We’re constantly hearing about the benefits of walking – and for good reason! The free exercise is helping people heal their health, lose weight and transform their lives for the better. Now, folks are adding walking poles to their workouts to make their walking for weight loss routines both easier and more effective! Just ask sisters Becky Thomson and Susie Maines, who walked off a collective 373 pounds using the strategy. Read on for their inspiring story – plus why walking poles for weight loss work. What are walking poles? Walking poles, also called Nordic walking sticks or hiking poles, a ..read more

If we want to get healthy in a hurry, what’s the best diet to try? To answer that question, scientists set up a head-to-head battle at a major hospital, pitting three popular approaches against each other.  Facing off were calorie counting, intermittent fasting and a high-protein plan. The winner was clear: “Protein crushed the competition,” says Ted Naiman, MD, a Seattle-based protein expert. In fact, the average high-protein dieter shed 42 pounds in 60 days compared to 24 pounds in other groups. Plus, extra protein led to far greater improvements in things like blood sugar and cholester ..read more

Here’s some startling news: “There’s sugar in 80% of the food on supermarket shelves. So we may not realize it, but most of us are in the grips of sugar addiction,” says nutrition expert Tosca Reno, mega-selling author of The Eat-Clean Diet. And studies show that, like opioid drugs, sugar hijacks the brain’s pleasure center, stoking constant cravings and making it difficult to lose weight. So if your waist keeps expanding despite your best efforts, “a gentle sugar detox can make all the difference,” Tosca says. And she’s developed a simple fix can have you feeling back to your best in no time ..read more

If you’re over 50 and have pounds collecting around your midsection, there may be a surprise culprit: inflammaging. It’s a trendy term for chronic irritation that develops in our cells, releasing chemicals linked to belly fat, joint pain, brain fog and many other issues blamed on advancing years. Traditional diets and lack of exercise “can actually cause inflammation, making the problem worse,” notes Texas ob-gyn and The New Menopause author Mary Claire Haver, MD, who has made it her mission to help women stay healthy as their hormones change. Here, Dr. Haver shares anti-inflammaging shortcuts ..read more

What do avocados, walnuts and dark chocolate have in common? They’re all packed with good fats, an ingredient that can help make slimming more effortless. “Just by adding good fats throughout the day, most women will see a pleasant surprise when they step on the scale,” shares Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD, author of 60 Seconds to Slim and Pain Erasers. Her top fat-rich picks: simple mix-ins like flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts — all loaded with omega-3s, the most powerful good fat. Indeed, good fats for weight loss are so powerful, they helped 58-year-old Fran Bronski shed 80 pounds in all, l ..read more

We’ve got good news for anyone who loves cheese and wants to lose weight: A recent multi-university study found that getting lots of yummy dairy foods not only protects the bones of postmenopausal dieters, it also doubles or even triples the speed at which we burn fat from our belly and hips. Turns out, dairy is crammed with nutrients that tip the scales in our favor. And while low-fat mozzarella or 1% yogurt is fine for those who prefer it, “full-fat cheese can be a secret weapon that helps you reach a healthy weight,” says David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD, a Harvard endocrinologist and researcher. A ..read more

Good news for anyone sick of fighting that stubborn fat that piles up around our middle as we age: There’s a way to get rid of it without so much hard work. How? It turns out that ‘feeding’ fiber to the bacteria in the GI tract can help the body automatically shed ab flab. “The latest research is blowing the minds of doctors and scientists,” says Lose Your Belly Diet author Travis Stork, MD. A board-certified emergency medicine physician, he became focused on prebiotics after they worked better than traditional medicine to ease his own chronic GI trouble. He also lost 20 pesky pounds and resol ..read more

In a hurry to walk off weight? Then you might want to slow down, say University of Michigan researchers, who tested different walking speeds to see which helps women over age 50 the most. They found a slower pace actually boosted fat burn. Women like Stacy Dodson back them up. “I was so heavy when I started, it was like I was carrying two 50-pound bags of dog food everywhere I went. I had to start slow.” Yet she found herself slimming down quickly. “Now I know it helped me lose more,” says the 93-pounds-slimmer Florida mom, 53. Read on for more of her Stacy’s story — and to learn how much slow ..read more

Want to enjoy more energy, pain-free joints, sounder sleep, rapidly disappearing flab and radiant overall health? “Then start by giving your gut a little spring cleaning!” suggests nutrition pro JJ Virgin, who has spent 25 years helping women repair their GI tract to trigger head-to-toe transformations. Turns out, food sensitivities are making us chronically inflamed, slashing the odds we’ll be able to shed stubborn pounds. Luckily, Virgin’s gut healing diet can quickly turn your health around. Read on to learn how two women revitalized their health with a gut healing diet and how you, too, ca ..read more

Everyone is buzzing about Ozempic, Mounjaro and other new injectable meds that just might be the answer to our weight-loss prayers. Yet most of us have no clue how they work, if they’re safe and if insurance pays. For answers, we turned to Weill Cornell Medicine obesity expert Louis Aronne, MD, whose research on the drugs recently appeared in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association. We also tapped Kimberlie Rush, 60, and Crystle Constiner, 51, women who say the new meds  have allowed them to lose significant weight, lower sky-high blood sugar, relieve arthritis pain, d ..read more