The weight loss industry is full of 'weird tricks' and empty promises. Weight Loss Resources gets back to basics:

If you’re going to lose weight permanently you need to change how you eat - in ways that you can live with, feel good about, and come to enjoy.

This means learning about food and healthy lifestyle, deciding what you are (and are not) prepared to change, and making your chosen changes into habits.

What that means to you, is as individual as you are.

At Weight Loss Resources we strive to provide the best, evidence-based, personalised tools and guidance to support you through that process of discovery, and help you lose weight in a sustainable way.

The easiest way to find out how WLR can help is to give it a whirl - you can try it free for 24 hours. Or have a look around and get a better feel for what we can help you to do. The resources below are some good places to start.

Get Your Mind Ready for Weight Loss

Research shows that one of the most important factors that influences weight loss success is your attitude.

Whether or not you really want to lose weight and if you have enough belief in yourself to make some changes. Because what you feel affects how you think and, in turn, the actions you take. Learn More

This section is written by one of WLR's dietitian's, Lyndel Costain, who has many years of experience helping people to get in the right mindset for weight loss.

Popular pages include Lyndel's Quiz to help you asses how much you want to lose weight and What's the Right Diet for You?

Drink Before You Eat

If you could lose 3lbs in 8 weeks just by drinking a glass of water before each meal would you do it? This research says it's worth a try. 

A study Pubished in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research¹ found that drinking 500ml of water before meals led to a weight loss of 3lbs in 8 weeks.

The study was carried out on 50 overweight females for eight weeks, during which they were instructed to drink 500 ml of water, three times a day, half an hour before breakfast, lunch and dinner. This to be in addition to their normal water intake Read Lyndel's Report Here

Keep a Daily Food Diary

WLR dietitian Lyndel Costain reports on a study showing that the more food records people kept, the more weight they lost. 

Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Health Research Centre in Oregon² found that people who kept a food diary for six or more days per week lost twice as much weight as those who did not.

The study involved nearly 1700 overweight adults who followed a healthy eating and activity programme for 6 months and were advised to keep daily records of what and how many calories they consumed. Read Lyndel's Report Here

Indulge in Eggs for Breakfast

Dietitian Juliette Kellow investigates research which suggests that going to work on a couple of eggs might be the way forward if you want to lose weight and shift those pounds.

According to new research from the Rochester Centre for Obesity in America³ eating eggs for breakfast could help to limit your calorie intake throughout the rest of the day, by more than 400 calories.

In the study, 30 overweight or obese women ate either an egg-based breakfast (2 eggs) or a bagel-based breakfast, containing the same amount of calories and almost identical levels of protein. Read Juliette's Report Here

Don't Workout Too Hard

Ever wondered why you’re not losing weight, even when you’re taking regular exercise and putting in maximum effort each time?  Juliette Kellow looks at research which investigates how exercise intensity effects what you eat.

Researchers from the University of Ottawa⁴ looked at how easy and hard workouts affected the appetites of 13 women.

The study found that those women who pushed themselves to the limit with high-intensity workouts ate the most after exercising; consuming more than 90 percent of the calories they’d burnt off. In contrast, those women who’d done low intensity workouts, consumed just 35 percent of the calories they’d burnt. Read Juliette’s Report Here

Follow a Plan

Research from a US study has shown that people who were guided over what to eat lost more weight over 6 months than people using less structured guidance.

WLR's Site Manager, Laurence Beeken, looks at the study published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders⁵ in 1996.

The controlled study looked at 163 overweight women, split into different groups.  The overall aim of the research being to show that  by providing overweight patients with the food that they should eat, it would significantly improve weight loss.  Read Our Report Here

Get Online Support

Friend Yourself Thin – this new study shows online dieters who engage with other members lose 1/3 more weight.

A study carried out by Northwestern University⁶ has found that online weight loss programme members who engaged regularly and friended other members benefited from increased motivation and better chances of success.

