Tag: 24. Januar 2024

Almost a month into 2024, weight loss may still be top of mind for the scores of people who made it their New Year’s resolution.

Now, doctors are sharing the best time to weigh yourself — the morning — while advocating for consistency when you step on the scale.

“Weight can fluctuate during the day, so, it’s good to pick the same time each day to weigh yourself,” Dr Mert Erogul told Parade recently.

The slight fluctuations in weight between morning and evening can be attributed to the food and drinks consumed throughout the day, to the activities and exercises performed, and nominally, to bowel movements.

People tend to weigh less when they wake up because breathing and sweating as they sleep causes them to lose fluids. A study also found that adults burn around 50 calories an hour during slumber.

“When you wake up in the morning, you’re dehydrated because you haven’t been drinking during the night. Then, you go to the bathroom and pee out the fluid,” Dr Neil Floch explained to Parade. “If you have a bowel movement, you could lose another quarter of a pound to a pound from that. So this is when you will be at your lowest weight.”

“Then, once you get dressed, eat breakfast and have something to drink, your weight is going to go up slightly,” he added.

The doctors’ advice comes as losing weight placed fourth in a Forbes Health/OnePoll survey about 2024 New Year’s resolutions.

33.8 per cent of the 1,000 adults polled said they want to lose weight — while 48 per cent set the goal of improving fitness; 38 per cent aim to fix their finances; and 36 per cent seek better mental health.

All the while, our obesity crisis rages on.

Excess weight and obesity have been found to raise the risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and several types of cancer.

Erogul says people trying to lose weight should look to shed 500 grams to one kilogram a week.

“Very low-calorie diets are associated with greater early weight loss, but no difference in the long term,” he said.

So, why do some people hit their health and fitness goals whereas others don’t? Listen in as organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber helps you make habits stick. 

WANT MORE FROM AMANTHA?

To hear today’s full interview, where she chats about how to make health habits a little bit easier…search for Extra Healthy-ish wherever you get your pods.

You can grab Amantha’s book, The Health Habit (Penguin, $36.99) here. For her Habit Hijacker quiz see here, follow her @amanthai, or check out her podcast How I Work here.

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On social: Via Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au or Facebook. Or, TikTok here. Got an idea for an episode? DM host Felicity Harley on Instagram @felicityharley. 

In print: Each Sunday, grab Body+Soul inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania). 

Experts have issued a warning about a common mistake some people make when eating chia seeds.

The antioxidant-rich superfood is known to improve digestion and ease constipation – but, if consumed without liquid, can form “a concrete-like mass in your digestive tract”, which can lead to them getting stuck.

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Numerous videos suggesting eating and drinking chia seeds have gone viral recently after many claimed the seeds could be used to aid dieting.

“Chia seeds can absorb up to 27 times their own weight in water, so please don’t eat it dry, or you’ll be seeing a GI doctor soon,” gastroenterologist at California’s UCLA Health, Dr Wendi Lebrett, said in a popular video on TikTok.

In the clip, Dr Lebrett shared an image of a ball of chia seeds impacted in a person’s oesophagus – the passage that connects the mouth to the stomach.

To avoid such an incident, she advised drinking plenty of water while eating chia seeds, and to always soak them first, “otherwise it can form a thick, gloopy concrete-like mass”.

Dr Lebrett also referred to a 2014 report published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, detailing the case of a 39-year-old man with impacted chia seeds in his oesophagus.

The patient, who also suffered from asthma, presented at a hospital in North Carolina, complaining he was having trouble swallowing.

About 12 hours before seeking medical attention, he told doctors he’d swallowed a tablespoon of dry chia seeds – with tests confirming a “gel of hydrated chia seeds” had obstructed his oesophagus.

The man ultimately required an endoscopy to push the chia seeds into his stomach and resolve the blockage.

Left untreated, an oesophageal blockage can lead to difficulty swallowing, inability to eat, trouble breathing, and tearing of the oesophagus.

“Patients should never consume dry chia seeds. They can absorb many times their weight in water and expand and may become lodged in a patient’s oesophagus, especially if there is a history of swallowing problems,” the report’s authors said.

“However when used properly, chia seeds are safe. They should only be mixed with sufficient amounts of liquid to allow them to expand before consumption.”