are converted to acids, which combine with hundreds of mitrochondria in your cells to create energy. All the while, hormones released by your thyroid have been telling your cells how quickly to use the apple's energy. Any sugar that's not absorbed by your cells goes to your liver -- and is stored as fat there or elsewhere in the body.

Body fat, it turns out, has its own "intelligence." Over the past decade, researchers have discovered that fat cells release hormones. Among the most important is leptin, which works to lower appetite. If everything works as it should, the more body fat you have, the more leptin you produce. "As a result, your basal metabolic rate goes up," says Galland, and you lose fat. Lower levels of body fat, on the other hand, produce less leptin, causing your metabolic rate to drop, so that you don't lose too much weight.

In other words, your body's chemistry lab constantly balances your weight, appetite, and energy levels for metabolic balance. At least, that's "the normal situation," says Galland. "But factors that we have created are interfering with this process."

What Gums Up the Works

In order for leptin and other metabolism-regulating hormones to do their work, your cells must be able to receive them, and that's where modern life comes in. To understand how the process goes awry, think of your body as a computer. "Your genetic makeup is like software," says Hyman. "You're inputting requests all the time." The primary data, he explains, is food.

Throughout most of history, this "data" has been whole foods like grains, vegetables, fruit, and natural meat. While certain individuals may have intolerances to some of these foods, in general they supply our bodies with the instructions they need to function properly. As Galland explains it, whole foods contain messages that "tell your body what to do with calories." The antioxidants in leafy greens or blueberries, for example, help rev up your mitochondria, turning calories into energy.

Many processed foods, on the other hand, contain chemically derived ingredients our bodies don't know how to "read," such as high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats, MSG, or artificial colors. "One of the biggest problems of the modern American diet is that we've moved away from traditional herbs and spices and replaced them with artificial flavors and sweeteners," says Galland. "It's created a metabolic disaster." Overly processed foods are essentially "blank" calories without messages, he says.

Coupled with chronic stress and low levels of exercise (also relatively new factors in the human experience), this "blank" food contributes to chronic inflammation, which "blocks your body's ability to use calories in a normal way." Here's how: Your body releases chemicals to counter the inflammation. But these natural anti-inflammatories use the same "entry points" as leptin -- that all-important weight-regulating hormone. With your cell receptors clogged with anti-inflammatories, your body becomes "leptin-resistant." It never gets the message to turn up metabolism and turn down appetite. Inflammation wreaks havoc in other ways, too: It shuts down the mitochondria in your cells, suppresses the thyroid gland, and contributes to insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes and heart disease. The perils of modern life don't stop at Twinkies. Toxic chemicals in the water we drink and the air we breathe also do a number on metabolism: They contribute to inflammation while damaging our mitochondria, the "energy factories" in our cells. In one study of a group of obese people trying to lose weight, the amount of weight lost was directly related to the level of toxic organochlorines (a class of chemicals that includes dioxins) circulating in their blood; those with the lowest levels of toxins lost the most weight, says Galland.

Making Quality Changes

Is there any way to reverse this curse? Hyman and Galland say yes -- it's a matter of changing the "data" that go into your body. Like other doctors, they recommend eating sensible portions and getting regular exercise to maintain a healthy weight. But they take the metabolism tune-up further: It's not just the quantity of food and exercise that matters, they say, but the quality.

A sound diet is "nutrient-dense," meaning it has a high ratio of nutrients -- including fiber -- to calories, with plenty of anti-inflammatory foods and herbs.

In terms of exercise, altering the pattern of your workout -- not simply exercising more -- can make a big difference in how your body uses oxygen and calories. In one study, subjects who alternated high-intensity bursts with longer recovery periods -- called interval training-- lost nine more pounds than those who simply increased the amount of exercise they did.

Finally, reducing stress and enabling your body to release toxins set the stage for metabolism balance, they say. Practices like yoga and sweat-inducing regimens such as saunas can help you achieve these goals. The results build as your metabolism rebalances, both Hyman and Galland have found. "You'll see changes in a week," says Hyman. "Sugar cravings and fatigue are reduced pretty quickly." Besides losing weight, these doctors say, you may find that you aren't as hungry, your mood improves, your energy stays steady throughout the day, and you can think more clearly. And when the body gets clear messages, the potential for healthy weight and balanced, authentic energy expands -- letting you explore new limits in your life.

Is Your Body in Balance?

Mark Hyman , M.D., recommends several blood tests for his patients to help determine how their metabolism is functioning; several of these are listed below. Talk to your doctor about whether they may be appropriate for you.

+ Thyroid Tests measure levels of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4 and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the bloodstream. A high level of TSH indicates low thyroid functioning, or hypothyroidism, while low levels can indicate an overactive thyroid. Thyroid hormones interact with all other hormones in the body to stimulate metabolism.

+ C-Reactive Protein Tests measure the amount of inflammation in the body. The higher the CRP levels, the higher the amount of inflammation. Doctors also use CRP to measure a person's risk of heart disease, arthritis, and other chronic lifestyle diseases caused by inflammation.

+ Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes Tests, including a fasting sugar test as well as insulin- and glucose-tolerance tests, screen for diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance.

+ HDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides Tests can also reveal how well your body is using insulin. Low HDL combined with high triglycerides indicate insulin resistance.

+ Cardiobetabolic Stress Tests show how well the body can turn oxygen into energy in the cells' mitochondria.

New Solutions for Weight Loss!

2010-03-12T05:35:00.000-08:00

We know that eating well and exercising are key to shedding pounds, but can natural substances enhance your efforts? David Rakel, M.D., director of University of Wisconsin's Integrative Medicine program, weighs in on the latest findings.

Remedy: Capsaicin and Green Tea
The evidence: New research suggests that adding capsaicin (the chemical that gives hot peppers their spicy kick) and green tea to your diet could quash your hunger and cut calorie intake.

The verdict: Since it's so stimulating to your taste buds, capsaicin could help keep you from overeating, says Rakel. In addition to tossing hot peppers into stir-fries or salsas, brew a few cups of green tea each day to rev up your metabolism without delivering too much caffeine.

Remedy: Vitamin D
The evidence: In a study of 38 overweight men and women, University of Minnesota researchers found that those with higher vitamin D levels lost more weight when placed on a low-calorie diet.

The verdict: The theory that vitamin D could fuel fat metabolism needs to be tested in larger studies, says Rakel. "But because vitamin D is so important to health -- in terms of bone strength, heart health, and cancer prevention -- it should be incorporated into your health routine."

Remedy: White Tea
The evidence: Compounds in white tea may stall the growth of new fat cells, as well as trigger the breakdown of fat in existing fat cells, according to a report in Nutrition & Metabolism.

The verdict: Low in caffeine and high in antioxidants, white tea can be safely sipped several times a day. More research is needed, says Rakel, but "preventing the growth of fat cells could be helpful in averting the many health problems linked to buildup of fat around the waistline."