Press Room

Fight the fat
Fat is a problem for women of all ages and body types. Even though our DNA has a preset number of fat cells, and all of that is in place by adolescence, taking in too many calories can cause fat cells to expand, eventually leading to excess pound of unwanted bulges.
 

How fat is formed:
The only way fat cells will increase in size is by eating extra calories, regardless if the food source is a protein, fat or carbohydrate. When the body takes in more calories than it needs, those calories are converted to fat, forcing fat cells to expand and stretch to accommodate the additional fat. This doesn’t mean you can’t loose weight through proper diet and exercise.

Sensible eating:
Fruits and vegetables rich in natural antioxidants like flavonoids and phenolic acids are believed to reduce the risk of obesity and help the heart. When fat cells were exposed to the antioxidants, the result was lower levels of triglicerides (fatty materials that increase the risk of heart disease).

Banish hunger:
"Skipping meals sets you up for intense cravings," says Susan Kraus, R.D., a nutritionist at Hackensack University Medical Center. Eating regular meals of complex carbs—not refined ones like white bread and pasta—with protein and a small amount of healthy fat will keep your blood sugar steady, and you feeling satisfied. When you do snack between meals, make smart choices. Foods with staying power: low-fat yogurt and granola or half a whole-wheat English muffin spread with natural peanut butter.

Breakfast:
Breakfast is an essential meal, but can eating a big breakfast chock-full of carbohydrates and protein, followed by a low-carb, low-calorie diet for the rest of the day help you lose weight and keep it off? According to researchers, it just may, because loading up with filling foods early in the day helps to control the appetite and satiates the need for sweets and carbs.

Pump up to slim down:
Tired of sweating all over every piece of cardio equipment at the gym and still getting zero love from the scale? You need more iron. Not in your diet—in your hands. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, a mere 21 percent of women strength train two or more times a week. What you don't know: When you skip the weight room, you lose out on the ultimate flab melter. Those two sessions a week can reduce overall body fat by about 3 percentage points in just 10 weeks, even if you don't cut a single calorie. That translates to as much as three inches total off your waist and hips. Even better, all that new muscle pays off in a long-term boost to your metabolism, which helps keep your body lean and sculpted. Suddenly, dumbbells sound like a smart idea.

And remember to fuel your workout properly. Too many dieters make the fatal error of cutting back on crucial muscle-maintaining protein when they want to slash their overall calorie intake. The counterproductive result: They lose muscle along with any fat that might have melted away. Sports nutritionist Cassandra Forsythe, Ph.D., co-author of The New Rules of Lifting for Women, recommends that you eat one gram of protein for every pound of your body weight that does not come from fat. For instance, a 140-pound woman whose body fat is 25 percent would need 105 grams of high-quality protein. That's roughly four servings a day; the best sources are chicken or other lean meats, soy products, and eggs.