The Defy Aging Newsletter

Anti-aging psychology, holistic health, and wellness

a biweekly e-mail newsletter for helping you think, feel, look, and be more youthful and live with purpose.

October 3, 2010 Number 216

This issue:

Weight Loss: What Works and New Resources

Action to take

We all would like to just take a magic pill and have the pounds safely melt away. Most of the magic pills, however, are either dangerous or ineffective. So what works?

• Strength exercising as muscle metabolism consumes more calories that fat metabolism • Aerobic exercise, preferably interval exercises, to burn calories and keep fit
• A good night’s sleep decreases ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates appetite) and increases leptin (a hormone that signals satiety)
• Good stress management as stress increases the hormone cortisol, which in excess causes weight gain (and suppresses the immune system)
• Monitoring as keeping a record of what you eat and your weight increases motivation
• Support from others
• Healthy hormone levels. As we age many of our hormone levels decrease, with the result that the same number of calories that used to keep our weight in balance now brings weight gain (unless we take other actions such as increasing exercise, better sleep and stress management, etc.). Testing testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, thyroid, and other hormones and if indicated rebalancing them with bioidentical hormones can help a great deal with weight loss.
• Stable blood sugar levels as the liver coverts excess blood sugar to fat. Monitoring the glycemic load of what you eat can help.
• A healthy diet. Research gives the most support to a Mediterranean style diet though a case can be made for some other diets as well (e.g., Dean Ornish’s diet and program not only effected weight loss but also reversed heart disease)
• Fiber decreases the absorption of what we eat (including, however, vitamins and minerals)
• A good vitamin and mineral supplement as we can’t count on our food sources or eating habits providing all the supplements we need (especially vitamin D which is deficient in at least half of Americans)
• Green tea increases the metabolic rate and tends to inhibit fat absorption in the digestive tract. There are green tea supplements that have concentrated phytosomes to increase the impact.
• Careful selection of other supplements

So what is careful selection of other supplements? I can’t do it justice in one newsletter. Two recent small books came out this year (2010) that I think do a good job of discussing the big picture of weight loss. The books include recommendations for what supplements to take, how they work, and the research support for them. The books are The Life Extension Weight Loss Guide (2nd edition) by Steven Joyal and William Faloon and Thin at Last (titled Weight Loss Report on the website) by David Williams. They are avilable at the links above but neither is currently at amazon.com. I do not have any business or personal relationship with the authors or organizations. I am just recommending two very good books on weight loss and supplements.

Thus the conclusion is that since many factors contribute to weight problems, many actions can help solve the problem. The two books I mentioned are particularly helpful.

Quotes

Your body’s basal metabolic rate decreases by about 2% per decade after age 40. For a man who is 40 years old and weighs 156 pounds this means that during the year following his 50th birthday, he is predisposed to gain an extra 3.5 pounds from the age related reduction in metabolic rate alone, compared with his metabolic rate at 40!

~ The Life Extension Weight Loss Guide.

Humor

I was in Baskin Robbins just looking and this lady said to me, "Are you Rosie O’Donnell?" I said "Yes." "I didn’t know you were pregnant," she said. I just looked at her and said, "Yes, four and a half months." She kept asking, "What are you going to name it?" "I don’t know, either Ben or Jerry".

~Rosie O’Donnell

I’m trying to get back to my original weight—eight pounds three ounces.

~Cheril Vendetti

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Holistic Health and Wellness

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"Dr. Michael Brickey, The Anti-Aging Psychologist, teaches people to think, feel, look and be more youthful. He is an inspiring keynote speaker and Oprah-featured author. His works include:  Defy Aging, 52 baby steps to Grow Young, and Reverse Aging (anti-aging hypnosis CDs). Visit www.NotAging.com for a free report on anti-aging secrets and a free newsletter with practical anti-aging tips."