Monday, January 23, 2023

It's time to let go of these weight-loss myths

Plus more health news |

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
  
5 weight-loss strategies that don't work
By Angela Haupt
Editor, Health and Wellness

Losing weight and keeping it off can feel like herculean tasks. That’s true for a variety of reasons, including genetic predisposition, but also because we tend to latch onto weight-loss methods that fail.

In an essay for TIME, author Robert J. Davis shares helpful strategies from his latest book, Supersized Lies: How Myths About Weight Loss Are Keeping Us Fat—and the Truth About What Really Works. Here are three of his insights:

  • It’s hard to accurately count calories, setting many up for frustration and failure. Instead, keep a food journal in which you log what and how much you eat and drink every day. That will help identify patterns you might need to change.
  • Wiping out an entire category of food will inevitably backfire and lead to elevated cravings. It’s better to focus on the overall quality of your diet: emphasizing all the foods you know you should eat, and making the exceptions (like chips and cookies) occasional treats.
  • Over-the-counter weight-loss supplements aren’t proven to be safe or effective. For those who are eligible, Davis instead suggests considering prescription weight-loss medications or bariatric surgery.

READ ABOUT THE OTHER TWO

What else to read
FDA Proposes Annual COVID-19 Shots for Most Americans
By Matthew Perrone/AP
This means Americans would no longer have to keep track of how many shots they've received or how long it's been since their last booster.
Read More »
Elaine Welteroth: Using Midwifery Care Was the Best Decision I Ever Made
By Elaine Welteroth
Like most American women, I set out to have a hospital birth—just as my mother had done.
Read More »
How Our Cells Strategize To Keep Us Alive
By Dan Levitt
"Your body has an ingenious three-part strategy to keep you out of the junk yard."
Read More »
Column: My Mother's Fight For Abortion Access Can Teach Us About Reproductive Justice Today
By Felicia Kornbluh
"It is vital for us to learn the lessons of Roe's past and repeat what our predecessors got right."
Read More »
Are Raisins Healthy? Here's What Experts Say
By Cassie Shortsleeve 
Raisins are minimally processed, but they're also relatively high in calories and sugar. Here's what nutrition experts say. (Originally published in 2019.)
Read More »
AN EXPERT VOICE

"I like box breathing: breathing in through your nose for four seconds, holding for four, and then breathing out through your mouth for four and holding for four. I typically do that for a couple minutes before every client session."

—Kelly Neupert, a therapist based in Chicago, talking to health and wellness editor Angela Haupt about her favorite breathing exercise

If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here.

Today's newsletter was written by Angela Haupt and edited by Mandy Oaklander.

 
 
 
 
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment