Once upon a time, they told us that losing weight did not require anything more than a good diet and exercise plan and motivation to stay with both.
While these things are still true, an entire industry has emerged to help us achieve these goals. And in recent years, the diet was high-tech, with a variety of devices and services designed to help us spill the pounds. Many attempts to transform electronic items we already use, such as mobile phones, MP3 players, computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) in weight loss helps.But this high-tech approach to you? More importantly, could this help you lose those extra pounds or build these six packages?
The answer, it seems, depends on the gadget - and in you.
"If something helps you make healthy lifestyle changes, and you can keep these changes, then it's always a good thing," says Nuw York Nutritionist Samantha Heller, MS, Rd.
In fact, a study presented at an obesity meeting in October 2005 showed that listening to music while you work can help you maintain a fitness plan and boost weight loss.That said, Heller warns that many of the devices on the market can be unrealistic, not only in terms of cost, but also in what they can do - particularly when it comes to helping us make permanent changes in our food and exercise. habits.
Other experts agree.
"Clearly, some of these devices and services are better than others, but in the end it still boils down to you, how much you eat and how much you exercise - this is what matters most," says Canvas Sandon, MS, Rd, spokesman for the Dietary American Association.
To help keep you upgraded to the world of high-tech weight control, the WebMD requested that several experts would help us investigate the possibilities. Here's what we found.
Antidepressants That Cause Weight Loss - High-Tech Weight Loss
Keeping a food diary is one of the oldest and most well-known ways to launch a successful diet. When writing everything we eat, experts say, we can clearly see how much and how often we are eating - and we take steps to deal with bad habits. The food telephony service takes a further step, providing you with instant "live" feedback at each meal.
. How It Works: Dieters pay a monthly fee to stay connected, via cell phone, for nutritionists who are available 24/7. Whenever you get the desire to eat, you fits a digital photo of what you want to give the food and send it electronically to a food telephony trainer. The bus phones back with a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" along with suggestions for what to do, how to eat half of your desired treatment.
. The cost: $ 149 per month.
. What specialists say: "The good thing about this service is that it helps you stop and think about what you are eating, so it increases awareness of portion sizes and even choices," says Heller. On the side, she wonders how many people really will photograph all of your food every day - and how many have $ 150 a month to spend in this luxury.
While Sandon says the food phone can be motivating, "It's like having someone watching for everything you eat." She notes that the photos do not tell the whole story.
"You can not say how much fat, sugar, salt or calories is on a plate," she says, "so it can be more useful for defining people directly on what a portion should look like."
.. Bottom Line: It's a good choice if you have "mother" in your case 24/7 is what you need to help you stay on your diet. It's a bad choice if "Mother" being in your case 24/7 is why you're eating too much in the first place!
still using a cell phone just to make calls? Now comes to University of North Carolina (UNC) Healthcare with a variety of applications that transform your cell phone into a diet coach.
. How It Works: By downloading various weight loss programs (including a calorie counter, carbohydrate counter, personal trainer and personal pedometer) You can turn any Java-enabled cell phone or PDA into a diet encyclopedia. When inserting personal information (such as height, weight and diet targets), you can even customize each program to provide detailed information to help you meet your goals.
. The cost: prices range from $ 5 to $ 7 per application. For another $ 2 a month, you can call for the online health link, which allows you to monitor your progress and even more customize your reports. If you agree to be a beta tester (ie to test how well the program runs), the application is free and rates are exempted for 90 days.
. What experts say: "There is nothing new here except as you access the information," says Heller. If you need a gadget instead of a book to count calories or carbohydrates, she says, this can help.
. Bottom Line: If you need to be slightly fun while counting calories, these programs can help you learn what you can and can not eat if you want to achieve your goals. They can also help increase your diet awareness.
Two high-tech programs - one of Nokia and another from Siemens - use cellular technology to help you meet your physical conditioning goal. They offer various services, including an electronic trainer, a calorie counter, body mass index calculator (BMI), heart rate monitor and fitness scheduler. And oh yes, you can make calls as well.
. How it works: Nokia is pre-loaded with software that allows you to schedule in information related to the suitability about you as well as your goals. Based on this, your phone will operate a training schedule and will follow your workouts, including how often and how long you exercise. With Siemens, you get an animated fitness instructor that demonstrates several exercises. Extras include various monitors and calculators, including one that records your nutritional needs based on what you are eating now. On the way: A Samsung fitness phone that allows you to measure body fat with the touch of a button and includes quick links to fitness counselors.
. The cost: Nokia Fitness Thone - $ 199 Plus service; Siemens Fitness Thone - $ 239.
. What specialists say: "For people who want to accompany how much they did, and to keep organized, these systems can be very useful," says Todd Schlifstein, making, specialist in sports medicine from the medical center of the University of New York. That said, Schlifstein warns that if you need a cartoon to figure out how to do an exercise, "you probably should not be doing it."
