Top Tips to Assist Your Weight Loss Success

(Article first published as Small Changes in Lifestyle Drive Weight Loss Success on Technorati.)

The New Year has now officially arrived and it’s time to determine the best way to keep your resolution to lose weight and regain your health and self image. Dropping excess weight can be one of the most difficult tasks you will undertake and also the most important. Research is continually pointing to overweight and obesity, sugar and refined carbohydrates and trans fats as major contributors to chronic illnesses that shorten our lifespan.

Everybody has heard that the key to weight loss success is a combination of reducing calories and increased physical activity. While this is true, there are many more important factors that contribute to a permanent weight loss plan. Constructing a dietary and fitness program you can live with are important, along with proper mindset, drive, motivation and the support of friends and family. Fox News has compiled a list of the top ways you can help yourself stay on a diet to reach your target goal.

Eat Breakfast with Protein Everyday

Resolve to eat breakfast with a good source of protein every day. This meal starts your metabolic engine and begins the process of burning calories for energy. Don’t fill up on breakfast cereals, pancakes or donuts, as these foods will quickly turn to sugar and leave you wanting a between meal snack a couple of hours later. Protein breaks down very slowly and promotes fat metabolism. Raw nuts and seeds are an ideal choice in moderation.

Include a High Fiber Choice with Each Meal

Fiber has been shown to fill you up quickly and decreases feelings of hunger throughout the day. Most people should target 30 to 50 grams of fiber each day, though most consume less than 10 grams. Refined foods have most of the fiber stripped away along with essential nutrients. Natural leafy greens, vegetables and fruits are a great source of fiber to help curb your appetite.

Include More Calcium in Your Diet

Calcium triggers the release of a hormone called calcitrol that is known to regulate the storage of body fat. Studies demonstrate that people who include several servings of calcium-rich foods each day are able to lose significantly more weight that those who don’t. It’s important to include calcium from food sources that are more efficiently metabolized than supplements. In addition to low-fat dairy, good sources of calcium include broccoli, spinach and peas and almonds.

Start Your Meal with Soup

Soup is a tasty way to begin your main meal of the day. A large bowl of broth-based soup is low in calories and will fill you up and remove the temptation to overeat. Studies have shown that women who ate a bowl of chicken and rice soup before lunch consumed 100 fewer calories at the meal. This equates to a net loss of 10 pounds over the course of a year just by making this one small change.

The key to successful weight loss is to make small changes that will compliment and reinforce your ultimate goal. Lowering calories, eating a well-balanced healthy diet and regular exercise are all important in your journey to drop excess pounds. Make the necessary adjustments to your daily routine that will encourage your efforts and promote sustainable weight loss.

Protein Diet Essential to Successful Weight Loss

(Article first published as Protein Balance Found to be Key to Successful Weight Loss Diet on Technorati.)

So, when is a calorie not really a calorie? This is a question that has been asked by weight loss enthusiasts for the past century. As you may have guessed, many people have not yet found the answer as evidenced by the continuing overweight and obesity challenges that plaque millions of Americans.

Medical researchers have been busy working to determine if successful weight loss is merely a matter of caloric balance or if calories from different food sources have a different effect on how our body stores fat. New information now provides evidence that some calories are more demonic than others and can impact your path to permanent weight loss.

Caloric Balance is Essential to Weight Loss Efforts

The results of a Danish study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine compared five different protein and carbohydrate balanced diets on their ability to initiate and maintain weight loss. Study participants initially lost an average of 24 pounds and then were placed on one of five specially prepared diets which varied from low carb/high protein to high carb/low protein.

The results showed that those on the low glycemic, high protein diet were 45% more efficient in maintaining their lost weight. Dr. Thomas Larsen, the co-author of the study theorized that the higher protein content provided a stronger satiety effect while improving blood sugar control. He concluded, "There has been considerable controversy over the role of glycemic index in general, and obesity treatment in particular. This study provides very strong, supportive evidence for the importance of this low-glycemic concept."

Protein Boosts Metabolism, Assists Weight Loss

The Danish study is the latest body of research to demonstrate that a higher protein diet when combined with a dramatically lower consumption of processed and refined carbohydrates is needed to boost metabolic rate and stimulate weight loss. Information published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition provides evidence that health adults should eat three-quarters of their body weight in grams of protein each day.

Critical metabolic changes begin to take place when you increase protein consumption to 30% of calories and decrease or eliminate sugar and refined carbs that drive blood sugar levels out of control. Since protein is much more difficult to break down, your body exerts more energy to metabolize a calorie of protein than the same simple carb calorie. And protein provides essential branched chain amino acids that your body requires as basic cellular building blocks. The answer is clear. All calories are not created equal.

One of the best ways to shift your body into fat burning mode is to begin each day with a good source of protein. This fuels your metabolic engine and limits blood glucose surges that can last all day. Ideal sources of protein include red meat (free range beef, minimally cooked) and cottage cheese, as well as milk, eggs, fish, chicken, legumes, peanuts, cheese, nuts, and seeds. Try increasing the amount of healthy protein in your diet and watch your weight loss goal become reality.