Bonnie Spring, one of the authors of the study and a professor in preventative medicine, says:

"Our findings suggest that people can do very well at losing weight with minimal professional help when they become centrally connected to others on the same weight loss journey". Read Our Report Here

Rely on Ready Meals

If you find ready meals helpful, but sometimes feel a bit guilty about eating them, then this research may help ease your conscience.

WLR’s Dietitian, Lyndel Costain reviews a study, published in the online journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism⁷, found that including portion controlled ready meals helped overweight men lose weight more easily.

Conducted by scientists at the University of Illinois, the men were randomly divided between two test groups, one of which included two portion-controlled frozen ready meals.  At the end of the 8-week study period, both groups managed to lose a beneficial amount of weight, but the portion-controlled group lost around a third more.

The researchers concluded that the simplicity and portion control of the ready meal diet meant it was easier for the group to keep to their calorie level. It also seemed to improve their knowledge of what was a good portion size.  Read Lyndel’s Report Here.

Start a Meal with Soup

Dietitian Juliette Kellow finds two studies from Pennsylvania State University⁸ showing how eating soup before a meal can help with weight loss.

Both studies showed that participants consumed fewer calories overall when they were given soup before lunch.

Researchers found fullness ratings were significantly higher immediately before the lunch test meal was served when a soup starter was eaten compared to the no soup condition. Read Juliette's Report Here

Eat Low GI

Many celebrities are fans of the low glycaemic index diet to help keep them slim – and it seems they’re actually doing the right thing.

Dietitian Juliette Kellow looks at a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition⁹ which supports the idea that basing our diets on low glycaemic index foods really does help to prevent the pounds from piling on.

Danish researchers looked at the diets and health of almost 400 adults over a six-year period, and discovered that diets including lots of high glycaemic index foods were associated with increases in body weight, body fat and waist circumference in women. Read Juliette’s Report Here.

Consider a CLA Supplement

Dietitian Juliette Kellow reports on research published in the International Journal of Obesity¹⁰ which reveals that reducing body fat could be helped along by taking a daily CLA supplement.

The US study set out to investigate whether conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) – a type of fatty acid that’s sometimes used in over-the-counter slimming pills – could reduce body fat in overweight adults.

The study included 40 overweight adults aged between 18 and 44 years with a BMI of 25-30. For six months, the adults either took supplements of CLA or a placebo (a pill that contains no active ingredient).

The researchers found that over six months, those adults taking CLA lost significantly more body fat and weight than those taking the placebo.  Read Juliette’s Report Here

Cook at Home

WLR’s Laurence Beeken looks at a study from John Hopkins University which found that people eating home-cooked-food ate less fat, sugar and salt and consumed more fibre.

Julia Wolfson and co-author Sara N. Bleich, PhD, researchers in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health¹¹, analyzed data from the 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from more than 9,000 participants aged 20 and older.

The study showed that when people cook most of their meals at home, they consume fewer carbohydrates, less sugar and less fat than those who cook less or not at all – even if they are not trying to lose weight.  Read Our Report Here.

Buddy Up

In research published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, doctors at Brown Medical School and Dartmouth University¹² found that people who had the support of a buddy who successfully lost weight were more successful at losing weight themselves.

Furthermore, Studies over the years have shown that partners who team up to lose weight or get fit together are more successful than individuals who go it alone. A study from Indiana University¹⁶ showed that the 12-month drop-out rate for couples participating in a fitness program was just 6 percent, compared to 43 percent among individuals who joined the program alone.

WLR’s Laurence Beeken looks at the research which recognises an integral part of any weight loss programme is support.  Read Our Report Here.

Have a Laugh - Often

News from Dietitian Juliette Kellow on a study which shows that laughing can aid weight loss by increasing the heart rate and calorie expenditure.

Research published in the International Journal of Obesity¹³ has discovered that laughter really is the best medicine for a weight problem.

In the small study, 45 pairs of adult friends were shown either funny or serious film clips. The researchers discovered that the longer participants laughed for, the greater the effects. Read Juliette’s Report Here

Hide the Office Sweets and Treats

Ask anyone who has ever worked in an office what the main diet dangers are and they’ll say the constant temptation of sweets and chocolates left lying around for everyone to delve into.

