Imagine yourself enjoying a delicious spread of good food and about ten minutes later, you feel a fluttering sensation in your stomach to tell you to stop eating. That sensation is caused by an electrode which emitted by a new weight loss implant gadget.

The TANTALUS II gastric pacemakeris based on new technology called Gastric Contractility Modulation (GCM) that is designed to sense naturally occurring electrical activity of the stomach in real-time. Automatically, it will apply electrical stimulation treatment during your meal times.

Basically. it works by applying programmed electrical stimulation to the stomach during food intakes. The system monitors the patient’s food intake by sensing gastric activity and automatically adapting a treatment schedule for the patient based on her eating habits. People with the weight loss implant tend to eat as little as a quarter of what they would normally do.

This kind of technology potentially can revolutionize the whole weight loss industry as long as it appears safe and not invasive to use. Currently, they are still researching and studying the technology and I believe it will take them another 2 or more years before this technology will be marketed.

I think this type of technology has the potential to revolutionize the weight loss industry as it appears to be a safe, less invasive alternative to gastric bypass surgery. Time will tell.

Source: The TANTALUS II System

Underlying cause: The numbers on the scale stop going down or start to creep up and you feel like you’ll never reach your target weight.

The Fix: “It’s important for people to understand that plateaus are a natural phenomenon and they will occur,” says Dr Christine Gerbstadt, national spokesman for American Dietetic Association.

Instead of despair, arm yourself with a list of strategies to help you break through it. Experts recommend implementing small behavioural changes such as taking a walk around the block after the diner or reducing the amount of dressing on your salad by a teaspoon or two.
And challenge yourself to run farther, lift more weigths or experiment with a new activity.
Studies show that dieters who have a postive attitude about their chances for success are more likely to take the weight off and maintain the loss.

Symptom: The workout that used to leave you huffing, puffing and sore for days barely makes you break a sweat.

Underlying cause:
Your body has become more efficient and requires less energy to do the same activity.

“When you get accustomed to your exercise program, it stops stressing your body,” says Dr Bell-Wilson. And when you stop stressing your body, you stop seeing results.

The Fix: Add weights, advised Dr Christine Gerbstadt, national spokesman for American Dietetic Association.

Strength training at least twice a week increases your lean body tissue, metabolic rate and fat burning potential. In fact, a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that women who trained with weights twice a week for 12 weeks reduced their body fat by more than 2.5per cent and increased lean muscle mass by 2kg - even without restricting calories.

Increasing the duration and intensity of your workouts is also a good idea. So, instead of logging in your regular 30 minutes on the treadmill at a steady pace, try the treadmill’s interval training program, or hit the road and take advantage of changes int he terrain.

Run in the sand or up hills and use landmarks to signify a sprint or a slow down. And squeeze in extra calorie burning whenever you get the chance, says Dr Gerbstadt. Getting up to change the television channel instead of relying on the remote control; pacing while you’re on the phone; and doing squats while you wait for your food to heat in the microwave.

Read more about Weight Loss Plateau…

Symptom: Constant cravings make it hard for you to pass up on old favorites. Yet, you know those little nibbles of foods you love may explain why you’re at a standstill.

Underlying cause: You’re bored with your diet

The Fix: Shake up your food choices. Load up on different fruits and vegetables, try some new dishes with whole grains or lean protein, and experiment with seasonings.

And when it comes to satisfying your sweet tooth, stick with one or 2 staples.

Studies show decreasing the variety of high-fat foods you eat can lower your total calories and boost your weight loss.
Having a plethora of high-fat options to choose from encourages you to keep eating so you can experience the different sensory qualities of each food.

Remember the old adage, less is more.

Now, even you are eating the same number of calories but you’ve stopped losing weight.

Underlying cause: As you become leaner, you burn fewer calories during workouts( and when you’re resting, too)

The Fix: Eat five to six small meals every 3 to 4 hours, depending on your calorie needs, Don’t reduce the number of calories you’re eating, but rather, spread calories throughout the day to keep your metabolism running strong.

“If you’re losing weight by decreasing calories, you’re going to reach a point where you can’t cut back more without sabotaging nutrients,” says Dr Jenna Bell-Wilson, a board certified specialist in sports dietetics in Columbus, Ohio in the United States.

This is to prevent your body to deprive of energy and it can got into starvation mode, slowing your metabolism and making your weight even more difficult.

That’s why it’s important to eat low-carb, nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables. Get your body to burn off the fat instead of muscles.

In fact, the researchers from Drexel University find that most dieters tend to hit plateaus at weeks #3, #10 and after 6 months. But, plateau aren’t just physical. They can be psychological, too.

