Greetings from sunny Seattle WA. Yes, it is actually sunny out here!Jodie and I finally made it here ok and we are off to tour the Space Needle, the Experience Music exhibit and Jim Hensen's Muppets exhibit too
I am off to ACSM tomorrow through Friday, so I will hopefully have updates here but that will all depend on my internet connection. I will have exclusive newsletter only updates for my newsletter friends too.
A few short studies on fat loss in the meantime.
Addition of aerobic exercise to a weight loss program increases BMD, with an associated reduction in inflammation in overweight postmenopausal women.
Silverman NE, Nicklas BJ, Ryan AS. University of Maryland School of Medicine, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center of the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, GRECC (BT/18/GR), 10 North Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-1524, USA.
Increased inflammation and weight loss are associated with a reduction in bone mineral density (BMD). Aerobic exercise may minimize the loss of bone and weight loss may contribute to a decrease in cytokines. We tested the hypothesis that aerobic exercise in combination with a weight loss program would decrease circulating concentrations of inflammatory markers, thus mediating changes in BMD. This was a nonrandomized controlled trial. Eighty-six overweight and obese postmenopausal women (50-70 years of age; BMI, 25-40 kg/m(2)) participated in a weight loss (WL; n = 40) or weight loss plus walking (WL + AEX; n = 46) program. Outcome measures included BMD and bone mineral content of the femoral neck and lumbar spine measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, soluble receptors of IL-6, and TNF-alpha (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2; receptors in a subset of the population), VO(2) max, fat mass, and lean mass.
Weight decreased in the WL (p < p =" 0.001)," style="font-weight: bold;">
CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the addition of aerobic exercise is recommended to decrease inflammation and increase BMD during weight loss in overweight postmenopausal women.
My notes: Nothing earth shattering here---you need to EXERCISE (heck, even walking) for weight loss and better health (less inflammation).
Effect of calorie restriction on subjective ratings of appetite.
Anton SD, Han H, York E, Martin CK, Ravussin E, Williamson DA. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA. santon@aging.ufl.edu
BACKGROUND: Energy or calorie restriction (CR) has consistently been shown to produce weight loss and have beneficial health effects in numerous species, including primates and humans. Most individuals, however, are unable to sustain weight losses induced through reductions in energy intake, potentially due to increased hunger levels. The effects that prolonged CR has on subjective aspects of appetite have not been well studied. Thus, the present study tested the effect of 6 months of caloric restriction on appetite in healthy, overweight men and women.
METHODS: Forty-eight overweight men and women with a body mass index (BMI; kg m(-2)) between 25-29.9 took part in a 6-month study and were randomised into one of four groups: healthy diet (control); 25% CR; 12.5% CR plus exercise (12.5% increased energy expenditure; CR + EX); low-calorie diet [LCD; 3724 kJ day(-1) (890 kcal day(-1)) until 15% of initial body weight was lost, then maintenance]. Appetite markers (i.e. hunger, fullness, desire to eat, etc.) were assessed weekly during a fasting state.
RESULTS: Body weight was significantly reduced in all three energy-restricted groups (CR = -10.4 +/- 0.9%; CR + EX = -10.0 +/- 0.8%; and LCD = -13.9 +/-0.7%), indicating that participants were adherent to their energy restriction regimen, whereas the healthy diet control group remained weight stable (control = -1.0 +/- 1.1%). Despite these significant weight losses, appetite ratings of participants in the three energy-restricted groups at month 6 were similar to the weight stable control group.
CONCLUSIONS: CR regimens with low fat diets producing significant weight losses have similar effects on appetite markers over a 6-month time period compared to a weight stable control group.
My notes: I wish they would have measured body fat instead of just using weight and BMI. You want to drop fat NOT muscle; but if you only measure weight you don't know if you are dropping muscle and fat.