Dietitian Juliette Kellow looks at a study published in the International Journal of Obesity¹⁴ which has proved that it’s not just a myth – sweetening up staff by leaving regular supplies of chocolate in the office does actually pile on the pounds. 

Researchers found that office workers ate more than twice as many chocolates each day when they could see them easily. Read Juliette's Report Here.

Dip Into Dairy

Dietitian Juliette Kellow investigates research which shows that calcium, in particular milk and dairy products, can be an aid to weight loss.

But by cutting out dairy, slimmers are not only missing out on bone-building calcium, they’re also missing out on a potentially important fat fighter!  Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana¹⁵ found that young women who had 1,000mg of calcium every day (the amount of calcium found in about 1½ pints of semi-skimmed milk) lost about 6lb over two years.

Similar results have also been found in other studies. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition^15a reported on Dr Michael Zemel and colleagues, who analysed the diets of 32 obese adults and discovered that those people eating three servings of low-fat dairy products a day lost more than 10% of their body weight. 

All the research suggests that calcium alone can help weight loss, but the effects seem to be more dramatic when it’s taken in the form of dairy products.  Read Juliette’s Report Here.

 

If you're not sure what weight loss strategies are going to be most effective for you - using WLR's  tools will help you to try them out - start your free trial now

 

References

¹'Effect of ‘Water Induced Thermogenesis’ on Body Weight, Body Mass Index and Body Composition of Overweight Subjects'. Vinu A. Vij and Anjali S. Joshi, Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research

²Kaiser Permanente Health Research Centre 

³'Egg Breakfast Enhances Weight Loss' JS Vander Wal, A Gupta, P Khosla, and NV Dhurandhar. Rochester Centre for Obesity in America

^4'Effects of exercise intensity on food intake and appetite in women'  Marjorie Pomerleau, Pascal Imbeault, Torrey Parker, and Eric Doucet

⁵'Food provision vs structured meal plans in the behavioral treatment of obesity. Wing RR, Jeffery RW, Burton LR, Thorson C, Nissinoff KS, Baxter JE.

⁶'Friending Your Way Thin' Luís A. Nunes Amaral, Bonnie Spring

⁷'Use of packaged entrees as part of a weight-loss diet in overweight men'Obesity Use of packaged entrees as part of a weight-loss diet in overweight men'. S. M. Hannum, L. A. Carson, E. M. Evans, E. L. Petr, C. M. Wharton, L. Bui andJ. W. Erdman Jr.

and Metabolism

⁸'Soup preloads in a variety of forms reduce meal energy intake'. Julie E. Flood and Barbara J. Rolls

⁹'Glycemic index and obesity'. Janette C Brand-Miller, Susanna HA Holt, Dorota B Pawlak, and Joanna McMillan

^10'The role of conjugated linolieic acid in reducing body fat and preventing holiday weight gain'  A C Watras, A C Buchholz, R N Close, Z Zhang and D A Schoeller

¹¹'Study Suggests Home Cooking is a Main Ingredient in Healthier Diet Julia A. Wolfson, Sara N. Bleich

¹²'Involving Support partners in obesity treatment.' Gorin A, Phelan S, Tate D, Sherwood N, Jeffery R, Wing R.

¹³'Energy Expenditure of Genuine Laughter' M S Buchowski, K M Majchrzak, K Blomquist, K Y Chen, D W Byrne and J-A Bachorowski

¹⁴The office candy dish: proximity's influence on estimated and actual consumption' B Wansink, J E Painter and Y-K Lee

¹⁵'Calcium Intake in Low-Income Women in Indiana' Amber D. Riggin

^15a'Role of calcium and dairy products in energy partitioning and weight management' Michael B Zemel

¹⁶'Association Between Obesity and Psychiatric Disorders in the US Adult Population' Gregory E Simon, MD MPH, Michael Von Korff, ScD, Kathleen Saunders, JD, Diana L Miglioretti, PhD, Paul K Crane, MD MPH, Gerald van Belle, PhD, and Ronald C Kessler, PhD

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