The A2K (virtual) Weight Loss Club !!

Happy travels to all those attending the NYC travel-a-thon. It sounds like there are plenty of opportunities to walk off the festive foods.

I've rubbernecked in the Big City with EhBeth before. She ambles at about five miles an hour and a good workout is guaranteed.

I haven't read the whole thread, so I don't know who's losing, but wanted to say congrats to all of you who have and are losing :-D

Welcome to the thread.
You do know about submitting nekkid "before" and "after" pictures, don't you?

Thanks George :-D

I hadn't heard about the before and after pics, but it would be to late to submit a before pic since it's already after

Can't blame a guy for trying.

That's true

I'm sure someone will take an unobjectionable picture of me at some point. (I don't object to pics much anyway.)

There'll be pictures of me (clothed) and other A2Kers from the Boston
gathering posted soon.

Scientists: Hormone could shed new light on weight loss
Scientists: Hormone could shed new light on weight loss
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
By SUE GOETINCK AMBROSE / The Dallas Morning News

A recently discovered hormone is instrumental in helping the body switch its fuel source from sugar to fat, new research from Dallas and Boston scientists suggests.

The findings could explain some aspects of the success of low-carb diets, provide new ideas for weight loss drugs, and one day help doctors recommend scientifically designed, personalized eating plans.

Researchers caution the new studies are done only on lab mice.

"The open question is about how this applies to humans," said neuroscientist Randy Seeley, associate director of the Obesity Research Center at the University of Cincinnati, who was not involved in the research.

But, he added, "this definitely puts [the hormone] on the map as potential targets that companies will begin studying."

The Dallas and Boston scientists studied a hormone called FGF21 that's produced in the liver. Scientists already knew the hormone helped lower body weight, cholesterol and lipid levels in the blood. But they knew little about how it worked.

To find out, the Dallas scientists, led by Steven Kliewer and David Mangelsdorf of UT Southwestern Medical Center, studied the hormone in both fed and fasted mice. Fasting caused hormone levels to soar. Further experiments pinpointed the biochemical trigger for the hormone; the scientists also found that the hormone signals the liver to burn fat that had been stored elsewhere in the body.

The Boston scientists found that both fasting and a high-fat, low-carb diet, also ramp up levels of FGF21. At first, that may seem counterintuitive, said Dr. Eleftheria Maratos-Flier, the investigator at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who led the Boston study. But it's not.

"The common theme is that if you fast, you need to rely on stored fat," she said. "If you're eating a low-carb diet that's high in fat, you need to rely on fat."

Articles describing both groups' research appear in the latest issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

One of the next steps, Dr. Maratos-Flier said, is to check whether the hormone also goes up in people eating a low-carb diet, or in people who are fasting. If all the findings in mice also apply to people, she said, the hormone could explain why people on low-carb diets don't have extremely high levels of fat in their bloodstream. It could be, she said, because the hormone ensures that fat is burned.

The UT Southwestern scientists also studied mice that were genetically engineered to constantly produce high levels of the hormone. The researchers found that fasting drove these mice into a "torpor," or a hibernation-like state. In this state, the mice are less active and their body temperature drops.

"We think we've come across one of the key factors driving animals into hibernation," Dr. Kliewer said.

The situation in people will obviously be a little different.

"We need to find out how all this works in people," he said. "People don't go into hibernation."

Scientists said any medical impact of the new studies is still a long way off. Human studies are just beginning. Some of the many lines of work will include checking what the hormone does in people, whether it's possible to use the hormone as a biological readout of a person's metabolic state, and whether using the new information can help with scientifically designed diets. Scientists will also investigate whether the hormone or other related molecules can be turned into medications to promote weight loss or lower lipid levels in the blood.

Still, Dr. Seeley noted, the discovery of the hormone alone shows how much scientists still have to learn about why the body burns or stores fat.

"The modern era of studying obesity started in 1994," he said. "Do we have good treatments yet? The answer is no."

Other UT Southwestern researchers who participated in the study include Takeshi Inagaki, Paul Dutchak, Guixiang Zhao, Xunshan Ding, Laurent Gautron, Vinay Parameswara, Victoria Esser, Joel Elmquist, Robert Gerard, Shawn Burgess and Robert Hammer.

I'm back from NYC a pound lighter. After two hours at the keyboard my muscles are suggesting that a long, brisk walk would be an excellent idea.

With a bit of will power I just might be able to maintain my momentum--and tighten those muscles and firm that flab and increase my core strength and get another rung up on the ladder to Absolute Virtue.

Who will join me?

I'll be happy to join you, Noddy :-D


Congrats on the pound lost and you go girl.

Wanna race?

Montana--

Have you reached your goal in terms of pounds? Inches? or are you a much-welcome cheering section?

I'm within 3-5 pounds of my "desired" weight but I'm carrying a lot of flab between my bust and my knees. You know, Body Type: Overripe Apple.

Off to stretch and stretch and stretch.

I'm 3 pounds from my goal weight of 120. I have been at a stand still a few weeks now and if I can't lose the other 3 pounds, it's no big deal. I'm content enough as is.........maybe......I guess.....

As we all get older, everything starts to head south. What's up with that?


<joining you in the stretch world> :-D

I'll join you two. This week is going well and I want to keep it that way. I just got back from the club where Mr B pushed me to do an extra few sets. It's a gorgeous day, I think a walk would be perfect.

Congrats on doing so well JPB :-D

Thankee. It sounds like you've been doing well also. Three pounds from your goal, eh? You can do it!

As happens frequently in my life, my stretching time was pre-empted by bustling time. Plants are watered, magazines are stacked by date (and I'm behinders in my reading!) and a particularly offensive corner of the kitchen has been swabbed.

Now. Stretching.

JPB--

I didn't see your posts before I last posted. How is your Countdown to the Fourth coming along?

Weekly checkins are set for Wednesdays. The overall goal is 9 lbs in 4 weeks. I'm down three so far this week and I'm more than motivated to maintain or improve on this number for tomorrow's first week tally.

Bustling time burns calories too.