Interesting Weight Loss Studies

Dietary Treatment and Long-Term Weight Loss and Maintenance in Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity Research 9:S348-S353 (2001), © 2001 The North American Association for the Study of Obesity

Exercise-induced Reversal of Insulin Resistance in Obese Elderly is Associated With Reduced Visceral Fat, J Appl Physiol 100: 1584-1589, 2006.

Inactivity, Exercise, and Visceral Fat. STRRIDE: A Randomized, Controlled Study of Exercise Intensity and Amount, J Appl Physiol 99: 1613-1618, 2005.

Articles

Physical Inactivity Rapidly Increases Visceral Fat; Exercise Can Reverse Accumulation, Science Daily Article. Source: Duke University Medical Center.

Resources & Links

Here is a page from the NIDDK that tells what activities are recommended and how much you need of each type of activity: http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/physical.htm

Here are some wonderful online calculators on the About network, most of which give you some great info on walking and calories burned: http://walking.about.com/cs/measure/a/blfitnesscalc.htm

Here is another page from the NIDDK that has basic information on walking: http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/walking.htm

Here is Club Ped from the American Diabetes Association. It has a cute little online walking program where you enter your steps and you can get a virtual reward. I love the virtual dog. http://diabetes.org/ClubPed/index.jsp

What is your weight goal? Are you interested in what your "ideal" weight is? There really isn't a one-size-fits all ideal weight, but here are some weight charts to help you out: http://www.am-i-fat.com/weight_tables_women.html

Another way to look at fitness is Body Mass Index. It is recommended you have a BMI less than 25. Here's more info: http://www.consumer.gov/weightloss/bmi.htm

Remember the BMI has it's faults. Here's a page that illustrates this. It names some celebrities that are obese according to the BMI - like the Rock and Tom Cruise. They have a higher BMI because they have lots of heavy muscle on their bods. http://www.bmiscale.com/

Another way to measure fitness is your waist circumference--even if your BMI is normal. Women will want their waist measurement under 35 to reduce disease risk. Measure your waist around your bare abdomen, just above the hip bone. Make sure the tape is parallel to the floor. Don't make the tape too tight to where it compresses your skin, but make sure it is snug. Exhale and relax!

Yet another way to measure fitness is your waist-to-hip ratio. Divide your waist circumference by your hip circumference. A ratio higher than 1.0 is considered "at risk" for health problems such as heart disease. A good waist-to-hip ratio for women is 0.80 or less.

Here is a nifty calculator that gives you an idea of how much of a deficit you need to reach your goal weight in a specific time period, how long it will take you, etc. : http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_loss.html

Here is another calculator that lets you know how many calories are burned during various activities. http://caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.html

What is your basal metabolic rate? This is how many calories you would burn all day if you did absolutely NOTHING--just stayed in bed all day. Here's a page with information and a cool calculator. It can help you figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight at various activity levels. It is very handy in trying to plan your calorie deficit (see below). This calculator is very general, you can find other calculators or worksheets that help you get extremely detailed data. : http://www.nmclites.edu/wellness/bmr.htm

When you do formal exercise, you should try to stay within your target heart rate. Your level of exertion may be a lot less than you expect. Here is a site to figure out your target heart rate: http://www.justmove.org/fitnessnews/healthf.cfm?Target=hartrates.html

To quickly measure your target heart rate without a heart monitor, take the heart rate goal you obtained via the above link (and your health care professional) and divide it by 6. This is the number of beats you are aiming to have within a 10-second period. So stop, watch the time, find your pulse and count beats. For example, if my target heart rate is 130 and I divide it by 6, I would aim for about 22 beats in a 10-second period. You will soon be able to sense when you are at your target heart rate. I have personally found that I am in my target heart rate when I get barely winded and I break out in a light cool sweat. If I can feel my heartbeat and I form beads of sweat, I have gone too far and need to slow down.

Diabetes and
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