January 2008 Archives

With the nations growing concern for healthy living and weight gain it is hard to read a magazine or listen to the radio without hearing another factoid or story. Super-sized meal options, lack of exercise, stress, the cost of nutrient dense foods and more provide justification to the problem.

Unfortunately, people often find diets hard to sustain, in part because they tire of avoiding certain foods, loading up on others or feeling deprived and hungry. And their diet is often temporary, something to endure for a while before returning to the old habits. The result, lost pounds return once the diet stops.

When it comes to weight loss, there's no shortage of advice. Check any magazine rack or bookstore and you're bound to discover that latest and greatest cure for being overweight. We cling to the hope that science will save us with the discovery of some magic pill.

But until then here are some tips:

• Try eating water-dense foods like salad and fruit at the beginning of a big meal.

• Push your plate away before you feel full; this will give your stomach time to send signals to your brain that you've had enough and really don't have room for seconds.

The Mayo Clinic has an excellent article explaining the different diet options and lots of helpful information on what works well and what doesn't. And WebMD.com offers this article with solid advice to help those determined to change their health this year.

Read more:
Mayo Clinic
WebMD.com

If you haven't settled into a diet program for your New Year's resolutions or if you just haven't gotten around to thinking about your New Year's resolutions here's a program worth taking a look at. This free, online, six-week challenge from the first and largest community of women online, focuses on small changes to jumpstart weight loss and improve participants' overall health in 2008.

"Losing weight consistently tops New Year's resolution lists, and this year will be no different. But with so many fads, gimmicks and new weight-loss programs out there, it's tough for dieters to know what will really work for them, and how to even take that first step," said Carla Wojnaroski, Editor-in-Chief, iVillage Total Health. "The Supercharge Change for Better Health Community Challenge will help dieters make the small changes that will have a big impact on their habits and ultimately their health."

Last year with advice from expert diet and fitness coaches, and daily support from Community members, iVillage helped participants lose a staggering 558,536 pounds combined. Here are two success stories:

    * Nancy Vienneau, 28, has lost 81.6 lbs. since January 2007. Nancy decided to participate in the challenge last year because she and her husband wanted to have a baby and avoid obesity-induced fertility issues. "A combination of fear of public failure, the encouragement and support of others, and my desperate desire to start a family have made this possible for me," she said. She hopes to continue to lose another 100 pounds to reach her ultimate goal.

    * Alicia Verburg, another previous iVillage community challenge participant, credits her weight loss to the help of the message boards. "I have lost 45 pounds in the past year and a half and the Ultimate Weight Solution message board on iVillage has played a large role in keeping me focused and giving me the support I've needed to lose the weight," she said.

This year's Supercharge Challenge encourages participants to make diet, exercise and behavioral changes that leading nutrition and fitness experts say have the biggest impact on weight loss and overall health by providing innovative, handpicked, "supercharged" solutions. Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD, CNS will share ways to supercharge eating, while celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins will keep participants on track with fitness routines that have big results. Once the challenge is over, participants will have developed new, healthy habits to help them keep off the extra pounds. Meanwhile, supermodel and body-image guru Emme will support each participant's inner transformation.

Additionally, iVillage Community support is, as always, a major component. Challenge mentors (members who have successfully lost weight through support from the iVillage community) will be available to answer questions, offer motivation and share how they achieved success. Daily assignments will encourage participants to reach out to their community, mentors and coaches for motivation, inspiration and advice.

Daily challenge emails will also share cutting-edge strategies to help participants feel fuller on fewer calories, superfoods that speed up weight loss, tips on how to boost calorie burn during a workout and avoiding diet "frenemies," and the best ways to dress for your body shape. The Healthy Living Program is the challenge's free personal weight-loss tool and offers flexible food and exercise plans that users can customize for their own weight-loss goals and needs, including shopping lists, healthy recipes, and illustrated exercise instruction.

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iVillage Supercharge Change for Better Health Community Challenge