So, what is weight loss plateau? How do you overcome it especially for women over 40 who are on weight loss program? Read more about it…

Oats has started to gain its reputation as one of the great food to consume to lower your “bad” cholesterol and it is a compliment to our weight loss diet plan.

This is relatively a piece of good news to us, women over 40 who is consider over our weight and our health.

The cholesterol-lowering evidence of oats was so strong that the US food and Drug Administration approved the 1st “food-specific claim” by 1997. It permitted labels of oat-rich products to state that eating oats and oat-based foods reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Regular oatmeal consumption can help to lower total cholesterol as well as “bad” - LDL - cholesterol, with no adverse effects on the “good” - HDL cholesterol. At the same time, it can reduce inflammation, one of the 1st signs of the development of atherosclerosis.

Studies has shown that the soluble fibre in the oat bran can help to the body digest fats. That’s wonderful as we can add oats to our diets like basic breakfast oatmeal, which is 100% whole grain is the best way to start. Even instant oatmeal contains healthy soluble fibre can help us to lose weight.

Beside that, whole oats contain antioxidant compounds that help keep the heart healthy.

Why not start now?

“The weight loss is significant. Most women are losing three to five pounds a week, most men are losing five to seven pounds a week,” said Caruth.

This doctor-assisted program which tailored to each client called The Doctor TED (Theromgenic Endorphin-releasing Diet) Diet.

So, how does it go about?

Patients eat a low-calorie diet filled with a lot of fruit, vegetables and lean proteins. However, exercise is not necessary but patients do use a vibration exercise machine during their weekly visits. Dr Caruth describes that this vibration exerciser as an anaerobic exercise that helps to increase your circulation. (In my view, the machine does not help much because some of my friends have tried it and found not much of effects on the weight loss. No point wasting your time and money on this gimmicks.)

In addition, the patients are injected weekly with a vitamin B-12 and B-6 shot which Dr Caruth said has three fat-burning components and boosts energy.

The fourth element is a patented endorphine releasing cream that is rubbed into the skin and it is supposed to help to suppress the appetite.

Amy Goodson, a registered dietitian, thinks the Dr. TED Diet is a good, physician-assisted program. Her only comment was on the B-12 and B-6 shots. “You’ll see B-12 and B-6 recommended as a metabolism boost, however the only way you need more B-12 or B-6 in your diet is if you are participating in large amounts of exercise where your metabolism is elevated,” said Goodson.

The program runs for 10 weeks and it costs $895 with results guaranteed by Dr Caruth.

Well… ultimately, it is the accountability of weekly weigh-ins and following the diet that play a role  in the success of the weight loss.

In conclusion… it is about the same as any doctor-assisted program that is available in the market.

The trick is to slow down the speed of your eating. There is a reason why the percentage of overweight people in other countries is fewer than in America; the reason is that people in other countries eat food slowly. They would talk over meals and stretch the meal over hours. Not so in the United States of America, where people barely have enough time to devote to eating. They cannot spend more than ten or fifteen minutes on an average over a meal. Some people eat food even faster than that! The faster you eat, the less satiated your mind is, and the more you want to eat, even when you are not hungry.

On the contrary, if you eat slowly, you will spend a lot of time over your dinner, and eventually, you will lose your appetite and finish your dinner sooner by eating less. See how by eating slow you can easily cut down on your food intake without depriving yourself in any way? By eating slow, your mind is satiated completely and you ‘feel’ full. I say ‘feel’ because overeating is often associated with feelings. You feel full, or you feel hungry; sometimes hunger has nothing to do with your stomach at all!

On another note, eating food slowly and chewing them properly helps you to digest your food quickly, thereby speeding up your metabolic rate and helping you to burn fat!

Several studies conducted over the recent years have proved that people who eat steadily for a short time tend to eat more than those who take breaks in between meals or eat more slowly. Eating slowly is a surefire way of killing your appetite quicker than it would otherwise. On the hind side, slow eating won’t harm your body in any way unlike weight loss supplements; on the contrary, slow eating will help you digest food quicker!

There are many different ways to lose weight quickly but sometimes the basic weight loss tricks are overlooked in favor of fads and pills. I hope this article gives you something else to look at!

Yippee!

If you came here because you read the article in O Magazine, I want to extend to you my warmest welcome. Thanks for dropping by!

Getting into O Magazine is a dream come true for me. It really is an unexpected and absolutely wonderful post-Christmas surprise…

And if you’re reading this Dr. Katz, even though I don’t know you (yet), I want to say a big “Thank You” to you for introducing my BMR calculator tool to everyone.

I’m excited and encouraged by this, and you can be sure I’ll be working extra hard to bring you even more easy-to-use tools in the future. Stay tuned!

Tracy Lee
Weight Loss for Women Over 40

[tags]weight loss,metabolic rate,metabolism,Oprah,O Magazine[/tags]