. Bottom Line: For the gadget-lover is a fun way to track training. For obsessed weight - someone who wants to count calories, track body fat and take a wrist count while sitting in a cafeteria or cinema - is the sky. For the rest of us: will not do these sit-ups for you.
Online diet programs are the electronic incarnation of the group approach to lose weight. While your offerings range widely - from meal plans and cooking tips for counseling, support groups and more - what they all have in common is the power of a virtual community to support their weight loss goals.
. How It Works: For a defined fee, members receive a password for a membership only site. Here you will find a food plan (some, but not all are planned by nutritionists and / or medical specialists) as well as recipes, and culinary tips and diet. Depending on which program you choose, extras include everything from e-mail counseling by nutritionists, psychologists and other specialists by weight; For preserves of messages, group chats and motivational tools; For articles addressing weight loss concerns, and fashion and beauty advice to help you look great while you are losing weight. Some programs also feature meal plans and nutritional information that are for download for your PDA or cell phone.
. The cost: Most planes charge about $ 5 a week, billed in monthly installments. If you are not satisfied, most also offers a repayment in any unused part of your association.
. What experts say: "There are several studies suggesting that Internet weight loss programs can be quite beneficial," says Heller. A study, she says, found that adding custom counseling by email significantly improved weight loss in adults at risk for diabetes.
"While I do not think an online program replaces in-person counseling with a nutritionist or doctor, diet anonymity online, along with low cost and convenience, seem to increase compliance and motivation "says Heller. And that, she observes, increases the success of the diet.
. Bottom Line: If you can not afford advice in person - or not it is convenient for you - the online weight loss community can be your new best friend. If you are spending time on your computer anyway, these sites are required to be more productive than games, shopping or even surfing. And who knows? You can make some great friends as well.
These new pedometers of age measure how many steps you take - and more!
. As they work: As ordinary pedometers, they tie their belt to track their steps. But some of the most recent versions go the extra mile to calculate all your activity. The Bell Total Fit Pedometer has a walk and execution mode, as well as a step counter and a calculator for the total distance, speed and calories burned. SportbRain 1 Step X1 has a similar configuration, plus a computer usb cable that connects you to a site where you can download the software to radiate your progress along with other motivational tools.
. The cost: $ 30- $ 40
. What specialists say: "A pedometer will only give you an approximate estimate of the number of steps you are taking and if you change your cadence, or stop and go, all lose sensitivity," says Schlifstein. So he says, if you're walking around the city, or rising and coming down stairs, they can be a waste of time. "I do not recommend pedometers for weight loss," he says.
Sandon says pedometers can be good motivators, but warn that accuracy depends on the correct placement of the device. "You have to go ahead or near the hip in order to record the movement of a step," she says.
. Bottom Line: One of the best things about pedometers, whether of high tech or the common type, is that they can shock you to realize how sedentary your life is. Even an approximate estimate of how much you move, compared to the 10,000 steps suggested per day, could motivate you to get up from the sofa.
A number of new software titles have emerged to help maintain various aspects of your weight loss regimen in the range.
. How It Works: These programs vary greatly, from the provision of simple nutritional data, such as calorie counts, nutrient disabilities and meal planning - for the sophisticated tracking of diet and fitness goals. Some also offer meal suggestions, exercise regimens and daily progress reports. Many also work in PDAs.
. The cost: The average cost is $ 35 to $ 49
. What experts say: "Using the software to track your progress over time, you can see your accomplishments in printing, which can be highly motivating," says Sandon. As with food journals, Sandon says, these computer programs also increase awareness about eating habits.
. Bottom line: As long as they do not dramatically increase the time you spend sitting in front of your computer (instead of moving outdoors), these programs can provide incentive, motivation and good information that work with most of any program of diet.
.It is not the newest diet gadget, but it can be the most useful: a vacuum sealing device that allows to create individual portions pre-measurements of food.
. How It Works: You fill in plastic bags specially sized with individual parts of your delights or favorite meals. Then you insert the end of the bag into the device, which sucks the air and closes. Pop it on the freezer to use later, or throw it into a bag, suitcase or lunchbox, for an instant treatment that will not break your calorie budget.
. The cost: rival seal a meal, with extra bags and storage canisters - about $ 49 (also available pre-split plates that can be filled and sealed, so you always know the right proportions of vegetables, meat and grains). Fresh Deni Blocking Vacuum Sealer - about $ 30.
. What specialists say: "Anything that helps with control of portions, anything that draws attention to the size of what we are eating, or keeps you from eating too much, is a very good thing," says Sandon.
. Bottom Line: If you simply can not stop diving into the biscuit bottle or candy plate, this is like discipline in a bag. (Tip: If you seal the bags twice, this makes them really hard to open - a stronger snacks impediment!)
