With the new year approaching, weight loss resolutions are yet again on the horizon. But truth be told, we're all about resolutions—whatever the starting date. Every day is a great opportunity to take control of your well-being! So if losing weight is a focus of yours—either beginning now or with the new year—set yourself up for success by taking a scientific approach to weight loss, based on the best data available: your blood. Here's how InsideTracker does just that.

As I start this blog, I’m currently in my sixth day of moderate ketosis. I’m feeling focused and energized—freed from my dependence on coffee. I embarked on a two-week vegan keto journey to see if achieving ketosis was possible following a vegan diet. And I discovered that it is, but not without its challenges. Why would I do this?  What are the health implications? Does the keto diet live up to all the hype? 

Decades of diet culture has taught us that weight loss is all a numbers game. But does counting things like calories or carbs actually get you to your goal weight? Recent research says no, and suggests that the best way to lose weight may be to focus on the food source of your calories rather than their macronutrient composition. In fact, counting macros really may oversimplify the complexities of weight loss. Here's why.

 

What do your cravings feel like? Like you’re out of control? Like nothing else will cut it? Do they actually feel like hunger? Sometimes what we think is hunger is really just our body needing a release from a negative feeling. But a new field of study on an ancient technique is showing promise for uncoupling our urges from our spoons. Mindfulness training, specifically mindful eating, might just be the tool we need to kick cravings and emotional eating to the curb.

Did you know that people start abandoning their New Year’s resolutions by January 12? And that more than half of all New Year’s resolutions are health-related?1 Fad diets and impractical exercise regimens often fail to deliver long-term success. After a little investigating, we found that ‘lose fat’ was among the top Google searches in January. Fortunately, the InsideTracker platform covers this very topic! When you choose “Lose Fat” as your goal, we provide you with personalized nutrition, ...

A common misconception about holiday meals is that we should starve ourselves before and after them. This isn’t true! In fact, we should try to stick to our usual routines as much as possible leading up to a big holiday feast and jump right back into them after it. Under eating before or after the meal can do more harm than the large meal itself.

We often associate a lower BMI with ideal weight and good overall health. In many instances, this is true. However, overall health does not continue to improve as BMI continues to decrease. Instead, BMI is associated with overall health in a U-shaped curve, where BMIs that are either too high or too low are associated with decreased longevity.