At Simple Natural Weight Loss, we talk a lot about the importance of including physical activity as part of any natural weight loss plan. We found some tips related to physical activity on the National Institute of Health website:

“Ease Your Way Into a Physically Active Life

• First, ask your physician what type and amount of physical activity is right for you.
• Start slowly. Work up to daily physical activities of 30 minutes to improve health, 60 minutes to lose weight and 60-90 minutes to help maintain weight loss.
• Ask family and friends to join you, and make it fun. Form walking groups with co-workers, play with your children outside or take a dance class with friends.
• Choose a variety of activities to prevent boredom and keep your mind and body challenged.
• Listen to your body. Consult your physician if you experience chest discomfort, dizziness, severe headache or other unusual symptoms.
• Keep an activity log to track your progress. Note when and how long you worked out, what activity you did and how you felt during your workout.
• Set both short-term and long-term goals to keep motivated.
• Set rewards. Celebrate every success—you earned it!”

There is an article on the NIH website which talks about some of the advantages of becoming more physically active, things like ” Coupled with a healthy diet, it can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.  It can help prevent or delay the onset of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and some types of cancer.  Your overall well-being may brighten as well, because physical activity can help you reduce stress, gain energy, sleep better, and fight depression and anxiety.”

Read the full article here: Get Moving

We will continue to stress the importance of physical activity as part of any healthy lifestyle, but especially as part of any natural weight loss plan. You can increase your physical activity simply taking a walk, if you do it with friends, it can be fun and something you look forward, rather than a chore that you have to suffer through. Get up and get moving!

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At Simple Natural Weight Loss, we have talked many times of the importance of having enough fiber in your diet. We posted a recent article here: Lose Weight Naturally with Fiber. Most Americans don’t eat enough fiber rich foods, which can lead to multiple health problems. There is a long article about fiber on MedicineNet.com about fiber, which includes this section about weight loss and fiber:

“There is some evidence that “bulking up” could lead to slimming down. In a recent study of more than 1700 overweight and obese men and women, those with the highest fiber intake had the greatest weight loss over 24 months. Results from the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) from 1994 -1996 also supported the relationship between a high-fiber intake and lower body weight. One of the reasons that fiber may have an impact on body weight is its ability to slow the movement of food through the intestines. The gel-like substance that soluble fibers form when they dissolve in water causes things to swell and move slower in the intestines. This increase in time that foods stay in the intestines has been shown to reduce hunger feelings and overall food intake. It has also been shown to decrease the number of calories that are actually absorbed from the ingested food. One study showed an increase in the number of calories that were excreted in the stools when high-fiber psyllium gum-based crackers were given in comparison to low-fiber crackers. Whenever fewer calories are taken in, or more are excreted, weight loss will generally occur.”

Read the full article here: Fiber

Remember to drink enough liquids every day, especially if you choose to use a fiber supplement, instead of eating more fiber rich foods. We believe that getting fiber through your diet is the best approach, but recognize that some of our readers may need some time to shift to that approach. If you do take a fiber supplement, the more natural the fiber, the better.

Aim for increasing the amount of fiber include in your everyday foods; whole grains, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits all contain fiber. Adding them to your every day diet will help increase your fiber, and may help with your natural weight loss.

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The last post on Simple Natural Weight Loss we talked about some research from the National Institute of Health website. We promised to write more about natural weight loss and low carbs.

There is an article published in the journal of  Nutrition and Metabolism which compared “the effects of isocaloric, energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate ketogenic (VLCK) and low-fat (LF) diets on weight loss, body composition, trunk fat mass, and resting energy expenditure (REE) in overweight/obese men and women.”

Basically, they compared diets both of which limited calories, but one was very low in carbohydrates, and one low in fat. The actual nutrient proportions for each diet were very different: VLCK (%carbohydrate:fat:protein = ~9:63:28%) and the LF (~58:22:20%). The VLCK diet was a little higher in daily total calories.

“Both between and within group comparisons revealed a distinct advantage of a VLCK over a LF diet for weight loss, total fat loss, and trunk fat loss for men (despite significantly greater energy intake). The majority of women also responded more favorably to the VLCK diet, especially in terms of trunk fat loss. The greater reduction in trunk fat was not merely due to the greater total fat loss, because the ratio of trunk fat/total fat was also significantly reduced during the VLCK diet in men and women. Absolute REE (kcal/day) was decreased with both diets as expected, but REE expressed relative to body mass (kcal/kg), was better maintained on the VLCK diet for men only. Individual responses clearly show the majority of men and women experience greater weight and fat loss on a VLCK than a LF diet.”

What they found that people who were on the low carb diet seemed to lose more fat than those on the low fat diet, and also more trunk fat; and the metabolism (REE or resting energy expenditure) stayed higher on the low carb diet than the low fat diet.

The study concluded: “This study shows a clear benefit of a VLCK over LF diet for short-term body weight and fat loss, especially in men. A preferential loss of fat in the trunk region with a VLCK diet is novel and potentially clinically significant but requires further validation. ”

In other words, the very low carbohydrate diet seems to produce more weight loss than the low fat diet; and works better for men than women. But “Individual responses clearly show the majority of men and women experience greater weight and fat loss on a VLCK than a LF diet.” So the low carb diet did work for both sexes.

The full article can be found here: Low Carb

This article supports  low carbs over low fat; but as the previous post stated: “The ideal weight loss diet, if it even exists, remains to be determined…” We will post some more specific tips about implementing natural weight loss and low carbs in the near future.

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